CHAP. III.] ERITONGA VALLEY. 8l 



this spot the trees were half burnt and decaying, 

 some lying one over the other in disorder, whilst the 

 white and bleak stems of others were still standing 

 upright. High fern had sprung up, as is always 

 the case when a spot has been cleared for the pur- 

 pose of cultivation. On the opposite bank of the 

 river a circular stripe was pealed off from the bark 

 of totara-trees, a general custom with the natives 

 when they mark and " tapu " a tree for future use. 

 But in this case they seem to have been prevented 

 from felling the trees. These marks were doubtless 

 made while the Nga-te-Kahohunu tribe still pos- 

 sessed Port Nicholson, before they retired through 

 the valley to the eastward, and to Palliser Bay, 

 where they lived for some time in the dark recesses 

 of the forest, continually issuing from their hiding- 

 places to harass their enemies. The present in- 

 habitants of Port Nicholson, whose original dwell- 

 ing-place was Taranaki, know nothing of the valley 

 of the Hutt, nor are they aware of the existence of 

 the totara-forest, their fears having always confined 

 them to the sea-coast. 



This plateau is situated above a perpendicular 

 cliff of about thirty feet in height. A creek coming 

 from the westward discharges at this point a con- 

 siderable body of water into the Eritonga. 



During the time we were detained here the wind 

 was from the south-east ; the thermometer kept a 

 daily range from 39 to 50 Fahrenheit, and the air 

 was saturated with humidity. The only place 



VOL. I. G 





