MY LIFE STORY

Gisborne Times, Volume LX, Issue 9723, 5 June 1924, Page 3

MY LIFE STORY

THREATENED ATTACK ON WAIROA—A BLOODLESS VICTORY —MARCH UNDER HARDSHIPS —AN ARDUOUS JOURNEYSTRENUOUS COURTING DAYS.

Specially Written for the Gisborne

Times. By James William Witty, Lieu! , - N.Z. Militia (Retired List). (Copyright A CHAPTER XVI.

At this juncture Major Fraser received reliable information that Te j Wham and his Hau llau followers, i together with a large number of recruits (who had embraced the Hau Hau superstition), having heard that our force had been reduced, were marching down the Waiau to attack Wairoa. Ho sent an orderly to ask Ihaka Whanga "to join him with a body of his Ngaitu. This ho accordingly did, ‘ bringing 100 men. Major j Fraser then called for 50 volunteers from tho H.B. Military Settlers. It I was necessary to ask tho men to volunteer, as the Hawke’s Bay boun- | dary did not include Waikaremoana, to which it might ho necessary to j march. These volunteers and Ihaka j Whanga’s forco marched up tho left ! bank of tho Waiau river, until v> o reached some high fern ground, called j the Kopene, where the Hau .Haus had dug riflo pits, from which they saluted our advance guard, fortunately I without inflicting any loss.

AN ASTUTE OLD WARRIOR. Thereupon old Ihaka Whanga, “tho hero of a hundred fights,” ordered his men to retreat out of range, and then started them to work at forming torches with dry fern. He had noticed that the wind was blowing from our direction to the rifle pits, and so ’concluded that smoko and fire would work more havoc amongst tho enemy than rifle bullets. In this conclusion the astute old warrior uas perfectly correct, as tho Hau Haus bolted across the Arikihi flats and skedaddled up the Waikaretalieke River. We followed them up to Onepoto, where we were blocked by tho Waikaremoana Lake, which the Hau Haus crossed in their canoes, so wo returned to Frasertown, having effected a bloodless victory, not having a single casualty, but having effectually stopped the threatened advance of Te Wharu.

A CELEBRATED MARCH. My next reminiscence refers to Major Eraser’s celebrated march through the Hau Hau territory from Frasertown to Turanganui. Emulating the example of General Chute, who marched through the bush from New Plymouth to Wanganui, or vice versa, but in his case with a forco of 10,000 British soldiers of different regiments and accbmpanied by Aon Tempsliy, and his force of Forest Rangers acting as -scouts. Major Fraser, with the 50 volunteers from the Military Settlers, marched through the bush to the Hau Hau territory, from Frasertown to luranganui. After crossing tho Opouiti River, wo travelled to Te Reinga, and camped there for the niglit at the kainga, where, to our astonishment, we found all the wharcs deserted except one, in which there were three ancient Maori dames (one of whom claimed to he 100 years old, but, as L did not see her birth certificate, I could not certify this as correct). On one of our number, H. H. Carr, rubbing noses, lie managed to extract the information that all the women and children had keen sent away to another pah, and all tho fighting men had gone to lie in ambush for us in the hush beyond the Mahia, making certain that we s. iculd come by that track to Turanganui.

HARDSHIPS OF THE TROOPS, j The next day we crossed the upper reaches of tho Wairoa River, cal lea the Hangaroa, at the ford immediately above a deep fall. Here, unfortunately, one pack horse, carrying three days’ provisions, in addition to my Tasmanian opossum rug and coat, slipped on tho papa rock and went over the fall. Shortly after this, to my sorrow, a regular storm came on, accompanied by snow. Going down the hill, wo had to use our rifles as alpenstocks, and they soon got choked up with mud. Had tho Hau Haus appeared on the scene we should have been in a very tight corner. I had to use my towel as a coat, and it proved a very inefficient protection against weather such as we were out in that day, and 1 suggested to Major Eraser that, as soon as we could find a suitable spot, we should camp for the night. This object was attained on reaching the bottom of a hill, where there was some standing hush (it was all fern we had been travelling through) consisting of matai and rata trees. I managed to light a fire in a big dead hollow tree, I and, when this blazed up it served i as a beacon, and encouraged our poor i half-frozen men to struggle on to it, I instead of lying down in tho cold to die, which they were very much inclined to do. DESPERATELY HUNGRY.

Tho next day, after cleaning our rifles, which, as I formerly stated, we had .used as alpenstocks, we ! marched up hill and down dale, cros- ! sing the Hangaroa on four different j occasions. Towards nightfall, not ! knowing how far we had to go, and j having found a suitable spot, Major 1 Fraser decided to camp. By this • time, in spite of having tightened our belts two or three holes, we were feeling desperately hungry. As .it’ ' so happened, Solomon Black was riding a mare with a yearling foal, so a bullet through this young animal’s , brain solved the problem for us. After cutting its throat, it was skinned and hung up to a tree. We toasted steaks of this meat over a fire, and so appeased the pangs of hunger, j In the morning we crossed the Hangaroa on to Tiniroto, where we found Captain Westrupp encamped, with his Forest Rangers, and I need • scarcely add that hero we were hospitably entertained for two ' days, ; until our meti were sufficiently re- . covered from • tho fatigues of their arduous march, to tackle the rest ot •the journey; ■ After,.a few days’ rest : here, Major Fraser determined to try ! the• return journey to Wairoa. We i camped, after the first day’s march, ! at Maraetaha, at the station then • occupied by Mr Woodbine Johnston,

who, with his accustomed generosity of a fine old English gentleman, gave us a hearty welcome.

A WARM WELCOME.

The next day we marched along the Maraetaha flats until we reached the bush. Of course, I need hardly, state that, on this return journey, we had a couple of pack horses, laden wrtti our commissariat. After travelling a’ few miles through tho bush, on arrival at a spot where there was water, Major Fraser ordered us to form camp. Next day we marched on again through the bush, up hill and down dale, until we reached Mahanga, whore we. found a small mountain torrent, from which we got a supply of fresh water. Next morning, after waiting for low water uo enable us to cross, by tho aid of flagpoles, an estuary which runs in here from the sea, we arrived at Bendall’s accommodation house at Opoutama, where ho and. his Mapri wile, Ka, gave us a warm welcome. The following day wo marched by way 4 of Waikokopu to Null aka, where wo received hearty congratulations from our old ally, Ihaka Whanga. Next day we got hack to our camp at Te Kapu, which was then called Frasertown, and those of our company who had wives and' children brought them up to this settlement.

, TREACHEROUS QUICKSANDS. For somo time my principal duty, beside acting as amanuensis orderly for Major Fraser, consisted of riding between Wairoa and Napier with despatches to the Government agent, Mr Ormond, in Napier. At that time there was only a weekly mail between Napier and Wairoa. I used to ride a young colt “Darkey,” which I had broken in myself, and had trained him to come to a dog whistle, for a small feed of maize. My fiancee was living in Napier, so, to have as much time as possible in Napier, out of the four days allowed by the Major for tho trip, I used to sleep on the road at a grassy spot, and my horse could feed without tethering, whilst I rested, and yet return to me upon hearing the whistle. On one occasion I returned in company with Mr Stark (the mailman between Wairoa and Napier), and when we came to tho' Petane River, Stark being distrustful of a smooth, sandy patch, suggested that we should drive the pack horse in first, which we accordingly did. The horse had no sooner trodden on this sandy spot, than wo saw it was quicksand, as the poor beast commenced to sink. There was a stack of rails close handy, which wc laid to where the horse was sinking, and Stark, with his sheath knife, cut the surcingle, and rescued the mails. The agonising shrieks from the horse were almost human, as he gradually sank in the quicksand, till the sand closed over his head. We rode down to where the river ran out into the sea, and, by going out to the third or fourth line of breakers, we found a safe place to cross the river. (To Be Continued.)