42 Transactions. — Zoology. 



brated in the locality of the hunt are invoked to make 

 the birds' fat flow as the globules of dew that run down 

 the leaves of the trees at dawn on a summer's day, and 

 the God of Silence is cautioned not to allow fear or dread 

 to come near the moa." "The last moa-hunt known or re- 

 membered was in the North Island, at or near Whakatane, in 

 the Bay of Plenty. ( 103 ) The feathers of the birds killed there 

 were till a late period in the possession of a chief called 

 Apanui."( lw ) Several material facts prove the truth of the 

 account given by Mr. White. Thus, all the memoirs recording 

 the researches made near the old moa-ovens speak of flakes 

 of obsidian which had evidently been used for cutting up these 

 birds : all of them refer to the great number and the similarity 

 of these primitive knives. Mr. Thorne has, moreover, found 

 one of the blocks of obsidian carried by the Maoris to meet 

 their requirements, and recognised by the abundance of chips 

 the precise spot where for the time being they manufactured 

 these flakes. ( 105 ) On the other hand, Dr. Hector discovered 

 on an elevated plateau near Jackson's Bay, at an altitude 

 of 4,000ft, numerous paths intersecting the thick scrub. 

 These paths were not formed by man ; they were well 

 beaten, and about 16in. wide. They were, in fact, tracks such 

 as are made by wild animals. In New Zealand they were 

 evidently the work of birds. Owing to the height of the scrub 

 they could only have been made by animals much larger than 

 the Apteryx, which alone frequented them at the time of Dr. 

 Hector's visit, the imported mammals not yet having penetrated 

 so far.( 10G ) Do not these paths correspond perfectly with 

 the idea one forms of those used by the moa-hunters when 



among other things, helieved in innumerable kinds of sprites, gnomes, or 

 fairies, and to which they attributed the greater part of what happened 

 to them, whether good or bad. Thus it was necessary to be constantly 

 propitiating them. Hence arose the multitude of prayers and incanta- 

 tions which are so frequently spoken of in Maori traditions. On all 

 these questions those who ought chiefly to be consulted are the follow- 

 ing : Grey, "Polynesian Mythology ;" Eev. J. F. Wohlers, "Mytho- 

 logy and Traditions of the Maoris " (Transactions of New Zealand 

 Institute, vol. viii., p. 108) ; Colenso, " Historical Incidents and Tradi- 

 tions of the Olden Times, now for the First Time faithfully translated 

 from old Maori Writings and Recitals " (id., vol. xiii., p. 38, and vol. xiv., 

 p. 3); Colenso, " Contributions towards a Better Knowledge of the Maori 

 Race" (id., p. 33) ; and Rev. R. Taylor, " Te Ika a Maui ; or, New Zealand 

 and its Inhabitants." 



(103.) Bay of Plenty. 



(104.) Mr. White adds the name of another known individual, and 

 enters into details unnecessary for reproduction here. 



(105.) hoc. tit., p. SG. 



(10G.) " On Recent Moa-remains in New Zealand," by J. Hector, 

 M.D., F.R.S. (Transactions, vol. iv., p. 119). Dr. Hector's visit to these 

 mountains took place in 1863. 



