The Newtown bee., 1904-03-25
xDYERrIOINa RATES :
THE HOMR CIRCLE. A rlAORl WAR STORY. THE CAPTURE OF TOTARA PA BY HONGl
 IKA.

MT and Mrs Orestes Hickox: En closed you will find a Maori war story which I have written especially fol your entertainment. All the facts stated in it are true, and what has made it of interest to me in the gather ing of the details is the fact that tht Thames was the scene of the fight which I have described, and that have personally inspected the site o1 the pa (Maori port) where the Thames Maoris were encamped when they were attacked as related].I[William Coad Thames, New Zealand, December 3, 1903.
 On recent Saturday afternoon, ir company with friend who is fairly we'll informed in Maori history, paid . visit to an old Maori pa (fort) situ ated on hill known as Totara, a mile or so out of town. This Maori pa car ries with it a very sad history, for about s2 years ago it was the scene of most appalling and treacherous inci- dent in connection with Maori warfare and an incident which envolved the massacre of several hundred natives, who were at that time encamped with in the walls of the pa. My friend, who is schoolmaster, and who has given a lot of time in ferreting out the details of the affair, gave me the following particulars regarding the same, which I have taken the trouble to record, thinking they may prove of interest to you, especially as they will show you a little of the Maori mode of fighting each other before they became civil ized. It was also one of the first in. stances of the attacking party using English firearms in actual warfare The story, as related to me, runs as follows:
 At the beginning of the, 18th century, New Zealand contained a population of between 70 and 30 thousand natives, who were continuously engaging in in- tertribal wars. A few adventurous Europeans, such as whalers and trad CTS, had even in those early days, visi- ted New Zealand and accounts of the warltke inhabitants, addicted to can- nibalism and other vices, induced mis- sionaries to give the country their at tention. In 1920, MT Kendall was then engaged as 2 missionary in the North Island, journeyed to England to prepare Maori translation of the Bi. ble. He was accompanied by two Ma. ori chiefs named Hongi Ika and Walk. ato, both of whom belonged to the Ny. apulir tribe in the Bay of Islands dis trict. The noble crrriage and the fine. ly tatooed faces of their chiefs excited considerable attention in England, and they were honored by all classes of so- ciety. Even George W, then King of England, honored them with an inter- view. The two chiefs were gre atly in terested in all they saw, especially the armory and the military manoeuvers. Among other things, the King present. ed each of the chiefs with suit of ar nor, sword, and about 300 old flint lock muskets, together with consider. able quantity of ammunition. Many other wealthy people, with as little forethought as the King, presented them also with firearms, never for a moment thinking of the slaughter and misery their mistaken generosity would eventually cause.
 On their return trip to New Zealand the two chiefs made break in theil journey at Sydney, where they dis posed of many gifts they had received from kind hearted Christian friends ir England, including such articles as