the New Zealanders . 
353 
being fought in a place where the fern had been newly 
burnt off; and in the heat of battle they were nearly 
blinded by the black ashes of the fern. Hence the name 
mata, face ; para , the black ashes; wera , of the burnt 
place. Two hundred of the Kawakawa natives arc 
said to have fallen, but scarcely any of Hongi’s party. 
The war between Waikato and Taranake commenced, 
I think, about 1830, and continued up to 1840. No 
sooner had the Waikato made peace with the Ngapuhi, 
than they turned their attention to the Taranake. On 
the first attack they were repulsed with great loss, and 
were pursued by Taranake almost to the borders of Wai¬ 
kato. One tribe of two hundred men returned with only 
twenty alive on this occasion. I think it was at the com¬ 
mencement of this war that all the principal chiefs of the 
"W aikato were so completely in the hands of the Taranake, 
that they might have cut off every man of them; and 
some were for doing it, but others interfered and pre¬ 
vented it. Those natives by whom the Waikato were saved 
weie remembered in their distress. Success seemed to 
attend the arms of the natives of Taranake, till the 
wreck of the vessel in which the woman was taken, 
whose name I think was Gaun: the treatment which 
these Europeans experienced from the natives prejudiced 
all other Europeans against them; and the Taranake, 
being thus deprived of the means of getting ammunition, 
soon fell before the Waikato, and pa after pa was taken. 
Many fled to Port Nicholson to reside, hoping to enjoy 
peace and quiet from their enemies; but in this they were 
mistaken, for the Waikato pursued them even to this 
place : those that remained were reduced to the number 
of sixty, as mentioned in the list. The Waikato next 
attacked the natives of the centre of the district of Tara¬ 
nake; and greatly reduced their numbers. They have 
also attacked the third body of natives in the vicinity 
VOL. i. no. v. A A 
