The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1876-03-17
One Of the Wonders Of the World.


u California has It's equally marvellous
and renowned Yosemite Valley, and the
Province Of New Zealand can boast Of
almost as great a natural wonder in lis
Rotomahaua, or mighty geyser. This
lies inland from Tauranga, which may
be reached by steamer from Auckland
about sixfy-fye miles. AT Wairoa,
the headquarters Of the Arawa Contin-
gency and the residence Of Capt. MAR,
Is the old mission. kept by French
man, and surrounded by familiar trees,
on lovely site overlooking Lake Tara
vera. There is plenty Of fruit here,
especially cherries In the mission
house one pleasantly reposes till
o'clock in the morning, when he is
aroused for breakfast, after which he
enters log canoe. thirty or forty feet
in length, propelled by four Maori men,
and starts for nine-mile row up the
pretty Tarawera Lake. The time occu-
pied TO the mouth of Little River, j. two
hours and half. Here the water is
found 10 be lukewarm, being sup
Piled from the hot springs The
current Of this stream is very swift,
and it requires hard work 10 force
the canoe up against il, but by pad
ding and pole-pushing, and sometimes
jumping into the stream and pulling,
the Maoris manage 10 reach ..the
heaven Of our desires and the culmina-
ton of our hopes" The hills ali
around the geyser tenn with hot
springs and hot mud in liquid state,
and constantly bubbiing and emitting
horrible sulphurie smell, which is al
mosts sitting. The ground appears to
be but a mere crust over boiling springs,
and often so Yields To the step that one
feels as il he were about 10 descend i'm
mediately into the earth. The great
geyser itself Is up in the top Of lofty
hill, which appears to have been the
extinct crater OF a volcano now filled
with light-blue boiling water Of an I'M
known depth. The water is forever
seething and boiling, as if all the fires
of perdition were afiame beneath IL Ii
is constantly shooting up in columns
from six to thirty feet in height, which
sometimes looks very beautiful when
the sun converts the falling globules
into showers of pearls and
silver. The great geyser is
approached from below By n series Of
terraces, bowed out
ward, few feet in height each, and
perhaps 100 wards in width, all over
flowing till you come to the two princi-
pal terraces, the top one Of which Is al
ways boiling over int those beneath il:
The steam i almost binding and suf-
locating when the wind is blowing to-
81 III 81 As..s
are pleasant bathing places. The water
j. hot on the surface, but cool beneath.
the boiling water from the great geyser
above not seeming TO penetrate far be-
low the surface Of the more distant ter
races. which il overtiows. There are
two sets Of terraces. the first Of which
are called the White Terraces. The
rim around the boiling caldron is COM
posed of a white substance, like the
most delicate tiligree work. almost re-
sembling lace-work, such j. It's regu-
larity and beauty. This white rim,
which projects some distance over the
boiling fountain. shows to ali the greater
advantage because Of the intense blue
Of the waters. These beautiful ter
race-brims are formed BY deposits Of
sulphur and silica from the boiling
springs on top Of the hill, which pour
down the sides and crush The tea scrub
and othertrees growing there, and form
the incrustatiOn. For, strange a il
may seem, there j. green grass and
shrubbery on the very verge Of the
boiling fountains. MANY OF the basins
appear TO be made of peirified tea scrub
or ferns. These transformations are
very rough and sharp-edged, and very
hard on boots or bare feet though the
Maoris, whose feet are hardened, trip
over them without any serious incon-
venience. The water in all the terraces
Is beautifully clear and blue Near the
great geyser there j. spring constantly
boiling out Of iissUre in the rock, and
called the steam-pipe spring. The
noise from this spring can be heard
great way of, and it sounds just like
vessel letting off steam. whiie the hot
water which shoots out Of il reminds
one Of the manner ia which a steamer
when she i light sends up the water
with her screw, and the action seeiss
to be accompanied with a thud-
like sound Of a Similar charac-
ter. The ground is literally honey
combed with these boiling steam
springs. From the white terraces one
enters \ canoe and paddles over to the
pink terraces, but a short distance from
the former Their formation j. the
same as the first, but they are smaller,
and, instead Of the pure white brim,
they have a pink-tinted border, which
i exguisitely beautiful, and it j. ques-
tionable if thsy are not the prettier Of
the two. The effect j. lovely and quite
enchanting. Between the two sets Of
terraces one may spend several hours
very pleasantly and protitably. For
this j. certainly one Of natures most
wonderful phenomena. And while il
differs from Niagara and Yosemite. and