of that. The pattern is the Maori "moko."
The tattooing on his breast, stomach, and arms, however, is not the work
of Maoris; that was done, probably, by natives at some of the islands,
or by sailors. I hardly think that those who read the narrative will
agree with Bishop Williams's opinion that it is "a mere romance." It is
more like the story of an ignorant, unobservant, careless sailor, who
entertained no idea that any importance would be attached to his
statements. Many mistakes were probably made in the work of dictating
the narrative to a fellow-sailor. If Rutherford had been bent upon
making a romantic story, he would have told it in a different form.
There is no straining after effect in the manuscript reproduced by
Craik. The faults are inaccuracies, not exaggerations. Some excuse may
be found for Rutherford's mistakes in the description of the battle Te
Ika-a-rangi-nui in the fact that modern Maori scholars cannot agree on
important details, there being differences of opinion in regard to
even the year in which the battle was fought.

[Illustration: A Maori's shoulder mat _Christchurch Museum_.]

It is felt that, with all its blemishes, the story has a good claim to
be included in the list of New Zealand works that are now being
reprinted by Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs, to whom the people of New
Zealand are deeply indebted. When Mr. Whitcombe first asked me to edit
Rutherford's story for his firm, I proposed to take it alone, leaving
out all the rest of Craik's work in "The New Zealanders." On reading the
book again I came to the conclusion that many of Craik's remarks,
although discursive at times, are sufficiently interesting to be read
now, and I have included in the reprint a large portion of his original
writings. I have retained his spelling of Maori words, but have made
many corrections in footnotes. The book is not sent out as an authentic
account of the Maoris. "The New Zealanders" was the first book that
attempted to deal with them, and it has been superseded by many which
have been written in the light of more extensive knowledge, and in them
students will find results of much patient study and research.

JAMES DRUMMOND.

Christchurch,

February 13th, 1908.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote A: At my request, Mr. S. Percy Smith, the author of "Hawaiki,
the Original Home of the Maori," endeavoured to trace "Aimy," but even
his extensive knowledge of the Maori language and tribal histories
failed to bri