CHAPTER III.
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CHAPTER III.
After the death of Hongi, the command of the Ngapuhi army principally devolved upon Pomare. Several bloody engagements took place under his generalship, between the Ngatipaoa tribes, the Ngatimaru and Waikato. Kawiti accompanied this warrior, as did also Rewa, Te Kaingamata, Te Morenga, Tawaewae, and many other northern chiefs. They scoured the shores of the Bay of Plenty, pah after pah falling into the hands of the conquerors; and so determined were they on the work of destruction, that fortifications were encompassed by their armies, till the hapless inhabitants had consumed their store of provisions, and were driven, in a state of frantic starvation, to devour their own offspring, for the temporary preservation of their lives, These hardships so enfeebled the poor creatures, as to render them an easy prey to their insatiable enemies. The following song is said to refer to the peculiar sufferings of the poor people who were thus hemmed in, and up to this day the survivors speak of their inhuman meals with unfeigned horror. They manifest extreme delicacy when referring to the melancholy scenes which transpired within their fortress "Te Whetumatarau."
While darkness o'er my spirit steals,
A deeper pang my bosom feels.
They did not cast a death-like mound,
Before the stately pahs around,
But ye of all the rest were singled out.
My flax-plant beautiful and rare,
Has lost its tender germ; --and there
Near Ranga-ahu's rugged steep,
Where other famous warriors sleep, ---
Its withered leaves in cold dishonour lie!
Ah! ye are like the line and hook,
That drifts unheeded in the brook:
Or like the spreading net of yore,
Cast rudely on a stormy shore,
O'er which the traveller is fain to weep.
The civil wars which wasted the population of these beautiful islands, seem to have been carried on with scarcely any intermission. When it suited the convenience of the chiefs, their ancient feuds were forgotten, and a powerful army levied for the purpose of annihilating some common foe. Thus we see at one time the Ngapuhi tribes and those of the Thames engaged in sanguinary strife, slaughtering and devouring one another; and then we find them uniting their forces, to invade the territories of some distant chiefs.
It was a confederacy of this kind which depopulated the East Coast. Upwards of two thousand eight hundred fighting men set out on one occasion, to "kill and to take alive." The army was headed respectively by Pomare, Kawiti, and Te Wera of the Ngapuhi, Te Whatanui of the Ngatiraukawa, Te Rauroha of the Ngatipaoa, and other tribes joined the expedition. The theatre of operation was Ahuriri, on the East Coast, and the populous pah to which they directed their attention, was named "Te-ihu-o-te-rei." Being furnished with a few fire arms, the inhabitants of the pah were seized with consternation, and without much loss on the part of the besiegers, the fortress was carried. The slaughter that ensued was immense, thousands were tomahawked, speared, or shot, and upwards of two thousand captives, it is stated, became the live property of cruel taskmasters, amongst whom was the celebrated Mauparaoa, subsequently known as Pomare's head general.
No fewer than one hundred and twelve war canoes, it is said, fell into the hands of the storming party, and many Maori valuables, such as mats, spears, ear-drops, fishing-lines, nets, baskets, &c. The great chief of the pah, named Te Aituoterangi, was taken prisoner and murdered in cold blood. The weapon selected for the perpetration of this barbarous deed, was made of whalebone, --a weapon very highly esteemed by the New Zealanders, and used only by persons of consequence. The existence of the unfortunate chieftain might have been terminated by the stroke of a tomahawk, or some other common implement; but his implacable enemies wished to shew some respect for his rank, by taking away his life with a costly weapon. Thus, most strangely was sympathy and hatred blended together in the savage breast; and how truly applicable in reference to this transaction, are the words of the inspired penman, --- "the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." -- When Te Aituoterangi's executioner came forward with the uplifted stave, the dignified prisoner received him with a smile; and "this," says Kawiti's biographer-- "is a mark of chieftainship, for all great men meet death with a smile, but plebeians make some exclamation or weep." Poor Aituoterangi, was felled to the earth, amidst the plaudits of his adversaries, and his head carried off as a trophy of victory.
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One division of the army turned its attention now to a pah in the immediate neighbourhood, which quickly surrendered, and sixteen hundred, it is said were slain here. After this carnage, the canoes were manned, and as they paddled along the coast, another fortress was discovered by the Ngapuhi, and they landed, with the intention of destroying its unoffending occupants. Pomare took the lead, closely followed by Kawiti, who darted forward with a long spear and killed four men. A skirmish ensued, but the enemy was driven back to their stronghold, which yielded to the conquerors after a short struggle. Four hundred victims were put to death, and eight hundred captives torn from their native villages, to grace the courts of these barbarian princes. Sixty canoes were captured at this settlement, and other spoils also fell to the lot of the victors. This lament was composed in honour of one of the principal chiefs who fell in the contest:--
My son! nobly didst thou stand forth and speak
Thy sentiments, but ah, how little didst
Thou think when urging on thy people
To the charge, that death would pass by others
And lay hold of thee. Thy greatness now is
Prostrate, and all thy nobleness lies low
In dust. My son! thy mother sleeps on board
The drifting prow, nor hears the foaming of
The mountain wave. Art not thou the victim
Of contending parties? Mairo called
Aloud to flee from this arch foe, but
Poroto heeded not his counsel;
He grasped his weapon, saying he should
Meet the enemy in deadly combat.
Ah! where are they now? In voyaging
Te Ihurahirahi, a solitary pair
Is seen to man our frail canoe!
Oh Whakatohea! ye led these warriors
Forth, and brought this ruin on my tribe and me.
The expedition, on its return homeward, called at Tokomaru, where the chieftainess of the Ngatiporo resided; a woman of great celebrity. "The feet of this personage" says the Maori narrator was not permitted to be soiled by stepping upon the bare ground. Whenever she went forth from her house, two maidens attended her with mats, which were placed for her to walk upon, and during her excursions she used to lean upon a walking stick made of beautiful green stone." This assertion is corroborated by the natives generally, who agree in attributing to this lady extreme elegance of manner, and a refined taste, qualities rarely met with among the women of New Zealand. Independently of her accomplishments and wisdom, her high rank entitled her to respect, and her personal appearance was such as to command unqualified admiration. The house in which she resided was spacious, elaborately carved, and otherwise ornamented. The interior was tastefully decorated, and the maids-in-waiting of this sable Queen, used to gather from the surrounding woods odoriferous plants to scent the I oil used for her hair, as well as to make perfumes for her person, and for her carved palace.
"As to her treasures" says our informant, "she had an abundant supply of all that is costly and precious." A sacred canoe richly carved and decorated with feathers, was kept for her own use, in which she used to take an occasional airing accompanied by her maidens.
As an attack was meditated upon the people of this district, a counsel of war was held after landing; but the lofty bearing of Hinematioro the beautiful, so overawed the principal leaders, that they abandoned the idea. The Chiefs of the confederacy expressed an earnest desire to see the great personage of whom they had heard so much, and after no fewer than ten special messages had been conveyed to Her Majesty, she condescended to exhibit her beauty from a lofty height encompassed by her principal courtiers, and having a guard of honour consisting of six hundred persons. She was cheered with great enthusiasm by the admiring crowds below, who in vain entreated her to descend from the eminence on which she stood to receive at their hands some substantial tokens of their regard, in the way of guns, and other valuables; she was not thus to be allured, however, by costly gifts, for the same barbarous splendour, and dignified bearing that was displayed in her approach, was observable as she retired to her apartments within the fort. This lady's grandson Te Kaniatakirau, is living at a settlement near the East Cape, and is acknowledged by all the natives to be the greatest chief in the northern island of New Zealand.
The following is a fragment of a song composed we believe by a female belonging to some distant tribe; it will serve to show the high estimation in which Hinematioro was held.
O wash your teeth, and cleanse them,
And make them as the snow;
And beautify yourself, as when
To Tangaroa you go.
Presume not to approach me
Unless your robes be clean;
For lo, my fame mounts o'er the sea,
Like Hinematioro's; -- she
Of noble birth and mien.
Two other Maori ladies are mentioned by the New-Zealanders, celebrated for their wisdom, rank, and beauty. Their names were Te Wahine-iti, and Hine-i-koia. The latter personage was not allowed to walk at all, but carried by bearers in a litter.
Sometime subsequent to this, Pomare, Kawiti, Te Morenga, and others formed an alliance with the various tribes located on the Thames for the purpose of attacking the pah at Maunganui, at Tauranga. Previous to the assault on the pah the adjacent country was ravaged, and everything of utility that could not be carried away was destroyed. Nothing in the way of plantations, live stock, or household stuff, escaped the kean vision of the New-Zealander during these war-expedi-
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tions; what he is not able to consume he invariably destroys. Thus, we find in the records of the little band of noble minded Missionaries at Whangaroa, a faint sketch of their mischievous propensities, as well as their inhuman treatment of the dead.
The Missionaries were obliged to abandon their station and save their lives by flight. The natives who had so wantonly driven away their best friends, considered the mission property, now as their own, and accordingly the work of plunder commenced. In the meantime a party arrived from Hokianga, who attacked the plunderers while in the act of collecting their spoils, "drove them off with savage fury, and seized upon the remainder of the booty themselves burned the bouse and barn with the wheat crop in straw to ashes; killed the cattle, goats, and poultry, and left the heads, feet, and other remains strewed upon the ground; and worst of all, the body of Mrs. -----'s infant child, which had died, and had been buried there, they dug up for the purpose of obtaining the blanket or wrapper in which they supposed the tender babe had been wrapped, and left the cherished remains of this little one in Christ, to moulder on the surface amid the other monuments of this awful and desolating outbreak."
The fortress of Maunganui was taken with a comparatively small sacrifice of life on the part of the assailants. Thousands were killed or trampled to death, and a multitude of unhappy creatures became the unwilling slaves of their enemies who drafted them away in canoes, four hundred of which it is said were seized here.
It is certainly a most imposing sight to witness a large war canoe, elaborately carved, and tastefully decorated with feathers, impelled forward by a hundred or more rowers, the paddles moving like clockwork, and glistening in the sun; but a fleet consisting of five or six hundred, must be an exceedingly interesting spectacle on account of its novelty. On this subject a talented historian on a visit to the Bay of Islands graphically remarks, --"The approach of the canoes to the ship was marked with a wild grandeur of the noblest description, and it was impossible to behold the scene without being impressed with the force of its distinctive sublimity. The different chiefs were all standing up with their war mats gracefully thrown over their shoulders, their hair neatly tied in a bunch upon the crown of the head, and ornamented according to the general fashion of their country, with the white feathers of the gannet. Their attitudes, and gestures violently impetuous, as, if intent on making an immediate attack upon the vessel, might strike the most resolute beholder with terror; and their fierce countenances furrowed over with hideous punctures, all deeply painted with blue pigment or quite black, gave a horrible identity to the savage display."
On board the flotilla, however, from Maunganui, was many a tearful eye and anxious heart; a melancholy circumstance, by no means calculated to lessen the interest of those whose sympathies are ever enlisted on behalf of suffering humanity.
In those days the people of Tauranga were very numerous, so much so, that they were compared to the crabs on the sea shore; and happily, some hundreds of them escaped to the mountains while the fortress was beleaguered, one of whom composed the following lament in honour of the chief of the pah who fell during the conflict.
Thou art no longer seen, O Irimate!
And we are left without a prop; --without
A leader to our battles. But thou O brave one,
Ere thou wast hurried hence, thou didst avenge
Our wrongs on Southern shores. Ah! 'twas the folly
Of that Parera which brought these hosts of warriors
To our plains. Still o'er the mount of Mauao
The lightsome cloud is lingering:--still Hinewhanga
Is enwrapped in foggy haze; --and still the streams
Of Pariwhero glide on as in the olden time; --
But thou O Irimate, my 'beauteous bird,
My treasure, art gone for ever, and thy sleep
Is lasting as the heavens where move the clouds.
Another alliance of this kind was entered into by the Ngapuhi tribes inhabiting the Bay of Islands, the North Cape, and other places; the Ngatiwhatua of Kaipara, and the Ngaitirangi of Tauranga, for the purpose of punishing a crime perpetrated by the Rotokakahi natives, at the instigation of that proverbially treacherous and daring Chief, Te Rauparaha, whose capture by a British man-of-war during the Whanganui rebellion, was owing to a deep-laid plot by himself and other chiefs to seize the Governor, Sir George Grey. Happily, indeed, these machinations were discovered, and by a tact which reflects unbounded credit upon the British officers concerned, this dark minded man, grown hoary in deeds of blood, had the mortification of feeling himself in a position which precluded the possibility of carrying out his designs, or concocting further mischief. We feel bound to state, that questionable as this movement might appear in regard to its operation on the minds of the native population, it had a decidedly beneficial tendency, having suddenly enlightened them in reference to the power, energy, and determination of the British. The very kind treatment he received on board the "Calliope," and the uniform politeness and compassion he experienced from Sir George Grey during the term of his captivity, tended to humble his proud spirit and to give him exalted views of those he had been accustomed to regard only in the light of formidable enemies.
The following is a song composed by the relative of Te Rauparaha on the occasion of his capture:--
Keen are the pangs I feel within my breast,
And while I gaze on Kapiti's high hill,
Far distant, I think of him who was my shield,
But now no longer seen or heard.
Thou Wert taken from the assembled tribes of
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Ngatiawa, who, in times gone by, led the forces
Under thy command. Sleep on! O! Sire,
On board. that ship, and gaze upon the morn
That casts its shadows on the deep dark wave,
Where, in olden time, thy bark, laden with
Warriors, gaily, rode. But now the floods
Are bearing thee away fast on to England's shores.
Ah! the great sea god is hurried from his cave.
The earthly career of Te Rauparaha closed a few months after his liberation, but previous to this eventful period, we are happy to find that he embraced Christianity; and if it be true that the depth of man's piety is to be measured by his liberality to the Christian cause--a sentiment with which we have no sympathy--then Te Rauparaha was very religious, for a portion of the Otaki Church reserve belonged to him, and it was given up in order to forward the benevolent schemes of the Anglican Mission. No doubt there were other circumstances connected with the last days of this aged warrior's history, much more satisfactory in their nature than that alluded to, and although there is no earthly record, it may be, that they are registered on high. We are not without hope as respects the personal application of Te Rauparaha to that gracious Being, who saves to the uttermost all those "who come unto God through Him," and we are well assured that no sincere suppliant will be "sent empty away." His solitary grave is overshadowed by the house of prayer, whilst "a headstone erected by the piety of his son, inscribed with his name, and the period of his decease, serves to mark the final resting-place of the principal chief of the Ngatiraukawa."
