BEFORE THE CAMP FIRE:

Auckland Star, Volume V, Issue 1492, 21 November 1874, Page 5 (Supplement)

BEFORE THE CAMP FIRE:

t Stoby op the Hew Zealand War.

i" r AITTBN FOB THE " STAR" StIfPiEMEKT BY A { ' "l" YOCJUO LaDV.] ?At the time the war with the natives broke out in 1845, I and another were engaged in gum digging a few miles from an English settlement on the eastern coast of the Northern Island of New Zealand. The settlement, one of the earliest founded in the history of the colony, ■was situated on the shoves of a magnificent bay, surrounded by lofty hills, some covered with forests to their very summit, others smooth and grassy as a plain. The Inhabitants v/ere engaged in trade and agriculture, and the little village was rapidly growing into a flourishing town, with shops and hotels and comfortable, if not exactly elegant buildings, in short nothing but peace was wanted to ensure its growth and prosperity.

I and my companion had been seamen on board a merchantman trading between London and Sydney, but at the latter place we had deser-ted, and succeeded In making our escape to New Zealand. My companion was a Frenchman, and like myself, had been respectably born and tolerably well educated. He was short, fat, and puffy in appearance, and eccentric in his taste and manner, but the very embodiment of good nature, jollity and fun ; in fact, two more jolly chums never dwelt together in the glory of bachelorhood, and in the depths of a lone forests than my friend Henri Lamonte and myself Dick Thompson. Our jovial life had lasted for a few months when an outbreak among the natives threatened to put a stop to it for a time. A lai-ge body of Maoris under a celebrated chief was i-eportecl to be lying in ambush somewhere in the vicinity of the village, which was in imminent danger of being attacked ; and it became necessary for the safety of our lives to abandom our whare and small possessions,and take refuge in the village.

One night under cover of the dark ness, each aivned with a loaded gun and a bowie tnife stuck in our belts, we made the attempt to reach the village. The sky was starless and black with heavy clouds, the air intensely still and oppresively close. Not a leaf or bird stirred as my compauion and I strode on through the forest ; only rthe cry of the morepork or the snapping of twigs beneath our feet broke the deathless silence. The distance was nearly accomplished, and we had neither seen nor heard anything to arouse our fears; another turn in the path would have brought us within sight of the lights in the village, when suddenly my companion stopped and grasped my arm. " Hist," he whispered, " I hear a noise. It sounds much of talking." I listened intently; a low murmur of deep voices not far from us was distinctly atidible. We gazed round fearfully, suddenly my eyes detected a dim white cloud slowly ascending upwards, tinged with red, evidently the smoke of some fire. We came to a halt, and grasped our weapons tightly. " Look here, Henri," I said in a hoarse whisper, " there's an encampment of natives not far from us. We must beat a retreat."

Too late! Scarcely had the words left my lips ere two dusky forms sprang up from the fern and pushed upon us, I fired blindly at my antagonist, and a yell that almost froze my blood, he fell at my very feet; my friend had also fired, but without effect, and was now struggling in the grasp of apowerfnl savage. The yell of my fallen foe had roused his comrades ; and before I could render him any assistance a body of natives came rushing through a narrow defile, with savage whoops and war cries, carrying lighted torches in their hands,, and in a moment we were surrounded and taken prisoners. I expected to be instantly despatched, but a few words from one who appeared to be the chief,wewere tightly bound to a tree with strips of flax, while the natives held a consultation among themselves, and then, to our astonishment, they all disappeared by the same way they had come, taking no further notice of us. In a few minutes the glare of the torchlight had vanished, and we were again left in utter darkness and profound stillness, . J( "Of this I see not the meaning, murmurmed Henri, « for vat are ye left here ; it is mischief they are about, I compi'ehend." "They will return, Henri," I said, " and then I expect we shall be put death without mercy, if only to avenge the death of their comrade."

Two hours or so, as well as we could judge, had passed, and there was no sign of the return of our captors. Suddently the deep hush of fche night was broken by the discharge of musketry in the direction of the village, followed by muffled shrieks and cries, which were borne distinctly to our ears through the still air.

" Good God !" 1 ejaculated, "there is some dreadful scene going on there; the savages must be at attacking the village. When they have finished their bioody work there, they -will return and butcher us, doubtless." The rest of the night passed in awful suspend, and fear. We were stiff from our cramped position, and chilled to the bone with heavy dews; never surely was dawn so longed for, and

hailed so gladly. The sun rose at last, and shone cheerly over the silent hills and the tops of the stately forests ; but now the sky was illuminated by an omir.oas glave in the direction of the township, which told its own tale plainly enough, though the wild cries and screams we had heard during the night had long ceased.

Some hours had passed when the natives returned, laden with articles which had evidently heen plundered from the village, and bearing traces of a bloody fray upon their persons. "We were then unloosed, and set in the midst of a level space, when they performed the war dance round us; this over we were offered some food, which appeared to be part of the plunder. We were then again bound to a tree, while the tribe squatted at a little distance, and were harangued by tall tatooed native of distinguished appearance, with a tuft of feathers in his hair, and sharks teeth dangling from his ears. I understood a little of the Maori language, but could gather nothing from his speech, but that our fate was shortly to be decided by some one still higher in authority than himself. After it was over, the tribe was again set in motion, and we with our hands securely fastened behind us, were marched along by the side of our captors, closely -watched. The route taken was even wholly unknown to us, and the density of the trees prevented me from seeing anything of the surrounding country. After a march of several miles we came to a strongly fortified pa, situated on the the top of a slight elevation, from which a glimpse of the sea through the forests could be obtained. Outside the pa were groups of other natives engaged in cooking by several huge fires. Our captors were received with songs and shouts of welcome and rejoicing, and much congratulation appeared to be passing on both sides. My 'companion and myself were then again secured to a tree near one of the entrances to the pa, and only a few feet from an enormous fire, round which several of the natives were cooking, while others squatted at a little distance.

"We shall be killed and ate," murmured my companion in a wailing tone. " I have much fear that ye are intended to be 7-oasted at this very fire."

I bad fears of a similar nature myself, and watched the movements of the natives with intense anxiety. Theirhalf-nude, stalwart forms, tattooed savage faces, smeared with red ochre oil, and only the tufts of feathers in their hair, the shark's teeth in their ears, and the tomahawks swinging at their girdles, made tip a picture sufficiently calculated to strike terror into our hearts; bi.it as yet they appeared to ha.ye no hostile intentions towards us. When they sat down to their own meals we also were supplied with a basket of potatoes and some kind of flesh, and our hands unloosed. The potatoes we ate with a relish, but the other we left untouched, knowing that it was in all probability human flesh. At nightfall we were taken within the pa, which was divided into courts, and there guarded by two natives armed with guns and tomahawks. The other natives also retreated into the pa, and rolling themselves in their blankets, dropped down one by one upon the floor, and soon all was stillness and darkness, save for the gleam of the watch-fires without. My companion and I conversed in low whispers, trying to devise some means of escape, which, however, seemed wholly impossible. The two natives, squatting at our feet, were watching our every moment, and a single cry from them would have raised a hundred sleeping warriors round us. "We may have an opportunity for escape in the morning Henri," said I, " or maybe the pa will be attacked and captured by the troops; anyhow we'll have to wait till morning. "Of escape there vill be no vay •" moaned the little Frenchman. "Ye shall be kept and fatted and ate. To-morrow you vill see."

"They will not need to keep you long, Henri," suggested I; " you are in pretty good condition already." " Oh, mon Dieu, mon Dieu," gasped Henri ; " vat you say is true. lam too much fat, it is too true," oh for vhy did I come to this heathen country to be cooked and eat in this vay ! Oh, that is horrible ! helas.

Neither of us slept a wink the whole of that long night. Morning broke at last calm and sunny. We were left alone within the pa, securely bound, while the others went outside. Food was brought to us again as before, and in such large quantities that my friends apprehensions of being fatted for eating were uncomfortably heightened. Some hours after this we were marched to the outside of the pa, and then at the command of a' ferocious looking chief, denuded of our entire clothing, and placed opposite each other at either side of a fierce fire, while the whole tribe gathered round. Their intentions were only too soon evident. Our feet were tied together, and our hands fastened behind our backs ; then fresh fuel was piled upon the fire, while the natives leaped and danced and shouted round

us in expectant glee. The woe-begone countenance of my friend as he contemplated these preparations would have tickled my fancy if I had not; been so seriously involved jn the same danger,

"Was ever anything so horrible," wailed he, "Ye are going to be roast alive. He bon Dieu help us; this is vorse than to be eat."

The flames leaped fiercely up, and the heat grew momently more intense. The perspiratio n streamed out at every pore, our skin grew red and blistered, the very hair upon our heads seemed to shrivel and creep. In vain we strove to wriggle ourselves away from the blazing heap, while the exultation of our tormentors rose to its height. But just as human endurance had reached its limits, we found ourselves released, and dragged beyond the influence of tbe fire. Our clothing was then handed to us. and to our astonish tnent the gruff voice of the chieftain told us we were free, and bade us depart at once. We lost no time in obeying his command, and plunged into the forest at once, not waiting even to adjust our garments upon our smarting bodies. Our delight at our unexpected release was boundless, and my little friend in particular laughed and chattered as surely as only a Frenchman can; but we seemed only to have escaped one danger to fall into another. We lost our way in the forest, night overtook us, and we were obliged to camp out," tired and hungry, and afraid to light a fire for fear of being again captured. The next day we came across a creek, and by following its course at length reached the sea. We kept along the shore in a southward direction resolving to try and reach the capital. For clays and days we wandered on, suffering untold hardships submitting on fern-roots, shell fish and berries, and in constant fear and peril of being seeu and killed by hostile natives, but at length we reached the town, two gaunt and haggard beings, more like spectres than living men. There we heard that the little village had been plundered and burnt by the Maoris, and several of the troops killed, but that the inhabitants had succeeded in escaping to the man-of-war laying in the bay, which had brought them on to town, and then returned with a reinforcement of soldiers. Tiie Avar was brought to a termination soon after, but neither Henri nor I went back to our former location, though settlers flocked again to the ruined village, which rapidly regained something of its former prosperity. My friend went back to his own country, and I entered her Majesty's navy. 1 have had many adventures since then by flood and field, and many narrow escapes of my life, but never one that surpassed in horror the night I spent in the native pa, nor the roasting I experienced before the samp fire.