36 The Hot Lake District — New Zealand. 



clouds of steam rising up from the earth, and on closer exa- 

 mination it is not difficult to find the hot springs and pools 

 whose presence the steam betokens. These vary in size and 

 shape from tiny steam jets playfully issuing from the sand on 

 the shore, or from between the stones further up on the beach, 

 to large bubbling cauldrons containing liquids in a high state 

 of thermal activity. Here, we notice among the Ti-tree scrub 

 stones covered with a yellowish deposit which proves to be 

 sulphur. There, a steam cloud rises from a group of boihng 

 springs or superheated mud holes, or perhaps we notice a basin 

 full of the overflow water from the springs which are used by 

 the Maori for bathing purposes. All around are evidences of 

 the presence of a warm region at no great distance from the 

 surface, and one cannot help treading among the scrub with a 

 feeling of insecurity, not knowing what a false step might lead 

 to. That there have been accidents of this sort, the neatly 

 railed little tombstone on the promontory clearly points out. 

 It states " that Martha Hinemoa Wilson was accidentally 

 scalded to death in such and such a year," and indeed to a 

 visitor such a circumstance seems to be easily within the 

 bounds of possibiHty. 



Some of the hot springs serve as pools for washing purposes, 

 others are used as boilers for the village, and are of various 

 capacities, from vast cauldrons capable of boiling a bullock to 

 tiny pools just large enough to cook an egg. The steam 

 issuing from the numerous fissures is utilized by the Maoris 

 for domestic purposes, being adapted in the following manner: — 

 Over one of these steam jets a square hole is made in the ground, 

 just large enough to allow a wooden box with holes bored 

 through the bottom to be set in, and by placing a board or 

 some sacking over the top an excellent steam oven is made, 

 which has the advantage of not requiring any attention, and 

 from a domestic point of view is said to be equal if not superior 

 to the artificial ones. Slabs of slone or boards are sometimes 

 placed over warm spots on the ground where the more lazy of 

 the natives recline and smoke, rolled in their blankets snug- 

 warni. 



