There we could not meddle with him, for to have done so would have been to declare war against the powerful Waikato and Ngatimainapoto tribes, who at that time acknowledged no British rule. Moreover, starvation was again staring us in the face, as some rotter in the Government, having a large number of sheep to dispose of, and wool being at a very low price, suddenly discovered it would be cheaper to feed us on mutton than on beef, so flocks of sheep were despatched up to the front instead of herds of oxen. We should not have objected to the change, but alas, the sheep could not travel up the bush paths or swim rivers like oxen, and the few that did arrive were so long on the journey that we well-nigh starved before they reached us. It was therefore absolutely necessary to reduce the strength of the field force, so as Kepa at this time received a message from Topia Turoa, the great chief of the Wanganuis, requesting his presence, as he, Topia, had received a letter from the Maori King, which he refused to open except in Kepa’s presence, the Colonel sent home the splendid Wanganui warriors, and everyone was awfully keen to hear what news this wonderful letter contained. In the meantime we starved, but never for a moment relaxed our vigilance or discontinued our scouting and patrols, as McDonnell knew full well that the least slackness on our part would encourage the wily Te Kooti to play us some dog’s trick or another. At last we heard the purport of the King’s letter to Topia, and as it throws light on some queer phases in old Maori etiquette I will tell you all about it. The Maoris were the most hospitable people in the world, being bound to defend their guests, as their guests were bound to fight for their hosts. On this occasion, however, Te Kooti was, if not originally, an unwelcome guest, yet had misbehaved himself to such an extent that his Maori Majesty heartily wished to get rid of him, as he feared that he would attract such a following as to enable him, Te Kooti, to set up an opposition kingdom. Nevertheless, although quite strong enough himself to eject the artful dodger from the Waikato, yet the laws of hospitality forbade him to act as his own chucker-out, and he therefore wrote to Topia stating that he, the King, withdrew his protection from Te Kooti and requested Topia to immediately assist Kepa in driving the murderers of women and children from the Waikato. This was nuts to Topia, as he sadly wanted utu for his old blood relation, Hona, the insignificant old man the Hau Haus had wilfully murdered shortly after they had played old gooseberry with the volunteer troopers at Opepe.