Show E written tor for this paper X TRAVELS i LETTER NO tuesday aday october irth 1895 for the e of visiting the two districts of new zealand mission which embrace branches of the church on the north 77 prof of the north island elder william i ner and myself boarded the small 7 mer er wellington and sailed land and at 8 p m bound tor for whan about ninety rn miles iles away we spent night upon the ocean sailing along W east coast wednesday october irth having na a pleasant voyage during the night ab ship stopped at marsden point at ht bt and soon after leaving that W we were enveloped in a dense fog made it necessary to cast anchor en in grahams town and limestone va in a short time however the lifted edana and the voyage was continued ja a tji athe the beilin wellington agton landed her geta at apau or the railway P hiatt about two miles below the town hanga rei we now traveled six enles by rail to kamo a small coal g town where elder J H willard r who pie presides sides over the whangarei brict Sri ct met us with two extra horses aa te which we rode about lour four miles in biba to the residence of brother percy SC S C going who lives in a very hilly tiet district of country known as ruatangata mere we received a most hearty welcome by prother brother going and family who are he odily y members of the church in the I 1 and constitute a part df aa iffat t is called the opuawhanga branch 1 here we also met elder hial B hales S is elder goffs doffs missionary com awon in the whangarei district we S 1 l I 1 the afternoon perusing records vaa in the evening we held a cottage Ale greeting eting in brother goings house be tides 41 his family and the elders four boo now members were present thursday october irth we spent the se day at brother goings I 1 being busily engaged in perusing the district and branch records ot of the whangarei district as assisted isted by elder goff friday october xyth brother going famished elder eider gardner and myself wm with a horse each and elder goff hav pg one ot of his own to ride nde the three of di del set out on a twenty five mile horseback rider ride to the native village of te horo where a conference lor for the bay of Islai islands lid 5 district had been appointed for toe following saturday batur day and sunday tills days ride gave me a fair introduction to the clay hills of new zealand mere are only a few wagon roads through this sparsely populated part of the island and hence only a few vehicles dross cross the country most of the traveling is done on horseback the face of the country condiss cansis con siss s chiefly of hills and mountains the slopes ol of which generally presents a somewhat appearance through having been dug again and again in search oi of kauri gum gum digging has in times past been a very profitable table occupation in this part of the country and according to government reports there are still persons em p played U y td in the business since ra tons cons ot of kauri baun gum have haire been gain aw ered most of which has been sent abroad where it is used in the manufacture of varnish etc the gum is mostly dug out of the ground in tracts of country where extensive kauri forests once stood the gum digger prospects the ground armed with a long sharp spear which he sticks into the where it is sufficiently soft for him to do so and when he strikes a lump of gum he digs down for it this gum or resin is i simply the solidified turpentine of the kauri tree and occurs in great abundance in a fossil condition in the northern part cf the north island it is dug up alike on the digest fern hills and the deepest swamps the purest samples are found on the cape colville peninsula east of auckland A large quantity is also obtained from the forks ot of living trees but this is considered of inferior quality and fetches a lower price in the fossil state kauri resin occurs in lumps varying from the size of a walnut I 1 to that of a mans head pieces have been found weighing upwards wards ot of 00 pounds when scraped the best specimens are of a rich brown color varying greatly in depth of tint sometimes translucent or even transparent specimens are found occasionally with leaves seeds or small smail insects 1 when obtained from swamps the resin is very dark colored or even almost black and brings a low price transparent or semitransparent semi transparent specimens fetch very high prices being used as a substitute for amber in the manufacture of mouth pieced for cigar holders pipes etc the great bulk is used med in the manufacture of oil varnishes and in all countries where much varnish is made it holds the chief place in the market it is exported chiefly to england and to the united states the diggers equipment is of a simple character a gum spear consists ot of a light pointed iron rod fixed in a convenient handle the gum is dug out with a spade and carried home in a sack in many cases the spear is dispensed with and the entire area is dug over to such a depth as the digger thinks likely to prove profitable an old knife is used to scrape the gum the scrapings being utilized in the manufacture of fire kindlers kinduers kind lers diggers digger s generally ener pay a small fee forthe for the privilege privilege lege ot of digging on crown lands gum digging in new zealand is a standing resource for the industrious unemployed the average price for kauri gum in 1894 was about 48 per ton when exported export ea we arrived at the village of te hore situated in the heavy woodland on the hikurangi river about the middle oi of the afternoon and was welcomed by elder charles B bartlett president of and thomas J morgan joseph markham and milo B andrus traveling travel i n elders eiders in the bay of islands dietr district i c t there being a flourishing branch of the church at te hore about thirty native saints were there to receive us As soon as we emerged from the timber they commenced to call out haere m mai ai haeri mai come ome come and after w we had forded corded the river they strung themselves out in a long line in front of ane meeting house to receive our undivided groeting which m ant both shaki shaking in 9 hands and rubbing noses this certainly was a new and novel experience for me I 1 had learned a great number of new departures and native ways during my sojourn among the hawaiians Hawaii ans fijians Fiji ans and samoans Sa moans but none of these indulge in that particular mode of greeting which the macris call bongi nose rubbing well I 1 in ade a failure of the first attempt elder gardner evidently forgetting that I 1 was a new hand started out in such good earnest for himself that he was half way down the line before I 1 had unsaddled my horse and was ready to commence I 1 was just getting my nose ready to start in when my courage tailed failed me all at once I 1 seemed to forget the verbal b a I 1 instruct instructions instruction io r s I 1 had bad received about this same bongi ho ngi business was I 1 to press with the top lop of the nose or the left or right side or all around I 1 had forgotten all the president of the branch who is also a chief stood at the head of the line and he was the first to be greeted as a matter of course there he stood with his large grecian nose alt all ready for action no I 1 could not I 1 had forgotten how or rather I 1 had bad not nat learned yet I 1 simply gave him a hearty regular mormon hand shaking and passed on to the next while he gave me a sympathy sizing look he seemed to take in the situation but this was not the case with all the rest what was the matter with the new elder or the kait t uki writer as they them called me from the beginning did I 1 feet feel above ho nging with them else why I 1 do like the rest ot the elders well I 1 made a public confession before conference was through and in the absence of a better excuse I 1 tried to make them believe that 1 was a bashful young man who feared that I 1 would be laughed at if I 1 do it just right and so I 1 had postponed the ex pe pediment peri ariment ment till I 1 could learn it in a more private way but I 1 assured them that as I 1 had bad been practising practicing with the prebi president of the branch and others between meetings that I 1 would bongi with all of them before I 1 left them that was satisfactory and according to latest accounts none of the te hore saints have through my neglect oi of duty our first official act after arriving waa wa to administer to a sick woman who suffered with female weakness we were then conducted through the fallen timber and up a steep bill about a quarter of a mile to a neat little farm house owned by brother ern second counselor to the president of the branchy branch who vacated the house with his family in in order to let us occupy it during our va visit sit we had bad only been occupying our new tempora roy home a short time when the bell rang and soon afterwards a messi message age in the shape of an open faced little native boy came running up the hill and called to the top of his bis voide haere mai ki te kai I 1 which meant come to the food or in plainer english come to supper all right we had come came miles over a rough muddy hilly dangerous road and were hungry so we responded cheerfully our horses were already provided for and aird were feeding in the green grass of early spring which abounded on the hill side this sounds strange perhaps to some of the readers of the NEWS to speak of early spring in october but such it was and in coming through the country from kamo to te hore the green pastures and the young and tender wheat oats barley potatoes as it had commenced to grow looked beautiful indeed octo ber in new zealand corresponds to march in the northern zone of a similar latitude well the meal to which we were invited was served in the meeting house the food was placed on mats which were spread on the middle of the floor and reached from the door head or at the inner end and all mut sit on the in regular native style except myself for whom a small box was provided because I 1 was a new hand band and conse not accustomed to maori wa s but at as I 1 was anxious to impress my maori friends with the fact that I 1 had passed through months of careful training on the smaller islands of the pacific and had learned to sit on my crossed legs in genuine native style I 1 respectfully f declined the use of the box and insisted the elder gardner who was the oldest man and besides the president ol of the mission mis was the most proper person to perch upon this seat ot of honor and I 1 stig suggested further that it be placed at the head ot of the table mats mat for that pur pose ose the point was sustained and ath both elders and maoris laoris seemed to relish the food which consisted chiefly of well cooked meat potatoes and bread after supper we commenced our historical labors the district and branch records of the bay of islands district having been brought in lor for that purpose of being inspected and contributed information for church history after evening prayer in the meeting narn bouse 0 which was prece proceeded eded by the singing of a hymn and the reading of a chapter in the bible the gathering was turned into a genuine maori poroporo during which numerous speeches ol of i welcome were made chiefly directed to elder gardner and m amsell sell to which we responded but as every leading man present seemed to have something to say the meeting was prolonged till about ii in the night dight this did not mean that all present kept awake all that time many slept and some even snored even we missionaries were halt hall asleep part of the time and no n doubt I 1 should have bave gone far into cream land had not one of the elders paid particular attention to me by whisper whispering ilig a translation ot of the speeches in in my ear eair as they were being delivered at length the last speaker was through and we elders alter after shaking hands with all who were not asleep betook retook us to our i quarters on the hill where we slept comfortably during the night saturday october irth our conference which has the semiannual semi annual conference of the bay of islands ai uriel commenced in the large and commodious ino iodious diou te horo meeting house at 10 am a m elder charles B bartlett Bart leit and myself were the speak eisin sin the forenoon to elder gardner doing the tran lating for me hae he was also also my interpreter in the meeting held the previous evening president gardner was the prin principal cipA speaker in the afternoon while a number of the native brethren elders gard ner and milo B andrus addressed the congregation in the evening the last jast named elder doer had just arrived from aab and had bad been assigned to the bay 0 ot islands blands district to labor among the maoris laoris we had a good and interesting time and notwithstanding the rainy weather and a death in a neighboring village about fifty natives both saints and strangers attended thie meetings after the evening session greeting speeches mia b hes were a again gad made by a number I 1 of natives ti ves who had arrived during the day and they in turn were greeted by the residents of the village sunday october botti our conference was wan continued and three interesting meetings held commencing res a io 10 a m and at 3 and 7 p m rhe fhe histo historian tian occupied the tinie time in the forenoon elder bartlett translating for me in the afternoon elder Gardner two native brethren and elder Birt letl were the speakers and in the evening the assembly assim abst tribly bly wai wa addressed addi essed by E der thus thos J morgan myself and several natives native between the forenoon and afternoon meetings I 1 baptized baptie d two in the beautiful clear water ol of H river one of them was george marriner Mar a half caste who had come s leventy event y miles from wai huu hou on the Hoki anga river to attend the conference and to be baptized the other candidate was hot rane a young boy belonging to 0 the village of te horo all the he saints and strangers present in the village had assembled on the banks of the river to witness the performance of the sacred ordinance and as elder gardner stood upon the green bank and addressed the assembly on the subject of baptism it caused ones mind instinctively to revert to john the B preaching to the multitude on the banks of the river jordon or in the wilderness of judea I 1 he scene certainly was very impressive after the sinning singing of a suitable hymn the c faering of a prayer and elder gardeners gardners Gard ners speech which was all done in the maori language entered the stream and administered the sacred ordinance of baptism for the first time in my life in the bouthern zone the two converts were confirmed in the afternoon meeting which aich gave eder E der gardner a good subject fur for a powerful sermon on the hist first principles tiles of the gospel thus the first conference which I 1 attended in the proved a very inter interesting eting one to me monday october aist I 1 spent the day doing historical labors at our quarters aar mr on the hill assisted by elders morgan and markham while pres dent gardener and the other brethren went up the river a lew few miles to attend a funeral another meeting was held in the te horo meeting house in the tv evening ening at which elder gardner was the principal speaker the news of the g od time we were having at the conference had spread to the surrounding surround ding villages and the people kept coming in some to be baptized instead ot of attending this meeting I 1 worked on the records till midnight assisted by elder eider bartlett bartleet Bart leit the bay of islands islando latter day saints missionary di strict embraces the extreme north end of the burh noih island it extends southward on the west debt coast to the village of Tika ritu and on the tast east coast to and including the bay ot of islands four elders from zion ard laboring at the |