452 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



of trees in the Nvoods in the Urewera country, having flax 

 nooses so set over the water as to catch and hold fast the 

 pigeon in its drinking. I have seen pigeons so caught, the 

 Maoris ch'mbing the trees naked with the agility of monkeys 

 to secure their prizes. 



From the large amount of labour and the time consumed 

 in the making of a long spear, and its great beneficial use 

 when made, arose a good proverb among them relative to 

 industry in tillage, &c., and to being prepared — " Kahorc lie 

 taraintja tahere i te ar a" :r=.Y on cannot hew a bird-spear by 

 the way. Meaning : Without timely preparation you may 

 die from want of food, tliough the pigeons are plentiful in 

 the forests near you. 



S IV. Of the Hair of the Tail of ak Anciekt Maoei 



Dog. 



A dog with a white flowing tail was greatly prized. It was 

 kept in a house, and always slept on clean mats, so that the 

 hair of its tail should not become soiled or discoloured. (The 

 Maoris had no soap, j^et they sometimes used soapstone, 

 steatite, and a soft bluish clay for the purpose of cleansing oily 

 hands, &c.) 



Tohutohu, the aged principal chief of Taugoio (also a 

 tohunga, or priest), once told me of a very curious operation 

 they were in the habit of performing in the olden times on a 

 living Maori dog's tail — namely, to strip the flowing hairs in 

 long narrow lines or strips, somehow connected by the epider- 

 mis, so as not to injure the dog, nor to prevent their grow- 

 ing again."''' I got him to repeat his relation twice in order 

 to be sure of it, it seemed so very strange. He assured me 

 that it had been done, tbat it was a very delicate opertytion 

 which took a long time, and that it was only effected by a 

 skilled man. 



These long flowing white hairs were called aiue. They were 

 made up neatly into highly-peculiar little queues, each having 

 one-third of its basal length firmly and finely bound round 

 with a very fine cord, spun of best picked flax-fibre, looking 

 somewhat like the silver string of a violin. These were used 



* This peculiar operation of theirs seems to he analogous to that of 

 our country people — namely, the regular and stated plucking of live geese 

 for their quills, formerly extensively used for writing-pens. And here I 

 may remark that it was a good thing that steel pens were invented and 

 came into common use ; otherwise, I suppose, under our uevv English laws 

 against cruelty to animals, the owners of geese would be prohibited from 

 so plucking them. I am led to alkide to this from having lately read in 

 the Home papers of country farmers having been prosecuted and fined 

 for tying the legs of their fowls when bringing them to market for sale, 

 and others, also, for having put too many live fowls into one basket. 

 Jayn satis ! 



