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Title: The King Country; or, Explorations in New Zealand
A Narrative of 600 Miles of Travel Through Maoriland.
Author: J. H. Kerry-Nicholls
Release Date: October 10, 2016 [EBook #53244]
Language: English
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[Illustration: KING TAWHIAO.]
THE KING COUNTRY;
OR,
EXPLORATIONS IN NEW ZEALAND.
_A NARRATIVE OF 600 MILES OF TRAVEL THROUGH
MAORILAND._
BY
J.H. KERRY-NICHOLLS.
[Illustration: THE AUTHOR.]
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP.
_SECOND EDITION._
London:
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON,
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.
1884
[_All rights reserved._]
THIS WORK IS DEDICATED
BY PERMISSION
TO
SIR GEORGE GREY, K.C.B., F.R.S.,
WHOSE CAREER
AS GOVERNOR, STATESMAN, ORATOR, AUTHOR, AND EXPLORER,
HAS SHED LUSTRE
UPON
THE HISTORY OF AUSTRALASIA.
PREFACE.
In publishing this record of travel, I have deemed it advisable
to arrange my narrative under four principal divisions. In the
introductory portion I refer to the leading physical features of that
part of the North Island of New Zealand known as the King Country,
relate the leading incidents connected with its history, describe the
condition of the native race, and explain the object with which my
journey was undertaken. The succeeding chapters deal with my visit to
the Maori King when presenting my credentials from Sir George Grey
at the tribal gathering held at Whatiwhatihoe in October, 1882. The
description of the Lake Country includes my route from Tauranga, on
the East Coast, to Wairakei, and which led me through the marvellously
interesting region familiarly termed the Wonderland of New Zealand,
while in the pages embracing my explorations in the King Country
I record events as they occurred from day to day over a lengthy
journey which was delightful on account of its novelty and variety,
and exciting by reason of the difficulties, both as regards natural
obstacles inseparable from the exploration of an unknown region under
the unfavourable conditions by which I was constrained to carry it out,
and the deep-rooted jealousy of the native race against the intrusion
of Europeans into a portion of the island which is considered by them
to be exclusively Maori territory.
When it is considered that in company only with my interpreter, and
with but three horses--ultimately reduced to two--and with what scant
provisions we could carry, I accomplished considerably over 600 miles
of travel, discovered many new rivers and streams, penetrated almost
inaccessible regions of mountainous forest, found extensive areas of
open plains suitable for European settlement, traced the sources of
three of the principal rivers of the colony, examined the unknown
shores of its largest lake, ascended one of the highest mountains of
the southern hemisphere, experienced degrees of temperature varying
from 80° in the shade to 12° below freezing-point, and successfully
traversed from South to North, through its entire length, a territory
with an area of 10,000 square miles, and which had been from the early
history of the colony rigorously closed to Europeans by the hostility
of the native tribes, it may be readily seen that the explorations, by
their varied nature, disclose many important facts hitherto unknown
concerning a vast and beautiful portion of New Zealand; and while they
cannot fail to prove of practical utility to the colony, they will, I
venture to think, be a welcome addition to geographical science.
The map appended to this work may be said to form the most complete
chart of the interior of the North Island as yet published. Up to the
present time the extensive territory embraced by the King Country has,
owing to the obstruction of the natives, never been surveyed, and
consequently many of its remarkable physical features have remained
unknown, the existing maps of this part of the colony being mere
outlines. As, therefore, considerably more than half of the country
traversed was through a region which was, to all intents and purposes,
a _terra incognita_ from the commencement of my journey, I adopted a
system of barometrical measurements and topographical observations, and
thus secured a supply of valuable material, which I mapped out from day
to day, while the names of mountains, rivers, valleys, and lakes were
obtained from the natives by the skilful assistance of my interpreter,
who was at all times unceasing in his endeavours to carry out this part
of the work with accuracy.
The table of altitudes of the various camping-places and stations of
observation throughout the country explored will be found to be of
considerable interest and importance. By these results the conformation
of a large portion of the island may be arrived at. Thus, beginning at
Tauranga, and taking that place at ten feet above sea-level, it will
be seen that the land rises rapidly from the coast-line for a distance
of about twenty miles, when, at the Mangorewa Gorge, it attains to
an altitude of 1800 feet; from that point it falls towards the South
until the table-land of the Lake Country is reached, when, at Lake
Rotorua, it has an altitude of 961 feet. From the latter place, still
going southward, the table-land rises with an elevation varying from
1000 to 1500 feet, until it falls towards the valley of the Waikato,
when at Atea-Amuri it is not more than 650 feet above the level of the
sea. Further along it gradually rises until it reaches Oruanui, some
fifteen miles distant, where an altitude of 1625 feet is attained,
until the country again falls to the extensive table-land of Taupo,
where over a large area it maintains an elevation varying from 1000 to
1400 feet, the great lake itself standing at an altitude of 1175 feet.
Southward of Lake Taupo the Rangipo table-land varies from 2000 to 3000
feet, until it falls towards the South Coast, giving an altitude at
Karioi, on the Murimotu Plains, of 2400 feet. Westward of this point
the country falls gradually to 560 feet to the valley of the Whanganui,
and from that region going eastward to the Waimarino Plains it attains
to an elevation of 2850 feet in a distance of about thirty miles.
Northward again along the western table-land of Lake Taupo it varies in
height from 1000 to 2420 feet, until the Takapiti Valley is reached,
where it is only 900 feet. In the Te Toto Ranges an altitude of 1700
feet is attained, until at Manga-o-rongo, a deep basin-like depression
in the valley of the Waipa, the land is not more than 200 feet above
sea level.
The wood engravings contained in this work are from original sketches
by the author, with the exception of that of the native village of
Lake Rotoiti, which is from a painting by the talented artist Mr.
Charles Bloomfield. They were engraved by Mr. James Cooper of Arundel
Street, Strand. The portraits of the native chiefs are from photographs
taken by E. Pulman and J. Bartlett of Auckland. They have been
reproduced by the Meisenbach process.
In the Appendix will be found a synopsis of the principal _flora_ met
with during the journey, together with that of Mount Tongariro and
Mount Ruapehu, up to the highest altitude attained by plant-life in the
North Island. A synopsis of the _fauna_ is also added. Biographical
sketches are given of King Tawhiao and several noted chiefs, with a
list of the principal tribes and their localities. There is likewise a
brief reference to the Maori language, with a compendium of the most
useful native words.
In bringing this volume to its completion, I desire to acknowledge
my indebtedness to Sir George Grey, K.C.B., for his letter of
introduction to King Tawhiao; to Mr. C.O. Davis, for the willing way
he at all times placed his scholarly knowledge of the Maori language
at my disposal; to Mr. T.F. Cheeseman, F.L.S., for the classification
of the _flora_ of Tongariro and Ruapehu; to Mr. James McKerrow,
Surveyor-General, for maps and charts of the colony; to Mr. Percy
Smith, Assistant-Surveyor-General, for a correction of altitudes; to
Mr. Robert Graham, of Ohinemutu, for voluntarily placing his best
horses at my disposal; to J.A. Turner, for an unceasing earnestness of
purpose in fulfilling his duties as interpreter; and to the Whitaker
Ministry, for their recognition of the usefulness of my work.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION.
PAGE
Geographical description of the King Country--Its political
state--Efforts made to open it--Condition of the natives--Origin
of the journey--Letter of introduction to the king 1
THE FRONTIER OF THE KING COUNTRY.
CHAPTER I.
THE KING'S CAMP.
Alexandra--Crossing the frontier--Whatiwhatihoe--The camp--King
Tawhiao--The chiefs--"_Taihoa_" 17
CHAPTER II.
THE KORERO.
The Kingites--Half-castes--An albino--The king's speech--Maori
oratory--The feast 27
CHAPTER III.
ASCENT OF PIRONGIA.
Mount Pirongia--Geological features--The ascent--A fair prospect 36
THE LAKE COUNTRY.
CHAPTER IV.
AUCKLAND TO OHINEMUTU.
The flank movement--Auckland Harbour--Tauranga--Whakari--The
_tuatara_--_En route_--The Gate Pa--All that remains--Oropi--A
grand forest--Mangorewa Gorge--Mangorewa
River--A region of eternal fire 46
CHAPTER V.
HOT-SPRING LIFE.
Ohinemutu and Lake Rotorua--Te Ruapeka--The old _pa_--Native
baths--Delightful bathing--A curious graveyard--Pigs--Area
of thermal action--Character of the springs--Chemical
constituents--Noted springs--Whakarewarewa--Te
Koutu--Kahotawa--"_Tenakoe, pakeha_"--Hot and cold 56
CHAPTER VI.
TRADITION, IDOLATRY, AND ROMANCE.
Origin of the Maoris--Te Kupe--First canoes--The _runanga_
house--Maori carving--Renowned ancestors--Tama te
Kapua--Stratagem of the stilts--Legend of the whale--The
Arawa canoe--Noted braves--Mokia--A curious relic--Gods
of the Arawas--Mokia by night--Hinemoa--A
love song 68
CHAPTER VII.
EN ROUTE TO THE TERRACES.
Over the mountains--Rauporoa Forest--The _hotete_--Tikitapu--Rotokakahi
--Te Wairoa--The natives--Waituwhera Gorge--The boat--A distinguished
traveller--Sophia--Lake Tarawera--Mount Tarawera--Te
Ariki--Te Kaiwaka 81
CHAPTER VIII.
THE TERRACES.
Te Tarata--Beauty of the terrace--The formation--The crater--A
sensational bath--Ngahapu--Waikanapanapa--A weird gorge--Te
Aua Taipo--Kakariki--Te Whatapohu--Te Huka--Te Takapo--Lake
Rotomahana--Te Whakataratara--Te Otukapurangi--The
formation--The cauldron 94
CHAPTER IX.
OHINEMUTU TO WAIRAKEI.
Te Hemo Gorge--Mount Horohoro--Paeroa Mountains--Orakeikorako--Atea
-Amuri--Pohaturoa--The land of pumice--Te Motupuke--The glades
of Wairakei 109
CHAPTER X.
WAIRAKEI.
The first view--The Geyser Valley--Curious sights--Tahuatahe
--Terekirike--The Whistling Geyser--A nest of stone--Singular
mud-holes--The Gas and Black Geyser--The Big Geyser--The great
Wairakei--The Blue Lake--Hot mud-holes--Kiriohinekai--A valley
of fumaroles--Te Karapiti Te Huka Falls--Efforts to pass under
the falls--A cave--An enormous fissure--Another trial--A legend 115
EXPLORATION OF THE KING COUNTRY.
CHAPTER XI.
THE START.
Reason of the journey--How I succeeded--My interpreter--Our
horses--The Hursthouse difficulty--Departure from
Wairakei--Tapuwaeharuru--The natives--Release of Hursthouse,
and capture of Te Mahuki--The council of war 131
CHAPTER XII.
THE REGION OF LAKE TAUPO.
Natural phenomena--The great table-land--Position and dimensions
of the lake--Water-shed--Geological features--The lake an extinct
crater--Crater lakes--Areas of thermal action 139
CHAPTER XIII.
EASTERN SHORE OF LAKE TAUPO.
A grand view--True source of the Waikato--The river of "streaming
water"--Our first camp--Variation of temperature--Roto
Ngaio--Te Hatepe--Te Poroporo--The lake beneath us--A
canoe--Motutere--Tauranga--Southern shore of the lake--Delta
of the Upper Waikato 149
CHAPTER XIV.
TOKANU.
Scenery--The springs--The natives--Old war-tracks--Te Heuheu--A
Maori lament--Motutaiko--Horomatangi 161
CHAPTER XV.
THE RANGIPO TABLE LAND.
Along the delta of the Upper Waikato--Mount Pihanga--The
Poutu River and Lake Rotoaira--Boundaries of the Rangipo--Scenery--A
fine night--A rough time--A great storm--The _karamu_ as
fodder--Banks of the Upper Waikato--Another start--More bad
weather--Flooded creeks--Pangarara--Te Hau 168
CHAPTER XVI.
ASCENT OF TONGARIRO.
Physical and geological features--Legend of Tongariro--A break
in the clouds--The start for the ascent--Maories in the
distance--The Waihohonu valley--The ascent--The brink of
Hades--The great crater--The inner crater--The lower cones--Crater
lakes--The descent--A valley of death--Tongariro by moonlight--A
cold night--The start for Ruapehu 179
CHAPTER XVII.
ASCENT OF RUAPEHU.
(_First Day._)
Approaching the mountain--A field for research--Physical and
geological features--Plan of attack--Curious icicles--A
lava barrier--Natives in the distance--Horse camp--Scoria
hills and lava ridges--The start for the snow-line--Up the
great spur--Head of the spur--Our camp--A wind-storm--Ruapehu
by night--A picture of the past--Waiting for sunrise--Sunrise 199
CHAPTER XVIII.
RUAPEHU.
(_Second Day._)
ASCENT OF THE GREAT PEAK.
The start--A lava bluff--Last signs of vegetation--Wall of
conglomerate rock--The Giant Rocks--Ancient crater--Difficult
climbing--A frightful precipice--The ice crown--Cutting
our way over the ice--The summit--Peaks and crater--A grand
_coup d'oeil_--The surrounding country--Taking
landmarks--Point Victoria 217
CHAPTER XIX.
THE KAIMANAWA MOUNTAINS.
Further plans--Across the plains--_In memoriam_--The Onetapu
Desert--Mamanui camp--Grilled _weka_--A heavy frost--The
Kaimanawas--Geological formation--A probable _El
Dorado_--Reputed existence of gold 229
CHAPTER XX.
SECOND ASCENT OF RUAPEHU. SOURCES OF THE WHANGAEHU AND
WAIKATO RIVERS.
Curious parterres--Supposed source of Whangaehu---A gigantic
lava bed--A steep bluff--The Horseshoe Fall--The Bridal Veil
Fall--The Twin Falls--A dreary region--Ice caves--Source of
the Waikato--The descent--Our camp on the desert 237
CHAPTER XXI.
KARIOI.
Our commissariat gives out--The Murimotu Plains--The settlement--The
homestead--The welcome--Society at Karioi--The natives--The Napier
mail 252
CHAPTER XXII.
FOREST COUNTRY.
The start from Karioi--On the track--Te Wheu maps the
country--The primeval solitude--Terangakaika Forest--The
_flora_--Difficulties of travel--The lakes--Birds--Pakihi--Mangawhero
River--Gigantic vines--Fallen trees--Dead forest giants--Mangatotara
and Mangatuku Rivers--A "Slough of Despond"--Dismal swamp 258
CHAPTER XXIII.
RUAKAKA.
The _wharangi_ plant--Enormous ravines--Ruakaka--Reception
by the Hauhaus--The chief Pareoterangi--The parley--Hinepareoterangi--A
repast--Rapid fall of country--The Manganui-a-te-Ao--Shooting the
rapids--The natives--Religion--Hauhauism--Te Kooti's lament--A
Hauhau hymn 269
CHAPTER XXIV.
NGATOKORUA PA.
Departure from Ruakaka--A legend--Rough forest--Crossing the
Manganui-a-te-Ao--Scenery of the river--Mount Towai--The plains
in sight--Rapid rise in the country--Ruapehu from the west--The
Waimarino plains--Arrival at the _pa_--The chief's family--A
Hauhau chief--_Inter alia_--Pehi on the decay of the
Maoris--A war-dance--The mere 281
CHAPTER XXV.
HOT SPRINGS OF TONGARIRO.
Departure from Ngatokorua--Okahakura Plains--Tongariro from the
north--Source of the Whanganui--The hot springs--A marvellous
sanatorium--Crater of Ketetahi--Te Perore--A strategic
position--Kuwharua--Maori cakes--A grand region--Site for
a public park 295
CHAPTER XXVI.
WESTERN TAUPO.
Supposed forest country--The western table-land--Soil and
_flora_--Terania--Okarewa--Te Kaina Valley--Maoris on the
track--Pouotepiki _pa_--A tangi--The natives--A friendly
invitation--An old warrior--The women--Our quarters 304
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE NORTHERN TABLE-LAND.
The Whanganui stream--Oruapuraho Valley--Waihaha River--Kahakaharoa--The
sweetbriar--The kiwi--The moa--A gigantic lizard--Waikomiko and Waihora
Rivers--Te Tihoi Plains--Scenery--Mount Titiraupenga--Mangakowiriwiri
River--Mangakino River--Swimming horses--Our camp--The Maoris as
travellers--A Maori joke--Good horsemen--Their knowledge of the
country--Their endurance--The Waipapa--Te Toto Ranges--The Waipari--Te
Tauranga--The Upper Puniu--A fine specimen of tattooing--A night
at Hengia 315
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE AUKATI LINE.
Manga-o-rongo--Mangatutu River--The encampment--A sumptuous
repast--The _kainga_--Surrounding scenery--Old
warriors--The tribes--The Korero--Arrival of Te Kooti--His
wife--His followers--A _tête-à-tête_--A song of welcome--A
_haka_--Departure from Manga-o-rongo--Waipa River--Valley
of the Waipa--Our last difficulty 328
APPENDIX.
Potatau II. 345
Major Te Wheoro, M.H.R. 348
List of the New Zealand Tribes, with their localities 351
The Flora 352
The Fauna 360
The Maori language 366
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
King Tawhiao _Frontispiece_
The Maori Queen, Pare Hauraki 21
Wahanui, chief of the Ngatimaniapoto tribe 24
Manga Rewi, a chief of the Ngatimaniapoto tribe 25
Major Te Wheoro, M.H.R. 28
Te Tuhi, a chief of the Waikato tribe 29
Albino woman 30
Whitiora Wirouiru te Komete, a chief of the Waikato tribe 32
Paora tu Haere, head chief of the Ngatiwhatua tribe 34
Hati Wira Takahi, chief of the Ngapuhi tribe 37
Tawhao Ngatuere, a chief of the Ngatikahunu tribe 38
A chief of the Ngatiproa tribe 39
Paratene te Manu, a chief of the Ngatiwai tribe 40
Tukukino, head chief of the Ngatitematera 42
Te Raia Ngakutu te Tumuhuia, head chief of the Ngatitematera
tribe. Last of the New Zealand Cannibals 43
Whakari, or White Island 48
The Tuatara 49
Native woman and child, Ohinemutu 58
Native village (_Lake Rotoiti_) (_Page_) 62
Specimen of Maori carving 72
Native woman, Lake Country 86
Pohaturoa 113
Section of valley of Waikato River at Huka Falls 126
Transverse section of North Island from S.W. to N.E. 140
Terrace formation and hot springs (_Valley of the Waikato_) 146
Lake Taupo (_Page_) 150
Source of the Waikato at Lake Taupo 153
Tongariro (_Page_) 180
Tongariro by moonlight (_Page_) 197
Mount Ruapehu (_Page_) 200
Summit of Ruapehu 204
Waiting for sunrise 213
Wall of lava conglomerate 219
The ice crown, Point Victoria 227
Great trachytic lava bed 240
The Bridal Veil Fall 245
Ruakaka (_Page_) 272
A chief armed with "mere" and "huata" 293
A "mere" 294
Native girl 312
Moa and apteryx 317
Native girl 330
Woman of the Waikato tribe 333
Te Kooti, from a sketch by the author 335
Te Kooti's wife 336
THE KING COUNTRY.
INTRODUCTION.
Geographical description of the King Country--Its political
state--Efforts made to open it--Condition of the natives--Origin of the
journey--Letter of introduction to the king.
That portion of the North Island of New Zealand known as the King
Country extends (as near as the boundary can be defined) from lat.
38° to 39° 20' S., and from long. 174° 20' to 176° E. Its approximate
area is equivalent to 10,000 square miles. In the north the _aukati_,
or boundary-line--separating it from the European portion of the
colony--passes by the southern shores of Aotea Harbour, thence easterly
through the Pirongia Ranges in a direct line to the Waikato River,
along which it follows nearly to Atea-amuri, from which point it
strikes directly south to Lake Taupo. It takes in the whole of the
western half of that lake; it then stretches south along the Kaimanawa
Mountains to the Murimotu Plains, whence it goes westerly, round the
southern base of Mount Ruapehu to the mouth of the Manganui-a-te-Ao
River, and thence north-westerly until it joins the coast at a point a
little to the north of Pukearuhe.
The physical features of this vast region present not only many
beauties, but many natural advantages for European settlement, while it
is one of the best watered parts of the island. In its southern portion
the Whanganui River passes through it in a long winding course to the
sea, fed by many tributaries flowing from the high mountain-ranges,
both in the south and central divisions of the island. In the west
the Mokau River and its affluents flow from its central region to
the coast. In the north the Waipa Puniu and various other streams,
having their sources in the Titiraupenga and Rangitoto Mountains, wind
through it to the Waikato River; the high, wooded ranges of the central
table-land form the sources of many watercourses disemboguing into Lake
Taupo; while in the south-east the snow-clad heights of Tongariro and
Ruapehu pour down their rapid waters in a perfect network of creeks and
rivers. In the west it has a coast-line of over sixty miles, and it
possesses one of the largest harbours in the island. Extensive forests
cover a large portion of its southern area, and extend northerly over
the broken ranges of the Tuhua to Mount Titiraupenga and the Rangitoto
Mountains. Westward of this division there is a considerable area of
open country, including the valley of the Waipa, which in its turn is
bounded in the west by high, fern-clad hills and wooded ranges. In the
vicinity of the high, snow-clad mountains in the south, there are vast
open table-lands; while immediately to the west of Lake Taupo and north
of Titiraupenga to the banks of the Waikato, there are again extensive
open plains.
Geologically considered, the King Country possesses in extensive
depositions all the strata or rock-formations in which both gold,
coal, iron, and other minerals are found to exist, while its extensive
forests are rich in timber of the most varied and valuable kind.
Geysers and thermal springs possessing wonderful medicinal properties
are found in the vicinity of its many extinct craters; and, while
it possesses one of the largest active volcanoes in the world, its
grand natural features are crowned by the snowy peaks of some of the
highest mountains of Australasia. In the north the trachytic cones
of Titiraupenga and Pirongia rise to an elevation varying from 3000
to 4000 feet, near to its south-western boundary the snowy peak of
Taranaki, or Mount Egmont, attains to an altitude of 8700 feet, on its
eastern confines the rugged crater of Tongariro sends forth its clouds
of steam from a height exceeding 7000 feet, while on its southern side
the colossal form of Mount Ruapehu rears its glacier-crowned summit to
an altitude of over 9000 feet above the level of the sea.[1] With these
important features nature has endowed it with scenery of the grandest
order, and with a climate unsurpassed for its variety and healthfulness.
The political state of the King Country forms one of the most
interesting chapters in the history of New Zealand. In the early days,
before the colony was founded in 1840, and long after that event, there
were no such obstacles to travelling through the island as existed
in later times. The Maoris rather welcomed Europeans, who were free
to go anywhere, except on places which were _tapu_,[2] or sacred in
their eyes, and in consequence what little has been hitherto known
of the King Country has been derived from the experiences of one or
two travellers who penetrated into portions of it some thirty years
ago. Among the most active of the early travellers was Ferdinand Von
Hochstetter, a member of the Austrian Novara Expedition, who, in 1859,
at the instance of Sir George Grey, at that time Governor of the Cape
of Good Hope, made a tour through a portion of the North Island in
company with Drummond Hay, Koch, Bruno, Hamel, and a number of European
attendants and natives. At this time the Maoris were ready to welcome
Europeans; hostilities between the two races had never broken out, and
Hochstetter and his party were received and _fêted_ everywhere with
almost regal honours. But in the course of years, as it was evident
to the natives that the Europeans were the coming power in the land,
suspicion and distrust were excited, and at last the tocsin sounded.
The native chiefs, seeing that their influence was declining, and that
in proportion to the alienation of the land, their _mana_ or authority
over the tribes decreased, began to bestir themselves in earnest. It
was considered that a head was needed to initiate a form of Government
among the tribes to resist the encroachments daily made by the
Europeans, and which seemed to threaten the national extinction of the
native race.
The first to endeavour to bring about a new order of things was a
native chief named Matene Te Whiwi, of Otaki. In 1853 he marched to
Taupo and Rotorua, accompanied by a number of followers, to obtain
the consent of the different tribes to the election of a king over
the central parts of the island, which were still exclusively Maori
territory, and to organize a form of government to protect the
interests of the native race. Matene, however, met with but little
success. Te Heuheu, of Taupo, the great chief of the Ngatituwharetoa,
at that time the most warlike tribe in the island, had no idea of any
one being higher than himself, and therefore refused to have anything
to do with the new movement, nor did Te Whiwi meet with much greater
encouragement at Maketu and Rotorua. The agitation, however, did not
stop, the fire once kindled rapidly spread, ardent followers of the
new idea sprang up, and their numbers soon increased, until finally,
in 1854, a tribal gathering was convened at Manawapou, in the country
of the Ngatiruanui tribe. Here a large _runanga_, or council-house,
was erected, which was called _Tai poro he nui_, or the finishing of
the matter, and after many points had been discussed, a resolution was
come to among the assembled tribes that no more land should be sold
to Europeans. A solemn league was entered into by all present for the
preservation of the native territory, and a tomahawk was passed round
as a pledge that all would agree to put the individual to death who
should break it. In 1854 another bold stand was made, and Te Heuheu,
who exercised a powerful sway over the tribes of the interior, summoned
a native council at Taupo, when the King movement began in earnest. It
was there decided that the sacred mountain of Tongariro should be the
centre of a district in which no land was to be sold to the government,
and that the districts of Hauraki, Waikato, Kawhia, Mokau, Taranaki,
Whanganui, Rangitikei, and Titiokura should form the outlying portions
of the boundary; that no roads should be made by the Europeans within
the area, and that a king should be elected to reign over the Maoris.
In 1857 Kingite meetings were held at Paetai, in Waikato, and
at Ihumatao and Manukau, at which it was agreed that Potatau Te
Wherowhero, the most powerful chief of Waikato, should be elected king,
under the title of Potatau the First, and finally, in June, 1858, his
flag was formally hoisted at Ngaruawahia. Potatau, who was far advanced
in life when raised to this high office, soon departed from the scene,
and was succeeded by his son Matutaera Te Wherowhero, under the title
of Potatau the Second.
The events of the New Zealand war need not here be recited, but it
may be easily imagined that during the continuance of the fighting
the extensive area of country ruled over by the Maori monarch was
kept clear of Europeans. But in 1863 and 1864 General Cameron, at the
head of about 20,000 troops, composed of Imperial and Colonial forces,
invaded the Waikato district, and drove the natives southward and
westward, till his advanced corps were at Alexandra and Cambridge.
Then followed the Waikato confiscation of Maori lands and the military
settlements. The King territory was further broken into by the
confiscations at Taranaki and the East Coast, but no advance was,
however, made, by war or confiscation, into the country which formed
the subject of my explorations. The active volcano of Tongariro is
_tapu_, or strictly sacred, in the eyes of the Maoris, and several
persons who had attempted to ascend it were plundered by the natives,
and sent back across the frontier. On the west of Taupo Lake lies the
Tuhua country, whose people had from the first, from the nature of the
district, been much secluded from European intercourse, and who besides
had given refuge to many of the desperadoes of the other tribes; while
to the south-west of Taupo Lake were the people of the Upper Whanganui
country, who have always been suspicious and hostile, while for some
considerable time, too, the whole district was in terror of Te Kooti
and his marauding bands. It is from these causes that the vast and
important area embraced by the King Country has remained closed to
Europeans, and, all things considered, it is a fact which must ever
remain one of the most singular anomalies of British colonization,
that, after a nominal sovereignty of forty years over New Zealand,
this portion of the colony should have remained a _terra incognita_ up
to the present day, by reason of the hostility and isolation of the
native race.
Having pointed out the leading causes which resulted in the closing
of the King Country to European settlement, it will be interesting
to glance at the endeavours which have been made by the different
governments to break down the barrier of native isolation, and thus
to throw open to the colonists an extensive area of the island, which
is, in reality, as much a portion of British territory as is the
principality of Wales. As is well known, since the termination of the
lamentable war between the two races, the King natives have, on all
occasions, jealously preserved their hostile spirit to Europeans; while
the peculiar state of matters involved in the whole question, while
unexampled in the history of any other part of the British Empire, has
been naturally a source of annoyance and even danger to the several
governments of the colony who have attempted from time to time to
grapple with the native difficulty.
The New Zealand war concluded, or rather died out, in 1865, when the
confiscated line was drawn, the military settlements formed, and the
King natives isolated themselves from the Europeans. For ten years
it may be said that no attempt was made to negotiate with them. They
were not in a humour to be dealt with. About 1874 and 1875, however,
it became evident that something would have to be done. The colony
had greatly advanced in population, and a system of public works had
been inaugurated, which made it intolerable that large centres of
population should be cut off from each other by vast spaces of country
which Europeans were not allowed even to traverse. From time to time
during the whole period the awkward position of affairs had been forced
on public attention by outrages and breaches of the law occurring on
the border, the perpetrators of which took secure refuge by fleeing
to the protection of Tawhiao, who then--as now--defied the Queen's
authority within his dominions.
Sir Donald McLean, while Native Minister, had several important
interviews with the Kingites, with a view to bring about a better
relationship between the two races, and as he was well known to the
natives both before and during his term of office, his efforts had
considerable effect in promoting a more friendly intercourse.
Again, Sir George Grey, when Premier of the Colony, attended two
large native meetings in the King Country, in 1878, and opened up
communication with the chiefs of the Kingites. At the second meeting at
Hikurangi about seventeen miles beyond Alexandra, Sir George Grey laid
before the natives definite terms of accommodation. He offered to give
back to them the whole of the land on the west bank of the Waipa and
Waikato rivers, and to confer certain honours on Tawhiao, the son of Te
Wherowhero, who had succeeded to the kingship. At a subsequent meeting
held at Te Kopua, in April, 1879, these offers were again made, but
Tawhiao, for some reason which has never been satisfactorily explained,
declined to accept them, and they were distinctly withdrawn.
With the advent of the Whitaker ministry into power, it was felt
that another attempt should be made to deal with the Maori king, and
accordingly, during the session of 1882, acts were carefully framed so
as to facilitate the object. A Native Reserves Act was passed, under
which natives could have placed any blocks of land they chose under a
board which would have administered the property for the benefit of
the owners. An Amnesty Act was also put on the statute-book, under
which the government could have issued pardons to those natives who
had committed crimes and taken refuge among the Kingites. The most
sanguine hopes were entertained that this difficulty would at last be
settled, and in a way which would be satisfactory for both peoples. The
terms which Mr. Bryce, as Native Minister, laid before Tawhiao and his
people at the Kingite meeting, held at Whatiwhatihoe in October of the
same year, were so liberal as to surprise the whole country. A large
tract of the confiscated land on the west bank of the rivers Waipa and
Waikato was offered to be restored, while Tawhiao was to be secured
in all the lands which he could claim in the King Country, and the
government were to endeavour to procure for him and his people a block
of land from the Ngatimaniapoto tribe, the most extensive landowners in
his dominions. Altogether the amount of land to be restored amounted
to many thousands of acres, most of it fertile and well suited for the
purposes of the natives, or that section of them known as the Waikatos,
of whom Tawhiao was the hereditary chief.
What the government proposed to do was that the king's _mana_, or
sovereign authority, should be removed by the best means, and that in
doing so the utmost care should be taken that all of the natives of the
king's tribe should be provided for. This step was the more necessary
from the fact that Tawhiao, although the acknowledged head of the Maori
race, and exercising a supreme authority over the King Country, was,
owing to the confiscation of his tribal lands which had taken place
after the war, a comparatively landless monarch.
At the Kingite gathering at Whatiwhatihoe, Tawhiao, in view of the
proposals made, was willing to take back the land, but objected to
receive a salary from the government, to be called to the legislative
council, or to be made a magistrate.[3] He, and those around him, saw
that to have accepted these terms would have been equivalent to saying
that he abdicated his position as king. That being, from the Native
Minister's point of view, the all-important matter, the negotiations
could go no further, and the memorable meeting at Whatiwhatihoe broke
up with Tawhiao still reigning as absolute monarch over one of the most
extensive and fertile portions of New Zealand.
With my reference to the geographical, historical, and political
features of the King Country, I will here allude briefly to the
physical and social position of the native race as I found it during
my travels through that portion of the island where the inhabitants
dwell in all their primitive simplicity.
There can be no doubt whatever that the Maori race is greatly on the
decrease,[4] and that the three principal diseases conducing to this
result are phthisis, chronic asthma, and scrofula; the two first
principally brought about, I believe, by a half-savage, half-civilized
mode of life, and the latter from maladies contracted since the first
contact of the people with Europeans. It is, however, clear that
there is a large number of natives yet distributed throughout the
King Country, and among them are still to be found, as of old, some
of the finest specimens of the human race. A change of life, however,
in every way different from that followed by their forefathers, has
brought about a considerable alteration for the worse among the rising
population, and, although during my journey I met and conversed with
many tattooed warriors of the old school, and who were invariably both
physically and intellectually superior to the younger natives, it was
clear that this splendid type of savage would soon become a matter of
the past.
I found the natives living much in their primitive style, one of the
most pernicious innovations, however, of modern civilization amongst
them being an immoderate use of tobacco among both old and young.
Although most of the native women were strong and well-proportioned
in stature, and apparently robust and healthy, there appeared to be
a marked falling off in the physical development of the younger men,
when compared with the stalwart, muscular proportions of many of the
older natives--a result which may, no doubt, be accounted for by their
irregular mode of life when compared with that usually followed by
their forefathers, combined with the vices of civilization, to which
many of them are gradually falling a prey. It is a notable fact, which
strikes the observer at once, that many of the old chiefs and elders
of the various tribes, with their well-defined, tattooed features and
splendid physique, have the stamp of the "noble savage" in all his
manliness depicted in every line of their body, while many of them
preserve that calm, dignified air characteristic of primitive races in
all parts of the world before they begin to be improved off the face
of the earth by raw rum and European progress. On the other hand, the
rising generation has altogether a weaklier appearance, and, although I
noticed many buxom lasses with healthy countenances and well-developed
forms, not a few of the younger men were slight of build, with a
thoughtful, haggard, and in many instances consumptive look about them.
In both their ideas and mode of life they appeared to cling to their
old customs tenaciously, and seemed to know little of what was going
on in the world beyond their own country, while their religion, what
little they possessed, evidently existed in a kind of blind belief in a
species of Hauhauism, in which biblical truths and native superstition
were curiously mixed. In matters of politics affecting their own
territory they invariably expressed a desire that matters might remain
as they were, and that they might be allowed to live out their allotted
term in their own lands. From one end of the country to the other they
seemed to entertain an almost fanatical faith in the power of Tawhiao,
and they appeared to regard his influence in the light of our own legal
fiction, "that the king could do no wrong."
When I undertook to explore the King Country--being at the time only a
new arrival in the colony--I found that it was a part of the British
Empire of which I knew very little. I soon, however, learned that the
extensive region ruled over by the Maori king was, to all intents
and purposes, an _imperium in imperio_, situated in the heart of an
important British colony, a _terra incognita_, inhabited exclusively
by a warlike race of savages, ruled over by an absolute monarch, who
defied our laws, ignored our institutions, and in whose territory the
rebel, the murderer, and the outcast took refuge with impunity. This
fine country, embracing nearly one half of the most fertile portion of
the North Island, as before pointed out, was as strictly tabooed to the
European as a Mohammedan mosque, and all who had hitherto attempted
to make even short journeys into it had been ruthlessly plundered by
the natives, and sent back across the frontier, stripped even of their
clothes.
At this time--in the early part of the year 1882--Te Wetere, Purukutu,
Nuku Whenua, and Winiata, all implicated in the cruel murders of
Europeans, were still at large, bands of native fanatics, excited to
the point of rebellion against the whites, were massing themselves
together in large numbers at Parihaka, and singing pæans to the
pseudo-prophet, Te Whiti, who had for some time been inciting his
followers to resist any attempt at incursion into their territory on
the part of the European colonists who had acquired land and built
settlements near the frontier. Thus it was that wars and rumours of
wars were fast gathering around what was generally alluded to as the
vexed Maori Question, while, to make matters still more unsatisfactory,
it was known that the rebel Te Kooti, who had carried out the Poverty
Bay massacre, after his marvellous escape from the Chatham Islands, and
who had more than once played the part of a New Zealand Napoleon during
the war, was hiding, with a price set on his head, in his stronghold
in the Kuiti, ready, it was believed, to take up arms at any moment.
This was the state of the country which I then and there volunteered to
explore.
The next point to consider was how the journey could be best set
about. The matter was laid before Sir George Grey during the session
of Parliament of 1882, and he, with a characteristic desire to advance
an undertaking calculated to promote the interests of the colony,
wrote a letter of introduction in my behalf to King Tawhiao, asking
him to grant me his _mana_, or authority, to travel through the Maori
territory. The letter was presented at a moment when the native mind
was much disturbed in connection with the political relationship
existing between the Kingites and the Europeans, and just at the time
when the meeting at Whatiwhatihoe, before referred to, was about to
be held between the Native Minister and Tawhiao, with a view to the
opening of the country to settlement and trade. It is only right to
state that the king received me on this occasion with every token of
good feeling, and spoke, as indeed did all the natives, in the highest
terms of Sir George Grey; but he advised me, as the native tribes were
much disturbed in connection with the question about to be discussed
between the Maoris and Europeans, not to set out on my journey until
the meeting should be over.
Leaving Whatiwhatihoe before the termination of the gathering, I made
no further appeal to Tawhiao, who subsequently left for an extended
tour through the island. The assemblage of the tribes broke up, as
before shown, without any solution being arrived at with regard to
the settlement of the native difficulty, and the question of the
exploration of the King Country lay in abeyance for a few months, but
the idea was always firmly fixed in my mind, although it was not until
the 8th of March, 1883, that I left Auckland, _en route_ for Tauranga,
to explore the wonders of the forbidden land at my own risk.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: For the altitudes of the various mountains, see map.]
[Footnote 2: The word _tapu_ is applied to all places held sacred
by the Maoris; it is synonymous with the _taboo_ of the South Sea
Islanders. To interfere with anything to which the _tapu_ has been
extended is considered an act of sacrilege.]
[Footnote 3: A justice of the peace.]
[Footnote 4: In Cook's time the whole native population was estimated
as exceeding 100,000; in 1859 it only amounted to 56,000, of this
number 53,000 fell to the North Island, and only 2283 to the Middle
Island; in 1881 the number had decreased to 44,099, of which 24,370
were males, and 19,729 females.]
THE FRONTIER OF THE KING COUNTRY.
CHAPTER I.
THE KING'S CAMP.
Alexandra--Crossing the frontier--Whatiwhatihoe--The camp--King
Tawhiao--The chiefs--"_Taihoa_."
Alexandra, the principal European settlement on the northern frontier
of the King Country, lies about one hundred miles distant from
Auckland, and a little less than eight miles to the west of the Te
Awamutu terminus of the southern line of railway.
I reached Alexandra along a delightful road lined with the hawthorn and
sweetbriar, and through a picturesque country, where quiet homesteads,
surrounded by green meadows filled with sleek cattle and fat sheep,
imparted to the aspect of nature an air of contentment and quiet
repose. Indeed, when doing this journey in a light buggy drawn by a
pair of fast horses, it seemed difficult to realize the fact that I was
fast approaching the border-line of European settlement, and that a few
minutes more would land me on the frontier of a vast territory which
formed the last home of perhaps the boldest and most intelligent race
of savages the world had ever seen. In fact, when approaching Alexandra
from the Te Awamutu road, with its neat white houses, embowered amidst
gardens and groves of trees, and with its church-spire pointing towards
heaven, I seemed to be entering a quiet English village; and had it not
been that the eye fell now and again upon a dark, statuesque figure,
wrapped in a blanket, and with a touch of the "noble savage" about it,
it would have been somewhat difficult to dispel the pleasant illusion.
The township was not large, and a school-house, two hotels, several
stores, a public hall, commodious constabulary barracks surrounded
by a redoubt, a postal and telegraph station, a blacksmith's forge,
and about fifty houses, built for the most part of wood, formed its
principal features of Anglo-Saxon civilization.
On the day following my arrival at Alexandra I left, in company with
a native interpreter, for Whatiwhatihoe, to present my credentials to
the Maori king. Our ride across the frontier into Maoriland was a most
delightful one. The steep, wooded heights of Mount Pirongia had cast
off their curtain of mist, and stood revealed in their brightest hues;
while the green, rolling hills at its base formed a pleasant contrast
with the more sombre, fern-clad banks of the Waipa River, as it wound
its devious course from the direction of Mount Kakepuku, which rose
above the plain beyond in the form of a gigantic cone. The country for
miles around lay stretched before the gaze, forming a varied picture
of delightful scenery, and all nature appeared budding into life;
while the prickly gorse, with its golden-yellow flowers, encircled
Whatiwhatihoe like a _chevaux de frise_. The primitive _whares_[5] of
the natives imparted a rustic appearance to the scene, as they stood
scattered about the country to the south, while, as the eye wandered in
the direction of the north, the white homesteads of the settlers served
to mark the _aukati_[6]--frontier-line--separating the King Country
from the territory of the _pakeha_.[7]
The king's settlement of Whatiwhatihoe was situated on the west or
opposite bank of the Waipa from Alexandra, and on a broad alluvial
plain running along the base of a range of fern-clad hills. As a rule
the _whares_ were built entirely of _raupo_,[8] and were scattered
about the flat and on the low hills in its vicinity without any regard
to regularity, and while some had a neat and even a clean look, others
were less attractive both in their designs and general surroundings.
They were mostly oblong in shape, with slanting roofs, which projected
a few feet at one end of the building in the form of a recess, where
the entrance, consisting of a low narrow doorway, was placed. Windows,
in the form of small square apertures, were the exception and not the
rule, and consequently the interior of these primitive domiciles was
badly ventilated. A few blankets and native mats formed the principal
articles of furniture, save where the owner, profiting by the advance
of civilization, had gone in for _articles de vertu_ on which the
"Brummagem" hall-mark might be distinctly traced.
As we approached the camp the whole place presented a very animated
appearance; horsemen were riding about in every direction; long
cavalcades of natives, men, women, and children, were arriving from
all parts of the country, to take part in the _korero_[9] to be held
on the morrow; while many old tattooed savages, swathed in blankets,
and plumed with _huia_ feathers to denote their chieftainship, were
squatting about, puffing at short pipes with a stolid air, as they
listened in mute attention to one of their number as, gesticulating
wildly, and walking to and fro between two upright poles set a few
paces apart, he delivered a fiery harangue upon the momentous question
of throwing open their country to the advancing tide of civilization.
Bevies of women and girls were busily engaged in preparing for the
coming feast, and troops of children played and fought with countless
pigs and innumerable mongrel dogs.
While pushing our way among the assembled crowds we were met by the
king's henchman, a half-caste of herculean proportions, who conducted
us to the _whare runanga_, or meeting-house, an oblong structure about
eighty feet long by forty broad, solidly built out of a framework of
wood, and thatched with _raupo_. It was capable of holding a large
number of people, and the white rush mats covering the floor gave it a
clean and comfortable appearance.
In the centre of this spacious hall sat the king flanked by his four
wives, the principal and most attractive of whom was Pare Hauraki, a
fine buxom woman with oval features and artistically tattooed lips,
habited in native costume, with a _korowhai_, or cape, bound with
_kiwi_ feathers, thrown carelessly across her shoulders, over which her
dark raven hair fell in thick, waving clusters. A number of chiefs of
the various tribes assembled, squatted in a semicircle in front of the
king, who rose from his seat--a rush mat--as I approached, and motioned
for me to be seated in front of him.
[Illustration: THE MAORI QUEEN PARE HAURAKI.]
Tawhiao was habited in European attire, consisting of a pair of dark
trousers, patent leather boots, and a grey frock-coat trimmed with red
braiding about the sleeves, and which at the first glance reminded me
of the _redingote gris_ affected by Napoleon I., and which obtained
for him the sobriquet of the "little corporal." A black _huia_ feather
tipped with white adorned his hair, and in his left ear he wore a
large piece of roughly polished greenstone,[10] and in his right a
shark's tooth. In stature he was a little below the medium height,
sparely made, but keenly knit, with a round, well-formed head; while
his features, which were elaborately tattooed in a complete network
of blue curved lines, were well defined in the true Maori mould; and
although he had a cast in the left eye, his countenance was pleasant,
and as he spoke in a slow deliberate way, he invariably displayed in
his conversation a good deal of cool, calculating shrewdness.
Among the principal _rangatiras_, or chiefs, present were Tu Tawhiao,
the king's son, Major Te Wheoro, Manga Rewi, Te Tuhi, Te Ngakau,
Wahanui, Whitiora, Hone Te Wetere, and Hone Te One. Tu Tawhiao was
a tall, slim youth, with a thin, sleek face and dark moustache, and
with a meek expression of countenance. He affected European costume,
and had none of the strong Maori type of feature so characteristic
of his father. He did not appear to be a very gifted youth, but he
had a pleasing manner, and might be considered as a fair type of the
anglicized Maori. Major Te Wheoro was a short, thick-set man, with
heavy features and a somewhat shrewd look. He ranged himself on the
European side during the war, when he gained his commission, and at
the time of which I write he was one of the four Maori members of the
House of Representatives. Manga Rewi, like Tawhiao, was a Maori of the
old school, and with all the physical characteristics of the race about
him. His chief influence appeared to arise from the fact that during
the war he was one of the principal Kingite leaders. Te Ngakau was
remarkably thick-set and muscular, with a firm-looking yet intelligent
face. He was dressed half as a Maori and half as a European, and was
remarkable for nothing so much as for the enormous development of the
calves of his legs. Whitiora was an antiquated, tattooed warrior,
who during the war had won his laurels when gallantly defending the
Rangiriri Pa against the Imperial forces, while Hone Te Wetere was
known to fame in a somewhat doubtful way in connection with the White
Cliffs massacre.
The most notable, however, of all the chiefs present was undoubtedly
Wahanui, of the Ngatimaniapoto tribe. Standing over six feet, and of
enormous build, he had a peculiar air about him which seemed to mark
him as one born to command. His features, slightly tattooed about
the mouth--which was singularly large--bore a remarkable appearance
of intelligence, while his head, covered with thick white hair, was
round and massively formed. He impressed me very favourably during
the interview, and when speaking, as he did at some length upon the
political condition of the King Country, he seemed to possess not only
a great power of language, but a singularly persuasive manner which was
at once both courteous and dignified. He appeared to exercise a weighty
influence over the king, and to act in all matters as the "power
behind the throne," but he had evidently a conservative turn of mind,
and had he been born in England, I think he would have developed into a
nobleman of very pronounced Tory principles.
[Illustration: WAHANUI.
(_Chief of the Ngatimaniapoto Tribe._)]
When the king had learned the object of my mission, and that I had
come to obtain his authority to explore the Maori territory, he was
careful to inquire what other countries I had visited, and whether I
had before travelled in other parts of the world with no other view
than to see mountains, rivers, and plains. "The Maori," he remarked,
"never undergoes fatigue for such a purpose as that, but I know," he
continued, with a slight touch of _naïveté_, "the _pakeha_ is different
to the Maori, he has the 'earth hunger,' and likes to see new places.
If you wish to go into the country, you may do so when the meeting is
over, but it is not good that you should go until the Maori has spoken
with the _pakeha_ at the _korero_, therefore I say wait, '_taihoa_.'"
[Illustration: MANGA REWI.
(_A Chief of the Ngatimaniapoto Tribe._)]
The latter word sounded somewhat unpleasant to my ears, as I knew with
the Maoris it was their gospel, and was synonymous with the Spanish
proverb, "Never do to-day what may be done to-morrow." I took the
king at his word, but before I left his presence I mentally recorded
a vow that, if I could not get into the King Country at the north, I
would get into it at the south, which I eventually did a few months
afterwards, as the sequel of this narrative will show.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 5: _Whare_ is the native name for a house or hut.]
[Footnote 6: The _aukati_ signifies the boundary of a _tapued_ or
sacred district.]
[Footnote 7: _Pakeha_ is a term used by the Maoris to designate
Europeans; it means a stranger, or a person from a distant country.]
[Footnote 8: For a synopsis of the principal _flora_ met with during
the journey, see Appendix.]
[Footnote 9: The word _korero_ (to speak) is here applied as a general
term to the meeting.]
[Footnote 10: The _pounamu_, or greenstone (nephrite), a species of
jade, is much prized by the Maoris as an ornament, either for the neck
or ears. It is only found on the west coast of the Middle Island, the
native name for which is _Wahipounamu_, or Land of the Greenstone.]
CHAPTER II.
THE KORERO.
The Kingites--Half-castes--An albino--The King's speech--Maori
oratory--The feast.
On the morrow after my interview with the king the meeting between the
Native Minister and Tawhiao, with a view to bring about more friendly
relations between the two races, was arranged to take place.
At the time fixed for the _korero_ the Kingites, headed by their
chiefs, assembled on the flat within the settlement. They squatted
about in attractive groups, and the entire assembly formed a compact
semicircle composed of men, women, and children of all ages; while
the bright and almost dazzling colours of their varied, and, in many
instances, eccentric costumes formed an interesting picture, in which
were blended the most singular and striking contrasts. Some of the men
were habited entirely in European attire, others affected more becoming
native costumes, and had their heads decked with feathers, while not
a few were got up in a style which seemed to indicate that they were
undergoing what might be considered, from a Darwinian point of view,
the "transition period" between savage and civilized life. The women,
of whom there were many, had donned their holiday finery, and although
their flowing skirts were evidently not designed after the most
fashionable model, this defect was made up in no small degree by the
glowing effects of the bright colours of the variegated material out
of which they were made. Crimson, yellow, and blue were the prevailing
tints, and one by no means unattractive damsel had her lithe form
swathed in a shawl on which were depicted all the various designs of a
pack of cards.
[Illustration: MAJOR TE WHEORO, M.H.R.]
There were many half-castes of both sexes among the throng, and the
strain of European blood, which in most cases might be distinctly
traced, had evidently, by one of those singular processes of nature
which it is difficult to understand, aided to produce in them here,
as elsewhere, a robust and healthy race of people. Many of the girls
of this class, with their swarthy complexions and well-rounded limbs,
were very comely-looking, and one young lady, habited in a well-fitting
purple silk dress, and with a very handsome native shawl of many
colours thrown artistically across her gracefully formed shoulders,
attracted the admiring glances of all present. She spoke English
fluently, and with her fascinating air, dark eyes, and remarkable
Spanish cast of countenance, she appeared more suited to grace the
_Prado_ of Madrid than the primitive _marae_[11] of Whatiwhatihoe. In
singular contrast to this attractive daughter of the King Country was
an albino woman, with light flaxen hair, pink eyes, and a complexion
which, if it had been washed, might have rivalled the snowy whiteness
of alabaster. Her lips were marked in the ordinary Maori fashion, and,
so far as her outward appearance went, she was stout and well-built,
and appeared to be as fine a specimen of her kind as I had seen in any
part of the world.
[Illustration: TE TUHI.
(_A Chief of the Waikato Tribe._)]
When Tawhiao appeared in the midst of his people, he had cast aside
his European costume, and had swathed himself after the native fashion
in a white blanket, with broad pink stripes upon it. At the moment of
the arrival of the Native Minister the king was seated by the side of
his wife Pare Hauraki, and in the centre of the semicircle formed by
the Waikato chiefs and other natives, and as Mr. Bryce drew near he
raised himself from the ground and approached to welcome him. As soon
as the friendly greetings were over, the Native Minister and the king
seated themselves upon the ground face to face, and, having regarded
each other for some time with an air of mutual satisfaction, Tawhiao
arose, and, resuming his original position in the midst of the natives,
arranged his blanket in _toga_ fashion across his breast, and raising
his bare right arm, began his speech in slow, but well-delivered tones,
and with the calm, confident air of one who had been accustomed to
sway the multitude and to speak, as he expressed it in the figurative
language of his race, "straight from his breast." His short harangue,
however, was carefully framed with all the customary art of Maori
diplomacy, and with a view to show that the occasion was simply one
for the mutual expression of goodwill on both sides. Not the faintest
reference at this time was made to his future line of policy, nor was
there a single hint to indicate that any new departure was about to
be initiated calculated to alter the political relationship existing
between the Maori and Pakeha. It was in every sense a carefully
worded discourse, and proved beyond a doubt that the trite saying of
Voltaire, that language was invented to disguise our thoughts, was
equally appreciated by savage as by civilized races.
[Illustration: ALBINO WOMAN, KING COUNTRY.]
Tawhiao's speech, however, when finally declining the proposals of the
Native Minister, when, in face of all the inducements held out to him,
he stoutly refused to resign his _mana_, or sovereign authority, is
worthy a place here, not only as an interesting example of the Maori
style of oratory, but likewise as a touching proof of the deep-rooted
desire of the old king to remain at the head of his decaying race.
[Illustration: WHITIORA WIROUIRU TE KOMETE.
(_A Chief of the Waikato Tribe._)]
Tawhiao, who spoke with evident emotion on this occasion, said: "My
word is, do not speak at all; only listen" (addressed to his people).
"The best way of speaking is to listen. If this European" (the Native
Minister) "rises, the best thing to do is to listen. This is my word,
hearken you" (to Mr. Bryce). "I approve of you administering affairs
on that side--the European side. But my word is, I will jump on that
side, and stand. I have nothing to say. My only reason for going on
that side is to hear--to listen, so that I may know. I say I will
remain in the positions of my ancestors and my parents in this island
of Aotearoa.[12] I will remain here; and as for my proceedings, let
me proceed along my own line. I have nothing to say; I have only to
listen, so that I may know. After I have listened I will come back
to this side of our line.[13] Say what you have to say. That is my
thought, that I will remain here, in the place where my ancestors and
fathers trod; but if I had trodden anywhere else, then I could be
spoken to about it. I still adhere to the word that existed from the
commencement. The queen was not divided; her rule has been obeyed. Now,
say what you have to say. With me there is no trouble or darkness. What
I have said to you is good; it has been said in the daylight, while
the sun is shining. I do not mind falling, if only I do not fall as my
cloak would fall. I can traverse all the words. This is another word of
mine. I am teaching; I will remain here. You can remain on your side
and administer affairs, and I will remain on my side. Let me be here,
on this side of our own line. Speak while the sun is shining. It has
been said for a long time that the Europeans are against me. My reply
to that is, that the _pakeha_ is with me. But let me remain here at
Aotearoa. I will direct my people this very day as we sit here. I will
not go off in any new direction, but will be as my ancestors were."
[Illustration: PAORA TU HAERE.
(_Head Chief of the Ngati Whatua Tribe._)]
After the Native Minister had replied to the king's speech, the
present of provisions given by the government, consisting of beef,
flour, sugar, and biscuits, was hauled to the front in bullock drays,
and, after being piled into a heap, Major Te Wheoro stepped forward
and acknowledged the donation on the part of the natives. When this
ceremony was concluded, loud shouts of joyful voices were heard in
the distance, and from each side of the _marae_ two separate bands of
about 200 women and girls came dancing along in variegated costumes,
with small baskets in their hands made of plaited flax, and filled with
cooked potatoes, roasted pork, and fish. They rounded up in front of
the meeting with a measured step, between a skip and a hop, and when
they had deposited their burdens in a heap, and grinned immensely, as
if to show their white teeth, half a dozen stalwart men came forward
with roasted pigs cut in twain, or rather amputated down the centre of
the spine. When these sweet luxuries had swelled the dimensions of the
_kai_,[14] Te Ngakau stepped forward, and, taking up a pronged stick,
or roasting-fork, formally presented this token of hospitality to the
government, which in its turn, according to custom, and to avoid the
incubus of a "white elephant," returned it with thanks to the natives.
Feasting then became the order of the day, and joining the king's
circle, we partook of the kindly fruits of the earth with unalloyed
satisfaction; and as table requisites were not plentiful, we dispensed
with those baubles of modern progress, and ate after the primitive mode
of our forefathers.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 11: _Marae_, an open space in front of a native settlement.]
[Footnote 12: _Aotearoa_ is the ancient native name for the North
Island; it is equivalent to "_land of bright sunlight_."]
[Footnote 13: Meaning the _Aukati_ or boundary-line separating the King
Country from the European portion of the colony.]
[Footnote 14: _Kai_, Maori word for food.]
CHAPTER III.
ASCENT OF PIRONGIA.
Mount Pirongia--Geological features--The ascent--A fair prospect.
[Illustration: HATI WIRA TAKAHI.
(_Chief of the Ngapuhi Tribe._)]
The steep, rugged heights of Mount Pirongia are at all times an
attractive feature in the splendid landscape which stretches along
the course of the Waikato River and thence through the valley of the
Waipa to the very borders of the King Country. Rising to a height of
3146 feet above the level of the sea, the conical peaks of this grand
mountain stand boldly out against the sky as they change and shift,
as it were, with magical effect, when viewed from different points
of vantage, now assuming the form of gigantic pyramids, now swelling
into dome-shaped masses connected by long, sweeping ridges which lose
themselves in deep ravines, and rolling slopes whose precipitous sides
sometimes end in steep precipices, or open out into broad valleys
covered from base to summit by a thick mantle of vegetation. When
beheld from a distance, Pirongia appears to have been moulded by the
hand of nature into the most subdued and graceful proportions, over
which are constantly playing the most enchanting effects of light and
shade, and it is not until one stands at the base of this stupendous
mountain of eruptive rock that one fully realizes the bold features
of its rugged outline, as one contemplates in wonder the work of those
terrific subterranean forces which, at some period or another, caused
this volcanic giant to rear its rugged head above the surrounding
plains. Beneath the bright morning light, or when evening spreads
its mellow tints over the heavens, the mountain is seen to its best
advantage; but when the heavily laden clouds from the west sweep in
from the sea, they gather round the lofty summit of Pirongia in a thick
pall of vapoury mist, and then, bursting into a flood of rain, roll
down its steep sides to swell the current of the Waipa.
[Illustration: TAWHAO NGATUERE.
(_A Chief of the Ngatikahunu Tribe._)]
When viewed from a geological point of view, Pirongia formed evidently
at some remote period of its history the centre of an extended volcanic
action to which the extensive ranges stretching from this point in
many ramifications to the west coast, and thence in the direction of
Whaingaroa harbour in the north and Kawhia harbour in the south, owe
their origin. When standing upon the summit of the mountain, it may be
plainly seen that the Pirongia ranges diverge in all directions from
a common centre, formed by the most elevated portion of the volcanic
cone which constitutes the highest point of the mountain chain. For a
considerable distance to the north and south, and as far west as the
coast, this mountainous system extends in an almost continuous line,
and assumes an elevation which varies from nearly 2000 to 3000 feet
above the level of the sea, but it gradually diminishes in altitude
towards the east, in the form of low hills and undulating slopes which
finally merge into the broad plains which mark the upper and lower
valleys of the Waipa. Throughout these extensive ranges there is little
or no open country, but mountain top after mountain top, ridge after
ridge, ravine after ravine, stretch away as far as the eye can reach
in a confused rugged mass covered with a dense and almost impenetrable
vegetation. The summit or highest point of Pirongia, which assumes
the form of a large oval-shaped, though now much broken, crater, was
evidently the central point of eruption of the volcanic forces which
caused the various higher ranges and lower hills to radiate from this
point and assume their serrated and disjointed form, and it is here, as
well as in the numerous gullies and ravines which spring from it, that
the geological features of the various rocks may be more distinctly
traced. As in all formations of the kind in its vicinity, the igneous
rocks predominate, and of these trachyte is the most common; huge
masses of this rock cropping up everywhere above the surface of the
mountain. Scoria, obsidian, pumice, and other volcanic rocks likewise
occur, their gradual decomposition serving to form a dark rich soil,
which covers the sides of the mountain and gives life to its splendid
vegetation.
[Illustration: A CHIEF OF THE NGATIPROA TRIBE.]
When I made the ascent of Pirongia it was in the pleasant company of
Mr. F.J. Moss, Member of the House of Representatives. The country
around the eastern base of the mountain was composed of a series of
low, fern-clad hills, intersected by small swamps and watercourses fed
principally from the mountain springs.
[Illustration: PARATENE TE MANU.
(_A Chief of the Ngatiwai Tribe._)]
The moment we left the fern hills and entered the forest all the
varied beauties of its rich growth burst upon the view. The steep
ascent of the mountain began almost at once, and our path lay along
the precipitous ridges which sweep down on every side from its summit,
clothed with a thick growth of enormous trees, and rich in all the
wondrous creations of a primeval vegetation. Among the many giants of
the vegetable world was the _rata_, which, clothed with its curious
growth of parasitical plants, towered high above its compeers of the
forest. Many of these trees were of enormous size, especially when
they grew in the low, damp gullies, where they attained to a height
of considerably over a hundred feet, with a girth of from thirty to
forty feet at their base. A few of these giants were scattered about
the high ridges, but they appeared to thrive best, and to attain their
greatest girth, near the low, damp beds of the small watercourses,
which, bursting from the adamantine sides of the mountain, and leaping
along their rocky course, formed the only music that enlivened these
bush-bound solitudes.
[Illustration: TUKUKINO.
(_Head Chief of the Ngatitematera._)]
When we reached the summit of the mountain, we emerged from the thick
forest on to an open spot which commanded a delightful prospect.
Turning towards the west, we stood on the brink of a precipice which
fell in a clear descent of 1000 feet into the ravine below; here and
there a jutting mass of rock stood out in rugged grandeur from the
adamantine wall of stone, but otherwise a thick growth of matted scrub
covered the sides and bottom of this enormous fissure, and so dense
and entangled was the vegetation as we looked down upon it, that it
appeared quite possible to walk upon the tops of the trees without
falling to the ground. Far beyond this, mountain after mountain rolled
away in the distance, until the eye rested on the grand expanse of
Kawhia Harbour, dotted with its broad inlets and numerous headlands,
which rose in picturesque beauty above the deep-blue outline of the
distant sea. North-westerly from this point the bright waters of Aotea
Harbour lay embosomed in a semicircle of hills, and, beyond again,
Mount Karioi rose from the borders of the ocean to an altitude of 2300
feet. East and south of this the Whanga Ranges bounded the horizon,
and right opposite to Pirongia the bold peaks of Maungakawa and
Maungatautari rose into view. Between this wide area there were lower
hills which radiated from the mountain ranges, but it could be plainly
seen that the greater portion of the country was formed of level plains
dotted here and there with small lakes and extensive swamps, through
which the Waikato and the Waipa, with their numerous tributaries, could
be traced as they wound for miles away in the distance. Here and there
upon the cultivated flats the white houses of the settlers, embowered
amidst orchards and gardens, dotted the landscape, while Alexandra,
Kihikihi, Hamilton, and Cambridge, and numerous other settlements,
served to mark the spots where future cities may ere long grow into
existence, and add wealth and prosperity to this fertile land. It was,
however, when gazing in the direction of the south, where the King
Country lay stretched for miles before us in all the wide, rich beauty
of a virgin country, that the grandest natural scenery burst upon the
view, and charmed the imagination with the thought of a bright future.
The _aukati_ or boundary-line could be distinctly traced, on the one
side by farms and homesteads, and on the other by the huts of the
natives; but beyond these features there was nothing to denote that
the territory to the north was the abode of enlightenment, and that
the land to the south was a primeval wilderness still wrapped in the
darkness of primitive barbarism.
[Illustration: TE RAIA NGAKUTU TE TUMUHUIA.
(_Head Chief of the Ngatitematera tribe. Last of the New Zealand
Cannibals._)]
THE LAKE COUNTRY.
CHAPTER IV.
AUCKLAND TO OHINEMUTU.
The flank movement--Auckland Harbour--Tauranga--Whakari--The
_tuatara_--_En route_--The Gate Pa--All that remains--Oropi--A
grand forest--Mangorewa Gorge--Mangorewa River--A region of eternal
fire.
A little short of five months after the events which I have recorded
in the previous chapters took place, I embarked on board the S.S.
_Glenelg_, for Tauranga. I had selected to travel by this way as I had
determined to reach the Lake Country by the East Coast, pass through
the centre of the island, enter the King Country at its southern
extremity, and, if possible, carry on my explorations northward to
Alexandra. Owing to the unsatisfactory condition of the Native Question
at that time, the undertaking appeared to be a hopeless one, but I
resolved to give it a fair trial, and as the _Glenelg_ glided over
the calm waters of Auckland Harbour, half the difficulties which had
previously presented themselves to my mind seemed to disappear with
the fading rays of the sun as they played over the water, cast fitful
shadows athwart the romantic islands of the bay, and lit up the tall
spires of the receding city.
As we sped on in the golden twilight, some of the most attractive
views were obtained of the renowned harbour which places the northern
capital of New Zealand at the head of all antipodean cities for
grandeur of scenery, and as a mart for commerce, and which, in time
to come, should transform it into the Naples of the Pacific. On every
side the most delightful prospects unfolded themselves; the city with
its forest of houses rising and falling over hill and valley, and
clustering around the tall, grassy cones, once the scene of raging
volcanic fires, next crowned with Maori _pas_, and now dotted with neat
villas. Small inlets and jutting points of land came constantly before
the gaze; the forest-clad mountains of Cape Colville and Coromandel
mounted boldly above the sea; in the east, Kawau, the island home of
Sir George Grey, rose in the north, backed by the rugged peaks of
the Barrier Islands; while right in the centre of this grand picture
the volcanic cone of Rangitoto towered to a height of 800 feet above
the wide expanse of water. Every point, each sinuous bay and jutting
headland, was rich in a varied vegetation of the brightest green,
and as the softly tinted light--violet, crimson, and yellow--so
characteristic of New Zealand sunsets, mingled with the deep blue of
the sea as the shades of evening crept on, and the stars shone forth
from above--the whole surroundings, as our vessel glided rapidly on her
way, combined to form an ever-changing panorama of unrivalled beauty.
When, early on the following morning, we steamed into Tauranga Harbour,
the sea was as smooth as a sheet of glass, the heavens were blue and
cloudless, and the town, the fern-clad hills, and the mountains in the
distance, completed one of the most attractive pictures of New Zealand
scenery I had ever beheld. In front the neat white houses of the
settlement rose from the very edge of the lake-like expanse of water,
the country beyond lay stretched before the gaze in a broad expanse
of green, whilst the bold outline of the coast, with its jutting
headlands, extended for miles on either side.
[Illustration: WHAKARI, OR WHITE ISLAND.]
Tauranga is not a large place, but its situation is delightful. It
is built mostly along the west shore of the harbour, and commands a
splendid view of the great ocean beyond, with its picturesque islands,
which rise in fantastic shape, from the broad surface of the Bay of
Plenty. The harbour, which is completely landlocked, and safe in all
weathers, stretches out before the town in the form of an inland lake.
The rugged islands of Tuhua, Karewha, and Motiti rise abruptly from the
surrounding sea, while in the distance, towards the east, the geysers
and boiling springs of Whakari send up their clouds of steam.
[Illustration: THE TUATARA.]
Whakari, or White Island, which lies about thirty miles from the shore
in the Bay of Plenty, is a cone-shaped mountain rising abruptly from
the sea to an altitude of 860 feet. The crater, about a mile and a half
in circumference, is in the condition of a very active solfatara, whose
numerous geysers and boiling springs evolve at all times dense volumes
of steam and sulphurous gases. There are large deposits of sulphur
surrounding the crater, and several small warm lakes of sulphurous
water. It lies in the line of active thermal action which stretches
across the North Island through the Lake Country to the volcano of
Tongariro, with which, according to native tradition, it is supposed to
be connected by a subterranean channel.
The small rocky island of Karewha in the Bay of Plenty is remarkable
as being the only remaining abode of the _tuatara_ (_Hatteria
punctata_,[15]) the largest lizard in New Zealand. It is a
non-venomous reptile, about eighteen inches long, with a ridge of
sharp-pointed spines like a fringe down its back, and which it raises
or depresses at pleasure.
When I left Tauranga, well mounted, _en route_ for the Lake Country,
the air was delightfully fresh and balmy, and the fervid glow of the
sun soon dispelled the vapoury mist that hung around. All the roads
leading out of the town were white with shell, and fringed with trees,
among which the tall poplar and weeping willow were conspicuous by
their luxuriance, while the bright verdure contrasted pleasantly with
the picturesque villas, around which all the beauties of the floral
world flourished in luxuriance. Here the grass was of an emerald green,
the trees looked as fresh as if growing under the influence of an
English spring, the jasmine, the clematis, and the honeysuckle wound
their graceful tendrils about, and whole acres of sweetbriar scented
the air with its delightful perfume. The country soon opened out into
broad plains and undulating hills, which rose in the form of a bold
amphitheatre to the forest-clad heights beyond, until suddenly there
appeared right in front of me an extensive expanse of fern.
Away over the plains, down the slopes of the ravines, over the distant
hills and into the valleys beyond, fern, fern, nothing but fern, rolled
away in every direction as far as the eye could reach, its green,
waving surface losing itself in the distance like a boundless sea. I
had beheld many bits of scenery in the colony similar to this, but
this wild fern-clad region had a special charm about it, for it had
gained for itself a place in the history of New Zealand which will be
as memorable, perhaps, in time to come as are the plains of Hastings,
where Norman and Saxon fought for the mastery of Britain.
The road hereabouts passed over a slight elevation which assumed the
form of a circular hill about fifty feet high, but the ascent to which
was very gradual from the plain below, while it was naturally flanked
by deep gullies down to which the sides of the hill fall in a long
sweep. There was nothing in this place to render it remarkable other
than the fact that it was formerly the site of the celebrated Gate
Pa,[16] and it was to the east of it, in the fern-clad flat below,
just eighteen years ago, that General Cameron, with two regiments of
infantry and a body of marines, numbering in all 4000 men, took up his
position to storm one of the most formidable of Maori strongholds.
Thoroughly equipped with all the appliances of modern warfare, the 43rd
and 68th Regiments manoeuvred into position to attack a force of 500
natives armed only with the rifle and tomahawk, and entrenched behind
a rude stockade of _manuka_ and fern. At first victory seemed easy for
the Imperial forces, and, with such powerful allies as the bayonet
and Armstrong gun, there appeared little more to do than to scale the
redoubts, storm the rifle-pits, and place their colours on the summit
of the Gate Pa. But with that cunning strategy which characterizes
savage races in the art of war, the Maoris had hit upon a grand idea
to deceive their enemies. They did not place their red fighting-flags
in the _pa_ where their main forces were, as the _pakeha_ would
have done, but they distributed them in outlying positions below
the stockade, and then they surrounded their false encampments with
barricades of plaited twigs, and covered their rifle-pits with roofs
of fern. The stratagem was successful, and Cameron directed his
fire against these decoys, but of course without effect. The firing
continued from daylight until late in the afternoon, when a storming
party was told off to rush the place. The gallant 43rd were the first
to scale the stockades of the _pa_, but their leader was immediately
shot down, and they retreated in disorder; while the 68th, charging the
right flank of the enemy's position, were thrice repulsed and driven
back under a galling fire. It was now found, just as at Balaclava, that
"some one had blundered," and that the British were firing upon one
another instead of upon the enemy. The natives now, surrounded within
the _pa_, rallied their forces, and as the dark masses swept down upon
the thin red line fighting with the bravery of despair, a panic seized
the Imperial troops, and then began one of the most terrible repulses
and massacres ever experienced by British arms.
Every vestige of the Gate Pa has now disappeared, and nothing but a
small homestead, a ploughed field, and a few Australian gum-trees
mark the spot where this most disastrous of Anglo-Maori battles was
fought, and yet, although peace and prosperity seemed to smile around
as I passed over the old battle-field, I could imagine that I beheld
the rude stronghold intact, the red coats crowding up the heights, and
the flash of bayonet and tomahawk as the bullets whistled overhead
and the shells burst in the air, as the fierce savages dashed forward
massacring their foes with a deadly and cruel hatred, and shouting
loud war-cries which drowned the British cheers in sounds of agony
and death. And I could imagine all this the more vividly since it was
only the night before that I had wandered past the redoubt hard by
Tauranga to the small graveyard which crowned the summit of a cliff
that looked out over the clear waters of the bay. Here a tall monument
of pyramidal shape rose up at the further end, sacred to the memory of
the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates who had fallen
in the East Coast campaign, while other smaller gravestones stood
about like sentinels. Most of these monuments were simple in design,
some were flat, some stood erect, and some were fashioned in the shape
of crosses, but each told its glorious tale; and as I traced out the
inscriptions by the light of the moon, I could read how one brave man
had met death at Te Ranga, and another at the Gate Pa.
About thirteen miles from Tauranga I ascended to Oropi, which stands
at an elevation of over 1000 feet above the level of the sea, and at
the edge of the elevated table-land which extends for a considerable
distance beyond. Looking back along the road I had come, from this
point a delightful view was obtained of the surrounding country, with
Tauranga and its splendid harbour in the distance, while along the
coast might be traced the winding outline of the Bay of Plenty, with
its picturesque islands rising in rugged grandeur from the sea. The sun
blazed warm when I reached Oropi, and it was a delightful change from
the treeless, fern-clad country to enter the cool refreshing shade of
a magnificent forest, where giant trees, tall ferns, and myriads of
creeping plants and curious mosses and lichens charmed the eye by their
grandeur and variety at every turn.
For a long distance the road took a gradual rise of about 400 feet from
Oropi, and then from a certain point at this elevation, that is to
say, at an altitude of about 1500 feet above the level of the sea, it
gradually descended 200 feet in the direction of the Mangorewa Gorge.
It is not easy to convey an idea of the Mangorewa Gorge; but one must
imagine a mighty chasm some 200 feet deep, sunk like a pit on the top
of the mountains, which here rise to an altitude of about 1600 feet
above the sea, the adamantine sides of the gorge falling with a clear
descent of nearly 200 feet from their summit level. A sparkling stream,
the Mangorewa, fringed with colossal trees, wound at the bottom of
this walled ravine, and towering masses of rock rose up in the form of
bold bluffs and jutting buttresses along its wild and rugged course,
forming, as it were, the outline of a colossal stronghold built by the
gods to guard the entrance to the wondrous country beyond.
As I gained the bottom of the ravine the steep, rocky crags stood
out in bold relief against the sky, the walls of rock gleamed white
beneath the rich growth of mosses, trees, and ferns that fought, as
it were, for life up the steep sides, while gay festoons of curious
creeping plants hung from their rugged edges high in the air above. The
Mangorewa River wound on its way from out a rich canopy of overhanging
trees, where the ferns, mosses, and curious parasitical growth, all
mingling together, shut out the rays of the sun from the vistas beyond,
and where the dark, dank groves, with their gnarled branches and
coiling vines, appeared like the realms of a deserted land. From the
bottom of the gorge the road ascended to an altitude of 210 feet to the
opposite crown of the range, and from this point a descent of 800 feet
was made to the great table-land of the Lake region.
It was evening when I finally emerged from the forest, and then
the road descended rapidly as if into a basin surrounded by hills
and mountains, among which the sharp peaks of Mount Tarawera were
conspicuous by their rugged grandeur. Right in front the shining
surface of Lake Rotorua caught the last rays of the setting sun, while
on its shores the native _whares_ of Ohinemutu stood clustered about
amidst vapoury clouds of steam, when suddenly even the water flowing
from the side of the road bubbled up and smoked, and as the mists of
night mingled with the vapours around, I seemed to have arrived at a
region of eternal fire.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 15: For a synopsis of the New Zealand _fauna_, see Appendix.]
[Footnote 16: This word is often written _pah_, but, as a consonant is
never used as a terminal in the Maori language, the addition of the _h_
is an innovation.]
CHAPTER V.
HOT-SPRING LIFE.
Ohinemutu and Lake Rotorua--Te Ruapeka--The old pa--Native
baths--Delightful bathing--A curious graveyard--Pigs--Area
of thermal action--Character of the springs--Chemical
constituents--Noted springs--Whakarewarewa--Te Koutu
Kahotawa--"Tenakoe, pakeha"--Hot and cold.
The township of Ohinemutu occupies one of the grandest situations
in the whole of the Lake district. It is built on a slight eminence
called Pukeroa, which rises with a gradual slope from the shores of
Lake Rotorua, whose bright blue waters add a romantic charm to the
surrounding country.
In front the broad surface of the lake spreads itself out in a circle
of nearly twenty-five miles in circumference, and along the bright,
sandy shore of this beautiful sheet of water small bays, fringed with
trees, and jutting points, clothed with the greenest vegetation, add
variety to the attractive scene; beyond these again, wide, fern-clad
flats roll away to the base of the distant hills, which, rising in the
form of a complete semicircle around, seemed to have formed at some
period or another the area of an immense lake-basin, until the waters,
bursting into the rugged gorges, swept into the valleys of the country
beyond. Some of the hills fall with a gentle slope to the very brink of
the water, others send out their rock-bound spurs, while some, again,
mounting high above the rest, have their tall summits clothed with
dense forests; while deep ravines, thick with a marvellous growth of
vegetation, send down their crystal streams to mingle with the fierce
waters of the boiling springs, which skirt the lake and send forth
their jets and clouds of steam for miles around.
The native settlement, Te Ruapeka, is situated on a long peninsula,
about 100 yards wide at its broadest part, narrowing gradually towards
its end, where it terminates in a sharp point, as it runs flatly out
almost on a level with the waters of the lake.
Every part of this strip of land, from one end to the other, is dotted
about and riddled with thermal springs, some of which shoot out of the
ground from small apertures, while others assume the form of large,
steaming pools. They are of all degrees of temperature, from tepid heat
to boiling-point; and while you may cook your food in one, you may take
a delicious bath in another, and get scalded to death in a third.
In former times a _pa_ stood at the further end of the peninsula, but
one stormy night a rumbling noise was heard, then a sound of hissing
steam, the trembling earth opened, and the _pa_ with all its people
sank bodily into the depths of the lake.
All the _whares_ of the settlement are built, after the native fashion,
of _raupo_, with large recesses in front of the doorways, the woodwork
of which is curiously carved, and forms a very good specimen of the
Maori order of architecture. The _whares_ are clustered promiscuously
about the springs, and it is no unfrequent occurrence to see a stalwart
savage, a buxom woman with a baby in her arms, a sprightly youth, or
a dark-eyed damsel come out from the carved portals of a hut in the
primitive costume of our first parents, and jump into one of the many
square stone baths dotted about, and with no other regard for their
neighbours who may be standing or squatting around than if they were so
many carved images.
[Illustration: NATIVE WOMAN AND CHILD.
(_Ohinemutu._)]
The natives use these baths at all times of the day, and even at all
times of the night--that is to say, if a man feels chilly in bed, he
gets up and makes for his bath in order to get warm again. Bathing here
seems to be a second nature, and the women and girls arrange afternoon
bath-parties just as we might assemble our friends at an afternoon tea.
There is something very delightful in bathing in the open in one
of these thermal springs. I had my first and last Turkish bath in
Constantinople, where the whole process had been so elaborately
improved upon by all that Eastern art for luxury could devise, that to
go through the ordeal was positively painful, by reason of the state
of luxuriousness to which it had been wrought. Here all is primitive
simplicity, ceremony is dispensed with, perfumes--at least of "Araby
the blest"--are unknown. You sniff the fresh air, which in these parts
feels like the elixir of life, plunge in, and sit for hours, mooning
the time away in a soft, stimulating heat, beneath the glowing rays of
the sun; and if you are not satisfied with this, to complete the luxury
you may leave the bath, and sit down, naked as you are, on a seat of
heated slabs, where you may be steamed and "vaporized" on the coldest
day or the most frigid night without fear of taking cold or of being
doubled up by rheumatism.
Not only do the natives use the springs for bathing and curative
purposes, and not only do they warm their houses by their means, and
perform all their culinary duties by their aid, but they actually bury
their dead among them. I went down to the further point of the native
settlement, where there is a small graveyard situated among boiling
springs and steaming fissures that crop up everywhere over the ground,
as if the volcanic fires below were just ready to burst forth and
swallow up the living with the dead. Portions of curious carvings, old
canoes, and grotesque figures in wood lay scattered about in every
direction, and one was apt to wonder how it was that they had not long
since been destroyed or carted off to grace some antiquarian museum
as relics of a rude art which is fast falling into decay. But these
remnants of native industry were all _tapu_, and were as sacred in the
eyes of the Maoris as would be a piece of the "true cross" on the altar
of a cathedral in Catholic Spain. There was a small, dilapidated hut
here filled with coffins containing the remains of several celebrated
chiefs, and not far off was an oblong tomb, built of wood, surmounted
by a cross, and as I gazed upon it and then upon the grotesque figures
lying around, it seemed as if the darkness of heathenism had grappled
here with the light of Christianity. It was sacred to the beloved wife
of Rotohiko Haupapa, the giant chief of Rotorua. Immediately behind
it was a spring with a temperature a little over boiling-point--in
fact, anywhere in the vicinity it was only necessary to sit upon the
grass, and you would find the heat from below rise up at once, or to
put your finger beneath the roots, when the soil would feel hot enough
to boil an egg. It appeared strange that the dead should be buried in
so singular a spot (unless they had done something very naughty when
in the flesh), and as the hot water bubbled up and hissed through the
fissures of the rocks, it seemed to whisper forth the sighs of those
below.
When walking around the _whares_, and noticing the various phases
of Maori hot-spring life, I saw half a dozen members of the porcine
tribe come quietly along with an easy, self-satisfied air, as if they
had just gone through their morning ablutions in the warm, bubbling
fountains, and were going to root round for steamed potatoes, boiled
cabbage, and other delicacies. Suddenly a half-naked Maori slunk out
of his hut, with a long knife between his teeth. Quick as thought,
and with the skill of a champion assassin, he seized the foremost pig
by the hind leg. A prod from the knife, and the crimson blood of the
murdered animal mingled with a rill of boiling water, which was running
past in a hurry, as it were, to cool itself in the lake. A twist of the
wrist, and the pig was jerked into a steaming pool, where the heated
waters twirled and hissed as if in a red-hot cauldron. Out again in an
instant, and then he set to work to scrape off the bristles, which came
away in flakes, as if they had simply been stuck on by nature by the
aid of a little glue, and the skin of the porker gleamed white as snow
beneath the sun. In two minutes more he was disemboweled, and then he
was placed over a steam-hole, with a couple of sacks over him, to be
cooked for the evening meal. From the time that pig gaily walked the
earth until the end of that terrible process, about fifteen minutes
expired.
The area in the immediate vicinity of Lake Rotorua where the action
of the thermal springs is most active may be said to extend from
Whakarewarewa on the one side to Te Koutu on the other. The distance
between the two points is about three and a half miles, the thermal
action extending inland for about a mile from the border of the lake to
Ariki Kapakapa, celebrated for its big holes of black, boiling mud. A
short distance from the eastern shore of the lake is Tikitere, a narrow
valley in the centre of which is a boiling-water basin, about seventy
feet in diameter, and which is surrounded in every direction by hot
mud-pools and boiling springs. Close to Tikitere is Lake Rotoiti,[17]
whose deep bays and jutting headlands impart to it a very beautiful
appearance. Hot springs occur on its southern shore, while still
further to the east of it, again, are the warm lakes known as Rotoma
and Rotoehu, the waters of the two latter being rendered of a greyish,
opaque colour by the action of the subaqueous springs.
All the country within the existing range of thermal action, and, in
fact, considerably beyond it, bears the distinctive traces of the
combined work of fire and water, while the ground for miles around is
covered with silicious and sulphurous deposits, together with pumice,
scoria, obsidian, alum, oxide of iron, and various other products, the
result of the igneous and aqueous action which is everywhere observable
in the form of geysers, hot springs, boiling mud-holes, _solfataras_,
and _fumaroles_, and which are known to the natives under the more
general terms of _ngawha, puia_, and _waiariki_.[18] All the geysers
and most of the springs are intermittent, while not a few are very
erratic in their movements, subsiding in one place and breaking out
in another with wonderful rapidity. The water of some of the springs
is as blue and as bright as crystal, in others it is of a greenish
tint, while in not a few it assumes a dirty yellow colour. Nearly
every spring possesses properties peculiar to itself, and mostly all
are more or less efficacious in the treatment of rheumatic and nervous
complaints, and cutaneous and spinal disorders.
[Illustration: NATIVE VILLAGE.
(_Lake Rotoiti_).
_Page 62._]
Upon analysis, the springs are found to contain various chemical
ingredients, but in different proportions, according to the quality or
properties of the water. Among the principal chemical bodies may be
mentioned the chlorides of sodium, potassium, lithium, calcium, and
magnesium; the sulphates of soda, lime, potash, magnesia, alumina,
and iron; the silicates of soda, lime, and magnesia. In the acids,
hydrochloric, sulphuric, and muriatic are found in abundance, while
both sulphuretted hydrogen and carbonic acid gas are largely evolved.
The most important springs are situated at Sulphur Point--a small
peninsula at the southern end of Lake Rotorua. One of the most noted
is Whangapipiro, a large circular pool of hot saline water, with
silicates, and with an alkaline reaction. The water, which is only a
few degrees below boiling-point, is perfectly blue, and as clear as
crystal, and when you look down into its deep and apparently fathomless
basin, the white, alabaster-like deposits of silica hanging around its
sides make it appear like a picturesque grotto formed of coral rock.
Near to this bath is Te Kauhanga, or the "Pain-killer," the water of
which is saline, with excess of acid and acid reaction. It is very
efficacious in cases of acute rheumatism, and many marvellous cures
are said to have been effected by it. Not far distant is Te Kauwhanga,
a large, muddy basin, with a constant discharge of gas, which rises
in the form of large bubbles upon the slimy-looking surface. The
waters of this bath are slightly saline, with excess of acid and acid
reaction, while the gas which is constantly evolved produces upon
many, when inhaled, similar effects to those of laughing-gas. Nearer
to the lake is Te Pupunitanga formed by a warm spring of transparent
water, the properties of which are aluminous, and strongly acid, with
acid reaction. The water of this spring is very beneficial in cases
of acute rheumatism and cutaneous disorders, and when used in its
natural state--that is to say, without the admixture of fresh water--it
produces a tingling sensation, and causes the skin to assume for a
short time the redness of a boiled lobster. The "Coffee-pot" is a
hole about twelve feet in diameter, full of hot, bubbling mud of the
colour of coffee, and which rolls and splutters about in a constant
state of ebullition. The "Sulphur Cups," not far distant, are formed
by small sulphurous springs of various degrees of temperature, which
flow out of circular, cup-shaped basins, about four feet in diameter,
around which the bright yellow mineral is deposited in the form of
glittering crystals, while the "Cream Cups"--delicate and beautiful in
formation--are fashioned out of cup-shaped craters, from the centre of
each of which shoots forth a jet of sulphurous gas and steam.
From Sulphur Point I rode across to Whakarewarewa. Situated about two
miles to the south-west, and at the base of a range of bare hills,
was a native settlement, surrounded by a wide area of thermal action.
Here the geysers, hot springs, mud-holes, mud-cones, and _solfataras_
were scattered about in every direction, while the ground hissed and
seethed, as it were, in fury beneath one's feet. It was just such a
place where you would expect at any moment to go head-first into a
mud-hole or boiling spring, or be scalded to death by a shower of hot
water from the big geysers as they threw up their steaming columns
of silvery liquid high into the air with a loud, rumbling sound like
distant thunder. One of the largest geysers here, called by the
natives Waikite, issues from a cone of silicious rock nearly fifty
feet high and over a hundred feet in diameter, and in its most active
moments throws up an enormous column of boiling water to a height of
sixty feet. Many of the numerous springs here possess great curative
properties, while the mud-holes and fumaroles are amongst the largest
and most active in the district.
At Te Koutu, which lies on the shores of the lake, about a mile on the
north side of Ohinemutu, there is a very interesting chain of warm
springs and mud-holes. This is one of the most beautiful situations
on Rotorua, of which a splendid view is obtained, with the island of
Mokoia in the distance, and the forest-clad mountain Ngongotaha, rising
to a height of 2554 feet above the level of the sea, and just in rear
of the small native settlement, which here skirts the margin of the
wide expanse of water. There is one beautiful spring here, called
Tupuhi, of clear, hot water, which fills a snow-white silicious basin,
about ninety feet long, while within a few feet of it is a circular
basin of the same kind, in which the water is only of tepid heat. It
is surrounded by a mantle of green grass, and the water of the darkest
blue makes it look like a big turquoise set in a border of alabaster
and emeralds.
I was shown round this locality by a native guide, who took me to
a large hole where a warm spring, called Kahotawa, bubbled up in a
mixture of greenish mud and scum. Its black sides were overgrown with
ferns, and a few sticks were placed across it in a mystic, cabalistic
kind of way. When we got near to it, I noticed that my guide drew back,
and when I motioned for him to follow me, in order to explain the
mystery, he informed me in the most solemn way that it was _tapu_ for
the Maori, but not for the _pakeha_. He afterwards stated that it was
sacred to an aged chief, or _rangatira_, who had been buried in it. I
did not envy the old man his last resting-place, for I had never seen a
grave that looked so much like a cauldron of hot turtle soup.
Soon afterwards I passed in front of a _whare_ built within a few
feet of the lake, where there was an open bath right in front of the
doorway. It was formed of a few slabs let into the ground, like a
square box, to hold the water. A small warm spring filled it, and then
ran over its sides into the lake. I should not have taken any notice
of this simple contrivance, had it not been for the fact that a maiden
of some seventeen summers was reclining at full length in it, in the
simple yet attractive costume of Eve, and with a short black pipe in
her mouth. I had stepped round the corner of the hut, and was within
a foot of going head-first into the bath before her well-rounded
form met my gaze. She was, however, in no way disconcerted by this
_contretemps_, but, fixing her dark eyes upon me, said, in the most
unconcerned way imaginable, "_Tenakoe, pakeha_."[19] There was not the
slightest tinge of immodesty in her manner; she simply lay shining
beneath the sun, with all the grace with which nature had endowed her,
looking like a beautiful bronze statue encased in a block of crystal.
At some distance further on I got into a warm bath myself, which caused
a delightful sensation of glowing warmth, and when I was tired of this
I plunged into the cool water of the lake, which produced an effect
which seemed to brace up every nerve and muscle. There is nothing which
strings up the system so well as a mixed bath of this kind, and there
is no place where it can be enjoyed with greater comfort or pleasure
than at Te Koutu, where the springs are close to the shore, and where
the waters of the lake shallow gradually over a white bed of sandy
pumice.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 17: The word _roto_ in Maori is equivalent to lake. Hence
Roto-rua, "lake number two;" Roto-iti, "small lake;" Roto-ma, "white
lake;" Roto-ehu, "muddy lake;" Roto-mohana, "warm lake," &c.]
[Footnote 18: The term _ngawha_ is used to designate non-intermittent
springs and _solfataras; puia_ is applied to geysers and hot fountains;
_waiariki_ means a spring suitable for bathing.]
[Footnote 19: _Tenakoe, pakeha_, "I salute you, stranger," is the usual
Maori salutation addressed to Europeans.]
CHAPTER VI.
TRADITION, IDOLATRY, AND ROMANCE.
Origin of the Maoris--Te Kupe--First canoes--The _runanga_
house--Maori carving--Renowned ancestors--Tama te Kapua--Stratagem
of the stilts--Legend of the whale--The Arawa canoe--Noted
braves--Mokia--A curious relic--Gods of the Arawas--Mokia by
night--Hinemoa--A love song.
When I went to Te Ruapeka to view the _runanga_ house, it was in
company with Mr. C.O. Davis, a gentleman well-known throughout the
colony as an accomplished Maori scholar, and as one who has done much
to advance the spiritual welfare of the natives; and it was to his
kindly assistance I am indebted for much of the information I gained
on that occasion respecting the singular history of the Maori race,
and the remarkable legends connected with the graven images of their
curious temple of ancestor-worship.
From the earliest period of Maori history Te Ruapeka has been the
principal home of the Ngatiwhakaue, a section of the great Arawa tribe,
whose territory extends over the Lake Country to the East Coast.
Attracted, as it were, from their first landing upon the island to
the magnificent scenery of this portion of the newly discovered land,
the Arawas made their homes among the lakes, whose very shores and
mountains echo even to the present day with their songs and legends.
Whence they and the remainder of their race came, or at what period
they arrived from their mysterious dwelling-place beyond the sea, is
one of those interesting events in connection with their history which
have been lost in the dim vista of the past. The Maoris of the present
day refer to Hawaiki as the fatherland of their race, and hence the
proverb: _I kune mai i Hawaiki te kune kai te kune tangata_, "the seed
of our coming is from Hawaiki, the seed of man"; but of the locality of
this place, beside the belief that it was an island somewhere in the
broad waters of the Pacific, absolutely nothing beyond conjecture is
known. They have, however, a distinct tradition that their ancestors
migrated to New Zealand in certain canoes, the names of which, with
the principal historical events connected with them, have been handed
down from father to son through countless generations,[20] and although
these ancestral reminiscences may appear to the ordinary mind like
a labyrinth of mythical fancies, since many of the incidents upon
which they have been founded appear to have been dimmed and distorted
by the march of time, yet when considered in connection with the
rude monuments which serve to perpetuate their memory, they form, as
it were, the missing links in the unwritten annals of a splendid,
albeit savage, race of people, who by their singular intelligence and
chivalrous valour will be remembered in the history of the world so
long as the brilliant record of the rise and progress of the British
Empire shall endure.
According to general tradition, the first of the Maori race to reach
Aotearoa, as the North Island was termed by its original discoverers,
was Te Kupe. This hero, who may be looked upon as a kind of Maori
Columbus endowed with supernatural power, is said to have severed the
North Island from the Middle Island, and thus to have formed the wide
channel of water now known as Cook's Strait. His achievements are thus
commemorated in a characteristic native song:--
I'll sing, I'll sing of Kupe, great and brave,
Who launch'd his bark and cross'd the mighty wave;
He--when the world from chaos rose to birth--
Divided into continents the earth;
He form'd the valleys, and the mountains too,
And gave the fruitful earth its vernal hue;
Alighting as a bird upon the deep,
He call'd the islands from their death-like sleep;
Then Kapiti and Mana[21] kiss'd the wave,
And Aropaoa[22] left its ocean grave;
These are the signs which my ancestor wrought,
When Aotearoa first his vision caught,
And now will I explore each nook and strand,
And take possession of this fertile land.[23]
When Te Kupe returned to Hawaiki, he gave such a glowing account of
the size, beauty, and products of Aotearoa, that a fleet of canoes was
immediately raised by his people to proceed to the newly discovered
country.[24] Each canoe was under a separate navigator, and contained
representatives of the principal Hawaikian tribes with their head
chiefs and _arikis_, or high priests, and it was the final dispersion
of these canoes to different parts of the North Island which gave rise
to the great tribal divisions of the race as resented at the present
day by the Arawas, the Ngapuhi,[25] the Waikatos, Ngatimaniapoto,
Ngatituwharetoa, Ngatiawa, Ngatiruanui, Ngatihau, and others, with
their various intertribal _hapus_, or families.
We found the _runanga_ house to be a well-built structure, about
seventy feet long, by forty feet in breadth. The carving about the
portals was of a very elaborate kind, and formed an interesting
specimen of native decorative art. On the left-hand side of the
entrance was a grotesquely carved figure, about twenty feet high, of
Pukaki, of the fifth generation of ancestors, and on the right-hand
side was an equally remarkable one of Pimiomarama, also of the fifth
generation.[26] At a short distance in front of the entrance was a tall
square flag-staff of singular design, and at the bottom of it a figure
of the chief Puruohutaiki elaborately tattooed in pink and white.
He is represented as grasping a _mere_, and is said, according to
Maori legend, to have been a noted ancestor in the mysterious land of
Hawaiki, and to have lived three generations before Tama te Kapua, to
whom the temple is dedicated.
[Illustration: SPECIMEN OF MAORI CARVING.]
Stepping inside the _runanga_ house, a very curious sight presented
itself. The roof, high and slanting, was supported by a decorated
ridge-pole, while the rafters, painted in bright colours of red, black,
and white, presented all those singular varieties of curved and twisted
lines which form one of the most remarkable features in the varied
designs of Maori decoration. In fact, it is the wonderful blending of
the circle and sweeping curve which adds to the carving and painting of
this ingenious race its special and most attractive charm, and places
it far beyond that of any other savage people for beauty combined with
a unique and graceful simplicity.
The lower walls of the temple were entirely surrounded by grotesque
figures, representing renowned ancestors of the Arawa tribe, and whose
genealogy dated back both before and after the landing of the first
immigrants. All these singular effigies appeared at the first glance to
have been carved after the same model, but, upon closer examination,
it could be seen that each one had some peculiarity of feature, some
distinctive turn or twist in the singular design of its elaborate
carving, while each had some facial expression or bodily characteristic
for which the particular hero represented was supposed to have been
remarkable when in the flesh. One and all were depicted with distorted
features, protruding tongues, and defiant mien, while their big staring
eyes were formed of the pearly shell of the fresh-water mussel.
As already stated, the _runanga_ house is dedicated to the memory of
Tama te Kapua, the captain of the _Arawa_ canoe. Before the canoe
landed, he acted the part of a primitive Lothario, and won the favours
of the wife of Ngatoroirangi, the _ariki_,[27] or chief priest of the
war craft. Indeed, he would appear to have been both a "gallant captain
and a bold." The effigy of this warrior occupies a central position
on the left on entering, and, curious to relate, he is represented as
standing on _poutoto_, or stilts. Now one of the legends connected with
the eventful life of this adventurous navigator is very remarkable.
Ages ago there lived on the island of Hawaiki a chief named Uenuku,
who had a garden filled with a fruit called _poporo_. Tama te Kapua
went for that fruit at night-time on stilts. The tribe could not find
out who it was that committed these midnight depredations. There were
no foot-prints around. Taipo[28] was the man. At last they found Tama
te Kapua up a tree _in flagrante delicto_, stilts and all. The natives
cried out in exultation, "Ah, we will fell the tree, and catch him."
Tama te Kapua replied with the greatest _sangfroid_, "If you fell the
tree, and it falls on land, I shall escape; if it falls in the water,
you will be able to capture me." He had, however, studied the question
from a strategic point of view, and knew that it was "heads," he won;
"tails," they lost. The tree fell into the water, but Tama te Kapua
dodged his pursuers, and, striking out with his stilts, got off with a
clean sheet.
It is not, however, for the above youthful escapade that the memory
of Tama te Kapua has been handed down to posterity in Maori song and
legend, but rather for what may be called the "stratagem of the whale,"
and which in its inception appears to have been quite equal to that of
the "wooden horse" of classic memory.
When the crew of the _Tainui_ canoe parted company with the crew of
the _Arawa_ canoe on the voyage from Hawaiki, the former came across
a whale. They captured the whale, and secured it by means of a rope
to a _pohutukawa_ tree on the coast, hard by Whangaparaoa. Early on
the morrow the _Arawa_ canoe came along, and sighted the whale. Tama
te Kapua resolved to annex the monster mammal. He could only do that,
however, with any show of justice, by establishing a preemptive right
to it. He was equal to the occasion. He fixed another rope to the
whale, but in so subtle and crafty a way as to leave no room for doubt
that the monarch of the sea had been first captured by his own crew. On
the following day a dispute arose between the two crews as to who had
captured the whale first, but Tama te Kapua pointed triumphantly to the
way his own rope was "bent on," whereat the Tainui braves struck their
colours, and sheered off. The _Tainui_ canoe passed along the coast to
the Tamaki River, where it was taken across the land to the Manukau,
and thence by sea to Kawhia, where it was drawn up. The _Arawa_ crew
landed at Maketu, where they ate the whale.
The _Arawa_ canoe is represented by a somewhat rude design upon the
wall, fully manned with crew and fuglemen in full war-costume, while
the prow is plumed and carved like those of the present day. The sun
and moon are depicted in the heavens, and right ahead is a bright star,
representing the brilliant constellation which is said to have guided
Tama te Kapua and his followers to the shores of Aotearoa. Two trees,
presumably intended to represent _pohutukawas_, are ahead of the canoe,
and to one of these a whale is attached by a rope.
There were many grotesque warriors and noted braves, around and among
them was a curious carved figure of Tutanekai, the lover of Hinemoa,
with his _putorino_, or flute, in his mouth, and by the magic strains
of which he caused the dark syren to swim, nymph-like, to his island
in the lake. It was a singular instrument, about a foot long, pointed
at both ends, and flattened out in the centre like a fish. Near to him
was the effigy of Uenukukopako, father of Whakatira, who was in his
turn father of Tutanekai, and with his tongue hanging far out of his
mouth, his eyes glaring wide, and his enormous hands pressed across his
stomach, he looked as if he were still suffering from the effects of
his adventures in the _Arawa_ canoe. Opposite was Whakatira, brother to
Tama te Kapua. He is also represented on stilts, and is said to have
been in partnership with his brother in the orchard-robbing business.
Here also was Tiki, with a flute in his mouth. He was the friend and
companion of Tutanekai. Near to him was Hurutirangi, grandson of
Tutanekai. He is represented as grasping a curious weapon, the top of
which was shaped like a bird's head. With this instrument he is said to
have killed a chief called Wahiao, of another tribe. Near to the top of
the central ridge-pole of the building was a curiously carved figure of
the warrior Whakarra, with his feet resting on the head of a dog called
_potokatawhiti_, and whose memory is curiously blended with the history
of the tribe. At the bottom of the pole was a squat, dwarf-looking
effigy, with slanting eyes and elongated, tattooed visage, and whose
general appearance represented nothing so much as an ugly, ill-formed
baby. This was Kuruaro, a chief who is said to have walked the earth
six generations after Tutanekai. There were many other noted ancestors
of the tribe, all hideous in appearance, yet all elaborately and
marvellously carved, but it would require a volume to repeat their
histories.
It was on a bright morn, when in company with a native youth I stepped
into a canoe and headed across Rotorua to the island of Mokia, which
rose to a height of over five hundred feet from the centre of the lake.
As soon as we had landed, my guide took me to a tree, into the hollow
part of which the skeleton of a chief had been placed ages ago, but
the forest giant, continuing to grow, had clasped the grim remnant of
humanity in its firm embrace, and thus preserved the bones from decay
in a very remarkable manner.
We mounted through the thick fern to the summit of the island, where
formerly stood a _pa_, but nothing of this remained save the graves,
where some of the principal chiefs of the Ngatiwakaue await the coming
of the great day, and the subterranean caves wherein the stone idols,
said to have been brought from Hawaiki by the Arawas, dwell in a kind
of pagan solitude, as if anxious to hide their diminished heads from
the light of Christianity.
There are few more delightful places in the Lake Country than
Mokia--rich in Maori legend, and renowned far and wide as the scene of
one of the most interesting of the many love romances of the Arawas. It
rises boldly from the water, has hills and deep valleys, is rock-bound
and fringed with trees, and is all that is enchanting, fairy-like, and
beautiful. To view it with the sunlight playing over the glittering
surface of Rotorua and sweeping over its rounded, fern-clad hills
with the most charming effects of light and shade, is pleasing in
the extreme, but it is at night, when the lake is as calm as the sky
above, and the pale moon floats over its surface in a silvery sheen,
and countless stars are mirrored forth in the depths below, that the
picture is the most enchanting; for it is then the spirit of romance
steals over one, and leads the imagination back instinctively as it
were to the dark days of Maori history, when tattooed warriors glided
over the water in swift canoes on some midnight raid, and made the
welkin ring with their war-cries, when Hongi "the terrible" gladdened
the hearts of his conquering Ngapuhi with cannibal feasts at the
expense of the vanquished Ngatiwhakaue, when song and legend resounded
from hill and dale, and when Tutanekai, by the magic of his flute,
wooed the dark-skinned Hinemoa, and caused the heroine of Rotorua to
act the part of a primitive Leander by swimming _in puris naturalibus_
across the lake to his island home.
Now, be it known that the spirit of Hinemoa hovers around Mokoia like
unto a bright halo around the sun, and the hills and the vales, the
rocks and the stones, the trees, and the hot and cold springs, all
whisper tales to her memory. Her home was at Ouhata, a jutting point on
the shores of Rotorua, where stood a village of her tribe. She was the
daughter of the chief Unukaria, and the fame of her beauty spread far
and wide over the country, and poets sang of her charms, and warriors
plighted their troth in her honour. Never was maiden so talked of in
prose and sung of in verse. At Mokoia lived Tutanekai, a foster son of
the chief Whakane, who fell sick for love of the beautiful maiden of
Ouhata. The two hearts beat as one. Then, as now, the adage that "All
is fair in love and war" held good, and it was agreed that Hinemoa
should flee to Tutanekai, to whom she had been forbidden, under pain
of death, to give her hand. The strains of his flute were to herald the
beginning of operations, when the maiden was to paddle her own canoe
across the water. Now when the night was calm Tutanekai took his flute,
and seating himself upon a rock hard by Kaiwaka on the shore of Mokoia,
the sound of his music was wafted by the breeze to the home of Hinemoa.
Then Hinemoa came down to the lake to step into her canoe, but, alas!
the frail craft had been hauled up high and dry upon the land. To
launch it herself was impossible, and to seek assistance would be but
to divulge her movements. There was no course open but to swim, and,
with the innate courage of her race, she was equal to the occasion. She
took six empty gourds and fastened them to her body, on either side,
and then plunged from a rock into the lake. The stars and the moon
shone upon her from above, but the waters were wide, and there was no
guide save the music of Tutanekai, but with love at the prow she shaped
her course bravely until she landed on the shores of Mokoia, at a point
where a warm fountain bubbled up amidst the rocks, and which is known
even unto this day as "Hinemoa's Bath."
A LOVE SONG.
Far o'er the lake slept romantic Mokoia,
While the pale moon shone bright from above,
And on a rock the brave Tutanekai
Tootled his flute to the gay song of love.
Softly lamenting sings he to his darling,
"Come to my arms, O my sweet Hinemoa,
Let not the sorrow of anguish divide us;
Come, that we never may part any more."
Gently the echo sped on the night air,
Till spell-like it broke on the glad maiden's ear;
Lightly she came to the brink of the water,
And swam o'er its surface so limpid and clear;
Brightly the stars shone forth from the heavens,
Glittering like gems in a mantle of blue,
And the strains of the flute seem'd to ripple the water,
Wafted on by the wings of the wind as it blew.
Swift the dark beauty swept o'er the wavelets
Till she kiss'd the white sand of Mokoia's fair shore;
When brave Tutanekai, ceasing his music,
Cried, "Come to my arms, O my sweet Hinemoa,"
Lock'd in embraces, the lover and maiden
Were wedded by Cupid, who flew from above,
And dark Hinemoa and brave Tutanekai,
'Neath the light of the moon sang their anthem of love.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 20: As the natives had no written language, their numerous
legends, fables, songs, and proverbs were transmitted by oral
tradition.]
[Footnote 21: Islands in Cook's Strait.]
[Footnote 22: The Middle Island.]
[Footnote 23: Translated from the original by Mr. C.O. Davis.]
[Footnote 24: The canoes were named the _Aotea_, _Arawa_, _Tainui_,
_Mata-Atua_, _Takitumu_, _Tokomaru_, and _Kurahaupo_. According to
tradition, the _kumara_, sweet potato, the _taro_, the _karaka_ tree,
the rat, _kiore_, and the green parrot, _kakariki_, were brought in
them from Hawaiki. The _Aotea_ canoe was the first to reach the land,
hence the Maori name Aotearoa was applied to New Zealand. The list of
canoes, as here cited, was given to the author by Topia Turoa, head
chief of the Whanganui tribes.]
[Footnote 25: When a noun in the Maori language has the prefix _nga_ it
refers to the plural number.]
[Footnote 26: The Maoris divide their genealogical history, both before
and after their migration from Hawaiki, into various generations,
the duration of each of which, however, appears to be uncertain,
consequently the period of their arrival in New Zealand, even by their
own traditions, cannot be fixed with any degree of accuracy.]
[Footnote 27: The word _ariki_ means, literally, a chief priest, or
deified man; the head of a tribe is an _ariki_ by birth.]
[Footnote 28: _Taipo_, the name given to an evil spirit or devil.]
CHAPTER VII.
EN ROUTE TO THE TERRACES.
Over the mountains--Rauporoa Forest--The
_hotete_--Tikitapu--Rotokakahi--Te Wairoa--The natives--Waituwhera
Gorge--The boat--A distinguished traveller--Sophia--Lake
Tarawera--Mount Tarawera--Te Ariki--Te Kaiwaka.
The terraces, which are the most marvellous of all the wonders of the
lakes, lie about twenty miles as the crow flies, in a south-easterly
direction from Ohinemutu. From the latter place to Te Wairoa the
distance is about thirteen miles; the other part of the journey being
by water across Lake Tarawera.
I found the route to be one of the most beautiful that I had ever
travelled in any part of the world. Leaving Ohinemutu mounted on a
good horse, my road lay along the southern shore of Lake Rotorua and
thence over the mountains, through which it wound by a gradual ascent,
formed by a zigzag cutting. A short distance above the mountain pass
on the right was a bold gorge, formed between two fern-clad mountains,
whose precipitous sides swept abruptly into the valley below, which was
covered with low, round-topped hills. Through this gorge a grand view
was obtained of the huge dome-shaped form of Hapurangi, farther in the
distance the flat-topped, forest-clad summit of Mount Horohoro stood
boldly out against the sky. Beyond this point the road passed through
a fern-clad country, with mountains in the background, and from the
midst of which the grand serrated peak of Mount Tarawera loomed like a
grim colossus above the surrounding heights. After passing over open,
undulating plains, the road entered the Rauporoa forest, one of the
grandest gardens of primeval vegetation in the North Island. Whilst the
trees here attained to an enormous size and the shrubs to a marvellous
luxuriance, many of the rarest and most beautiful ferns of the country
formed a dense undergrowth, which covered every foot of ground like a
variegated carpet. Countless orchids and lichens, and creeping plants,
struggled to the tops of the tallest trees which spread their giant
branches over the roadway in an arched canopy of vivid green, and
appeared to touch the sky as they mounted upwards to the very summits
of the steep mountains which rose on every side, beneath the thick
impenetrable growth which covered their rugged slopes without a single
break.
On my return from the terraces I rode through this grand forest alone
by night. The stars shone brightly, the moon lit up the giant trunks of
the trees in a soft, silvery sheen, and cast deep shadows that flitted
about like spectres in the gloom; the twisting vines hung in fantastic
coils overhead, and countless myriads of glowworms[29] sparkled and
glittered in a thousand brilliant coruscations on every side, on the
trees, among the rocks, and in the ferns, and in a way which reminded
me of the gorgeous fireflies I had often admired when in the jungles of
Ceylon.
It was while admiring the beauties of the Rauporoa forest that I came
across a specimen of what I may term one of nature's most paradoxical
works; it was the _hotete_--the grub of the large night-butterfly--the
_Sphæria Robertsi_, or "vegetating caterpillar."
To give an idea of this singular curiosity, one must imagine a grub or
caterpillar from two to three inches long, with a dark brown body, in
appearance not unlike a piece of dried leather, while the legs, the
feet, the eyes, and the mouth are perfect in every detail, as if the
insect had been carefully stuffed and preserved. But most curious of
all, from the tail end there shoots out the thin stem of a plant from
six to eight inches long, perfectly rounded and smooth in form, with a
rounded point, and of the same colour as the caterpillar. To explain
this, it is clear that the grub, when alive, eats the seed of some
unknown plant or tree, and which, germinating in its inside, when the
insect buries itself in the ground for the purpose of changing into a
chrysalis, gradually kills it, as it grows and feeds, as it were, upon
the vitality of its body.
The most remarkable feature, however, in the whole metamorphosis is not
that the grub eats the seed, nor that it germinates within its body,
but that the process should go on whilst the outward form of the grub
remains intact, as if it underwent during the time some peculiar mode
of preservation. The grub is found in this state underground, with the
plant growing above the surface. It should be remarked that the latter
has neither branches nor leaves, but partakes more of the character
of a creeping vine. Some of the natives are of opinion that it is the
seed of the _rata_ which the grub eats in this way, but the question
appears to be undecided.
When I suddenly emerged from the deep gloom of the forest, the azure
waters of Tikitapu, or the "Blue Lake," came suddenly before my view
with the most enchanting effect. Nearly circular in form, and fringed
below the level of the road with a dense growth of vegetation, the tall
mountains rose up above it on one side to a height of 800 feet, and
cast their dark shadows upon its tranquil bosom, which lay shining in
the sunlight, without a breath of wind to stir the smooth and deeply
blue expanse of water. It is only about half a mile long, but for calm,
picturesque beauty, it is one of the most attractive sights of this
wondrous region. The road skirts it on its eastern side to its farther
end, where a narrow saddle, falling from a range of bold hills, divides
it from Rotokakahi, or the "Green Lake."
It was sunset when I reached Rotokakahi, and the effect of the rich
golden light falling upon the green-tinted waters of the lake afforded
one of the grandest sights imaginable. It was one of those sunsets
when the heavens assume an ethereal blue, and when the fierce orb of
day is mellowed by amber mists and vapouring clouds with streaks of
crimson and carmine. It was, in fact, just such a sunset as Turner or
Horace Vernet would have loved to paint in brilliant and vivid tints.
The lake shone out before me in a long sheet of deep-green colour,
wild fern-clad mountains rose up along its course, miniature bays
swept in graceful curves round their base, and high peaks and jutting
headlands, fringed with spreading trees, cast their fantastic shadows
upon the limpid surface of the water, around which the bright pumice
rock contrasted pleasantly with the deep foliage of the vegetation as
it wound along the serpentine shores of the lake. At the farther end,
and right in the centre of the beautiful expanse of water, the small
flat-topped island of Motutawa rose from a dense growth of _pohutukawa_
trees, and as the fleeting rays of the sun flashed over it, and the
darkness came marching along, the gold and the blue and the crimson
and carmine of the sky seemed to mingle with the deep-green water and
variegated hues of the lake, and to produce a picture which would have
enchanted the eye of the beholder even on the plains of heaven. This
sunset on Rotokakahi was certainly one of the grandest effects of light
and shade I have ever beheld.
It was evening when I reached Te Wairoa, a native settlement situated
in a deep gorge, which appeared at some time to have formed a
connection between Rotokakahi and Lake Tarawera. It is hemmed in on all
sides by rugged ranges, and it now only serves as a gate as it were to
the wonders of the lakes beyond, and over which the great mountains
known as Moerangi and Tokimiha stand as sentries. The Wairoa River,
flowing out of Rotokakahi, winds through the old native settlement
of Kaiteriria, and flowing in the direction of Lake Tarawera, leaps
over a precipice of nearly a hundred feet in the form of a foaming
cascade, about which the greenest of ferns and mosses grow in wonderful
luxuriance. The settlement is small, and consists of clusters of native
huts surrounded by small gardens and deep thickets of sweet-briar.
[Illustration: NATIVE WOMAN, LAKE COUNTRY.]
The natives of this place appeared to be robust and healthy, and I
noticed among the men some very fine specimens of the noble savage. In
fact, from time immemorial the men of these parts have been noted for
their giant physique. At one time they were among the most warlike of
the great Arawa tribe, but in these degenerate days they have a marked
predilection for raw rum and strong tobacco. They formerly tilled the
soil, but now they are not by any means industrious, although they
fish in Tarawera sometimes, when all other food is scarce, and in the
proper season they reap a fair harvest by "interviewing" tourists,
whom they are fond of coaxing into their _runanga_ house, where they
will undertake to sing hymns or dance the _haka_,[30] according to the
inducements held out by the travelling _pakeha_.
At daylight I left Te Wairoa, to cross Lake Tarawera to the Terraces.
Up to this time I had been travelling only with a native guide, but a
party had been formed at one of the hotels to hire the boat which is
used to convey visitors across the lake, so I joined it. There were
four ladies and three of the sterner sex. We strolled through the
native settlement, where most of the _whares_ were hidden from view by
a dense growth of sweet-briar, which wafted its pleasant odour through
the balmy air, and then we followed down a steep pathway fringed with
spreading trees, which led through the Waituwhera gorge to a narrow
inlet of the lake, where we embarked.
I had hoped to find a big war-canoe ready manned by half-naked
warriors, waiting to convey us to the greatest wonder of the lakes,
but, in place of that, we got into a craft built like a whale-boat,
and manned by a stalwart crew of Maoris, some of whom affected striped
calico shirts and white trousers, while others were satisfied with
scant garments of a less attractive kind. With crew, or rather "all
told," we mustered sixteen souls.
There was at least one distinguished personage among the crowd, and
whom I at first took to be "chief fugleman" or captain, but I soon
found out that he had only come on board to get a lift across the lake.
This individual was a tall, well-built old man of some seventy summers,
with splendidly defined Maori features, which were elaborately tattooed
after the most improved native fashion, the thin blue lines and curves
running round his mouth, over his nose, and across his forehead to
the very roots of his hair, and I could see at a glance that he was a
grand type of a savage of the old school which is now unfortunately
fast passing away. His only covering was a scant shirt, and a tartan
shawl swathed tightly round his gaunt form. In one hand he carried a
big hunk of bread, at which he munched as we glided along, varying the
operation now and again by a drink of water from the lake, which he
scooped into his mouth with the palm of his hand; while in the other
he grasped, not a _mere_, as he might have done of old, but a copy of
the Maori newspaper, _Te Korimako_, and which he seemed to guard with
as much jealousy as a Londoner might do a copy of the _Times_ when
travelling on a penny steam boat on the Thames. If the old man had
guarded a _pakeha_ paper in the same way I would have taken no notice
of it, because I would have imagined that he had brought it along with
him to wrap up what he could not eat of his frugal repast. But the
_Te Korimako_ was in his own language, and I make no doubt that the
antiquated heathen knew of one or two tidbits in it that he would read
and discuss round the camp fire of his tribe. He sat alongside me in
the prow of the boat, and Sophia, the guide, sat crouched at my feet,
and when I asked her what his name was, she replied, "Rangihewa," at
which the old man smiled and said, "No, no! me Georgi Grey." At the
time of the war, Rangihewa was a noted chief, and a great fighting-man.
As I have already mentioned Sophia's name, which is echoed over the
hills of Tarawera with as much frequency as is that of Hinemoa at
Rotorua, but perhaps not with quite as much of romance, I think I
cannot do better than to give a sketch of her here. In appearance,
at first glance, Sophia was remarkable. She was about medium height,
comely of form, with well-modelled features, a nose slightly aquiline,
lips slightly tattooed, a pair of big dark eyes, and a thick cluster
of raven hair, which fell in a weird way over her well-formed head
and shoulders. She walked with a firm step, and with the gait of
a drum-major. When she came into the boat she was shoeless and
stockingless, and just below the knees fell a bright scarlet flannel
petticoat, and over this again a blue skirt tucked up about her waist,
a _korowhai_ or native shawl was swathed round her ample bust, her hat
of plated rush was lined with pink, and turning up on one side suited
her _à merveille_. In her mouth was a short black pipe, while round her
neck was a cord from which depended a greenstone _tiki_,[31] and which
like all other tikies I had ever seen, was modelled after the fashion
of a small, flattened-out, lop-sided baby. She was a half-caste of the
Ngapuhi tribe, was born at Russell, spoke English with much fluency
and grace, had been twice married, and had assisted in a small way to
replenish the earth by becoming the mother of fifteen children. For
the past twelve years Sophia has acted the part of guide, philosopher,
and friend to thousands of tourists who have visited these parts, and
in this way her history has become identified with the place where she
reigns almost with the power of a petty queen.
As our boat glided onward to the wild chants of the Maoris, all the
varied beauties of Tarawera unfolded themselves with magical effect
before the view. We passed out of an arm of the lake with a picturesque
headland on our port side, clothed in the greenest hues, and which was
formerly the site of an old _pa_ known as Ruakiria. From this point,
the broad waters of the lake opened out before us; the sun shone
brightly from the cloudless sky, and the golden rays gilding the calm
blue surface, and shooting through the overhanging trees that fringed
the lake, reflected their gnarled branches and plumed heads in a
thousand fantastic forms in the depths below.
The water of Tarawera was so limpid and transparent that we could see
far down below the surface and discern the big rocks and decaying
giants of the forest which lay scattered about its bed as if hurled
there by the throes of an earthquake, while every now and again we
could behold the gleam of the shoals of fish indigenous to the lake,
or the flash of the golden carp, introduced by Sir George Grey, and
which here attain to a wonderful size. The lake, which is seven miles
long by about five miles broad, was evidently at some period or another
the centre of a widely extended volcanic action, as evidenced by the
igneous rocks which line its shores, as well as by the rugged peaks
which add grandeur to its scenery.
On every side of the lake bold mountains, with conical peaks and
serrated ridges, rose up from the very edge of the water, covered to
the summits with a rich growth of giant-like vegetation, whose varied
tints of green were resplendent with the bright crimson blossom of the
_pohutukawa_ tree, which here attains to a colossal size. Picturesque
headlands jutted out into the water, deep bays, broad valleys, and
weird gorges came before the view at every turn, and the scenery was so
wild, so grand, and so varied that one hardly knew which part of it to
admire the most.
The eastern arm of the lake formed the outlet to the Tarawera
river--the Awa-o-te Atua, or "river of the gods;" beyond the grand
volcanic cone of Putauaki rose to a height of over 2000 feet, while
right in front of our course the majestic outline of Mount Tarawera
towered in the form of a colossal, truncated cone, with steep, sloping
sides, tinted with red oxide of iron and shining obsidian, which made
it look as if it were just cooling from the terrific heat of volcanic
fires. It appeared as if, at some period or another, this rock-bound
mountain had been much higher than now, but that nature, being
dissatisfied with her work, had snapped it in twain by one tremendous
blow, and caused the rugged fracture to assume the shape of a gigantic
spiked crown. The stupendous form of this giant mountain not only
adds grandeur to Tarawera, as it rises in sublime majesty a thousand
feet above the lake, but it is a beacon for miles around the lake
district, over which it presides like a mighty monarch, and when "King
Tarawera" frowns dark beneath his craggy diadem the natives "look out
for squalls." Since time immemorial Mount Tarawera has been renowned
in Maori song and legend, and, among other tales connected with it,
a monster _taniwha_, or fabulous green dragon, gifted with cannibal
proclivities, is said to haunt it, while in its dark caves the bones of
countless warrior chiefs of the Arawas lie guarded by the mystic _tapu_.
Steering our light craft, which seemed to quiver under the firm, steady
stroke of her dark crew, so as to bring Mount Tarawera on our "port
quarter," we entered Te Ariki, a wide inlet at the southern end of the
lake, and when we had rounded the rocky headland known as Moura, the
hills and valleys spread themselves out in a splendid amphitheatre of
enchanting scenery, the trees and creeping vines mirrored themselves in
the water, where they seemed to glide beneath us like a fairy forest as
we swept along, while a cloud of steam rising in the distance told us
that we were fast approaching the wonders of Rotomahana.
We hauled up in front of a native village where there were one or two
_whares_, and here old Rangihewa got out of the boat to wade ashore,
and, wrapping his shawl about his neck, pulled up his shirt to prevent
it from getting wet, but utterly regardless of consequences, and then
bidding us farewell by a wave of his hand, and a tremendous grin
which made his tattoo marks double up into a curious network over his
face, he entered the door of a hut with a majestic gait, and with the
_Te Korimako_ under his arm. Here we purchased a couple of _kits_
of _kouras_[32] from a native woman who waded into the water almost
alfresco, with an india-rubber-looking baby on her back, and then we
headed for the farther end of the bay, where a picturesque-looking
Maori settlement added a pleasant charm to the beauties of the
surrounding landscape. We landed at this point, and an attenuated, wiry
old chief, as thin as a match, and with a very scant wardrobe, put
off in a dilapidated canoe to bid us welcome, and to annex any stray
bawbees or figs of tobacco that might fall in his way. Here the party
was divided, the ladies embarking in the canoe to go up the Kaiwaka
stream, and to join us at Rotomahana, while we, the sterner sex,
walked a mile through the _manuka_ scrub, following the attractive red
petticoat of Sophia.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 29: The New Zealand glowworm, called by the natives
_Piritana_, is a small grub, inhabiting caves and damp places; it is
surrounded by a slimy coating, through which radiates a brilliant
phosphoric light.]
[Footnote 30: _Haka_, a lewd dance, in which both men and women take
part.]
[Footnote 31: The _tiki_ is worn by Maori women as a kind of sacred
charm.]
[Footnote 32: _Koura_, a small cray-fish, common in the lakes, and much
prized by the natives as an article of food.]
CHAPTER VIII.
THE TERRACES.
Te Tarata--Beauty of the terrace--The formation--The crater--A
sensational bath--Ngahapu--Waikanapanapa--A weird gorge--Te
Aua Taipo--Kakariki--Te Whatapohu--Te Huka--Te Takapo--Lake
Rotomahana--Te Whakataratara--Te Otukapurangi--The formation--The
cauldron.
When we had walked about a mile through the scrub, guided by the
stately strides of Sophia, we ascended the summit of a low hill
which looked down upon Lake Rotomahana, whose green-tinted waters,
surrounded by clouds of steam, shone with an emerald-like brightness
in the sunlight, while immediately in front of us the White Terrace,
or famed Te Tarata, burst upon the view like a glittering heap of
frozen snow just fresh from heaven. We were still some hundreds of
yards from it, with the Kaiwaka flowing below, and although at first
glance fair Te Tarata looked chaste and beautiful enough beneath the
golden light, it appeared as if her proportions were somewhat cramped
and stunted, and I began mentally to question the wisdom of Nature in
not placing the wondrous monument of her handiwork higher up on the
slope of the mountain which decked the delicate outline of the terrace
in a variegated fringe of green. To my eye, the crystallized structure
of pure white silica as it fell in congealed waves, as it were, from
the steaming cauldron above, appeared too flat, and required height
to add more effect to its grandeur, while the rugged mountain, which
formed its background, as it rose above a vapoury cloud of steam,
looked dwarfed and insignificant in comparison with the giant form of
Mount Tarawera, which frowned in silent majesty from beneath its spiked
crown, as if eager to annihilate everything that failed to come up to
its own idea of ponderous beauty. Presently we descended the hill on
which we stood, and crossed Kaiwaka by the canoe which had brought
up the ladies, and, after picking our way through a small scrub, we
suddenly came into the open, when, as if by the magic touch of an
enchanter's wand, the whole scene changed, and Te Tarata, gleaming
still whiter in the sun, rose in grand, yet delicate proportions high
above our heads. The white ethereal vapour wreathed its summit, like
a graceful summer cloud, the rugged hill which held Te Tarata, as it
were, in its arms, stood out in bold relief against the clear blue sky,
and Nature, true to the inspired genius of her marvellous creative
power, stood revealed in all her pristine loveliness.
I had seen the Himalayas and the Alps, the Blue Mountains of Tartary,
the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevadas--all these were ponderously
grand and awe-inspiring. I had sailed over the principal lakes of
Europe and America, floated down the Nile, the Ganges, the Yangtze
Kiang, the Missouri, and the Mississippi, through the thousand islands
of the St. Lawrence, and up and down innumerable other rivers, all
fair and beautiful. I had beheld the giant marvels of the Yosemite,
and stood by the thrilling waters of Niagara; but for delicate, unique
beauty, for chaste design, and sublime detail of construction never had
I gazed upon so wonderful a sight as Te Tarata. It seemed as if Nature
had created the wonders of the lakes and mountains of this fair region
with all the marvels of fire and water after the most enchanting design
of earthly beauty, and had then gone into the realms of fable and
romance, and thrown in a piece of Fairyland to complete the picture; or
as if the gods, when they called these sublime works into being, had
fashioned Te Tarata as a throne to recline upon whilst they gazed in
admiration upon the beauties of their wondrous creations.
As we looked upwards the whole outline of the terrace assumed a
semicircular form, which spread out at its base in a graceful curve of
many hundreds of feet, as it sloped gently down to the margin of the
lake. Then broad, flat, rounded steps of pure white silica rose tier
above tier, white and smooth as Parian marble, and above them terrace
after terrace mounted upward, rounded and semicircular in form, as if
designed by the hand of man, guided by the inspiration of the Divine
Architect. All were formed out of a delicate tracery of silica which
appeared like lacework congealed into alabaster of the purest hue.
Each lamination, or fold, of this beautiful design was clearly and
marvellously defined, and as the glittering warm water came rippling
over them in a continuous flow, Te Tarata sparkled beneath the sun
as if bedecked with diamonds and myriads of other precious gems.
Crystal pools, shaped as if to resemble the form of shells and leaves,
and filled to their brims with water, blue and shining as liquid
turquoise, charmed the eye as we mounted to every step, while around
the edges the bright crystals of silica had formed encrustations which
made them appear as if set in a margin of miniature pearls. Every
successive terrace seemed to spring up in grander proportions from the
one immediately below it as we approached the summit, not in formal
angular-shaped steps, but in flat-topped elevations, with rounded edges
and sweeping curves, from which the wet, glittering silica hung in
the shape of sparkling stalactites, which, interlacing themselves and
mingling together, formed a delicate and almost transparent fringe
which looked like a fantastic network of icicles, so exquisitely
beautiful in appearance and so delicately formed as to appear as if
fashioned by the magic touch of a fairy hand. Mounting upward and
upward where it seemed sacrilege for the booted foot of man to tread,
and where the snowy, crisp, silicious crystal formed a carpet-like
covering beneath the feet, we reached the summit, and sat down upon a
cluster of rocks which rose in fantastic shape upon the very margin of
the cup-shaped crater.
I found the crater of Te Tarata to be formed by a milk-white circular
basin, of 200 feet in diameter, filled to overflowing with boiling
transparent water, in which the clear azure tints seemed to vie in
splendour with the ethereal blue of the heavens. Here the hissing
liquid, in a constant state of ebullition, bubbled and seethed in the
form of a boiling fountain, from which a waving cloud of steam floated
constantly upward, tinted with the golden rays from above, and the deep
blue from beneath, while immediately behind the pool rose the steep
sides of the adjacent mountain, shaped so as to form a semicircular
wall, which rose from the opposite margin of the pool, striped by the
action of fire and water in red and white rock, and steaming as if from
the heat of the boiling fountain below. Around on every side a thick
vegetation of variegated hues bordered the splendid terrace on every
side; ferns, mosses, and wild flowers fringed every line and curve of
its graceful outline, and the crystal white, the azure blue, the vivid
green, and the golden light all mingling together, and reflecting their
tints over fair Te Tarata and the lake below, produced one of the
grandest and most charming scenes ever designed by the divine hand of
the Creator.
When we had feasted our eyes upon the chaste marvels of Te Tarata,
the ladies filed slowly away, as if spellbound, while we (the sterner
sex) walked leisurely down the crystal steps to about the centre of
the terrace, where lay an oval-shaped basin, about forty feet long by
twenty feet broad, filled to the brim with water of the purest blue.
In the midst of a small clump of _manuka_, which clustered on the
very margin of the terrace, as if eager to participate in its beauty,
we divested ourselves of our outward garb of civilization, and stood
beneath the glowing rays of the sun in the primitive costume of man
free and untrammelled, as when "wild in the woods the noble savage
ran." It was now that I fully realized that soft, soothing, magical
effect which one invariably experiences when devoid of all restraint,
one is about to partake of a pleasure which one has never experienced
before. To look around at the sublime wonders of Te Tarata, and then
plunge head first into the alabaster pool of liquid turquoise, and
to feel that the soft, pellucid liquid that had been for thousands
of years, nay, countless ages, building up that wondrous monument of
unrivalled splendour would wrap me in its warm embrace, and impart, if
only for a moment, its soft, soothing influence to the heated body, was
a pleasure, the anticipation of which only seemed to make me the more
eager to revel in its enjoyment. There was not a single speck to mar
the delicate beauty of the crystal basin, the blue lustre of the water,
nor the white virgin purity of the silicious pearls around its brink.
One glance at the enchanting scene around me, and, as I shot beneath
the shining surface, like an arrow from a bow, the soft, heated water
closed over me, and for the instant I seemed to be gliding into the
realms of eternal bliss,
Where the wicked cease from troubling,
And the weary are at rest.
The illusion, however, was only momentary, but I would have liked it
to continue for the rest of my natural life, and then, in default of
a better place hereafter, I would have been content to paddle in that
pool to all eternity, floating on its surface, diving into its depths,
and basking on the pearly margin of its brink. Its water was just
warm enough to render it delightfully pleasant, and it seemed to wrap
itself round the body in gently waving folds, while, as I glided from
point to point, streaks, as it were, of cold water would bathe the skin
with refreshing effect, and then a soft, tepid wave would impart a
voluptuous sensation of glowing warmth.[33]
When we had enjoyed the luxuries of the bath, we went along a winding
path fringed with bush, at the back of Te Tarata, when we came suddenly
upon Ngahapu, an intermittent boiling geyser, which burst forth with
a loud noise from the farther side of an oval-shaped basin, about a
hundred feet in circumference, and in which the heated, steaming water,
in a constant state of ebullition, kept rising and falling in great
hot waves, which lashed themselves into fury against the rugged sides
of the cauldron with a loud hissing sound, as a column of boiling
water shot high into the air. Right above this spring, on the side of a
hill, a transparent jet of steam burst forth from a narrow fissure with
a loud screaming noise, as if anxious to escape from its rock-bound
prison-house, and blow up the surrounding country. It blew, whistled,
steamed, and hissed, and shrieked away, like a fifty-horse-power
engine, and the terrific pressure, acting in some way upon the rocks
below, made them send forth a sound like the "thud" of a great
steam-hammer.
Passing along by Te Tokapo, a region of small hot springs, on the
margin of Lake Rotomahana, we came to Waikanapanapa, a small lake,
surrounded by gaunt-looking _manuka_ scrub, and whose thick, slimy
water, of the colour of green sealing-wax, gave it the appearance of a
veritable slough of despond.
Just beyond Waikanapanapa we entered a rocky, desolate gorge, seamed
and fissured in every direction with streams of hot water, while
jets of hissing steam, bursting from its sides, marked the site of
subterranean fires. The heated, quaking soil was covered with thick
deposits of silica, sulphur, oxide of iron, pumice, obsidian, scoria,
and other volcanic products, and, with its sulphurous atmosphere,
fierce heat, and shrieking sounds, it appeared as we entered it like
a short cut to Pandemonium. The high hills on each side of the gorge
rose up in quaint, fantastic shape, and their rugged sides, composed
of shattered volcanic rock, sent forth water and jets of steam from
a thousand fissures. There was something very wild, weird, and
fascinating in this strange place. All the huge rocks, boulders, and
stones had been pitched and tossed about by the tremendous action of
fire and water into a wild and endless confusion, and when we had so
recently gazed in admiration upon the delicate, tranquil beauty of
the White Terrace, it seemed as if we had got behind the scenes and
into the laboratory and mysterious manufactory where all the wonders
of Te Tarata had been evolved before Nature had sent them through the
subterranean depths below to rise on the other side of the hill in the
form of the marvellous "transformation scene" we had so recently beheld.
One of the most remarkable wonders of this singular region was Te
Ana Taipo, or the "Devil's Hole," a deep, circular aperture in the
rocky gorge, about forty feet in diameter, from which a column of
transparent steam burst from a small aperture at the bottom of the
deep, funnel-shaped hole with a deafening screeching sound, like
the voices of a thousand fiends. Never had I heard anything so wild
and so dismal as the human-like wailings of Te Ana Taipo, and, as
the thrilling noise went echoing over the hills, one expected to
see an army of evil spirits spring up around, headed by his Satanic
Majesty himself. Near to this was Kakariki, a boiling geyser which,
beneath a cloud of steam, lashed its hot waves about and foamed with
a furious sound in a rock-bound basin about sixty feet in diameter,
while in close proximity Te Whatapohu, or "Pain in the Belly," a noisy
intermittent spring, sent up its seething waters with a rumbling sound,
which seemed to suggest that even the "bowels of the earth" had their
pains and trials sometimes.
Scattered over a greater portion of this fiery wilderness were
innumerable _fumaroles_, all hard at work shooting out steam and
vomiting black streams of liquid mud. Some of these were round, some
flat, and others cup-shaped, while not a few assumed the form of a
miniature volcanoes. One of the latter formation, known as Te Huka,
spewed up a soapy kind of clay, which the natives eat as _kai_, and
pronounce it to be very good, both as an ordinary article of diet and
as a medicine in cases of diarrhoea, and I was solemnly informed by
Sophia that a native in want of a meal would make a splendid repast
from it. I tasted some of it off the end of a stick, and if one ground
up a slate pencil, mixed it with water to the consistency of thick pap,
and threw in a dash of sulphur and a little cinder grit, one would
have a very good idea of what Te Huka _kai_ is like.
When we had seen the wonders of the fiery region of Waikanapanapa we
came back to Te Takapo, a kind of platform of silicious rock which
bathed its white feet in the dark-green waters of Rotomahana. It was a
very picturesque spot, dotted about with springs, some tepid, some hot,
some boiling, and fringed with _manuka_ scrub. Here the natives had
constructed small baths, and there were rude seats formed of slabs of
rock where they could take their _siestas_ in comfort, after undergoing
the soothing effects of the warm mineral water. At this point we
embarked in a canoe, and headed across the lake in the direction of the
Pink Terrace.
Lake Rotomahana, like Tarawera, stands at an elevation of a little
over 1000 feet above the level of the sea. It is one of the smallest
of the group, and is about a mile long by a quarter of a mile wide. It
is, however, very picturesque, not only by reason of the unequalled
features presented by the terraces, but likewise on account of its
steaming shores, with their countless marvels, as well as by the bold,
rugged scenery which surrounds it on every side. It is the seat of
a vast thermal action, which spreads out to the base of the conical
hills which encircle it, and beyond which the towering mountains, as
they rise thousands of feet in height, appear to have been heated and
twisted about by the terrific action of volcanic fire, while the deep
gorges and dark ravines seem to have formed at some period or another
the channels for the streams of boiling lava. Everywhere around one
sees the wondrous working of fire and water, and, although these
tremendous forces appear to have nearly expended their strength in the
geysers, mud-holes, and _fumaroles_, and other active evidences of
subterranean work to be seen at the present day, there was no doubt
a time when the whole region surrounding this curious lake was the
scene of a widely extended volcanic action. There was a soft balmy
stillness in the air as we glided over its singularly dark green water,
which was in many places covered with large air-bubbles sent up by the
hot springs from the depths below, and it was interesting to reflect
that a capsize into one of these places would have resulted in one or
two of us, at least, being hauled out parboiled.[34] Our primitive
canoe, however, which was literally freighted to her gunwale, behaved
admirably. This craft, which had been fashioned, some sixty years ago,
out of a solid log of _totara_, about thirty feet long, was as staunch
as the day she was launched, notwithstanding the fact that she had done
good service as a kind of first-class privateer on the troubled waters
of the lakes during the Maori War.
We rounded a low point where was a large _solfatara_ named Te
Whakataratara, whose greenish, slimy water boiled up from between
enormous blocks of pure yellow sulphur and redhot-looking rocks of
pumice and silicious sinter.
At this moment the orb of day was shining warm and brightly over our
heads, when suddenly a pink halo in front of us seemed to dazzle the
eye, and in another moment Te Otukapurangi, the "Fountain of the
Clouded Sky," or the Pink Terrace, rose majestically from the very edge
of the shining green water of the lake in all its gorgeous beauty.
Now, I have attempted to describe Te Tarata, albeit but faintly, and
now that I have Te Otukapurangi before my mind it seems difficult as
to which to assign the palm of beauty. Both terraces are unique in
their way; both wonderful monuments of nature's grandest handiwork. It
seems to me, however, that in Te Tarata we have all that is divinely
sublime, ethereal, fairy-like, and lovely--a structure chaste and grand
enough to serve as steps to heaven. Te Otukapurangi, on the other
hand, has a rich, gorgeous, oriental look about it, which reminds one
of those fanciful creations we read of in Eastern tales, and which
were constructed of chalcedony, agate, alabaster, onyx, jasper, and
lapis-lazuli, studded with precious gems, and inhabited by beautiful
princesses, gnomes, and genii, and evolved from the fanciful minds
of those gaunt, dark-skinned men who, reared on the sandy deserts of
"Araby the Blest," carried fire and sword over the Eastern world, and
built up an empire which rivalled in splendour even the most wondrous
of their fabulous tales, which still take the mind captive, as it were,
and lead it away like an _ignis fatuus_, a fleeting mirage, or a fitful
dream. But there is nothing evanescent in the Pink Terrace; it is
adamantine in construction, and grandly beautiful enough to have graced
the approach to the Temple of Solomon the Magnificent, the Palace of
the Queen of Sheba, or the Mosque of Haroun Al Raschid the Superb.
The formation of Te Otukapurangi differs somewhat from that of the
White Terrace, but, like Te Tarata, it is semicircular in general
outline; but the successive terraces of which it is built up rise
more abruptly from the lake, while they are, as a rule, higher above
each other and more massive in appearance. Hence the deposits of
silica have assumed the same general formation, and each terrace is
gracefully and marvellously shaped, with rounded edges, which sweep
about in waving curves, as if they had been fashioned after one grand
and unique design. The various buttress-like masses which support
the fringed edges of the terraces bend over, as it were, and form
miniature grottoes, resplendent with festoons of pink-tinted silica and
rose-coloured stalactites, which appear to have been woven together
by nature into an intricate network, and then crystallized into their
present shape, which, when examined closely, is as varied as is the
whole design symmetrical and beautiful. Here the successive deposits
or layers of silica rock do not assume, like those of Te Tarata, a
wonderful combination of delicate lacework around the edges of the
terraces, but the silicious laminations appear even thinner, and remind
one of the corrugated surface of pink satin rep. On the wide platform
of each succeeding terrace there are flat, irregularly-shaped tablets
set in a fretwork of silica-like cords, while innumerable pools or
salmon-coloured basins, all exquisitely and quaintly formed, with
curving, shell-shaped margins, are resplendent with water of the purest
and darkest blue. It is, however, the variegated tints of this wondrous
structure which render it even more remarkable than the gracefully
symmetrical proportions of its incomparable designs. As we gazed upon
it, and the blue-tinted water came rippling and falling from terrace to
terrace in miniature cascades, Te Otukapurangi looked radiant in its
sparkling mantle of delicate pink; and as the golden rays of the sun
shot far and wide, it changed with every shade of light, with brilliant
hues of pink, amber, carmine, and yellow, which shone with a dazzling
and almost metallic lustre as they flashed and palpitated, as it were,
in the warm, glowing air, and seemed to vie in splendour with the blue
of the heavens, the green tints of the lake, and the countless bright
colours of the surrounding vegetation, which spread out far and wide
over the surrounding hills.
As we mounted terrace after terrace the mountains unfolded themselves
beyond, and Kakarama, and Maungaonga-onga, and bold Tarawera, towering
into the air, cast their fantastic shadows on the lake below, and as
we mounted still higher and higher towards the steam-clad summit, we
seemed to be ascending to some enchanted land of fable and romance;
and when suddenly the vapoury cloud from the boiling cauldron rolled
over our heads, tinted with all the prismatic hues of the terrace
beneath, and wrapped us in its warm embrace, it seemed as if we were
really entering some brilliant "castle in the air." Then, when we had
struggled through the steam, and hopped in and out of pools of hot
water, we reached a broad, circular platform, some seventy feet above
the lake, and stood on the brink of the steaming cauldron, formed by
a round alabaster-like basin, about a hundred feet in diameter. Here
the deep, dark-blue water, within a few degrees of boiling-point, lay
without a ripple upon its surface, which shone with the brilliancy of
transparent crystal, and beneath which the silicious deposits which
encrusted the sides of the crater, and assumed all the marvellous
and fantastic designs of a coral grove, tinted in glowing colours of
yellow, blue, and pink, looked exquisitely delicate and brilliant
beneath the golden light of the sun, which, shooting through the clear,
transparent liquid with a vivid power, sent its glittering shafts far
down into the grotto-like recesses, which appeared beautiful and
fantastic enough to serve as the abode of fairies, gnomes, and genii.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 33: The spring of Te Tarata is an intermittent geyser, which,
during its active intervals, throws up a column of water to a height
of over 100 feet. The crater is, however, always overflowing, and the
water, which is highly charged with silica, has by a gradual process
of deposition, extending probably over a long period, formed the
present system of terraces. The temperature of the water varies from
boiling-point to 70° Fahr. at the foot of the terrace, the summit of
which is about 80 feet above the level of the lake. The geyser is said,
by the natives, to be most active during the prevalence of easterly
gales.]
[Footnote 34: The term _Rotomahana_ means, literally, "hot lake." The
mean temperature of the water is about 80° Fahr. In the vicinity of the
hot springs, beneath its surface, it rises frequently to 100° Fahr.]
CHAPTER IX.
OHINEMUTU TO WAIRAKEI.
Te Hemo Gorge--Mount Horohoro--Paeroa
Mountains--Orakeikorako--Atea-Amuri--Pohaturoa--The land of
pumice--Te Motupuke--The glades of Wairakei.
Having visited the various lakes and other localities of interest
around Ohinemutu, I started with my guide for the extensive geyser
and hot-spring region of Wairakei, situated about fifty miles to the
southward of the former place. As this part of the Lake Country was
but little known, I determined to examine its many thermal phenomena,
and afterwards to make it the final starting-point for my journey of
exploration through the King Country.
Our course lay along the Taupo road, which traverses a flat country
up to the base of the hills which form the basin-like formation
surrounding Lake Rotorua. We passed through Hariki Kapakapa, a locality
of warm springs and boiling mud-holes, that spluttered and hissed at
us as we rode along; while on our left dense volumes of snowy-white
steam, rising from the base of the range of bare hills, marked the site
of the great geysers of Whakarewarewa. From this point the road wound
up the mountains to the Hemo Gorge, about two and a half miles from
Ohinemutu. Looking back from the summit of the gorge, a splendid view
was obtained of the Rotorua country, with the broad lake shining like
a mirror beneath the morning sun, and the island of Mokoia rising from
its centre radiant with vivid tints of green and gold. The ascent to
the gorge was very steep, and while the fern-clad hills rose high above
us on our right, on our left was a deep precipitous ravine, at the
bottom of which a mountain stream rushed along its rocky bed to join
the waters of Rotorua, while on its further side the rugged mountain
known as Parikarangi rose high above the surrounding hills.
Beyond this point the country opened out into broad valleys, fringed
with conical-shaped hills, while in front the bold mountain mass of
Hapurangi, swelling like an enormous dome from a grassy plain, formed a
conspicuous feature for many miles around, until the gigantic mountain
of Horohoro towered above a broad pumice plain.
In appearance Mount Horohoro was one of the most remarkable mountains
I had seen in the North Island. It rose in the form of an enormous
wall, or long barrier of rock, to a height of 2400 feet above the
level of the sea. Its summit, formed by a broad plateau, was clothed
with a dense forest at its base, green, fern-clad slopes rolled down
to the plain beneath, above them the thick bush[35] clustered like a
dense fringe, as it mounted, tree above tree, to the topmost heights;
while here and there enormous patches of grey rock, rugged and bare,
stood out in conspicuous relief from the dark foliage of the varied
vegetation. At its southern end the stupendous mountain ended abruptly
in the form of a bold bluff, at the top of which was a curious mass of
stone like a gigantic pillar, famed in Maori legend as "Hinemoa's rock."
Across the Niho-o-te-kiore plains to the south-east of Horohoro rose
the Paeroa mountains to a height of over 1000 feet, hot and quaking
with internal fires, boiling mud-pools, and coiling jets of steam that
burst with a hissing sound from the deeply-scarred hills. The base
of this range, where the thermal action was greatest, was formed of
a burnt, fiery-looking earth, broken here and there into enormous
fissures, and dotted about with boiling pools and deep holes of hot,
seething mud, while clouds of vapoury steam burst forth from the
highest peaks.
Our route continued across the plains to the native settlement of
Orakeikorako, where the swift Waikato wound with many bends through a
terraced valley, backed by tall, forest-clad mountains in the distance.
Here both sides of the stream were thickly studded with countless
steam-jets and hot springs, which produced a singular and beautiful
effect as they bubbled and hissed above the sparkling course of the
clear, rolling river, whose banks were fringed with thick, clustering
masses of pure white silica. Here, too, every foot of ground told of
a fiery, subterranean heat. The very rocks around were coloured with
the most delicate tints, formed by the chemical deposits of the hot
mineral waters, while the great geyser Orakeikorako, from which the
village derived its name, just as we were leaving, threw up a column of
boiling water to a height of fifty feet, as if to salute our departure.
It burst forth, without any previous warning, from a funnel-shaped
aperture within a few feet of the margin of the river.
From Orakeikorako we passed over pumice plains fringed with rugged
mountains and deep gorges. Some of the former were very quaint and
fantastic in shape; not a few rose up in the form of pointed cones,
while some were flat-topped, with deep sides, from which the white
pumice gleamed with a dazzling intensity. The country fell with a
gradual incline into the valley of the Waikato; and, after descending
into a clear stream by a steep, narrow pass, just wide enough to
allow our horses to move along, we crossed the eastern spur of Mount
Ngautuku, and reached Atea-Amuri.
Here the Waikato, deeply and beautifully blue, wound through a rocky
valley, fringed with bold mountains which rolled away as far as the eye
could reach along the course of the stream. At the crossing-place the
whole volume of the river rushed over enormous rocks with a roar like
thunder, while on the south bank of the stream, and right above the
seething waters, a gigantic pinnacle of rock, called Pohaturoa, towered
in solitary grandeur to a height of 400 feet. This curious natural
monument was a striking feature for many miles around. It sprang from a
level base, with steep, rolling, buttress-like sides, above which its
adamantine walls shot perpendicularly upward to its rounded summit.
Around it, in every direction, lay enormous boulders, some of many tons
in weight, but all scattered about in the direst confusion, as if a
regiment of giants, offended at its defiant look and colossal form, had
endeavoured to hurl it from its pedestal by a shower of stones, but,
giving up the task as hopeless, had slunk off, leaving their ponderous
missiles upon the field. In former times the summit of this impregnable
rock was occupied by a tribe of the Arawas, who built a formidable _pa_
there, whence they kept watch and ward over their surrounding lands.
[Illustration: POHATUROA.]
From the deep, trough-like valley of the Waikato we mounted to the
great table-land of Taupo, and rode over level plains where the
snow-white pumice gleamed bare and desolate beneath the fierce rays of
the sun.
Pumice, pumice, nothing but pumice, rolled away as far as the eye could
discern, now stretching out in a broad and flat expanse, now rising
in the form of hillocks, now towering high in the shape of conical
mountains, now winding away in deep ravines--white, bare, and sterile
as a boundless desert, save when the stunted tussock grass struggled,
as if it were for life, with enormous stones and boulders fashioned
from the white, porous rock, or where a crystal stream shaped its
devious course beneath a dense growth of broad-leaved flax and waving
_toetoe_ grass. At one point of the road we passed a tall peaked
mountain, with pumice sides, which rose from the bottom of a deep
gorge, like the bed of an ancient river, while right opposite to this,
on the slope of a hill, was a curious rock, shaped like a mushroom.
Through a level tract of country we reached the native settlement of Te
Motupuke, with densely wooded hills in the background, which stretched
out to the tall summit of Otuparataki. The forest-crowned peak of
Puketarata soon rose up on our right; and passing the Maori settlement
of Ouranui, we reached the steaming hills and glades of Wairakei.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 35: This term is applied by the colonists to forest country.]
CHAPTER X.
WAIRAKEI.
The first view--The Geyser Valley--Curious
sights--Tahuatahe--Terekirike--The Whistling Geyser--A nest
of stone--Singular mud-holes--The Gas and Black Geyser--The
Big Geyser--The great Wairakei--The Blue Lake--Hot
mud-holes--Kiriohinekai--A valley of fumaroles--Te Karapiti--Te
Huka Falls--Efforts to pass under the falls--A cave--An enormous
fissure--Another trial--A legend.
Within the extensive area of country known as Wairakei are situated
the principal thermal wonders of this portion of the Lake Country. By
reason of the terrace formation, so remarkable in this part of the
valley of the Waikato, the whole place appeared as if it had been
artificially designed by the hand of man. Small pumice terraces, with
flat tops and shelving sides, so regular and distinct in outline that
they seemed as if they had been fashioned but yesterday, wound about
on every side, while the trees and wide patches of _manuka_ scrub
imparted to the whole surroundings the appearance of an English park.
Beyond, to the east, Mount Tauhara, the "Lone Lover" of the Maoris,
rose forest-clad to its summit, while in the background a prairie-like
expanse of open country rolled away to the distant ranges. High conical
mountains, clothed with a luxuriant growth of bush, mounted up in the
north, rolling hills stretched away to the west, while in the centre
of the attractive landscape the Waikato River wound through its grand
terraced valley to leap with a terrific roar over the Huka Falls.
The Geyser Valley of Wairakei is one of the most marvellous creations
of its kind to be found perhaps in any part of the world. It forms, as
it were, one of the principal arteries of thermal action which would
seem to extend from the volcano of Tongariro in the south through
the Lake region to Whakari, the active crater in the Bay of Plenty,
in the east. The bottom of the valley is situated at an elevation of
1000 feet above the level of the sea, while down its centre, which
has a gradual fall to the east, a warm stream of water, known as Te
Wairakei, flows rapidly on its course to join the Waikato. Its steep,
winding sides rise in some places to a height of over 200 feet, and
above these again flat terraces spread out, bounded by clusters of
conical, fern-clad hills, which mount upward, as it were, in increasing
elevation to the heights beyond. Looking down the valley from one of
the elevations, one sees the winding course of the great fissure filled
with a dense growth of vegetation, forced into vigorous life, as it
were, by the white clouds of steam that mount into the air on every
side. There is one great charm about the Geyser Valley of Wairakei,
and that is that it is not a melancholy, dismal-looking place. It has
not the Hades-like appearance of Tikitere nor the Valley-of-Death-like
look of Whakarewarewa. One is at once struck with the varied growth
of vegetation which everywhere abounds, the luxuriance of the trees,
the rich beauty of the ferns, and the vivid green of the thick carpet
of rare and beautiful mosses which spreads itself everywhere about,
from the margin of the stream below to the very tops of the steep,
smoking cliffs. Every geyser, spring, and mud-hole has its clustering
vegetation, and as you grope your way through the thick undergrowth
along the tortuous stream, each thermal wonder bursts suddenly upon the
view with a fresh and startling beauty.
As we descended into the valley by a tortuous pathway we heard the
rushing of waters below, as the turbulent stream beneath swept onward
over a series of miniature cascades; then the noise of hissing steam
burst upon the ear, the heated ground seemed to quake beneath our feet,
the boiling mud-holes sent forth a noise like the incessant "thud" of
a steam-hammer, which mingled in a weird way with the loud roar and
splashing of the geysers as they threw up their columns of boiling
water above the trees.
Gazing anywhere, up and down the valley, some of the most beautiful and
curious sights presented themselves. The warm stream which gathered its
waters from the overflowing geysers and springs wound its course amidst
the trees, sparkling and glittering beneath the sun. In some places
its sides were entirely fringed with silicious deposits, some white
and beautiful like overhanging folds of lace, some dipping down into
the water in the form of enormous stalactites, while others, assuming
a rounded buttress-like formation, were green with ferns and dank
mosses of varied hue. At another moment a rocky point came into view,
and above the clustering ferns, brilliant in the soft rays of light,
the tall _manuka_ trees, which here attained to wonderful proportions,
cast their gnarled branches in a dense canopy overhead, and from the
very water's edge, where the warm springs bubbled and hissed, to the
very summit of the valley on either side the heated soil gave life to
countless wonders of the vegetable world.
Threading our way through the scrub over the hot, spongy soil, we came
to Tahuatahi, a powerful intermittent geyser, with steep, rugged sides,
flanked by enormous buttresses of white silica rock. The cauldron was
formed by a deep hole, about twenty feet in circumference, from which
a column of boiling water shot up now and again from a dense cloud of
steam as it overflowed into the stream below. At a short distance from
this point we crossed the creek, the sides of which were here covered
with a thick growth of moss, which luxuriated in a kind of tropical
heat, caused by the jets of steam which coiled out from small fissures
in the soil on which it grew. When I inserted the thermometer about a
foot beneath the soil at this spot, and right under the very roots of
the moss, it rose rapidly to 210° Fahr. Further along was Terekirike, a
large geyser, situated on the very margin of the stream. Its cauldron
was of irregular formation, but rugged and beautiful in appearance,
the rounded, boulder-like masses of which it was built up being of a
delicate cream-colour, while the silicious crystals, assuming the most
fantastic forms, tinged here and there with a pinkish hue, imparted
to the whole a singularly beautiful and delicate appearance. Next to
this was the "Whistling Geyser," which threw up a column of boiling
water at the summit of a terrace of silicious rock, while next to this
again was a boiling cauldron where the heated water burst forth with
a loud bubbling sound. All these three geysers formed a terrace-like
formation of silicious rock, which was tinted in colours of white,
pink, and yellow, while the gnarled roots of the trees, and branches
which had fallen to the ground, within the action of the water had
been completely covered and cemented, as it were, to the rock by the
silicious deposits. Here the thermal action appeared to be very active,
and as soon as one geyser subsided, another would burst forth, as it
were, with redoubled vigour.
Passing this point we entered a thick scrub, where the ground was in a
highly heated condition, and came suddenly into a bend in the creek,
where the opposite sides of the valley rose perpendicularly from the
water. In the centre of the place where we stood was a deep hole, from
which shot up now and again a column of boiling water. Around the
deep, cavernous aperture the dead branches of _manuka_ had fallen in
a circle, and had interlaced and spread themselves around in the form
of a large nest of the most delicate construction, while the water,
falling upon the netted twigs and branches, had covered them completely
with a pearly incrustation of snowy silica, converting the whole into
a pure white nest of stone. Nothing but spreading trees and mosses
grew around this secluded spot, and the singular structure, when we
first came upon it, looked like the petrified nest of some gigantic
antediluvian bird.
From this curious structure, which we named the Eagle's Nest, we
mounted the hot, treacherous sides of the valley to where a number of
boiling mud-holes vomited forth vast quantities of white, silicious
mud, of the consistency of thick gruel. All were nearly circular in
form, and about six feet deep by twenty in circumference, and, while
one had a pinkish tint, caused evidently by red oxide of iron, another
next to it was of a milky-white colour. When the mud had become
hardened, it was of the consistency of cheese, with a greasy feel,
while it could be fashioned by the aid of a knife into any form. All
the pools were in a constant state of ebullition, and emitted a strong
odour of sulphuretted hydrogen. Close to them was a small lakelet of
green, silicious water, warm and steaming. The sides of the valley
in this vicinity were everywhere very hot, and when I inserted the
thermometer about two feet below the surface it registered 215°, and
yet on this heated soil the mosses grew luxuriantly, but all other
vegetation had a somewhat stunted appearance.
Lower down the valley we came upon another geyser, throwing up boiling
water from a funnel-shaped hole, around which big masses of silica rock
clustered in fantastic form. At the foot of this geyser, and within a
yard or two of the stream, was a small pool, apparently of great depth,
in which big balls of gas flashed constantly in the sun as they rose
rapidly to the surface and exploded. This only occurred when the geyser
was quiescent, but as soon as it became active, the pool became less
troubled, as the water from above rolled over it. At a short distance
from this was a geyser formed by a circular hole, which threw up
constantly a big jet of hot water from a basin where the crystallized
rock was covered with a black deposit. Here we jumped the stream at a
very treacherous point, and again fought our way through the scrub, and
round about a perfect network of hot springs and mud-holes, so close
and so intricately laced together that the greatest care was necessary
to prevent being boiled alive.
On the southern side of the stream, we came suddenly up to the Big
Geyser, which every now and again threw up vast volumes of boiling
water from an oval-shaped cauldron of pure white, crystallized silica.
The water, of the purest blue, flowed over a terrace-like formation,
which was being gradually built up just as the famed terraces of
Rotomahana must have been, each fold, or lamination, of the rock
being distinctively formed with tablets beautifully designed by the
silica-charged waters. Climbing up a ridge by the side of this big
fountain, we peered over a precipice, which opened out beneath in a
semicircular form, and at the bottom of which was a large oval-shaped
spring--dark water, shining, and steaming hot, while the silicious
rocks which walled it in were tinged a deep red by oxide of iron. This
was a very warm though interesting region. The red and white-streaked
walls of the chasm steamed and bubbled, the boiling mud-springs
displayed a wonderful activity, while the green lakelet on the opposite
side of the valley sent down its emerald-coloured water to mingle with
Te Wairakei, which foamed and hissed as it rushed furiously over its
rocky bed below.
Not far from this point was the geyser known as the Great Wairakei,
from which the district takes its name. According to Maori legend, it
is said to have been called after an old woman who plunged into its
boiling cauldron to end her days. It was formed of an oblong basin of
about forty feet long by thirty feet wide, and almost circular, while
at its farther end the steep sides of the steaming pool rose to a
height of sixty feet, rock-bound, black, and adamantine in appearance.
Perhaps, however, one of the most curious features of this geyser
was that the edges of the pool were beautifully fringed with white
incrustations of silica, pointed and fretted in the form of the most
delicate lacework, while down beneath the water might be seen huge
masses of silica rock, which had the appearance of the most fantastic
coralline formations. White, yellow, and pink were the prevailing
colours of these splendid incrustations, and when shining beneath the
sun the contrast of the deep blue of the water and the white foam of
the geyser, as it threw up its column of steaming water, was very
attractive. Right in the centre of the broad basin the hot fountain
surged and rolled, bursting up now and again in the form of a sparkling
column, and subsiding with a loud, rumbling sound, as if in fury at the
disturbing agency below. Enormous volumes of steam circled in the air,
but everywhere around its hot sides a clustering vegetation struggled
for life upon the heated soil.
Within a short distance to the west of the Geyser Valley, and at the
summit of a high range of hills, we explored another interesting region
of thermal action. It was principally formed by a deep, crater-like
depression, with rugged sides, composed of huge masses of trachytic and
pumice rock and volcanic earth, from the numerous fissures of which
issued white jets of steam. The country hereabouts bore traces of
having undergone, at some period or another, considerable subterranean
disturbance, and it appeared as if the crater-like depression had
formed the principal seat of action. In the centre of this remarkable
locality was situated a small lake of oblong shape, with steep,
rock-bound, precipitous sides, which rose perpendicularly from the
edge of the water to a height of about sixty feet. The water, of a
thick, opaque blue, like cloudy turquoise, lay undisturbed, without
a ripple upon its surface, save where innumerable gas-bubbles rose
from the depths below to give off their sulphuretted hydrogen. At its
western end, embowered amidst a dense growth of fern and mosses, was
a picturesque cave, through which ran a cold, icy spring of delicious
water.
Near to the lake were several large mud-pools in a state of great
activity, and still further along, close under a steep, rocky bluff,
whose hot, quaking sides sent forth innumerable jets of steam, was an
extensive chain of sulphur-pools, one of which was over 100 feet in
diameter. In the vicinity of these pools were large deposits of bright
yellow sulphur, with hematite iron, the red oxide, silica, alum, and
other mineral products peculiar to thermal action. All these pools were
so disposed that they formed, as it were, natural baths, and, from
various tests I made, I found that the temperature averaged from 100°
to 206° Fahr. The colour of the water varied in appearance from dark
green to steel-grey, but all were evidently highly charged with sulphur
and other minerals, and I believe that their curative properties would
be found very efficacious in cutaneous and rheumatic affections.
It was from the Blue Lake and the sulphur and mud-pools in its
vicinity that a very remarkable spring took its rise. After passing a
considerable distance underground, it wound on its way to the Waikato
River. Along its entire course the country fell rapidly from the lake,
and the stream in many places--which had a channel from three to six
feet in width--descended at various intervals into small cascades
which, falling into broad pools, formed natural baths. We bathed in one
of these fountains where the water had a temperature of 110° Fahr.,
and as the whole volume of the stream passed over the body, it produced
the most delightful sensation. The efficacy of this water for curative
purposes has been long known to the Maoris, who have given it the name
of Kiriohinekai, or "New Skin," from the singular properties which it
possesses in the cure of cutaneous and rheumatic disorders. The water
in colour was of a bluish green, and we found that our horses drank
readily of it, even when in its warm state.
To the south of the Kiriohinekai stream, and about a mile distant,
there was another broad valley, the bottom of which was covered with
innumerable _fumaroles_ that sent up their coils of steam in every
direction. Here the soft, spongy, heated soil was covered with a dense
growth of moss and stunted _manuka_ scrub. All the springs running over
this valley were warm, and most of them were impregnated to a high
degree with sulphur and alum.
Here at the foot of a hill sloping towards the south was situated Te
Karapiti, the largest _fumarole_ in the Lake Country. It was formed by
a deep and apparently fathomless aperture, rounded like a funnel, and
from which issued with a terrific force and unearthly screeching noise,
a spiral column of transparent steam, which mounted high into the air
as if forced upward from below by a 100-horse-power engine. So great
was the force of this column of steam as it issued from the earth, that
the branches of trees we threw into the funnel were at once ejected
and hurled upwards with tremendous power. When I tested its heat, the
thermometer rose to 220° Fahr. This curious steam-hole, which carries
on its eruptions incessantly, may be distinctly seen all over the Taupo
country.[36]
The Huka[37] Falls form, without doubt, the most attractive sight to
be seen along the whole valley of the Waikato, and there is no better
way to view them than by an approach from the north through Wairakei.
Journeying this way, one gets a splendid view of the deep valley of
the river, as it meanders for miles on either side, and when the falls
burst upon the gaze they produce a magnificent _coup d'oeil_. The
river pouring out of Lake Taupo, at an elevation of 1175 feet above
the level of the sea, rolls onward in a serpentine course down a
picturesque terraced ravine for about five miles, when it suddenly
breaks into a series of eddying cascades, and then, sweeping with a
rapid current round an abrupt curve, the vast volume of water enters a
channel about 150 feet long by 60 feet broad, and with perpendicular,
rock-bound sides. The foaming stream thus confined shoots onward with
tremendous fury into bounding rapids, until the mass of water leaps
from a height of 50 feet into a circular basin below, whence it rushes
onwards in its course to the sea. The fine basin into which the river
falls is about 150 feet broad in its widest part; its precipitous sides
rise to a height of about 60 feet, and above these again the terraced
hills of pumice rise hundreds of feet higher. Around this pool the
greenest and most varied vegetation clusters to the very edge of the
water; enormous boulders lie scattered beneath, as if hurled into
their present position by the fury of the stream, and as the bright,
bluish-green water comes thundering in a glittering, foaming wave
over the rocky precipice, and falls shining beneath the sun in wild,
seething eddies below, amidst a cloud of diamond spray, the effect is
beautiful in the extreme.
[Illustration: SECTION OF VALLEY OF WAIKATO RIVER AT HUKA FALLS.
A A. Table-land of pumice drift 1400 feet above sea-level.
B B. Flat terrace.
C. Channel cut by river through dyke of trachytic rock.
D. Fall of river into lower terraced valley, 50 feet.]
When I had gazed with admiration at the beauty of the Huka, I
determined to ascertain whether it would be possible to pass underneath
the shoot of water from one side to the other. I had done this under
the Falls of Niagara, and it seemed to me that the same thing might be
accomplished at the Huka, only on a smaller scale. When I suggested
to my guide that we should make this trial at the risk of our necks,
he did not hesitate, but, on the contrary, entered with spirit into
what appeared an almost impossible undertaking. To get down on a level
with the seething pool below, it was necessary for us to descend a
perpendicular precipice of rock of some sixty feet in height. The only
way down was by clinging on to the roots of the trees, and in this way
we gained the rugged rocks beneath. Once on the margin of the river,
we crept through the thick growth of fern and _manuka_, and then
along steep, slippery, moss-grown boulders that bordered the eddying
whirlpool. There was just sufficient room at each step to put the toes
of our boots. One false step and all was over. As we crept cautiously
along towards the fall, and looked upwards, it appeared much higher and
grander than when we had beheld it from the precipice above, and as it
came thundering towards us from a cloud of spray the effect was not
only beautiful, but thrilling to a degree. With the cautious tread of
a couple of cats, we crawled round the edge of the fall, so close that
the outside water of the grand cascade caught us and drenched us to
the skin, but it soon became apparent as we progressed under the fall
that our way was barred by a barrier of rock which rose vertically up
under the centre of the shoot. We discovered, however, a small cave,
which extended right under the bed of the rocky channel over which the
river passed, and, as we squatted down inside, the vibration caused by
the terrific flow of water over our heads was so great that not only
did the rocks above and around us shake, but the delicate and beautiful
ferns which grew about the walls of the cave trembled like aspen leaves
as they grew. As we gazed from the recesses of the cave through the
falling water the effect produced by the sunlight was very beautiful,
as it lit up the foaming cataract in all the colours of the rainbow.
Thus baffled, I determined to try the opposite side of the fall, and
on the following day we crossed the Waikato at Tapuwaeharuru, and rode
across the wide pumice plain between the valley of the river and the
great mountain Tauhara. It was when crossing this level tract of weird
pumice country, where nothing could be seen but stunted _manuka_ and
tussock grass, that we came across, and, in fact, nearly galloped into
an enormous fissure, which we did not perceive until we were right
on its brink. It was about three quarters of a mile long, running at
right angles to the river, and over 100 feet in depth. Now, although
on the hard dry plain over which we rode the vegetation was sparse and
stunted, down in this chasm there was a beautiful and varied growth of
mosses, trees, and ferns, all growing in unsurpassed luxuriance upon
the hard pumice soil. A small stream, which came out from under the
ground at the head of this deep valley, wound down its centre; and as
we gazed upon the varied growth below, it looked like a veritable oasis
in a wilderness. To any one anxious to act the part of a modern Quintus
Curtius, I know of no better place.
When we gained the Huka Falls on this side, we crawled down a steep,
precipitous cliff, and by the aid of a rope let ourselves down a wall
of rock some fifty feet in height, until we reached a dense growth of
scrub and fern, which fringed the rocks on this side of the pool. We
came suddenly into a rustic-looking spot in a cluster of bush, where
the water from a spring in the cliff above dropped like a shower-bath
upon our heads, and from this point we again got out to the moss-grown,
slippery rocks on the margin of the river. The wind, too, being across
the falls, blew clouds of spray all around us, and it was with great
difficulty we crept round the body of water and right under the centre
of the shoot, where the full volume of the Waikato rolled over our
heads. On this side a series of rocky ledges, each about a foot wide,
formed the inner wall, and these were covered everywhere with a thick
growth of bright-green mosses, and there was just sufficient room for
us to stand without being caught by the fall and drawn into the vortex
that hissed below like a steaming cauldron, as the millions of tons
of bright-blue water fell with echoing roar at our feet. So far our
adventures beneath the waters of the Huka were satisfactory, but I
could not recommend any one to repeat the experiment. Our researches,
however, proved beyond a doubt that it is not possible to pass under
the Huka Falls from one side to the other.
I found that almost every object of interest in these wild regions had
some weird legend attached to it, and Te Huka was not an exception to
the rule. Ages ago, so the tradition goes, a number of the tribe of the
Ngatihau came on a visit to the Ngatituwharetoa of Taupo. The former,
being experienced canoemen, boasted of the rapids they were accustomed
to shoot when navigating the Whanganui, pointing out at the same time
that the Taupo natives might well sail with ease over their beautiful
lake. But the Ngatituwharetoa gave their visitors to understand that
they could boast of rapids that no canoe could shoot. "If you show
them, we will navigate them," exclaimed the Ngatihau; and the challenge
was taken up, the only stipulation being that the Taupo tribe should
furnish a pilot to the head of the rapids. A war-canoe was launched,
and seventy of the Ngatihau getting into it, the swift craft shot down
the Waikato, then over the first rapid and over the second, when at a
jutting point of rock the pilot of the Ngatituwharetoa leapt ashore,
and in a second more the Ngatihau swept onward to their doom over the
falls.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 36: When making the ascent of Ruapehu, Te Karapiti was
distinctly visible at a distance of nearly fifty miles. It acts as a
kind of weather glass to the Maoris when navigating the treacherous
waters of Lake Taupo.]
[Footnote 37: _Huka_ is a general term applied by the natives to the
foam of the sea, and to ice and snow; it here refers to the foaming,
snowy appearance of the falls.]
EXPLORATION OF THE KING COUNTRY.
CHAPTER XI.
THE START.
Reason of the journey--How I succeeded--My interpreter--Our
horses--The Hursthouse difficulty--Departure from
Wairakei--Tapuwaeharuru--The natives--Release of Hursthouse, and
capture of Te Mahuki--The council of war.
In undertaking my journey of exploration through the King Country, I
was prompted by no other desire than to advance the general interests
of New Zealand, by making known more fully that portion of it which
was virtually a blank on the maps, and thus to add, as far as lay in
my power, to the geographical and geological knowledge of a vast and
important region, which was reputed to be rich in natural resources
of a valuable and varied order. The object was, in fine, of a purely
scientific nature, and was prosecuted throughout solely in conformity
with that view.
In setting out upon the undertaking--as I had selected to do the
journey only in company with an interpreter, and without the
protection of friendly natives, whose aid, in fact, it would have been
impossible to obtain--I was aware that a difficult and, by reason of
the unsatisfactory state of the native question, a dangerous task
lay before me, but I was likewise aware that I was no novice in the
matter of travel. I had penetrated into some of the wildest parts of
Australia, explored the principal islands of the Coral Sea, been into
the interior of China and of Japan, crossed the United States, visited
Mexico, travelled in Canada, voyaged up the Nile, camped with the
Bedouins on the plains of Arabia, and hunted in the forests of Ceylon.
In all these countries, whilst exploring their natural beauties and
varied resources, it was my practice to mix freely with the native
races, while I made their habits and customs my special study, and with
the knowledge thus acquired, it seemed to my mind that it would not
be altogether impossible for me to get along with the Maoris, whose
intelligence and courage had been a general theme for admiration ever
since the arrival of Cook.
When entering upon the journey, I determined to follow a certain line
of action throughout. I resolved to ascend Tongariro, to scale the
summit of Ruapehu, and then to enter the King Country at its furthest
extremity, and return northward to Alexandra by the best route by
which I could secure the most extended knowledge of the region to be
traversed. If turned back by the natives at one point, I was prepared
to try another. I was determined that no efforts should be spared to
accomplish my object, and that no obstacle should impede my progress,
save forcible opposition. To guard as much as possible against an
occurrence of the latter kind, I resolved, above all when in contact
with the tribes, to go fearlessly among them, to respect their customs,
and follow, as near as possible, their mode of life, and, in fact, for
the time being to become a Maori. Only in one instance was I forced to
break through this rule, and that was in order to accomplish the ascent
of Tongariro. This mountain, as before pointed out, is strictly _tapu_,
and I was aware that all the persuasive diplomacy in the world would
not secure me permission to ascend it, I therefore had to accomplish
this task unbeknown to the Maoris having settlements in its vicinity.
Following strictly the natives' habits, when camping with the tribes,
we would at sundown turn into the _wharepunis_, or assembly-houses, in
which the members of the _hapu_ meet to eat and sleep, when the small
door would be closed, the solitary window scrupulously fastened up, the
charcoal fire lit, and when the dismal slush lamp would give forth its
flickering light, as if struggling for existence amidst the clouds of
smoke which mingled with the stifling air of the apartment; then men,
women, and children would squat down in their blankets, and, lighting
their pipes, conversation would begin. It was on these occasions that
we gained most of our information about the country and the habits and
customs of the interesting people among whom we were travelling. They
were always desirous of ascertaining what countries I had visited, and,
with the able assistance of my interpreter, I related to them some
of the principal features of interest I had seen in various parts of
the world. During these descriptions not a word was ever spoken--men,
women, and children sat in silence--but at the conclusion of my
narrative the most extraordinary and often ludicrous questions would be
asked. In turn the natives would tell us all we wished to know about
their country and indicate the mineral deposits[38] which they knew to
exist in various localities, while they would likewise recite legends,
and sing songs in a mournful, melancholy way. Then, one by one, they
would gradually settle down to sleep, and in this way, amid loud
snoring and a stifling heat, we would pass away twelve dreary hours,
until the cool breath of morning came and gave us relief. It was, in
fact, by following this course that we gained the confidence of the
natives, and made them our friends.
When I was fully prepared to set out on my journey, as I could not
speak a word of the native language, my next desire was to secure the
services of an efficient interpreter. During my travels through the
Lake Country I had become acquainted with Mr. J.A. Turner, a younger
member of a family of European extraction, who from the early days
of the colony had been settled near Whatiwhatihoe. It was in company
with Mr. Turner that I examined the wonders of Wairakei, and made
the descent under the Huka Falls. It was on that occasion, too, that
I remarked his spirited love for travel and adventure, his quick
perception as a guide, his thorough knowledge of the Maori language,
and of native habits and customs; and while I admired his genial
manner, I secretly determined that when I started on my journey to
explore the King Country he would be the first man whose services I
would endeavour to secure. In this I was fortunately successful.
As I shall have occasion to refer frequently to the horses we took on
our journey I will give their names, with a brief description of each.
Charlie, the horse which I rode, was bred on the Kaingaroa Plains, east
of Lake Taupo, and was caught by Turner from a mob of wild horses.
He stood about fifteen hands, was of a dark iron-grey colour, and
possessed good points. Tommy, ridden by Turner, was a black pony, of
about fourteen hands, bred near Auckland, and, although his points
were not perfect, he was strongly built, and plucky to a degree. Our
sumpter-horse, also bred near Auckland, was a gaunt, white-coated
animal, well built, but somewhat long in the legs, and narrow-chested.
His principal failing was an inordinate appetite. Moreover, although
a fine-looking horse in many ways, he had the gait of a camel, and,
I think, like the "ship of the desert" is said to do, he cursed his
father when going up a hill, and his Creator when coming down.
When everything was in readiness, and just as we were about to start
from Wairakei, an event mingled with alarm occurred in connection
with the native difficulty. Several of the principal Kingite chiefs,
who had up to this time remained in sullen isolation, agreed to allow
Mr. Hursthouse, a government surveyor, and his assistants, with a
body-guard of friendly natives, to enter a part of the northern portion
of the King Country, but immediately upon the party reaching the
small settlement of Te Kumi, a few miles across the frontier-line,
they were set upon and made prisoners by a band of Maoris headed by
Te Mahuki, a fanatical follower of Te Whiti, the Maori prophet. No
sooner were the surveyors in the hands of the desperadoes, than they
were taken prisoners into the settlement, stripped of every particle
of clothing, brutally maltreated, and chained up in a hut where they
were detained until intelligence of their capture reached Alexandra.
This brutal outrage upon a government officer in the face of the many
delicate phases of the Maori difficulty, was naturally received with
consternation throughout the colony, as at first glance it appeared
little short of an act of open rebellion on the part of the natives.
A few days after this event, on the 5th of April, we set out from
Wairakei, and following along the banks of the Waikato for about six
miles, reached Tapuwaeharuru, a small township at the northern end
of Lake Taupo. Situated far from the centres of population, this
settlement is not an important place, beyond its being one of the
principal strategic positions of the armed constabulary. The flat,
elevated plain upon which the township is situated, is formed entirely
of pumice, and has a hollow, cavernous-like sound when riding over
it, a circumstance which no doubt gave rise to its native name, which
signifies "the place of sounding footsteps."
From time immemorial Tapuwaeharuru has been the centre of a large Maori
population, and all around this portion of the lake may yet be seen the
remains of old _pas_ and other evidences of the fast-decaying native
race. There is still a considerable number of natives living in the
vicinity, and the township is usually full of them. Many of the men are
tall and finely built, and, in fact, this portion of the country has
been at all times renowned for the splendid physical development of the
native race, some of the tallest and most powerful men in the island
hailing from these parts. The women, likewise, are comely in appearance
and strongly built, while they follow the peculiar custom, which I have
not seen elsewhere, of tattooing the legs as well as the lips in thin
cross-lines of a dark-blue colour.
We reached Tapuwaeharuru early in the day, and noticed as we
entered the township that a body of the armed constabulary were at
work repairing the earthwork of the redoubt. We soon learned that
Hursthouse and his party had been released by a body of armed natives
under Wahanui, the principal chief of the Ngatimaniapoto, and that
Te Mahuki and his band had been taken prisoners to Auckland.[39] It
was evident that the natives were much excited over the latter event,
and the armed constabulary had received orders to hold themselves in
readiness to take the field at any moment. Tawhiao, the Maori king,
was on his way from the East Coast with 300 mounted Waikatos, and was
expected to arrive on the following day, and it was reported by the
natives that he would enter the King Country by the northern shore of
the lake, and call a meeting of all the tribes to discuss the situation.
At this juncture I sent Turner to sound the natives whether they
thought that he could enter the King Country at Tokanu, and pass
northward to visit his family at Whatiwhatihoe. Two of the natives whom
he knew from Tokanu told him that he might by chance get through, but
if he happened to come across any of Te Mahuki's followers or other
unfriendly natives, he would probably be treated in the same way as
Hursthouse, or perhaps get a bullet through him. The general impression
was that the Hursthouse affair, and the imprisonment of Te Mahuki and
his band, would cause a serious disturbance between the Europeans and
natives. At this stage we held a council of war. It was clear there
were only two alternatives--either to go on and chance everything, or
beat an ignominious retreat. I made a firm stand against the latter,
and Turner, realizing the position at once, said, "Wherever you go,
I'll follow." That settled the question, and that night, when the moon
was high, we pitched our first camp on the eastern shore of Lake Taupo.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 38: The natives at Ruakaka told us of the existence of gold
in the Kaimanawa Mountains, and in the Tuhua country, as likewise of
extensive deposits of coal on the Upper Whanganui River.]
CHAPTER XII.
THE REGION OF LAKE TAUPO.
Natural phenomena--The great table-land--Position and dimensions
of the lake--Watershed--Geological features--The lake an extinct
crater--Crater lakes--Areas of thermal action.
As during my journey through the King Country the widely extended
region surrounding Lake Taupo will of necessity be brought prominently
forward as being the principal centre around which my explorations
were prosecuted, I will endeavour to define in general terms the
leading features of this important area, in order that all my future
descriptions of the country traversed may be more readily understood by
the general reader.
This portion of the North Island, by reason of the varied features of
its natural phenomena, is without doubt one of the most wonderful and
interesting fields for geographical exploration and geological research
to be found in any part of the world. It is, in fact, a portion of the
earth where some of the most marvellous works which mark the progress
of a Divine Creation may be viewed in singular and varied contrast,
and while one beholds in wonder the stupendous action of volcanic
fires, one may trace the no less potent force of the snowy glacier and
bounding river. Here nature, with her mighty forces of fire and water,
has formed and moulded a region of extended plains pierced by colossal
mountains which raise their giant heads to the region of eternal snow,
while countless rivers pour down their waters into a lake possessing
the dimensions of an inland sea.
[Illustration: TRANSVERSE SECTION OF NORTH ISLAND FROM S.W. TO N.E.
AA. S.W. fall of great central table-land to coast, geological
formation near surface, pumicious grit and decomposed trachytic rock,
in form of light earth, resting on strata of pumice and fluvial drift.
Vegetation various native grasses, low fern and forest.
B. Onetapu scoria desert, highest point of table-land, dividing
northern and southern watershed.
CC. Sources of Whangaehu and Waikato rivers, flowing south and north
respectively.
DD. Centres of volcanic upheaval.
EE. General direction of great pumice deposit, forming extensive open
plains. Vegetation principally tussock grass and _manuka_ scrub.]
The middle portion of the North Island is formed of an extended
table-land, which towards its central point, that is to say, in the
vicinity of the lake margin, attains to a mean altitude of nearly 2000
feet above the level of the sea. Beyond this radius, which I may term
the inner circle of the great lake basin, the plane of elevation varies
in altitude, and attains its highest point at its southern division,
where, on the Onetapu desert, at the eastern base of the great mountain
Ruapehu, it rises to a height of over 3000 feet, from which place it
inclines gradually towards the south coast, and divides the northern
and southern watershed of this portion of the country. Easterly of this
the table-land is intersected by the Kaimanawa mountains, and from the
western base of Ruapehu it falls with a rapid descent into the valley
of the Whanganui. To the north of the lake, along the upper valley of
the Waikato, it has an average elevation of from 1500 to nearly 2000
feet, until it descends into a broad valley near Atea-amuri, where
the river flows round to the north-west to enter the plains of the
lower valley of the Waikato. Eastward of the lake the highest point of
the plateau is attained near to the northern slope of the Kaimanawa
mountains, whence it dips in a north-easterly course, in the direction
of the Bay of Plenty. Over a large area, along the western shore of
the lake, the table-land maintains a more equal elevation than near
the eastern shore-line, until it reaches the head of the Waihora
river, whence it inclines north-westerly, around the high mountains of
Titiraupenga, until it gradually merges into the broad, low valley of
the Upper Waipa.
It is as near as possible in the centre of this vast area of elevation,
that the enormous sheet of water forming Lake Taupo is situated. The
position of the lake is in lat. 38° 37' to 38° 58' S.; long. 175°
46' to 176° 5' E. Its mean altitude above the sea, by barometrical
measurements, I ascertained to be 1175 feet. The margin, or shore-line,
assumes a somewhat oval shape, with a broad bay on the western side.
It is twenty-four miles long in a north-easterly and south-westerly
direction, and fourteen miles broad from east to west, and with a
superficial area of over 300 square miles. It possesses one small
island, which is situated near to its south-eastern shore, and its
coast is surrounded with beautiful bays and headlands, which in some
instances rise many hundreds of feet above the white pumice shore.
Although the waters of the lake are comparatively shallow around a
greater part of the margin, there are places where it is of an enormous
depth, especially near its centre in the direction of the western bay.
In describing the watershed of this wide region, I may point out
that the area of the lake basin may be defined by those divisions of
the country which give rise to the rivers, creeks, and other waters
flowing into it, and which have their origin for the most part in
the extensive mountain ranges scattered over various parts of the
table-lands.
Although on the most recent maps of the colony only about eight rivers,
namely, the Waitahanui, Hinemaiai, Tauranga, Waimarino, Upper Waikato,
Waihaha, and Waihora, are represented as flowing into the lake, I
found on the western shore, in addition to other smaller streams, the
Kuramanga, Kuratao, Whareroa, Mangakara, Whanganui,[40] Waikino, and
Waikomiko, besides three other streams on the northern shore, the names
of which I was unable to obtain.
It will therefore be seen that there are not less than seventeen rivers
running into this lake, with innumerable smaller streams, while it
should be remarked that the only river or stream of any kind flowing
out of this immense area of water is the Waikato, at the north-east
end. Most of the rivers on the eastern side of the lake receive their
waters from the north-western slope of the Kaimanawa mountains, and
those from the west, from the Tuhua, Hauhungaroa and Hurakia ranges.
Comparatively little water flows into the lake at the northern end,
since the country thereabouts dips mostly in the direction of the
valley of the Waikato. It is in fact at its southern end that the lake
receives its greatest volume of water from the Upper Waikato river,
and its numerous tributaries. This river, rising at an altitude of
7000 feet on the eastern side of Ruapehu, is fed by the snows of that
mountain, and of Tongariro, as well as by the enormous watershed of a
large portion of the Kaimanawa mountains, along the western base of
which it runs in its winding course to the lake, receiving likewise
on its way the eastern streams of the Kakaramea ranges, and the
overflowing waters of Lake Rotoaira, as they descend by the Poutu
river. With but one outlet to relieve it of this tremendous watershed,
it is not surprising that the waters of the lake rise rapidly during
the rainy season, while with the continuance of heavy winds its waves
are lashed into fury, and break upon its shores with the force and roar
of a raging sea.
In considering the geological features of the region of Lake Taupo,
it may be imagined here, as in other cases, that the primary volcanic
eruptions were submarine, and that when first that portion of New
Zealand now known as the North Island appeared above the surrounding
sea, forced upwards by some volcanic freak of nature, the Taupo
table-land rose perhaps rapidly, perhaps by slow degrees, to its
greatest elevation. The volcanic eruptions which produced this
phenomenon may, in short, have been instantaneous or slow in their
action; but be that as it may, their work has been indelibly impressed
upon the face of Nature in a way which has caused its wonderful results
to last through vast periods of time. The volcanic agencies, however,
did not rest here. The Plutonic fires, still active in the interior of
the earth, burst through the elevated plane, and caused big mountains
to rise up in the form of serrated ridges and truncated cones, which
poured out their streams of lava and other kindred products over the
surrounding country. Hence dotted along the Taupo volcanic zone are
stupendous mountain ranges and graceful trachytic cones standing alone
or rising from amidst a cluster of minor elevations to heights which
vary from 1200 to nearly 10,000 feet above the level of the sea. Of
the former class the most extensive are the Kaimanawa mountains and
the kindred systems, with the Tuhua ranges and the wooded heights of
Hauhungaroa and Hurakia, while the cone formation is exemplified in
the grandest proportions in Ruapehu, Tongariro, Pihanga, Tauhara,
Kakaramea, Kuharua, Puke kai-kiore, Karangahape, Haurungatahi,
Hikurangi, Hurakia, and Titiraupenga, all of which indicate various
centres of volcanic action.
The existence of a body of water of the area of Lake Taupo, and of its
form and depth in the centre of this elevated region, may be accounted
for in several ways. It may have originated in the terrific throes
of an earthquake, or by a fracture or break in the plateau. I am,
however, of opinion that the present basin of the lake was at one time
an active crater, which had its existence long prior to the period
when the volcanic cones surrounding it sprang into existence, and that
at the time of its activity it was considerably higher than it is at
the present day, its subsidence or depression having been caused by
one of those sudden changes peculiar to regions subject to volcanic
disturbance. Moreover, many of the leading geological phenomena, as
exemplified throughout the surrounding country, would seem to point to
this conclusion. Perhaps one of the most remarkable features of the
Taupo volcanic zone at the present day is its vast pumice plains,
which radiate, as it were, from a common centre over an extensive area
of country. The largest of these plains stretches in a north-easterly
direction from the lake shore, with a gradual fall or incline in the
same direction. It is through the western margin of this plain that the
Waikato winds through its terraced valley, and it is around this valley
that may be more distinctly seen the enormous deposits of pumice,
which have been distributed far and wide, as it were, by the action of
rapidly rolling waters.
From every outward indication it would appear that this vast deposit
of pumice rock had its origin in the once active crater forming the
basin of the great lake, and that both Ruapehu and Tongariro rose
above their still higher planes long after the period when the great
Taupo crater now forming the cup of the lake was the principal outlet
of volcanic fires in this wide field of Plutonic action. As a matter
of fact the distribution of pumice drift around the enormous base of
Ruapehu and Tongariro is as nothing when compared with the great pumice
formation of North-Eastern Taupo, and this statement will apply equally
to the plains westward and south-westward of the lake. The greatest
overflow or distribution of pumice appears to have been, as before
pointed out, at the north-eastern division of the lake basin, where the
area of depression is greater than at any other part, and at a point
over thirty miles distant from either Tongariro or Ruapehu. It was, I
believe, when the fires of the great lake volcano died out that the
waters rose from the subterranean springs below, and overflowing the
then more elevated crater, distributed the light pumice rock over the
area of country which had a gradual fall then as now in the direction
in which the extensive deposits of pumice are still to be found. This
enormous crater was, no doubt, at one time the highest point of the
island, until its period of volcanic extinction and subsidence set in,
after which stage the pent-up fires burst forth in the stupendous form
of Ruapehu, and when the latter in its turn became extinct, Tongariro,
with its minor system of volcanic cones, sprang into existence.
[Illustration: TERRACE FORMATION AND HOT SPRINGS.
(_Valley of the Waikato._)]
I am not aware whether this theory of the crater basin of Lake Taupo
is a new or an old one, and I only endeavour to exemplify it as it
presented itself to my mind, after a careful examination of the
country for many miles around the lake, and from data gained during my
ascent of the highest mountains of this great volcanic centre. I may,
however, likewise point out that the Taupo natives still have a well
authenticated tradition, which would seem to show that even during the
history of the race upon the island, the lake basin was at one period
considerably higher than it is at the present day. But, beyond the
above fact to support this theory, it is well known that the formation
of lakes in extinct craters is common throughout the volcanic regions
of the island. Lake Takapuna, near Auckland, may be taken as a notable
instance. The blue lake at Wairakei, near Lake Taupo, is situated in
a depressed crater, and Rotokawa, a little further to the east, is of
the same formation. Lake Rotoaira, south of Taupo lake, is nothing more
than a depressed crater, while there are no less than four lakes on the
Tongariro mountains formed in the same way. There is likewise a lake
formed by a crater on the summit of Ruapehu, while the two lakes which
I discovered to the south-west of that mountain, and named respectively
Rangitauaiti and Rangitauanui, were nothing more than depressed craters
filled with water from subterranean springs.
When treating of the many wonderful natural phenomena presented by the
Taupo volcanic zone, it may not prove uninteresting to refer, if only
in brief terms, to the several centres of thermal action within the
immediate region of the lake. Both at its northern and southern end
considerable areas of country are covered with geysers, solfataras,
fumaroles, and hot springs. At a short distance below the point where
the Waikato leaves the lake, the banks of the river are studded with
boiling springs and fumaroles in a very active condition, while not far
from its eastern margin is situated a large geyser which is constantly
throwing up boiling water and emitting vast volumes of steam. At
Wairakei, still further down the valley of the Waikato, these wonderful
phenomena cover nearly 4000 acres of country, and take the form, as
before shown, of enormous intermittent geysers, steam-holes, fumaroles,
solfataras, and hot mineral springs of the most varied order; while to
the north-east of Lake Taupo, Lake Rotokawa forms the centre of a wide
circle of hot springs and fumaroles. On the south side of Lake Taupo,
the mineral springs and geysers of Tokanu spread over a wide surface,
and on the northern slope of Tongariro are some of the largest and most
active boiling springs in the country, while the crater of the great
mountain itself is the seat of a tremendous thermal action.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 39: A few days subsequent to the release of Mr. Hursthouse Te
Mahuki marched with his band into Alexandra, and after threatening to
burn down the town and to destroy the whites, both he and his followers
were captured by the armed constabulary.]
[Footnote 40: This river must not be confused with the Whanganui of the
south, which does not flow into the lake.]
CHAPTER XIII.
EASTERN SHORE OF LAKE TAUPO.
A grand view--True source of the Waikato--The river of "streaming
water"--Our first camp--Variation of temperature--Roto
Ngaio--Te Hatepe Te Poroporo--The lake beneath us--A
canoe--Motutere--Tauranga--Southern shore of the lake--Delta of the
Upper Waikato.
When we set out from Tapuwaeharuru our course lay around the eastern
shore of the lake, and as the bright blue heavens were unflecked by
a single cloud, we obtained an uninterrupted view of the magnificent
and varied scenery that unfolded itself like an ever-changing panorama
before the gaze. I had admired the beauties of Lake Taupo on several
occasions, but never before had they been presented in so clear and
defined a light as on this occasion. As far as the eye could reach,
the grand sheet of water stretched away in the distance in a wide
expanse of blue, which appeared just a shade deeper than the sky above,
while the golden rays of the sun, shining over the lake and lighting
up the surrounding country with a vivid power, made the snow-capped
mountains in the south stand out in bold and beautiful relief. On
every side the scenery was both varied and attractive. To the west, as
far as the eye could see, were the densely wooded heights of the King
Country--the forbidden land we were about to enter. To the north was
a level plain, above which the crater-shaped cone of Tauhara rose in
rugged grandeur. To the east rolled away the wide expanse known as the
Kaingaroa Plains, clothed in a mantle of waving tussock grass; while
south-easterly the long line of the Kaimanawa mountains stretched
across the country, their tall, pointed peaks looking like the Sierras
of Southern Spain. It was, however, immediately to the south of the
lake that the most enchanting _coup-d'oeil_ was to be obtained.
Rising above the calm water was the solitary island of Motutaiko;
beyond it the lake shore was indented with the most romantic-looking
bays, above which a cluster of cone-shaped summits rose in a confused
but picturesque group, overtopped by the tall form of Mount Pihanga.
Beyond, in the background, the graceful cone of Tongariro, capped with
a feathery cloud of steam, stood out in grand proportions; while high
above all towered the stupendous form of Ruapehu--its rugged-peaked
summit radiant in its fleecy mantle of snow. Although the nearest
of these mountains was over twenty miles distant, they were all so
clearly defined in outline as to appear not half that distance away.
Taking into consideration the grand expanse of lake, the varied form of
the surrounding mountains, with the active crater of Tongariro and the
colossal proportions of Ruapehu--in fine, water, snow, mountain, and
volcanic fires--never had I gazed upon, in any part of the world, so
varied and so beautiful a scene.
[Illustration: LAKE TAUPO.
_Page 150._]
The bay upon which Tapuwaeharuru is situated, and around which our
journey began, is one of the most remarkable parts of the lake, for it
is here that the Waikato River rolls out of the broad expanse of water
to pursue its long, winding course to the sea. At the point where the
river leaves its great natural reservoir--that is to say at the top of
the lake--the depth of water is not more than from four to six feet,
but a few feet beyond where the eddying waters burst forth in the form
of miniature cascades, the river gradually deepens as it flows onward
in a rapid course through a winding narrow valley, with wide, sloping
sides, which gradually become higher and steeper until they form a
precipitous terraced gorge as the stream cuts its way through the
pumice table-land in a devious course to the Huka Falls, over which
it plunges, to dash onward again through a still deeper valley, the
bed of which at the base of the falls is a little over 100 feet below
the water level of Lake Taupo.[41] The point where the river takes
its rise is the only outlet of any kind around the vast margin of the
lake, and it is this spot which forms, as a matter of fact, the true
source of the Waikato. The great river, which enters the lake to the
south, and which is supposed, by a romantic fiction of the natives,
to flow through the lake without mingling with its waters, and which
is erroneously styled the "Upper Waikato," is, without doubt, when
considered geographically, a distinct stream of water, which is no more
connected with the Waikato proper than are the numerous other streams
which all add their quota to the lake waters. From the narrow outlet
where the Waikato leaves the lake, it takes an almost north-easterly
course for about thirty miles, when it flows north-westerly to
Ngaruawahia, where, after its junction with the Waipa, it runs in an
almost northerly direction until it bends again abruptly to the west,
to disembogue at the West Coast. During its long winding course, it
receives the waters of countless tributaries which form the great
central watershed of a large portion of the island. The river in its
rapid flow is still slowly but surely cutting its way through the great
pumice formation, and as an evidence of this work it is no infrequent
occurrence to see disintegrated masses of rock in the form of pumice
drift floating upon its waters, to be carried out to sea, or deposited
to form fresh strata along its winding banks. The colour of the water
of the Waikato here, as elsewhere wherever the stream traverses the
pumice country, is, like that of the lake, of a transparent opaline
blue tint, and so clear is it that the coraline-like formation of the
rocky bed--an appearance caused by the silicious encrustations upon the
rocks--is distinctly visible to a great depth below the surface of the
stream. Indeed in the transparent beauty of its head waters I believe
this river has no equal, and while the peculiar terrace formation of
its upper valley imparts to it a singularly beautiful appearance, the
high wooded ranges of its lower basin are no less remarkable for their
wild and rugged grandeur.
[Illustration: SOURCE OF THE WAIKATO AT LAKE TAUPO.]
With so many natural features, then, in its favour, it is no matter for
wonder that the Waikato has from time immemorial been renowned in Maori
fable and romance. Since time out of mind the rich lands surrounding it
have formed the dwelling-places of the most important native tribes,
whose history is linked with its name, and whose songs and legends are
echoed even to this day from every hill and valley along its course.
The dark race is, however, fast disappearing from its banks, the
stroke of the paddle is now almost unheard upon its bosom, but the
Waikato, or river of "streaming water," still shapes its swift course
over its bounding rapids, and with an echoing sound which would seem to
say,--
Men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
As we proceeded on our way around the north-eastern shore of the lake,
we crossed a small stream called Waipahihi, which flows across a level
plain from the direction of Tauhara Mountain. Here was a small native
settlement, composed of a _runanga_ house and a few _whares_, in front
of which some half-dozen natives were sunning themselves, while several
laughing, dusky children paddled about in the clear blue water. We
passed along the shore until the western side of the lake opened out
into a deep bay with bold, rugged cliffs shooting up perpendicularly
from the water, while the mountain scenery to the south became still
more attractive towards sundown, when the heavens assumed a beautiful
green and carmine tint. We kept on our course until the last ray of
sunlight had died away, and the moon was already high when we pitched
our first camp on the banks of the Waitahanui River, with the broad
lake on one side of our tent, and a _raupo_ swamp on the other.
At this camping-place, which stood on a level with the lake, we
experienced for the first time one of those sudden changes of
temperature which afterwards became one of the most remarkable
features of the journey. At 4 p.m. the thermometer registered as
high as 80° Fahr. in the shade, and at midnight it stood at 2° below
freezing-point, being a variation of no less than 50° in eight
hours. When we awoke in the morning the thermometer marked 4° below
freezing-point. The ground was coated with a thick frost, and the water
we had left standing overnight was covered with a coating of ice. The
sun, however, as it swept over the lake, soon clothed us with its
genial warmth, and nature looked more radiant than ever.
We struck camp soon after daybreak, and forded the Waitahanui, which
flowed with a very rapid current into the lake, the water, which was
very clear and cold, reaching nearly over our horses' backs. The
country around our track at this point consisted principally of broad
flats, with here and there low ranges of pumice terraces covered with
fern and _manuka_ scrub, until we came to Roto Ngaio, a small native
settlement situated in a semicircle of the lake shore, which was
surrounded by pumice cliffs, completely flat-topped and level, with
steep, clean-cut gorges. In the centre of the settlement was a small
lake, the water of which, of an intensely blue colour, reflected on
its calm surface the luxuriant vegetation that grew around. Everywhere
along its border were deep clusters of willow and acacia-trees; in
the thick sedges which fringed the water on every side were flocks of
water-fowl, while the native _whares_, dotted about beneath the trees,
imparted to the whole scene a singularly picturesque appearance.
From Roto Ngaio we rounded Te Kohae Point, where the shore was covered
with various kinds of drift washed up by the lake, and by which it
could be plainly seen that the water-line during the rainy months
was considerably higher than during the dry season. The shore-line
hereabout was walled in by tall cliffs of pure white pumice, which
rose up perpendicularly from 200 to 300 feet in height, and there were
no signs of vegetation, save the scanty growth of fern that seemed to
struggle for existence along the tops of the precipices.
We crossed the Hinemaiai River, which cut its way through a valley
of flat-topped terraces, and at midday we camped for an hour at
Tehatepe, a deserted Maori settlement, where peach, cherries, and other
fruit-trees grew in picturesque confusion in a garden-like expanse of
bush. At every settlement along the lake, whether occupied or deserted,
we found extensive peach groves growing in the greatest luxuriance,
many of the finest kinds of this delicious fruit being produced from
the sterile-looking pumice lands.
The view from this place, looking across the lake towards the western
bay, was most charming. The day was singularly warm and bright for the
season of the year, and as we sat under a deep cluster of acacia-trees,
and admired the beauties of the wide expanse of calm blue water before
us, there was nothing to mar the quiet tranquillity of the spot,
save innumerable blowflies that swarmed around us in an unpleasantly
familiar kind of way.
After leaving Tehatepe, we crossed the Totara and Waipehi streams,
flowing into the lake from pumice hills in the distance, and came to
a jutting point, where the cliffs rose to a height of several hundred
feet above us. The track led over the tops of these, but, in order to
avoid taking our horses by that way, we waded into the lake amidst the
boulders and rocks, with the water over the horses' backs, and after
rounding several huge masses of rock and jutting points, we gained the
foot of another high headland, called Te Poroporo, up which we had to
climb from the water by steep and dangerous rocky ledges, over which
our horses had to scramble as if going up a slippery flight of steps.
Over this steep cliff the path wound higher and higher until for a long
distance it attained an elevation of over 100 feet above the water,
with a high cliff wall on one side and a precipitous descent into the
lake below on the other.
The view of the grand surroundings obtained from this elevation was
beautiful in the extreme. The lake, like a vast inland sea, was spread
out beneath us, while immediately below our track the shore-line was
dotted with gigantic boulders, among which innumerable wild duck were
disporting themselves in the pellucid water. Beyond, towards the south,
the mountains towered to the skies, and Tongariro appeared to be giving
off a greater cloud of steam than it had done at any time during the
previous day. The picturesque island of Motutaiko lay right beneath
us, the _whares_ of Tokanu could be plainly seen, backed by a cloud
of vapour from the hot springs; while on the other side of the lake,
in the direction of the north-east, we could discern a vapoury column
rising from Te Karipiti, and big, white clouds of steam floating over
the geyser valley at Wairakei.
When we gained the level shore-line the country became very
picturesque, the low flats ending in small valleys and low hills,
many of which partook of the flat terrace formation so remarkable in
the pumice country. A large canoe, filled with natives, passed by
us, speeding in the direction of the western shore, the frail craft
shooting rapidly over the water, with the well-timed stroke of the
paddles, which moved with the regularity of clockwork to the loud
refrain of the dusky voyagers as they sped on their way.
At Motutere, a small, low peninsula jutting out into the lake, we
found the remains of an extensive _pa_, with burial-places, and carved
palisading, which lay scattered about the ground. There were likewise
the remains of a _wharekarakia_, or church, a ruined monument where
the first light of Christianity had dawned upon a heathen people.
This place, which was most delightfully situated, bore evidence of
having been at one time a populous native settlement, which had
gradually dwindled away until it had become the haunt of a few wild
pigs that squealed and grunted at us as we passed through the deserted
cultivations, which were still marked by the peach and the rose-tree.
Beyond Motutere the shore-line took a graceful curve in the form
of a wide bay, with a white pumice shore, picturesque hills rising
gracefully on our left, and jutting points running out in the direction
of the lake. Here, too, the vegetation was more green and luxuriant,
and the soil of a better quality than towards the north. We forded the
Waitotaka River, a clear, rapid stream, flowing from the direction of
the Kaimanawa Mountains, and a short distance farther on we came to
Tauranga Taupo, a native settlement on the banks of the river of that
name. Beyond, the country opened out into low, fern-clad plains, backed
by low ridges of hills. The shades of evening closed around us near to
this point, so we pitched our camp for the night hard by a flax swamp
which here bordered the lake.[42]
We struck camp soon after the first streak of dawn had swept over the
snows of Ruapehu, and passed around the southern end of the lake in
the direction of Tokanu. We soon reached the peninsula Motuoapa, a
bold, rocky promontory connected with the mainland by a low, narrow
neck. At one time a formidable _pa_ stood on this place, and many of
the old earthworks may yet be distinctly traced. Its position is a
most beautiful one, jutting out into the lake over a wide bay, and it
reminded me at the first glance of the bold, rugged peaks one sees
crowned by feudal strongholds around the lakes of the old country. At
a short distance from Motuoapa we crossed the Waimarino River, which
flows through a flat, swampy plain, which extends for a considerable
distance inland from the southern shores of the lake.
The next point of interest was the delta of the Upper Waikato, where
that river flows into the lake. Here the strand was covered with a
light fluvial drift and pumice sand, through which our horses struggled
fetlock deep. At this point the river flows into a semicircular bay,
formed by a bend in the lake shore, which was here covered with
flocks of a small graceful species of seagull, called by the natives
_tarapunga_. The head and breast and under part of the body of this
bird were snow white, the wings of a light grey, tipped with black, and
the tail white with black bars. It frequents all parts of the lake, but
is found more generally at its southern end. We forded the river some
little distance above the extreme point of the delta, where the bed of
the stream was about forty yards in width, and where the overhanging
banks, worn away by its perpetual energy, were evidently in a constant
state of transition. The river, owing to the melting of the snows at
Ruapehu, was coming down at a rapid rate, and the water sweeping over
our horses' backs nearly carried them from under us. The bed of the
river was moreover covered with large boulders, and the animals plunged
desperately in their endeavours to keep their footing against the
strong stream. The banks hereabout were covered with _toetoe_ grass
and strewn with drift timber in those parts where the river during the
heavy floods had burst its boundary and swept over the surrounding
country. This is one of the most dangerous crossing-places around the
lake at the time of a strong fresh, as the waters in their rapid
descent from the highlands to the south carry everything in their
course into the broad lake beyond.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 41: The river, after leaving the falls, flows through a deep
valley, which would seem to indicate, by its peculiar trough-like
character, that the bed of the stream must, at some age or another,
have been considerably higher than it is at the present time, and that
the river gradually cut its deep channel through the yielding pumice
formation, until the great barrier of rock forming the falls was met
with, since which period it has cut its lower bed some fifty feet
beneath. In this lower valley the shores rise abruptly from the margin
of the water to a height of from forty to sixty feet, and then merge
into a series of level plateaux or terraces, which, stretching inland
for some distance, are again succeeded by others of a similar kind,
which, in many places, rise in regular gradations above each other,
like giant steps. For miles down the valley of the river the wonderful
terraced elevations, formed entirely of disintegrated pumice rock,
which is everywhere rounded by the action of water, form the principal
features of the country, and some of the hills which compose them are
so symmetrical in form, and level and angular in outline, that they
appear to have been built up by artificial means.]
[Footnote 42: Throughout this day's travel we likewise, as on the
previous day, experienced a great variation of temperature. At 6 a.m.
the thermometer indicated 4° of frost; at 1 p.m. it registered 84° in
the shade; at 3 p.m. it had fallen to 80°; at 7·30 p.m. to 64°, giving
an extreme variation of 56° in seven hours.]
CHAPTER XIV.
TOKANU.
Scenery--The springs--The natives--Old war-tracks--Te Heuheu--A
Maori lament--Motutaiko--Horomatangi.
Our journey of about thirty miles around the eastern shore of Lake
Taupo brought us to the native settlement of Tokanu, which is situated
at the extreme south-western end of the lake, and on the shores of
a picturesque bay, formed on the one side by the delta of the Upper
Waikato, and on the other side by a line of precipitous cliffs which
rose like a solid wall of rock from the edge of the water, their tops
rolling inland in the form of conical-shaped hills. To the south of
the bay, and behind the native settlement, rise the Kakaramea Ranges,
in a cluster of volcanic cones, in some parts clothed with a dense
vegetation, while in other places the mountain sides are entirely
bare, especially in the vicinity of the hot springs and _fumaroles_,
which may be seen sending up their clouds of steam from various parts
of the slopes. As we looked across the bay of Tokanu the scenery was
resplendent in all the rich, wild beauty of this part of the country.
The bay presented a wide expanse of water, broken only by the small
island of Motutaiko, which seemed to rise with fairy-like beauty from
the depths below. Beyond, to the east, was the bold promontory of
Motuoapa and the winding sinuations of the eastern shore. To the west,
on the margin of the lake, rose a green terrace-like formation, marked
by the conical mountain Pukekaikiore, beyond which, again, the bold
form of Karangahape rose to a height of over a thousand feet above the
calm, blue water, which shone beneath the sun, without a breath of wind
to disturb its surface; while right abreast of the settlement a small
river, known as the Waihi, fell over a precipitous wall of rock in
the form of a foaming cascade. Here, upon the sides of the fern-clad
slopes and upon the level flats, amidst boiling fountains, hot springs,
and _fumaroles_, the primitive-looking _whares_ of the natives were
scattered about in the most picturesque confusion, but all looking out
upon the lake and its beautiful surroundings, which render this curious
region of thermal action one of the most charming spots in the world.
The Tokanu River runs through the settlement, and it is in the vicinity
of this stream that the principal springs are situated. All the
springs, _solfataras_, and _fumaroles_ hereabout partake of the same
character as those of the other centres of thermal action around the
lake, and are used by the natives in the same way for the curative
properties they possess, as well as for cooking, bathing, and other
purposes. The largest and most remarkable hot spring is Te Pirori,
which, from a deep, round hole, throws up a column of boiling water to
a height of ten to fifteen feet, amidst dense volumes of steam. For
a space of nearly three square miles one may walk over quaking soil,
where bubbling springs of hot water flowing into basins of white,
silicious rock, and jets of hissing steam bursting from the ground,
meet one at every turn.
The whole region of the Kakaramea Range to the rear of the settlement
was, without doubt, at one time the scene of a vast volcanic action,
and it is from the still active agencies observable in certain parts
of these mountains that the existence of the present springs may be
traced. Indeed, Tokanu may be said to be situated at the very foot
of some of the principal extinct volcanic cones of this part of the
island, and although their craters are now inactive, their steaming
sides still indicate that an extensive thermal activity is yet going on
within them.
There is a considerable Maori population at Tokanu and in its
neighbourhood, and many of the natives are remarkable for their
stalwart build, a condition which no doubt arises, in no small degree,
from the healthfulness of the climate, as well as from the fact that
they secure the choice of a greater variety of food than that obtained
by many of the less favoured tribes of the interior. The principal
staple of diet, here as elsewhere, is pork and potatoes, but besides
this the lake yields several varieties of fish, which are held in high
esteem. The golden carp, introduced some years ago, is very plentiful,
and besides it there are three distinct species common to the lake--the
_kokopu_, the _koaro_, and the _inanga_, while the _koura_, or
crayfish, likewise abounds.
From the earliest period of Maori history Tokanu has been an important
place of native settlement, and it is still one of the principal
strongholds of the Ngatituwharetoa. It is likewise, at the present
time, one of the most jealously-guarded entrances to the King Country.
Situated, as it is, in the very centre of the island, it formed in
former years the point at which the chief war-tracks converged. During
the early days, when tribal wars were frequent, there were three
main tracks (existing to this day) which were principally used for
conveying intelligence throughout the island. One came from Whanganui,
in the south, across the Rangipo table-land to Tokanu, while two
others diverged from the latter place, one striking west, through that
portion of the island now known as the King Country, and thence to the
north. The other passed along the eastern shores of Lake Taupo, and
thence to Maketu. The natives told us that in war-time men belonging
to the various tribes through whose territory the tracks passed, were
stationed at different points, and they, by moving rapidly from place
to place when in receipt of information, conveyed it thus from one end
of the island to the other in an incredibly short space of time.
Besides its many other historic associations, Te Rapa, an old _pa_
near Tokanu, was the scene of the terrible catastrophe by which Te
Heuheu, the great warrior chief of the Ngatituwharetoa, met his death,
with sixty of his followers, by a land-slip, which overwhelmed his
_pa_ during the night, in the month of May, 1846. The site of this
terrific fall of earth may still be traced, while the name and fame
of Te Heuheu still resounds from Tokanu even unto the lofty peaks of
Tongariro, where the Maori hero, armed even in death with his spear and
_mere_, awaits the sound of the last trumpet. It was in memory of Te
Heuheu's untimely end that his brother, Iwikau, composed the following
lament, which for poetic diction and pathos has no equal in the Maori
language:[43]--
See o'er the heights of dark Tauhara's mount
The infant morning wakes. Perhaps my friend
Returns to me, clothed in that lightsome cloud!--
Alas! I toil alone in this lone world.
Yes, thou art gone!
Go, thou mighty! go, thou dignified!
Go, thou who wert a spreading tree to shade
Thy people when evil hover'd round!
And what strange god has caused so dread a death
To thee and thy companions?
Sleep on, O Sire, in that dark, damp abode!
And hold within thy grasp that weapon rare,
Bequeath'd to thee by thy renown'd ancestor,
Ngahuia, when he left the world.
Turn yet this once thy bold, athletic frame!
And let me see thy skin carved o'er with lines
Of blue; and let me see thy face so
Beautifully chisell'd into varied forms;--
Ah! the people now are comfortless and sad!
The stars are faintly shining in the heavens!
For "Atutahi" and "Rehua-Kai-tangata"
Have disappear'd, and that fair star that shone
Beside the milky way. Emblems these
Of thee, O friend beloved.
The Mount of Tongariro rises lonely
In the South; while the rich feathers that
Adorn'd the great canoe "Arawa,"
Float upon the wave, and women from the
West look on and weep!
Why hast thou left behind the valued treasures
Of thy famed ancestor Rongomaihuia,
And wrapp'd thyself in night?
Cease thy slumbers, O thou son of Rangi!
Wake up, and take thy battle-axe, and tell
Thy people of the coming signs; and what
Will now befall them. How the foe, tumultuous
As the waves, will rush with spear uplifted;
And how thy people will avenge their wrongs,
Nor shrink at danger. But let the warriors
Breathe awhile, nor madly covet death!
Lo, thou art fallen, and the earth receives
Thee as its prey! But thy wondrous fame
Shall soar on high, resounding o'er the heavens![44]
The small, picturesque island of Motutaiko, which forms one of the most
conspicuous and attractive features when looking from Tokanu over the
lake, is formed by an oblong mass of rock, with precipitous sides,
which arise abruptly from the water. It is mostly covered with a dense
vegetation, which casts its fantastic shadows upon the shining surface
below, and altogether it is a very pretty and a very romantic-looking
place. It is accessible only on one side, and the water surrounding it
is said by the natives to be of enormous depth.
As with most remarkable places situated in solitary positions, the
superstitious mind of the Maori has made this curious island the abode
of an evil spirit or _taniwha_, one Horomatangi, who appears to act
the part of a kind of Neptune of the lake. He is said by the natives
to live in a submerged cave on the western side of the island, where
the rocks are steepest. Ever on the alert, in fine or foul weather,
whenever a passing canoe goes by, he stirs up the elements, and,
causing the water to surge and roll, upsets the frail bark, and carries
off its living freight to his abode beneath the lake. On this account
natives, when navigating the lake, steer clear of this island.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 43: Te Heuheu was the most powerful chief of his time, and
exercised a widespread influence over the Maori race, who regarded
him in the light of a deified being. He is said to have been a man of
herculean proportions, standing seven feet high.]
CHAPTER XV.
THE RANGIPO TABLE-LAND.
Along the delta of the Upper Waikato--Mount Pihanga--The Poutu
River and Lake Rotoaira--Boundaries of the Rangipo--Scenery--A fine
night--A rough time--A great storm--The _karamu_ as fodder--Banks
of the Upper Waikato--Another start--More bad weather--Flooded
creeks--Pangarara--Te Hau.
From Tokanu we followed up the delta of the Waikato River, and passed
through a swamp nearly three miles across, and where many of the muddy
creeks and crossing-places were up to our horses' girths in thick
black mud. The swamp, composed of a black alluvial soil of the richest
kind, covered a large area to the south of the lake, and stretched far
inland to the base of the low hills beyond. It was mostly covered with
a dense growth of flax and _raupo_, the less swampy parts giving life
to a luxuriant growth of _toetoe_ grass, which waved its feathery tufts
far above our heads. Further along our track the country rose rapidly
to a height of 200 feet above the delta in the form of a long ridge of
barren hills. From the summit of these elevations the land fell rapidly
along our course 100 feet into a hollow depression. This large area,
which had the appearance of having formed at some time a portion of
the lake basin, was covered with fluvial drift and enormous trachytic
boulders, but wherever vegetation could spring up the tussock grass
grew luxuriantly. Through the centre of this broad expanse the Waikato
rolled onward with many twists and turns over its boulder-strewn bed,
its winding course being marked by a luxuriant growth of tall trees and
other vegetation.
We passed close to the base of Mount Pihanga, which rose majestically
on our right to an altitude of nearly 4000 feet, and formed a
conspicuous landmark for many miles around. This splendid mountain,
springing from an almost level base, is the largest volcanic cone of
the Kakaramea ranges, and while its form is wonderfully symmetrical in
its proportions, it is clothed from base to summit with a dense forest
growth, save here and there where its clear-cut sides roll down into
the plains beneath in the form of fern-clad slopes. Immediately at the
summit of Pihanga is an extensive crater, the northern lip of which
comes considerably down the slope of the mountain, appearing like an
extensive land-slip. This mountain is personified by the Maoris as the
wife of Tongariro.
We had to cross the Waikato twice on its winding course, and next we
forded the Poutu River, a rapid stream with deep broken banks flowing
out of Lake Rotoaira, which lay a considerable distance further to our
right at the southern base of Pihanga, and between that mountain and
Tongariro. We had now entered upon the Rangipo table-land, and were
gradually ascending that portion of it known to the natives as the Te
Henga, a large tract of country covered with good soil and a luxuriant
growth of low fern and native grasses.
As the Rangipo table-land and the plains in its vicinity will enter
largely into my description of this portion of the country, I will
point out its boundaries, with a few of the grand natural features
which render it one of the most remarkable regions in the world.
The Rangipo plateau, which may be said to form the central division
of the great highland of the interior of the island, is in reality
considerably higher than the extensive elevated region immediately
surrounding Lake Taupo. While the latter has a mean elevation of about
2000 feet above the level of the sea, the height of the Rangipo is
over 3000 feet at its highest point on the Onetapu desert, on the
eastern side of Ruapehu. This extensive plane of elevation takes its
rise a short distance from the southern end of the lake, and extends
in the form of broad open downs for a distance of over forty miles,
when it merges into the Murimotu Plains as it falls to the south. On
its eastern margin are the Kaimanawa Mountains, at the extreme base
of which the Upper Waikato rolls in its winding course to join the
great lake. Beyond, to the north-west, the cone-shaped summits of the
Kakaramea ranges rise up, clothed with a dense vegetation, as they
slope gracefully to the shores of Lake Rotoaira in the west, and beyond
which there are again extensive plains fringed with dense forests,
which slope gradually to the valley of the Whanganui. Right in the very
centre of the table-land towers the magnificent cone of Tongariro,
situated in the midst of a cluster of lower mountains, whilst close
to it and separated only by a narrow valley, stands the colossal form
of Ruapehu, peak rising above peak to the region of eternal snow. The
greater portion of the soil of this extensive table-land is of volcanic
origin, and is formed principally by the decomposition of the trachytic
rocks forming the extensive volcanic system of mountains which border
it on its western side, and, with the exception of the desert tract
above alluded to, which is about eight miles across, it is covered
for the most part with a luxuriant growth of native grasses; while it
is intersected from one extent to the other by a perfect network of
streams and rivers, which flow generally in an easterly direction and
form tributaries of the Upper Waikato.
The scenery of this splendid tract of country burst so suddenly upon us
after rounding the broad base of Mount Pihanga that we seemed to have
entered a wild, romantic land blessed with the grandest and most varied
features of nature. To the north was Lake Taupo, with the island and
bold headlands tinged with the golden rays of the setting sun; in front
of us were the tall Kaimanawa Mountains clothed to their summits with
sombre forests, over which the shades of evening played in a fitful
kind of way, now lighting up the broad ravines, now clothing them with
darkness. The wide, rolling sides of the Tongariro Mountains swept
down to the plains in a series of terrace-like slopes, green with a
dense growth of fern and native grasses, which, mingling with the trees
on the higher ridges, gave the hills a park-like look, while, as we
rode onward, the white glittering summit of Ruapehu assumed a pink rosy
tint as the orb of day sank slowly to rest in the west.
Our course was along the Rangipo in the direction of Tongariro, some
fifteen miles distant by the way we were going to attack it, and as we
were acting a kind of strategic movement we kept out to the east along
the Waikato River, to avoid, if possible, being seen by the natives of
Rotoaira, who keep watch and ward over the tapued mountain. Everything
looked propitious for the assault which we had intended to make on the
following day. When we took up our quarters for the night, the moon
rose bright and clear, the stars shone brilliantly, and the snow on
the dark mountains gleamed white and beautiful. By this time we were
already 850 feet above Lake Taupo, or a little over 2000 feet above the
level of the sea; the air was singularly clear, and the thermometer,
which had marked 48° in the shade at 6 a.m., at midday had risen to
72°, and had fallen to 64° at 5 p.m., and as the wind was still from
the south, and there appeared every prospect of fine weather on the
morrow, we determined to start at daybreak to make the next stage for
Tongariro; but alas! "the best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft
a-gley."
The name Rangipo means, in the native language, "black, cloudy sky," a
term which in former years may have had some allusion to the volcanic
fires, with their clouds of smoke and ashes, which must at some period
have made this place appear like a veritable Pandemonium--or it may,
on the other hand, have originated in the terrific storms which still
break with unabated violence on this elevated region, just as they must
have done countless ages ago, when the elements above waged war with
the plutonic fires below. Be that, however, as it may, the "black,
cloudy sky" cast its dismal mantle around us, and our first night was
ushered in with a tremendous storm of wind from the north-east, and
a perfect deluge of rain. The creeks and rivers rose around us, the
Waikato rolled through its rocky gorge with a sound like the roaring of
a distant sea, and when daybreak came and we looked anxiously in the
direction of Tongariro, both it and Ruapehu were blotted completely
out of view by a dense black cloud, which hung around them like a
funeral pall. Up to the time when we arrived at the Rangipo, we had
enjoyed throughout our journey the most delightful weather, but this
sudden break was the prelude to some of the hardest experiences of
our journey. The rain poured down incessantly without a single hour's
intermission, and without a single break in the clouds, the wind
blowing a hurricane most of the time, and veering round to all points
of the compass, but invariably coming back to the north-east or north.
During the six days and nights which this storm lasted without a single
intermission, we lived on from day to day in hope, which was sustained
by scanty feeds of porridge and hard biscuit. We, however, managed to
keep body and soul together, but our poor horses suffered severely,
and it was the privations which they underwent on this occasion that
told greatly upon them during the whole of the journey. The constant
cold and wet to which they were exposed reduced their general tone to
the lowest, and while the grass at that season possessed little or
no nourishment, they had to seek their food always at the end of the
tether rope. To aid them a little, we would go into the bush which
skirts the Waikato, and cut the branches of the _karamu_,[45] which
bears a dark green leaf and clusters of bright red berries. Of this
the half-starved animals would eat voraciously, but unfortunately the
supply was limited in this locality, although we afterwards met with
this tree frequently throughout our journey.
During our unwilling sojourn on the banks of the Waikato the long wet
days and nights passed drearily and slowly away. Even on foot we could
not travel far, owing to the swollen creeks, but we used sometimes to
go out with the gun, and range over the splendid forests which border
the Waikato along its entire length and extend over the Kaimanawa
Mountains in the form of a thick and almost impenetrable growth. Here
we found all the varied _flora_ peculiar to this region growing in
the most luxuriant way down to the edge of the boulder-strewn river
and upwards for thousands of feet to the summits of the highest
mountains. Whenever we came to the many bends of the river the scenery
was beautiful beyond description, by reason of its rugged grandeur,
and the wonderful growth of vegetation that spread itself everywhere
around, as if gaining life and strength from the rapid waters as
they careered madly along. The river, in most places about 100 feet
wide, descended from the steep table-land in the direction of Lake
Taupo, with a rapid current, over enormous boulders of trachytic rock.
Gaining force and rapidity at almost every bend, its bright foaming
waters fed by the steep gorges of the Kaimanawa Mountains, the snows
of Ruapehu, and the rapidly-rolling creek of Tongariro, it pursued a
perfectly snake-like course at the base of the tall mountains, which
rose up almost perpendicularly for thousands of feet on its eastern
side, while precipitous walls of pumice rock and volcanic conglomerate
formed its western boundary along the table-land. The Upper Waikato
forms, in fact, the main channel for the watershed of the whole of the
Rangipo table-land and the western side of the Kaimanawa Mountains
for a distance of over thirty miles, and every creek and river in the
country through which it passes flows into it. At one point we came
to a splendid gorge through which the river dashed in low, silvery
cascades. On the opposite side from where we stood, the mountains rose
steeply upwards to a height of about 6000 feet, forest-clad to their
summits, with a dense and beautifully varied growth, where shrubs,
trees, and parasitical plants mingled themselves together in a perfect
network of vegetation. The banks of the river below us fell almost
perpendicularly to a depth of 300 feet, but so thick was the forest
verdure as we looked down to the bottom of the deep gorge below over
the tops of the gigantic trees which grew beneath, that it was only
now and again that we caught a glimpse of the rushing stream as it
flowed over its boulder-strewn bed. Here tree-top rose over tree-top
until the beautiful vegetation mounting upwards in a dense mass mingled
with the vapoury clouds that hung around.
When the storm had spent its force, a gleam of sunshine dispelled the
mists, and just for a time the summit of Ruapehu shone white and clear
beneath the rolling clouds. We had carefully marked our intended course
upon the map, and had resolved as soon as the weather should break to
make direct for the southern side of Tongariro, and ascend the tapued
mountain as quickly as we could, in order to give the natives, if they
fell across our tracks, as short a time as possible to run us to earth.
With the hope, if not altogether the prospect, of a fine day, we made
another start, but not before we had been compelled, owing to the weak
condition of our horses, to abandon half our provisions, and reduce our
whole commissariat to the lowest proportions.
Before we had journeyed a mile the bright sun disappeared; the "black,
cloudy sky" of the Rangipo again gathered around us; the winds swept
across the wide plains in terrific gusts; the rain poured down heavier
than before; the white snow-clad summit of Ruapehu disappeared from
view with the quickness of a phantom, and again the vapouring mists
obscured the great mountains towards which we were travelling.
We had to cross no less than five large creeks, besides smaller
streams, in about four miles. The tracts down to the creeks, which had
a steep fall of 200 to 300 feet below the plains, were broken about
and washed away into big holes and dangerous and slippery places, and
the horses were as chary of facing these treacherous inclines as they
were of going into the flooded waters of the creeks themselves. The
amount of water poured out by these creeks into the Waikato from the
Tongariro Mountains during a flood must be seen to be fully realized.
At all times the natural springs of the mountains keep them well
supplied, but when heavy rains descend, the whole watershed comes down
with tremendous force and volume. Wherever we crossed these rugged,
boulder-strewn streams, the banks were clothed with a splendid and
varied vegetation, which got denser and denser as their deep gorges
led up the steep mountain sides. I noticed in these creeks that the
boulders were mostly of trachytic formation, with smaller drift
composed of the various volcanic rocks peculiar to the district, while
embedded in their steep pumice sides might often be seen the charred
remains of enormous trees, which must have lived ages ago, when some
volcanic eruption swept over them.
We pitched our camp at Pangarara, a deserted Maori _pa_, situated some
distance off the plains, and at the edge of a secluded bush about two
miles from the south-eastern foot of Tongariro. The rain still poured
down as heavily as usual, and although the country was entirely open
between us and the big mountain that was to be the next scene of our
operations, not a vestige of it could we see.
We had up to this time been detained exactly ten days, through stress
of weather, whilst waiting to ascend the tapued mountain, the dull
monotony of our position being only relieved by the somewhat exciting
expectation that the Maoris might be down upon us at any moment. The
place where we were camped formed part of a wide area of country,
extending from the base of Tongariro in an easterly direction to the
Waikato, and embracing a large and fertile portion of the Rangipo
Plains. For time out of mind this part of the country had been a
native game reserve, principally for the hunting of the _weka_ and
a small white bird (I believe of the gull species) which frequents
the mountains of Tongariro at certain seasons of the year. This wide
territory, and a great deal more besides, was under the _mana_ of a
noted chief named Te Hau, whose _pa_, was at Ruaponga. This native
dignity was renowned throughout this part of the country as a man
of singular intelligence; but, like most Hauhaus, he entertained an
intense hatred for Anglo-Saxon laws and institutions. He appeared to
act the _rôle_, among the tribes of these parts, of a Napoleon the
Great, in the matter of territorial aggrandizement, and it is darkly
hinted that, during the war, Te Hau and many of the rebel chiefs
were in league, and that one day a terrible massacre occurred over a
disputed title to an extensive area of land over which Te Hau now rules
as lord and master.
A strict Conservative in all matters relative to Maori laws, customs,
and traditions, to have fallen in with Te Hau on his "native heath,"
and under the very shadow of Tongariro, which he guards with the
sacred jealousy of a fanatic, would have been about as pleasant as
meeting with his Satanic Majesty himself just fresh from the fires of
the burning mountain. We therefore had to keep not only a keen but an
anxious look-out, the more so as we had learned at Tokanu that Te Hau
was on his way from the south with a large party of his followers to
attend a native gathering at Rotoaira, which had been convened by some
of the leading chiefs to inquire into a disputed land title; and as
Pangarara was one of his usual camping-places, we were naturally the
more anxious to get away from the locality as soon as possible.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 44: This lament will be found in Sir George Grey's invaluable
collection of Maori songs and legends.]
[Footnote 45: For this tree, see Appendix.]
CHAPTER XVI.
ASCENT OF TONGARIRO.
Physical and geological features--Legend of Tongariro--A break in
the clouds--The start for the ascent--Maories in the distance--The
Waihohonu valley--The ascent--The brink of Hades--The great
crater--The inner crater--The lower cones--Crater lakes--The
descent--A valley of death--Tongariro by moonlight--A cold
night--The start for Ruapehu.
The cluster of trachytic cones constituting the Tongariro group forms
collectively an almost complete circle rising from a level plateau,
which near the base of the mountains has a general elevation of about
3000 feet above the level of the sea. The enormous cone with its active
crater, which forms the central point of the group, springs from an
almost level base, and is flanked on its western and north-eastern
sides by minor conical mountains, which are connected with each other
by high ridges. To the north-west a series of undulating hills roll
down to the plains, while to the south a steep, flat-topped spur juts
out into the plateau which bounds the mountain in that direction. With
the higher mountains are connected lower undulating hills, formed
principally of scoria, and covered, especially towards the plains,
with a luxuriant growth of native grasses, low fern, and dwarf shrubs.
Right in the very centre of this great circle of cones and extinct
craters, the graceful, tapering form of the burning mountain rises from
the bottom of an extensive basin-like depression, which, encircled
as it is by the rugged sides of the surrounding ranges, has somewhat
the appearance of an ancient crater. This beautiful mountain, as it
rears its tall head high above the less elevated cones, especially
when viewed from its southern side, at once strikes the beholder by
its wonderfully symmetrical proportions. With a slope of about thirty
to thirty-five degrees, it assumes as near as possible the exact form
of a sugarloaf, without a twist or a bend to mar the grand effect of
its outline. To describe it, one must imagine this huge mass built up
of trachytic rock, ridges of lava, scoria, volcanic conglomerates,
enormous boulders, and other igneous accumulations to a height of
thousands of feet, tapering off gracefully at the summit as if moulded
by the hand of man. It is not a crater of elevation in the ordinary
acceptation of the term, like its colossal neighbour Ruapehu, but a
complete trachytic scoria cone, which may have originated from some
sudden outbreak of plutonic forces, or from a small aperture in the
earth's crust throwing up particles of volcanic rock similar to those
of which the mountain is composed, until, through countless ages, its
action becoming by degrees more extended, it gradually built itself up
to its present proportions from the matter it ejected from its fiery
mouth, and thus, phoenix-like, rose into being from its own ashes.
When examining the great mountain, it may be plainly seen that the
ridges of trachytic lava, which form, as it were, the skeleton upon
which the whole structure is raised, have generally a vertical strike
from the summit to the base of the cone, converging, however, gradually
towards the top, and while the edges of some are inclined so as to form
an almost horizontal stratum, as shown in many of the gorges, the edges
of the others stand out perpendicularly, like enormous buttresses.
Although the whole mountain is covered with scoria and other volcanic
_débris_, the largest deposits of the former appear to be between the
lava ridges, and this is especially the case on the eastern side of
the mountain, where these extensive accumulations cover a considerable
area of country. Besides the active crater at the summit of the great
cone, there is another to the north-eastern side of the group, known
as Ketetahi, near to which there is likewise an extensive system of
boiling springs. But as I visited these two latter points during
another stage of my journey, I will refer more fully to them in their
proper order.
[Illustration: TONGARIRO.
_Page 180._]
After our ascent of Tongariro, and during our subsequent intercourse
with the natives, we made it a practice to learn as much as we could of
their many interesting legends. The legend of Tongariro was more than
once repeated to us by the tribes both resident near and at a distance
from the sacred mountain, and it is a remarkable fact, as showing the
correctness of the oral traditions of the Maoris, that each one
agreed in all particulars with the current stories.
It would appear, then, that when the _Arawa_ canoe touched the newly
discovered shores of Aotearoa there was among the dusky adventurers a
chief who bore the title of Ngatoroirangi, a name which signifies in
the Maori mythology a high priest or deified man. After the natives had
formed a settlement at Maketu, Ngatoroirangi was the first to set out,
in company with his slave, Ngauruhoe, to explore the new land. Striking
into the interior, he crossed the plains of Taupo, and then along the
lake, into which he cast his staff, which the natives state became a
great _totara_ tree. He also shook his mat over the waters, and from
the strips which fell from it sprang the _inanga_, a small fish which
now abounds in the lake. It was dark and stormy when Ngatoroirangi
came to the lake, but suddenly the clouds broke, and he beheld for the
first time the giant form of Tongariro. With the keen instincts of a
heaven-born explorer, the chief resolved to ascend the great mountain,
in order to get a better view of the surrounding country; but the
snow was deep, and the ice-bound summit of Tongariro was too much for
the adventurous travellers, fresh from the sunny islands of the South
Seas. Prompted by the unpleasant prospect of being frozen to death,
Ngatoroirangi shouted lustily to his sisters who had tarried at Whakari
(White Island), some hundred and sixty miles distant, to send him some
fire. The summons was obeyed in quick time, and the sacred fire was
entrusted to the hands of two _taniwhas_,[46] named respectively Te
Pupu and Te Haeata, who conveyed it by a subterranean channel which is
yet supposed by the natives to connect Tongariro with the still active
volcanic island in the Bay of Plenty. It is related that the fire
arrived in time to save the life of the adventurous Ngatoroirangi, but
when he turned to comfort his slave, he found to his horror that his
trusty follower had given up the ghost. At this juncture Ngatoroirangi
took the sacred fire, and casting it into the extinct crater of
Tongariro, the subterranean fires burst forth. On this account
Ngatoroirangi named the crater Ngauruhoe, in honour of his slave--a
term by which it is generally known to the natives even unto this
day. The great mountain itself, however, with its surrounding cones,
is more usually called Tongariro--a term which means in the native
language "towards the south"--and it is a remarkable fact, as showing
the significant nomenclature of the Maoris, that the compass-bearing of
the volcano is as nearly as possible due north and south.[47] There can
be no doubt that Tongariro is one of the largest, grandest, and most
perfect volcanic cones of its kind in the world, and little wonder,
therefore, that the Maoris, when gazing upon its mysterious fires,
should have linked its name with their songs and legends, and have
rendered it a sacred object in their mythology, just as the Japanese
have done their no less beautiful Fusiyama.
The morning of the 18th of April broke dull and cloudy. We were now
over 3000 feet above the level of the sea at our camp at Pangarara,
waiting, nay, almost praying that the dreary, dismal clouds would break
and give us a gleam of sunshine. We had up to this time been detained
exactly ten days through stress of weather whilst waiting to ascend the
tapued mountain, the dull monotony of our position being only relieved
by the somewhat exciting expectation that the Maoris might be down upon
us at any moment.
The thermometer, which for the three previous days had given a mean
average of 57° Fahr. in the shade, suddenly fell to 43°. The omen
was a good one, and we waited patiently.[48] At about ten o'clock
an invigorating breeze blew direct from the south, the sun shone
brilliantly, the sky was dotted here and there with bright patches
of a vivid blue, and as we looked in the direction of Tongariro, the
whole scene changed before our eyes like a magnificent panorama. The
dark, funereal, pall-like cloud which had up to this time entirely
obscured the mountain, rolled gradually away as if by enchantment,
and the magnificent tapering cone, glittering with ice and snow, and
crowned with its waving cloud of steam, stood out against the azure
sky in grand and beautiful relief. Tongariro to be seen to advantage
should be viewed from its southern side. When beheld from the north
it is to a certain degree dwarfed by the mountains surrounding it in
that direction, while the crater on the north and west is likewise
more depressed, and coming consequently lower down the mountain, thus
detracts from its apparent height. On the other hand the country to the
southward is more open, and the symmetrical cone rises boldly defined
above the lower scoria ridges, which rise in gradual undulations around
the great volcano in that direction. I had seen many grand mountains in
different parts of the world, but never had I gazed upon anything so
sublimely beautiful as Tongariro appeared on this occasion; ice, snow,
and steam all combining, beneath the bright sunlight, to add a magical
effect to this wonderful monument of nature's handiwork.
Although we did not imagine that the weather would clear so rapidly we
determined to seize this, the first opportunity, and to start at once
for the ascent.
We were about two miles away from the base, and we had previously
determined to hide our packhorse away in the bush, and to ride to the
foot of Tongariro with our blankets and tent, make the ascent, and camp
at the foot of the mountain at night.
It took just half an hour to saddle up, and get everything prepared,
and then, skirting the forest near to which we had been camped, we
ascended a hill some 400 feet high, to gain the Waihohonu Valley beyond.
The sun now shone warm and brightly, our course seemed clear, and all
was going as merrily as the proverbial marriage-bell, when Turner
hastily directed my attention to four mounted Maoris coming across
the plains to our rear; but just at the moment we caught sight of
them they disappeared behind a low hill. They were some distance off,
but they were quite near enough to easily discern us, especially as
Turner, with the white tent on his dark pony, formed a conspicuous
object. Fortunately we saw no more of the natives, although we watched
carefully for some time, but they nevertheless haunted us for days
afterwards--during our ascent both of Tongariro and Ruapehu--as we
felt fully convinced that they must have seen us, and we were likewise
equally sure that they could, if they so wished, follow up our tracks,
when, by the marks of the shod horses, they would have at once
discovered that we were Europeans. If we had been going in any other
direction the circumstances would have been as nothing, but riding
as we were straight for Tongariro, we knew that that fact alone was
sufficient to excite their suspicion. When we had ridden across the top
of the hill we were at once out of sight, and we rode as fast as our
weak horses would allow over the scoria ridges which surrounded the
base of the cone. We passed on our right an enormous bluff of volcanic
rocks, and then descended a steep, precipitous incline strewn with
enormous boulders which at some remote age had evidently been hurled
from the fiery crater. It was impossible for our horses to walk down
this treacherous place with their heavy burdens on their backs, even
whilst we led them, so taking them off and putting them on our own
shoulders we made the animals follow us, when they picked their way
over and around the big stones like cats.
At the foot of the incline we gained the Waihohonu Valley, a wild,
desolate-looking ravine with a winding stream running down its
centre. To the left, on the opposite side of this watercourse, was
a dense forest growth, while on the ground around the tussock grass
and dwarfed alpine plants peculiar to this region struggled for life
amidst the huge stones and small low scoria hillocks which were
dispersed about in a confused but picturesque way. At the end of the
cluster of forest towards the mountain a steep wall of lava-like rock
rose abruptly up, and ended in high scoria ridges which closed in the
valley to the south-west. Looking in a north-easterly direction, the
rugged promontories and jagged edges of the broken extinct craters of
the lower mountains rose high in the air, piled about in a confused
mass, and coloured dark red and black by the effects of the volcanic
fires which appeared to have rent and torn them asunder until they
had assumed the appearance of embattled walls and crumbling ruins.
The whole conformation of this valley, which was nearly two miles in
length, assumed a somewhat semicircular appearance, as if, at some
period or another, it had formed part of an enormous crater, out
of which the gigantic cone that towered thousands of feet above us
had ultimately reared its lofty summit. Although the sun shone with
a dazzling splendour over us, and a light-green vegetation clothed
many of the hills around, and even crept up the steep scoria sides of
the great mountain itself, the Waihohonu Valley had a wild, dreary,
and parched-up look, as if some fiery breath had but recently swept
over it, and it was only just getting cool from the effects of the
volcanic fires, which had left stupendous monuments of their work in
the enormous lava ridges, which seemed to have cooled suddenly in their
molten course down the steep precipices; while the gigantic boulders
of black, shining, volcanic rock, which lay scattered about in every
direction, looked like tremendous thunderbolts just newly hurled to
earth by the hand of Titan. Not a few of these enormous stones appeared
to have been rounded by the action of fire, and in some cases to have
been partially melted before being sent high into the air from the
fiery mouth of the crater, to fall with terrific force into their
present positions.
Securing our horses in the scrub, we scrambled for about a mile over
huge boulders, and up rough, narrow watercourses, when, ascending a
steep spur of the mountain, we reached the base of the great cone near
to its south-eastern side, at a point which marked 4000 feet above
the level of the sea. Gazing upwards, the steep, clean-cut sides of
the tall mountain looked almost precipitous, and it was clear, at a
glance, that the task to reach the summit and make the descent by
nightfall would be no easy matter. Just at this part of the cone some
volcanic disturbance, which had occurred probably ages ago, had poured
down a stream of liquid lava, which, cooling, as it were, by some
sudden blast, had congealed into a rugged and almost perpendicular
ridge of dark, lustrous, adamantine-like rock in its overflow from
the summit of the mountain. It was up this precipitous ridge that we
had determined to fight our way. When we first began the ascent, the
steep climbing told severely on our backs and legs, while the enormous
protruding masses of porous lava which fringed the outside portion of
the ridge, and over which we had to climb as much by our hands as by
our feet, were as sharp as if they had cooled and crystallized but
yesterday. Besides the cautious and often dangerous way we had to pick
our footing, it was necessary to be careful, in order to avoid the many
holes in the lava formation, which were just large enough to receive
a man's body, and which, when we threw stones into them, appeared to
be of enormous depth. As we climbed higher and higher, the shelving,
colossal sides of the mountain seemed to become steeper and steeper,
while the summit appeared to get further away at every step we took.
Fortunately the weather kept beautifully clear, and as we mounted
gradually upwards, each hundred feet or so disclosed some new and
enchanting view of the surrounding country, which lay mapped out
beneath us radiant in all the beauties of the creation. At an altitude
of 5000 feet we obtained a magnificent view of Mount Egmont, its
peaked, snow-clad summit rising like a glittering island above the
vapoury cloud that hung around the lower portion of the mountain, which
was a little over eighty miles away from our point of observation,
the intervening country being formed of a wide expanse of broken,
forest-clad ranges of minor elevation, and which appeared, judging
from their numerous valleys, to have a general north-westerly and
south-easterly bearing. At an altitude of 5900 feet the climbing was
very steep, and at 6400 feet we could see open plains in the distance,
towards the west, with patches of forest, which gave them a park-like
appearance. At 6600 feet, two small blue lakes were distinctly visible
immediately below us, situated on the summit of a flat-topped spur,
which stretched out from the base of the great cone in the direction
of the open plains beyond, while about six miles distant, in the
same direction, rose the colossal form of Ruapehu, brilliant in its
fleecy mantle of snow, above which its glacier-bound peaks, rising one
above the other, shot up in the form of glittering cones high into
the calm, clear air. This was the most extended view we had, up to
this time, obtained of the mountain king of the North Island, and we
gazed upon its stupendous form with increased interest, as it was to
be our field of operations for the morrow. Indeed, it was from this
elevated point that we carefully observed all the principal physical
features of the giant mountain, and laid down our plan of the ascent,
which we successfully carried out two days afterwards. At this point,
too, we found the last sign of vegetation in the small alpine plant,
_Gnaphalium bellidioides_.[49] At 6950 feet we found enormous icicles
adhering to the rocks, the lava ridge up which we had with great
difficulty kept our course, became very steep and rugged, while the
climbing was exceedingly difficult and tiring. The mass of dark, black
lava stood out in some places like a huge wall, and while on one side
the thermometer marked 48° Fahr., on the other, where there were big
clusters of icicles over a foot long, it indicated 30°. In this way
we could enjoy a great variation in temperature at any moment. During
the whole ascent we never allowed ourselves more than five minutes'
rest at a time, as we knew that a shift of wind, which might occur
at any moment, would sweep the clouds over the mountain again, when
its steaming vapours would soon envelop it in an impenetrable mist.
Tongariro at all times indicates sudden changes in the weather with
the accuracy of a well-balanced barometer. When its vapour-cloud coils
upward in the form of a feathery palm, the gods are propitious, and
sunshine will be the order of the day; when it shoots out in a long
streak horizontally from the crater, a change is impending; and when
the vapoury cloud gathers round the summit and coils rapidly down the
sides of the cone, as it does often with singular rapidity, it is
time to look out for squalls. For a long distance up the mountain its
rugged sides glittered with icicles, which clustered about the enormous
masses of trachytic lava which cropped up everywhere around, while the
ground was covered in every direction with a thick coating of frost
and frozen snow. At a height of 7000 feet the whole aspect of the cone
had a very bare and desolate look, and, besides the enormous boulders
we encountered, we passed over a steep slope covered with volcanic
conglomerate, which was very treacherous and slippery with sheets of
ice. Here we had to go on all fours, and even in this way it was very
difficult to keep our equilibrium sufficiently to prevent ourselves
from rolling down the precipitous slopes below. We could now smell the
sulphurous fumes of the crater as the clouds of steam rolled over us
while we clambered over the enormous ice-bound rocks in the direction
of the yawning chasm.
We crawled up a frozen, steep incline on to the hot, quaking edge of
the great crater, where a grand and curious sight burst upon the view.
We gained the rugged summit of the cone at its highest side, but just
as we did so the great cloud of steam rolling up from the enormous
basin beneath us swept over us in a dense white cloud, and what with
the loud bubbling of the boiling springs, the hissing, screeching sound
of the great columns of steam as they burst with terrific force from
the rocky vents, the unearthly gurglings of the jets of boiling mud as
they shot into the air, and the strong sulphurous fumes that pervaded
the atmosphere in every direction, we seemed for once in our lives to
be standing on the brink of Hades. Mounting a little to the right along
the hot soil that smoked beneath our feet, we gained the very topmost
point of the mountain, formed by a broken, rugged peak that fell on the
inner side with a precipitous descent into the boiling crater below. We
were now on the windward side of the steam-cloud, and at an altitude of
7376 feet above the level of the sea.
From this elevated position we had a clear and well-defined view of
the whole summit of the mountain, which appeared to be permeated in
every direction by a vast thermal action. The steep, broken sides
of the enormous crater wound before us in the form of an almost
complete circle of nearly a mile in circumference; and it could be
plainly seen that, towards its north-western and western sides, it
was considerably lower than on the side upon which we stood. Within
the great circle, at its northern side, there was a smaller or inner
crater of an almost complete rounded form, the sides of which inclined
gradually towards its centre in the form of a complete funnel. This
minor crater was separated from the larger one only by a narrow ridge
or lip. Looking down into the main crater, which appeared to be about
400 feet in depth, its sides, rugged and broken, as it were, by the
force of volcanic fires, were built up principally of enormous masses
of trachytic rock, lava ridges, and beds of conglomerate, formed mostly
of rounded stones and boulders fused together into a compact mass
by what must, at some period or another, have been a very powerful
igneous action. In fact, it could be plainly seen that the whole
volcano when at the height of its eruptive force must have been the
seat of a powerful volcanic activity, until gradually its exhausted
fires subsided into their present state. In some places the sides of
the crater were perpendicular and fell with a sheer descent, while
in others they were more disturbed and broken. At the bottom of the
crater there were scattered about huge rocky ridges, from the large
crevices and fissures of which enormous jets of steam burst forth with
a roaring, screeching noise, which echoed from the depths below like
the wailings of the condemned. Hot springs sent up streams of boiling
water, which ran over the rocks and then lost themselves in the hot,
quaking soil, which sent them high into the air again in the form of
coiling jets of vapour. Miniature cones of dark, smoking mud rose up
in every direction, while around all was a seething, fused mass of
almost molten matter, which appeared to require just one or two degrees
more of heat to transform it into a lake of liquid lava. In every
direction were large deposits of pure yellow sulphur, some of which
assumed a rock-like formation; at other places it formed a crust over
the steaming earth, and where the thermal action was less intense, the
glittering yellow crystals covered the ground like a thick frost. No
fire was visible in the crater, nor was there any indication of a very
recent volcanic eruption. The whole crater of the mountain was in the
state of a very extensive _solfatara_, which was evidently more active
at some periods than at others. The inner or second crater, which
likewise sent forth a vast volume of steam from its boiling depths,
was in much the same condition of activity as the larger one, only
that the deposits of sulphur literally lined its sloping sides with a
bright-yellow coating, which came up to the very summit of its rim and
looked like a circle of gold beneath the bright rays of the sun, which
lit up the feathery steam-clouds in the most brilliant prismatic hues.
We obtained a complete view of all parts of the great mountain, as
likewise of the smaller volcanic cones and ridges which lay below.
Looking in the direction of the north-east, and down upon the rugged
clusters of minor elevations, we could see several extinct craters of
considerable size; some perfect in their formation, while others had
been rent and distorted by the action of volcanic fires, which had left
their marks upon them in the form of enormous lava ridges and extensive
deposits of scoria.
In the midst of these extinct craters we could see two small blue
lakes; one of a complete circular form, the other, which was only a
short distance away from the first, being nearly oblong in shape. The
lakes, like those on the southern side of the mountain, were evidently
nothing more than extinct craters filled by subterranean springs.
Beyond these lakes we could see the steam rising from the Ketetahi
crater, while further along to the north was a white cloud marking the
position of the boiling springs.[50]
We left the summit of the cone towards sundown, but in place of
descending by the route we had ascended, we came down a very steep part
of the mountain on its eastern side. This precipitous slope, covered
thickly with loose scoria, and strewn in parts with enormous boulders
and rounded stones, was walled in on either side by two stupendous
lava ridges, which ran down the mountain-side and gradually opened out
towards the base in the form of a triangle. The slope of the cone was
here very steep, and the scoria being fine and very loose, gave way
under our feet, and caused us to slide rapidly forward for many feet
at every step. Taking hold of each other's arms to better maintain
our equilibrium, we took gigantic strides, each one, as the scoria
slid down with us, carrying us forward from ten to fifteen feet at a
time. In this way many large and small stones were set loose, until we
had a whole regiment of them bounding on in front of us, and as their
momentum increased at a terrific rate with every foot they rolled down
the steep incline, they soon attained the velocity of cannonballs, and
went crashing with tremendous force into the rock-bound valley below.
So rapid, in fact, was our progress in this way, that, although our
ascent from the bottom to the top of the cone had occupied us nearly
six hours in hard climbing, we made the descent in a little over an
hour and a half.
It was dark when we reached the base of the mountain, but we managed by
slow degrees to find our way over the stupendous masses of rock which
lay scattered over the deep ravine forming the head of the Waihohonu
Valley. Here an enormous fissure ran down along the course of the
dreary-looking gorge, and as it wound along in a snake-like course, it
appeared as if it had been formed by a river of lava, which had been
suddenly cooled, and then as suddenly cleft in twain. We picked our way
for about a couple of miles along its rugged, boulder-strewn banks, and
as the shades of night closed round us the whole surroundings looked
so dismal that we appeared to be passing through a veritable valley of
death. When we arrived at our camping-place our first anxiety was to
see that the natives had not swept down and taken our horses. Luck was,
however, on our side, and we found the animals where we had left them,
but very poorly off for feed. It was evident from the keen feeling of
cold in the air that we were going to have a severe night, as the
temperature was falling rapidly, and as the moon rose bright and clear
a heavy frost set in. We lit a fire, and made a scanty meal of tea and
biscuit; and as we were anxious to get clear of the tapued mountain
with the first streak of dawn, we resolved not to erect our tent, in
order that we might not be delayed in our rapid retreat. We therefore
spread our blankets upon the ground, and made a tolerably comfortable
bed on the scoria.
[Illustration: TONGARIRO BY MOONLIGHT.
_Page 197._]
When we lay down to rest in the dreary valley with its lava-walled
sides, the full moon shone brilliantly, the great cone of Tongariro,
with its feathery cloud of steam, looked grandly beautiful beneath
the clear silvery light, the stars hung like lamps from the cloudless
heavens, and the magnificent constellation of the Southern Cross shone
directly over our heads. Never in any part of the world had I seen
the heavens appear so clear and radiant as when gazing upon them from
the depths of this dark valley. Around us, however, on every side the
whole place had a singularly wild, weird look, and a strange sense of
loneliness seemed to hover around us. We were in a tapued region, which
the superstitious minds of the natives had made the abode of _taniwhas_
and other evil demons. The bones of the ill-fated Te Heuheu lay
somewhere upon the great mountain, and Turner suggested that the ghost
of the great Maori chief might slink down upon us in the night just to
test the thickness of our skulls with his greenstone _mere_. It was,
however, the living which concerned us most, as we still had a kind of
secret conviction that the natives we had seen in the morning had laid
some plan to entrap us.
Sleep, however, came at last, but the cold soon awoke us, and by
midnight the whole valley was covered with a thick coating of white
frost, which glistened like snow beneath the pale moonlight. I had
placed my thermometer close handy, so that I might observe it during
the night, and I now found that it stood at 27°; at four o'clock it
marked 22°; and at six o'clock, just before sunrise, it indicated
exactly twelve degrees of frost. The plants around us were completely
matted together with white incrustations; the icicles rose from the
ground over an inch in length, and in a way that I had never seen
before; the breath froze upon the moustache and beard; the manes of our
horses stood erect, the bristles about their nostrils were transformed
into needle-like icicles, and their backs were covered with a crisp,
white coating of frost.
It did not take us long to saddle up, although we experienced some
little difficulty with the buckles, owing to our fingers being numbed
with the cold; but once on our horses, we rode rapidly away from
Tongariro, and just as the first ray of sunlight swept over the hills
we gained the plains beyond, to begin the ascent of Ruapehu.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 46: _Taniwha_, native name for a fabulous reptile supposed to
inhabit deep water.]
[Footnote 47:
The exact position of Tongariro is--
Lat. 39° 9' 45" S.
Long. 175° 38' 20" E.]
[Footnote 48: Throughout the journey we found that the cold winds from
the south invariably brought fine weather.]
[Footnote 49: For _flora_ of Tongariro, _vide_ Appendix.]
[Footnote 50: It is supposed by many that Tongariro and Whakari (White
Island) are the only two remaining centres of active volcanic action
in what may be termed the Australasian division of the Pacific. This
in reality is not the case. The great volcanic belt which appears to
extend through the Malay Archipelago may be said to stretch as far
south as the New Hebrides. Thus on the island of Tanna there is an
active volcano which attains to an altitude of 1500 feet above the
sea. It is in a constant state of eruption, emitting vast volumes
of smoke, with ashes and lava, from a crater 500 feet in depth. On
the island of Ambrym, of the same group, there is likewise an active
volcano, nearly equal in size to that of Tanna, while on the island of
Vanikoro still further to the north, in the Santa Cruz group, there
is a cone-shaped mountain in a constant state of activity. During a
journey of exploration in the New Hebrides and other islands of the
Coral Sea, the volcano of Tanna was ascended by the author, who read
papers descriptive of the islands before the British Association, at
its meeting held at the University of Glasgow in 1876.]
CHAPTER XVII.
ASCENT OF RUAPEHU.
(_First Day._)
Approaching the mountain--A field for research--Physical and
geological features--Plan of attack--Curious icicles--A lava
barrier--Natives in the distance--Horse camp--Scoria hills and lava
ridges--The start for the snow-line--Up the great spur--Head of the
spur--Our camp--A wind-storm--Ruapehu by night--A picture of the
past--Waiting for sunrise--Sunrise.
When we were clear of the rugged gorges of Tongariro, we rode leisurely
across the beautiful open plain which separates the tapued mountain
from its colossal neighbour, Ruapehu. The calm, blue heavens were
unflecked by a single cloud, the sun rose bright and clear, and we
heartily welcomed its genial warmth, after the terrific cold we had
experienced during the previous night. Nothing could exceed the grand
and unique scenery as we rode on our way. On our right rose Tongariro,
its great steam-cloud radiant with tints of gold beneath the morning
light, the dark reddish hue of its scoria-strewn sides mingling with
the bright green of the vegetation, and producing the most charming
effects of light and shade. The plain over which we rode sparkled with
glittering icicles; the Mangatoetoe, a broad, rapid, boulder-strewn
stream, wound rapidly down its centre, like a silver snake, on its
course to join the Waikato; while right in front the long scoria slopes
of Ruapehu, rising gradually from the plains around, swept upward,
and upward, and upward, until they joined the ice-bound pinnacles
above, and mingled with the broad expanse of frozen snow which clothed
the summit of the stupendous mountain, and stretched far down its
rock-bound sides. The level plain separating Tongariro from Ruapehu was
not more than five miles across between the wide-spreading bases of
the two mountains, and, as we gradually approached towards the latter,
its gigantic proportions became every moment more distinctly visible.
The low scoria slopes which stretched far and wide around its enormous
base, and swept for miles out into the adjacent plains, merged, as we
approached nearer, into high, undulating hills, which changed, as they
rose higher and higher, into rocky spurs. The winding valleys were
transformed, as they mounted up the mountain, into enormous, lava-bound
ravines. Above these, again, steep precipitous slopes rose one above
the other. Jagged rocks, which marked the site of ancient craters,
stood out against the sky, until colossal peaks, shooting high above
all, stretched themselves across the towering summit of the mountain.
The whole aspect of Ruapehu, as it rose in all its grandeur above the
surrounding table-land, beautiful in ice, snow, and sunshine, was so
stupendous and romantically beautiful that we felt as if we had been
suddenly transported among the Alps of Switzerland.
[Illustration: MOUNT RUAPEHU.
_Page 200._]
In describing the physical and geological features of Ruapehu, I will
only treat these subjects briefly at this stage, and only with a view
of affording a general idea of the great mountain, the description of
which will be more fully dealt with when describing the ascent of its
northern peak and the exploration of the sources of the Wangaehu and
Waikato Rivers on its eastern side. As during these two ascents we
accomplished considerably over 10,000 feet of actual climbing over its
surface, we had a good opportunity of examining this colossal monument
of plutonic fires, and judging from the magnitude of the results of
igneous action we then beheld, both in wonder and admiration, there
can be no doubt that there is no better or more interesting field for
geological research than that afforded by this marvellous centre of
extinct volcanic forces.
Ruapehu is situated immediately in the centre of the great table-land
which forms the most elevated portion of the North Island, and in the
very heart, as it were, of the extensive system of extinct volcanic
cones, which constitutes one of the most remarkable and interesting
features of this division of the country. The mountain, which takes
rank among the largest extinct volcanoes in the world, assumes the
form of an enormous truncated cone, with a far-reaching base of oblong
form, and which gradually narrows towards the summit, at which point
the mountain is nearly a mile in length from its northern to its
southern peak. Its base, if calculated from where it springs from the
level plains, may be estimated at about sixty miles in circumference.
At each end of the mountain are two colossal cone-shaped peaks, and
between them the minor peaks rise up in fantastic shapes, which change
in outline and assume varying proportions with almost magical effect,
as the mountain is beheld from different points of view. In fact, it
is the succession of magnificent scenery thus produced which forms
one of the grandest features of this marvellous monument of volcanic
forces. For the greater part, the country surrounding Ruapehu is
entirely open, and consequently the grand mountain is seen to wonderful
advantage as it towers majestically to the skies. Immediately to the
north are the Tongariro and Waimarino Plains, to the east is the
Rangipo Table-land, in the centre of which, and stretching down the
sides of the huge mountain, is the Onetapu Desert--a vast expanse of
scoria, covering some fifty square miles--while to the south are the
Murimotu Plains. On its lower northern and eastern slopes the mountain
gives life to a vegetation in all respects similar to that found on
Tongariro, but on its southern and western sides a primeval forest, in
which the trees are of colossal growth, creeps almost up to the edge of
the snow-line. To really realize the magnitude of this mountain king
of the North Island, one must stand on its summit and look down upon
its scoria-strewn base, covering millions of acres, explore its deep,
rugged gorges, and examine the stupendous deposits of trachytic lava
which lie in a strata of enormous thickness upon its sides, or roll
down like crystallized rivers of rock from the extinct craters of the
mountain, now spreading over the plains, now rising above the surface
of the ground in the form of enormous, crenated ridges, which look like
the walls of embattled strongholds. There can be no doubt whatever that
at some remote period Ruapehu must have formed the principal centre
of volcanic action in the North Island. It is of course impossible to
define at what period the enormous mountain began, or even terminated,
its eruptive state; but I am of opinion, as suggested in a previous
chapter, that it rose into being after the extinction and subsequent
subsidence of the great crater-basin now occupied by Lake Taupo.
Ruapehu, unlike Tongariro, is not a true scoria cone in the sense in
which the latter mountain may be classed, but a gigantic crater of
elevation, which during its volcanic outbursts sent forth showers of
ashes and rivers of lava which spread themselves for miles around the
base of the mountain, while the surrounding region over a vast area
was upheaved by the elevatory force of the stupendous fires as they
burst forth from the great volcanic vent now crowned with glaciers and
perpetual snow.
[Illustration: SUMMIT OF RUAPEHU.]
Whilst we were resting to give our half-starved horses a feed of
tussock grass, I went out into the plains to sketch the great mountain,
as from the position where we were it presented one of its most
beautiful aspects. From this point it bore exactly ten degrees east
of south, the altitude of the Mangatoetoe stream at the foot of the
mountain where we were being 3450 feet above the level of the sea. We
had selected this position from which to make the ascent as it was the
best place to reach the great northern peak, which forms the highest
point of Ruapehu. This grandly beautiful pinnacle, with its glittering
mantle of snow sweeping down its sides, towered far up to the skies,
its summit being crowned with what appeared to be an oblong mass
of rock, which assumed, from the aspect from which we viewed it, a
singular resemblance to what is known in heraldic science as the "cap
of maintenance." This grand crown, placed dexterously by the hand of
nature upon the very topmost summit of the great peak, was a remarkable
and conspicuous object, and as its ice-bound sides glittered beneath
the sun, it appeared as if set with gems. Right from the very top of
this portion of the mountain, its precipitous sides and long, rolling
slopes stretched down to the very foot of the plains, and it did not
take us long to see that it would be impossible to make the ascent and
descent from where we were in a single day. We therefore determined to
ride our horses as far up the low spurs as we could, tether our animals
in a convenient spot, carry our tent and other necessary equipage up to
the snow-line, camp there for the night, and make the final ascent on
the following day.
There was a small clump of forest growing a considerable distance up
the scoria ridges, and as this was the only belt of vegetation of the
kind on our track, we determined to direct our course to it, in the
hope of finding water and a suitable camping-place for our horses. Our
route now lay over low scoria ridges, which were intersected in every
direction by winding, boulder-strewn gullies, which evidently during
the wet season and the melting of the snows formed, with the deep
creeks, the principal channels of the watershed of the mountain, as it
distributed itself from the heights above over the low country. Upon
the sides of these gullies, and clustering about the vast deposits of
scoria, grew a luxuriant vegetation of dwarfed alpine shrubs, while
wherever the sides of the gullies were obscured from the sun the thick
white frost, which had wrapped the country in its icy mantle on the
previous night, rose up from the ground in the form of thick icicles,
from two to three inches in length. These icicles, like those which
covered the Waihohonu Valley, were the most curious I had ever seen.
They rose from the small, disintegrated scoria, which everywhere
covered the ground, almost in the shape of a plant with a straight stem
and a fringed top; and, while some stood alone, others were clustered
together, forming a thick mass of ice. It seemed, indeed, as if the
moisture which had literally saturated the ground during the heavy
rains we had experienced had been drawn up to the surface by the frost
by a kind of capillary attraction, which had produced these miniature
plants of ice.
When we arrived at the small picturesque bush of _towai_-trees, we
found that there was but little or no feed in its vicinity, so we only
halted here for a short time to explore the surrounding country. On
our right were the level plains and sinuous ridges over which we had
ridden, while at some distance to our left an enormous lava ridge, like
a ruined wall, cut off all further view to the south. We cut a couple
of alpenstocks and a flagstaff, and next determined to take our horses
still further up the mountain, to a a point where we could see the last
sign of the dwarf vegetation, some of the plants of which we found our
animals would eat, in default of anything better.
As we made a fresh start, we saw a party of mounted natives riding
along the track below, and whilst we hid our horses in a gully, we
crawled to the top of a ridge and watched carefully, to see whether
they would pick up our tracks. Fortunately, however, they passed on,
riding hard along the track which passes through the Tongariro Plains
into the heart of the King Country.
At an elevation of 4450 feet, and at the very edge of the last patch of
dwarfed plants that grew upon the desert-like expanse, we found a small
oasis between two scoria hills, bounded on the left by the rugged lava
ridge which formed the backbone, as it were, of the long, sweeping spur
up which we had come. Here a few stunted shrubs and clumps of tussock
grass struggled for life amidst masses of lava and scoria sand. We knew
that we would have to leave our horses tethered here for something
like thirty-six hours without water, whilst we did the rest of the
mountain, and we calculated that, with the aid of the few straggling
shrubs and bunches of tussock, there would be just sufficient food to
keep the animals from starvation during that time, although we had a
kind of secret conviction that the chances were immensely in favour of
the latter result.
After we had secured our horses in the small oasis, we went out to
explore the country ahead. In every position along the steep incline up
which we had to make our way we saw nothing but enormous scoria hills,
stretching far and wide on every side, and which rose in long, steep
ascents to the snow-line of the mountain. In every direction stupendous
ridges of black trachytic lava cropped up above the surface, broken,
rugged, and sharp, as if they had boiled up during some terrific
volcanic convulsion, and then suddenly congealed into the most curious
and fantastic shapes. Some of the enormous lava ridges, of a black
metallic lustre, flowed down, as it were, from the very summit of the
mountain, and stretched for miles in length over the desert below.
At an altitude of 5500 feet we came to an enormous deposit of lava
raising up the surface of the spur in the form of a large cluster
of rocks, and on one side of which there was a sheer descent into a
lava-bound ravine of 200 feet. This was a good mile and a half away
from where we had left our horses, but as the ascent was gradual
we determined to pack the animals with the tent and blankets up to
this point, and, after taking them back to the oasis, carry the camp
equipage on our own shoulders up to the snow-line, where we had
resolved to camp for the night, in order to be able to begin the final
ascent to the summit of the great peak at daylight on the morrow. It
was late in the day when we had finally carried out this arrangement,
and, after packing ourselves with the tent, blankets, and all other
necessaries to the extent of about twenty-five pounds each, we set off
to climb the long, dreary spur, which mounted steeply upward until it
lost itself in the region of eternal snow.
Heavily laden and unused as we were to the burdens of professional
pack-horses, we found the climbing both trying and monotonous. The
long, dismal expanse which formed the spur up which our course lay
was devoid of all vegetation. Our feet sank deeply into the shifting
scoria, which, fractured into small pieces, covered the sides of
the mountain for miles around in a dark-grey deposit, which looked
intensely dreary as the sun sank to rest and a cold, cutting wind swept
down from the snow-crowned glaciers above us.
At 5800 feet enormous stones lay strewn about the ground, and we
crossed the lower part of a deep lava ravine which wound high up into
the side of the great peak above, and ended in a precipitous bluff,
where we saw what at first sight appeared to be enormous caves, with a
frozen waterfall sticking out of them. It occurred to us that if they
were really rocky caves, as they seemed to be, we might find shelter in
them for the night from the freezing blast, so we toiled onward with
our heavy burdens to an altitude of 6200 feet, when the caves turned
out to be nothing more than two enormous holes in the rocky side of
the mountain, and to reach which it would have required the skill of
a well-trained monkey, as they had been placed by the fickle hand of
nature high up at the end of a tremendous ravine, which fell with a
sheer descent of hundreds of feet beneath the precipice on which we
stood, and whose steep, rugged sides, built of horizontal layers of
lava rock, appeared to have been twisted and distorted by some terrific
volcanic convulsion.
At this elevation the whole canopy of snow which covered the summit
of the mountain came down almost to our feet, while enormous masses
of ice and long, ponderous icicles hung in shining festoons over the
frowning precipices above. We were now nearly at the head of the great
spur along which we had come, and beyond which the tall peaks of the
mountain still shot up to a height of nearly 4000 feet above us. The
spur at this point was bounded by the great ravine before alluded to,
while on the other it fell with a steep descent into a deep, winding
valley, beyond which the scoria hills rolled in endless confusion down
to the wide plain below. At this point the mountain was strewn in
every direction with dark boulders of trachytic rock, many of which
were of stupendous size, and as they were scattered about pell-mell in
the most fantastic way, we seemed to have entered a weird graveyard
sacred to the memory of mountain giants. The scoria ridges around us
were absolutely bare, and their dark outline had a desolate look, as
if some fiery wind had swept over them and blasted every sign of life.
The shades of evening now closed around us, and although the wind blew
in strong blasts from the south, which chilled our blood, we hailed
its icy breath with as much cheerfulness as we had done the genial
warmth of the sun during the day, as we knew that whilst it remained
in that quarter we should have fine weather, and would be able to make
the long-wished-for ascent to the summit on the morrow; but if, on
the other hand, it should happen to shift into its old quarter, the
storm-clouds would sweep down upon us, and put us in an unpleasant and
even dangerous predicament.
We determined to make this dreary locality our camping-place for the
night, and by the aid of the alpenstocks and the flagstaff we had
brought up with us we managed to partially erect our tent under the
lee of a big boulder. But before doing so, in order to prepare a space
in which to lie down, we had to clear away the snow and thick coating
of frost-like icicles that covered the ground, and then, in order to
keep ourselves in position, as the ground was so steep, we formed a
square of large stones just big enough to hold us, and in this we laid
our blankets. The alpenstocks were arranged in the form of a triangle
at the outside end, the flagstaff was placed at the apex, and then
jammed down in a sloping way under the boulder, and over this the tent
was thrown, its sides being secured by a border of heavy stones. In
this way there was just room enough for us to crawl inside. I mention
these particulars because thereby hangs a tale. We had carried up just
sufficient wood to make a small fire to boil the tea, and which we
accomplished, after great difficulty, behind the lee of a boulder. In
fact, nothing could be done unless under the shelter of one of these
enormous stones; to go to the windward side was simply to have the
chilling blasts pass through one like a knife, and to be half blinded
with scoria sand.
If I were to live for a thousand years, no waning of the intellectual
powers could cause me to entirely forget the night we passed on
Ruapehu. It is true we felt more secure than when camped in the wild
regions of Tongariro, for we knew that the natives would not molest
us at that altitude, as they have a tradition that when a man goes
up Ruapehu he never comes down again; but, so far as comfort was
concerned, the weird lava-bound Waihohonu Valley, with its legends
of _taniwhas_ and evil demons, was a perfect paradise and "happy
hunting-ground" in comparison with the wild, snowy region, where we
were now camped. Our bed was, of course, very rough, and two big
particles of trachytic rock formed our pillows; but all this would have
passed muster, and calm, refreshing sleep would have come to us, if it
had not been for the fact that the loose scoria would keep slipping
and sliding from under us as we lay on our steep incline. Although the
moon shone as bright as day, the wind still continued to blow in heavy
gusts, which seemed to increase in violence after every lull, and as
it had already shifted a point or two still further southward, it was
colder than ever, while what was at one time the lee of the boulder
now became almost its windward side. Our tent at this stage swayed and
flapped about in an incessant way, the icy blasts blew round about and
underneath us, and in such a way that it was impossible to keep warm.
At midnight the terrible climax came; with a noise like the howling of
a thousand fiends, a terrific gale of wind swept over the mountain.
In an instant our tent was carried away from over us, the flag-pole
struck Turner a frightful blow on the head, and our blankets went
flying right and left. So great was the force of the wind that it was
impossible to stand against it. Blinding showers of sand and scoria
filled the air almost to suffocation as each successive blast swept
onward with terrific force, and everything was covered with a fine
scoria dust, which got into the hair, filled the eyes, caused a choking
sensation about the throat, and permeated every article of clothing. It
was useless to endeavour to erect our tent again, so we squatted down,
Maori fashion, in our blankets behind another enormous boulder, which
served to break the force of the wind. The thermometer now stood at
27°, and the gale continued to blow throughout the night with terrific
fury, sweeping over the ice-bound summit of the mountain, and then down
into the valleys below, carrying along in its course its dark clouds of
scoria and showers of gritty sand.
[Illustration: WAITING FOR SUNRISE.]
It was only a few minutes past midnight when our tent blew away, and
we therefore had to pass six hours under the boulder before sunrise.
The thermometer now indicated six degrees of frost, which was just six
degrees less than we had experienced on the previous night, but then
we had no wind, and we were now 2200 feet higher than then. Unpleasant
as our situation was, it had its attractions. Looking down upon the
surrounding country from the great height upon which we were placed
(6200 feet above the sea), a weird and curious picture presented itself
to the gaze. Immediately below us, and far and wide around, in front
and to the right and to the left, rolled an apparently endless expanse
of boulder-strewn scoria ridges, tossed about like the wild, chaotic
waves of a frozen sea, and covered with a complete network of dark
hues, which marked the winding course of gullies and ravines. Still
further in front, and stretching in a broad expanse far below us, was
a flat, white surface, like a snowy sheet of ice. This was the Rangipo
Table-land, covered with a thick coating of frost. Beyond, again, rose
a dark, frowning barrier, whose rugged outline lost itself in the
distance as it stretched away to the north and to the south. These were
the Kaimanawa Mountains, mantled in a cloud of mist. From the broad,
white plain deep down to the left rose the dark, majestic form of
Tongariro, around the summit of which its white steam-cloud coiled in a
feathery circle, looking like a silvery diadem beneath the light of the
moon, which shone with a glittering lustre upon the snows of Ruapehu,
whose lofty summit seemed to touch the star-lit canopy above, while a
magnificent _aurora australis_, the most brilliant I had ever beheld,
shot across the heavens from the southward, and lit up the sky with its
tongue of silvery fire. It was worth all the hardships we had undergone
to gaze on this grand sight alone and to commune, as it were, with the
colossal wonders of nature, wrapped in the stillness and beauty of
night.
The whole scene, and the peculiar circumstances under which we viewed
it, was one never to be forgotten, while it brought, as all grand and
impressive sights will, the most vivid associations before the mind. I
pictured to myself the many and extraordinary changes this wild region
had gone through to arrive at the condition under which we beheld it.
What singular and stupendous results had been brought about by forces
and agencies now almost extinct! Time was when the colossal mountain
on whose fire-scorched sides we were crouching, was made desolate by
tremendous volcanic eruptions, which sent forth clouds of smoke and
sulphurous gases, showers of rocks and ashes, and streams and rivers
of lava. Then lurid flames lit up the hills for miles around, and
darkening clouds of fiery sand swept far and wide over the surrounding
country. Then a line of volcanic vents, like beacon-fires, illuminated
the rocky headlands of the great mountains around, and every towering
fastness rose hot and quaking with subterranean heat. Then a change
came about--one of those mysterious convulsions of which we only
dream--the volcanic fires ceased, and the yawning craters were filled
with snow and the peaks crowned with ice, and, as the earth gradually
cooled down, a glorious vegetation, moulded in the most beautiful and
varied forms of the creation, spread itself far and wide over the
country, and nature smiled in all her radiance upon this magnificent
and romantic land.
At five o'clock in the morning the thermometer indicated seven degrees
of frost, and the wind still blew in fitful gusts, which covered us
with sand. The cold now was intense, and, as the moon had set, the wide
scope of country around us looked unpleasantly dismal beneath its pall
of darkness. Our outlook was towards the east, and as the time for
daylight approached we watched anxiously for the first streak of dawn.
Just before six the thermometer went down half a degree, and a damp,
chilly feeling pervaded the air. Darker, colder, and more dismal it
grew, until suddenly, as if by enchantment, the black clouds opened
in the east, and a fiery streak shot upward, bathing with its golden
hues the darkened sky. At first everything around--the sky, the
mountains, and the plains, the valleys, the rivers, and the lakes, the
shining glaciers and the frozen snows--appeared one uniform creation
of brilliant light, so brightly dazzling that the eye could scarcely
bear the splendour, but as the clouds of night rolled swiftly away the
glow became still more vivid, and as the blue mists rose in the valleys
the tops of the distant mountains looked like islands rising from a
vapoury ocean--an archipelago in a sea of gold. By degrees the bright
lustre of the sun was softened with tints, first of red, and then light
transparent crimson, changing through different hues, until the sky
assumed a deep pure blue, which merged towards the east into glowing
violet. The towering summit of Ruapehu took the colour from these
changes, and every portion on which the varied tints fell appeared more
beautiful than it had ever appeared before. The whole aspect of this
sudden transformation from night into day was indescribably grand,
and as the glowing sun warmed our nearly frozen limbs we seemed to
gain fresh life and energy from the fact that another glorious day had
dawned upon the earth.
CHAPTER XVIII.
RUAPEHU.
(_Second Day._)
ASCENT OF THE GREAT PEAK.
The start--A lava bluff--Last signs of vegetation--Wall of
conglomerate rock--The Giant Rocks--Ancient crater--Difficult
climbing--A frightful precipice--The ice crown--Cutting our
way over the ice--The summit--Peaks and crater--A grand _coup
d'oeil_--The surrounding country--Taking landmarks--Point
Victoria.
As soon as we had made a hearty but very light breakfast, we started
at once to make the ascent of the great peak, whose steep, snow-clad
sides rose up at the end of the spur on which we had been camped. We
got ourselves up as warmly as circumstances would allow. Our boots
were stout, and capable of withstanding snow and ice; we wore thick
overcoats belted round the waist, thick comforters round the neck, fur
caps with flaps to protect the ears, while alpenstocks with flagstaff,
and tomahawks to cut our way over the ice, completed our accoutrements.
At an altitude of 6480 feet we wound along a steep scoria ridge, and
as the wind was still blowing hard from the south, we found it very
difficult to make headway. Even the light pole we had brought with us
to place upon the summit became a great burden, and we each had to
take spells every quarter of an hour to carry it. At 6800 feet the
spur became steeper and steeper, and on one side it fell with a rapid
descent of about 400 feet into a ravine below, while on the other it
inclined abruptly towards the valley on our right. At 7000 feet we
gained a lava bluff, which formed rugged giant steps of rock, over
which we climbed with great difficulty.
At 7400 feet we came to another lava ridge, which rose above a steep
scoria incline, covered with small particles of trachytic rock, pumice,
and obsidian. From an altitude of a little over 6000 feet we had found
no vegetation, save that represented by the two small plants known
as the _Ligustrum aromaticum_ and the _Gnaphalium bellidioides_,
which everywhere grew side by side in sheltered positions beneath the
rocks and boulders, forming, as it were, the crowning garlands of the
splendid vegetation of the North Island. These small delicate plants
held undisputed sway in this elevated region, and not even a clump of
moss grew beyond the line which nature had defined as their snow-clad
habitat.
At an elevation of 8000 feet the wind blew boisterously, and swept over
the steep slopes of the mountain with terrific force. Here the whole
geological formation was very curious, and we came on an immense ridge
of lava and scoria conglomerate, containing big stones and boulders,
which appeared to have been melted and fused together by a terrific
heat. Here likewise scattered about in every direction were huge masses
of rock, some of which were from ten to twenty feet in height. At this
elevation on our left was a stupendous mass of lava conglomerate, which
rose up in the form of a solid wall over fifty feet in height, and so
regular was its formation that it appeared to have been artificially
formed.
[Illustration: WALL OF LAVA CONGLOMERATE.]
At an altitude of 8200 feet a tremendous trachytic bluff rose up for
100 feet on our right. Above this again towered a series of pointed,
jagged rocks, whose dark-red sides appeared to have been rent and
torn asunder by some terrific volcanic force. These curious peaked
elevations, which we named the "Giant Rocks," are conspicuous features
in the outline of the great mountain when viewed from the plains to the
east and north. All round this region the mountain was clad with snow,
and festoons of icicles glittered from every rock and precipice.
When we reached 8400 feet we experienced great difficulty in climbing
up a frozen scoria incline covered with great boulders of volcanic
conglomerate. Looking down from this point the whole mountain had a
singularly wild and rugged look, and the giant, peaked rocks shot up in
the form of bold pinnacles, and seemed to mark the site of an ancient
crater, where the raging volcanic fires had rent the rocks into a
thousand curious forms, and turned them into a deep-red colour.
At 8600 feet, we climbed up a precipitous slope of lava conglomerate,
in the form of a rude terrace, upon which were gigantic boulders and
masses of broken rock covered with a thick coating of ice and snow.
Here it was almost impossible to stand against the wind, and we came
to a steep scoria incline, covered with frozen snow as hard as ice.
Up this we had to crawl on our hands and knees, as the wind sweeping
around the mountain from the right, fearfully cold, and with unabated
force, made it impossible to stand. The scoria ridge and masses of
rock and gigantic boulders that rose up around, were covered with
festoons of ice, and the whole mountain shone and glittered with a
dazzling splendour. Above the white snow, the dark ridges of lava rose
like stupendous walls, rugged, bare, and desolate, but adamantine and
colossal in structure, as if the Architect of nature had intended
them to endure for all time. All about this part of the ascent the
sides of the mountain were steep and broken, and the climbing along
the frozen surface was so difficult that we had to creep along the
edge of the great conglomerate walls and hang on to the big stones
that jutted out from their surface. We could now only go on for about
five minutes at a time without stopping to rest, as we had not only to
combat the difficulties of our own track, but the force of the wind,
which, blowing with increased force as we mounted higher and higher,
threatened at places to blow us over the precipices. Fortunately there
was not a single cloud to be seen; nothing but a bright sun and a clear
blue sky, from which the wind swept down cold, yet invigorating, but
with tremendous force; and, indeed, so steep and slippery with ice was
this part of the mountain that it was only by carefully navigating our
own course, as it were, by keeping to leeward of the projecting peak
above, that we were enabled to make headway.
At an altitude of 8900 feet, after a hard struggle, we gained the
rounded top of the great peak, and when, under the shelter of a rocky
projection, we lay flat down, and peered over the frightful precipice
on our left, the whole aspect of the giant mountain, as it swept with
its rugged, ice-bound sides down to the wide expanse of bare scoria
ravines and black lava ridges, as they wound into the dreary Onetapu
Desert below, appeared grand and beautiful, as much by reason of its
vast incomprehensible proportions as by the wonderful effects of light
and shade produced by the brilliant sunlight as it swept from the
bright glacier above into the deep gorges and winding valleys below.
Even at this stage we were not yet at the summit of the mountain,
for the great rocky crown which we had remarked from the plain below
still towered above our heads to a height of 150 feet. We now found
that this singular monument was formed by a large outcrop of lava and
conglomerate rock, which appeared at some remote period, when the
volcanic fires were at their fiercest stage, to have oozed up above the
surface of the surrounding rocks, and then congealed into a craggy mass
with a symmetrical outline, which assumed the form of a rounded bluff
towards the east, and tapered gradually off towards the west. Covered
with a thick crown of snow that overhung its summit like a fringe, and
glittering from base to top with sheets of ice and shining icicles,
it sparkled with an almost dazzling effect beneath the golden rays as
they shot from above, forming a grand and befitting crown to the grand
mountain.
To scale this ice-bound pinnacle was our next task. Even to approach
it at some parts was dangerous, for nature, in her certain but
mysterious way, was doing her work as we looked on; and as the midday
sun reflected its warm rays upon the icy festoons, they melted and fell
with a crash at our feet, but where, at its further and shaded end, the
wind blew with its cool breath the ice was as firm and as solid as iron.
With the cold blasts coming now and again with the force of a perfect
hurricane, we crawled on our hands and knees along the steeps of the
lower end, and cut footsteps with our tomahawks in the snow and ice,
which spread itself like a white sheet over the precipitous inclines
over which we had to make our way before we could reach the base of
the rocky mass. Up every yard we had to crawl with great caution,
and, in order to steady ourselves, we linked ourselves together by
holding on to the flag-pole, as in many places a single slip of the
foot would have sent us rolling down the frozen steeps into eternity.
The thrilling sensation caused by these adventures acted as a kind
of stimulus, which was heightened by the fact that we knew when once
on the summit of the ice-bound crown, not only the whole mountain,
but the whole country would be beneath us. Cutting away the enormous
icicles that impeded our progress, we climbed step by step up the
treacherous, craggy sides of the towering mass of rock, but as we
neared the top the gusts of wind swept round like a whirlwind on every
side, so as to render it impossible at some points to approach the
edge. Notwithstanding the wintry blasts, however, this day might be
considered as a grand and a beautiful one for Ruapehu, but what the
lofty crest of the great mountain must be like when storms break over
it with terrific violence, when the wind howls from peak to peak,
when the lightning leaps from crag to crag, when the thunder rolls
and resounds through valley and ravine, when the snows descend, and
darkening showers of hail and rain form bounding cataracts, no soul can
tell.
Once upon the summit of the rocky crown, a glorious sight burst upon
the view--one unique in itself, and unequalled in sublimity. It was now
one o'clock, and since the time we had left the base of the mountain
on the previous morning it had taken us nearly twenty hours of actual
climbing to reach this spot; and now we seemed to have entered a new
world--a world where there was no sound but the sigh of the wind,
where there was no sign of life; a world placed high in the sky, made
up of golden sunshine, azure blue, and glittering snow and ice, but
encircled as it were, by a broad expanse of green, bordered by the blue
waves of the distant sea.
Looking towards the south, along the summit of the mountain, which
stretched away for nearly a mile in length, peak rose above peak in
colossal proportions from the dazzling expanse of snow. Each grand
and towering mass of rock, tinted by the extinct volcanic fires of
a reddish hue, standing out clearly defined against the light-blue
sky, each pointed summit shining with ice beneath the bright light
with grand and almost magical effect. Immediately beneath where we
stood was a steep precipice which fell perpendicularly for hundreds
of feet below, and beneath this again was a wide circle of jagged
rocks, marking the outline of a gigantic crater, filled to its craggy
brim with snow, which was furrowed into chasms of enormous depth, the
clean-cut sides of which looked white and beautiful in their winding
outline. The furthest southern peak of the mountain stood out in grand
relief in the distance, its rounded, cupola-shaped summit being perfect
in outline, as if artificially fashioned to serve for the dome of a
Mohammedan mosque.
Turning from the wonders of the mountain, and looking out over the
grand expanse of country which stretched far and wide on every side in
all its pristine loveliness until it lost itself, as it were, in the
wide expanse of ocean, just visible in the distance to the east and
west, a wondrous panorama presented itself. Never had I seen a more
varied and enchanting scene. I had beheld a wider expanse of country
from the summit of the Rocky Mountains, gorges and precipices more
stupendous in the valley of the Yosemite, and I had gazed over a land
very similar in outline from the summit of Fusiyama in Japan, but
never before had I stood upon a glacier-crowned height in the region
of perpetual snow with an active volcano, rising thousands of feet,
beneath me, nor had I ever beheld so wide an expanse of lake, mountain,
and rolling plain mingling together, as it were, and forming one grand
and glorious picture. This wondrous Elysium, for in its primeval
beauty it looked like nothing else, with its colossal, glacier-scored
mountain, had not the cold frigidity of the Alpine districts of the
South Island, where Nature looks awful in its grandeur; but here was
the mingling, as it were, of the torrid and the frigid zone--a land
where the snow-field and the glacier rose in all their impressive
sublimity above a romantic-looking country clothed in a semi-tropical
vegetation, where the choicest and most varied of trees and plants grew
spontaneously in an atmosphere which might rank as the most healthful
and invigorating in the world. The sight was, indeed, one calculated
to overawe the mind and to impress the imagination with a sense of the
omnipotence of the Creator.
For a radius from where we stood of over 100 miles the whole country
was mapped out and clearly defined beneath us. In the north, towering
to the skies, we could discern the familiar forms of Pirongia, Karioi,
Maungatautari, Te Aroha, Ngongotaha, Hapurangi, and flat-topped
Horohoro, with Tarawera, Putauaki, and Tauhara standing further to the
east. The forms of Titiraupenga, Rangitoto, Haurakia, Tapirimoko, and
Haurungatahi rose above the forests of the King Country; the pointed
summit of Hikurangi shot upward from the East Coast, and snow-clad
Taranaki stood like a sentinel in the west, while Pihanga and Tongariro
rose majestically from the plains below--all grand, isolated peaks,
standing alone, and whose united altitudes, together with that of
the giant mountain on which we stood, would exceed twice the height
of Himalayas above the sea. All the intervening space was covered
with mountain, valley, river, plain, and lake, and was so clearly
defined, that we could trace all the grand features of the country
as if delineated upon a plan. In the centre of all shone the broad
waters of Taupo as they stretched away like an inland sea--the winding
form of Lake Rotoaira shone like a mirror in the plain below--and the
miniature lakes on Tongariro looked like big turquoise set in a circle
of adamant. Indeed, every feature of this wide expanse of country was
both varied and beautiful. The broad, rolling expanse of plain which
we had beheld during the night, with its coating of frost, was now
radiant in its vivid mantle of green, which was relieved here and there
by the winding rivers and rushing streams which burst from the sides
of the great mountain and sped onward to join the Waikato as it wound
along the base of the Kaimanawa Mountains, which rose like a series
of undulating terraces, clothed with dark forests, above which their
serrated peaks stood out in bold relief against the sky. Beyond the
far-reaching mountains stupendous heights arose in the direction of
the south-east, range after range, rolling away as far as the eye could
reach to the distant Ruahine Mountains, whose stupendous outline bound
the horizon in that direction.
[Illustration: THE ICE CROWN, POINT VICTORIA.]
It was, however, the vast country to the west that most attracted our
attention. It was the forbidden land we had already entered, whose
hidden wonders we were unmasking--a mysterious region which now lay
stretched before us in all its primeval grandeur. We could mark its
valleys and its plains and its forests and its towering mountains, and
get glances of its rivers as they gleamed in the sun. To enter this
unknown region, as we intended to do, at its extreme southern end,
pass through the enormous forest which covers it in that direction,
and thence northward to Alexandra, we knew would be just 100 miles in
a direct line, but we could now plainly see by the natural features of
the country that by ordinary travel it would be at least twice that
distance, and would require many a hard day's journey to accomplish. We
therefore, from our elevated position, took careful note of the more
prominent outlines of the country, and especially of the known high
mountains, which we afterwards found to be splendid guides, as many of
their peculiar features could not be mistaken.
When we had laid off on our map the leading features of the country
through which we intended to pass, we set to work and built a cairn
of rock, about four feet high, at a point which exceeded 9000 feet
above the level of the sea, and on this we hoisted our flag. As this
magnificent peak of Ruapehu, with its rocky crown of ice and snow, was
not only the highest point of the mountain, but the very topmost summit
of the North Island, we named it "Point Victoria," in honour of her
Majesty the Queen.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE KAIMANAWA MOUNTAINS.
Further plans--Across the plains--In memoriam--The Onetapu
Desert--Mamanui camp--Grilled _weka_--A heavy frost--The
Kaimanawas--Geological formation--A probable El Dorado--Reputed
existence of gold.
As we had now successfully accomplished the ascent of the two great
mountains, I determined to leave the tapued district as soon as
possible, and strike a south-easterly course across the Onetapu
Desert to the southern base of the Kaimanawa Mountains, in order to
examine the geological formation of that region. I had noticed when
examining the western banks of the Waikato River, that on its opposite
side, where the mountains rose in all their grandeur, the geological
aspect of the country was entirely different from that of the Rangipo
table-land, the geological formation of which was principally composed
of fluvial drift, with a deep superimposed stratum of pumice, and over
which again was a final stratum of volcanic earth, formed principally
by the decomposition of the trachytic rocks forming the numerous
volcanic cones which bounded the table-land on the west. Owing,
however, to the flooded state of the Waikato, it was impossible to
reach its opposite side, where the Kaimanawa Mountains rose in the form
of a stupendous wall. I therefore resolved to head the river at its
upper waters, in order to get into the Kaimanawa country in that way.
On the day following our ascent of Ruapehu, we started across the
plains in the direction indicated above, and as the day was fine we
rode leisurely along, coaxing our half-starved horses on their way by
occasional feeds from the luxuriant growth of native grasses which
covered that part of the Rangipo. In this portion of the plains there
was a great variety of native grasses, and among them were those known
to the natives as the _parakerake_ and _pekipeki_, while the tussock
grass grew in clumps often three feet in height. Dotted all over the
plain likewise was a curious spiked plant, which our horses carefully
avoided whenever they came in its way. This singular plant grew at
the bottom, in the form of a widespreading circular tuft, composed of
narrow sword-edged leaves, the ends of which were as pointed and as
sharp as a lancet. From the centre of the tuft rose a stem varying
from a foot to two feet in height, which bristled at the top with a
spike-like thorn, while clustering all over its sides were long thin
thorns, pointed, and as sharp as needles. So strong and sharp are the
thorns of this plant, that the natives often use them as spurs.
We had been told at Tokanu that at a certain point on these wide plains
if we struck a certain native track hard by a certain stream flowing
from the rugged gorges of Tongariro, we could see a pole which was
strictly _tapu_ in the eyes of the Maoris. When we came to the spot,
the pole was there in the form of a portion of a dead tree. Now, a
melancholy tale was attached to this singular relic. During the time
of the war, when the Hauhaus under Te Kooti carried fire and sword
among the loyal tribes of this part of the country, a native girl,
it is said, of singular beauty, was passing alone by this very spot,
when one of the rebel chief's followers approaching at the same time,
brutally attacked her, and having accomplished his villainous purpose,
cut her throat, and rode on his way. Even the very name of this man
is lost in oblivion, and his soul--well, never mind. When the girl's
relatives came to search for her they found her body, and taking off
her collaret, placed it on the pole, and tapued the place sacred to
her memory, and this pole still standing on the wild plains now forms
her only monument. But, strange to say, the collaret, rounded, tied
in a knot, and in form as perfect as if taken from the blood-stained
neck but yesterday, was likewise there, and Nature, as if anxious to
preserve this sad relic, had covered it with a coating of fine spiral
moss, which made it look not unlike one of those wreaths of immortelles
we sometimes see placed on Christian graves to invoke, as it were, the
blessings of Heaven. I made a sketch of this lonely monument, and when
the ravages of time shall have effaced it from all ken, these simple
words may serve to recall the memory of one who was loyal to her queen,
and who met death at a time when war and rapine swept over the land,
and when the white and the dark race fought with a deadly and cruel
hatred for the mastery of these fair and attractive regions.
The Onetapu Desert, or "desert of sacred sand," as its name implies,
forms one of the most curious features of this region. It stretches
from the eastern slope of Ruapehu to the banks of the Waikato River,
across the centre of the great table-land, and covers an area of
over fifty square miles. In summer it is parched and dried, and in
the winter months when the snows cover it, it is both dangerous and
difficult to traverse. As we neared this trackless waste, the rich
vegetation of the plains gradually died away, and gave place to the
stunted plants and shrubs which we had always found growing on the
lower scoria deposits. This vegetation did not cover the ground in
every direction, but grew in patches here and there, and often in a
very attractive way. The desert, at the surface, is composed entirely
of a deposit of scoria, with rounded stones and trachytic boulders
above, while, in some places, rise enormous lava ridges. Here and
there a trickling watercourse winds over it, but taken altogether it
is a dreary, monotonous expanse, which the superstitious minds of
the natives have peopled with _taniwhas_ and evil spirits. By its
formation, it would appear as if Ruapehu, when in a state of activity,
had distributed its showers of ashes and lava over this wide region,
and it would also appear that, at the period at which this extensive
deposition of scoria occurred, there must have been growing upon this
very spot an extensive forest similar to that now to be found on the
western side of the mountain, for, as we rode over the dreary expanse,
we found the remains of enormous trees which had been converted into
charcoal, as it were, at the time when the fiery ashes swept over
them, and which had since become exposed, as the upper surface was
denuded by the action of the water flowing down from the mountain.
Towards sundown we gained the upper waters of the Waikato, which here
wound across the desert in the form of a small stream coming from the
direction of Ruapehu. After crossing this we struck up towards the
Kaimanawa Mountains, to the Mamanui stream, where there was a deserted
Maori camping-place, and where we found excellent feed for our horses.
The spot where we pitched our camp stood at an elevation of 3727 feet
above the sea, on the banks of the Mamanui, which wound from the
mountains to form one of the many tributaries of the Waikato which
have their rise in these extensive ranges. The moon shone brightly
by the time we had pitched our tent, and the tall heights, towering
around us with their splendid vegetation, sheltered us from the chilly
blasts that swept across the plains, and, taken altogether, it was a
comfortable and pleasant spot in comparison to the weird mountains upon
which we had been recently camped.
This night we indulged in a delicacy which up to this moment we had
neither time nor opportunity to cook. When we rode out to make the
ascent of Tongariro we had the good fortune, as we then deemed it, to
knock over a small _weka_ or wood-hen. This diminutive bird Turner
seemed to look upon as a kind of sacred offering from the gods, and
he tied it to his saddle-bow, and kept a keen eye upon it, with the
view of making the final sacrifice whenever we should have time to
light a fire. We had now had it nearly six days in our possession, but
this was in reality the first opportunity we had had of cooking it.
We soon, however, had it grilling over our fire, and we ate it with
avidity, regretting the while that Providence had not provided us with
a full-grown bird in place of a mere fledgling. The _weka_ (_Ralus
Australis_) is very plentiful in the plains around Tongariro.
We passed a fairly comfortable night in this secluded spot, but it
was one of the coldest we had experienced. Before midnight the whole
country was covered with a thick white frost, and at four in the
morning the thermometer stood as low as 27°.
The Kaimanawa Mountains are situated in almost the very centre of the
island, with a general north-easterly and south-westerly bearing, and
attain to an elevation of about 6000 feet above the level of the sea.
Stretching across the great central table-land in an extent of about
eighty miles, their tall serrated peaks form a grand and beautiful
feature in the many natural wonders of the surrounding country, while
the primeval forests which clothe them to their summits are among the
finest in the country. From whatever point of view they are beheld,
they disclose the most delightful views, and when their pointed peaks
are covered with the winter snows they afford the most beautiful Alpine
scenery to be found in the North Island. Clothed everywhere with a
dense growth of vegetation, they tower one above the other in a series
of mountain terraces, whose stupendous sides are broken by enormous
gorges which form the outlets of innumerable streams, while winding
valleys open to the view the most romantic and attractive prospects.
It is, however, the geological formation of this extensive mountain
range, covering many hundreds of square miles, which is of especial
interest. Unlike the volcanic cones, which form one of the most
remarkable features of this division of the country, and which have
their origin in a trachytic formation, the rocks comprising the
Kaimanawa Mountains belong to the paleozoic order, and are composed
principally of clay slate with quartz veins, brownish semi-crystallized
sandstones, silicious schists, and diorites as intrusive rocks.
When, upon the day after our arrival at Mamanui, we followed up the
creeks where we had been camped, and ascended these mountains to a
height of 4000 feet, I found all these rocks _in situ_, but, owing to
the densely wooded nature of the country, it was only in the ravines
that the geological formation could be examined. The clay slates were
placed more or less vertically, by reason of the intrusion of the
diorite bars through their plane, while the quartz I found on the
slopes of the hills and in abundant quantities in the creeks, and
from the auriferous indications which I noticed on all sides, I much
regretted that, owing to the necessity to press on our journey, I was
prevented from examining this country more closely. I am, however,
firmly of opinion that this extensive range, which presents many
features in common with the Sierras of California, offers to the
geologist a rich field for research, and to the miner a probable El
Dorado where, I believe, great treasure will be brought to light in
years to come. It is more than likely that the whole of this extensive
mountain range will be found upon examination to be rich in all the
mineral products common to geological formations of a like kind, and
that not only gold but other minerals will be found.
It is likewise worthy of note that the natives of this district with
whom we afterwards came in contact assured us of the existence of gold
in these mountains, as likewise of a mineral which, by the description
they gave of it, I judged to be silver. Although it is impossible to
define by any theoretical course of reasoning what hidden treasures may
exist in the fastnesses of the Kaimanawas, there can be no doubt that
the whole region is well worthy an extended examination. The discovery
of a payable gold-field in this locality could not fail to confer a
material benefit upon the whole country. Situated as these mountains
are in the centre of the island, they are easily accessible from all
points; and if once the existence of remunerative auriferous deposits
were established, the spread of population would follow, and in this
way the vast and varied resources of an extensive portion of the colony
would be developed.
CHAPTER XX.
SECOND ASCENT OF RUAPEHU. SOURCES OF THE WHANGAEHU AND WAIKATO RIVERS.
Curious parterres--Supposed source of Whangaehu--A gigantic lava
bed--A steep bluff--The Horseshoe Fall--The Bridal Veil Fall--The
Twin Falls--A dreary region--Ice caves--Source of the Waikato--The
descent--Our camp on the desert.
Having satisfied myself as to the geological formation of the Kaimanawa
Mountains, I next determined to trace up the Whangaehu and Waikato
Rivers to their source in Ruapehu. Striking our camp at Mamanui, we
took a south-westerly course for some distance, until we struck the
Whangaehu River, which we found winding across the desert in the form
of a wide, rushing stream. Once on the opposite side, we were again
fairly on the Onetapu Desert, and we shaped our course in the direction
of the eastern side of Ruapehu, where a tremendous ravine seemed to
lead right into the very heart of the mountain.
When passing over some portions of the great scoria plain, we found
all of the plants and shrubs peculiar to the region growing together
with dwarf trees, but all so artistically dispersed by the hand of
Nature as to appear like miniature gardens, with winding walks that
formed a perfect labyrinth. In fact, so beautifully and carefully
designed were some of these parterres, that it was almost impossible
to believe that they had not been artificially formed. Every species
of plant that we had hitherto found in the district grew in them, with
a vast variety of shrubs we had not before observed, while the scoria
winding about the clumps of vegetation was so even as to appear as if
it had been artificially rolled down.
The Whangaehu River, which takes its rise in the eastern side of
Ruapehu, is one of the largest streams in the colony. Bursting forth
high up in the snows of the mountain, it crosses the desert in an
easterly direction, and then, with the fall of the country, takes a
swift bend towards the south in its course to the coast, where it joins
the sea, in a distance of about sixty miles from its source. From the
point where it issues from the mountain, and for many miles as it
winds through the plains, its waters are rendered perfectly white from
the enormous amount of alum with which they are charged. We had been
informed by the natives at Tokanu that the source of this river rose
in an enormous black rock, or dark bluff, which forms a conspicuous
feature near the eastern base of the mountain, and it was therefore
towards this point we directed our course.
The whole of this side of Ruapehu appeared singularly rugged, and
above the deep gorges the enormous bluffs and precipices seemed to
mount one above the other to the glacier-crowned peaks above. We
struck into a boulder-strewn ravine, and, after following this along
for a considerable distance, we found that it brought us to the dark
mass of rocks which the natives had indicated to us. It was, however,
clear at once that the true source of the river was a long distance up
the mountain from this point. The dark rocks, which were nothing more
than enormous outcrops of lava, formed the portals, or entrance, as it
were, to a still deeper gorge, which led further into the mountain,
and which looked as weird and as dismal as anything Dante or Doré had
ever created. When we had got fairly into this tremendous chasm, a
most curious sight presented itself. Below our feet was the bed of
the ravine, strewn with boulders of all sizes, which lay scattered
about in endless confusion, as if hurled from the heights above by
the hands of mountain giants. On our left rose an immense lava wall,
over 100 feet in height, and on our right, rising from the bed of the
ravine, was a wide stratum of alluvial drift, composed of sand and
water-worn boulders. Resting on this stratum, just as it had cooled,
was a lava stream, about 200 feet in perpendicular height, as sharp
and as clear in all its proportions as if it had been cast out but
yesterday from the fiery craters of the mountain. Dark, bright, and
shining with a metallic lustre, it looked like a solid wall of bronze
built by Cyclopean hands, the stupendous jagged ridge which crowned
it resembling the rampart of an embattled fortress. This appeared to
be one of the grandest specimens of a trachytic lava bed to be found
in any part of the world, and it formed one of the most interesting
geological phenomena I had ever beheld. Looking at this stupendous
mass, one could fairly realize how widespread and how tremendous in
its proportions must have been the volcanic action of Ruapehu. The
stream of lava which had formed this great deposit had evidently come
from one of the many central craters of the mountain, and had rolled
down in a molten stream for a distance of several miles, until it had
gradually cooled into its present form. When gazing up at this singular
monument, it could be seen that there was not a single flaw in its
whole surface to mar the general outline of its colossal proportions.
Here and there from the hard metallic surface, which shone like
bronze by some powerful agency difficult to comprehend, blocks of the
adamantine rock had fallen into the ravine below, but even every line
of their surface was as sharp and as angular as if they had been just
wrought into form under our eyes.
[Illustration: GREAT TRACHYTIC LAVA BED.]
When we had travelled a considerable distance up to the head of this
wild gorge, we found it impossible to get out of it except by the
way we had come, so we headed back again, and climbed, with great
difficulty and at considerable risk, up the enormous bluff forming the
entrance to the gorge, the sharp edges of the lava being particularly
rough on our hands. Once at the summit of the bluff, we gained a long
spur which formed the top of the great bed of lava we had examined
in the ravine below, and which was here about 600 yards in width, as
evidenced by the rugged outcrops of black rock that rose above the
surface of the ground on every side. Travelling for a short distance
up this steep ridge, we descended a rocky precipice to the right into
another weird gorge, where the milky waters of the Whangaehu came
bounding in a rapid descent over boulders and rocky precipices. We
crossed the river at this point, and we kept the stream on our left for
a considerable distance up the mountain.
When we had followed up this ravine for a long distance we came to
another scoria spur, mounting upwards towards the mountain. About two
miles up this the ravine widened out, with high lava walls on either
side, while right in the centre rose a high ridge of lava, which ended
in steep, sloping ridges of fine scoria. The great snow peaks beyond
now came into full view, and at a height of 5300 feet the ravine opened
out on our left, and over the flat terrace above a large waterfall fell
from a height of 150 feet over a semicircular precipice into a deep,
rocky basin, and, as the vast volume of water poured on to the great
rocks beneath, it resounded through the ravine like the echo of distant
thunder. We named this the "Horseshoe Fall" from the shape of the
precipice over which the water fell.
From the Horseshoe Fall we mounted still higher up a very steep ascent
on to a flat-topped scoria spur, which immediately to the right
descended into a rugged ravine over a sheer precipice of 400 feet,
while to the left of the ridge, which we followed up, rolled the
Whangaehu, at a depth of about 300 feet in the gorge below, and beyond
which the giant form of one of the principal spurs of the mountain,
built up of scoria and layers of lava, rose to a height of about 1000
feet above us. We were now high up in the mountain, and the cold wind
from the snow-crowned glacier above swept over us with a chilly blast,
while the colossal walls of rock, towering above on every side, cast
their weird shadows around, and blocked out every ray of sunlight.
We climbed for about three miles further up the dreary scoria spurs,
the monotonous appearance of which was only relieved by the fantastic
outcrops of lava rock, which jutted up above the surface in every
direction, as if still hot and quaking with subterranean heat. One of
the most remarkable features about these fantastic outcrops of lava
was that time and the devastating effects of the elements to which
they must have been subjected for hundreds, nay, thousands, of years,
appeared to have left no traces upon them, the hard, metallic-looking
surface of the rock being as sharp in outline as if it had but just got
cool from the terrific heat of the stupendous fires, which had left
their impress in every direction over the face of the mountain. Not a
sign of vegetation was to be seen anywhere. We could not even get a
glimpse of the country around, as the windings of the enormous gorge
had led us, as it were, into the very heart of the mountain, and had
surrounded us with its high, rugged walls. As we climbed still further
to the glacier-crowned heights above us, the appearance of this wild
ravine became still more desolate; rugged, craggy boulders of black
rock were scattered about the slopes in every direction, and we had to
climb over huge masses of rock that barred our pathway. Thick icicles
now covered the ground, hung in festoons from the rocks, and bedecked
the high precipices in the form of a glittering fringe, while the snow
was not only on the heights above, but in the deep ravines beneath us.
In the distance we could hear the loud roaring of a cataract, and,
as we pressed on, the sound of the falling water resounded louder
and louder, and at an altitude of 6250 feet another waterfall, far
larger and more beautiful than the one we had previously discovered,
burst into view. We had hoped that this would prove the source of
the river, as it was now late in the day, and it was clear that we
would not have much more time for climbing if we wished to gain our
camp before nightfall. We soon found, however, that the great gorge
still wound into the mountain for 1000 feet above, and that the true
source of the river was yet further ahead. We took our first rest at
this stage, and gazed in admiration at the leaping volume of water in
front of us. Here, on our right, rose a gigantic bluff of lava and
conglomerated rock, while round this frowning point and coursing down
the steep incline of the gorge, up which we were ascending, swept the
white waters of the Whangaehu, until the whole volume, concentrated
into a narrow rocky channel, burst over a precipice with a fall of 300
feet into the rocky gorge below. This was one of the most beautiful
and unique cascades I had ever seen. All around the craggy rocks were
white with a deposit of alum from the spray of the fall, while the
water, of a milky hue, poured over the precipice in a continuous frothy
stream, which appeared by its whiteness like folds of delicate lace.
This beautiful cascade had not the sparkle and glitter of ordinary
waterfalls, but a soft, milky appearance different to anything I had
ever beheld before. The big, circular, rock-bound basin, into which the
water fell, was decorated around its sides with fantastic clusters of
icicles, all of the same milky whiteness, and mingling as they did with
the still whiter snow, they served to complete one of the most singular
and attractive features of this weird ravine. We named this the "Bridal
Veil Fall" on account of its peculiar lace-like appearance.
[Illustration: THE BRIDAL VEIL FALL.]
Leaving the Bridal Veil Fall to dart over its echoing rocks, we struck
up the steep, precipitous ridge ahead, where we could still see the
white waters of the river coming down, as it were, from the very summit
of the mountain. Here the whole surroundings had a most wild and
romantic appearance, and we seemed to have entered a dismal solitude
where there was no sound but the rushing of waters as they dashed over
the rocky precipices, or rolled among the stupendous boulders which lay
scattered about the winding channels of the deep ravines. We pushed on
as fast as we could over an enormous outcrop of lava, and when we had
reached 6750 feet fresh wonders still seemed to call us onward. At this
elevation we discovered two cascades falling over a steep, bluff-like
precipice, and only at a short distance apart from each other. These
two shoots of water, which appeared to be of the same proportions, fell
from a height of about 100 feet into the ravine below, and then dashed
onward to leap over the precipice of the Bridal Veil. All around the
rocks were resplendent with icicles, and with the white coating of
alum appeared like alabaster. We named these the "Twin Waterfalls" on
account of their singular resemblance to each other.
From this point of the great ravine we again mounted up precipitous
rocks and lava ridges, one of which we had to climb hand over hand for
a height of fifty feet. The river now, as far as we could discern,
appeared to pour out of the snow as it came down in a rapid torrent
through a precipitous ravine, along the side of which we crawled with
difficulty. As we mounted higher the stupendous rocks, over which we
had to make our way, were piled about in the most intricate confusion,
and in one place we had to pass over an outcrop of trachytic rock which
was broken into angular pieces, as sharp as flint, and fractured in
every direction, as if it had been subjected at some period to the
force of a terrific explosion. It required great care to get over this
difficult point, as there was only room enough to crawl along between
the wall of rock on one side, and a precipice of 200 feet on the other,
which fell with a sheer descent into a big, circular, ice-bound pool,
into which the milky waters of the Whangaehu poured in the form of
foaming cascades. Here, around on every side, rose steep precipices,
great buttresses of black lava mounted up in the form of stupendous
bluffs that supported, as it were, the rampart-like heights above,
while right in front of us, and towering to an altitude of over 1000
feet, was a glacier slope crowned with craggy peaks, which stood out
in bold relief against the sky. This rugged locality was one of the
most singular of the whole mountain. No region could be wilder or more
desolate in appearance. There was nothing but the blue heavens above to
relieve the frigid glare of the ice, the cold glitter of the snows, and
the dreary tints of the frowning fire-scorched rocks. We now seemed to
be in a new world, where solitude reigned supreme, and where Nature,
casting aside her most radiant charms, looked stern and awe-inspiring
in her mantle of ice and snow.
Right under the snowy glacier above us were wide, yawning apertures,
arched at the top, and framed, as it were, with ice, in the form of
rude portals, through which the white waters of the river burst in
a continuous stream. These were ice caves. Climbing over the rough
boulders, and then descending into a rocky channel, where the water
mounted over our knees, we entered the largest of these singular
structures, when a wonderful sight met the gaze. We found ourselves in
a cave of some 200 feet in circumference, whose sides of black volcanic
rock were sheeted with ice, and festooned with icicles, all grandly and
marvellously designed. At the further end from where we entered was a
wide, cavernous opening, so dark that the waters of the river, as they
burst out of it in a foaming, eddying stream down the centre of the
cave in which we stood, looked doubly white, in comparison with the
black void out of which they came. We were now right under the enormous
glacier that covered the summit of the mountain, and the roof of the
cave was formed of a mass of frozen snow, which had been fashioned
by some singular law of Nature into oval-shaped depressions of about
two feet in height, and a foot and a half broad, all of one uniform
size, and so beautifully, and so mathematically precise in outline,
as to resemble the quaint designs of a Moorish temple; while, from
all the central points to which the edges of these singular designs
converged, a long single icicle hung down several inches in diameter at
its base, perfectly round and smooth and clear, tapering off towards
its end with a point as sharp as a needle. High up on our left, in the
walls of the cave, were two apertures like the slanting windows of a
dungeon, through which the light streamed, giving a soft, mysterious
halo to the whole scene, which looked weird and indescribably curious.
We had brought candles with us, and lighting them, we pressed forward
to explore the deep cavern beyond, but to do so we had to climb over
sharp, slippery rocks, which were covered with a coating of ice, as
if they had been glazed with glass, while the white waters streaming
beneath us fell into a deep, eddying pool. We managed, after some
difficulty, to cross the stream in the second cave, and to penetrate
a considerable distance along the treacherous rocks into the very
centre, as it were, of the great mountain; but, just as we were winding
along a kind of subterranean passage, which looked like a short cut
into eternity, our lights went out, owing to the water falling from
above, and, as we could hear nothing but rushing waters ahead, we,
with some difficulty, beat a retreat into the first cave, which looked
like a fairy palace in comparison with the dark cavern we had just
left. These caves were at an altitude of 7000 feet above the level of
the sea, and we were now at the true source of the remarkable river.
Wherever the water poured over the rocks it left a white deposit, and
when we tasted it, it produced a marked astringent feeling upon the
tongue, leaving a strong taste of alum, sulphur, and iron, with all
of which ingredients, especially the two former, it appeared to be
strongly impregnated.[51]
It is a remarkable and interesting geographical fact that the waters
which form the source of the Waikato River burst from the sides of
Ruapehu, within a short distance of the Whangaehu, and at almost the
same altitude. Both streams run almost parallel to each other for a
long distance from their source, and then, as they reach the desert,
they gradually diverge and divide the two great watersheds of this
portion of the country, the Waikato flowing to the north into Lake
Taupo, and the Whangaehu to join the sea in the south. There is, I
believe, no place in the world where two great rivers may be seen
rising at an altitude of over 7000 feet in the sides of a glacier-clad
mountain, and rolling for miles, side by side, down its rugged slopes,
the waters of the one of alabaster whiteness, and the waters of the
other as pure and as limpid as crystal, and each forming the dividing
waters of an area of country of nearly 100 miles in length.
It had taken us nine hours to reach the ice caves, and as it was
now late in the day we began to descend with all haste, in order,
if possible, to reach the point where we had left our horses before
nightfall.
As the sun went down the wind blew with a freezing blast, and as
we descended precipice after precipice, and ridge after ridge, and
the tints of evening crept gradually over the dismal sides of the
mountains, our course appeared long beyond measure. When we got near
to the immense mass of lava we had beheld in wonder in the morning,
the shades of night overtook us, and it was with great difficulty we
could pick our way over the rough boulders of the dark, weird gorge,
which now looked like Dante's Inferno with the fires put out. We again
struck the waters of the Whangaehu, and shining as they did like a
white streak in the darkness, we were enabled to follow them up until
we came to our camp.
We soon had our tent erected under the lee of a cluster of scrub,
which served to protect us from the fury of the wind, which now swept
in strong blasts across the scoria plains. Our camping-place was as
near as possible in the centre of the desert, and at a point which
indicated an elevation of 3000 feet above the level of the sea. It
might, in fact, be considered as the highest point of the great central
table-land, for it was here that the watershed divided, and flowed on
the one hand to the north, and on the other to the south, as previously
described. A drink of tea and a biscuit formed our only meal, and then
we lay down to pass one of the roughest and most uncomfortable nights
we had ever experienced. About midnight a great storm of wind swept
over the plains, and dark clouds gathered over the heavens, and the
rain continued to descend in torrents throughout the night. Fortunately
for us, the few straggling bushes around served to break the force of
the blast, otherwise everything would have been blown away.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 51: Near to this point, on the summit of the mountain, there
is a lake formed by an extinct crater, filled by subterranean springs,
and it is likely that the Whangaehu may in some way be connected with
it. It is, however, clear that there must, of necessity, be strong
subterranean springs in this portion of the mountain, to account for
the large volume of water forming the source of this river, as likewise
extensive deposits of alum, of some form or another, to cause the
complete discoloration of the waters by that mineral. I believe that
this singular river will be found to possess great medicinal properties
for the cure of rheumatic affections and cutaneous disorders.]
CHAPTER XXI.
KARIOI.
Our commissariat gives out--The Murimotu Plains--The
settlement--The homestead--The welcome--Society at Karioi--The
natives--The Napier Mail.
When morning broke over our camp on the Onetapu Desert the rain poured
down without intermission, the flood waters of the great mountain swept
over the plains in every direction, and the whole country, obscured for
the most part by heavy mists, looked indescribably desolate. To remain
camped where we were was simply to court starvation. We were now nearly
100 miles from where we had started, and, while our horses were so weak
as to be hardly able to walk, through exposure and want of proper food,
our own commissariat was reduced to its lowest. Yet, up to this point,
we had not accomplished one-half of our intended journey. It is true we
had ascended the great mountains, and had seen their wonders, but there
were still dense forests and unknown regions to be traversed. We had
been told before setting out from Tapuwaeharuru that a sheep-station
known as Karioi could be reached by travelling in the direction of
Whanganui. This was out of our course, but there was no alternative
but to make for it, in order to recruit our horses and replenish our
commissariat. We therefore looked towards this place as a kind of Land
of Promise, flowing with the proverbial milk and honey.
Once clear of the sterile desert, we took a southerly course along the
Whangaehu River, until we reached the magnificent tract of open country
known as the Murimotu Plains. This wide district, which forms, as it
were, the southern slope of the great central table-land, stretches
in the west to the borders of the forest country which extends to the
valley of the Whanganui, while to the eastward it is bounded by the
lower hills which branch out in the form of extensive ridges from the
southern end of the Kaimanawa Mountains. These plains, which resemble
in general features those to the north of the desert forming the
Rangipo plateau, are covered with a network of streams and rivers,
and, for the most part, with a luxuriant growth of native grasses, the
ridges and lower hills which dot them towards the east being carpeted
with low fern. We travelled across the plains principally by compass
bearing, and we had to cross many swollen streams in our course, the
waters of one pouring in the form of a cascade into a deep circular
basin. Beyond this point we again struck the Whangaehu, which had now
become a wide stream, but its waters were still quite white. After
a journey of nine hours, during which time the rain and wind never
ceased, we sighted a "three-rail fence," which we joyously hailed as
the first sign of civilization we had seen for some time.
The fence proved to be the horse-paddock of the station, and following
it along, we soon came to our destination. We found the various
_whares_ and rustic huts composing the settlement of Karioi scattered
promiscuously about the banks of the Tokiahuru River, a tributary of
the Whangaehu, which wound through the station in its course to the
south. The site of the settlement was most delightfully chosen, and the
views from every part of it were most attractive.
Upon arrival at the homestead all hands came to greet us, although
nobody knew who we were, nor where we had come from; nor were we asked
whether we were hungry. With true bush etiquette, that was taken as a
matter of course, and we were soon invited to partake of what was to us
a magnificent repast.
We found the good people of Karioi true cosmopolites, ready to enter
into conversation and to furnish all the news in their power in
exchange for what we could tell them of the country we had passed
through. Strange as it may appear, in this small settlement of whites
and natives, which formed the last link in the chain of European
settlement stretching from the East Coast into this portion of the
country, our pleasant party at Karioi was composed of representatives
of many nations. A Mr. Rees, who had come up from Whanganui, was a
native of Australia, and had served in the armed constabulary at
Parihaka; Mr. Newman, our host, hailed from the South of England; one
of the "hands" was a New Zealander, another an Austrian, a third came
from the Alpine districts of the Tyrol, and another from the Land o'
Cakes, while the native race was here represented by several _hapus_
of one of the principal Whanganui tribes. To listen to the spirited
description given by Mr. Rees of the Parihaka campaign, and to his
delineation of Te Whiti[52] and other notable chiefs, to participate in
the varied conversation upon the wonders of the surrounding country,
to chat with the Tyrolese in his native tongue, and to feel that a
great vacuum had been filled in our insides, was so great a change to
what we had recently experienced, that we now seemed to be partaking
of the pleasures of the varied society and seductive luxuries of a
first-class antipodean caravansary, where hospitality was boundless and
good-fellowship the order of the day.
In the evening we visited the native _kainga_, and spent some time
with the Maoris in the _wharepuni_. There were about twenty natives
present, men, women, and children, and in the centre of the primitive
apartment blazed a huge fire, which threw out a terrific heat, and
rendered the place almost unbearable. The natives were mostly short
of stature, with hard features, and I remarked that they spoke with
a much harsher accent than those further to the north, and that they
clipped many of their words in a remarkable way. When Turner inquired
for an explanation of this habit, they stated that their great
ancestor, Ngatoroirangi, when he came over in the _Arawa_ canoe was
engaged in baling out that craft during a storm, and that whilst so
doing he caught a severe cold, which caused him to speak in a sharp,
halting kind of way, which has been imitated ever since by many of the
Whanganui tribes, who claim descent from that celebrated chief, and who
has been before alluded to in a previous chapter as the first explorer
of the country.
On the second evening after our arrival at Karioi, and when all hands
were assembled in the homely _whare_ watching the big pots boiling for
supper, in fact, when everything looked _couleur de rose_, a horseman
rode up bespattered with mud from head to foot, bringing a packet of
papers and a handful of letters. This was the Napier mail, and we
hailed it with delight, as it was the first tidings of civilization we
had obtained since we left Tapuwaeharuru, over twenty-four days past.
We anxiously scanned the telegrams, to see what had arisen with regard
to the Mahuki difficulty, when we learned that the native minister
was about to leave Alexandra to travel by way of the Mokau River to
Taranaki, in company with a body-guard of armed natives, under the
chief Hone Te Wetere, that Mahuki's tribe was going to oppose his
journey through that portion of the country, and that a gallows had
been erected at Te Kumi, to hang the native minister and all other
whites that might be caught across the _aukati_ line. This news, which
was about the most exciting item of intelligence the papers contained,
was discussed with much gusto. The mere idea of war in the King
Country--Alexandra in flames and a minister hanged--seemed to act like
magic upon the heroic hearts of the cosmopolitan community at Karioi.
This new phase of the native difficulty Turner and myself treated with
apparent indifference, but in reality, coming as it did at that moment,
we secretly deemed it of no small concern, as we had determined to
leave Karioi on the following day, re-enter the King Country at its
southern end, and come out somehow across the northern frontier. In the
suggestive words of the schoolboy, we never "let on;" but, as a matter
of fact, from the time we left Karioi until we crossed the _aukati_
line at Alexandra, five weeks afterwards, this significant item of
intelligence was our _bête noire_, as during our progress northward we
could never tell from day to day what difficulties we might run into
with the natives by reason of the Hursthouse-Mahuki episode.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 52: Te Whiti and Tohu, the Maori prophets, were captured in
1882, at the instance of the Government, by the armed constabulary at
the native settlement of Parihaka, for inciting their followers to
commit acts of lawlessness against the European settlers.]
CHAPTER XXII.
FOREST COUNTRY.
The start from Karioi--On the track--Te Wheu maps the country--The
primeval solitude--Terangakaika Forest--The flora--Difficulties
of travel--The lakes--Birds--Pakihi--Mangawhero River--Gigantic
vines--Fallen trees--Dead forest giants--Mangatotara and Mangatuku
Rivers--A "Slough of Despond"--Dismal Swamp.
We were invited to stay as long as we liked at Karioi, but as we were
anxious, as the weather was breaking, to push forward as soon as
possible, we had to content ourselves with two days' rest, and on the
morning of the 24th of April we again set out. Having examined all the
principal natural features of the country for over 200 miles northward
of this point, I determined to traverse the plains to the southward of
Ruapehu, and then pass through the great forest to the westward of that
mountain, in order to reach the Manganui-a-te-Ao River near to its
junction with the Whanganui, and afterwards proceed northward through
the King Country, by the best route we could find.
We had heard from the Maoris that there was an unfrequented native
track, leading somewhere in the direction of the Manganui-a-te-Ao
River, through the region we were going to explore, but it was at all
times difficult to travel, and still more difficult to find, unless by
those well acquainted with the country. We were told that it led over
high mountains and steep hills, and across rivers and boggy creeks
innumerable. With these difficulties ahead, we endeavoured to secure
the services of a native guide to accompany us as far as Ruakaka, the
Maori settlement on the Manganui-a-te-Ao, but no one among the many
natives we treated with was willing to make the journey; all excusing
themselves upon the plea that they did not like to undertake the
responsibility of introducing Europeans into the country. At last,
after considerable parleying, a native, named Te Wheu, agreed to put us
on to the track for a consideration, so we set out without delay. As
it was clear that we should have to traverse the great forest on foot,
and have much difficult travelling, we abandoned our sumpter-horse at
Karioi, together with our gun, which, up to this time, had been of
little service, and reducing our camp equipage to the lowest, packed
our horses with the tent and blankets, and carried just sufficient
provisions to last us for three days, by which time we hoped to reach
Ruakaka.
We picked up our guide Te Wheu at the Whakahi _kainga_, and took a
westerly course across the Murimotu Plains, which extended, in the form
of a well-grassed tract of country, as far as the southern base of
Ruapehu, and beyond which a thick, and apparently impenetrable, forest
rose, in the form of a barrier of varied and beautiful vegetation.
Near to the southern end of the great mountain we passed the Maori
settlement of Ohinepu, situated on a slope, with low mounds on its
western side, on which were several tombs.
We crossed the Waitaki Creek, flowing southerly from the mountain, and
near to a native _kainga_, situated on a rock-bound hill, beneath which
the Mangaehu stream flowed like a moat.
From this point, after passing a swamp, we soon hit the so-called
track, which would have been impossible to find without native
assistance, hidden as the entrance to it was away in the winding of the
dense forest. Here the colossal trees rose up on every side, a thick
undergrowth of the most varied shrubs hedged us in wherever we turned,
and coiling roots of trees, and black, swampy mud, with here and there
a blazed tree, was the only indication of our course. To ride through
this was impossible, and we therefore had to dismount and lead our
horses.
Te Wheu accompanied us to the summit of a densely-wooded hill, which
rose 500 feet above the plain we had recently left. Before leaving us,
however, we induced him to sketch out roughly, on the ground, the lay
of the country we were about to traverse, when he gave us the names and
directions of the principal rivers and creeks we should have to cross.
He then told us that as he was known at Ruakaka we might mention his
name to the natives, but that he could not guarantee our safety, as the
Maoris of that part were true Hauhaus, and objected to _pakehas_ going
into their territory.
As soon as Te Wheu had disappeared on his homeward track we bent on
our way through the great primeval solitude. We had been so much out
in the open country hitherto, that the scenery of the forest seemed
at first like a pleasant change, but this idea was completely altered
after a journey through it of seventy miles.
The Terangakaika Forest, which extends from the western slope of
Ruapehu, forms part of the wide expanse of bush country which stretches
into the valley of the Whanganui, and thence, westerly, to Taranaki. It
grows to within 1000 feet or so of the snow-line of the great mountain,
and covers nearly the whole of its western side, as well as the wide
plateau near this portion of its base. When we had got well on our way,
we found this enormous wilderness spreading itself out over a perfect
network of broken, rugged ranges, which in many places appeared to have
been hurled about by the terrific throes of an earthquake. The soil was
everywhere of the richest description, and many of the colossal trees
averaged from thirty to forty feet in circumference at the base, and
towered above us to a height of considerably over 100 feet, forming a
grand canopy of foliage, above and beyond which nothing could be seen
but the blue of the sky and the golden rays of sunlight as they lit up
the bright-green tints of the splendid vegetation.
Among the largest trees was the _towai_, which here attained to a
larger growth than any we had previously seen, its enormous branches
supporting a canopy of small, shining, green leaves, giving it a very
beautiful appearance. Next to the _towai_ in size was the _rimu_, its
pendulous branches making it everywhere a conspicuous and attractive
feature, but it is worthy of remark that where on the volcanic soil,
formed by the decomposition of rocks of that kind, the _towai_
attained to its largest size, we found that the _rimu_ grew to larger
proportions on the marly soil we afterwards met with as we approached
the valley of the Whanganui. It was also in the latter locality that
the _rata_ likewise attained to its most colossal proportions; many of
these parasitical giants clasping the enormous _rimus_ in a death-like
struggle for existence. Besides these grand representatives of the
vegetable world, which formed by far the greater part of the forest
growth, we also found many noble specimens of the _hinau_, the _tawa_,
the _miro_, and _matai_, the berries of the three former trees being
scattered over many parts of our track in enormous quantities. In
fact, almost all the principal trees peculiar to the forests of the
North Island here flourished in wonderful luxuriance, together with
an extensive variety of shrubs and ferns, while mosses, lichens, and
trailing vines clothed the tall trees to the topmost branches in
gay festoons of vegetation, which presented the brightest and most
variegated hues.
With all these marvellous creations of the vegetable world around
us, we soon, however, found that travelling through the great forest
wilderness was both fatiguing and difficult. There was not 100 yards of
level ground, and the native track, what little there was of it, led
over steep precipitous ridges, from 200 to 400 feet in height, which
were constantly ascending and descending in a way which rendered our
progress not only slow, but difficult and tedious. The steep ascents,
up which we had to drag our animals at every turn, were as slippery as
glass with the dank humidity of the surrounding vegetation, and were
encumbered with the gnarled roots of trees in every direction, while
the descents were in many places so precipitous that it was impossible
for us to lead our horses without the risk of them rolling over on
us, so we were compelled to let them go their own way down, when they
would, owing to the slippery nature of the soil, slide down on their
haunches and never stop until they were pulled up by a boggy creek
below. These creeks, filled with thick, black mud, impeded our progress
at every descent, and struck terror into our animals, so that we would
often have to flog them across, when their struggles to climb the
slippery ascents on the opposite side fatigued them fearfully. It was
not as if we had only to encounter these difficulties now and again,
but they presented themselves in the most aggravated forms at every few
hundred yards of our journey, from morning until night, and for day
after day. Thus, amid solitude and shade, we pursued our onward way,
now plunging into the deep and gloomy chasms of the mountains, and anon
rising to the opposite ascent, till the distant openings in the forest,
restoring the welcome sunlight, revealed mountain and valley yet to be
traversed.
Our first day's journey brought us to two lakes, which Te Wheu told
us we would find somewhere along our track, and which would serve as
our first camping-place. A little before dusk we came suddenly out of
the forest into a small, circular, open flat, fringed with _toetoe_,
and covered with a luxuriant growth of native grass. On our left, a
grassy ridge rose in a semicircle, and all around the open space the
trees rose one above the other in the most attractive way, while a
variety of shrubs dispersed about in the most picturesque order, made
the place appear like a perfect garden. Right in the very centre of the
natural _parterre_ was Rangitauaiti, a beautiful lake of a complete
circular form, and the water of which, looking like a polished mirror,
was of the deepest blue. Beyond this flat, the native name of which was
Rangitanua, and separated only by a low ridge crowned with a luxuriant
growth of vegetation, was another open space, in the centre of which
was Rangitauanui, an oval-shaped lake larger than the former, but in
which the water was of the same limpid blue. The trees on the further
side rose in a dense forest growth, and as they came close down to the
water, they were reflected in the depths below with grand and beautiful
effect. In fact, the whole surroundings of these lakes appeared so
attractive after our long journey through the forest, that we seemed to
have got into a quiet corner of paradise.
We remained here the following day, as much to rest ourselves as our
horses, and we enjoyed the quiet romance of the place immensely. The
primeval region was a perfect elysium for birds of all kinds, and at
daylight the forest was alive with their warblings, and with the soft
note of the _tui_ came the harsh screech of the _kaka_; flocks of
pigeons circled about the tree-tops, and gaily-plumed parrots winged in
a rapid flight through the air. One of the latter birds, which we found
dead, had a green body and a light green breast, with a dark crimson
patch on the head, and a small patch under the eye of the same colour.
This was the first bird of the kind I had seen in New Zealand, and it
resembled very much one of the green mountain-parrots of Australia.
When we left our camp at Rangitanua it was in the hope that we should
be able to reach the Manganui-a-te-Ao by nightfall, but in this
calculation we were greatly out. We passed round the western end of
Lake Rangitauanui and entered a boggy, densely-wooded country, where
the trees, especially the _rimu_, were larger and more gigantic in
proportions than any we had yet seen. The dense forest here literally
rained with moisture, and, as we had to lead our horses, we were at
places compelled to plunge through swamps where the big roots of trees
threatened to break our legs and those of our struggling animals. We
crossed a branch of the Mangawhero, and towards sundown came to a
small open flat called Pakihi, surrounded entirely by the forest, and
where we found excellent feed for our horses. It had taken us seven
hours of hard travelling to reach this spot, and during that time we
had to cross no less than ten boggy creeks, besides other streams. The
Mangawhero River ran round the western side of this small oasis, the
_towai_-trees forming a conspicuous feature along the banks of the
stream. We camped at Pakihi for the night, the stillness of the place
being only broken now and again by the shrill note of the whistling
duck.
We struck camp at Pakihi early on the following day, but had some
difficulty in crossing the Mangawhero, which we found to be a broad,
rapid, boulder-strewn stream. The banks were very steep and slippery,
and when we had our horses down on one side we had great difficulty in
getting them up the other.
As we got again into the thick of the forest the vegetation became
denser, and the _rimu_-trees, seeming to increase in size, shot up
for over a hundred feet as straight as gun-barrels. Where some of
these giants of the forest had fallen across our track, we had often
to cut a way round them for our horses, through the thick shrub and
tangled vines, the latter of which impeded our progress at every
turn, by tripping us up, and winding round the legs and necks of
our animals like treacherous snares. The enormous _rata_-vines had
been very troublesome up to this point, but now we had to do battle
not only against them, but against the supple-jacks, which we found
growing everywhere in a perfect network of snakelike coils on the
soft, marly soil of the country we were now in. It was nothing to have
a supple-jack round the neck and a _rata_-vine round the legs at the
same time, while our horses would often get so entangled that they
would refuse to move until we had cut them a clear passage out of their
difficulties.
In many instances, owing to surrounding obstacles, there was no
alternative but to make them leap over the fallen trees in our way,
and when not able to do this, the animals would jump on to them and
leap down like dogs. Indeed, the tricks that they had to go through to
get over these and other impediments rendered them almost as clever as
circus-horses.
Another frequent feature we noticed was that where the great trees
had apparently been lying for some time, the seeds of other trees had
fallen upon them, and, germinating into life, had sent their roots
down into the very heart of these decaying vegetable monsters. In this
way it was no uncommon sight to see three or four different species of
large trees living and flourishing upon the dead trunks of these forest
giants.
We crossed the Mangatotara River twice, and after passing through a
very rough and broken portion of the great wilderness, we fell in with
another river, called the Mangatuku, and which we had to cross three
times in its winding course. Both of these streams appeared to drain
a large area of country, and so dense was the vegetation along their
banks that it was only here and there that a ray of sunlight shot
through the thick canopy of green upon them.
During this portion of our journey we came across a complete network
of tracks made by herds of wild cattle, and which led us about to all
points of the compass, until we found it impossible to make out in what
direction we should shape our course. We climbed a tree on the summit
of a high ridge, but we could see nothing but the snowy summit of
Ruapehu in the distance, while all around us, in every direction, was
an apparently endless expanse of forest. From this point the country
began to fall rapidly, and it was evident that we were descending into
the valley of the Whanganui. After nine hours of incessant travelling,
from the time we left our camp in the morning, we had crossed no less
than thirty boggy creeks, besides other streams, and now that dusk had
overtaken us, we found it impossible to proceed any further. We were
now in the midst of a swampy portion of the forest, which seemed like
a veritable "Slough of Despond," and which, judging from the way the
ground had been rooted up in every direction, appeared to be a kind
of wild-pig elysium. Throughout the whole distance we had come, the
country had been grubbed up by these animals, many of which we saw of
great size, and apparently of true wild-boar ferocity.
We were compelled to pitch camp in this uninviting spot, our horses
faring badly, as there was little or no food for them beyond what they
could get from the trees and shrubs. This was one of the most dreary
places in which we had camped during our journey. The night was dark
and wet, the colossal trees rose like spectres around us, the enormous
vines that twisted and twirled about them like coils of vipers, were
covered with grey moss, which hung in dank festoons often over two feet
in length, like enormous spider-webs, and as the rain poured down from
the branches above, the whole place looked as if it had been saturated
with moisture for centuries. We cut down branches of the _nikau_,
and made a tolerably good bed for ourselves after smoothing down the
ground where the pigs had been rooting; and we named the place "Dismal
Swamp" on account of the swampy nature of the country and the truly
dismal character of the whole surroundings. This camp was situated at
an altitude of 1700 feet above the level of the sea, or just 560 feet
lower than our camp at the lakes.
CHAPTER XXIII.
RUAKAKA.
The _wharangi_ plant--Enormous ravines--Ruakaka--Reception by the
Hauhaus--The chief Pareoterangi--The parley--Hinepareoterangi--A
repast--Rapid fall of country--The Manganui-a-te-Ao--Shooting the
rapids--The natives--Religion--Hauhauism--Te Kooti's lament--A
Hauhau hymn.
We struck camp at Dismal Swamp at daybreak, and travelled on for many
miles through the same character of country we had been traversing
for the past five days. Before leaving us, at the entrance to the
forest, Te Wheu had warned us not to allow our horses to eat a certain
shrub, called by the natives "_wharangi_," which we found growing for
many miles along our course, with broad, oval-shaped, light-green
leaves. This plant, when eaten by horses or cattle, is said to produce
stupefaction, followed by convulsions and death, the only known cure
being instant bleeding from the ears. Our own animals were now ready
to eat anything, and made desperate efforts to devour the foliage of
the trees, and, as we went along, we had great difficulty in keeping
them away from this poisonous shrub, which they would devour greedily.
During this journey the boggy creeks and fallen trees became more
troublesome than before, and the hills steeper and more difficult to
climb. We passed along one ridge, with enormous ravines below, some
of which were of circular shape, and in appearance not unlike extinct
craters, while deep down in their depths, all around their sides, and
up to their very topmost ridges, nothing was to be seen but a luxuriant
growth of the most varied and beautiful vegetation. Here, too, the
geological character of the country changed, the trachytic rocks giving
place to a sandstone formation, covered with a stratum of thick, marly
earth, which was so slippery in places that we could hardly manage to
get along.
During the greater part of the morning the rain had been pouring down
in torrents, and what with the swollen condition of the creeks, the
slippery nature of the soil, and the starved condition of our horses,
our prospects of ever reaching Ruakaka seemed to be hopeless. At
last, about two o'clock in the afternoon, we hailed with delight a
break in the forest, and we came suddenly into a hilly region, where
the tall fern grew higher than our horses' heads. After travelling a
considerable distance through this country, we mounted to the top of a
high hill, when we beheld, 200 feet beneath us, a fine, open valley,
sunk like a pit, as it were, in the heart of a mountainous region,
where enormous forests stretched away as far as the eye could reach on
every side. Right down the centre of the valley, as far as we could
see, we could trace the winding course of the Manganui-a-te-Ao, marked
by precipitous cliffs of grey rock, which rose perpendicularly from the
waters of the river to a height of 300 feet, while above these, again,
on the further side of the stream, were terraces of rounded hills,
backed by conical mountains, which mounted, one above the other, to a
height of 3000 or 4000 feet, covered from base to summits with a thick
mantle of luxuriant vegetation. On the side where we had emerged from
the forest the valley was bounded by round-topped, fern-clad hills and
flat, terrace-like formations that descended, in the form of gigantic
steps, into the plain below, where the _whares_ and cultivations of the
natives, stretching for miles along the course of the stream, appeared
dotted about in the most picturesque way. Taken altogether, the whole
place had a singularly wild appearance as we gazed upon it, and now
that we could see everything from our point of vantage without being
seen, we wondered what kind of a welcome we should meet with from the
natives.
We led our horses down the steep, slippery track into the valley, and
as we were now seen by some of the Maoris, there were loud shouts that
_pakehas_ had arrived, and the natives came out of the _whares_ and
awaited our approach in front of the _wharepuni_. We could see at a
glance that the words of Te Wheu were correct, and that the natives, so
far as we could discern by outward signs, were veritable Hauhaus, alike
in dress and bearing, while both men and women had a singularly wild
and even savage appearance when compared with all other tribes I had
seen in different parts of the country. It was likewise clear that they
did not welcome us at first with any demonstrations of cordiality, and
upon Turner inquiring for the chief, they replied that he was away at
a wild-pig hunt, and that we must wait till he came. The natives then
squatted around us, and scanned us narrowly, while we looked on with
an air of apparent indifference.
In the meanwhile a messenger had been despatched for the chief,
whose name, we now learned, was Te Pareoterangi, and after a short
delay he appeared before us, with half a dozen wild-looking natives,
carrying a double-barrelled gun over his shoulder. He was a man below
medium height, but of singularly massive build, broad-chested and
broad-shouldered, with a well-formed head, and singularly well-moulded
features. Indeed, his heavily-knit frame, intelligent air, and almost
oriental cast of countenance made him stand out in marked contrast to
the other natives, who were, for the most part, unlike the generality
of their race, remarkable for their diminutive stature and ungainly
appearance.
When Te Pareoterangi came up, he squatted down with a sullen air,
without going through any form of salutation, and then, after a pause,
asked us what we had come for, and upon Turner telling him that he had
brought the _pakeha_, who was travelling for pleasure, a titter ran
round the circle, for, if we did not look it, we felt half-starved,
we were drenched to the skin, and covered from head to foot with mud,
and the chief, evidently realizing all the unpleasant features of our
position, naively remarked, "How can the _pakeha_ travel for pleasure
through such a forest as you have come?" At which an old tattooed
savage observed, "Their horses are only rats; how did they get here?
These _pakehas_ have singular ways." This was said with a sinister
smile from the old man, and in anything but a complimentary tone. Many
other questions were put to us, and the parleying kept on, by fits and
starts, for a good half-hour, during which time the natives displayed
no token of friendship, the only manifestations we received in this
respect being from the dogs and pigs, the latter even going so far as
to scratch their backs against our legs.
[Illustration: RUAKAKA.
_Page 272._]
At last an old woman, who had been watching the proceedings keenly,
and whose appearance reminded me of one of the witches in "Macbeth,"
suddenly rose, and stepping with an excited air into the middle of the
circle, waved her bare right arm round her head, and shouted at the top
of her voice, "_Haeremai! Haeremai! Haeremai!_"[53] And then turning to
the natives, in an equally excited way, said, "The _pakehas_ have been
following up the rivers of great names, and have come to our homes;
they are hungry, and we must give them food." The words of this weird
dame, whom we afterwards found was the chieftainess Hinepareoterangi,
and mother of the chief of the _hapu_, acted like magic upon the
natives, who at once took charge of our horses, while the women
hastened to prepare a meal, old Hinepareoterangi opening the feast by
presenting us with some of the finest apples I had ever tasted.[54] In
a short time we were invited into the _wharepuni_, and a big tin dish
of potatoes and pork was set before us, the old chieftainess remarking,
"You are now in a 'Tongariro country,' and must not look for such
delicacies as bread." As we had only had two meals for the past two
days, and those of the most visionary description, we found this repast
most acceptable. The pork, which had been preserved by being rendered
down in its own fat, was delicious, while the potatoes were of the
finest kind.
Owing to the heavy rain and the flooded state of the Manganui-a-te-Ao,
we were compelled to wait at Ruakaka for two days, during which time
we visited many parts of the district. I found that the altitude of
Ruakaka was 800 feet above the level of the sea, and it is worthy of
remark, as showing the rapid fall of the country in this direction,
that, in order to reach this place from the great central table-land
where we had at first entered the forest, we had descended by the
circuitous way we had come no less than 1600 feet in about forty miles.
These figures will give some idea of the swift current of the
Manganui-a-te-Ao, which, taking its rise near the north-western
side of Ruapehu, cuts its way through a mountainous country in a
deep, rock-bound channel, and receives the waters of innumerable
tributaries along its entire course. The volume of water poured
down by this impetuous stream, especially in the rainy season, and
during the melting of the snows of Ruapehu, is something prodigious,
while I believe the rapidity of its current is unequalled by any
other river in New Zealand. Along its entire length its rocky bed
is strewn with large boulders and masses of rock of colossal size,
while its precipitous cliffs, crowned with towering, forest-clad
mountains, impart to it a singularly grand and wild appearance. Besides
its rapid course, it is remarkable for its windings and dangerous
rapids. We found that the river was known by three native names--viz.
Manganui-a-te-Ao, or "great river of light;" Te Waitahupara, and Te
Wairoahakamanamana-a-Rongowaitahanui, or "the river of ever-dancing
waters and steep, echoing cliffs"--while the Whanganui, into which
it fell, was not only known by the latter name, but likewise as Te
Wainui-a-Tarawera, or the "great waters of Tarawera."
The two rivers form the principal means of communication for the
natives of Ruakaka with the outer world. From the Manganui-a-te-Ao they
travel in canoes to the Whanganui, and thence southward to the coast.
The distance is accomplished in a few days, owing to the rapid current,
but the journey up stream often takes over a month. The natives are
experienced "canoemen," as they must be in order to navigate their
frail canoes over the many rapids and winding turns that mark the
whole course of the river, as well as that of the Whanganui. At most
of the rapids the water shoots over enormous boulders and between
narrow channels, and the canoes, guided by poles, are carried over the
treacherous places with wonderful dexterity. As may well be imagined,
the frail craft often gets upset, but the natives, who are expert
swimmers, right them again with little difficulty.
During our stay at Ruakaka we were guests of Pareoterangi and his
family, which consisted of the old chieftainess, Hinepareoterangi, or
the "woman of the heavenly crest," as her name implied; Ani, wife of
Pareoterangi, a tall, gaunt woman with blunt features, and who wore her
hair in short, thick ringlets about her head; Te Ahi, her daughter; and
Toma, the tattooed savage who had called our horses "rats." We took up
our quarters in the _wharepuni_ with these people, but the dismal, and,
I may say, dirty, tenement was constantly filled with the natives, who
kept continually dropping in to chat or to have a look at us. In this
way we had a good opportunity of studying the manners and customs of
the Hauhaus of Ruakaka, and, all things considered, they seemed to be
following about the same mode of life as they must have done before the
arrival of Cook, their manners still presenting that mixture of rude
freedom and simplicity suggestive of the infancy of society, before
art had taught men to restrain the sentiments of their nature, or to
disguise the original features of their character. Shut up in the midst
of their forest wilderness, and having little or no connection with the
outer world, they seemed to know nothing or to care for nothing beyond
their own day-to-day existence. We learned that since time immemorial
this wild and secluded valley had been a place of settlement for
different _hapus_ of the tribes inhabiting the region of the Whanganui
River, and that those at present dwelling there were the Ngatihau,
Ngatiapa, Ngatimaringi, Ngatitamakana, Ngatiatamira, Ngatiruakopiri,
Ngatiikewaia, and Ngatitara. We were informed that their common
ancestor was Uenuku, and that their forefathers came from Hawaiki in
the _Tainui_, _Arawa_, and _Aotea_ canoes. In former times the whole
valley of the Manganui-a-te-Ao was fortified with formidable _pas_, so
that it was impossible for an enemy to get up the river. During the
troubled times of the great war with the Europeans Ruakaka was always
considered as a safe meeting-place for the Hauhau tribes of this part
of the country, since the _pakehas_ did not know of its existence; and
even if they had, as the natives reasonably remarked, they would never
have attempted to penetrate into its fastnesses with any prospect of
returning alive.
I was anxious to test the religious principles of our Hauhau friends,
just to see whether a ray of Christianity was to be found in this
wild valley, and during an evening sitting, when the _wharepuni_
was heated like a furnace, and all the motley crowd were assembled
together, I got Turner to sound the old tattooed man, who had been a
noted fighting-chief during the war, upon the present and upon the
hereafter. This grim, antiquated warrior would sit and listen for hours
to everything that was said, but he would never venture a remark. Now
and again a diabolically sinister smile would pass over his blue-lined
countenance, and he would mutter a word with a puff of smoke, but
beyond this he was silent. When, however, the question as to his
religious scruples was put straight to him, he spoke out frankly, and
said, with an air of singular _naïveté,_ "At one time I thought there
were two saints in the island--Tawhiao and Te Whiti--and I waited a
long time to see if they would be taken up to heaven in a chariot of
fire, but I have waited so long that I am tired, and now I think that
there are no saints in heaven or on earth." Old Hinepareoterangi,
who was always a good talker, and displayed at all times a facetious
spirit, laughed heartily at the admission of the old man, and then,
looking us full in the face, she exclaimed in her wild, weird way,
"We believe in nothing here, and get fat on pork and potatoes." This
brought down roars of laughter from the assembled Hauhaus, and we
dropped the religious question.
It was, in fact, very clear that these natives were as deeply wrapped
in the darkness of heathenism as were their forefathers centuries ago,
and beyond a superstitious species of Hauhauism, no germ of religious
teaching appeared to have found its way into their breasts. They were,
however, always ready to sing Hauhau chants to the glorification of
Te Whiti and Te Kooti, who appeared to be the presiding deities of
these wild tribes. At night, when the wind and rain raged without,
and the river rushed through its rock-bound channel with a noise like
thunder, both men and women would chant these wild refrains in droning,
melancholy notes, but in perfect harmony, the airs in most cases being
exceedingly pretty and touching.
The two following chants were sung to us by Te Pareoterangi and other
natives in chorus, and were taken down in Maori verbatim by Turner. I
am indebted for their spirited translation to the able pen of Mr. C.O.
Davis.
TE KOOTI'S LAMENT.
I stood alone awhile, then moving round
I heard of Taranaki's doings. The rumours
Reached me here, and then I raised
My hand to Tamarura,[55] that deity
Above. Ah me! 'twas on the third
Of March that suffering came,
For then, alas! Waerangahika[56] fell;
And I was shipped on board a vessel,
And borne along upon the ocean.
We steer for Waikawa,[57] and then we bear
Away to Ahuriri,[58] to thee, McLean.[59]
Ah, now I'm seated on _St. Kilda's_[60] deck,
And looking back to gaze upon the scene
My tears like water freely flow; now
Whanganui's[61] shore is seen, now Whangaroa,[62]
Where mountain waves are raising up their crests
Near Wharekauri.[63] O, my people,
Rest ye at home; arise and look around,
And northward look. The lightsome clouds
Are lingering in the sky, and wafted hither
Day by day, yes, from my distant home,
Turanga, from which I now am separated,
Separated now from those I love.
O, my people! respect the queen's authority,
That we may prosper even to the end.
Suffice the former things thrown in our path
As obstacles. Uphold the governor's laws
To mitigate the deeds of Rura, who brought
Upon us all our troubles.
HAUHAU HYMN.
Let us arise, O people!--the whole of us arise.
Lo, Tohu and Te Whiti now have reached
The pits of darkness--the house of Tangaroa,[64]
And gateway of the spirit-world of Miru,[65]
Where men are bound all seasons of the year.
The offspring, too, of David they would bind.
The bright and morning star, Peace, at the end
Will come, and in the times of David
Feelings of vindictiveness will cease.
'Tis not from thee; it is from Moses
And the Prophets--from Jesus Christ
And His Apostles, that lines of demarcation
Were set up to shield thee from man's wrath.
The termination comes by thee, O Tohu!
And while it wears a pleasing aspect,
I am lighted into day.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 53: _Haeremai_ is the usual cry of welcome with the Maoris.]
[Footnote 54: When afterwards we asked the natives how it was they
appeared to be mistrustful of us when we first arrived, they replied
that they had always been suspicious of half-castes and _pakehas_,
especially since the capture of Winiata by Barlow. That Te Takaru, the
murderer of Moffat, came there sometimes, and they thought we were
after him. They then related to us the circumstances of Moffat's death.
It would appear that the murdered man, on his last journey, came to
Ruakaka, and induced several of the natives to accompany him to the
Tuhua country. Moffat, who had been driven from that district by the
natives, had been warned not to enter it again; but, notwithstanding
this caution, he determined to revisit it, in order to prospect for
gold. The party left by one of the bush tracks, and when it had nearly
reached its destination, Moffat was fired upon by a native from behind
a tree, and mortally wounded in the back. At the same moment he fell
from his horse, when another native jumped forward, and split his skull
open with a tomahawk.]
[Footnote 55: Tamarura--probably a supposed angel recognized by the
Hauhau parties.]
[Footnote 56: Waerangahika--one of the _pas_ at Poverty Bay, which was
taken by our forces.]
[Footnote 57: Waikawa--now known as Open Bay.]
[Footnote 58: Ahuriri--the great Maori name of Hawke's Bay.]
[Footnote 59: The late Sir Donald McLean, the Superintendent of the
province of Hawke's Bay (Napier).]
[Footnote 60: _St. Kilda_ was the name of the vessel in which Te Kooti
was transported to the Chatham Islands.]
[Footnote 61: Whanganui--name of a places on the Chatham Islands.]
[Footnote 62: Whangaroa--name of a place on the Chatham Islands.]
[Footnote 63: Wharekauri is the native name of the Chatham Islands.]
[Footnote 64: The god of the sea, and guardian of fishes.]
[Footnote 65: Supposed being armed with authority in Hades.]
CHAPTER XXIV.
NGATOKORUA PA.
Departure from Ruakaka--A legend--Rough forest--Crossing the
Manganui-a-te-Ao--Scenery of the river--Mount Towai--The plains
in sight--Rapid rise in the country--Ruapehu from the west--The
Waimarino plains--Arrival at the _pa_--The chief's family--A
Hauhau chief--_Inter alia_--Pehi on the decay of the Maoris--A
war-dance--The mere.
We left Ruakaka with the best wishes of the natives, Te Pareoterangi
riding out some distance with us to put us in the right direction.
Our course now lay easterly up the valley of the Manganui-a-te-Ao,
and for thirty miles through another portion of the dense forest by
which we had come to reach the settlement, but by a route far more
difficult to travel, according to the account given to us of the
country by the natives, who informed us that we should have to cross
the Manganui-a-te-Ao ten times at various points, besides other streams
and innumerable creeks, before we could again reach the open country to
the north of Ruapehu. The river was still so flooded that the natives
earnestly advised us to remain, old Hinepareoterangi remarking, in her
jocose way, "If when you are gone the skies open and the great rains
descend, I will sit by the rushing waters and wait for your horses and
saddles; you will make splendid food for the eels." Notwithstanding
this grim joke of the chieftainess of the "heavenly crest," as the
clouds were still gathering, and another flood might detain us a week
or perhaps a month at Ruakaka, and possibly prevent us from ever
reaching Alexandra by the course we had planned, we determined to make
a desperate effort to push through. We therefore set out without delay,
and crossed the Manganui-a-te-Ao for the first time about a mile below
the settlement, at a very picturesque spot, but we had to descend
nearly 100 feet to the crossing-place, beyond which a higher bend of
the river appeared to be nearly 100 feet above us.
After gaining the opposite side we mounted above the stream to a bold
bluff, where once stood a _pa_ called Rotua, which was formerly one of
the most formidable strongholds of the valley, and Te Pareoterangi,
when he pointed it out, told us of an interesting legend connected
with it. On one occasion in years gone by the _pa_ was occupied by two
tribes, named respectively the Ngatitamakana and Ngatiatamire. Being at
war with other tribes, on one stormy night they were suddenly surprised
by the enemy under a noted chief named Tama Turaki, when, seeing all
chance of escape hopeless, they made a rope of native flax, and letting
themselves down the steep cliffs into the river, took up their position
in a stronghold further down the stream called Pukeatua. When, on the
following day, Tama Turaki found how the enemy had escaped, he followed
them with his tribe down the river in canoes, but the Ngatitamakana and
Ngatiatamire, being alive to his movements, conceived the bold idea
of consigning their savage pursuer into eternity by one fell swoop.
With this chivalrous aim in view, they hauled an enormous mass of rock
to the edge of the cliff on which the _pa_ was situated, and below
which the canoes of the enemy would pass, and just as they appeared
underneath the precipice the rock was hurled from above, and with a
thundering crash completely annihilated Tama Turaki and his band.
This enormous mass of rock, which may still be seen in the river, is
known to the natives as Parekura Huripari,[66] and is looked upon by
them even unto this day with that singular display of superstitious
veneration which forms one of the most marked characteristics of the
Maori race.
When Te Pareoterangi left us, which was about two miles out of the
settlement, he told us that we had a dangerous and difficult road
to go, and that it would be necessary to make all speed, lest the
flood should overtake us, and in that event he added, with true Maori
lightheartedness, "If the river don't land you again at Ruakaka you may
have to eat your horses." At the fourth crossing-place we had already
mounted to an altitude of 1200 feet, but to get to this point we had
traversed a hilly, broken region, covered in every direction with a
dense growth of _rimu_-trees. Throughout this portion of the country,
not only did the _rata_-vines coil about the giants of the forest in
every direction, but the "supplejacks" kept pulling us up at every
turn, while the rain, now descending in torrents, rendered the ground
and enormous roots of the trees which formed a complete network beneath
our feet, as slippery as glass.
Although we could only lead our horses through the forest, it was
necessary to ride them whenever we came to the crossing-places of the
Manganui-a-te-Ao, since at these points the water was in most places
over their backs, and often nearly over their heads, when they got
into the big holes that everywhere dotted the rugged channel of the
river. At the sixth crossing-place we had mounted to an altitude of
1460 feet, and here we were nearly coming to grief. The course across
the river was, like all other places, strewn in every direction with
enormous masses of rock, and the water came sweeping swiftly round
a great bend, where the cliffs rose up like a stupendous wall on
each side. The river here was about 100 feet wide, and in order to
get across, it was necessary for our horses to climb over a series
of huge boulders, and then on to the top of a big rock with a flat
top, from which they had to plunge off into a deep water-hole, with
a rapid only a few feet distant on the lower side. Turner, on his
plucky pony, took the first leap, and my own horse following, the snowy
waters, fresh from the glaciers of Ruapehu, nearly swept us out of
our saddles, and, for a moment, it seemed as if the ominous joke made
by old Hinepareoterangi before our departure, were about to become
true. At the seventh crossing-place the bed of the river was at an
altitude of 1541 feet, and here, as usual, we had fresh difficulties to
encounter. The masses of rock were of great size, and, while most of
the larger impediments of this nature were of trachytic formation, I
noticed several water-worn boulders, composed of a fossiliferous rock,
containing particles of shells, but all of which were too broken to be
easily recognizable. These boulders appeared to have been washed down
by the river for some distance.
All along the course of the Manganui-a-te-Ao the scenery was of the
wildest description; the steep cliffs and mountains towering above us
in the grandest confusion. In many places the colossal trees reached
their broad branches over the precipices that bordered the stream, in a
vivid canopy of green, while the foaming cascades beneath echoed with
a roaring sound through the deep valleys as the blue, dancing waters
swept onward in their precipitous course along the winding, rock-bound
ravine that formed the channel of this remarkable river.
Leaving the course of the river for a time, we made a wide _détour_
to the north, and passed along a range of rugged mountains which
marked an altitude of 2900 feet above the level of the sea. Here the
whole country was very broken, and it was nothing but one continuous
ridge after ridge and gully after gully, while we had to take our
horses along precipices where there was scarcely room for them to move
along, especially where they had to round the trunks and roots of the
stupendous _towai_-trees, which grew in wonderful luxuriance in this
elevated region. Night fairly overtook us on the mountains at a point
which marked an altitude of 3500 feet above the level of the sea. The
rain poured down incessantly, and we could hear the river roaring in
the distance somewhere beneath us, although we had not the remotest
idea where we were. We named this elevated point "Mount Towai," on
account of a magnificent tree of that species which grew close to the
spot where we pitched our tent.
We were up by the first streak of dawn, and, climbing a tree that
stretched out its trunk over the precipitous sides of Mount Towai,
looked anxiously to see whether we could get a glimpse of the open
plains, which we knew to be somewhere in the east. Beneath us wound the
deep ravines, covered with their primeval forests, and above the hills
in the distance we got a glance at a patch of open country through the
dense foliage. This seemed to us like a bright oasis, which had at last
come to break the dull monotony of the forest wilderness. We struck
camp at once, and descending 500 feet by a steep and slippery incline,
we gained the margin of the Manganui-a-te-Ao, and crossed the winding
stream for the ninth time, as it rolled down a deep gorge from its
source in the regions of eternal snow, as rugged and as rapid as ever.
Once on the opposite side, we climbed a steep ascent, and gained the
broad, open table-land at an altitude of 2850 feet. Thus, to arrive at
this elevation from Ruakaka, we had travelled over hills and mountains
the whole way, and yet in a distance of about thirty miles the country
had risen over 2000 feet from our point of departure, which stood at an
altitude of 800 feet.
Now that we had done eighty miles of forest travelling since we had
left the Murimotu Plains to reach the valley of the Whanganui, and
had spent eight days in the primeval wilderness, it is impossible to
describe with what delight we hailed the grand open country before
us. During our journey through the forest--that is to say, since we
first entered it from the Murimotu Plains--the weather had been mostly
wet, and even when the sun shone, the moisture kept dripping from
the trees like a perpetual shower-bath, and the dank, heavy feeling
of the air, caused by the endless vegetation through which we could
never see a hundred yards ahead, produced in the long-run a feeling
of intense weariness. Now, however, all nature looked radiant before
us, and the colossal form of Ruapehu, rising close to us on our right,
looked grander than ever. We now viewed the great mountain from the
north-west, an aspect from which we had not beheld it before, and the
forests on its sides were interspersed with patches of open country,
while the snow since last we had beheld it had crept down almost to
the base, and, mingling with the green of the vegetation, produced the
most beautiful effect as the mists of morning rolled away beneath the
glowing power of the sun.
The fine grassy expanse covered with a thick coating of white frost we
had now entered, we afterwards found was known to the natives as the
Waimarino, from the name of the river running through it, and which had
its source in Haurungatahi, a large, densely wooded mountain which we
could see in the distance to our right, and which formed an attractive
and beautiful object in the surrounding scenery. These plains
immediately to the north-west of Ruapehu were the same we had seen in
this direction some weeks before, when making the ascent of Tongariro.
We had been told by the natives at Ruakaka that if we kept across the
plains to the south-east for about ten miles in the direction of Mount
Haurungatahi, we should reach Ngatokorua, the _pa_ of Pehi Hetau Turoa,
one of the principal chiefs of the Whanganui tribes. We therefore
directed our course towards this place, the plains as we rode along
opening out into park-like expanses, fringed with dense forests on
either side.
When we arrived at the _pa_, early in the day, we were received by Pehi
and his people with a true Maori welcome.
One of the most remarkable features in connection with this place was
that everything about it had a neat and tidy appearance, unlike all
other settlements we had seen. It was situated at the foot of Mount
Haurungatahi, whose steep sides, clothed with dense forests, towered up
behind it. This mountain, we learned, was personified by the Maoris as
the wife of Ruapehu. The view in every direction from the settlement
was most enchanting, forest, plain, and mountain all combining to add
variety to the surroundings.
We were given comfortable quarters in the _wharepuni_ in which the
chief's family dwelt, and which consisted of a spacious building
constructed of _totara_, and spread about with clean white mats. We
found Pehi's family to consist of Ngaruma, his wife, a pleasant woman
with an almost Grecian cast of countenance, although a pure Maori;
Te Wao, the chief's henchman, and his wife Ngawini; Turongoiti, with
his wife Rauia; Rene, another native; and Hinekura, Rora, and Pureti,
the chief's three daughters. We were invited by Pehi to remain as
long as we liked, and the three days we sojourned with the old chief
formed the most agreeable stage of our long journey. There was only
one drawback, and that was that we had to sleep with thirteen others
in the _wharepuni_, and as there were always two charcoal fires kept
burning, the heat was at times--especially during the first part of
the night--intolerable, the thermometer often reaching as high as
100° Fahr., while outside it indicated from four to six degrees below
freezing-point. Unfortunately, it was always dark by six o'clock in the
evening, when the _wharepuni_ was closely fastened up, and we would
have to remain twelve hours in the stifling atmosphere until daylight.
At the first glance it struck me that Pehi Hetau Turoa looked and
walked a chief. Taken altogether, he was the finest specimen of his
race I had ever seen. In age he appeared to be sixty, or thereabouts,
but his stature was that of a well-conditioned athlete. He stood about
six feet three, as upright as a dart, big-boned and muscular, and in
his younger days he had the reputation of being one of the strongest
men of his time. His well-formed features were cast in the true Maori
mould, and he had a singularly massive and well-shaped head. Over his
closely clipped beard hung a thick moustache, and above this, again,
the blue tattooed lines wound round his nostrils, then over his face,
and ended in small circles over his brows. During the war Pehi had been
a noted Hauhau leader, but, unlike most of the warriors of his race I
had met with, he, as if anxious to preserve his military renown, moved
about with the air of a well-drilled soldier, while he possessed at all
times and in all his actions that genial yet dignified tone of manner
so characteristic of the Maori of the old school.
Pehi was at all times a host in himself, and being a man of singularly
original and witty train of thought, his conversation was very amusing.
Of an evening, when the _wharepuni_ was closed in, the whole _hapu_
would assemble, and squatting down on their mats round the small
charcoal fire, the old chief would relate the most singular tales,
and ask the most extraordinary questions. He recounted to us some
of his experiences in the Maori war, and then asked what nation was
at present at war with England? When informed that we were at that
time having a brush with Egypt, he inquired if that was not the place
where Christ was crucified, and when told that that incident occurred
in a neighbouring country, he ejaculated, "Ah, I know I was not far
out; a mile or two make no difference in a big event like that." He
next inquired what manner of men the Egyptians were, and whether they
danced the _haka_; and when I stated that the Egyptian dancing-girls
went through gyrations very similar to those of their dark sisters
at the antipodes, he replied, "Then if they dance the _haka_ we must
be descended from them. I believe the Maoris are one of the lost
tribes of Israel." He asked many questions about England, and the
descriptions of London especially amused him, and when told that they
had a railway there running underground, he expressed great surprise,
and asked how it was that the _taniwha_ we called the devil didn't
object to underground railways. He appeared very anxious to learn all
about the government of England, and when I had given him a _résumé_
of parliamentary procedure, he pointed towards Te Wao, his henchman,
who, strange to say for a Maori, was perfectly bald, and demanded,
in a serio-comic way, whether bald-headed men were allowed to sit in
the British Parliament, and when I pointed out that a bald-headed man
enjoyed equal parliamentary privileges with one having his head covered
with hair, he replied that the Maoris always looked with suspicion
on bald-headed men. All joined in the laugh at this remark, with the
exception of Pehi, who always looked particularly fierce and grim when
he cracked his jokes or hurled his shafts of satire.
Although Pehi was singularly jocund for a man of his age, yet when a
serious question was put to him he knew how to answer it in a clear and
deliberate way; and when I got Turner to induce the _rangatira_ to give
the apparent reason for the rapid decay of his race, he spoke thus:
"In former times we lived differently; each tribe had its territory.
We lived in _pas_ placed high upon the mountains. The men looked to
war as their only occupation, and the women and the young people
cultivated the fields. We were a strong and a healthy people then.
When the _pakeha_ came, everything began to die away, even the natural
animals of the country. Formerly, when we went into a forest and stood
under a tree, we could not hear ourselves speak for the noise of the
birds; every tree was full of them. Then we had pigeons and everything
in plenty; now many of the birds have died out. A few years ago there
was a big green parrot in these forests; now it is gone, and lots of
other things have gradually faded away. In those times the fields were
well tilled, there was always plenty of provisions, and we wore few
clothes, only our own mats of feathers. Then the missionaries came and
took our children from the fields, and taught them to sing hymns; they
changed their minds, and the fields were untilled. The children came
home and quoted Gospel on an empty stomach. Then came the war between
the _pakeha_ and the Maori that split up our homes, and made one tribe
fight against another; and after the war came the _pakeha_ settlers,
who took our lands, taught us to drink, and to smoke, and made us wear
clothes that brought on disease. What race," said the old chief, "could
stand against that. The Maori," he continued, "is passing away like
the _kiwi_, the _tui_, and many other things, and by-and-by they will
disappear just as the leaves of the trees, and nothing will remain to
tell of them but the names of their mountains and their rivers."
[Illustration: A CHIEF ARMED WITH "MERE" AND "HUATA."]
One morning, when we were sunning ourselves in front of the
_wharepuni_, I asked Pehi how the Maoris fought in battle. Without a
moment's hesitation he jumped up from where he had been seated, and,
casting aside his cape and appearing in nothing but a cloth around
his loins, entered a small _whare_, and emerged an instant afterwards
with a _huata_, or short spear, beautifully carved at the top to
represent a grotesque human head, from the mouth of which the tongue
protruded about three inches in the form of a spear-blade, while just
below the head was a long tuft of white dog's-hair bound with flax
stained a bright red. The shaft of the implement, made of _totara_
wood, and highly polished, was rounded at the top part, but widened
out in an oval form with sharp, bevelled edges towards the bottom
end. Flourishing this weapon about in the wildest way, jumping into
the air, making the most hideous grimaces, thrusting out his tongue,
and turning up his eyes till nothing but the whites were visible, the
old warrior yelled and danced about like a madman, now throwing up
his _huata_ in the air and catching it again, now sweeping it round
in a way that seemed to carry death in every stroke, the savage,
tattooed countenance of the old _rangatira_ working the while in a most
diabolical fashion. He made terrific and frantic cuts at each of our
heads, but so dexterous was he in the manipulation of his weapon that
he arrested it in every instance when within the eighth of an inch of
our skulls--which he jocosely told us were not thick enough to hurt the
_huata_.
[Illustration: A "MERE."]
When questioned as to the use of the _mere_, he informed us that it
was seldom used in war, except by the chiefs, and that it was more an
emblem of rank which was handed down as an heirloom in a tribe. The
greenstone _mere_ was so highly prized that to secure one in battle
appeared to be considered as an act of glory, just as the taking of
a stand of colours might be with us. The _mere_ was, however, always
considered as a formidable weapon in fight, as a blow from it, if
properly dealt, would break any bone in a man's body. When using it,
it was customary to aim at the head. It was also used by the chiefs to
cleave the skulls of the captured. He told us that the Maoris had never
accustomed themselves to the use of the bow and arrow, and that, when
fighting, they depended principally upon the _huata_ and other spears,
until the Europeans taught them the use of fire-arms.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 66: Literally, the battle-ground where the rock was thrown.]
CHAPTER XXV.
HOT SPRINGS OF TONGARIRO.
Departure from Ngatokorua--Okahakura Plains--Tongariro from the
north--Source of the Whanganui--The hot springs--A marvellous
sanatorium--Crater of Ketetahi--Te Perore--A strategic
position--Kuwharua--Maori cakes--A grand region--Site for a public
park.
We left Ngatokorua with a pressing invitation to return again, and
took an easterly course across the Waimarino Plains, in the direction
of Tongariro, with the view of tracing up the source of the Whanganui
River, which, we had learned from the natives, rose somewhere in the
northern side of the volcano, and after that I had determined to
examine the tapued springs and the crater of Ketetahi, which were
situated a short distance further to the east on the same mountain.
The whole country we passed through to reach Tongariro consisted of a
series of magnificent plains, richly grassed, surrounded for the most
part by forest, and dotted here and there with patches of bush that
grew in the centre of the plains and bordered many of the streams. We
crossed the Mangahuia and Whakapapa rivers, both swift streams, flowing
in a north-westerly direction to join the Upper Whanganui. Beyond the
Waimarino Plains was an equally attractive stretch of country of the
same description, known as Okahakura, and through the centre of which
wound the Mangatepopo River, likewise a tributary of the Whanganui.
When we ascended the hills and rugged spurs which surrounded the great
volcano of Tongariro on the north, we found them to be composed mostly
of scoria and trachytic rock, but covered for a long distance up their
sides with a thick vegetation of native grasses and dwarf shrubs. The
tops of the larger spurs were, however, very rugged and barren, while
the depression round the lip of the crater, which we had observed when
at the summit of the great cone, was distinctly visible, and naturally
made the mountain appear less elevated on this than on its southern
side. The splendid cone was, however, now covered with a white canopy
of snow almost to its base, while the summit here and there was tinged
of a bright yellow with deposits of sulphur crystals, and as its white
coil of steam floated over its gracefully pointed top the effect was
beautiful in the extreme.
On one of the principal spurs to the north-west of the great cone we
found the source of the Whanganui bursting out through a narrow rocky
gorge at an altitude of 3700 feet above the level of the sea, the water
evidently arising from mountain springs, and at certain times from the
melting of the snows. The river from this point runs rapidly down the
winding gorges of the mountains, and, after receiving in its course the
waters of numerous other streams, winds across the Okahakura Plains,
and afterwards enters the dense forests of the Tuhua, and then taking
a bold sweep to the north-west receives the waters of the Ongaruhe and
numerous other streams, as it flows in its long course to join the sea
in the south. The Whanganui, which, after the Waikato, forms the most
important river of the North Island, receives the whole of the western
watershed of the great central table-land, besides that of other
divisions of the country.
Leaving the source of the Whanganui, we took an easterly direction,
and, after a long climb through the thick shrubs and boulder-strewn
sides of the mountain, arrived at the great _solfatara_, the steam
from which, constantly arising in the form of a dense white cloud,
forms a conspicuous feature when looking towards Tongariro from the
north. We ascended to an altitude of 5600 feet on to the spur where the
renowned chief Te Heuheu is said to be buried, and on the summit of
which were the small blue lakes we had seen from the top of the great
cone, and which were now surrounded by their winter mantle of snow.
Lower down on the same spur, at an altitude of 4900 feet, we found the
hot springs roaring beneath us, deep down in a semicircular gorge,
which was strewn about in every direction with huge boulders, as if a
great flood of water had recently passed through it. We got with some
difficulty down the rugged sides of this strange chasm, and soon stood
in the centre of a region where boiling springs burst from the earth,
where jets of steam shrieked and hissed from innumerable fissures,
where enormous boiling mud-holes bubbled like heated cauldrons, and
where the hot, steaming soil, covered in every direction with yellow
crystals of sulphur, and glistening silicious deposits, quaked beneath
our feet, as if anxious to swallow us up, so that we had to pick our
way cautiously amid clouds of steam and sulphurous fumes for fear of
coming to an untimely and unpleasant end. In many places fountains of
hot water shot high into the air. Some of the warm springs were of a
dark coffee-colour, caused apparently by the admixture of iron; others
were yellow with excess of sulphur; others white with alum; while not
a few were of the purest blue. Taken altogether, this weird place had
an unpleasant, pandemonium-like air about it, while the noise of the
hissing steam-jets was so great, as they burst with terrific force from
their rocky vents, that it was impossible to hear oneself speak when
near to them. Indeed, a dozen or so of railway engines letting off
steam and blowing their whistles at the same time would only serve to
convey a slight idea of the tremendous din.
These springs, as the Maoris afterwards informed us, possessed
wonderful curative properties in all cases of chronic rheumatism and
cutaneous disorders, and many natives suffering from ailments of that
kind come long distances to avail themselves of the thermal waters,
which it would appear never fail to effect a cure. This portion of
Tongariro, like all other parts, is strictly tapued against Europeans,
and the natives of Rotoaira and the surrounding district guard this
marvellous sanatorium with a jealous eye; but as we attacked it from
the rear, they were none the wiser for our visit.
A short distance beyond the springs, and near to the end of the great
spur, we found the small crater known to the natives as Ketetahi, which
was formed of a circular aperture emitting vast volumes of steam. We
obtained a splendid view of the country towards the north from our
elevated position, the rugged ranges of Te Tuhua being crowned by
Hikurangi, a beautiful pyramidal-shaped mountain, with a flat top,
while to the westward of it could be distinctly traced the winding
course of the Ongaruhe River.
We crossed the Mangatepopo River, flowing from Tongariro, and then the
Whanganui, the winding course of which we had to traverse three times.
Near to the second crossing-place a picturesque headland jutted out
from the dense forest that bordered the plain, and upon its summit
could be plainly traced the outline of rude earthworks, which were
as solid as if they had been but recently erected. This was all that
remained of Te Perore, which during the war formed one of Te Kooti's
most formidable strongholds, and it was here that the memorable battle
was fought in which Captain St. George lost his life. The Maoris are
said to have suffered severely during the engagement, Te Kooti himself
being wounded in the left hand by a rifle-ball.
When examining this decaying remnant of the great struggle between
the white and the dark race, I could not but admire the judgment
which had been displayed by the Maoris in choosing this point as
a strategic position. It was about 100 feet above the plain, the
Whanganui River wound round it to the east, while the formation of
the surrounding country was such that the enemy would be open to the
fire of the besieged from every side of the _pa_ save at the rear,
where the latter, if beaten, would have a splendid retreat open in the
dense forests of the Tuhua, which backed the fortification at that
point. Nature appeared to have done her utmost to efface all traces
of the struggle, and upon the rude earthworks, once alive with the
forms of tattooed warriors, now shrubs and trees waved their heads to
the passing breeze. Never was there a more beautiful spot chosen for
a battle, and it must have been a truly impressive sight to see the
valiant Maori warriors fighting for their country under the very shadow
of their sacred mountains, driving back the _pakeha_, and erecting a
barrier of isolation around the grand region whose wonders we were now
exploring.
As we were riding on our way along the plain near to the edge of the
forest we noticed that on the small elevations on our left, which
fringed the bush, several _whares_ were dotted about in the most
picturesque situations. When we were passing one of these rustic
homesteads some natives hailed us, to know where we were going. At this
we rode up the steep elevation upon which their _whare_ was placed, to
have a _korero_, and to gain what information we could with regard to
our future course. An old woman with a goitre upon her neck hailed us
with the usual cry of welcome, while her tattooed lord, who was engaged
making a trap to catch pigeons, invited us to put up our horses and
rest. We were willing enough to do this, especially as there was a
smell of cooking about, and our cool ride across the plains had given
us our usual wolfish appetite. We were soon invited to partake of a
repast of pork and potatoes, together with some cakes, made evidently
of flour and water, but so hard that it was impossible to bite them,
and so heavy that Turner, with every show of reason, remarked that if
we happened to get unhorsed when crossing a river, we should never rise
to the surface with one of those cakes in our insides.
We did not take our meal in the smoky _whare_, but sat with the Maoris
outside in the sun. The day was one of the finest we had experienced,
and all nature appeared as if wrapped in a mantle of eternal spring.
The small _kainga_ where we now were was known to the natives as
Kuwharua, and stood at an elevation of 2420 feet above the level of the
sea. The view from this place when looking towards the south was the
finest we had beheld during our journey, if I except the marvellous
panoramas beheld from the top of the Ruapehu and Tongariro. For the
variety of the scenery to be obtained within the radius of ten miles
from where we were, no view in the world could equal it. Beneath us
was the Te Pakaru Plain, with an area of some twenty square miles,
covered with a green growth of native grass, and intersected by winding
mountain streams. In the south-east were the blue waters of Lake
Rotoaira, backed by the cone-shaped summits of the Kakaramea Ranges,
clothed with dense forests of tall trees; while beyond, stretching like
a grand barrier across the country to the south, were the serrated
peaks of the Kaimanawa Mountains, at whose base rolled the broad open
downs of the Rangipo Table-land. Rising right in the centre of this
grand picture were the wonderful mountains of Tongariro, heaped and
piled about in the most fantastic and curious way, and from the midst
of which shot up the white, glittering cone of the volcano crowned
with its perpetual cloud of steam, while, to complete the attractive
scene, the stupendous form of Ruapehu towered to the skies, peak
rising above peak beneath its deep mantle of winter snow. Here was
a view which, taken in as it was at one glance, exceeded in grandeur
and sublimity even the most glowing creations of fairyland. Here were
park-like plains of vivid green stretching from the borders of an
inland sea to the shores of a romantic-looking lake, where the waters
were of the deepest blue; around were steaming craters and thermal
springs, colossal cone-shaped mountains towering to the regions of
eternal snow, and lesser heights rising from amidst primeval forests of
the grandest description, glowing and palpitating as it were, in all
their beauty beneath the sunlight; and yet, singular to relate, this
marvellous country, this wonder-land, as we gazed upon it, was to all
intents and purposes a _terra incognita_. Here was in reality a model
Switzerland under a semi-tropical sky--a region designed, as it were,
by the artistic hand of nature for a national recreation-ground, where
countless generations of men might assemble to marvel at some of the
grandest works of the creation.
With the Te Pakaru Plain proclaimed as a public domain, New Zealand
would possess the finest and most unique park in the world. For
healthfulness of climate, variety of scenery, and volcanic and thermal
wonders, there would be no place to equal it in the northern or
southern hemisphere, no spot where within so small a radius could be
seen natural phenomena so varied and so remarkable. It would embrace
within its boundaries the hot springs of Tongariro and those of Tokanu,
and would stretch from the waters of Lake Taupo to the shores of
Rotoaira. The surrounding table-land, with its millions of acres of
open plains covered with rich volcanic soil, should eventually become
the granary of the North Island; while the Kaimanawa Mountains and the
Tuhua should give forth their mineral treasures on either side.
CHAPTER XXVI.
WESTERN TAUPO.
Supposed forest country--The western table-land--Soil and
_flora_--Terania--Okarewa--Te Kaina Valley--Maoris on the
track--Pouotepiki pa--A tangi--The natives--A friendly
invitation--An old warrior--The women--Our quarters.
From Kuwharua our course lay along the northern portion of the Te
Pakaru Plain, and between the Kakaramea Ranges and the eastern boundary
of the Tuhua Forest. The whole country hereabouts had a park-like
appearance, and was everywhere covered with native grasses, save the
lower hills, which were mostly clothed with fern. We had now reached
the western watershed of Lake Taupo, the first stream flowing in that
direction being the Koromanga. Near to this point the native track by
which Hochstetter passed in 1859, on his journey to Maketu by way of
the eastern side of Lake Taupo, leads to Tokanu, and if we had followed
it to the westward it would have been our nearest route to Alexandra;
but as the country along its course had already been described by that
traveller, I determined to take a different direction, in order to
explore the great table-land of Western Taupo, and thence to penetrate
to Alexandra by the country to the northward of the great central
mountain chain ending in Titiraupenga, and which was represented
on the maps of the colony as covered with forest, and on that of
Hochstetter as a volcanic table-land "thickly covered with forest,
and unexplored." Indeed, so little was this portion of the country
known, that even at Tapuwaeharuru, where Turner questioned the natives
upon the natural features of this region, he was informed that it was
covered with dense bush, and that it would be impossible to travel
through it for any distance, and especially on account of the numerous
rivers and creeks that would have to be crossed. The information we
thus gained proved to be erroneous so far as the forest was concerned,
since we afterwards discovered that a broad, open table-land, averaging
in height from 1700 to 2200 feet above the level of the sea, extended
far inland along the whole western shore of Lake Taupo, while the
enormous area of country still further to the north and westward,
and described on the maps as before alluded to, turned out to be a
perfectly open table-land, covered with some of the finest grassed
plains in the country, and watered by numerous streams, some of which
were among the largest tributaries of the Waikato River.
The western table-land of Lake Taupo is bounded on the land side by
the Haurungaroa and Hurakia Mountains, which stretch in a northerly
direction as far as Mount Titiraupenga, and form the eastern boundary
of the mountainous region which covers a large area of the central
portion of the King Country. These two mountain chains attain to
an altitude of 2300 to 2500 feet above the level of the sea, their
eastern slopes forming the principal source of the watershed of the
western division of the lake, while the inland waters, with those of
the other mountains of the same system, are received mostly by the
Ongaruhe River, one of the principal tributaries of the Whanganui.
The whole of these ranges, which present a very broken appearance,
are densely covered with luxuriant forests. The country from the
eastern slopes of the Haurungaroa and Hurakia Mountains stretches in
a series of open plains to the shores of the great lake, the whole
western shore of which is bounded by steep, rugged cliffs, which rise
perpendicularly from the water, and assume in many places the form
of bold headlands, the highest of which, Mount Karangahape, attains
to an altitude of about 2300 feet, while Rangituku and Pukeakikiore
are volcanic cones of lesser height, still further to the south. This
portion of the Taupo Table-land was in every way different, so far as
its soil was concerned, from that on the north-eastern and eastern
sides of the lake. The enormous deposits of pumice so remarkable in
the two latter localities were absent here, the soil resembling in
every respect that of the Rangipo Table-land, and this feature will
apply equally to the open plain country we afterwards discovered to the
north of Titiraupenga. Here, too, there was a greater variety of native
grasses, while the soil, formed principally from the decomposition
of the trachytic rocks of the adjacent mountains and the gradual
disintegration of the stratum of pumice upon which it was deposited,
was in every respect of a better kind, and, under proper cultivation,
might be made to grow almost anything suited to the climate. In all
the native settlements in this part of the country we found such trees
as the peach, apple, acacia, and weeping willow growing in great
luxuriance, while the _flora_ indigenous to the island was represented
in its most varied forms.
After passing many miles through an open, undulating, fern-clad
country, we came to a region called Terania, surrounded by low conical
hills, and traversed in every direction with well-beaten tracks, which
had been made by the herds of wild horses frequenting the district, and
which led over the hills and through the valleys wherever we turned.
Darkness overtook us as soon as we crossed the Kuratao River, and we
camped for the night near to a small stream called Okarewa, on the open
table-land, which at this point had an elevation of 1700 feet above the
level of the sea.
We started at daylight from Okarewa, and continued a northerly course
along the table-land, which was for some distance dotted about with low
fern hills. We crossed the Whareroa River, and beyond this point the
bold outline of Karangahape came into view in the east, in the form
of a huge dome-shaped mountain, surrounded by lower hills of conical
formation. The table-land now indicated a general elevation, varying
from 2000 to 2200 feet, and kept very level between the two heights for
a long distance, the country rising gradually in the form of undulating
hills towards the dense forests to the west of our track. We forded
the Mangakara, flowing from the Haurungaroa Mountains, the river being
fringed at the point where we crossed it by a dense growth of bush,
which grew along the precipitous sides of the stream, down which we had
to ride before we reached the torrent below. Beyond the river we gained
the Te Kaina Valley, which wound through the table-land, here dotted
about with enormous outcrops of trachytic rock. Here the whole broad
expanse of the country had a beautifully picturesque appearance, which
was heightened in no small degree by the broad, shining waters of Lake
Taupo in the distance.
It was now clear that we were getting into a more densely populated
portion of the country, and we met many Maoris of all ages and sexes
along this portion of our track. Most of them were well mounted, and
were journeying from the north in the direction of Tokanu and other
settlements in the south. Each party greeted us, and asked us where we
were from, and when told that we had come up from the Manganui-a-te-Ao,
they one and all expressed surprise, and asked us how we had got
through at that season of the year. Some natives travelling in our
direction now joined us, and we learned from them that a _tangi_ was
being held at Pouotepiki, the _pa_ which we would have to pass on the
way, and that we would meet Te Heuheu there, and a number of other
chiefs.
We arrived at Pouotepiki late in the afternoon, and found the _pa_
situated in a beautiful position on an elevated portion of the
table-land overlooking the western bay of Lake Taupo, whose rugged
shores here rose up to a height of hundreds of feet above the water, in
the form of precipitous cliffs, and rugged headlands which flanked the
entrance to picturesque bays.
As we rode up a wild and curious sight presented itself. Our approach
was hailed with dismal wailing from the women, loud barking from the
packs of mongrel dogs, and by the grunting of innumerable pigs.
A crowd of natives at once gathered round us, and among them were
some of the wildest and most villainous-looking men I had ever seen.
They were not like the untutored savages we had found at Ruakaka,
but in appearance a desperate, half-savage, half-civilized race of
beings. There were natives from Tokanu, natives from Tuhua, from
Kahakaharoa, and all the various settlements for miles around. Some
wore only the blanket, others ragged clothes and battered hats,
while some of the younger men, as if anxious to make a show of their
smattering of civilization, were got up quite in a dandified way.
When the _hongi_[67] had been performed amid tears and lamentations,
half a dozen weird-looking hags stood up in a row and went through
a _tangi_,[68] which lasted an hour, during which time we stood in
front of them, beside the natives who had joined us on the way to the
_pa_. When this part of the performance had ended, one of the new
arrivals stepped to the front and delivered a long speech in honour
of the deceased chief, for the repose of whose soul the _tangi_ was
being held, interlarding his remarks now and again with snatches of
verse, which he sang in a doleful, melancholy tone, and what with the
wailing of the women, the barking of the curs, who seemed to object
immensely to our presence, the grunting of the pigs that sniffed
familiarly round us, and the noise made by the children, who laughed
just as loudly as their elders cried, the discordant sounds became in
the long-run indescribably unpleasant; still, as we were in Maoriland,
and had determined to do as the Maoris did, we went through the ordeal
of the _tangi_ with a reverential and solemn air. It is true we shed
no tears--probably because we hadn't got them to shed--but there was
no doubt about the crying so far as the women were concerned, for I
watched them carefully, and I noticed that the big round tears trickled
down their noses and then in a miniature cascade over their lips in
the most orthodox way, but whether these tears were what we callous
Christians call "crocodile tears" it is impossible for me to say.
When the formal greeting was over, we were invited into the
_runanga_-house, a spacious building about sixty feet long by
thirty broad, in which a number of natives were squatting about in
small circles, smoking and playing cards. Te Heuheu of Tokanu, the
great _rangatira_ of the Ngatituwharetoa was there--a thick-set,
broad-shouldered man, with an austere countenance. He was dressed in
European costume, and wore a wide collaret of _kiwi_ feathers round his
neck, while beside him sat his two wives, who were likewise habited
in what is recognized as the attire of civilized society. I noticed
that their dresses were not after the latest Parisian models, but
their round hats, made entirely of _kiwi_ feathers, suited their dark
countenances admirably. Both had pleasant features, and, like all the
women I had seen in the country, were remarkable for their splendid
teeth, which were as white and as perfect as Cleopatra's pearls, and
seemed to shine in marked contrast to their blue tattooed lips. The
chief Mohi, a herculean man, standing about six feet four inches, stood
like a statue, wrapped in a blanket, nursing a child, and beside him
was Patoro, a chief of the Ngatiraukawa, and, besides these, there
were many representative men of the Ngatituwharetoa, Ngatikohera,
Ngatiarekawa, Ngatitakaiahi, and Ngatihikera. Besides the natives
located in the _runanga_-house there were many camped outside, both
in _whares_ and tents, the principal occupation of all being smoking
and playing cards, and performing the _tangi_ whenever a new arrival
appeared.
There was one tall, gaunt old man among the throng, with a
fierce-looking, tattooed countenance, and a pointed grey beard, who
never moved about without a greenstone _mere_ in his hand, and when
afterwards we got into conversation with him, to ascertain the
history of this implement, he told us it was the last relic of his
tribe, and that the notch at the end of it had been made by cracking
an enemy's skull. Judging from the impression made upon the hard stone
by the skull, it occurred to me that its owner must have ranked during
lifetime as a kind of champion thick-headed savage.
Many of the women at this gathering were the finest, both as regards
appearance and stature, we had seen during our journey, some of them
being perfect giantesses in build. Among the finest and most attractive
was Tapare Huia Tauaiti, the daughter of Heure Harawira, a native chief.
[Illustration: NATIVE GIRL.]
When the natives learned that we had travelled alone, as they termed
it, "from the big mountains in the south," they invited us to remain
over night, but not before they had asked us many questions as to the
object of our journey, and how it was we had chosen so roundabout a way
when the Maoris always made it a rule to take the shortest cut between
two points. We several times felt pushed to find a reasonable reply to
their queries in this respect, but Turner, with his usual diplomatic
tact, invariably got out of the difficulty by remarking that when a
_pakeha_ got on to a horse, like the proverbial tailor, there was no
telling where he would ride to.
After a very acceptable meal of pork, potatoes, and thistles,[69]
which was served out to the assembled crowd in small plaited flax
baskets, we were allotted quarters in the _runanga_-house, where fifty
men, women, and children lay huddled together in the most promiscuous
way. Never during the whole of our journey did we spend so unpleasant
a night. At sundown the _runanga_-house was firmly closed, four big
charcoal fires were lit, and men, women, and children smoked until
the atmosphere became so stifling that it was almost impossible to
breathe. The great subject of conversation was the question of native
boundaries, the projected government survey through the country, and
the iniquities of the Native Land Court. More than a dozen speeches
were delivered on these topics, and it was amusing to see one gaunt
figure after another get up in the dim light, swathed in a blanket,
after the fashion of a _toga_, and deliver a long and fiery oration,
to which every one would listen in rapt attention, without questioning
a single statement of the speaker until he had delivered himself of
all he had to say. These expressions of opinion were carried on from
either side of the house far into the night, until one by one the dark
forms fell off to sleep, when the snoring, coughing, and wheezing,
coupled with the stifling heat, transformed the place into a veritable
pandemonium.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 67: The _hongi_ is to salute by the nose. Two individuals
saluting in this way grasp the right hands, and, bending forward, press
the end of their noses together, uttering at the same time a whining
sound.]
[Footnote 68: A _tangi_ (to cry) is a lamentation for the dead.
Assemblages of this kind often last over many days, during which time
the corpse is laid out ready for interment. It is also a form of
salutation, upon the meeting of friends, intended to lament departed
kindred. The cry is a most doleful one, and when uttering it the
mourners express all sorts of convulsive movements to betoken their
anguish.]
[Footnote 69: The sowthistle is much esteemed by the Maoris as a
vegetable.]
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE NORTHERN TABLE-LAND.
The Whanganui stream--Oruapuraho Valley--Waihaha
River--Kahakaharoa--The sweetbriar--The kiwi--The moa--A
gigantic lizard--Waikomiko and Waihora Rivers--Te Tihoi
Plains--Scenery--Mount Titiraupenga--Mangakowiriwiri
River--Mangakino River--Swimming horses--Our camp--The Maoris
as travellers--A Maori joke--Good horsemen--Their knowledge of
the country--Their endurance--The Waipapa--Te Toto Ranges--The
Waipari--Te Tauranga--The Upper Puniu--A fine specimen of
tattooing--A night at Hengia.
We left Pouotepiki early on the following morning, and, as the _tangi_
was at an end, about a dozen mounted natives, who were going in the
same direction as ourselves, invited us to join them. Leaving the
_pa_ in a long cavalcade, we descended into a valley, and crossed the
Whanganui stream flowing into Lake Taupo.
Further to the north, we crossed the Waikino stream, and after passing
over steep, fern-clad hills we reached the Oruapuraho Valley, formed by
a wild ravine sunk like an enormous pit in the table-land. This curious
place, which was about two miles long, was exactly 200 feet in depth,
and was walled in on every side with perpendicular masses of trachytic
and white pumice rock, which were broken here and there into the form
of enormous bluffs, which jutted out in the most fantastic shapes.
Winding, precipitous ravines opened out now and again in the direction
of the lake and towards the mountainous country on the west, but beyond
these wild gorges nothing could be seen beyond the towering walls of
the deep valley, the sides of which appeared to attain, all along the
course, to a general height of 200 feet, the altitude of the table-land
being, both at the entrance and exit of the valley, exactly 2000 feet
above the level of the sea. A small stream wound through the centre of
this rock-bound ravine, about the sides of which the tussock grass and
fern grew in great luxuriance, together with the _koromiko_, of which
our horses ate greedily.
The table-land fell to 1700 feet as we gained the Waihaha River, the
name of which literally means "still waters." There was a very deep
descent to it, and looking from the top of this down upon the stream,
there was not a ripple upon its surface. It was, however, some hundred
feet wide at the fording-place, and as the water was deep, we had
to swim our horses. On the opposite side of this river, towards the
east, a castellated bluff rose up to a height of nearly 200 feet, in
appearance not unlike a fortified stronghold, while beyond this point
the river fell in the form of a small waterfall, as it wound on its way
to Lake Taupo.
[Illustration: MOA AND APTERYX.]
At about a mile distant from the Waihaha River, after passing through
a wild, rocky gorge, where fantastic masses of rock stood up above
the conical hills like monuments, we arrived at Kahakaharoa, a small
_pa_ situated on a winding mountain stream called Te Pikopiko. At one
time there had been a considerable native settlement here, but now
the whole place was nearly abandoned. We were detained here all the
following day by an incessant rain that came down in a perfect deluge,
the streams rising all round us with marvellous rapidity. This was a
very wild, dreary-looking place, situated in a rock-bound, inaccessible
spot, right at the base of the Hurakia Mountains, and the appearance
of the inhabitants seemed quite in keeping with the locality. Our
horses fared badly at this camping-place, and were compelled to subsist
upon the ripe berries of the sweetbriar, which here grew in wonderful
luxuriance, so much so that our animals, following out the laws of
natural selection, would often have to stand on their hind legs to
reach the bright red fruit.
Here, besides the usual diet of pork and potatoes, we were treated to
roast _kiwi_. This bird (_Apteryx Australis_) is the only remaining
representative of the great family of New Zealand _Struthionidæ_. It is
a dwarf form of the moa, not larger than a fair-sized hen, with short,
rudimentary wings, totally unfit for flying, and without a tail; it has
four toes on each foot, a long bill resembling that of a snipe, while
its body is covered with pendulous feathers resembling hair. Its habits
are nocturnal; it lives in recesses under the roots of trees, and feeds
upon insects, grubs, and the seeds of various plants; the hen lays but
one egg, which for the size of the bird is extraordinarily large. These
birds, which live in pairs, are still very plentiful in the dense,
unfrequented ranges of the King Country.[70]
Throughout the journey we always made it a practice to inquire of the
natives as to whether they had ever discovered any remains of the
moa,[71] but, beyond a reference to it in their traditions, little
appeared to be known of it. The natives, however, at Kahakaharoa
informed us that in former times the bones of this bird had been found
in the swamps around Lake Rotoaira.
It is also worthy of remark that we ascertained that there was a
tradition among all the tribes of the existence at one time of a
gigantic lizard, which is said to have inhabited the caves and rocky
places of the North Island, but whether this was in fact a real or
fabulous reptile, it would seem impossible to determine.
We left Kahakaharoa as soon as the swollen state of the rivers would
allow us, and, after crossing the Waikomiko River, continued our course
in a northerly direction along the table-land which here opened out
into a broad expanse of rolling plains, stretching away to the north as
far as the eye could reach. We passed by the head-waters of the Waihora
River, which was the last stream of any importance, forming the western
watershed of Lake Taupo.
Journeying still further on, we crossed the Te Tihoi Plains, a fine
tract of open country extending around the mountains of Titiraupenga as
far north as the banks of the Waikato River, and thence north-westerly
to the Te Toto Ranges. This large area, comprising nearly 1000 square
miles, was the country described upon the maps as covered with dense
bush; and where we had expected to travel through primeval forests we
found magnificent open plains, clothed with a rich vegetation of native
grasses, and composed of some of the best soil we had met with during
our journey.
As we rode over these plains, the scenery was magnificent, as much by
reason of the vast scope of country that stretched before us as by
the variety of mountain scenery that surrounded the plains in every
direction. To the north-east high, forest-clad mountains rose up one
above the other in the direction of Ouranui and the valley of the
Waikato, while to the west were rugged, forest-clad ranges, crowned by
the towering form of Titiraupenga.
This magnificent mountain, which is one of the highest peaks in the
northern portion of the King Country, rises to an altitude of some 4000
feet above the level of the sea. It assumes in general outline the
formation of an extensive cone, with a broad base and long sweeping
sides, while its summit is surmounted by a gigantic pinnacle of rock,
of a pointed form, and which serves with the great mountain as a
conspicuous landmark all over the surrounding country. It is covered
from base to summit with dense forests, and its enormous gorges and
deep ravines give rise to many streams and rivers.
For a considerable distance along our course the altitude of the
table-land varied from 2000 to 2450 feet, until we struck the
Mangakowiriwiri, a curious underground river flowing from Titiraupenga.
This river burst through a tremendous gorge of the mountain, flanked on
either side by tall precipices of rock, and then cut its way through a
narrow, rocky chasm. Looking down into the deep fissure, we could just
see the silver streak of water foaming nearly a hundred feet below, but
in many places it passed entirely out of sight when the channel ran
underground. This stream, which was 2200 feet above the sea, we were
enabled to cross by means of a very narrow and very primitive footway,
which the natives told us was known as the "bridge of God."
From the Mangakowiriwiri, our course lay through an open, undulating
country covered with a luxuriant growth of tussock and other native
grasses. Here the table-land began to fall perceptibly towards the
north-west, and for a long distance it averaged in altitude from 1000
to 1150 feet, and when we reached the valley of the Mangakino River
it had fallen to 1000 feet. This was one of our longest journeys, the
distance travelled during the day being over forty miles, so that it
was moonlight when we arrived at the banks of the river. The Mangakino
ran through a deep mountain gorge, and formed one of the many streams
issuing from the Titiraupenga Ranges, and flowing into the Waikato.
We soon found that the river was much swollen by the recent rains, and
that it would be necessary to swim our horses. Four of the natives
who had accompanied us from Pouotepiki were still with us, so that
altogether we had to get six horses across, but the animals behaved
splendidly, and swam through the icy cold water like ducks, the Maori
horses showing their bush knowledge by taking the lead. Altogether it
was a very dangerous crossing-place to take, especially at night-time,
as the river just below the ford fell over a deep precipice with noise
like thunder.
Once on the opposite bank, we pitched camp for the night, and made a
meal out of what we could muster between us. All we could boast of was
a little flour, some of which the natives worked up into a dough in a
"pannikin," and then rolling it up into long pieces between the palms
of their hands, wound the pieces round sticks in a spiral fashion, and
baked them in front of the fire. A few potatoes the Maoris had with
them were likewise spitted and roasted in this way. The place where we
camped was an exceedingly wild-looking spot, and during the night we
experienced a severe frost, the thermometer descending to 28°.
We struck our camp at the Mangakino before daylight, and set out on
our journey at once, but, unpleasant to relate, without any breakfast,
as our commissariat was now reduced to a few potatoes, which we had
determined to cook when we should get further on the road. We rose from
the valley of the river on to the level plains just as the first rays
of the sun swept over the country in a flood of glowing light, and the
air was so pure and buoyant that we soon forgot that we were journeying
on an empty stomach, until we came to a stream, where we found an
abundant growth of watercress, of which we ate heartily, one of the
Maoris remarking with a broad grin that we had at last come "to feed
like the cows." When travelling with the Maoris I could not but admire
the easy, good-natured way in which they took everything--nothing
disconcerted them. When impediments to travel presented themselves,
the bigger the difficulties to overcome, the more ardent they appeared
to surmount them. When crossing the swollen rivers, if one got a bigger
ducking than the rest, they would laugh and joke at the ill-luck of
their comrade, while he in his turn would enjoy the amusement as much
as they did.
On one occasion, when we were ascending a steep, slippery hill, the
saddle-girth of one of the horses broke, and the saddle slipping aside,
the rider fell heavily and rolled down a muddy bank. This brought down
roars of laughter from the others, who told him not to mind himself,
but that it was a pity to spoil a good horse by letting him know how
easily a man could fall off his back.
I always found the natives to be expert and fearless horsemen, and
I believe that a cavalry regiment of well-trained and well-mounted
Maoris, both for courage, endurance, and _élan_, would form one of
the finest body of troops ever marshalled upon a parade-ground or a
battle-field.
When travelling with them, another interesting fact was that they
seemed to take a pride in being able to define thoroughly all the
natural features of their country. Each mountain and hill had its
special name, and every valley and plain and river, down to the
smallest stream, each being called after some characteristic feature or
legendary tale connected with it; while every tree, plant, bird, and
insect was known by a designation which betokened either its appearance
or habits.
A remarkable feature indicative of the endurance of the natives,
was that one night they would be sleeping in a _wharepuni_ with the
thermometer over 100°, and the next night they would not hesitate to
lie down upon the damp ground with only a blanket over them, and with
the thermometer at several degrees below freezing-point. It is true we
often went through the same ordeal ourselves during the journey, but it
appeared to me to be more remarkable on the part of the Maoris, as they
seemed to enjoy the stifling heat of their _wharepunis_ as a positive
luxury, while we looked upon it as being very much akin to a sojourn in
Hades.
We reached the Waipapa River near its junction with the Mangatete, and
descended from the table-land, over 100 feet, to the crossing-place.
This river, which was one of the largest we had met with, rushed with
a rapid current through a deep rock-bound gorge from the mountains
of Titiraupenga to join the Waikato, of which it formed one of the
principal tributaries. We gained the crossing-place by a steep, winding
descent, the mountains with their rocky bluffs on the opposite side
of the river being clothed with a dense vegetation of giant trees,
while to the right of the track by which we had to descend was a small
mountain forming a complete cone, and which was clothed from base to
summit with a luxuriant growth of fern and tall _manuka_. The whole
gorge through which the river wound had a very wild and beautiful
appearance, while the water, like that of the Waikato, into which it
fell after crossing the plains, was as clear as crystal. Beyond the
Waipapa we passed through more open country until we neared the Te Toto
ranges, when mountain, hill, and valley mingled together in a most
picturesque way.
It took us several hours to traverse the Te Toto ranges, the track
winding about in every direction, with deep ravines on either side.
Here the vegetation was of the most luxuriant and varied order, but the
enormous roots of the great trees made riding very difficult.
We crossed the Waipari River, a large stream flowing from the Rangitoto
ranges into the Waikato. The descent to the crossing-place of this
river was no less than 500 feet, and we had to mount a slippery incline
on the opposite side of equal altitude. Our course now lay over high
fern-clad ridges, and now, for the first time, the broad valley of the
Waipa was before us, with Maungatautari to the north, and Pirongia to
the north-west.
Towards sundown we passed along a ridge, with a tremendous rock-bound
gorge beneath us, and where the enormous rocks were dispersed about
in a way which resembled the ruins of a feudal stronghold. This
place was formerly occupied as a _pa_, and on one occasion a great
battle was fought there by the Ngatiraukawa, who were defeated by the
Ngatituwharetoa and Ngatimatakore, who, it is said, feasted for days on
the bodies of their enemies.
A few miles beyond Tetauranga we arrived at a low hill, upon the summit
of which a number of Maoris were camped in tents. As luck would have
it, feeding was just going on, and we were invited to partake of a
welcome meal. Although it was now evening, we determined to push on our
way, and when the moon rose we started, and gained the head-waters of
the Puniu River, which we crossed with the intention of camping on the
opposite side; we, however, got wet in the operation, and as the place
was swampy, and the night fearfully cold, we determined to ride several
miles further, to Hengia _pa_, which we reached at ten o'clock, after
a journey of over sixty miles, and which had kept us in the saddle for
about seventeen hours. Before arrival at the settlement, the whole
country was covered with a white frost, and the damp, chilly cold of
the low valley of the Waipa seemed to go right into the marrow of one's
bones.
The natives appeared much surprised at our nocturnal raid upon them,
but we were soon invited into a _whare_, where a big fire was burning,
and where four men and an old woman were located with three or four
mongrel dogs. One of the men, although apparently very old, was yet
wiry and active, while his pinched, sharp features were tattooed in
the most elaborate way up to the very roots of his hair, the thin blue
lines forming a complete network over his countenance. This was the
most artistically tattooed savage we had met on the journey, and Turner
remarked to me that he would much like to have the old man's head to
preserve as a _mokaikai_,[72] but he was cautious enough not to express
this desire to the antiquated Hauhau.
After we had talked over matters for some time, and the surprise
occasioned by our visit had somewhat abated, our tattooed friend
produced a newly-slaughtered pig from a dark corner of the _whare_, and
when this was dismembered and some potatoes had been peeled by the old
woman, there was soon a good meal cooking for our benefit. After we had
partaken of our repast, we were invited by our entertainers to remain
the night, and being only too glad to take advantage of their proffered
hospitality, we took up our quarters in a corner of the primitive
_whare_, which, unpleasant to relate, was literally alive with fleas.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 70: For wingless birds, see Appendix.]
[Footnote 71: There were no less than six species of this extinct
wingless bird--
The _Dinornis Giganteus_, height 11 feet.
" _Robustus_, " 8 feet 6 in.
" _Elephantopus_" 6 feet 8 in.
" _Casuarinus_ " 5 feet 6 in.
" _Crassus_ " 5 feet.
" _Didiformus_ " 4 feet 8 in.]
[Footnote 72: _Mokaikai_, a process of embalming heads, by saturating
them with the pyroligneous acid of wood. This custom was at one time
very common with the Maoris, who thus preserved the heads of their
ancestors, the skin and tattoo marks of the face remaining perfect for
many years.]
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE AUKATI LINE.
Manga-o-rongo--Mangatutu River--The encampment--A sumptuous
repast--The _kainga_--Surrounding scenery--Old warriors--The
tribes--The _Korero_--Arrival of Te Kooti--His wife--His
followers--A tête-à-tête--A song of welcome--_A haka_--Departure
from Manga-o-rongo--Waipa River--Valley of the Waipa--Our last
difficulty.
The nearest way for us to have reached civilization from Hengia would
have been to travel straight to Kihikihi; but there was great talk of a
native meeting to be held at Manga-o-rongo, a settlement situated at
some distance further south from where we were, and as it was stated
that Te Kooti and a large number of natives from all parts would be
there, I determined to attend the _korero_, as much as anything to see
the ex-rebel chief of whom I had heard so much, and afterwards pass to
Alexandra by way of the valley of the Waipa.
We left Hengia at daybreak with a party of natives, who were going in
the same direction as ourselves, and took a southerly course through
a district known as Wharepapa, and which led us in the direction of
the Rangitoto Mountains. As we approached the valley of the Mangatutu
River, the country became more undulating, until we gained the bed of
the stream, which wound in a remarkably serpentine course from the
Rangitoto Mountains. In the bed of the river the natives pointed out
several curious kinds of stone, in form not unlike the blade of an axe,
and which were formerly sharpened and used as tomahawks by the tribes
of the district. The country hereabouts fell rapidly from 500 to 300
feet, and gradually became of a lesser altitude as we went on. Crossing
the river, we continued our course through the open, fern-clad plains
known to the natives as Manutarere, passing on our right a rock which
rose like a rude monument from the centre of a circular basin of low
hills.
Beyond this point we passed through a native _kainga,_ known as
Patokatoka, and soon afterwards reached Manga-o-rongo. A large
encampment of natives was already formed, and great preparations were
being made for the gathering; pigs were being slaughtered by the dozen,
bevies of women and girls were busy at work with delicacies intended
for the feast, while mounted natives were riding to and fro in every
direction.
We rode into the _kainga_ with the natives who had accompanied us
from Hengia, and were received with loud shouts of _haeremai_ from
the women, who danced about and circled their arms in the air in the
wildest way.
When the _hongi_ had been performed, and a _tangi_ had been held--for
they wept here as they had done at Pouotepiki--we were invited to sit
down in a circle with the natives who had accompanied us, and soon
afterwards a number of women and girls, who came tripping along in
Indian file, singing a wild refrain, brought us pork and potatoes and
bread and _kumaras,_ in plaited flax baskets, each _hapu_ present
contributing according to custom, a certain quantity, so that in a
short time we had food enough around us to last us for a month. We ate
heartily of the good things placed before us, but we had great fights
over our banquet with the half-starved dogs assembled from all parts
of the country, and which became so audacious in their efforts to
obtain our luxuries, that we had to keep our whips going right and left
all the time.
[Illustration: NATIVE GIRL.]
We remained at Manga-o-rongo for three days, during which time we
had a good opportunity of examining the settlement and the general
features of the surrounding country. The _kainga_, composed for the
most part of a number of scattered _whares_ separated by broad patches
of cultivation, was situated in a deep, basin-like depression in the
upper valley of the Waipa, and upon the banks of a small river called
the Manga-o-rongo, one of the principal tributaries of the Waipa. The
scenery of the adjacent country was very attractive, the Rangitoto
Mountains forming a beautiful and conspicuous feature to the south.
The Rangitoto Mountains, the highest points of which attained to an
altitude of about 2500 feet, were clothed to their summits with a dense
vegetation, and flanked with lower hills covered with a luxuriant
growth of fern, while winding valleys and deep ravines stretched far
into the rugged fastnesses beyond. To the westward of the Rangitoto
ranges were the mountains of the Kuiti, where the deep green forests
were interspersed with wide stretches of open fern, which swept down
to the undulating hills at their base. On all other sides the country
around Manga-o-rongo was open, and presented a series of broad, rolling
plains, covered with low fern, and where the dark alluvial soil was of
the richest description.
We were given quarters in one of the principal _wharepunis_ in the
centre of the _kainga_, which was dotted around with _whares_, tents,
and other contrivances for the accommodation of the various hapus
attending the _korero_. In a large _whare_ close to our location were
about a dozen or so of old men, who had formed a kind of headquarters
of their own. They were all true-bred Maoris of the old school, of
Herculean build, and they appeared to be from eighty to ninety years
of age, and it occurred to me that one or two among them could have
counted their moons[73] even further back than that; and as they sat
squatting about in the sun, with their blankets wrapped round them,
their weazened, tattooed features looked remarkably grim, surmounted,
as they were in every case, by a thick growth of snow-white hair. Each
one of them wore a piece of greenstone in his left ear, and all had
wooden pipes, which they puffed at incessantly. It was remarkable to
observe the difference in physique between these old warriors--for
they had all been great fighting men during the war--and the younger
natives. Although there were many stalwart and powerful fellows among
the latter, in general they had not the same square build and muscular
frames of the old men, who appeared to be perfect and well-conserved
types of the primitive Maori race.
There were many representatives of the principal tribes of the
surrounding country in camp, and especially of the Waikatos and
Ngatimaniapotos; but, besides these, there were sections of the
Ngatiwhakatere, Ngatiraukawa, Ngatituwharetoa, Ngatihaua, and Ngatiawa.
All these various tribal divisions were represented by the principal
chiefs and notables, both men and women, and, when assembled together,
it was easy to trace their different physical characteristics.
There were many tall and powerfully-built men among the Waikatos
and Ngatimaniapotos, but the women of the two latter tribes were
not as sturdy in frame, nor as robust in appearance as those of the
Ngatituwharetoa tribe of Taupo. In fact, the natives of the latter
district were, all things considered, the finest tribes we had come
across during our journey, the chiefs, especially of this division of
the Arawas, being remarkable for their tall stature.
[Illustration: WOMAN OF THE WAIKATO TRIBE.]
The principal business of the meeting, which had brought the tribes
together, was to consider a petition of the Ngatimaniapoto to
Government, respecting the lands, and in which the chief Taonui, with
Wahanui, had taken a leading part. Another important question was
the settlement of certain tribal boundaries, and the consideration
of the claim of the Ngatihaua, to a large tract of country near to
the Rangitoto Mountains, and which they claimed to have acquired by
conquest over the Ngatiwhakatere, a _hapu_ of the Ngatiraukawa. At
this meeting the _kaingatautohe_, or debateable land, was formally
surrendered to the Ngatiwhakateres, the originally conquered tribe,
by the chief Hauauru, who claimed to be the direct descendant of the
warriors who conquered the Ngatiwhakateres, when the territory in
dispute was acquired.
On the second day after our arrival at Manga-o-rongo, there was great
excitement in camp as a body of about fifty horsemen, headed by a
woman, were seen galloping as hard as they could come across the plain
leading to the settlement. There were loud cries of _haeremai_ from the
women, and shouts of Te Kooti from the men as the ex-rebel chief and
his wife rode into camp at the head of a band of well-mounted though
wild-looking horsemen.
[Illustration: TE KOOTI.
(_From a Sketch by the Author_.)]
When the new arrivals had pitched the tents they had brought with them,
and were squatting in a circle round the hero of Poverty Bay, I went
into the camp, when Te Kooti saluted me with "_Tena koe, pakeha_," and
invited me to be seated. I took in his outward appearance at a glance.
He was a man apparently of about fifty years of age, over medium
height, of athletic form, broad shouldered and keenly knit, and with
a remarkably stern expression of countenance, which imparted to his
whole visage a hard and even a cruel look. His features, cast in the
true native mould, were strongly defined. His head was well formed,
with a high arched forehead, and his lips were well cut and firm, while
his quick, dark, piercing eyes had a restless glance about them as if
their owner had been kept all his life in a chronic state of nervous
excitement. He wore a moustache and long pointed beard, which, for the
apparent age of the man, appeared to be prematurely grey. There were
no tattoo marks about his face, but when he smiled in his sinister
way every line of his expressive features seemed to be brought into
play. Taken altogether, Te Kooti had a decidedly intelligent cast of
countenance, in which the traits of firmness and determination appeared
to be strongly marked.
[Illustration: TE KOOTI'S WIFE.]
His wife, who was apparently a few years younger than himself, was
a strongly built, gaunt woman, with a remarkably bold expression of
countenance, and I could well imagine that during the troubled times
of the war she must have proved a daring and willing helpmate to her
desperate lord.
The followers of Te Kooti, who sat around, were mostly men of over six
feet in height, powerful in build, and stern and savage-looking in
countenance, and with the same air of watchfulness about them as was
observable in the manner of Te Kooti, as if they, like their chief,
had been ever on the _qui-vive_ for their lives during their long
sojourn of outlawry in the fastnesses of the King Country.
The first question put to me by Te Kooti was to inquire where I had
come from, and when Turner explained to him the course of our journey
he replied, "They told me as soon as I arrived that a _pakeha_ was in
camp, and that he had travelled through the country; and I said, now
that he has been through and seen all, let him remain. I did many a
long journey," he continued, "during the war, but I never did a ride
like that on one horse. I was always careful to have plenty of horses."
I told him that I had seen the remains of his _pa_ at Te Perore, near
Tongariro, where one of his great battles was fought; and taking his
left arm out of a sling, he said, "This is what the _pakehas_ gave me
there," and he showed me how a rifle-ball had struck him between the
knuckle joints of the two first fingers, crippling them both. Ever
since he was wounded in this way, he has always made it a rule to hide
this hand as much as possible, and for that purpose he carries it
constantly in a sling. He asked me whether I came from England, and
when answered in the affirmative, he put many questions to me about the
country, and was especially anxious to know whether the Queen was still
alive, as he stated that he had often heard of her when at war with the
Europeans. He then said that the Maoris did not want that war, but the
_pakehas_ would fight, and the Maoris fought them. I remarked that it
was now time for the two races to be as one, and that all the troubles
of the past should be forgotten, and that the King Country should be
opened by roads and railways. "I do not object," said Te Kooti, "to
roads and railways; but," he continued, "we must hold the lands; it
will not do for the natives to lose everything." I pointed out that in
India a handful of _pakehas_ ruled over 200,000,000 of people, and that
roads and railways had been made in that country, and the natives had
benefitted. Te Kooti, without a moment's hesitation, replied, "In India
the _pakeha_ rules justly; here the governments have not treated the
Maoris fairly: one government has promised one thing and one another,
and they have all broken faith."
When I stated to him that since the formation of the colony one law and
one sovereign reigned from one end of New Zealand to the other, and
that that applied to the King Country as well as to any other part of
the island, he replied, "That may be so. But," he continued, "you have
your queen, and Tawhiao is our king. Whatever Tawhiao says, we must do."
At this stage Te Kooti burst forth with a wild chant--a kind of song of
welcome, which was intended as a compliment to our visit. As Te Kooti
sang, his voice was singularly clear and mournful, and his intonation
very distinct, while every word, as it fell from his lips, appeared to
be uttered with the wild impulse of a fanatic. During this time his
followers, as they had in fact done all along, sat listening in mute
attention, as if anxious to hear the words of one whom they appeared to
look upon as a kind of deified man, or as one endowed with a charmed
life that had made him the hero of brave and extraordinary exploits,
which recalled to mind some of the most daring and bloody deeds of
Maori warfare, and as I listened to his wild refrain, and marked the
earnest yet animated expression of his features as he sang, I could
well realize the influence which such a man would exercise over the
superstitious minds of the Maoris, and yet when I recalled to mind his
remarkable career, his marvellous escape from the Chatham Islands with
his devoted band, his desperate and bloody raid upon the settlers of
Poverty Bay, and the series of daring achievements which rendered the
name of Te Kooti a terror and a menace during the war that followed, I
could not but help thinking that many of the Cæsars and Napoleons of
history must have been made of much the same stuff as this fanatical
Hauhau leader.
Our last night in the King Country was celebrated by a _haka_ in Te
Kooti's camp. Never had I seen anything so wild or so exciting. When
the moon was up we went to a secluded spot surrounded by forest, where
huge fires had been lit to assist the doubtful light of the Queen of
night. The spectators squatted about in a semicircle, the ex-rebel
chief taking up his position in the midst of his swarthy followers. At
a signal given about fifty men entered the arena and nearly as many
women. All were lightly clad; so lightly indeed that the costume of
our first parents had not been greatly encroached upon. At a signal
given from the leader the dancers formed themselves into ranks, and
the first step was made by striking the feet heavily upon the ground,
and, as the excitement produced by this movement gradually increased,
the limbs trembled from the feet upwards, until every muscle in the
body appeared to shake and twist, as if from the thrilling effects of
a galvanic current. Then they turned their bodies to the right with a
swinging jump, keeping the elbows close to the ribs and stretching out
the fore-part of the arm until the hands and fingers shook and trembled
as if strung together by wires. Then, they swung the body to the left
in the same attitude, and then, facing to the front, threw back their
heads, thrust out their tongues to the fullest extent in a menacing
way, and turned up their eyes until nothing but the whites could
be seen, and which, gleaming beneath the bright glow of the fires,
imparted to their distorted countenances a singularly ghastly look.
Next a wiry, tattooed savage jumped to the front with a loud yell,
thrusting out his tongue, and distorting his features until the blue
lines formed a quivering network over his face. He challenged the best
dancer in the throng, at which a woman appeared upon the scene, when
the pair performed a dance which no pen or pencil could describe. Then
they returned into the ranks, and another couple followed, and then a
third, and a fourth, until the whole crowd mingling together danced
and yelled in a marvellous yet diabolical way. The dark, streaming
hair of the women fell over their well-turned shoulders or swept round
their heads in a circle, as the dark syrens went through the most
extraordinary gyrations, with the rapidity of electrified humming-tops,
while the men, twirling their weapons furiously in the air, yelled
in a loud chorus which terminated in a long, deep, expressive sigh.
Again and again these movements were enacted with protruding tongues,
distorted faces, and fixed, staring eyes, time being marked by
striking the thigh with the open left hand, so as to produce a sound
which, mingling with the loud shouting of the furious dancers, added a
curious effect to the wild and boisterous scene.
It was a bright morning when we left Manga-o-rongo to do the last
stage of our eventful journey. Although our horses had rested for two
days, it was clear that they were utterly exhausted from their past
fatigues, while their legs were so swollen that we could hardly get
them to move along. Leaving the settlement, the whole broad valley of
the Waipa lay stretched before us in the form of a wide expanse of open
plain, through which the winding river, from which it derives its name,
meandered in the direction of the north.
The Waipa has its source on the southern side of Mount Pukeokahu, which
is situated a little to the eastward of Mount Rangitoto. It winds
round the western end of the Rangitoto ranges, and finally pursues
its way along the Waipa Valley. Besides receiving, however, a large
portion of the watershed of the Rangitoto Mountains, most of the
streams from the ranges of the Kuiti flow into it, while to the west
it is fed by numerous watercourses from the high coast ranges. Its
principal tributaries are the Mangapu, Manga-o-Rewa, and Mangawhero,
with the Puniu as the chief. Beyond the head of the river the watershed
falls towards the Mokau, south of which the country is open for a
considerable distance in the direction of the Tetaraka Plains, until
the great central belt of forest country is reached.
The whole wide valley of the Waipa lies very low, its altitude near the
margin of the stream being scarcely 100 feet above the level of the
sea; but the country rises gradually towards the west into undulating
fern-clad hills, which mount in a kind of terrace formation, one above
the other, until they reach the high wooded ranges which border the
West Coast. The plains of this valley are composed for the most part
of rich alluvial soil, which is everywhere covered with a dense growth
of low fern. Many native cultivations and settlements are dotted about
along the whole course of the river, and, taken altogether, this valley
is one of the most densely populated portions of the King Country.
From every point of view the scenery is most attractive, especially
when looking in the direction of the north, where the tall forms of
Pirongia, Maungatautari, and Kakepuku tower high above the surrounding
plains.
It was already night when we had nearly reached the end of our journey,
and just as we drew rein at a native _whare_ to inquire the best
point at which to cross the Waipa, my horse sank under me from sheer
exhaustion as I sat on his back. A little coaxing got "Charlie" on to
his legs again, and we hastened down to the banks of the Waipa to find
that the river was almost at high flood. There was a canoe at the ford,
but, as ill-luck would have it, it happened to be on the opposite side
of the stream. We shouted lustily, in the hope that some one would hear
us, and come and ferry us across, but there was no response but the
echo of our voices, and it seemed that we would have to pass another
night in the open, or swim our horses at the risk of our lives. The
night was bitterly cold, and we were naturally anxious to reach our
long looked-for goal, and, just as we were making preparations to swim
the river, voices were heard on the other side, and in a few moments
more the canoe shot across the water under the skilful guidance of
three young Maori girls. It did not take us long to unsaddle, and,
putting everything into the canoe with ourselves, we swam our exhausted
animals across, but not before "Tommy," by being swept under the frail
craft, by the force of the current, had nearly succeeded in upsetting
it in the centre of the rapid stream. Once on the opposite side,
we pressed upon our dark deliverers all the money we could muster,
and, entering the King's settlement at Whatiwhatihoe, we crossed the
_aukati_ line forming the northern boundary of the King Country, when
the moon was high, on the night of the 18th of May, after a journey,
which, taking all distances traversed into account, was not short of
600 miles.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 73: The Maoris count time by nights, moons, and stars. There
appears to have been a kind of division of the nights into decades, as
ten nights to the full moon, ten to its disappearing. The Maori year
begins with the first new moon after the star _Puanga_ is seen in the
morning, which is in May.]
APPENDIX.
POTATAU II.
The ancestry and tribal connections of Matutaera Te Pukepuke Te Paue Tu
Karato Te-a-Potatau Te Wherowhero Tawhiao, or Potatau II., render him
the most illustrious and influential chief in New Zealand. No Maori
chief is truly great unless he can trace his descent to some of those
who came in the first canoes from Hawaiki. Tawhiao can do this, his
ancestor being Hotonui, who came in the canoe Tainui, which made the
land at Kawhia. The ancestor, however, who makes the greatest figure in
the history of the family is Tapaue, who had a number of children who
did well in the world, and founded quite a number of tribes who exist
to this day. These children were--Te Rorokitua, who was the ancestor
of the Ngatipaoa, Te Putu, Tahau, Te Apa, Huiarangi, Ratua, Hikaurua.
The son of Te Putu was Tawhia, whose son was Tuata, whose son was Te
Rauanganga, whose son was Te Wherowhero, whose son was the present
Tawhiao. The name of Tawhiao's mother was Whakaawi, a woman of high
birth of the Ngatimahutu tribe.
Tawhiao's autobiographical narrative is as follows:--
"I was born at a place called Orongokoekoea, at Mokau. The whole of
the Waikatos had been driven from Waikato by the invasion of Hongi,
with his muskets, and the tribes had suffered greatly when the pa was
taken at Matakitaki. The whole of the Waikatos were living at Mokau
when I was born, from fear of Pomare. [The fall of Matakitaki took
place in 1823, and Tawhiao would probably be born a year or two later.]
We did not remain long at Mokau after the death of Pomare. We came
back to Haurua, Kopua, and other places. I lived at Honipaka, in the
Waipa. The Ngatitipa were at Haurau. Te Rauparaha had gone south long
before that time, in prosecution of his conquests at Cook's Straits.
Some of Rauparaha's people, however, the Ngatitoa and Ngatikoata,
came to Matakitaki, and were slain there. Te Waharoa was then living
at Horotiu, and did not move. The Ngapuhi did not attack him. Pomare
made peace with Takurua. Waikato heard that peace had been made. At
this time Te Wherowhero had gone to Taupo. Rauroha said to Pomare,
'Go back to your own country,' but Pomare would not consent. Rauroha
said, 'You have made peace with me; look at Matire.' [Matire Toha
was subsequently married to Kati, Te Wherowhero's brother, on the
peace-making between Waikato and Ngapuhi.] Te Wherowhero wished to go
to Pomare, but Te Kanawa resisted his desire, thinking there would be
treachery. Pomare insisted upon going up to Waikato. He was met in
battle by the Ngatitipa, the Ngatitamaoho. Te Aho, a son of Kukutai
shot Pomare's fingers off, and when his people discovered that Pomare
was wounded, they fled. The fight took place at Te Rore, on the Waipa,
and the Ngapuhi fled to Whaingaroa. The chase continued to Te Akau, and
as far as Awhitu. I remember when Matire Toha was brought to Waikato
to be married to Kati. I remember the great crowds that were assembled
at the time. Te Kihirini brought Matire to Waikato. She was very young
then. The first Europeans we saw were at Kawhia. The first I remember
was Captain Kent. The first missionaries in Waikato were Stack, Hamlin,
Williams, and Morgan. The missionaries told us that we should be burned
up unless we believed. I myself was baptized by the name Matutaera, at
Mangere, by Mr. Burrows.
"I remember a European coming to ask Te Wherowhero to sign the treaty
of Waitangi. That European was the missionary, Mr. Maunsell. [The Ven.
Archdeacon Maunsell.] The Maori he had with him was Tipene Tahatika.
Te Wherowhero said he would not sign. Mr. Maunsell remarked to Tipene,
'This ignorant old man, if he had signed, I would have given him a
blanket.' Te Wherowhero was then at Awhitu. Te Wherowhero's name was
afterwards put to the treaty, but it was written by Te Kahawai, not
by himself. I was at the great meeting at Remuera. That was when
Fitzroy was Governor. The principal speakers were Wetere te Kauae and
Te Katipa. Governor Fitzroy visited Kawhia. The Rev. Mr. Whiteley and
the missionaries had been there long before that time. When Sir George
Grey came, he visited Rangiawhia, Te Awamutu, and other settlements in
Waikato. He had thirty Maoris as his following. Sir George Grey pointed
out Mangere as a place for Te Wherowhero. He said to my father, 'Come
to Mangere, the land is for you.' I never attended any of the Mission
schools."
In reference to the beginning of the New Zealand war, after Te
Wherowhero's death, and when Tawhiao had succeeded his father as king,
he narrates:--
"I was at Rawhitu, a few miles above Rangiriri, when I heard that the
soldiers had crossed the Mangatawhiri. Heta Tarawhiti and a few others
were with me. The Waikatos were then at Rangiriri and other places. I
warned them to avoid the soldiers. When I heard that the soldiers had
crossed the Mangatawhiri, I warned the Maoris to avoid the soldiers. I
told them they should not meet the soldiers on the line of the Waikato
river, but should go inland by Whangamarino to Paparata, and then to
the Kirikiri. [Apparently this was Tawhiao's military plan, instead
of constructing _pas_ on the river, like Meremere and Rangiriri.
If his advice had been taken, the line of our advance, would have
been threatened, and the settlements around Auckland placed in great
danger.] The next thing I heard was that a battle had been fought at
the Koheroa, and that the people I had sent to evade the soldiers had
also gone and fought at the Koheroa. Tapihana was the chief man whom I
had charged. I sent a message also to Mohi and Ihaaka (occupying the
settlement at Pukekohe, the Kirikiri and adjacent places), telling them
to come out from their villages. The engineer of the _pa_ at Rangiriri,
who directed its formation, was Te Wharepu. I told the people that
they should retire to the depth of the forest to evade the troops. The
others would not consent. Te Wharepu was the leader of the others. They
said, 'We will not agree; if our blood must be shed, let it be shed
on our own land at Waikato.' I was at the fight at Rangiriri. Wiremu
Tamehana and myself went to Rangiriri, and requested the people to
move away from that place. That was the object of both Thompson[74]
and myself in going. A dozen times I tried to persuade them to break
up from Rangiriri, but finding that our efforts were unsuccessful,
we left. The balls were then flying in all directions. I took refuge
behind a flax bush. A bullet passed close to me, and struck the bush.
I was not injured. I had a gun and cartridge-box. I saw some of my
people escaping. I told them to be swift, and move on. They said, 'You
must look after yourself; are you not in danger?' I said, 'No, I will
rest a while here.' I took off my coat and vest, and, after a while, I
succeeded in getting on board a canoe belonging to the Ngatitamaoho,
and in making my escape. Previously ten guns were levelled at me, and
a big gun also. Messengers had gone before, and told the people that I
was safe."
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 74: A native known as The King Maker.]
THE CHIEFS.
WIREMU TE WHEORO Te Morehu Maipapa comes from a distinguished
line of ancestors. From a woman of celebrity, named Hourua, after
whom the tribe was called, and whose worthy chief was that famous man
Wiremu Te Awatora, of Raglan. Then from the renowned ancestor Tapoue,
Te Wheoro becomes a near relative of Tawhiao, the present Maori King,
which circumstance accounts for the fact of his taking possession
of the Tiwai canoe, which conveyed the late Maori King, Potatau Te
Wherowhero, from Manukau to Ngaruawahia.
The father and mother of Te Wheoro resided in the earlier times at
their settlement, Kaniwhaniwha, on the Waipa River, but, as was the
custom, they would remove to other places, being interested in other
lands, thus verifying the old Maori proverb, "_Ka mete kainga tahi; ka
ora kaingarua_" (he that has but one home will be subject to failure;
he that has two homes will prosper). The name of Te Wheoro's father was
Te Kaingamata, and his mother's name was Ngapaoa of the Ngatihinetu
tribe of Rangiaowhia. Te Wheoro's grandfather was Te Whakaete, who
was acknowledged to have been of great power among the Waikatos. Te
Whakaete was killed at Maungatautari by the Ngatipukenga, a war party
on its way to Te Wairoa, east coast, and headed by the chief Naunau.
Te Wheoro's own settlement was at Te Kohekohe, Lower Waikato, and he
was always a faithful adherent of the Europeans. His valuable services
were brought into requisition by General Cameron when war was declared
against the Waikatos. The calamities which befell his people arising
out of the war must have greatly afflicted him, for he tried very
hard to divert war during the Civil Commissionership of Mr. Gorst,
M.P., in the Waikato, when Sir George Grey's _Runanga_ system was
introduced, and when the two Maori newspapers--the Government organ,
_Te Pihoihoi_, and the Maori King organ, _Te Hokioi_--were waging a
hostile war, which unhappily culminated in a breach of the peace,
Manga Maniapoto having instructed his partisans to seize the press and
type, which was duly carried out. Te Wheoro is called by the Maoris
"_he tangata rangatira_"(a man of noble extraction), and although he
is a Ngatihourua of Whaingaroa, a Ngatimahuta of Waikato-nui, and a
Ngatihinetu of Rangiaowhia, his particular tribe is the Ngatinaho,
the members of which acknowledge his chieftainship and _mana_, and
these people acted under him during the Waikato war. Of his fidelity,
friendship, and singular loyalty to Europeans before the war, during
the war, and subsequently up to the present time, abundant evidence may
be adduced both by Maoris and Europeans, while Government despatches
and military records simply corroborate facts well known to reliable
settlers. Te Wheoro is in great favour with the King party, and
besides being decorated with the New Zealand war-medal, and holding a
commission as Major in the Colonial forces, he is a member of the House
of Representatives for the Southern Maori Electoral district of the
North Island.
WAHANUI, the most influential chief of the Ngatimaniapoto
tribe, is a man of giant proportions, considerably over six feet in
height. His name in the Maori language signifies "broad," and was
given to him in reference to his enormous stature. He was educated at
the "Three Kings," and was originally intended for the Church, but
returning to the King Country, he took up his home at Te Kopua in the
centre of his tribe, where he has remained, watching over the interests
of his race. For many years he was the king's principal minister and
staunchest supporter. With a singularly dignified and courteous manner,
he displays a remarkable intelligence, which is heightened in no small
degree by a wonderful power of oratory which he usually employs with
remarkable effect at the councils of the native tribes. He is one of
the largest native land-owners, the territory of his tribe extending
over the most fertile portion of the King Country.
MANGA REWI, a chief of the Maniapoto tribe, descended from a
long line of ancestors, is a man of great intelligence, and, although
now aged, is one of the most influential and respected representatives
of his race. He has been throughout a strong supporter of the King
Movement, and during the war was one of the most valorous and daring of
Maori leaders.
PATARA TE TUHI belongs to the same tribe as Tawhiao, namely,
the Ngatimahuta, and is, besides, his brother-in-law. He is a clever
man, and being ready with his pen, he was selected by the Kingites to
edit the _Hokioi_, the newspaper which they established to advocate the
Kingite cause. This paper was printed by types and a press obtained
by the Maoris who went to Europe with Dr. Hochstetter and which was
given to them by the Archduke Maximilian, who afterwards had such an
unfortunate career in Mexico. This powerful organ came to an untimely
end, the printing-office having been smashed up by an armed party under
Rewi, and the plant thrown into the Waipa river.
WHITIORA WIRIMU TE KOMETE, a chief of the Waikato tribe,
is renowned for his bold defence of the Rangiriri _pa_ against the
imperial troops. He narrates his capture with ninety of his men as
follows:--
"A white flag was hoisted on board the steamer, at the Waikato river,
in consequence of which he ordered the flag of truce to be hoisted in
the Rangiriri _pa_, which act he supposed would have led to a parley;
but, to his great astonishment, General Cameron and fifty of his men
came into the _pa_, and commanded the Maoris to deliver up their arms.
We could easily have shot the fifty soldiers, including the General, if
we had known that their coming into the _pa_ was to deal treacherously
with us. We could have maintained our post in the _pa_, and we had made
up our minds to fight to the death. After admitting the soldiers into
the fortress we discovered for the first time we were prisoners."
PAORA TU HAERE is a chief of the Ngatiwhatua tribe.
HATI WIRA TAKAHI, chief of the Ngapuhi tribe.
PARATENE TE MANU, chief of the Ngatiwai tribe.
TUKUKINO, head chief of the Ngatitematera, was one of the
principal Hauhau leaders during the war, and one of the most active
obstructionists to European Settlement. He is at present one of the
most aged natives in New Zealand.
TE RAIA NGAKUTU TE TUMUHUIA, chief of the Ngatitematera tribe,
was the last of the New Zealand cannibals. He attacked a _pa_ at
Katikati, in 1842, belonging to the Ngatiterangi, defeated the powerful
chief Te Whanake, and feasted his own followers upon the slain.
TE KOOTI is well known as the great Hauhau leader during
the war. He is a man of singular intelligence, and still exercises a
widespread influence over the tribes. He was sent as a prisoner of war,
with other natives, to the Chatham Islands, and his escape from that
inhospitable region with his followers, together with his massacre
of the settlers at Poverty Bay, form one of the most remarkable and
stirring events connected with the campaign.
LIST OF THE NEW ZEALAND TRIBES, WITH THEIR LOCALITIES.
These tribes, which constitute the principal divisions of the Maori
race, are all subdivided into _hapus_, or tribal families, bearing
often a different appellation to that of the parent tribe, to which,
however, each _hapu_ claims a direct relationship.
Name of Tribe. Locality.
Aopouri and Rarawa North Cape to Hokianga.
Ngapuhi Bay of Islands.
Ngatiwhatua and Uriohau Manukau Kaipara and Waitemata.
Ngatitai Firth of Thames and Auckland.
Ngatipaoa Thames from Cape Colville to Katikati.
Ngatierangi Katikati to Maketu and inland.
Ngatiwhaka-aue Maketu and Lake Country.
Ngatiraukawa Otaki Arowhenua.
Waikato Valley of Waikato to Manukau.
Ngatimaniapoto Valley of Waipa to Mokau.
Ngatiawa West Coast from Mount Egmont to
Mount Taupiri, Waikanae, Wellington,
&c.
Te Whakatohea Bay of Plenty and inland.
Ngatipouri Cape Runaway and inland.
Ngatituwharetoa Lake Taupo and centre of North
Island.
Ngatitama From Mokau inland.
Taranaki West Coast near Mount Egmont.
Ngatiruanui Waitotara and inland.
Ngarauru Waitotara to Whanganui and inland.
Ngatihau Whanganui and inland.
Ngatiapa Rangitane, Whanganui River, and
inland.
Ngatitoa Near Wellington.
Ngatikahungunu Table Cape to Palliser Bay, and inland.
Te Urewera Taupo to Poverty Bay.
Whanauapanui Cape Runaway to Bay of Plenty and
inland.
Rangitane Admiralty Bay and vicinity.
Ngahitao South and Middle Island.
THE FLORA.
Synopsis of the principal _flora_ met with during the journey, arranged
alphabetically in accordance with native names.
TREES.
Hinau.--_Eloecarpus dentatus._ A graceful tree, 20 to 30 feet high;
blossoms with a white flower; produces an edible berry 1/2 inch
long, pulp astringent, stone deeply furrowed; bark furnishes a
black dye, common throughout the interior of the island; finest
specimens met with in the Teranga forest, west of Ruapehu, at an
altitude of about 2000 feet.
Horoeka.--_Aralia Crassifolia._ A small tree with a narrow leaf;
frequent in the forests of the Lake Country and other parts of
the interior.
Kahikatea.--_Podocarpus dacrydioides._ The white pine, growth 50
to 120 feet; found on the swampy lands and river-banks; berry
edible, wood soft; largest trees seen in Valley of Whanganui.
Karaka.--_Corynocarpus loevigatus._ A beautiful tree, 30 to 40 feet
high, with glossy ovate leaves and oblong berries, which, when
ripe, are of a bright red colour. The natives affirm that this
tree was brought by their ancestors from Hawaiki. Seen near
Tauranga and in Lake Country.
Karamu.--_Coprosma lucida._ A handsome tree with dark, shining
ovate leaves; growth 20 to 30 feet; berries small, bright red,
and edible; foliage eaten readily by cattle and horses; widely
distributed all over the central portion of North Island, especially
in forests of Kaimanawa Mountains and Western Taupo; grows
up to altitude of 3000 feet.
Mahoe.--_Melicytus ramiflorus._ A bushy tree; growth 15 to 30 feet;
frequent in forests of the interior; foliage eaten by cattle.
Makomako.--_Aristotelia racemosa._ A small tree, 10 to 20 feet high;
bark black; bears a small berry; bark used by natives to produce
a black dye; plentiful in forests of Whanganui.
Manoa.--_Dacrydium Colensoi._ Growth 10 to 50 feet; leaves an inch
in length, those of the upper branches overlapping each other;
wood very hard, formerly much prized by natives for the manufacture
of spears and clubs; frequent in valley of Manganui
a-te-Ao.
Mataii.--_Podocarpus spicata._ Growth 80 to 100 foot; berries edible;
common in all the forests of the interior; finest trees found in
Valley of Whanganui.
Miro.--_Podocarpus ferruginea._ Growth 60 to 120 feet; produces a
red berry, the favourite food of the wood-pigeon; frequent
throughout the interior; finest specimens met with in forests
west of Ruapehu, at altitude of about 2000 feet.
Nikau.--_Areca Sapida._ A beautiful and graceful palm, with ringed
trunk, and bright green pinnate leaves 4 to 6 feet long, the sole
representative of its genus in New Zealand; the pulp of the top
portion of the stem is edible, and when young is a favourite
article of food with the natives; very frequent in the forests of
the interior, but appeared to attain its greatest growth and
development in the damp marly soil of the Valley of the Whanganui.
Pohutukawa.--_Metrosideros tormentosa._ A grand, wide-spreading
tree, with gnarled trunk and twisting branches, growth 30 to 50
feet; bears in the month of December a large crimson flower;
inner bark used by the natives for diarrhoea; wood hard and
red; grows usually near the sea, but also inland at Lake Tarawera
at altitude of over 1000 feet.
Pukatea.--_Atherosperma Novæ Zelandiæ._ A straight-growing tree,
with a buttressed trunk, growth 50 to 150 feet; grows to a large
size in the forests west of Ruapehu, at an altitude of about 2000
feet.
Rata.--_Metrosideros robusta._ A gigantic tree from 60 to 160 feet in
height, base of trunk often exceeds 40 feet in circumference;
blooms with a crimson flower; the trunk gives life to innumerable
parasitical plants; wood hard, but not durable; inner bark
powerful astringent, used by natives for diarrhoea; frequent in
all the forests of the interior, the largest trees found being on
the eastern side of Mount Pirongia and in the dense low-lying
forests of the Valley of Whanganui.
Rewarewa.--_Knightia excelsa._ A handsome tree, growth 80 to 100
feet; bears large clusters of red flowers; frequent in the Lake
Country.
Rimu.--_Dacrydium cupressinum_, the red pine. A noble tree, growth
from 80 to 150 feet; branches pendulous; wood red, heavy, and
handsome. This tree attains to its largest size in the Terangakaika
Forest, west of Mount Ruapehu, where it flourishes in great
abundance at an altitude varying from 2000 to 2500 feet.
Tanekaha.--_Phyllocladus trichomanoides._ A celery-leaved pine,
producing a tough timber-growth, from 20 to 30 feet; the bark
affords a red dye which is fast becoming a valuable article of
export for the purpose of colouring kid gloves; frequent in
forests of Western Taupo and Te Toto ranges.[75]
Tawa--_Nesodaphne Tawa._ A fine tree, growth 60 to 80 feet; leaves
lance-shaped; produces an edible berry; common throughout
the interior.
Ti.--_Cordyline Australis._ Growth 10 to 30 feet; leaves uniform, from
2 to 3 feet long; flowers white and drooping; root edible; frequent
throughout the interior, grows at an altitude of 3000 feet;
frequent on Rangipo table-land.
Towai.--_Fagus fusca._ One of the most beautiful of New Zealand
trees, growth 80 to 140 feet; leaves 1 to 1-1/4 long, deeply
serrate; forms dense forests on the Kaimanawa Mountains and other
parts of interior; attains to its greatest growth on the western
slopes of Mount Ruapehu, where it grows at an altitude of over
4000 feet.
Totara.--_Podocarpus totara._ A fine forest tree; growth from 60 to
100 feet; met with in all parts of the interior.
SHRUBS, FLOWERS, AND PLANTS.
Anata.--A buttercup.
Hanea.--A cress.
Harakeke.--_Phormium tenax._ A New Zealand flax; flowers dark
red; leaves long, drooping and narrow; the seeds may be used
as a substitute for coffee; the root is employed by the natives as
a purgative and worm medicine; the gum is applied to wounds
and sores; the fibre of the leaf is used for rope-making and the
manufacture of paper. Common throughout the interior in
swampy places; growth from 4 to 8 feet.
Heruna.--_Polygonum adpressum._
Kaikaiatua.--_Rabdothamnus solandri._ A plant.
Kokota.--_Epilobium minuta._ A small willow-herb.
Korikori.--A species of ranunculus.
Koromiko.--_Veronica salcifolia._ A common shrub, with lilac or
white flowers, lanceolate leaves; frequent all over interior; grows
luxuriantly around southern and western region of Lake Taupo.
A decoction of the leaves is valuable in dysentery. The foliage
is eaten readily by cattle.
Koropuku.--A plant with a red berry, common in the vicinity of
Tongariro.
Koru.--A blue and white flower.
Kotukutuku.--_Fuchsia excorticata._ A spreading tree-like shrub,
leaves ovate lanceolate; bears a purple berry, yields a dye of the
same colour; met with in all parts of interior.
Kowhitiwhiti.--Watercress.
Kalakuta.--A white flower.
Manuka.--_Leptospermum ericoides._ A tree-like shrub, widely distributed
all over interior; finest specimens met with in the
Geyser Valley, Wairakei.
Mataroa.--A flax-plant.
Matuakumara.--A plant.
Nahui.--_Alternanthera denticulata._
Nene.--_Dracophyllum latifolium._
Outatoranga.--_Pimelia arenaria._
Panahi.--_Convolvulus._
Panara.--Taupo primrose.
Papataniwhaniwha.--_Lagenophora Forsteri._ A plant like a daisy.
Pototara.--_Cyothodes oxydrus._--A plant with a small white fragrant
flower, found growing on Rangipo table-land.
Piripiri whata.--_Carpodetus serratus._
Poipapa.--_Chenopodium triandrum._
Poroporo.--An edible nightshade with a white flower.
Puatea.--A yellow daisy.
Puwha.--_Sonchus oleraceus._ Sowthistle, much used by the natives
as a vegetable.
Rengarenga.--_Anthropodium cirrhatum._ A lily.
Rongotainui.--A flax used for cordage and fishing-lines.
Taihinu.--A white flower found at Taupo.
Taretu.--A plant with blue berries.
Tataramoa.--_Rubus australis._ A climbing bramble, armed with
prickles, branches pendulous, leaves coriaceous; berry, red or
amber-coloured; known to the colonists as the "bush lawyer;"
found in all the forests of the interior; most frequent in Valley
of Whanganui.
Tikupenga.--_Cordyline stricta._
Titirangi.--_Veronica speciosa._
Totaratara.--A small shrub with a white flower.
Tupapa.--_Lagenophora Forsteri._ Native daisy.
Tutu.--_Coriaria ruscifolia._ A frequent shrub with glossy leaves
and pendulous clusters of purple fruit, the seeds of which are
poisonous as well as the foliage; produces a black dye.
Waewaekaka.--_Gleichenia hecystophylla._
Wharangi.--_Melicope ternata._ A broad-leaved, poisonous shrub,
very common in the forests of the Whanganui and Western
Taupo.
CREEPING, CLIMBING, AND PARASITIC PLANTS.
(_Common throughout the interior._)
Aka.--_Metrosideros buxifolia._
Kareao.--_Rhipogonum scandens._ A climbing wiry vine, the "supple
Jack" of the colonists; leaves three to five inches long, linear,
ovate; often grows in entangled masses, abundant in all the
forests; largest specimens found in the swampy forests of the
Whanganui. A decoction of the root forms a good substitute
for sarsaparilla.
Kiekie.--_Freycientia Banksii._ A plant producing an edible flower
and fruit.
Kohia.--_Parsiflora tetrandra._ A climbing plant.
Kowharawhara.--_Astelia Banksii._ A parasitical broad-leaved grass,
growing in tufts on trees, bearing an edible berry.
Kowhaia.--_Edwardsia microphilla._ A passion-flower; colour, green
and orange, with fragrant fruit.
Mawhai.--_Sicyos Australis._ A creeping plant.
Patangatanga.--_Freycientia Banksii._
Pikiarero--_Clematis_, bearing a beautiful white flower.
Puawananga.--_Clematis indivisa_, bearing a white flower.
FERNS.
Hiaue.--Creeping _lycopodium._
Huruhuruwhenua.--_Asplenium lucidum._
Kiokio.--_Polypodium._
Kopakopa.--_Trichomanes._ A round-leaved fern.
Korokio.--The smallest tree-fern.
Kotote.--A small-leaved fern.
Kurakura.--A small kind of _lycopodium_.
Maerere.--A small-leaved fern.
Makaka.--_Adianthum._
Mangapowhatu.--_Polytrichum cyphoma._
Mangemange.--_Lycopodium articulatum._ A creeping fern.
Mokimoki.--Long-leaved fern.
Mouku.--An edible fern.
Ngutu-Karkariki.--Parrot's bill fern, so called from the form of its
foot-stalk; the fronds are plume-shaped.
Panaka.--_Asplenium._ A very graceful fern.
Para Marattia.--_Salicina._ A large fern.
Paretau.--_Asplenium obliquum._ A large-leaved fern.
Puaka rimu.--The tree _lycopodium._
Raorao.--_Pteris esculenta._ A common edible fern, the root of which
formed at one time the principal food of the Maori.
Raumanga.--_Polypodium._ A broad-leaved fern.
Tapui kotuku.--Creeping _lycopodium_.
Tarakupenga.--Creeping _lycopodium_.
Waewaekoukou.--_Lycopodium volubile._ A running fern.
Ti Taranaki.--A fern growing on the plains, having its fructification
on a separate stalk.
TREE FERNS.
CYATHEA.
Tote.--_C. dealbata._ The "silver-tree fern;" growth, 10 to 20 feet;
trunk slender and black; fronds lanceolate, 8 to 12 feet long,
dark green above, silvery white below. Abundant in the interior;
finest specimens seen in forests of the Lake Country.
Ponga.--_C. medullaris._ The "black fern;" trunk very stout, 12 to
40 feet high, and covered with matted fibres; fronds very
numerous, from 10 to 15 feet long; deep green above, pale
below; abundant throughout the interior.
_C. Cunninghamii._ Trunk, 12 to 15 feet high; fibrous at
base; fronds, 20 to 30 in a crown, 6 to 9 feet long; bright
green; frequent in the Lake Country.
FLORA OF TONGARIRO AND RUAPEHU.
The _flora_ of Tongariro and the surrounding region partakes of an
alpine character, and is both varied and beautiful. Indeed, not only
are many of the mountains forming the group clothed with a dense and
attractive vegetation, but where the forests spread down to the plains,
the trees and shrubs are often so disposed by Nature as to form perfect
gardens, which appear to have been artificially planted. During the
exploration of both Tongariro and Ruapehu, I had an opportunity of
examining the varied growth of trees, shrubs, and plants; and although
I was unable, under the circumstances, to make a very extensive
botanical collection, I secured some of the choicest specimens of
mountain plants, and afterwards obtained their native names from the
Maoris.
Houhou.--_Panax Colensoi_ is an abundant plant in hilly districts.
Huripo.--A tall shrub, common around Tongariro, and remarkable
for its foetid smell.
Manao.--_Pittosporum fasciculatum_ is found in both islands.
Monao.--_Cyathodes acerosa_ is plentiful throughout the whole country.
Papauma.--_Griselima littoralis_ is a plentiful tree, especially in the
high interior districts.
Patotara.--_Leucopogon Colensoi_ is a common mountain plant found in
both islands.
Peki Peki.--_Clemisia spectabilis_ is an alpine plant, abundant on the
open mountains of the South Island, but is seldom found in the north.
Purea.--_Cassinia fluvida_ is a plentiful mountain plant on both islands.
Rimu.--_Dacrydium laxifolium_ is abundant on the high mountains.
It is the smallest known pine in the world.
Taubinu.--_Olearia nummularifolia_ is plentiful on the mountains of
the South Island, but is found less frequently in the north.
Toatoa.--_Phylloctadus Alpinus_ is a sub-alpine tree, frequently met
with in both islands.
Towai.--_Fagus fusca._ This is the largest and by far the most
attractive tree growing in the vicinity of the high mountains
of this portion of the island. It is somewhat stunted around
Tongariro, but attains to colossal size on the western slopes
of Mount Ruapehu.
Tumigi.--_Leucopogon fasciculatus_ is a shrub having small, thick
leaves, with white underneath. It is very plentiful at Tongariro.
Tutu.--_Coriaria mystifolia_ is common in mountains and dry places.
Waewaekohu.--_Gleichenia dicarpa_ is a widely distributed mountain
plant.
The _Gnaphalium bellidioides_ is a mountain plant met with in both
islands. This plant was the last sign of vegetable life on Tongariro,
where it grew up to an altitude of 6000 feet. I also found it growing
on Ruapehu, with the _Ligusticum aromaticum_, at an altitude of
7000 feet, where both these plants likewise formed the last sign of
vegetation. It is worthy of remark that the natives could give no names
for these latter species.
GRASSES.
Kakaho.--_Arundo Australis._ A tall grass or reed, very common
around Lake Taupo.
Karetu.--_Torresia redolens._ A sweet-smelling grass.
Kopoupou.--_Scripus lacustrina._ A rush, frequent in the Lake
Country.
Kurikuri.--A grass with a prickly flower-head, Western Taupo.
Mata.--A reed-like grass.
Matarauriki.--A tussock grass, Rangipo table-land.
Mouka.--A wide-leaved grass.
Ngawha.--Native bulrush, frequent in Lake Country.
Oioi.--_Leptocarpus fasciculus._ A common rush.
Otaota.--A thin grass.
Parakerake.--A fine grass, frequent at Taupo and Rangipo table-land.
Pouaka.--A fine grass, emitting, when bruised, a foetid smell;
found at Western Taupo.
Pureirei.--A swamp-grass.
Raupo.--_Typha latifolia._ A flag-rush, common everywhere in swamps
and banks of rivers; used by natives for building.
Tarareke.--A flax-grass.
Tarapuarere.--A flowering grass.
Toetoekiwi.--A low, rush-like grass, frequent in swamps.
Toetoe.--_Epicacris pauciflora._ A handsome cutting grass, common in
swampy places.
Tupari.--A broad-leaved grass.
Tutaikuri.--A swamp-grass, the native couch.
Wi.--A fine grass, frequent around Lake Taupo.
Wiwi.--A small swamp-rush.
MOSSES, FUNGI, AND LICHENS.
Hakekakeka.--A brown, edible fungus.
Harori.--A white, edible fungus.
Haroritui.--A tree-fungus.
Hawai.--A tree-fungus.
Karerarera.--A slimy plant.
Karengo.--A slimy plant, growing on stones in the water.
Koukou.--A tree-moss.
Kokirikiri wetu.--A globular fungus.
Kopura.--A scented moss, frequent in forests of Whanganui.
Maru.--Stag's-horn moss.
Pukurau.--_Lycopodon fontainesii_. A fungus.
Tikitiwhenua.--A toad-stool.
THE FAUNA.
The almost total absence of land mammalia forms one of the most
remarkable features in the _fauna_ of New Zealand. Of this class New
Zealand can boast of only two genera: the bat--_pekapeka_ of the
natives, two species--and a small indigenous rat, the _kiore_, now
almost extinct. The author met with one or two specimens of the latter
animal at Ruakaka, in the King Country, but there, as in other parts of
the island, it has been mostly exterminated by the Norwegian or grey
rat. The _kararehe_, a native dog, the origin of which is uncertain,
has entirely passed away. Its remains, however, have been found with
those of the _moa_ in the limestone caves of the South Island. The
natives claim to have brought the _kiore_ with them on their migration
from Hawaiki, and it is likely that they may have imported the dog
at the same time, as a reference to it is made in connection with
their earliest traditions. Of the maritime mammalia both whales and
seals were formerly very numerous on the coast of the islands. There
are known to be eight kinds of whales, and three of seals. The total
absence of serpents and tortoises is again another notable feature.
BIRDS.
By far the most attractive part of the New Zealand _fauna_ is the
birds, which include some of the most beautiful species of the
feathered tribe. Of these the following are among the most remarkable:--
Hihipopokero.--_Turdus albifrons._ A small brown bird with a white head.
Hioi.--_Ptilocinctatis._ A ground-lark, very common on the plains of
the interior of North Island.
Huia.--Genus _Melliphagus._ A black bird, about the size of a jay; it
has two little fleshy lappets under the beak: its tail feathers,
tipped with white, are much prized by the Maories as ornaments
for the hair.
Hurukiwi.--A wild duck.
Kahu.--_Falcon harpe._ A large hawk.
Kaiaia.--A sparrow-hawk.
Kaka.--_Nestor, meridionalis._ A largo greenish-brown parrot. The
author found this bird to be very common in the forests of the
Whanganui, where its harsh note was the first sound to break the
morning stillness. This family of parrots is characterized by an
aquiline or overlapping beak.
Kakapo.--_Strigaps habroptilus._ A ground-parrot; colour, green and
yellow; it does not fly, although it has wings, but hops from branch
to branch; it is nocturnal in its habits.
Kakariki.--_Platycerus Novæ Zealandiæ._ A pretty, green parrot.
Karewarewa.--_Falco brunnea._ A quail-hawk.
Katatai.--_Ralus assimilus._ A kind of rail.
Kauau.--_Graculus carunculatus._ A shag or cormorant.
Kea.--A large parrot, common in the South Island. It was formerly a
vegetarian, but in recent times it has developed a strong taste for
flesh, and has wrought great destruction among sheep flocks. The fat
surrounding the kidney appears to be its chief delight. Planting its
strong claws into the woolly loins of the live sheep, it, by the aid
of its powerful beak, pierces through those parts of the flesh and
fat around the kidney, which it greedily devours, while the animal
is powerless to resist its attacks.
Kereru.--_Columbus spadicea._ A wood-pigeon.
Kiwi.--Fam. _Struthionidæ._ (See Wingless Birds.)
Kohihi.--_Endynamys taitensis._ A bird.
Kohaperoa.--A bird of passage, the New Zealand cuckoo; it is a handsome
bird, spotted like the sparrow-hawk.
Kokako.--The New Zealand crow.
Kororeke.--The New Zealand quail.
Koriniako.--Genus _Melliphagus._ The bell-bird, one of the sweetest
songsters.
Kotare.--_Halcyon vagrans._ The king-fisher.
Kotuku.--_Ardea flavirostris._ A large white crane.
Koukou.--A small nocturnal owl, the "morepork" of the colonists.
Kuruengo.--The shoveller, a duck of Lake Taupo.
Mata.--A swamp-sparrow, a small brown bird with long tail feathers.
Matuku.--_Botaurus melanotus._ A bittern.
Mirmiro.--_Miro albifrons._ A small, graceful bird.
Moa.--Fam. _Struthionidæ._ (See Wingless Birds.)
Moakeroa.--A black bird with red bill and feet.
Ngirungiru.--_Petroica macrocophala._ A tomtit.
Parera.--_Anas superciliosa._ A wild duck.
Pihana.--A little black and white bird.
Pihoihoi.--The New Zealand ground-lark.
Piwakawaka.--_Rhipidura flabellifera._ The fantail fly-catcher, a small
graceful bird with a spreading tail.
Poaka.--_Himantopis._ Pied stilt.
Popokatea.--_Orthornyx heteroalytus._ The New Zealand canary bird.
Poporoihewa.--A snipe-like bird.
Puetoeto.--A bird living in swamps.
Pukeko.--_Porophyrino melanotus._ The swamp-hen; red bill and feet,
back black, breast bright blue.
Putaugitange.--_Casarca variegata._ The paradise-duck.
Riroriro.--Fam. _Luscindæ._ A small wren.
Ruru.--_Strigidæ Athene._ An owl.
Takupu.--A white gull.
Tarapunga.--A small gull, frequenting Lake Taupo.
Tatarihuka.--A small bird, held sacred by the Maories.
Tatariki.--Fam. _Luscindæ._ A small bird.
Tewakawaka.--Fam. _Rhipidura fuliginosa._ The black fantail.
Titi.--_Palecanoides urinatrix._ The mutton-bird.
Toetoe.--_Certhiparus Novæ Zealandiæ._ A small bird.
Totoara.--The robin.
Tui.--_Prosthemadera Novæ Zealandiæ._ The parson-bird. A beautiful
black bird, the size of a thrush; plumage a lustrous blue-black,
irradiated with green hues, pencilled with silver-grey, and white
delicate hair-feathers under the throat, suggestive of a parson's
tie. It has a melodious, clear note, and mocks other birds. It is
easily domesticated, and may be taught to talk.
Weka.--_Ralus Australis._ A large rail, the wood-hen, frequently met
with on the high land of the interior.
Wio.--The blue mountain duck.
Wiorau.--A small grey duck, frequenting the forest streams.
SEA BIRDS.
The sea birds inhabiting the coasts of New Zealand are fairly numerous,
and among them are two small kinds of penguin.
Hawe.--A large gull, the tail-feathers of which are highly prized by
the natives.
Hoiho.--_Eudyptes antipodes._ A small penguin, inhabiting the coasts of
the South Island.
Kao.--A gull frequenting the shores at night.
Karoro.--A gull.
Kawan.--_Graculus carruculatus._ A shag or cormorant.
Kuaka.--A small sea bird.
Pekeha.--A gull.
Pitoitoi.--A small sea bird.
Taiko.--A gull.
Takahikahi.--A sea-shore bird.
Takupu.--A white gull.
Tara.--_Lula Australis._ A sea swallow.
Tarapunga.--A small, graceful gull, inhabiting Lake Taupo; very
numerous in the vicinity of Tokanu.
Titipu.--A gull.
Torea.--_Hæmatopus picatus._ The oyster-catcher; has red legs and beak.
Toroa.--_Diomedia exulans,_ The albatross.
WINGLESS BIRDS.
The almost extinct family of the _Struthionidæ_, or wingless birds, of
New Zealand, forms one of the most interesting features in the _fauna_
of the country. All the members of this genus are wholly different from
the common types of birds. They are remarkable for short rudimentary
wings, entirely unfit for flight, and for bones nearly devoid of air
cells; the leg muscles are of unusual strength and thickness; the feet
are powerful and long, with three toes, while the plumage is composed
of light, shaggy feathers, almost resembling hair. Before its period
of extinction, the largest member of this family, known by tradition
to the natives as the _moa_, was the giant of the feathered tribe,
the height of the several species of this bird, as computed from its
remains, being as follows:---
Feet. Inches.
Dinornis Giganteus 11 0
" Robustus 8 6
" Elephantopus 6 8
" Casuarinus 5 6
" Crassus 5 0
" Didiformus 4 8
Although the remains of all those birds are of extraordinary
proportions, the _Dinornis elephantopus_, or elephant-footed _moa_,
is distinguished by the singularly massive construction of its leg
bones. The sole remaining representative of these colossal birds is the
_apteryx_ or _kiwi_ of the natives. Of this genus there are several
species. The _Apteryx Australis_ was the first made known to science,
in 1812. The _Apteryx Mantelli_ differs from the former kind in its
smaller size, shorter toes, and longer bill and less developed wings,
while its plumage is of a somewhat darker colour. The _Apteryx Owenii_
is slightly smaller than the former species, with a greyish plumage.
During his journey through the interior the author found the _kiwi_ to
be yet common in the Kaimanawa Mountains, the forests of the Whanganui,
in the mountainous districts of Western Taupo, and at Mount Pirongia.
REPTILES.
In New Zealand the lizards are represented by eleven species, five of
which belong to the neat genus _Naultinus_.
Kakariki.--_Naultinus elegans._ A beautiful green lizard, now rarely
found.
Kakawariki.--_Naultinus punctatus._ A green lizard with yellow spots on
the back.
Mokonui.--A large lizard, said by the natives to be common on the Upper
Whanganui.
Tuatara.--_Halteria punctata._ A great fringed lizard, about eighteen
inches long. It is now only found on the small island of Karewha,
in the Bay of Plenty.
Around Lake Taupo the author found small brown lizards, about two
inches long; and at Pangarara, near Tongariro, lizards eight inches
long, of a dark-brown colour.
INSECTS.
The insect life of New Zealand is represented by many curious forms.
Anule.--A large caterpillar.
Aweto.--A caterpillar which feeds on the _kumara_.
Hara.--A large centipede, nearly six inches long.
Hataretare.--Slug-snail.
Hawate.--Caterpillar.
Heire.--Maggot.
Hotete.--_Sphæria Robertsi._ The vegetating caterpillar.
Howaka.--A cerambyx.
Huhu.--A boring grub.
Huhu.--A moth.
Hurangi.--A fly.
Kukaraiti.--A grasshopper.
Kapapa.--A large cerambyx.
Kapokapowai.--A dragon-fly.
Katipo.--A venomous spider, one kind red and one black, with a red spot
on the back.
Keha.--A flea.
Kekeriru.--_Cimex nemoralis._ A large black wood-bug.
Kekerewai.--A small green beetle.
Kihikihi.--A grasshopper.
Kiriwhenua.--A garden bug.
Kopi.--Chrysalis.
Kowhitiwhiti.--A small grasshopper.
Kurikuri.--A grub which turns into a green, bronzed beetle.
Kutu.--Louse.
Mokoroa.--A large caterpillar.
Mumatana.--A large brown beetle.
Naenae.--Mosquito.
Namu.--Sand-fly.
Ngata.--Leech.
Ngaungau.--Midge.
Papapapa.--Small brown beetle.
Pepeaweto.--The grub which begets the _hotete_, or vegetating
caterpillar.
Pepeatua.--Butterfly.
Pepeturia.--Large green moth.
Puawere.--Spider.
Purehurehu.--Large butterfly.
Puwerewere.--Spider.
Rango.--Large meat-fly.
Tarakihi.--Locust.
Titiwai.--Small luminous earthworm.
Toke.--A very long worm.
Kokoriro.--Large red _weta_.
Weta.--_Deinacrida heteracantha._ A beetle two and a half inches in
length.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 75: Mr. G.W. Griffin, United States' Consul at Auckland,
whose valuable reports upon the various commercial products of New
Zealand have been recently printed by authority of the New Zealand
Government, is the author of a very interesting paper upon the economic
uses of this tree.]
A BRIEF REFERENCE TO THE MAORI LANGUAGE.
The Maori alphabet is composed of fourteen letters, namely:--
_Consonants._
H, K, M, N, P, R, T, W, NG.
_Vowels._
A, E, I, O, U.
_Diphthongs._
aa, ae, ai, ao, au, ee, ei, ii, oo, ou, uu.
_Vowels._ _Sound._[76]
a as _a_ in f_a_ther
e as _a_ in f_a_re.
i as _ee_ in sl_ee_p.
o as _o_ in m_o_le.
u as _oo_ in sh_oo_t.
_Consonants._ _How named._
h _ha._
k _ka._
m _ma._
n _na._
p _pa._
r _ra._
t _ta._
w _wa._
ng _nga._
THE PARTS OF SPEECH.
_The Article._
_Te_ is the definite article, _nga_ is its plural; as, _te whare_, the
house; _nga whare_, the houses.
The indefinite articles are _he_ and _tetahi_, a, an, or some; the
plural of _tetahi_ is _etahi_, as _he kuri_, a dog; _tetahi hoe_, a
paddle; _etahi waka_, canoes or some canoes.
_The Noun._
The noun has two numbers, the singular and the plural, the plural being
formed by the article _nga_ prefixed to the singular; as, _Te tamaiti_,
the child; _nga tamaiti_, the children.
_Adjectives._
The adjective does not precede the noun, as in English, but is placed
immediately after it; as, _he rakau roa_, a tree long.
_Pronouns._
The personal pronouns are:--
{1st person, _ahau_ or _au_, I.
Singular {2nd " _koe_, thou.
{3rd " _ia_, he, she, or it.
{1st person, _tatau_ or _matou_, we.
Plural {2nd " _koutou_, ye.
{3rd " _ratou_, they.
_Possessive Pronouns._
_Tahu_, mine or my.
_Ta taua_, _ta maua_, _ta tatou_, or _ta matou_, ours.
_Tau_, thine or thy.
_Ta korua_, or _ta koutou_, yours.
_Tana_, his.
_Ta raua_, or _ta ratau_, theirs.
_Relative Pronouns._
In the Maori there is no distinct form.
_Demonstrative Pronouns._
_Singular._ _Plural._
_Tenei_, this. Enei or _anei_.
_Tena_, that (next). _Ena._
_Tera_, that (farther off). _Era._
_Taua_, that (before mentioned). _Ana._
_Ia_, that.
_Interrogative Pronouns._
There are three, viz.:--
_Wai_, who; _Aha_, what; _tehea_ or _ehea_, which.
_Verbs._
These are of three kinds, active, neuter, and causative, each of which
admits of the passive voice.
The passive is formed by adding to the active one of the following
terminations:--_a_, _ia_, _tia_, _hia_, _kia_, _ria_, _na_, _ina_,
_ngia_.
The causative verb is formed by the prefix _whaka_.
_Tenses._
The present tense is formed by _ka_ before the verb, or by _e_ before
and _ana_ after it.
The past tense is formed by the prefix _i_.
The future tense is formed by the prefix _ka_, _e_, and _tera_.
_Adverbs._
_Ae_, yes, affirmation.
_Kahore_, no, not, on the contrary.
_Ekore_, not.
_Au_ or _aua_, I do not know.
_Inakaura_, a little while ago.
_Inapo_, last night.
_Inanahi_, yesterday.
_Inaoake_, day before yesterday.
_Aianei_, to-day, now, presently.
_Pea_, perhaps, indeed, of course.
_Ko_, then, thither.
_Konei_, here, this place, this time.
_Ake_, upwards, onwards.
_Atu_, onwards, away.
_Iho_, downwards, up above, from above.
_Mai_, hither.
_Tua_, behind, rather.
_Mua_, before.
_Roto_, within, the inside place, inland.
_Waho_, without, the outside.
_Puku_, secretly, without speaking.
_Niamata_, in former times.
_Meake_, soon, presently.
_Ahea_, when, at what time.
_Pehea_, how, in what way.
_Oti_ else, in question, then.
_Ata_, gently, deliberately.
_Marie_, quietly.
_Hanuga_, besides, not.
_Kau_, only, alone.
_Ki_, very.
_Ara_, namely.
_Prepositions._
_E_, by.
_O_, of, belonging to.
_Whaka_, towards, in the direction of.
_To_, up to, as far as.
_U_, according to.
_Kei_, at, on, in, with.
_Hei_, for, at; of time or place, to.
_No_, from, belonging to.
_Mo_, for, because of, on account of.
_Roto_, inside, within.
_Waho_, outside, without.
_Tua_, other side.
_Tata_, near.
_Conjunctions._
_A_, and, as far as, there.
_Koia_, therefore.
_Oti_, or _Otira_, but, at the same time.
_Ahakoa_, although, nevertheless.
_Hoki_, also, for, because.
_Notema_, because.
_Interjections._
_Na_, or _nana_, behold! see!
_E_, or _O_! oh!
_Aue_, alas!
_Taukiri_, exclamation of surprise.
_Numerals._
_Tahi_, one.
_Rua_, two.
_Toru_, three.
_Wha_, four.
_Rima_, five.
_Ono_, six.
_Whitu_, seven.
_Waru_, eight.
_Iwa_, nine.
_Tekau_, or _nga huru_, ten
_Tekau ma tahi_, eleven.
_Tekau ma rua_, twelve.
_Tekau ma toru_, thirteen.
_Tekau ma wha_, fourteen.
_Tekau ma rima_, fifteen.
_Tekau ma ono_, sixteen.
_Tekau ma whitu_, seventeen.
_Tekau ma waru_, eighteen.
_Tekau ma iwa_, nineteen.
_Rua tekau_, twenty.
_Rua tekau ma tahi_, twenty-one.
_Toru tekau_, thirty.
_Toru tekau ma tahi_, thirty-one.
_Wha tekau_, forty.
_Wha tekau ma tahi_, forty-one.
_Rima tekau_, fifty.
_Rima tekau ma tahi_, fifty-one.
_Ono tekau_, sixty.
_Whitu tekau_, seventy.
_Waru tekau_, eighty.
_Iwa tekau_, ninety.
_Ko tahi rau_, one hundred.
_Ko tahi rau ma tahi_, one hundred and one.
_Rua rau_, two hundred.
_Toru rau_, three hundred.
_Wha rau_, four hundred.
_Rima rau_, five hundred.
_Ono rau_, six hundred.
_Whitu rau_, seven hundred.
_Waru rau_, eight hundred
_Iwa rau_, nine hundred.
_Ko tahi mano_, one thousand.
_Ko tahi mano ma tahi_, one thousand and one.
_Rua mano_, two thousand.
_Ordinal Numbers._
_Te tahi_, or _tuatahi_, the first.
_Te rua_, or _tuarua_, the second.
_Te tekau_, the tenth.
_Te tekau ma tahi_, the eleventh.
_Te rua tekau_, the twentieth.
_Te toru tekau_, the thirtieth.
_Te rau_, the hundredth.
_Te rua o nga rau_, the two hundredth.
_Useful Verbs._
To be able, _ahei_.
To add, _hono_.
To assemble, _huihui_.
To ask, _inoi_.
To believe, _whakapono_.
To boil, _koropupu_.
To burn, _tahu_.
To call, _karanga_.
To carry, _kawe_.
To be calm, _aio_.
To clean, _horoi_.
To clear, _para_.
To count, _tatau_.
To curse, _kanga_.
To cut off, _tope_.
To cut (in two), _pounto_.
To desire, _hiahia_.
To dig, _ko_.
To dive, _ruku_.
To divide, _wehewehe_.
To drive, _whiu_.
To drink, _inu_.
To eat, _kai_.
To enter, _tomo_.
To entrap, _reti_.
To exchange _hokohoko_.
To fetch, _tiki_.
To fell (timber), _tua_.
To fish, _hi_.
To float, _taupua_.
To gather, _kohikohi_.
To go, _haere_.
To be healed, _mahu_.
To hear, _rongo_.
To hide, _huma_.
To imitate, _whakatau_.
To jest, _hangarau_.
To kill, _patu_.
To lead, _arabi_.
To light, _whakamarama_.
To light up, _hopai_.
To listen, _whakarongo_.
To look, _rimi_.
To make, _hauga_.
To measure, _wharite_.
To murder, _kohuru_.
To pay, _utu_.
To plant, _whakato_.
To play, _takaro_.
To plunder, _muru_.
To pray, _muru_.
To run, _oma_.
To rest, _okioki_.
To see, _kite_.
To sell, _hoko_.
To sew, _tui_.
To shine, _tiaho_.
To sing, _waiata_.
To speak, _ki_.
To stop, _whakamutu_.
To be able, _ahei_.
To sow, _rui_.
To swim, _kaukoe_.
To take, _tango_.
To teach, _ako_.
To undo, _wewete_.
To watch, _mataara_.
To wash, _horoi_.
To work, _mahi_.
To understand, _mohio_.
_Useful Nouns._
Abyss, _torere_.
Anger, _riri_.
Boundary, _rohe_.
Bridge, _arawhata_.
Canoe, _waka_.
Carving, _whakairo_.
Child, _tamahiti_.
Council, _runanga_.
Dance, _haka_.
Daylight, _awatea_.
Dog, _kuri_.
Door, _tatau_.
Dust, _nehu_.
Egg, _hua_.
Eel, _koiro_.
Feather, _how_.
Fence, _taiepa_.
Firewood, _ahi_.
Floor-mat, _takapau_.
Ford, _kauranga_.
Girdle, _tatua_.
Hand, _ringaringa_.
Heat, _pukaka_.
Hatchet, _patiti_.
Jealousy, _hae_.
Lake, _roto_.
Landing-place, _tauranga_.
Man, _tangata_.
Mind, _hinengaro_.
Plain, _raorao_.
Precipice, _pari_.
Proverb, _whakatauki_.
Priest, _ariki_.
Rope, _whakaheke_.
Row, _rarangi_.
Seaside, _tatahi_.
Ship, _kaipuke_.
Shoal, _tahuna_.
Skin, _hiako_.
Sky, _rangi_.
Smoke, _auahi_.
Song, _waiata_.
Spear, _tao_.
Speech, _reo_.
Sport, _takaro_.
Spring of water, _puna_.
Steam, _korohu_.
Summit, _teitei_.
Tree, _rakau_.
Valley, _wharua_.
Verandah, _whakamahau_.
Water, _wai_.
Waterfall, _wairere_.
Woman, _wahine_.
Year, _tau_.
_Useful Adjectives._
Abundant, _ranea_.
Afraid, _wehi_.
Aged, _kaumatua_.
Ashamed, _whakama_.
Bad, _kino_.
Bald, _pakira_.
Black, _pango_.
Blind, _matapo_.
Brave, _maia_.
Bright, _kanapa_.
Broad, _whanui_.
Calm, _marino_.
Carved, _whakairo_.
Concealed, _huna_.
Conceited, _whakahihi_.
Confused, _porauraha_.
Damp, _maku_.
Dark, _pouri_.
Deep, _hohonu_.
Deceitful, _hangarau_.
Dry, _maroke_.
Fat, _momona_.
False, _horihori_.
Good, _pai_.
Great, _Nui_.
Hard, _pakeke_.
Heavy, _toimaha_.
High, _teiti_.
Hot, _wera_.
Idle, _mangere_.
Light, _mama_.
Loose, _korokoro_.
Narrow, _whaiti_.
Near, _tutata_.
New, _hou_.
Noisy, _turituri_.
Open, _tuwhera_.
Playful, _takaro_.
Quarrelsome, _pakani_.
Quick, _kakama_.
Quiet, _marie_.
Red, _whero_.
Ripe, _pakari_.
Round, _porotaka_.
Salt, _mataitai_.
Shallow, _pakupaku_.
Sharp, _koi_.
Short, _poto_.
Slippery, _pahekeheke_.
Slow, _ngoikore_.
Small, _iti_.
Soft, _ngawari_.
Sour, _kawa_.
Strong, _kaha_.
Tall, _roa_.
Tame, _rarata_.
Thick, _matotoru_.
Thin, _heroki_.
Timid, _wehi_.
True, _pono_.
Uncooked, _kaimata_.
Wasteful, _maumau_.
Weak, _iwikore_.
Wet, _maku_.
White, _ma_.
Winding, _awhiowhio_.
Wild, _maka_.
Wearisome, _hoha_.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 76: It may be set down as a general rule, to which there are,
however, some few exceptions, that Maori words are always accented
on the _first_ syllable, but compound words, or words which have the
dissyllabic root doubled, have a secondary accent on the second portion
of the word.]
INDEX.
Alexandra, 17, 44.
Amnesty Act, The, 10.
Animals introduced by the Maories, 71.
_Aotea_ canoe, The, 70.
AOTEA Harbour, 44.
AOTEAROA, Meaning of, 33
Apteryx, The, 317.
_Arawa_ canoe, The, 70.
ARAWAS, The, 68.
Area of the King Country, 1.
ARIKI KAPAKAPA, 62.
Ascent of Pirongia, 36.
---- Ruapehu, 199, 237.
---- Tongariro, 179.
Atea-Amuri, 112.
AUCKLAND, 46.
Aukati, The, 1, 44, 328.
Australasian volcanoes, The, 195.
Bathing at the hot springs, 58.
---- at Te Koutu, 67.
----, the pleasures of, 98.
Bay of Plenty, The, 48.
Big Geyser, The, 121.
Birds, 358.
Birds, Measurements of, 318.
Botany, 350.
Boundaries of the King Country, 1.
Bridal Veil Fall, The, 244.
Bryce, Mr., 10.
Cambridge, 44.
Cameron, General, 6.
---- at the Gate Pa, 51.
Camp of TAWHIAO, The, 20.
---- on Ruapehu, 210.
Canoes, The seven, 70.
Caterpillar, The vegetating, 83.
Chemical constituents of the springs, 63.
Coast-line of the King Country, 2.
Coffee-pot, The, 64.
CONFISCATIONS, The, 7.
Crater lakes, 147,
---- of Te Tarata, 97.
---- of Tongariro, The, 191.
Cream Cups, 64.
Crown of Ruapehu, The, 221.
Davis, Mr. C.O., 68.
Descent of Tongariro, 195.
Devil's Hole, The, 102.
Discoverer of New Zealand, The first Maori, 70.
Dismal Swamp, 268.
Distribution of the tribes, 349.
Eagle's Nest, The, 119.
Earliest discoverers, The, 68.
Entomology, 364.
EXPLORERS OF THE KING COUNTRY, 4.
Fauna, 358.
Ferns, 354.
Flora, 350.
Flute of Tutanekai, 76.
Fungi, 357.
Gas in the pools, 120.
Gate Pa, The, 51.
Genealogy of Tawhiao, 343.
Generations, The Maori, 71.
Geology of the King Country, 3.
---- of Pirongia, 40.
---- of the Taupo region, 140.
Geysers, 49, 62, 100, 109, 111, 116, 162.
Giant Rocks, The, 219.
Glacier on Ruapehu, The, 247.
Glowworms, The, 82.
Grasses, 357.
Greenstone, The, 22.
Grey, Sir George, 9, 15, 47.
Hamilton, 44.
Hapurangi, 110.
Hariki Kapakapa, 109.
HATI WIRA TAKAHI, 37.
Hauhaus, The, 276.
Haurungaroa Mountains, The, 305.
Haurungatahi, 287.
Hawaiki, The fatherland of, 69.
Hemo Gorge, The, 110.
Hengia, 326.
HIKURANGI, The meeting at, 7.
Hinemoa, The legend of, 78.
Hinepareoterangi, 273.
HOCHSTETTER'S EXPLORATION, 4, 304.
HONE TE WETERE, 23.
Hongi, The, 309.
Horohoro, 110.
Horomatangi, 166.
Horses, Our, 135.
Horseshoe Fall, The, 242.
Hot springs, 56, 98, 101, 107, 109, 111, 117, 162, 193, 297.
Hotete, The, 83.
Huata, A, 292.
Huka Falls, The, 116, 125.
Hurakia Mountains, The, 305.
Hursthouse affair, The, 135.
Hurutirangi, 76.
Hymn of the Hauhaus, 280.
Insects, 364.
Jade ornaments, 22.
Kahakaharoa, 316.
KAHOTAWA Spring, The, 66.
Kai, 102.
Kaimanawa Mountains, The, 229.
Kainga, A, 329.
Kakaramea Ranges, The, 161.
Kakariki Geyser, The, 102.
Kakepuku, 18.
Karangahape, 306.
Karioi, 254.
Karioi, Mount, 44.
KAWAU, 47.
KAWHIA Harbour, 43.
Ketetahi, 299.
Kihikihi, 44.
King's address, The, 33.
Kings of the Maories, The, 343.
Kiriohinekai, The, 124.
Kiwi, The, 317.
Korero at Manga-o-Rongo, 329.
----, The, at Whatiwhatihoe, 27.
Kuiti Mountains, The, 331.
_Kurahaupo_ canoe, The, 70.
Kuruaro, 76.
Kuwharua, 301.
Lake Country, The, 46.
Lament for Te Heuheu, 165.
---- of Te Kooti, 279.
Land Court, The, 313.
Language, The, 364.
Legend of the Huka Falls, 130.
---- Rotua, The, 282.
---- Tongariro, The, 181.
Lichens, 357.
Lizard, A gigantic, 319.
Lizards, 364.
Love song, A, 80.
McLean, Sir Donald, 9.
Mamanui, 233.
Mammalia, 358.
MANAWAPOU, RUNANGA at, 5.
Mangakara, The, 307.
Mangakino, The, 321.
Mangakowiriwiri, 320.
Manganui-a-te-Ao, The, 270, 284.
Manga-o-Rongo, 329.
MANGA REWI, 23, 25, 347.
Mangatotara, The, 267.
Mangatuku, The, 267, 329.
MANGOREWA Gorge, The, 54.
Manuka-trees at Wairakei, 119.
Manutarere, 329.
Maories, The, 11.
----, their cheerfulness, 322.
----, cause of their decay, 291.
----, fatherland of the, 69.
----, their language, 364.
----, their life, 133.
----, their mode of fighting, 292.
----, murder of a girl, 231.
----, their origin, 68.
----, their numbers, 11.
----, a typical speech, 33.
----, tribes of the, 71.
_Mata-Atua_ canoe, The, 70.
MATENE TE WHIWI, 5.
MAUNGAKAWA, 44.
MAUNGATAUTARI, 44.
Maunsell, Archdeacon, 344.
Mere, use of the, 294.
----, sketch of a, 311.
Mineral wealth of the Kaimanawas, 236.
Moa, 317.
Moffat, the murder of, 273.
Mohi, 311.
Mokaikai, The, 326.
Mokia, Island of, 77.
Morning on Ruapehu, 214.
Moss, Mr. F.J., 41.
Mosses, 357.
Motuoapa, 159.
Motutaiko, 166.
Motutere, 158.
Murimotu Plains, The, 253.
Napier mail, The, 256,
Natives Reserves Act, The, 9.
New Zealand War, The, 6, 51, 345.
Ngahapu, 100.
NGAPUHI, a chief of the, 40.
Ngatihau legend, 130.
NGATIPROA, chief of the, 39.
NGATIRUANUI, The, 5.
NGATITEMATERA, a chief of the, 42.
NGATITOA, a chief of the, 38.
Ngatituwharetoa, The, 130, 164, 333.
Ngatiwhakaue, The, 68.
Ngatoroirangi, 181, 255.
Ngatokorua Pa, 281.
Ngauruhoe, 182.
Ngongotaha, 65.
Ohinemutu, 56.
Okarewa, 307.
Onetapu Desert, The, 232.
Orakeikorako, 111.
Origin of the Maories, 68.
Ornithology, 358.
Oropi, 53.
Oruapuraho Valley, The, 315.
Paeroa Mountains, The, 111.
Pakihi, 265.
Pangarara, 177
PAORA TU HAERE, 34.
PARATENE TE MANU, 40.
Parekura, 283.
Patara te Tuhi, 347.
Pehi Hetau Turoa, 288.
PIG, Tragedy of a, 61.
Pihanga Mount, 169.
Pink Terrace, The, 105.
Piritana, The, 82.
PIRONGIA, 3, 18.
----, ascent of, 36.
Plants of New Zealand, 352.
---- introduced by the Maories, 71.
POHAERE, 20.
Pohaturoa, 112.
Point Victoria, 227.
Political State of the King Country, 3.
POTATAU I., 6.
POTATAU II., 6.
Pouotepiki, 308.
Pukaki, 71.
Pukeakikiore, 306.
PUKEROA, 56.
Pumice plains, The, 114.
Puniu, The, 325.
Puruohutaiki, 71.
Putauaki, 91.
Rangihewa, 88.
Rangipo table-land, The, 169.
Rangariri Pa, 345, 348.
Rangitanua, 264.
Rangitauaiti, 264.
Rangitoto, 47.
---- Ranges, The, 331.
Rangituku, 306.
RATA Trees, The, 41.
Rauporoa Forest, The, 82.
Reptiles, 364.
Rivers of Lake Taupo, The, 142.
ROTOHIKO HAUPAPA, 60.
Rotoiti Lake, 62.
Rotokakahi, 84.
Rotomahana, 94, 103.
Roto Ngaio, 155.
ROTORUA, Lake, 56.
Rotua, The legend of, 282.
Ruakaka, 269.
RUAPEHU, 3, 287.
----, first ascent of, 199.
----, second ascent of, 237.
----, flora of, 355.
Runanga at Pouotepiki, 310.
---- at Te Ruapeka, 71.
Salute, The, 309.
Sheep station at Karioi, 254.
Shrubs, 352.
Silica formations at Te Otukapurangi, 106.
---- at Te Tarata, 95.
Skeleton buried in a tree, 77.
Sophia the guide, 89.
Sowthistle as food, The, 313.
Springs, Hot, 56, 98, 101, 107, 109, 111, 117, 162, 193, 297.
Stations of the tribes, 349.
Stone axes, 329.
Storm on Ruapehu, 211.
Struthious birds, heights of, 318.
Sulphur Cups, The, 64.
---- Point, 63.
---- pools, 123.
Summit of Ruapehu, The, 223.
Sunrise on Ruapehu, 213.
Tahuatahi, 118.
_Tainui_ canoe, The, 70.
_Takitumu_ canoe, The, 70.
Tama te Kapua, 73.
---- Turaki, 282.
Tangi, The, 309.
TAPU, its meaning, 4.
Tapuwaeharuru, 136.
TARANAKI, 3.
---- confiscation, The, 7.
Tarawera, Lake, 87.
----, Mount, 91.
Taupo, Lake, 139, 304.
TAURANGA, 48.
---- Taupo, 159.
TAWHIAO, King, 9, 15, 20, 343.
Te Ana Taipo, 102.
Te Ariki, 92.
Tehatepe, 156.
Te Hau, 178.
Te Henga, 169.
TE HEUHEU, 5, 6, 164, 297.
Te Heuheu of Tokanu, 310.
Te Huka, 102.
Te Kaina Valley, The, 308.
Te Karapiti, 125.
Te Kauhanga, 63.
TE KAUWHANGA, 64.
Te Kohae Point, 156.
TE KOOTI, 7, 14, 278, 334, 348.
TE KOPUA, Meeting at, 9.
Te Koutu, 65.
Te Kupe, 70.
Te Mahuki's outbreak, 136.
Temple at Te Ruapeka, 71.
TE NGAKAU, 23.
Te Otukapurangi, 105.
Te Pakaru Plain, The, 301.
Te Pareoterangi, 272.
Te Pirori, 162.
Te Porere, 299.
Te Poroporo, 157.
Te Pupunitanga, 64.
TE RAIA NGAKUTU, 43, 348.
Terangakaikha Forest, The, 261.
Terania, 307.
Terekirike, 118.
Terraces, The, 94.
TE RUAPEKA, 57, 68.
Te Takapo, 103.
Te Tarata, 94.
Tetauranga, 325.
Te Tihoi Plains, The, 319.
Te Tokapo, 100.
Te Toto Ranges, The, 324.
TE TUHI, 30.
Te Wairoa, 85.
Te Whakataratara, 104.
Te Whatapohu, 102.
TE WHEORO, Major, 22, 28, 346.
TE WHEU, 259.
TE WHITI, 14, 278.
Thorny plant, A, 230.
Tikitapu, 84.
Tikitere, 62.
Time, Maori method of reckoning, 332.
Titiraupenga, 3, 320.
_Tokomaru_ canoe, The, 70.
Tokanu, 161.
TONGARIRO, 3, 7, 179, 296.
----, flora of, 355.
Towai, Mount, 286.
Trachytic lava bed, 240.
Traditions of the Maories, 68.
Tree ferns, 355.
Trees, 350.
---- in the pumice, 177.
---- in the Terangakaikha Forest, 261.
Tribes of the Maories, 70.
---- at Manga-o-Rongo, 332.
---- on the Whanganui, 276.
---- and their localities, 349.
TUATARA, The, 49.
TUKUKINO, 42, 348.
TUPUHI Spring, The, 65.
Turner, Mr. J.A., 134.
Tutanekai, 76.
TU TAWHIAO, 22.
Twin Waterfalls, The, 246.
Uenuku, 277.
Uenukukopako, 76.
Upper Waikato, The, 143, 160, 174, 249.
Vegetating caterpillar, The, 83.
Victoria Point, 227.
View from Ruapehu, The, 225.
Vocabulary, 364.
Volcanic origin of the rocks, 144.
Volcanoes in Australasia, 195.
Wahanui, 23, 347.
Waihaha, The, 316.
Waihohonu Valley, The, 186.
Waihora, The, 319.
Waikanapanapa, 101.
Waikato, The, 115, 146, 151.
----, The Upper, 143, 160, 174, 249.
---- confiscation, The, 6.
Waikite Geyser, The, 65.
Waikomiko, The, 319.
Waimarino, The, 287.
Waipa River, The, 2, 339.
Waipapa, 324.
Waipahihi, The, 154.
Waipari, The, 325.
Wairakei, 115.
Wairoa, The, 85.
Waitahanui, The, 154.
Waitangi, The treaty of, 344.
Water-shed, A curious, 249.
Weapons, 292.
Whakarewarewa, 64.
WHAKARI, 48.
Whakarra, 76.
Whakatira, 76.
Whale, Legend of the, 74.
WHANGA Ranges, The, 44.
Whangaehu, The, 237.
Whanganui River, The, 2.
---- ----, source of the, 296.
---- tribes, The, 276.
Whangapipiro, 63.
Wharangi shrub, The, 269.
WHARES at Ohinemutu, The, 57.
WHATIWHATIHOE, Meeting at, 10, 19.
Whistling Geyser, The, 119.
White Island, 48.
---- Terrace, The, 95.
WHITIORA, 23, 348.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, LIMITED,
ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.
[Illustration:
SKETCH MAP
OF
EXPLORATIONS
MADE IN THE
KING COUNTRY
BY
J.H. KERRY-NICHOLLS
1883]
Transcibers note:
The folowing printers errors have been corrected;
turqoise/turquoise
varions/various
puposes/purposes
The following place/proper names have been corrected on the advise of
proofreaders and after cross-referencing within the text and on-line.
tangate to tangata
Kamianawa to Kaimanawa
Perongia to Pirongia
Tuatard to Tuatara
Te Motopuke to Te Motupuke
Kakaramia Ranges to Kakaramea Ranges
Other possible errors, because of doubt, have been left unaltered.
We hope our kiwi cousins will forgive us.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The King Country; or, Explorations in
New Zealand, by J. H. Kerry-Nicholls
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