1893 - Stack, J. W. Kaiapohia: the Story of a Siege [1990 reprint] - CHAPTER V. RAUPARAHA'S THIRD RAID, CAPTURE OF KAIAPOHIA, p 57-78

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CHAPTER V.

THE interest awakened by the newly developed trade with white people, kept the minds of the Kaiapoi Maoris occupied, and by diverting their thoughts from the danger of invasion lulled them into a state of a false security. The difficulty of transporting a sufficent body of men from Kapiti to make victory secure, would, they hoped, prevent the northern natives from attacking them in force. They had yet to learn what tough stuff their enemy was made of, and what seemingly impossible things his unconquerable energy and implacable spirit would drive him to do. Unsatiated by the revenge he had taken on Tamaiharanui, Rauparaha vowed to destroy Kaiapoi, and to mingle the blood of its inhabitants with the blood so dear to him spilt within its walls. The execution of the scheme for its destruction was hastened by a mata or prophecy uttered by a seer at Kapiti named Kukurarangi, who foretold the success of his plans in words to the following effect:--

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About a year after his raid on Akaroa, Rauparaha embarked in a fleet of war canoes, a force of six hundred warriors, selected from Ngatitoa, Ngati Raukawa and Ngati awa. As soon as his fleet were observed off the coast of the South Island, messengers were dispatched to warn the inhabitants of Kaiapoi of his approach, but the warning only reached them a short time in advance of the enemy. The news quite unnerved the people who were totally unprepared. In their perplexity they resolved to consult the guardian deity of their tribe, Kahukura. This divinity was classed among the

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beneficent Maori Atuas. His cultus was introduced by the crew of Takitimu, who were the ancestors of the Kaiapohians. The staff used for divination purposes was about eighteen inches in length; the upper third representing an elaborately tatooed face and body, the lower end was quite round and smooth. The image was kept in a carved wooden box, in the centre of a clump of flax bushes, called the "pae" or resting place of the Atua, and the box was further concealed from observation by a covering of dry grass. This sacred place was about half an acre in extent, and was situated close to the cemetery which now adjoins S. Stephen's Church.

A hurried summons brought representatives from the outlying villages and food stations to take part in the ceremony of "Toro," and Patuki, a fine tall man in the prime of life, was chosen to "patai" or question the divinity. The morning chosen for the ceremony seemed propitious. The sun rose with resplendent glory as the procession headed by Patuki, who was stark naked, issued from the gate of the Pah, followed by the old Tohungas or priests, his equals, whose only covering was a narrow waist-band. Behind them came the rest of the inhabitants, men, women, and children. They moved slowly along and silently till they reached the "pae" at Tuahiwi (S. Stephen's). Having removed the image from the box, Patuki squatted on his heels on the ground, the other

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Tohungas sitting in like manner in a semicircle behind him; and the general public behind them again. The first part of the ceremony consisted in drawing a leaf of tussock grass from any plant growing near where the Tohunga sat; if it broke, that was a bad omen, and they would not proceed any further, and would defer the consultation. If it came up by the root bringing the earth with it, that was a good omen; and the Tohunga proceeded to bind the Atua with a mystic knot, made by passing the grass leaf with the left hand over the thumb nail of the right hand (because "e taha maui tia ana te hono te Atua"); on forming the knot the projecting part of the grass leaf was pulled tight, and if it broke it was regarded as a bad omen, and the consultation deferred. Three loops were made in the manner described, incantations being repeated all the time by the questioner and an assistant Tohunga. Patuki having successfully made the knots which were to bind Kahukura to the image for a sufficient time to secure an answer, proceeded to dandle the image in his hand, continuing all the time to repeat the necessary invocations to the Atua to enter the image and reveal his presence. When the proper moment arrived the Tohunga said to the Atua, "Kai te haere mai tera pia au ki te patu i tenei pia au"--"That people of yours is coming to kill this people of yours." Three times he repeated these words in a loud voice, swaying about and gradually

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working himself into a state of frenzy. After the third repetition of the words, the whole assembly present took them up, and in loud and frantic tones implored the Atua to reveal his presence. The Tohungas, swaying their bodies about, contracted their stomachs with a sudden movement, to quicken the expulsion of the air from their lungs, and add to the shrillness and violence of their cries. At length the image gave evidence that the Atua had entered it, being seen to rear itself up and sway from side to side. The presence of attendant spirits of inferior order was at the same time manifested by the suppressed shrieks uttered by the surrounding Tohungas, into whose bodies the spirits, had entered; the sounds emitted by them resembling the cries uttered by a startled girl. The excitement now became intense, and the whole crowd of worshippers cried aloud to the God "That 'pia' of yours is coming to kill this 'pia' of yours," and besought him to indicate in some way what the result would be. The image reared up, and then fell forward and struck the ground again and again, once, twice, thrice (after the manner of Punch in the popular show of that name). Again the people raised their voices and cried aloud, "This 'pia of yours is going to kill that 'pia' of yours." The image reared itself up against Patuki's shoulder; and while they continued to repeat the question, the image fell forward and rapped the ground. At that moment one of the Tohungas squatting

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behind Patuki, struck him a smart blow on the back of the head, with the palm of his hand; that being the recognised method of closing the ceremony of consulting the Atua. Instantly the image became perfectly still, for the Atua went out of it, followed by his attendant spirits, who up to that moment had possessed the bodies of the Tohungas conducting the enquiry. The reason why the consultation was so abruptly terminated was to secure a favourable omen. The image striking the earth was an intimation that there would be one defeat, and that defeat, those who were consulting the oracle interpreted to mean, would befall the northern forces. After the close of the ceremony the image was replaced in its box, amongst the flax bushes, and most of the people returned to the Pah. A few hours afterwards Rauparaha's men were scouring the country and putting all stragglers to death.

On reaching Double Corner, Rauparaha landed and drew up his war canoes above high water mark; he then marched quickly on to Kaiapoi, hoping to surprise the place; but in this he failed, as news of his approach had reached the inhabitants; nevertheless, if he had assaulted the Pah whenever he arrived, he could easily have taken it, as most of the young and ablebodied men were absent, having gone as far as Port Cooper to escort Taiaroa, who purposed embarking there in his canoes for Otakou; the rest of the inhabitants were

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scattered over the country attending to their cultivations. It was the report of firearms, coupled with the warning cries of those outside the fortifications, who had caught sight of the approaching enemy, which warned the occupants of the Pah, who were mostly old men, boys, and women, of their danger. They immediately closed the gates, and made a brave show of defence along the walls. Fortunately some of those outside the fortress succeeded in reaching Port Cooper in time to stop Taiaroa, who consented to return and relieve the beseiged. Having got all the available assistance he could from the Peninsula natives, he marched along the coast to the Waimakariri, which he crossed near the mouth on mokis or rafts made of dry flax stalks. But fearing his relieving party might be discovered by the enemy if they approached any closer by daylight, he concealed his men in the scrub on the river bank till it was quite dark, when they continued their march along the beach till they got opposite to Kaiapoi, and then they turned inland. But as they approached the Pah they noticed the enemy's watch fires, and men standing and sitting around them, and they saw at a glance, that to attempt to enter the place on the land side, would be useless, as the whole of the ground on that side of the Pah was occupied by the enemy in force. The only chance of getting in was by wading through the lagoon; but there too they saw sentries posted every few yards on the

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sand ridges bounding its margin, and how to pass them without detection was a puzzle. Te Ata o Tu was carrying his infant son on his back, and as he drew nearer to the sentries his companions whispered to him to strangle the infant rather than run the risk of its foiling their efforts to escape the notice of the enemy, but his parental instincts were too strong. It was his only child, and a boy, and he could not kill it, but to smother its cries in the event of its waking at a critical moment, he rolled it up in a thick mat, and tied it securely across his shoulders, and in that way carried the little thing safely through all the dangers of that terrible night; but it was only spared to meet its death in the waters of the lagoon a few months afterwards, when its mother vainly tried to escape from the fallen Pah. Fortunately for Taiaroa's men a strong nor'-west wind was blowing--which waved the tall tussock grass and sedge which covered all the ground about them violently backwards and forwards, the constant wavy motion concealing from the sentries the bodies of the men who were creeping along under cover of the vegetation. Whenever the wind lulled, the relief party kept perfectly still, not daring to move, and disposed to hold their breath for fear of detection by the sentries, who stood talking within a few feet of their foes, of whose presence they were quite unconscious, but who were yet near enough to hear distinctly all that they said to one another. The whole party

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having reached at last the margin of the lagoon, they rose to their feet and plunged into the water shouting "Taiaroa! to the rescue," and warning their friends not to fire upon them. For a moment the beseiged thought it was a strategem of the enemy, and poured volley after volley amongst them, but as they were all struggling up to their necks in water and mud no harm was done, the bullets flying over their heads. As they drew nearer their voices were recognized, and a warm welcome accorded to them. And now the besieged took heart, and prepared not only for defence but for carrying on offensive operations against the enemy. Whakauira was appointed to take charge of the gate Kaitangata, and to head all the sorties made from it; while Weka held the same charge at Hiakarere. Other parts of the defences were assigned to other chiefs, and night guards were appointed.

Just outside the Kaitangata gate stood a watch-tower, from which the besieged could look into the enemy's camp. It was built like a whata, on a tall upright post, and the walls were composed of slabs of wood which had been tested and proved to be bullet proof. Small holes were pierced on three sides to enable the lookout to take observations. This watch-tower proved of great service in guarding the besieged from sudden attacks, all the enemy's movement's being visible from it.

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During the early part of the siege Taiaroa performed a bold deed, which deserved to achieve greater success than it did. Taking advantage of a dark stormy night he sallied forth with a few companions, and made for the spot near the mouth of the Ashley, where Rauparaha's fleet, consisting of nearly thirty canoes, had lately been brought and drawn up, with the intention of destroying them; but having only small, light hatchets they found the task which they had undertaken beyond their power, and had to content themselves with hacking the cordage which fastened the cross ties, and seats, and side boards, and so rendering them unseaworthy till repaired. But the soaking rain defeated all their efforts to burn the canoes, and so the brave fellows had to return without effecting anything commensurate with the risk they had run.

Three months passed and still the siege continued. Rauparaha then adopted different tactics, which were probably suggested by the words of the Seer's song: --"Embrace it, clasp it tightly;" and he commenced to sap up to the walls and opened three trenches parallel to one another. He lost a great many men at first owing to their being exposed to a continuous fire from the Pah, but by covering the trenches and carrying them forward in a zig-zag direction he got at last within a few feet of the wall.

It was during the progress of this approach that Te Ata o Tu--known to the colonists as "Old Jacob," and much respected by them for

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his sterling qualities--increased his reputation for courage by his successful encounter with Pehi Tahau, one of the northern warriors The narrative of the encounter is best told in Hakopa's own words.--"Towards the close of the siege, after standing sentry at the foot of the watch-tower all one stormy night, during which heavy showers of rain had fallen, and being very wet and very sleepy, I was dosing with my head resting upon my hands, which were supported by the barrel of my gun, when I was roused by a hand on my shoulder, and a voice whispering in my ear, 'Are you asleep?' I confessed I was, and asked if anything was the matter. My questioner, who was one of our bravest leaders, said 'yes, the enemy have planned an attack, and I wish a sortie to be made at once to repel it, will you take command?' I readily consented on condition that I should choose my own men. He agreed; and I picked out six of the bravest men I knew, and got them to the gate without arousing the rest of our people. I told my men to wait while I and another reconnoitred. We entered the sap and approached the shed where the attacking party, numbering about two hundred, were sleeping awaiting the dawn. They were lying all close together like herrings in a shoal. I motioned to my men to come on. Just at that moment one of them who had gone down another trench, called out, 'Let us go back, I have taken spoil, a club, a belt, and a

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cartouche box.' The result of this injudicious outcry was very different from what might have been anticipated. Startled by the sound of his voice, our sleeping foes sprang to their feet, and immediately bolted panic struck in the direction of their main camp. The coast was now quite clear for me, and emerging from the trench I proceeded cautiously in the direction taken by the runaways. I had not gone far before I noticed the figure of a man a short distance in front of me. He had nothing on but a small waist-mat, and was armed with a fowling piece; and walking beside him was a woman, who from the way he kept pushing her forward, seemed unwilling to accompany him. Happening to look round, he caught sight of me, and immediately cried out to his fleeing companions,

'Come back! come back and catch this man, he is all alone.' But as no one did come back in answer to his appeal, and as I heard no answering call made, I felt confident that I had nothing to fear at the moment from his comrades, who were not likely to come to his aid till it was quite light; and that if I could only close with, him, I might overcome him, and have the satisfaction of carrying his dead body back with me into the Pah. I determined therefore to try and force an encounter at close quarters, my only fear was that he might shoot me before I could grapple with him. I had only a tomahawk on a long handle, having left my own gun behind, because the charge in it was wet

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from the previous night's rain. The ground we were passing over was covered with large tufts of tussock grass, and I leapt from one to another to deaden the sound of my footsteps, squatting down whenever I saw the man turning round to look at me. I kept following him in this way for several hundred yards; fortunately he did not keep moving towards Rauparaha's camp, but in a different direction. By dint of great agility and caution I got within a few feet of him, when he turned suddenly round and pushed the woman between us, and instantly fired. It seemed to me at that moment as if I were looking down the barrel of his gun. I squatted as quickly as I could on the ground; fortunately there was a slight depression of the surface where I stood, and that saved my life. The flame of the charge set fire to my hair, and the ball grazed my scalp; for a moment I felt stunned, and thought I was mortally wounded. My opponent kept shouting for assistance which never came; for his panic-stricken companions I afterwards learnt, were at the very time up to their necks in water in an adjoining swamp, clinging in their terror to the niggerheads for support, their fears having magnified my little party of followers into an army. The shouts of my opponent recalled me to my senses, and recovering from the shock I had received, I made a second attempt to grapple with him, but without success; as before he slipped

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behind the woman again, and aimed his gun at me; I stooped, and the bullet flew over my shoulder. We were now on equal terms, and I had no longer to exercise such excessive caution in attacking him. I struck at him with my hatchet, he tried to parry the blow with the butt end of his gun, but failed, and I buried my weapon in his neck near the collar bone, he fell forward at once, and I seized him by the legs and lifted him on to my shoulder, intending to carry him out of the reach of rescue by his own people. It was now quite light enough to see what was going on, and I could not expect to escape much longer the notice of the sentries guarding Rauparaha's camp. Just then, one of my companions, who had mustered sufficient courage to follow me, came up to where I was; and seeing signs of life in the body I was carrying, ran it through with his spear; and at the same time drew my attention to the movements of a party of the enemy; who were evidently trying to intercept our return to the Pah. Hampered by the weight of my prize, I could not get over the ground as quickly as our pursuers, but I was loathe to lose the opportunity of presenting to my superior officers such unmistakable evidence of my prowess as a warrior; and I struggled on with my burden till I saw it was hopeless to think of reaching the Pah with it, when I threw it on the ground, contenting myself with the waist-belt, gun, and ear ornaments of my conquered foe, and made

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the best of my way into the fortress, where I was received with shouts of welcome from the people, and very complimentary acknowledgements of my courage from my commanders.

I owed my life at the fall of Kaiapoi to that morning's encounter; for when I was lying bound hand and foot along with a crowd of other prisoners after the capture of the Pah, Rauparaha strolled amongst us enquiring whether the man who killed his Chief, Pehi Tahau, was amongst our number. On my being pointed out to him as the person he was in search of, instead of handing me over, as I fully expected he was going to do, to the relatives of my late foe, to be tortured and put to death by them, he addressed me in most complimentary terms, saying I was too brave a man to be put to death in the general massacre which was taking place; that I had fought fairly, and won the victory; and that he meant to spare my life, and hoped that I would in time to come render him as a return for his clemency some good service on the battle-fields of the North Island."

Finding it hopeless to think of taking Kaiapoi by assault, in the ordinary way, Rauparaha conceived the idea of burning down the defences of the Pah on the land side. To effect this object, he ordered his men to collect the manuka bushes, which grew in profusion all about the neighbouring sandhills, and after tying them in small bundles, to stack them in a convenient place to dry. Having accumulated

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a quantity sufficient for his purpose, the next step was to place the dry brushwood against the wooden walls of the Pah. But this proved a more dangerous and difficult task than he had at first anticipated, and many of his men sacrificed their lives while attempting to carry out his directions. The bundles of Manuka were carried as far as they could be under cover of the trenches, and then thrown forward; and it was while in the act of throwing them, that the besiegers exposed themselves to the deadly fire of the defenders, who standing only a few feet away, were able to concentrate their aim upon the small space at the end of each trench, where the person hurling the manuka was obliged to stand. For awhile the besieged inhabitants succeeded in scattering every night the work done by their enemies at such a cost of life during the previous day. But the accumulation of dried manuka all about the front of the Pah, became so great at last that it was altogether beyond their power to disturb it, and the huge pile rose higher day by day till it filled the trench and rested far up the stockade wall. The miserable inhabitants now saw that their relentless enemy was gaining upon them, and knowing that if he once got rid of the protecting walls their lives would be at his mercy, they became greatly depressed, and many of the younger men began to discuss the advisability of escaping before the impending catastrophe happened. Taiaroa was the first

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to move, and under cover of darkness he withdrew the contingent of Otakou men under his command, promising his desponding friends whom he left behind him, that he would try and create a diversion in their favour by attacking Rauparaha's camp from without, when an opportunity would be afforded them of getting rid of the cause of their immediate alarm; but this promise he was never able to fulfil. Every hour after he left the peril of the besieged increased, and the suspense became intolerable Southward rose the vast pile of bushwood to be set fire to by their enemies on the first favourable opportunity. At length the fatal day arrived; a nor'-wester sprung up, and blew with increasing violence for some hours. Everyone felt certain that it would be succeeded by a sou'-wester, as was then invariably the case, when the fate of the Pah would be sealed. There was just a chance that if the manuka were lit from the inside, the flames would be carried away from the Pah, and the menacing mass of inflammable material destroyed before it could do any serious harm. Pureko, one of the Chiefs in charge of the threatened portion of the defences, determined to run the risk; and seizing a fireband, thrust it into the heap. In a moment the flames shot high up into the air, flaring and waving in the wind. For a short time it seemed as if the experiment was going to prove successful; but all at once, with the rapidity which usually characterizes the change

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of wind from north to south on the Canterbury Plains, it veered round to the opposite point of the compass, and drove the fierce flames against the posts and pallisaides, which were soon ablaze and crashing to the ground. Blinding smoke enveloped the whole place, and the defenders were compelled to fall back from the wall to escape suffocation. Rauparaha and his men were on the alert, ready to take advantage of the turn affairs had taken; and before the inhabitants of the Pah could fully realize what had happened, the northern warriors were in the midst of them. The wildest confusion and disorder ensued. Pureko, who was the immediate agent in causing the disaster was first to fall, being disembowelled by a gunshot. The venerable Te Auta, the High Priest of the tribe, whose long white hair and beard, and generally imposing appearance had rendered him for many years past an object of terror to the youth of the Pah, fell at the Tuahu, where with the image of Kahukura in his hands, he vainly besought the patron divinity of the tribe to help them in their hour of need. Many of the inhabitants made for the Huirapa gate, because the bridge which led from it gave access to the swamps covered with flax, nigger-heads, and raupo, under cover of which lay their only hope of escape. Others climbed over the fences, and plunging into the lagoon waded or swam to the friendly shelter of the bordering vegetation; the smoke, driven by the wind, over

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the surface of the water, screening them, while so engaged from the observation of the enemy. In this way probably two hundred succeeded in making good their escape by keeping in the swamps till they got well up the plains, when they worked their way towards Bank's Peninsula and other places inhabited by their friends. Shrieks and cries of despair rose within the Pah as the northern men struck down their aged victims, or seized and bound some trembling youth or maiden to be dispatched later on, or to be carried far away into captivity. When all were either killed, or securely bound, the conquerors adjourned to their camp, situated on the spot now known as Massacre Hill, 2 on the North Road, where the captives were finally disposed of. Those devoted to the manes of the dead were fastened to poles, erected on the summit of the knoll, and bled to death, their bodies being afterwards removed to be cooked and eaten in accordance with the national custom, which required this indignity to be offered to the dead in order to complete the humiliation of the conquered.

The total population of the Kaiapoi Pah at the time of its capture, cannot have been far

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short of a thousand souls. Of these, a part made good their escape, a part perished, and a considerable number were carried off by the conquerors to Kapiti.

Among the captives was a handsome lad named Pura, (known to Lyttelton residents as Pitama) who took Rauparaha's fancy, and was led by him into his whare. To prevent his escaping during the night, the old Chief tied a stout cord round the boy's body and fastened the end of it to his own wrist. During the early part of the night Rauparaha was wakeful, and kept pulling the cord to assure himself that his prisoner was safe; but when sleep overpowered him the cord relaxed, and the boy who was watching all the time for an opportunity to escape, successfuly disengaged himself from his bonds, and having fastened the check string to a peg which he found in the floor, he crept cautiously out of the hut. It was too dark for him to distinguish anything, and as he passed out he overthrew a pile of brushwood, which slipped down and completely covered him. Old Rauparaha roused by the noise sprang to his feet, and immediately discovered the trick which had been played upon him. He at once gave the alarm, and roused the whole camp. Suddenly awakened from profound sleep induced by weariness after the violent exertion and excitement of the previous day, and by the sense of security ensured by victory, the northern warriors were

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in just the condition to give way to panic, and it was well for them that the circumstance which caused the disturbance in their camp proved after all to be of such a trivial nature. With loud shouts and cries the men rushed hither and thither in wild confusion, some calling out that the prisoners had escaped, others that the camp was being attacked by their friends, who were attempting to rescue them. Torches were lit and seen flashing in all directions, guns were fired, and the greatest commotion prevailed everywhere. All the time this uproar was going on, the cause of it was lying perfectly still under the fallen pile of brushwood, beside the commander-in-chiefs hut. He knew that if discovered he would be immediately put to death, as it was an unpardonable offence for a prisoner to attempt to escape. Escape, however, at such a moment was impossible, and poor Pura lay in the greatest state of terror and alarm, expecting every moment that his hiding place would be found out. Fortunately for him that was not to be; and when the alarm subsided and stillness once more reigned around, he quietly extricated himself from his uncomfortable position, and groped his way out of the camp into the surrounding flax swamps, under cover of which he escaped; journeying southwards till he fell in with the main body of the fugitives, who were travelling on in the same direction till they reached a place of safety. He was more fortunate in this respect than a

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boy of eight years and a girl of five, who got separated from their friends on the march, and were not found for several months afterwards, when an eeling party came upon them in the river-bed of the Waikirikiri (Selwyn). These two children, known in after years as Charley Wi and Mrs. Wi Naihira, were told by their father to rest on the bank of the river while he went in search of food for them, but he never returned, having probably fallen into the hands of Rauparaha's men, who were scouring the country in all directions for fugitives. Left to shift for themselves, they managed to sustain life by eating raupo roots, and the tender shoots of the ti-palm, and the small fish which they caught in the shallows and under the stones. They found shelter from the weather under the large flax bushes which lined the river-bank, and by cuddling together under a heap of dry grass, which they had collected, they managed to keep themselves warm in spite of their scanty clothing, which consisted of one short mat each, about the size of an ordinary door mat, and rather like one in appearance, though softer.