hunting at Moehau; this district used to belong to Ngati Paoa before Ngati Maru became so numerous. They set off, and they came to a tree, a rewarewa, to which there was attached a rounded object. It was a calabash. The men cut it down and claimed it as their own.

They went further on, and came to a place where the path was blocked by supplejack; the supplejack was still growing, but it had been bent round by the fairies so as to form an enclosure within which they lived. Inside the fence there were rangiora and all kinds of other plants, where they had their home.

The five men continued on their way and caught their pig, a fat one. They cut it up and divided the pieces amongst them, carrying them on their backs. When they came to the calabash they had claimed, one of them took it on his back.

Soon he was not able to stay awake. He sat down and rested because of the weight, then went on, then rested again. His companions called, ‘Hurry up, friend!’

He said, ‘Friends, it is because my load is so heavy!’

He knew it was the fairies that were weighing him down, but the men could not see the fairies, for they were spirits; they were furious because their calabash had been cut down. So the five men abandoned the calabash, and finally reached their village.

By now it was dark. They hung up their pig—it was a fat one. Next morning they cooked it, and when the oven was opened there was nothing but skin and bone—there was no flesh at all. They knew then that the fairies were persecuting them because of the calabash they had cut down.

When night fell, the fairies came to the village of Ngati Rongoi and dragged out the man who had carried the calabash. The fairies were very strong indeed; the man held on to a tree, but it was pulled right out of the ground. He took hold of another tree, but it was also pulled from the ground. They carried him to the water, and they drowned him. Then they went back to the village and attacked and killed the other four men.

My friend, do not imagine that Moehau is now free from tapu—no, the peak is still tapu. No man since Tamatekapua has ever attained the peak, though it may be that Governor Grey will do so.