I found that almost every object of interest in these wild regions had some weird legend attached to it, and Te Huka was not an exception to the rule. Ages ago, so the tradition goes, a number of the tribe of the Ngatihau came on a visit to the Ngatituwharetoa of Taupo. The former, being experienced canoemen, boasted of the rapids they were accustomed to shoot when navigating the Whanganui, pointing out at the same time that the Taupo natives might well sail with ease over their beautiful lake. But the Ngatituwharetoa gave their visitors to understand that they could boast of rapids that no canoe could shoot. "If you show them, we will navigate them," exclaimed the Ngatihau; and the challenge was taken up, the only stipulation being that the Taupo tribe should furnish a pilot to the head of the rapids. A war-canoe was launched, and seventy of the Ngatihau getting into it, the swift craft shot down the Waikato, then over the first rapid and over the second, when at a jutting point of rock the pilot of the Ngatituwharetoa leapt ashore, and in a second more the Ngatihau swept onward to their doom over the falls.
[Footnote 36: When making the ascent of Ruapehu, Te Karapiti was distinctly visible at a distance of nearly fifty miles. It acts as a kind of weather glass to the Maoris when navigating the treacherous waters of Lake Taupo.]
[Footnote 37: _Huka_ is a general term applied by the natives to the foam of the sea, and to ice and snow; it here refers to the foaming, snowy appearance of the falls.]
Reason of the journey--How I succeeded--My interpreter--Our horses--The Hursthouse difficulty--Departure from Wairakei--Tapuwaeharuru--The natives--Release of Hursthouse, and capture of Te Mahuki--The council of war.
In undertaking my journey of exploration through the King Country, I was prompted by no other desire than to advance the general interests of New Zealand, by making known more fully that portion of it which was virtually a blank on the maps, and thus to add, as far as lay in my power, to the geographical and geological knowledge of a vast and important region, which was reputed to be rich in natural resources of a valuable and varied order. The object was, in fine, of a purely scientific nature, and was prosecuted throughout solely in conformity with that view.