RECOLLECTIONS OF THE ARMED CONSTABULARY.

Bruce Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 1227, 6 August 1880, Page 5

RECOLLECTIONS OF THE ARMED CONSTABULARY.

(Written expressly for the, Bruoe-H^rahb.); No. 3.— INCIDENTS OF THE WAR IN . i k ■ ■■' ■ TARAN&.KL '■'■'■«'■' '. iE&rly. in 1868, the Maoris were in arms, ' On the East Coast; after the horrible massacre in the Poverty Bay District, To Kodtr and his Hauliaus, had' almost complete possession ', while oh the West, Tito Kowaru and his followers roamed over a large tract of country,, burning settlers' homesteads, killing and torturing, and committing every revolting outrage which their savagely cruel natures" prompted. The redoubt of Thru Tutu Mokaii was the scene of a most treacherous massacre. The Maoris in the vicinity of this redoubt were not suspected to be other than friendly, and were therefore allowed to frequent the canteen, and stroll about the place! at their pleasure. Captain Ross, the officer in charge, was so far from apprehending danger that he was in the habit; of sleeping in a hut entirely outside the redoubt. On the day of the attack, the Natives were actually drinking and auiusiog themselves with the Constabulary -^somewhat remotely after the fashion of Glenlyon and his men before the memorable massacre of the Macdonalds at Glencoe. At midnight, 300 Natives rushed the redoubt, and so completely was the unsuspecting garrison taken by surprise that many of the poor fellows were murdered in cold blood while asleep in their tents. Captain Ross was killed on the bridge leading into the redoubt while gallantly endeavoring to reach his men. Corporal Burrows and five of the guard, " The remnant that survived," succeeded in gaining an angle of the redoubt which afforded good protection, and from which they could, without exposing themselves, repel any attack so long as their ammunition lasted. The Maoris, after finishing the rest of the garrison, commenced to mine under the wall, in order to dislodge and make an end of the survivors. Upon observing this, Corporal Burrows, who was dressed simply in his shirt, losing his head, jumped over the wall into the ditch beyond where the Maoris wer3 mining, and although many shots were fired at him, he escaped in the darkness. For this he was afterwards reduced to the ranks for cowardice. The remaining five held out against fearful odds, until at last the enemy withdrew, fearing the advance of reinforcements. The firing was heard at Hunter's camp, about nine miles dis» tant. and Major Hunter, instead of starting at once with the mounted men as he should have done, despatched Major Yon Temsky with the foot, and ordered the cavalry to bait their horses before setting out. This was a great error. Had the cavaliy been sent without delay, the Maoris would have been caught in open country suited to cavalry, and a severe lesson would undoubtedly have been inflicted upon them. The relief came in time to save the survivors, but too laic to punish the Natives, they having taken to the bush before it arrived. It is said that Major Hunter afterwards displayed reckless bravery, aud nobly redeemed this mistake with his life. A. curious fate befel Corporal Burrows, whom I have mentioned. He was a noted athlete, excelling in feats of running and jumping. Jn 1870, he and a few others were " skylarking " at the Gate Pah, near Tauranga, and Burrows, picking up a shell which had not exploded, said he would set it off and leap away before it could harm him. His comrades endeavored to dissuade him from attempting so hazardous a feat, but he insisted, protesting he could do it easily .enough. Lighting a match, he leaned forward, and, stretching out his hand, dropped the match upon the remnants of the fuse. He then essayed to jump back, but before he could get out of the road, the shell exploded, killing him instantaneously. Shortly after the Turu Turn Mokau affair, the brave Von Temsky and his men were surrounded and shot down at Ngutu O Te Manu, chiefly through not being properly supported by Colonel M'Donnell. After Von Temsky's dfiath, his division mutinied, refusing to serve under M'Donnell, and they were discharged. The rebel chief Tito Kowaru had possession of the country from the Patea River to within a few miles of Wanganui. He was so elated with his successes — or excesses, as we would term them — that he boastfully sent a message to Wangauui intimating that he had made up his mind to dine at the Rutland Hotel on Christ-mas-day. The old ruffian did not accomplish his sociable intention. In December, 1868, I, in common with thirty other miners whom fortune had deserted on the West Coast Goldfields, volunteered for " The Front," as the flaming posters issued by the Defence Ofiice stated in large capitals. We were sent to Wellington, where we joined a draft of 200 men from Melbourne, and then steamed off to Wanganui. Upon arriving at the latter place, we were served out rifles, accoutrements, ammunition, and great coats, and marched off to Westmere, the headquarters for the time being, under the command of Colonel Lyon. There were about 600 of vs — nearly all recruits — in the Camp, and a very motley lookiug crew we were, although " I say it as should'nt." Still, I believe we were just the stamp of men suited to bush warfare, most of us having learnt what it is to "rough it." There was no distinctive uniform j it would, indeed, have been difficult to distinguish the officers frcm the men, had not most of the former worn shawls, and a few of the mote dandified sported a little silver lace. We were put through a course of drill, preparatory to attacking Tito Kowaru's stioughold, Ngu-

kumara, and after a fortnight's instruction, I was sent with a lot more to -Woodalls Redoubt, where we -formed a garrison of sixty, under the charge of Captain Mc Donald. The redoubt was built close to the Kai Iwi river, on the Wanganui side. There we remained inactive for a month, waiting until the other troops were ready advance. During that time it was a daily occurrence for the Maoris to fire 'hpon us from the opposite heights, while we were parading at a distance of about one thousand yards. - The • distance was so great that save one or tvfo trifling wounds, very little damage was done. Yet we all felt uneasy at being made a target of even at that distance, arid ,toj make matters more uncomfortable, -we were not allowed to sally out, or even indulge in long range practise at the enemy. Settlers whe wished to cross the' river had to! report themselves to Captain McDonald, as thereVas great danger of the constabulary mistaking them for Maoris, and firing upon them. One morning a party of four settlers received permission to cross, as they wished to lay an ambuscade for the Maoris, who had stolen a lot of cattle. They had lain in ambush once before, and shot three Maoris. This time they .crossed, planted their horses in the scrub, *and then concealed themselves in a favorable position. They remained there all day, until they began to think there was no chance of the Maoris turning up, and. wearied with waiting, they came out of their hiding place, walking towards the scrub, where their steeds were tied. When within fifty yards of the spot, about forty Maoris popped out, and fired a volley at them, luckily without hitting one. We heard the sound of the firing in the redoubt, and every man was turned out under arms at once. Upon looking across the river we saw the settlers running for life, and the dark forms of the enemy clearly outlined against the sky, in pursuit. It was an exciting chase, the sight sending a thrill through our veins. The Maoris kept up a running fire, and the settlers now ran, and then rolled down the declivity in order to escape the shots. We opened fire, and to a certain extent covered the escape of the fugitives. Several men volunteered to cross the river, and charge, but the officers would not permit this, as stiict orders had been given not to attack the enemy unless attacked by them, and settlers, of course, did not count. We bad therefore to look tamely on, watching the result, and grinding our teeth with vexation However, " all's well that ends well." Three of the settlers reached the redoubt unharmed, and the fourth, who had hidden in the long toi grass, turned up all right several hours afterwards. The settlers laid no more ambuscades in that locality. In January 1868 Colonel Whitmore, in conjunction with Colonels Fraser and St. John, stormed — and after a stubborn defence by TeKooti — took Ngatapa, on the East Coast ; Te Kooti escaping to the King country. Colonel Whitmore returned to Wanganui to direct the operations against Ngukumara. The troops under his command comprised four divisions of the Constabulary, numbering 800 men ; the Kai Iwi cavalry, under Mr Bryce, the present Native Minister ; the Wanganui cavalry, under Captaiu Finnimore, and about 200 friendly Natives, commanded by Major Kemp. Attached to this force was a company of Scouts, under Captain Maling. They proved invaluable on the march, as they were always in advance, stopping occaionally and reporting. On the morning of the 26th, six of them were out shortly after daybreak digging potatoes in a field about 400 yards from the camp. They had filled their kits and were returning, when the Maoris fired upon them from the cover of the bush. Three of the Scouts ran towards the camp, but. one of them named M'Kenzie fell shot through the back, and a Maori coming 'up, tomahawked him across the forehead. Poor fellow ! He had sold his horse the previous day, in order to send the money to his wife and little ones in Canterbury, and had joined the scouts for the sake of the extra pay ! Another was wounded in the leg, but managed to bobble along, and the other, getting behind a fence, kept firing away " like a brick." The other three laid down between the potato drills, and opened fire with their repeating rifles upon the Maoris, of whom seven or eight only came out of cover. Thee imp was alarmed by the first fire, every one rushed to the scene, pell-mell, in a manner that beggared description. No command was given, and no order observed. I picked up my rifle, and ran out of camp just as M'Kenzie was tomahawked in the face of the whole force. Meeting dimming, the wounded Scout, he pointed out that I had forgotten my belts and ammunition, so I had to bolt back again, and many others in the excitsiient started before they were ready. When I rejoined the rest, they were pouring a heavy fire into the bush, which the enemy returned with interest We could only judge their whereabouts by the reports and occasional puffs of smoke which were visible. Major, now Colonel, Roberts called for volunteers to charge through the bush, and forty of us stepped out and followed him. We had not penetrated far when the Major discovered that the number was reduced to six ; the firing being so hot, and the scrub so thick, that the rest retreated much quicker than they advanced. One man, named M'Farlane, fell dead at my side, shot through the heart, and several others were wounded. This was the first time I was under anything like decent fire, and, to tell the truth, I did not feel well. We could not see ten yards in front, and to add to our discomfort, the men on the outside of the bush were firing into it, I apparently oblivions of the fact that we were in the direct line of their fire. Our little party of six were in a regular fix

(the rhyme is not intentional). The bullets were smsliing through the ferriimd ' scrub from the front and rear, and so great* was the danger of retiring that we lay down behind a log uhtil' the "cease firing" : was sounded. At length, much to our relief, we got out of the bush safely. The force was by this time tinder command, arid an advance was made in skirmishing order under a heavy but ineffective fire from the bush. Few casualties happened, as neither side could see the other. Another man and myself crawled along to -bend in a track leading down a main gully, and, squatting behind a clump of fern, commenced firing wherever we spied a puff of smoke. The general method of firing was to load lying down, arid then stand up and shoot. It was kind of sickening. No enemy to be seen, yet the balls were whistling past us, sometimes tearing up the earth at our feet, at others nipping the fern which waved gracefully 1 over our heads. In a shore titnethe firing slackened, and the enemy slowly retreated, performing the wai dance. We could not see them at this hideous dance, but we heard the yells with which they accompanied their movements, and that was quite enongh for me. I felt bad. One could almost fancy the leading fiends of hell had been set at liberty to vent their fury upon earth for a while. The woods rang again and again with these unearthly cries, the sounds dying away in faint echoes, which, distant as they seemed, made my flesh creep. I sometimes fancy I can hear those yells yet. We followed the enemy a short distance, and found many traces of blood but no bodies, as these were generally carried off. It was a lucky thing for our division that the scouts were attacked that morning, as we were under orders to march at 5 o'clock, and had we walked into the trap that was evidently prepared for us, the slaughter would have been dreadful. Three days after this brush, we advanc* ed and invested Ngukumara, and in two days more the great stronghold fell. The chase after the one-eyed chieftain Tito Kowaru lasted some months longer, but resulted in little except surprises and ambuscades, to chronicle which would require more time and space thau I have at my disposal. I will give one instance. A party of eleven men, under Sergeant Meuzies, crossed the Waitotara River in quest of peaches. When they reached the grove they thoughtlessly left their rifles at the edge of it, and commenced gathering the fruit. While engaged eating their fill and filling their kits (no joke intended), a number of Maoris stealthily approached and fired upon them, killing three by the first fire. The survivors scattered and fled towards the river. Menzies and four others reached tbe canoe, and there they were killed — their bodies being mutilated in a shocking manner. The rest were shot in the river, only one escaping to tell the tale. Some of the Natives engaged in this massacre were afterwards in Government service engaged in the celebrated chase after Te Kooti in 1870 and 1871. Indeed, I heard one wretch named Kereopa boasting that he had killed poor Menzies. During the campaign there was no hand to hand or close fighting, the enemy taking advantage of every cover, and keeping at a respectful distance. Our division was commanded by Colonel Lion, a brave and skilful officer. Although he has only one arm, he could load and fire his breech-loader as well as any of us. At one time the camp was literally infested with what I observe a contributor of yours terms " Scotch Greys." Every man was covered with them. One officer complained to Colonel Whitmore about the pest, but that gentleman silenced him by laconically pointing to his (the Colonel's) shawl. So used had we become to the nuisance that we thereafter looked upon this officer as being rather fas-* tidious !