You may have some difficulty in understanding why troopers should of necessity be hard swearers. Let me explain. The bad habit comes from driving pack-horses, most of which beasts of burden are mules, and pack-mules, like transport oxen, will not do their work without being comforted and encouraged by the most awful language, stock whips by themselves being useless; so even the most religiously brought-up young men acquire this habit and stick to it. It was in the beginning of July that Colonel McDonnell assumed supreme command and it was officially announced that the regular troops were to render no further service in the field, but were to evacuate the country at their earliest convenience. We now therefore began to look out for sharp work, as our O.C. was not the man to let the fern sprout without doing something, and although it was winter, and bitterly cold, we knew that his theory of native warfare was to fight winter and summer, wet or fine, cold or hot, day or night, until the resistance of the Hau Haus should be overcome. In this he was quite right, for although it entailed great hardships on us, with probably a heavy loss of men, still it would cause more loss to the enemy, as the fighting would be in their country. Their pahs and villages would be burnt, their food-supplies would be looted and destroyed, their women and children would have to starve in the bush, and they would also lose a lot of men. This they could not afford to do and we could; for, should we lose a hundred men in an engagement, we could enlist a hundred more, but should they lose a hundred they had no surplus stock from which to replace them. [Illustration: FIELDING UNDER DIFFICULTIES--LOST BALL] The Colonel knew the Hau Haus well. He knew it must be war to the knife and that no peace was possible with mad fanatics whose one belief was to slay every white man and even all their own countrymen who refused to accept the absurd Pai Marire faith. There is no doubt that had the Colonel been allowed to carry out this policy the colony would have been spared at least two years of bloodshed and expense, but in every country where the Union Jack flies there is always a gang of rotters, peace-at-any-price men, nigger lovers, pro-Boers, pro anything, so long as it is against their own flag, and New Zealand, like all others, was cursed with such a mob. However I had nothing to do with politics and was delighted when the Colonel, a few days after he had taken over the command, moved his headquarters and the bulk of the forces to Manawapou, some fifteen miles nearer our old battle-grounds. Towards the end of the month the Colonel, escorted by a small party of troopers, rode to the Waingangora River, to interview We Hukanui, a neutral chief, so that he could ascertain through his medium whether the Hau Hau tribes wanted peace or war.