378 POTATO PRESERVES [PART II. 



them. Our call was only answered by a remarkably 

 distinct echo which resounded from the hills. The 

 river was about 200 yards broad, had a rapid cur- 

 rent, and was very winding To increase our 

 scanty stock of provisions I fired at some ducks, 

 which were the only living creatures visible, but 

 they were too shy to afford me a good chance, and 

 I missed them. We were quite at a loss how to 

 proceed from this point, but at last we struck to the 

 eastward, after having spent a long time in search- 

 ing for the proper place for fording a deep and 

 rapid creek which here discharged itself into the 

 Waikato. We went towards a range of hills which 

 run nearly from north to south, with branches ex- 

 tending towards the table-land of the Waikato 

 river, with narrow valleys between ; the top of this 

 range was barren and thinly covered with vegeta- 

 tion, but in the gorges shrubs and fern proved the 

 fertility of the soil. We intended to cross this 

 range, and made therefore for one of the gulleys. 

 How great was our own delight and that of the 

 hungry natives with us when we found a fine po- 

 tato-ground in the gulley, and leeks and cabbages 

 growing wild ! The sides of this small ravine con- 

 sisted of cliffs of pumicestone or tufa ; and here the 

 proprietors of the potato-ground had hollowed out 

 deep caves, which were secured from without and 

 were full of potatoes. Snares made of flax-leaves 

 were laid all around the entrance, for the purpose 

 of destroying the ruts. In one of these excavations, 



