John Rutherford, the White Chief: A Story of Adventure in New Zealand

sometimes eaten for food. It runs wild in the woods, and is described by Savage as usually of a black and white skin, with p

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

, butterflies, grasshoppers, spiders, and black ants, vast numbers of scorpion flies, and a sandfly, which is des

iar to the country. Among them are wild ducks, large wood-pigeons, s

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 th

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, e

hat 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 la

much frequented by whales, which, besides the value of their blubber, are greatly prize

o admirable divers, and Rutherford states that they will bring u

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ety Maorium), which is now extinct, was introduced to New Zealand when t

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animal called Tuatara. It is about 18 inches long, and is allied to crocodiles and turtles, as w

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ll-bird (Antho

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bird (Prosthemade

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a magnificent Song of Dawn, which generally ceases when the sun ha