150 RETURN TO [PART I. 



lus Australis). The island bore evident marks of 

 being frequently overflowed, as large stems of drifted 

 trees were collected on it. The river Waiwakaio 

 is extremely well adapted for the application of 

 water-power to manufactories and mills ; and the 

 whole district of Taranaki, as far as I have yet seen, 

 rivals any in the world in fertility, beauty, and fit- 

 ness for becoming the dwelling-place of civilised 

 European communities. 



Our provisions grew very scanty ; and when on 

 the following day the sky was again overcast, and 

 the rain poured down in torrents, I almost gave up 

 the hope of ever reaching the summit of Mount 

 Egmont, especially as Tangutu now frequently lost 

 all trace of the right direction. We proceeded, 

 however, along the left bank of the river, wet to the 

 skin. The trees over which we had to clamber were 

 extremely slippery, and, although they preserved their 

 outward shape, we often sunk knee-deep into their 

 soft and decayed substance. To appease our hun- 

 ger we had nothing but the young shoots of a fern, 

 or the mucous undeveloped leaves of the Cyathea 

 medullaris ; these, with the heart of the cabbage-palm, 

 and, in open spots, the roots of the Pteris esculenta, 

 are, generally speaking, the only eatables that can 

 be obtained in a New Zealand forest. The rain had 

 made my gun useless a matter, indeed, of less con- 

 sequence, as there was no game, and very few of 

 the smaller birds. The confidence shown by these 

 birds proved that they are not often disturbed by 



