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very careful in regard to their genealogical records.* While Rutherford was in New Zealand some terrible slaughters took place in the Poverty Bay district, but he does not refer to these, although they must have been one of the principal subjects of conversation amongst the Maoris for months, perhaps years. Near the end of the narrative, Rutherford gives an account of a great battle, in which the chief Hongi was a prominent figure. His description of what took place is incorrect in several respects. Victory went to Hongi, not, as Rutherford says, to the people of Kaipara and their allies, although they were victorious in the first skirmish. The battle is known as Te Ika-a-rangi-nui, that is the Great Fish of the Sky or the Milky Way, and it took place in February, 1825. As Rutherford states, Hongi was present, and wore the famous coat of mail armour which had been given to him by His Majesty King George IV. when he was in England in 1820. The strife was caused not by an attempt to steal Hongi’s armour, as Rutherford suggests, but by a thirst for revenge for the death of a chief of the Nga-Puhi tribe, to which Hongi belonged. The chief Whare-umu, evidently identical with *At my request, Mr. S. Percy Smith, the author of “Hawaiki, the Original Home of the Maori,” endeavoured to trace “Aimy,” but even his extensive knowledge of the Maori language and tribal histories failed to bring that man to light. Mr. Smith explains that “Ai” in Rutherford’s spelling represents “E,” a vocative, in the accepted method of spelling, and “my” represents ”mai.” The two words, combined, would be “E Mai.” In this way, “Mai’s” attention would be called. But “Mai” may be the first, second, or third syllable of a man's name, according to euphony. The name supplied in the narrative, therefore, is no guide in a search for Rutherford’s friendly chief.
