REMAINS OF THE MOA.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 332, 20 October 1908, Page 9

REMAINS OF THE MOA.

A COMPLETE SKELETON. (BY TEt.EUIUrn—rBESS ASSOCIATION.) • Christchurch, Octobor 19. About eighteen months ago a party of workmen, while engaged draining the swamp land in the vicinity of Sloven's Creek, on tho Midland Railway works, unearthed a quantity ot moa bonus. One of their number, Mr. J. Gault, succeeded in obtaining a complete'skeleton, 'which ho has now put together !\nd temporarily housed. Tho bones, with the exception of a few of the small ones, which show slight signs of decay only, are in a good state of preservation, and in the absence of expert opinion Mr. Gault states that the skeleton' is apparently complete. Tho height from the ground to the head, with tho neck arched, is 7ft. 6in., tho neck itself being oft. Gin. in length, and the length of leg from ground to hip 4ft. 6in. Ho has also in his possession tho greater part of tho skeleton of a moa chick about 3hn. m length. '

AN INTERESTING LETTER. (ur TELECKAIMI— PIiESS ASSOCIATION'.) Christchurch, October 19. A member of the- Ngai Tahu tribe, at Ilaiapoi, writing to the "Lytteltoli Times" relative to tho disappearance of tho moa, says"Some years ago I read in the Christchurch papers an article by the late Sir Julius Von Haast, entitled 'The Moa and Moa Hunters,' in which Sir Julius stated tho Maoris were not the moa hunters, but that the moa hunters woro a prehistoric raco to tho Maoris. I thought that statemont was incorrect, so I made iliquirv of/our old peoplo (Maoris) if the moa was seen here (South Island) by tho Ngai Taliu tribe, but was' answered by all that the moa was not seen by tho Ngai .Tahu nor by tho Ngati Maainoe, nor tho Waitaha tribes and they doubt whether the Haweas saw the moa. This went to confirm Sir Julius's statement. The statement that tho moa was about the Wellington district so recently as stated could hardly be true. The moa could not bo there without being seen by tho Ngai Tahu people, who occupied all that district • beforo crossing the Straits about ten or twelve generations ago. The Maoris say that tho moa lived on wind, because whenever it blew tho moa would stretch its neck' to the wind, and open its mouth and' oat tho wind. This might account ,'or tho statement that they) stretched their necks gazing across tne ocean to their former haunts. I am of opinion that the extinction of the moa was caused by fire, as thd remains of these birds aro more numerous in ' swamps and about the edge of tho snow 1 line, whore they probably fled to escapo tho firfe, and died of starvation through their food being destroyed. ' Whether tho fires wero j accidentally lighted or by the hunters in pursuit, in order to capture them more easily, Wo cannot, of course, say. I once i&mo across a heap of over a quart of roundish quartz gravel about tlio etlgo of tho snow line on tho Mount Benger Range (in the mining days of Otago) on a bunch of growing vines, which gave it the appearance of being recently deposited. Oil examination, I found that tho depth of tho' lowest pebbles did not exceed tin inch into the earth. Tho growth of tho vines under and about the heap of gravel was probably of moro recent date. There is not a pebblo of any description ( o bo found on the mountain side for miles around, nothing _but pure soil, which was continually washing away by tho thaw. Tho deposit was :by tho moa, perhaps , from its gizzard. In . the islands (Pacific) tho fowl is called a moa.