AN INTERESTING FIND.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 197, 9 January 1913, Page 8

AN INTERESTING FIND.

A PAGE FROM THE PAST. A party of New Plymouth gentlemen made an interesting find yesterday in Te Arei pa, fronting Puke-Raugiora, lluirangi, one of the most historical spots in the Dominion, and the scene of considerable lighting in the first Taranaki war. At the instance of the Government, the pa, which has been proclaimed a scenic reserve, is being cleared of fern, etc., and in the enclosure from which the .Maoris gave the troops such trouble, th" party secured several pieces of 8-inch shell. One piece, weighing several pounds> may be seen at the News Office. I'he clearing, of the fern and grass has revealed a section of the sap made by the forces under General Pratt. It must have entailed immense labor, being nearly three miles in length—considered to be the longest sap on record. Looking at the huge work, and the topography of the country; the sap strikes one as being a questionable piece of military strategy. This seemed to be the opinion of many at the time, who believed the Maoris' position could have been effectually reduced from the eastern flank without- greater loss of life than occurred in the making of the sap. The sap was taken right to the base of the Maoris' stronghold, where a demi-paral-lel was put in and cohorn mortars established.

It was whilst in the act of laying one of the mortars that the gallant soldier, Lieutenant McNaughten, R.A., -was shot dead by a Maori from a position commanding the sap. It is related that a fellow officer who was near him at the time, exclaimed: "McNaughten, you are hit!" but the Lieutenant only smiled, and calmly replied, "Oh, never mind, 'tis but in the hand." These were his last words. It was pTobably from these very mortars that the fragments of shell picked up yesterdajr came. That the Maoris appreciated the advantages and value of trenching is shown by an examination of the ground. They dug trench after trench and tier upon tier of pits within easy range of the British sap and demi-parallel, and it is not surprising to learn that they picked off many a red-coat and gave them generally an anxious time of it. It is reJated that during the extension' of the main sap, the natives frequently removed the sap .roller in the night, notwithstanding the viliganee of the sentinels, and rolled it into the Waitara River, two or three hundred feet below. It was simply a piece of dare-devilry, but the Maoris paid dearly for it in the end, as the Engineers affixed a live shell to the . roller with a friction fuse. The Maoris treated the roller with more circumspection afterwards.

It is also recorded that friendly natives were employed to gather supplejacks for the construction of the saproller, etc., the friendlies being assisted by the enemy, receiving a part of the price paid by "the. British for the canes!

.The Maoris ran out of lead. They could make their own powder, but lead was at a premium. The Maori of these times was a resourceful customer, and he overcame the difficulty by running up a dummy figure in the fort and attracting the fire of the men from the j sap. The dummy was so constructed as to hold bullets, and these were after--1 wards refashioned and used bv the enemy on the pakehas. No doubt if the ground were dug over dozens of bullets and parts of shells could be secured, as ammunition was simply poured, into the place. The Naval Brigade did good work in this respect with their S-inch gun, throwing shell after shell into the middle of the. pa. The Maoris, however, did not rely altogether for safety upon their outside rifle pits and trenches and walls and pallisading. They, like the Boers, burrowed into the earth, and the flying bullets and shell splmters did not seriously affect them. Those pits are still to be seen, though, of course, in the lapse of time thev have been partly filled in by the crumbling earth and vegetation. The British force constructed several redoubts, some right close to the pa, and the work, which was done under the superintendence of the Royal Engineers, was attended with great' risk, as the Maoris from their cover kept up a constant fire, which, foruiiatelv for the. pakehas, was not always straight. Finding they could not stop the' work, nor silence the guns, the Maoris endeavoured by stratagem to turn the right flank of the British, and to this end showered a heavy fire from the neighbouring hills and whilst the attention of the British was directed to this, thev would open a sudden fire on their right rear from the adjoining bush. Every post, however, was so well guarded by skirmishers of the various regiments, that the attempts of the Maoris were invariably frustrated. V\ hen everything was ready for the final assault, up went the white flag. A truce was called, terms agreed upon, and the -Maoris (with their tongues in their fhceks, no doubt) filed out of their formidable stronghold, and wended their way to their homes. So ended the first chapter of the Taranaki Maori war. iliere are other chapters with which we are not concerned at the moment. A whole volume might be written of the happenings at and near Puke-rangiora. '" I 0 ** *™ d , ? ntp European days. The place '* tidl of historical interest, one .of the <>»>.(■ picturesque spotg in the provi and weh wortn a visit fro]u <!'''Hs and tourists anxious to see the aUr.vt.ons of the "Garden of New Zea-