Mair. — On a Find of Kauri-gum in Rangitikei. 501 



may be taken as conclusive evidence as to the actual existence 

 of such, and also go to show that kauri-gum was put to some 

 use by the ancient Maori, or a lump of several pounds would not 

 have been carried upon a long and presumably fighting trip 

 from the far north. 



It may not be generally known that the kauri will flourish 

 in the extremes of weather in this part of the Island. In my 

 garden at Hunterville I have a fine tree, about four years old, 

 which makes a growth of 9 in. each year. It was obtained 

 from a Wellington nurseryman, and has several times been trans- 

 planted, and, in its present situation at 900 ft. above sea-level, 

 has experienced several severe snow-falls lasting days at a time. 

 It is now about 4 J ft. high. 



Appendix by Captain Mair. 



Traversing the large tract of forest which lies between the 

 open country about Rangitikei and the Murimotu Plains were 

 two well-known ancient war-trails, which were much used in 

 the sanguinary wars that occurred during the early part of last 

 century. One of the aforesaid war-paths came from Hawke's 

 Bay and Taupo, joining at Pungataua, thence crossing the canon 

 of the Moawhango by a narrow plank (settlers still use a log 

 on same site) it followed along the Whakauae Range out to a 

 clearing called Otara on bank of Rangitikei, thence to Pourewa, 

 and on to Marton. The other track branched off from the former 

 at Turangarere towards the west, thence down the valley of the 

 Pourewa to Marton. It was by these two war-trails that the 

 three hekes or migrations composed of the Ngatiraukawa under 

 Te Whatanui, Te Heuheu, and other great chiefs, came to assist 

 their kinsman Te Rauparaha in holding Kapiti as against the 

 populous but less warlike southern tribes. Armed bands were, 

 in fact, constantly passing over this country, and the large 

 lump of kauri-gum recently found in this district had evidently 

 been brought from the Thames, Lower Waikato, or Raglan 

 district by one of these very numerous war-parties. 



The old-time Maori carried kauri-gum for several reasons : 

 first, for burning under sheets of green bark to procure lamp- 

 black (kauri), from which the tattooing pigment was made ; 

 secondly, for use as torches ; and, thirdly, for chewing. To 

 prepare the latter the old gum was kept in boiling water till 

 quite plastic, then juice procured from the milk of the puwha 

 (thistle) was mixed with it to make it soft and elastic for masti- 

 cating. 



