130 COOK'S STRAITS. [PART i. 



The coast from Wanganui to Cape Egmont pre- 

 sents a cliff of moderate height, on the top of which 

 the land is flat, and rises with a very gentle slope 

 towards Cape Egmont. In many places layers of 

 lignite are found in the cliffs. The whole district 

 possesses great facilities for agriculture, being co- 

 vered with flax and fern. The forest begins at some 

 distance inland. 



The rivers along the coast from Wanganui are 

 the Waitotara, about twenty miles to the north- 

 ward, the Wenuakura, the Patea, the Tangahohi, 

 the Waimate, and the Kakapuni, all of which are 

 small. There are natives on the banks of all these, 

 and Waimate is knowi as the place where, on the 

 shipwreck of the barque Harriet, a fierce struggle 

 ensued between the natives and Europeans, in which 

 several men were killed on both sides. Although 

 this conflict, according to all the accounts I could 

 collect, was causi|d by the Europeans, Her Majesty's 

 vessel Alligator' afterwards inflicted a severe and 

 summary punishment on the natives. 



But to return to the Tory. We left the mouth 

 of the Wanganui immediately after Mr. Barret had 

 come on board. The weather looked threatening, 

 and it soon blew a gale of wind. The whole coast 

 from Kapiti to Cape Egmont, and thence to the 

 northward, is a complete lee-shore, on account of 

 the prevalence of north-westerly and south-westerly 

 winds ; a heavy swell sets towards the coast, and, as 

 the sea to a great distance from the shore has only 

 little depth, ships are obliged to keep a good offing. 



