52 Historical Notes on the 



loads on their backs. Had I not taken the precaution to have none 

 but experienced swimmers in my party, a sad accident might have 

 happened. As I afterwards discovered, the river at our first crossing 

 had been still in a state of fresh, and although on returning from the 

 "West Coast we found the water low and clear, the river, according to 

 marks set, having fallen considerably, we had still to cross it in five 

 branches, some of them very deep, broad, and swift. The size of this 

 important river, which drains the Southern Alps, from opposite the 

 Mueller glacier to the north-west slopes of Mount "Ward, is at least 

 equal to that of tbe Rakaia in the plains. Its valley is about two 

 miles broad, which, six miles above the junction, is divided into two 

 main branches. On its western bank a fine grass flat occurs, about 

 one thousand acres in extent, where we camped, and which is a real 

 oasis in this constant wilderness of forest. This is, without doubt, the 

 open grass country of which some old Maori spoke to me as existing 

 in the interior, judging its value not by its extent but by the great 

 number of Wekas (W r ood hens) and Kakapos (Ground parrots) which, 

 up to the time of our arrival, had here enjoyed an undisturbed existence, 

 and which constitutes this spot a true Maori elysium. 



After travelling about two miles over this open grass flat, we again 

 arrived on the banks of the river, below the junction, being here 

 divided into two branches. Although the mountains on both sides 

 continued to be very high, and covered with snow, from which numerous 

 waterfalls descended, the river had now a much slower course, being 

 when flowing in one stream, three hundred to four hundred feet broad, 

 and of the size of the Molyneux. Here all the signs of the great 

 floods were visible which had occurred lately, detaining us so long in 

 the gorges. Not only were all the rapids and shingle islands covered 

 with masses of drift trees, many of them having still their green foliage, 

 but also along the sides of the river quicksands were prevalent, which 

 sometimes gave us no little trouble. At many places, on emerging 

 from the forest on a shingle reach, we were greatly disappointed to 

 find that after travelling a quarter of the distance over which it ex- 

 tended, we met deep backwaters, with quicksands reaching so far 

 upwards from the next point, as to oblige us to return to the forest 

 along the mountain sides, where travelling is very difficult. The river, 

 after the junction of the Clarke, runs for about nine miles in a west- 

 north-west direction, when it is joined by a large mountain torrent, 

 coming down in a cataract from the western chain. The banks of the 

 river, sometimes extending level for half a mile to the foot of the- 



