ts
way to the surface of the surrounding cold water, telling of a submerged
fiery caldron underlying the lake at that particular point. It is,
however, no more significant than the scores of other steam-holes and
spouting geysers which force themselves to the surface of the land all
about this sulphurous region. In short, the little town of Ohinemutu is
built on a thin crust, roofing over as it were a vast fiery furnace,
whose remarkable volcanic eccentricities form the marvel of this
locality. Here, the traveller eats, drinks, and sleeps above a series of
suppressed volcanoes, and is apt to recall the fate of Pompeii. Many of
these springs and geysers are so hot that a mere touch of the water will
blister the flesh as quickly as contact with red-hot iron. Others are
of a temperature suitable for boiling vegetables; and still others by
artificial means--that is, the introduction of cold surface water--are
rendered of a temperature suitable for bathing purposes. One must walk
cautiously among these boiling mud-pits, open springs, and steam-holes,
for a misstep might prove fatal. Dangerous caldrons lie on either side
of the path, within a few inches of where one may be walking all
unsuspiciously.

The natural conclusion as to the cause of these remarkable phenomena
would seem to be that the waters of the lakes, rivers, and springs
descend by various channels to the fiery regions below, and are returned
by the force of the steam thus created, bringing up with them the refuse
which is deposited about the surface. Of the hundreds of these boiling
springs only a score or so have been analyzed: no two, however, exhibit
the same properties. The various chemical combinations seem to be
without limit, and bathing in them is considered to be a specific for
some skin-diseases, as well as for rheumatic affections. There can be no
doubt but that all the medicinal virtues possessed by similar springs in
Europe and America are found in these of New Zealand.

Ohinemutu is the most typical home of the natives, and for ages has
formed the chief settlement of the Arawa tribe. Nothing could possibly
be more grotesque than to see groups of the native women, from the
wrinkled old grandams to the girls of a dozen years, bathing at all
hours of the day in the warm, steaming pools. It is their daily, almost
hourly resort. As a rule, a blanket forms their only covering; and if
they are cold, day or night, casting this aside, they at once resort