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Mihawhenua: The Adventures of a Party of Tourists Amongst a Tribe of Maoris Discovered in Western Otago, New Zealand

Chapter XV. A Wounded Hero

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Chapter XV. A Wounded Hero.

Favoured by the moonlight, our return march, even under the burden of the litters and the dispiriting circumstances, did not occupy so long as the outward one. We halted several times to give attention to the wounded men. Richards, although breathing regularly, did not once return to consciousness. We found our canoe undisturbed. Speedily embarking, we reached the pa just as daylight appeared. Without delay we had Richards conveyed to our whare and such attention given to him as we could devise.

About an hour after he was brought in, as I sat watching him, he opened his eyes, and, looking vacantly about, seemed wanderingly anxious to speak. I bent over him at once, and whispered—

"Speak to me, Richards, old man; how do you feel?"

He heard my voice, for his eyes turned and met mine. There was in them a vacant look. He pressed my hands feebly, but did not reply.

For some minutes I sat holding my companion's hand and watching his face. Gradually there seemed to go through his brain some recollection of what had happened. page 129Some sparks of intelligence illumined his face, then seemed to fade away in the shadow of a vacancy painful to see.

Presently his lips moved. Bending down, I caught his words—

"Has he escaped?"

He was now going through the events immediately preceding his unconsciousness, and enquiring for Te Kahu.

"Yes," I answered, "Te Kahu is unhurt. We are all safe but you."

"The enemy, did they run?" he then enquired.

"Yes, all that were left of them. But you must remain quiet; you must not speak of it now."

Without heeding my injunction, he continued—

"And our men, how many of them are killed?"

"Three, and one wounded besides yourself," I replied, thinking it better to humour him, and so perhaps ease his mind.

"Three killed!" he muttered, "and one wounded besides me. That was terrible work, Brock?"

"Yes, old man, it was terrible; but come now, I want you to take some sleep."

"Give me a drink, Brock," he asked feebly, after a pause.

I made all haste to comply, and held some water to his lips. After drinking he seemed easier, and lay for a moment quietly thinking. Then his mind seemed to revert to the past.

"Did you find any trace of Lode or the missing Maoris?" he enquired in a choking voice.

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"No; we came away at once with you and the others of our men."

This remark seemed to awake him to the fact that he was not on the scene of the fight. Looking around him, he said—

"Are we in the village?"

"Yes; you were brought here unconscious."

"How did you manage it?"

"We carried you on a litter to the canoe."

Then for a moment he was quiet again, but only for a moment.

"Brock, old man," he said, moving as if to take my hand. When I had grasped his, he continued—"I want you to promise me something."

"What is it?" I asked, quietly. I saw that his eyes were dim with tears, and his face wore a troubled expression.

"Promise me, if I don't get over this, that you won't leave me here?" Then he stopped with a choking sensation at the throat.

"Don't talk nonsense," I said, grasping his hand firmly, while an uneasy feeling oppressed me; "you will soon be all right again."

"I'm afraid not."

He paused a moment, and then went on hesitatingly—

"Promise me if anything happens you'll take me back with you to Dunedin, and let my bones be buried near my friends. You know what I mean?" he murmured, with a dull sob, as he pressed my hand.

Tears now gathered thickly in his eyes, and a deep page 131silence overcame us both. The heavy foreboding which possessed him influenced me, and filled my heart with misgivings. He did not speak again, and presently his hold of my hand relaxed. I saw that sleep had come to him, and as I withdrew my hand a fervent prayer formed in my mind that the rest on which he was now entering would leave him refreshed and strengthened, and give assurance of his speedy recovery.

His request had brought forcibly home to me the position in which our companion lay. The terrible reality of his possible death was now for the first time presented to my mind, and I fell into a deep fit of abstraction. The face of the grim tyrant is most terrible at all times, but when it is presented to you in the abode of barbarism, or under the roof of strangers in blood and sympathy, it is charged with double terror. The awful fact that our comrade might perhaps be called away while in this wild land, beyond the knowledge or services of his friends, who should never be permitted to look upon his face, either living or dead, again, was to me a most disquieting reflection. The same thought must have passed through the mind of poor Richards before he made the request he did. With this weight upon my mind I rose and went outside the whare. Almost at the door I met Gordon and Macdonald, who had both been to see what aid could be obtained for our wounded comrade. Gordon's face wore a look of disappointment.

"Is there any change?" he asked, anxiously.

"Yes, he has been conscious and is now asleep."

"Ah! what do you think of him?"

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"He woke up quite rational, but seems terribly weak," I replied.

"I've bad some soup made for him, which can be bad at a moment's notice."

Gordon then entered the whare, and went forward to look at Richards, who still slept peacefully.

Motioning to me to follow him, he turned and left the building. When we were out again he said—

"We are wanted at a meeting of the chiefs and Council. Mac will stay and watch by Richards until we return."

Turning to Macdonald, he asked him to do this, and we at once set out together. For some moments Gordon was silent, then he looked me straight in the face and said—

"Is this cursed business going to be the end of Richards?"

He spoke bitterly and firmly, evidently with some feeling of responsibility for what had occurred. I could only express my hope for the best, but continued—

"The injury is one beyond our knowledge. So far as can be seen there is hope; but we have no idea what harm is done under the surface."

After walking some distance in silence, Gordon turned to me again—

"The result of last night's proceeding is a glaring instance of the way the mass of people judge events. Success is the only evidence of forethought or good judgment the bulk of them can see. They cannot realise any other test. Te Kahu is now being lionised for his wonderful skill and judgment, but had a different end been reached page 133the verdict would probably have been that he was a fool and a blunderer."

He spoke in a tone the reverse of kindly. The unfortunate ending of the contest the night before had soured and filled him with self-reproach.

When we reached the place of meeting a great shout of welcome and triumph greeted us. Evidently the story of the fight had been recounted, and every man of the tribe was grateful for the service which had been rendered in staying the advance of the hostile tribe. More than one Rangatira advanced towards us and conducted us to a place of honour by the Ariki. When we had been received with all due honour and solemnity, the Ariki proceeded to deliver what was no doubt an eloquent testimony to the services rendered by the pakehas, but as I was not able to understand more than a word here and there, the full benefit of it was lost on me, and consequently to the world at large. This remark also applies to the ceremony of rejoicing, or thanksgiving, which was performed by the Tohunga.

While the Ariki was speaking I fancied that Jars, who, of course, understood what was being said, viewed us with some degree of envy and malignity. There may have existed in his mind a feeling that he had been neglected in the thanks of the chief. He probably felt that his importance was overshadowed, and that the new-comers were supplanting him in the good graces of the Maoris.

I certainly felt impressed with some distrust towards the Frenchman, and made up my mind to be on guard, so far as he was concerned, in the future.

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As soon as we could, Gordon and I got away from the meeting, and were proceeding hastily towards our whare when Te Kahu hurried after us. When he came up, his first words were of enquiry for Richards. His face brightened when he heard that he had been conscious and had spoken. When he became aware that one of the first questions of the wounded man was as to his safety, he seemed greatly impressed, and had to turn his head away to hide a tear. The already high opinion I had of Te Kahu was greatly increased by these simple evidences of kindly feeling.

After this he walked by us in silence, and entered the whare with the utmost diffidence. There was unmistakeable evidence of his thorough thoughtfulness and kindliness of heart in the quiet way in which he advanced and gazed on the face of our still sleeping comrade. We stood for some minutes beside the prostrate form of Richards, and I saw flit across the face of Te Kahu a shadow of the dark desire for vengeance which is so strongly characteristic of the Maori, followed by a smile of satisfaction as he no doubt reflected that the blow received by our friend, and the loss of his men, had been bought at a terrible price by the routed foe.

After standing for some minutes in mute contemplation of the form of the man who had received the blow that might have fallen on his own head, Te Kahu turned quietly and left the building. While he was standing there I had whispered to Gordon that the present was a fitting opportunity to enlist Te Kahu's aid in our desire to leave the Maori country.

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Gordon agreed with me, so that when the chief went out we followed him. Gordon had, during the sojourn with the natives, so far improved his knowledge of their language that he was now able to carry on a conversation with tolerable ease. My Maori vocabulary was as yet somewhat restricted.

After a few words on the subject of our injured friend, Gordon directly appealed to Te Kahu to assist us to get back to our own people. The condition of Richards, who had been wounded in exposing himself for the assistance of Te Kahu, was such as to require the aid of medical men. Would he, as soon as our companion was fit to be moved, give us guidance and assistance to leave the country, we promising on our part not to reveal what we had seen, nor make the existence of the Maori hapu known to our people? Te Kahu listened intently to all that was said, and then appeared to be reflecting deeply on the subject. I saw that he was impressed by our desire at this time. He was evidently undergoing an inward struggle. Duty was probably pitted against inclination, and he could not decide without much thought. At length a painful, troubled look crossed his face. He turned to us and said—

"The pakeha asks what is not in my power to grant."

"But if you would, you could obtain for us permission to depart?"

"No, the Ariki hath spoken, and the decree cannot be altered except by the unanimous voice of the Council."

"None would object if Te Kahu now desired it," we returned. "You have to-day great claims on the gratitude of your people, and if you asked this as a favour no one would refuse to grant it."

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Te Kahu shook his head. We did not know the Maori aversion to any such request as we suggested. There was no self-seeking amongst them in their public duties, and any who sought reward for public services would soon lose all hold on the good opinion of the people. All were public-spirited who had any place in the esteem of the hapu, and nothing would forfeit this so quickly as a request for reward for any action worthy of the general gratitude.

"But," we continued, "could you not suggest to the Ariki that it would be a graceful acknowledgment of our assistance to you if the Council now gave us liberty to return to our own people."

At this suggestion Te Kahu smiled, and then said—

"The pakeha must not seek to interfere with the doings of the Ariki. He must not expect the Maori to give as a reward that which would place it out of his power ever to acknowledge the services of the pakeha again."

There was so much rough logic in this reply that Gordon ceased to urge our claims further. We could only wait for the chance we hoped for. Perhaps there would such an occasion arise from the action of the natives towards us now that we had shown of what use we could be in such cases of emergency as that lately recorded.

When Te Kahu left us, Gordon and I stood for some minutes discussing how best to act for Richard's benefit. All at once the sounds of yelling from the Maoris attracted our attention, and we heard that they were engaged in dancing and shouts of triumph over the defeat of their enemy. With no heart for any such sight, we returned to the side of our wounded companion.