m:u ZEALAND. 91 



at that time, and until subdued by the British they 

 were hardy, war-loving people. 



War was a passion with them, but their greatest na- 

 tional characteristic was their love of the land. "Let 

 us die for the land" was their war cry that resounded 

 through all the ages of their possession. Civilization 

 has made them law-abiding citizens of the colonial 

 government and loyal to the king, as was shown during 

 the South African war, when many of them expressed 

 a strong desire to join the British forces. The men are 

 tall, powerful, square, with a brown skin, jet-black 

 eyes, scanty beard, straight or slightly curly hair, with 

 an open, frank countenance. The women are well built, 

 with copious hair, worn in flowing tresses or pompa- 

 dour, and many of them with handsome features when 

 young. There are about 20 per cent, more males than 

 females. The climate of New Zealand has made its 

 impression on this race. They had to protect them- 

 selves against cold by clothing and closed habitations. 



The New Zealand flax or hemp (Phormium tenax), 

 a liliaceous plant, from the leaves of which the fibers 

 are obtained, are from 3 to 9 feet long and from 2 to 

 3 inches broad, furnished them with material for the 

 texture of their garments, as well as the feathers of 

 birds and the skin of fur-bearing animals. The scarcity 

 of tropical fruits and starch-yielding tubers made the 

 struggle for life more difficult than in the more favored 

 islands of the South Pacific, something which could not 

 fail in improving their physical condition, and in devel- 

 oping their mentality. The Maoris have a taste for art, 

 as is amply shown by their rude wood carvings and the 

 architecture of their houses. Tattooing was formerly 

 extensively practiced, but the operation is performed 

 in an entirely different manner than in Samoa and 

 Tahiti. As the natives have always worn clothes of 

 some kind they select the face, the most exposed part 

 of the body, for the tattooing. The chiefs undergo the 

 most elaborate process of the tattooer's art. With a 



