For information and assistance in regard to various engagements in Titokowaru's war I am indebted to Colonel W. E. Gudgeon, C.M.G., Colonel T. Porter, C.B., and other old Colonial soldiers. Tutangé Waionui, of Patea, who was one of Titokowaru's most active scouts and warriors, has given me many details concerning the campaign from the Maori side; and the Rev. T. G. Hammond, Wesleyan Missionary to the Taranaki Maoris, has also furnished assistance on the same subject. To Mrs. Kettle, of Napier, daughter of Major von Tempsky, I owe my thanks for permission to reproduce three of the illustrations in this book, copies of water-colour sketches by her celebrated father, representing scenes in the Taranaki campaign of 1865-6. The picture of the fight at Moturoa in 1868 is from a black-and-white sketch by a soldier-artist who took part in the engagement; the original was in the possession of the late Dr. T. M. Hocken, of Dunedin, who allowed me to have it photographed for this book.

J. C.

Wellington, N.Z.,
Feb. 1, 1911.


[CONTENTS]

[CHAPTER I]
THE DESERTERPages
On the banks of the Tangahoé—The runaway soldier—A Maori scout—Off to the rebel camp1-6
[CHAPTER II]
KIMBLE BENT, SAILOR AND SOLDIER
Kimble Bent's early life—An Indian mother—Service in the American Navy—Departure for England—"Taking the Shilling"—British Army life—The flight to America—A sinking ship—Rescue, and landing in Glasgow—Back to the Army again—Soldiering in India—The 57th ordered to New Zealand—The Taranaki Campaign—A court-martial—At the triangles7-21
[CHAPTER III]
THE CAMP OF THE HAUHAUS
In the Maori country—Arrival at a Hauhau pa—Maori village scenes—The ceremonies round the sacred flagstaff—"Riré,riré, hau!"—The man with the tomahawk—A white slave—The painted warriors of Keteonetea—The blazing oven22-33
[CHAPTER IV]
IN THE OTAPAWA STOCKADE
The return from Keteonetea—The hill-fort at Otapawa—A korero with the Hauhaus—Bent's one-eyed wife—"The wooing o' 't"—Bent is christened "Ringiringi"34-42
[CHAPTER V]
TE UA, PRIEST AND PROPHET
Te Ua and his gods—The Pai mariré faith—" Charming" the British bullets—Bent's interview with the prophet—His life tapu'd—Preparing for battle—Life in the forest pa43-54
[CHAPTER VI]
THE STORMING OF OTAPAWA
British forces attack the stockade—The bayonet charge—Flight of the Hauhaus—Through the forest by torchlight—Doctoring the wounded—The tangi by the river55-65
[CHAPTER VII]
BUSH LIFE WITH THE HAUHAUS
Wild days in the forest—The Hauhau hunters—Maori wood-craft— Bird-snaring and bird-spearing—The fowlers at Te Ngaere—The slayer of Broughton—Another runaway soldier, and his fate—The tomahawking of Humphrey Murphy66-77
[CHAPTER VIII]
THE HAUHAU COUNCIL-TOWN
Life in Taiporohenui—A great praying-house—The ritual of the Niu—Singular Hauhau chants—"Matua Pai mariré"—Bent's new owner, and his new wife—The tattooers—Another white renegade78-91
[CHAPTER IX]
A FOREST ADVENTURE
The two eel-fishers—Bivouac in the bush—A murderous attack—The Waikato's tomahawk—"Ringiringi's" escape92-101
[CHAPTER X]
THE WAR-CHIEF AND HIS GODS
The war-chief Titokowaru—Ancient ceremonies and religion revived—Uenuku, the god of battle—Titokowaru's mana-tapu—Bent makes cartridges for the Hauhaus—A novel weapon102-107
[CHAPTER XI]
"THE BEAK-OF-THE-BIRD"
The stockade at Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu—In the Wharé-kura—Singular Hauhau war-rites—The "Twelve Apostles"—The enchanted taiaha—The heart of the pakeha: a human burnt-offering—An ambuscade and a cannibal feast108-118
[CHAPTER XII]
THE ATTACK ON TURUTURU-MOKAI REDOUBT
Hauwhenua's war-party—A night march—Attack on Turuturu-Mokai Redoubt—A heroic defence—The heart of the captain—Touch-and-go—Relief at last119-133
[CHAPTER XIII]
THE KILLING OF KANE
Bent and Kane brought before Titokowaru—Kane's flight—Captured by the Hauhaus—A traitor's end134-138
[CHAPTER XIV]
ADVENTURES AT TE NGUTU-O-TE-MANU
In the midst of dangers—Bent stalked by Hauhaus—Old Jacob to the rescue—"Come on if you dare!"—The white man's new Maori name—Government forces attack and burn Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu—A new use for hand-grenades139-144
[CHAPTER XV]
A BATTLE IN THE FOREST; AND THE DEATH OF VON TEMPSKY
The second fight at Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu—Titokowaru's prophecy—Tutangé and his sacred war-mat—Bent's narrow escape—Government forces defeated—How von Tempsky fell—A terrible retreat—Colonial soldiers' gallant rear-guard fight145-179
[CHAPTER XVI]
THE CANNIBALS OF THE BUSH
After the battle—The slain heroes of Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu—A terrible scene on the marae—What Bent saw from his prison-hut—The sword of "Manu-rau"—A funeral pyre—Priestly incantations—A soldier's body eaten—Why the Hauhaus became cannibals180-194
[CHAPTER XVII]
SKIRMISHING AND FORT-BUILDING
Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu abandoned—On the march again—Skirmishing on the Patea—Pakeha in pickle—A new stockade—Bent the pa-builder195-200
[CHAPTER XVIII]
THE FIGHT AT MOTUROA STOCKADE
Kātené's vigil—Attack on the stockade—Major Hunter's death—A Hauhau warrior's desperate feat—Over the palisades—Government forces repulsed—A rear-guard fight—An unanswered prayer—Scenes of terror—Tihirua's burnt-offering—A soldier's body eaten201-225
[CHAPTER XIX]
THE TAURANGA-IKA STOCKADE
Another fighting-pa built—Scouting and skirmishing—The watcher on the tower—McDonnell and Titokowaru—How Trooper Lingard won the New Zealand Cross—Hairbreadth escapes—Pairama and the white man's leg226-239
[CHAPTER XX]
A SCOUTING ADVENTURE
The passage of the Okehu—A night's vigil—Mackenzie the scout—"Maoris in the bush!"—The watchers in the fern—A race for life240-254
[CHAPTER XXI]
THE FALL OF TAURANGA-IKA
Shot and shell—The fort abandoned—Flight of the Hauhaus—The chase—The fight at Karaka Flat—Mutilation of the dead—The ambuscade at the peach-grove—The sergeant's leg—Rewards for Hauhau heads255-261
[CHAPTER XXII]
THE FOREST-FORAGERS
Fugitive Hauhaus—Hard times in the bush—The eaters of mamaku—Bent's adventure—Lost in the woods—Rupó to the rescue—The tapu'd eels262-269
[CHAPTER XXIII]
A BATTLE IN THE FOG
The surprise of Otautu—An early morning attack—Kimble Bent's dream—"Kia tupato!"—A gallant defence—Brave old Hakopa—Flight of the Hauhaus270-276
[CHAPTER XXIV]
THE HEAD-HUNTERS
The skirmish at Whakamara—Hauhaus on the run—Government head-hunters—Major Kemp's white scout—Sharp work in the bush—Barbarism of the Whanganui—Kupapas—Smoke-drying the heads—A present for Whitmore—The heads on the tent floor—End of the war277-292
[CHAPTER XXV]
THE LAND OF REFUGE
The flight from Rukumoana—Retreat to the Waitara—The Kawau pa—Life in the Ngatimaru country—Rupé and his white man—A Maori Donnybrook fair—A tale of a taniwha293-305
[CHAPTER XXVI]
BUSH LIFE ON THE PATEA
The return to Rukumoana—The forest-village—Bird-snaring and bird-spearing—Bent the canoe-builder—His third wife306-310
[CHAPTER XXVII]
HIROKI: THE STORY OF A FUGITIVE
Hiroki, the slayer of McLean—Strange faces at Rukumoana—A forest chase—A meeting and a warning—Hiroki's wild bush life and his end311-320
[CHAPTER XXVIII]
OUT OF EXILE
Canoeing on the Patea—The voyage to Hukatéré—The white man's world again—Bent the medicine-man—Makutu, or the Black Art—Bent's later days—The end321-332
[ Appendix]333-336

[LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS]