28 
DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE OE JOURNEY. 
* 
on which we continued for another mile, without finding a 
crossing place, the river being too deep. 
Towards noon we arrived at a place covered with high fern ; 
here I ordered a halt, as I did not know whether we should meet 
with any more fern land on our route. We all began at once to dig 
for fern root, and the rain having fortunately ceased, we lit a fire 
and had a meal. I must confess that this was a trying moment 
for me, looking at the sunken faces of these men, w T ho had been 
my companions in so many trials, and watching their efforts to 
swallow their meal of fern root, whilst they themselves now began 
to fear that I was right in saying yesterday that we had passed 
the Mawhera-iti. It began again to rain heavily, but we followed 
the river bed, frequently endeavouring to get to the western side, 
as we knew that we should otherwise soon have to cross the 
Ahaura, a very large river, flowing into the Grey from the east¬ 
ward, and that it might be difficult, if not impossible, for us to 
ford it so near the confluence. 
. We were in a critical position, jammed in between two large 
rivers, without food, and by no means certain that we had not 
already passed the provisions of which we were in search. Seeing 
that we were nearing the southern slopes of the great western 
chain, I was suggesting to Mr. Burnett that one of us two should 
proceed down the river upon a raft, in order, if possible, to brino- 
up provisions, when we were aroused by the voice of one of the 
men, who shouted most lustily that he saw a Maori. The sound 
came like music to our ears ; but on hearing our voices the Maori 
began to run away, and stopped only when Dick (our native) 
whose voice he knew, called out to him. He was much frightened 
not having been accustomed to hear the human voice in these 
solitudes. It turned out to be Mira, a native from Collingwood 
one of the party who was bringing up our provisions and who 
informed us that they had been placed about a mile lower down 
as the party bringing them up had been detained by the rains’ 
and feared, if they attempted to bring them further that thev 
would have been spoiled by the damp. °He also told us that there 
was a white man with them, and that Mr Macknv toe i, 616 
had not seen any trace duriig the iL flVe d a y 7hid 
ts’.-tj’z tsr"s x? 
expected. ^ amVed later at the G rey than was 
All weariness was forgotten anrl lmic 
towards the encampment, which was’indicated to”£ by fhetmof 1 
of a fire. I must confess that I felt tears rush - T * “l 1 * 6 
I was thus assured that the privations of mv nnrtv '"- v O'* "ben 
w;th patience, were at an ej, ZTZt o7e Sl^afo^T 
cL2hvT ey ’ i 1°, pro ™ the P oss Mity of reaching ‘ihe Wes* 
boast by an available road,” had been accomplished 8 We very 
