1893. THE MOAS OF NEW ZEALAND. 379 
ago did the Moa became extinct? My exploration of the Sumner 
Cave proved conclusively that the Moa and the Maori were con- 
temporaneous (Tvaus. N. Z. I., vol. xxiii., p. 373). This cave had been 
shut up by an extensive landslip, but for how long a period it was 
impossible to discover any evidence. The carving on the imple- 
ments left on its floor was unmistakably done by Maoris. Along 
with the remains of Moas and other birds round the last fire-place 
of the inhabitants, I found the shells of Moas’ eggs, with the shell 
membrane still intact, showing that the shells had not been part of 
any utensil, and their presence in the cave at all seems to leave 
little doubt that they were brought in as eggs for the purposes of food. 
Now it is held by some authorities on Maori history and tradition 
that, because the Moa is rarely mentioned in their poetry or proverbs, 
this knowledge “dates from .. . . almost prehistoric times, 
long before the beginning of the genealogical descent of the tribes, 
which, as we know, extended back for more than twenty-five genera- 
tions” (Colenso, T. N. Z.S., vol. xii., p. 63). On the other hand, the 
Maoris now or recently living, especially in the North Island, have 
numerous traditions about the Moa, its colour, feathers, food, manner 
of life, fighting, and about their mode of capturing it. Mr. Hutton 
says, ‘‘ So far as the North Island is concerned, I am compelled to 
believe that the Moas were exterminated many [400-500] years ago, 
because I feel sure, if it were not so, we should find as many allusions 
to it in Maori tales and poetry as we do to all the other birds, beasts, 
and fishes that were of interest to the natives.” The date of the 
extinction of the Moa, I feel, however, cannot be reliably determined 
by reference to the native traditions or proverbs, for in Monck’s Cave 
at Sumner, associated with the remains of the Moa, I discovered, for 
the first time, evidence of the former existence in New Zealand of a 
species of swan, somewhat exceeding the Black Swan of Australia 
(Chenopis atvata) in size. 
Shortly afterwards, I received from various correspondents 
(chiefly from Mr. Hamilton, now of the Otago University), and 
from all parts of both islands, abundance of evidence that this bird 
had been at one time widely distributed, and had been used in great 
numbers by the Maoris for food down to comparatively recent 
times, for their remains were found in middens, precluding the 
possibility of their being of vast antiquity. In the Chatham Islands, 
also, I found, in abundance, bones of what I take to be the same 
species of swan, in ancient kitchen middens of the Morioris, in 
association with the remains of Aphanapteryx, and from localities 
there, as well as from the state of their preservation, which also pre- 
cludes the idea of any great age. Yet though so abundantly used as 
food by these peoples, and especially by the Maoris, who have 
handed down, with great fidelity and exactitude, the names of most 
of their food animals, with their mode of capture, their traditions 
are entirely silent about this conspicuous bird, and, till two or 
