JOURNEY TO TAUPO, From Auckland.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 2, Issue 36, 9 May 1850, Page 2

JOURNEY TO TAUPO, From Auckland.

February 28th—AT 7 o'clock a.m., Mr. — and myself, having seat on our Native bipeds of burden, tea in number, on the previous day, mounted our nags, and set out on our journey to visit the great lake. I may here state what our preparations for the trip were since the information may prove advanj laijcoujto future travellers should any follow in our track. Wo were each provided with a small light tent, sufficiently large to cover our beds when nude up ; we had also 25 lbs. of | tobacco to exchange with the natives for potato's and such other necessaries of lile as we might be able to obtain from them, 4 dozen pipes for the same purpose, 5 lbs. tea, 4O lbs. of coarse sugar, 40 lbs. of biscuit, a cheese and 4 cold fowls, a couple of tongues, and 2 j dozen hard boiled eggs, to provide for our wants on the road to the Waikato, which we obtained front that excellent purveyor of good prog, Mrs. Martin, the Mess woman of llio fitlth ltegt. No provisions are obtainable between the Waik.ito and Auckland, travellers therefore should ahv.iys c.iUr accordingly. Passing through the pensioner village of Otahuhu, we arrived at Ml. Ligar's farm at Papakura by 12 o'clock, a. m. By taking n short cut, as the case generally turns out in New Zealand, wo had to cross some ugly swamps, which would have been avoided had we kept the regular road, which is wi hout impediment of any kind. Having obtained a draught of mill; from Mr. I.igai's ti limit, Mr. Hunter, who with his uooil wife most kindly pressed us todistnount lur further refreshment, of which want of time did not allow us to avail ourselves, we now pushed through the forest for about two miles, emerging from which upon an open fern country we l :i:. fell in with the Surveyor-General himself widi his natives, who was proceeding on a professional trip towards Wangavoa, where a native quarrel about some lauds, between Te Wliero \Vhero, the great head of the Waikato tribes, and some other influential Chiefs of Irs own party had fur some- time attracted the attention of the Government, which was endeavouring by mediation between the parties to prevent a quatrcl which appeared likely to lead to much bloodshed, ami internecine war. As yet nil their endeavours had been fruitless, Mr Ligar having a few days before returned from an unsuccessful attempt to attain this philanthropic end. With a perseverance however worthy of the cause, tliu Government of New Zealand still hoped to prevent the calamities to the Waikatos which an open rupture would surely entail on both parties. The chiefs of these numerous and powerful tribes nre so divided in opinion upon the merits of this case, that in the event of war, father might be nrrayed against son, brother against brother j tlitis adding to the ordinary horrors of warfare, the dismemberment of families, and disunion of tribes allied alike by blood and constant intercourse. On joining company with Mr. L- , wo hnltcd to send brick our horses, previously '

discussing ft huge cray-fisli and loaf of bicad, which Mrs. . With the forethought peculiar to the gentler sex, had sent on with iny servant- We now pursued our way over low fern hills, intersected l>y several swamps, until wc arrived at Horn Manga, or the •' Slippery Creek," a narrow tidal arm of the Manuknu. where n ford over stratified clay cleft with mum rous huge fissures has obtained the above appropriate appellation from liuropeans, who have experienced the difficulty of passage. The tide was high up when we arrived and here we met the Chief Takere, with a number of natives of his suite, awaiting the subsidence of the salt water. This creek forms the estuary of two fre>h water streams, which run down from the hills through a small forest on the left of the Manukau. awaiting until the rtflux of the tide should render the ford practicable, we took our guns, and beat up tho fresli water stream, on "the banks of which we had halted, liialit ducks and a bittern rewarded our search, to tho no small giatification of the natives, to whom (as we were supplied with provisions) we handed over the spoils of the chase. Hiving thus beguiled the time for a couple of hours, during which the tide had sufficiently reci'dcd 10 allow us to lord the passage, we proceeded on our way. The stream ran strong, and the slippery surface of the clayey bottom rendered our looting anything but secure. The pellucid state of the retiring water however, enabled us to sec and avoid holes which imp de the passage and with the assistance of the spiked tentpoles fur support, we effected our object with no other inconvenience than gelling wet marly to our waists. This, however, as the sun shone strongly forth, we found valuer refreshing tl'an otherwise, as we plodded on along o-.v ho* and dusty path. Our read lay over fern clad hill's for about six er seven miles to Tuimata, a small native settlement, situated in a forest of tall trees and thick underwood, among wliiyli flourish most luxuriantly small elegant white flowering (Banksu). Numerous pretty views met our gaze as wc pns>ed along ; snia'l woods capping the summits of the low hills on either side, strongly reminding me of the first appearance of the low undulating hills .it the base «f the llartz mountains in Germany. It was about 0 o'clock, when wc arrived at Tuiniata, where we soon kindled fires, crec cd tents, and piped to supper. Mrs. Martin's basket now came into pl\v, and we made a sumptuous meal on cold chicken, bread and hard boiled tggs, reserving the luscious ham and other condiments far future delectation ; just as a boy home for the ChiNtimis holidays and fresh from suet pudding, and boiled mutton. with the constant evening meal of skyblue and scrape, keeps the richest pieces of plum pudding on his plate for the last mouthful his appetite will allow him to dispose of.

"Mais I'homme propose, et Dieu dispose." Man sows, yet shall he not know who may reap,—and an example ol' tliis great moral lesson now awaited us, for as I shall hereafter show, although we did not find " tongues in trees," yet some much less noble animals of tho creation did, with the nddition of a boiled ham, and roast fowls, which they soon snallowed to our very great disgust.

Seriously speaking, after having passed an almost sleepless night from the incessant persedition of countless myriads of musrpiitoes, we awoke to find our provision baskn which was suspended from a neighbouring branch, -empty!—and ourselves without the means of obtaining breakfast. Blankly we gazed upon each other as the fell truth became apparent to our mindc. The rascally dogs from tiro native settlement had during the dark hours invaded out camp, and battened on our luxuries ! Completely liad they " spoiled the Egyptians." To use a quotation, not from Shakspeare,—" All! ham ! fowls ! every - thing! oh, hell-kites all." All had gomr, not a bone was left. Some biscuit, however, we had, and upon this drv fare, we blunted our appetites, sorely grumbling the while, and Anathematizing our plunderers with wishes which involved their future damnation, as well as present indigestion, from their stolen meal. It is said that an Englishman is much refre."' 'I in any difficulty by a little grumbling. a true word is spoken in jest, and wo were certainly the better for it, for having grumbled for some time to our hearts content, before being ready for a start, we began to laugh at the whole adventure, and once more wended on our way. 1 may here remark, that the nalives at liumnta settlement arc exceedingly greedy and disobliging; and it was with the greatest difficulty that we obtained Irom them a few potatoes for the consumption of nur Afaori follower*, and for these scanty supplies, we had to pay three times as much as they weio worth.

(To be continued.)