CoLENSO. — Notes on the ancient Dog of the New Zealanders. 153 



brought off the hogs, but the dogs were turned loose, and with the cloth left 

 behmd. In return for the hogs, our people left some hatchets, nails, and 

 other things, making signs to some of the Indians who were in sight to take 

 them away with their cloth. After the boat had returned on board, the 

 Indians brought down two more hogs, and called us to fetch them ; the 

 boat, therefore, returned and fetched off the two hogs, but still left the 

 cloth, though the Indians made signs that we should take it. Our ]Deople 

 reported that they had not touched any of the things they had left upon the 

 beach for them, and somebody suggesting that they would not take our 

 offering because we had not accepted their cloth, I gave orders that it should 

 be fetched away. The event proved that the conjecture was true, for the 

 moment the boat had taken the cloth on board, the Indians came down, 

 and, with every possible demonstration of joy, carried away all I had sent 

 them into the woods."* Captain Wallis remained there at anchor more 

 than a month after this, on the best possible terms with the natives, buymg 

 largely of provisions but no dogs, of which animal he scarcely again writes. 

 And Captain Cook (whom I have quoted f) states that after their great 

 faUing-out with that people, the chief lady (Operea), in sending him the 

 present by way of reconciliation, included in it a dog — which is also the 

 first time Cook mentions the animal. 



The other chcumstance I have alluded to is mentioned by Mr. Banks 

 in Cook's first voyage to Tahiti, who saw within the sacred marae (or paved 

 court of then* great temple) " several small stages which seemed to be a 

 kind of altar, as upon these are placed provisions of all kinds as offerings 

 to their gods * * * and we found here the skulls of above fifty hogs, 

 besides the skulls of a great number of dogs." 



And while such sacrifices were rare, if not unknown, in New Zealand 

 (where hogs were not and dogs but few), still we may see a remnant of 

 them in a dog having always to be killed on great ceremonial observances 

 as a sacred food for the officiating priest or tohunga. 



A few named dogs take a prominent place in the very dawnings of 

 history among the New Zealanders — before they even left Hawaiki — 

 whether that place be a reality or a myth. It is related in their earliest 

 legends that a dog belonging to a great chief named Houmaitawhiti, who 

 lived at Hawaiki, having committed some trifling error, was killed and 

 eaten by another chief of that place named Toitehuatahi. On the dog, 

 whose name was Potakatawhiti, being missed by its owner, his sons went 

 seeking the animal in the several villages in the neighbourhood, calling it, 

 in their way, '' Moi, mo'i." On their seeking it in the j^a of Toitehuatahi, 

 the doo-, hearing their call, responded from within the stomach of Toi, " An, 



Cook's Voyages : first voyage, vol. I., p. 451. f Vide ante. 



T 



