590 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



or sewers, but those of the forest ; " but then we need not 

 assume that Crozet had made a study of natural history. If 

 he were country-bred he might naturally allude to the Mus 

 decimianus in the home of his childhood ; or it may have been 

 the European black rat (Mus rattus), a form of which we have 

 with us at the present day, as Mr. Colenso very correctly 

 remarks. 



Mr. Colenso quotes from Dr. Marshall, surgeon in H.M.S. 

 " Alligator," "who, after remarking on the rugged nature of 

 the sea-shore and the prevalence of high winds, says, " ren- 

 dering the supply of fresh fish very precarious, while the 

 absence of native animals, and the paucity of those imijorted, 

 such as dogs and pigs, occasion a dearth oi fresh meat. 

 The dog, from the treble purpose served by it, of a tvatch 

 luhen living, a^nd food and clothing when dead, is highly valued 

 by those he serves, and its bo7ies carefully preserved. The 

 skeleton of one, bleaching in the sun, was found on a high 

 pole at the Namu, with the tapu or sacred thread wound 

 round it, and a tuft of white feathers fastened to its skull." 

 Mr. Colenso says, " Of course, Dr. Marshall received this 

 information respecting their food, and much more, from Mrs. 

 Guard, who, with her child, were residing as captives among 

 those Maoris for five months." 



Here, on the authority of Dr. Marshall, from information 

 obtained through Mrs. Guard, we find that Mr. Colenso adopts 

 the error in which these two had fallen by assuming that 

 both the dog and pig were imported animals. "Where, then, 

 had the original native dog disappeared to so suddenly ? But 

 note how Mr. Colenso runs counter to the opinions expressed 

 by Dr. Marshall : — 



" Moreover, the facts stated by Dr. Marshall — (1) of the 

 bones of those ' imported ' dogs being ' carefully preserved ' ; 

 and (2) the skeleton of another found ' set apart {tapu = 

 sacred), bleaching in the sun, and ornamented with white 

 feathers fastened to its skull ' — are to me a convincing proof 

 that such bones were not obtained from the common small New 

 Zealand dog, whose flesh had been used for food (which never 

 could become tapii with the Maori), but only from some pecu- 

 liar and prized animal, such as an imported and high-priced 

 and highly-valued one would be." 



Yet Dr. Marshall distinctly says these dogs were highly 

 valued " as a watch when living, and food and clothing when 

 dead." Not a word about hunting or catching the wild pig. 

 So far as my experience goes, the Maori kept the pig in a semi- 

 domestic condition, and would round them up and catch those 

 they wished without the help of dogs. 



* Perhaps meaning the black rat of Europe. 



