﻿Haast. — Moas and Moa Hunters. 77 



legendary character of the tradition. The proverb " He raoa Itailaau " (a wind- 

 eating moa) is the only trace which Mr. Stack can discover in the sayings of 

 the ancient inhabitants, relative to the existence and habits of these birds. If 

 it is true, as I have been informed, that it is a favourite habit of the African 

 Ostrich to stand with its beak wide open towards the wind, such a coincidence 

 in the habits of two allied terrestrial birds would be very curious, and would 

 clearly show that although all other traces have been lost, the proverbial saying 

 has outlived all past generations. Moreover, it would compel us to believe in 

 its correctness. We might, however, trace it to the Cassowary, as suggested by 

 Mr. Colenso in respect to the wattles. 



Mr. Alexander Mackay, Native Commissioner, who enjoys excellent 

 [ opportunities of obtaining accurate information iipon this and other subjects 



iin reference to the natives, has also made diligent researches. This gentleman 

 informs me that there is not a single tradition amongst the natives respecting 

 the Moa ; in fact, that they know nothing about it. It seems evident to me 

 I that the present native race, unable otherwise to account for the huge remains 

 of the Moa found sometimes washed out from the post-pliocene alluvium, 

 occurring in caves, etc., had recourse to miraculous legends. On comparing 

 the Moa bones with those of other living species of birds, they undoubtedly 

 found that in their principal characteristics they most resembled those of the 

 Kiwi or Apteryx, which were sometimes mixed with them, and which fact 

 may account for the tradition concerning the similarity of the feathers. But 

 a still greater proof of the long extinction of the Dinornis, is the fact that all 

 early voyagers, who had ample opportunities for observation, who assiduously 

 collected specimens of the fauna and flora of both islands, and noted down 

 carefully the traditions of the natives, never allude to the existence of the 

 Moa, nor do they speak of its osseous remains. Thus I looked in vain through 

 the accounts of the three voyages of Captain Cook, of those of Captain 

 Vancouver, Admiral d' Entrecasteaux, and of Captain King, but in all of these 

 no ti-ace of such traditions can be detected. Captain Cook, that admirable 

 observer, who gives us such a faithful account of the animal life of New 

 Zealand, made inquiries through his intei^preter, Tvipia, during his first 

 journey, concerning the native traditions ; on his second visit he obtained 

 further intelligence from a native chief in Queen Charlotte Sound, which is of 

 such interest that I wish to transcribe it. Thus he says, in the " Voyage to 

 the Pacific Ocean," vol. i., p. 142 : "We had another piece of intelligence of 

 him (Tawaihurua), more correctly given, though not confirmed by our own 

 observations, that there are snakes and lizards there of enormous size. He 

 described the latter as being eight feet in length, and as big round as a man's 

 body ; he said they sometimes seize and devour men, that they burrow in the 

 ground, and that they are killed by making fires at the mouths of the holes. 



K 



