The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1912. THE EARLY DAYS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 29, 17 January 1912, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1912. THE EARLY DAYS.

um> of the most interesting stories : of the early days in •tfdw Zealand which' has ' yet •’ 'been piiblishcd ”is ■fame.? CWan’s “Advehtiires of Kimble Bent,” a copy of which reaches ns rrom Messrs Whitcomho and Tombs, ft is not a work of fiction, but a plain narrative of real life in the New Zealand bush in those stirring days when tho Maori and the white were at war. I ho author tolls us that every incident he describes is a faithful record of actual happenings, obtained from' the deserter- Bent himself; and verified by reliable natives who knew the particular circumstances referred to! The story of a renegade, of strange parentage whose lawless spirit could no longer brook military control, is remarkably well told. Mr Cowan ■is a writer of ability: he has specially studied the Maori race and Maori loro and customs for many years; and ’ic has in his latest work done a great deal towards putting on record historical events which might easily have been altogether lost. Bent’s career, after his adoption by the Hanhans in IfSGb, was full of incident and much of that incident occurred beneath the shadow of Mt. Egmont. Many settlers in Taranaki will probably well remember the pakeha-Maorf follower of fitikowam. His detailed descriptions of the man-eating practices in Titiko-

warns camps, arc probably the first authentic published accounts of such latter days cannibalism amongst the Maoris, that we have from an actual eye-witness. As Mr Cowan points out, available histories deal but meagrely—and often inaccurately—with the story of the Ten-Years’ Maori War, oven from the White side, while the Maori viewpoint is practically unknown to all but a few of the pioneer colonists. Gathered from tiie old Hauhau warriors themselves and from one of that nearly extinct type of retrogrades—the pakeha-Maori—the records arc especially valuable. Kimble Hent is supposed to be the sole living white eye-witness of the secret Hauhau war-rites and Mr Cowan is fortunate in securing his descriptions. As late as 18SI or IS,So, Bent was still living in Taranaki, at Geo, but subsequently ho shifted bis ■camp to Gisborne and, an old man of seventy-three, is supposed to bo living there still. Mr Cowan’s interesting book should be largely in demand.

ELEPHANTA-

Tin* fivmous rock-hewn temples of Klephanta, in Bombay liarhour, which Iving George and Queen l\lary visited I!u> other day, nnniher six, and four of them are nearly complete. They ire described hy authorities as dating from the eighth century A. I), or somo•vhat later. The (treat Cave, 250 ft. above high-water mark, belongs to a class of sacred buildings very common in India. ft is a Siva temple, fully 100 ft. long, the main body being a sepia re of about 90ft., hewn (from a hard variety of trap rock) so as to present three open sides, and supported by six rows of stone columns. The Li ngam shrine, barely 30ft. square and containing the sacred emblem, is ■xcavatcd on one side of it, and is thronged'on festival days by crowds of Hindu worshippers. The interiors are leenrated with immense statues and aural sculptures of Siva or connected with his history. The caves have 1

lately attained an unfortunate notoriety, Tiie ilulccl columns supporting tiio roof of the oaves had long been falling, until only IS of the original 2o remained. Tlie authorities deemed

it necessary to preserve the remainder from a similar fate, but most regrettably the task of restoration and repair was given to the Public Works Department, and apparently the Archaeological Survey lias refrained from any sort of interference. The now pillars wore not copied accurately from those still standing, the fluting and other ornamentation was ignored, and not all were given the original stone square bases. To crown this achievement, not only were the new pillars coloured with a brilliant khaki, but when this was seen to t offer too violent a contrast to the dull-toned, weatherbeaten stones of the ancient work the Department did not hesitate to .khakiwash the old columns as well. And, not to be inconsistent in their vandalism, the authoritiso took trouble to level up with concrete and to square the edges of the steps worn during the centuries by the tread of countless devotees.