CHAP. XII.] REINGA. 199 



whelmed by it. The sand-hills near Cape Maria 

 van Diemen are separated by swampy valleys, mostly 

 covered with raupo (rushes of the genus Typha) : 

 where the drainage is better, flax and fern grow. 

 Streamlets discharge themselves from the swamps 

 into the sea, and on their banks some natives rear 

 their provisions, consisting of common and sweet 

 potatoes, water-melons, and pumpkins. There is 

 but little vegetable earth mixed with the sand, but 

 the moisture of the climate, and the reflection of the 

 sun from the dazzling white sand-hills, together 

 with the extreme northerly situation of the place, 

 render the vegetation productive, and the fruits 

 ripen almost a month earlier than in the Bay of 

 Islands. The natives do not exceed a dozen in 

 number, and belong to the once powerful, but now 

 conquered and scattered, tribe of the Haupouri 

 (wind bringing darkness). They are slaves, but 

 are suffered to live undisturbed. The little village, 

 in which they received me with great kindness, 

 consisted of the most whimsical structures I ever 

 saw. Each dog and each pig had its sty fenced 

 in, and the men themselves had similar little sties 

 to live in : from one of these the patriarch of the 

 family addressed me with a dignity that contrasted 

 strangely with the surrounding simplicity. 



Reinga, a spot kept sacred by the natives, as the 

 entrance into " the undiscover'd country, from 

 whose bourn no traveller returns," is situated some- 

 what to the eastward of Cape Maria van Diemen ; 



