it was, as it would certainly die of starvation. Having done this he proceeded to the floor of the ravine for the purpose of shooting the animal, and so putting it out of its misery, but to his surprise he found it uninjured and munching at the scrub, not a bit the worse for its fall of over one hundred and fifty feet.
From this point they found great difficulty in getting the horses along, the rocks over which they were forced to travel cutting and bruising their hoofs in such an appalling manner as to render progress almost impossible. Finally they had to cut the saddle straps to make shoes in the shape of sandals which they lashed on with cord. In this manner they continued their journey, but made little headway owing to the time taken up in the constant fixing of the leather sandals which were by this time very much the worse for wear. At length they arrived in the precincts of flax bushes, which abound on the banks of the rivers and creeks of Westland. All the leather now being used, they had to substitute bags, clothing or anything that could be spared.
About this time they met a large party of men returning from the Coast—they were making their way back to Canterbury. Later they met several other parties doing likewise, one and all of whom gave Westland a fearful name, and begged them to turn back,
