The native land animals of New Zealand are not numerous. The most common
is said to be one resembling our fox-dog, which is sometimes eaten for
food. It runs wild in the woods, and is described by Savage as usually
of a black and white skin, with pricked up ears, and the hair rather
long. But it may perhaps be doubted if even this quadruped is a native
of the country.[AO]
According to Rutherford the pigs run wild in the woods, and are hunted
by dogs. He also mentions that there are a few horned cattle in the
interior, which have been bred from some left by the discovery ships. No
other account, however, confirms this statement. There are in New
Zealand a few rats, and bats; and the coasts are frequented by seals of
different species. One of the natives told Cook that there was in the
interior a lizard eight feet long, and as thick as a man's body, which
burrowed in the ground, and sometimes seized and devoured men. This
animal, of the existence of which we have the additional evidence of an
exactly similar description given by one of the chiefs to Nicholas, is
probably an alligator. The natives, as we learn from Cruise, have the
greatest horror of a lizard, in the shape of which animal they believe
it is that the atua (or demon) is wont to take possession of the dying,
and to devour their entrails--a superstition which may not be
unconnected with the dread the alligator has spread among them by its
actual ravages, or the stories that have been propagated respecting it.
They report that in the part of the country where it is found it makes
great havoc among children, carrying them off and devouring them
whenever they come in its way.[AP]
There are not many species of insects, those seen by Anderson, who
accompanied Cook, being only a few dragonflies, butterflies,
grasshoppers, spiders, and black ants, vast numbers of scorpion flies,
and a sandfly, which is described as the only noxious insect in the
country. It insinuates itself under the foot, and bites like a mosquito.
The birds of New Zealand are very numerous, and almost all are peculiar
to the country. Among them are wild ducks, large wood-pigeons, seagulls,
rails, parrots, and parrakeets. They are generally very tame.
Rutherford states that during his long residence he became very expert,
after the manner of the natives, in catching birds with a noosed
string, and that he has thus caught thousands of ground parrots with a
line about fifty feet long. The most remarkable bird is one to which
Cook's people gave the name of the mocking-bird, from the extraordinary
variety of its notes.[AQ] There is also another which was called by the
English the poe, or poi bird, from a little tuft of white curled
feathers which it has under its throat, and which seemed to them to
resemble certain white flowers worn as ornaments in the ears by the
people of Otaheite, and known there by a similar name. This bird is also
remarkable both for the beauty of its plumage and the sweetness of its
note. Its power of song is the more remarkable as it belongs to the
class of birds which feed on honey, whose notes are generally not
melodious.[AR]
The enchanting music of the woods of New Zealand is dwelt upon with
rapture by all who have had an opportunity of listening to it.
Describing one of the first days he spent in Queen Charlotte Sound, Cook
says:--"The ship lay at the distance of somewhat less than a quarter of
a mile from the shore, and in the morning we were awakened by the
singing of the birds. The number was incredible, and they seemed to
strain their throats in emulation of each other. This wild melody was
infinitely superior to any that we had ever heard of the same kind; it
seemed to be like small bells, exquisitely tuned; and perhaps the
distance and the water between might be no small advantage to the
sound." Upon inquiry, they were informed that the birds here always
begin to sing about two hours after midnight, and, continuing their
music till sunrise, were silent the rest of the day.[AS]
One of the chief sources of natural wealth which New Zealand possesses
consists in the abundance and variety of the fish which frequent its
coasts. Wherever he went, Cook, in his different visits to the two
islands, was amply supplied with this description of food, of which he
says that six or eight men, with hooks and lines, would in some places
catch daily enough to serve the whole ship's company. Among the
different species which are described as being found, we may mention
mackerel, crayfish, a sort called by the sailors colefish, which Cook
says was both larger and finer than any he had seen before, and was, in
the opinion of most on board, the highest luxury the sea afforded them;
the herring, the flounder, and a fish resembling the salmon. To these
may be added, besides, many other species of shell-fish, mussels,
cockles, and oysters.
The seas in the neighbourhood of New Zealand, also, we ought not to
forget to add, are much frequented by whales, which, besides the value
of their blubber, are greatly prized by the natives for the sake of
their flesh, which they consider a first-rate delicacy.
The New Zealanders are extremely expert in fishing. They are also
admirable divers, and Rutherford states that they will bring up live
fish from the deepest waters, with the greatest certainty.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote AO: Craik is correct in this surmise. The Maori dog, Canis
familiaris, (Variety Maorium), which is now extinct, was introduced to
New Zealand when the Maoris came at the time of their great migration,
about 500 years ago.]
[Footnote AP: The alligator is purely mythical. The only reptiles in New
Zealand are lizards, and a lizard-like animal called Tuatara. It is
about 18 inches long, and is allied to crocodiles and turtles, as well
as lizards. It is the sole representative of an ancient reptilian order
named Rhyncocephalia.]
[Footnote AQ: This is the bell-bird (Anthornis melanura).]
[Footnote AR: The tui, or parson bird (Prosthemadera novæ zealandiæ.)]
[Footnote AS: Large numbers of New Zealand birds unite in the spring in
singing a magnificent Song of Dawn, which generally ceases when the sun
has fairly risen, but individuals sing at intervals through the day.]