82 NATIVE TRIBES, [PART I. 



gators, I was inclined to place the population of the 

 islands at a much lower amount than that which I 

 have here given ; but the fact is, the natives live 

 dispersed, and the spirit of separation of tribes and 

 families is one of the characteristic features of these 

 people. The traveller in the interior will find many 

 small tribes, of which he hears nothing on the 

 coast, and which are scarcely known even to the 

 missionaries. 



On the other hand, an approximate account of 

 the population is easier to be taken in New Zealand 

 than in other countries inhabited by primitive tribes, 

 as the natives here are altogether a settled and agri- 

 cultural people. 



