TARANAKI GOVERNMENT GAZETTE. 55

of sandstone cliffs, with a sloping wall
of sandstone of about one hundred feet
and a drop into the creek of about
forty or fifty feet. This portion of our
route was the roughest and most
dangerous of the whole journey, as a
single false step would have been
certain death to the unfortunate
individual.

By careful climbing we managed to
reach the creek, only to increase our
discomfort; for the creek ran between
two high walls of sandstone, and there
was no possibility of our leaving it,
which in some places opened out into
pools of water two or three chains in
length, through which we had to wade
up to our waists, wetting the bottoms
of the swags. After wading through
six of these pools, we thought it time
to try and reach the range above us,
which we did with great difficulty,
climbing up a steep place where there
had been a slip.

From this point our progress was
uninterrupted by any great difficulties,
for the creek widened out, we were
enabled to keep on its banks, and fol-
lowing it down some five miles we
struck a river about a chain wide and
very deep, flowing very sluggishly,
which at first we took to be the Tonga-
porutu, but afterwards found was the
Waitara River.

We followed this river up some ten
miles, with a general bearing northerly
and north-westerly; but as we made
only six miles due north in ten miles of
traverse, we thought it advisable to
leave the river and drive due north
over everything, and try to reach the
Mokan River. After about four miles
of this course, we again crossed the
Waitara River for the last time, when
it was bearing north-east; and from a
tree on the summit of a high range
the course of the river might still be
traced north-easterly for some five or
six miles farther. The river itself had
not diminished in size very much, and
seemed as if it would run another
twenty miles, at least.

After leaving the river we ascended
a high ridge, and following the ridge
bearing north-west, struck the junc-
tion of two creeks at the base of the
spur, running nearly north-west. We
were now on another watershed, and
thought perhaps it would lead to the
Mokan River, but we again crossed
yet another watershed, and coming on
some very broken country where
was impossible to drive in anything
like a direct line, we were forced to

follow the spurs and ridges. It was
on the summit of one of these ridges
that we heard the sound of firing, which
seemed to come from a westerly direc-
tion over a high ridge about two miles
distant. It was generally supposed
that the sound was caused by Maoris
firing volleys at the funeral of some
chief. We determined, therefore, as
our food was running short, to drive
the track in the direction of the firing,
and on reaching the ridge in question
saw no signs of settlement, but in all
directions a suspicion of high steep
ridges as far as the eye could see. We
afterwards were informed that the firing
was at Pukearuhe Redoubt, distant
about twenty miles in a straight line,
and by the Mimi Valley considerably
further. At our feet we saw a valley
running a little west of north-west, and
on reaching it we found a good-sized
stream of water about ten links wide.
We followed this stream, and thought
it the Tongaporutu, but as it struck
westerly, then south-westerly, and
southerly, we were uncertain as to
what river it could be, but at the end of
the fourth day from the time we struck
it we came out to the sea coast at the
mouth of the Mimi River.

We were all very much disappointed
that we could not get through to the
Mokan River, but when we first struck
the valley we determined to follow it to
the coast, owing to the small amount of
food left. For ten days we had sub-
sisted on two meals a day (morning
and evening), consisting of broken bis-
cuit and water, and the last five days
our diet consisted of half a pannikin or
pannikin of biscuit dust from the
bottom of the sacks, mixed with pepper
and salt, and some hot tea poured on it
to make it a kind of porridge; and
even this could not last for ever, for
after breakfast on the last day of our
sojourn in the bush we had about a
pannikin and a half of "dust" left,
which, owing to our reaching the coast
in the evening, was fortunately not
required.

We think, after all, that we adopted
the wisest plan in keeping down the
Mimi to the Coast, for the un-
certainty of the exact position of the
Mokan River and the extreme rough-
ness of the country to be crossed,
coupled with the small amount of food,
and the weakness to which we
were reduced through hard work and
low diet, made it extremely hazardous
to undertake driving straight across
country with the prospect of striking