When the formal greeting was over, we were invited into the _runanga_-house, a spacious building about sixty feet long by thirty broad, in which a number of natives were squatting about in small circles, smoking and playing cards. Te Heuheu of Tokanu, the great _rangatira_ of the Ngatituwharetoa was there--a thick-set, broad-shouldered man, with an austere countenance. He was dressed in European costume, and wore a wide collaret of _kiwi_ feathers round his neck, while beside him sat his two wives, who were likewise habited in what is recognized as the attire of civilized society. I noticed that their dresses were not after the latest Parisian models, but their round hats, made entirely of _kiwi_ feathers, suited their dark countenances admirably. Both had pleasant features, and, like all the women I had seen in the country, were remarkable for their splendid teeth, which were as white and as perfect as Cleopatra's pearls, and seemed to shine in marked contrast to their blue tattooed lips. The chief Mohi, a herculean man, standing about six feet four inches, stood like a statue, wrapped in a blanket, nursing a child, and beside him was Patoro, a chief of the Ngatiraukawa, and, besides these, there were many representative men of the Ngatituwharetoa, Ngatikohera, Ngatiarekawa, Ngatitakaiahi, and Ngatihikera. Besides the natives located in the _runanga_-house there were many camped outside, both in _whares_ and tents, the principal occupation of all being smoking and playing cards, and performing the _tangi_ whenever a new arrival appeared. There was one tall, gaunt old man among the throng, with a fierce-looking, tattooed countenance, and a pointed grey beard, who never moved about without a greenstone _mere_ in his hand, and when afterwards we got into conversation with him, to ascertain the history of this implement, he told us it was the last relic of his tribe, and that the notch at the end of it had been made by cracking an enemy's skull. Judging from the impression made upon the hard stone by the skull, it occurred to me that its owner must have ranked during lifetime as a kind of champion thick-headed savage. Many of the women at this gathering were the finest, both as regards appearance and stature, we had seen during our journey, some of them being perfect giantesses in build. Among the finest and most attractive was Tapare Huia Tauaiti, the daughter of Heure Harawira, a native chief. [Illustration: NATIVE GIRL.]