ADVANCE UPON AND CAPTURE OF TE NGUTU-O-TE-MANU.

Grey River Argus, Volume VI, Issue 412, 3 September 1868, Page 3

ADVANCE UPON AND CAPTURE OF TE NGUTU-O-TE-MANU.

We take the following further details of this fight, than we published in our last, from the Wanganui Times of the 25th lilt :— On entering the bush the right wing with Colonel McDonnell struck off slightly to the left, Yon Tempsky pushing on to get between the enemy and the bush. The left wing under Major Hunter, struck obliquely to the right and all moved on in dead silence but at a swinging pace, in rain and mud ; and through a terribly dense bush interwoven with supple-jacks and dense scrub, but part of the way we had a kind of open but narrow path. When within half a-mile of the pa, between 10 and 11 o'clock in the day, just when the enemy bad given up all idea of our coming, we came upon their rifle pits, so ingeniously constructed to command every approach to the pa, that had they been manned, as they were a few hours before,: the contest would be severe and our loss fearfully heavy. The rifle pits had just been evacuated for the day, but the fires in them were still smouldering. It is remarkable that those fires were not composed of the usual firewood that ■would blaze up, but of coke or charcoal. The Force pushed rapidly past the deserted rifle pits, Von Tempsky and his men swept round to the left to cut of the retreat. Hunter on the right made an admirable disposition of his force, but hark ! No sooner had McDonnell and Cumminjs reached the clearing, opening upon the pa, than Coffee, the bugler with his one G, followed by a repeated sound of the "advance," made the hill sides ring again. . The effect was like an electric shock. A shrill, dear and thrilling cheer from the men of both divisions responded to the sound of the bugle. The whole was instantaneous. From all quarters our men rashel upon the palisades— • tho men armed with axes nobly did their duty. Breaches were speedily effected ; the enemy meantime firing through at ns but we were soon in and at them. Co 1 , McDonnell, Capt. Cummings, Capt. Buck, Major Hunter, Major Von Tempsky, and other officers and non-commisßioued efficer« whom 1 could not distinguish

j had hard work to keep a-head of their men, all were so eager for the fray. The enemy quickly retreated from the pa but took up a position and made a determined stand upon a clearing in the rear of it. There they opened a heavy fire upon our men which was returned with such telling effect that in three or four minutes the Hau Haus broke up and fled leaving five killed, and scampering into a dense thicket with their wounded. After that we were perfect masters of the position, but most of our men were still in pursuit. On returning to the pa, sentries were thrown out and orders given to remove firearms and property of every description from every dwelling house, but more especially from the Beak of the. Bird, the commodious, and, in a Maori sense, magnificent building from which Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu takes its name. Our men speedily collected from the wharos and other places, guns, ammunition, meres, and such miscellaneous lots of "sundries" as my eyes never before beheld, among the lot about a hundred tomahawks polished like burnished steel. Then commenced the work of destruction The grand building the Beuk of the Bird, some 100 feet long by 30 or 40 feet wide, which was erected at an enormous amount of labour with all its beautiful carvings and ornaments was fired in five or six places, by Colonel McDonnell and Capt. Cummings. Every whare was speedily in flames and the smoke of the stronghold of the cannibal Titokowaru and his followers, where they had recently feasted upon the body of poor trooper Smith — ascended up to heaven. It is not likely that another European will ever be cooked there. I now return to our losses. The first man wounded was Sedgewick, of the Wellington Rifles. A ball neatly shaved the flesh of his left temple, and killed poor Wallace who was close to him. Another quarter-inch in Sedgewick's temple and the one ball would have killed the two. Kerr was killed inside the palisading, and Corporal Lloyd wounded in the leg. Whilst the place was being burnt, fatigue parties were carrying in the dead and wounded, the latter being attended to by Drs. Walker and Best. When the wounded were attended to they were placed on stretchers and sent on to Waihi in charge of the Constabulary. The Wellington Rangers and Rifles had the honor to bring up the rear. Meantime the Maoris were evidently watching our movements. The capture and work of destruction complete, we moved off in fighting order, but had not proceeded more than a quarter-of-a-mile on our way to Waihi when the Hau Haus commenced yelling and firing on our rear. The Welliiif?ton boys returned the fire with such telling effect that the enemy must have suffered severe loss. They hung upon our rear in the dense bush but would never dare to show a front. When we passed Pungarehu, a village of theirs that we had previously destroyed, we thought they would show a front, but they only sne:iked in ones and twos through the bush, and it was there poor Hamilton Geary was shot dead by a bullet through the temple. Singularly enough, his brother, — Geary, immediately afterwards was shot through the shoulder. This last Geary is quite a lad about 19, but through the whole attack acted a most, daring part and displayed such an amount of cool pluck and courage as will teach many of us not to dispise our colonial striplings. On emerging from the bush the rear was covered by the Patea Yeomanry Cavalry, under Captain O'Halloran. The enemy, who, during our retreat through tho bush, dare not show a front, now kept at a more respectful distance, expending a considerable amount of powder in firing after us at a mile or two distant. On reaching the Waingongera River, the carts which the Colonel had despatched orders to have in readine33, met us there and safely conveyed the wounded across. The rest of us waderl, holding on by the ropes, and reached Waihi by 5 p. m. It is not for me to praise officers or men any further than to say that all nobly did their duty. Our commandingr officer laid his plans wiih consummate skill, and they were ably earned out by the officers, noncommissioned officers and men under his command. Von Tempsky had a heavy part of the work assigned to him — it is unnecessary to say that, as usual, he did it nobly. Major Hunter, notwithstanding recent events, acted with consummate skill and courage. Here is a little episode worth recording. Colonel McDonnell, and Captain Cummings with a few men, cut down all before them, got inside the palisade, and presently his top-coat was dropped, and at the top of his stentorian voice — in his shirt sleeves, the Colonel, closely waited on by Captain Cummings, rallied the men and dashed forward. Hunter nobly cleared his way, and his men as nobly did their work. The whole, both officers and men seemed to vie with each other, and in the midst of the fray I thought it a pity that the Han Haus weTe taken at a disadvantage, or that they had such good legs to carry them into the bush. The following is a list of the killed and wounded :■- --KILLED. Constable McKay, No. 5 division, A.C ; Private Kerr, Captain Page's Company ; Private Wallace, do. do ; Private Geary, Captain Buck's Company. WOUNDED. Const. Dwyer, No. 2 division, A.C., dangerous ; Const. Hope, do. slightly j Const. Whiteside, No. 5 A. 0., slightly ; Private Sedgewick, Captain Page's Company, slightly ; Bugler Hamilton, do ; Private Thompson, do ; Corp. Lloyd do ; Private Geary, Captain Buck s Company, I severely.