Page:Hawaiki The Original Home of the Maori.djvu/150

138 Those who deny the powers of the Polynesians as navigators, quite neglect to explain how it is that certain plants and animals, found in the possession of the Polynesians when the first intercourse with Europeans took place within the last two or three hundred years, came to be naturalised in the places they were, and are, found. It is quite clear they are not native; and the instrumentality of man is the only scientific way of accounting for their presence.

When making voyages to a high island, or a large one, the difficulty of a land fall is not great. But it is different in the case of the atolls, of which there are so many in the Central Pacific. The system which was adopted in such cases was this: The people generally voyaged in fleets for mutual help and company, and when they expected to make the land at some of these tiny and low islands the fleet spread out in the form of a crescent, the chief's canoe in the centre, to distances of about five miles apart on each side, so as to extend their view—whichever crew saw the land first, signalled their neighbours, who passed the signal on, and so on, till the whole fleet were enabled to steer for the expected land. A fleet of 10 canoes would thus have a view of over 50 miles on their front.

We have in the record of one of the Rarotongan Tangiia's voyages, the fact stated that he missed his destination (Rarotonga) and passed much too far to the south, and that he discovered this fact by the great coldness of the sea. He then about-ship, and sailing north, found the island he was in search of.

From the times of Ui-te-rangiora (circa 650) to those of the last settlement on Rarotonga in 1250, the history is full of references to voyages to all parts of the Central Pacific and Hawaii. There was constant movement to and fro, showing the truth of the native historian when be says, "they became able navigators." But it would