502 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



that I had got it on Saturday moruing last, then your books could have 

 gone by mail-steamer ; now, I suppose, they must crawl thither by over- 

 land mail to Wellington. 



I regret to say that I have not yet thoroughly read Quatrefages, while 

 Buller's pamphlet I have not looked into. When your packet of books 

 arrived here, about one month back, I was absent in the Seventy-mile 

 Bush, whence I have only recently returned to Napier. Your kind 

 letter was sent thither to me, but not the books ; and, as you did not say 

 in it that you wanted the books returned early — but, on the contrary,, 

 that " your lectures had just begun, and your hands were full of work," 

 and that I was " to lend the books to our mutual friend Locke " (who is 

 still absent at Gisborne, and expected here, I believe, next Saturday), — I 

 was in no hurry, having, too, lots to do after nay month's absence in the 

 bush. 



However, I have detected two or three small things which I note. 

 There are more, no doubt. I do not admire Quatrefages' style ; he, too, 

 evidently fully believes in the legendary migration (indeed, like others, 

 gives the islands whence they came), and therefore does all he can in 

 support of that story. One thing, however : I notice that Quatrefages 

 never once refers, or in any way alludes, to my second and exhaustive 

 paper on the Moa (in Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xii.), while he does to others 

 \c.g., Travers's, Stack's, and John White's) whose erroneous statements 

 I had in that paper refuted. He also (in a note, p. 1G8) calls the 

 attention of writers and authors to my later papers in vols. xiii. and xiv. 

 Transactions, but that one volume he entirely overlooks ; can it be de- 

 signedly, or had he not got a copy of that volume to refer to ? He also, I 

 think, ignores my paper on the New Zealand dog (vol. x.. Transactions)^ 

 where, too, he would have found something — or all that is knoioii — 

 respecting that animal. Another thing that Quatrefages has done (which 

 I greatly dislike) is the taking-up with everything — every strange story, 

 no matter by whom loritten or stated — by "the man in the street," or 

 (as I told IM. Bastian when here) " by a mere low billiard-room marker — 

 a fellow of only a short time in the country " — and then putting all 

 together as of equal authority ! hence I witliheld mine. 



I regret you must have your books right off. I shall write to London 

 by this week's San Francisco mail for copies of Quatrefages' paper. As 

 I said to you before, look closely into my papers on the Moa {second part), 

 the dog, &c., &c. Even the stories (legends) will yield you much. In 

 vol, xi., pp. 95-100, you will have a full account of the monster 2"^^ 

 saurian, w^hile another worthy had a pet whale on which he rode 

 through the deep ; others, too, performed similar feats on albatroses ; 

 why not a legendary pet ]\Ioa ? In haste I close. Beware of trusting to 

 second-rate authorities in IMaori matters. 



Believe me, ever yours faithfully, 



W. COLENSO. 



[Enclosure.] 



Brief and rough memoranda and notes of remarks (unfinished) : — 



P. 134. Mr. Travers and J. White : " 35 years." — See my paper on 

 Moa, vol. xii., p. 103 ct seq. 



P. 13i. ]\Laning's "proverb." Never heard it. Greatly doubt it. 

 " Ngoikae " no known Maori word. 



P. 134. "Two against two, like the Moas." (J. White again.) See 

 p. 95, I.e. 



" Tautauamoa — a dispute about a piece of laud [moa = bed) in a cul- 

 tivation ; a quarrel between a few of the same tribe or village ; a private 

 quarrel." Nearly all this paragraph of M. Quatrefages' is most strange 

 to mo. 



P. IGO. (Speaking of 7ne). " I find no one but Mr. Oolenso who ha& 

 accepted [sic] this doctrine as absolute." 



