HOT SPRINGS OF TONGARIRO.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3797, 15 September 1883, Page 4

HOT SPRINGS OF TONGARIRO.

Leaving the source of the Wanganui (writes the special correspondent of the Auckland llerald\ wo took an easterly dircetion, ami after it lonir climb through the thick .shrubs and boulder-strewn sides oftho mountain, arrived at the great soliatara, tho steam from which, constantly arising in the form of n dense white cloud, forms'a conspicuous feature when looking towards Tongarim from tho north. AYe ascended to an altitude of oGOO icot on to tho spur where the renowned chief lc Hcuhon'i.s said to bo buried, and on the summit of which were the small blue kikes we had seen from tho top of tho great eono,_ and which wore now surrounded by their winter mantle of .snow. Lower down ou the same spur, at an altitude of 4900 foot we touiul the hot springs roaring beneath us, deep clown in a semi-circular gorge, which was strewn about in every direction with huge boulders, as if a great flood of water had recently passed through it. Wo got with Homo difficulty down the rugged sides oi this strnniro chasm, and soon stood in a region wlicJ'o boiling springs burst from the earth, where jets of .steam shrieked and llissod 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 ailioions 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 wore yellow with excess of sulphur ; others white with alum ; while not a few were of the purest blue. Taken altogether this weird place hud an unpleasant Pande-monium-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 wlwn near to thorn. Indeed, a dozen or so of railway engines letting off steam and blowing their whistles at tho same time would only serve to convey a slight idea of the tremendous din. These .springs, as tho 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 tho thermal waters, which it would appear novor fail to effect v cure. This portion of Tongfiriro, like other parts, is strirtly tapiiod against, Europeans, and the natives of Rotoaira and surrounding , districts gunrd this marvellous sanatorium with a jealous eye, but as we attacked it from the roar tiisy were none tho wiser for our visit. A short distance beyond the springs, and near to the end of the great spur, wo found tho small crater known to the natives as Katetahi, which was formed of a circular aperture emitting vast volumes of steam. AVo obtained n, splendid view of (lie country towards tho north from our elevated position, tho rugged ranges of To Tnhun, being crowned by Hikuraiigi, a beautiful pyramidal-.shnped mountain, with n flat top, while to tho westward of it could bo distinctly traced the course of the Ongaruhc River, its winding waters shining brightly beneath the rays of the getting sun.