194 Proceedhigs. 



were aware that in 1837, l^efore any of the present settlements in New Zealand 

 were occupied by Europeans, a writer on these isliinds, Mr. Polack* had stated 

 his conclusion from the stories he heard from the natives, that a lai-ge 

 struthious bird existed stQl in Victoria, as he called the South Island, and 

 was only lately extinct in the Northern. He had received a very interesting 

 letter from the highest authority and ablest writer on old New Zealand, 

 Mr. Maning, Judge of the Native Lands Coui-t, and, although he had not his 

 permission to do so, would venture to read from it some extracts which 

 would satisfy all who heard them, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the 

 Maori knew the Moa perfectly well : — 



"There is no subject, except perhaps the history of their wars and 

 migrations, none on which the traditions of the Maori are so numerous and 

 particulai', as those regarding the Moa — none which have that freshness and 

 vi'aisemblance which ai"e pei-fectly convincing to those who know them: 

 indeed, the natives would be much amused if any pakeha from Europe should 

 set to work to persuade them that their forefathei^ had not hunted the Moa, 

 and at no remote date. 



"The natives are particularly remarkable as acute observers of everything 

 coming under their notice; they have named every tree, shrub, plant, and 

 insect in the country, and, what is more remarkable, have classified the plants 

 to a gi'eat extent, and upon very sound principles. 



"The Moa was of such incalculable value to them as animal food that to 

 facilitate its capture they have evidently, as in the case of smaller bii*ds used 

 for food, studied with the greatest keenness its habits, food, chai*acter, and 

 everything possible to be kno^vn about it. Their songs contain allusions to 

 hunting the Moa, and tradition tells how they caught, cooked, the fat melted, 

 and preserved, and in fact everything about them. 



"The Moa appeai-s to have been a stupid, inert bird, except at certain 

 seasons, when it is supposed they came together and fought with gi-eat 

 obstinacy, when many were killed, Thei*e is a Maori saying which is parallel 

 to our "stupid as a goose"; they sometimes say of a man, "he is as inert as a 

 Moa." I have no doubt whatever, and Maori tradition affirms positively, 

 that the extinction of the Moa was accomplished by their wasteful method of 

 hunting. 



"The traditions of the great bii*d of prey are fully as explicit and particular 

 as are to be expected. * * That it was called in song, 'Hokioi of the 

 resounding wing'; that it inhabited the mountain peaks; that its appearance, 

 under certain circumstances, was considered ominous; that it came often 

 accompanied by thunder and lightning, probably driven to the low grounds 

 by the storm, and, where I now sit writing, I can see a tract of land which has 



• See Traiifl. N. Z. Iiiat., V., p. 413. 



