WANGANUI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 681, 19 January 1866, Page 5

WANGANUI.

CAPIUfiE OP THE OTAPAWA PA. LIEUT.-COL. HAZARD DANGEROUSLY WOUNDED. LOSS ON" OTJR SIDE—SEVEN KILLED 'TEN WOUNDED. THISTY HAU-HAUS KILLED AND MANY WOUNDED. (From the lFctnganui Times, January lfi.) At a Lite hour last night a messenger arrived from the front with despatches for 'Walter Buller, Esq., K.JI., aui by that opportunity we have received from our able correspondent the rapidly written account of tho battle which we now place beforo our readers. It Will be seen that General Ghute litis again attacked and captured one of the enemy's strongholds. The Otapawa pa (hitherto considered impregnable), a strongly fortified position about five miles inland of Pukefarata has fallen into our hiin-ls, but, we regret to say, with rather a heavy loss m killed nnd wounded. Our readers will regret to learn that Colonel Hazard, of the 57th ; Regiment, whilst nobly leading his men to the attack, was se"v eivly, if not mortally wounded. The ball passed through his liver, but when the messenger loft Waingongora, the Colonel was still alive, aud hopes entertained ofh;s recovery. We have also lost seven men killed and ten wounded. The hud thirty killed, number of wounded not known. THE ATTACK OX OTAWAPA. . .^ roTrL ■ 1 rs main road between Ttlamiwapo and \\ aingongora, there stretches northward an extensive level of grassy plain, bordered bv bush inland; where gentle undulations gradually rise into drills' and, further on, into abrupt forest ranges. Valleys and gullies running in all directions detach here and there forest clad and isolated hills and ridge*, forming a perfec*' libyrinth ol and inacessible positions, lu the foomdr the Hauhau villages are scattered plentifully, and in thedatter yon may look for their pas. Otapawa is * one of the most formidable portions in this neighbourhood, and one of the most difficult to find. The approach to it leads up and down forest ridges across a fertile valley where the slopes are covered with plantations, you 6ee everywhere of Maori proximity, jot tho pais nowhero visible. A sudden turn in a road leading through bush up a steep fidl at last brings you face to lace with it at two hundred yards distance. At that point the field force under General Chute saw it this morning for tho first time, and at that short rango tho engagement began. The field force had left Putahi on the 10th, arrived at Kakaramea the same day, rt-nde Tangohoo (beyond Manawupo) on the 11th, Puketarata on the -1H within 5 miles of Otapawa pa, the latter was attacked and demolished this day, Jan. 13. At two a.m. detachments «f the 57th, under Cols. Hazard and Butler j of tile 14th, under* Colonel Trevor; Bangers, under .Major Von Totnpsky; Natives and Mative Contingent, under their Chiefs and K'naign Macdonnell, marched towards Otapawa ; three Armstrong six-pounders, under Lieutenant Carey, accompanied the expedition. The pa had been somewhat reconnoitred the day previous by Ensign Macdonnell and his Natives, on which occasion a large village with a magnificent council house (equal to the Ngaruawatua palace) was burned ; also it was ascertained that from a neighbouring artillery might play upon tho pa; this was put into execution to day, whon.tho force was about half a mile from the pa, and thanks to lieutenant Carey's skill, with some effect, as wo had occasion to see afterwards. The 57th was leading, next came the Rangers, then the 14th. Three shots from tho Armstrong had called forth no reply from tho Hau-hsus, a most u iusual' thing, many a one, even to the General, thought that tho pa had been abandoned. Even when the last corner of bush was turned wiihin two hundred yards of the pa, the pa lay there as silent as a graveyard—and as ominous. Colonel Butler on advancing further could shortly ece that tho silence was not caused through a want of occupants. Tho iillo pits behind the pallisad ng were thickly linnd with black heads, and a bush at right angles with tho pa swarmed with tho black vermin. Tho wholo tableau, the strength of the, pa, the number of the enemy (300) their evident determination to reserve their fire at tho deadliest range, all lormed a picture that well might cause an interested observer to pause, but General Chuto knew no such thing as hesitation. " The o7th advance ; the Rangers clear tho bush 1" and off went both corps in double timo. Then came the crash, the rattling of volley after volley. Tho 14th camo np in quick timo and extended partially in front of tho pa The Hungers got to the rear of tho pa just at the time that tho ;>7th gallantly forced their way in, in front. Nome advantageous volleys were fired into a flock of flying Hxliaus by the Rangers, when the latter entered tho pa on tho left rear angle. Tho pa, considered up to this timo impregnnblo by all the Maori? of tho neighbourhood, had fallen, and twenty minutes afterwards was a heap of burning ruins. "Thirteen bodies, ten in the pa and five in the gully, wero found at first; afterwards more still was found and " made' by our natives (they could not come in time into position through tho length of their route and the timesaving disposition of the General.) The Hauhaus must liavo had at least thirty killed. This victory, howovor, was not bought very cheaply. Five dead of our 3 lay on the field, and nearly a dozen wounded, One valuable life hangs now by a thread, and two of the wounded have died aire uly. A J brave jllaori, I Spain by name, a guide to the Rangers, was shot dead—a loss much deplored by his commander ; and another Hanger is wounded, but slightly only. But as the French have it, that one cannot make an omelette, "sail* easier da ocitfs," so we must pay for our laurels. The prestige of dash in the Ijritish soldier, lost almost entirely in this part of tho island, has been nobly resuscitatod by General Chute. CAPTURE OP PUTAHI. Tho following graphic account of the march upon and capture of Putahi, is from the pen of the able correspondent who supplied us with tho particulars of tho capture of Okotuhu, which appeared in our last issue. It is from such'communications as these supplemented by the facts contained in the letters of our other'correspondents, and extracts fromjofficial documents, that a concise and authentic history of the present campaign may be compiled, and such compilation we intend to completo and publish in pamphlet form, so soon as the campaign is over. With theso remarks we place tho following ably written sketch before our readers: — Patea, Sth January, 1866. PUTAHI. " On the proper left bank of the Wenuakura, the Hauhau pa of Putahi, is strojgly situated on a plateau supported by precipitous spurs, and cleft overywhore bv deep forest gullies. Tho road from Ngamutu comes opposite the pa to a fern plateau of similar elevation as that of the pa ; thenco the road descends precipitously to a grassy valley intersected by a wooded stream, and ascends the bare back of a steep fern spur, where each undulation lias its arm ol' fjrcßt into or on to each turn of the road, forming a succession of ambuscading places, equalled in convenience to a wily foe by few places in .New Zealand. Thiu was tho strength the Putahi Hauhaus had relied upon for a long time. Their flag had been planted in the faoe of tbo Patea garrison ever since the first arrival of the troops, and at no time had the natives taken tho trouble of fortifying their placo much ; its approaches, if well watched, would prove more formidable than the strongest pa in NewZealand. The c imp of the General's force wa3 pitched on the fern plateau opposite the pa, and th- nco the pa looked formidable. The red fighting flag greeted the arrival of tho troops on the morning of the 6th, and a number of gesticulating fanatics could be seen as plaiuly as possible and as bu?y as possible. The General desired at first to attack at onco, but wisely yielded to native representation of the necessity of deliberation, and delayed tho attack till night. Thereby the main defences of Putahi wero neutralised, as an unpjrceived appioaeh on an unwatohed road would turn the tables entirely against the defenders. At 3 a.m. on the 7th the General's force was on its way across the valley, and in p -rlect silence nnd • daikness ascended the lidgos of the Hauhau=, gaini ing before daylight the cover of the forest at a point I considerably to the right of the main road. The I native contingent under Mapr Macdonnell and Capt. Kemp (a really useful battdion that day) led tho way. ) The Forest Kangers utid-r Major Von Te psky, i followed. General Chute, M'.jor Pitt, end Cnpi tain Leech, next at the head of tho troopa, and I ,a ?' Sever Wors

a General or a soldier in New Zealand* gono over a r'Kid like the one they traversed cheerfully and manfully that morning. The last ascent tor tho pa was almost perpendicular, inaccessible, in fact, had it not been for the forest that covered that cliff with a dense screen and made climbing possible. On on the plateau where the pa- was situated same high fern and the tops of the forest fringing the sides yet hid from the view of the Hauhaus, the assailing force. Slajor Maedonnell was sent round to be stationed in the roar of the pa, andlilajor "Von Temp sky advanced t<: within 300 jards and opened fire. The first few shots of the Rangers interfered materinlly with Eome Hauhau ceremony just being celebrated, anci the ball commenced. The fire from both sides, the pa and the Rangers, was steady and well aimed; for once in New Zealand there were no frantic Maori volleys fired into the nir. Young Campbell, oi the -Hangers, fell the first, by exposing himself too much ; his wound, however, was not dangerous either to life or limb. The firing bet-ween the pa and the rangers continued for about an hour, and judging from what a prisoner said afterwards, had told well upon tho .Hauhaus; and after giving this information, the prisoner was " freed" from tha cares of this life bj one of his own charitable countrymen. In the meintime the General had got the troops in position, the 14th detachment in the centre nnc^'-! "_ Colonel Trevor, the 50th detachment under Captain Johnson, on the ltfc, the 18th detachment uuder Major Bocke on the right. Without bugle sound the troop 3 advanced to the charge, fixed bayonets at 300 yards, and with a ringing cheer and a gallant rush, towards the pa, Captain Johnson and Major Von Tempsky and Captain Pilner, were tho first to enter the pa. Another Banger, Private Malcolm, was shot class behind tho Major on entering the pa ; the euemy fled in the bush, and there was hunted by the Native Contingent to good wrect, ten bodies attesting the same. Unfortunately the .Native Contingent also had its losses, two men got hit, one of them dead now ; but, above all, Major Macdonnell got his first mark of honor, that at one time spread consternation amongst his men, and then fury. His wound, however, wiil cause him only temporary inconvenience, as no bone is injured, Tha flames did shortly their work, and thus fell Putahi thanks to a judicious combination of British pluck and native discretion.