362 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEAIAND. Chap. XV. 
settlement or hut the same story still rang, with vary- 
ing additional circumstances ; all agreeing, however, 
that Wide-awake was dead. I thought they meant 
my uncle in Port Nicholson, and could not understand 
how any fighting could have occurred there ; I could 
not make it out ; but the reports were too confirmatory 
of each other in the main circumstance ; and every 
yard seemed a mile till I reached the White settlement. 
There was no longer any doubt. An Englishman 
had arrived from Wellington who told the following 
tale: — He had seen the Government brig arrive in 
Wellington and land Mr. Tuckett, the Chief Surveyor 
of Nelson, and two White men and a native who were 
dreadfully wounded, but had managed to escape from 
the combat which had taken place on the Wairau 
plain near Clciudy Bay. It was supposed that no 
others had escaped out of a party of 40 Englishmen 
who had gone from Nelson to the plain of TVairau to 
assist the Police Magistrate and two other Magistrates 
in executing a warrant upon Rauperaha and Ran- 
gihaeata. He knew no more of the details ; but he 
knew that my uncle Captain Wakefield and Mr. 
Thompson were among those slain ; for he had received 
an account of this from Rauperaha himself at Otaki on 
his way hither from Wellington. Rauperaha told him 
that he had tried hard to save the gentlemen and 
keep them as slaves ; but that Rangihaeata would not 
listen to him and killed them all. He said nine had 
been thus killed, after a short deliberation as to what 
they should do with them. Rauperaha had also made 
this man promise to deliver me a message, only allow- 
ing him to pass on his undertaking to do so. The 
message was merely to know what I was to going to 
do — whether I was for peace or war, — and to ask me 
to come to Otaki and see him, that he might korero 
with me. 
