THE MO A AT HOME. 279 



bones were found," and by tbe deposit of blown sand between the 

 two, about a foot thick at the entrance of the cave, and gradually 

 thinning out as it advanced towards the interior. Below this line 

 Moa bones and fragments of egg-shells were very abundant, and 

 with them were the bones of seals and a few other animals. 

 Above this line, which doubtless represents a long interval of 

 time, there were no remains of the Moa to be found, and the 

 deposits showed the cave to have been occupied for a long period 

 by a race who lived mostly upon shell-fish, a food which was 

 apparently used very little by the Moa-hunters. Dr. Haast and 

 others give us the details with reference to a number of other 

 localities which tell the same story, viz., that the Moa and Moa- 

 hunters flourished and passed away, and that another race, with 

 different habits, after a long interval, occupied the same places ; 

 still after all it may have been the same Moa-hunting race 

 returned, after long wanderings, to their former habitat. There 

 being no more Moas to eat, they feasted on shell-fish. 



The Keverends W. Colenso and J. W. Stack, gentlemen versed 

 in Maori lore, have reached nearly the same conclusions as Dr. 

 Haast, from entirely different data. According to these gentle- 

 men the old traditions, songs, and poetry of the New Zealanders 

 furnish no evidence that they knew aught of the Dinornis. The 

 word Moa occurs but seldom in their songs and legends, and has 

 various other meanings besides that of a large bird, and it was 

 sometimes used figuratively in allusion to the myth that the Moa 

 lived on air. A love-sick maiden who mourned her lover and 

 would not eat was christened Hinemoa (the young lady who lived 

 on air). 



Mr. Colenso has evidently given this whole subject a great 

 deal of time and careful study. In his paper, written in 1842, 

 previously referred to, he says : — " From native tradition we gain 

 nothing to aid us in our inquiries after the probable age in which 

 this animal lived ; for, although the New Zealander abounds in 

 traditionary lore, both natural and supernatural, he appears to be 

 totally ignorant of anything concerning the Moa, save the fabulous 

 stories already referred to," and thinks it certain that this would 

 not be the case if such an animal lived within the times of the 

 present race ; but in an exhaustive paper, published in the Trans, 

 of the N. Z. Institute three years ago, he sums up his final con- 

 clusions thus : — 



