370 Transactions. — Botany. 



— which required in some places no little caution — one of my 

 natives who carried the box containing books, testaments, 

 &c, slipped his foot and went sliding away, until he was 

 stayed by a friendly tree — fortunately without receiving any 

 injury to himself ; the box, however, though dovetailed at 

 its angles, was knocked to pieces with the violence of the 

 concussion. After a silent and persevering march of some 

 hours through the very cold rain (for, in threading our tor- 

 tuous way through the endless mazes of a trackless forest, in 

 such weather as we now experienced we found it impossible 

 to keep ourselves warm) we began to shiver with cold, and 

 determined to halt and make a fire at the first sheltered spot. 

 By the side of a rivulet at the bottom of a hill we found a 

 deserted hovel, which, though open on all sides, offered us 

 better shelter from the pitiless rain than we had expected to 

 find in such a place. We hastily and roughly repaired our hut 

 with tufts of the different big sedgy plants that grew hard by, 

 and pitched my tent ; and, throwing off our dripping garments 

 and kindling a fire, we endeavoured to make ourselves as com- 

 fortable as we could in our present circumstances. Fortu- 

 nately we had a few potatoes with us, which, not knowing 

 how long this weather might continue, we divided, una voce, 

 into three small portions, so as to afford us two meals for the 

 morrow. The rain continuing to descend in torrents swelled 

 our little friendly rivulet into a large stream, causing me to 

 fear that the limited level spot on its bank on which we were 

 now encamped would be overflowed. 



Daylight the next morning (31st) found us much the 

 same as daylight last evening left us — with water on every 

 side. The past night was one not likely to be soon forgotten. 

 The heavy rain and rattling hail which unceasingly poured 

 down ; the vivid lightning and hollow-sounding thunder re- 

 verberating awfully in never-ending echoes among the hills ; 

 the angry winds that furiously rushed in fitful roaring blasts 

 through the ancient forests, rocking and creaking, and, lash- 

 ing the monarchs of centuries as so many saplings of a year, 

 stripping their "leafy honours " and cracking off their branches, 

 hurled them to the earth ; the hooting of owls and shrieking 

 of parrots, which flew affrightedly about, seeking shelter — 

 all united to declare, in a voice too plain to be misunderstood, 

 the great commotion nature was undergoing — fit knell for the 

 departing year ! 



The morning was most gloomy ; the rain still incessantly 

 poured, and our cold, wet, lonely, and starving situation was 

 anything but pleasant ; when, as if we wanted something 

 more to taste of the very acme of cheerlessness, our only 

 guide deserted us, returning to Waikare. He had intimated 

 enough last evening to cause me to suspect him, and I had 



