I may mention here, that though he took a long time
about it, for he could not go as straight up the hill as we did, he
reached the top with the kettle full to the brim--the other vessel
was of course quite safe. All these packings and repackings, and the
comfortable adjustment of the "swags," occupied a long time, so it was
past five when we began our climb, and half-past six when we reached the
top of the hill, and getting so rapidly dark that we had to hurry our
preparations for the night, though we were all so breathless that
a "spell" (do you know that means _rest_?) would have been most
acceptable. The ascent was very steep, and there were no sheep-tracks to
guide us; our way lay through thick high flax-bushes, and we never could
have got on without their help. I started with a stick, but soon threw
it aside and pulled myself up by the flax, hand over hand. Of course
I had to stop every now and then to rest, and once I chose the same
flax-bush where three young wild pigs had retired for the night, having
first made themselves the most beautiful bed of tussock grass bitten
into short lengths; the tussocks are very much scattered here, so it
must have been an afternoon's work for them; but the shepherds say these
wild pigs make themselves a fresh bed every night.

The first thing to be done was to pitch the tent on the little flat at
the very top of the hill: it was a very primitive affair; two of the
thinnest and longest pieces of totara, with which Flagpole is strewed,
we used for poles, fastening another piece lengthwise to these upright
sticks as a roof-tree: this frame was then covered with the large
double blanket, whose ends were kept down on the ground by a row of the
heaviest stones to be found. The rope we had brought up served to tie
the poles together at the top, and to fasten the blanket on them; but as
soon as the tent had reached this stage, it was discovered that the
wind blew through it from end to end, and that it afforded very little
protection. We also found it much colder at the top of this hill than
in our valley; so under these circumstances it became necessary to
appropriate my solitary blanket to block up one end of the tent and
make it more comfortable for the whole party. It was very little shelter
before this was done. The next step was to collect wood for a fire,
which was not difficult, for at some distant time the whole of the hill
must have been covered by a forest of totara trees; it