Rauparaha's South Island Raids. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2379, 5 October 1899, Page 10

Rauparaha's South Island Raids. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, — I am more than pleased to note correspondence re the above. I hope it may prove precursory of a widespread interest in the early history of the^e parts*. As a matter of fact; Southern New Zealand has been t>ingularly unfortunate in ilj record-history. Missionaryisni. officialdom, and • other pur.suits congenial thereto, confined themselves to the north, and the few references made to the south were gathered from hear.-ay, and a very imperfect hearsay it must have been. Liet mo give you an instance. As late as the ycat 1838 the Hon. E. Barring, M.P., told a Select Committee of the House, of Commons re Stewart It-land: "There is no timber there. It is a mere sealing r-stablishment. So far as official information is concerned nothing is kuowu. as to the jjoiiixp-gu of its white pojpu-

lation. They may knock each other on the head, and nothing would be heard of it.. There are no Natives resident there." That is the kind of information on which the early history of the south is based, and more recent writers down to the talented author of the "Long White Cloud," perpetuated the fallacies until they have come to be accepted without question. I mention these things to show the full extent of the inquiry upon which your correspondepts have embarked, and the reliance to be placed on the current history of events. The difficulty encountered by Mr R. Gilkisou as to the number of the Ngatitoa who took' pare in the Te Piiahi invasion admits of explanation. Ngati-wai-rangi, a West Coast tribe then residing at Hold-tika, largely engaged in the pounamu trade or barter. They did business with the Ngatimamoe-Ngai-tahu on the East Coast of the Middle Island, as well as Ngatitoa on the north shore of Cook's Strait. It was to information given by the Ngati-wai-rangi, Te Rauparaha was indebted for acknowledge of the through pasa by Haast River and Lake Wanaka. Puahi went accredited to Hoki-tika- accompanied by a lava numbering 70, all fighting men. Arriving there, Ngati-wai-rangi disapproved of the expedition, and assured To Puahi, Ngati-mamoe-Ngaitahu was a wild, warlike race, and that, the success of his undertaking was absolutely hopeless. Thereupon 30 of the Ngatiloa returned home to the Straits, leaving Puahi with only 40 of his own men. Notwithstanding their prognostications, Ngati-wai-I rangi supplied 100 recruits, so that when the | expedition took its final departure from Hokij tika it was over 100 strong. That is the joint tradition of the tribes, and land claimants belonging to each have recorded their evidence accordingly. That is the source of my information. Another question raised by Mr Gilkison id as to the route between Wanaka and Tuturau. Di* Shortland's story is that they navigated! the 'riyer to its mouth in mokis. I think that most improbable. We have it on record the East Coast tribes had three separate routes to their eeling stations at the Wanaka — one by i tin Waitaki, another by the valley of tha Molyneux, or, as it is named, the Matau, and a third down through the pounamu country , (Wakalipu) and the valley of the Mataura. My opinion is decidedly in favour of the last named. Although these northerners were nob unacquainted witli moki navigation they were altogether unaccustomed to a ropid, turbulent .-stream" like the Molyneux. They were, lnoreI over, by this jime under guidance of the Nga-timamoe-Ngailahu eeling party — a portion of whom, we are told, they spared to lead them on their way. Thai party would bo well acquainted with the most direct route to_ Tuturau, down through pounamu country." It is corroborative ' of this view that Mr W. ,D. Donald, late of the Waimea Plains station, has a collection of Maori implements found in tha valley of the Dome Paed, peculiarities in, | which aia strongly sng^esthe of North Island manufacture. The chisels are flanged, so as to produce what can be only aptly described at= a groove, and while I have examined many 1 southern chisels I never noted one of similar, 1 make. Thai, they crossed the river at its outset from Hawea, as well as Wanaka, is no ' doubt a fact ; but that, I believe, is the only moki navigation done on the journey. I do not infer the navigation of the Molyneux on mokis could not be accomplished. The early records show there was large traffic between Orepuki and the greenstone deposits at Milford Soup.d, and thai the Western Lakes and; Waiau River currents were utilised for moki a on the return journey. Waiau is a "more rapid stream than Molyneux. The subject as a whole is well worthy of I careful consideration. Subject to the appro- | val of the conditions, a detailed narrative of ; the Puahi expedition with all the latest information available will appear in the November number of the New Zealand Illustrated Magazine. Possibly its perusal will interest your readers, and suggest further "bubject mati ter for consideration. — I am, etc., Ro. Cabbick*

At the Malauro Freezing Works on Thursday Air N. W. Kingdon was the recipient of a purso of sovereigns from his fellow-em-ployees on the occasion of his departure to take a position connected with the frozen meat trade- in London. Mr Mark Thomson, another employee of the f,ame firm, who is leaving for Auckland, was also presented with HI pur-G (<f sovereigns on Saturday.

R. C. Clock, a resident of Cottesioc, South. Australia, plc-jjded jpiilly at the Police Court to tC technical afsaull on his daughter, aged nine. A constable found the girl chained by the anklp with a dog-chain to a bedstead. Her Jog was swollen from the effects pf thel chain, ;-he having been fettered for 96 hours* The parents htated that the child was incorrigible. The motjietrale said that personally ho was aware of this, but the .defendant had acted foolishly, and he fined him £1. Thfl child was &eul lo the Induttruvl

At Cooktown "Paddy" Creighton, a wellknown New Guinea prospector, jumped from the cutter Endeavour into the harbour ana Sis drjawoftdU

Prince Max of Baden, whose betrothal to the Grand Duchess Helen of Russia- was broken off lately, is in, a private asylum suffering from, nervous irritation.