54 
DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE OP JOURNET. 
we ascended for 1,500 feet before we found a suitable place to 
camp. We continued the ascent the next morning, which, with 
our heavy loads, was rather tedious work. After having ascended 
another 500 feet, w r e left the black-birch forest behind us, and 
rata and sub-Alpine plants began to clothe the sides of the 
mountain. We soon reached the snow line, the snow itself lying 
on the more shady spots in patches. The weather then suddenly 
changed, and it began to snow, so that we were obliged to camp 
at the first fit spot we could find, which was about 700 feet below 
the summit. The following day was cloudy and showery, and the 
two natives from the Buller complained much of the cold, and told 
me they should return; I could not prevent them doing so had I 
been inclined, and they accordingly left me. I was annoyed at 
this, as they had themselves ascended the mountain last year, and 
had promised to point out to me from the summit some important 
features in the geography of the district. The native whom I had 
engaged at the (Trey, under pretence that I had scolded him too 
much because he would not rise like the rest of us, also left, 
preferring the fire-side in the whare at the Buller to our life in 
the bush. After they had left, my party consisted only of five 
Europeans. 
On the following day, accompanied by Mr. Burnett and one of 
the men, I started for the summit, wading through the deep snow 
which covered the slopes ot the mountain. A”otwithstandin <r the 
weather began to clear during the day, it did not do so as rapidly 
as I could have desired, for, from what I saw of the panorama 
around, I was satisfied that I could not have selected a better spot 
tor a topographical station, the eastern side of the mountain 
presenting precipices from 600 to 1,000 feet high, which enabled me 
to obtain clear open views in that direction. Whilst ascending J 
had observed that the rocks resembled the grits of the Grey ami 
on the top I found shales and conglomerates, which led me to 
believe that I was again m a coal-bearing formation, and my ideas 
were confirmed on examining a quantity of rocks collected by one 
of the men, whom 1 had sent down a gully near our camp for that 
purpose. Amongst the shales which he brought up 1 1 found 
impressions of calamites, and leaves of dycotyledonous plants 
similar to those observed m the coal measures of the Grey 1 The 
weather again became fine, and the nights cold, the thermometer 
falling six to eight degrees below freezing point mter 
On the 5th July I again ascended the mountain : there was not 
a cloud to be seen, and the whole country around W i;i f 
panorama before me. It would be difficult folly p,',n u SUp f r ^ 
J »aw, and I will therefore in a few word? 1,ve X'f "fo 
point of Taura-te-Weha, with other bold EE f ,T' ! 
into the sea; above these rose a mass of ,, ,, 1 ' “’ stretchm g 
which towered the snow-clad giaT ol ^"2 
