TARANAKI.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume III, Issue 171, 22 April 1864, Page 6 (Supplement)

TARANAKI.

DEFEAT AT AH UAH U. - (From the Taranaki Herald, April 9.) It is this week our painful duty to record the first real defeat which our forces have suffered at the hands of the natives during the present war, and which has cost us the lives of at least six of our fellow countrymen, including, we deeply regret to say, Captain Lloyd of the 57th Regiment; beside twelve others wounded and one missing. The accounts we have been able to gather of how it happened are vague, and in many parts conflicting, but the result is indeed only too clear. The following we believe to bo substantially correct as far as it goes : On Tuesday night, Capt. Lloyd received orders to take a hundred men and to proceed on the following morning to reconnoitre in the neighbourhood ot Ahuahu. Accordingly, at an early hour on Wednesday morning, he started from Kaitake, his force consisting of 40 rank and file of his own company of the 57th with Lieut. Cox, and 50 of No. 12 Victorians under Captain Page and Lieut. Jackson, making about 100 of all ranks. They went by the path over the hills, found and destroyed some crops of maize, and got to the spur on which Ahuahu stands at 8 - 30 or 9 a.tn. They went up this and examined the ground about where the pa stood (as Hemi, a native who was acting as guide, had reported to Capt. Lloyd that he heard a call and thought they were discovered), but no fresh tracks were seen, and after this it seems as if caution had been laid aside just when it was most wanted. For, when they turned to come back, the natives suddenly appeared about 100 yards off and opened a heavy fire on them, advancing at the same time. But to make the account at all intelligible, a brief description of the ground is necessary. Ahuahu is situated on a spur running out nearly at right angles to the main range, and this spur in coming down to the plain is divided into two or three ridges, one of which (the nearest this way) ends in a sort of natural plateau raised 10 or 20 feet above the land in front and to the south west of it. On the edge of this plateau there is a line of deep rifle pits commanding the road from Hauranga which runs close up to it, and then turns off to the right to get round the end of the spur. Capt. Lloyd was intending to retire down the road to Hauranga, and so by the beach to Oakura ; the 57th, who had been in advance throughout, were some little distance (estimated at 200 yards) down this road—a part of the Victorians were on the plateau, and a rear guard, also of Victorians, but under Lieut. Cox, were a little way up the ridge : the whole were waiting while a party of ten destroyed some corn which had been overlooked when the pa was taken. Just as they had finished and were about to come away, the natives appeared in considerable numbers at the end of the bend in the road we spoke of and in the fern and the form of the ground ; or, 2nd, they must have seen after their first vollies such unmistakeable signs of confusion and disorganisation as made them certain they had no serious opposition to fear. They closed in upon the few resolute men who were still making a stand upon the plateau, and of these some were killed, others wouuded, and the rest driven away. Captain Lloyd, when the first shot was fired, was with the rear guard a little way up the ridge : he immediately ran down and did what he could to rally the men, but he soon fell, wounded in two or three places ; others fell with him, as we have said, and the natives having possession of the plateau cut our force in two, and it became completely scattered. The main party of the 57th, who from the time the attack began were separated from their only two officers and sergeant retired down the road to Hauranga. Capt. Page and fourteen men from the party who were on the plateau bringing two wounded men with them, made a detour in the fern, and then followed to the same place; whilst the rear guard, under Lieut. Cox and guided by Hemi, (without whom their chance of escape would have been small,) made their way along the gullies and through the fern to Wairau. Many others were scattered singly through the fern, and came out in ones and twos: some even lay ■ concealed till relief came out.

When it was known in town (which was not till past noon), that some disaster had befallen Capt. Lloyd’s party, Colonel Warre immediately despatched a force consisting of the Bushrangers and a largo party of the 57th under Major Butler. The Bushrangers had fallen in to attend the funeral of the late Sergt. Appleby (of No. 5 Otago "Volunteers, who, we regret to say, died of the wound ho received at the taking of Kaitake) but before they, had got to the hospital they were told to fall out and get their guns, which they speedily did, and after a quick march to Oakura they went on turning inland at Wairau and makina for Ahuahu through the fern by the same way that the rear guard had retreated. Col. Warre and the 57th with an Armstrong gun went on to Hauranga and up the road, and when pretty near to the foot of the spur two shells were fired. This had the effect of pushing the men who were still hiding in the fern, as it assured them that help was near ; two were picked up by the Bushrangers, and One (who was wounded in the shoulder) by the force in front. An advance was then made to the little plateau, and a fearful scene presented itself. Six bodies were found lying one in and the others close by the rifle pits, stripped nearly naked, and from five of which the heads had been cut off and taken away. Another man whose body could not be found appears to have been otherwise mutilated, as some intestines were found upon the ground; but it is possible that this may have been caused by a bnllet wound, A retvarewa axo-handle was found, which seemed to have been broken in the work. The bodies were carefully put into two carts brought for the purpose, decently covered with fern, and the force returned as it was already getting dark.

As to the loss of the Maories, it is of course impossible to say what it has been; but that they suffered there is no doubt. Private Milne of No. 12, who was by the rifle pits, says that he shot a native who rushed up to him with a tomahawk whilst he was fixing his bayonet and before he could lock it. What makes this sound probable is that he describes the Maori as having sandy or

radish hair, a feature which a new-comer would not be likely to invent. He states also that he saw Sergt. Bentley shoot one who was running at him armed only with “ sort of stick,” —no doubt a taidha. The “ sort of stick” does not sound like an invention either. One of the wounded men in Ijospital (Tomlins, of No. 12) says he killed four natives himself while remaining with Bentley after ho was wounded. He shot two, and finding that his rifle on being loaded would not go off, seized a sword belonging to one of the officers in Bentley’s possession (with which he had been cutting down the standing maize when the first volley was fired), and seeing two natives creeping up to him through the fern split open the head of one when he was in the act of emerging from the scrub on his hands and knees, and nearly severed the head off the other immediately after while he was in the act of tomahawking him from behind. If he killed as many as this he did his work well. He is convinced that several natives fell, as a hot fire was kept up upon the rebels for some time by about a dozen of his comrades of the militia and the 57th who were in the road further down. He says that one of the natives he shot was yelling and jumping with a double-barrelled gun without a stock. The natives kept up a very sharp fire from their double-barrelled guns, and fired about three times to once of our men.

Private Chamberlain, of the 57th, states he shot a native who was attacking Capt. Lloyd. The latter had given his sword to Sergt. Anderson, to cut down the maize (?) and had taken his rifle. He either fired and missed or the gun missed fire, when the Maori, who was closing on him, was shot by Chamberlain. We give these stories for what they are worth. It is not likely that all the natives “ shot” were killed, but there is little doubt that several must have been hit. The last man who come in was of No. 12 company militia, who arrived at camp about 4 a.M. on Thursday. The man had been hidden in the fern and escaped the search of the party who went to bring in the bodies and pick up the missing. He says that while he was hiding he saw the natives several times near him, and that they came down again after the troops returned, seemingly to look about. They then returned to Ahuahu and set up a general howling ftangij, which is a pretty certain proof that their victory was not a bloodless one.

The men present variously estimate the number of the Datives at 150,200, 300, and 500. We should incline to believe the first number as nearest reality, until we get further information. The decapitation of the bodies is a new feature in the war, and we have yet to learn the motive which can only find its parallel in the deeds committed by them in their cannibal state. The bullet extracted by Dr. Spence, T.R.V., on Thursday from M’Kenna weighed over an ounce, and was spherical. The following is a list of our loss op this occasion : 57tii Regiment. Killed. Captain Lloyd— gunshot wounds penetrating—one through left chest, one through abdomen, two through pelvis, also two through right shoulder and one through right thigh fracturing femor; a tomahawk wound of right calf, and body decapitated, rrivate Jeremiah Dooley— gunshot wound of right shoulder, and body decapitated. Private Geo. Sadler— gunshot wound of right shoulder and .two tomahawk wounds of left arm and body decapitated. Wounded. Private Andrew Collins—gunshot wound of abdomen slight. Private Laurence Cronin— gunshot wound of left thumb, slight. Private John Kirby— gunshot wound of groin, slight. Private P. Murray— gunshot wo ind of neck, slight. Private Isaac Smith— gunshot wound of chin, slight. Militia (Victorians). Killed. Corporal H. Banks— gunshot wound through abdomen, and body decapitated. Private James Neagles— gunshot wound through abdomen, and three through head. Private H. Hartley —gunshot wound through pelvis and body decapitated. Wounded. Color-Sergeant George Bentley, gunshot wound in arm, hone fractured, severe (No. 12 Company. Corporal Egbert Stokes— gunshot wound right, shoulder, slight (No. 12). Private Francis Thomas Tomlins— gunshot wound upper part thigh, severe (No. 12). Private Edward Wiiatmore— gunshot wound calf of leg, slight (No. 12). Private James M’Kenna— gunshot wound throughleft side dangerous, ball since extracted, (No, 7). Missing. Private John Gallagher. J. E. YOUNG. M.D. Staff Surgeon. We bear it rumored that an expedition is meditated to the southward, and we trust it may bo true, as it is of first-rate importance that something should be done at once to remove the unfavorable and false impressions which this lamentable affair is likely to create among a part of our men, and to lessen, at the same time, the confidence of the natives, who will soon draw up a troublesome number of allies if allowed to go longer unchecked. The great mistake, as it seems to us, was in not following up the victory at Kaitake. If, as is hinted, Mokotunu is to be visited, it will, we believe, bo most beneficial. This place, which is said to be the centre of the Taranaki cultivations, is on the side of Warea, and is, therefore, a good day’s march from Oakura. If the crops are destroyed, or, what would be better, taken away, a great good will be gained, and if, as will no doubt be the case, the natives interfere, they may be dealt with too. But there is no time to be lost, as the fine weather cannot last much longer. We extract tbs following from the Nelson Examiner of the 12th inst. New Plymouth, April 8. Notwithstanding it is near publishing time with the Herald , which, this week, promises a Summary for the outgoing mail, I am unwilling to let the post close without sending you a few lines on the disastrous and dreadful affair of the 6tb, lest the steamer should leave without the promised account. Wo heard, during the morning of that date, that a skirmish had taken place with the natives at Ahuahu, a force under 100 strong, under Capt. Lloyd, 57th Regiment, having proceeded thither to reconnoitre, and, if necessary, to prevent the construction of a pah there. The men, made up of the 57th and Victorians, reached the ground without incident, although there appear to have been signs, intelligible to observers of the natives, that natives were there or not far

distant. The commanding officer appears to have thought otherwise. Suddenly fire was opened from cover on three sides, and the natives came into the midst of the party with a rush, dividing them, and overpowering them by mere numbers. Stragglers reached the beach, and soon the] disastrous news arrived in town that the force was repulsed, some killed and some wounded, and that, amongst eight or ten missing, was the officer in command. *

Colonel Warre, 0.33., marched off at once with troops and the bush parties, never halting until the Wairau was crossed. As the force advanced cautiously, a shell was fired to indicate that relief was near—this led to the discovery and rescue of three men, (one of them wounded) who lay concealed in a wot swamp. As they advanced, a ghastly spectacle met their sight—six bodies placed in a row, naked, five of them headless, a sixth scalped, and the bowels of another victim near by, the body gone. Eurther search proving resultless, the force returned to Oakura, where eleven or twelve wounded men had already arrived. That the natives should have committed such atrocities will surprise no one acquainted with their true nature, but that they were prompted to do so upon the present occasion, may bo accounted for on the supposition that they found one' of their own number headless after the fight. A Victorian (formerly a life-guardsman) standing near Captain Page, who had tripped and fallen down, bayonetted a native advancing to tomahawk him, and before he could extricate the bayonet from the man’s body a second advanced, whose head the man severed from his body with Capt. Page’s sword, which he snatched up to defend himself with. The natives, ignorant of the circumstances, might attribute the act to wantonness and insult, and do as they did by way of retaliation. Captain Lloyd is described as an excellent soldier, and to have fought gallantly until riddled with bullets. He had but recently arrived from England with his family, and labored under the disadvantage of not being acquainted with the country and the natives. The deepest sympathy is felt for Mrs Lloyd and children in their affliction. The funeral is now passing through the town to the cemetery, the six coffins forming one procession. We have been permitted to make the following extracts from a private letter received by last mail from Taranaki: — “ I rode out to Kaitake the other day with a few ladies and gentlemen. It was two days after the place had been taken. It was well worth going to see, and would Lave been an awful place to take, if the Maories had stood to their defences. The prisoner who was taken says, that when the Maories heard our men give three cheers just before they rushed the place, their hearts failed them, as they thought men who could give such shouts at such a moment, must conquer, they therefore all fled. The pah was on a high hill, with double palisading and rifle pits all round, while- right across the gully were rifle pits and double fencing, with pits round the top of a lower hill in front of the pa. It was a very steep ascent, and when our men got to the top many of them dropped. “ Poor Mrs. Lloyd, widow of Captain Lloyd, has gone raving mad, and the doctors do not think she will recover. She has two little children. When she beard of her husband’s death she asked to have given to her some of his hair. This, of course, under the circumstances of the dreadful mutilation of the bodies, could not be complied with and she was put off with evasive replies, until, by some means, she learned the truth.”