THE MYSTIC MAORI PILLARS.

"A GLOOMY, CREEPY- PLACE."

Mr Frank Draytori, a resident of Linwood, who, yeatvs flgo; visited the place m the Bay q,f- Islands where Mr, Clement Wragge foun^d - : what-' he .believes to be the relics of j prehistoric man, told a reporter at Ohristcliur.dh that, the place m which, thef Rtone^'lie. was called Boney Gully. He jcpuld not understand how anydne who saw the^pillans, which seemed to have fallen from, the hillside, could come to any other • conclusion than that they were jbUe remains of «n ancient building. The- stones were of different shapes — some being long rough 1 columns, and some, square, and they were of different lengths. They were, mostly hidden by ti-tre© and overgrowth, as they rested m a, kind 'of ravine. The. light was to a. ofti'tain extent obscuved, and this gave -the pjace «. weird appearance, " * ■■'•■,'■■ "Tliere is -no doubt," Mr Dray ton added, "that it has been, iiaed &rf a. native burial place, as , ( there is plenty of ' evidence m the* form of bones. I did not see any skulls, but probably that was ymy own fault, an I Mas not very anxious to linger. The p]ace gave me a creepy feeling. There were several long, narrow boxes resembling coffins on a small scale, but they were quite empty. It has been suggested; on account of tho rotundity of the •columns^ that they may have been petrified trees. I; think not, though it seems wonderful how the pillars could have been made into that shape. The marking, any, must be the important evidence to the scientist, but I do iiot : Temembpr seeing any or looking for anything like that, and I do not suppose that anyone m that part had enough' knowledge to understand the importance of the stones.

"Another interesting thing, which I saw was 1 tliev remains of an old whaling camp, with the frame of the old shanties, and two hngo iron boilers set m t|io rooks. There ;is a .stone biiiilding m the distriot with-' barred windows, now a general store, but once a, refuge for the white people. The -first house- built- m Now Zealand stood iv that part of the cipunfcry, and an old ' chuyoh, with its walls shoWing the bullefr-lioles of the rebel"' Mfl-qvja,