A CORNER IN CANOES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 9, 10 July 1909, Page 9

A CORNER IN CANOES.

HOW THE RING WAS BROKEN. MAORIS AND THE TRANSPORT OF STORES. You have heard of Standard Oil, of the Meat Trust, of the shipping rings, the flour combine, and many other recent devices, whereby the few endeavour to squeeze the many. You have heard of a corner in cotton, or, later still, in wheat. Did you ever hear of a corner in canoes? It is comical to think of It, now the danger is past, but less than a month ago the State was nearly held up in the out&et of a great undertaking by a little group of Maoris. Now, it came about in this way. The State, as represented by the Government, is, as you may know, beginning to open up to settlement a large area of its Crown lands in the Waitotara Valley. It is the famous Rangitatau block, with. its 10,000 acres and its gallant hundred bushfellers — soon to be two hundred. All roads, it is said, lead to Rome. That may explain why none led to Rangitafciu. There are only steep, muddy, devious, and difficult tracks. In wet weather horses may not pass along certain parts in safety. Men, have to take care. iWhen, therefore, the Government resolved to have the bus-h cleared, and that without further ado, the servants of the State found themselves in a fix. A hundred men — they mu&t be fed. But how ? If every pound of flour, potatoes, and meat — to say nothing of the tents, tools, and equipment necessary — had to be borne on human backs over* a wretched track — the problem would be well nigh impossible of solution. There { was, obviously, no time to make a road. 1 The unemployed had to be found em- ! ployment. They might have been put j on to make a road — and that should be j the Government's next step, undoubtedly — bub in thai event, while the bushfellers were waiting, the precious winter would have slipped away and the clearing postponed for another year. So track and road were out of the question. THE ONLY WAY. , Happily for the Slate, and, withal, for the Maoris, there is the Waitotara River. It is a deep, swift-flowing, muddy, winding stream, about a chain wide, through all its length and j breadth full of visible\ and invisible perils in the shape of snags. The Maoris know it well. They have navigated its reaches for generations. They , seized the situation, as soon as the rumour of the Government's purpose . penetrated the tranquility of the little community at Waitotara. They had all the canoes ; they alone could use them with any facility. The spirit of the exploiters and monopolists of American transportation came over them. They were going to outdo John D. Rockefeller. A council of war was held, terms t were fixed, and the ring was ready for the arrival of the emissaries of the State, sent before the wanderers in the wilderness to prepare the way. THE TRUST AND ITS COLLAPSE. •Messrs. J. 'W. Collins and E. P. •■Greville, representing the Labour and ILands Departments of the State respectively, arrived. The Maoris secure in their ring waited for overtures. So did the emissaries of the State. They 'knew their men. When the wily natives asked for £2 10s a trip to the Tarata camp, a dozen miles or so up the river, Mr. Collins, equally astute, talked of taking the steam launch, which rides at moorings by the Waitotara Bridge, as it has ridden for years. It was a bit of bluff, of course, an the launch has always been a white elephant or a lame •hippopotamus on the Waitotara. But the ring began to move uneasily. Jumbo, a prominent polesman, and the owner of, a canoe, yielded to his heartfelt yearning to transport the pakeha's provisions ud the river. Thus divided they fell. The ring collapsed and, instead of an extortionate £2 10s, the•Slate gave a reasonable and fair price for the job, some 15s less. Thus was the main problem of transport solved. Jumbo and his compatriots began their, daily trips. JUMBO AND HIS WAHINE. Jumbo is the most expert polesman on the river. A burly Maori, almost as broad as he is long, he holds the record for the trip. He and his wahine, Rebecca, bring up a ton in their canoe. Rebecca does the steering, and also the talking. They make a remarkably successful canoe crew in their business match. BARGAINING WITH A MAORI. The terms of official transport of stores were thus settled, but canoes were wanted for the use of the surveyors and bushmen in getting up and down and in crossing the river. Mr. Price, the second in command, negotiated with the Maoris. Their chief spokesman wanted 10s a week for the loan of his canoe. "What! 10s?" said Mr. Price; '"111 give you 55." '" No, no, pak,eha, 10s, canoe very valuable ; you might break him— los/' The Maori persisted. Mr. Price would not budge, so the canoe was offered him for sale. "How much?" — "£100." The amount was absurd, though the Maoris justly value their canoes vory highly. The chief thought his craft might get damaged. Mr. Price said he would repair it. " Paheka not mend a canoe — oh, no,!" —the chief would not have that. So they haggled. The Maori, loves bareainirjg. Mr. Price would not go beyond os a week for the hire of the canoe. The Maori came down to £10 for the capital value of the boat. At last he gave way, and agreed to 5s for the hire. "All right, pakeha, 5s — you shout." So the bargain was wetted. And thus the main problems of tiaiisport were solved.