and hold the enemy in check. One of them was
wounded, and the rest hastily retreated down the river; the constabulary
and settlers, altogether about fifty strong, fell back to an island
about half a mile to the rear, and here calmly awaited the attack of the
enemy. These, however, drew off without disturbing them, disheartened by
the fact that Te Kooti had received a wound in the foot, and the troops
then retired. Only a few of the strongest men reached the camp that
night; the rest, knocked up by want of food and fatigue, lay down in
the pouring rain and did not get in until the following morning.

The result of this fight was most unfortunate. Even Colonel Whitmore saw
that, with the force at his disposal, nothing could be done against Te
Kooti, who was daily becoming more powerful, and was being joined by the
tribes in the vicinity. He believed that Te Kooti would carry out his
expressed intention of marching north to Waikato, and after collecting
there all the tribes of the island, march against Auckland. Thinking,
therefore, that Poverty Bay was not likely to be disturbed, he left the
settlement and went round by sea to Auckland to confer with government
as to the steps to be taken to raise a force capable of coping with what
appeared to be the greatest danger that had as yet threatened the
island. Te Kooti did not, however, move north, but remained in his camp
near the scene of the fight from the 8th of August to the 28th of
October, sending messages all over the island with the news of the
defeat he had inflicted upon the whites, and proclaiming himself the
saviour of the Maori people.

From the position he occupied, about equidistant from the settlements at
Wairoa and Poverty Bay, he was able to attack either by a sudden march
of two or three days, and yet there was no great uneasiness among the
settlers. The force that had operated against Te Kooti had been
disbanded, the Napier volunteers had returned, the constabulary
withdrawn, and the party of settlers from the Mohaka river had returned
home. Wilfrid Renshaw had not gone with them. He had been shot through
the leg in the fight in the river, and had been carried down to the
settlement. Here Mr. Atherton, who was lodging in one of the settler's
houses, had taken charge of him and nursed him assiduously.

Unfortunately the effect of the wound was aggravated by the exhaustion
caused by fatigue and insufficient food, and for weeks the lad lay in a
state of pro