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44 obtained save an occasional eel caught in the river. At length, on April 6th, after enduring great hardships, the travellers reached better and less broken country, where they obtained an abundant supply of native birds. They were now able to enjoy the luxury of two meals each day. Their way now lay through a valley of rich wooded land, and on the 10th they reached the mouth of a good-sized river flowing down a large valley which opened to the southward.

By the 20th the termination of the valley was reached and the party again entered a mountain gorge. From this time until they reached the coast on June 4th their sufferings were intense. The country through which they were passing was the worst of its kind, and the scarcity of food was so great that Brunner was compelled to shoot and eat his favourite dog, being afterwards known to the Maoris as Kai Kuri (dog eater). . . . In an entry a few days later Brunner tells us that on one occasion he was without food for almost three days. The incessant rain experienced at this juncture added greatly to their misery, scarcely a day passing without a terrific downpour taking place; and it is on record that it rained solidly for several days in succession.

The trials and tribulations of the travellers did not end here, however, for the natives whom they expected to find at a pa on the