54 
MYTHOLOGY. 
This bird managed to acquire a kind of sanctity amongst the 
remaining heathen of the district, who never paddled past 
poor gobbles isle, without leaving him an offering, and thus, 
though doomed to a life of celibacy, he still grew fat on the 
offerings of his admirers. But now these and other heathen 
fancies are rapidly disappearing. The ancient abodes and 
haunts of Taniwhas, Patu-paearehe, Maero’s, &c., are still 
pointed out, but their inhabitants have long since disappeared. 
