Capt. Wilkes, in his narrative of the United States exploring expedition, says:—“Chatham Island, which will probably soon be connected with the English colony of New Zealand, is now considered as a nest of rogues, and several vessels have been robbed there. Its inhabitants have a tradition that they are derived from New Zealand, whence their progenitors came about a century since, having been driven off in their canoes by a storm, and that on landing they had changed their language. The change consisted in reversing the ordinary construction of their phrases and the syllables of words, as for haremai, maihare, and for paika, kapai. The natives of Chatham Island are not tattooed, do not wear clothing, and are said to be more intelligent than their progenitors.” I should especially recommend this latter statement to those who adopt the views of Archbishop Whately. They divide the year into four seasons,—Mitorikau, or the eating of the karaka; Tumatahua, or the growing of the toe toe; Tupuku, or the coming of the cuckoo; and Korahua, or the hot season, each of which was entered upon with special observances, of which, however, my son was unfortunately unable to obtain any intelligible account. Their food consisted of fern-root, the fruit of the karaka, shell and other fish, birds, seals, and the carcases of stranded whales, and their ordinary modes of cooking were similar to those of the Maoris. It appears, however, that when fish was caught in large quantity it was placed in a running stream, and kept there until the flesh separated freely from the bones. This flesh was then pressed into flax baskets, and kept in store for consumption when required. Like all savage people they were gluttonous and improvident, stuffing to-day to hunger to-morrow. Flakes of chert were employed in cutting up the flesh of animals used for food, but my son was unable to ascertain whether, as in the case of the Maoris, particular kinds of chert were applied to particular classes of food. Chert flakes were also used for cutting the hair, the clippings from the head of a chief being held sacred, and placed in some secluded spot. The women always eat apart from the men. Slabs of sandstone, hollowed in the grinding of their stone implements, were used as dripping dishes in which the fat and juices of roasting flesh were collected. It is interesting to note that two dishes, manufactured in the same manner, are amongst the historical relies of the Maoris, and were exclusively used by them for collecting the fat and drippings obtained in cooking the Moa. It appears strange that these were the only instances in which the latter people employed such utensils, although the manufacture was simple and their usefulness apparent. As a rule the Mori-oris built no huts, being ordinarily satisfied, even during winter, with the shelter of a sloping breakwind, under which they