pended way', and may refer either to a bridge or a ladder. In this account it is translated as bridge, but it may mean ladder. The second manuscript describes Te Rangikaheke's meeting with a man who must have come from the Pacific Islands. Sir George Grey has entitled it, ‘An address by Te Rangikaheke, a New Zealand Chief, to the inhabitants (imaginary) of Hawaiki.’ The migration traditions tell us that the Maori people came to this country from Hawaiki, and most of the Maori myths are also set in Hawaiki. Myths are sacred stories that help men to understand the nature of the world, and of human life. Before the Europeans came, Maori myths were believed to tell of events which took place in the earliest times, and which determined the nature of things. However, myths have no connection with what we now regard as history. When Pakehas such as Sir George Grey began to study Maori stories, they decided that Hawaiki must be a group of islands somewhere in the Pacific, and that many of the myths were, in fact, historical in the European sense. Learned Maoris such as Te Rangikaheke were very interested indeed when they were told that the whereabouts of Hawaiki was now known, and they became anxious to communicate with the inhabitants of Hawaiki and to learn from them the correct versions of their myths. Since Hawaiki was their homeland, they were sure that its inhabitants must have a superior knowledge of these matters. In this letter addressed to the people of Hawaiki, Te Rangikaheke names various figures that occur in Maori mythology, and asks for further information about them. In the third paragraph, he refers to the mythical battle of Ihumotomotokia. An account of this is to be found on page 138 of Grey's ‘Polynesian Mythology’. When Ngatoroirangi heard that he had been insulted by his brother-in-law Manaia, he returned to Hawaiki and defeated Manaia in a series of battles, of which this was the first. These battles were regarded as setting the precedent for all subsequent fighting in which men have sought to avenge themselves for insults or for earlier defeats. Te Rangikaheke asks why this first battle occurred, apparently believing that if it had not done so, men would have lived in peace. It is rather like asking why Eve, in the Garden of Eden, listened to the serpent. The word ‘wāhu’ is not in Williams' ‘Dictionary of the Maori Language’. It is used in the centre of the North Island and in Northland to refer to a person who has an extremely dark complexion. Here the reference is to such a person who comes from America, a Negro. Te Rangikaheke's letter is unfinished, breaking off in the middle of a sentence. It may be a partial copy of an original letter, or his friend may have sailed for home before it was completed. The manuscript reference for the account of his dream is GNZMMSS 93. The reference for the other manuscript is GNZMMSS 45.

A Dream ākuhata 27, 1850 I te pō o te 27 o ākuhata ka takoto au ki tōku moenga. Ka whakaaro au ki ngā mea mō tōku haerenga atu ki a te Kāwana; ko ngā mea ērā i mahara ai au, kia nui ai ngā kupu e mōhiotia e au mō tana uinga mai ki ahau. Muri iho, ka kamo ōku kanohi. Ka kite au i ētahi tāngata me te kurī anō e haere tahi ana i a rātou. Kāore au i āta mōhio atu he Pākehā rānei tēnā hunga nei, he Māori rānei. Ka mea mai ki ahau, kia whawhai mātou. Ka mea atu ahau, ‘Kāhore, kua mutu ērā tikanga kino o mua. Erangi ko tēnei, me āta whakarite, ka whawhai ai tātou.’ Ka mea mai rātou, ‘Haere mai, me tuhituhi August 27, 1850 On the night of the 27th August I lay on my bed thinking about the things which I would be visiting the Govern. - to discuss; I was pondering these matters so that I might have much to tell him when he questioned me. After a while my eyes closed. I saw some men walking along with a dog. I could not clearly distinguish whether these people were Pakeha or Maori. They said to me, ‘Let us fight!’ I said, ‘No, those evil customs of former days are ended. Let us instead carefully discuss the matter. We can fight later.’ They said, ‘Let a document be written;