W. T. L. Travers. — The Life and Times of Te Rauparaha. 39 



Ngatimaniapoto and to check Te Wherowhero and the Waikatos, by whom he 

 had been threatened, but into whom he succeeded in inspiring a wholesome 

 dread of his strength, whilst he also repelled, with heavy loss, the incursions 

 of the Ngapuhi, which were directed indiscriminately against all the tribes south 

 of the Auckland Isthmus. He succeeded, moreover, in causing Te Kauparaha, 

 as pugnacious and skilful a warrior as himself, to leave Kawia with his people. 

 He then pressed his alliance upon the Ngaiterangi, who occupied Tauranga 

 and the surrounding country, an alliance, which, by the way, proved very 

 disastrous to them, whilst it greatly aided his own projects. Having done all 

 this he commenced his more regular operations against the ISTgatimaru, who 

 were then established in great strength at Hauwhenua, where they had been 

 joined by the refugees from Mauinena and Makoia. He had naturally viewed 

 the establishment of this stronghold with the utmost jealousy, and it had no 

 little effect in hastening the commencement of hostilities between the two 

 parties. Feeling that his own warriors were not sufficiently numerous to 

 attack the hostile pa, he summoned some of his Waikato and Ngatimaniapoto 

 allies to Maungatautari, who, only too ready, at once joined him to the. 

 number of 200 warriors. His own force comprised some 700 Ngatihaua and 

 Ngaiterangi. 



In the meantime, the ISTgatimaru had spared no pains to strengthen their 

 important stronghold, their garrison having, moreover, been increased by 

 numbers of Ngatitematera and ISTgatipaoa. The pa thus became a very large 

 one, and densely peopled, not only with warriors, but with women, children, 

 and slaves. Their numbers appear to have inspired them with much self- 

 confidence, for when it became known that Te Waharoa had arrived at 

 Maungatautari, with a taua 900 strong, they boldly determined to meet him 

 in the open field. Perhaps they wished to decide the matter before he could 

 receive further reinforcements ; or perhaps they desired to avoid the mortifica- 

 tion of seeing the enemy sit comfortably down before their pa, and regale 

 himself on their cultivations. At any rate, they marched forth and took post 

 on the hill, Te Tihi o te Ihimarangi — the place where the descendants of 

 Waharoa's warriors opposed General Cameron in 1864 ; and, when the 

 enemy was seen to approach, they rushed down and joined battle with him on 

 the plain to the eastward. The contest was a severe one, but resulted in the 

 complete defeat of the Thames natives. Tliey were driven back over Te Tihi 

 o te Ihimarangi, and down its reverse slope, and were pursued, with great 

 slaughter, over the long narrow bushy plain that extends to Hauwhenua. At 

 the end of a long and sanguinary day, the dejected men within the pa sat 

 dreading the morrow's light, whilst Te Waharoa calmly considered his own 

 and his enemy's positions. After resolving the matter for some time, he sent 

 a herald to proclaim to the occupants of the pa " that during the next four 



