1835. 



HUTS —POKOHES— PLANKS 



577 



an entrance to resolute men. There is neither embankment nor 

 ditch. Within the small square spaces, enclosed by the slighter 

 palings, are the huts of the natives : the angular, low thatched 

 roofs of which are scarcely set off from the ground by walls a 

 foot or two in height. These roofs slope downwards, length- 

 wise as well as sideways ; so that the front of the hut is the 

 highest part. The upper point of the roof may be eight feet 

 from the ground ; the space of ground occupied, about ten 

 square feet ; seldom more, indeed usually less. Besides the door, 

 through which a man cannot pass excepting upon his hands 

 and knees, there is neither window, nor aperture of any kind. 

 The New Zealand ' order of architect ure,"* is marked by two 

 wide planks placed edgeways in front, joined together at the 

 top by nails or pegs, and forming a wide angle, in which the 

 space is filled up, excepting a door-way two feet square, with 

 materials similar to those of the walls and roof, namely wicker 

 work, or ' wattling,' covered by a thatching of broad flag 

 leaves or rushes. The eaves of the roof project two or three 

 feet beyond the front ; so likewise do the side walls. In this 

 sort of porch the family sit, eat, and, in the daytime, often 

 sleep. At night most of them huddle together, within what, 

 in every respect, deserves the name of a sty : even a Fuegian 

 wigwam is far preferable, for as that is frequently left vacant 

 during many successive weeks, heavy rains and a cold climate 

 are antidotes to any particular accumulation of dirt. In a fine 

 climate, surrounded by beautiful trees and luxuriant herbage, 

 can one account for human nature degrading itself so much as 

 to live in such a den ? Is it not that the genuine, simple beauties 

 of Creation are understood, and enjoyed, only in proportion as 

 man becomes more refined, and as he differs more from his 

 own species in what is falsely called a state of nature. 



I was inquisitive about the large planks, generally painted 

 red, which appeared in front of every house. The natives told 

 me that such boards had always been made by their ancestors, 

 before tools of any metal were seen in the land : they were 

 from twelve to twenty feet in length, about two feet in breadth^ 

 and two inches thick : and they seemed to have been 'dubbed' 



VOL. II. 2 p 



