Ka whitia e ia te rapa o tona taiaha ki runga; ka ruia nga awe, ka puaha, ka tohu atu ia, he wha raupo tona tohu, he ngaru roa. Ka tatere, he kai na te patu, mana tonu ia e tami, e takahi, e patu. Katahi ka whitia e ia te reke o tona taiaha ki runga, ka ho nga awe ki runga ki te takaki, puritanga o te ringa whangai; ka karanga ki nga matua ra, ‘He kura-takai-puni e kore e pakaru i a ia. Ko te tohi a Te Aotaki i a au, kaore i nanunanu, i whati, me nga whakaaraara a Haruru-ki-te-rangi, a Whetuki-ki-te-rangi, a Ueue-ki-te-rangi, he tohu toa, he tohu ora, apopo koe i te ata hapara te rongo ake ai. Kaore na hoki; a ka ngaro, ko te pa tahuri, ko te puta taua i te ra kotahi.’ E tohu ana ia i mua o nga matua ra, me te mea tonu ka whatiwhati te taiaha i roto i nga ringa. Kei te ki nga matua ra, ‘Ana oti, ko nga rongo toa kia nui, a ko nga tohu o te toa kia iti?’ Ka mutu, ka mihimihi ki te iwi, me te iwi ki a ia, me te mihi a te iwi i te moenga a Ruataupare i a ia. Tera nga rongo ka tae, kei te whakahiato nga pa katoa o tenei taha o Whareponga ki roto i tona pa nui i Tokaanu. Ko nga iwi o te taha ki te tonga o te awa o Whareponga i hui ki Kokai, ki Tokatea. Ka rite te ope a Tuwhakairiora, me nga o, ka whakatika. Ki te titiro pau tonu ki roto i te kanohi kotahi, engari e haere hauora ana i te tohu waiora a Tuwhakairiora. Kua oti te tohutohu ki a ia te ahua o te pa. Te taenga ki te one i Tirau tera ka kitea mai e nga toro. Tera kei te korerotia atu ki ona mano tini, ‘Kaore taua e rato, e whara, tango noa tahi ki te oneone apopo.’ Te teanga o te ope ki Paepaenui ka ahiahi hoki, kei te ki iho ano, ‘Pau tonu ki roto o te whatu kotahi; te whara te waha te aha.’ I te ata po tonu ka takoto nga matua a te ope. Takoto ake e toru; ko te matua nui, ara ko te Whare; ko te Puarere ko te matua i whakaritea hei tomo mo te pa, hei tahu; ko te Patari, ko te matua a te kairakau a nga toa. Kei te heke iho nga matua a tera, ka takoto he matua, he matua, tona tini. Ka kitea atu nga kakahu o nga rangatira, te topuni, te ihupuni, te puahi, te mahiti, te kahukiwi, te kahukereru me te parawai, me te rakai o nga matua e takato mai ra, koia ano me te tahuna-tara te raukura ki runga i te upoko; nga taru o Taurikomore o Tauritoatoa. Katahi ia ka tohu ki tona ope, ki nga matua e toru, ‘He waimarie, mei noho atu ia i te pa, e roa te kawenga; ko tenei ka puta ia ki waho, ka mate akuanei, a, taui ana to ringa i te patunga.’ Ka ki ia ki tetahi o nga matua, ki a te puarere, ‘Ko tau riri, ko te pa; ko ena matua e takoto mai na, takahia: e tu koe ki runga, kia ki te waha, tukua i runga i te poupoutahi. E all the braves and the warriors of those battalions must gather round me as a battalion for me.’ Then the chiefs stood up and called out, ‘Let the Whare*Whare and Tarahau were technical names for divisions of an army. and the Tarahau* be very great to form a suitable bodygurd; for the tribe yonder is Ngati Ruanuku, with its powerful clans—Hore, Mana, Te Pananehu, Te Koreke, Te Moko-whakahoihoi, and Te Pohoumauma.’ Such also was the opinion of Te Aotaki: ‘Let the Whare and Tarahau be great to form a suitable bodyguard: their multitudes yonder are as the proverbial makihoi,†Makihoi, an obscure word indicating great numbers. like the hair plucked from a rat, or like ants.’ Then Tuwhakairiora gave his opinion: ‘Stay, stay, till I have given my opinion. With a multitude counsels are confused; we wish the discussion to be heard. Let the braves of the battalions yonder gather round me as a battalion for me; though the enemy may come in his many thousands, he is but food for the weapon. Well do I know his omens.’ He turned the blade of his taiaha upwards, and shook its tuft of dog's hair so that it opened out; he explained the omen—fallen raupo leaves were his omen, and the long sea wave. They would scatter and become food for the weapon; he himself would bear them down, trample on them, smite them. Then he turned the butt of his taiaha upwards, the tuft of hair drooped over the neck of the taiaha, where the left‡The left hand is termed ringa-whangai in the use of the taiaha. hand should grasp it, he shouted to the battalions, ‘It is a kura-takai-puni,§Mr Best, in Vol. XII., p. 78, explains kura takahi puni as a rising together of the whole body when called—a good omen. Another authority explains it as ‘A solid-fronted attack’; and yet another as ‘the main body of an army.’ the enemy cannot break it. When Te Aotaki performed the tohi over me he neither displaced a word nor faltered; and the war-songs‖Whakaaraara were songs to keep the pa on the alert. of Haruruki-te-rangi, Whetuki-ki-te-rangi, and Ueui-ki-te-rangi are omens of valour, omens of success; to-morrow, at break of day, you will hear of it. There is no question but that they will be destroyed; there will be the pa overthrown, the army slaughtered in the one day.’ He was gesticulating before the battalions as if the taiaha would break in pieces in his hands. The battalions kept saying, ‘How could the fame