New Plymoutlij confined to the Town. As it waSj many
of the King natives abandoned the cause. The powerfol
body of our native allies clearly proved that it was not the
European only they would have to contend withj but their
own countrymen as well. The natives proposed to the
magistrate to follow up the Hauhaus in their retreat to
Waitotara, but that was not acceded to.
The Superintendent of the province no sooner heard of the
victory, than he came to Wanganui, went up the river to
the loyal natives and expressed his admiration at their courage
and devotion. He was the first to appreciate their noble
conduct, and to see the important aid they had rendered ;
he properly viewed them as the preservers of the district,
furnished them with arms and ammunition, gave them ra-
tions, and treated them as they deserved. They responded
with giving him their confidence. A re-action of feeling
now took place among the Europeans, who had before
regarded them with suspicion ; and when those brave men
returned to the town, they were received with every mark of
respect, the flag being hoisted half-mast high in honor of
those who had fallen. A public letter of thanks was written
by the members of the Provincial Government, and after-
wards a monument of white marble erected in the market-
place, in commemoration of the brave men we had lost. A
flag, worked by the ladies of the military and settlers, was
afterwards publicly presented to them.
