276 
towards South. I stood as if spellbound. The sky was cloudless, the 
atmosphere so transparent and clear, that whatever rose above the ho- 
rizon, was plainly visible. Before me rose, emerging from the blue 
ocean, the old volcanic cone Karioi, 2-170 feet high, the huge corner- 
pillar at the South-side of the entrance to Whaingaroa Harbour, 
from its foot to its top densely covered with forest; farther to the 
interior , in the blue distance , the trachytic Mountain Pirongia, 
situated on the Waipa River ; farther to the South, Albatross Point 
on the South-side of Kawhia Harbour; then at a still greater dis- 
tance faint outlines of land extending far to the West; and farther 
yet to the West upon the blue sea I descried a gigantic cone with 
snow-clad summit. This was Mount Egmont , the famous Taranaki 
Mountain. I experienced an indescribable joy , at beholding , for 
the first time, that magnificent volcanic cone; although at a dis- 
tance of not less than 110 sea-miles, yet so distinct, that I could 
plainly discern the regular ribs, running down its slope; and 
even now, in the middle of summer, its summit was still to a great 
extent covered with snow. 
Farther ahead we met by the road-side some few huts, sur- 
rounded by luxuriant bushes of the flax-plant. The native, who 
accompanied us , whose name was Kuki , i. e. Cook , explained to 
me, that this was a Maori-camp, and that the huts had been 
erected for the purpose of providing a shelter for travelling parties. 
One of the Phormium bushes was tied together. This excited the 
attention of our Kuki ; he untied the bush , scanned the leaves 
singly, and broke out into a loud laugh of joy. On going up to 
him , I saw that the leaves had all been written on. Kuki ex- 
plained to me, that they bore the names of his friends and ac- 
quaintances in Whaingaroa , who had but lately passed that way, 
and that upon a second leaf a young Maori had traced a fond 
greeting to his beloved. Kuki now likewise cut his name upon it 
with a muscle-shell: 
Na Kuki 
91 + 75 + 73 ' 
1 The Maoris like employing numerical ciphers for writing. The vowels a, c, 
