58 TORY CHANNEL. [PART I. 



face, a character common to all the hills of this 

 formation, the vegetation is by no means defective : 

 the moisture of the atmosphere makes up for the 

 deficiency of the upper stratum. The vegetation 

 reaches to the sea-shore, and does not suffer from 

 the salt-water. 



I visited the island of Moioio, and afterwards 

 came to a native settlement called Toko Karoro, on 

 the island of Arapaoa. The natives in the latter 

 place were sitting around a fire ; some were busy 

 in carving the head and stern of a new canoe, others 

 were smoking and talking. This little village is 

 situated on a tongue of land formed by a branch of 

 the hills, very narrow on the top, and falling on 

 both sides towards the sea. This singular position 

 makes it a very strong place, and easy of defence. 

 A steep path leads to the summit of the ridge, 

 where clearings for native cultivations appear in 

 the ravines. When I use the term " clearings, " I 

 mean those spots where the forest had been set on 

 fire : half-burned stems of trees were lying in con- 

 fusion over each other, and in the places between 

 were patches of potatoes. The number of pigeons 

 in these grounds and on the skirts of the forest was 

 very great ; in less than half an hour I shot twelve. 

 An intelligent-looking boy, his goodnatured face 

 painted with red ochre, pointed them out to me 

 quicker than I could load my gun. 



It is also in these open and cultivated spots 

 that the kakariki chiefly lives. This is a small 



