CoLENSo. — Notes on the ancient Dog of the New Zealanders. 151 



and dew. Men attended to this duty, and also made the dog-skin garments, 

 though the women wove the inner flax-cloth lining. Forster and others, as 

 we have seen, always speak of the dog-skin as the lining of the men's 

 clothing mats, or dresses ; such, however, was not the case ; they, at sea in 

 their canoes, merely changed sides to them to keep off the saltwater ; in fact 

 these dog-skin di-esses were manufactured reversible. Many a dog-skin mat 

 has been made within the last fifty years of the skins of dogs of the small 

 mongrel breed, before European clothing became common among the natives. 

 Of these I have often seen the manufacture. I remember receiving an 

 interesting account from an intelligent old native of the killing of one of 

 those ancient dogs, and this was the last one I ever heard of. According to 

 my informant it must have occurred about the year 1831-32 (as he lived 

 with me in 1835,) and took place at Mangakahia on the river Wanoa, 

 (which runs into Kaipara harbour) in the interior of the North Island. A 

 great lady of that place had her chin, etc., tattooed after the old custom, and a 

 dog was accordingly sought as ta^m (sacred) food for the tohunga, or operator. 

 There was but this one left in that neighbourhood, and it was almost taken 

 by force from its owner (a petty chief) who cried and mourned greatly 

 over his dog. My informant also partook of its flesh, being an assistant in 

 the ceremonies. He, moreover, had also travelled extensively in this North 

 Island, but had never seen another true New Zealand dog ! 



I am aware that Dr. Hector (speaking of those two dog-skins *) says 

 that " they were recognised by some old natives as the skins of the genuine 

 kiiri, or ancient Maori dog." This native testimony, however, has little 

 weight with me, i.e., in the way indicated by Dr. Hector, and that for 

 several reasons : 1st. I doubt very much if those old natives had ever seen 

 the genuine ancient Maori dog. 2nd. Their meaning (when speaking of 

 those skins as that of a kiiri Maori) may be very different from what Dr. 

 Hector supposes. As I take it, the meaning there of the adjective Maori 

 is very likely to be common and not indigenous, just what any common 

 (plentiful) or cur-like mongrel dog would now be called by the natives, and 

 which, indeed, we hear every day; e.g., as when a native says (speaking of 

 pigs), "he poaka Maori tonu koa!" or of peaches, " he 'pititi Maori f or of 

 potatoes, " 7ie taewa Maori ano;'' or of guns (muskets), "he pu Maori;'' 

 or of vessels, "he kaipuke Maori;'' he means only such as are of the 

 common run or sort — ordinary, general, well-known ; of course (in these 

 cases) he never means indigenous or purely native. 3rd. Natives, for 

 several years, have made great mistakes in speaking of animals or plants, 

 especially of those which have become extinct or nearly so, or which have 

 not been seen by them for many years. About four years ago, a gentleman 



* Vide ante. 



