Old New Zealand: A Tale of the Good Old Times: And a History of the War in the North against the Chief Heke, in the Year 1845Maning, Frederick Edward
History
Old New Zealand: A Tale of the Good Old Times: And a History of the War in the North against the Chief Heke, in the Year 1845
Maning, Frederick Edward
Māori (New Zealand people) -- Social life and customs; New Zealand -- Description and travel
Now in the morning before daylight, an old slave woman went out from
the pa of Walker to pick up sticks for firewood. And there was a thick
fog lying close to the ground; and before the old woman had gone far
she saw a black line of something coming out of a cloud of fog, and as
she was wondering what this might be, she suddenly perceived that it
was a _taua_ of armed men, and they had got within fifty fathoms of
the pa,[32] so she cried aloud the cry of alarm--_Te Whakaariki e! Te
Whakaariki e!_--and instantly the people in the pa were alarmed,
started from sleep, and with their arms in their hands rushed
hurriedly to defend the gates. Then Walker called out to Te Tao Nui,
"Remain you here and defend our pa, and I will go out and fight." Then
Walker and his people rushed against the enemy. And when they were
doing this, another party of the enemy appeared at the opposite side
of the pa. Of this party the old chief Te Kahakaha was the leader.
Then, when Te Tao Nui saw this division and their numbers, which were
great, he said--"Now we have the enemy in full view; there are no more
of them in concealment." So he opened the gates on his side of the pa,
and rushed out with his people, and called out to charge. So Walker
charged at one side of the pa, and Tao Nui and his people on the
other. Walker being opposed to Heke, and Tao Nui to Te Kahakaha, the
fight began, and this was the greatest battle in the war. The best men
of both parties were there, and Heke was very desirous to destroy
Walker in one great fight before the soldiers should return; and
Walker, on his side, wished to show that he could fight Heke without
the aid of the soldiers. So now Walker charged Heke, and Heke fired
like thunder against Walker. I, your friend, was there! and as we
rushed on, Karere Horo was killed (he was our mad priest); and Taketu
was killed, and Te Turi, and Hangarau, and about nine others; and
Takare had both his eyes shot out, and Wi Repa and his brother, and
Hakaraia, the chief of the Ngati Pou, and a great many others, were
wounded. By the time all these people were killed or wounded, we were
close up to Heke's people, and began to fire. Heke's men being so
near, and standing too close together, we did not miss them; we had
revenge for our friends who had fallen. We pressed Heke hard. Not one
of us remembered the light of this world, nor thought of life. Then
the enemy began to fall back, and we followed them close till we came
to a hill side, where they turned and charged us. But we fell back a
little then, and got behind the stone wall of a kumera field, and
fired at them from behind the low wall, and drove them back, having
killed and wounded several. They then returned to the hill-side, and
began firing at us from about fifty fathoms' distance; but we were
sheltered by the low stone wall. Then we heard Heke shouting out to
charge us again, and so down they came upon us again. They greatly
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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