A River Boundary Is Most Desirable; The Point Above Or Below The
Confluence Of Two Rivers Is Still Better, As There Are Then Only Two
Sides To Guard.
Stony ground must not be considered as an impediment;
grass grows between the stones, and a dray can travel upon it.
England
must have been a most impracticable country to traverse before metalled
roads were made. Here the surface is almost everywhere a compact mass
of shingle; it is for the most part only near the sea that the shingle
is covered with soil. Forest and swamp are much greater impediments to
a journey than a far greater distance of hard ground would prove. A
river such as the Cam or Ouse would be far more difficult to cross
without bridges than the Rakaia or Rangitata, notwithstanding their
volume and rapidity; the former are deep in mud, and rarely have
convenient places at which to get in or out; while the latter abound in
them, and have a stony bed on which the wheels of your dray make no
impression. The stony ground will carry a sheep to each acre and a half
or two acres. Such diseases as foot-rot are unknown, owing probably to
the generally dry surface of the land.
There are few Maoris here; they inhabit the north island, and are only
in small numbers, and degenerate in this, so may be passed over
unnoticed. The only effectual policy in dealing with them is to show a
bold front, and, at the same time, do them a good turn whenever you can
be quite certain that your kindness will not be misunderstood as a
symptom of fear.
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