CHAP. XXIII.] MAUNGA-TAUTARI. 317 



is still bent upon war, and told me that he would 

 fight till he was dead. He bears great hatred to 

 the tribe of Roturua, with which he has quarrels 

 of an old date to settle. 



In this neighbourhood there are several well- 

 peopled pas, amongst which was that of our com- 

 panion and guide Te Waro. We visited three of 

 them, and in all I found many highly interesting 

 carvings on the houses and fences. In one a papa 

 tupapakau, or carved mausoleum, erected for Te- 

 Wero-Wero's daughter, was an extraordinary piece 

 of native workmanship. 



Not far distant from Te-Wero's pa rises a hilly 

 range, Maunga-Tautari, separating the valley of 

 the Waipa from another valley more to the east- 

 ward, in which three rivers flow, the Waikato, the 

 Piako, and the Waiho, or the river Thames. The 

 Waikato winds around the northern slope of this 

 range, and is joined, about 100 miles above its 

 embouchure, by the Waipa. The valley of the 

 Waipa, which is therefore formed by Maunga- 

 Tautari and a range of hills near the western 

 coast, must be regarded as partly original volcanic 

 table-land, and partly alluvial soil ; the surface of 

 the latter is enriched by the forest which in ancient 

 times covered it. The groves, which are still stand- 

 ing in many places, especially where swamps are 

 found in the depressions of the land, consist mostly 

 of kahikatea : this pine, the swamp-pine (Da- 

 crydium excelsum), generally occupies low and 



