I fear that we were yet weak enough to have a little
hankering after the view from the top of the pass, but we treated such
puerility with the contempt that it deserved, and sat down to rest
ourselves at the foot of a small glacier. We then descended, and
reached the horses at nightfall, fully satisfied that, beyond the flat
beside the riverbed of the Harpur, there was no country to be had in
that direction. We also felt certain that there was no pass to the west
coast up that branch of the Rakaia, but that the saddle at the head of
it would only lead to the Waimakiriri, and reveal the true backbone
range farther to the west. The mountains among which we had been
climbing were only offsets from the main chain.
This might be shown also by a consideration of the volume of water which
supplies the main streams of the Rakaia and the Waimakiriri, and
comparing it with the insignificant amount which finds its way down the
Harpur. The glaciers that feed the two larger streams must be very
extensive, thus showing that the highest range lies still farther to the
northward and westward.
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