OUR LITERARY CORNER

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13603, 11 December 1909, Page 7

OUR LITERARY CORNER

RECOLLECTIONS OF A FAMOUS FIGHT.

(By Major \V. G. Mair.)

(SPEC-AIXV ™n_X IOR -THE I-HnSS.'*)

The story of Orakau has become gncient history, and to write now of *rents dating bark as far as 180-4. withont some written record, would tax or ,e"s' memory severely. But, fortunately, I have by mc an account of the fight "written to a relative immediately after the affair. It iril! lie remembered that tho Waikato War was not provoked by the Government of the colony. "War broke oat in Taranaki. and the Waikato and tribes sent contingents at different time* to a wist tho Tiranaki pecple, and the impression at first was that the quarrel would be fought out there. But after a time the Waikatos became turbulent, and talked about driving the pakeha into the sea, ' an d hrir.jrinc all the Maori people under the rule of -'King Potatau." Then the Government sent troops to the frontier and made a military road to Mangatayhiri. In 1863, then, tho war was commenced by the Waikatos evading the military posts, and starting a -career of murder, pillage, and destruction in the settled country north of the -j-angatawhiri River. They were, howjjver, beaten in a succession, of pitched iattles at To Koheroa, Rangiriri, Waiari and Hairini, basides-in minor affairs, and were driven across the Poniu river. It does not appear that '" the Government intended to advance j further. So far the fighting; had been in "Waikato territory, and it was not intended to confiscate any of the Ngatimaniapoto country. Up to this time Reni Maniapoto had taken little or no . part in the fighting in the Waikato, though he always preached war, but no* he was taunted by the Waikatos for not supporting them actively, so lie -*"' collected a force of Ngatimaniapoto, N.atiraukawa, Ngatituwharetoa, Tuhoe and some minor hapus of the Waikato, in all over three hundred strong, and determined to make a stand at Orakau. • - He occuoied a knoll called Rangatawa jn the deserted village, and commenced building a pa. At that time I was in the colonial defence force cavalry, but a-as doin" duty as staff interpreter to General Carey, commanding the Waikato district. _ _ On the morning of Wednesday. March 30th, 1864, the officer commanding the redoubt at Kihikihi sent word toTe Awamutu headquarters that the natives were in force at Orakau. Ine General and Staff galloped out to re-connoitre,-and through our glasses we made out that they -were throwing up earth works. Preparations were at once made for an attack the following morning. I was instructed. to obtain information about tracks and guides, so as to enable a force to get to the rear of the position. I found that John 'Gage and another half-caste employed ■by the :meat; contractor, knew the .ground, and I Bet them to work making a itihehj In pie afternoon I "Went to iheJi* caiap -rid they gaye 1 mc a capital iduv-UMwing, all the-tracks, cross- ' •3ngs; i and fords on both.sides of the j3"_aid river, near Orakau. I was just Rearing Cage's tent when I met Captain -Jl-ker, of the Staff, and I gave him -.c -sketch- He looked at it, 6aid "this is fp*e_-id," and galloped back to headjoaarters. For obtaining this inform a"}Han Baker -was complimented in despatches! "■ ;; Gage agreed to act as guide to a --' Wty under Major Blythe, of. the 40th ■j Regiment, who marched in the evening, ' |iroßsed the Puniu twice, and got com- '- to the rear of the pa. The \jß-in body, under tho General, started • ...jjjbout midnight, detachments from tne .; at Haerini, Rangiaowhia, and X Kihfkihi joining on tho road. \ Day ;-*" just as we reached a swampy --- on the other side of which fhe -*t ,-jBSS™r-d..rQ3e.,to » little ridge, where .-there' were rifle-pits carefully masked r-V-, ynjh fresh-cut fern,. and enfila-ding A thc :***. -rajf-* 'Fortunately > they were unoc- '*. • « Y *s?ed ; or we might have had a warm reception. As we marched into the old - - village the Maoris opened fire from a boll on the right, and then fell .back akmg the main road. Captains Rang .ttd Fisher, with two companies, au- - Traced in skirmishing order, with lay-tenant Rait with "his mounted ar- "- iulery in support. I was riding "with Rait, and we trotted on, not knowing " what was in front of us. Rounding a - - clump of acacia trees we got a smart volley from our left front, and putting our horses t« the gallop, we came right on to the pa. . Rait shouted, '"Earthworks; right wheel!" so w© wheeled accordingly, and pulled up in "Jm."— oI " «*-led Kareponia (California). *f» Maoris might have emptied a lot jrfettr saddles, but they were attracted oy the two companies of the 18th . Royal Irish, end the 40th Regiments, which Ring was forming u,p for the assanlt. We 6tood' looking on while they Bade two attempts to rush the place, -*-ic_ was impossible without, scaling '•dders. Several men were -_lled,.«nd a '-number wounded, including Imher «d Hing, the letter mortally. By this wans the place was surrounded: by about 150Q men, but no one knew what the next BHrVe would be. Two six-pounder. "W«3*pieces were got into position about 800 yards from the pa, and Lieut. . Curd fired several rounds, but it was •-oon evident that such light guns would ■•ver reach the place, so it was decided *° *Wroach it, by sapping. About *»n Lieut. Hirst, of the Royal Engi- - " '!?*"?' < "" >mtne " no *'-<2 to sap under cover w the acacia grown on the west side of •*•-* pa. To the north the ground sloped tan\hj to a kahikatea swamp. I went round there and found that the main work wes so low- on that side that one wuld look" well into the place and see . the defenders of tho south end plainly - aa they stood up to fire over the parapet So I went back to headquarters «-d reported. Rait, Carre, Hurford, ana others returned with mc. As we Wintered round through some peach wees, we got a rattling volley from •tose rifle-pits just outside the north ,-Sm of the pa. Hurford reeled nearly «at of his saddle. A curious thing had' '"•Pfened to him, his tunic was flying open; beneath it there was only a'fine «js shirt, and a bullet had hit him in £» chest, but it did not penetrate the hn' wn * s*? 6 wrapped round the •"""-".let. Hurford hod just come up in conunand' of a transport company, and **& a fine plucky fellow. We all *w»*|Rnt that if the guns were moved ** this place they would have made the « i T "i rT ot for tbe besieged, but it was fO* done. - afternoon a reinforcement appeared across the Mangaohoe about a Jileaway. and danced a war-dance. 5 lew shells were sent at them, and ' - tIH? COTer * In the forenoon Gage, Sj* gmde, crept up to some bushes near *** P*. 31 **-* endeavoured to get into con- " •? I _ at,o J l with the people, but they spot so warm for him that he **J m a "hollpw for hours before be got

ORIGINAL AND SELECTED MATTER.

NOTES ON BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

a chanc« to roll away. Then he said that he had had '-quite enough of it. Hurst said that he would have a "mine under the place hv midnight," so we were on the alert all night. Early next morning I was drinking cocoa with Lieut. Moraan. of the 40th Regiment, who was on duty in the sap, when a soldier standing near leaped in the air and fell dead. It was a chance shot that found him out, for the pa was not visible from the spot. A man of the 2nd Waikato Regiment was killed in much the same way. He was lying at full lencrth when a 'bullet struck him in the head. LU-ut. Chayton. of the Goth Regiment, who had charge of a covering party in the sap, while sitting in an exposed position, was shot through the chest. Tho sap was advancing steadily, and as the head of it got nearer the pa casualties became more frequent. As soon as the sheltering buslies were passed, demi-parallels were formed and fitted with men, who kept up a constant fire on the enemy's works to keep down the. fire of the besieged. Yon Tempsky and some of his rangers made a voluntary dash at the pa from the east side, but had to retire with loss. The consumption of ration rum was very large, and some of the men got reckless. People who had no business there used to come into the sap and creat confusion. I spent both nights in the sap, and crept out several times to some flax bushes near the palisading. I could hear the garrison talking in thsir trenches. During the whole of the first night a chief called Aporo Te Kaingnmata kept walking about the parapet singing war songs, and calling to some people whose fires we could see on a hill about a mile away to come into the pa, and indicating the route by which they might do so. On the second night be was very hoarse, and before morning he was silent, for a shot had laid him low, and he was buried by bis people in the embankment.

At daybreak on the third day I retired to Rait's cavalry camp in the rear to get some sleep. Upon being awakened to have some breakfast, I was told that General Cameron and his staff had arrived from Pukirimt, and soon after an orderly,came for mc. I went at once to the headquarter camp in a peach grove at Kareponia. Both generals were there with their respective staffs, and the General asked mo if I could communicate with the enemy, as he wished to send them a message. I replied that I would "endeavour to do so." Then he said : "Tell them that I admiro their endurance and bravery, and wish to spare their lives, but if th<men will not come out, let them send out the women and children.'' I felt pretty sure that they would not give in. All spoke in terms of admiration of the fortitude displayed b,y Maoris, and were anxious to spare them further loss and misery. Upon reaching the head of the sap, I asked the officer in command to cease firing as 1 wished to speak with the besieged. After shouting several times from cover: ''Kati te pupuhi, he kupu tenei kia koutou" (Cease firing, this is a word to you), there was a lull. I did not like to display a flag of truce, because it was misunderstood at Ra.ngiriri a few months' before. Then the Waikatos. walked out and becauise tho messenger waved a white handkerchief*, they argued afterwards that they should have been permitted to return to their homes and right again! So I got up on the edge of the sap and looked through a gun embrasure in the, gabions. The outwork in front of mc was a double, riflepit, with the main work behind it, and the Maori.-i were in rows, the front rank being only a few yards distant. I will never the shaggy heads, duststained faces, and bloodshot eyes as they crouched there with t_© barrels of their guns resting on the edge, of the outwork in front of them. One man on my right front (Wereta, of Taupo) auiied steadily at mc all the time. Then I said: "E hoa ma wtiakarongo, ko te kupu tenei a Te Tienara, ka nui tana mikaro ki io koutou maia, kati, mc mutu te riri puta. mai kia matou, kia ora ai o koutou tmana," (Friends, listen: This is the word of the General. Great is tiis admiration of your bravery. Stop let the fighting cease, come out to us that your bodies may be saved l )! Mr. Mainwaring, staff interpreter to General Cameron, who had followed mc into the sap. cried out, "So te tine Tienara tenei." (This is the principal

I could see the Maoris inclining their heads together in consultation, and after a few minutes oame the answer in a clear firm voice, " E hoa ka whawliai tonu ahau kiakoe, ake, ake." (Friend, I will fight against you r or ever, for ever). Then I said, "E pai ana tena mo kc-tou tangata, engari kahine c tika kia mate nga wahine, mc nga tamariki tukuna mai eva." (That is well for you men, but it is not well that the women and children should die. Let them come out).

Then some asked, "Na te aha koe i mohio he wahine kei konei." (How did you know that there were women here?) And I answered, "I rongo abau ki to tangi tupapaku i te po." (I have heard lamentation for the dead in the night). There was a brief silence. Then a stalwart women stood up and said, "Kite mate nga tane mc mate ano nga wahine, mc nga tamariki." " (If the men are to die, the women and children must die also).

I knew that it was over, and there was no disposition on their part to parley, so 1 said "E pai ana, kna mutu to kupu."' (It is well, the word is ended), and dropped quickly into the sap, for I expected that Wereta woulo. have the last say. He fired, and his bullet just tipped my right shoulder, cutting my revolver strap, and tearing my tunic. Roger Hkrrison, Hi-rford's subaltern, told mc that he wis watching the Maori from tbe deuii-parallel on my right, and' had h'm covered with his rifle, but he did not get. his shot in quick enough. Anyhow W_reta did not long survive his treachery, for shortly afterwards he was killed by a band grenade. I should mention that his action was condemned by the others, especially when an hour or so after my visit to the sap, someone in thi* pah suggested that an effort should be made to communicate with the General. A well-known chief said "It is too late now., for you have slain his messenger treacherously!" Wirita was the husband of Abuinai, the woman who spoke from the trenches. The people who occupied tbera were "Ngati te Kohera, of West Taupo, under their chief, Te Paerata, who had with him his two sons. Hone Tere and Hitiri, and his daughter, Ahumai. Very few of them escaped. As I dropped into the sap our people crowded about mc to hear the news. I said "They mean to fight you forever,"' and the soldiers cheered them lustily. Firing was then resumed very hotly on both sides. When I reported to General Cameron, who was a very humane man, he was much impressed as were all his party. Sir Henry Have--lock said in his jerky way," "Rare plucked 'tins, rare plucked 'uns." Soon after this, Hurford aud others made a rush from the head of the sap and drove the Maoris out of tbe double riflepit back into .the inner trench, and a connection was made with tho sap. The end was approaching.

I was still at the general camp when

the Waikato, who were holding tbe southern end of the pa, broke out, passing through underground passages and appearing as if by magic in the open, and firing heavily at tho headquarters camp. The troops commenced closing in on them, when a tall chief waved his tewha tewha or staff of office, which w«s decorated with feathers, and the Maoris disappeared just as suddenly as they had emerged from the pa. It was evident now that they could not hold the place much longer, and members of the Staff went round the lines warning everyone to be on the look-out. I was sent to the sap and met a party bringing out Hurford badly wounded in the head, and then the body of a band sergeant of the 40th Regiment. Men were dropping fast, the fighting being almost Band to hand. By means of the six-pounder the palisading had been knocked down, and hand-grenades were being thrown in, doing great execution. Suddenly there was a lull at our end of the pa, and heavy firing and shouting at the south end. Down went picks and shovels and gabions and in we went promiscuously. A Maori with a bit of dirty rag on a stick, and with a face the colour of ashes, rushed almost into mv arms, and Major Greaves and Lieut. Albert Jackson helped mc to save him from the bayonet. After seeing him in safekeeping, I ran round to the main ditch to the south, and oame upon a woman kneeling by the half-buried body of a man. She had scraped the sand from his face and was taking a last look at her dead husband. (She was a Eineturama, of Ngatiraukawa and tue Arawa).

kp to this time we did not even know who were the people who had been fighting against us for three long days, and 1 was anxious to get hold ot an unwounded prisoner. I -«-„<; just stooping to question her, when I heard a yell behind mc, and turning, found myself face to face with half a dozen maddened soldiers with their bayonets at the charge. 1 tried to beat them back w-ith my carbine, and did knock one of them over, but while J was so engaged some of them got past mc. I heard a cry from the woman, the men scutued away to look for loot, and when I turned again, the poor thing was down and the blood spouting from a bayonet thrust in the breast. In the confusion tliat followed I could not identify these men, but a number of women were killed in the retreat, and it was explained that it was impossible in many cases to distinguish them by their dress from the men. I went on with stretcher parties bringing in the wounded, and did not get back to camp until after nightfall. In the meantime the •General and most of the troops had marched to Te Awamutu. I stopped for the night with Albert Jaokson and others of the 18th R. 1., at Karepouia. Next morning (Sunday, April 2nd; I took Wi Karamoa, the man captured as we entered the pa, to identify the dead. He had quite got over his funk, and held a dirty handkerchief to his nose as he stepped daintily about among tue corpses. There were many chiefs among them, and we buried, with those who died in hospital of wounds, about 120 in all. But many bodies were never found, as they lay in swamp ana scrub. The pa presented a wretched appearance. Only one hut had been built for a storehouse. There was no fuel or water, and perhaps a hundredweight of uncooked potatoes and pumpkins. The site was a very poor one for purposes of defence; indeed it looked like a case of whakamomori, i.e., forlorn' hope or suicide. It was the last stand made by the Maori in Waikato. The popular belief that it was Rewi who made the famous reply is altogether incorrect. He played anything but a noble part in the defence, and it was Huraki Tonganui, of Taupo, who answered mc.