IN THE HANDS OF THE MAORIS.
BTORY OF THE THIRTIES WRECK OF THE HABEIET. \ RESCUE OF THE GUARDS. On the 29th April, 1834, the barque Harriet was wrecked near Cane Egmimt. The master. John Guard, his wife and two children and his crew of twentyeight men all got safely ashore. Eleven days later, according to Guard's story, their camp was overwhelmed by Maoris, twelve of the crew were kiPed and oaten; the rest, together with Guard, his wife, and the two children taken prisoners, and all the ship's boats but one, burnt. Thirty years of intercourse with the Pakeha had taught the Maori that a pakeha prisoner alive, and held for ransom might be more profitable than if killed and served as a roast, for the ransom could and would be expressed in firearms and ammunition, the advent of which had so revolutionised tribal warfare. Consequently Guard was able to induce the Maoris 'to allow him and some of the crew to leave by the ship's boat to bring back a barrel of powder, as ransom for the others. Three Maoris accompanied Guard, and the rest of the prisoners, including Mrs. Guard and the children, were held as hostages. In Port Nicholson (Wellington), Guard arranged with the master of the schooner, Joseph, whether to bring them back with the ransom, but rough weather prevented them returning to the little known and dangerous coast of Taranaki. They therefore made for Port Jackson, reaching Sydney about the middle of August, Guard immediately applied to the governor of N.S.W. for the rescue of the prisoners held by the Maoris, and H.M.S. Alligator was detailec 1 for the purpose. Her commander's instructions were to do so by amicable means if possible, but to use force if necessary. DEEP DISGUST. The surgeon of H.M.S. Alligator was William Barrett Marshall, a oilier who had visited Xew Zealand in the Alligator some few months previously, wheu the warship paid an official visit to the Bar of Islands. Whilst there Mr. Marshall paid special attention to the results of missionary enterprise. This report shows great admiration for the efforts of the missionaries, and a deep disgust with the conduct of those of his countrymen, trafficing in liquor and firearms, the effect of which was to more than nullify the good work of the missions. For the Maori as a race, Mr. Marshall had a very deep sympathy, and the method adopted in the rescue rif the "Harriet" prisoners culled forth his sternest condemnation. Making due allowance for his undoubted bias. Mr. Marshall's narrative is an exceedingly interesting one, and to some who have' heard of the old time Taranaki Maori as only a bloodthirsty, treacherous and cruel foe, may show that all the faults were not always on the part of the Maori.
Quite early in the Alligator's journey Mr .Marshall found cause to complain* that the three Maoris who had accompanied Guard to Sydney were ,being terrified by assurances that as soon as they reached Taranaki, they would be hanged, decapitated, and eaten in the full sight'of their tribe. Probnblv only a thoughtless jest, but, to the sympathetic soul, a relinement of petty persecution which no Britisher should'tolerate. ARRIVAL OFF TARANAKI COAST. The Alligator, with a detachment of the uflth Regiment aboard, and the schooner Isabella, with another detachment aboard, arrived off the Taranaki Coast on the 12th September. The interpreter (Battesbyl and a pilot (Miller) were landed near the Te Namu (nesT Opunake) pah to inform the Maoris of the Alligator's mission that no ransom would be given for the prisoners, and the consequences which would follow if no amicable settlement were made. The ships proceeded northwards, and an unsuccessful effort was made to negotiate with the Maoris from the Riunyitnapeka pah for the unconditional surrender of the prisoners. The failure of ths.se negotiations was. Mr. Marshall say*, because Guard, who claimed, to he able to interpret, was in reality quite ignorant of the Maori language. A few days later Battesby and Miller were taken aboard again. They were lrorn and woebegone. They had been 'scared out of Te Namu pah the night they were landed there. They attempted to reach Waimate pah, at the mouth of the Kapuni river, Manaia, but were agivin too frightened to enter it. Being afraid to return to Te Namu either, they took to the bush and nearly starved, Ultimately they ventured into the Waimate Pa, but fear, hunger and fatigue had done their work, and, instead of delivering the message sent, they promised ;ihat a barrel of powder, etc, would be given as ransom for the prisoners. On the strength of this promise, and that opportunities for barter with the Alligator would be given them, the Maoris promised to bring Mrs. Guard and her children down to Te Namu in readiness to be given up when the Alligatoi' made her next visit.
After a nm to Port Hardy (Nelson), the Alligator arrived at Motiiroa on the -Ist September. Here the four Maoris who accompanied (iuard to Sydney, and had been brought back on the Alligator, were landed. They were given presents of old muskets, powder, etc., and evidently Igave a favorable report of their treatment, ami the boat which landed them brought back eight of the survivors from the Harriet, looking thin and povertystriken after their four months' captivity. Apart from scantiness of food and clothing, l hey had no complaints against their captors. Apparently—though Mr. Marshall's narralive is not quite clear on Ibis point —Hie Alligator and Isabella then proceeded in Waimaie Bay (Day of Islands), and news was brought aboard that Mrs. (4uard and one of the children had been brought to Te Narnu pa in readiness to be given up in payment of the ransom promised liv Battesby and Miller. ' } i PROMISES NOT HONORED. I | Hitherto the engagements' made by the Maoris appear to have been honored in every respect, but apparently the commander of the Alligator determined not to honor the promises made by his missionaries, and preparations were made to land a force at Te Naimi Weather prevented this for a day or two, but at length the military and marines were put ashore. As they were falling in'on the beach, with crowds of natives on the cliffs above, watching them, two natives, quite unarmed, advanced towards the soldiers. One of them exclaimed that he "owned" the woman and child, and in token of his annuity, rubbed noses with Guard, at the same time expressing liis readiness to give up his prisoners on receipt of the ransom promised. In reply, says Mr Marshall,' he was instantly' »eiz'«d
upon as a prisoner, dragged into a boat, and despatched to the Alligator in. custody of Guard and his sailors. On his brief passage to the boat, insult followed insult, one fellow twisting his ear, another pulling his long hair with'spiteful violence, a third pricking him with the point of a bayonet. Thrown to the bottom of the boat, she was shoved off before be recovered himself, wbcn he had no sooner succeeded in doing, thau he jumped overboard, and attempted to swim ashore, to prevent which, he was frequently fired upon from the boat, but not until he had been shot in the leg was he again made a.prisoner. Having been a second time secured, he was lashed to a thwart, and stabbed and struck so repeatedly, that, on reaching the Alligator, he was only able to gain the deck by a strong effort, and there, after staggering a few paces, fainted and fell down at the foot of the captain in a gore of blood. When I dressed his wounds, I found ten inflicted by the point and edge of the bayonet, over his head and face, one in his breast which, it was at first feared, would prove what it was evidently intended to have proved .a mortal thrust; and another in the leg." In the meantime, two more natives, who came with goods to barter with the soldiers ou the beach, were taken prisoner, but both escaped. The soldiers pushed on towards Te Namu pah, which they found deserted, happenings on the beach having comp3etely scared the Maoris. Two parties were' formed to pursue the Maoris, when a double alarm was raised that a body of armed natives were seen in the swamp below the pah, and that an attack had been made upon the boat?. Both were true, and for the time being, the boats were abandoned, the men in charge streaking along the beach. Fortunately for the landing partv, the boats although ransacked, were not destroyed.
MAORIS ESCAPE WITH PRISONERS,
The party of Maoris with Mrs Guard and child in custody, had escaped as the military entered the pah, and pursuit of them proved ineffectual. Leaving a strong guard on the cliffs, the soldiers returned to the pah, where after a wet and comfortless afternoon, the men camp- ! d f ,° f , the " ight in the Maori whares. At daybreak the next morning another party went out to reconnoitre, but after marching for an hour, finding the nearest native huts were still ten miles away they cime back to the pah. Just as they returned, news was brought of a considerable number of Maoris bein* to the northward of the pah, and it was decided to try and interview them. Accordingly two officers and four sailors set off with the interpreter, and after a long walk came up with the -Maoris The interpreter was-sent to talk to them, but was soon observed to be running away from them. Surgeon Marshall advanced to meet him, and finding he was really only scared bv his own fears, returned with him unarmed, to resume the conference with the Maoris. Confidence begets confidence, and the Maoris informed them that Mrs. Guard had been taken back to Waimate (Rangituapeka) pah. They laughed at the idea of the soldiers capturing that fortress, and bitterly complained of our treatment of O-o-hit. the chief who had been captured and treated ' so. shamefully, and whom they declared had been murdered. Nothing would convince them to the contrary. Even an offer to exchange O-o-hit for the European prisoners wa9 declined, and the conference closed. BURNING OP TE NAMU. The officer commanding the military then decided to burn'the Te Namu pah. ■This was done, and the whole partv then re-embarked, arid the ships moved down to the coast towards the Waimate pah. Arriving there about the next day, large numbers of natives were seen on the heights and on the 'beach. Mrs Guard and her child were brought to the beach by their keepers, and she very pluckily warned IHiose on the boats to keep off, the Maoris' intention being to induce the soldiers to land, and then repay treachery r with treachery. The war haka was danced, and all things considered it was deemed wisest to return to the ships, first putting ashore a native from the Te Namu "pah, who had voluntarily assisted the Alligator, in the hope that he would convince the Maoris that O-o-hit was not dead, and that if an amicable settlement were not made, the ships possessed the means of spreading destruction along the coast, and of razing to the ground, all the Maori defences. The following day O-o-hit was himself sent ashore, anil from the boat, he harangued the Maoris on the beach. Great was his welcome. No time was losf in putting Mrs. Guard and her child into a canoe and from that into the ship's boat.
TWO TERRIBLE DAYS.
On board the Alligator, she told the story of tha last two terrible days. On the arrest of O-o-hit she was rolled down the cliff and dragged along the northern bank of the river to the Rangituapeka pah. In the belief that O-o-hit had been murdered, one of her guard snapped his musket at her, but luckily it missed lire, and by intervention of the chief, her life was spared. Apart from this threat her treatment had been good. , Although there was still one more prisoner to release, it was jus.tly considered that in obtaining Mrs. Ouard's release, 'O-o-hit had kept his word, and he was given presents and sent ashore. Many natives rushed into the sea to welcome him, and as he reached the shore, set up a dance of welcome, WARSHIP OPENS FIRE. So completely liad friendship been established that some Maoris were actually bartering wiih. the sailors in the boats, but this was stopped, as tininterpreter (Battesby) reported signs of hostility amongst the Maoris on the beach. The boats therefore returned to Hie ship, having arranged with the Maoris that a messenger should be sent to the "owner" of the last prisoner (Mrs. Guard's little boy), with a demand for his release. A reply was promised that afternoon. As the boat conveying an ollicer to receive this reply neared the beach, a bullet was fired over It and a war dance was observed on the bench. The boat immediately returned to th; Alligator. The beach and pah were then bombarded. In vain did the Maoris, waving a white flag produce to the ship's view, the little hoy prisoner. The bombardment continued until every thing- in sight had been destroyed, and unknown damage done to the pah itself. A STERN COMPARISON. Whether the fatal musket ball which caused all the firing in our indignation of England's insulted flag was really fired in defiance or not, is hard to say. Surgeon Marshall thinks it was not, as he says it was the Maoris' habit to discharge his musket in the air when approaching a friend, but to reserve their ' fire when advancing on enemies. He draws a very stera aafvu'wen b«tw\' in
' the conduct of -the Mkiori "savages" and that of the "Christian" British. "The former Ibeheld their chief kidnapped, stabbed, struck, fired upon, carried into captivity, and, for aught they knew to the contrary, murdered—but they murdered not the innocent "woman and her two children in revenge, and they did not oven ill-treat her for the injury done by her countrymen on her behalf. We heard, but felt it not, saw, but were struck not by it; as a solitary musket ball whizzed over our heads, and in the pride of our indignation poured down in reply a thunderstorm of shot—round, grape, and-canister—-upon a town which, for aught we knew. or felt, or cared, might have contained scores, many hundreds, of women and children. Oh Shame, Shame, Shame!" THE BOY RESCUED. After a few'days at Port Hardy, the Alligator returned to Waimate, and made a formal demand for the little boy's release. For two days these demands were made from time to time without success, and on the third day six officers and 112 men, with a sixpounder cannonade, were landed about two miles south east of Rangituapeka pah. A boat-ful of sailors under the first lieutenant was sent to the pah, carrying a flag of truce, whilst the soldiers disembarked. Most of the latter had climbed to the top of the cliff, dragging the guns with them, when some of the Maoris advanced to confer. A SANGUINARY. OUTRAGE. / They offered to resign their prisoner forthwith, and the soldiers were halted above, and the sailors below the cliff. After some delays procession, headed by a chief, carrying the little boy, with O-o-hit not far behind him, was seen coming along the beach. Suddenly a sailor was observed running with the boy in his arms along the beach, and the next moment firing commenced among the, sailors on the beach. This was immediately followed by a fire from the soldiers on the cliff, and "in utter breach of all faith, for the British flag of truce was flying at the time, and in an utter breach of. discipline, volley after volley was poured upon the too credulous and too confiding Maoris below." In vain the officers ran up and down the lines ordering, imploring, threatening, doing everything possible to stop the firing which had begun not only without, but contrary to and in direct disobedience of the express and ■positive orders that the Maoris were to pass unmolested if they gave up the child. This they had done, not a single demand had been uncomplied with, and the distress and anguish of the officers at this sanguinary outrage can scarcely be imagined. At \ngth firing ceased, and it was determined to re-embark at once. Wliilsfj this was proceeding a Maori fired at the British officers and the order to advance was given at once: After an exhausting march, but with no serious opposition, the Waimate and Rangituapeka pahs were occupied and subsequently burnt. Such is the brief outline of a melancholy and sordid story. Probably there were factors on the British side' of the scale, but, J>e that as it may, it is to the efforts of men like Marshall,] whose very pride of nice makes them wince from anything like unfair treatment of a dependent race, that Britons to-day can claim that their overlordship of such races the world over is the wisest and the most single-minded government civilisation has produced, i
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Taranaki Daily News, 24 December 1920, Page 9 (Supplement)
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2,859IN THE HANDS OF THE MAORIS. Taranaki Daily News, 24 December 1920, Page 9 (Supplement)
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