JOURNEY TO TAUPO.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 2, Issue 37, 23 May 1850, Page 3

JOURNEY TO TAUPO.

From Auckland. [continued from our last.] March Ist—The UNKNOWN towards the Waikato winds through deep dense forests, the narrow path through which, difficult enough, form in every which, difficult e"ou a l>, Iron. of trees which ..U.iscct U i„ evi- v direction, -Hiving as 11 uu '' L ' lth in tu.) out j , tortuous °' r f , «.udcou,.tl*.i wnes, "' ll,c . s V' 'the >,,,s overhead, .m------Iv,'lo,"u,clo,"u,clo,"u,c10,"u,cl o ,"u,cc r nuV t llcr S way, is tendered yet :K,S:,ni f,r s Blairiea < f the Waikato. Tlif genial rays "t the sun never fierce ihe dense gloom of these Drill' "'--rests, while the constant dropping intd-TV trom the biiuiches overhead, cluster, d as .lie)- are wi.b thick °' r ''wUh plants,—and the space belo.v, rile with mceiable life, diirining incessant wet "'ound. all combine to prevent any evaporation of he witcr, aiul consequent amendment of the '""/'assiuB occasionally through spares of more open country, consisting «jj lern cl»d «lati.ms of mound, or loiv lulls, from tlit- Lt o hcst points of w'hieh a fine view of llic \\ aueiua a district is obtainable,-rod at .. I plunging into tl.e sombre soluble .. the ; rest, the universal sil. nee in the sill deep del s of which, wa| unbroken save bj in melodious note of the T,i, or peuly perched upon on occasional overli.inginjj s|iinv, or the shrill cry ..f the Kaku, u. ic screamed fiom the heights ol the Kaikatca trees upon the strange figuics plodding »:» »'> the deep shade below ; we proceeded lor about fouri.cu mil«, when arriving at the smmnu ol the range of lulls ulut'h lori- .ue bank of the Waikato, a lull view ol .ha beautiful river buisl upon our gaze. Ami beautiful indeed it is—its smooth rapid stream about. 400 ynrds across— in endless ciiclt a, ami gyrations, in the swill couise of its current towiuds the sea. Hie u ">K* descending mpidly from the lulls clothed w iili tali forest Heel, and the most lumiiMill ver.lu.e—piclures.ptn islands and reaches in the river ilsclt—the edges of the hanks f;mgid with tohi tolii grass, the gracelull seed stems hanging like light transpaient feathers o\cr the cahn bosom of the pellucid stream, on me surface of which the natives ill their gay r d blankets, swiftly propel their light elegant canoes, with a sciuce apparent clloit, leaving a trai k like liquid silver in tlu ir wake ; allow tin r form a scene " liich to an eye accustomed to the uninteiestiug tatneiiiss ol toe coiiniiy about Auckland, is cxctediiigly Ireshing and delightful. " .Scrambling down n Jeep th scent covered with nets and shrub, we nmv .srrKetl at Hi.l.mdiii" place at ltakawaiiri creek, a sedgy, heg.'V spot, where we had no s-oner arrival, than'we were attacked most voraciously by swarms upon swanm of sand (lies. Doling our whole journey through the forest, we had been excessively tormented by inos.p.Uo. s, but never ev.n i > India, where my tiger hunting i.iopen>ities led me to the denies, jungle* and hwmnps, did I ever witness such myriads of these nuiMinces. They were as miti'crous as the grains of sand upon the shore, the very air seemed alive with Llicui, and ilu pestilent little wietches luedless ol tins instant death which their bites brought oown upon themselves, it.ll lushed ...iwfcnh to the ics. cuc, until we were fairly tired ol killing then.. We liatl fi't our natives <m to I u,-Kau, to fetch a canoe vvhuli we had hired previouslv to ( in-departure from Am k ami. It wns late In fire il.eV urrived, ana w.ilu awa.iih.ir c 'tninu on ihe shore, a eouple of ~,1,1 ducks mude tl:.=ir appearaace on Ihe w le. n, ar us. Our puns were ill mst..nt le(piibilion, and they were m.oh on terru lirma, iin l piihcd r.ady for supper. It WHS night biforo we pot our trap,, 1.-mled, and » v erected our li '-le IcntJ in the ih.rk, and commenced cooking our slipper at a h.. ziog wood fire. With some ptaioes,nml our dm ks, ad led to a kalsa, and a p-.geon, shot in tae wood, we fuun made an exc 1.e.il a- : >v, and thus fared fit la« most sumptuously. With ihe shades of evciimg, Hje sa,.d ll.c» had dixippe..red, but they were r. J a b.roe- -1 lacliment of nK.api.toi-s, beh.re whose imi us we were iioiu the previous incess.int skirmishing with their tinj a. its, ve were fairly obliged to tfive in, and lie still U> be bitten, obl.ining one wui n ot sleep tlie live lon ' night. • , i r Match 2nd —At 1 st the long wished for morning broke, and we lust no time in feelli,....every thing packed into the canoe, an affair some.vlu.re about /orly feet lit length, with two ieet beam, and our natives nianiiing ihe paddles, away we went merrily u/> the Waikl.to, paddling close in shore to avoid the Miii"-.; current running down. Numerous (in lly i.-l.iinU dot ihe coursa of the river, i.iid many views obtained along its w.ndiug course are icry beautilul. On aniviug :.i Mm Merion the right bank ol llu riur, we h.ilifd to pr.-p irt liieakf.t^t.

Rcls were obtfiinnble here, in n small sedgy creek, ami no sooner had we laritlotl, ill >ll ihe whole of our natives rushed into it, ind commenced feeling for them under the weeds, ami in thi mud. Great nimbcrs rewarded their search, and it was most amu--mg to iviiucss tin: scrambling in t!ie u.ud md water, and noisy ji king "iiheach other •vliich their eagerness ta catch the slippi ry jits, eati-e I anions iliem. \Ve h id »hot sum l ; mute ducks on our way, ind while these won: stewing, we commenced upon I'iiid ci U, and potatoes, which were so . uo.l. that when prepared, our ducks remained ilinost untouched. 1! teak 11 st ovir, we paddled on towards Ta!fap:ui, a small scii'ein.-nt on ihe 'ell bank .>!' Hie riv-'r, -.ililch we reached ah nit l< o'clurk, p. in Our sport with the web-footed genu* had continued good, nod we had a line stew igain, bel'orj taking to otir blank, t;. It is a lazy, indol lit life this piddling up the VV.iK.M'J, hut not without Us enjoy 1 eat*. Tlio i.uc. s!:o...tins is excellent, and (the cockney will out) —nearly every view that opened before in, as we followed the winding tr-ck of the liver, with the little isl in Is here and their, h like osier aits, lemin led on; of the dear o'.cl 'l"ii;vni-s at home, nn l ol vcars gone liy w! en a pn'i to Iliehniond, and dinner at the Sia;' and tlarter, with some kindred spirit <, to.i often eng ig.-d the hours which weie supposed by our loud and credulous liiends, to be very tlillvreiitly employed. ■Stolen pleasures are sweetest, the proverb siys, and I believe tiny a:e ; I have been to ICichmoud siiii'e, an'l hive th Might little o 1 it it.lo < umpired to the indelible reminisecas s of eiijuyment that tn,y boyish recollection i leave me. M,ll-ch ,'l.d.—This being Sunday, we rested fur itie day at Takapaii. About half a do«eu luits I'ei'.u the extent of ilie kainga, which however, is prettily situate I. The natives |.crform:<l divine service among themselves, in the morning and evening, assembling Ihe c.>ii"icgaiioii by means of an iron poi, s'ruek will" a jMue, wliieli thus did duty fur u bull. All the Mlories of the place, as usual, assemble I at our lei.ls, mming whom was the great chief Waripo, whose likeness l took to his jjre.it s itijf.ic'ion. llee.v. lesseil himself much p'eascil with 'lie sketch, and Jill the natives, pronounced it " Nni pai." L ' nfternooii beiu- an idle o d woman who had itceonipanied us with the people of the chiel Takeie, afbr looking about her for some time, nt last pounced upon one ot mir visitors, as her victim lor a tangi; and a right lugubrious business the obi lady made of it, bending her body t i the tjrauncl,—nourishing her anus, —anil occasion illy eiubr.icing the poor devil in bit meshes, who scenic I to bear the trial uit'i pnsiivc resietia'iuu. Met tears llowed at times like a waterspout, her loud cries oce isiouallv lowering down to a grumbling whisper, andanon blowing her uo.'e with bel li get's, the would burs! oat again in piteous notrs. This nuisance cont'uued close to us ll.r a couple u; hours, during which I made a .sketch of the pair, to the great amusement of the other natives. It is astonishing how fond the Al.lories are of this tangi, an.l what a deal of it they can • t ind. No excuse lor it is l.:st. Does a man meet one of his relations—foithwilh there h a tangi l)o a an old woman si e any body ivhi ni she hai nut before, or even any on: she fan .-in .she has seen on a former occasion, down tiiey both .'(j iat, .iiul lli.-y uiu t have a t.ngi. In fact, in travelling in the interior, day" after day, uu.l hour alter hour, t'icrc is nothing but tangi, tnngi, tailg ; . Mire:i 1 b.— I'l.is day w. Parted off early, hal ing lorbreakfast .it a smnl' native-e;tle-ment. on the left bank of the river, u-lirc we obtained aUunaftut supplies of water n-.eloes, eoiirds, kiimerns, and pmatoes, at the rate ot a stick of tobacco pur k t. Proceeding onwards idler our men', the chief Takere, again wished lost p a lutlt: . at anothir kamg.i called iMaur a, ill order to over the <l?ad bodv of his sistei ulcch was lyi.ig there. To this'we assentei!, and having landed, our natives ever ready lor a civ, ran up in a body t„ add their wadings l<> the general g'iel. The body (plied up in blankets, wr»Pi ed around ivitli« piece of red doth, lay under a .small shed on the bank. Two old women »ho seemed lo have t e ai raiigcmont of (ho whole concern, were stationed on cither huiul to peifoi in the nectss iiv ceremonies. And indeed these old ere trims did cry most hear ily ; il t!ie muis'uro which dripped iijso i 1'... gruuml from lli.ir eyes and noses could be take" as uny sinn of ilie-ir sinceri y. " Sure sui b a pair were never seen." Their heads were ornamented with huge bunches of till kev leathers, and so hi I eons an appearance did* they cm, that were it possible that a third coll d ii-nr i> en found any where to ihe-.u, 1 sliotil t think any mou-y could bo obtained in foi ill ur impi rso i.itt i'i ot li,- Weird Si-si-.-rs. Ail uiralile model, won il they bavciriad.i lor the \\ itch o. IviUor

place, for having cried,, they waxed liungry, and wished to slay and share the contents of a native oven, which the inhabitants of tins kniugn bad got under weigh. Tin's however wc stoutly resisted, and nftcr much trouble we succeeded in getting them in marvellous ill humour, into the canoe, nnd paddled on. At the pah of Ilora llorn, on the left bank of the river, we obtained quantities of penchea for a couple of sticks ot tobacco ; and this putting our people in somewhat betler trim we paddled oil merrily, follswed at one time for n considerable distance by R pig, •vhich ran grunting after us on the hank, and seemed most anxious to get into tliß canoe, and join our party. We had good sport this day at wild ducks and pigeons, of which we obtained a plentiful bag, and in the evening arrived at Kopukopa, the hills in the vicinity of which are said to abound with conl. It was too late when we landed to make any examination of the place, which was accordingly deferred until next day. March sth.—This morning early, accompanied by the chief who owns the coal mine ; an old gentleman with <» swivel eye, and tattered old European coat, we visited the opening upon the seam of the so called coal, which is situated in a small gully on a hill to the southward of the kainga,about fifteen minutes walk from the shore. The old fellow looked cunningly at us when we arrived at the spot, as if he would read from our countenances what we thought of his propeity. This seam appeared to be about 4 feet thick. An excavation had been made for some feet lower down, and indications of conl appeared there, but in so small a quantity as to induce us to think that it was merely the debris of thu upper seam. Having completed our inspection of the opening, we went on over the hill, nnd down a deep gully on the other side, where wc again came on the seam of coal, apparently at a much lower level, —thus it either takes a dip to the southward, or perhaps this portion of it has merely taken the formation of this partieular hill. Particles of Kauri gum were embedded with it here, but in small quantities, the coal forming the matrix. Most probably this coal is to be found in all the hills composing this rango. I have called this substance coal so flir, but I very much doubt its being sufficiently mineralized to be adapted for useful purposes. 1 apprehend that lignite would be a more appropriate name for it. It has neither the weight, nor the general appearance of any coal I have ever seen ; neither does it coke like coal, or leave a cinder. On the contrary it presents all the appearance of wood in p. state of transition to coal, breaking easily, *itl» a dull fracture, not easily igniting, but burning rapidly, and leaving ashes precisely similar to those of wood when consumed. Doubtless this substance- will I>g examined by persons more competent than myself, to judge what its actual consistence and value is, but I think that - people who are very sanguine about either will be disappointed. Even if gcod coal were obtainable in this district, it is difiicultito conceive that it could brought to Auckland to pay. In addition &to the numerous shoals and sand banks in the AVaikalo, there is the dangerous navigation of the Manukau to be surmounted, which taken into consideration with the distance from the capital, presents obstacles to the feasibility of any project of supplying Auckland, of such magnitude as to render them, I think, insurmountable, on the 6core of expense, comparatively with the rate at which coal can be. supplied from Newcastle, in New South Wales, and elsewhere. To be continued.