CHAPTER VIII.-(Countenuted) MAKUTD MEN.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXV, Issue 3753, 29 July 1869, Page 6

CHAPTER VIII.-(Countenuted) MAKUTD MEN.

Battles with the iNgaiternngi were now very frsqueut, scarcely a week passing over without one occurring, in one of wkiob, Tipitipi, a noted cliieE of the Arawa, was killed. Being a man of great distinction he was placed on a fcaffold eieoted for the purpose at tho foot of the oliif, and a number of prophets and makutu uien oomraenoed their incantations. These men, in most if not all cases rank impostors, possessed a strange hold on the credulity of the others, who refused to perceive the clumsy and transparent deceptions practised by them. When tho spirit of prophesy came upon them, or, as they termed it, when the atua was in them, which was very often, th-a rest of the people would sit in a circle round them and listen leveiently to their oracular sayings, now and then interrupting them with questions, which they answered iv a tone of voice different from their natuial one. The voice of the ataa as uttered by them was a sort of whine, and the words, though generally senseless quibberish, often artfully arranged like the sayinga of the Delphic oracle, and made to aot bjth way?. But in many oases they resembled the impositions of professed mesmerists amongst ourselves, who permit strangers to convert© with clairvoyant mibiects, The conversations would sometimes ran in the following fashion :— Eager Inquirer— Where have you been to ? Prophet— l have been iutothe pa at Mutu. Eager Inquirer— And what did you see there ? The answer to this quest'on would give room to a play of imagination, iv which, the prophet would tax his invention and keep as near to probabilities as possible. Presently he would say, tS I am going," to whtoh the inquirer, perhaps a oonfederate, would respond Hy asking whither, and the prophet answer, Tauranga or elsewhere, as the case might be, and so the conversation vs ould drag its stupid length along. On one occastou ajMuketu woman, under a prophetic impulse, was talking to herself all day long and part of the night. A number of people, with their dogs, were olustered round the door of her whare, listening 1 in the dtvikneso to her inspired gibberish, Suddenly '

ahooxo' unx d, " Dnvo away more dogs; whnfc are ih\v d -rig here V Her behest wbb obeyed, the dogs dnvo i aw>y, and her admirers left in amazement at lur w nderhi! power f f vi ion. A MntACLr. The horly of Tipiiipi, b-m/ placed on M c Rcaffold before mentioned, became the ul jf-ofc of suadry iuysterio 1 8 rites peif irmed by a goodly number of Maketu men who went through many antic* and gesticulations, piaying every now and then after their fashion, and occasionally exclaiming, " He'Sl turn anon ; h^ will turn soon," They had prophesied that if the corjise should turn towards 'JL'umu, victory would turn on the side of the people at Maketu, while, if ifc turned the other way, the fat j of war would be against them. At last, by some 3leight of htvud, or by knocking away some pieviously arranged support, — which Mr, Tapsell was imt near enough to see, — the corpse turned partly round towards Tumu, and the crowd shouted aloud with exultation at the wonderful mhiicle. It happened thai the Makotu people were viotoriou3, and so the of the propheti was estahlishel. The miracle itself uas as creditable in it:i <vay a3 the winking Virgin or the weeping Madonna. THE WIDOW'S SACKIFICIi!. The suicide of the widow of a chief waa a prevailing cuatora at that time, and one of the victims of the war then going on was an influential chief of the Ngapuhl who had been shot in the head, from the wound in which the brains continued to run away for the two days he survived. When he died, his wife, who had been watching all the time, stole an ay to aneiqhbour's house, and procuied a stout fishiug-liue. It was known for what purpose she bad obtained it, and Mr. Tapsell tried to prevent her accomplishing her end, but was prevented by these around, and she hung heivelf on one ot a clump of trees still remaining neur the mouth of the river at Maketu. After some time had elapsed Mr. Tapsell went to see if she had completed her self-destruction, and found her depending from a branch which had given way, on her knees, and with a smile on h/;r faoe. He look from his pocket a amall piece of black ribbon, which he tied rouud her wrist, and l«ft her. One of hi<i boat's crew, of a meiry and jocular disposition, aud having the reputation of not knowing tear, hal often expressed a wish to tecoine possessed of a soldier's co^t, of which Air. Tapsell had several. This day, the latter, desirous of testing the man's courage, informed him of the ribbon round the woman's wrist, and promised him a, soldier's coab if be would go iv the dead of night and bring it aw.iy, A very great repugnauco to slii out at night is a feature of Maori supeintitiou. The man departed, aud speedily returned, bringing back the ribbon. He confessed tint be grew f lightened as he g)t near the tiecs, and ciawled on his haudd and Imeea, aveitmg his face, a"d t'ikiug oft the ribbon witbout looking. As he had fairly earned his ie\vaid he received tho piomiaed ooat. Nob one Maoii in a thousand would at that time have performed the sams feat. DR. TAPSLLL. During the fieqi.cnt battles ociuning at this period Mr. TAp'soll's skill in medicine and surgery wag frequently called into requisition. Some of tho wounds were of a very curious kind. In one man a bullet had entered ono ear and pa^ed out at the other. Mr. Tapsell did all that po&jibly could be done in such a lease, lie slopped the apeitureg with cotton dipped in Riga bal'-am, and tho man was conveyed to Ilotoiiifti vSotue months alter Ike same rain returned to Maketu peifcctly well. Tlio ball had evaded the biain, Tareha, a Ngapuhi, hal hu hand neatly bio vn ( ff by the bursting of a gun. This injury oas dro->S(d d.>ily till lie recovered. On one occ.is on Mr. Tap el! vva9 cutting a ball fioai a wounded mm, when tho ball bounded oit and fell ou the ground A relative of the patient, standing by, picked up the bill, pub it into hii mouth, and chewed it savagely till it was icJuceil to powder. A MISSION OP rCACH. It was just thpn tint Mr. Williams had arrived from the Bvy of islands, and, beiny desirous f >f puifcini* a stop t > the fi'^liting that w.xs on, pievailcd on ifr. Taps il to lTiake overtmea of peice to the enemy at 'Limn, The latter was su. prised and giievttd to find thai liis wife, a woman of Waikato, intended to ace impany him, nor could a'l h'n ar^uinonts dissu;v!e her fr >m her purpose. At length he sud to her, " Jfimythii'S? should happen, your blood bj upon your own h'ml." He honied tlie ensign, aud desired Mr. Williams ti o' faei ye through the tele°co,ie if any ambush weio piepa-ol f'U lnm, iv which case to haul it clown, and th.i: net out on his joiirnpy Bu 1 ; wli^n the peop'e iv tlic pa saw him appro ich'ii'4 they ail cried one, " Hwremai, haere mai," wiviig their blaakets in tolu n of welcomu ; and when ho gut inside the pa one of the leading chiefs seized Mrs. Tapsell round the neck, touche I noses with her, and cried mournfully, ordinine; the be-t mn ket in the store to be uivea h< r as a present. Mr. Tapsell's misiion was not altogether •jucce^fnl. Ho wag told that hn i coplo, tlie Arawa, were exceedingly treacheious and deceitful, and only wanted txn opportunity to commit more inurde-r«, to wliii h \ir. Tap ell leplitd that lie thought not, but wi'S atuw'ited wjiuu gly by Uie olbera tiiat he dil no', luio'v his p°ople. N;veith le r s, they a-suix I Inn that 'hey woi Id not ba ths fir sb to fire When Mr. Tapaell fcLuined with those tiding*, the principal patL of the Ngipuhi vent to ilotoiua on a visit. About a week after, a canoe fiom the aouthwaicl, loaded with provisions for Tumu, made its appearance off Maketu heads, where the wind fell aw»y and it was becalmed. It oontainod only three men. No sooner d.d the natives on shoro 'perceive the situation of tho craft and its doomed pissengets than, with wild shouts, they launche 1 their canoos, in s.iite of the endeavours and urgent remonstrances of Mr. Tapsell, npced ly overtook the stranger, mmdeied the unfortunate crow, and brought ashore the bodies, which " went the way of a'l " human " fldsh " in the giod old Maori days.