Corporal Tikitanu, V.C

Corporal Tikitanu, V.C.

The dog-fight was no concern of mine. I was just riding past when my attention was drawn to Henare. He was endeavouring to see fair play for both the combatants. He was very excited over the affair because another Maori, named Wiremu, was hampering one dog by pulling his tail. [pg6] After fruitlessly yelling at Wiremu for some time in classical Maori, Henare suddenly relapsed into pidgin-English, and fired this volley at him: "Py cripes, you te ploomin' ole taurekareka,tinkin' fishall right. You no good for te fight. More better your ole woman drown you in te hot mud hole when you te piccanini. Gar!" This event happened about two years before the Great War broke out, when Henare was eighteen. So it was not surprising that he should have been one of the first of the Waikato tribe to volunteer for service at the front, when he had reached twenty-three. But he had his difficulties. You see [pg7] he had a sweetheart named Kiri, a fine Maori maiden of twenty; and Wiremu wanted her. Henare and Kiri had been sweethearts from early school-days, and they rather laughed at Wiremu's aspirations. But if Henare went to the war, it might be different. During their moonlight rambles along the banks of the dark and silent Waikato river, Henare and Kiri talked the matter over. He said he would enlist if they could be secretly married first. He said he would feel more settled, and more disposed to fight, as his forefathers fought of old, inspired by the love and admiration of his wahine. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 56471
Author: Fussell, J. C. (James Coldham)
Release Date: Jan 31, 2018
Format: eBook
Language: English