264 Transactions. — Zoology. 



sudden convulsion of nature swallowed up the greater portion 

 of these isolated places : this was the Polynesian deluge. In 

 the meantime the former alpine heights, now New Zealand, 

 were allowed time by this gradual change to acquire a certain 

 amount of trees and vegetation where formerly was a region 

 of snow. With this vegetation came also a remnant of dif- 

 ferent species of struthious birds, and perhaps, at a later date, 

 a few of the then bold navigators " who searched the waters 

 for lost Hawaiki." May not this be the meaning of the name 

 Ha-wai-ki? When the domestic fowl was brought to the islands 

 of the Pacific, the word " moa," being still known but unoccu- 

 pied, was used to name those birds ; but the Maori of New Zea- 

 land, having still the skeletons of the moa, and the gizzard- 

 stones, inoamoa, round about him, in caves and on the surface 

 of the ground, could not well give the fowl the same name, but 

 named it as before mentioned. For example, the Maoris say 

 they brought dogs, rats, and pukeko in their canoes, as giving 

 us to understand that these were the most valuable or portable 

 products of their former home ; but not a word about bringing 

 a moa, whether domestic fowl, ostrich, or cassowary. Yet I 

 think it can be clearly demonstrated that the moa lived in 

 New Zealand at that time, and was eaten by these people for 

 several generations after their arrival in the country. But for 

 some peculiar reason they seem to have spoken of the moa 

 under other appellations, possibly owing to some influential 

 person being for a certain cause named after the bird moa, 

 and so the traditions of the killing of this bird have become 

 obscure or disguised. Dr. Dieffenbach says, "It is known 

 that in many of the islands of the great southern ocean the 

 cm-ious custom exists of changing arbitrarily words of the 

 language, and of making others tapu or forbidden. 

 I found the traces of a similar custom amongst the natives of 

 Eoto-rua. V/ai (water) has been changed into ngongi; kai 

 (food) into tami. The name of a place near Tauranga, where 

 a great fight took place and many of the natives were killed 

 and eaten, was Waikeriri, but they now cali it Ngongi-keriri. 

 The cause of this singular innovation is that the old word 

 becomes sacred, either from a chief adopting it for his name 

 or from some other event sanctifying it." The next paragraph 

 is interesting : " I heard a curious tradition connected with a 

 totara-tree in the neighbourhood. Near this tree they said 

 their forefathers killed the last moa. From the few remains 

 of the moa that have been found it has been declared by 

 Mr. Richard Owen to be a struthious bird, and of very large 

 size." The few bones then known were found by Mr. Rule 

 and forwarded to England. Date of the above anecdote, 

 1840. 



But for some reason Mr. Rule would seem to have received 



