Maori and Settler: A Story of The New Zealand War

The dog uttered another deep growl. A moment later there was a loud yell. A number of dark figures leapt from the edge of the bush and ran towards the house. They had made out Mr. Atherton's figure, and knew that their hope of surprising the place was at an end. Mr. Atherton levelled his rifle and fired, and one of the natives fell dead. Then stooping he quietly unfastened the dog's chain from his collar, telling Jack to do the same to the other dog, "Come into the house, sir," he ordered; "it's no use your being here to be shot."

His shot had been answered by a dozen rifles, but fired in haste as the men were running none of the bullets struck him. Four shots were fired almost simultaneously from the windows looking towards the bush, and three more natives fell. This proof of the accuracy of the defenders' shooting staggered the Maoris and they paused for a moment, then, moved by the exhortations of their chief, they again rushed forward. The whole of the defenders were now gathered at the windows facing them, and seven shots were fired in quick succession. Three natives fell dead. Four others were wounded, two so seriously that they had to be carried off by their comrades, who at once ran back to the bush, and from its edge opened a straggling fire against the house. The shutters that had been thrown open at the two windows were at once closed.

"This is what I call beating them off handsomely," Mr. Atherton said. "Now you see the advantage, Wilfrid, of the pains you have taken to learn to shoot straight. There have been only eleven shots fired, and I fancy there are at least ten casualties among them. I call that a very pretty average for young hands."

"What will they do next, do you think?" Mr. Renshaw asked.

"They will not try another open attack, I fancy. We may expect them to try to work round us. Jack, do you go to the other side of the house and keep a sharp look-out on the bush there. Wilfrid, you take post at the windows we fired from, and peep out from time to time through the loopholes in the shutters. Between times keep yourself out of the line of fire. The betting is a thousand to one against a bullet coming through, still there is no use in running any risk if it can be avoided. Jim Allen, you and I will take up our place at the back of the house; they may try to work up among the crops. In fact, I expect that is the course they will take unless they have had enough of it already. Bob Grimstone, you keep watch at one of the front windows. I don't think there is much chance of attack from that side, but it is as well to keep a look-out. Some of them may attempt to cross to the opposite bush, keeping down by the river. The other three guns will be in reserve."

"Don't you think they are likely to go away now that they have suffered so much loss?" Mrs. Renshaw asked.

"No, I cannot say I think so, Mrs. Renshaw. The Maoris, from what I have heard, always try to get revenge for the death of a kinsman or fellow-tribesman. Of course it depends how many of them there are. I should judge that there were about thirty showed themselves. If that is all there are of them I should say they would not attack again at present. They must know by our firing that there are seven or eight of us here. But I should not rely altogether even upon that, for the natives regard themselves as fully a match, man for man, with the whites, and in their fights with our troops we were often greatly superior in numbers. Still, it is one thing to defend a strong pah and another to attack resolute men snugly sheltered behind bullet-proof logs. They may try again, but if there are any more of their people within reasonable distance I fancy they will be more likely to send for them and keep a sharp watch round us until they come up. Now I will go to my post."

For a quarter of an hour the two watchers at the back of the house saw no signs of life. Then Mr. Atherton said: "There is a movement among that corn, Jim. Do you see, there – just in a line with that big tree at the other end of the clearing? It is moving in several places. Call your brother and young Grimstone to this side of the house, and do you all take steady aim at these moving patches. I will fire first. I think I can pretty well mark the spot where one of the fellows is making his way down. If I hit him the others are likely enough to start up. Then will be your time for taking a shot at them."

As soon as the others were in position and ready Mr. Atherton fired. There was a yell. A dark figure sprang up, stood for an instant, and then fell back. Almost at the same instant half a dozen others leapt to their feet and dashed away. Three rifles were fired. Two of the natives fell, but one almost immediately rose again and followed the others.

"You ought to have done better than that at a hundred yards," Mr. Atherton said. "You two lads ought to have practised a little more steadily than you have. It was Grimstone brought down that man. His rifle went off a second before yours, and the man was falling when you fired. The great thing in firing at natives is that every shot should tell. It is the certainty of the thing that scares them. If they hear bullets singing about with only occasionally a man dropping they gain confidence, but a slow, steady fire with every shot telling shakes their nerves, and makes them very careful of showing themselves."

Half an hour later Jack reported he could see figures moving in the bush on his side, and soon afterwards a fire was opened on the hut from that direction.

"They have worked round the end of the clearing," Mr. Atherton said. "Now it is our turn to begin to fire. We have let them have their own way long enough, and there is plenty of light now, and I think we shall soon be able to put a stop to this game. Now, Wilfrid, do you with one of the Grimstones take up your place at the loopholes at that end of the house, and I with the other will take up mine on the right. Keep a sharp look-out, and do not throw away a shot if you can help it. As we have not answered their fire they have probably got careless, and are sure to expose themselves as they stand up to fire. Now, Bob," he went on, as he took his place at the loophole, "I will take the first who shows himself. I do not think you would miss, but I am sure that I shall not, and it is important not to make a mistake the first time."

Half a minute later a native showed his head and shoulders over a bush as he rose to fire. Before he could raise his gun to his shoulder he fell with a bullet through his head from Mr. Atherton's unerring rifle. That gentleman quietly reloaded.

"You had better take the next again, sir," Bob Grimstone said quietly. "I do not suppose I should miss, but I might do. I do not reckon on hitting a small mark more than eight out of twelve times."

It was nearly four minutes before another native showed himself.

"I think, sir, there is one standing behind that big tree twenty yards in the bush. I thought I saw something move behind it just now."

"I will watch it, Bob," Mr. Atherton said, raising his rifle to his shoulder and looking along it through the loophole.

Two minutes passed, and then a head and shoulder appeared from behind the tree. Instantaneously Mr. Atherton's rifle cracked, and the native fell forward, his gun going off as he did so.

"We need not stand here any longer," Mr. Atherton said quietly, "there will be no more shooting from that side for some time."

Mr. Atherton went to the other end of the house.

"How are you getting on, Wilfrid?"

"We have had three shots. I fired twice and Bill once. I think I missed once altogether, the other time the native went down. Bill wounded his man – hit him in the shoulder, I think. They haven't fired since."

"Then you can put down your guns for the present. Mrs. Renshaw has just told me that breakfast is ready." Mrs. Renshaw and Marion had indeed gone quietly about the work of preparing breakfast for their defenders.

"So you are a non-combatant this morning, Miss Marion?" Mr. Atherton said as he took his place with the rest of the party, with the exception of the Grimstones, who were placed on the watch, at the table.

"Yes," the girl replied; "if I thought there were any danger of the natives fighting their way into the house, of course I should do my best to help defend it; but I do not think that there is the least fear of such a thing, so I am quite content to leave it to you. It does not seem to me that a woman has any business to fight unless absolutely driven to do so in defence of her life. If the natives really do come on and get up close to the house, I think that I ought to help to keep them out; but it is a dreadful thing to have to shoot anyone – at least it seems so to me."

"It is not a pleasant thing when considered in cold blood; but when men go out of their way to take one's life, I do not feel the slightest compunction myself in taking theirs. These natives have no cause of complaint whatever against us. They have assembled and attacked the settlement in a treacherous manner, and without the slightest warning of their intentions. Their intention is to slay man, woman, and child without mercy, and I therefore regard them as human tigers, and no more deserving of pity. At the same time I can quite enter into your feelings, and think you are perfectly right not to take any active part in the affair unless we are pressed by the savages. Then, of course, you would be not only justified, but it would, I think, be your absolute duty to do your best to defend the place."

"Do you think that it is all over now, Mr. Atherton?" Mrs. Renshaw asked. "We regard you as our commanding officer, for you are the only one here who ever saw a shot fired in anger before our voyage out, and your experience is invaluable to us now. Indeed, both my husband and myself feel that it is to your suggestion that we should put up the strong shutters and doors that we owe the lives of our children; for had it not been for that, those men who came first might have taken the house when they found them alone in it."

"I cannot accept your thanks for that, Mrs. Renshaw. It may be if this goes on that the shutters will be found of the greatest use, and indeed they have probably stopped a good many balls from coming in and so saved some of our lives, but on the first occasion Wilfrid and your daughter owed their lives to their being prepared and armed, while the natives relying upon surprising them had left their guns in the wood. The shutters were not closed until after they made off, and had they not been there those four natives could never have passed across the clearing and reached the house under the fire of two cool and steady marksmen.

"As to your first question, whether it is all over, it depends entirely upon whether the party who attacked us are the main force of the natives. If so, I do not think they will renew the attack at present. They have suffered terribly, and know now that it is almost certain death for any of them to show themselves within range of our guns. They have lost fourteen or fifteen men, and I do not think they numbered above forty at first. But if they are only a detached party, and a main body of the tribe is making an attack elsewhere, perhaps upon the settlers at Mitford's, a messenger will by this time have been despatched to them, and we may all have a much more serious attack to encounter to-night or to-morrow morning.

"I have no idea what tribe these fellows belong to; but there are few of the tribes that cannot put five hundred men on the field, while some can put five times that number. So, you see, we are entirely in the dark. Of course things will depend a good deal as to how the main body, if there is a main body, has fared. If they have been, as I feel sure they will be if they venture to attack Mitford's place, roughly handled, the whole body may return home. The natives have proved themselves through the war admirable in defence; but they have by no means distinguished themselves in the attack, and have not, so far as I remember, succeeded in a single instance in capturing a position stoutly held.

"It is one thing to fight behind strong palisades, defended by interior works skilfully laid out, and quite another to advance across the open to assault a defended position; and my belief is that, if they are beaten at Mitford's as well as here, we shall hear no more of them at present. Mind, I do not say that after this I think that it would be safe to continue to live in an outlying station like this until matters have again settled down in this part of the island. No doubt, as soon as the news is known at Napier and Wellington a force will be sent here, or perhaps to Poverty Bay, which is only some twenty miles higher up the coast, and is, I think, from what I hear, better suited as the base of operations than this river would be.

"This force will no doubt make an expedition inland to punish the tribes connected with this affair, for it is of course most important to let the natives on this side of the island see that they cannot attack our settlements with impunity. After that is done it will no doubt be safe to recommence operations here; but at present I fear you will find it necessary for a time to abandon the place, and either take up your abode at the Mitfords', or go down to Napier or Wellington. This will, of course, involve the loss of the crops you have planted, and possibly of your house; but as you have saved all your animals, the loss will be comparatively small and easily repaired."

"Whether large or small," Mr. Renshaw said, "we cannot hesitate over it. It will, as you say, be out of the question to live here exposed at any instant to attack, and never knowing what the day or night may bring forth. The house has not cost above a hundred pounds, and we must put up with that loss. We are fortunately in a very much better position than most settlers in having a reserve to fall back upon, so there will be no hesitation on my part in taking this step. The furniture is worth more than the hut, but I suppose that must go too."

"Not necessarily, Mr. Renshaw. We cannot get away now; for although we can defend ourselves well enough here, we could not make our way down through the woods to Mitford's without great risks. They are accustomed to bush fighting, and as they are still five to one against us, it would be a very serious matter to try to fight our way down. I think that we have no choice but to remain where we are until we are either relieved or are perfectly certain that they have made off. In either case we should then have ample time to make our preparations for retiring, and could strip the house and send everything down in boats or bullock-carts, and might even get up the potatoes, and cut such of the crops as are ripe, or nearly ripe, and send them down also.

"The corps that has been got up among the settlers will be sure to join in the expedition for the punishment of these scoundrels, and indeed it is most probable that all able-bodied settlers will be called out. In any case I think I shall chip in, as the Americans say. I shall have an opportunity of going into little explored tracts in the interior and adding to my collections; and to tell you the truth, I feel anxious to take a part in revenging the massacres that these treacherous natives have committed. Unless they get a sharp lesson the lives of the settlers in all the outlying districts in the colony will be unsafe."

Wilfrid glanced at Mr. Atherton and nodded, to intimate that he should be willing and ready to join in such an expedition; but he thought it better to say nothing at present. The two Allens, however, said at once that if obliged to quit their clearing they would join one of the irregular corps for the defence of the colony.

"We shall get pay and rations," James Allen said, "and that will keep us going until things get settled; and I should certainly like to lend a hand in punishing these treacherous natives. It is horrible to think of their stealing upon defenceless people at night and murdering men, women, and children. It is as bad as the Sepoy mutiny. And now the troops have been almost all withdrawn, and the colony has been left to shift for itself, I think it is no more than the duty of all who have no special ties to aid in the defence against these fanatical Hau-Haus."

"Very well, then, James; we will march side by side, and when you see me give out you shall carry me."

"That would be worse than fighting the natives," James Allen replied with a laugh. "If I were you, Mr. Atherton, I should engage ten natives to accompany me with poles and a hammock."

"That is not a bad idea," Mr. Atherton said calmly, "and possibly I may adopt it; but in that case I shall have to go as a free lance, for I fear it would scarcely be conducive to military discipline to see one of an armed band carried along in the ranks."

None would have thought from the cheerful tone of the conversation that the party were beleaguered by a bloodthirsty enemy. But Mr. Atherton purposely gave a lively tone to the conversation to keep up their spirits. He felt, as he expressed himself, perfectly confident that they could beat off any attack in the daytime; but he knew that if their assailants were largely reinforced, and the place attacked by night, the position would be a very serious one. Even then he was convinced that the assailants would not be able to force their way in, but they would assuredly try to fire the house; and although the solid logs would be difficult to ignite, the match-board covering and the roof would both readily catch fire. However, his hope lay in preventing the natives from firing it, as it would be difficult in the extreme to bring up burning branches under the fire of the defenders.

"It is a pity now, Wilfrid," he said to the lad after breakfast was over, and they had taken up their place together at one of the windows, "that we did not dissuade your father from putting that boarding to the logs. You did not intend to have it at first, and now it adds a good deal to our danger. The only thing I am afraid of is fire, though I own I do not think that there is much chance of any of them getting up with a lighted brand under the fire of our rifles. If the natives were not in the bush at the present moment, I should say that the best thing by far to do would be for all hands to set to work to tear off the match-boarding, and to get down the whole of the covering of the roof; they could not well hurt us then."

"Shall we do it at once, Mr. Atherton?"

"They would shoot us down at their leisure, Wilfrid. No, that is not to be thought of. We must run the risk of fire now; and I feel, as I said, pretty confident that we are too good shots to let men with fire get up to the walls. I wish we could send down word to Mitford's that we are besieged here. Of course, if he is attacked himself he could not help us, but if he is not I know he would come out at once with a strong party to our relief. I wonder whether that native boy of yours would try to carry a message. None of us would have a chance of getting through, but these fellows can crawl like snakes; and by working up through the crops to the upper end of the glade he might gain the bush unobserved."

"I will ask him anyhow," Wilfrid said.

Jack on being promised a new suit of clothes and a present in money if he would carry a note through to Mr. Mitford, at once undertook the mission. Mr. Renshaw, on being told what was arranged, wrote a note stating their position, and Jack, divesting himself of the greater portion of his clothes, crept out through the door at the back of the house, and lying down at once began to crawl through the potato patch towards the upper end of the clearing. From the loopholes of the windows the defenders watched his progress. Although aware of his approximate position they were soon unable to trace his progress.

"He will do," Mr. Atherton said; "if we, knowing the line he is taking, can see nothing move you may be sure that those fellows in the bush will not be able to make him out. Well, we shall have assistance in four or five hours if Mitford's hands are free."

A quarter of an hour passed and all was still quiet.

"He is in the bush by this time," Mr. Atherton said; "now we can take matters easy."

An occasional shot was fired from the bush, and shouts raised which Mr. Renshaw interpreted to be threats of death and extermination.