66 Transactions.—Miscellaneous. 
In the following year, 1839, the Rev. W. Williams again visited that dis- 
trict, accompanied by the Rev. R. Taylor. The non-arrival of the vessel 
by which these gentlemen were to return to the Bay of Islands, which caused 
them a fortnight's detention at the East Cape), afforded them much more 
leisure time than I had when there. Mr. Taylor, hearing of this Moa, 
prosecuted his enquiries, and was subsequently rewarded with the discovery 
of (what appeared to be) a part of a fossil toe (or rather claw) of some gigantic 
bird of former days. 
In the summer of 1841-2, I again visited those parts. At Waiapu I 
gained the information, that Whakapunake (the mountain where the Moa 
was said to reside) had been visited by some baptized natives, purposely to 
ascertain the truth of the common belief; and which they declared to be 
altogether without foundation ; finding neither cavern, nor lizard-guards, nor 
Moa, nor any signs of such uncommon lusus nature. But what was of far 
greater interest to me than this relation of theirs, were some bones which I 
had the good fortune to procure from them, and which were declared by the 
natives to be true Moa bones. "These bones, seven in number, were all 
imperfect, and comprised five femora, one tibia, and one which I have not 
yet been able satisfactorily to determine. The largest femur, consisting ot 
the diaphysis only without the processes, measured eight inches in length, 
and four and three-quarter inches in girth in the narrowest part. The 
portion of the tibia (which, like the femur, consisted only of the middle part), 
measured in length six inches, and in circumference four inches at 
the narrowest, and five inches at the widest part. The still remaining 
bone, the largest of all, which was merely a section, measured in length 
six inches, and in circumference seven and a quarter inches in the 
smallest part. These bones were all (excepting the last mentioned) of a 
very dark colour, almost a ferruginous brown, and appeared to have 
entirely lost their oily matter. They were very stout, especially the tibia, 
and were strongly marked and indented on the outside with muscular 
impressions. Within, what little remained of the reticulated cells appeared 
to be nearly perfect. They were all found by the natives in the Waiapu 
river, and were collected by them for the purpose of cutting-up and attach- 
ing to their fish-hooks, in order to fish. The portion of tibia which I 
obtained had been sawn across by the native in whose possession it was, 
for that purpose. I also obtained several hooks, each having portions of 
the bones of the Moa attached to it. I could not, however, ascertain, from 
the smallness of the slips, whether these had been originally cut out of such 
bones as those I had just procured, or whether they had not been sawn 
from bone of a different description and larger size. 
