TRIP OF THE HAWKES BAY YEOMANRY CAVALRY.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 12, Issue 1006, 19 December 1868, Page 3

TRIP OF THE HAWKES BAY YEOMANRY CAVALRY.

[HBOM A VOLUNTEER ] Thinking it will not be out; of place, I take this opportunity of giving you a short outline of our campaign in Poverty Bay.y lt is needless to ior metogivea description of our trip up. Of course you know-there would be a certain amount of sea^ sickness and an indisposition to eat, which ■!;■ can assure you was readily made up for . when, we landed . Now to . commence, or, more properly speaking, the "Alpha" of my tale. We landed at Tauranganui about seven o'clock in the morning, ill that -we saw living when we first came to anchor was the man at the signal-station (evidently a sentry, from the position he commanded) and one or two Maoris butside the, redoubt. The moming was beaxitiful and calm, and everything seemed to be hushed in sleep. The thought passed 'naturally through my mmd — perhaps such a morning as this when everything, was still did those fanatical wretches. pounce upon their innocent and -unsuspicious victims. Sad tale of woe ! what a frightful scene was that — that wpke them up so suddenly from their otherwise calm repose. But lam digressing. Your first opinion of Turanganui jfroin : the port is decidedly against it. There are, two nice buildings there— the .Court House and Bradley's Hotel. The situation is bad, situated as it seemed to me on.asort of sandy soil, and when the wind , blows at. all it is exceedingly unpleasant. After the troop had had breakfast, we had orders to march to Makaraka. Only half were mounted, so that the other half had to walk, and I am still under the impression Westrupp did not 'put himself about *to 'get iis mounted. I think more is due to Captain Tanner and Archdeacon Williams. At all events, we started about three in the afternoon. There was nothing pleasing to strike the eye . along the. road until we had gone about, five miles, when we came to the Government paddock. The grass there was in abundance, up to the horses' knees. ; AFter we had gone on a little farther, we . came upon one. of the scenes of the late disaster. All that is. now to be seen of the Messrs. Uren's is the chimney. What .a pitiful sight ! By the appearance of the chimney, I should, imagine the house had been a good size. The land round about is fenced in with posts and rails, overgrow^n.with quicks and other plants pecu"Bat'to fences. The willows ' and poplars grow to immense size, and seem to be Very plentiful. All the country round about is studded thickly (even to becoming a nuisance) with the prickly acacia. After passing on about a mile, we came to a small cottage in the corner of a paddock, which we made our camping-ground. ' I have" not been able to find out correctly to whom this, belonged. - The house had been." ransacked "by the Hau Haus, and everything taken away ; even the cupboard was torn to pieces. They evidently -do- all their, mischief with the bayonet. We made the house the officers' quarters . and orderly room, and the men were told off into five different messes, each mess having its own fire. It looked very picturesque in the dark, and. gave you an idea of "the days when we went gipsying along time- ago." We all slept out in the open, covered with our blanket. Some had cut tea-tree scrub and made a kind of shelter for themselves. Sentries were posted at dusk with loaded arms and very strict orders. : Camp fires were put out, and no talking was allowed, so that everything was still, and silence reigned supreme, excepting when the sentries were relieved. I can assure you a very vigilant watch was kept, for we were informed before leaving the port that the Hau Hau scouts were in the habit of coming out on the plain. We had orders from Captain Tanner to keep our arms alongside of us ; ready loaded and capped, in case of a surprise. The camp was roused quietly be- . tween two and three o'clock every morning, and we were then ready for any surprise. A little after, when it was full daylight, we had orders to go under cover again, and remain until six, when the ..trumpeter sounded the reveille. The roll was then called. After that the different messes went about . getting their breakfast. Not having any meat, they were ''told tcget what they could for that meal, and I can assure you they did it in right earnest, much better than I anticipated. ;Divers^npises that kept coming to my ears told me pretty well what kind of a , .breakfast we were going to have, and I -was^ not at all disappointed at the result. I will draw a veil over the meals of that day^in case it might cause an emigrating ' stampede* which I should be very sorry . to be the means of bringing about. After breakfast,.' Captain Tanner gave orders "that horse guards should be told offflo get in what horses they could find. I must first teli you that a strict order > was given that no man was to leave camp, even for the purpose of getting firewood • or- water, without carrying his revolver /loaded and capped. Numbers of horses were got in, but none like John Grilpin's, of fame renowned. I never saw such a jaded, sorry- lot in all my life. Talk about charging, the brutes wouldn't charge a haystack. I got on a beast that only ■ went when he pleased, and at any pace he liked. He never took my feelings into ■•^' consideration a bit. I often wanted to part company with him, but I couldn't ; better myself, so I came to the conclusion ( -to -let well alone. Nothing of any moment occurred that day, but we were now all ready for any duty that might come. Captain Tanner gave orders that all lights must be out by dark. We had roll call just before to see that every one was in camp, when all went to their different places for the night. We had not long . laid down before we heard Mrs Wilson's pet dog howling most pitifully about a mile away at Matawhero. I believe the poor dog was in the habit of hiding in the day time and coming out at dark. It made one feel quite sad to hear the poor , :*hingv; The dog had not been howling | long when we heard shots in that direction, but at greater distance of course. This made us feel quite anxious, but Captam Tanner, with his usual good judg- ' merit, made us all keep quiet, without = arms ready by the side of us. The sounds • came from different directions. Each volley consisted of five or six shots, as far .as we could make out, but after a time the firing ceased altogether. The last „ was heard close to the foot of the hills. ' There was not much sleep for us the rest of that night, but a few slept soundly enough. We were turned out again, according to the captain's orders, between •- two.^and three, and remained till broad ■ daylight, when we were told to go and get a little sleep before the reveille. After Jbreakfast, half the troop, under -,--■ Captain Tanner and Cornet Brathwaite, escorted provisions up to Patutahi, where Captain Tuke is stationed. This position ? commands the valley, and is also a halting \ pkee^ for- troops from and -to the front. ; This is .the place, you will remember, where ; the escort, under Sergeant Butters, was I surprised; on the 27th tilt., and the am- > .munition taken from them. Nothing oe- .; r ..-currcd-during the escorfc. They returned ? ,atoeainp r about -five- o'clock in the afternoon.. Shortly after they came back, .; orders ;jwere!;giveh, that Lieut. Cuff and . |^t^e.;b|Mr half of the troop should proceed ,;;netff^onnng as escort to 'Patutahi. No

firing was heard this night, and we had not been able to ascertain the cause of the firing on the preceding night. Next morning, according to orders, Lieutenant Cuff and thirty of the troop marched to Patutahi. On our way, we came across the body of a dead Maori, lying close to the road side. At the pa Patutahi, when we got to the camp, Captain Tuke was shifting to a better position. There we came across our old friend the "big gun," of Militia Office notoriety. That day we escorted two dray loads of provisions to Captain Tuke's camp. After having seen the second dray up all right, Lieut. Cuff gave orders that we should scour the country in the direction of Major Westrupp's . and Mr Harris's, and from thence make a- detour through Matewhero, and on to our camp at Marakaka. Your readers would hardly credit it if I were to give a proper description of the luxuriousness and fertility of the country. It is simply a most beautiful garden. Even amon.; ;t the hills far back you come across r ..all groves of peach and apple trees, lor; "jd with fruit, the very weight of the fr..!t breaking the branches. It is very sing !ar that a most lovely and beautiful' district like this (rich in everything that concerns a farmer) should be so sparsely populated, whilst in Hawke's Bay, even with the utmost care and attention, you can hardly get to grow what you see there growing wild. On our way down we came across cattle that could hardly walk, they were so fat. It is a most wonderful country for grass. We visited a large pa, belonging, I believei to Tamibana. It was completely ransacked and the whares torn to pieces. There we halted for a short time, and caught some horses, the property of the Hau Haus. They were so wi^d that we only took one or two. We again,, mounted and crossed the river below Mi\ Bloomfield's. What a desolate picture presented itself to our eyes here, where a short time since was life, contentment, and happiness. What a reverse I SsH§t'al of the nouses that were burnt down* we could not find out to whom they belonged, but everywhere was destruction, and that complete, even to the pulling down of the garden fences, which is attributed to our allies, whom I have no doubt did a great deal of mischief. The nest place we came to was what once was the store of Mr Cadle, but is now a complete ruin. Nothing but ashes and a bare chimney shows now the spot where industry and perseverance reigned. The grave is just in front of what was his house, and a few logs had been put over it to prevent the pigs#from rooting too much of the soil off. .Close to are the ruins of poor Walsh and Padbury, who are buried close by in one grave. What an end ! It is horrible to think of. It may not be in the remembrance of most of your readers, that Lieut. Walsh was, some time ago, for his indomitable courage in thrashing three Hauhaus at the same time, thanked personally by Sir George Grey. The little church stands within a few yards, untouched. Can it be superstition prevented the murderers from interfering with that sacred edifice. Inside were the seats of all those that are no more. There seemed to me to be such a solemn stillness about it, that I felt quite relieved when we moved on. We had not gone far before we came upon Capt. Biggs' grave. Kind friondshave buried him and his wife and family underneath a peach-tree, close to where the house once stood. What a melancholy picture presented itself. How sad to think of our friends having met such a death. Awful and fearful were the thoughts that passed through the minds of most of us ; and disappointed and humiliated were we that we could not answer to their call of vengeance. Oh ! how fervently did we wish that the opportunity might be given us of a fair fight with those inhuman wretches — and none wished it, I am sure, more than our officers. We returned to camp with feelings of a very painful nature, and our heads bowed low with grief for our lost friends. Capt. Tanner had found out during the day that the shots we heard on the second night of our arrival were from the Hauhau scouts, who were giving warning of our arrival on the plain. Next morning orders were issued to escort more ammunition and provisions to Patutahi, and thence to the front. I need not recapitulate the event— suffice it that we arrived there safely that (Saturday) night, and camped close to Capt. Tuke's position. During that evening we met all the Napier natives (Ngatikahungunu) coming back. They gave a great account of the fight the day before, and described the crying of the women and children as like so many pigs squeeling. There is no doubt that that day the enemy lost a great number, amongst them jyiat vile wretch Numa, who killed poor Biggs and Wilson. By the native acconnts the Ngatiporou gave him a death he well I merited ; and all praise is due to Mr. M'Lean, for I hajdly believe any one else has the power of getting the Ngaftiporou's services '; and all our successes lately are owing to their courage and allegiance. It is a great pity that any cause of dissension should have sprung up between the tribes when they were doing so well. We met Mrs. Tareha and her boyprisoner (the cause of the split). It is said she fights splendidly, everywhere cheering her tribe on. We also met poor Karauria Pupu, who seemed to be dying. Capt. Tanner gave him a glass of brandy, which seemed to do him good. Hapuka, who was riding alongside, very strongly objected to poor Karauria getting it, and wanted it himself. Shortly after leaving us poor Karauria expired. Honor be to his remains. As a chieftain, he merited the imposing funeral procession that was accorded him by His Honor. Ho fought his fight, and therein shewed his true loyalty. That evening and the next morning Capt. Tanner persuaded fifty of the Ngatikahungunu to assist us in conveying provisions to the front. They started two hours befow) us, as Capt. Tuke wished us to wait for some ammunition he expected from Turanganui, as fie knew jjhey were short of it at the front. We waited some time, but the dray not appearing, -wo took what was at the camp, also provisions, carrying them in front of us on our horses. The road to the front is a scries of hills, some of which are very steep. We went through a great deal of bush. There being no milestones, I calculate wo had gone from ten to twelve miles, and were just emerged from a l&rtg h.ush through which we had been wending duv way in single file, when we espied a number of natives coming down a hill in front of us. They turned out to be the Ngatipakiaha tribe, Wairoa natives, returning from the front ; by whom wo were told that the fighting was over, and that all were returning. Capt. Tanner on hearing this gave the word to halt and rest. Shortly after, we saw our friends of the morning coming clown the hill, vrho told us the same thing, and that Bopata and his tribe, with Gascoigno and Dr. Ormond, were only two or three miles behind. Dr. Ormond put in an appearance some little time after. He said itwas no use our going on, and recapitulated what we had heard before. Just then who should emerge from the bush but Col, Whitmore, with the intelligence that

! he had not far behind him 300 well armed men. When he heard that Bopata was ill, and that he was just in front of us, he said he would go and see him, and persuade him to return and again hunt up To Kooti. It is very annoying that just when all our efforts were about to be crowned with success, and Mr. M'Lean was to get the unbounded and unqualified praise of the colony, and when our best fighting chief, Bopata, was in possession of an angle of the pah, that a hitch should occur from a want of ammunition . When the enemy escaped from their first position at Makeretu, leaving numbers of their dead and dying, brave Bopata, deserted by the rest of our allies, pursued and overtook them, and had them completely hemmed in ; and if Sub-Inspector Gascoigne's despatch had been acted upon with promptness, and less of the natives' reports believed in, Mr. M'Lean would have the complete satisfaction of knowing that now not only would the war on the East Coast be crushed a second time, but that Te Kooti and all his followers had suffered a death they so richly merited — for we all know that Bopata would spare none. But Mr. M'Lean 's complete and triumphant success would have been in his native policy, and he could hayo said, with unbounded pleasure, " All this did I flo with natives : men the G-ovornment wished to disarm." Knowing it would be useless now to proceed to the front, we returned to Patutahi with the ammunition and provisions, thoroughly disgusted when we knew the true state of affairs. Coming back, we passed Whitniore's men, and a splendid lot of fellows they are. That night we received orders from Col. Whitmoro to embark on the following day (Sunday). Next morning we started for port, going round by Wairatif^ika, in which route we passed poor DodcTand Poppard's, whose place is served the same as the rest. Poor fellows ! they have gone to their last resting-place, and I trust kind friends will ere long have something up to mark the spot wh||e lie their remains. The Bishop's is almost beautiful place : the only way I can describe it is by likening it unto a complete garden and orchard of the most magnificent and fanciful description. I am sure none of us will ever regret our visit to Poverty Bay, which is certainly' the garden of New Zealand. We leave it with very painful reminiscences. Though we left it without seeing the enemy, it was not the fault of Capt. Tanner ; it was, I am sure, his, as well as our earnest wish to fall in with the bloodthirsty iniscrea&jig.