HOT SPRINGS OF NEW ZEALAND 103 



did the actual playing begin. There was a deep 

 rumbling below, a choking gurgling noise came 

 from the depths of the crater, and with a last grand 

 roar Wairoa shot into the air full one hundred and 

 thirty feet, a graceful, slender column of whitest 

 steam and water, breaking at the top into silvery 

 feathers which drooped, dissolved, and drifted off 

 into the sunlight. 



If it should occur to any one to wonder why a 

 town like Whakarewarewa should be built in the 

 midst of this hot-spring terrace with boiling pools 

 between the very houses and steaming holes scat- 

 tered about so plentifully that a visitor must look 

 pretty carefully where he walks lest he disappear 

 into one of them, the answer is almost too obvious ; 

 the Maoris are a thrifty race, coal and fire- 

 wood are expensive, stoves rust and kettles require 

 tending; then why go to superfluous expense and 

 trouble when nature has supplied fuel, stoves, and 

 constantly simmering kettles as free of charge as 

 sunlight and fresh air ? For here at their very doors 

 these steam holes or "fumaroles" are at all times 

 ready for use; over the openings are laid small 

 boxes, the food to be cooked, wrapped in leaves, 

 is placed within, and soon an appetizing smell an- 

 nounces that dinner is ready. If other domestic 

 cares delay the dinner hour if the father of the 



