WAIROA.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1011, 6 January 1869, Page 2

WAIROA.

THE EXPEDITION TO PUKETAPU [BEOM A COBIUSSPONDENXj Clyde, January 3, 1869. Although not personally present with the late expedition, I think I can give you a pretty accurate account of the same, which I have gathered from various sources. The expedition left Clyde on Thursday, the 24th ult., and camped that night at Te Kapu ; and, on Friday, after crossing the Wairoa river at Maru Maru, proceeded up the Mango Aruhe stream a few miles. On Saturday they marched to Orewha, and remained there all day Sunday. ( Orewha is a large plantation situated on the top of the range, and there is great j scarcity of water. They found here one old man and three females, one of whom was Namu's mother. On Monday, after a very fatiguing march, the rood being very rough and hill, they arrived at Erepete. The country over which the packhorses had to travel was such that it is marvellous how they managed to clamber over it, and, strange to say, without any casualties, thanks to the careful superintendence of George Mayo, who undertook the packing arrangements, assisted by three other Europeans. While camped at Erepete they discovered the track of a native leading in the direction of Puketapu, also a recent fire, and. some cabbagetree plucked. This track is supposed to have been that of the bearer of the letter from Te Kooti, mentioned presently, who had called at Erepete on his road from Te Ueinga to Papuni. Erepete is a very pretty^ place, situated on a nice grassy flat in a kind of fork formed by the junction of the Mangarewarewa river with the Ruakiture river. On Tuesday, leaving the pack-horses, &c. under charge of a guard at Erepete, they proceeded on foot to Puketapu, the road being up a river gorge full of huge boulders, and impassable for horsemen. About 300 yards from the track leading up to Puketapu they [came across the bodies, or rather skeletons, of those who were shot when Col. Whitmore attacked the Hauhaus. The first body they came to was that of P. Condon, one of the late military settlers under Fraser ; then Coates, A.C. j after him, Lieutenant Canning ; and, some 150 or 200 yards further on in the scrub, up a steep bank, and about forty yards from the river, Captain Carr. Plow he managed to get up there after being wounded, it is impossible to imagine. None of the skulls of the unfortunate men were injured. After burying these remains they ascended the far-famed Puketapu hill, which, as is generally the case, proved to have been greatly exaggerated. As a naturallyfortified place it is very strong, but there are no cxtonsivo earthworks, pallisading, &c, existing. The road up to the top of the hill is through dense scrub and bush, which grows right xip to the summit, upon which they found half an acre of trees cut down, but not cleared away ; and this, commanded by one rifle-pit, formed the whole of the defence of this so-called impregnable pah. There are about ten or twelve whares, but no appearance of having been inhabited for the last three months. The whole of the clearing round them, about two acres, is covered with Maori cabbage and sow thistle three feet high. The place is nearly surrounded by water, but the banks being straight down, no supply could be obtained from that source ; and, had the Hauhaus made a stand there, they would have been compelled to descend the hill in the rear to obtain water, and this would have been a very laborious task. The road after passing through the clearing

descent^ the hill to the Papuni, where there are some more whares. Papuni, it is said, was formerly a forest, but a landslip which occurred near Puketapu choked up the river, and it formed a kind of natural resorvoir or lagoon : after a time the water forced away the obstruction, and then the river returned to its former dimensions, winding through the Papuni, and leaving a fine alluvial flat. To return to the expedition. The Napier natives, after inspecting Puketapu, determined to explore the Papuni valley, and accordingly did so. They came across nothing particular until they reached the raupo church, in the centre of which they found a letter from Te Eooti to Anara Matete, suspended from the roof by a piece of flax, dated four days previous. The Napier natives, on finding this, wished to remain and watch, but the Wairoa natives who had remained at Puketapu, after wounding a Napier native through carelessness, retreated to Erepete, burning all the country and firing off all their ammunition. Under these circumstances the Napier natives thought it useless to remain there, as the enemy would have had sufficient notice from these fires, and they therefore followed the others to Erepete. Wednesday was devoted to rest and talk, the Napier natives wishing to go on to Poverty Bay, and the Wairoa natives to return. The latter cai'ried out their intention by packing up, late in the afternoon, and starting home. Shortly after they sent back a messenger to say they had found another letter on the track, and that they had seen fires at Te Reinga, and, as they were not strong enough by themselves if attacked, asking for a reinforcement; but the Napier natives said these were all lies, and refused to take any notice of them. On Thursday they marched to Maru Maru. All the way along, the Wairoa natives had fired the country, which detained the remainder some hours, and made it a very unpleasant march, especially for the packers, as the bags on the horses actually caught fire. On Friday they reached Clyde. Such is a short account of the late expedition, which has, in fact, accomplished nothing, through want of unity. I may mention that the Wairoa natives had on coats, &c. stolen from the settlers' houses, and a racing-cap stolen from the house of one of the military settlers was found tied up in a swag belonging to old Eewisha.

(FBOM ANOTHBE COKEESPOKDENT.) Clyde, January 2. The native expedition, accompanied by Capt, Deighton and Lieut. Preece, "which started from Wairoa on the 24th ult., returned yesterday, after having visited the various positions of the enemy from Wairoa to Puketapu, the supposed stronghold of Te Kooti, and thence to Papuni and Palrinui, some miles beyond Puketapu, near the junction of the road to Ngatepe and Maungapohatu. "We hear that native pahs have been burnt, cultivations destroyed, and a knowledge gained of the country that must greatly weaken and embarrass the enemy's movements, should he again visit his old haunts in the wild mountainous ranges which he has been occupying. Traces of footsteps were found on the road leading to Ngatepe, and a letter from Te Kooti, dated on the 25th ult., addressed to one of his followers who was employed in hunting up recruits in the Uriwera and Waikato districts. At Orewha, where the natives had cultivations, a few prisoners were taken, who appeared ignorant of the recent movements of Te Kooti and his gang, aud professed not to have heard of the fighting or of the death of Namu and others of their people at Poverty Bay, From the hilly naturftoftbe jpon.ntrj-, -iiiti puny ivtMM muelTlaFigued when they got to the end of their journey, and after some discussion as to whether they should go on to Wgatepe or Waikaremoana, it was decided they should come to Wairoa for further orders, the chiefs expressing their willingness to go to any part where their services might be required. If they have not succeeded in meeting the enemy it is not from any fault of theirs. Their conduct since they gained the first victories at Poverty Bay has proved that the friendly natives of Hawke's Bay are worthy of every confidence, and we should not appreciate them the less if they cannot always achieve similar victories to those gained on that occasion.

The following is a translation of the letter above referred to, writteu by Te Kooti : — ITgatapa, at Pokinui, December 25, 1868. A letter in pursuit of Karanaina,— greeting. I have a word to say to you, and attend. If you have been well received by the people, join us quickly, so that we may be prepared. If you have plenty of men — if you have Anaru Tiopira, Te "Wirihaua, and other chiefs of the Uriwera — send some one to inform us ; but whether you have or not the God will know. To give an account of my going to Turanga. The Government party havo been beaten. The fight was at Mangawainuku, on the 13th December. One pakeha, two half-castes, and one Maori were killed, and two on our side, Hamuera Tipuna and Matiaha, both of Nukutaurua. On the same clay I returned, and fell in with an attacking party of the pakehas at Pukepuke. I followed them: thoy attacked me ; and wo fought. Here the lovo (protection) of the god was shown to his people. He said that at Okare he woxild deliver into our hands the enemy, and there three pakehas were killed, and they (the whole bod3 r ) retreated ; but we lost not one. I am waiting for you at this time, and also for Pera Tutoke. "We shall make the attack upon Turanga, which has to follow at Waiovveka. It has been delayed on your account. Hasten. From Te Kooti te Tueuki. Eei Ngatapa.

We (Advertiser) understand that His Excellency Sir G. Bowen will leave for the South (Canterbury) on the 9th Jan. Trooper Hughes, now a prisoner at Wanganui for refusing duty and drawing his revolver on his officer, will be tried at a General Court-martial, which will be held in a fow days. Wellington Almanack.— We have received a copy of the Wellington Almanack for the year 1869, with the publisher's compliments. Year by year this publication is becoming more valuable as a work of roferonce, and this edition slioavs the same comparative improvement as that displayed in previous issues. There arc many valuable additions, not the least worthy of notice being an alphabetical index of advertisements, which enables persons desiring information to obtain the reference they require without tracing innumerable pages of notices. The tables and nautical information have been compiled by Captain Eenuer, a sufficient guarantee that the work has been carefully and efficiently done. The directories, both town and' country, appear to be complete and accurate. We trust that the enterprise of the publisher, Mr. T. M'Kenzie, will meet with the liberal success of which it is so justly deserving. — Advertiser.