﻿"W. T. L. Travers. — Notes on the Chathavi Islands. 65 



Maori progenitors arrived in two separate batclies, at considerable intervals of 

 time, and tliat it was not until the arrival of tlie second batch that wars and 

 cannibalism were introduced amongst tliem. These habits, however, were not 

 long persisted in, having been brought to an end through the wisdom of a chief, 

 who saw that the inevitable result would be the extinction of the people. After 

 this they continued to live in profound peace until invaded by the Maoris, as 

 detailed in my son's account of his former visit. At the date of his last letter 

 to me he was still in communication with some of the older people, and hoped 

 to gather fuller accounts than have yet been published of theii* habits of life 

 before the invasion. I may here mention that the report of Mr. Rolleston 

 on the condition of the existing remnant of the Moriori race indicates that it 

 had undergone great deterioration in physical character, as the resiilt, no 

 doubt, of close inter-breeding for many generations. My son's observations on 

 the general fauna and flora are necessarily at present incomplete, but I gather 

 from his letters that he expects to add largely to the number of plants collected 

 on his former visit, especially amongst the cryptogams, although he has also found 

 several new and interesting phanerogamous plants, all, however, closely allied to, 

 if not idetical with those of New Zealand. As on his former visit, he finds it 

 extremely difficult to preserve his specimens, owing to the dampness of the climate, 

 and he had already lost two large collections of sea- weeds through mildew. He 

 states that the undergrowth on both islands has been greatly destroyed by pigs 

 and other animals, rendering it difficult to obtain specimens of ferns, etc., in 

 anything like good condition, and leading him to suppose that many of the 

 species will soon become extinct. Amongst the birds he has obtained are 

 several which he believes to be new to oiir fauna. He particularly mentions a 

 large and beautifully crested Cormorant, which he shoi"tly describes as follows : 

 Head and crest jet black ; back black, except a patch between the wiugs, 

 which is pure white ; throat, neck, and breast also white, and over the nostrils 

 carunculated patches of naked skin. He also mentions a small bird, entirely 

 black in plumage, and having much the habits of Petroica alMfrons ; a Dotterel, 

 differing from the common Dotterel of this country, which he also found ; a 

 sea-bird, called by the whalers the " Blue Billy," the beak of which is singularly 

 shaped, and of a blue colour, whence its trivial name ; the Nelly (Ossifraga 

 giganteaj, of which he has obtained some very large and fine-plumaged sjjeci- 

 mens, and several other biids which, though not new, are rare and interesting. 

 He has obtained the skeletons of two species of seal, and one of a species of 

 Berardius, of which a tooth is preserved in the Colonial Museum. He 

 noticed a considerable number of peculiar fish, both marine and fresh water, 

 and many beautiful molluscous animals, but was unfortunately short both of 

 bottles and spirits for preserving them. He has not found any lizards on the 

 main island, and has been assured, both l:>y the European i-esidents and by the 



