The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-02-05
IN THE MAORI COUNTRY.
An indianapolis Mans Adventure in the
Caves of the Three Kings" New Zealand.

go through India before his return. letter
dated from Auckland. New Zealand. has been
handed the Journal for publication. 1t is under
date of Dec. 20, as follows
It seems the rule that, where savage and civil
lied aces meet, the savage invariably succum bs
aud gradually disappears. This is opposed TO
the popular notion that civilization essentially
deteriorates the / began to absorb TINS
cendant of the Last of ;he Mohicans grubbng
snails in California. and became saturated with
it when ] saw how completely the renowned
Maori had been weaned from roast missionary
to fresh fish in New Zealand
But there is something more heroic IN the ais
appearance of the Maori than own Indian
has displayed, chiefly. perhaps. because the tor
mer was more ingenious and scientific ID Ills
manner of fighting. The country surrounding
Auckland is very broken. The city itself nest
les. amid the hills upon it's bay, another Naples.
with volcano. Vesuvius like, in its front IN the
sea. The broken formation is entirely volcanic,
with places overspread with fragments of lava
of every size. These ancient fire places OF Ia
dame nature were both the habitations and
strongholds of the Maoris. This region was
denseiy populated at the date Of the advent OF
the English, and the hills surrounding the city
were turned into Gibraltars, lacking but the
power of modern arms to make them equally
lmpregnable. Line upon line of scarped,
trenched and terraced Notifications still De-
speak a resistance that "A century earlier mlgnb
have been successful Exact and as scientific
as the old Roman camps they still remain and
which n fact they so mnch resemble that only
from ass umng that the Maors are descended
from lost band of Roman infantry. 1t might
be urged that Romans could never have strayed
so far from home. but 1t NAV be answered that
to the science of phi:ology nothing is Impossible
Il may say improbable Be this as it may. the
lines of the circumv allation remain, and so do
some of the descendants of the heroic tribes who,
with their yellow skin, long hair and intellect
ual foreneads testify that, Roman or otherwise,
they were possessed of an intellect scarcely IN
ferior to the dominant Caucasian.
ia in fha mystery
to an American or European The vegetation,
land formation, and the total lack OF song-blrds
in the gigantic forests. is as exactly contrast
with my American experience as dame nature
is capable of making, even in her most erratlc
moments. Some of these features are SO pro-
nounced that even the biase Aucklander VIII
not refer to them except with bated breath.
The cave of the Three Kings Is one of these.
and thi,her, as do all VISITORS / betook myself
one hot Christmas morning.
| had an interesting cOmrade du voyage In the
person of a Londoner who had probably never
before gone beyond the call of Bow Bells who
insisted that he should act both as host and
chaperone, for other reason that l can
fathom except that he was still. upon British soil.
This gentleman volunteered to act as my gulde
to the Three Kings" and so upon this hot
morning in December we proceeded due south,
with faces set determinedly en- the emerald
slopes of Mt Eden, of which We, in common with
our great ancestors, were to get but passing
glimpse. .
Mt Eden is nearly sole exception to the
usual formation of this country, which is scoria
aud lava. in fragments of various size. In being
scora and lava state of powder; this adj mlts
a sward of the greeuest grass to cover its round
ed slopes and green grass s a rarer sight here
than "a day june is in indianapolis.
Eden does as Eden should, contain some cool
and shady groves Eden's of cedar. now
grown to gigantic size, as if to take the place OF
Lebanon in tnat day when London Bridge will
be contemplated by couquering New Zealand
Maoris of archaeological turn. These cedars
were planted by mission aries more than a cen
fury ago. when the latter were being sought
after by Maorian epicures for purposes OF pure
ly temporal comfort 1t was under their shade
that we refreshed ourselves FROM our long
walk under the hot December sun.
1.-THE reader will please not forget that 1 am
talking of the southern hemisphere, where every
thing is exactly turned around, SO that to me
January and July are nothing but convenient
names for the same hot and swelterng weather.
We PISSED the mountain and made our way
along a narrow, and not much travelled road
nearly arcned overhead by the branches of tall
trees and bounded on either side by stone walls
In fact, the scene was here thoroughly English,
SO far / know. Before us We're beautiful
green meadows or paddocks, as they are termed
here. / noticed the familiar daisy lying scat
tered in the grass, and clinging the stone wall
was the same sweet-briar rose, so common in
our American fields. / have heard of the poetic
rapture with which the traveller in strange land
views his native flag, but to me these sweet
briar roses were glimpse of home itself that
would crowd the antpodes out of my mind /
am told the missionaries, wishing to bring scenes
of the mother country before their doors.
had scattered broadcast the seeds of English
wild flowers, and they are now to be found in all
parts of the islands.
But as we walked we were gradually ascend
ing and finally of course, found ourselves at the
top of low hill, from whence could per-
haps two miles away the rocky cones of the
Three Kings standing in row, about equal in
height, and as brown and bare of vegetation as
possible. Passing gate in the stonewall
found ourselves in one of the green meadows
paddocks so curiously interspersed amid the
oyen lar and nd
ed into a cup-shaped depression which must at
one time have been a small crater. In the side
was an insignificant hole. which my comrade
informed me the object We had come SO far
to
This comrade was not only deficient in length
but possesse latitude in that degree that made
his position all tours not only the updignifed
thing it is under all circumstances, but positive
ly ludicrious. But mortal can enter here
otherwise We were provided with candles, and
proceeded in declined position for about
thirty feet, where the cave suddenly became
enlarged. Il told this trick is common to all
caves, and we were introduced into room APP
pareutly of vast size and sepulchral gloom.
Candles are excellent sdjuncts of gloom. and IN
fact gloom, to be gloom. must borrow the height
eniug effect of the omnlpresent talfow candle.
We CROPPED onward. STUNT hng over large pieces
of Stag and into pools of water all the tim erapid
ly going downward We soon came a shelf ID
the rock, carefully lowered ourselves. and after
traversing a sort of passage, emerged into the
large chamber which is the principal feature of
the cave. Here the three kings held audience
and administered the law In the old fiery Vol
canic days, although the handmade of fire-water
has since added much that is fantastic. nd all
that is decate.y beautiful. the rocky sides
were covered with pure white crystalline silica.
The ceiling mass of tracery whose model
must have been borrowed by those Moors whose
handiwork decorated the ceilings of the Ania-
lusian palace. A tracery of siicated icicies
hang down. and here and there met those be-
meath, as if to form pillars Of safety for thea hall.
or alabaster statues of the heroes of the under
world. Thus they looked as they stood half de-
fined by somber candles. hanging as if
against velvet backgr ound, elstening and
glinting. Our candles did not disclose the rust
stains and the dark spots that probably bem
ish those walls aud pillars. In many places the
floor of the hall was singularly smooth,
parently having been overtiowed with lava in a
melted state
From the great hall we continued onward and
downward, through narrow passages, that
banded into rooms, but they were much alike,
and our remaining candles burning low, remind
I'D us it was time to be gone; besides. we We're
fearful of losing our way. l anxiously in
CURED of my companion if he were certain he
knew his way, but he seemed confident, and 1