TE KOOTI.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVI, Issue 22, 22 November 1911, Page 50

TE KOOTI.

Being some account of the M»«ri fanatic who, with hi* band of " Han Ham," terrorised and murdered East Coast settlers fifty years ago.

BY

F.L. FEATON.

CHAPTER V. TURANGA AFTER THE MASSACRE. When the settlers at Turanga were apprised of the massacre that had taken place at Matawhero, only a few miles outside the township, the whole settlement was thrown into the greatest slate of excitement and disorder. lAny moment Te Kooti’s bloodthirsty followers might put in an appearance; pillage the town, if such it could then be called. There were no officers (present to direct , any defensive measures, and the only thing to be done was Tor everyone to rush for the Redoubt, which, however, was not finished, but would afford some sort of shelter in case of attack. The number that made nor the redoubt was greatly swelled by the constant arrival of families froil jthe district round about who, leaving everything in their houses, made for the township. It seems almost incredible that a district that had been for sbfne time in daily dread of an attack from a powerful and bloodthirsty fiiemy. should have been allowed to remain in such a defenceless and unprepared state. Inside the redoubt were huddled together nearly too Europeans, including women and children, and 150 friendly natives of the Ngatiporou tribe, Ally resided near the township. Turanga, now called Gisborne, was at that ,jtjme but a mere settlement consisting of one or two hotels and two or three •tores, but being the port for the surrounding district, which had a large native -population, carried on, with Auckland chiefly, a thriving and lucrative trade. Captain Read’s store was the principal house of business. The captain was also the local banker, for when, as very often happened, cash was short, lie •used to issue his I OIT for various amounts, which passed current the same hs a banknote. As soon as possible a number of women and children, principally those who had escaped from the massacre at Matawhero, were embarked »>U board the schooner Tawera, which immediately sailed for Napier. In flawke’s Bay the schooner spoke the s.s. Lord Ashley, bound north for Attckand, and transhipped some of her passengers who wished to go to that port. The Lord Ashley carried the news of the massacre to Auckland. Besides th« fTawefa, the schooner Success and ketch Eagle (Captain Loverock) were at jinchor in the bay. off Turanga, and were kept in readiness to receive the Women and children from the redoubt in case of an attack, which, however, for lome reason, did not take place. Te Kooti’s men contented themselves with Jhe plunder they got from the homes at Matawhero. At night the sky was fed with the glare from the burning houses. Mrs. Bloomfield’s house was a substantial structure, erected at a cost of £l5OO, and was well finished. The .roof was of slate, with leaden gutters, and this was stripped off by the natives before they set fire to the building. Before the next morning Te Kooti’s men Jiad retreated back to their mountain fastness, rallying with them a large Junount of loot, and well pleased with their murderous work. Their victims ■lay dead and mutilated amidst and by the side of the blackened and charred • rehiains of their former happy homes. Lieut. Gascoigne, who at the time of the attack was out with his scouts, hearing that the enemy had slipped by Uiim. immediately made the .best of his way to Turanga, >where he arrived after a perilous journey, and assumed command of the district. Major Biggs .being killed and Capt. Westrupp having escaped along the coast from Matajwhero with a number of settlers, Capt. Loverock sailed slowly along the coast fin the Eagle looking out for stragglers, burning during the night Hares to ‘•attract the attention of any fugitives who might be on.the beach.- Early the following morning he was fortunate enough to rescue about forty settlers—m-n, /women and children—who. wcre'on the beach, having escaped overland f.-.m Their delight at being taken on' board was’unbounded, and they jwill ever feel grateful to. Capt. Loverock for going to their rescue. As soon as it was ascertained that the enemy had retired from Matawhero, a burial party from .1 ttranga for t-he scene of the massacre. '--The victims were found ,to have been nearly all mutilated, but the bodies of Major Biggs and his wife (Were never found, probably having been burnt in the house. This supposition is strengthened by the fact .of a lady's hand being found. amongst the r lies, {The bodies found were consigned to their last resting place in the JMakaraka where now may be seen a handsome memorial stone, on which is ; set ■forth the names, of the victims and the date of the massacre. Having performed their mournful duty, the burial party returned to .Turanga. Ilf ail Europeans and thirty-two friendly natives were killed in. the ripassacre at Matawhero. Some years after, when Te Kooti was at Pacroa, yOhinemuri, Mr. Mitchell, of the “Hauraki •Tribune,’-’ interviewed him, and Preferred to the massacre. Te Kooti denied having been present or’that he An deied the attack, but said that Biggs, had been warned by the natives that khe would be attacked. le Kooti at the time was suffering from the wound pn his foot, which he received on (he banks of-the Ruhkitiire River 1 iii the [skirmish with Col. Whitmore, so that it is very probable tliat ‘lie ’was ’n&t f LpOrsonally present. Mrs. Wilson, who was found alive, although dreadfully . grounded, was conveyed to Turanga, where she was tcifdcrly nursed; and. it hoped at the time that she would have recovered, but after, her arrival ■at Napier she succumbed to the dreadful wounds that had been inflicted upon >her. Before her death she left the following detailed statemcht-'df the native ; attack upon their house:—Capt. Wilson had just gone to bed. . He had Lbecn writing letters for the overland mail, when a Maori knocked at the I*'?. o !’'. an, l wanted Capt. Wilson to open it, saying that he had a letter from gdlirini. Capt. Wilson’s suspicions were aroused, and he told the man to put Mt under the door. Soon afterwards he looked out, saw the outline of a plumber of heads, and suspected that mischief was intended. The natives finding bit pf no use to try and. get the door opened by artifice, proceeded to batter 1 fit in with a piece of timber, but when they had done so they seemed afraid k'V’ cnlcr ’J] 0 bouse. Edward Moran was sleeping in an outhousg, and Capt.— gjWilson called him to come into, the house, which he did, although the natives ' Scried to catch him as he ran across. After a time the natives began to'fire jnto (he house. Mrs. Wilson lay on the.'floor with one of her children; the pthers were upstairs. Capt. Wilson and Moran returned the fire of the natives .who then prove led to fire the house at both ends. i The flames and I smoke f <oon drove the inmates out, the heat being so great that-Mrs, Wilsbn’s hair am the feet of the little ones were scorched as they escaped. Capt. Wilson fliad Ins revolver, and was prepared to use it. but the natives stopped Him, saying /hat they would not kill him. They then started to walk towards Goldsmith’splace. One of the natives took up Edward. Mrs. Wilson carried Jdsstie, Moran'Alice, and Jimmy was on his father's back. They had very little - clothing on, having to leave the house so quickly Mrs. Wilson had a shawl over her night dress, and little Jimmy had his father’s coat on over his night dress Alter walking two or three hundred yards along the bank of the old river bed one of the natives suddenly rushed upon Moran, another then stabbed Cant’ iWilson through the body with a bayonet. Mrs. Wilson upon hearing her

husband call out. turned round, and as she uttered a cry of horror she received a thrust with a bayonet, her arm being pierced trying to shield Jessie. She then fell down unconscious. When she regained consciousness it was daylight, and she saw her'husband, Moran, and the children, with the exception of Jimmy lying dead around her. She wondered what they had done with Jimmy, and never expected to see him again. Mrs. Wilson lay in the same place the whole of Tuesday, on which day an old native came and took her shawl, and it was not until.the next day that she was able to crawl back again to what had been her home. There she found a small tea-kettle, which she filled with water, from the tank, and got a broken bottle to drink out of. She then hid herself in a small shed that was left standing. Jimmy, when his father fell, had a difficulty in getting away, as his arm was under his father’s body. Extricating himself at last he ran towards Mrs. Bloomfield’s. It was then quite dark. Arriving at the house he lay on the verandah, and whilst there he heard the boy James rousing the inmates, but he did not see anyone leave the house. In the morning he wandered about from one place to another, and then returned to Bloomfield’s, where he slept all night. The next day he returned to his own place, and saw his father, brother and sisters and Moran lying dead, and thought, not seeing his mother, that the natives had taken her away to eat her. At last, going into the shed, he found his mother. The little fellow then went to a nest, and found some eggs, and getting a firestick from the still-smouldering ruins, made a fire, put the kettle on and boiled some eggs. Fie also got some potatoes from the old Maori who had taken the shawl from Mrs. Wilson, and who lived not far away. Knowing that the Captain had his pocket-book in his coat-pocket and a pencil, Mrs. Wilson sent Jimmy for them, but she was so exhausted that it was only after many attempts that she was able to scrawl a few lines on a card requesting help. Jimmy was then sent off with the card, to carry it, if possible, to Turanga, but he could not manage to find his way farther than Makaraka, about halfway. >Twicc l?e tried. At last he saw a dog trotting along. He followed in the track it took, and after a while he reached the main road. Two miles outside of Turanga Jimmy was met by a party going to reconnoitre, who, upon learning Jimmy’s errand, pushed forward and brought Mrs. Wilson back into the township.

CHAPTER VI. A few days after the massacre large reinforcements, consisting principally of friendly natives, arrived at Poverty Bay from Napier and the coast under the command of Major Westrupp and Capt. Tukc. The excitement at Turanga gradually abated, the settlers returned to their homesteads', and Major Westrupp made preparations for an advance against Te Kooti. The news of the massacre fell like a thunderbolt upon the citizens of Auckland when the Lord Ashley arrived with, particulars and some of the fugitives. The deed was so horrible that it could scarcely be realised, and a deep gloom settled upon the people, who congregated in knots discussing the dire catastrophe. The 18th Regiment was at the time in garrison at Auckland, but under strict orders from the •Home Government net to take the field. The man-o’-war Rosario (Capt Palmer) was also in the harbour, and directly the news arrived, Capt. Palmet got up steam and left for .Tauranga, where the warship remained for some time as a guard ship for the protection of the town in case of an attack. The s.s. Tauranga was chartered by Dr. Pollen, Government Agent, and Mr. Janies Mackay proceeded in her down the East Coast to raise, if necessary, a corps of Arawas. 1 here was no European force at the time available for service, the Armed Constabulary having more than they could do on the West Coast. On November 23 a strong force of friendly natives, who had started from J. tirangantn after To Kooti, whilst following up the trail in the direction o f Patutahi, came suddenly, at about 4 p.m., upon a horse saddled, standing in the track. The rider, no doubt alarmed by the sudden appearance of the friendlies, had escaped into the surrounding scrub. Following the track, the expedition emerged into a well -made road, the streams, where necessary, being roughly bridged. 1 his .work ■ was done to .enable- the. enemy to carry off the large amount of loot which they bad secured from the settlers in the bay After proceeding along the road for some distance, a hill was mounted at a place called Te Karetu, about thirty miles from Turanganui. and beneath then? they beheld the object of their search—Te Kooti’s camp. The position chosen was in a hollow on the edge of a deuse’y-wooded creek, with high banks. It was a regular tent encampment, and numbers of horses and sheep were seen, lherc were no signs of the enemy, who were evidently asleep in their tents. It seems strange that they should have had no sentries on the watch. After extending well round the encampment, the friendlies suddenly poured volley after volley into the tents below. The' fusillade had the effect of causing the surprised inmates to rush out of their canvas in all directions, and make for the nearest cover. Not being rushed, the enemy soon recovered themselves, and returned the fire of the friendlies, and a straggling fight commenced, which lasted all night, when Te Kooti's men, for some reason, ceased firing, and the friendlies had to reduce their fire on account of their ammunition rtttimng short. During the night two friendly natives were killed and six wounded. Lieut. Gascoigne, who was in charge of a party of scouts, had , a liarrow escape, a ball passing through his cap. In this affair Te Kooti is said to have lost about thirty men. The friendlies, throwing up some rough entrenchments, waited for a fresh supply of ammunition from Patutahi, where a depot had been formed, before resuming the offensive. The expected supply of ammunition, however, never arrived, for the party escorting the ammunition, in charge of Sergt.-Major Butters, formerly of Von Tempsky’s Forest Rangers, were, intercepted by about fifty of Te Kooti’s men, and forced to retire, leaving ill the hands of the enemy over 16,000 rounds of ammunition, besides stores. -The. men under Sergt.-Major Butters, being mostly natives, bolted, and, although a stand was made behind an old fence, Sergt.-Major Butters was compelled to retreat back to the redoubt at Turanga. Shortly afterwards the friendlies, investing le Kooti’s camp, finding no ammunition forthcoming, also made their way back to Turanga, whilst Te Kooti struck camp, and retreated still further back into the mountains to Ngatapa. The friendly chief Ropata and hts men, with one or two other tribes, having found out the whereabouts of Te Kooti, made an attempt to take his stronghold, but on arriving at Ngatapa they found that the position was a more formidable one than they had anticipated, and after expending a large quantity of ammunition Ropata retired. About this time Col. Whitmore again arrived at Turanga from tlx; West Coast in the s.s. Ladybird with 300 men of the Armed Constabulary. Before proceeding to attack Tc Kooti, Col. Whitmore sent forward a party of scouts to ascertain if the enemy still' occupied the same position. The scouts, upon their return, reported that they saw large fires at Ngatapa, as If Te Kooti was burning his wltares before retreating. Taking for granted that such was the cgse, and no doubt the wish was father to the th.ouiJht, Col. Whitmore ordered his men to again re-embark for the West Coast, lhe Government steamer Sturt, having the force on board, in steaming out, rah bit to a rock and knocked a hole in her bottom. At this juncture news . i nto 1 manga that the. enemy, instead of retreating, had again made theic appearance on the plains, and murdered several settlers. A dog belonging to a young man named Fergusson, who was known to be at Mr. Harris” sheep -station, cqmc by itself to the redoubt at Turanga, and as the dog was known never to leave its master, it was considered that something wrong had hap- ■ penedpand a strong party, upon proceeding to the station of Mr. Harris, discovered the bodies of young Wylie, Fergusson, and a’Maori all terribly muti,lated. Col. Whitmore at once landed his Constabulary, and on December -4 marched against Ngatapa, where the column, about 400 strong, arrived on th« aytii, and found Te* Kooti strongly' entrenefied.' Ropata v shortly afterward* jomed the attacking force with 350 native*

CHAPTER VII. TTTE SIEGE OF NGATAPA. Having gathered his forces in front of the enemy’s stronghold, Col. Whitmore immediately invested the pa by throwing up lines of entrenchments, which, when finished, commanded Ngatapa, which was a natural fortress, being situated on the top of a pinnacle on one of the highest peaks of the mountain range, some 2000 feet above sea-level. The ground in the rear of the pa narrowed into a razor-back ridge, down which a track led, and which was available for retreat with the help of rope ladders to descend the rock terraces into the gorge below. The front slope of the position was defended by three lines of earth and fern-built parapets, with ditches in front. These parapets abutted at either end on the steep scarfed slopes. The outer or first line was about 250 yards long and seven feet high, the second line was shorter as the peak contracted, and the third or last line was a most formidable work, nearly' fourteen feet high, with sand-bag loopholes to enable the defenders to fire in safety. Each line was connected with the next by covered ways. A conical hill on the same ridge as the pa, but separated from it by a deep ravine, Col. Whitmore made the base of his operations. This was called the Crow’s Nest, and the two positions were about 700 yards apart. A mortar, after much labour, having been got into position, opened a vertical fire of shell with great effect. Col. Fraser, with 100 of the Armed Constabulary and too Ngatiporous, were ordered round the right flank to cut off the enemy's retreat in the rear, and a long line of friendly natives, with No. 6 Company Armed Constabulary'; under Major Roberts, connected the two parties, forming a line 700 yards long. The whole of the enemy's position was surrounded, with the exception of a small part of the cliff, which was considered too steep to admit of the enemy's escape, and ,was, moreover, exposed to a flanking fire from either party. Rain now set in, and continued for several days, increasing the hardships of the siege, as the men were obliged to lie in the rifle pits, which were soon filled with water. In the meantime a heavy fire was kept up on both sides, but caused only trifling casualties. On the 2nd January Capt. Brown,* No. 7 Company, A.C., was shot dead, and on the following day Capt. Capel, of the same corps, was wounded. A few men under Capt. Swindley climbed the precipitous razor-back ridge in the rear of the pa, and formed rifle pits under the rock terrace that formed the summit of Ngatapa. From here the party commanded the position of the enemy, who made desperate attempts to dislodge Capt. Swindley. He. although losing several of his men, succeeded in holding the vantage-ground, and Privates Biddle and Black received the New Zealand Cross of Valour for their intrepid conduct on this occasion. Ropata, the friendly chief, after consulting with Col. iWhitmore, determined to storm the outer line of the enemy's parapets. In this purpose he told off fifty picked men, and sent them down the ravine with orders to scale the cliff immediately under the end of the first parapet. The enemy, noticing the advance of Ropata's men, crowded to the en of the trench, and fired down on the storming party, wounding five men, but at the same time, being in an exposed position, suffered severely from the fire that was poureel into them. The storming party, under cover of the fire from the rifle pits, climbed the outer face of the parapets, which they cut through with spades, and pouring a raking fire up the trench drove the occupants out. and took possession of the first line. In this affair about eight men were killed on each side and several wounded. A sap was then commenced from this base to the second line of trenches, the work being carried on all night, with the intention of blowing up the parapet and storming the main work the next morning. The enemy in the meantime kept up a heavy and well-directed fire on the working party, who had to keep well under cover to avoid being shot. Two men, who were incautious, were killed. In the meanwhile the storming party', numbering 200 men, sat in the trenches, and waited for the dawn. At about 2 a.m. the fire from the pa ceased, and a woman in the enemy’s position called out that Te Kooti and his men had escaped. At the break of dawn the storming party cautiously advanced, and found that what the woman had said was true, for the only occupants were several wounded men. who were immediately tomahawked. The retreating foe were followed through the bush by a party

of Ropata s men, who succeeded in capturing about 120 of the Here dragged to the edge of a cliff, made to stand in a row, stripped, then snot, and, tlyown into the ravine below, where their bleached bones may still be found. Te Kooti himself, with a number of his followers, however, got away. The stronghold of Ngatapa having been destroyed, Col. Whitmore marched his Armed Constabulary back to Poverty Bay, but Ropata returned to the coast across country, capturing on his way about eighty men, women, and children belonging to Te Kooti s band. These he did not kill as he bad done the others, saying that if he did the Europeans would call him the butcher.

,’HAPTER VIIT. TE KOOTI ATTACKS WHAKATANE AND THREATENS w , TAURANGA. VG Te Kooti having been driven out of the Poverty Bay district, and his force dispersed, it was not considered necessary to retain any longer Col. Whitmore anti his Armed Constabulary, who embarked again for Wanganui, where a large number of West Coast natives were still in open rebellion. Ropata and his friendly natives returned to their different settlements along the coast, and peace once more reigned in the district. But Te Kooti was still at large, and roaming, none knew where, in the Urewera mountains, and any day might make his appearance again at some settlement along the coast. But week after week passed away, and there was no sign of the guerilla chief, who might possibly have had enough of fighting, and intended to rest satisfied with the mischief he had already done: Occasionally smoke was noticed rising from some of the ranges in the mountains, but it might have been caused by the fires of other natives, who had their settlements in the ranges, and so little notice was taken of the circumstance. About one hundred miles to the northward of Turanga, Poverty Bay, is situated the native settlement of Whakatane, in the Bay of Plenty, and two or three months after the capture of Ngatapa, Te Kooti, with a band of followers not more than one hundred in number, descended from the mountains, and suddenly attacked the Whakatane natives. A Frenchman named Jean Garraud, who had a store at the settlement, was tomahawked after making a desperate resistance and killing several of his adversaries. In the attempt to take the pa, or fortified place, where the natives of the settlement had rushed into upon the approach of the enemy, Te Kooti was unsuccessful and forced to retire. He then commenced to sap up to the palisading of the pa, which he reached after two days. work, when the inmates surrendered. Te Kooti then sacked and burnt the settlement, inculding the stores of' Messrs Simpkins and Milburne. Te Kooti's scouts having reported the advance of a strong party' of Europeans and natives, under Major Mair, sent to the relief of the settlement, he hurriedly retired back again to the mountains, followed by Major Mair's party, who, however, did not succeed in capturing their wily foe. He again managed to get away. The fact that Te Kooti was again on the warpath caused no little uneasiness at all the settlements along the coast, and especially at Tauranga, only distant about a day’s march to the north of Whakatane, and where there was settled a large number of European women and children, totally unprotected, excepting by the small force of settlers located in the township and its environs. An urgent request was dispatched to Auckland for reinforcements. The 18th Regiment in garrison there were at the time of the Poverty Bay massacre not available for service in the field, and the Government, at Wellington, under the circumstances, requested the Auckland Naval Artillery Volunteers, under Lieut. E. H. Featon, with a 6 pounder Armstrong guns, to proceed to Tauranga for the relief of the settlers. The request of the Government was cheerfully complied with, and as soon as possible the Artillery embarked on board the s.s. Tauranga. and steamed away for their destination, receiving on their departure an ovation from the large crowd assembled on the wharf to see them off. ITo be Continued.)