DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE OE JOURNEY. 
39 
for the greatest part of the day wading in the cold water whilst 
the rain poured upon us from above. This was the heaviest 
inundation which the natives had ever experienced, half of the pah 
at the mouth of the Grey having been swept away by it. The next 
day the clouds began to break, and the weather cleared up again, 
and although the rivers were still very high, we were able to start 
'on the 26th. 
Instead of following the Grey down to the spot where the 
Otututu joins it, I thought it better to strike across the country, 
which, in consequence of the deep water courses, was very wet 
work. After two hours’ walk, we emerged upon the grass plains 
which lie on the eastern bank of this fine stream. Notwithstanding 
it was still swollen, we managed to cross it several times in its 
lowest parts, in order to profit by the occasional shingle beaches ; 
but higher up this was not possible, the river bed being narrower, 
so we were compelled to remain on the eastern side, and to fin d 
our way through the dense scrub which occasionally replaces 
the grass. This gave us not a little trouble and hard work, 
so that by the evening we had not advanced more than four 
miles, and camped on the grass near the river. The next 
morning again one of my men fell ill, which detained us another 
dav. 
*) , 
To profit by this delay I started with another of the men up the 
river to examine its banks, wash for gold, and get a general outline 
of the country, whilst Mr. Burnett went to search for a road 
through the belt of interwoven scrub which surrounded us, over 
which, towards the east, two small grassy terraces were visible, 
these again bounded by forests. Returning towards evening we 
found our patient much better, and could therefore start the 
following day for the Mawhera-iti, on the line blazed by 
Mr. Burnett. We struck the river four miles north of its 
junction with the Grrey, where a large grass flat lies on the 
eastern side. 
The banks of the Mawhera-iti for the next three miles were 
covered with small grass patches, from one-eighth to half a mile 
broad, beyond which again large terraces appear, partly covered 
with splendid grass, partly with toitoi, Taranaki fern, and stunted 
manuka. These terraces reach to the Paparoha range, three 
to four miles distant, and would therefore form a good run for 
sheep or cattle but for the boggy grounds between. We crossed 
several very nice mountain streams falling into the main river, on 
the banks of the second of which we camped. 
The next morning, the 30th April, we ascended the terrace, 
which afforded better walking, as the lower ground was very much 
intersected by little swampy rivulets. We soon struck Mr. 
Rochfort’s line, and this sign of approaching civilization w^as very 
pleasant. We hoped that Mr. Rochfort was far ahead of us, as 
we should be able to travel much faster along the good line he had 
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