106 T'ransactions.—Miscellaneous. 
“They descend at the close from c to the octave below in a fall, resembling 
the sliding of a finger along the finger-board of a violin. I shall now dis- 
miss this subject with the following observation,—that the taste for music 
of the New Zealanders, and their superiority in this respect to other nations 
in the South Seas, are to me stronger proofs in favour of their heart, than 
all the idle eloquence of philosophers in their cabinets can invalidate."— 
Forster's Voyage, vol. IL., pp. 476-478. 
Art. VI.—Onm the Ignorance of the Ancient New Zealander of the Use of 
Projectile Weapons. By W. Corzxsso, F.L.S 
[Read before the Hawke Bay Philosophical Institute, 9th September, 1878.] 
I save read Mr. C. Phillips’ paper “On a peculiar Method of Arrow 
Propulsion amongst the Maoris,” * and as Mr. Phillips has referred to a 
very brief remark made by me in my essay “On the Maori Races," t and 
is evidently unacquainted with the old state of things which obtained in 
this country with regard to missiles, I have thought it right to say a few 
words on this subject in this paper. 
First, however, I would briefly remark, that in my tbc that essay I 
appended thereto a quantity of “Notes,” all elucidatory of many of the 
statements I had made therein. Somehow those “Notes” were not 
printed with the essay—a matter I have greatly deplored, for it was wholly 
incomplete without them. Had they been printed with it, then Mr. Phillips 
would have found related the cireumstance which gave rise to my remark 
quoted by him, of the New Zealanders “throwing fiery-headed darts ata 
pa (or fort) when attacking it. " That note I shall give in this paper 
further on. 
It should be perfectly well known to us all that the first European 
visitors to New Zealand found the people utterly without the bow and 
arrow, and the sling, and, indeed, the common frequent use of the small 
dart or javelin, as an offensive projectile weapon. And all of those early 
visitors had ample opportunities of knowing this, for they were often 
attacked themselves by the New Zealanders, both on land and on water, 
when such missile weapons were never once used. 
At the same time it should be observed, that whenever a canoe, or a 
body of natives, came up with Cook, whether at sea or on land, and were 
for fighting, a single spear was invariably thrown ; this, however, was by 
way of challenge /taki), and was in accordance with their national custom ; 
just equal to the old European one of throwing down the gage. 
This non-use of prepared missiles appeared the more strange to the 
Europeans, from the fact _ weapons (slings and darts) srd com- 
* Trans, N. Z. Inst., Vol. X. 97. s 
+ Trans, N. Z. Inst., a 15 of the essay; "E 
