FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



283 



ure, quite unwittingly going to their own 

 death. Animals on the march rarely suffer 

 from hunger. The quadrupeds, being all 

 vegetarians, go toward the regions of their 

 food supply. Birds " feed up" for a time 

 before their migration, and during their sea 

 trips live on the fat stoi-ed away on their 

 bodies. Fish on the march are the most 

 leisurely of creatures. Floating along with 

 hardly any efforts of propulsion, and con- 

 stantly surrounded by their food supply, they 

 appear the favored among travelers. 



Maori Tattooing. Major-Geueral Robloy, 

 who has studied the tattooing, or " moko," 

 of the Maoris, represents that the custom is 

 no longer practiced among the men. King 

 Tawhaio, two years ago, carried to his grave 

 " one of the last really fine specimens of 

 moko." Apparently every chief who was 

 decorated had a special design, and a vari- 

 ety of beautiful patterns in arabesque arose. 

 They certainly show, the Athenjeum says, 

 that a variety of designs can be derived 

 from the adaptation of scroll work to the 

 outlines of the human face, and exhibit 

 much technical skill in dealing with an in- 

 tractable material. The work was done with 

 a chisel made of a sea bird's wing bone 

 or a shark's tooth, a fragment of stone or 

 hard wood, ground down to a fine edge, 

 which was driven into the skin by a smart 

 tap, causing a deep cut and much effusion of 

 blood, which was wiped away with the flat- 

 tened end of the mallet or with a wad of 

 flax. After contact with Europeans, iron 

 chisels were sometimes used. The associa- 

 tion of a special design with the individual 

 tattooed had the advantage of serving as a 

 means of identification, and this led to the 

 curious result that Maori chiefs attached as 

 their signature to deeds and other documents 

 a facsimile of the moko tattooed on their 

 faces. It is said that even an enemy would 

 respect a head conspicuous for a beautiful 

 moko. 



The Caucasus as a Pleasure Resort. 



The Caucasus Mountains are held up by Sir 

 Douglas Freshfield, who knows them well, 

 as a desirable pleasure resort and especially 

 well adapted to a horseback excursion. Pro- 

 visions are plenty, and the configuration of 

 the region lends itself to a riding tour. 



The Caucasus is suited for general travelers, 

 for lovers of the picturesque, whether or not 

 they are painters, as well as for peak-hunt- 

 ers. If above its snow level its granite 

 crests, its icy hollows, its hanging glaciers, 

 and fluted snow slopes impress the intruder 

 with a sublimity beyond that of the Alps, 

 its high valleys have attractions for men of 

 the most various pursuits and hobbies. The 

 physical geographer will find materials for a 

 contrast between the features of the Cauca- 

 sus and those of better-known ranges. For 

 example, why do so many Caucasian glaciers 

 fail to fill their valleys and leave a pleasant 

 dell between the moraines and the mountain 

 sides ? . . . I am not competent and do not 

 attempt to act as a guide to the Caucasus 

 as a whole. My ' Central Caucasus ' bears 

 to the whole region something of the same 

 proportion that the Central Alps, between 

 the Little St. Bernard and the Bernma Pass, 

 do to the Alpine chain. It is the most im- 

 portant section, but it is only a section. On 

 one side, to the east, lie the wild highlands 

 of Daghestan, the scene of Schamyl's resist- 

 ance, with their high plateaus cleft by nar- 

 row ravines, their hill fortresses, and at least 

 three high glacier groups. On the west stretch 

 the great forests and granite crests which 

 hem the tributaries of the Ruban, a region 

 probably of extraordinary beauty. The gla- 

 ciers of one of its groups have just been 

 mapped for the first time by the Russian 

 surveyors. They are otherwise wholly unex- 

 plored. The only travelers to penetrate these 

 fortresses have been Dr. Radde, who has, in 

 PetermanvUs Mitiheilungen, published an ac- 

 count of his journeys, a stray botanist or 

 two, and those indefatigable pursuers of wild 

 animals, Mr. and Mrs. Littledale, who have 

 hunted the aurochs in the wilds of the Ze- 

 lentshuk." 



Historical Wampum Belts. One of the 



last papers of the late Horatio Hale was re- 

 cently communicated to the Anthropological 

 Institute, London, by Prof. E. B. Tylor, and 

 related to four historical Huron wampum 

 belts. To this Prof. Tylor added some re- 

 marks of his own, which were illustrated 

 by the exhibition of specimens and lantern 

 slides. It was explained how the Iroquois 

 belt might be distinguished from others by 

 the occurrence of diagonal bands of beads. 



