Cheesbman. — Oil the Flora of the North Capo District. 355 



Travelling eastwards, we soon reached the mouth of the 

 Werahi, a stream of considerable size. A small Maori village 

 once stood there, mentioned by Dieffenbach and other early- 

 travellers, but it has been abandoned for very many years, and a 

 line of kitchen-middens and shell-heaps alone remains to mark 

 its site. Crossing the stream, we proceeded along a sandy bay 

 for a few miles, at length reaching a steep and jagged bluff, 

 which effectually prevented all further progress on the beach. 

 Turning up a little gully, we gradually gained the top of the 

 steep range which now ran parallel with the coast. Follow- 

 ing the ridge for a short distance, we soon arrived at the 

 top of the hill overlooking the Reinga, so well known in Maori 

 tradition. 



Most of us are aware that the Maoris believed that 

 immediately after death the soul made its way to the extreme 

 north of the country and descended into its future abode 

 beneath the earth at a place called Eeinga. So implicit was 

 their belief in this tradition that they asserted it was quite 

 possible to hear at night the sounds made by the spirits pass- 

 ing through the air on their northward journey, and that this 

 was especially the case after a great battle, when multitudes 

 were slain. In such instances they became aware of the event 

 long before the news could reach them by ordinary means. 

 Persons who had been so seriously unwell that their lives 

 were despaired of, but who recovered, were said to have been 

 at the brink of the Eeinga, but to have returned. They even 

 had traditions of people who had died, and descended the 

 Reinga, but who nevertheless returned to earth and life and 

 related what they had seen. A belief so widespread and so 

 generally accepted invested the locality with a particular 

 sanctity in the eyes of a Maori, and hence in the early days 

 of the colony the visits of Europeans were regarded with dis- 

 like. So far as I can ascertain, the first European who actu- 

 ally reached the Eeinga was the Rev. W. G. Puckey, who 

 journeyed thither from Kaitaia in 1834. An account of his 

 visit is given in the "Missionary Register" for 1835. In 

 1839 the Rev. Mr. Matthews and Mr. W. R. Wade followed 

 in his footsteps. An interesting notice of their journey is 

 also given in the " Missionary Register," and, as that publica- 

 tion is not now generally accessible, I will give a few extracts 

 from it. "It became dark before we reached the village ad- 

 jacent to the Reinga (Werahi). At first we could not find a 

 single individual in the place, till we discovered three men 

 crouched in a dark corner. We shook hands with two of 

 them; the third was Ware ware, a chief of some importance, 

 and father of Te Morenga. On Mr. Matthews holding out 

 his hand the old man drew back with a peculiar growl of dis- 

 pleasure, demanding what business we had there, telling us 



