endeavoured to shoot him down. Two soldiers had the courage to stand by him, and for a quarter of an hour they kept the enemy at bay without being hit, though they were exposed to a constant fire from a distance of only thirty yards. Several of the Maories were wounded, and carried off by their companions; the brave little band, anxious but not discouraged, still continued to hold out. The amount of danger incurred by Sergeant Lucas may be learned from the following incident:—The tree behind which he found shelter had several creepers suspended from its top; a bullet from the bush hit one of these creepers and cut it in two at the distance of a few inches from his head. If the Maoris had been better marksmen the whole of the little party must have perished, and the wounded men have fallen into the hands of a relentless foe; but in moments of excitement the natives fire wildly, without taking aim at any particular object. It was to this fortunate circumstance that Sergeant Lucas and his two followers owed their lives; the enemy were excited, and so fired without precision. As it was, they were enabled not only to continue their resistance, but also to inflict considerable loss on the enemy. For a quarter of an hour the unequal combat was kept up till a party under Lieutenants Gibson and Whelan came up to their assistance, on which the enemy retired. Only one of the three wounded men recovered, and Lieutenant Rees, in consequence of the severity of his wounds, was obliged to return to England. It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of Sergeant Lucas’s gallant conduct on this trying occasion; he prevented the bodies of his wounded comrades from falling into the hands of the enemy, and saved four stand of arms. Nor was this all: the moral consequences of his heroic resistance were soon evident. The next morning the white flag was hoisted by the natives, and this was the last engagement in the Taranaki war. In August, 1862, Colour-Sergeant Lucas was appointed sergeant-major of his regiment, and has continued ever since to discharge the duties of that office in such a way as to secure the confidence and esteem of his superior officers. His conduct was not overlooked or forgotten by the general in command. A full account of the affair was transmitted to the authorities at home, and the following notice appeared in the _London Gazette_ of the 19th of July, 1861:—