Again he had at present under his command for a very limited space of time a field force on the bulk of which neither himself nor his officers could rely, and with which he was expected to work immediate miracles, and, as if all these circumstances were not enough to worry him to distraction, just at the moment his services were most in demand his only trusty spy, Katene, deserted and joined the Hau Haus, so that he was left without any reliable information to guide his movements. Therefore I am sure that several of the decisions he came to and acted upon would have been otherwise had not his keen judgment been obscured by manifold anxieties and worries more than even his strong and brave spirit could tolerate, and that on this occasion he was not in full possession of his brilliant fighting faculties. Anyhow, as something had to be done, he issued orders that a field force composed of two hundred white men and the seventy friendly natives should parade on the night of the 6th of September 1868. During the day every preparation was made, but alas when night fell the Tohungas (medicine men) discovered something had gone wrong with the moon and a star, an unfortunate occurrence, as it denoted the overthrow of the expedition, and the Maoris, who up to that time had been in a state of huge delight at the chance of a scrap, now hung back. In a moment the whole aspect of affairs was changed, as even Te Kepa and his best warriors begged the O.C. to postpone the taua (war party) for twenty-four hours. On any other occasion I am sure he would have done so, as the Colonel was always most anxious not to run counter with the superstitions of our valuable allies, but the irritated, overdriven man was inexorable, and issued orders that the expedition should start that very night, let the moon and star shine as unpropitiously as they darned well pleased. At this decision the hearts of the Maori warriors became very dark indeed, and they held a meeting so as to discuss what on earth should be done. They were all keen for a fight, but it was flying in the face of Providence and courting disaster for themselves should they neglect such pregnant warning; so things looked very black, as should the Maoris refuse to march it was quite clear to all of us the impossibility of our proceeding.