Chapman. — On the Worhimj of Greenstone. 489 



Grey and Buller valleys, and as these enter into the historical 

 narratives I will mention theni later. 



In order to rightly understand tlie position of a tribe of 

 Maoris in primitive times occupying the West Coast country, 

 the relative positions of the east and west coasts of the South 

 Island, and of each to the North Island, nuist always be borne 

 in mind. We have thus seen that an immense range of 

 mountains separates these two territories. Between the 

 Otago and Canterbury passes we have a range which the Eev. 

 R. Green describes as " a great mountain-wall sending off 

 numerous spurs rising into bold alpine peaks, and for over a 

 hundred miles possessing no col or pass free from eternal snow 

 and ice." North of this the main range is for another one 

 hundred miles a little lower, and through it are three or four 

 practicable alpine passes already referred to. The West Coast 

 has a rainfall of over lOOin., and is everywhere clothed to an 

 altitude of 3,000ft. or 4,000ft. with dense forest with a wet 

 undergrowth of ferns and mosses. The numerous rivers liable 

 to sudden floods have wide gravelly boulder-beds, and these 

 are the highways. Up these the passes are approached, and 

 then the traveller crosses amid a wilderness of i-are white 

 alpine flowers. Steep mountains, innumerable torrents, con- 

 stant landslips, sudden snowstorms — all nature conspired to 

 make the passes fearfully dangerous until engineering skill 

 took them in hand. It requires even now an effort of im- 

 agination to recall the difficult and dangerous task of the 

 greenstone-raider of olden times where — 



In Hohlen wohnt der Drachen alte Brut, 

 Es stiirzt der Fels, und iiber ihn die Fluth. 



The difficulties which beset the first miners who worked 

 their way across are half forgotten now that a splendid road 

 exists. In truth, however, to the last the two countries were 

 separated by a wall which none but the bravest climbed, 

 making the isolation of the two territories almost complete. 

 Had Hannibal had such a country to deal with he would not 

 have crossed the Alps in the face of a resolute enemy. To this 

 day each region has more traffic with the North Island than 

 with its immediate neighbour. It is, then, quite intelligible 

 that a people long lived on the West Coast, holding occasional 

 intercourse with the North Island, fighting constantly with 

 the tribe immediately to the north of them, and utterly un- 

 known to the tribes of the East Coast, neither knowing the 

 way to penetrate to the other district. 



It is, of course, possible that Ngatimamoe or even Waitaha 

 had known of roads to the West Coast, of which no record 

 was transmitted to their conquerors ; but it seems more likely 

 that, if they had possession of a little greenstone, it had come 



