HOW PRINCE ROTO SWAM THE RAPIDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2255, 20 May 1897, Page 51

HOW PRINCE ROTO SWAM THE RAPIDS.

Specially Written pok the Witness Little Folks by "ITedoba." 1.-HIPARA. AND HER LOVERS. Long before any white 'man oame to New Zealand there lived, once upon a time, a very beautiful Maori princess, whose name was Hipara. She was the daughter of a great chief, who was also a warrior and a priest* and she was her father's favourite child. She had no sisters, but had several brothers, who were great warriors, and were very proud of their beautiful sister. Not only was Hipara beautiful, but she was very good, and also very clever. She could make the most beautiful flsx mats, and she could swim and paddle canoes and set snares as none of the girls of tbe tribe could do. And all the tribe over which her father ruled was proud of her, and her fame went all through the North Island of Maoriland, and had even reached to the South Island. Every tribe had heard about the beauty and goodness of Hipara, the daughter of the great chief Rewi. Many Maori girls have beautiful long, thick hair, but it was said that Hipara's hair waß twice as long and threo times as thick as anyone eWe. And truly, if she pleased, she could let it all down over her, and it would cover her like a glossy black cloak right down to her feet. Then her eyes were large and brown, and her skin was olivetinted and pale. Her hands and feet were beautifully shaped, and her fingers tapered away to the tißießt tips, till you would have •wondered how it was that they were «o strong and go clever.

Rewi, the chief o£ the tribe, doted on his daughter. There was nothing too good for her. He gave her a cloak made of the feathers of white kiwis, which was a very tare thing. The kiwi is a bird without wißgs, which is usually of a brownish grey colour, and is not very large — laiger than a hen, perhaps, but not nearly so big as a goose. ' So it took a great many white kiwis' feathers to make Hipara the beautiful white cloak which she wore. She was often called the " White Kiwi " herself because her ekin was so much fairer than that of the other Maori girls.

When Hipara got to be 18, a great many chiefs who had heard the fame of her beauty wanted to marry her and carry her away with' them to their tribes. Of course that was the usual tbicg to" do, and Rswi ought to have expected that this would happen. But when thß ohiefs and the sons of chiefs and kings came or sent to ask for Hipara, he was ve.ry angry. He was beginning to feal a little old, and his daughter had been so fond of him and waited on him and was so merry and happy with the tribe that he did not at all wish to lose her. So he made up his mind that the next person who should corns and ask for Hipara Should be told that he could have her it he did something which Rswi knew it would be impossible for any man to do. At laßt he made up his mind what this thing should be. The place where the tribe lived over which Rewi was chief waß Called Wairakei. The chief pa, or Maori town, was on the Bide of the bill just above a most wonderful ralley, which yon may even see now when you go to that part of New Zealand. This valley is. full of places wera there are geyseri throwing up fountains of hot water, and boiling pools, and hot pools where the Maoris bathed, ana mud pools where you could look and see lilies and rose and anemones raise themselves in the mud as it boils, fold over, and diiapppear again. In some parts, if the people felt cold, they could go and sit on the hot earth covered with lava and be as warm as possible any winter's day. Rswi thought at first that he would just take the chie£»' sons who came for Hipara down to his wonderful valley and show them the great boiling pool, the Tuhuatahi, and when they were not auspeoting anything quietly pop them in 1 You see, Rewi had not much pity for anyone who came- in his way. But then be knew if he did that the chiefs, the fathers of these suitors, would just come and take vengeance on him, and that would not do. They must have something to do of their own free will, and then be wonld not be blamed if they killed themselves over it. So at last he hit upon an idea. Not very far from Wairakei there are some very wonderful waterfalls. The water rushes •long between two rocky river bankf, with steep sides like precipices, and it flows with dreadful force, and at last dashes itself down the rapids, and boila and bubbles and rages and roars and sucks with such terrific strength that it makes one giddy to look at it. Anything that is thrown into the water at the commencement of the rapids is sucked under immediately, and does not reappear for days and days, and is so battered upon the ' rocks that ia any case it is unrecognisable.

.Rewi knew that once, a long time ago, gome Maoris from another part of the country had come to visit a certain tribe. They had had a quarrel about something or other, and the tribe living near the falls had dared the strange tribe to pass the rapids in their canoe, and offered one of their men as guide. The strange tribe, only seeing one end of the falls, which certainly looks dangerous enough, bat nothing like so bad as the other end, agreed to attempt to pass through the rapids. Wben they bad fairly started, the guide jumped out on to a rook, and the rest, unable to stop themselves, went on and on. Suddenly tbey disappeared, and there was not a vestige of anything belonging to them ever found again. Perbaps'they are still going on. This was Kewi s idea. He would give out that anyone who wished to marry Hipara was first of all to swim the Huka rapids. *Ebis he knew no one could do, and he did oot thißk anjon« would attempt such a feat.

If do one attempted it be could keep Hipara. If anyone did attempt it he would be killed, and still Rewi would have his daughter.

But one or two young men who did not know the rapids did jump in and get drowned, or knocked to pieces. At any rate they did not appear again, and the idea that she was the cause of their deaths saddened poor Hipara very much.

I said before that her father, as well as being a chief, was also a priest, and Hipara, as a priest's daughter, knew many things that were quite unknown to the other Maoris round about. For instance, she knew a great deal about the Maori fairies, or spirits, as they call them. Some of these fairies are very bad ones, and some are good. A great many fairies lived above tho boiling sprirjgs at Wairakei. jljhere was a very bad spirit who lived in a pool, and knocked, knocked all day angrily. English people now call this pool the " Steam Hammer," and go and look at it and hear the .fairy knocking, and are not a bit afraid. But Princess Hipara would never go near it because she could hear what it said, and it was always saying "Go fight, go fight, go fight " in Maori. Rewi went to consult this fairy when he wanted to go to war, and it always told him to fight, and so he liked it.

[ -But Hipara's chief friend was the Great Wairakei Geyser fairy. This one was sach a happy fairy, laughing all day and throwing up beautiful large diamonds in thousands and millions every seven and a-balf minufces.Hipara would go and talk to this fairy, and | when she threw up her lovely sprays of water ■ sparkling in the sunshine like jewels she i would say, " Higher, Wairakei, higher," and the fairy would laugh and throw her sprays so high that the people at a distance, seeing it, would say, •• Princess Hipara is visitirjg her fairy to-day."

Hipara was left without suitors quite a good while, and Rewi began to forget about the possibility of her having any more lovers, when one day a young prince arrived. It was winter time, but one sunny morning Hipara was siting at the door of the chief's house, making a fl^x mat and singiDg to herself, when she looked up and saw a young stranger enter the gate of the pa or village.

She had never seen so fine or co handsome a young man before. He was 6ft 4in high, as straight as an arrow and as strong as a young lion. He was dressed like a cbiaf of the highest rank, and slung over Mb shoulder he carried the shin- of a large moa. Now this moa is the largest bird that ever was. It is sometimes 14ft high, and very fierce and terrible. Imagine a bird something the height of a giraffe, with huge feet, sseming to belong to an animal twice the size of that even, that makes a sound like a tremendous roar. You may believe that the Maoris usually, instead of going up to attack a bird so terrible, would run away from it, though if ever they did kill one its flesh was so good that it was considered a great delicacy, and they would have & big feast, and eat it with great relish. If a Maori killed a moa the tribes round about for miles and miles would get; to bear of it sooner or later, and Hipara h&d often heard of this brave feat of Prince Koto, for he had been braver than anyone, and had killed this moa alone, single-handed.

When Hipara saw Roto coming towards her, then, with the moa-skin on his back, her heart gave a big jump and then stood still. Was he coming for her ? And was he actually bringing the moa's ekin to her for a present 1 She knew he would not be carrying that valuable ekin on bis travels for no reason. At first she hoped he had not come for her; and then she looked at his face again and — hoped he had come to fetch her. Yes, she had fallen in love with him at first sight ! {To be continued.')