Crawford. — On Maori Ancestry. 417 



the first step to be taken is the same as that adopted by Prince 

 Eoland Bonaparte — viz., to have a collection of photographs 

 made of the various brown races. With these collected before 

 us, we might be in a position to prosecute further inquiries in 

 the matter of language and tradition. 



It must surely have been at a very remote period that the 

 Maoris broke away from their original home in Asia, or else- 

 where, for they do not appear to have even learnt the almost 

 universal art of pottery, were unacquainted with the use of 

 metals, and of building in stone. 



The question also should be worked out whether or not the 

 Maori race had any connection with America, North or South. 

 Some names of places, such as Amecameca in Mexico, seem to 

 suggest a Polynesian origin, although the generality do not, and 

 we find the old names in these countries much replaced from 

 the Saints' Calendar, with a multitude of names such as San 

 Paolo, San Luis Obispo, San Jose, etc., etc. From what I 

 remember of the Indians of South America, I should say that 

 the Peruvians differed much from the Maoris, being short in 

 stature, demure, and sulky in character, but that possibly the 

 Indians in the south of Chile had some resemblance to them. 



I have not seen enough on the Mexican side to be able 

 to offer an opinion, but I am told that many of the customs of 

 Samoa are of Mexican origin ; it strikes me that communication 

 between Peru and Samoa would be much easier than between 

 Mexico and Samoa. In the former case the navigator would 

 have a " soldier's wind;" in the latter he would have to cross 

 the line, get through the calms, and contend against the north- 

 east trade winds. 



I have observed that some American carvings very much 

 resemble those of the Maoris, and a careful study of the patterns 

 of carvings in wood might bring strong evidence to bear on the 

 question of descent. Pictures of carvings on Burmese figure- 

 heads, etc., should be examined. 



I have not hitherto alluded to the old theory of the Malay 

 origin of the Maoris, although "Wallace considers them to be a 

 cross between the Malay and the Papuan. I do not think this 

 theory is satisfactory; probably the Maori is a more ancient 

 people than the Malay. He is a more powerful animal, much 

 more lively, seldom has straight hair, but has one quality which 

 is present in the Malay and other Eastern peoples, but often 

 absent from tne European, viz., a dignified politeness. 



One must not confound the spread of the Maori throughout 

 the Eastern Pacific, from Hawaii to New Zealand, with the 

 original migration of the race from some other country. It is 

 not likely that the whole of the Pacific islands, now occupied 

 by this people, were settled simultaneously. Possibly the first 

 colonists arrived in Hawaii, or in Samoa or Tonga, and spread 

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