Twain is in Christchurch, New Zealand. He learns of Maori migration legends and their artistry and puzzles over the extinction of the moa. Woman had achieved the right to vote just two years prior and he ponders their superiority over men. The American edition of his book includes a scathing expose' on the Union company that owned the ship, the Flora - a cattle scow, on which he sailed from Lyttleton to Wellington.

As a bit of an aside regarding Twain's story telling, Richard Zacks reports (pg179) that: "Clara revealed -- a bit cattily -- in her later memoir that her father was bluffing and had actually slept through the 'only shipwreck' of his life." '[Father] was disgusted to have missed the excitement, for he always loved relief from monotony in almost any form'." 1597 Te Aumiti / French Pass is a narrow and treacherous stretch of water that separates D'Urville Island, at the north end of the South Island of New Zealand, from the mainland coast. At one end is Tasman Bay, and at the other end the outer Pelorus Sound leads out to Cook Strait.

French Pass has the fastest tidal flows in New Zealand, reaching 8 knots (4 m/s). When the tide changes, the current can be strong enough to stun fish. The local tribes are Ngāti Koata and Ngāti Kuia.

(Wikipedia)