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Wellington Independent, Volume II, Issue 96, 12 September 1846, Page 3

Porirua, August 24, 1846. Sir,—l have the honour to report for your information the following account of the proceedings of our nhtiye allies, (whom 1 accompanied,) since the rebels evacuated their pah in the Horokiwi valley on the 13th instant. The extremely had state of the weather prevented them following in the pursuit, till Monday the 17th ■when we moved off:—the Port Nicholson natives by their own request taking the lead. The track of the rebels lay along the ridge of the hills. This we followed, and at about half a mile from their late pah, we found a deserted encampment. Having again gone.on for about another mile, the Port Nicholson natives (who had a distrust of the Ngatitoa6,) upon hearing two muskets which were accidentally fired in our rear, and which they thought'to be a signal to the rebels' that we were a vancing, suddenly turned off to the left, with the intention as they stated of proceeding to Te Pari Pari. This'proceeding, which to Puaha's people was inexplicable, brought them to a halt, and all that was done by them this day was to send out a party to reconnoitre, who came back with the information that at a short distance in our front there was another pah fortified with an entrenchment. In the evening one of the Ngatiawa natives' returned to tell v«, that they had proceeded as fir as the bottom of the gully,and that they had there found the pa h of the rebels which led to Te Pari Pari. That their reaboa for leaving us was the shots fired in the rear, but that they would, however, again advance the next day. ■ The following morning at daylight, Puaha withhs people advanced towards the pah which we had seen on the previous evening, and which we entered by j the front, as the Ngatiawas did by the left flank. We found that it had been deserted sometime, as the fires were wet from the rain which had fallen on the 14th and 15th, and the houses had been pulled down. ' It was not fortified'except by the entrenchment in its front. Still pursuing the natifj tract, the Ngat'awa tribe in front, we passed by several encarripmeuts of the rebels, and from the cireurualance of their having left boxes, pillows, iron-pots, and other unportable articles, behind them, as we'll as the handles of their axes, we were induced to believe that they were in lull retreat. " . ~,"'....• At the bottom of this ridge of hills, (along which the path ran from one extremity to the other,) we Wnd the place where they had slept two nights before. The track here branched to the left, and ran MP the course of a small river for about a mile, when >t suddenly turned to the right and then ascended the precipitous side of the Pouawha mountain along the top of which it ran for near half a mile. Here one p a ih turned to the left, and the other still followed the ridge. The Ngatiawa natives who were confident that; the rebels were • by that time well on their way to Wanganui.descended the former track with the intention of proceeding to the coast, when about 300 yards down it they suddenly fell in with the rebel* who were laying ambush, in a place 'n which a few determined men might keep at bay a ranch superior force. - The rebels fired, and in the first volley killed three and wounded one of the The Ngatitoa natives who were behind on the top of the hill, upon hearing the filing immediately came to their assistance, and finding them drawn up under shelter of the ridge opened out to left to protect their reir. They drove back the enemy a considerable distance and killed Te Pau, the murderer of Mr. Gillespie. The firing continued on .both sides till dark. Our casualties bssidej those above mentioned were one of the Ngatiawas wounded in the neck, and one of the Ngatitoas wounded in the hip. ' During the night the rebels robbed one of our dead bodies (which we were not able to recover; °f his musket and two pouches,. The'ground over' which we passed to-dny was such that it would be impassable to any armed body except natives.. Thick buah the entire WBy—the road a mere track> with »lmost pecipices to ascend a nd descend. / .<; . ■

Oh the following day we discovered that the position of the rebels' was on'a spur'of Pouawlia, which ran parallel to that onjwhieh we were.: Occasional .shots' were interchanged aero** the .gulley which separated us, but nothing .else was under, taken against them—as the friendly, natives entertained the"'hW thaVtue WaikanaeuibV would advance in their" and scut off their retreat when we would attack them io front. • On the Thursday we anxiously awaited , the arrival of William King, wiih the above mentioned party; but finding that liters were no signs of his approach, at three o'clock in the'afttrnooti. (all our provisions being expended, and.no possibility of getting any supply up to our position,) we descended the hill to a potatoe plantation, an-1 sent to Wainui for:rations which were foutid to have been forwarded there for us. Nothiog more was done till Saturday morning, when wereasceuded the hill.to the enemy's position, and found that they hid left that morning as the fires were still burning. 'At one end of the pah, we discovered the body of Te Pau, which was immediately recognised.. We also found blood in several places, which led us tobelieve that they had suffered severely in the skirmish which took place on the previous Tuesday. - - Both bodies of our allies seemed to think that Hangihaeata and his party had retreated along the bills, and that they would continue to do so until their arrival at Rangitiki. The' Ngatiawa and tribes were both much disappointed that the Wa:kanae natives did not come to their assistance ; and they state that now that they have followed them to their vicinity they think that they ought to decide on active nieasares. if tliey sh iuld come to this conclusion they will j)in and assist them in carrying it out: If not, it is their intention to give up further pursuit. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, W. F. G Servantes, Ensign 9Gth Reg meat. Interpreter to the Fore es. Majo" List, 99th Regiment, Commanding Troops at Porirua.