2 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. I. 
here found the captain, who had not yet deserted her ; 
as well as Mr. Carrington from Pf^anganui, who had 
been allowed to come to Wellington for a short holi- 
day ; and two travellers from Taranaki, who had ac- 
companied him from TVanganui. The vessel was still 
whole, and we slept in the ])unks of the cabin that 
night, though the high tide, causing rather a smart 
surf after we had got to sleep, rocked her about, and 
washed into the cabin through the holes in her bottom. 
Mr. Churton, a TV^anganui settler, had been a great 
loser by this wreck. Most of the cargo had belonged 
to him ; and although Mr. Hadfield had succeeded in 
persuading some of the natives to return a few of the 
stolen things, they only brought back trifling articles, 
such as pins and tape, pretending to know nothing of 
the more valuable goods. Between the vessel and 
TVaikanae I met a large body of Port Nicholson 
natives, who had been to a conference at JVaikanae 
on the subject of a threatened attack of the Taupo 
war-party. 
It appeared that after ravaging JVaitoiara, from 
which all the inhabitants had again fled, except a few 
txx) old and infirm who were taken, killed, and eaten, 
the taua of the Ngatipchi had come down to Otaki ; 
and that a union of their force with that of the Ngati- 
roMkawa had been proposed, in order to revenge the 
defeat at JVaikanae in October 1839. The Port 
Nicholson natives, on the receipt of this news, had 
mustered 200 or 300 men under H'^arepori, Epuni, 
and Taringa Kuri, and hastened to join their re- 
lations. Mr. Hadfield had succeeded in frustrating 
all these warlike preparations. This gentleman had, 
after very laborious efforts, and in one instance at 
the peril of his life, managed to acquire a very exten- 
sive and honorable influence over the hitherto fierce 
