REPORTS FROM OFFICERS

A.—No. 10.

30

arms. Some of the women and children went, but others went to sleep again ; in the meantime nine of my people went towards Cadle's to see what had happened. I followed them, and as we neared the house we saw a number of men in good clothes standing about. They called to us to ' come on ;' we halted, then turned back, and the Hauhaus fired a volley, without hitting any one. AVe ran, and the second volley killed Hoera, and wounded another in tbe arm. I hurried to my place, got a horse, and snatching up my youngest child, rode away ;my wife and other children had left before me. AVe went to Oeta, Tamihana's pa; the party who had fired at us rushed on to my pa, and took a number of prisoners—Piripi, his wife, and five children, and Pera, were set apart, and then shot and sworded. Tiopira and Paora, Chatham Islanders, who had been left sick at AVhareongaonga, Maria Morete (wife of Pera) and child, Heni and child, Ema and three children, were spared, and so were all the people of Patutahi, Taureka, and AVahanui, about seventy in number; the first-named was surprised before the attack on the Europeans, and the main body stayed there while Te Kooti and about thirty surprised Matawhero. A Native from AVahanui met Kempthorne, and told him what was going on. " I met Captain AVestrup at Oeta; he said, It is no use staying here, for the pa is not in a state of defence ;I am going on with the women and children towards the AVairoa. Tamihana tried to rouse his people to put the pa in order, but the Hauhau section of them got rum out of the houses of the Europeans, and some made themselves drunk; as Tamihana could not do anything he got drunk too. This state of things lasted for several days. Hape sent a letter to Turanganui for a steamer. In the mean time Matawhero was being sacked and burnt, but Te Kooti wrote to Tamihana, Paratene, and other chiefs, that they had nothing to fear. News also reached us that all the roads were occupied, and no one could escape, and that if I did not give myself up the pa would be taken next day, and I would be sworded. There were no boats or canoes by which I could escape, so I decided upon surrendering. My uncle, Himiona, would go too, although he knew that he would not be spared. I tried to dissuade him. AVe went to Patutahi, and found that the story about the roads was not true. Te Kooti gave me tho option of returning with my people to Matawhero. I suspected him, and said, No, I will follow you. I heard after, that if I had consented we should all have been killed. " Paratene visited Te Kooti at Patutahi, and they made an agreement in writing not to interfere with each other. Te Kooti said, 'If I break the treaty, your coj>y shall be a sword to slay me; and if you break it, my copy shall be a sword to slay you.' Paratene answered, 'It is well'; and Te Kooti took off his hat, bowed, and said,' Amen.' We had been three days at Patutahi when Himiona, AVi Rangiwhaitiri, and Paora Patahuri, were taken out on the pretence of being put on sentry, and shot, and then pierced with swords. The same day Te Kooti entered Paratene's pa with a strong force, and took all the inmates prisoners. Paratene, Renata, Whakari, Hira Hokopu, Iharaira Hokopu, aud another whose name I have forgotten, were at once separated from the others, and shot. They were all well-known Government Natives. The next day Natana, who went to Patutahi with Paratene, and had been detained by Te Kooti to take care of his child, was shot. At this time we were at Pukepuke, well guarded. Most of the events described were not witnessed by me, but there was no attempt at secrecy. A large force were employed collecting stock of all kinds. A party of 25 were sent to Kempthorne's and Poynter's runs for cattle ; they were returning by Patutahi, and fell in with a small party of Government Natives, who fired on them, killing two, viz. Harawira Naku and Riwai Patete. Te Kooti said it was their own fault, as they were too fond of the things of this world. The Hauhau force at this time amounted to about 300 men, besides women and children; the prisoners, many of whom are red Hauhaus, amounted to perhaps 300, including women and children. Of Te Kooti's own force, perhaps 200 are armed with Enfields or breech-loading carbines ; they have also numbers of swords aud revolvers. Having collected a quantity of stock, the Hauhaus and their prisoners marched at a slow pace for Makihoi, an old pa above AVaikohu on the Opotiki road, distant upwards of thirty miles from Turanga, Te Kooti's intention being to make it his head-quarters on account of its excellent position— Opotiki, Waiapu, and Turanga, all being within a moderate distance. At the time Te Kooti made inquiries of the Urewera about the roads to Opotiki and Tireri, Hoani Tauwehi answered that the roads were very good; he also asked what character AViremu Kingi of Ngaitai bore, and the Urewera said, 'He has often been out with the Pakeha to fight, and it is said that he caused the death of Rakuraku's mother.' Kooti said, If this is true, Jehovah will curse him. On the 24th of November, while we were encamped at the head of AVharekopae Stream, at the foot of Paeroa Mountain, we were attacked in the forenoon by the Government Natives; the fight lasted all day, and two of To Kooti's men were killed, and about ten wounded; he took care not to expose himself, and was very busy serving out ammunition ;he complained that his stock of it was being expended very fast. About 7 o'clock p.m., I asked him to permit me to take the women and children into the ranges for safety ; he consented. I mustered my own people, and we started up the bed of a stream; we had to leave Paora Matuakore with his wife, who was very ill. By morning my party had decreased from thirty to fifteen. For five davs we wandered among the mountains without being able to increase our distance more than a few miles. For four days we heard firing, and on the fifth we got to Tapuihikitia, which is at the head ofthe Turanga plain. From here I sent Maria Morete and Horiana, with two children, to Turanganui. In the evening, while catching horses, we heard firing not far off, near AVaikohu, and struck into the bush by the Karnakama road. In five days we reached Torere, having been ten days in the bush; our food during that time consisted of fifty pounds of flour, and whatever we could collect—such as eels and Tawa berries. The party consisted of myself, my wife Arapera, our three children, Tamati, a AVairarapa man, two children of Himiona's, one of Tiopira Tawhi's children, and Ilakopa and Paora of Ngaitai, who had been to Turanga with a letter to Major Biggs." I have endeavoured as nearly as possible to give this account in the narrator's own words. In answer to questions, AVi Pere imformed me that there were about thirty Ureweras with Te Kooti. These men were from Maungapowhatu, under the chiefs Te Amo and Hoani Tauweke. Kooti had sent messengers to the Ruatahuna people to join him, and also to Matutaera. He said of the latter, that if he persisted in keeping aloof, he would be cursed by Jehovah, who would command him (Te Kooti) to march to Tokangamutu, and put Matutaera and all his people to the sword. He also said that it was not his intention to attack Auckland, AVellington, and Napier for the present, but when he cleared the small settlements, the large ones would fall into his hands ; that he would never