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a very corpulent and goodnatured woman. Of this influential 
connection he seems to have made good use , and to have acquired 
a considerable fortune by dealing in corn ; he spoke Maori and 
English with perfect fluency; but had quite forgotten the German. 
He cherished the hope of being able to return in a few years to 
his native home. The teacher of the place, Hamona (Samuel) Nga- 
ropi also presented himself to us. Having been educated in a Wes- 
leyan missionary school, he was numbered among the more refined 
Maoris ; he carried a watch , for the alleged purpose of setting an 
example to his fellow-natives by a proper attention to time; and lived 
in a neat little house of entirely European style. 
The tracliy tomounlain Pirongia on the Waipa. 
From Whatawhata we proceeded twelve miles farther up the 
river ; and then pitched our tents on the right bank upon the first 
terrace of the river, at the mouth of the Mangaotama. We had 
closely approached the foot of Pirongia; and resplendent in the 
mellow radiance of the evening-sun, the mountain-mass with its 
many peaks and ravines, — an ancient, dilapidated volcano, 
2380 feet high, — presented a magnificent sight. This trachyte- 
mountain imparts to the lower Waipa-country the characteristic 
