248 
A VISIT TO IIO TO - MAI IA N A. 
“ Tarawera Lake,” where we received a cordial welcome. 
Immediately opposite, there is a lofty mountain which the 
natives formerly regarded as sacred, from the idea that it was 
the abode of spirits ; they said, although many persons had 
attempted to ascend it, no one ever succeeded in reaching the 
top; for the higher they climbed, the higher also grew the 
mountain. The teacher of the village is a “ tuwenua ”—a 
kind of leper, whose toes and fingers seemed to be wearing 
away with dry ulcerous looking sores, his skin being quite 
horny. There were two other lepers there, which, as the 
disease is uncommon, I looked upon as a remarkable occur¬ 
rence, especially in so small a place; probably the hot 
sulphureous springs may have something to do with it. The 
whole of the front teeth of these people are either much 
decayed, or quite yellow and unsightly, which may be 
attributed to their constantly cooking their food in the 
boiling springs. The night which we passed was so extremely 
cold that I could scarcely sleep; this appeared singular as 
the Pa is surrounded by hot springs, and the inference to 
be drawn from their proximity, where hundreds of them are 
sending up their clouds of steam, is, that it would materially 
heighten the temperature, and this supposition would be 
strengthened by the circumstance that a large and deep lake 
of warm water and of nearly a mile in length is in the imme¬ 
diate vicinity ; but such is not the case, for although the water 
is warm, the air one foot above it is very cold. 
The next morning I arose early and accompanied by my 
companion, we paid a visit to the largest puia or boiling spring 
called “ Te Tarata." At the first view its appearance is that of 
an immense flight of steps, of a circular form, with water flowing 
over them, which seemed to freeze as it fell, assuming the 
color of snow. The water here is of a different character to 
that of the Tukupuarangi, being of a bluish, milky hue, and 
having a very soft and slightly saline flavour: the change in its 
temperature I found very striking, for in some parts it was 
quite cold, while in others it was warm or hot. On some of 
the steps there was a very slippery deposit of a brown ochreous 
substance; on others, a formation closely resembling a kind 
