446 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



quently visited Maori vilLiges in all parts of the North Island, 

 where no European had preceded me. 



§ I. Of the Mako Shark. 



Fifty years ago (to go no further back) a Maori chief would 

 be known by wearing certain emblems or insignia indicative 

 of rank, one of which was the tooth of the mako as an ear- 

 pendant ; and, as such were plentiful, though distributed, the 

 thought often occurred to me in my early travelling days, 

 What a number of the fish mako there must have been cap- 

 tured or obtained by the Maoris to yield such a large number 

 of teeth ! Moreover, on inquiry I invariably found that all 

 the teeth I saw were prized heirlooms, and had descended to 

 the present possessor through several generations, and (as far 

 as I could learn) none had been recently acquired. And 

 while, when travelling along the sea-coasts for many a league 

 on both sides of the North Island during several years, and 

 always on foot, I had both seen and heard of a number of 

 large sea-animals (fishes and mammals) that were driven on 

 shore on the sandy beaches in severe gales from the sea, I 

 never knew of a single mako shark, nor had the Maoris 

 resident on those shores ever heard of one being cast up. 



In replying to my numerous inquiries by letter respecting 

 the mako, made many years ago, an intelligent aged Maori 

 chief living on the east coast wrote as follows (or, rather, he 

 being of the old school, and unable himself to write, a young 

 adherent did so at his dictation). I give a literal translation 

 of portions of his letter : — • 



"You ask, did I ever see a mako fish? Yes; and it is 

 a very large creature, the biggest of all the sharks {mango) — in 

 length 2 fathoms measured \enia maro tvhanganga nei), and 

 in thickness 1ft. It is a true shark, but called by us a 7nako 

 on account of its teeth. You also inquire concerning its fat 

 or oil, and the edible qualities of its flesh, whether considered 

 choice by us Maoris. Now, there are many kinds of shark, 

 as the 7nako, the karaerae, the pioke, the ururoa, the uatini, 

 the ialiapounamu, the taiari, the latere, and the mangotara, 

 and I have not eaten of them all, and therefore I do not know 

 how nice or how fat they all are ; and so of this one, the mako. 

 But, my fi'iend, this fish was never desired as an article of 

 food — never so used by us Maoris. The only part of it that 

 we sought and greatly desired to have was its head, and 

 this solely on account of its teeth. "When caught out at the 

 deep-sea fishing-grounds its body was never hauled into the 

 canoe, but the head was cut off while it was still in the sea 

 and alongside of the canoe (ka tajyahia moanatia te upoko) : 

 this done, and the head secured, the body was left to drift 

 away on the sea. The head was also immediately wrapped 



