Wild Life in Southern Seas. 
358 
“ only yesterday did Nua, my daughter, meet 
her on the beach laughing and talking to 
herself.” 
Hino-riri walked on until she came to a 
place where many great paua 1 lay hidden 
among the coral, with their gaping mouths 
1 The paua , or clam, of Polynesia are found in great 
quantities among the Pacific Islands, and the numerous 
species vary greatly in size, colour, and shape. That kind 
known to the Paumotuan Islanders as the paua toka y or 
stone clam, is familiar to the North Australian coast, where, 
upon the Barrier Reef, it attains an enormous size. The 
shell is formed of two great valves connected by hinged 
teeth and muscles of extraordinary power. Lying together, 
embedded in the ever-growing coral, the paua , with wide- 
gaping mouth, waits for the food swept into it by the current 
which carries over it continuously all sorts of forms of the 
lower order of marine life. The natives, when collecting 
them for food, carry in one hand a sharp-pointed piece of 
iron, or a pointed stake of wood hardened by fire. This is 
thrust into the open jaws, which at once close and seize 
the weapon ; then, after a series of sharp jerks and tugs, 
the byssus by which the clam is attached to the coral tears 
out from its hold. But only with small paua can this be 
done—the strength of two men could not detach one of 
the great ones (Tridacna gigas) from its bed, for, as the 
years go by, the base of the clam settles down into the 
coral, and the outside of its huge, fluted shell becomes 
part and parcel of the rock itself. Walking amongst a bed 
of paua is exceedingly dangerous. 
