IN NEW ZEALAND. 
125 
promontory, jutting out nearly a quarter of a mile 
into the lake ; and is only approachable by canoes, 
except through a narrow defile, cut through a neck 
of land which joins it to the main, and which alone 
prevents it from being an island. One hundred 
native men, even with their limited means, could 
in ten days cut through this isthmus ; which would 
then form a deep ditch, or moat, always full of 
water, and would cut off all access from without. 
This forted eminence was chosen and prepared by 
Hongi, when he expected to be attacked by some 
hostile tribes. The arrangement of the port- 
holes in the embankments, and the general way 
in which it is fortified, shows the genius and, in 
the opinion of military men, the military skill of 
this renowned chief. Some of the native Pas are 
fortified with earth : the hill is levelled perpendi- 
cularly from the summit, to about the depth of ten 
yards, and precludes the possibility of any person’s 
climbing up without great difficulty. To preserve 
the inhabitants from the missile weapons of the 
besiegers, walls of turf and clay are built, about 
three feet above the surface ; behind which they 
lie secure, till the place is taken. These fortifica- 
tions are mostly found in the northern parts of the 
island, have a very imposing appearance, and are 
doubtless much more desirable, as a defence, than 
any which can be erected of wood ; that is to say, 
with the means which the New Zealanders now 
possess. The walls are of such a thickness, that 
no musket-ball can penetrate; and the hills, upon 
