Kimble Bent in 1903, aged 66
James Cowan (1870–1943) was a writer of non-fiction who was born in Pakuranga, Auckland, and who became a great admirer of Māori culture. He spoke fluent Māori and wrote a great number of books, perhaps the most well known of which is The New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period (1922–23).
First published as a series of articles in the New Zealand Times called The White Slave in 1906, Cowan's book The Adventures of Kimble Bent: A Story of Wild Life in the New Zealand Bush (1911) is a study of one of New Zealand's frontier figures whom he had interviewed extensively and photographed.
Maurice Shadbolt partly fictionalized Bent's story in Monday's Warriors (1990).
Tito te Hanataua leads Bent into Orangai Pa, where he is made to do heavy manual work. He slowly earns the trust of the Māori.
During an attack by the soldiers, Ringringi guides the old and the women and children to safety.
An online edition of the book is linked below:
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James Cowan: The Adventures of Kimble Bent
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