Cotznso.—On the Moa. 65 
A mountain named Whakapunake, at least eighty miles distant in a 
southerly direction, was spoken of as the residence of this creature; here, 
however, only one existed, which, it was generally contended, was the sole 
survivor of the Moa race. Yet they could not assign any possible reason 
why it should have become all but extinct. . 
While, however, the existence of the Moa was universally believed (in 
fact, to dare to doubt of such a being amounted, in the native estimation, 
to a very high crime), no one person could be found who could positively 
testify to his having had ocular demonstration of it; for while with every one it 
was a matter of the profoundest credence, that belief only rested on the bare 
and unsupported assertion of others. Many of the natives, however, had 
from time to time seen very large bones; larger, from their account, than 
those of an ox ; these bones they cut up into small pieces for the purpose of 
fastening to their fish-hooks as a lure instead of the Haliotis* shell, it 
. answering that purpose much better, from its going more equably through 
the water. 
It was almost ludicrous, whilst at the same time it showed the powerful 
effect which this belief of theirs had over them, to witness their unconcealed 
fear, almost amounting to horror, on requesting them to go to the residence 
of the Moa to procure it, or to act as our guides thither for that purpose. 
Unlike, too, what has been very frequently observed in savage nations, this 
fear seemed not to arise from any degree of superstitious dread, but merely 
from an abiding conviction of the physieal powers of this prodigious animal; 
as well as from their belief of the moral certainty of such powers being put 
into immediate action if they dared to intrude within the precincts of this 
ereature's resort. 
As a matter of course, I treated the whole story (so far as related to the 
present existence of such an animal) as fabulous; looking on it as one 
more of those many peculiar tales and legends which so abounded in the 
** olden time," and which every nation under heaven invariably possesses. 
I could not but think, however, what an excellent companion for the cele- 
brated Roct of oriental story and nursery fairy-tale it would have made, 
had it but been known a little earlier: for, however some few grown-up 
persons may still delight in reading such marvellous exploits, parents gene- 
rally, I think, have come to the wise conclusion to prohibit their introduc- 
tion to the rising generation. 
On our return to the Bay of Islands, several natives from the East Cape 
district accompanied us. From them I subsequently received pretty nearly 
the same details concerning the Moa, as I had given me before when in that 
neighbourhood. 
. * See Note B, Appendix I. 1 See Note C, Appendix I. 
