We had up to this time been detained exactly ten days, through stress of weather, whilst waiting to ascend the tapued mountain, the dull monotony of our position being only relieved by the somewhat exciting expectation that the Maoris might be down upon us at any moment. The place where we were camped formed part of a wide area of country, extending from the base of Tongariro in an easterly direction to the Waikato, and embracing a large and fertile portion of the Rangipo Plains. For time out of mind this part of the country had been a native game reserve, principally for the hunting of the _weka_ and a small white bird (I believe of the gull species) which frequents the mountains of Tongariro at certain seasons of the year. This wide territory, and a great deal more besides, was under the _mana_ of a noted chief named Te Hau, whose _pa_, was at Ruaponga. This native dignity was renowned throughout this part of the country as a man of singular intelligence; but, like most Hauhaus, he entertained an intense hatred for Anglo-Saxon laws and institutions. He appeared to act the _rôle_, among the tribes of these parts, of a Napoleon the Great, in the matter of territorial aggrandizement, and it is darkly hinted that, during the war, Te Hau and many of the rebel chiefs were in league, and that one day a terrible massacre occurred over a disputed title to an extensive area of land over which Te Hau now rules as lord and master. A strict Conservative in all matters relative to Maori laws, customs, and traditions, to have fallen in with Te Hau on his "native heath," and under the very shadow of Tongariro, which he guards with the sacred jealousy of a fanatic, would have been about as pleasant as meeting with his Satanic Majesty himself just fresh from the fires of the burning mountain. We therefore had to keep not only a keen but an anxious look-out, the more so as we had learned at Tokanu that Te Hau was on his way from the south with a large party of his followers to attend a native gathering at Rotoaira, which had been convened by some of the leading chiefs to inquire into a disputed land title; and as Pangarara was one of his usual camping-places, we were naturally the more anxious to get away from the locality as soon as possible. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 44: This lament will be found in Sir George Grey's invaluable collection of Maori songs and legends.] [Footnote 45: For this tree, see Appendix.] CHAPTER XVI. ASCENT OF TONGARIRO. Physical and geological features--Legend of Tongariro--A break in the clouds--The start for the ascent--Maories in the distance--The Waihohonu valley--The ascent--The brink of Hades--The great crater--The inner crater--The lower cones--Crater lakes--The descent--A valley of death--Tongariro by moonlight--A cold night--The start for Ruapehu.