THE MOA.

Evening Star, Issue 6762, 29 November 1884, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE MOA.

No account of even a very insignifioant portion of Ne,w Zealand would be complete without a reference to the moa. An interest in thia remarkable extinct bird was awakened in England about the year 1839 by the fragment of a bone about 6in in length falling into the hands of Professor Owen, the celebrated anatomist. An examination of this specimen of moa remains led him to conclude that there had been, and perhaps Btillwas, in New Zealand a gigantio bird as large as the African ostrioh. This conclusion was more fully verified subsequently by the Rev. William Williams, an Episcopal missionary in Poverty Bay, North Island, sending Home to Professor Owen a number of bones, with his own 'observations regarding them, in 1842, From these bone fragments the Professor gives an elaborate analysis of the 'structure of the bird and its nature. _' The nearest approach to a view of a living specimen of the moa was by Drs Heotor and Haast and Mr Mailing. The first saw some tracks of the moa about 2ft wide on the New Zealand Alps through the manuka scrub. Dr Haast on one occasion heard the cry of a moa, and Mr Mailing, at some other place and time, saw a footprint; How tantalisingly near to the aotual oreature! To think that the Bight or cry of the bird will never more greet the vision or the ear of man ! Ob, North Pole ! Noble ships and brave-hearted men have perished in the attempt to greet thy frozen solitudes; but the lost sight of the moa! "Ahmiseram Eurydicenr The North Pole may yet be hailed. Hope has not yet utterly expired regarding that sight. Bat who may expect to behold the figure of the living, moving, feathered wonder—the moa ! Oh, devouring time, enemy of science and sensible evidence, to leave only a "track," a " foot-print," a "cry"! Perhaps it is well that the last moa is out of sight. Its oomfort and dignity are thereby both preserved. The bird has escaped the showman and the interviewer. For them the last moa died in peace. Had Captain Cook explored the country he might have caught a specimen, but he let loose the pig and dog that bo haraseed the dinornis that it fled the gaze of men. Juat as the more fatal instruments of civilisation were to be landed in New Zealand, tho last survivors of the race, panting and brokenhearted, sought the remotest recesses, lay down and died. So perished the moa. There were six or seven specie*, of the moa, varying in size and other particulars. Some of the species attained a height of upwards of 14ft. The bones of the limbs indicate great strength, According to Native tradition it was a Btnpid, fat, indolent bird. Professor Owen had indicated from his examination of its bones that its nature would be sluggish. Perhaps this was an element leading to its sudden extermination. A livelier sagacity might have aided in the prolongation of its existence. With regard to the size of its egg, it is mentioned by Mr William Mantell that one 1 he had found would require an egg-cup as large as his hat to hold it.

Its food constated of herbs, grasses, insects, berriep, seeds; fern-root,; and lizards. The hill-sides and faces of clay terraces still bear the indications of their scraping faculties, in the rough, irregular platforms with which, they are marked. The moa was the means of dispersing and sowing the native flax-plant. No flax-plant seems to be selfsown; and, unless propagated artificially,' will in time become extinct. The seeds have a hard outside coating, which is supposed to have burst in passing through the intestines of the bird, and, falling on the ground with the droppings, found) a favorable seed-bed. Other plants of the moa period, less tenacious of' life, may havo died out along with the bird.

It appears to have frequented all sorts of places, from its bones and egg-shells being found on elevated ridges, in marshes, on the sea-beach,- on river-banks, all over the country. From the quantity of these remains the numbers of the-birds must have been very great. Between twenty and thirty years ago, tons of the bones could have been gathered off the surface of the ground over some parts of Waikouaiti district. They have been turned up by the plough, in making ditches and fencing, and in cbnatruoting roads, at a great variety of depths in the surfaoe mould and alluvial drift. •

The remains of the moa consist of bones, skin, cartilage, feathers, egg-shells, and pebbles. Bones have recently been found sufficient to construct whole entire skeletons. Two very fine skeletons are in the Dunedin Museum. One, the property of Mr Hooken, was found at Highlay, in the Dunbaok Riding; the' other was found in Shag Valley, and presented to the Museum by Mr A. W. Bell, in .1878. The head of the latter is 9ft 6in from the ground, and belongs to the speci»s named-by Owen dinornis robustus. Small quantities of pebbles have been found in many places, lying on tht surface of the ground or turned up by the plough, having the appearance of being gathered- artificially. A single collection of these stones would about' fill a quart vessel, and;supposed to have been in the gizzard of the imoa—everything of the -bird having perished but the stony contents of the crop, an undisturbed memorial, marking the spot of a moa's death. '

StfftVIVING INDICATIONS OF THE MOA. It would be strange indeed if a creature of such size, strength, numbers, antiquity, and recent existence as the) moa should leave no trace of itself on the face of the" country. Are we 1 to suppose that all that can be shbwri connected with this bird are a few bones, Skin,- f eatndre, and .'pebbles ? Evident traces are not few, atfd -the' first that might be notloed-is'the-hush? An examination of the New Zealand bush E resents two main stages : of growth. If the ush has been disturbed there will be a third stage. ; There is an original forest of very ancient treeß, of jpineitotara, kowai, broadleaf,- and some others. There is,, again, a later generation'observablei of comparatively youngtrees, many of them ofadififerentspepies, showing a second and more recent plantation. 33he third and lasTgrowth has sprung up since the- settlement of-the country arid clearing away Of fcortiofih 6f the bush. The track of the bushmanis marked by a luxuriant crop of hinu-hinu, niokau/pepper tree, and others. As the last growthishows the clearing of the bush by man, so does the intermediate bush in the : series indicate the 'suppression of growth : tl the moa. Thpre is an immense interval of time, without any apparent gradation, between the age of tho oldest trees'and the second generation which stands at their feet. At* very remote period, when even our most ancient New Zealand forest was not young, the moa cropped the herbage round the roots of these hoary patriarchs, and sheltered -themselves beneath their shady foliage. The younger bush grew as the birds decreased. Here, then, is a-very probable trace of the moa, and the age of the secondary bush points to the date of the extermination of. the bird'* ■-;:.-

Another trace of the moa is furnished by the amount ofopen or treeless country. The aborigines claim the credit of destroying the original forests by fire, but the work was only partially due to them. It was only possible for the Maori to fire the country after the. moa became extinot, or, at least, greatly reduced in numbers, so as to allow the growth of coarse grass and brushwood. The trees of New Zealand contemporary with the moa were comparatively thin ; the interspaces, covered with flax and tussock, wero pastured by tho moa. The thinness of the ancient forest can be judged from the occupation of the land by the flax. For many ages the flax contested the soil with the timber giants. Flax and other humble grasses occupied the Bpaces between the trees. When the birds had greatly diminitthed the Maoris set fire to the rough vegetation in the dry seasons of the year; the bark of the scattered trees being scorohed by the fire ceased to grow, and after a time fell to the earth. Charred portions of these old trees are still to be found lying on the ground on the back ridges that have been least visited by recent fires. Every spot where flax grew abundantly was a favorite haunt of the moa. The seeds swallowed by them were carried all over the country. Some of the moa paths might be traced along the faces of the hills, where they had been faithfully preserved by the flax-bushes growing on them. The having sprung up in the footsteps of the bird, prevented the obliteration of the tracks by the rooting pig, the immediate successor, if not the exterminator, of the moa. The absence of peat formations in the New Zealand valleys may also bo attributed to tho moa. Swamp vegetation being eaten or

trampled beneath their feet, enabled the water to flow in its natural channels without stagnation. Thus we find flax growing in soft marshes, the seed having been carried into them by the birds. The peaty matter has only accumulated and grown sinoo the moa disappeared; otherwise the peat would fcave been many feet in depth. There is a tradition among the Maoris that the moa lived in caves. This notion is supposed to have arisen from its diminutive congener the kiwi making burrows like the rabbit; but the tradition is more likely to have aiiscn from the fact that the bird did actually scoop out caverns in the faces of the hills to roost in and hatch its young. A moa cavity when first made and oocupied by its inmate, with an overhanging flax-bush, tuft of coarse grass, cabbage-tree, or.mikimiki, wou'd supply no despicable shelter. A great variety of surface marks can be seen over the country, but those which arc furnished by the moa can be easily distinguished from the others. Trees blown over by the winds have left elongated mounds of clay, lying at right angles to the direction in which they have fallen, acoompanied by adjoining . hollowß. Water also makes con; tinuous tracks down the declivities. Maori ovens are also numerous. These are circular holes in the earth, varying from 3ft to 6ft in width, and were used by the Maoris for cooking their food. Maori adzes and moa remains have occasionally been found in them. Neither has the wild pig passed away without leaving some traces behind him. Marks left by the pig are very irregular and shallow, and need not be confounded with the moa cavities. As might be expected, the moa cavities are very numerous. Many hill sides have been honeyoombed with them. Being protected by the grasses and vegetation they have not been obliterated by the weather. On many hard clay terraces they may still be traced aB definite in their outline as when they were first scraped and inhabited. Single cavities may sometimes be seen, the dwellings of solitary birds; others are alongside each other, as if a family had.dwelt together with a common platform. These platforms often rise above each other in a regular series, giving a peculiarly rough and stepped appearance to some slopes. It will thus be seen that the existence of this bird and its extermination are not without their permanent effects on the surfaoe of the country. DATK OP EXTINCTION-CAUSES AND PROCESS. Anything on the era of the extinction of the moa must only bo received as an approximation. Some have supposed that the moa became extinct about 200 ycarß ago; others think that, from the traditions, traces and remains, and condition of these rcmainp, it must have existed to the beginning of the present century. Two hundred years, it is alleged, would have obliterated every vestige of it. Bones, cartilage, and egg-shells on the surface of the ground would not survive that period. Such of the.Be as are imbedded in some kinds of clay strata would be little affected by the lapse of time. The latter, therefore, are of no valuo in determining the date of tho extinction of the moa; but they will be of übb in proving its great antiquity. It may be supposed that an accelerated decay Of the moas began upwards Of 200 years ago, and that by tho time of Captain Cook's visit they had become very scarce. When the ancestors of the Maoris landed in New Zealand they found the moa in great abundance. It afforded them a supply of food for many generations, with little toil. It was not difficult to take in the chase. For a time the Maoris were a prosperous and rapidly-increasing people, receiving occasional accessions to their number by stray canoes drifting to their shores from other islands of the Pacific, But as the Maoris increased the moas decreased, and, through time, many causes began to operate in hastening their extinction. The first was tho increased demand for animal food by a large Maori population; a second aroso from the moa having no secure hiding place in inaccessible bush from its determined pursuers, The tracks of the bird afforded ready access to the hunter. A third cause was the introduction of the European pig and dog? The point of time at which their numbers would bo highest would be when the Maoris first landed in New Zealand, about SOO years ago. For many generations the native consumption would be little felt; but tho Maori hunter, having affinities like other hunters, was an improvident and reckless destroyer. The hunting mania is a cruel and destructive passion. Many existing raceß of noble animals arc approaching the verge of extermination from this cause. Compunction will come, but it will come too late to save them. In Africa, India, and America, how many beasts are the victims of unsparing slaughter ? The elephant, the ostrich, the beaver, and fur-producing animals are in process of speedy extirpation. They will soon all be in their graves as well as the moa. Whalers and sealers have extinguished their game in the Southern Seas. The period is not'far distant when man, with rats and mice, and perhaps rabbits and the domestic animals, will be the sole inhabitants of the globe. Had Tasman landed in 1642 he wculd probably have seen plenty of moas. Captain Cook might also have had the same pleasuro in 1770, more than a hundred years later, although by that time they were few ill number.but he only corresponded for a brief period with Natives on the coast. Captain Cook wondered how such a large population as appeared to him could find subsistence on the scanty product of the rivers and seashore.' He was ignorant of tho native feathered game,' and sent ashore the lively and prolific porker; to replenish the Maori larder;

Prom the preceding remarks a retrospect of New Zealand during the moa period would be nearly as follows:—rFirat, the entire' country occupied by the moas undisturbed, and other races of birds, lizards, bats, and insects, for a long' indefinite period ; probably extending further back in time than the usttally understood age of the human race. To the eye of a spectator the face of the country would bo covered with bush richly variegated with green foliage. Many of the old trees of our bush had reached their maturity at an early date in the moa period, arid: have probably seen many decades of centuries since they were planted by the hand of Nature. The trees, however, on a close inspection would be found to stand widely apart froth each other, and the open spaces covered with flax bushes, tussock, fern, and other plants only contemporary with the'wingless biped. Flocks of moas might'be observed in .the shadowy glades, With giant patriarchs here and there feeding by themselves. ' Had the spectator ventured into the native forest it would have been easy for him to find a passage among the long clean stems of tho kowais, totaras, towering cedars and pines. Stepping forth into one of the narrow valleys, so common throughout country, he wonld have seen the native grasses well cropped, resembling ordinary English pasture-land, and, raising his eyes to the elevations on right hand and left, would have witnessed the moas busy scraping up roots for food ; some of them among the tall flax searching for the seeds of the korari; others lifting their heads carelessly would look stupidly and curiously at tho stranger from their roosting and hatching dens as lie passed. The next historic picture is the advent of the Maori. The sable immigrants arrive in canoes. They land and erect their rude huts, and search the country for something to satisfy the cravings of hunger. They hunt the mo?, live on its liesh, decorate! themselves with its skin and feathers, and manufacture clothing from flax. After many generations the birds become fewer in number. Fires are kindled among tho rough uncropped vegetation to reach the moa in the inaccessible mountains. The Natives become more dependent on the tea-shore and rivers for a subsistence. Maori refuseheaps were then formed where a tribe or hapii congregated near the coast. Discon; tented hungry tribes migrated from place to place. Feuds were frequent; battles were foaght; enemies were slain aud eaten on the battle field.

At this juncture European ships appear. Dogs and pigs are introduced. Pigs, more active acd prolific than the moa, soon spread from coast to coast, devouring the eggs and young of tho surviving moas, which were hunted and harassed to a speedy end. With the disappearance of the moa began the ruin of the native forests. For various purposes the grass was fired, and the trunks of the trees being soorched, growth was arrested,; and being blown over with the wind, the charred logs lio on some of the hills to the present timo. It is to be regretted that tho moa has

become extinct. The only thing to have saved it was domestication. It may be supposed that some of the species would have been capable of subjection to man, but the Maoris, who had the opportunity, were destitute of the required skill, Their appetites were too keen for the flesh of the creature to think of the humane task of taming it. J.C.