PREPARING FOR DEPARTURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 31

PREPARING FOR DEPARTURE.

' EXCHANGE OF FAREWELL MESSAGES.

CABLEGRAM FROM MR BOOSE- * VELT.

(Fboh Ottb Special Co-respondent.)

AUCKLAND, August 14. Originally the departure of the train from Rotorua was set down as 9 a.m., but, as the Admiral wished to attend the reception aboard the Louisiana, the timetable was rearranged, the special leaving »t 7.30. The officers were one and all delighted with the thermal district, but another fond delusion of ours was dispelled when, in the course of conversation, a- much-travelled visitor remarked that the practice of soaping geysers originated in the Yellowstone Park district, in the United States. The Maori version is that one day, when a young wahine was washing the wearing apparel of the family, she carelessly dropped her soap into the Nature's washtub, and. 10 minates after■wards was rewarded with a thorough soaking. The accounts stand for what they are worth, but what does signify is that Wairoa does not like aoap. "I reckon I would foam at the mouth and blow up if anyone rammed soap down my gullet," naively remarked one of our naval friends.

. On the- trip down from Ellerslio tickets entitling the holders to free admission to the bathe were issued to the members of the party. Many and varied were the references drawn from this dispensation, But after the dtosty journey over fche pumice plains the Duchess and Priest Bathe were- appreciated. On arrival at Auckland the- Admiral repaired to the Louisiana, where a large number of guests were entertained by the officers of the fleet. About 2000 representative citizens were invited. The upper deck had been decorated with national flags, which in the soft light made a beautiful background of colour. Everything was decorated that could suitably adorn, but frowning over all, with their big noses poking through the awnings, were the great 12in guns, grim reminders of the iron hand within the velvet glove. On the deck a capital band discoursed sweet music, and from time to time, dances were held for the entertainment of visitors and officers alike. Elaborately dressed ladies, frock-coated civilians, gold-laced sailors, and red-coated soldiers combined to make a memorable scene a fitting close to the long round of entertainments, everyone of .which was an unqualified success.

Visitors to the late Christchurch Exhibition will remember the great canoe, that lay like a log in the lagoon there. It was taken in sections to Auckland, and xoanned. by 60 warriors from, the Waikato district. It toured round the fleet this afternoon in company with a smaller craft, th& TeheW, with 42 paddles. The •Hon. Mr Mahuta was in charge of the Taheretiki, while a well-known chief, Km Opa, had. command of the smaller boat. Remembering the old Arawa chiefs oration of the day before, in which he referred to the Polynesians being once the dominant power in the Pacific, it was interesting to compare their men-of-war with the battleships of the present day. Doubtless the oM chief at Rotorua, who said to the

Vice-admiral, "We have «hown .you our line of battle ; ta-ke us now that we might see yours," was not acquainted with the arrangements for to-day. Certainly the battleships are another illustration, of the "survival of the fittest" theory, and the sooner New Zealand thoroughly realises this the easier will it' be with her in the time of trial that inevitably eventuates in the lives of individuals aud nations. Several warriors, at the risk of fallingoverbroad, danced hakas, and otherwise entertained the sailors, who, entering into the spirit of the thing, returned the cheers, and shouted their war cries, which no doubt in turn pleased the dusky paddlers and their confreres.

The big: canoe has a xemaTkably interesting history. The name, " Taheretikitiki," means "the warrior's crest," in allusion to the old custom- of hairdressing by making a high knot on the head. The hull is 84ft long, with a beam of sft, and the three sections of which it is composed are cunningly dovetailed together, the topsides are lashed on either side, the canoe being finished at both ends hy lofty carved ornaments. It was built about 30 years ago from, a kauri tree, and was launched at Kaipara by the Ngatiwhatu tribe. For many years the canoe was at Orakei Bay, and the chief Tuhaefce frequently used it to visit in state the warships in the Waitemata. Some 16 years ago the canoe was presented, by Tubaere to Tawhiao, the. Maori King, and -was shifted to the Waikato. Ifhas won several notable victories against- other canoes, also against men-of-wars' cutters.

NEARING THE £LOSE.

To-night the warships are illuminated, and Auckland is sighing, for, like all things, even a fleet week cannot' last more than a week, and to-morrow post-card Sellers Wfll pnt their houses in oxder.

The sum expended by the personnel of . the fleet is roughly estimated at £20,000.