352 



of a payment of thirty shillings to the king, for passing beyond our present 

 limits, I declined the alternative, and, in consequence, we returned down 

 stream. 



I found the strata entirely tertiary. The surface of the country gave me 

 the idea that it had originally formed a succession of terraces, rising by steps 

 from the coast to the interior, but that the denudation of the soft strata, by 

 the action of running water in the present lines of drainage, had so cut up the 

 former level land, as to make it a very broken country. 



There is a general horizontality of the upper strata, at least — the valleys 

 are i valleys of denudation; there are no valleys of undulation. 



The distance of Utapa from the Whanganui township is estimated at 

 about eighty miles by the river. From the hill above I obtained a bearing of 

 B/uapehu, with a pocket compass, viz., N. 70° to 75° E., (che northern and 

 southern peaks respectively.) This bearing would appear to make the distance 

 in a straight line, thirty-four miles only. 



The gravel in the bed of the Whanganui gives a good idea of the rocks 

 which are to be found at its sources. I found the gravel to be principally com- 

 posed of igneous rocks, viz., traps, tuffs, basalt, etc., but with a proportion, 

 say one-tenth, of hard sandstone and indurated slate rocks, similar to the usual 

 rocks of the main range. As we proceed from Wellington to the IsT.W., we 

 find in the Manawatu gravel, no igneous rock — in the Rangitikei, a small 

 proportion — in the Wangaehu and Whanganui, the chief part is derived from 

 these rocks. 



The slate pebbles in the bed of the Whanganui no doubt indicate slate 

 rock at its sources. 



In the ascent of the river we had passed numerous villages and found a 

 large population. Parekino, Atene (Athens), Koroniti (Corinth), Ranana 

 (London), Karatia (G-alatia), Pipiriki, Ohinemutu, are some of the names of 

 these villages. They are surrounded by cultivations of fruit trees and of maize, 

 potatoes, wheat, tobacco, etc. The vine grows luxuriantly, peaches are in over- 

 whelming abundance, although at the time not quite ripe. At Ohinemutu I 

 found a lemon tree in full bearing, with excellent ripe fruit. Each village had 

 generally an immense church, but, almost invariably, the church was in a 

 ruinous state. 



Pipiriki is the capital of the district. It contains a considerable population 

 and a large extent of cultivation. It also possesses soine charms of scenery, 

 and is rather more open than other parts of the river. The Whanganui runs 

 in a deep cutting far below the level of the surrounding country. Its imme- 

 diate banks are generally perpendicular cliffs. On the summit of these cliffs 

 is often a sufficient quantity of level, or of undulating land, on which lie the 

 cultivations of the village. In many places the access to the top of the cliff is 

 by ladders, the villages are entirely hidden from view, which on ascending the 

 ladders are found large and populous. The country beyond rises to a height 

 of perhaps 700 or 800 feet above the river, and is always densely timbered. 



At the time of my visit the great lizard superstition was in full force on 

 the Whanganui. A prophet had arisen who had stated that the cause of the 

 disasters of the Maoris was the increase of lizards, that the lizard was the 

 root of evil ; that this animal had increased, was increasing, and ought to be 

 exterminated. 



In consequence large parties of Maoris were travelling through the 

 country lizard hunting, and at Karatia we found the people cutting down a 

 beautiful grove of karaka trees, to enable them to catch the lizards, that the 

 prophet had informed them were in the trees. 



In Hochstetter's section across the North Island, he has put in the 

 Whanganui mountain called Taupiri, as volcanic. We passed near its base, 



