RAMBLES THROGH THE LAKE COUNTRY ON HORSEBACK.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2164, 22 May 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

RAMBLES THROGH THE LAKE COUNTRY ON HORSEBACK.

No. Y. Nxxt morning I was up betimes, .before unyono wan stirring, and »«r«nfc *ut to enjoy tbe kceu, - crispy air of tho early morning. Five minute* walk from tho hotel brought me ia Bight of Lake Tarawera, a splendid ~«fc*«t of water übout fifteen miles long, ' encircled by ranges of bold hills. After breakfast I went into the bush to higher ground, from which I took a sketch of ' the lake and the Tarawera mountain*, a majestic pile at the south side of tho water. I found Capt. Way at the old minion bouse, where hejresides, and was ' fast then en gargon, Mrs Way being üb«ent. This old building is now dilapidated, though interesting an a rolio of the ■towtrionsry Zealand labour of the early day* of the colony. There are two fine ,' large rooms in the front built and pannelled with totara, which in its n<*» Tesembloe stained cedar. The soil appears 1 wry fertile, and from the romantic walks leading into the bush, and the remains of well ordered strawberry beds and orchards, this must hate been » lovely property at one time, when the Rev Mr Spencer lived there and laboured r both physioally and spiritually. A short „distance, distance from the house is the old -Mission Churoh, still standing, but now Unused and almost covered with a garment of ivy. The cemetery is situated lower down the bill, and contains a few old headstones and enclosures. From tfasee old relics of old associations • 'Captain War led me down the hill, aoross , the road, through the Maori oultiva.'.'tiori, to the brink of a deep rooky ravine, overgrown with. but»h, which ' lair between us and Mount Korokanui, and ''WMrein were the well-known Min»i XTiffls. The descent was down a deep traefc requiring steady footing till', going ft short way through the bnsh, we reached the rocky base of the fall, which is a beautiful shaft of water eighty feet in heigfct. It then falls orer, and rushes away in and out of mattes of rook, in a succession of irregular oasades ti the bottom of the ' gaily, fully one hundred and fifty feet deep, and expends ibelf in a bight of Lake Tarawera, where the boats that botrrey the tourists to Eotomahana are 'mooted. Returning from the falls to re-asoend the gorge we passed under a ' huge overhanging rook of conglomerate. Beneath this rook was a deposit of secretion, like guano, or, speaking more extolly, resembling the droppings of rut*. '"This fell from small punoture*, like gimlet holes in the roof of the solid atone, and whioh extends only over a r vpaoe above a foot square. Thaw little' openings were not seen in any other portion of the great mans of hard rock ; neither was there any indication of animal or iciest life about the spot, or the traoks of any living thing passing along the surface of the rock going through the holes. It seemed very inexplicable how or from what source this matter dropped from the bare rock in that one particular •pot. I brought away with me a sample of the substance, which is a vegetable natter, and as was suggested later on by some geutloman, it may have come from a rook caterpillar, though there was nothing to indicate tho existence of any such 'living thing about the rock. " Towards noon we walked to the wharepnni to witness the festivities in connection with the tangi. There must have I>een fully one hundred and fifty natives, including the visiting lupus, chiefly 'Tffgitipikiau, gathered in groups within the enclosed space in which the rnnanga bouse stands. Two or three parties of 'men and women were busily engaged over fires cooking the pork and rewais 1 (potatoes), whilst the guests were sitting down in a body patiently waiting for the ; delicacies to be placed before them, some .one of them occasionally rising on his feet to make a speech, or chant a dirge eulogistic of the departed member of the tribe. Presently, headed by their chief Wi Kepa Te Rangipnawhe, a large party of resident natives were seen approaching, shouting notes of welcome, each man and woman the bearer of a new* rapa kit of cooked food. These were met by another 1 body from the other end of the settle- ' ment, advancing and loaded in a similar ' manner. Wi Kepa then marshalled' the two forces, and, after another and united burst of welcome, they marched in file towards the centre of the enclosure and deposited their kits of food in a heap 'on the ground before their visitors; and 1 then retired, after firot giving a Ijaka. Apero, a leading native, endeavoured to h &6 • p«» wfe.butjhaving already imbibed ' too much waipiro. he failed in the attempt, to the amusement of the spectators. Presents of calico were then : pro'dnced arid laid on the ground, after IJ which the hungry visitors received each }ft kit of the edibles, of which they; par* look with' great gusto. It is not etiquette usage for the entertainers to remain in the presence of their guests "whilst afttfeg, hence the reason why the 'former parties retired. On the] tall flagstaff ' in front of the whare1 puni, floated the Union Jack. ! 'half-mast- high 1 . Now, stripped of 'the semi-barbaric appearance oft the scene there is, even the savagery of the arrangements, a comparative resemblance ,to our own conservative customs. When a noted man amongst us dies we rurally sound his praises in obituaries the columns of our daily journals, and often make posthumous speeches in our national assemblies, or preach serjnons * from the pulpits of our churches over our honoured dead. As for feasting, When - have Britons, in whatever part of the ! 'earth the Anglo-Saxon race has b*netrated, failed to observo and enjoy their ttiooh loved pubKo banquets F There is ' this ' difference between us, however. 1 Whilst we charge our gneats a guinea, or half-a-guinea a-piece for the great privilege o! ' eating a dinner in common in some public hall, the Maoris, on the other hand, would be guilty of a breach of good manners if they failed to contribute towards their entertainments by cheerfully bestowing the last surviving trfg or kit of potatoes, even if they are beggared by the act. Nation of shopkeepers as we are, we cannot, even in the exercise of public hospitalities, forego our passions for pecuniary profit by sinking our commercial anxieties and calculations for the time being. Thus does civilisation present a more advantageous front than untutored savagedom. In the afternoon two coaches arrived from Rotorua with thirteen passengers. We were therefore able to organise' two separate parties for the morrow, one to be prided by Capt. Way, and the other by Sophia. Sophia, 1 may remark, en passant, is a middle-aged half-caste, well ' made and active. She speaks English perfectly, and is a general favourite with 1 the ladies. She is a true emblem <jf the fruitful vine, being the mother of thirteen children and the grandmother of sixteen. When some of us expressed astonish'tuent ftt this record of her offspring she naively added, " Well ! it was not my fault you know." f It had soon become known amongst the natives that I was a representative of the Press, taking notes (Pukanuka) for the "niupepa." Therefore, in the evening one of the young men asked me to accompany him to an old disused iflourmill where they were getting up a ball, * *' can-can," as he erroneously stylad ir. The light fantastic was to be performed on tbe rather uneven floor of the granary, tbe beams and rafters of which were blank with 1 age and smoke, and which wag bnt dimly illuminated by a few randlo* (stuck ' against the framework. Only a few, were present when we \rrived, but "taihoa," Iwas assured, " moro ladies come spon ;*' ftnd sure enough, the room was ore, long filled with stalwart young men and Mrtill&Jf girls who seemed bent ou a, jolJiiioatjoo. They presented a motley appearance ; somo barefooted, some without ooatsssnd with battered billycock hits on their bigdSi »nd a few dressed passingly ■ well, jf^e noh-dsucer^ were lountrra^ indolently, P>pe >n mouth, 6n the' floor

n^.nnst the w.ilLi. Thpy were certainly polito and often invited mo to join in, offering to toad mo it partner, :ind one young man imparted to me, in confidence und impressively, that he wa-« " the bo.-«" of the bill. The inevitable hat wa* panned lound, and a collection innde for the jmrpovo, it Wa-< unnounued, of bnjrln;.' " lollies for the ladies. '' A young fellow with. an. accordion . constituted ..the orchestr.i, nnd to his payable mu«io, they went through all the favourite Pakeha dances, and to my surpri*e, for I mynelf i was a noted duueer in my day, they ; danced them remarkably well and in admirable time. THo waltz, nnzorkn and polk u wero performed in many instance* w t tli faultier grace and motion; and I luvoseen the pets of the -qture ddnros executed very much wor-tu nt nwne parties I have been at. It was most iinuning to hear the directions triven during th» different figures : " Now, all together;" "ladies centre," " take partners " The bows to partners were irresistible, and the music was changed to "next figure" in the most approved fashion. There was the utmost good humour, behaviour and enjoyment throughout, and it reminded me of the nejjro balls and bumbnlla (bnc»a in the West Indies, though not so elaborately and immensely got up as the former affairs are. On those occasions the black gentlemen are dressed perfectly au fait in black dress suits, patent leather pumps, white gloves and cravat 3, and the ladies in white stifflystarched dresses, we'l flounced, white wreaths on their well-oiled woolley heads, white gloves, white shoes, fans and programme cards, and with their faces powdered. Unlucky is the man who commits a faut pas, or exhibits want of good breeding when in such refined society ! When I returned to the hotel, I met a Mr 1 Lakin, wlio live* on tho «hores of Lake Tikitapu. at the edge of that beautiful bush I have already described. He is a profeasid collector of ferns, which he mouuts and classifies in neatly-bound albums for sale to tourists. He showed mo a collection containing eighty different varieties, all beautifully arranged. He very recently forwarded a collection, hound in a mottled kauri cover, to His Majesty the Kirfg of the Belgians, who graciously acknowledged its receipt. Mr Laktu also deals in Maori curios, specimens of native woods, and in the Awheto, the vegetable caterpillar, and, lam told, makes a handsome income. The Awheto (Sphceria Robertsiti^ is a most remarkable natural production, and forms a link, in the proce«sof evolution between the animal and vegetable kingdoms. It is in shape like a miniature bulrush. The plant or body possess the horny head, mandibles, claws, and sometimes tho legs entire, of the caterpillar, from whish a stem germinates and reaches a height of from six to tea inches. Should the stem be broken pff, another springs up in its place from the body buried in the ground. The metainoiphosis of the insect, whilst in a chrysalis state into a vegetable plant, is a curiosity of Nature, specimens of which are well worth obtaining frjm Mr Lakin. {To be continued.)