TE KOOTI.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVI, Issue 20, 15 November 1911, Page 48

TE KOOTI.

Being some account of the Maori fanatic who, with his band of ** Hau Haus,” terrorised and murdered East Coast settlers fifty years ago.

BY

F. L. FEATON.

CHAPTER I. ESCAPE OF MAORI PRISONERS FROM WAITANGI, CHATHAM ISLANDS—TE KOOTI SACRIFICES HIS UNCLE TO THE GOD OF THE WINDS. At the conclusion of the fighting in the Poverty and Hawke’s Bay districts in the year 1886 the New Zealand Government deported a number of natives taken prisoner during the several engagements to Waitangi, Chatham Islands, distant from Wellington about 400 miles. It was here that 1 e Kooti first conies prominently before the public. Te Kooti was sent into exile, charged with holding communication with the enemy. He at the time was supposed to be a loyal native, but was charged with being a bad character and dangerous to the peace of the district, and on these counts he was found guilty by a not over friendly European tribunal, and transported with the rest. Fof several years Te Kooti owned and sailed a schooner called the Henry, trading between Poverty Bay and Auckland, where at that time he was well known. He afterwards sold the schooner to Capt. Read, and then became mixed up in the affairs that eventually led to his deportation. An Auckland phrenologist who is said to have examined Te Kooti’s head, says that he has acquisitiveness, strong cautiousness, mechanical and inventive talent, and great secrelivencss, making him guarded and shrewd. Altogether the phrenologist did not think him such a bad sort of a fellow. Te Kooti is generally regarded as a wild, untutored savage, but although possessed of strong animal passions, like the majority of his race, from his intercourse with the Pakeha he was more civilised than perhaps the majority of his people. Te Kooti belonged to the Rongowhakaata tribe, living in the Poverty Bay district. He was not tattooed, as was generally believed, nor was he a chief. His iron force of character pushed him forward as a leader over the people he was connected with, despite the fact that among them were chiefs of high rank. All alike succumbed to the magnetism with which Te Kooti seemed to be endowed. For two years the prisoners had been on the Chatham Islands and were supposed to have become reconciled to their lot. Consequently a small guard under Capt. Thomas was considered sufficient to look after the prisoners, ami the question was raised in the House of Representatives as to the advisability of granting an amnesty to the prisoners and returning them to their several tribes in New Zealand. Te Kooti, however, prematurely solved the question by heading a revolt and escaping with the whole of his companions with the exception of two or three who, strange to say. preferred to r< main behind. On the 4th of July, 1868, the Schooner Rilleman. Capt. Christ an. which had just arrived from Wellington, was lying at anchor off the township, the ketch Florence was also at anchor a short distance off. Capt. Christian was on shore, and the Rifleman was in charge of the mate, Mr W. A. Payne, when Sergt. Elliott, of the Armed Constabulary guard, put off in a whaleboat manned with about fourteen Maori prisoners to take Government stores "brought by the Rifleman on shore. The township of Waitangi wore its usual quiet aspect, and there was no suspicion of the scene that was about to take place. Having obtained a plough from the schooner Sergt. Elliott rowed hack to the shore and had no sooner landed than the prisoners commenced hallooing and shouting, and at the same time he heard the report of fire arms. During the sergeant's brief absence the Maoris on shore had mutinied. and with a sudden and preconcerted rush disarmed the guard and taken possession of the redoubt. In the struggle that ensued they killed one of the guard, Michael Hartnell, who had made a desperate resistance. Capt. Thomas was seized, handcuffed and marched to the Custom house, where he found Capt. Christian tied up. Sergt. Elliott and the rest of the constables were also secured and tied up. The guard having been disposed of the township was then looted and everything valuable taken possession of by the Maoris, who were now complete masters of the situation. It is a strange circumstance that in their excited state they did not massacre the whole of the guard, but with the exception of Hartnell neither Captain Thomas, his men, nor the inhabitants were injured. One lady 7 had a bag in her house containing 300 sovereigns which she, with great presence of mind, placed into a kettle of water that was boiling on the fire. In this way the prize escaped the clutches of Te Kooti. The Government boat was taken possession of and a number of armed natives pulled off to the Rifleman, but they were ordered off by Mr Payne, who pushed two or three of them back into the boat again, but .other bc>ats full of Maoris arriving they swarmed on board, took charge of the schooner and made Mr Payne, the steward and crew consisting of three seamen, prisoners under threat of instant death in case of any resistance on their part or attempt to escape. The boats were kept constantly going to and fro until the whole of the Maoris had embarked to the number of 298 souls, comprising 163 men. 64 women and 71 children. Te Kooti, the organiser and ringleader of the revolt, arrived on board in the last boat that come off from the shore. The crew of the ketch Florence were then ordered on shore, her anchor was lifted and the vessel was left to drift on to the beach. At the same time the Rifleman’s sails were unfurled, the anchor tripped, and Mr Payne, under penalty of death in case of refusal, was ordered to navigate the schooner to Poverty Bay. The canvas swelled out to the breeze and the Rifleman crowded like a slave ship, forged through the sea. and by sunset Chatham Island was a blue haze on the horizon. Te Kooti secured front the Redoubt 49 Stand of arms, a quantity of ammunition, over 4000 rounds—and £5OO in cash, be-ides all the stores on board the Rifleman, consisting of. amongst other articles. 17 tons of flour. 62001 b of sugar and 5 barrels of ale. After the departure of the Rifleman. Captains Thomas and Christian were released by the inhabitants ami they endeavoured to launch the ketch Florence, which had beached hard and fa-t. with the idea of taking her to Wellington: but the attempt failed, a native being drowned in the effort. On Thursday. July 9th. there having been a head wind for two days, a considerable amount of quarrelling ensued amongst :he Maoris, who began to waver in their faith as to the jnpna or power of Te Kooti. who had given out that he was a prophet chosen of God. How could that be if tin winds were angry and refused to assist him? After all he was really no chief but only a common man of no rank, like the most of them on board Te Kooti. In we-, er. proved equal to the occasion, for, with all the solemnity of a tohunga or priest, he informed his companions that to propitiate the <,<>d of the wind*. a sacrifice must be made ami one of their number thrown over ward. When that was done, all would be well. To the astonishment of all r< Kooti pointed out his own uncle, who was on board, as the Jonah to be writ—! Ihe unfortunate man was immediately seized ami dragged on deck, wh< r< h> - ham!- and arms were securely lashed together and, amidst his hcartrendcru 4 -cream f- r mercy and struggling violently he was pitched over tht side of the vc -el. lor .<>me time he was seen struggling in the’ waves, then • ’■ I‘letily <b .p| eai ' Shortly afterwards the wind changed and the good ship Rifleman sped ga.ly her course.

CHAPTER IL TE KOOTI LANDS AT POVERTY BAY, DEFIES MAJOR BIGGS, AND DEFEATS A FORCE UNDER CAPT. WESTRUPP. On Sunday, July 12, 1868, Percy Porter and one or two other Europeans who had a contract building woolsheds, were strolling along the beach at Whareongaonga, some few miles south from Turanganui, Poverty Bay, when they saw in the offing a large schooner making for the land. When a short distance from the shore the vessel dropped anchor, crowds of people were noticed on the deck of the schooner, and it was a matter of great speculation on the part of Porter and his companions as to who the new comers could be. Their speculations were, however, soon set at rest, for several boats were lowered from the schooner and speedily filled with natives, who hastily pulled for the shore, when it was found that the strange vessel was the Rifleman with Tq Kooti and the escaped Chatham Island prisoners. The Maoris having landed and brought on shore a large quantity of stores and ammunition the schooner tripped her anchor and stood out to sea again. The news soon spread throughout the Poverty Bay district that the prisoners deported to the Chatham Islands had returned and that one Kooti, as he was then calleel, was their leader. The greatest excitement prevailed all along the coast and various wer« the surmises as to how and in what way they had escaped, for at first it was but a rumour. Some said that a French whaler had brought them, others that the prisoners’ friends had chartered a vessel to bring them back. The only thing certain was that they had returned and were camped a few miles from Turanga (Gisborne), and native messengers were despatched by the different chiefs in the district to convey the news far and near. Now to the four corners of the earth With the swiftness of a shooting star, Is spread the news .... At this time Major Biggs was the Government officer in charge of the Poverty Bay district, and upon receiving intelligence of the landing of the Chatham Island prisoners he at once took steps to recapture, if possible, thq fugitives liefore they could retreat to the mountain fastnesses of the Urewerd country. The European force at the disposal of Major Biggs consisted mostly, of cavalry and was small, numbering only about 50 men, badly armed. To make matters worse there were no arms or ammunition in store. Notwithstanding, Major Biggs .called his squad out for service and interviewed the leading friendly chiefs for assistance. The chiefs, however, in view of the want of arms and ammunition, advised a different line of action to that contemplated by the Major. They pointed out the risk that would be run in attacking Te Kooti, who was known to be well supplied with arms and ammunition, and proposed instead that they should go and meet the fugitives and ask them to return with them as guests. Then when once they were scattered about amongst their own people, it would be possible to suddenly disarm them. You can then, said the chiefs, pick out the most criminal and let the others go peaceably to their differ* ent districts. Whether the advice, if acted upon, would have been successful is perhaps doubtful, for Te Kooti was too wary a bird to be caught napping. It is idle, however, to speculate upon that now for Major Biggs rejected the proposition of the friendly chiefs, and mustering his small troop of cavalry; sttarted off to suggest to Te Kooti the advisability of his at once layin down his arms and ammunition and surrendering himself and companions to het Majesty the Queen as represented by the Government of New Zealand. Major Biggs, as might have been expected, failed in his mission, for he was coolly, informed by Te Kooti that the arms and ammunition they had were given to them by a new God who was going to deliver them from the Pakehas, who could be all destroyed and the best thing that the Major could do would be to make himself scarce before the new God made a start upon him and his men. Being too weak to enforce his demands and plainly seeing from the attitude of Te Kooti that under the circumstances discretion was the better part of valour, he turned about and galloped back with his troop to Turanganui and posting patrols at the different crossings that led into the interior, awaited events. Te Kooti, striking camp, followed the Major and throwing up some rough earthworks on the outskirts of the township, made a show as if he weri about to make a stand at that point. Rushing forward a number of his men, Te Kooti surprised a party of troopers who at the time were dismounted. Taken unawares they retreated, losing in the melee that ensued two killed and six wounded, besides their horses. This skirmish was the first act in the dreadful 1 tragedy that was about to be enacted, a tragedy that will ever remain a dark page in the annals of New Zealand. Having stolen about 70 horses and saddlesl belonging to the settlers, Te Kooti moved slowly towards the Urewera mountains, which loomed up in the distance like a dark cloud and formed the backbone of that part of the island. On his march he was daily joined by numbers of restless and disaffected Natives, so that very soon he had a considerable number of followers. About a week after Te Kooti had landed, Col. Whitmore arrived at ruranganui in H.M.S. Rosario from Napier with a small detachment consisting of 2 officers and 32 men as a reinforcement to the settlers, but found on his arrival that the bird had flown and was by that time in the mountains. In the meantime Capt. Westrupp started with a detachment of volunteers via Te

'Aral to intercept Te Kooti on his inarch to the Urewera country. After travelling through a wild and mountainous country for two days. Capt. Westrupp pitched his camp and waited for a reinforcement of friendly natives that were supposed to join him at that spot. Te Kooti was known to be in the vicinity, for the smoke from his camp fires could be plainly seen in the ranges. On the 19th |uly a few natives joined Capt. Westrupp's party ami brought the intelligence that Te Kooti intended to attack them on the following day. The force lay under arms all night surrounded by double sentries. At the first dawit of day smoke evidently rising from numerous camp fires could be plainly discerned rising with the morning mist from the ravines below. Captain Westrupp’s party were on the alert and waited for the attack which they knew was SO9ll to take place. The hope of receiving reinforcements had now vanished: the friendly native supports had evidently never started or else had turned back or gone over to the enemy with their arms and ammunition. The scene ( was wild and picturesque in the extreme, huge ranges piled on range, the tops of which melting away in the distance were shrouded in dense clouds of mist that lay heavy on the spurs and deep groves. A hill rising up and connected with the main range by a narrow ridge offered a good position for defence and Lieut. Wilson with 20 volunteers and 12 friendly Natives was ordered to take possession of it. The movement had barely been effected when a crowd of Natives suddenly emerged from the edge of the bush. In front of the Natives was Te Kooti clad in a long white robe and holding his hands above his head. He seemed to be engaged in prayer or in showering curses on the heads of the pakeha. Having finished his prayers, or curses. Te Kooti dropped his hands, which was a signal for his followers to pour a volley into Westrupp’s party w ho lay on the ground under cover of the dense flax and fern with which the spur .awas covered. The fight now commenced: Westrupp’s men extended in skirmishing order, kept well under cover, and only fired when a chance of having a pot shot at one of the enemy occurred. Te Kooti’s men, who seemed reckless in the expenditure of their ammunition, sent shower after shower of bullets that went pinging overhead or hurtling through the flax and fern which concealed Westrupp’s men. All the while they kept up a great shouting and hallooing. By a judicious movement Capt. Westrupp occupied an eminence to 'the right of the Natives wdio, as soon as they observed what was taking place, .tried hard to gain the same vantage ground, but were kept in check by the superior fire of their adversaries. The fire from Te Kooti’s men was wild and Jinsteady, and so the fight went on hour after hour. Several of the enemy were seen to fall, and a few casualties had occurred amongst Westrtipp’s party' but nothing serious. At 4 p in. Te Kooti, having no doubt received reinforcejmeiits, increased his fire, and made a demonstration as if to make a rusk and it was plainly to be seen that he was gaining ground. Westrupp’s party not being supplied with bayonets were powerless to charge, and the enemy becoming bolder every minute. Capt. Westrupp ordered his detachment to retreat—a rather difficult operation under the circumstances and one requiring’ a large amount of coolness. The order was carried out successfully, the men falling back gradually' from spur to spur and checking any' attempt on the part of 1 e Kooti s men, who followed closely up, to rush —which with much shouting and yelling they' seemed anxious to do. A vigorous, well sustained rush on the part of Te Kooti’s men at this time would, no doubt, have resulted .disastrously for Westrupp and his party, but the spirit was wanting, and darkness fast falling over the ranges Westrupp’s men found cover amidst a storm of bullets in an old Maori fortification. Il being now too dark to continue operations die Natives gradually' ceased firing at their foes and retired. From /heir position Westrupp's party could plainly see numerous fires and hear sounds of tiring and shouting from the position they had occupied in the morning. Te Kooti and his men were looting their camp and shooting their pack horses. Fortunately for Capt. Westrupp he had with his party a faithful Native guide named Hori Kakapanga, who during the night succeeded in enabling the detachment with the wounded to escape from the clutches of Te Kooti. Capt. iWcstrupp lost in this affair only' two men killed and several wounded, very slight casualties under the circumstances. Te Kooti must have suffered pretty severely, for during the day numbers of his men were seen to fall.

CHATTER HI. Te kooti establishes himself, in the urewera country AND AMBUSCADES COLONEL WHITMORE. Great was the consternation in Auckland and Wellington when the news arrived that the Chatham Island prisoners had escaped and were at large in the Poverty Bay district. Crowds thronged the streets of both cities earnestly' canvassing the important event which it was thought might" unsettle numbers of natives who had been quiet for years and cause many ; other Maoris who were wavering in their allegiance to again take up arms and endeavour to wipe out bld scores. The Government at once dispatched from ’Well-mgtph to the Chatham Islands the s.s. Stormbird to leant full particulars-as to the escape of the prisoners and the fate of Capt. Thomas, his guard and the inhabitants. The escape of the prisoners could scarcely have happened at a worse time for the Government had still on their hands a lingering and costly war. on the West Coast, in which the natives under the ferocious’ Titokowaru were having decidedly the best of the_fightj.ng. _ The Imperial troops had all left,the colony .with the exception of the 18th Regiment, and they were not under any circumstances allowed to take the field. The only corps the Government had was a small force of Armed Constabulary, and a few local volunteer cavalry who .were unable to cope with the enemy oh the West-Coast without engaging a fresh foe in a distant and rugged part of the country. Four years.had elapsed since the Waikato war, and the thousands of trained men : who had. taken part in that campaign had long since been disbanded and were now scattered in all directions, although many' wire still in the colony.. In Auckland the military spirit that had sprung-into existence and been developed during the progress off the war in the Waikato, was fast dying out and was but a mere ember that would take a considerable amount of fanning to produce any sparks. Rich gold had just been discovered in the Thames ranges and gold, gold, was the. absorbing topic of the day—the magnet that was drawing crowds to that one spot from all parts of the colony. Those ready and willing to bleed for .their country' were few in number. The Government had neither the means nor the inclination to engage in a fresh war; they were sick of fighting, and longed for peace almost at any price, and so the urgent appeals for reinforcements from the East Coast were almost unheeded. This state of affairs exactly " suited Te Kooti, who passed the-Flangaroa stream, had now firmly established himself in the almost inaccessible ravines and ranges of the Urewera, from whence he could swoop down like a bird of prey' upoiv'al most- any part of.the East Coast from Napier to Opotiki. The Urewera Natives received Te Kooti and his followers with open arms; they became Hau Haus to a man —a superstitious religion that enjoined the extermination of all Europeans'and a belief that the angel Gabriel with his legions would protect and fight with them against their enemies Ihe priests of the order claimed to have the. gift of tongues and power to work miracles. Marriage was proclaimed of no account and men and women were enjoined to live together promiscuously. Te Kooti had now, a strong force and considered himself, with the angel,Gabriel at bis back, aid? to cope with any force that might be sent against him. One great drpyybayk to him when on the move was that he had hundreds of catnp followers in the shape of women ami children who considerably- hampered his movements, .although many of the women could and did handle a gun as well as most of the men. The women also loaded the guns, cooked, and attended to the sick ahd woimded. There being no signs of any fresh reinforcements from either Wellington or Auckland, and the Volunteers at Turanganui objecting to march int< the Urewera country and leave their own district unprotected, Colonel Whitmore determined to start after Te Kyotj with the men he had brought troiu

Napier. On the 6th of August Colonel Whitmore crossed the Hanaro* with • mixed force of Constabulary and Natives numbering in all aliout i.to men. At this point the pack horses that accompanied the column were sent back and three days’ rations were served out" to each man. The trail to be followed led the expedition through a wild and rugged country. Many times the column could only advance in Indian file, the river had to be crossed and recrossed knee deep, steep precipices had to lie climbed, and the cold was intense. At night the men lay on the ground in their blankets despite falling snow, and the expedition suffered severely. In the distance the glare of Te Kooti’s camp fires could lie seen. On the afternoon of the Bth Colonel Whitmore was close to the enemy s position, and the column proceeded with great caution, expecting any moment to fall into an ambush, for which tile country was peculiarly favourable. Ihe men were tired, ragged and footsore and for the most part more fit for hospital than to engage in a deadly struggle with a foe like Te Kooti. At 3 p.m. the advance guard entered the gorge on the banks of the Ruakiturc river. 1 hey had no sooner done so than a heavy musketry fire was opened on the leading files from both sides of the river. The main body moved rapidly' forward to support the advance guard and the whole force was immediatelyengaged. Capt. Davis, leading his men, was shot dead, also Messrs Canning and Carr, two gentlemen who had accompanied Colonel Whitmore from Napier as volunteers. Te Kooti was in force and Colonel Whitmore soon found that he was not strong enough to. dislodge the Natives from their position. The fight was. however, kept up until night, which falls quickly in those deep, ravines, threw its kindly mantle over the scene of bloodshed and put an end to the unequal conflict. Colonel Whitmore immediately- fell back, but with great difficulty owing to the darkness and broken nature of the country. The same causes prevented the enemy from following in pursuit, or the wounded, amongst whom was Capt. Juke, could not have been saved. As it was the killed, six in number, were left in the gorge .where they- fell, and where they' remained unburied for some time afterwards. In this engagement Te Kooti was wounded in the foot, and partly on that account did not perhaps follow the next day in pm suit of Colonel Whitmore, whose force he could easily have overtaken and decimated—hampered as it was with the wounded, short of provisions and with no supports the expedition could have offered but a feeble resistance to any attackng party. Te Kooti must have suffered pretty severely in the fight, for the next day he struck catnp and fell further back into the ranges Coionel Whitmore’s expedition arrived back to camp at Turanganui thoroughly dispirited, and the Colonel’s well-known ardour for the time considerably cooled.

CHAPTER IV. TE KOOTI MASSACRES THE SETTLERS AT POVERTY BAY. Lieut. Sanders, who had been out on a scouting expedition from the Wairoa to ascertain the whereabouts of the enemy, returned on the 2nd of September and reported that he found Te Kooti strongly entrenched at Puketapu, not far from the scene of the fight which took place a few- weeks before with Colonel Whitmore. Lieut. Sanders got within 3 miles of the pa, and could plainly see the palisades. A few days after news was brought that a friendly young chief named Kaiaitiana anil three of his tribe, who were watching the movements of le Kooti, were killed. Directly after this event Te Kooti made a demonstration in force against the Wairoa Settlement, then occupied by military, settlers, who, upon the approach of the enemy, retired to the redoubt on the Clyde. Capt. Tuke, in charge of a force of 120 friendly Natives under the chiefs Renata and Tokomoana, was hastily dispatched from Napier to assist in defending the Wairoa district. When the party arrived, however, Te Kooti had letiied. Ihe relieving force followed in pursuit but failed in their efforts to find the whereabouts of the enemy. At a Native village named Whatoroa they discovered the bodies of the young chief Karaitiana and his three men dreadfully mutilated. Karaitiana had been tomahawked and his heart and liver taken out and probably eaten. He was split open as a butcher dresses a sheep. The settlement had been burnt and an old Maori found in the plantation was shot-and an old. woman taken prisoner. The expedition then, returned to Napier. The settlers on the East Coast for a hundred miles 'were now in a most excited state, not knowing when or where Te Kooti might not fall upon and destroy them. At Matawhero, Poverty Bay, a numerously attended meeting was held when the following resolutions were, unanimously carried:— 1. That scouts be at once sent out on the three main outlets from the interior to obtain, if possible, some insight into the movements of the enemy. 2. That a redoubt be erected in some central position to serve as a refuge for Natives and Europeans. ,3* d.hat a memorial be addressed to the Government begging that ait efficient force may forthwith be stationed there. 4. That this, meeting seeks to express tin the strongest terms its disapproval of Colonel Whitmore’s management while in command here, it being notorious that he took every opportunity of insulting the people of this place, both Native and European, and that his conduct generally was calculated to excite ill feeling between the Native-s and the Government. The fact of the above resolutions being carried shows that a very lament able state of affairs existed at that time in the district, and that the settlers having no confidence in the officers in charge of the district had determined to take the reins into their own hands and look after their own safety themselves. A .Vigilance Committee was formed. Scouts were sent out, and two 'strong redoubts were commenced—one at Turanganui and the other at Matawhero. close to the residence of Major Biggs, who was then senior officer. Colonel Whitmore after his defeat having returned to Napier. On the sth of November the Vigilance Committee informed Major Biggs that Te Kooti was on the move, descending the Patutahi valley. The Major informed- the committee that they need not be alarmed as he had scouts out under Lieut. Gascoigne, who would keep him posted as to the movements of the enemy. The committee. satisfied that all was well, returned to their homes, and the settlerc relaxed their vigilance Before dawn on Tuesday morning. November loth, 1868, a never to be forgotten day in the annals of the Poverty Bay district, the settlement at Matawhero lay wrapped in slumber, no sound broke the stiffness of early morn except the occasional bark of some watchful sheep dog. the distant cry of the swamp hen, or morepoke (night owl) ; and although Te Kooti and his triumphant fanatics were known to be hovering in the vicinity on vengeance bent, no sentinels guarded the peaceful homes of the sleeping settlers. —During th night a large band of Te Kooti’s men crossed the Patutahi ford, moving in the direction of Matawhero. Major Biggs, confident in the alertness of his scouts, had. with the rest of the settlers, retired the night before lulled into a false sense of security, for he had received no news concerning the movements of the enemy. Suddenly lie was aroused from his slunjbers by the sounds of Maoris talking. Thinking that it was some of his Native scouts arrived with important news he hastily jumped out of bed and questioned the new arrivals, who instantly fired at him. wounding him severely. Running back into the house the Major called out to his wife to fly for her life, and asked a lad named C. James who was in the house and worked for the Major Where his gun waj. The boy replied that if was not loaded but handed it iio.him. The Major, whilst jn thy act of loading, was fired at again and fyll. iThg Natives tlujn rushed into the house, lit a fire, and commenced devouring all the patables handy. Mrs Biggs all this time was standing by h<*j wounded htjsband with her child in her arms. The Klajpr implored her to fly for Ijef life, but she heroically expressed Ijer,dctennlnatmn to, remain with hint to the last, and begged her servant, Mrs Farrell, to make her b?capC whilst there wajt yet time, but Mrs Farrell obstinately refused to leave her master and The boy Jaings.attempted Ja escape, out of the back door, but finding a numbefl of Maoris there lie returned and squeezing himself tli’rougli 'the hfatives crowding the front of the house under cover of the gloom, crawled into a flax bush

and from thence into the surrounding scrub. The Iwiy escaped not a minute too soon, for the Maoris immediately commenced to beat out the brains of the Major, and murdered Mrs Biggs, her infant, and Mrs Farrell, who were afterwards found mutilated in a most horrible and shocking manner. At the same time as Major Biggs and his family were killed another party of Natives attacked the residence of-Lieut Wilson a short distance away. After tiring several volleys at the inmates they set tire to the house, the flames casting a lurid glare over the surrounding country. Lieut. Wilson was killed and his wife and three children were bayoneted. The eldest boy, about 9 years of age, escaped in the confusion and was found several days afterwards. Mrs Wilson was also alive when found, but afterwards died of her wounds at Napier. The body of John Moran, servant to Lieut. Wilson, was found cut into three pieces. The boy, Charles Janies, after escaping from the house of Major Biggs, ran to Mrs Bloomfield’s, which was not far distant, and gave the alarm. He knocked loudly at the door, calling out that the Maoris were murdering everybody. Mrs Bloomfield and her sister, who resided in the house, could hardly realise their dreadful situation, but when they were thoroughly awakened they got up and, snatching up Mrs Bloomfield’s three children, fled towards Turangantii, about six miles distant. They were accompanied in their flight by a boy named Tom Finukin, who worked about the house. By his advice they kept in the scrub skirting the coast to avoid being seen. They could sec as they travelled Lieut. Wilson’s house in flames, and could plainly hear the loud shouting and firing of the Maoris. In an exhausted state they at length reached Turangantii. Mr. Walsh, his wife, a child, and infant were surprised and murdered; also, Messrs. Padbury and Cadell, single men, living in a house by themselves. Mr. and Mrs. McCulloch and baby, with Mary McDonald, a niece of Mr. McCulloch, were surprised in their house and killed, also Mr. and Mrs. Mann and a little boy one year old. Mr. Goldsmith, stockman to Capt. Reid, of Turangantii, being in the vicinity, and hearing shouting and firing of guns, rode over to the spot and was horrified to see the body of Mrs. Mann lying on the ground terribly scorched. The savages had killed her, and then set fire to her clothes. Two natives were standing near at the time of Goldsmith’s arrival, and they attempted to seize the horse’s bridle, but Goldsmith, putting spurs to his horse, threw them off and galloped away. Fortunately at the time the guns of the natives were not loaded. Passing along he saw the body of Mrs. Walsh and her child, shot through the head, moaning piteously by her side, and outside of Mr. Cadell’s house were lying the bodies of Messrs. Cadell and Padbury. Hastening on at full speed through Makaraka he reached Turangantii with the dreadful news. Messrs. Dodd and Pepperd, who resided on their run beyond Matawhero, were probably the first of the settlers who were killed, for the natives on their way to Matawhero passed their place, and a man named Butters going there early in the morning to shear, found them lying dead from gunshot wounds. The house of Mr. Goldsmith was situated in a height of the river Waipaoa, and was attacked with the others. Goldsmith was not at home at the time, but the natives killed his half-caste daughter Maria and her baby. Mrs. James, who was living in an outhouse belonging to Goldsmith, was alarmed by a boy' named Tarr, and managed to escape with her six children. Mr. Munn, who lived between Waerengahika and Matawhero, was on horseback near his house on Tuesday morning, and seeing some natives moving about who he knew in Napier, he called out to them. One of the Maoris, by way of answer, drew a revolver, and fired, the ball striking Mr .Munn on the shoulder. He, however, galloped off, and escaped. A man named James Garland had a miraculous escape. He lived in a little hut near Mrs. Bloomfield's, but, strange to say, was not awakened by the noise going on around, and in the morning at about 5 o’clock he got up to milk the cows as usual, and was horrified to behold what had occurred during the night. Not a native was to be seen at the time, although they were still in the neighbourhood, and remained the greater part of the day ransacking and burning the settlers’ homesteads. A number of friendly natives living at Matawhero also fell victims to the rebels. At the time the news of the massacre reached Turanganui, between four and five in the morning, the schooner Tawera was standing out of the bay, bound for Auckland. Capt. Reid at once got a boat

and crew and pulled after the schooner, which he succeeded in overhauling after rowing hard for several hours. The vessel was put about, and returned to her anchorage in the hay. (To Im* <'on tin tied.)