THE TE KOOTI TRAIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19753, 28 September 1927, Page 5

THE TE KOOTI TRAIL.

BY FRANK H. BODLE.

SYNOPSIS. Kric Man tell, son ol Sir Kaplan Manteil, ' is in love with Alice, daughter of the Keverend Horace Winslow, who returns his affection, but Sir liaglan forbids the marriage as he is ambitious for his sons future. During a heated scene which Eric has with his father the bailiff of Sir l<tg_ Jan's estate enters and accuses Eric ot stealing a sum of money said to be collected by Eric from the tenants. Eric denies the charge and search is made of bis room, where the money is found. Sir Kagian turns his sou adrift and Eric parts ; from Alice, who firmly believes in his innocence. Eric lator sails for rsew Zealand. Here he enlisvs and has many nar- ; row escapes from death. During these years of strife letters pass between Alice and him- • self. CHAPTER V. PROPHET OF THE CHATHAMS. As nowadays cases of infectious disease are isolated to prevent epidemic spread, so, m the beginning of 1866, over three hundred Hauhau rebels were transported from New Zealand to the Chatham Islands, 365 miles from the mainland. The Hauhau ! religious cult, which might be described as a grafting of old Maori magic and superstition upon a distortion of the histories and prophecies of the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation, had a powerful appeal to the Maori mind, and won many converts, even from natives brought up under Mission influences. Its incantations promised immunity from alien bullets; it preached a Holy War, with Scriptural backing, against the landseeking whites, who were crowding into a country that had once been all Maori. It is not possible to obtain anv clear conception of the native point ot view in the previous and succeeding campaigns in New Zealand, unless it be recognised that the Maori loved the land of his ancestors with a peculiarly fierce fervour. Every glade, each stream and every hillock "had for him some epic memory of ancient conflicts or bygone romance, and this memory was kept ever green by the innumerable tribal songs and stories of a race marvellously responsive to beanty and drama in word and thought. To this passionate love of the land—though in the white man's judgment, he made small use of his land —the hybrid faith of the Hauhaus made ardent appeal. Therefore, when tho Hauhaus were beaten in the East Coast area, the authorities thought it wise to remove their most prominent and irreconcilable men and their families, in order, so far as possible, to isolate the fanatic faith. Among those deported were also some men who, although in arms on the Government side, were accused of treachery. Of these last was a man of thirty-five years of age, named Rikirangi, who later assumed th* name of Te Kooti. Then (and indeed until the day of his death) this man stoutly asserted his innocence of the charges under which he was arrested, and demanded that he be brought to trial. This request was not granted, and the man brooded on what he felt were his wrongs. As this member of the exile band played such a notable and notorious part in the early history of New Zealand, nnd must bulk largely in this storv, it will be well to learn something of his early history and his appearance. In those days, birth counted for almost everything among the Maori, yet Te Kooti —as it will be best to call nim—owed nothing to this. Fie was, in fact, a man of humble birth. He received an education in a Mission school and, even in early life, his dominating character soon became apparent. Ho won a notable reputation* for bis skill in horsemanship in the wildest country, and for his ability on the sea, particularly in the handling of surf-boats. He became a successful trader in competition with the whites, and personally operated a small trading schooner along the coast between the present towns of Gisboroe and Auckland. His appearance would have attracted attention in almost any company. Ho was about five feet ten inches in height, broad across tho shoulders, yet lean and wiry. The dark eyes, the roost arresting features of a striking face, below a plentiful thatch of glossy black hair, wore brilliant, keen and searching; bis aquiline nose was index of a dominating character, ! and the prominent jaws and chin told of a rosoluto will. In a mood of black fury then, this man disembarked with the other exiles in picturesque Waitangi Bay, on Wharekauri, the largest of the Chatham Islands. To his dying day, twenty-seven years later, Te Kooti alleged that his exile was due to jealousy of his too-successful trading and tho fact that the charge against him was never tried embittered his whole outlook His bitter musings of the outward voyage took definite form as he landed from the surf boat upon this alien shore. As his feet touched the rocky beach, ho swore that ho would exact the full vengeance, the ntu, that had been the custom of his immemorial ancestry. Hie exiles built their homes and settled down qniotly to cultivate the fertile 6oil. They built a meeting honse and there performed their queer, yet comforting ritual of many chants. And all tho while Te Kooti, a man apart, brooded sullenly over the vengeance that, some day, ho would take. Cat off from their friends and their deeply-loved haunts by a hundred leagues of turbulent ocean, most oi the exiles were desperately unhappy, but they were of good behaviour, so that tho armed English guard of two officers and twenty-five men was, in a spirit of costly economy, reduced to one officer and fifteen men. Then the brooding Te Kooti began to see his opportunity. Several of the chiefs were taken back to their homes in New Zealand, and when a promised general repatriation was long delayed, the lowborn man secured a hearing among tho remaining exiles, who had begun to d*s pair. Pondering alone, the strango man read continually in his Maori Bible of the captivity of the Israelites in Babylon, as it appeared, nnder circumstances to kindred to his own. One day he had climbed to the top o, a small pyramidical hilL He glanced at the lightlv-guard?d settlement at bis feet, and at tlie endless sun glinting «■» be yond, then settled down to read. Startled, he came upon these words of the Prophet Jeremiah: "Refrain from weeping and thine eyes froin tear'.; for thy works: shall be rewarded, saith the I»rd, and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. " And there is hope in thine cad, with the Lord, for thy children shall come again to their own border." The words of the Jewish Prophet struck the unhappy rr.an almost with the force of a physical blow For him they had' an intense personal application and ; the mysticism that is in the soul of every Maori took complete control of the brooding man. " Surely," be cried, " tb» is the Voice of God speaking to me, bidding me lead tbi« people out of the House of Bondage. I shall weep no more." He sat ihftre alone on the hilltop, staring out over the ocean Gradually Ins dark even lost '-"nesr dullness; the consuming blaze of enthusiasm glowed mors and more fiercelv from their depth*. "It is a message, " he whispered again. ** It is a call for me to lead them forth." His eyes shadowed for a moment But first I must gain their ear; must wia them, bsmsngly, to ay leadership." That was his great initial d.ffioilty, for every man and woman of the eatue band was imbued with the firm conviction that tho lowly-born Te Kooti was a fellow of no importance. He scowled over the problem, but tho susswer came at last and he smiled, as be whispered : **Ase, that w>U win their attention. So will I do." That night the scrub-wailed meetysg house was filled with the mournfu'hearted exile*. They sang the songs and chant* of tbeir faraway homeland, ontJ a mood of intense sadneta swept over ttse entire gathering. Then tteoßpfe the giwwifiQed hall marched T* Kooti and climbed into the low polpt, while the worshippers whispered, woftJenng what we* to eosce next. Why ahouid this man of jp*re®t»g* usurp the place of the prSwt. Tho esewer reiae rmgtag oat of the dar*"Te Awe (God) ha* ft'Wß rem » mmmf for yon," T» f«ti aoaoroaa looee* -* Xh<s JS **!»*■

A STORY OF THE MAORI WARS.

t COPYRIGHT.)

| (Holy Spirit) has promised that I shall ; lead you from this bondage to your own land once more. Hear me now. He has promised that a sign shall be given, so that all will believe mv words. Be silent and afraid. Look upon the sign of the Wairua-Tapu." There was a hushed, tense silence in the gloomy hull—the superstitious natives hardly dared to breathe, yet stared with mystic expectation toward | the shadowy figure that claimed to be the Messenger of Hidden Things. Suddenly a flaming, fire-limned hand . appeared above the preacher's head, waved I slowly to and fro, as if in benediction, ! then," as suddenly as it had appeared, j vanished altogether. A long-drawn breath | of amaze told something of the deep effect upon the unseen audience. " Ye have seen," the voice of Te Kooti boomed out of the darkness. " The promised sign was given. Tho days of thy captivity are cumbered ' There is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that i thy children shall come again to their own i border.' Now bring me light and I will read to you the message of the Atua." While" all stared, fascinated, the prophet of a new hope all hungered for read to them the 31st chapter of Jeremiah, with its pictures of sorrowful exile and its promises of deliverance. When the last word of promise had fallen from his lips, the new prophet left the meeting house as he had come, saying no word to any man. More than ever he was a man apart, consecrated to a mission of deliverance. At a single stroke his mana (prestige) has been so firmly established that the scoffing of a single sceptic, Te Kooti's own uncle, was beaten down by a wave of enthusiam and joyous hope. Among the exiles was a herculean halfcaste, Baker McLean, or as the Maoris called it, Peka Makarini, a man six feet two in height, immensely strong and utterly courageous. At that time he seemed an amiable obliging fellow and ho became a great favourite among tho guards, taking a keen interest in learning to play all the military bugle calls. Hiru Te Kooti took into his confidence and the two planned the details of tho seiiure of the guard redoubt and the settlement. And nightly Te Kooti preached in the meeting house, performing various miracles. Again and again tho flaming hand appeared; on another occasion a glowing cross—it had been smeared with a mixture of flax gum and phosphorous match heads—rose in tho darkness behind the rostrum. Gradually a formal ritual was evolved, superseding the old Hauhau jargon, to become the cult of the Wairua-Tapu or Ringa-tu (tho upraised handl. In it the captives and their relatives in Now Zealand became the Israelites and the white men, their oppressors, to be driven from the land of promise at the approach of Te Kooti, the new Moses, A hundred texts in the Old Testament fitted their {>osition perfectly and these Te Kooti liirled at them with such adroitness that nearly all were soon convinced that the messages had been written especially for them. Then when tho devotees were ripe for almost anything, the gaunt, fierce-eyed prophet went off alone into the hills, '.taking no food with him, he apent a day and a night, a dark, silent man, brooding over j the face of the restless deep, reaching out | and out, his verj soul in his eyes, searching and seeking an answer from tho sea. Hour alter hour, ha sat in his eyrie, gaining upon far unseen things. Little by little shadowy pictures formed in the screen ol his consciousness, fluid, deliblo shapes of ships afar upon the ocean, two ships, sails a-spread, winging fast toward the Isles of Exile. He came back to the meeting house m a white beat of fervour, calling tho people together as he passed their houses. " The hour ot our deliverance is at hand," he proclaimed with utter certainty. " The Atua has given me a final messages of good hope. Four days from now will come into this bay two ships, one large, one small. The large ship, the one with three masts, saith tho Atua, shall be tho Ark of our Salvation. Now let us give thanks and then prepare, for soon we leave this place. There is one mora word that came to me—there shall be no killing in the coming fight for the Atua will deliver the enemy into our < hands." Te Kooti's uncle, tiie old. man, Te Warihi, slipped from tho meeting house and silently ran across to the guard. He had no faith at ail in his nephew, hi* miracles or his promises. He could seeonly trouble ahead, unless Te Kooti were arrested and his foolish followers shown their folly. He told the guird and their commander a queer, jumb'.ed tale of miracles and propnecie# and miroineut rebellion, but they laughed at him and his foolish tale. On Tuesday, June 30, 1868, the ketch Florence arrived in the roadstead. Three days later, tho three-masted topsail schooner Rifleman, with Government stores aboard, dropped anchor in the bar. This dramatic confirmation of Te Kooti's prediction swept away any lingering doubt and lifted the exiled community to a pitch of intense excitement. When the prophet communicated bis final plans to the gathering on Friday night, all eagerly promised to obey his orders. " On the morrow," he told them, "you will he asked to man the turfhoat to unload the stores from the ship. We shall seize the boat—l myself will take the steering oar and lead yon to the boat with three masts. Another party wilt take the fort, binding the soldiers and taking all their arms. Yet another! company will race to the settlement of ! the white people, wearing all arms and t monev. Be yni of grsod courage and firm I obedience and all aha!! go well. lie(member also the command of the Atua j that there shall he no shedding of I blood. . > ! Nest morning the eho»en parties carrel out the plans of To Kooti with *!- most incredible eaae. .The sentry ai the redoubt was overpowered and the remainder of the garrison waa overwhelmed m on® fierce rush. The sentry at the magar.ne, Private Michael ifsrt neit, who refused to allow the rebels into the armoury and showed a bold frrnl to bus cumeroa* fom, was tomahawked by ao excited Maori, in defiant e of the orders ot Te Kooti. litis was the only casualty. While things were going tmcemaloSly for the prisoners on shore, the swfboai party were no less triumphant The Riflro&u's skipper was detained whore, ! and the ontospecttog crew were sor*t i overawed by the boatload of 1 perate men led by their wild-ey«! | " prophet" Ome master* of the ship t of their desire, the f/o*i party attacked | ttse nearby ketch and after putting her ' crew ashore lo>A*4 the little vwuneJ and *«t her adrift te> become ft total wreck, %n that no news of the escape might reach the aothoritiea is Mew Zealand. Unshod with success, with a body amounting to more than five hundred pound* is money ami—i&ore important to their.--over fifty useful guns and a ltup> store of ammunition. the excited Maoris commenced the embarkation. While th s was gomg forward, Te Kooti msde tersr* with the captured mate and cr*w. "If you tak* fc* safely to cmr bosses, no harm shall come to yoo," the elated iesder of the escapee# pron< 'ed. '"The boat shall be yoara again after •we lias e laod«i If will n<A this" —t" Kooti pointed significantly to the g ,ir -* that had been brought abessrd after th* seizor* of the rftdosbt. The pact -was made and crowded wrt» 1 neaHv three hundred e.wxted and wutii? ta hi last txtes, woosea and efc!»dfe«. Are ! Herman art sail fthe New Z~- , I U'A camt. The voyag* lore.' i h'.gh hope-, but cap ] fading*. r<jt * *'head i j tared sh'.p wLT' All «• M , I the evereeowded tJwf wwr* j mtMjrahle wee " ' ■nn >w* I Zd h£ J* j *****