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.
The cluster of trachytic cones constituting the Tongariro group forms collectively an almost complete circle rising from a level plateau, which near the base of the mountains has a general elevation of about 3000 feet above the level of the sea. The enormous cone with its active crater, which forms the central point of the group, springs from an almost level base, and is flanked on its western and north-eastern sides by minor conical mountains, which are connected with each other by high ridges. To the north-west a series of undulating hills roll down to the plains, while to the south a steep, flat-topped spur juts out into the plateau which bounds the mountain in that direction. With the higher mountains are connected lower undulating hills, formed principally of scoria, and covered, especially towards the plains, with a luxuriant growth of native grasses, low fern, and dwarf shrubs. Right in the very centre of this great circle of cones and extinct craters, the graceful, tapering form of the burning mountain rises from the bottom of an extensive basin-like depression, which, encircled as it is by the rugged sides of the surrounding ranges, has somewhat the appearance of an ancient crater. This beautiful mountain, as it rears its tall head high above the less elevated cones, especially when viewed from its southern side, at once strikes the beholder by its wonderfully symmetrical proportions. With a slope of about thirty to thirty-five degrees, it assumes as near as possible the exact form of a sugarloaf, without a twist or a bend to mar the grand effect of its outline. To describe it, one must imagine this huge mass built up of trachytic rock, ridges of lava, scoria, volcanic conglomerates, enormous boulders, and other igneous accumulations to a height of thousands of feet, tapering off gracefully at the summit as if moulded by the hand of man. It is not a crater of elevation in the ordinary acceptation of the term, like its colossal neighbour Ruapehu, but a complete trachytic scoria cone, which may have originated from some sudden outbreak of plutonic forces, or from a small aperture in the earth's crust throwing up particles of volcanic rock similar to those of which the mountain is composed, until, through countless ages, its action becoming by degrees more extended, it gradually built itself up to its present proportions from the matter it ejected from its fiery mouth, and thus, phœnix-like, rose into being from its own ashes. When examining the great mountain, it may be plainly seen that the ridges of trachytic lava, which form, as it were, the skeleton upon which the whole structure is raised, have generally a vertical strike from the summit to the base of the cone, converging, however, gradually towards the top, and while the edges of some are inclined so as to form an almost horizontal stratum, as shown in many of the gorges, the edges of the others stand out perpendicularly, like enormous buttresses. Although the whole mountain is covered with scoria and other volcanic débris, the largest deposits of the former appear to be between the lava ridges, and this is especially the case on the eastern side of the mountain, where these extensive accumulations cover a considerable area of country. Besides the active crater at the summit of the great cone, there is another to the north-eastern side of the group, known as Ketetahi, near to which there is likewise an extensive system of boiling springs. But as I visited these two latter points during another stage of my journey, I will refer more fully to them in their proper order.
TONGARIRO.
After our ascent of Tongariro, and during our subsequent intercourse with the natives, we made it a practice to learn as much as we could of their many interesting legends. The legend of Tongariro was more than once repeated to us by the tribes both resident near and at a distance from the sacred mountain, and it is a remarkable fact, as showing the correctness of the oral traditions of the Maoris, that each one agreed in all particulars with the current stories.
It would appear, then, that when the Arawa canoe touched the newly discovered shores of Aotearoa there was among the dusky adventurers a chief who bore the title of Ngatoroirangi, a name which signifies in the Maori mythology a high priest or deified man. After the natives had formed a settlement at Maketu, Ngatoroirangi was the first to set out, in company with his slave, Ngauruhoe, to explore the new land. Striking into the interior, he crossed the plains of Taupo, and then along the lake, into which he cast his staff, which the natives state became a great totara tree. He also shook his mat over the waters, and from the strips which fell from it sprang the inanga, a small fish which now abounds in the lake. It was dark and stormy when Ngatoroirangi came to the lake, but suddenly the clouds broke, and he beheld for the first time the giant form of Tongariro. With the keen instincts of a heaven-born explorer, the chief resolved to ascend the great mountain, in order to get a better view of the surrounding country; but the snow was deep, and the ice-bound summit of Tongariro was too much for the adventurous travellers, fresh from the sunny islands of the South Seas. Prompted by the unpleasant prospect of being frozen to death, Ngatoroirangi shouted lustily to his sisters who had tarried at Whakari (White Island), some hundred and sixty miles distant, to send him some fire. The summons was obeyed in quick time, and the sacred fire was entrusted to the hands of two taniwhas,[46] named respectively Te Pupu and Te Haeata, who conveyed it by a subterranean channel which is yet supposed by the natives to connect Tongariro with the still active volcanic island in the Bay of Plenty. It is related that the fire arrived in time to save the life of the adventurous Ngatoroirangi, but when he turned to comfort his slave, he found to his horror that his trusty follower had given up the ghost. At this juncture Ngatoroirangi took the sacred fire, and casting it into the extinct crater of Tongariro, the subterranean fires burst forth. On this account Ngatoroirangi named the crater Ngauruhoe, in honour of his slave—a term by which it is generally known to the natives even unto this day. The great mountain itself, however, with its surrounding cones, is more usually called Tongariro—a term which means in the native language "towards the south"—and it is a remarkable fact, as showing the significant nomenclature of the Maoris, that the compass-bearing of the volcano is as nearly as possible due north and south.[47] There can be no doubt that Tongariro is one of the largest, grandest, and most perfect volcanic cones of its kind in the world, and little wonder, therefore, that the Maoris, when gazing upon its mysterious fires, should have linked its name with their songs and legends, and have rendered it a sacred object in their mythology, just as the Japanese have done their no less beautiful Fusiyama.
The morning of the 18th of April broke dull and cloudy. We were now over 3000 feet above the level of the sea at our camp at Pangarara, waiting, nay, almost praying that the dreary, dismal clouds would break and give us a gleam of sunshine. 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 thermometer, which for the three previous days had given a mean average of 57° Fahr. in the shade, suddenly fell to 43°. The omen was a good one, and we waited patiently.[48] At about ten o'clock an invigorating breeze blew direct from the south, the sun shone brilliantly, the sky was dotted here and there with bright patches of a vivid blue, and as we looked in the direction of Tongariro, the whole scene changed before our eyes like a magnificent panorama. The dark, funereal, pall-like cloud which had up to this time entirely obscured the mountain, rolled gradually away as if by enchantment, and the magnificent tapering cone, glittering with ice and snow, and crowned with its waving cloud of steam, stood out against the azure sky in grand and beautiful relief. Tongariro to be seen to advantage should be viewed from its southern side. When beheld from the north it is to a certain degree dwarfed by the mountains surrounding it in that direction, while the crater on the north and west is likewise more depressed, and coming consequently lower down the mountain, thus detracts from its apparent height. On the other hand the country to the southward is more open, and the symmetrical cone rises boldly defined above the lower scoria ridges, which rise in gradual undulations around the great volcano in that direction. I had seen many grand mountains in different parts of the world, but never had I gazed upon anything so sublimely beautiful as Tongariro appeared on this occasion; ice, snow, and steam all combining, beneath the bright sunlight, to add a magical effect to this wonderful monument of nature's handiwork.