CHAPTER IV.
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CHAPTER IV.
A singular notion prevails among the New Zealanders to the effect, that it is heroic to visit the innocent and unoffending with that punishment which should fall on the guilty. Accordingly we find, that instead of the combined forces last mentioned directing their steps to Rotukakahi, where their friends were waylaid and slain, they chose the island of Mokoia on the Rotorua lake, as the scene of their operations.
It is supposed that between five and six thousand persons occupied the stronghold at Mokoia; but being without firearms, their attempts to repel so formidable an enemy as this confederation, was not likely to be crowned with success. Many hundreds, therefore, on the approach of the foe, threw themselves into the lake, and by swimming about two miles succeeded in gaining the main land. Very many of the women, and the more enfeebled of the men, as a matter of course, became exhausted ere they had reached half that distance, and thus, that death which awaited them on the island of Mokoia was merely delayed for a time. Many who preferred a watery grave to the death blow of the battle axe, deserted the pah previous to the landing of the allied fleet of canoes, knowing full well that there was little possibility of escape when the fortress should be surrounded.
Scarcely any resistance was offered on the part of the unfortunate inhabitants of the place, consequently, the storming party quickly became masters of the citadel, and a wholesale massacre succeeded. Thousands, it is said, perished in this unprovoked assault; and not a few surrendered themselves, as slaves to the iron grasp of the conquerors. We subjoin the lament referring to this outrage.
No more we meet our children's smile,
Their home is lone as Kahu's isle
"Where desolations reign;
The raging foe, --a mighty band
Came rushing o'er our cherished land,
While vengeance marked their train.
"Lo, I am brave!" said one, "and I
Will cause the enemy to fly,"
Said others mad with ire:
But how could ye be bold and strong?
Or how could ye continue long,
'Neath such a deadly fire?
O sires! 'twas well ye left that grave,
And dashed into the sable wave,
And reached the distant strand;
But how did they not Tane take?
And how Waihi didst thou escape
From such a murderous band?
"Arawa" in her ancient pride,
Moved gaily o'er the ocean's tide,
While storms on storms swept by;
But now she's wrecked upon the shore,
And lo! her women in their gore,
Midst broken timbers lie.
Waikato heretofore we slew,
Their noble chief Wharaunga too,
We hurried to the grave!
But wherefore have these warriors come,
With weapons rare to seal our doom
And all our youths to enslave?
The captives taken in war, accompanied the army during the term of its campaign. The mode of securing these unhappy creatures was as follows:--The hands were fastened with cords, behind their back, and a rope put round the neck; thus, by tying the ends of the ropes together, a whole band could be led forward with comparatively little trouble. Not unfrequently, however, the rope was interwoven with the hair of the head, and at night the end tied to the master's wrist, so that by a slight movement of the hand, the "slave-holder" could ascertain as to whether or not he possessed living property.
The beautiful daughter of the chief, Tautari, together with other distinguished personages, having been taken captive at the storming of the Mokoia pah, the following production was
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composed and sung by a scattered remnant of the tribe.
Farewell O Whare! thou and thy brothers
And thy sires. O Mauri! behold the delicate
And youthful ones, as well as those of riper
Years, and noble birth now exiled from their
Dwellings. Morenga! thou and thy people
Feasted many days on others; and why
May not our serfs in turn devour your great
Ones, Hongi, and Pomare? And who belonging
To thy tribe was eaten here O Hongi?
Houwawa and Houmoka, thy warrior
Chieftains fell at the hands of Ngatiwhatua,
And their carcases became the prey of
Birds upon the wild sea shore, Ah! it had
Been well with us to-day if we had hearkened
To the counsels of sage Korokai, and
Hastened from the foe before the din
Of battle. But ye would not escape;
Ye listened to the adverse counsel of
Misguided Tirohia; and now, what desolated
Wastes are ours! O my people! while the tides
Of famed Ohiwa ripple on, --ye!
Ye are lost for ever.
"Pomare was universally considered, as most atrocious and implacable," writes a friend of the Rev. Samuel Marsden; we wonder not therefore, that his restless spirit should lead him to daring acts, from which more thoughtful minds would naturally shrink. Accordingly, we find him undertaking a series of expeditions against his countrymen with only a handful of men, in comparison with the armies brought forward to contend against him. In one of these ill-advised campaigns, by his own rashness, and wild enthuasiasm, he lost his life.
A considerable army having been raised by him at the Bay of Islands and its vicinity, from Hokianga, and Kaipara, he made his way hither and encamped not far from this city, intending, no doubt, to scour the whole of the coast. The greater portion of his taua was retained here as a reserve, and he madly set out to attack the thickly populated district of Waikato, with about three hundred men. The Waikato people supposing his army to be formidable, fled from him in the wildest disorder through the woods, keeping up a random fire for two days. Encouraged by their timidity, he pressed forward, forgetting that the number of his followers might possibly be discovered, and his retreat cut off. In the mean time, a neighbouring tribe of Waikato had been watching his movements, and messengers were despatched to summon the tribes belonging to the Thames who had taken shelter for a time in the inland districts. The call was immediately responded to by the indomitable Taraia, and other equally ferocious men. The chief, Nini, of the Ngatitipa, was chosen as leader, and he directed his allies, and his own people to conceal themselves in the surrounding thickets till he had given the signal for attack.
Pomare not suspecting an ambuscade, pushed on, and being anxious to display his valour, he rushed forward at a short distance before his people, which afforded the enemy an opportunity of despatching him. The Ngapuhi army having approached sufficiently near to the ambuscade, Nini dashed forth with a long spear, and taking Pomare by surprise felled him to the earth. Like the Philistines of old, when the Ngapuhi "saw their champion was dead, they fled."
The Ngatitipa, the Ngatipaoa, the Ngatimaru, the Ngatitamatera, and others, hotly pursued the retiring northern army, and being driven about from place to place, they split up into small parties, which were easily surrounded by the enemy and slain. About fifty succeeded in getting to the sea coast, but as the pursuit was kept up with unabated fury, they were massacred without distinction: and the pursuers having extended their research as far as the Manukau Harbour, the group of chiefs who had fled thither with the hope of escaping observation, were espied, and pounced upon with unrelenting ferocity. It is stated, that from ten to twenty persons only escaped the vigilant eye of the avenging foe, amongst whom were Parore of Kaihu, on the Kaipara, Mauparaoa, and Moetara the principal chief of the heads of Hokianga, person of great influence and natural ability, and one of the most amiable and gentlemanly chiefs we ever conversed with. Gentlemanly we say, because he had imbibed European manners, having been on board one of Her Majesty's ships, for a considerable time; and as he was a great favourite with the respectable European settlers generally, his frequent intercommunications, tended to lessen that rudeness so characteristic of his countrymen, and so repugnant to civilized society.
We have not been favoured with the laments which relate to this defeat, but we subjoin the chorus of a dance which was composed after the return of the tribes from the slaughter. It is a justly merited reflection upon the men of Waikato, who precipitately fled to the woods from a force vastly inferior to their own.
Ye are caught by the neck--the vine
Of the forest your bodies entwine
Oh Waikato!
In wild dismay to forest shades ye ran,
As if concealment were the better plan,
Big skulls!
Broad skulls!
All energy are ye to plunder and get gain,
But from the common foe ye fly amain;
Ye look like men, 'tis true,
But ye are only figures painted blue.
The calamity which befell Pomare's expedition intimidated the northern tribes, and caused the discontinuance of their incursions to these districts. The subsequent wars of Kawiti and bis coadjutors, were for the most part confined to the Bay of Islands and its vicinity: we may be permitted, therefore, to take a glance at the past, and one glance only will suffice to shew the change
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which has come over this portion of our beautiful island. The war canoe, which rode upon the stormy billow of the surrounded waters, laden with fierce warriors in quest of prey, is now used for the legitimate purpose of conveying the fruits of industry to a rapidly rising city, or it may be, exchanged for the more commodious vessel of British ingenuity. The midnight cry of the Maori sentinel no longer rebounds along the shores of the Waitemata, or the rumbling noise of the pahu to warn the people of an approaching foe, for the inhabitants rest in peace, each "under his own vine and fig tree," Nor does the horrifying yell of the savage as he brandished his spear, and made the earth tremble with his tread, betoken a desolating outbreak, for the tower of St. Paul's Church overshadows the battle field, while the rich tones of the organ are blended with the richer strains of the human voice, so that the traveller may say of Auckland:--
Sweet music! I heard its long loud peal; --
It echoed through the sacred edifice.
Then on the morning cloud it floated high,
And angels listened, and for awhile,
Forgot their sacred lyres to sweep; then
As incense to the throne of Him who compasses
The everlasting hills, the hearts deep melody
Burst forth, and while the accents lingered
On the tongues of mortals, the seraph choir
Upraised their golden harps, and sang with men,
"Praise God! praise God!" and 'ere the hymn had ended
A stream of light and glory filled the house
And the adoring worshippers broke forth anew, --
"Praise God! lo heaven and earth are one!"
But there is a dark side as well as a bright one. If Auckland has its ships, its spirited commerce, and industrious population, --if its energetic citizens are undisturbed in their occupations by the sound of war, --and if its houses of prayer are filled with worshippers, humbly acknowledging their countless obligations to the Author of all good, --it has, alas! its deep fountains of corruption too, whose turbid waters, at no remote period, may deluge the fair scenes we have endeavoured feebly to depict, with one dark desolating wave. In passing through this city, the heart's involuntary sigh, or the blush that mantles upon the cheek of the more susceptible, must of necessity be called forth day by day. Crowds of miserable and infatuated persons may be observed at all hours, within, or lingering near the thresholds of the taverns which superabound in this place, and amongst them are seen a tolerable sprinkling of the unhappy Aborigines of this country, who, if we have not evangelized, we have certainly demoralized to an awful extent. It was hoped that the enactment of a paternal Government, prohibiting the sale of "intoxicating liquors to any person of the native race," would have saved the New Zealanders from the awful sin of intemperance, so prevalent nowadays, and which is announced as one of the peculiar signs of these "times of the end." It would appear however, that neither the penalty attached to a breach of the Ordinance in question) nor the vigilance of the authorities, have deterred the more enlightened European from initiating his less privileged neighbour, in reference to this vice, -- a vice from which the mind naturally recoils with horror, being fraught with calamities so ruinous and extensive; as to baffle description. In vain does the Christian Missionary pourtray in just and glowing colours, the happiness that flows in upon the soul from the reception of "pure and undefiled religion," for it is a truly melancholy fact, that not unfrequently, one short visit to the metropolis, totally destroys the labours of many years. Nor is this deadly evil confined to this district, we learn with poignant grief and fearful foreboding, that at many of the remote native settlements, the most revolting scenes have been witnessed by the introduction of this worse than "noisome pestilence." Talk of the advancement, and Christianization of these interesting tribes, --impossible! unless a merciful Providence interfere; --unless the Christian philanthropist hastens to the rescue, for the seeds of national dissolution have been thickly sown, and the germ which portends the extinction of the New Zealander, is unfolding apace its poisonous petals. The unhallowed, filthy, and most unmanly propensity alluded to, is not confined to the ranks of the low and vulgar, but many persons claiming for themselves the appellation of gentlemen, esteem it fashionable to cultivate the acquaintance of the many-headed bacchanalian monster. The superior knowledge which this class of persons possesses while it enhances their responsibility, it increases their influence for good or evil, and how deplorable it is, that men capable of accomplishing a vast amount of good, and ameliorating the woes of the human family, should lend themselves to an agent whose diabolical purpose is merely to use them as tools for a while, and reward them for their services with "shame and everlasting contempt." As far as the natives of this country are concerned, mere precept is not likely to have the slightest effect in forming their character: our example alone is imitated --imitated to a degree almost incredible to those who are only partially acquainted with their usages. The question meets us with a solemnity therefore, that may well make us tremble, for we are assured, that "He that knoweth his master's will and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes." Now if we really desire to save these tribes from present degradation and premature decay, --if we seriously wish to advance their present and future interests, our benevolent resolutions cannot possibly be carried out until we make up our minds to abandon this terrific vice. 1 "Touch not, taste
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not, handle not" is the injunction of Holy Writ, and happy is that man who respects this important command, for his virtuous abstinence may be the means of his becoming a Christian, in the evangelical sense of that term, which is "the highest state of man;" --man, that fallen creature who inhabits this increasingly guilty earth; but who is destined at no distant period; to witness its restoration to primeval loveliness, when its glorious Creator shall again pronounce His benediction, and say "Behold it is very good."
