CHAPTER XXVI: THE CONCLUSION OF THE WAR.
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CHAPTER XXVI.
THE CONCLUSION OF THE WAR.
GENERAL CHUTE, on taking the command of the forces in New Zealand, determined on crushing the rebellion and avenging the murders which had been perpetrated on the West Coast. The return of the Volunteers and Native Contingent from the East Coast afforded him a favorable opportunity for prosecuting this design, and on Saturday, the 30th of December, 1865, he marched from Wanganui with the following force:--
Royal Artillery, commanded by Lieutenant Carre, 1 subaltern, 2 sergeants, and 30 gunners; H.M. 14th Regiment--1 captain, 1 subaltern, 4 sergeants and 101 rank and file; Native Contingent, under Major McDonnell, consisting of about 200 men of all arms; Transport Corps--45 drivers, 45 drays with two horses each. At Wereroa the force was joined by the Forest Rangers, under Major Von Tempsky. numbering 45 men.
On the 2nd of January, Dr. Featherstone, the Superintendent of Wellington, accompanied by several influential native chiefs joined the force, and on the following day the force was again strengthened by a detachment of the second battalion of the 14th Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Trevor, and consisting of 1 subaltern, 4 sergeants, 6 buglers, and 120 rank and file.
On the 4th of January, the force marched upon Okotuku, a strong position on the top of a forest clad hill, which was taken without much difficulty, but most of its rebel defenders escaped during the assault into the forest, where they were unsuccessfully pursued by Major Von Tempsky and the Forest Rangers.
On the 6th, the General with his men marched upon Putahi, a strong rebel position on the banks of the Whenuakura River, and at daybreak on the 7th the pa was assaulted and taken without much loss on the side of the assailants.
On the 9th, the General marched towards Otapawa. On the 11th, the force was joined by Lieutenant-Colonel Hassard, with 120 men of the 57th Regiment.
On the next day the united force marched to Ketemarae, and encamped at 4 p.m. within a mile of Otapawa, where it was joined by Lieutenant-Colonel Butler of the 57th. Here the house, called Taiporohenui, where the Land League was established, was taken and destroyed.
At 2 a.m. on the 18th of January, the following force marched for the attack upon Otapawa: --Royal Artillery--3 guns, with the necessary complement of gunners and drivers; 14th Regiment--200 men, under Lieutenant-Colonel Trevor; 57th Regiment--180 men, under Lieutenant-Colonel Butler; Forest Rangers--36 men, under Major Von Tempsky; Native Contingent--200 men, under Major
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McDonnell. The pa was garrisoned by 300 rebels, who wero mostly concealed in rifle pits, but it was taken in twenty minutes, and consigned to the flames. The enemy's loss was 50 killed, and a proportionate number wounded. The British casualties were severe, nine being killed, among whom was Lieutenant-Colonel Hassard, who fell while bravely leading his men to the attack, and 14 wounded, including Major McDonnell.
At 2 a.m. on the 15th, the force was again ou the march, the Native Contingent being under the command of Ensign McDonnell, the brother of Major McDonnell, who was wounded at Otapawa, the advance on this occasion being made on Ketemarae. The native settlement of Ketemarae was one of the oldest and most venerated villages in New Zealand. It formed a converging point for several paths, leading to various parts of the island, was a halting place for travellers, and a centre for the dissemination of news. The pas in this neighborhood were found to be deserted and all were burned, but a body of rebels made an unsuccessful attempt to cut off a straggling party of the assailants.
THE MARCH THROUGH THE FOREST.
On the 17th of January, General Chute with his force commenced to march from Ketemarae through the forest on the east side of Mount Egmont to New Plymouth. We have already mentioned that in pre-colonial times the natives had a path leading from Pukerangiora, on the banks of the Waitara, to the shores of Cooke's Strait, and that the Brothers Nairn, with gangs of natives under instructions from Mr. Wicksteed, the New Zealand Company's Agent, cut a bridle path along this route, but at this time these forest paths, by the growth of vegetation and by disuse, had become nearly obliterated. At 4 a.m., the General marched from Ketemarae, with 240 men of all ranks, of whom 54 were Forest Rangers, and 68 members of the Native Contingent. The transport service consisted of 67 pack horses, with their drivers, and 24 saddle horses. General Chute advanced in front, accompanied by the following staff:--Colonel Carey, D.A.G.; Lieutenant-Colonel Gamble, D.Q.M.G; Major Pitt, A.M.S.; Captain Leach, acting A.D.C.; Mr. Commissary Strickland; Surgeon Gibbs, and Dr. Featherstone, Superintendent of Wellington. Each man carried a water-proof sheet, a blanket, a great coat, and two days' supply of biscuits. The entrance into the forest was a broad dray track, which led through a succession of small plantations with several whares in them; and fences, whares, and everything combustible were set on fire as the force proceeded onward. During the day they crossed four gullies, two considerable streams, and made about 9 1/2 miles journey.
On the 18th they started at 5.30 a.m., the Forest Rangers forming the advanced guard, and the 14th the rear guard. The forest now became more dense and difficult of passage, and the supplejacks Ripogonum scandens, formed a net work which had to be cut away.
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On approaching the Patea River, gullies became numerous and deep, and the underwood still more dense. The river was crossed at noon, and the force then halted till 3 p.m., in order to allow the baggage to come up. The men then marched three miles farther, having cut their way through thirteen miles of forest, crossed one river and thirteen gullies.
On Friday, the 19th of January, the force started at 7.30 a.m., the men having had time to take a good breakfast, and to give the horses a little food to prepare them for the difficulties of the day. The Forest Rangers again formed the advanced guard, leading the column, and cutting a passable road, working with a good will, bridging swamps and gullies, and cutting passages round the fallen monarchs of the forest. The best and most easily obtained material for road making was found to be the trunks of tree-ferns, which when laid side by side gave a firm footing to the horses over the swampy places. The force halted at 3 p.m. on the banks of the Maketawa River, a clear and rapid stream, conveniently shallow, and about seventy feet wide. The pack horses did not arrive at the camping place till 6 p.m. The force this day passed one of the worst gullies yet met with, and six rivers in a march of six miles. Provisions now began to run short, but the horses were in good condition, and being relieved of their burden of rations were loaded with the men's bundles.
On Saturday the 20th, the force again moved at 7.30, the weather being gloomy, and nothing but a leaden sky to be seen through the dense foliage over head. Anxious to see where they were, Ensign Churchward of the 14th, and several men of the force, climbed the trees, and discovered that the peak of Egmont bore S.W., proving that the force had pushed its way well round it. This evening the last of the rations were served out. The supply would have lasted longer had not the natives desired their full supply at starting, part of which they left behind them. Fifteen gullies and seven rivers were passed this day, and a journey made of eleven and a half miles. Two objects were now very desirable of attainment--to reach supplies and convey them to the troops. In order to reach these ends, Mr. Commissary Price bravely volunteered to start that night for Mataitawa in the Taranaki district, and Captain Leach and Ensign McDonnell, with ten of his ablest natives, also volunteered their services. This heroic little party started before the pack horses came up, and had little or no provisions for their journey, and no track over the gullies and precipices in the benighted forest. The rain fell in torrents, but they pushed on until Mr. Price became so exhausted, that he had to lie down under a tree. Covering him with a blanket, and giving him a wet biscuit, his comrades left him in his damp and dreary couch while they pushed onwards. They made but five miles during the night, but by 10 a.m. on the following day they had the satisfaction of reaching Mataitawa. Here with alacrity provisions were obtained and forced into the forest, but meanwhile 400 men had divided their last biscuit, and were doubtful
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as to the success of the forlorn hope which had pushed forward. Without tents or provisions, they had bivouacked in the forest during that wet and dismal night, yet not a murmur escaped from any, nor was there a sick man in the whole force.
On Sunday, the march was resumed, but the day was wet and gloomy, and the Forest Rangers were worn out with the pioneering work. Working parties of the 14th, under Colonel Carey, were now sent to the front. Fifteen gullies and four rivers were crossed this day, and at 3.30 p.m. the force halted, after performing a march of four miles. The General, who had exerted himself all day in bringing up up the rear, did not reach the camp till 9 p.m. This evening one of the horses was killed for a meat ration. By the prudent foresight of Mr. Strickland the men had received a half ration of rum in the morning, and still had a little biscuit left. They stowed themselves away under trees and brushwood as best they could, but during the night it rained so heavily that refreshing sleep was out of the question.
The morning of the 22nd broke gloomily over the force, and the fates seemed to have declared against them. Beneath was a quagmire, and above a constant shower of rain. The Native Contingent, driven by want of food through their own imprudence, ran through the forest on the previous day, and some of the Rangers with them, so that this morning not a brown skin was seen among the force in the foodless forest. The horses showing signs of fatigue a halt was ordered, and a day's rest taken. At night another horse was killed for rations, his heart being reserved for the General. That evening Captain Leach returned from Mataitawa, leading a party of the 43rd and 68th, under Lieutenant Palmer, laden with supplies of biscuits and groceries.
On the 23rd, being the seventh day of their journey in the forest, and the 3rd day of the rain, the troops had a comfortable breakfast, and started at 7 a.m. Before ten, a messenger met the advanced guard, announcing that two fat bullocks, biscuit, rum, and groceries were coming on, and were only a few miles a-head. When the column reached the camping ground at 3 p.m., the men were abundantly supplied with fresh meat, biscuit, and groceries. During their eight hours' march the troops had crossed twenty-one gullies and three rivers, and had made but six miles, wading deeply in mud.
On the 24th, the weather was still gloomy, and the land very soft and wet. Six gullies were crossed this day, and an advance made of four miles.
On, the 25th, a march of five miles without a gully brought the force out of the forest. The sun shone warmly and brightly upon the men and refreshed them. At 10.30 a.m. they halted in the Mataitawa valley, enjoying the warmth of the sun, and drying their clothes and blankets. At noon the men fell in, and marched to the Waiwakaiho, where they encamped. The weather was fine, and arrangements were made by Colonel Carey with the Military Store
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Department in New Plymouth for the supply of such comforts as the men required.
On the 27th, at 10 a.m., General Chute at the head of his force marched into New Plymouth on his return southward by the coast. Here a substantial dinner was set before the men, and beneath a triumphal arch erected over the Huatoki Bridge the General was met by the Superintendent of Taranaki, and the leading men of New Plymouth, and presented with the following address:--
"To Major-General Trevor Chute, Commanding Her Majesty's Forces in New Zealand.
"Sir:--I have been deputed by the inhabitants of this settlement to express to you their sense of the benefit you have conferred on them, and on the Colony, by the operations just now successfully concluded between Wanganui and Waitara. Without entering on any invidious questions, it is allowable for us to state the fact that the recent march through the bush inland of Mount Egmont is the first in which a large body of regular troops have been led for several days together through the difficult forests of New Zealand. Having from the beginning of the present troubles maintained that the war could not be ended, beyond the chance of re-kindling, until our forces should habitually penetrate the bush in pursuit of the enemy, it is peculiarly gratifying to us to see the happy issue of these first bold movements, and we are bound to acknowledge the practical sagacity which dictated and the courage which undertook and executed the operations. But we have not merely to admire the plan and conduct of the operations--we have to thank you warmly for the vigorous course you have adopted, as closely affecting our personal interests. At this particular moment the matter is of special importance to us. The war, which has languished on for six years, has taxed the treasure and the patience of the empire beyond endurance, without effecting its object--the establishment of law and order; and whilst the empire is weary, the colony seems to be on the eve of financial and political convulsions, mainly from the same cause. The extinction of the struggle this summer may yet arrest the threatened evils, or at least place the settlements of the North Island in a condition of strength and security, which will render constitutional changes less utterly destructive of prosperity and hope than they would be at present. The capture of Okotuku, Putahi, Otapawa, and Ketemarae, and the march in the rear of Mount Egmont will contribute greatly to this result. These operations have shown that against British forces, regular and irregular, New Zealand has no impregnable fortresses; they have shown that British courage, and British arms, can penetrate wherever man can hide; that there is no security for rebellion; and that the only course open to the hostile natives is frank submission to the just and equal law which the Empire and the Colony hold out for their acceptance.
"In the name of the settlers of Taranaki I beg to thank you for the wise and courageous course you have taken, and the officers and
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men under your command who have so gallantly and successfully carried out your plans.
"H. R. Richmond,
"Superintendent of Taranaki.
"New Plymouth, January 27th, 1866."
General Chute having courteously accepted the address and replied to it, the force moved on, and at 3 p.m. reached Oakura, where it encamped for the night.
On the 28th, the force resumed its march across Tataraimaka and Okato, and encamped at the Stony River.
On the 29th, the General was reinforced by 70 men of the 43rd, and by Captain Mace's Mounted Corps. At noon, Warea was reached, and Ensign McDonnell with his Native Contingent was ordered to scour the country, and, if possible, find the track leading to the Warea pa.
At 3 a.m. on the 1st of February, the General moved silently out of camp, with a force of 450 men of all ranks, to attack Waikoko, a strongly fortified position, situated about six miles inland. At daylight he met Captain Corbett's party at a place previously appointed. Emerging from the scrub and dense bush the force reached a large clearing, at a point about 500 yards distant from the pa. The 14th were on the right, the 43rd on the left, the Forest Rangers in the centre, all in skirmishing order, and the Native Contingent formed the reserve. The enemy silently watched the movements of the force until the General ordered the advance, when a heavy fire was opened from the pa, which was responded to by a British cheer, and a charge which soon drove the rebels from their position. The whares were soon in flames, and Waikoko was speedily a mass of ruins. Only four dead bodies were found. On the side of the British, one man of the 14th was shot dead, and a sergeant of Corbett's Rangers and two friendly natives wounded.
On the 2nd, the force reached Te Namu, where some prisoners were taken, and other natives took the oath of allegiance.
On the 6th, the force reached Patea, and on the 7th the campaign ended, after active service of five weeks and two days.
While General Chute was passing through the bush, Lieutenant-Colonel Butler of the 57th was operating with a flying column on the coast from the camp at the Waingongoro. On the 18th of January he moved out of camp with one field gun, 200 men of the 50th and 97th Regiments, and about 120 friendly natives, and proceeded in the direction of Oukuti, which he found destroyed. He then went to Tiwitiri Moana, where three bodies were discovered, one being that of Hohepa, a chief of considerable importance. This pa was destroyed, but the bulk of the defenders escaped as usual by the rear, and pursuit was impossible. Fifteen cart loads of potatoes were taken, and the cultivations destroyed. The troops returned to the Waingongoro camp the same evening.
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On the 20th, Lieutenant-Colonel Butler marched out of camp at 10 a.m., with 20 of the Military Train, under Lieutenant Creagh, 80 men of the 50th, and 100 of the 57th, also about 120 of the Native Contingent, with the intention of attacking a strong position, called Ahipipi. He detatched the Native Contingent along the left bank of the Waingongoro River, with directions to cross it at the edge of the bush, and endeavor to get in the rear of Ahipipi in order to intercept the retreat of the rebels. He then advanced directly upon the position, and found it deserted, but the rebels fired upon his party as they were destroying the whares and wounded one man of the 57th severely. The Native Contingent then pursued the rebels into the bush, and in so doing came upon a large village. The pursuers receiving support from a party of the 57th, under Sir Robert Douglas, the village was attacked under a heavy fire, and was taken in about twenty minutes. A number of the enemy carried off a body with great care, which was supposed to be that of a great chief. A substantial and well-furnished European built house erected close to the flagstaff was destroyed in common with everything to be found, including cultivations. The destruction of this place was considered of importance, as it was newly built by the rebels, with unusual care, and was the head-quarters of the fanatics of the neighborhood. In this affair five rebels were killed, and one man of the Native Contingent wounded.
After these events, nothing of an important military character occurred in the Province for some time. The Imperial troops were gradually withdrawn until July, 1867, when the last detachments of the 50th were removed, and Taranaki was left without a single soldier of the Imperial Army. After an interval, two companies of the 18th were stationed at New Plymouth, but they were shortly afterwards sent to Adelaide. There was no proclamation of peace, nor any guarantee of safety given to the settlers, but many persons were compelled by necessity to return to their farms, while the rebels maintained a sullen truce.
Owing to the great depression of trade, consequent on the removal of the troops, efforts were made to obtain wealth by preparing the fibre of the phormium for the home market, by boring for petroleum at the Sugarloaves, and by attempts to manufacture the iron sand.
On the night of the 7th of January, 1867, the Waiwakaiho Bridge, which had been built of iron-wood in 1858, at a cost of £2,405, was swept away by a flood, and landed on a small island some ten chains distance down the stream.
On the 7th of November, 1867, an unfortunate affair occurred at Manutahi, near to Mataitawa. A young native, named Inia, who had stolen some clothes from a Military Settler, named Marshall, was apprehended and given into the charge of John Daniel Roby, also a Military Settler, until a policeman could be obtained from New Plymouth. Roby loaded his rifle, and took the prisoner into
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one of the rooms of the Manutahi Hotel, and fastened the door. After some time the report of the rifle was heard, also a scream and a crash. When the room was entered, Roby was found lying on the floor, mortally wounded, and it was seen that the Maori had escaped by leaping through the window. It was supposed that Inia had thought that Roby intended to shoot him, and that in his terror he seized the rifle while Roby was off his guard, and shot him with it. Inia escaped to Kaipakopako, but was given up to the police. He was tried and found guilty of manslaughter.
During 1867, the first portion of the township of Raleigh, at the mouth of the Waitara, was sold.
In January, 1868, the Government ordered the raising of the Armed Constabulary Corps, and Major Von Tempsky was sent to Patea to take command of the force raised in that district.
On the 16th, the Tasmanian Maid, a small iron steamer which had rendered important services at the Waitara during the war, was wrecked on the long reef off New Plymouth by an error of the steersman.
On the 4th of February, Governor Sir George Bowen landed in Wellington with his family, from the s.s. Kaikoura.
On the 15th, the Waiwakaiho Bridge was again opened for traffic, after being rebuilt and having iron cylinder piers, and two spans added at a cost of £1,500.
In February, Mr. H. R. Richmond was appointed Resident Magistrate of New Plymouth. Shortly after which Mr. Flight retired from the same office on a pension.
On the 19th of May, the Royal Hotel, which stood at the corner of Liardet and Devon-street, was burned, and a lad named Peter Hillam was consumed in the flames.
DISTURBANCE AT PATEA.
In May, complaints having been made by the settlers at Patea of the natives stealing their horses, and Captain McDonnell having had a favorite racer stolen, Mr. Booth, the Resident Magistrate, issued orders to Captain Page to take 100 men and demand the lost horses of the natives. The Maoris received Captain Page peaceably, and promised to restore the animals. Signs of impending mischief were, however, evident by the burning of the huts formerly used by the military at Warea and Waihi.
On the 10th of June, Sergeant Cahill and Privates Squire and Clarke were brutally murdered by the rebels while engaged in putting a log on a saw pit.
On the 12th, a trooper named Thomas Smith was shot while in the act of mounting his horse at Waihi, and was afterwards dreadfully mutilated with tomahawks.
Endeavors were at once made by the Government to collect a force from various quarters for the quelling of the rising rebellion. Major Von Tempsky, who had been ordered to Auckland, was sent for, and Colonel McDonnell, Captain Ross, Captain Page, Captain Newland,
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and other officers were ordered to proceed to the disturbed district. Major Hunter, in the absence of Colonel McDonnell, was at this time in command at Waihi.
On the 29th, Captain Newland and his company embarked at New Plymouth in the Colonial steamer Sturt for Patea, and on the following morning the Mounted Corps, under Sergeant Bennett, proceeded thither overland.
THE ATTACK AT TURUTURUMOKAI.
The Turuturumokai Redoubt was situated about three miles south of Waihi, and was a place of some strength, being situated on a knoll, and surrounded by a ditch and breastwork. Here were stationed 25 men, under the command of Captain Ross, who in false security slept in a whare outside the redoubt.
At 4 a.m. on Sunday morning, the 12th of July, the sentry inside the redoubt saw a Maori creeping in the fern outside the ditch, and shortly afterwards the sentry outside perceived in the twilight the outlines of a human form, and challenged twice and fired. This was the signal for a yell, a rush, and a volley from the rebels, by which Lacy, the outside sentinel, received a wound in the shoulder. The redoubt was then assaulted by the rebels, and the awakening garrison, panic struck, leaping over the embankment, were cut down by the enemy outside. Captain Ross rushed from his whare to the gate of the redoubt, firing a rifle handed to him by Lacy, the wounded sentry, and emptying the chambers of his revolver in a hand to hand encounter with the foe. Falling in the gateway with a bullet through his head, he called out, "I am done for; men, you must do the best you can for yourselves." Four men held a corner of the redoubt, but the rest were either shot down, tomahawked or had escaped.
On hearing the firing at Waihi, Major Von Tempsky and his men at once mounted and started off in the direction of the redoubt. On approaching it they saw the natives actively engaged in the attack, but the rebels finding themselves about to be charged in the rear, quickly retired to the bush. Finding that he could not cut the rebels off, Major Von Tempsky rode to the redoubt, where a shocking sight awaited him. About three feet inside the gateway lay Captain Ross, frightfully tomahawked, and with his heart cut from his body, and not far from him, near the gate, were the remains of Gaynor. In one of the angles of the redoubt lay the bodies of Sergeant McFadden, Corporal John Blake, and Private Shield, Captain Ross' servant, weltering in their blood, and on the parapet on the outside was the body of Private Holden. Lemon, the canteen keeper, lay alongside a whare on the outside of the redoubt, with his heart torn out, and his body cut to pieces. The following is a list of the casualties incurred in this unfortunate affair:--Killed--Captain Ross, Sergeant McFadden, Corporal Blake, Constables Shields, Holden, Ross, A. Beamish, Swords, Gaynor, Lemon. Wounded-- Constables Lacey, Beamish, Kershaw, Flanagan, Tuffin. Total, 10
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killed, and 5 wounded. Only 3 dead bodies of rebels were found.
On the 29th, at about 10 a.m., as the escort was returning from Waihi to Patea with the carters who had conveyed supplies to that outpost, it was fired upon by an ambuscade of 70 or 80 rebels. The escort consisted of eleven of Von Tempsky's men, and six mounted troopers. Two of Von Tempsky's men were wounded--one through the groin dangerously, and the other in the calf of the leg. As the attack took place close to Waihi, Von Tempsky and his men heard the firing and at once ran to the rescue. Getting between the rebels and the bush they gave them a volley, after which they were seen carrying away their dead, but the number killed was not ascertained.
During the month news arrived of the escape of 200 rebel prisoners, in the schooner Rifleman, from the Chatham Islands, and of their landing at Whareongonga, in Poverty Bay.
On the 10th of August, 43 Volunteers left New Plymouth for Patea in the Colonial steamer Start, under the command of Lieutenant Roddy.
CAPTURE OF TE NGUTU O TE MANU.
On the 21st of August, Colonel McDonnell left Waihi at 7 a.m., with a force of 230 men, in order to attack the stronghold of the rebels at Te Ngutu o Te Manu (the beak of the bird). Considerable delay took place at Waingongoro, there being a freshet in the river. After the force had proceeded some distance the rain commenced to fall, and continued to pour during the rest of the day. When the expedition arrived about two miles beyond Pungamahoe, breast works and rifle pits were seen flanking the road, and it was evident that an ambuscade had lately lain there, as fresh tracks of natives' feet were visible. When the force was within 500 yards of the enemy's position a strong palisading was seen, and Colonel McDonnell, Sergeant P. Blake, and a few men went forward to reconnoitre. The natives were heard to be singing, and apparently had not the slightest idea of the approach of the British. The Colonel then went back to the force and ordered an advance. On approaching the palisading the men found a back track along which they rushed into the pa with a terrific yell, the bugles at the same time sounding the charge. Volley after volley was poured into the village, and the natives after firing fled, leaving nine dead behind them. About fifteen or twenty pounds of powder, in pound canisters, was found and destroyed. Bags of bullets of all descriptions were also found, also two revolvers, a double barrelled gun, and a quantity of breech loading ammunition of native manufacture. The casualties on this occasion were:--
Wellington Rangers, Captain Page's Company--Killed: Private R. Wallace, Private W. A. Kerr. Wounded: Private Thompson, Corporal Lloyd, Bugler Middleton, Private Sedgewick. Captain Buck's Company--Killed: Private H. Garey. Wounded: Private J. Garey.
Armed Constabulary--Wounded: Private Collopy.
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Major Von Tempsky's Company--Killed: Private McCoy. Wounded: Private Whiteside, Private Hope.
Major Hunter's Company--Wounded: Private Dyer, Major Hunter's servant.
The brothers Garey were shot in the retreat by the hovering rebels.
At this engagement the Rev. Father Rolland was present, and administered the consolations of religion to the dying under fire.
THE REPULSE AT RUARURU.
On the 7th of September, at 3 a.m., a force consisting of 250 Europeans and 100 Wanganui natives left Waihi for the purpose of attacking Ruaruru, the stronghold of the chief Titoko Waru. It was divided into three divisions, No. 1 being under the command of Major Von Tempsky, with Sub-Inspectors Cummings, Brown, and Roberts, Captain Palmer, Lieutenants Hastings and Hunter, Ensign Hirtzell, and about 140 men. No. 2 was commanded by Major Hunter, with Sub-Inspectors Newland and Goring, Captains Buck and O'Halloran, Lieutenant Rowan and 108 men. No. 3 was composed of Wanganui natives about 100 strong, and was under the command of Captain W. McDonnell, Kawana, Hunia, Kempi, and other chiefs; the whole force was commanded by Colonel McDonnell. Dr. Walker accompanied No. 1, and Acting-Assistant Surgeon Best, No. 2 division. After the force had crossed the Waingongoro and entered the bush, the main track to Te Ngutu o Te Manu was followed for some distance. The column then, under the guidance of the Kupapas, entered the bush on the right, and after a tedious march arrived in the rear of Ruaruru at 2 p.m. A few bark huts were seen and a tent. Here the natives killed a child by dashing out its brains, and took a little boy prisoner. The force then proceeded, and under heavy fire took up a position in a narrow valley, through which ran a stream of water. At this place the force remained about ten minutes exposed to a heavy fire from the pa in front, and from the bush on both sides. Trooper Hogan was here shot in the thigh, and Lieutenant Rowan through the face, the ball breaking both his jaws. It was now discovered that the enemy had sharpshooters posted in some large rata trees, which commanded the pa. Volley after volley was poured into these trees without effect. The men now began to drop fast, and the force got uneasy. Seeing this, Major Von Tempsky asked for permission to assault the pa with his division, and soon afterwards Major Hunter made a similar request. Colonel McDonnell, however, would not consent, fearing that the position was too strong for a successful attack, and that it was commanded by the natives posted in the trees. The wounded were then collected and placed under a strong escort of some 80 or a 100 men, which was commanded by Colonel McDonnell, with Major Hunter and Sub-Inspectors Newland and Cumming. Von Tempsky was now left with his force to cover the retreat, exposed to a heavy fire. He walked up and down in front of his men, endeavoring to persuade them to take cover, while they, partially disorganised, kept
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exposing themselves in parties of twenty or thirty. Von Tempsky then fell, but accounts differ as to the precise mode of his death. Immediately he fell Captain Buck ran forward to recover his body, and he too fell to rise no more. Lieutenant Hunter then ran forward, and his gallantry cost him his life. About the same time Captain Palmer fell mortally wounded. There were now no officers left with that portion of the force which was nearest to the enemy, the confusion of the men under fire increased, and they felt that they must escape as best they could. The repulse was complete, and the rebels closely pursued the retreating men. The dead, and wounded who could not walk, were left behind, and some of the wounded were dragged to the pa and burnt to death. The force under Colonel McDonnell kept well together, and by the aid of the Kupapas reached the camp at 10 p.m., with all the wounded it had started with, Von Tempsky's division having received the full brunt of the fury of the rebels.
The casualties on this occasion were:--
Killed--Major Von Tempsky, Captain Buck, Captain Palmer, Lieutenant Hastings, Lieutenant Hunter, Corporal Russell, Constable Elkin, Privates Finnessey, Hart, Gilgru, Israel Davis, E. G. Farram, Hughes, Lumsden, Grant, Deeks, and Wells.
Wounded--Lieutenant Rowan, Dr. Best, Constables Houston, O'Brien, O'Connor, Burke, Hogan, Walton, Fulton, Shannigan; Sergeant Towey; Privates McGeneskin, Harris, Caldwell, McManus, Walden, Griffiths, Locker, Quinsey, Melvin, Hamblyn, Holloway, Hyland, Flynn, Dire.
Missing--Darlington and Downs.
This terrible defeat acted so injuriously upon the force which had been hastily collected, that it became partially disorganised, and Von Tempsky's men having lost their leader took their blankets and left the district.
MAJOR VON TEMPSKY.
Gustavus Ferdinand Von Tempsky was the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Von Tempsky of the Prussian service, and was educated at the Military College at Berlin, and eventually obtained his commission in the 3rd Regiment of Fusileers in 1844, but being of a roving disposition, with an intense abhorrence of routine and red tape, and also strongly imbued with a love of adventure, he made up his mind to give up his profession, and accordingly started with some of his countrymen for the Mosquito shore on the Eastern coast of Central America, intending to found a new colony. The British Government at that time had established a sort of protectorate there, and had appointed R. Walker, Esq., as Consul General and Diplomatic Agent, to represent British interests on that coast. The emigration scheme turned out a failure, but Von Tempsky was made Captain to form an irregular force of Mosquito Indians, who did good service against the Spaniards, and in leading and guiding the British officers and crews of H.M.S. Alarm, s.s. Vixen,
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and brig Daring, against the Spanish stockades of Castillo, Viojo, Sarapequi, and San Carlo, which were taken. Here the Consul General met with a fearful death, having slipped overboard from one of the boats, and been immediately devoured by alligators before assistance could be rendered. Von Tempsky having lost his most intimate friend in this horrible way, now seems to have become partially disgusted with his post, and gold being discovered in California about this time he essayed to try his fortune there.
After remaining some little time in California he started backward, and landing at Mazatlan, on the west coast of Mexico, in the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains, he, with a friend, determined to pass through Central America, which he did till he arrived at Blewfields on the Mosquito shore. This journey forms the subject of an excellent work called "Mitla; or, Travels in Mexico and Central America," of which the gallant Major was the author. After staying at Blewfields for a short time he married the daughter of the Commandant of the Station, and then set sail for England with his wife and father-in-law.
Once again he left Europe, this time bound for Victoria, where Mrs. Von Tempsky had a married sister. At first he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, but some time after the Government having planned an expedition to explore the interior, candidates to take command of the party were enquired for. Von Tempsky came forward for the appointment, but Burke was the successful man. A feeling of national pride that the interior should be explored by a Briton was probably the bar to Von Tempsky's success in this matter. He was, however, offered the sub-command, but refused it. About this time rumours of the discovery of gold at Coromandel, New Zealand, reached Victoria, and as great depression existed at that time in Australia, Von Tempsky at once sailed for New Zealand, and proceeded to Coromandel, where his knowledge as a practical miner aided the Government considerably in developing the resources of that gold field.
On the Waikato war breaking out in July, 1863, he offered his services to the Government, and was appointed an Ensign in the Forest Rangers in August, 18G3. From this time to November of that year he was attached to the Flying Column which was engaged in scouring the Henua Ranges, in whose fastnesses the rebels had congregated. He next was engaged at the Mauku, where the natives had entrenched themselves behind some logs in a bush clearing, and fired a volley at the Rangers at a distance of twenty yards, but fortunately missed them. After this, in company with Captain Thomas McDonnell, then a Sub-Inspector of the Defence Force, he stole at night to Paparata, where the rebels were assembled in great force, and hiding in the flax continued during the whole of the next day to observe the movements of the enemy. Reaching the Camp at Whangamarino the next night, he, with Sub-Inspector McDonnell, received the thanks of General Cameron for his gallantry, and for the information conveyed. This
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was one of the most hazardous services rendered during the war, there being at least 500 natives in the vicinity of the spot these officers visited. For this service both were promoted to the rank of captain.
Von Tempsky's next action took place on the 11th of February, 1864, at Mangapiko on the Waipa, where, in the quaint words of his despatch to the Lieutenant-General, he says:--"My men with promptitude surrounded the thicket, and entering the same revolver in hand extracted, in a short time, seven natives." For this duty he was mentioned by General Cameron in his despatches to the Governor.
On the 22nd and 23rd of February he was in action at Rangiawhia, which lasted two days. After this fight the return of the Forest Rangers was thus described by an eye-witness--"They were loaded with pigs, potatoes, spears, tomahawks, cooking utensils, and all kinds of Maori goods."
On the 2nd of April, 1864, he took part in the siege of Orakau, behaving with his usual courage, and for which he was promoted to the rank of Major. After this action Waikato was subdued, and Von Tempsky's sword rested till the breaking out of the war in 1865. When the Government determined to chastise the rebels at Wanganui, Von Tempsky's Company of Forest Rangers were asked to volunteer for service in that quarter. The officers and half the men acquiesced in the request. When at Wanganui they were asked to go with Major Brassy's expedition to Opotiki, for the purpose of chastising the murderers of the Rev. Carl Sylvius Volkner and others. This was in the absence of Von Tempsky, who was away at the time on leave. Von Tempsky proceeded to the East Coast, expecting to meet his men there, and in their absence joined Major Brassy's force as a volunteer. After this he returned to Wanganui with the object of inducing his men to volunteer for the East Coast. Having gained the consent of his men to proceed he marched with them to Wellington, where he received orders to put himself under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Fraser. This so vexed Von Tempsky that he refused to proceed, and resigned his commission.
In November he recalled his resignation, and took command of a company of Forest Rangers, composed of men from the European and Maori Militia of Wanganui, under orders for service at Patea. He then went to Auckland, but on the renewal of the disturbance at Patea was sent to Waihi. He was present at the assault of Te Ngutu o Te Manu, and fell nobly doing his duty before Ruaruru. He was one of the bravest of men, and scarcely received from the Government the consideration which his high qualities entitled him to. His commission as Major in the First Regiment of Waikato Militia bears date 4th of April, 1864.
Shortly after the defeat at Ruaruru, Colonel McDonnell gave up the command, and was succeeded by Colonel Whitmore,
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On the 30th of September, an escort while on its way from Manawapou to Patea, was fired on by an ambuscade at Manutahi, and one man was killed,
Early in October, a settler at Kakaramea, named McCullock, went out to look for his sheep and never returned.
On the 16th, Thomas Collins, of New Plymouth, was murdered and dreadfully mutilated, while crossing the Manawakawa River.
THE REPULSE AT OKUTUKU.
On November the 7th, Colonel Whitmore made an attack on Okutuku, with a mixed force of 266 Europeans and 80 Maoris, but was repulsed after a hard fight, which lasted from 8 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. The men behaved well and retired in good order, but were followed by the rebels to within 700 yards of the Wairoa Camp. Major Hunter fell at about 30 yards from the pa, while leading a storming party. He was struck in the thigh by a ball which severed the femoral artery, and bled to death. The casualties were:--
Killed--Major Hunter, Sergeant Kirwin, Constables Lee and Satler, Privates Path, Urquhart, and one not named. Wounded-- Constables Eastwood, Dolan, Monk, Thompson, Wesley, Williams, Cooksley; Privates Cole, Kelly, Foot, McDowell, Vance, Keane, Mepa, Lindar, and five Wanganui natives. Missing--Constables Kennedy, R. Thompson, Poole; Privates Brown, Kenneally, Norman, Savage, Rogers, Nicholls, Devon, Negus, Kenally.
THE BROTHERS HUNTER.
The brothers Major William Hunter and Lieutenant Henry Hunter arrived in Auckland in the spring of 1861. They were both natives of the County of Antrim, Ireland, and were grandsons of Bishop Magee, the author of a standard work on the "Atonement," and nephews, by marriage, of the Rev. Hugh McNeil of Liverpool.
The elder brother, William, who was a student in Trinity College, Dublin, when the Crimean war broke out, led away by martial ardor abandoned the University, and obtained a commission in the Antrim Militia Rifles, and after undergoing the regular course of training at Hythe, under Colonel Pitt, became Adjutant of the Regiment, in which capacity he served for five years. At the close of the Crimean war, when the Militia were disbanded, Major Hunter, accompanied by his brother Henry, emigrated to Auckland. Coming out with letters of recommendation to several of the leading persons in Auckland, they without difficulty obtained situations under Government.
The elder brother was during the year, 1862, assistant clerk to the Auckland Provincial Council, in which capacity he became known to and appreciated by many public men. After this he went down to Wellington to attend the first session of the General Assembly that was held there, and was on board the s.s. White Swan when she was wrecked, Those who were on board the vessel perceived the
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sterling stuff of which he was made. In the midst of the danger he was perfectly cool and collected. So efficiently did he discharge the duties required of him during the session at Wellington that he was offered permanent employment as clerk assistant, by the Hon. Mr. Bartley, the Speaker of the Upper House; but the war breaking out in Waikato in 1863, he abandoned the Civil Service for service in the Colonial Forces, when the war was almost at the doors of the citizens of Auckland. Colonel Pitt was then engaged in raising the First Waikato Regiment, and William Hunter was at once gazetted Captain and Adjutant of that Regiment, which post he held till the regiment was disbanded in 1866. While he held that post it was admitted that although there were ten regiments of Her Majesty's regulars in the Colony that there was no more efficient officer, or more accomplished drill-master, than William Hunter in New Zealand.
His younger brother, Henry, after serving a brief period in the Post Office department in Hawke's Bay, also joined the 1st Waikato Regiment, and served throughout the Waikato war, and afterwards in the Wanganui and Taranaki campaigns. His genial manner endeared him to many, and none that knew him will ever forget the light-heartedness of one whose military career was like that of those who "march to death with military glee." Henry Hunter fell at Ngutu o Te Manu, leaving a wife and one child. William Hunter fell leading a forlorn hope on the Okotuku pa.
Titoko Waru, with his force of rebels, now approached towards Wanganui, burning houses, and creating great alarm, both in Wanganui and Wellington.
On the 21st of November, the news of the massacre in Poverty Bay by Te Kooti, and the escapees from the Chatham Islands, was published in New Plymouth.
On the 24th, a great fire occurred in Devon-street, New Plymouth, and £10,000 worth of property was destroyed.
On the 28th, the barque Collingwood arrived from Waitangi, Chatham Islands, with 2 Europeans, 1 Chinese, 69 native men, 45 native women, and 38 native children. These people were located by the Government on the north side of the Urenui River. They were the descendants of the Ngatimutunga, who fled from Rauparaha, the celebrated warrior chief of Kawhia, to the Chatham Islands from Wellington in the brig Rodney, in 1836. They returned to Taranaki on account of having sold their lands in the Chatham Islands to Europeans.
Early in December, the Superintendent of Taranaki received from Dr. Pollen, of Auckland, a copy of a telegram which had been forwarded to him by Mr. Searancke of Waikato, to the effect that the Ngatimaniapoto feeling angry at the refusal of the other Waikato tribes to sanction a general rising in that district, had uttered a threat that they would go to the White Cliffs, in the Taranaki district, on their own account. The Government Agent forwarded it
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so that the Provincial Government might be on its guard, but stated that as Rewi, the greatest chief of the Ngatimaniapotos, was against any aggressive movement, the likelihood of its being carried out was very improbable. The Superintendent caused the information to be conveyed to the settlers at the White Cliffs and Urenui, and Mr. Parris placed some trustworthy natives on the look out at the White Cliffs to guard against the possibility of a surprise, as it was deemed to be impossible for an armed party to march along the coast beyond the cliffs without detection during their journey. After the native scouts had been employed in this service for a short time they were dismissed, because no danger was apprehended by the Provincial Government.
THE MASSACRE AT THE WHITE CLIFFS.
On Saturday, the 13th day of February, 1869, excited by the success which had attended the arms of the rebels under Te Kooti and Titoko Waru, and encouraged by the fact that the whole of the Imperial and Colonial troops had again been withdrawn from the Taranaki Northern outpost, a taua, or war party of Ngatimaniapoto, the section of the great Waikato tribe residing at Mokau, approached Pukearuhe, the British redoubt at the White Cliffs.
Pukearuhe is situated about 36 miles from New Plymouth, and commands the approaches from the Mokau and Waikato country. To the south it affords a view of the country for at least two miles, but from the eastward it is commanded by a range of hills, distant from it about 500 yards. There is, however, a deep gully between these hills and the redoubt, which affords a protection from any sudden attack.
The taua approached in broad daylight, and found two Europeans at the blockhouse, whom they enticed away by telling them there were pigs on the beach for sale. Milne went first, and was tomahawked on the path leading to the beach. Seeing that Richards, the other man, did not follow, the party returned, urging him to come and look at the pigs. The unfortunate man descended the hill, and was killed near to where Milne fell. The taua then rushed up to the redoubt, and found that Lieutenant Gascoigne and his family were absent in their field of corn and potatoes. Lieutenant Gascoigne looking up saw the natives at the blockhouse, and at once proceeded towards them, carrying his youngest child; Mrs. Gascoigne and the other children followed him. On arriving at a little stream at the base of the hill on which the blockhouse stood, Lieutenant Gascoigne gave the child to his wife, and went forward to meet the Maoris. Approaching them they shook hands with him and accompanied him to the door. Upon his raising his hand to open the door he was struck from behind and fell. Soon after Mrs. Gascoigne came with her children, and she and the little ones were killed. The murderers then tomahawked the house dog and the cat. About sunset Mr. Whitely was seen approaching on horseback, but he was not recognised until he descended the hill which led to an old pa.
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After crossing the stream and ascending Pukearuhe he was ordered to return, but refusing to do so, he and his horse were shot. The blockhouse and huts were then burned.
This frightful atrocity was first discovered on the following Monday, by a young man named Macdonald, who immediately took the news to New Plymouth.
On the following day an armed party proceeded to the Cliffs in the s.s. Wellington, and recovered the bodies. The remains, gory, mutilated, and partially decomposed, were brought up to New Plymouth, and interred with military honors in the public cemetery where an obelisk of trachyte has been erected to their memory bearing the following names:--
Rev. John Whiteley, aged 62 years.
Lieutenant Bamber Gascoigne, aged 40 years.
Annie Gascoigne, aged 27 years.
Laura Gascoigne, aged 5 years.
Cecil John Gascoigne, aged 3 years.
Louisa Annie Gascoigne, aged 3 months.
John Milne, aged 40 years.
Edward Richards, aged 35 years.
Mr. W. N. Searancke, Resident Magistrate at Waikato, in a letter to Dr. Pollen, gave the following account of these murders:--
"The actual murderers at the White Cliffs were a half-caste lad, a son of a European, named Frank Philips, residing at Mokau Heads; Wetere, a son of the late Takerei, of Te Awakino, near Mokau; Herewini, a son of the late Peketai, formerly residing at the Waitara, subsequently of Mokau; and Te Tana of Mokau Heads. These four actually committed the murders. Mr. Whiteley was shot by Wetere. He was told to go back and refused. His horse was then shot. Mr. Whitely then sunk on his knees and commenced praying; while so doing he was shot at twice by Wetere with a revolver, and missed. Wetere then went up close, and shot the unfortunate gentleman dead."
THE REV. JOHN WHITELEY.
The Rev. John Whiteley was born of Christian parents at Kneesal, Nottinghamshire, England, on July the 20th, 1806. From childhood he was religiously disposed, and in his 20th year became a a decided, and, as he believed, an accepted Christian. At this period he became a member of an Independent Church, but shortly afterwards his connection with that body of Christians was severed by his removal to the vicinity of Newark, where he threw in his lot with the Wesleyans, and became a local preacher. In 1831, he was accepted as a candidate for missionary work. He was married on the 4th of September, 1832, at a small parish church in the Newark circuit, and proceeded with his wife to the old Mission House in Hatton Garden, London, where he received a very kind reception.
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After receiving recognition as a Missionary Minister at Lambeth Chapel, he proceeded to Portsmouth, and there embarked with his wife, on the 5th of November, 1832, in the ship Caroline, Captain Treadwell, bound for Hokianga, New Zealand. Early in the following year the ship reached the coast of New Zealand, but the weather being rough Captain Treadwell declined to enter the Hokianga River, and took the vessel round the North Cape to the Bay of Islands, where the debarkation was safely effected. The Wesleyan station at that time was at Mangungu on the Hokianga, the original station at Wangaroa having been destroyed by the natives in 1827, and there was but one missionary there. Mr. Whiteley proceeded to his post overland, and found his solitary brother awaiting his arrival. Here he learned the Maori language, and qualified himself for the great work of his life. In 1837 he was visited by the Rev. N. Turner, the Wesleyan Pioneer Missionary of New Zealand, who in search of health had come to revisit the scenes of his early labors. On the 17th of November of that year, Messrs. Whiteley and Turner set out to visit Houruru and other places on the eastern coast, where a good work had begun among the natives. By 7 p.m. they reached the foot of Mount Taniwa, the camping ground of native travellers. Here they erected, in native fashion, a breakwind of the fronds of the Nikau palm, and after taking tea, and performing their devotions, they wrapped themselves in their blankets and slept soundly. By sunrise they were on the top of the mount, which is a remarkable cone, capping a high range of hills. Here, the beauty and grandeur of nature repaid their toil in climbing the peak. At an immense depth, just below them, were silvery streams lighting up the panorama of forests and vales spread out below them. On the east coast, skirted by a low thick fog, was the noble Wangaroa Bay, with its bold cliffs, and the island guardian of its ocean gate; and on the west, beaming its welcome to the rising sun, their own lovely Hokianga. Far reaching in the distance beyond their sight was the North Cape of our sea-girt home. They saw the coast line of cliffs, and sands, and craggs, laved by old ocean rolling in his majesty, and in spirit they heard the grand and harmonious anthem of the waves, east and west. Here they tarried for half-an-hour, and indulged in thoughts of New Zealand worthy of Christian Missionaries. Descending by the eastern side they travelled over hill and dale, crossing one serpentine steam nearly twenty times. They reached the first native village in the Houruru Valley an hour before noon. The people, thirty or forty in number, including children, were busy in their plantations and much surprised by their visit. Shaded by a copse in a sequestred dell, the whole tribe assembled for worship. A youth named Matthew, whom Mr. Turner had baptized at Mungungu twelve months before, had been their teacher; and it was richly assuring to find that hearts, hardened by threescore years of heathenism, had been subdued by the Spirit, under the teaching and prayers of the babe in Christ. Matthew received a few books, and was much
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encouraged for further labor. Having halted for two hours the Missionaries travelled on up the lonely valley, observing as they went traces of a large population in former days.
They next tarried at a village whose chief had lately been baptized by the name of Joseph Orton. Mr. Whiteley was remarkable as a pedestrian. Few Englishmen, even renowned explorers, could excel him; but his companion in travel was tired out, not having before walked so many miles in one day. Their wash from a calabash, and a cup of tea, were very refreshing. They then conversed till evening with the people. Mr. Turner preached to about seventy people on a traveller's theme, Philip and the Eunuch. Several native helpers had lately gone among this people, and had led many of them to God; and now they earnestly desired the appointment of a Missionary. It was in the very spot were Samuel Leigh had thought of beginning his labors, and was in some respects a most eligible and commanding position. But the people were now too few to have their wish gratified. A bed of fern in Joseph Orton's verandah afforded rest till daybreak.
After prayers, at five o'clock, they resumed their travels. The roads being muddy, and the rain falling heavily, they were four hours, instead of two, in reaching Kohumaru. As they approached the village they heard the bells ringing for worship. The people had not been aware of their coming, and gladly deferred worship till they had changed their clothing and refreshed themselves. Forty persons were present, in whose hearts desires for salvation had been begotten by the agency of native teachers. The Missionaries were storm stayed, and held another service in the evening. They sought the road at six the following morning, and by eleven arrived at Mr. Lever's, three miles from Wangaroa. That gentleman, who had been accustomed to sit under Mr. Turner's ministry in Hobart Town, received them with much pleasure. After refreshment he took Mr. Turner in his boat to visit his first New Zealand home. The journey of three hours was amidst the familiar scenes of former years; and a rush of memories of mercies, trials, dangers, and deliverences filled his mind. Wesley had suffered nothing by the lapse of time. Indeed, its native loveliness had been somewhat increased by the growth of scented groves of sweet-brier. But as the Missionary stood once more on ground hallowed by toil, by suffering, by prayer, and by a tender consecration, the silent air seemed weighted with melancholy. At his feet was all that remained of his own manual work--a few broken bricks. He looked to the right and left as if for those he had known; but there were no family groups circling round their fires, no children sporting in the bushes, and he felt the desolation. He sought the spot where his first child had lain. The soil was sunken and disturbed, and told of the despoilers' hands. The little one's sepulchre had been in his garden; his own hands, when younger, had trained that garden's trees. Though now all traces of any enclosure had disappeared, there were lovely flowers and fruits. He gathered some roses to
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carry home, for there were other sympathies with the silent spot--he plucked them as God's own emblems.
The valley had been harvested. Sin, war, and disease had been the weapons! Though for three hours he travelled the familiar walks, now covered with grass, he saw but a small remnant of the tribes. Of those whom he had known ten years before, only two old people remained.
Heavy rains detained them till noon next day. Their course homeward lay through the Otangaroa, which they found in high flood. The natives tested the stream-depth, here and there they found footing with their heads above water, they then conveyed the Missionaries across. Two Maoris took hold of Mr. Turner's arms, other two of his legs, and with the water supporting his weight as he lay upon it between the two couples of bearers, he was partially carried and partly floated over. Mr. Whiteley was conveyed over in the same way. They made slow progress through a country almost untravelled, and overgrown with bushes and fern, and at length lost their way and were benighted. With their clothing drenched, every tree and bush dripping, the ground deluged by the down pour of many hours, and without shelter, or the apparent means of procuring it, they were more than weary in their evening's discomfort. They set too, however, to make the best of it. All hands gathered bushes, and within an hour they had constructed a partial shelter. The natives got two dry pieces of wood from a hollow tree, and by rubbing them together obtained a fire. The Missionaries dried their clothes, reduced their discomfort as much as they could, and by the light of their camp fire at midnight read the holy word. They then in that dense wild forest rested beneath the Almighty's shade and rose unharmed. It took an hour to regain the overgrown path, a circumstance not unusual in New Zealand travel. Upon a hill top they passed one of the big guns of the ship Boyd. Years before some Hokianga natives had conceived the idea of securing it for their great pa, to be used as an arm of defence in time of war. They had dragged it over hill and dale, and through streams, until food and courage failing, they had abandoned it, and it remained on this hill top, a witness of their folly. Travelling down the mountains the Missionaries crossed one stream sixty times. At four o'clock they reached their boat at Mangamuka, and by twilight reached their hones, thankful for the travelling mercies of six days.
After residing for a few years at Hokianga, Mr. Whiteley removed to Kawhia, and there among the Waikato tribes spent the best of his days. Strong, active, abstemious, loving the country and people, he was not troubled with sickly longings for home, or sentimental languishings for refined society, but as a good soldier and servant of Jesus Christ he nimbly trod the narrow and devious paths, paddled his canoe up the rivers, or travelled on horseback long distances over the open wilderness, or along the wide reaches of the solitary sea-beach in search of the villages of the dusky race he had given his
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life to serve. Sitting in the rush-built hut upon a cushion of fern he would partake with the people of their homely supper, from the steaming oven, and after the meal would hold "karakia," or devotional service, singing with his flock the evening hymn in their own tongue, and to an air perfectly hideous to most European ears, but musical to him. Then after refreshing sleep, in the early hours, he would awake at the voice of the bird, proceed to some neighboring stream, shave, perform his ablutions, not forgetting his feet, return to the pa, hold karakia, breakfast, and depart to some other portion of his large diocese, there to repeat the proceedings of the previous day. Without forgetting that he was a civilised Briton, so identified did he become with his people, and so readily did he fall into their habits of thought and catch the idiom of their language, that he became one of the best Maori preachers, and obtained great influence over the native people. Shortly after the foundation of the New Plymouth Settlement, he was chiefly instrumental in inducing the Waikato tribes to manumit the Ngatiawa slaves they took at the siege of Pukerangiora. In 1844, he, at the special request of Governor Fitzroy, attempted to smooth the ill-feeling which arose between the freedmen and the pioneer settlers of Taranaki. In 1856, in consequence of the Puketapu feud, Mr. Whiteley was stationed at New Plymouth. Here he labored amidst all the scenes of alarm, misery, and blood-shedding, with which this province was afflicted for so many years, preaching both to friends and foes, now in the camp of the British, and now in the war pa of the Maori. There was no outpost too remote for the missionary to reach, and he has frequently entered a blockhouse on a Sunday wet to his loins by wading through swollen rivers. He labored for some years in the endeavor to impart instruction to the natives at the Grey Institution on the Mission Reserve at Ngamotu. He was instrumental in causing the erection of a native chapel on the Kawau Pa in New Plymouth, and when, during the war, the pa and chapel were purchased by the Government, it was chiefly by his exertions that another native chapel was built at the Henui. In 1859, he accompanied the present writer with Rev. J. Fletcher, Messrs. Webster, senior, Hulke, Burton, and Knight, with a party of natives on a long forest journey from Bell Block to Mount Egmont. At length the good old man finished the work which was given him to do. It was his custom to ride out to some remote post on Saturday, sleep there on Saturday night, rise and hold early Sabbath service, and then proceed homewards, preaching at all the villages on his way. In pursuance of this plan he left New Plymouth on Saturday, the 13th day of February, 1869, on horseback for Pukearuhe, "fern root hill," an out-post in the White Cliff district in the extreme north of Taranaki. He was not unconscious of danger, for he had written a warning letter to the Government concerning this very outpost. As the old missionary rode along, now on the margin of the high sea cliffs, with the spectacle of Ruapehu in front and Egmont on his right, both lifting their snowy crests from the bosom
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of the dark forests to the bright blue sky, and the dancing wavelets flashing the reflected sunlight in the watery abyss on his left, now cantering along the sandy beach amidst the iridescent bubbles of the sea foam, little did he think how black a crime was being perpetrated on the spot he was rapidly approaching. Pukearuhe had that day been stained with the blood of a young English mother of 27, and of her three babes, with the blood of three harmless men, and even with the blood of their domestic cat and dog. The Missionary crossed the stream at the foot of the hill and commenced to ascend the steep path, when from among a war party of 20 Ngatimaniapoto, headed by a chief, who had been baptized as a believer in a merciful Saviour, and by the name of Wesley, voices were heard exclaiming, "hokia! hokia!"--go back! go back! Then, there was a discharge of arms, and the missionary's horse fell. Disengaging himself from the dying beast, the aged minister fell on his knees, and clasped his hands in the attitude of prayer. Arms were again discharged; live bullets pierced his body, and so he passed to his everlasting rest.
With the death of Mr. Whiteley, the war in Taranaki was ended. The Government were unable to punish the murderers, but to this day the blood-stained cliff of Pukearuhe has been held by a garrison of the Armed Constabulary of New Zealand.
