War to the Knife 28
"And I will _not_," said Erena. "It is an abominable heathen custom,
making these ignorant natives worse than they are, and recalling the
bad old times which every one should be ashamed to speak about. I shall
pack up and get ready for an early start."
"You won't change 'Tangata Maori' just yet, my dear Erena," said
Mannering. "This war will throw him back a few years. But I agree
with you that these old customs should be suffered to die out, and as
we shall have ample time to discuss the war on the road home, I will
reserve mention of it till tomorrow."
So saying, he departed to his _taua_, who, not until he dismissed them,
piled their muskets, over which, in despite of their friendly relations
with Rotorua, they set an adequate guard. They were soon observed to
join their compatriots in a copious and hospitable meal provided by the
women of the tribe.
"How relieved I am!" said Warwick, when father and daughter had
departed on their respective errands. "Nothing could have been more
fortunate than meeting Mr. Mannering here. Even in travelling to
Hokianga, a friendly route, we might have met a skirmishing _taua_
like his own, and, in spite of Waka Nene's passport, would have stood
but little show of escaping. Maori blood has been shed, as well as
white, and any murder of stray Europeans or hostile natives would be
justifiable, according to inter-tribal law."
"Then we are safe as far as Hokianga?"
"I should say perfectly so. Mr. Mannering is a tower of strength; no
single _taua_ dares tackle his. His bodyguard are picked men, known to
be equal to almost double their number. Then, of course, he has the
whole Ngapuhi tribe, five thousand strong, at his back."
"And when we get to this Hokianga, as it is called? Is it a township?"
"It's a noble river, miles wide near the sea, with towns and villages
on it. In the grand forests of Kauri Totara and other pine woods
within reach, a great timber trade has flourished for many years past.
Sailing-vessels ply between Horaki, Rawini, and Auckland, so there will
be no difficulty in getting back."
The ceremonies proper to leave-taking having been transacted, the
reinforced party set out for the Hokianga, through what are mostly
described as pathless woods interspersed with morasses.
When the march was less difficult, and there was leisure for
conversation, Mannering beguiled the way with tales and reminiscences
which caused Massinger to wonder unceasingly that a man so variously
gifted, possessed of such social charm, so wide an experience of
men and books, should have elected to wear out his life amid a
barbaric race. "Doubtless," thought he, "this man belongs to the true
Viking breed, a born leader of men, impatient of the restraints of
civilization, not to be contented without the quickening presence of
danger, 'the dust of desperate battle,' the savour of blood, even. Such
men have always been thrown off, from time to time, by our sea-roving
race; have nobly done their parts in subduing for the empire the waste
places of the earth. His hair is tinged with grey, but how springy his
long elastic strides, how youthful are all his movements, how joyous
his laugh, how keen his sense of humour! An _Anax andrōn_--a king of
men, without doubt. No wonder that his daughter should have inherited,
along with her glorious physical perfection, which she owes in part
to her mother's race, the higher intelligence and lofty ideals which
ennoble 'the heirs of all the ages, and the foremost files of Time!'"
CHAPTER IX
"You can inform me, then," said Massinger, "as to the exact manner in
which the war commenced."
"I fancy I can. This Waitara block which you have heard about has been
the _causa belli_, in every sense of the word. The Governor, egged on
by the Provincial Council of Auckland and the land-buying party in the
General Assembly, at length consented to purchase it from Teira."
"I was told in Auckland that the Governor said if a satisfactory title
could be given, he would accept the offer which Teira made. That seemed
fair enough."
"Nothing less so. First of all, because Teira knew--no one better--that
no living native had a right to sell an area of tribal land. There are
always scores of claimants to such blocks, the consent of all of whom
was necessary. And after and above all this, Te Rangitake, as the Ariki
(High Priest and spiritual head) of the tribe, had an unquestioned
right to forbid the sale."
"How, then, did Teira come to sell the land?"
"Because he was certain of payment of so much ready money down, and had
an old grudge against Te Rangitake. With the Government behind him, he
argued, they would be able to force through the bargain. He either did
not count on the stubborn resistance of the tribe, or, more likely, did
not care.
"He seems to have acted treacherously to his own people and dishonestly
towards us."
"Precisely. But no people on earth are more reckless of consequences
than these. Still, Colonel Browne was distinctly wrong in accepting a
disputed title. His former opinion, from which he unluckily receded,
was (as he wrote to Lord Caernarvon), 'That the immediate consequences
of any attempt to acquire Maori lands without previously extinguishing
the native title to the satisfaction of all having an interest in them
would be a universal outbreak, in which many innocent Europeans would
perish, and colonization be indefinitely retarded.' Of course, the
Europeans coveted these lands, and were determined to get them by hook
or by crook."
"Then what would you have advised?"
"The mischief is done now. The rebellion must be put down or the tribes
pacified. No easy task, as you will see. Still, a public trial and
full examination of the title of Teira would have satisfied Rangitake
and the tribes. Teira's title was _bad_, as every Maori in the island
knows, and every Englishman must confess, who is not interested in land
or politics."
"But a war would have been certain to come at some time between the
races."
"Possibly; but it should not have been entered upon to bolster up a
wrong and an injustice."
"Will it spread, do you think?"
"I fully believe that it will. The Waikatos will join, unless I am
misinformed--a powerful tribe, well armed, and with numbers of young
men who have not been able to indulge in tribal fighting lately, and
are naturally eager for battle."
"Are they, then, so devoted to war? This tribe has been exceptionally
prosperous, I have heard."
"All the more reason. They have 'waxed fat,' etc., and long to try
conclusions with the white man. As for liking war as an amusement,
read the record of the last century. It is one long list of stubborn
and bloody engagements--wars for conquest; wars in satisfaction
of long-past feuds; wars in defence; wars of aggression; wars for
ill-timed pleasantries; for all conceivable reasons; last, not least,
for no reason at all. Of the Maoris it may be said most truly, as Sir
Walter Scott of the borderer--
'Let nobles fight for fame;
Let vassals follow where they lead.
Burghers, to guard their townships bleed;
But _war's_ the Borderer's game.'
So most truly is it the Maori's. Next to the chance of killing his
enemy, the chance of being killed himself is the most delightful
excitement known to him. So, you may judge that a force of this
character, used to gliding through woods like these, unhampered by
clothing, yet well armed, must be a dangerous foe."
"So I should think," said Massinger. "And if these Waikatos join the
Ngatiawa and other tribes, they will have a considerable force? What,
for instance, is about the number of adult whites in this North
Island?"
"In 1849 about six thousand, including nearly half as many soldiers;
and of natives, say one hundred and five thousand."
"Then if they choose to combine, they could drive us into the sea."
"If a really well-organized attack by the whole Maori nation was made
before the Government could get help from abroad, the whites would be
something in the same position as they were in Hayti when the negroes
revolted. But it will never come off."
"Why should it not?"
"Because, as in the Great Indian Mutiny, the tribes are divided. Some
of the older chiefs, men of ability and forecast, have always been true
to the whites, and will remain so--Waka Nene and Patuone, with others.
Their tribes are powerful, and are, like most savage races, ready to
join the whites against their hereditary enemies--such, by many a
bitter blood-feud, that time has not weakened."
"I understood from your daughter--you will pardon me for referring to
it--that you had personally assisted the British Government in the time
of Heke's rebellion."
"Yes; I was the first and only white man who raised men, and held him
and his force in check after he had sacked and burned the town of
Kororareka. We were fighting almost every day for a month till the
troops arrived. When I proposed to the chief, Waka Nene, to oppose
Heke, he said he had not men enough, but that if I would join him with
all I could raise, he would turn out. I saw that the fate of the
North depended on my answer; Heke was then on the march to Hokianga.
I agreed. In twenty-four hours I had joined the chief, with twice as
many men as he had, and, as I said before, we found the enemy in full
employment till the troops came."
"What a glorious opportunity! And yet it is not every one who could
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