450 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, 
their appearance, and came screaming close tothe tent. Kauf- — 
mann shot a couple, and soon had them picked and in the soup- 
kettle, while Boss added a brace of ducks to our larder. Parrot 
soup proved so good, that from this day forward we were never 
without some in the kettle. Since sheep were intoduced into 
New Zealand these parrots have acquired a taste for kidney fat, 
and perching on the poor unresisting animals, eat through their 
flesh in order to obtain this delicacy. Further up the glacier 
these birds were so tame, that I knocked one on the head witha 
stick which I had inmy hand. Inthe crops of about a dozen 
specimens of the kea which I examined, I found nothing but the 
ereen pips of the berries of Podocarpus nivalis, and the birds 
seemed confined to the zone where these berries were ripe. 
As night closed in heavy drops of rain fell, and soon it began 
to blow a gale ; but, ensconsed in our felt sleeping-bags, we at 
first defied the elements, and slept well. After midnight, however, 
the weather became so terrible that sleep was impossible. The 
tent could not have been blown away, as it was made on Mr 
Whymper’s plan, the sides and floor being all in one; but I felt 
sure it must soon split ; It fluttered and banged, and the torrents 
of rain never ceased lashing its sides. Thunder crashed round the 
mountain peaks, and when morning came there was no improve- 
ment. So far the tent resisted the rain, but now Kaufmann’s 
sleeping bag was getting wet from soaking the damp through the 
tent wall, then a pool formed in our opossum rug, and it was no 
longer possible to keep dry. There was no chance of lighting a 
fire, so we sat in the tent shivering till mid-day, and at three 
o’clock, seeing that it promised for a similar night, and all our 
things were wet, we determined to secure the tent and provisions 
as best we could, and retreat to our lower camp. The wet scrub 
drenched us as we pushed our way through it, but on reaching 
our camp we were soon into dry clothes. The weather cleared 
for an hour or so about sunset, allowing us to get our supper in 
comfort ; butas it began to blow and rain as night came on, we 
made ourselves snug in our hammocks, and slept, in spite of the 
banging of the tent walls and beating of the rain. Next day was 
stormy, wet, and cold, the highest temperature being only 42°. 
After our mid-day meal we set off in our waterproofs to try and 
reach the Hooker glacier; but finding we should have to mount 
the steep slopes of the spur of Mount Cook through dripping 
ferns, we relinquished the attempt, and amused ourselves by 
running after and catching some young wekas. The old birds 
came from all points to remonstrate, and forming a wide circle, 
squealed and grunted forth their indignation, and as we returned 
their young ones unharmed, they were, I am sure, quite satisfied 
that their interference had a most important influence over our 
actions. It cleared a little before sunset, showing the mountains 
glittering with fresh-fallen snow, and then settled in again for a 
bad night, the wind still blowing a gale from the north-west. At 
midnight we were aroused by the most awful torrents of rain ; 
there seemed to be no wind with it, and in the morning when we 
