De Quatrefages. — On Moas and Moa-hunters. 41 



limit myself to quoting a few particulars given to Mr. Tra 

 by Mr. White in the letters which I have referred to above. I 

 We have already seen, and it will be still more evident, that, 

 far from being vague and obscure, these traditions are re- 

 markably precise. 



"The Maoris," writes Mr. White, "as a rule, were afraid 

 of it, as a kick from the foot of one would break the bones of 

 the most powerful brave ;( 0;) ) hence the people made strong- 

 spears of maire or manuka wood, Gft. or Sft. long, and the 

 sharp end of which was cut so that it might break and leave 

 about Gin. or Sin. of the spear in the bird.( 100 ) With these 

 the men would hide behind the scrub on the side of the track, 

 and when the birds were escaping, from the fear of the noise 

 of those who had driven them from the lakes, those spears 

 were thrown at them, thus sticking in the bird ; the scrub on 

 the sides of the track would catch the spears, and break the 

 jagged end off, leaving it in the bird. As it had to pass many 

 men, the broken spear-points thus put into the bird caused it 

 to yield in power when it had gained the open fern-country, 

 where it was attacked in its feeble condition by the most 

 daring of the tribe. When taken it was cut up with the 

 stone tuhua waiupic (obsidian, flint). ( l61 ) The hunters carry 

 with them a block of tuhua, and as it is chipped off and 

 used it is not used again for any other bird or anything else, 

 but left at the spot where used." 



Before preparing themselves for the moa-hunt the 

 Maoris went through one of the incantations or prayers 

 which with them preceded all important acts. Mr. White 

 could not recall exactly the terms, but he gives the sense 

 of one of them : " The mists of the hills( 102 ) most cele- 



(98.) Transactions, vol. viii., p. 79. 



(99.) Mr. Travers adds in a note that a hill on the East Coast, called 

 Karanga na Hape, is said to derive its name froni the circumstaiu 3 

 that Hape, a chief of the Arawa, pursued a wounded moa up the hillside 

 and attacked it with a taialia, when the bird kicked him and broke his 

 thigh, and he rolled down the hill. Thus it is shown how all these 

 popular traditions accord with each other. 



(100.) The Maoris, like all the Polynesians, ignored or despised the 

 use of the bow. 



(101.) Mr. White tells us that the Maoris distinguished three kinds 

 of obsidian, characterized by the colour. That which was used to cut off 

 moas' flesh was of a light colour ; another, a grey one, tuhua aneto, was 

 used by the natives for gashing themselves in their funeral ceremonies. 

 If the body was that of a chief or a child, the third kind, tuhua hahu- 

 rangi, which is red, was used. 



(102.) Contrary to the statements so constantly put forward, (he 

 Maoris had a very intricate mythology, and a very numerous, although 

 perhaps not so well, classified as that of the Tahitian (see Mceren- 

 hout, "Voyage aux lies du Grand Ocean"). Every day the publica- 

 tions of New Zealand scientists prove the truth cf this. The nati . 



