ENOKA.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 86, 18 January 1872, Page 3

ENOKA.

To the Eilit-'f of the Thames GUARDIAN. Sir, —l am not much of a scribe, so if I should make any mistakes you will correct them. I am one of the Tauranga military settlers, and, when our regiment was disbanded, I tried, along with others,

the gum diggings, on land that I was told belonged to Government, and which is not far off the land which was given us for our services. We started with a month’s supply for the gum-field, and were doing very well, when, all at once, that wretch of a Alaori, called Enoka, whom you say in this day’s paper cut the telegraph poles last week, at Te Tahawai, in Tauranga, came up to us, and ordered us off, which we did not feci disposed at the time to obey, telling hinvthat we had as good a right ns he had there. He used a good deal of bounce; and, finding that did not take effect, he threatened to take our gum, our boat, and traps. 'This roused up all our “ monkey,” and we dared him to do his worst, but bo was not game just then ; but, as be was going away, lie said a very good deal about “ Tailioa,”’ which we all well understood.

After being away about a week, lie again comes back, bringing with him a mob of as black-looking wretches as lie could have picked out of h —. One of them could speak good English, and pointed out to us a young fellow whom he said was William Thompson's son, of Waikato, and who had been sent by King Tawliiao to rob us and then drive us away, because we bad not listened to the word of Enoka. They were all armed, and looked a determined sort of villians. All the time this korero was going on we never spoke. Night came on, and just as we were turning in for a snooze, the interpreter, as we called him, with Thompson’s son, whom they called Ilote, came to us and appeared very friendly. They told us that it had been agreed amongst them that if we would consent to pay Enoka cighteenpeiicc for every hundred weight of gum which we had, or might dig, they would say no more to us. To this we at last asserted, in order to get quietly away and lay tho matter before the magistrate, whom,we thought,would do us justice,and not only get our money back for us but protection for future diggings, because we were making good wages —about ten to twelve shilling a day. In this we were disappointed, for in place of obtaining sympathy from this official, he in words said that it had served us right if they had stripped us of everything we had for daring to go into a country of Hauhaus (Enoka, and about a dozen of outlaws, ainonst whom was Tahau, one of the Opcpc murderers.) AVe appealed to this gentleman of the bench, and asked him what we were to do, as it was not safe to go on our lauds, to which lie professed sorrow, but said lie bad no power to help or advise us. Sir, I have it in for this wretch of a villain, Enoka; and had he been properly dealt with years ago the present telegraph troubles in Tauranga would have been avoided, and the country would long ago have been settled.—l am, &c.,

Military Settler Graharnstown, Jam 17, 1372.