526 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



stick lOin. long, to the centre of which two stones are attached 

 so as to exert pressure and perform the office of a fly-wheel. 

 The requisite rotatory motion is given to the stick by two 

 strings pulled alternately." 



Thomson, in his account of the drill, obviously draws upon 

 Dr. Shortland, who, describing his visit to Waikouaiti, the 

 whaling-station of the late Mr. John Jones, says, "Here, 

 also, I saw the drill with which holes are bored through this 

 stone. It is formed by means of a straight stick lOin. orl2in. 

 long, and two stones of equal w'eight, which are fastened 

 about its central point, one on either side, opposite each other, 

 so as to x^erform the office of the fly-wheel in machinery, and to 

 exert the required pressure. One end of the stick, or, as we 

 may call it, shaft, of the instrument is applied to the ])ounamu 

 where the hole is to be bored. Near the other end are tied 

 two strings of moderate length. One of these is w^ound round 

 the shaft, close to the point of its attachment, and its extre- 

 mity is held in one hand while the extremity of the other 

 string is held in the other hand. A motion is now given by 

 pulling on the former string, which, as it unwinds, causes the 

 instrument to revolve, and the other string becomes coiled 

 round the shaft. This is then pulled on with a similar result, 

 and so the motion is kept up by alternately pulling on either 

 string. The point of the instrument can thus be made to 

 twirl round backwards and forwards as rapidly as the point of 

 a drill moved by a bow, and merely requires to be constantly 

 supplied with a little fine hard sand and water in order to eat 

 its way through the ponnamit or other stone, on which steel 

 v/ould make no impression." (PI. XXXVIII.) 



It is noteworthy that Dr. Shortland is the only authority 

 I have quoted who describes the drill without a stone point, 

 the grinding being done by sand alone. 



Brunner, in his journey down the West Coast in 1846, found 

 at Pahutani limestone rock containing pure flints, which he 

 erroneously' thought occurred nowhere else in New Zealand, 

 and ascertained that presents of this stone were carried by the 

 natives to all parts of New Zealand as material for boring 

 greenstone. His companion Major Heaphy's account of the 

 drill then used has already been quoted. 



The Eev. E. Taylor, in his celebrated work, " Te Ika a 

 Maui," says that to drill a hole the Maori ties a small piece of 

 basalt or obsidian firmly to the end of a stick the sides of 

 which are weighted wdth two heavy stones. Attached to the 

 other end of the stick is a string, by which it is made to 

 revolve ; and, to keep the point of the instrument constantly on 

 the same spot, a piece of perforated wood is placed over it. 

 Thus ornaments in the shape of human figures are formed. It 



