CHAPTER -III.

Clutha Leader, Volume VI, Issue 339, 9 April 1880, Page 7

CHAPTER -111.

i _.., . ..STIRRING SCENES. „ „.„,. „. ; ; J «'Tc/4^ns^W^'Wbra49 ! -^ UiA ~ \ The call.^Toariiis,'. ir ba]d/b^n^ea|lily answered 'f'r'dm "' 'ev'e^ry '''qiiaf t'er '"of "the Colony, and although there were many heart-breaking 1 partings between hus|b!and and wives, fathers and children, 1 brothers aad sisters, lovers and their Ibved ones, yet the result of the 1 1 C struggle was never ioi 1 a moment d.oubted. But the end came not nearly sb soon as had been expected.. The struggle was a severe one and many Valuable and precious lives had to be before the victory was won. O I It is not our province to say whether the war, or rather the course of conduct which led to the war, was a right or a wrong one* All we have to do

HJ^Jj i^^incidents of it -a*s Peering' 1 the individuals whose history we have to trace during a few brief A Willie Anderson was amongst the earliest arrivals at the camp which was being formed at Auckland for tbjs action;, on. the Waikato river. "This was* uHtie?" the immediate command of General Cameron, and Willie was drafted into] one of tfee volunteer regiment*, which were* destined for^the^eadiest .sewf-ke, and strange comrades, ne had there. The life, which was ona ff&o^ang^.. was also.enhvened by the spirit of fearlessness and joviality which pervaded s those assembled under arms. When' [not engaged vin/ymiarching^againsti the . : enemy or in field duty of some sort, the i volunteers amuseci themselves with I manly sports 1 'br 5 vdfibiis-' kinds : ' * wrest-- ? Iling, leaping, throwing the caber, while ithe inclement weather, when these isports were impracticable, " yarn'spHir.., jning" as it was commonly called (story Celling) enlivened ispent' Irounc^ the .^mp^res^a^^^jijliejei-^ isure for these lighter "and more pleasant !d'&tiesijw,aß| certainly small, Strange jin^^|^||tf^>ul;d|se|m, that with death |evl^|p^^||^fff|in indeed-to-somej 'men ]|c^ldv^|sfou)ad tp^' s^ep^; i. fheir* !timev : i.n- ;^ !di vidMls t^ould^tem^^ivdjou^imTJsuns.*; i||t " cuf 'say^^^b<d^inj^'"us^aljf '^ By^c|!sto.m !we^ cearge'.-^ Swhere death is 1 rampant about' 'us,' become so habituated to its presence, that we heed* it n ot; , - - ■ ■<< '. '■ We have said that Willies comrades wore* s trail gel-rand strange indeed, some of them were. One was an old cavalry sergeant who had,. Recording to his 'own account, been present at the relief of Lucknow.in the.gr.eat Indian mutiny. This was ah old' cockney 3 and he had certainly, seen active, service under tropical suns, although it Vas generally thought in the camp that his l( yarns " j.vere far fetched; and ; many pfjtherm borrowed. And then there was a' Scotchman, who looked very- unlike, that canny Dation ; who had served yvitb the Union army during the earlier portion .of the war df the secession; in America, but who, for reasons best knp f wn to .'himselfy had- : quitted ! that service aud sought New Zealand's shores. John Knoxwas certainly not a worthy. successor of the great reformer of y . that name ;'in fact: from! his childishly conservative notions he had received the nickname of the ".old woman.'.'His sharp chin, — a feature charpcteristic; of' Yankees, and ; which;.a few years residence in the States seems to impart tjo natives of all countries,;— -[.whs, espe T; . pially when Knox was in a fury, which frequently happened peculiarly jludi-^ crous. Ivnox was unconsciously the Butt of the party; at the most good-'^ liumoured joke he would take mortal offi-ince ; I at. the grossest insult, he would merely'latigh 'at it, Vnd- we believe, really unconscious of its purport. But nought caused greater amusement in the camp, than an ■argurrient^between " the old woman " and Ben Dosh, a brisk, merry-hearted, kindly disposip tiom;d native of the Emerald Isle, who' liad, after many ups'and dovvns-of'life, ; found his way to the Auckland Camp.Ben had been on; the •_' secesh'' side tin 1 : the great American struggle and always maintained that he^had seen '.' the, old woman " ' head vf the ''retreat" iro ; m" Bull's Run. This Knox used to indignantly resent, but Dosh,; wjiojlearly loved a joke, found in his wrath only 'an excuse. fgri,torturingr;him'ithe-niore/ And besides these, there 'were,, merchants from the city, farmers : from 'the' plouglv.rainers from the diggings, professional .men,;; from; ; the : surgery, [the* court and even the pulpit; men who-: had failed- itf every thing else," merr who had succeeded well, but whose, homes. | and lands 'were now ' endangered,' l rid-' venturers and naen of substance, all j banded together to "' put ciowii the natives of the soil, and to wrest from them those' 'lands' which' righteously or unrighteously they had i. refused, to .par t. ; with without a struggle. .. Soon ..orders ,;w,ere giyan.x<fof /the regiment to which • Willie, Knox, Dosh,' 'and ' others ; were" attached -'"fo" move up the Valley of the Waikato and commence active operations against the Maoris. * This • was;:accord- 1 inglv done, .and-it^was.no.tjlong.j before the first "brush took place with those redoubtable^ warriors. « It '■ was date- one* 1 " afternoon, about, a week after leaving Auckland and after the regiment had rAarched^round^the' lnland 'harbour^ of Manukau, iust. as they were about "to pitch tne camp for the evening; and 'hadipicked.'.updnra. s'hadyh-fwooded'-pla'ce;; near the water, .thjat fvom,the very place, they had fixed upon came a rattling volley of musketry, killing twoj andi wounding several. A- return volley was; fijredMnto the- patch of bush afnd woo| ..whence the siio.ts hadfeome in the ficstinstance; b,ut. m o j.rfipl^beiiigjgiven,^ ( r^connaissan e.Q- to^kj^.pjl^Qe, i xesul ti.ngjln.] the discovery that'the enemy had pfrawjiij ofY from -that-part- of the bush-at - rare^con'teht witb. f tKe f niijury theyK'liacT inflected. It was™ useless pursuingthenWhil emsso:sp d Wii& a mm ldol^\fi? s J wm^ekabirshe^fi4 siM original design of camping there adnered % | But this brush Was Ismail matter to what soon to take" plac,.e. v^A. fe\v,. weeSiltU^^ e^^lo : WfeWM&(l4hi£ pi'og : iiess fcX upj:ih§ 3 i^itepi,s|ap^ one of the Native fortifications L n or • 11 ' I 'lit itliiUjii', ( \ pahsj%as«theyrtweise gjangEallyrter^gj,' II became necessary to' capture this before any furtU^l^Wnco could be?

h made. were therefore ! made "for storming 1 "'" the '" placer" and were- selected 1 for the post of honour. * On the' day before the as&ault wae made a hfavy storm of shot arid 1 shell s v/as^Jiui|led at the place which consisted *df an ojitside palisade with a ditch inside, and a number, of holes and Icurves for rifle pits. It is somewhat wonderful how little damage- compara*.tively^ was d,one v ,by Uiis^tortn of iron ! n«ii,. but still 5 tne effect was considerable,, and the Maoris held bravely to 'their-positioii-. 1 ?t>> Meanwhile the assaulting party were all impatient to perform their portion of ; the ivj work.'^-Like V 4°£?j^k^ n tDB leash they were restless until the word of advance was given. This was done : -sli'ortly- 'befoi'e' l tfay 'closed^ : ''t¥e r Tnstru ctions being: that jh.e liule. b.and of fifty was by a*circ\ut'oui s route to" fall upon th,e'place;as /stealthily as possible; the attention of the defenders meanwhile ibe'ing" distracted by an.even heavier: discharge of shot and shell Jhan .that , to 'wfiich'they liacl-^ been' 'exposed^uriffg'" the day. fQuietiy.yarid cautious]^ therefore, unj? def" 4 tbe ■ conimami^of a' yoiin^ vf 6fficerl .Lieutenant Carey, moved forward the party. i/.'Ambng-sti.;: the number were Dosh, Knox, and Willie. Not a word: was r spoken (^s/ they t .approached rthe neighbourhood of the "pah.' r 'When 'somewhat .near, the party), was divided inro two, 'one' of" twenty, the other of thirty, the arrancrement , being' that whilst the one diw upon: themselves the attention of the defenders' of^thei ." pahi" tho other might be able«to epfcer : ■unobserved, while if- both could,: asy proach sufficiently near before* the "aVaVfe was raised -the attack was to. become a combined one. V \ . v '■?.:■.:£* But this double arrangement caused the failure of the attack. Dosh, Willie, .and Knox were attached to the smaller party, and were left to. make the' attempt to enter- the "pah " : when the other had commenced the' sliam attack. They were all very impatient, and by-' and-bye became alarmed at noi hearing any indications that their comrades had got rouud, to their allotted station. It was beginning to get dark too, and "it was" evident that' unlessVsome: actipn was quickly talc en the place would not .be ckptured that night;. 1 i At; lastj, i: ; after some consultation, it was decided to move forward,;' audrif .possible," get near* erioug-h unobserved to make an assault,' sham or real as circumstances might decide. They then moved forward and -succeeded in getting , within ,twq^ him.-, dred yards of the' " pah," when 1 'before' they were, aware .that they were dis"cbvei'Gd a heavy volley of musketry was fired" at them] |One of their number was'tilled and anot-ber injured, and it iyfas "evident that notwithstanding the .disadvantage of the twilight the Maoris knew their exact position. Almost at "the same ; moment firing commenced on s the, other, side of the " pah." 'Confound it,' said Dosh to Willie, ,i' we. have made.a mess.pf it this <; time.'. * I am afraid so,'' was Willies reply, "' we should, have bef;n T: tw.enty minutes earlier or Yen" "tni'nutes* later. ' What is to be the move' now! ?':i i '--I don't know whether we shall have ;to move forward- or .backq f , ;: j .» rj The sergeant in charge, however, , "solvecl their doubts by ordering the men to' retire to a clump' of' trees a little to the right for shelter from the shower of iron; hail which was whistling around them. When this movement was •:;effftcted he, consulted; with j^o^hyyand Willie as to the best course to adopt. It was'iimpo?sible* ;nbw to surprise the defenders. of-the.M pah,!,'. andL : the ques^,. 'tion, therefore^was,;w?hether,th.ey should make a djr|clb^as"Baulb^so^|B^tg v assist ' Lieutenant>^Careyr*?fr6r.<«». wheth'er^thev shomd';move^rqung-'an^ hiiu^^^The fyoice '£t'the/ majority wasVi l^ favour o^/theVr'form'er, course and the assault was "ordered, ; 'atqnceV-^an a d' for what vva^oiisidere|d they most;;vulnerable partvofj^the jpriress;.; It 4ent no|rfp!|^th^|^(^isiwe^ ' a; sharp ulo6k2^t^'^it:^^spi^fcyftiig, ; , W illie an'di^hisLfrilnd^wers^;m hopes of v obiaining.|ih%entrah The ;:m arch Aforward^was ?.;commenc,ed^ .in the'darkening^ ljg-h tj; and? teach, man's oy er.coafewas^caretu u.y^ra p,b;,r.o i una^t :dß j •rifle" "To"" prevent" o^h^" s'hFning"*"of"~'(;He barrel attraciing- r -it'te'rition.''=iEach man ; almost reaching the bottom of the first .sene < s : ' 1 6f s 'ear\nw6rks ; ' 1 wh 1 cn is 'they ; we9e 'ajg^in/^bbserVed'^'by'^one'^of^ttie'-riativ^ sentinels anU-the'^'da'rdi'raisedif' -There - was 'no Help' forit* now ? but'>'a ruri"'ah.d= ; \vith>i-d i' j 'i chee'r £ -the .'smaU Jbaii'd i.Tush'ed^ qu ! pon the earth works.' Willie wastf4h'e> firistko'reacV ; thi ; 'top ; -whefe'3a s! shot^was v fired -at him i at^pdint'''iblankifra > ngevb.yr:a'; 1/( tall/ fi swarthy''.- Maori w«bufc .;fortunately, ( missed'-Mmlt-Lttiwas ;the -tlast -shotiitha.t; 'liVlaori s vhe, 4\a,d t »ha.ijdly t drawn t *the trigger when he was felled to ithe p^^^^kg^l^l^^^ ■ away it rwas quite" evident JtKat "He "was f °t i !t.vi*)r' fiic> 9 iv&- \mm&t Ymtv&tii Jsom &ti3 ef. iverV' ansioiiSj-t'o secure the rear from Seen 4evers°edf iA w »*.;* r .;.««eMi»Tib h*im \ Meanwhile'the p^^dWftn'g'^dmvF wdrWfbni 'oniy^cJ " : eya ffound here to their bittats'cnftsrfthar*the« My .theioiLisiipßEiqr^ "office^ not merely the strength innain.-ft bersj^britet&e> 'foitihiid^bie:Tßna.ture,i«fT6thel The place- was^sw-uwßingb

\ with tata&sA&ttW Mesc^tjgij^hicb were used- as -rifle -pi rsj-and^frora-thes^' ; was now pou»^%on^trhem> a very 'destructive fire.- in charge*was shot throi^^B&btS^ead, four others" had been Idiied^^qfu'sgiig'b t> * and ' six:-*. ' N wpunded^.so^thaMhQ^plactt- promised to - b'ecoffie "a-, refckr lstrife : • 'there s W&s * Ino resource but jj'o rj)turn.ij Knox was • [already^a^iagjhi^^oi^^ndjit was -s 1 quite*, evident r ,to t tiie, others that .any •«■' attempt; to take the^ place-, without --a, « mucaJarger^iurce at command, would * 'be-futile. TheyiQWo^'scffimlil'eTin ■* j fife 1 { IlKne§s^fti> ; it lt: quite^ dark ... mow — to the- outside range of J? elirth- v- -: w8l& d *l%v&\m f g?pWr '-{neie^Wifiie - ; received a slight flash > wound from'"af.'< - bullet j.whjghi A g*j:aze^ > iin the thiffh.j^Jt^was^with great aim- ! culty his uninjured commies" managed a \ to get Dosh convened 1 oack to camp. ! The attaWHy'^ J fiv^ under - *cessiul. They|;did ( n^njana^e'to gep ~, . 1 bey*dnd;t*tliß]r;.QU"tQf v line^oi-xgar-thwork^.v, jbut tomn.theJaih'a.ng-eme'rit JiavingKbeen'-.. ithat they'shtuld^on'lyrfmakei'aH'eint at- - ) tack, th"ey : -haa 1 'not 'maW'Such? efforts as - ? t fra* •othe¥s/! { an&' JJ tbjbip/ loss -" was ? consent iquen'f 1 j ■ not L 'anytMrig' < ?lil£e so-serious; \ ■•' - --j ■The'wlible affaii* Eaa^'b'eeh 'sadly inis^ iir.anag'ed, and <in . copsequence 'Lieufc^ . jCarey^was sesereLy .censuiiednandrra- ! m;o.vecl .to. another •>.., Dosh f . ;was incapacitated from duty for.,; some::? months. '" Willie o sobn^ 'recovered; 4he •••■ effects of his wound/ and for .'his" bravery* * in the affair was pirorridtedto the ; vk-^ cancy caused by' the' 2 Serprearit's deaths.-. (To -be continued* )