great heat, caused the prolonged earthquake and rumblings which were heard between one and two o'clock in the morning, forming the first of the series of phenomena which attended the eruption. Soon after two o'clock Ruawhia was observed to be in flames. Above it hung a canopy of black smoke, producing on the mountain the appearance of a large mushroom, and lightning played with such brilliancy around the peak that the glare from the volcanic fires was hardly distinguishable. There is no doubt, however, that the mountain did emit flames, attended with a belching forth of red-hot stones, which could be distinctly seen as they were ejected into the air and rolled down the mountain sides. This continued for about an hour before the vomiting of the great mud cloud out of Lake Rotomahana, which fell so disastrously on the village of Wairoa. This cloud was observed by those watching the eruption of Tarawera to come up some miles south of the great mountain, and its apparent location gave rise to the belief, now proved erroneous, that Mount Kakaramea and the adjacent Lake Okara were in eruption.
The loss from the destruction of the terraces, as we cannot but fear they are gone, is simply incalculable. A marvel which was without parallel on the earth has been swept away; and even if ever replaced by the same agencies working in the silicious strata, and this is improbable, a long geological period would be necessary for their reproduction. The eruptions now in progress are attended by frequent earthquakes. Three were felt while we were in camp and two during the four hours spent on the dusthills around Rotomahana. One was of such violence that the swaying of the hill we were standing on was visible to the eye. If these craters keep in action they will form as great an attraction to tourists as the terraces, but when an escape has been found for the forces recently set into motion, they may subside into quiescence or become intermittent. The Rotorua district, however, must always be a very wonderful one, which tourists through New Zealand will never willingly leave out of their routes. As an attraction now, the district offers novelties which surpass everything here before. It furnishes the extraordinary example of how geological changes in the earth's strata are sometimes effected in the course of a few hours. The half-buried houses and whares at Wairoa are perfectly unique, and the village ought to be left standing just as it is, except so far as excavations are necessary to recover bodies or property. Rotomahana, as an exhibition of nature's forces, is infinitely more marvellous than ever it was before. To see this large basin torn and
