I te po ano o maua i piki ake ai ki te pa nei, po kau ano ka puta au ki waho ki te marae nei, ka karanga atu au ki te iwi o te pa nei, ka mea, “E kore e huna atu e au, maku taku tane; naku taku i kite i Puponga, a, ko konei au moe ai i taku tane. No Rarotonga a ia, no Takapuna au; ma koutou e mohio mai.” Heoi ano, ka moe maua, he mea hoki kua kiia e au ki enei o aku matua, kua pono ki to mua tikanga. ‘Rongo kau ano koa era i Takapuna, me era i Rarotonga i a maua kua moe, a, kahore nei i taka he hakari pakuha ma te iwi, ka tu te weri (riri) o aua iwi, ara, nga hapu o Nga-iwi. A, i a maua e noho ana i te pa nei, ka hoe mai aku whanaunga i Takapuna, ka huakina te taua ki konei; huaki rawa ake, hore kau he tangata o te pa nei, kua poto ki te marara noa atu, ki te kohi pipi i Onehunga, ki te hi ika i Manukau, ki te wero manu i Titirangi, ki te tiki kuku i te akau, huaki kau ana, ko te pa anake He kuia nei, he koroheke nei nga mea i rokohanga mai e noho ana i konei. Ka murua e ratou nga rua kumara, ka kainga nga pataka roi, ka maua nga hinaki tuna, me nga kupenga hao kanae, a, hoki ana, pahure kau ano era. I taua ra ano, ka tae ake te taua o Rarotonga, tae kau ake, e haere ana te taua o Takapuna i te ara e heke atu ai i te pa nei ki Waipapa, a, ko taua taua o Rarotonga nei i wawau kau noa iho, hore he mea mana e rarahu ai, ka noho, ka korero ki nga kuia ra, me nga koroheke, a, hoki kau ana. ‘Ka noho nei maua ko taku ariki, a, ka mea nei a Puhihuia a, he aha ianei te kotiro ra te rite ai ano ki a au? E kore te para o ana tupuna e makere (ngahoro) i a ia. Ka pono i a ia tana kupu e ki mai nei ki te mea ka tohe tatou ki a ia kia hoki mai, a, ka tikina ka tauatia, ka toia mai ano ki konei, e kite ora atu tatou i te ra kotahi, a, kite rawa ake ano i te Reinga; e kore tana e heke i ta tatou.’ Ka tu he kuia nei ki runga, ko te matua o te taitamaiti i korero ra i te timatanga o te hui i hui nei ki te whare manuwhiri, ka mea, ‘Ae, ano he tika te kupu a te whaea o Puhihuia e ki nei, otira he iwi wawau nga tamariki tane o te pa nei. Tautini noa te kotiro ra e noho ana i a tatou, a, hore kau nei he tamaiti kotahi i tata atu ki a ia. Katahi ano te uri o te mokai ma! E ki ana koia koutou ma te mata taramore koutou ka moea ai e te wahine? He aha a Ponga i kiia ai he tino tangata? Na te moko took my husband. As I had proclaimed aloud to these my elders what I intended to do, I had done all that ancient custom demanded of me. ‘When the people of Takapuna and Rarotonga heard that we were married and that I had not given the customary pa-kuka feast for the tribe, those people (Nga-iwi) were furious with me; and while we were living in the pa here, my relatives from Takapuna came with a war-party and attacked this pa; but when they attacked it they found it deserted. All the people had gone away to gather cockles at Onehunga, to fish in the Manukau, to spear birds at Titirangi, and to collect mussels on the sea-coast. When they attacked, the pa was deserted. Some old women and old men were all they found living here. The war-party plundered the kumara storehouses and ate the dried fern-root from the stages on which it was kept; they took the eel-baskets, and the nets for catching mullet. They went back, and just as they were leaving, on this same day, a war-party from Rarotonga appeared. As they came up, the Takapuna party was disappearing down the track to Waipapa. The Rarotonga party talked and uttered threats, but there was nothing for them to take, so they sat down and talked to the old men and women, then went away empty-handed. ‘I and my lord lived together; and now that Puhihuia has acted for herself, I cannot wonder that she has followed my example. The spirit of her ancestors will never fail her. She will do as she has said. We are told that she has spoken thus: if we go and attempt to take her by force and drag her back here, we shall see her but one day in this life, and we shall not see her after till we meet her in the world of the spirits. She will not give in to what we demand.’ An old woman, the mother of the young chief who spoke first at the opening of the meeting, now rose and said, ‘Yes, the words of Puhihuia's mother are true; but the young chiefs of this pa are stupid. Puhihuia has been with us for a long time and not one young man approached her. Yes, you descendants of slaves! Do you think that you who have bare, untattooed faces will ever gain a wife? Why is that Ponga is said to be a very noble-looking man? He is tattooed, and he looks grand. Yes, it is quite right that you should lose your noble young woman.’ Others spoke; but it was the young people who had most to say. The elders all agreed that since Puhihuia had found one to her own