THE WAR AT ROTORUA.

Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 195, 13 April 1867, Page 3

THE WAR AT ROTORUA.

(From the correspondent of the Southern CrosM.) Ohinemutu, March 22. Yesterday afternoon Mr Clarke (to whom lias been entrusted the chief command of the military operations), Major St. John, Major M'Donnell and other : officers, with a strong escort of Ngatipikiao, ; went out from Ohinemutua up a valley '• leading in the direction of the enemy's i position. Ascending from the valley to • the top of a hill a good view was had of > the place. In the nearest pa or settlement were about a hundred men, but the ! numbers in the others could not be dis- '■• tinjruished. Good watch was evidently i kept against surprise, as scouts were seen i out in all directions. On the return of • the party, a general meeting was held to s decide upon the time at which an advance ■ should be made, at which the prevailing ■ opinion was that, if the next day was fine, ' the force should move out to attack the • pa. Marsh advised delay, .and rather a - sharp encounter teok place , between him i and Major M'Donnell, who said the cause : why Marsh urged delay was fear. Marsh , retorted by saying that the Major himself ; was the most frightened man he ever i knew — that at the Awa-o-tc-Atua he had '■ lagged behind, and let "him (Marsh) and ■ his men go forward, and that it was the same at the Waihi. Fox thought the ' force should advance, and build apa not ■ far from tha enemy's position. A great i many eloquent speeches were made' and . the meeting was protracted to a late hour. News has been received here from Waii kato, and I presume it has alreacty readied i you, that the King lias consented to lloi torua being the place of fighting, and is on i the way over witli Rewi, aud all the men ; they can muster. The men are evidently ; determined to make a stand, and there : can bo no doubt that they have full know- ; ledge of the strong force mustered here. An advance is to be made this evening, ; and the whole place is in bustle and stir, s The Maoris have had religious services, and are now engaged in oiling or greasing ■ their hair, and decorating their heads with, white feathers, tied up with red worsted. : March 23. Last night word was received that a party of the enemy had come down on the : north shore of the lake and occupied Kaikaitahuna, or Hamurana, the settlei ment where I spent two nights on my first visit to Rotorua. Three war canoes were immediately manned with 150 men of the Ngatipikiao and Ngatikereru hapus, whose places would be endangered if the ! Hau-haus took that road in force. Major ; M'Donnell was in command. It was a • beautiful clear moonlight night, but with , the many paddles the huge canoes were , quickly lost sight of on the lake. At four o'clock this morning 180 Europeans musi tered at the Pukeroa, under Major St. John, and marched out towards Purakn, i and as the white light of the morning ■ came in, 450 natives streamed out of Ohinemutu in the same direction. I don't ■ think I ever saw anything more beautiful : than the taua winding in single file along , the shores of the lake as the sun rose and lighted up the magnificent scenery around, i Aftet* going about three miles we came to i a river called Ngongotaha, over which the i Europeans were ferried in canoes, and the ; natives forded. Here were the canoes ; which had left Ohinemutu on the precedt ing evening, and those who had been on board informed me that the Hau-haus had left Hamurana before they got there. A ; visit had been paid to Puhirna, to which I most of the people have returned, and it was found that they were disposed to be -, quiet, and were determined to prevent i any descent upon the Rotoiti. If this . disposition of the Puhirua people is owing to Marsh and Kiharoa, they deserve credit for their work, and I am not disposed to • say anything against them in connection ; with their negotiations with the Hau-haus, : as they took good care of me while I was in the power of the Puhirua people. When the whole of the force had got ; across the rivers, the inarch began to ' Purakn — the Ngatiraukawas, under Hans i Tapsell, leading, then the Europeans, and i- then the main body of the Arawas. Rel inforceel by the force which had gone out I the night before, the natives now num- . bered 600 men. Everything that we had I heard, and what wo had seen of the coni fidence of the Hau-haus, seemed to show ) that there would be "a heavy fight, and ! every man made \ip his mind that such [ would be the event. The Purakn pa [ stands at about 100 yards from the bush, l on a gentle rise, with a gully in front ; l and when we got about a mile off, we i could see some movement inside the pa. . Maoris are not all brave by any means, i One rather old man came to Dr Nisbet, > who accompanied the force, and evidently I in a high state of excitement, said he felt very ill. The doctor advised him to go j back to Ohinemutu, but the old gentleman r knocked about in the rear till all danger I was past, and then I saw him marching j about looking as valiant as Achilles. I j congratulated him upoii his rapid recovery, ! but he did not seem ijovcare about referrs ing to it at all. 1 beheye Dr Nisbet in- , sisted upon.^exhibiniig" a tr«^|^^^i

•it?'' ■ the pah, the force halted. The ' Kgatiraiii kawas defiled off on each side, while the , Europeans advanced straight up to the pah. The rest of the natives knelt down on the slope while Mita Hikairo read the appropriate prayer from the prayer-book, and spoke a few words, telling the men that then, as at all times of danger, they should put their trust in God alone. I have heard a good deal of first-rate oratory of late, and I should have great difficulty in selecting the best speaker, but E think my choice would fall, upon Hikairo. What a lesson in elocution those few words on the hill wore ! Looking over the hill at this uioinent the natives could be seen "making tracks" for the bush, and a single glance at " the position" showed that no defence would be inatlo, and that all our great prepara-i tions were to go for nothing. Some shots were fired at the pah, then it was entered by the natives, and the Union Jack hoisted. Now there was firing by the Hau-haus from the bush, but liurriod and uncertain, showing that it was only as defiance while they left, and that no stand would be niiidc. The Europeans and most of the natives now entered the bush, and a good many shots were delivered, but both sides are far to good at taking cover to be easily hit. One Han-,, haii was wounded in the leg, but got .of One feature of native warfare is t 1 " tuau is followed by a nuinbcr^f.k- \i'{ who commence cooking a3 soorAo*4^oSi bio, so that when the affair is over the food is about ready. On this occasion potatoes and pumpkins were brought in in large quantitions from the cultivations ; pork had been carried from Ohinemutu, and there was soon an abundant feed. The " loot" was not very much. Three or four horses, three pet kakas or parrots, and a big trunk or two, were about all. It is quite clear the natives do not intend to let themselves be caught out of the forest if they can help it. After finishing our meal, tlie pah and a village near it were set on fire, and blazed away quite briskly. We all then returned to Ohinemutu. after the bloodless victory, very much impressed by the fact that wo were utterly in the dark as to the numbers and movements of the Hau-haus. What is to be done now ? Where are the Hau-haus ? I presume the force will be sent into the interior somewhere.