438 Geology of 



Pacific Ocean," Vol. I, Page 142, in the following words. " "We had 

 another piece of intelligence from 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 they are killed by making fires at the mouth of the holes. "We could 

 not be mistaken as to the animal, for with his own hand he drew a 

 very good representation of a lizard on a piece of paper as also of a 

 snake, in order to show us what he meant." It is strange that so close 

 to the Wairau plains where Moa-bones have repeatedly been found, 

 the Maori chief should not have made mention of a still more 

 wonderful animal, a bird of such gigantic size as the Moa was, and 

 we must therefore conclude that it was not an oversight on his part, but 

 simply a want of knowledge. Passing over the publications describing 

 the visits of Captain Vancouver, Admiral d'Entrecasteaux, and Captain 

 Xing in which no trace of any traditions concerning the Moa can be 

 detected, we reach the time when the Northern Island was chosen 

 as a field for missionary work, during which extensive travels 

 were made by the missionaries and their friends in various directions. 

 A series of books full of valuable information were published during a 

 number of years on New Zealand, giving the results of the researches 

 of these hardy and intrepid pioneers of civilization — researches the 

 more arduous as they had to combat the damaging influence of some 

 of the lowest European outcasts then living with the natives. "We 

 owe some other valuable publications to the fate of castaway- 

 sailors, who were compelled to stay a number of years amongst the 

 tribe to whom they owed the preservation of their lives. 



The first of the former works with which I am acquainted is a 

 " Narrative of a voyage to New Zealand during the years 1S14-15 in 

 company with the Rev. Samuel Marsden" by John Liddiard Nicholas: 

 London, 1S17, 2 vols. Although Mr Nicholas has collected many native 

 traditions, speaks of the natural history of the country, and has 

 travelled from the Bay of Islands as far as the Thames, the former 

 existence of a large bird or even the word Moa is never mentioned. 



The next publication to which I wish to refer is Professor Lee's 

 ""Yocabularv of the Maori language "published in 1S20. The Cambridge 

 Professor obtained the necessary material from several intelligent 

 missionaries, but principally from personal intercourse with the 



