DowNES. — j\'ew Light on Period of Extinction of the Moa. 427 



Travel's, and de Quatrefages ; and there are many others. Others, again, 

 assert that the bh'd became extinct in prehistoric times, and that the Maori 

 was ahnost in utter ignorance of its existence. Among these we find the 

 names of B. S. Booth, von Haast, J. W. Stack, Colenso, Sir George Grey, 

 Alexander Mackay, and J. H. F. Wohlers. These writers assert that 

 the Maori had no tradition on the subject, no songs, and, with one excep- 

 tion, no proverbs. These gentlemen were for the most part studious Maori 

 scholars ; yet in this theory they were wrong, for the Maori certainly has 

 references to the moa, but under different names. Every one knows that 

 Maori songs bristle with untranslatable names of gods, men, and places 

 connected with far-away Hawaiki, and it is therefore not surprising that 

 such names as kura-nui and manu-whakatau were passed over without 

 comment. 



Briefly, the discussion has been on the following lines : — 



The first collection of moa-bones was made by W. Colenso, W. Wil- 

 liams, and others about 1840. 



In 1847 Mantell deduced from his discoveries that the moa had been 

 eaten by man. In 1864 Buller published letters to the effect that the 

 moa was extinct, but was contemporaneous with the Maori, as shown by 

 the burnt and broken bones on the site of their feasts, and also by tradi- 

 tions still held by the Maori. 



Next came the discovery of a skeleton with skin and ligaments attached. 

 A discussion followed, arising from a paper read by AUes, when the 

 general opinion was that the bird had probably been living within ten 

 3' ears. Then, in 1868, E. Newman concluded that the last moa died 

 about 1800, or even later. 



The same year Mantell pointed out that the extermination of the bird 

 must have taken place shortly after the appearance of man, as the allusions 

 to the moa by the Maori were so extremely rare. He also pointed out that 

 nephrite appeared to have been discovered at a later date than the extinction 

 of the moa, as it was never found in conjunction with bones at a Maori 

 cooking-place. 



In 1871-74 von Haast published papers on moas and moa -hunters, 

 in which he denied the existence of Maori tradition, and sought to 

 prove that the extermination had taken place by a race of people prior 

 to the Maori — -a race who were unacquainted with greenstone, and had not 

 even acquired the art of grinding stone. Later von Haast modified his 

 ideas somewhat, and stated that the moa-hunters had reached a certain 

 stage of civilization. This arose from the finding of some polished instru- 

 ments with moa-bones. 



Colenso, in a very valuable paper on the subject, recognizes that 

 the ancestors of the Maori knew the moa, but in a very vague sort of way, 

 as it was extinct long before the genealogical descent of the tribes, which 

 extends back some twenty-five generations. He says allusions are to be 

 found to the bird in Maori poetry, but that these allusions are largely 

 mythical. He mentions that there is a tradition among the Maoris of the 

 East Cape district that the moas were exterminated by the fire of Tama- 

 tea, captain of the " Takitimu " canoe. As will be noticed later, the song 

 evidence that I have collected bears out Colenso's arguments to some 

 extent ; indeed, according to the evidence now to hand, his deductions are 

 probably nearer the truth than the theory held by present-day writers. 



Mantell says, " The extermination of the moas must have taken place 

 shortly after the Maoris reached New Zealand, as allusions to the bird 

 in their most ancient traditions are very slight and obscure." 



