THE MAORI WARS.

NZ Truth, Issue 56, 14 July 1906, Page 7

THE MAORI WARS.

(By J.M.F.)

TE NGUf U-O«TE-MANU.

How Voa Tempsky Died.

Captains Buck arid Palmer, Lieutenants Hastings and Hunter Killed— Many Wounded.

This w ll be a convenient time to give §6ine particulars of the "ambush" oi "trap" into Which the colonial' forces Ml, m September * 1868, and which reSuited m such heavy loss of iife on the side" of the Sfitisn. There Were t*o engagements at the place abovemetttidned, the first on the i9th ef August, ieti by Colonel McDonnell, with Majors Hun; ter and Von Tempaky each m cortaLand 6f a division. After passing certain rifle pits, whifeh Wefe des&fteti for the time feeing, Von Tempsky and his men gWepb retfnd to the right to cut off the retreat, ■Hunter 'S nifen being also admirably placed, "When the bugle SOUNDED THE "ADVAtfQfi" a cheer from the men of both divisions responded. The pah was m flighty and frdin all sides the colonial rushed upon the palisades, the men With axes, using them to sdmiß piirfjddej SOcra mado breaches, thfougfc whichj hdWever,. the natives within delivered ' their fire. The colonials having got m, the Maoris beat a retreat, but todk a determined stand at the fear of the pah. . They opened a heavy lire up«a the colonials, which,

however, Was respdrrded td bo fiercely that the HAU HAU^ BftdKE AND FLfit), leaving five killed', and carrying their Wounded Off the field. Colonel McDontiell gfave pfders to havi all furniture, firearms and pi'dperty r> every description removed from tli Whares, and Ifom the "Beak 6f t»i Bifd" the comtnodious and, m a Mno.Bense, magnificent building fPoin Which ( . T& NOtJl'U-O-T&MAiIU. takes its name. The property W*a sp^eii ily collected, a tfldscellaneous lot of sun dries, amongst, the heap being about 100 tomahawks, polished like burnished steel, The grand building, the "Beak 0! the Bird " 108 feet long by 35 feet wide^ "which Was ' erected at , an^ enormous .amouht of 1 labor, With all its beautiful carvings and ornaments,, was fired m five or six. places. Every whare was .speedily ih name's, the "flMs having ticca lighted by 'Colonel McDonnell and Captain GUmimiflSS; /the stronghold df thd i CANNIBAL. iafO BCOWAiiy. iattd his followers' V where they had but r> 'cently feasted upon the body of pdot. frrooper Smith, was soon a mass of burning ruins; leaving it . very unlikely jthat another Jiurop^ would be cookdd knd eateii there. The Colonials lost ih the iray four killed, with nine wounded. „ Afe thfe Colonial fdfees were working their Way out Of the Scrub, -the Haa Ham liung on their rear^but did not show a t Within three weeks the contending forca* tact m the B&me Ideality* this time with \ DISAS'niOtJS R-E&UJI/rS TO THfc i 001/ONIALS. L Monday, September 1, the colonial Lrce left Waifli: at 4 o'clock ln the ttiofn--Ikg, and at 2 p.m. encountered the Hau Hails at Te NgUtu,. etc. This time the were thoroughly prepared to give the colonials a very warm reception Not only were the rifle pits manned but the tops of the treea were decupled by sharpshooters, and deadly volWys were poured m tfpott the men, who, hbwever bravely pushed forward, cheered oh by their officers, the fire being returned With murderous effect. "Twenty-seven ikoris were killed aid many wounded." Most of the officers and men of the colonial force werfe killed by the Hau Bku fire from the tree tops. (Ihc details of ibis terribly disastrous uiht were fully given by Colonel McDonftdll m his | OFFICIAL. DESPATCH t«J the Government. Summarised, MbDonnell's despatch reads thus :-rHe lelt at 4 d.m. on the 7th, with force, as pi* tnafgih, intending to reach Te Euaaiuru thfoUgh the bush, attack that villafeei and return by Te. Ngiitu, etc. On retching Mawhitiwhiti he struck inland o« the main track to Te Ngutu, and to seiiward of the track that was supposed to! exisl, and waß marked on the map. Mkrchrng some distance On a very old trkil, it ceased altogether. He. then hekdedj m the supposed direction of Te Rua. 'Vtyey got into rough country, Intersected by gullies arid Streams, ttud a net work of i supple-jacks. At 1 p.m. he ascended a b<Uish ridge, ahd, by the advice of the I GUIDE, HONIPAPARA, sti.uck for the sea to try and hit the truck. After struggling m the bush foe an h£ur, .the p.arty, heard ypices, aad a ns,--

tive Wad sent up a tree to reconnoitfe. He only saw smoke. Pushing on, m the direction of the voices, they 6ame caross three ;o* f bur bark huts, which were rushed by the Ktipapas, Who fired into them, thd inntates rushing aWay, leaving two killed and three children, Who Were taken. McDonnell then left the KupapaS to bring up the fear, directing Major Von Tempsky to lead on with the men Under his command, sending Honi Papara with j a feW . friendly natives m fl'ont. They j SOon got into a fair track, and after proceeding about 400 or 500 yards saw more huts and a tent to the right of the path, and "afterwards,; to our surprise, fbund it was TIKOWAItU'S SLE^PiNG. PLACE." There wad no one inside, the Shots fifed having warned them. Following sharp on the track, crossed the Creek, and oh rising oil the opposite bank received a sharp fire. McDonnell got his men formed up and returned it. In a few minutes they Were fired upon from front, the right and rear, but, excepting m the palisading m the front, could See no enemy. In examining the place mare olosely, McDonnell fbufld that he Was m the rear of Te Ngutu, 'ftnd not at To fiiik^ and

(From a picture published at the time.) that a' new stockade had been erected and the old ohe rebuilt. • * • "As I could see that it would be Impossible to rush, and even if successful, to hold the place, as the enemy was not only occupying, but round three sides of it and up m the rat« trees, some, of frhich were HOLLOW AT THE BUTT AND tiOOPHOLED, f determined to collect' the wounded (now -:oven m number) and endeavor to push n my left, the only point that appeared . on. Thefe was no track, and the few intives who were With us not knowing of i:*, I directed Inspector Hunter to aoonipany the wounded with Captain New>uid, instructing the latter to keep Honiupttra m vie#, asf he had promised to like a way out., I was obliged to Wust >> his knowledge of the country, he hav■itf.' lived there for some timet" , • *, * ■ McDonnell then returned to Von Temp* *fey,. ahd sent liemp (Keepa) to collect his men, and send them to join Newland <n .front. Von TeinpSky Was then di^ rectdd to collect the rest of hia men to form a rear e«ard, and to Come on at nnce. Gumming was with McDonnell. ihiring the whole of this time the ehemy tfas firing; heavily m every direction. "OUR WAY HAI> TO BE Otff fflftOtJGH sUi)ple-jacka atid undergrowth which', withi eight stretchers we now had, Was a work of iJo'll and difQculty.'i They reached the creek that rnns through Timaru, but still no track. Presently news was brought that V o n Tempsky, Bu6k, McDonnell (Captain) and Lieutenant Hunter were shot dead; but just them Captain McDonnell canie up, and told him that Von Tempsky, . Buck and Hunter were killed, and' that he had told Lieutenant Hastings that the only chance was to carry out the ol'defs that had beeri given to Voii Tempsky, at once; His reply was : "Captain Buck is the senior," and he wbuld consult him; but found Buck dead, and the enemy m possession of the • place where the bodies of Buck, Von Tempsky and two men lay. He (Captain McDonnell returned then and pointed o ut to Hp.stings the necessity of retiring. The are at the time wad heavy from the front, rear and right, and' from the tops of the rata trees. Captain McDonnell (I think he was brother of the Colonel) then followed on the Colonel's trail with eight natives ahd ten Europeans. Colonel McDonnell had now about 80 men, including natives, hardly suflicient to carry the wounded, now increased m number, and to keep down the iire froui the right. Knowing that a large proportion of the colonial force was m the rear with a number of good officers, McDonnell moved on, feeling sure they wore COVERING THE RETR33AT. Presently he found that the enemy had got between them, ahd soon after Oaptalil McDonuell left the 'Hau Haus had succeeded m surrounding the rear, and ■ with great difficulty the force cut its way through. As the Captain struck into the bush, the Hau Haus left him and followed the Colonel, dvel-t&king him just before he struck the main track leading to Te Ngutii. The Captain had meanwhile taken up a position ut Te Muru, to keep the front open- The wounded had by this time increased to 12, who had to. fee tarried,, besi4ea spme. wfefl were aligh,t3

ly hurt, who could walk. The party worked bard, but we'i'e so floho up as to require every persuasion and advica thi Colonel and hi'si e&card could think dl to prevent thest afe*a**niuE the w«und•d. Ou» nail killed dtad th«y had t* leaTe, Dr. Btat being- badly hit m going to aa*trt*iii kit «t*i#: TKa doctor had to be carried off 6i riflts, ALL, THE STRUTGH*SRS BEING OOOUPIBiD. | The Hau Haus swarmed m the rear and j kept up a heavy firo, which could only be replied to occasionally, the ammunition' being .very short. ♦ '* * McDonnell's party attained the opening at Abi Pai Pa at dusk, and bad a parting voliey. from the" enemy; 'The Hau Haus followed, yelling, and performed r war dance m the open, ground m front. of the bush. The colonials cheered and fired 'a volley, which ptlt a stop to the War dance. They got the party safely across | the WaigoQgoro Biver and reached camp at 10 pirn. A mixed party of natives and Europeans, the latter numbering abdut 80, had, arrived before the Oolonei's party, and reported that all the j officers had bees killed or wounded and left behind, including the' Colonel. The roll being called, . it was found that Inspector Roberta, Captain Palmer, Lieutenant . Hastings and Ensign Hertzell, with aboui eighty Europeans and foUr natives, Were still absent. At daylight, as a' search party was going out, Rob«rtS; Herteeil, 62 men and foUf natives turned tip. Palmer and Hastings were reported killed. •* • . The Colonel paid the highest compliments to the COURAGE OF THE OFFICERS, and gave it as his opinion that if Von Tempsky had lived a few minutes longe"f fewer men would have been lost, McDonnell admitted that most of the men became dispirited when they found the enemy m such forea on all sides of theiri.

Father Roland again 1 accompanied the force, ahd shafed the dangers. The father also assisted to carry the wounded, and his example was a great incentive to the men to persevere. The most melancholy part of the fatality was that all the dead had to be left on the field *.* • • AH eye Witness wrote fully oh the disaster. Summarised, he said :— it was a fearful fight, with GREAT SLAUGHTER Oil OUR SIDE. [We were brought, into a regular ambuscade and left there to do the best We could. There are 56 missing/ We left our dead and some woundea on the field. We had no commanders whatever and we may thank the , loyal natives for bringing us out of the bush'; it they had not, not one of us would have got out alive In tha first place, when we gtit withta 500 yards of the pah, the loyal the rebels ; the bugle then sounded for withih 30 yards of the pah we received a dreadful fire. We then tobk cover along, side a creek the rebels. firing into us all the time. , Here Von Tempsky; Captain Buck and .Lieutenant Hunter were killed, ?% ■??** T? Li^tenaut Rowan s^ fi r , yl% < a the way home. Some t6n or twelve men were kUled and wounded. Too much praise cannot be given Major Hunter, Two or three times he asked the Colonel to let him ehffS the pab, but the latter refused. j believe,'had we done so, a gO od many lives SSJ^SGd-ST sav6di After the offlcerd MEN WKRK PANIC-STRICKEN Colonsl McDonnell left about 80 men,' under Hastmgß, Htftadi and llobefts to cover the retreat. Then the carnage commenced, .one tree 18 men fell with Lieutenant Hastings, so you may guess how we werfe situated-surrounded on every side by natives, no commander, and worse, our colonel making hi a wa y home ' I and leaving us to do the best we could for ourselves. Here the men gUVe themselves up for lost; m f ac t, the exprfcssioli of ■ SERGEANT LLEWELLYN lo me was, fWe will all be killed, aad let us fti'ht to the last, for we will never I'each home," Happily f O r us night came on, and we retired into a dense bush • we had no track or knowledge of where we were. Then we stopped until the moon got up, and two or threo Maoris who wore with us tobk it fof a guide, and brought us out about 0 m the morning, the Colonel being safe at home the night before. And so ended one of the most disgraceful affairs that was ever kiibwn. A few old Soldiers being of our parly gave the men a little confidence; iv explaining- the nature of Our situation, and the best way to get out of it. Subinspector Roberts and Lieutenant tiertzell behaved most courageously, a nd kept the men's courage up. Colonel left us behind to do the hest we coltld for outselves, and made his Way home. Poor Hastings' last worda were, ''Retire, niea, never mind me, 1 am dying."" Buttli, Voii Tempsky and Hunter never Spoke' And so' ended one of the MOST DISASTROUS AFFAIRS^ that ever occurred m New Zealand. * ♦ • ■ Other evidence is conGicting. There were two very strong anc i distinct accounts given; the one throwing the whole blame ga Colpticl McDonnell, and ta«

other entirely exorieratiag him from blame. The truth, perhaps, lay between the two. .Tup. number of tb.9 enemy killed was under tha£ reported. There wero »e>t itter*, saYs &n autHority, thait fire df tfc* ribeijr EMM, ffifee iSSfi aid two childr« ! AniitWk* pfctfplß wgrS present at tke ighi, tfcough i£ w"as hoped they would have remalS?a neutral. By these Tlti Ktfwafti fifdt an aeceSSibft of 60 dr 70 iriei to his force, A couple of nights after the disaster the rtfbelri approached withia 400 yafdfl of THE WBIHI CAMP And fired A heavy volley inte it, repeating the dose a couple of hours' afterwards* The Hau Haus had been gathering up the killed and Wounded. There waS a good deal of drunkenness going on at Patea; so mach so, that the Resident Magistrate, Mr, Booth, had ordered the CLo£ltfe OF' PUBLIC fiOtf&EJS, and prohibited those Who had Wish" lideHSeS from selling Spirits to dnf member of the- local forces', unless uMer an order from ait officer. * * ♦ Other items :— Father Rbland, wfcd ac^ companied the men into the thick 6f the fight, had his hat Shot through, and had many other narrow escapes. Major HUnter" Was reported to" have benaved nobly, ft was deClar6d . to be madness oil the part of McDonnell to take big m«l into', a dease- bush, Where surprise by 1 the rebels Was 60 easy and retreat so diffiouit* -All accounts confirmed previous Reports of the bravery of the dead Officers. Some old Soldiers compared the affair, m respect to the great loss of officers, to frlkermann, November 5, 1864. The friendly Madrid ward the means of Saving at least dne half of those Who returned alive. They covered the r*tf eat m a womderfui •Way, and said, "We williiot retire while ONE PAKEHA REMAINS ALIVE/ Many nori-cominissiongd officers and men behaved most gallantly*. Sub-inspector Roberts < " . SgoT T^EE fiAV HAtfS lit a tree While Out iirying to bring m the dead bodies of Captain Buck and Palfiter, It W&S whlls engaged irf this duty that Hastings, ddrs6rai HuSsoU, and fouf men were killed. One authority Said that 23 Hau Haus were killed and a Considerable number wounded.; Only Cue capture was made, A girl. ■ ' 4■. ■ .. k * Cptiimebtihg on the iinforttlnate affair generally, thei "Evening fierald" (N.Z.) said :— "lnformation has been feCeived from Waihl that the men ate very mttch dlaS&tisfidd with the coiflmanding officer for leaving the dent! m the hands of the enemy, and it is said that but for the interference of a gallant officer, Whose conduct has lately been the subject of inquiry, it Was likely tbe expression of dlsSatisfadtida wauld have* grown into open MtTiari 1 , It is even Whispefed that it is ft doubtful question Whether thdse who Were left behind were all dead; but it id Maintained that the Commanding officer should have brought away his dead, even at a greaWr sacrifice, and the feeling of horror is very great that our brave fellows have been left to be mutilated by a brutal enemy.'' The casualties Were :— Officers killed 5, Wounded 1; men killed 12, wottfided 24; missing 2. (To; be Continued.)