Booth. — Description of the Moa Swamp at Hamilton. 127 



scratch, or a fracture. Some of tliem would have been split or chipped, or 



even broken to pieces for the marrow — that is, if they had marrow in their 



bones — and as they were a flightless and even wingless bird I believe it 



would be difficult to prove that their bones did not at least contain 

 a little oily matter, which would be a sufficient inducement for the savage 

 to break them and suck it out. But to grant that they had none 

 does not alter the force of the argument. The pelves are so peculiarly 

 formed on the inside, with covered-in hollows, that each one must have 

 contained enough succulent matter to feed half a dozen savages. This 



the savages would not have allowed to be w r asted, and they could not 

 get it out without splitting or breaking the bones in pieces. In my view 



it is conclusive that if savages were the agents there would not have been 

 a whole pelvis in the entire deposit. Again, we know with what extreme 

 partiality savages regard the brain of man or beast; this proclivity, I believe, 

 is universal with all the savages in the world. I know that amongst the scores 

 of tribes that I have travelled through in different countries, and in several 

 instances lived for some time amongst, I have never known them to lose 

 the brain of the smallest bird or quadruped. They would invariably break 

 the skull and suck out the brain or eat skull and all. Now amongst GO or 70 

 skull bones that I obtained there was not one that appeared to have been 

 broken for such a purpose. Where the cavity of the brain had been opened 

 it was easy to tell that natural decay had been the cause. 



Although I could adduce reasons for supposing that they might throw 

 large bones into the waterhole, still I cannot see what would cause them to 



gather up bones about their camp not larger than sail needles, carry them to a 

 waterhole, and throw them in. 



Again, during the long time that must have elapsed to make such a large 

 deposit, perhaps many hundred years, and the many thousands of times that 

 the tribes and the different generations of tribes would have frequented this 

 lagoon, it is quite rational to suppose that some relic, some toy or trinket, 

 some implement, some weapon, or bones of man or dog (as Dr. Hector says 

 they had dogs) would accidentally have fallen in the waterhole, and remained 

 to be taken out with the general deposit. 



As regards the burnt appearance of a great number of the bones, I am 



decidedly of opinion that it was caused by the red earth, or oxide, as it was 

 only where they lay in contact with this earth that they presented such an 



indication. 



The split sticks found under the bones were not sufficiently indicative of 

 human agency to cause remark. How the half-dozen round stones and the 

 single large stone got there I must leave a problem. 



The theory of the birds having been bogged appears extremely prob- 



lematical to me. 



