96 Historical Notes on the 



near its mouth, consists of waterworn flattened boulders, offering a 

 very bad footing to a horse. The river is easily to be crossed on foot, 

 reaching scarcely to the middle. An extensive view, taking in Blount 

 Cook, and the other stately ice-clad summits near it, is obtainable 

 when we round the next bluff, separating the bed of the last- 

 mentioned river from Lake Poerua, a lagoon of a length of three 

 miles, surrounded on three sides by glacier accumulations. A low 

 sandbank, thrown up by the Pacific Ocean, forms its boundary to the 

 west. Its northern arm, on which we camped, is nearly dry at low 

 tide, and contained then drinkable fresh water. Great quantities of 

 waterfowl are living here, giving animation to the quiet foreground, 

 over which the giants of the Southern Alps show their magnificent 

 forms in all their grave splendour. Round the lagoon itself, which 

 gradually becomes silted up, a rich vegetation has sprung up, con- 

 sisting, near the shore, of fine grass. It was real y a treat to see the 

 poor horses which, for the last three days, had been on short commons, 

 enjoy a run and have a feed of succulent grass ad libitum. Here, 

 again, we met a party of Italians and Greeks who were returning from 

 the South, having prospected several rivers near Mount Cook; and 

 although they were able to trace almost everywhere the existence of 

 gold, they could not find ground rich enough to recompense 

 them for bringing provisions so far. Arriving at the outlet of the 

 Poerua, we found that the mokihi, or craft, made of flax-sticks, put 

 together by a large party of diggers, was on the other side, and as we 

 thought it impossible to cross on horseback without swimming, one of 

 my Maoris ^wam across to bring the mokihi over, whilst we occupied 

 ourselves to make another flax rope, so as to be able to direct it from 

 both sides. It was just high water when Tipeni brought the clumsy 

 concern over ; but before we had made our preparations, the 

 tide was running out so fast that one of the flax 

 ropes broke repeatedly when it came in mid-channel, and we 

 had the greatest difficulty in bringing everything over. In fact, once 

 the mokihi was close to the surf, and the man whom we pulled across 

 made himself ready for a swim, but at last we landed him safely. As 

 we heard afterwards, a poor fellow was drowned here shortly 

 before, his mokihi having been taken down by the current into the surf. 

 "VTe camped the same night on the southern side of the lagoon, in an 

 old Maori whare, and started before daybreak to pass the most dreaded 

 portion of the coast, Abut Head, which, when my companion had 

 passed before, owing to favourable circumstances, wa*, with the excep- 

 tion of the southern end, or Abut Head proper, mostly sanded up. It 



