gether, have to be sharpened and made ready. These will be used to peg down the hinakis.

Lake Mouth Closes at Right Moment Throughout the ages, the mouth of Wairarapa Moana has paid homage to its eel migration by obligingly closing its mouth at the end of February or the beginning of March. Legend records that Rakai Uru, the taniwha who is the caretaker of the lake, is responsible for this seasonal closing. Rakai Uru takes the form of a large totara log. When the migration is about to take place he makes a journey out to sea, and the mouth of the lake closes behind him. Legend also mentions that the taniwha Rakai Uru pays a visit to Lake Ellismere in the South Island. After Wairarapa Moana has been closed for about a week, the eels begin to migrate downstream. There are four species of eels (tuna). They are the hao (also known to the local Maoris as the King eels), the riko, the paranui and the kokopu tuna.

Always in the Same Order To my way of thinking, one of the most wonderful things about this migration is that they never go down to the mouth out of their turn. The first to make the journey are the haos; next come the rikos, then the paranuis, and last of all the kokopu tuna. The eel traps are set about a chain and a half from the water's end (see diagram). The water here should be a little over a chain in width, and should take about eight baskets altogether. Five of these are on the side where the beach is, and three are on the landward side. This leaves an open channel somewhat under half a chain in width. As stated previously, the tawiri (net) is fastened around the mouth of the hinaki (basket). Six poles are driven into the water to hold open the mouth of the tawiri. These face into the water, and care must be taken to see that there are no gaps between them, so that eels cannot avoid going into the baskets. Each hinaki is fastened by a rope to a pole behind it. The whole concern is then tightened up with the rope, and this movement opens up the tawiri.

They Come Down in Thousands When the run of eels begins, they come down in thousands—one wonders where they all come from. They pass through the channel as thick as the channel can hold them. When they reach the sand bar at the entrance of the lake they fan out on both sides, for they cannot go back the way they have come. In this manner the eels are pushed into the tawiri, and they end up trapped inside the hinaki. The baskets are set just before sunset, and are taken out in the early hours of the morning. When the big hinakis are full of eels they hold about five sacksful; ropes are placed beneath them and brought back over the top, and the hinakis are then rolled ashore by hauling on the top end of the rope. A good catch should fill between forty and sixty large sacks. Another method of catching these tunas is to dig a large pit in the sand, about 10 yards from the end of the lake. A ditch is then dug from the lake to the pit, and as soon as the water starts to run into it, the eels swim into the pit. When the pit is full of eels the far end of the ditch is closed up, and the eels are left high and dry. This method should produce four or five sacks of eels every time the pit is opened. It is especially effective when a good