第40章 CHAPTER IX(3)

Besides these,there is an owl or two.These are heard occasionally,but not seen.Often at night one hears a solemn cry of "More pork!more pork!more pork!"I have heard people talk,too,of a laughing jackass (not the Australian bird of that name),but no one has ever seen it.

Occasionally we hear rumours of the footprint of a moa,and the Nelson surveyors found fresh foot-tracks of a bird,which were measured for fourteen inches.Of this there can be little doubt;but since a wood hen's foot measures four inches,and a wood hen does not stand higher than a hen,fourteen inches is hardly long enough for the track of a moa,the largest kind of which stood fifteen feet high.We often find some of their bones lying in a heap upon the ground,but never a perfect skeleton.Little heaps of their gizzard stones,too,are constantly found.They consist of very smooth and polished flints and cornelians,with sometimes quartz.The bird generally chose rather pretty stones.

I do not remember finding a single sandstone specimen of a moa gizzard stone.Those heaps are easily distinguished,and very common.Few people believe in the existence of a moa.If one or two be yet living,they will probably be found on the West Coast,that yet unexplored region of forest which may contain sleeping princesses and gold in ton blocks,and all sorts of good things.A gentleman who lives at the Kiakoras possesses a moa's egg;it is ten inches by seven.It was discovered in a Maori grave,and must have been considered precious at the time it was buried,for the Maoris were accustomed to bury a man's valuables with him.

I really know of few other birds to tell you about.There is a good sprinkling more,but they form no feature in the country,and are only interesting to the naturalist.There is the kiwi,or apteryx,which is about as large as a turkey,but only found on the West Coast.There is a green ground parrot too,called the kakapo,a night bird,and hardly ever found on the eastern side of the island.There is also a very rare and as yet unnamed kind of kaka,much larger and handsomer than the kaka itself,of which I and another shot one of the first,if not the very first,observed specimen.Being hungry,far from home,and without meat,we ate the interesting creature,but made a note of it for the benefit of science.Since then it has found its way into more worthy hands,and was,a few months ago,sent home to be named.Altogether,Iam acquainted with about seventy species of birds belonging to the Canterbury settlement,and I do not think that there are many more.Two albatrosses came to my wool-shed about seven months ago,and a dead one was found at Mount Peel not long since.I did not see the former myself,but my cook,who was a sailor,watched them for some time,and his word may be taken.I believe,however,that their coming so far inland is a very rare occurrence here.

As for the quadrupeds of New Zealand,they are easily disposed of.

There are but two,a kind of rat,which is now banished by the Norway rat,and an animal of either the otter or beaver species,which is known rather by rumour than by actual certainty.

The fishes,too,will give us little trouble.There are only a sort of minnow and an eel.This last grows to a great size,and is abundant even in the clear,rapid,snow-fed rivers.In every creek one may catch eels,and they are excellent eating,if they be cooked in such a manner as to get rid of the oil.

Try them spitchcocked or stewed,They're too oily when fried,as Barham says,with his usual good sense.I am told that the other night a great noise was heard in the kitchen of a gentleman with whom Ihave the honour to be acquainted,and that the servants,getting up,found an eel chasing a cat round about the room.I believe this story.

The eel was in a bucket of water,and doomed to die upon the morrow.

Doubtless the cat had attempted to take liberties with him;on which a sudden thought struck the eel that he might as well eat the cat as the cat eat him;and he was preparing to suit the action to the word when he was discovered.

The insects are insignificant and ugly,and,like the plants,devoid of general interest.There is one rather pretty butterfly,like our English tortoiseshell.There is a sprinkling of beetles,a few ants,and a detestable sandfly,that,on quiet,cloudy mornings,especially near water,is more irritating than can be described.This little beast is rather venomous;and,for the first fortnight or so that I was bitten by it,every bite swelled up to a little hard button.Soon,however,one becomes case-hardened,and only suffers the immediate annoyance consequent upon its tickling and pricking.There is also a large assortment of spiders.We have,too,one of the ugliest-looking creatures that I have ever seen.It is called "weta,"and is of tawny scorpion-like colour with long antennae and great eyes,and nasty squashy-looking body,with (I think)six legs.It is a kind of animal which no one would wish to touch:if touched,it will bite sharply,some say venomously.It is very common,but not often seen,and lives chiefly among dead wood and under stones.In the North Island,I am told that it grows to the length of three or four inches.Here I never saw it longer than an inch and a half.The principal reptile is an almost ubiquitous lizard.

Summing up,then,the whole of the vegetable and animal productions of this settlement,I think that it is not too much to say that they are decidedly inferior in beauty and interest to those of the old world.

You will think that I have a prejudice against the natural history of Canterbury.I assure you I have no such thing;and I believe that anyone,on arriving here,would receive a similar impression with myself.