Cuapman.—On Moa Remains. 177 
nearly all pure white and make a very beautiful collection. It is possible 
that No. 4 may have lost some stones. Mr. Huddlestone, who lived for 
many years at the head of Lake Wanaka, informs me that he often found 
them in pockets just as Mr. Mitchell describes them. A crunching noise 
told when the plough had passed through a pocket. A gentleman who 
occupies a large agricultural farm in Southland where moa bones in all 
stages of preservation are extremely plentiful, says that in his district white 
quartz is searce and he finds complete sets of dark stones. 
During the succeeding month, in the Easter holidays, I made an excur- 
sion with Professor Scott to the country beyond Riverton. Beautiful sandy 
beaches stretch for miles to the westward, broken here and there by rocky 
points. One of these, called Colac’s Bay, is doubtless named after the old 
chief Korako, grandfather of Mr. H. K. Taiaroa, M.H.R., or else after a 
younger chief of the same name and family who died here eleven years ago. 
Beyond Colac’s Bay is a fine beach on which is a prettily-situated kaik called 
Kawakaputaputa. This is nearly opposite Rarotoka (Rarotonga) or Centre 
Island. In a somewhat hurried search here we found the remains of four 
moa skeletons in fair preservation ; at least, in each group lay a good many 
bones and fragments of bone, including toes, jaws, and tracheal rings. With 
one very large skeleton lay the white gizzard stones, rather widely scattered 
but quite distinguishable. Not far from this one too lay many fragments of 
eggshell, some quite fresh-looking and others old and worn. Two sma 
skeletons lay twenty yards apart half-a-mile from the large ones. One of 
these was very interesting. The bird had died erouching, and the various 
bones lay almost as they had fallen, having been preserved in their positions 
by being covered with sand. The tracheal rings lay close together, and 
immediately under them were the contents of the gizzard. The stones were 
in a little conical heap unmixed with sand. The heap extended below the 
surface still unmixed with sand, but of course the mass could not be removed 
without also lifting some fine sand, which, however, was easily removed by 
washing through a sieve. They are pretty transparent flinty quartz 
stones, different from the white ones gathered elsewhere. This bird, 
evidently belonging to a small species, had no such liking for opaque white 
stones as the others, but had carefully selected transparent ones, which, 
when dry on the surface, look much darker than the others. It will be 
observed that these (No. 7) are all very small, and they are very numerous, 
the whole set weighing 11b. 40zs. The few dark opaque stones are pro- 
bably intruders picked up with the sand lying about the mass. What I 
noticed here and in many other localities, including the sandy district near 
Otago Heads, satisfies me that a small moa was a regular denizen of the 
sea beaches, and that a large one, if not similarly disposed, often frequented 
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