Strolling back to camp, his movements were quickened by observing that
the rest of the party had finished the morning meal, and were only
awaiting his arrival to commence the first day's sight-seeing. After a
council of war, it was finally decided to remain in the valley for the
rest of the day, making for Taupo and Rotomahana on the morrow.
"In this valley of Waiotapu," said Warwick, "you have a good idea, on
a small scale, of Rotomahana and the terraces. The same sorts of pools
are on view; you have also the feeling of being on the lid of a boiling
cauldron, and can realize most of the sensations belonging to a place
where you may be boiled alive or burnt to death at any moment."
"A romantic ending," replied Massinger; "but I don't wish to end my New
Zealand career in such a strictly Maori fashion. What is one to do, to
avoid incensing the _Atua_ of this very queer region?"
"Be sure to follow me or Erena most carefully, and do not step away
from the path, or into any water that you have not tried. One traveller
did so, and, as it was at boiling heat, died next day, poor fellow!
So now, let us begin. Do you see this yellow waterbasin? This is the
champagne pool. For the champagne, watch this effect." Here a couple of
handfuls of earth were thrown in. Thereupon the strange water commenced
to effervesce angrily, the circles spreading until the outermost edges
of the pool were reached. "The outlet, you see, is over that slope, and
is known as the Primrose Falls. But we must not linger. Beyond that
boiling lake, with the steam clouds hanging over it, lies a terrace,
gradually sloping, with ripples in the siliceous deposit, finally
ending in miniature marble cascades."
"All this is wonderful and astonishing, but it is only the beginning
of the play. I shall reserve my applause until the last act. I have
been in strange places abroad, but never saw so many different sorts
of miracles in one collection. What are those cliffs, for instance, so
white and glistening?"
"The Alum Cliffs, sparkling with incrustations of alum. You notice that
they rise almost perpendicularly from the hot-water pools? In contrast,
the colour of the surrounding earth varies from pale yellow to Indian
red and crimson. Some of the crystals you see around are strongly acid.
The pools are all sorts of colours: some like pots of red paint, others
green, blue, pink, orange, and cream."
"Evidently Nature's laboratories. What she will evolve is as yet
unknown to us. Let us hope it will be more or less beneficial."
"It is hard to say," replied Warwick, musingly. "There is a legend
among the Maoris that, many generations since, this valley, now so
desolate, was covered with villages, the soil being very productive;
that the inhabitants displeased the local Atua, upon which he ordered
a volcano in the neighbourhood to pour forth its fiery flood. An
eruption followed, which covered the village many feet deep with the
scoria and mud which, in a hardened state, you now see."
"Highly probable. I can believe anything of this sulphur-laden Valley
of the Shadow. And did the mountain disappear also?"
"No! there he stands, three thousand feet high, quite ready, if one may
judge from appearances, for another fiery shower. Let us hope he will
not do it in our time. In the mean time, look at this Boiling Lake. Is
not the water beautifully blue? And what clouds of steam! It is much
the same, except in size, as the one above the Pink Terrace."
The day wore on as they rambled from one spot to another of the magical
region.
"It is a city of the genii," said Massinger, as he watched the guide
apply a match to one of a number of metallic-looking mounds, which
promptly caught fire, and blazed until quenched. "Where in the world,
except a naphtha lake, could one find such an inflammable rest for the
sole of one's foot? I believe the place is one-half sulphur, and the
other imprisoned fire, which will some day break forth and light up
such a conflagration of earth, sky, and water, as the world has not
seen for centuries. See here"--as, driving the end of his walking-stick
into the crumbling earth, it began to smoke--"it is too hot to hold
already."
The sun was low, as the little party, having lunched at a bungalow
specially erected for tourists, took the homeward route.
"There is one more sight, and not the least of the series," said
Warwick, as they approached a curious soot-coloured cone, from which,
of course, steam ascended, and strange sounds, with intermittent
groanings, made themselves heard.
"The powers be merciful to us mortals, who can but believe and
tremble!" ejaculated Massinger. "What demon's kitchen is this?"
"Only a mud volcano," answered Warwick. "Let us climb to the top and
look in."
The mound, formed by the deposit of dried mud, some ten or twelve
feet high, was easily ascended. Open at the top, it was filled with
a boiling, opaque mass of seething, bubbling mud. Ever and anon were
thrown up fountain-like spurts, which turned into grotesque shapes as
they fell on the rim of the strange cauldron. A tiny dab fell upon
Erena's _kaitaka_. She laughed.
"It will do this no harm; but it might have been my face. A mud scald
is long of healing."
"What an awful place to fall into alive!" said Massinger, as he gazed
at the steaming, impure liquid. "Is it known that any one ever slipped
over the edge?"
"More than one, if old tales are true," said Warwick; "but they were
_thrown in_, with bound hands, after battle. It was a choice way of
disposing of a favourite enemy. He did not always sink at once; but
none ever came out, dead or alive."
"Let us go on!" said Erena, impatiently. "I cannot bear to think of
such horrors. I suppose all nations did dreadful things in war."
"And may again," interposed Warwick. "These people were not worse
than others long ago. The Druids, with their wicker cages filled with
roasting victims, were as well up to date as my Maori ancestors.
Luckily, such things have passed away for ever."
"Let us trust so," said Massinger, feelingly.
Erena made no answer, but walked forward musingly on the track which
led in the direction of the camp.
"Though narrow, it appears to have been much used," he remarked.
"It is an old war-path," replied the guide. "When the Ngapuhi came
down from Maketu on their raids, they mostly used this route. I am
not old enough to have seen anything of Heke's war in '45. It was the
first real protest against the pakeha. The natives were beginning to
be afraid, very reasonably, that the white man would take the whole
country. If the tribes had been united, they could have defied any
force then brought against them, and driven your people into the sea."
"And why did they not make common cause?"
"The old story. Blood-feuds had embittered one tribe against another.
Chiefs of ability and forecast, like Waka Nene and Patuone, his
brother, saw that they must be beaten in the long run. They allied
themselves with the British. They had embraced Christianity, and
remained faithful to the end, fighting against the men of their own
blood without the least regard to their common origin."
"I need not ask you," said Massinger, "on which side your sympathies
are enlisted."
"No! it goes without saying," answered the guide. "I have had a fair
education; I have been about the world, and I cannot help recognizing
the resistless power of England, against which it would be madness to
contend. I should never think of joining the natives in case of war. A
war which is coming, from all I hear. At the same time, I cannot help
feeling for them. Amid these woods, lakes, and through these mountains
and valleys, their ancestors roamed for centuries. No people in the
world are more deeply attached to their native land. Think how hard for
them to be dispossessed."
"And have you an alternative to offer?"
"None whatever, if war breaks out. It is idle to expect that New
Zealand, able to support millions of civilized people, should be
abandoned to less than a hundred thousand savages; for such, with
exceptions, I am afraid I must call them. As for justice and mercy in
dealing with conquered races, these are mere words. _Force_ is the
only law, as it has ever been. What mercy did the Maoris show to their
conquered enemies? They slew, enslaved, tortured--and worse! They
exterminated weak tribes, and took their lands. They have little ground
for complaint if a nation stronger in war applies the same measure to
them."
"I congratulate you," said Massinger, "upon the logical view which you
take of the question. But is there no way of reconciling the interests
of the colonists and the children of the soil?"
"Certainly. If they are cool enough on both sides to adjourn this
paltry dispute about the Waitara block until it can be settled by legal
authority or arbitration, war might be avoided. No people are more
obedient to law, when they properly understand it. They are naturally
litigious, and enjoy a good long-winded lawsuit. If they were convinced
that they were getting fair play in an arbitration, which I should
recommend--and there are available men, like Mannering or Waterton,
who understand thoroughly the people and their customs, and are trusted
by both sides--I believe they would cheerfully abide by an award."
"Then as to the sale of lands, disputed titles, upset price, and so on?"
"I believe that they are getting justice from the present land
tribunals apart from political pressure, which would weaken in time;
and if they do not get it from England, I do not know, speaking from
experience and reading, from what other nation to expect it. There must
be delay and litigation, but they will be satisfied in the end."
"And if not, and war breaks out?"
"Then there will be bloodshed to begin with, murder, outrage; all
things which lead to unpardonable crimes on both sides; blood-feuds
which will last for generations."
"A man like you might do much good in the legislature. Why do you not
come forward, when inferior people of my own nation, from what I hear,
degrade our parliamentary system?"
"The time is not yet," he answered. "We shall soon have other matters
to think of. When we get back to Auckland there will be very little
political business for some time to come."
* * * * *
Onward, and still onward. Fresh marvels of scenery seemed hourly
opening before them. In pride of place, Tongariro, fire-breathing
Titan, with volcanic cone, encircled by his stupendous mountain range.
As they gazed, the ceaseless steam-clouds, now enveloping the summit,
now wind-driven sportively, as if by a giant's breath, exposed to view
the darkened rim of the crater.
To the right of Tongariro, more than five thousand feet in height, they
saw the heaven-piercing bulk of Ruapehu (eight thousand nine hundred
feet), cloud-crowned, lava-built, but girdled with ice-fields at a
lower altitude; and at the base, arising from gloomy forests, valleys
seamed and fissured, precipices, ravines, and outlined terraces.
"What a land of contrasts!" said the Englishman. "The sublime, the
dread and awful, the idyllic and peaceful rural, seem mingled together
in the wildest profusion; fire and water conflicting furiously in
the same landscape. Nature appears to have thrown her properties and
elements about without plan or method."
"A strange country!--a strange people!" exclaimed Erena. "Is that what
you are thinking of? Surely you cannot expect an ordinary population
amid scenes like these. I fear that we resemble our country in being
calm as the sleeping sea, until the storm of passion is aroused."
"And then?" queried he.
"Then, if we feel injured, cruel as the grave, merciless, remorseless.
So beware of us! We make bad enemies, I confess; but, then, we are
always ready to die for our friends."
"I am numbered, I trust, among that favoured class, am I not?" he
continued, as he gazed at the girl's face, wearing as it did a sudden
look of high-souled resolve.
So might have looked, so posed, the daughter of Jephthah; so, scorning
fate and the dark death, stood Iphigenia as she awaited the blow of
doom.
The expression of her face changed; a wistful, half-pleading look came
into her eyes.
"Why ask?" she said softly. "You know that you are; that you always
will be."
* * * * *
And now, after a passage across the pumice-strewn levels, lo! Taupo the
sacred, Taupo-Moana, the moaning sea.
There was no thought of unsatisfied expectation as Massinger gazed upon
the glorious sheet of water, over which the eye wandered until the
darksome shadows of Kaimanawa and Tankaru dimmed its azure surface--the
vast mountain range, from which, on Tongariro, a mathematically correct
cinder-cone sprang upwards, like the spire of a gigantic minster.
On the other side, the peak of Tauhara, 3600 feet in height, stood out
in lone majesty. The twin Titan, Ruapehu, bared his enormous shoulder
to the unclouded sky. The day was wonderfully fine, having the softened
atmospheric tone peculiar to the later summer months of the northern
island. Then gradually a delicate haze crept over the horizon, shading
the stern outlines of the dark-browed Alp. The foot-hills seemed to
have approached through the clear yet tinted lights of the fading day.
"When have I seen such a panorama before?" thought Massinger. "What
vastness, what sublimity, in all its component parts! Then, as columns
of steam rose in the far distance, completing the weird and abnormal
effects of the unfamiliar vision, speech, even exclamation, appeared to
fail him.
"Yonder stands the _pah_ of his Majesty, King Te Heu Heu, the head
chief of all this district," interposed Warwick. "We must send forward
a herald and pay our respects, or our visit may not be so successful.
He has a queer temper, and is as proud as if he had been sent from
heaven. There is his castle."
"Warwick is right," said Erena, coming up at this juncture and arousing
herself from the reverie into which she, too, appeared to have fallen.
"This is his kingdom, and we must do _tika_. We can rest for to-night,
however, and give Te Heu Heu the second proper warning, so that he can
receive us in state. I wish you could have seen the _real_ Te Heu Heu,
however."
"Why so? and what was his special distinction?"
"Something truly uncommon, personally. You would then have carried
away an idea of a Maori Rangatira--one of the olden time. A giant in
stature, he must have resembled old Archibald Douglas in 'Marmion'--'So
stern of look, so huge of limb.' He lived in a valley some distance
from here, among the hills you see yonder. But life in these regions
has always been uncertain. One fine night--or perhaps it was a stormy
one, for there had been a deluge of rain--the soil about here in the
valley, even the rocks, they say, became loosened and came down in
a kind of avalanche. It filled the whole valley, covering up Te Heu
Heu, his people, his wives and children, numbering in all some seventy
souls. They were never seen alive or heard of any more. There was a
lament composed by his brother to his memory. I remember a verse or
two.
'LAMENT FOR TE HEU HEU.
'See o'er the heights of dark Tauhara's peak
The infant morning wakes. Perchance my friend
Returns to me clad in that lightsome cloud.
Alas! I toil alone in this cold world; for thou art gone.
'Go, thou mighty one! Go, thou hero!
Go, thou that wert a spreading tree to shelter
Thy people, when evil hovered round.
Ah! what strange god has caused so dread a death
To thee and thy companions?
'The mount of Tongariro rises lonely in the South,
While the rich feathers that adorned thy great canoe, Arawa,
Float on the wave. And women from the West look on and weep.
Why hast thou left behind the valued treasures
Of thy famed ancestor Rongo-maihua,
And wrapped thyself in night?'
There are as many more verses," said Erena, "but I have forgotten them.
They all express the deepest feeling of grief--almost despair--as,
indeed, do most of the Maori love-songs and laments. The grief was by
no means simulated in the case of relations. I know myself of several
suicides which took place immediately after funerals or disappointments
in love."
"There is strong poetic feeling, with a high degree of imagination,
in the native poems and orations," said Massinger. "It is a pity that
these recitations should die out."
"The Te Heu Heu we refer to was a remarkable man," said Warwick.
"Standing as near seven feet as six, he looked, I have heard people
say, the complete embodiment of the Maori chief of old days--terrible
in peace or war; and, arrayed in his cloak of ceremony, with the
_huia_ feathers in his hair, and his _merepounamou_ in his right hand,
was enough to strike terror into the heart of the bravest."
"Didn't he refuse to sign the Treaty of Waitangi?" said Massinger.
"Of course he did. It was just like his pride and disdain of a
superior. 'You may choose to be slaves to the pakeha,' he said
scornfully to the assembled chiefs, as he turned away; 'I am Te Heu
Heu!'"
The _pah_, or fortress, of the present chieftain was one of
considerable strength and pretension, covering an area of nearly
five acres. Reared upon a promontory which prevented assault, except
by water, on three sides, it was well calculated to defy all manner
of enemies in the good old days before breechloaders and artillery.
The whole area was walled in, so to speak, with excessively strong
palisades, the only entrance being by heavy sliding gates. This
historic keep possessed all the natural advantages of the sites
selected for the purpose, with the important addition of unlimited
water-supply. Scarcity of the indispensable requisite, rarely possible
to secure on the summit of a hill, often led to the surrender
of the castle when besieged for sufficient time to exhaust the
water-store. One of the ancient Maori romances, indeed, describes
the dramatic incident of a beleaguered garrison, including the aged
chief, at the point of death from thirst. The youthful leader of the
besieging force, touched by the beauty of his daughter, the far-famed
Ranmahora, relieves the veteran's suffering, and naturally receives
the hand of the maiden, after which peace is ratified, amid general
congratulations.
Te Heu Heu's _pah_ might be considered to be almost impregnable, having
in addition to the trenches and galleries, double and treble lines of
defence, which in other days proved so formidable to regular troops.
Besides these were lines of pits, lightly covered over and thus used
to entrap enemies. Also, another series used for storing provisions.
When understood that these well-planned and scientific strongholds were
constructed by a barbaric race with but stone and wooden implements,
one can but wonder at the patient industry, joined to a high order of
intelligence, displayed in their formation.
* * * * *
Sunrise all goldenly reluming a wonder-world! The calm waters of the
lake stretching beyond the limit of vision as they gazed upon the
sea-like expanse; the dread mountain kings crowned with eternal snow,
girt with fire, ringed with ice-fields, based on primeval forests!
Mortal man surely never looked upon so strange a scene--so crowded with
all the elements of beauty, terror, and sublimity.
"Well worth the voyage," thought Massinger--"the dissevering of
familiar ties and associations--but to have enjoyed this intoxicating
experience!" How poor, how narrow the life which contented his
compatriots!--which contented _him_ before the Great Disaster, when
his flight to this Ultima Thule appeared the welcome resort of a
man careless of the future, if only relief might be gained from the
intolerable anguish of the present.
Now how different were his feelings! The hard fare, the toilsome march,
the hourly novelty, the certainty of adventure, and the approach of
danger, seemed to have changed not only his habits of thought, but his
very nature. As he reflected upon the exhaustless field of enterprise
which seemed opening around him, he almost shouted aloud with the joy
of living and the anticipation of triumph.
Warwick had made an early visit to the potentate, who was, as he
well knew, monarch of all he surveyed in the region of Taupo Moano.
He had enlarged upon the rank and wealth of Massinger until a cloud
was cleared from the mind of the chief, not unreasonably disposed
to connect the arrival of an unknown pakeha with designs upon his
hereditary lands.
When assured that his visitor was only moved by curiosity to behold
the wonders of which all the world had heard, as well as to pay a
visit of ceremony to the great chief Te Heu Heu, he became mollified,
and expressed his desire to converse with the Rangatira Pakeha,
who had come across the sea to behold the great lake Taupo and the
wonder-mountains. Tongariro and Ruapehu.
At the hour of midday, therefore, Massinger, accompanied by Warwick and
Erena, presented himself before the chief, who, standing in front of a
_wharepuni_ of unusual size, with elaborate carvings upon its massive
doorposts, received him with perfect dignity and self-possession.
The remainder of the party had been left with the camp-stores and
belongings, it not having been thought necessary to include them in the
interview.
The chief relaxed his stern features as Erena approached, and said a
few words in his native tongue to her, which she answered with quiet
composure. He then turned to Warwick, who appeared anxious to explain
their position, and mentioned the name of Waka Nene, which produced a
distinct effect upon the chief's manner and demeanour.
"You are on the path to Rotomahana," said he. "It is a far journey to
see the boiling fountain and the white steps of Te Tarata."
Massinger, through the guide: "I have heard much of these strange
things. I have seen pictures of them. We have no hot lakes or burning
mountains in my country."
"Then you will see them and go away; you are a strange people. You do
not want to buy the land? No? I would sell you some if you would live
here."
It was explained to the chief that the pakeha desired land that would
grow corn. The land around Taupo was good to look at, but not for
farmers. He thought he would buy land near Auckland.
"Does the pakeha know that there is much talk of war in the land? The
Mata Kawana at Waitemata is deceived by bad men. He is paying Teira for
land which is not his to sell. If the Mata Kawana takes it by force,
there will be blood--much blood. Te Rangituke will not suffer the land
of his people to be taken. _Akore, akore!_"
"This pakeha does not come to fight; he wishes to live on land near the
Maoris. He will pay them money and buy the land."
"The pakeha is good; his word is strong. I should much like him to live
here. Let him ask Erena in marriage from her father, and his days will
be many."
"The pakeha does not desire to marry just at present, even if Erena
would accept him. His heart is in his own land. He wishes to see all
the country before he settles down."
"That is well. The bird flies all round before he perches. But if
the tribes dance the war-dance, on account of this trouble about the
Waitara, what will he do then? The first _taua_ of the Ngatiawa that he
meets will kill him."
"The pakeha is brave. He can shoot a man afar off. He will go back to
Waitemata or die. He has also a letter from Waka Nene."
"That is good for the Arawa and the Ngapuhi, but the Waikato will not
regard it. It may be that the white man's Atua will keep him from harm."
With which sentiment the audience terminated.
With the exception of the world-famed terraces, no spot on earth was
so rich in strange and wondrous surroundings as this great lake of
unfathomable depth, a thousand feet above the sea, sleeping amidst its
volcanic blocks of quartzose lava and huge masses of pumice-stone. To
the north-west they gazed at the wooded ridges of Rangitoto and Tuhua,
and, three thousand feet above the sea, the bare turreted pyramids
of Titerau, towering in pride, as might, on the castled Rhine, the
ruined fortress of a forgotten robber-baron. White pumice-stone cliffs
gleaming in the sun bordered the eastern shore. Behind the sombre
forest ranges, pyramidal monoliths, piercing the heavens at yet greater
altitudes, gave to this amazing landscape the fantastic aspect of a
dream-world.
"When shall we awaken?" said Massinger, as he and Erena, lingering
behind their guide as they strolled towards the camp, became conscious
that the day was declining. "This is the newest land of enchantment.
I feel like a lotus-eater, removed from the world of everyday life. I
could almost be tempted to cast in my lot with this careless-living
race, wandering here till life grew dim, and the distinctions between
what our fathers used to call right and wrong faded into uncertainty. I
can imagine some men doing it."
"But not you. Oh! do not talk in that reckless fashion. Another might
waste his life among these poor ignorant people; but you have a man's
work yet to do in the world--a name to make, a family to remember.
But"--as he smiled at her vehemence--"you are only joking; you are
laughing at the poor Maori girl, who thought for a moment that you were
in earnest. Let us walk faster; it will soon be dark, and we have some
distance still to go."
A change seemed suddenly to have come over the spirit of the girl. From
being carelessly playful in manner, as she had been in their rambles
all the day, she became silent and reserved till they reached the camp.
There she retired at once to where the other women had fixed their
quarters, merely remarking that they would have to leave early if they
hoped to reach the terraces.
The night was strangely, magically lovely. Massinger had no great
desire to sleep. He felt, indeed, that one might easily watch till
dawn amid this region of magic and sorcery. Brightly burned the stars
in the dark blue heavens. There was no moon, but the constellations,
to his excited fancy, seemed strangely lustrous and of intense, almost
unreal, brilliancy. Warwick and he stood near their camp fire, only
occasionally speaking, when all suddenly there arose a wild shout,
then a succession of cries, from the direction of Te Heu Heu's _pah_,
which pointed to some unusual occurrence. A wailing cry came, too, from
the natives of their own encampment, whom they observed to have left
their _whares_ and gathered in a group.
"What is the meaning of all this?" said Massinger, who had been gazing
over the lake, and listening to the low calls and whispering notes of
the water-fowl which sailed in flocks amid its sedges and reeds. "What
do they mean by that long-drawn sound? And now there is a shout--a sort
of herald's proclamation."
"You are right," said Warwick. "The Tohunga calls aloud, 'Behold the
sacred fire on Tongariro! The Atua commands war. Listen, O men of the
Arawa.
"'The pakeha desires to take the country of the _nga iwi_ (the tribes).
He will take the forests and the kumera plantations, the valleys and
the mountains, the rivers and the shores of the sea. The Maori canoe
will no longer be paddled on the broad bosom of the Waikato, on lakes
which have been our fathers since they came from Hawaiki. The steamboat
will drive away the Maori canoe; the sheep and cattle of the pakeha
will feed on our plantations; the white magistrates will put our young
men in prison; our old men will break stones for the pakeha roads. We
shall all be slaves, working for a pakeha conqueror.
"'Shall we be slaves, or shall we unite and march against the pakeha?'"
A thousand voices shouted till the echoes by the lake shore rang again
with cries as of one man--
"_Akore, akore, akore!_"
"If we are not willing to be slaves, shall the tribes, the Waikato
and the Ngatiawa, join together and drive the pakeha into the sea from
whence he came?"
Then one more deep-drawn shout of assent resounded through the still
night-air.
"You see what the feeling is," said Warwick, turning as he spoke. "Look
yonder, and behold the fire on Tongariro!"
Massinger swung round, and, to his great surprise, saw amidst a cloud
of steam, high up on the mountain, a red band of fire, which seemed
to encircle the upper portion of the cinder-cone which formed so
remarkable an addition to the summit. A fresh volume of steam rose
pillar-like from the crater, while from time to time angry bursts of
flame issued from the top and sides of the cone.
"A very grand sight," he said; "but what is there to create such a
disturbance? It is surely not an unusual occurrence in this land of
imprisoned fires? Is that the meaning of all this outcry?"
"That, and nothing else," replied the guide; "but it is by no means an
ordinary occurrence. It is now many years since such a thing has taken
place. But all the excitement arises out of an old superstition."
"And what may that be?"
"In olden times the appearance of fire upon Tongariro was regarded
as a mandate from their Atua to wage war--which they invariably did.
Occasions were not far to seek, as there was always a weaker tribe
to attack or a strong one to measure forces with. But now it means
more--much more. And that is why these natives are so excited."
"But why should it mean more now?"
"For this reason. Every tribe in the North Island knows that this
Waitara land trouble is likely to cause a break-out at any moment. They
look upon this fire on Tongariro as a call to arms against the whites;
and if there has been serious dispute at Waitara there will be a war,
and a bloody one, as sure as we stand here."
"And with what result?"
"Of course, they will be beaten in the end. But it will be a longer
business than people would think. The tribes are armed, and, having
made money for some years past, these Waikato and Ngatihaua have
invested in firearms. They have the advantage of knowing every foot of
the country, and your troops will fight at a disadvantage. However, I
see Te Heu Heu's people are quiet again, and our party have returned to
their _whares_; so we may as well turn in."
Next morning Massinger was surprised at Erena's altered expression. Her
usually bright and mirthful manner had given way to one of brooding
depression; he in vain attempted to rally her.
"Surely you do not accept this natural occurrence as a command from
Heaven? What possible connection can it have with the war, which I
think unlikely to take place, in spite of Warwick's opinion."
"He knows more than you do," she answered--"possibly more than I
myself, though of course the natives talk to me freely. But something
tells me, in a manner that I cannot describe, that there will be war.
And what the end of it may be for you, for me, for all of us, no mortal
can tell."
"But surely it must be short," he answered. "Troops and ships will come
from the other colonies--from England, even--if war is once declared.
Then what chance will these misguided natives have?"
"You will see--you will see," she said. "Pray God it may not be so;
and, indeed, my father's daughter ought to fear nothing. It is not for
myself. No!" she said, raising her head proudly, "if I could die, like
the women of old, for my country, for my people, all would be easy. But
I see worse things in the future--burning houses, women and children
lying dead, the young and old; the settlers driven from their farms,
after all their hard work and care; among our people the slaughter of
warriors, the chiefs lying dead, the women and children starving! Oh,
it is a terrible picture! I dreamed that blood had been shed, that more
was to come."
"Why, you must be a prophetess!" said he, still striving to lead her
from such dark forebodings. "You have been over-excited. I would not
ridicule your ideas for a moment, but, as we can hear and do nothing
till we get to Rotorua, suppose we agree to put off the mention of
terrible things which may never come to pass, and enjoy what time we
have among these lovely terraces."
"After all," she said, as a smile rippled over her expressive
countenance, effacing for the moment every trace of depression,
"perhaps it is the better way. Life is short at the best, and we need
not cloud it more than we can help. We are now close to Tarawera, in
some respects the most wonderful place of the whole collection. Isn't
there a peculiar grandeur about it? The name means 'burnt cliffs.'
Look at the rocky bluffs, shaded by those beautiful _pohutus_! That is
Tarawera Mountain, with a crown of trees. And see, that is our path
that leads to Rotomahana, by the south shore of the lake."
"We have now," said Warwick, "about ten miles to travel before we reach
Rotomahana. The path is well marked but steep, and a fair climb."
The famous lake, when reached, was to Massinger somewhat disappointing.
It owed nothing to mere extent or picturesque surroundings--a
verdant-appearing sheet of water, with marshy shores, surrounded
by treeless hills, covered with low-growing fern. But its marvels
were strongly in evidence. Its title to distinction rests upon its
high temperature and intense, incessant thermal activity. Boiling
water on either shore issues from the soil. Pools of hot mud were
frequent in the marshes; gas-bubbles in the open lake indicated a
higher temperature near certain parts. There it was dangerous to
bathe (according to Warwick), though at no great distance the water
was merely lukewarm. Springs of various characters abounded, totally
different from each other--alkaline, saline, arsenical, sulphurous.
The feathered tribes of swimmers and waders, protected by the tribe
until the appointed season, were in flocks innumerable, various of
size, hue, and habit. The splendid _pukeha_ (_Porphyrio melanotus_), the
graceful _torea_, or oyster-eater (_Hæmatopus picatus_), the beautiful
white-necked "paradise" duck, with countless congeners, held high
revel, after the manner of their kind.
Here might one fancy that one of great Nature's laboratories had been
arrested until its beneficent purpose was fulfilled; that, until the
missing cycle of centuries had rolled by, some high and glorious
development of the Almighty Hand had been delayed; that vain man had
intruded upon the scene, with his accustomed assurance, before the
creative scheme had been declared complete.
As the little group stood on _Te Terata_, or "tattooed rock,"
projecting with terraced marble steps into the lake, Massinger held his
breath in wonder and admiration while the glories of this unequalled
pageantry of the elements broke upon his senses. Earth and air, fire
and water, were here represented in strange propinquity and hitherto
unknown combinations.
A hundred feet above them, on the slope of the fern-clad hill, they
came to a huge boiling caldron, enclosed in a crater with walls forty
feet high, open only on the lake side. The basin, spring-fed, is nearly
a hundred feet long, and more than half as wide. Brimful was it with
translucent water, which, in that snow-white incrustated basin, was of
an intense turquoise blue. Cloud-masses of steam, reflecting the lovely
colour and confining the view, while enhancing the effect, were pierced
with the ceaseless sounds, which are almost cries, of the tormented
water. The silicious deposit presented the appearance of a cataract,
which, dashing itself over a succession of gradually lowered platforms,
has been suddenly turned into stone. The effect has been deliciously
rendered by Mr. Domett in his glorious poem, "Ranulph and Amohia"--
"A cataract, carved in Parian stone,
Or any purer substance known,
Agate or milk-white chalcedon,
Its showering snow cascades appear.
Long ranges bright of stalactite,
And sparry frets and fringes white,
Thick falling plenteous, tier on tier,
Its crowding stairs."
The silicates deposited from the ever-flowing water had formed on the
slope a succession of terraces of purest white imaginable, such as no
Parian marble could surpass--delicate, pure, polished as of glass, the
lines of tracery like the finest lace, the colouring of a lustre and
variety unique and unparalleled.
The system of terraces and basins covered several acres. Centuries,
nay æons, must have been required for the slow accumulation of these
exquisite formations. Commencing at the lake with shallow basins,
while farther up, the higher terraces, from three to six feet high,
are formed by a number of semicircular stages varying in height. Each
has a raised margin, from which the slender stalactites hang down upon
the lower stage, encircling one or more basins, filled with water of
the purest, most resplendent blue. The smaller cups represent so many
natural baths, which connoisseurs of the most refined luxury could
scarce have equalled--of different size and depth, too, with every
degree of temperature.
On reaching the highest terrace, they arrived at an extensive platform,
upon which were other basins of temperature equally high.
A rocky island, covered with ferns and lycopodiums, enabled them
to view at ease the steaming water of the caldron, and to mark the
varying colours and strong effects--the virgin white, the turquoise
blue, the vivid green of the surrounding vegetation, the crude red of
the bare walls of the crater, with the whirling clouds of steam, the
delicate shapes of the pure marble-seeming stalactites, the incrustated
branches, with every leaf and twig snow white, all combined in
phantasmal, unearthly beauty.
"What do you think of my country now?" said Erena, as they stood side
by side, gazing at this enchanted scene.
"The most marvellous play of light and colour that my eyes ever rested
on," said he. "I shall recall it to my dying day. It is a privilege to
have lived through such an experience. Our old friend of the Arabian
Nights uses the only forms of description that can approach it."
"I have been here more than once," said Erena, "but I never felt its
charm so keenly as on this occasion. My father has a poetic soul and
much scientific knowledge; he carefully explained to me its various
beauties. But he was of opinion that some day a tremendous convulsion
would take place and ruin all these glories for ever."
"What a dreadful idea! I am afraid you must have inherited a turn
for prophesying evil. I must confess, however, that these imprisoned
fire-spirits, whatever they are, must have very little of the Maori
nature in them, if they let us off without a burst up. And now, I
suppose, it is 'Hey for Rotorua!'"
"I fear so," said the girl, with a half-sigh. "This fairylike wayfaring
is too pleasant to last. We may hear news at Rotorua which will alter
your plans."
"My plans are quite unfixed at present; but if war breaks out it is
hard to say what one may have to do. I dare say I shall be in the thick
of it."
"We must not forget that the pink terrace is yet to be seen, and we may
never have another opportunity of seeing it together."
"I feel as if my mind would not contain any more of wonder and
admiration, but we dare not leave any of the wonders of this unearthly
region unexplored."
Together, then, leaving Warwick to arrange for an early morning
departure, they watched the great fountain of "Otuka-puarangi," on the
west side of the lake, discharge his azure overflow into a series of
terraces and basins. The fountain sprang from a platform sixty feet
above the lake and a hundred yards long. The flooring on the terraces
was of a delicate pink hue; hence their name. In the background was
the great hot spring, a caldron of forty to fifty feet in diameter,
its naked walls, like the first seen, coloured red, white, and yellow.
At the foot of the terraces they saw the great _solfa-terra_ Te
Whaka-tara-tara.
The three principal personages remained in converse long after the
usual time of separation. The night was fine, and the surroundings were
foreign to the idea of early repose. The sounds of the fire-breathing
agencies, above and below, grew more distinct in the hush of night. An
occasional steam jet shooting into the air appeared like an emissary
sent to warn of approaching danger.
"I should like to have seen the terraces by night," said Massinger,
"but it is not a country for late travelling."
"No, indeed," said Warwick; "a false step, a stumble into the wrong
pool, has before now cost a man his life. I once saw a poor dog scalded
to death in a moment. I think you will find Rotorua and the Valley of
Geysers sufficiently interesting. If you care for Maori legends, you
should ask Erena to tell you the tale of her ancestress, the beautiful
Hinemoa."
"What a pretty name! And was she an ancestress of yours? What did she
do to acquire immortality?--for I have heard her name, as a heroine,
without being told the legend."
"When we reach Rotorua, I will show you Mokoia, the island to which
she swam," said Erena, with a smile. "Also the point Wai-rere-wai on
the mainland, from which she started; besides the hot spring which she
reached, close to her lover's village. It is a long swim, but I suppose
the girls of her day were more accustomed to the water than we are now."
* * * * *
The third day was nearing its close when the little party, having
skirted the three-cornered deep blue lake of Taka-tapu, threaded the
tangled forests over the Waipa plain, and ascended the bare hills of
the range which looks on Rotorua. The lake, gleaming in the sunlight,
lay beneath them, with the fumaroles, steam-hammers, and geysers of
Whakarewarewa in full blast.