CAPTURE OP OHOUTAHI.

Wellington Independent, Volume XIX, Issue 2176, 7 March 1865, Page 3

CAPTURE OP OHOUTAHI.

FIFTEEN OF THE ENEMY KILLED. EIGHTY TAKEN* PRISONERS. r [The following appeared in an. Independent Extra, publishocl on Saturday.] We have received, per overland mail, the C/d'oiuglo of the Ist inst. There is no later news from the front, and very little more from up the river. Mr White, R.M., had resigned through some alleged interference with him on the part of certain other Magistrates, but the report that the prisoners had escaped turns out not to be quite correct. We subjoin further particulars from the Wanganui Chronicle of tho fight up the river, and the difficulty about the prisoners :— On Saturday we announced in general terms that Ohoutahi had been taken by the friendly natives, and a number of its defenders, including Pehi, Topia, Tahana, Hamar.ima, and, indeed, all the rebel chiefs of any

note on the Wanganui taken prisoners. Since then we have learned the following particulars : — It appears that on Thursday the enemy had seven redoubts thrown up, besides the pa, which was of course, their main position. Of these, two were on the right and left of tho pa, two on a high ground, covered with bush, to the left and in advance of the pa, and the remaining three on slight eminences in the lower ground near the redoubts occupied by the friendly natives. In one of these three positions a flag-staff had been raised, and the " hau-hau" flag was flying. On Thursday afternoon, after John Williams had left, a party of 30 to 35 of the friendly natives, under Kawana Paipai took oae of these three redoubts, killing six: of it 9 defenders. A council was held that night, and arrangements made for what was to be dona I next day. In the morning, fifteen men, in* eluding Hori Kerei, Kawana Paipai, and Horopapera, went up the hill on the right to make a feigned attack on the redoubts above. On arriving near the top, they formed themselves into two parties in case they should be rushed upon by the enemy — 5 in front and 10 behind. They found some of the trees rouud the redoubt felled, and the five rushed forward and took shelter among the branches of a large tree lying with its root to the outside, while the ten took a position behind it. The redoubt was higher and the men in it fired lon them but did no harm. In returning the fire they killed three. Fifty men then came • to their support. They rushed forward into the redoubt, where they found a whare out of which some men were firing. They poured several volleys into the whare and then entered it, when they found three op four bodies literally riddled. Topine or Mamuku had been there but skedaddled with some of his men when the firing com* menced ; his son was one of the slain. They set fire to the whare, and Kawana Paipai cried out in a loud voice, "To the flag ; to the flag." While this had been going oa other parties had attacked other two redoubts below, whose defenders retreated to the one with the flag, this being the reason for Eawana Paipai's command. His party rushed down the hill and with the rest opened fire on the redoubt. One of them then said, " stop fire and charge." They did so, and were within a few yards of the flagstaff when a hau hau boy ran forward and began to pull the flag down. They fired at him and almost blew him to pieces ; tore down the flag and rent it into small shreds. The party holding the redoubt retreated, but were interrupted by some men led by Wirihana, and between the two parties several were shot down. The friendly natives, led by Hakaraia, made for th« Ohoutahi pa and began firing at it. Topia came out and a ball pierced his right arm, he took aim at his cousin but missed, and. fell back into the ditch hit near the shoulder by another bullet. Wherever a head appeared above the parapet the firing was directed to it. While this was going on, Wirihana, with forty or fifty men, had advanced to the left of the pa, where there was a redoubt between it and the river. -The enemy had also some men on a raft, in the river, made of some canoes. Wirihana's men were . firing at them, when they heard in front a voice calling out " Oh Hori Kerei, when will liejht come out of this darkness !" They ceased firing and a woman appeared with a white flag. They were about to fire on her, when Wirihana intercepted them, saying " It is White's orders that after surrendering no one is to be hurt," but with difficulty he restrained them. The woman] proved to be Pehi's wife, who asked to be taken to Hori Kerei. Wirihana sent ten men witii her, and almost simultaneously with her arrival on the ridge where Kerei was, two white flags, one above the other, were run up in the pa. The native assessors immediately ran round and ordered the firing to cease. Mete Kingi, Kepa, Kawana Paipai, andHaimona went forward to the pa, and Pehi and his followers came out in single file and halted opposite a row of friendly natives. They were unarmed. The assessors had great difficulty in restraining their followers from violence, and it was only by repeated commands and threats that if any one disobeyed White would "whakawa" (try) them, as his orders were not to kill any after having surrendered, that thoy were kept quiet. Pehi and his people agreed to go to Hihuharama as prisoners, and then most of the friendly natives returned to prepare a whare for him. Menwhile Pehi returned to his pa and he aud his men resumed their arms, A friendly native named Aropeta, about to enter Ohoutahi, was accosted by a native named Te Hariwera, who had just come out, and told not to go in, otherwise he would be murdered. Aropeta went and told this to Hori Kingi, Mawea, and Aperaniko, who quickly went into the pa and found that Pehi asserted the right to go elsewhere and fight, and that his defeat only obliged him not to raise a disturbance on tho Wanganui. He went, however, to Hihuharama, accompanied by eighty other men takenprisonerß, besides women and children. When the last account left, which arrived on Sunday evening, the rebel chiefs had not given up their arms, and a debate was going on on the point raised by Pehi — as to whether his surrender in the manner in which it was involved his capture ; he claimed the right of going away and fighting anywhere els# but in Wanganui. Fifteen of the enemy were buried by our people. Of the latter five wore wounded— none of them, we believe, severely. Hakaraia's son, a boy of about ten years of age, received a ball at the lower part of his left ear which came out at the cheek and must have fractured the jaw-bone. The above was published as an Extra on Monday, and since then we have heard nothing with which to supplement these details. The arms of tho men taken captive came down last night ; and the men themselves are expected this evening or to-morrow, nob however, we are sorry to say, as prisoners, but as free men who propose to take the oath of allegiance. This puts them on so entirely different a footing that we fear the victory gained will not have so good a moral effect ou the other natives as^ might otherwise have been expected. Hori Kingi, with 100 men, went up to Piperiki to have an interview with Topine (Mamuku), but before they arrived he had left. Some say that it was Topine's nephew and not his son that was killed. As we go to press, we learn that the wives of some of the captive chiefs have been brought down to Aramoho. This gives a much more favorable complexion to the affair. Tho funeral of John Williams took place at Wanganui, on the 27th ult., and was largely attended.