Chap. XIII. TREACHERY OF CHRISTIAN NATIVES. 387 
scription of the scene which ensued given me by some 
of the Ngatipehi. 
r Mr. Matthews was with the besieged when they 
admitted their new allies. These walked quietly up 
the hill, and marshalled themselves in considerable 
numbers inside the fort. They then advanced towards 
the others, who were sitting to receive in a dignified 
way the expected greeting. But, holding out the left 
hand, each Christian native now seized a heathen by 
the right wrist instead of the hand, and assaulted him 
with his tomahawk, till then concealed beneath the 
mat. A frightful scene of carnage ensued. Those 
that escaped the first onslaught fled down the hill, 
amidst the musketry of the party in the fort, and were 
received by fresh parties placed in ambush among the 
fern in the low grounds. Mr. Matthews generously 
ran with them, hoping by this means to prevent the 
murderous fire ; but he was obliged by its continuance 
to take shelter and leave them to their fate. Out of 
140 men, only forty reached Wanganui ; and many of 
these were lying, severely wounded, in the village of 
Turoa, who had managed to escape unhurt. Tauteka 
and several other leading chiefs were among the slain. 
E Kuru told me that, before the slaughter, he had 
decided upon considering the Taupo people as the first 
aggressors, and that he had consequently sent the 
Ngarauru a supply of arms and ammunition, although 
he had taken no actual part on either side : but the 
treachery of the so-called Christians, and the sight of 
his wounded relations, together with the memory of 
the dead, had evidently produced a change in his 
mind ; and though he still appeared publicly as a strict 
neutral, his feelings were now strongly enlisted in 
favour of the vanquished party. It was said that 
Heuheu would not fail to take up the cause in earnest, 
2 c2 
