Chapman. — 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 scarce 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 Eiverton. 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.B., 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 beacli on which is a prettily-situated kaik called 

 Kawakaputaputa. This is nearly opposite Barotoka (Barotonga) 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 small 

 skeletons lay twenty yards apart half-a-mile from the large ones. One of 

 these was very interesting. The bird had died crouching, 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 1 lb. 4 ozs. 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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