A PAGE OF NEW ZEALAND HISTORY.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 8521, 16 November 1889, Page 6

A PAGE OF NEW ZEALAND HISTORY.

A writer in the Christchurch Press furnishes the following account of an attack by Tilo Kawaru on a little garrison in the unfinished reloubt of Turi Tiiri Mokai, in September, 1868 :— Few men who have passed through Buch terrible experiences, agree perfectly in the accounts they afterv/ards gi7O of them, no two accounts Correspond ; though both men are anxious to relate nothing bnt the simple facts. The young man, who I have called George, and who accompanied me on my return journey, as previously related, was one of the garrison, and on more than one occasion has told me the story, a story in which I am muoh interested, pattly, no doubt, from being very well acquainted with the brave and unfortunate officer who was in command of the camp— Captain Fred Boss. There was a considerable force within a short distance, and as the Maoris were not at that time in opon warfare j with us, it was not thought dangerous to his safety, when Captain Ross was I sent with a small patty, only some 25 or 30 strong, to occupy the unfinished rodonbt of Turi Turi Mokai. One or two setters hcd been murdered not long before, but' the general opinion was that these murders had been committed, either as Jjcta of private revenge or upon impulse, by some few late occupants of the soil, who could not stand by and see the whites cutting down trees which for generations had been in their hands, and were looked upon as inalienable property. However, ibjs may be, there seems to have been no idea in tho shape of a general rising, or a carefnlly planned vengeance Bucfa as after events-elearly proved to have been hatching for a considerable time. Under these circumstances, when, one morning in the middle of September, a Maori woman came to the redoubt, on the pretext of selling potatoes, or aonie snoh errand, her appearance caused no feelings of anxiety. She conoluded her business, and departed, having, as events afferwaydp proved, bean a spy, sent to see how much, p'f ihe redopb.t remaipgd uuftnished, where its weak points lay, ahd to ascertain if the whites continued to sleep in the huta they had erected outside tho unfinished walls. She did her work well, no doubt. Between midnight and 1 a.m., the enemy were upon them in force. ■ How the first alarm was &lj?on, es tppy appvo^ched, I never heard, perhaps nonp 62 tfi'o39 left to tell the tale rightly knew. At about the hour named, an alarm was given, and Captain Eoss waa senn to rush in his shirt, sword and revolver in hand, towards the entrance of the redoubt — for ha pie^t' in o hut outside, and in front of the entrance. ££a npvpr attempted to:get in himself, but, as he came sear, timed upon a crowd of Maoris, who! were in full pursuit, and as he, turned he shonted, "To arms, close that entrance," and fired into his foes. His shot was answered by a volley, flatfi sorely wounded, be again

oried, " Close that gateway." Then for a few nvmenls we must imagine the hurry and alarm in wbioh the sand bags were piled across the gateway, by breathless men, scarcely yet awake or realising the dread peril they were in. Still their captain stood and faced his foes, keeping them at bay, holding the fort alone, as one, no braver than he, held the bridge of old. The men, who loved him, began to fire as soon as possible in his defence we may be sure, and before they finished closing the entrance they loudly called lohim to enter and save himself. He was now wavering unsteadily and getting very weak, but back came the answer clear and strong, " Never mind me, men, I'm done for ; save yourselves— close the gateway." And with those words he fired his last shot, waved his sword for the last time, and fell to rise do more. So ended the bright young life of a true-hearted New Zealand soldier, almost, if not quite, a native of the colony. And Tito Kowam, with hundreds of his brave dusky warriors, waß firiug upon the gallant little band who that night held their post, a post saved by the death of their undaunted leader. ..Many were wounded, many were killed, but the complete surprise conBaiplated had failed. %ver the uniished parapets rushed the foe, and many were shot down as they scaled the imperfect walls. Some fell into the diteb, others, tilled or wounded, were carried out of the redoubt itself by their companions ; and so the fight for life went on. Oar mem were getting few and weak, but still they kept the foe at bay, and held the redoubt, while men there were to hold it. In such a fight, so long continued, the enemy, ao often repulsed, most have taken many a breathing pause, to carry off dead and wounded and endeavor to form some new and more successful plan of attaok. They always returned, however, and with undaunted courage endeavored to gain their end— the redoubt; the redoubt, that was what they wanted, and what they could not compass. To take a garrisoned redoubt from the whites, how great would be their renown, how immensely increased their "mana." The whites, now reduced to too few to hold the whole place, retired to a corner, all wounded, or nearly all, but still determined, fighting in the very teeth of death. To tell what happened to my former mate, George, tells pretty much the tale of all. Shot on the right temple by a bullet that nearly scalped him, he fell, fell hut to get up again, and to tie a handkerchief round the wonnd to keep the blood from blinding him ; he went on loading and firing. Then shot in the ribs, the bullet tearing away the fiesh and leaving the bone bare. He fell Bgain, and again rose. Then he was again hit on tha head, and now they retired to the corner, some of them crawling there on hand and kness. They leant against the walls for support, and now George got a bullet throught the lfg that brought him to his knees. Still he managed to load and fire. Some of the little remnaDt always reserved a few shots to check the rushes, by which the Maoris hoped to bring the tomahawk into play, and finish the bloody game for ever. Faint with loss of blood, leaning and sitting against the walls, some lying at full length, they eliUhold >Sl*,and prayed for daPightioV^frflr. i Cfimk I am right, large as the number seems, in sayiug that George that night received eleven bullet wounds and still coutinued to defend himself to the end. I h«ve seen the scars, and if thero is a tuistake it is mine, not his. He still lives, and might easily be found to correct any errors, if it were necessary. Daylight came at last, after that weary night, and with it came help from their companions in arms. Tito took himself off with the dawn, no doubt thinking that if he could not overpower the few. he would be ill-prepared to cope with the many who might be expeoted with day. As a matter of fact, (he firing had been heard when the attack was. commenced, and a strong party had boen ordered off to find out the cause ; but owing either to a sudden change of the wind or to one of those pauses, meulioned above, having occurred just when the party reached a spot where the shots should have beon plainly audible, they heard nothing to cause uneasiness, and returned to camp. When daylight came, however, there seems to have been some uneasiness, and they were sent off again. We may imagine their horror and rage at the sight which met their view at the redoubt. The bleeding handful of dying men, surrounded by dead companions ; dead companions, whose ammunition the half-dead men in the corner had crawled ont to get, in those lulls of the fight. It is said that the commander of that relief party cried like a child at the sight— rather, like a man, a man who grieved to think of the sorely needed succour he bad just missed giving the night before. It was also said that he declared afterwards his next engagement, if not victorious, should be his last. He kept bio word, and fell with Ton Tempsky, Buok, and so many other brave colonial soldiers, at Te Ngutu 0 te Manu. '

xne account of thia night's work fel} | like a thunderbolt upon the colony. If I do not greatly err, it was when I the news reached Wellington, and found onr Parliament in session, that a great hush fell upon the Assembly^ Ifcwa'a at >4fet> and Dr. Eeatb.erstoEjflM£From I his bed of sickness at rnidnightT'and ,' drove down to the Hbuse. \yhe'n the! I door opened and revealed his thin form 1 and pale face, the Jjo'use rose and greeted him' with a cheer. He moved forward, and as members 'saw $ha brilliant that gleamed from his eye, and recognised the set stejnneea of the palq face, they rose again, and cheered till tho roof-treea rang sgain. Tboy knew that now something would be done. That whatever was laken iti b,and woujd be 60 the purpose— fh.e best (heir united wisdom could devise to meet the epjeygency, and that whatever might be decided on, it would be done promptly —ao they cheered— cheere4 the Fa'they of the Province, while the colony cried " Well done." ' Men and money were forwarded-^-all that could be done waa done, but nothing could avert the long series of mis. fortunes which ended in Colonel Whitmore's retreat with his forces to the Weatmere, within five miles of Wanganui town, and the troopers' skirmish n-ith the foraging Maoris at Nukuraaru. Here, within an easy iideof Watiroa, ay, what was before the war, probably, the most thiokly peopled district in the North "Island, south of Waikato, possibly Waitara might have equalled it, but it is donbtfal. I am not thinking or writing of Europeans. Looking ruund, from, any rising ground in the neighbourhood, \t would he hard to poiufciii any direction without 'crossing- soiaa spot of iuterest, some soene of- battle, murder, suprise, or sudden seizure. Near here the brave Major Haasard fell, whiio leading his "Die Hands" (o7th lifgimcnt) to the assault. In the wooden ranges behind, our own regretted Von Tcmpsby avid Mavir Hunter, witb Gaptain 'fiuok, .and onier officers wert shot, in a futile attempt onTeNgutu Ote Mann. Close by both Colonel and Captain McDonnell were seriously wounded, as also was Captain F. Boss, whose eDd has been recorded above. To repeat all the names of even the officers killed and wounded, almost within atgkt of this pah, wonld form- a long list, '