CoLENSO. — On Moas and Moa-Jmnters. 609 



the same — Nil. Why, then (may I not ask Mr. Travers) 

 are we not beheved '? "Why every year repeatedly bring up 

 that old, old, and wretched remark, "that fifty years ago the 

 Maoris were familiar with the existence of this bird," when 

 the very ancient legend of Ngahue alone (above related) goes 

 far to prove its incorrectness ? (I feel this the more in its 

 coming from Mr. Travers, who professionally knows well the 

 difference between true and false facts, and how easy it is to 

 adduce charges, however insignificant and erroneous, when 

 defendant is out of Court.) 



And just so, again, with Mr. Maskell. I really feel ashamed 

 when I read (both on these and on former occasions) his 

 illogical remarks, his strong affirmations, respecting not only 

 the Moa age, but also the Maori legends and the very language 

 itself, of all which, I beg to tell him, he really knows nothing. 

 Surely Mr. Maskell must know full well the difference between 

 legends and legends ! Indeed, he says he does ; and that, 

 " whilst he tliought little of Maori legends, he did value Euro- 

 pean traditions" — no doubt! — "and he well remembered 

 hearing the late Sir F. Weld state often that when he started 

 from Nelson, somewhere about 1848, to make the first journey 

 overland to what is now Canterbury, the Maoris warned him 

 to be very careful of the large birds which he would meet with 

 in the mountains, and which would kick him to death if tliey 

 could. That was a tradition worth any number of Maori 

 legends" {I.e., p. 531; and again repeated p. 535). Now, I 

 have already, nearly twenty years ago, shown the probable 

 origin of much of that talk* — at all events, of its modern 

 and foreign embellishments. But, I would ask, where is the 

 " European tradition " here? Is not the simple relation by 

 Sir F. Weld of what the Maoris had told him their legend ? 

 And where is the radical difference between this legend of 

 theirs and that given by them to Dr. Dieffenbach on the same 

 subject nearly ten years before? — namely, " The Maoris could 

 not understand what induced me to seek to ascend Mount 

 Egmont ; they tried much to dissuade me from the attempt, 

 by saying that the mountain was tapu — -that there were 

 ngarara (crocodiles) on it, which would undoubtedly eat me. 

 The mysterious bird ' Moa ' (of which I shall say more here- 

 after) was also said to exist there. But I answered that I 

 was not afraid of these creatures of their lively imagination " 

 (vol. i., p. 140). 



No one would stand up more strongly for the true position 

 of an expert in his own peculiar line as a successful describer 

 of Coccididce (and of Mr. Maskell iii that ccqMciti/ we have 

 good reason to be proud) ; but what would Mr. Maskell say, 



* Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xii., p. 103. 



