A NARRATIVE OF SOME! NATIVE TROUBLESIN TARANAKI

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10381, 26 June 1899, Page 5

A NARRATIVE OF SOME! NATIVE TROUBLESIN TARANAKI

FEOM 1854 TO 1859. (By Majob Pabsis, op New Pmtmooth, laxb Cm& Commissiosbb.) Early in the year 1854, at Manawapou, situated to the south, of Cape Egmont, in the country of the Ngatiruanui, a meeting ,pf Maori chiefs was held in a> large building ■which, had been erected for the purpose, and to which was given the name Xaiporohentti, or "The Rajfcraioing of the Great JEvil." As the result of this meeting, in which, & ; prominent part was taken by Jtfatene to . Whiwhi, a NgatiJr&uk&wa. chief from. Ot&ki, ' a, pledge was elicited from those present to support an Anti-Laud Selling League. A large majority of the Maoris in. the Taranaki district allied themselves with the League, which decreed that any, native, who offered to sell land should, if he persisted ia the sale, be put to death. The first result of this movement was the massacre of the Puketapu"' chief Rawix* ~ / Waiaua, and six others, by Katatore, alar* "'-'" a chief of the Puketapu, and his followers^.in July 1854. ' Ifc\is, however, due to Katatore to say that he tried to avert the calamity without breaking his,pledge to support the Land League. Rawiri had offered to sell a' emaE block of land to the Government, and was to define its limits by cutting , * ■ boundary lines. This was publicly known, and Katatore soot a messenger to Ra.wiri desiring him not to attempt it/ and warning him of the consequences if he did so. Rawiri, relying upon Jus cUeftainabip, fixed - . the day for cutting the boundary. On the evening before this day Katatore sent a gun to Rawiri, with a" message that he, should come armed, as he, Katatore, would meet" him with an armed party. Kawiri and his party went unarmed and were met at the spot where the cutting of the boundary was to Commence by' Katafcore'e armed party. The latter fired & -volley into the air and re-loaded. Then, eedng Rawiri's party advancing, they fired a, volley at them, killing Bawiri himself and -six others. From this • time until 1859 tie disturbed state of the distriot was tine cause of gresub anxiety to /- the settlers, aa armed parties of natives were constantly running' about close to the - settlers' houses, and even through the town of . New. Plymouth. . \ Soon after this., affair a Puketapu chief ; named Arama Tfo.rfi.lrft. returned from the South to take the part of Rawiri'e relatives against katatore. "Ttfo fortified pas were now; occupied by Arama Karaka, and- Ikainoana,. occupied by Ihaia. Kiri- •» ktmHtta, aa Otarawa-chief firom ■ Waitara.* Katatore also built two pas, the, Tima and another, and from the rival fortresses each ■ party kept watch on the 'dither's movements. -" Amibuecades, too, were planted, and sallies ; •' made, and in the skirmishing which, follow ed there were casualties on both sides. Katatore had recourse to an ancient"-cus-tom- of applying for support by Toafeting one . end of a potato and sending it td .the Ngatiruanui natives, who, for -the most part, re-, fused to commit themeelvesNjy biting the roasted end, stating that they would not • •„ be mixed up in the quarrels of the Puke-, tapus. Piripi, eon of .the, ohief Te Rei Hanataua, was the only.one in favour of going to the assistance' , of'Katatore, and , he bit off the roasted-,end.of>ihe potato., , •. After this act, according" to the ancient super- - ■ stitition, he could not retract, but woe bound to go. The tribe, hofrevfr, refused to accompany him, and he left with' about sis followers. On bis arrival At Kaipakopako, Katatore'a pa, there was a lull in the hostile movements of the opposing parties/• who, - were engaged in their .plantations. On one v. occasion Katatore's people were so engaged > ,v and Piripi, who was with ihem, strolled away some distance aad, failing into an ambuscade, was killed. On the news getting to Piripi's tribe a war party was soon made up, seven hundred strong, to go and revenge Piripi's death. Before their arrival, but, on getting near to Katatore's pa at Kaipakopako, they manifested signs of extreme hostility as a war party by kiting every * animal within reach, and on arrival, instead of going to Katatore's pa, they encamped . a few hundred yard*, away from it. • ,Katatore took the precaution to barricade his pa, and tie only between it and the Ngatiruanui camp, for several days was that iurniabed' by myself going from place to place. ;T I was convinced thai the Ngatiruanui had not come to befriend Katatore but to take revenge on either patty in accordance with the custom-of "utu." I think it was on the fourth day that Wiremu King! Rang!-, take came up from Waiter*.with a large force,.brought Katatore and his !*s»<*> and confronted the Ngatiruanms m front of'their camp. A most extraordinary seen© then took place, one I shall never forget. Both parties intermixed, rushing around like maniacs, Wiremu Kingiand other heading natives, each with a olanket to h» Band,* dashing about amongst the crowd wavmg his blanket over bis head. After a tune th< excitement subsided, and, there was some appearance of reconciliation, but nob ti» nSal demonstrations of peacemakmg, and each party retired to Us own place. The next day the Jfgatiruanuis shifted their camp, and went to a place near to where Piripi was slain, and threatened to claim it and settle upon it. I **"!*? interviews with them and advised them to zive up tie idea of settling there, as they would not be allowed to do so, and it would bring more trouble upon them. Before they , tefc they went to attack Ihaia at 1*» U* moana Pa, but were reptused with three killed aud some wounded. There were only slight casualties on Ihaia's side. After about a week they cleared out and returned to Ngatiruanui: Katatore kept aloof, from them, and for some time afterwards affairs were much quieter. Up to this time I had nob held any "office under the Government. In June, 1857,1 was'appointedlljjdSjr- t . chase <?ommissioiier, and soon afterwawto i .-, , negotiaWXthe purcb^e t of the ,/ Block, which included the land Bawjp.- projSS.uTrt. I prevailed upon Katatore. ,;., not to oppose the sale, but it was.not.he VbofiU Proposed to. sell. The survey wa? made and &> land paid for, Katatore, , however, refused to take'any part .of the. ; E \here still existed- a feeling of etimity : ' acaiosi Katatore on the r paj* of Ba-wiri'* , . teWt**.,Vs» *» va» aftstwarcls proved*,.. - w

frequent secret consultations were Jield* how ; to avenge the tfiassacrte of B*wiri, Jα the«e consultations Ihaia Kirikumara took!a prominent part. , They knewit was of w>.van to attack Katatore as long a« Wiremo Kingi was always ready to assist him with reinforcements at short notice., Ihaia them devised a plan of communicating to Katatore his great desire to be reconciled end become friendly. , . -. . Katftfcorehadfcia suspicion* ol IhaJa's sinojritf for some time. At last, however, they gave way, and be began to come in to New Plpnouth on Saturdays, when Ihaia would meet him, treat him, and peofess warm friendship. All this threw Katatore off hit f guard. ; On a particular Saturday, it wa» arranged that ithaia's brother, Tinuurau, abouldplant an ambuecade party after Katatore had passed on his way to town. Ihaia hjnself went into the town T» entertain Katatore and the three natives with him, and he succeeded in inducing them to eat food and .to drink to intoxication. * Meanwhile the ambuscade had been planted behind a furze -edge by the roadside, and as Katatore and his party were returning home a volley was fired at them, and Katatore and another were wounded. Then. the ambuscade party rushed out, and Tiraurau drugged Katatore's wounded companion off his horse, and literally, cut him to pieces with a tomahawk, whilst others ran after Katatore and shot him. The other two got away unhurt. The spot at which the ambuscade had been, planted was at the westward comer of four cross roads. At the eastward corner there was a settler's house (Mr Hollis's), which was struck by the bullets from the volley fired by the concealed .party. - ( After thin tragic and horrible exhibition of treachery Ihaia and his followers retired to the Jkaznoana Pα. They soon saw that ominous clouds«were forming, and that troubles were coming thick upon them. ' But before iaaia left the Ikamoana Pa, a disclosure was made of a fact which had iuitherto been kept secret. Two elderly natives, Karepa and Haeana, near relatives of Bawiri, brought) to my* house a very handtome "mere pounamu" (greenstone dub), which, they said, they had promised to Ihaia if he succeeded in killing Katatore. This mere he was now demanding, but they were afraid to give it to him as they were certain that Ihaia's opponents would kill . them if they did so. They wished, therelore, to make mc a present of it. I told them that, under the circumstances, I could not accept it without Ihaia being a consenting party, and that I would see him about it. 1 did *cc Ihaia, and explained the matter to 2n*m. He said he was willing that I should accept the mere, but that if they kept it themselves, he would kill them. I have had the mere pounnmu <in my possession ever * since.. Rawiri'e widow once come to my Jwuse to see it. I put.it into,her hands, and jt&e laid dawn on the floor with it on ■her breast, weeping and sorrowing in true Maori fashion. t After this, Ihaia and ibis following abandoned the Ikamoana Pa, and, went into their own district, that of the Otarawa. tribe. They stopped a short time at Matarikoriko, a strong position on the south, side of the Wa-i tara river, whence they commenced preparations for building a Pα on the opposite side They soon went across the river, and lost no . time in building and fortifying a strong position, which, under -the name of the Karaka Pa, became subsequently *a place of painful ; notoriety. ' The wife of the Tamnaki chief, Wiremu Kingi Motakatoa, <was a aster of Katatore, by virtue of which coaaeotion, in accordance with native tradition, "Wiremu Kingi Matat katea was 'bound to take part in the work with the forces forming to attack Ihaia and >r . his party in the Karaka. Pa, 'He came' with •his following, and joined Wiremu Kingi Ban- , gitake at Waitara, where altogether there ' was a force seven, hundred strong. They soon formed detached encampments around" Che Pa." For weeks there was but little done beyond keeping ;,&' close watch for anyone * venturing /to dome outside. the Pa. Anyone who did co was sure to be fired at. On one occauortva native named Mark came outside, and was chased by one of the besiegers named Hare te Paea, iwho, with a long-handled * tomahawk, inflicted several severe cuts pn Mark's sjcad before he got back to the Pa. Biehop gelwyn, who was in New Plymouth at the time, went with mc io visit the scene of strife, and too£ with Mm some materials ■ for dressing, vronnds. Mask's head was swollen, and in a bad condition, and the Bishop washed and dressed the wounds. Before leaving, the Bishop had *an interview witfi Wiremu Kingi Rangitake,. but made no' favourable iropresson upon ham. , • After many weeks of weary watching, with a view , to etarving the oocupante of the Pa, the besiegers became desperate, and com- • roenced prepwring to burn them out. Fern >. mm to be cut and dried, and flax shields were jto be made, '-under cover of which men. might "".■ go up to the stockades with bundles of fern. Sbtt&g fire- to this, they would bum out the inmates of attack them as they tried to escape. • ''" ' ~ ' It vrb&Mfimstcm to go to the place and - ' to Visit both, g&rties on every day, except on Saturday,riwhen I was at my office writing njy weekly, report to the Government for the Monday "J«brning's / -mail. On one occasion, and one only, the Rev. Mr Whitely called to sse mc .and expressed a wish to >visit the V» t im most, flf (fchV natives belonged to his Church. He asked mc if there was any Hanger if he went with mc. I explained to 1 , liim that: I had unpleasantness to put up " / with from ftto Jbefliqgers, who frequently firdebulleta over>my (head to deter mc .from going to the pa, Still, X was of .opinion that there was no danger, if he would like to go ■with mc. Wβ arranged to go together, and ion arriving we apoke to one only of the besieging campe. As we were walking towwds the pa they commenced, as usual, to fire over, our heads, when Mr Whitely reBjarked, "Those rascals will be shooting us." However, we got tQ the pa unhurt, and t after talking to the natives for some time . and inspecting their deplorable condition, v hie ''w&rnvhearted > sympathy and pity for them Mr Whitely to burst into tears. Aa coon as he recovered himself he said to mc, "I have seen a good deaf in ,fche early days ,oJT«my mission work, but I never saw ahythirig .equal U> y the' deplorable" condition * or theoe poor natives^ v Can nothing be done for them?" He thft|£ said that he remembered .a case, inariy 'years ago, of two sections of the same tribe quarrelling. The weaker section were besieged in tneir pa, and.would.'have probably been starved or -slain but^ for the intervention of another tribe, which proposed'that the natives in > the pa'should be avowed to'walk ou£ and . the others should then burn the pa, a proposal which was agreed ,to. He tnen asked if I thought it was. practicable to induce the besiegers to.agree to a. ,like arrangement. ,0n returning the following day*lr submitted the proposal to Rangitake ond'M&ta- - katea, the two principal caiefsj, and for so doing received considerable abuse. Never-. thelese, I persevered for three days, and, at last, succeeded in eliciting a promise from them, to allow the occupants of the pa to escape without Jnolestation, after which, they, the besiegers, were to destroy the pa. On any reporting ,to the natives in the pa what had been arranged, in their favour their dejected spirits revived: and they appeared to be Aruly thankful. I may say that before the arrangement was pubucly known, strong manifestations o£,sympathy for-the native? in the Karaka Pa were being shown by the eolonkts at Keirv Plymouth, and suggestions had been made for an appeal for volunteers to, go* to their relief—"* course of Action which would probably hw& ma3e matters worse. In ad* dztionrrfo my reports to the Government, ' strong .representations were made from aocal ' authorities. In , conswjuence.of this a detachment of troops was sent to New Ply- '; mouth, to be used' only in case of extreme emergency. , . "'-.•' ..-'', ■ '■■ To revert to where I left off in the former ' paragraph, I explained to ioaia's people that ■ : 'if they-kept quiet they would not be molested -while *hey were making arrangemeiit* iprelear out of the pa, t -1 told them also ; t3w* I was 'inxious to when tbey would ' ' leftvei '■■9&','X fished to bd pl-eseot at ,their " ■.-■> Just at -this time the chief ' , iKoroiit, who was friendly to Ihaia, 4arlvM with a small party from Pipiriki, Upper * Whangamii. I explained to^him ; wJrtti I bed mas, at wiOch he.professed, to , "•■ lie much pleased. * I coataroaed to visit them e'yeiy day, and tried to get tihem'to fix the for. leaving, and was puzzled to under•iattd' why idbjey wottld,oot do co. ■1, TiAe it wa« my custom nab itr&ttfrkfr thi:ja oa Saturday, tut, being

anxious lest the besiegers' sfiouldiittscjk yuan air they vacated the pa,.oli this occasion I rode down early on toe Saturday morning. Oα crosßtng the river .just below the pa Wiremu Kingi Bangstake mettne as I rode oat of the river, and said, "Kna riro ratou ,, (they baive gone); I said, "How do you know?" Be replied, "Nikorima (the. old Ngatirtxhiri chief) spoke from the tanmaihi (watch tower) in tae r nighV and bid farewell tei and the land. We knew his voice, and there is no fire in the pa nor any dogs moving about." I asked where his people were. He repKed, "Up there," pointing to the pa with his hand! I rode up and found them under cover of a rough shelter of wood work, preparing to "go to destroy the pa. I told them to wait until I had been into it to see if the late occupants had really left Goiogr to the usual entrance, I found it stall dosed,' with a board , about four feet Ihigh, a thing which struck mo as strange, if they had really left.", I went- through the pa,and .examined.every whare. As all were empty and not a vestige of anything waa left in them, I concluded that the pa. was abandoned, ~. I was about i to go back, when just to I was getting "over the board at the entrance I caught sight of Wiremu Korodta, walking stealthily across the pa. I went back, but he bad disappeared. I called out his name, and he came oat of the trench. , I 'asked him what "he was doing there. * Hβ replied, "Looking about." .1 said, "There is something wrong. Tell mc where the men are." He pointed to the trenches, I then talked to him; tolling him I was sorry he should be a party to such an ungrateful and treacherous plot after what I had done to save his iriends. He admitted , the charge of ingratitude, and eaid it was Ihaia who was to blame.' I went outside and worried Wiremu Kingi's people to go away and keep quiet. Returning to the pa, I found the men out of the trenches, without clothing, each with a gun in his ihand, and a belt round his waist, holding a tomahawk, prepared either, for a desperate struggle or an easy, treacherous massacre. I asked for. Ihaia. They replied that he nad gone away. After spending some time with them I returned home in a very unsatisfactory state of mind. Next morning I went again, accompanied by Isaac Newton Watt, and on arriving at the pa we found that Ihaia and all the women and children, with (tbe baggage had returned to the pa. I had a very unpleasant meeting with Ihaia, whom I upbraided for his ungrateful treachery. During our wordy warfare, which took place in a whare full of men, he worked himself into a violent state of rage. At last, rifle in hand, he rose up, and threatened to shoot mc. Mr Watfc ran out of the 'house. Ihaia stood opposite to mc, gesticulating and threatening. I presented my breast to him, and challenged him to shoot. After his passion subsided he sat down 4 and I left the whare. On getting ootsids I found Mr Watt standing alone, , looking considerably frightened. On seeing ', mc he said, "My dear fellow, I n&ver expected to see you again alive." It was , not, however, the first set-to I had had with ' Ihaia, for, although he had some good qualities, he .was very unreliable in any I negotiations with natives. J ... ' Shortly afterwards the pa, was vacated, and was destroyed by the besiegers. Thus ! terminated an event, t<he-meet-painful in the ' history of the natives m thjs district- since the tragic massacre of Pukerangiora. - ~ i After leaving Waitara' Ihaia and his people I went north and built themselves a strong pa near to the Mimi" river. It was in the neighbourhood of this pa tihat, at a subsequent date, I narrowly escaped being murdered by Southern natives, as they were returning, under the escort of a body of Waikatoe, from the first Maori -King meeting held in Waikato. My visit to this portion of Taranaki was due to a request from Rewi, the NgfttimenSapoto chief, and from the Key. Mr Morgan,' that I should meet the party at Pukearuhe, as they believed the Wadkato escort would return to their homes after seeing mc. As* it happened I encountered them" some distance to the south of Pukearuhe. . Some of the Ngatiruanui, who formed a portion of the returning Southern natives, were anxious to make use of the opportunity to murder mc, and formed a plot to do co. From- this fate, however, I was saved by the Waikatos, who would not be a party to So treacherous a deed. I was very unfairly censured, I may say abused, for my action during the Karaka Pa struggle, because 1 was the means of preventing Ihaia's atrocious plot from taking it* intended effect against his opponents. But no man with a spark of honour in his , composition could have done.otherwise. \ The censure was contained in articles in .the ' Taranaki "Herald," which ™sre written by a partisan of Ihaia's, Detween.whom and Ihaia there was an especial connection. There waa a long debate upen affair in the House of but few members who spoke knew. £ £ the true facto of the case/ except tKMmifr try, and they defended mc. ; ;•)/& -4, I had no intention when I <»igpKHiceti this narrative to refer to any mcideat after the Karaka Pa event was ended, there ifl one I wish to mention, On one occasion.l was talking to Wiremu Kingi Rangitake about the sale of the WaitaraTblock, and I reminded horn of I had done for tihem at the Karaka Pa by iTing, "Nakukoei or*ai" (By me-you were Laved) Of this Bishop (then Archdeacon) Hadfield.very unfairly, I think, took advantage, by publishing-the remark and stating that ifcwaa the greatest insult that could bTused" to a chief. AjUhe time I made use of the reminder Wiremu -Kmgi never resented it as an insult, knowing it was a Y l wa?fiiso ,e accuaed of another, insult to Wiremu Kingi Bangitake namely, of having told Mm iB he was to be shot and buried outside o! his pa. A more unmitigated faSood it would be impossible to fabricate. In all my intercourse with him my chief'object was to conciliate him-a difficult task with an adept at duplicity. , - The general belief that this and sim Jar stories are 'founded on material furnished by the* same authority and were reproduced in letters also based on his information, will, I think, %e-concurred m by all who with the Parliamentary Debates i ! of 1860, and with the P"^^? rf i period: I have only alluded to them m i Ktdefence, andbecause it would be thought stranae if I made no reference W them., l am content to leave mv actions to; the more . ! impartial verdict of a later.day, and in the hends of those who knew mc best. - - ! For six years I was on terms of intimate friendship'with Wiremu Kingi Bangitake and his people, but as. a matter of course when the war broke out there was an estrangement; indeed, it T oul 4 v^ e ,,fe strange had it been oherwise.- Yet, during hostilities, there-were incidents moving that they still respected mc. In 1862 t I received an invitation from several Ngatanamapoto chiefs to visit them at Mokau. Sir, WillianvFox was then Premier, and his policy was free .personal intercourse with, natives without distinction, whether rebels or others. I informed Sir William Fox of the invitation, and requested totfe informed, as to whether or not "ihe Government approved of my going. In reply I was told "that the Government declined to request mc to go, as they considered there might be danger, but that if I saw my way to go tihiey would be pleased." I communicated with the Commander of the Forces, Brigadier Warre, as it was tnv duty to do, and he recommended mc not to nndertake the journey. I decided to go, and staitied with three natives who had brought the invitatio"n: As we we were riding across the jplain between Urenui and Mimi at \a good pace my horse turned a somersault and fell upon mc, breaking'three of my' ribsA .1 \ras/isken across the Mimi river to a large whare, where, there were a few natives. I. was perfectly, unconscious and .without pain- for twentyfour hours, but "after that I suffered One of the natives went to Mokanf to report the,accident, and a "party !of forty, with several chiefs, came from.Mokau to see mc. On the" third day six of Wireieu Kingi Bangitakes natives came out from the bush, nwifte an "amo" {stretcher),, and carried mc <tn their, shoulders from Mini to my boufieih New Plymouth., This Is, pretty clear, .evidence that they still had respect for mc, contrary to the representations and wishes of my detractors. „ -v. . . When Sir George-firey came in 1863 to New Plymouth witlx General Cameron to restore tfeesettlers to their deserted, desolate homes; make peace at any price, ho was anxious to ace, .Wiremu Kingi Rangitake's jpeople who were at MataiUwa— W*ema*Kingi himself being afe Waikato.

He asked:me if I.thought there was any danger if' hieTWeftt to see them, and if I would go with him. . In ..reply; I said I thought there was no danger, and that if he wished mc to go with him I was willing to do so. We went,,and on bar arrival, the only one who came up to speak to him was Wiremu KingiV daughter. As soon as he had taken a seat outside a whare close to a flagstaff, the Maori lung's flag was run up. After talking some time with Wiremu Kingi's daughter fcjir George sajd to. mc, "It: is strange that none of tfce people come to speak to mc." I went to look for them and found them keeping aloof. I told them they ought .to go to speak to the Governor, but they were relucUat to do so. I took Enoka (Wirenm Kingi's by the nand'and.' led him, others to -the Governor.' After an" 'interview we returned. In the evening Sir George called ta the quarters of Mr Uomett and Mr Bell (the late .Sir Dillon BeD), mho were members of the Ministry'jthen in office, and toldthem that he was astonished to witness "how much the natives respect Parris." Hβ told them also I wa* the worst paid officer in the service, and recommended •Jα addition of £100 a year to my salary, a recommendation whiciV the Ministers told him they should have much pleasure in giving effect", to. Sir Wm. Fox, in his last report to the Governor, dated 3rd Junj, 1884, »t the conclusion of his work a% Royal Commissioner, in the last paragraph stated as follows;—.' Nor.must I omit to record the grateful sense which I entertain ;of the invaluable assistance rendered by Major Parris (of whose services I Was able, by an arrangement with the-Government, to avail myseh), in laboriously working out the practical details of a vast amount of very difficult business. His long experience in the service of the Government as Civil Commissioner in the Taranaki district, his extensive acquaintance with the., natives in it, his exact and minute acquaintance with tbe lan 4 titles and tribal relations, th&. great personal ;espect deservedly entertained lor him by the natives, his entire abstinence through a, long career from all speculation in native lands; these and many other qualifications which no other living person known to myself combined in an dtgree, were faithfully and zealously, during the whole of jny opertions, brought to bear by him in contributing to then* success." Reference to these incidents is only made to disprove the assertion that Wiremu, Kingi's people w 4 ere bitterly hostile tame, a state- j ment which originated from disappointed opponents of Governor Browne's,policy. Their reward was their own ignominious failure in every attempt made to restore order and submission to the Queen's Government except by force of arms. I have been requested by many who have held high positions, from, that of Governor downwards, to v.Tite a true history of the native wax , in this district, but for special reasons of my own I have declined to do so. I have no inclination to revive old sores.