ONE OF THE COMBATANTS INTERVIEWED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9131, 13 August 1888, Page 11

ONE OF THE COMBATANTS INTERVIEWED.

One of the beds in the No. 1 male ward at the Hospital was lately occupied by one of the participants in the recent native fight. His name was Wereta, and his age 40 years. He was admitted to the Hospital on Friday evening, July 27, having arrived from Whangarei on the Stormbird.

A reporter from our staff went up to the Hospital on Saturday afternoon, the 28th July, to endeavour to get an interview with the warrior.! By the kind permission of Dr. Lindsay, House Surgeon at the Hospital, the reporter was at once received and allowed to enter the ward. He found Wereta on one of the cots fast asleep, and wailed for his awakening. A half-caste in the Hospital acted as interpreter, while the patient's daughter sat on the opposite side of the bed/ apparently wondering what new process was to be gone through. It took some little time to make Wereta understand what was wanted, and what interviewing meant, and before opening his lips lie turned a searching look on the reporter. Then followed an animated and rather prolonged exchange of question' and answer between the interpreter and the patient, and the reporter began to wonder ..when ids turn would come. Then a conversation took place somewhat as follows — ' " I want you to tell "mc all about the light the natives hail at Te Poroti." —" It was about some land." " Well, what about it : how long has the trouble been —" A good long time." "How did the light come on ? What is the extent of the land in dispute?"— "There are some 1500 acres, and a man named James came and offered £300 for the land to dig gum on." "£3OO for the land?"—" Yes; for a year." " £300 for one year's leave to dig gum?" —" Yes. Taurau, that is my chief, agreed to this, and James gave him the money. When the other side heard this, Eru Hiri came to Taurau and asked him about it, and Taurau told him that he (Eru Hiri) had nothing to do with it. When Taurau told Eru Hiri this, Eru Hiri. replied, 'You will have to give us some of that money, or there will be war.' Tins land is claimed by both Eru Hiri's party and Taurau's side. Taurau and his party were willing to have the land surveyed, and the thing settled peacefully, but the others objected to this, claiming it. Eru Hiri's party say they object because, in the case of a piece of land before like this Taurau claimed, although he had no right to claim, yet hegot a lot of it, and they think this would go the same."

" When Eru Hiri said there would be war what did Taunt say to that?"—" Taurau said, 'All right.' Then we loft, and went to our whares to get ready. We called our party together, and got pur guns and looked after them, and went to sleep." " Were you not afraid the other party would attack you?"—"We set watchers, four men, changing them every two hours, and these men were singing all night till daylight?" "That's a funny way of setting guard. How many had your party, and which side were you on?"—"I was on Taurau'a side, and we had 30 men." " And how many had the other ?" —" Eru Hiri had SO or 100." " Which won —'■ Taurau's side. There was a big bush about nine miles behind us. We fought amongst some tea-tree on a flat, just below a hill. Taurau's side were highest up, and the fight began in the morning and lasted about half a day. Taurau's side drove Eru Hiri's side down, and then Eru Hiri's side went away, and said they would come, again and fight on Monday." " What did yon do to win this glorious victory?"—"l killed one man, and shot another in the hip. The second one is alive. I was shot in the forearm as I was raising my gun. The bullet entered the forearm, came out again, and again entered the arm higher up." Dr. Lindsay here said he believed the bullet was still in Wereta's arm.

Reporter: "Well, did you renew the tight on Monday?"—"No; Mr. Clendon came up and stopped us. Our side lost two. 1 do not know how many were hurt on the other side. The others had the advantage in numbers, and they fought in places they dug out so as to shelter them, while they could see me, and that was why I was shot. We fought over about 500 acres ; scattered about shooting when we saw any of the others, and trying to keep from being shot by hiding in the tea-tree." During the conversation the daughter of Wereta had evinced the liveliest interest in the proceedings, frequently taking part in Maori in the conversation, and laughing as the story proceeded. It took considerably longer to elicit than it will for the reader to read it, from the well-known peculiarity of the Maoris (who, in this respect, arc like some "learned " white men), never to use a short word when a long one can be got, and never to use a few words when a large number can be put in. That he lias at all broken the law, Wereta lias apparently not the slightest idea, He appears to look upon the mutual agreement to go to war as a sort of good-humoured civil contract to a sort of shooting match, regarding it more in the light that Europeans would a football or a cricket match. They played Era Hiri's side, and beat them one day, and were quite ready to play the return match on the following Monday. The " war" was evidently a sort of red-letter event, and although they played with guns and bullets instead of cricket bats and balls, that was more the choice of the game than any bitter animosity with which it was contested. Accidents will occur, however, and just as in a football match, or a horserace, several men might lose their lives ; so in the rifle match between the two ha pus, some of them came to grief. But that they have done wrong at all does not appear to have been entertained by Wereta at least. Why Maoris cannot .quietly and civilly agree to have their little war as well as Europeans, is a distinction they cannot see ; and if the Government punishes them for it, they will without doubt look upon such action as an injustice and a piece of tyranny, and a deprivation of another of their rights and liberties ; and so long as Europe continues an armed camp, and two nations who ought to know better fly at each's throats merely because an Ambassador receives what he considers .a slight, who shall say that the white man is much ahead of his European brother, or has any room to censure him? DEATH OF WERETA. On July 2!) Wereta was put under chloroform and his injuries fully examined. It was found that the bullet had entered the forearm, smashing both bones, and then going nut below the elbow joint entered the upper arm about midway between the shoulder and elbow, shattering the bone into splinters. Of course the proper thing to do under the circumstances to save life would be to amputate the arm before mortification sets in, but it appears that before this can be done the consent of the chief of the tribe to which Wellington belongs has to be obtained. A telegram was received on July .30 by the Hospital authorities from Taurau, at Whangarei, consenting to the amputation of the Maori Wellington's arm if it was necessary to save his life. The operation was performed on the 31st July. Wereta was put under the influence of chloroform, and the arm taken off by the attendant surgeons. The bullet was also found and extracted, and the wound dressed, and Wereta was allowed to come back to consciousness. The hopes that had been formed that the operation would save his life, however, proved futile, his system not being equal to the demands made upon it by the operation, and it was soon seen, after his returning to consciousness, that he was sinking rapidly— condition that resulted in his death within a short space of time. Deceased's daughter, who had come from Whangarei with him, and who had been with him ever since he was admitted to the Hospital, became very much dia

tressed when she realised her father was dead, and the scene was a most painful one to those who witnessed it. The body was placed in a suitable coffin and taken back to Whangarei on the Wellington on the 3lst July for burial, deceased's daughter and friends in town accompanying the body.