Chapter 11

[66]Sir Henry Howorth, in hisMammoth and the Flood, suggests another theory, and gives some valuable information.

It is often no easy matter to form conclusions with regard tothe habits of extinct animals; and too much reliance must not be placed on arguments derived from the habits of their living descendants or their near relations. The older geologists fell into this mistake with regard to the Mammoth, as did even Cuvier. Modern elephants are at present restricted to regions where trees flourish with perennial foliage, and, therefore, it was argued that there must have been a change of climate—either gradual or sudden, in the country of the Mammoth.

Cuvier, who believed in sudden revolutions on the earth’s surface, argued that the Mammoth could not possibly have lived in Siberia as it is now; and that, at the very moment when the beast was destroyed, the land was suddenly converted into a glacial region! (“C’est donc le même instant qui a fait périr les animaux, et qui a rendu glacial le pays qu’ils habitaient, cet événement a été subit, instantané, sans aucune gradation.”[67]) Sir Charles Lyell argued, from geological evidence with regard to the rise of land along the Siberian coast, that the climate had become somewhat more severe, and that finally the Mammoth, though protected by its shaggy coat, died out on account of scarcity of food.[68]

[67]Ossemens Fossiles, tom. i. p. 108.

[68]SeeThe Principles of Geology, vol. i. chap. x.

Professor Owen is unwilling to believe that such changes as these brought about the final extinction of the Mammoth, and he concludes that it was quite possible for such an animal to have flourished as near to the North Pole as is compatible with the growth of hardy trees or shrubs.

"The fact seems to have been generally overlooked, that an animal organised to gain its subsistence from the branches or woody fibre of trees, is thereby rendered independent of the seasons which regulate the development of leaves and fruit; the forest food of such a species becomes as perennial as the lichens that flourish beneath the winter snows of Lapland; and, were such a quadruped to be clothed, like the reindeer, with a naturalgarment capable of resisting the rigours of an arctic winter, its adaptation for such a climate would be complete.... The wonderful and unlooked-for discovery of an entire Mammoth, demonstrating the arctic character of its natural clothing, has, however, confirmed the deductions which might have been legitimately founded upon the localities of its most abundant remains, as well as upon the structure of its teeth, viz. that, like the Reindeer and Musk Ox of the present day, it was capable of existing in high northern latitudes."[69]

[69]A History of British Fossil Mammals and Birds, by Richard Owen, F.R.S., etc. London, 1846.

The problem of the extinction of the Mammoth is not an easy one to solve. We can hardly account for its disappearance by calling in geographical changes by which its range became restricted, and its food supply diminished, so that in the competition with other herbivorous animals this primæval giant “went to the wall,” as the saying is. Nor does Lyell’s appeal to a change in climate, by which the cold of Siberia became too intense even for the Mammoth, seem quite satisfactory, especially when we remember how very far north fir trees range (p. 211).

The Mammoth, probably, was endowed with a fairly tough constitution. In Siberia it fed on fir trees. In Kentucky it fared better, and was surrounded by such vegetation as now flourishes in that temperate region. In the valley of the Tiber (where also its remains are found), though during the “Glacial period” the temperature was, doubtless, lower than at present, we cannot imagine that an arctic climate prevailed. Thus we see that it was capable of flourishing in various and widely separated regions where the conditions of climate and food supply could hardly have been similar.

Professor Boyd Dawkins, whose views we are adopting here,[70]considers that the Mammoth was exterminated by man—a simplesolution of the question, which seems to present no difficulties. That it was hunted by the primitive folk of the “Reindeer period” in France, is proved by its remains in the caves where men dwelt, and by a drawing cut by a hunter of the older Stone Age on one of its own tusks! A cast of this most interesting relic may be seen in the prehistoric collection at the British Museum, and shows that the men of that time were not devoid of artistic power (seeFig. 53). Some of the lines in this illustration represent cracks in the original, so that the actual outline is not easily made out. But here we see the head particularly well drawn, the tusks and downward lines indicating the hairy mane. Reindeer and other animals were also engraved on horn, etc., by the men who were contemporary with the Mammoth.

[70]Popular Science Review, vol. vii. p. 275 (1868).

Fig. 53.—Figure of the Mammoth, engraved on Mammoth ivory by cavemen, La Madelaine, France. In the Lartet Collection, Paris.

We know that man has exterminated a great many noble animals in his time, and, alas! continues to do so at the present time in Africa, and in North and South America. The giraffe and the bison, once so plentiful, are now almost extinct. Primitive man was a hunter, and, as he multiplied, his wants became greater, and more animals were therefore destroyed. Probably the same explanation applies to the great Moa bird of New Zealand, and possibly even to the Megatherium of South America.

With regard to the tusks of the Mammoth, which are considerably larger than those of either the African or Indian elephant, it is evident that they must have been of some service, for Nature would never have endowed the animal with such great and ponderous instruments—to support which the skull is greatly modified in both the Mammoth and elephant—without some definite purpose. We have often been asked how the Mammoth used his tusks; now, this question can best be answered by reference to the habits of living elephants. The elephant of to-day is a fairly peaceable creature, but, if attacked, can despatch the aggressor in various ways. Some enemies he can crush under his feet; a man he can pick up with his trunk and hurl to a considerable distance, probably with fatal results. But the tusks do not appear to be used as weapons of offence or defence. We must consider how the animal feeds. The general food of the elephant consists of the foliage of trees. In Africa it feeds largely on mimosas. Now, it is clear that, in spite of having a long trunk, an elephant cannot obtain all the leaves of a tall tree while the tree remains standing; mimosa trees, for instance, are often thirty feet high, and have richer foliage at the crown. So it appears that they actually overturn them. On this point we have the testimony of Sir Samuel Baker, who says, “The destruction caused by a herd of elephants in a mimosa forest is extraordinary, and I have seen trees uprooted of so large a size that I am convinced no single elephant could have overturned them. I have measured trees four feet six inches in circumference, and about thirty feet high, uprooted by elephants. The natives assured me that the elephants mutually assist each other, and that several engage together in the work of overturning a large tree. None of the mimosas have tap-roots; thus the powerful tusks of the elephants applied as crowbars at the roots, while others pull at the branches with their trunks, will effect the destruction of a tree so large as to appear invulnerable.” Another writer says the elephant also feeds on a variety of bulbs, thesituation of which is indicated by his exquisite sense of smell, and that, to obtain these, he turns up the ground with his tusks, so that whole acres may be seen thus ploughed up.

Now, in Siberia, where the ground would be harder, we can imagine that the larger tusks of the Mammoth would be highly serviceable in uprooting fir trees and breaking off their branches, for Benkendorf’s fortunate discovery informs us that such trees formed at least part of their food.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE MASTODON AND THE WOOLLY RHINOCEROS.

“Of one departed worldI see the mighty show.”

Another elephantine monster, evidently allied to the Mammoth, was the Mastodon, a creature which there is reason to think was contemporary, in America, with the men of prehistoric age. It was so named by Baron Cuvier to distinguish it from the Mammoth, with which it was by others considered identical; and his discrimination of the two forms marked an important and early step in the history of palæontology. The chief difference between these two extinct types lies in their molar teeth. These, on cutting the gum, must have exhibited a number of somewhat conical protuberances of a mammiform appearance; hence the name.[71]As these points were worn down by mastication, the surface of the tooth showed a series of discs of various sizes. The teeth were covered by a very thick coat of dense, brittle enamel. There are, however, differences in the bony framework of the animal, as well as in its general proportions, which serve to distinguish it from the Mammoth; but it will not be necessary to enter into these matters here, for this is difficult ground, even to the student who is well versed in anatomy. Notwithstanding a vast amount of observation on the subject, considerable differences of opinion have prevailed among palæontologists withregard to the proper relation of the Mastodon to the Mammoth and living elephants.

[71]Greek—mastos, teat;odous,odontos, tooth.

Fig. 54.—SkeletonMastodon arvernensis, Pliocene, Europe.

At the entrance of the Geological Gallery in the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, the reader will see a magnificent skeleton of an American Mastodon, of which more presently. On this specimen our artist has based his restoration,Plate XXI.A large part of the great gallery referred to is devoted to the fossil remains of proboscideans; that is, creatures provided with a long proboscis, or trunk, such as elephants and Mastodons. This collection, from widely different quarters, is the largest and most complete in the world. By comparing the specimens of teeth in the cases, and looking at the fine specimens of skulls, and the numerous bones and tusks in the side cases, the reader will carry away a better idea than we can convey by description.Fig. 54shows the skeleton of Mastodon arvernensis with two very long tusks. Mastodon augustidens had four tusks, two in each jaw, but one of those in the lower jaw sometimes dropped out as the animal grew older.

Plate XXI.

THE MASTODON OF OHIO, M. AMERICANUS.

No genus of quadrupeds has been more extensively diffused over the globe than the Mastodon. From the tropics it has extended both north and south into temperate regions, and in America its remains have been discovered as high as latitude 66° N. But the true home of the Mastodon giganteus, in the United States, like that of M. augustidens in Europe, lies in a more temperate zone, and, as Professor Owen says, we have no evidence that any species was specially adapted, like the Mammoth, for braving the rigours of an arctic winter.

Now, we know from trustworthy geological evidence that the Mastodon is a much older form of life than the Mammoth. The record of the rocks tells us that it first put in an appearance in an early Tertiary period known as the Miocene (seeTable of Strata, Appendix I.), and in the Old World lived on to the end of the succeeding Pliocene period. But in America several species, especially M. giganteus, survived till late in the Pleistocene period, where it was probably seen by primitive men. This is all that is known about its geographical range, and its antiquity or range in time; some day, perhaps before very long, palæontologists may be able to trace the great proboscideans further back in time, and to show from what form of animal they were derived. Strange as it may seem, anatomists declare that they show some remote affinity with the rodents, or gnawing animals, and, in some respects, even with Sirenians, such as the Manatee (SeeChapter XVI.). But at present the evolution of this remarkable group of animals is an unsolved problem. Those strange animals, the Dinocerata, from Wyoming, described inChapter X., may perhaps give some indication as to the direction in which we must look for the elephant’s ancestors. We noticed that their limbs were decidedly elephantine (seep. 150), but they had no trunks, and their skulls showed curious prominences like horn-cores; their teeth too are very different.

The visitor to the Geological Collection at South Kensington will also notice a splendid cranium of an elephant, with very long tusks, from the famous Sivalik Hills of Northern India[72](StandD on plan). It belonged to Elephas ganesa, one of the largest of all the fossil elephants known. The total length of the cranium and tusks is fourteen feet, and the tusks alone measure ten feet six inches in length! This remarkable specimen was presented by Sir William Erskine Baker, K.C.B.

[72]There is some difficulty in determining the precise geological age of the strata in question, on account of the curious mixture of fossil forms of life they contain; but many authorities consider them to be of older Pliocene age.

But to return to our Mastodon. It was early in the eighteenth century that the teeth and bones of the Mastodon were first described,[73]and it is curious to observe how differently scientific discoveries were regarded in those days; for this society of learned men published in theseTransactionsa letter from Dr. Mather to Dr. Woodward, in which the former gives an account of a large work in manuscript, but does not name the author. This book, which appears to have been a commentary on the Bible, Dr. Mather recommends “to the patronage of some generous Mœcenas to promote the publication of it,” and transcribes, as a specimen, a passage announcing the discovery at Albany, now the capital of New York State, in the year 1705, of enormous bones and teeth. These relics he considered to belong to a former race of giants, and appeals to them in confirmation of Genesis vi. 4 (“The Nephilim (giants) were in the earth in those days”).

[73]Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 1714, vol. xxix.

Portions of the skeleton of Mastodon, discovered in 1801, were sent to England and France, and two complete specimens were at length put together in America. One of these was exhibited as a Mammoth, in Bristol and London, by Mr. C. W. Peale, a naturalist, by whom they were found in marly clay on the banks of the Hudson, near Newburgh, in the State of New York.

Previous to this, in 1739, a French officer, M. de Longueil, traversed the virgin forests bordering on the river Ohio, in order to reach the Mississippi, and the Indians who escorted him accidentally discovered, on the borders of a marsh, various bones, some of which seemed to be those of unknown animals. In this turfy marsh, known as the Big Bone Lick, or Salt Lick, inconsequence of the saltness of its waters, herds of wild animals collect together, attracted by the salt, for which they have a great liking. This is probably the reason why so many bones have accumulated here. M. de Longueil carried away some bones and teeth, and, on his return to France, presented them to Daubenton and Buffon. The former declared the teeth to be those of a hippopotamus, and the tusk and gigantic thigh-bone he reported to belong to an elephant. Buffon, however, did not share this opinion, and succeeded in converting Daubenton, as well as other French naturalists, to his views. He gave to this fossil animal the name of “the Elephant of Ohio,” but formed an exaggerated idea of its size.

This discovery produced a great impression in Europe. The English, becoming masters of Canada by the peace of 1763, sought eagerly for more remains. Croghan, the geographer, visited the Big Bone Lick, and found there some more bones of the same kind. He forwarded many cases to different naturalists in London.

Sir Henry Howorth, in his recent work,The Mammoth and the Flood(in which are brought forward certain views not shared by most geologists), mentions that in 1762 the Shawnee Indians found, some three miles from the river Ohio, the skeletons of five Mastodons, and reported that one of the heads had a long nose attached to it, below which was the mouth. Several explorers report discoveries of a like nature, which, if they may be trusted, and if they really refer to the Mastodon, and not the Mammoth, seem to show that portions of the skin and hairy covering have been seen. If so, their preservation is probably due to the saltness of the waters of this marsh, for salt is a good preservative. InThe American Journal of Science,[74]Dr. Koch reports the discovery of a Mastodon’s skeleton, of which the head and fore foot were well preserved, also large pieces of the skin, which looked like freshly tanned leather. But some ofthese accounts refer to tufts of hair—in one case three inches long.

[74]Vol. xxxvi. p. 199.

The great skeleton of Mastodon americanus already referred to was purchased by the trustees of the British Museum, of Mr. Albert Koch, a well-known collector of fossil remains, who had exhibited it in the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, in 1842 and 1843, under the name of “the Missouri Leviathan,” an enormous and ill-constructed monster, made up of the bones of this skeleton, together with many belonging to other individuals, in such a way as to horrify an anatomist and appeal all the more forcibly to the imagination of the public. From this heterogeneous assemblage of bones those belonging to the same animal have now been selected and articulated in their proper places. The height of this specimen is nine feet and a half, and the total length about eighteen feet.

According to Mr. Koch, the remains exhibited by him were found in alluvial deposits on the banks of a small tributary of the Osage River, in Benton County, Missouri. The bones were embedded in a brown, sandy deposit, full of vegetable matter, in which were recognised remains of the cypress, tropical cane, swamp moss, etc., and this was covered by blue clay and gravel to a thickness of about fifteen feet. Mr. Koch personally assured Dr. Mantell that an Indian flint arrow-head was found beneath the leg-bones of this skeleton, and that four similar weapons were embedded in the same stratum. He declared that he took them out of the bed with his own hands.

In the Pier-case (No. 38), near the Mastodon americanus, may be seen fifteen heads and jaws, together with other parts of the skeleton, mostly obtained from the same locality, but some of them came from the “Big Bone Lick,” Kentucky.

A fine specimen, obtained from a marsh near Newburgh, by Dr. Warren, measured eleven feet in height, and seventeen in length, while the tusks were nearly ten feet long, not including the portion in the long sockets of the cranium. Twenty-six species of Mastodon are known.

An interesting find was that of Dr. Barton, a professor of the University of Pennsylvania. At a depth of six feet, and under a great bank of chalk, bones of the Mastodon were found sufficient to form a skeleton, and in the middle of the bones was seen a mass of vegetable matter enveloped in a kind of sac (which probably was the stomach of the animal). This matter was found to be composed of small leaves and branches, amongst which was recognised a species of rush yet common in Virginia. In North America, where the Mastodon survived into the period of primitive man, various strange legends exist that seem to refer to it. Traditions were rife among the Red Men concerning this giant form and its destruction.

A French officer named Fabri informed M. Buffon, the naturalist, that the “savages” (Indians) regarded the bones found in various parts of Canada and Louisiana as belonging to an animal which they named “Father of the Ox.” The Shawnee Indians believed that with this enormous animal there existed men of proportionate development, and that the Great Being destroyed both with thunderbolts. Those of Virginia state that as a troop of these terrible animals were destroying the deer, bisons, and other animals created for the use of Indians, the Great Man slew them all with his thunder, except the Big Bull, who shook off the thunderbolts as they fell on him, till at last, being wounded in the side, he fled towards the great lakes, where he lies to this day.

This is one of the songs which Fabri heard in Canada: “When the greatManitoudescended to the earth, in order to satisfy himself that the creatures he had created were happy, and he interrogated all the animals, the bison replied that he would be quite contented with his fate in the grassy meadows, where the grass reached his belly, if he were not also compelled to keep his eyes constantly turned towards the mountains to catch the first sight of the ‘Father of the Ox,’ as he descended, with fury, to devour him and his companions.” Many other tribes repeat similar legends.

The bones with which Mazuyer practised his famous deception were those of a Mastodon (seep. 196).

Fig. 55.—Head of Woolly Rhinoceros,partly restored by M. Deslongchamps.

Contemporary with the Mammoth in Siberia and in Northern and Western Europe, was the “Woolly Rhinoceros” (Rhinoceros tichorhinus). Its body has been found in frozen soil in Siberia, with the skin, the two horns, the hair, and even the flesh preserved, as in the case of the Mammoth. It had a smooth skin without folds, covered with a fine curly and coarse hairy coat, to enable it to withstand the rigours of an arctic climate. The traveller Pallas gives a long account of one of these creatures, which was taken out of the ice, with its skin, hair, and flesh preserved. The following is a brief summary of his narrative. The body was observed in December, 1771, by some Jakuts near the river Vilui, which discharges itself into the Lena below Jakutsk in Siberia, latitude 64° north. It lay in frozen sand upon the banks of the river. A certain Russian inspector had sent on to Irkutsk the head and two feet of the animal, all well preserved. The rest of it was too much decomposed, and so was left. The head was quite recognisable, since it was covered with its leathery skin. The eyelids had escaped total decay (seeFig. 55). The skin and tendons of the head and feet still preserved considerable flexibility. He was, however, compelled to cross the Baikal lake before the ice broke up, and so could neither draw up a sufficiently careful description nor make sketches of those parts which were sufficiently preserved.Plate XXII.is a restoration.

PlateXXII.

THE WOOLLY RHINOCEROS, RHINOCEROS TICHORHINUS.Contemporary with the Mammoth.

The rhinoceros in question was neither large for its species nor advanced in age; but it was at least fully grown. The horns were gone, but had left evident traces on the head. The skin which covered the orbits of the eyes and formed the eyelids was so well preserved, that the openings of the eyelids could be seen, though deformed and scarcely penetrable to the finger. The foot that was left—after some parts had unfortunately been burned while left to dry slowly on the top of a furnace—was furnished with hairs. These hairs adhering in many places to the skin, were from one to three lines in length, tolerably stiff and ash-coloured. What remained proved that the foot was covered with bunches of hair hanging down.

Like the Mammoth and the Mastodon, its contemporaries, the Woolly Rhinoceros has given rise to some curious legends. In the city of Klagenfurt, in Carinthia, is a fountain on which is sculptured the head of a monstrous dragon with six feet, and a head surmounted by a stout horn. According to popular tradition, still prevalent at Klagenfurt, this dragon lived in a cave, whence it issued from time to time to frighten and ravage the country. A bold cavalier killed the dragon, paying with his life for this proof of courage. The same kind of legend seems to be current in every country, such as that of the valiant St. George and the dragon, and of St. Martha, who about the same time conquered the famousTarasqueof the city of Languedoc, which bears the name of Tarascon.

But at Klagenfurt the popular legend has happily found a mouthpiece; the head of the pretended dragon killed by the valorous knight is preserved in the Hôtel de Ville, and this head has furnished the sculptor of the fountain with a model for the head of his statue. Herr Unger, of Vienna, recognised at a glance the cranium of the fossil rhinoceros; its discovery in some cave had probably originated the fable of the knight and the dragon. It is always interesting to discover a scientific basis for fables which otherwise it would be difficult to account for.

The same rhinoceros was once a denizen of our country, and its remains are met with in caves and river-gravels. Specimens of its skull have also been dredged up by fishermen from the “Dogger Bank” in the North Sea.

CHAPTER XV.

GIANT BIRDS.

“To discover order and intelligence in scenes of apparent wildness and confusion is the pleasing task of the geological inquirer.”—Dr. Paris.

Of all the monsters that ever lived on the face of the earth, the giant birds were perhaps the most grotesque. An emu or a cassowary of the present day looks sufficiently strange by the side of ordinary birds; but “running birds” much larger than these flourished not so very long ago in New Zealand and Madagascar, and must at one time have inhabited areas now sunk below the ocean waves.

The history of the discovery of these remarkable and truly gigantic birds in New Zealand, and the famous researches of Professor Owen, by which their structures have been made known, must now engage our attention.

In the year 1839 Professor Owen exhibited, at a meeting of the Zoological Society, part of a thigh-bone, or femur, 6 inches in length, and 51/2inches in its smallest circumference, with both extremities broken off. This bone of an unknown struthious bird was placed in his hands for examination, by Mr. Rule, with the statement that it was found in New Zealand, where the natives have a tradition that it belonged to a bird now extinct, to which they give the name Moa. Similar bones, it was said, were found buried on the banks of the rivers.

A minute description of this bone was given by the professor,who pointed out the peculiar interest of this discovery on account of the remarkable character of the existing fauna of New Zealand, which still includes one of the most extraordinary birds of the struthious order (“running birds”), viz. the Apteryx, and also because of the close analogy which the event indicated by the present relic offers to the extinction of the Dodo in the island of Mauritius. On the strength of this one fragment he ventured to assert that there once lived in New Zealand a bird as large as the ostrich, and of the same order. This conclusion was more than confirmed by subsequent discoveries, which he anticipated; and, as we shall see, his estimate was a most moderate one, for the extinct bird turned out to be considerably larger than the ostrich.

Later on he received from a friend in New Zealand news of the discovery of more bones. In 1843 a collection of bones of large birds was sent to Dr. Buckland, Dean of Westminster, by the Rev. William Williams, a zealous and successful Church missionary, long resident in New Zealand. On sending off his consignment Mr. Williams wrote a letter, of which we give the greater part below.

“Poverty Bay, New Zealand, February 28, 1842.

“Dear Sir,

“It is about three years ago, on paying a visit to this coast—south of the East Cape, that the natives told me of some extraordinary monster, which they said was in existence in an inaccessible cavern on the side of a hill near the river Wairoa; and they showed me at the same time some fragments of bone taken out of the beds of rivers, which they said belonged to this creature, to which they gave the name Moa.

“When I came to reside in this neighbourhood I heard the same story a little enlarged; for it was said that this creaturewas still existingat the said hill, of which the name is Wakapunake, and that it is guarded by a reptile of the lizard species [genus]; but I could not learn that any of the present generation had seen it. I still considered the whole as an idle fable, but offereda large reward to any one who would catch me either the bird or its protector....”

These offers procured the collection of a considerable number of fossil bones, on which Mr. Williams, in his letter, makes the following observations:—

“None of these bones have been found on the dry land, but are all of them from the banks and beds of fresh-water rivers, buried only a little distance in the mud.... All the streams are in immediate connection with hills of some altitude.

“2. This bird was in existence here at no very distant time, though not in the memory of any of the inhabitants; for the bones are found in the beds of the present streams, and do not appear to have been brought into their present situation by the action of any violent rush of waters.

“3. They existed in considerable numbers”—an observation which has since been abundantly confirmed.

“4. It may be inferred that this bird was long-lived, and that it was many years before it attained its full size.” This is doubtful.

“5. The greatest height of the bird was probably not less than fourteen or sixteen feet.” Fourteen is probably the extreme limit.

“Within the last few days I have obtained a piece of information worthy of notice. Happening to speak to an American about these bones, he told me that the bird is still in existence in the neighbourhood of Cloudy Bay, in Cook’s Straits. He said that the natives there had mentioned to an Englishman belonging to a whaling party that there was a bird of extraordinary size to be seen only at night, on the side of a hill near the place, and that he, with a native and a second Englishman, went to the spot; that, after waiting some time, they saw the creature at a little distance, which they describe as being about fourteen or sixteen feet high. One of the men proposed to go nearer and shoot, but his companion was so exceedingly terrified, or perhaps both ofthem, that they were satisfied with looking at the bird, when, after a little time it took alarm, and strode off up the side of the mountain.

“This incident might not have been worth mentioning, had it not been for the extraordinary agreement in point of size of the bird”—with his deductions from the bones. “Hereare the bones which will satisfy you that such a birdhas beenin existence; andthereis said to be theliving bird, the supposed size of which, given by an independent witness, precisely agrees.” In spite, however, of several tales of this kind, it is almost certain that these birds are now quite extinct.

* * * * *

The leg-bones sent to London greatly exceeded in bulk those of the largest horse. The leg-bone of a tall man is about 1 ft. 4 in. in length, and the thigh of O’Brien, the Irish giant, whose skeleton, eight feet high, is mounted in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, is not quite two feet. But some of the leg-bones (tibiæ) of Moa-birds measure as much as 39 inches.

In 1846 and 1847 Mr. Walter Mantell, eldest son of Dr. Mantell, who had resided several years in New Zealand, explored every known locality within his reach in the North Island. He also went into the interior of the country and lived among the natives for the purpose of collecting specimens, and of ascertaining whether any of these gigantic birds were still in existence; resolving, if there appeared to be the least chance of success, to penetrate into the unfrequented regions, and obtain a live Moa. The information gathered from the natives offered no encouragement to follow up the pursuit, but tended to confirm the idea that this race of colossal bipeds was extinct. He succeeded, however, in obtaining a most interesting collection of the bones of Moa-birds, belonging to birds of various species and genera, differing considerably in size. This collection was purchased by the trustees of the British Museum for £200. Another collection was made by Mr. Percy Earle from a submerged swamp, visibleonly at low water, situated on the south-eastern shore of the Middle Island. This collection also was purchased by the trustees for the sum of £130. Mr. Walter Mantell, who described this locality, near Waikouaiti, seventeen miles north of Otago, thinks it was originally a swamp or morass, in which the New Zealand flax once grew luxuriantly. The appearance and position of the bones are similar to those of the quadrupeds embedded in peat-bogs, as, for instance, the great Irish elk (see next chapter). They have acquired a rich umber colour, and their texture is firm and tough. They still contain a large proportion of animal matter. Unfortunately, even when Mr. Walter Mantell visited this spot, the bed containing the bones was rapidly diminishing from the inroads of the sea, and perhaps by this time is entirely washed away. Mr. W. Mantell, however, obtained fine specimens and feet of a large Moa-bird (Dinornis) in an upright position; and there seems to be little doubt that the unfortunate bird was mired in the swamp, and perished on the spot.

The bones which he obtained from the North Island presented a different appearance, being light and porous, and of a delicate fawn-colour. They were embedded in loose volcanic sand. Though perfect, they were as soft and plastic as putty, and required most careful handling. They were dug out with great care, and exposed to the air and sun to dry before they could be packed up and removed.

The natives were a great source of trouble to him, for as soon as they caught sight of his operations they came down in swarms—men, women, and children, trampling on the bones he had laid out to dry, and seizing on every morsel they could get. The reason of this was that their cupidity and avarice had been excited by the large rewards given by Europeans in search of these treasures. Mixed with the bones he found fragments of shells, and sometimes portions of the windpipe, or trachea.

One portion of an egg which he found was large enough toenable him to calculate the size of the egg when complete. “As a rough guess, I may say that a common hat would have served as an egg-cup for it: what a loss for the breakfast-table! And if many native traditions are worthy of credit, the ladies have cause to mourn the extinction of the Moa: the long feathers of its crest were by their remote ancestors prized above all other ornaments; those of the White Crane, which now bear the highest value, were mere pigeon’s feathers in comparison.”

The total number of species of Moa once inhabiting New Zealand was probably at least fifteen, and, judging from the enormous accumulations of their bones found in some districts, they must have been extremely common, and probably went about in flocks. “Birds of a featherflocktogether” (proverb).

It is justly concluded, both from the vast number of bones discovered, and from the fact of their great diversity in size and other features, that they must have had the country pretty much to themselves; or, in other words, they enjoyed immunity from the attacks of carnivorous quadrupeds. In whatever way the Moas originated in New Zealand, it is evident that the land was a favourable one, for they multiplied enormously, and spread from one end to the other. Not only was the number of individuals very large, but they belonged (according to Mr. F.W. Hutton) to no less than seven genera, containing twenty-five different species, a remarkable fact which is unparalleled in any other part of the world. The species described by Professor Owen in his great work,[75]vary in size from 3 ft. to 12 or even 14 ft. in height, and differ greatly in their forms, some being tall and slender, and probably swift-footed like the ostrich, whilst others were short and had stout limbs, such as Dinornis elephantopus (Fig. 56), which was undoubtedly a bird of great strength, but very heavy-footed. Dinornis crassus also had stout limbs. (SeePlate XXIII.)

[75]Memoir onThe Extinct Wingless Birds of New Zealand. London, 1878. The beautiful drawing by Mr. Smit (Plate XXIV.) is from a photograph in this valuable work representing the late Sir Richard Owen standing in his academic robes by the side of a specimen of the skeleton of the great Dinornis maximus.

PlateXXIII.

MOA-BIRDS.Dinornis giganteus.D. elephantopus.Height 12 feet.A smaller species.

Fig. 56.—A.Skeleton of the Elephant-footed Moa,Dinornis elephantopus, from New Zealand.B.Leg-bones ofDinornis giganteus, representing a bird over 12 ft. high.r,b, footprints.

The Natural History Museum at South Kensington contains a valuable collection of remains of Moa-birds. These skeletons may be seen in Gallery No. 2 (at the end of the long gallery) in the glass cases R, R´, and S. Dinornis elephantopus (elephant-footed) is in front of the window. In D. giganteus the leg-bone (seeFig. 56) attains the enormous length of 3 ft., and in an alliedspecies it is even 39 in.! The next bone below (cannon bone) is sometimes more than half the length of the leg-bone (tibia).

A skeleton in one of the glass cases has a height of about 101/2ft., and it is concluded that the largest birds did not stand less than 12 ft., and possibly were 14 ft. high!

Dinornis parvus (the dwarf Moa) was only three feet high.

In 1882 the trustees obtained, from a cave in Otago, the head, neck, two legs, and feet of a Moa (D. didinus), having the skin, still preserved in a dried state, covering the bones, and some few feathers of a reddish hue still attached to the leg (Table case 12). The rings of the windpipe may be seenin situ, the sclerotic plates of the eye, and the sheaths of the claws. One foot also shows the hind claw still attached.

From traditions and other circumstances it is supposed that the present natives of New Zealand came there not more than about six hundred years ago, and there is reason to believe that the ancient Maoris, when they landed, feasted on Moa-birds as long as any remained. Their exterminationprobablyonly dates back to about the period at which the islands were thrice visited by Captain Cook, 1769-1778. The Moa-bird is mixed up with their songs and stories, and they even have a tradition of caravans being attacked by them. Still, some people believe that they were killed off by the race which inhabited New Zealand before the Maoris came. But they must have been there up to a time not far removed from the present. It is even said that the “runs” made by them were visible on the sides of the hills up to a few years ago; and possibly they may still be visible. The charred bones and egg-shells have been found mixed with charcoal where the native ovens were formerly made, and their eggs are said to have been found in Maori graves. Mr. Hutton considers that in the North Island they were exterminated three or four centuries ago, while in the South Island they may have lingered a century longer.

The nearest ally of the Moa is the small Apteryx, or Kiwi, ofNew Zealand, specimens of which may be seen at the Natural History Museum, at the end of the long gallery devoted to living birds. This bird, however, has a long pointed bill for probing in the soft mud for worms, whereas the bill of the Moa was short like that of an ostrich.

Another difference between the two is that, while the Kiwi still retains the rudiments of wing-bones, the Moa had hardly a vestige of such.

In Australia the remains have been found of a bird probably related to the Cassowaries, but at present imperfectly known. To this type of struthious, or running bird, the name Dromornis has been given.

Now, it is a remarkable fact that remains of another giant bird and its eggs have been found on the opposite side of the great Indian Ocean, namely, in the island of Madagascar, the existence of which was first revealed by its eggs, found sunk in the swamps, but of which some imperfect bones were afterwards discovered. One of these eggs was so enormous that its diameter was nearly fourteen inches, and was reckoned to be as big as three ostrich eggs, or 148 hen’s eggs! This means a cubic content of more than two gallons! The natives search for the eggs by probing in the soft mud of the swamps with long iron rods. A large and perfect specimen of an egg of this bird, such as was recently exhibited at a meeting of the Zoological Society, is said to be worth £50. What the dimensions of Æpyornis were it is impossible to say, and it would be unsafe to venture a calculation from the size of the egg.[76]The reader who wishes to see some of the remains of this huge bird may be referred to the Natural History Museum. In wall case No. 25, Gallery 2 (Geological Department), may be seen a tibia and plaster casts of other bones; also two entire eggs, many broken pieces, and oneplaster cast of an egg found in certain surface deposits in Madagascar. In the same case may be seen bones of the Dodo from the isle of Mauritius. Unlike New Zealand, Madagascar possesses no living wingless bird. But in the neighbouring island of Mauritius the Dodo has been exterminated less than three centuries ago. The little island of Rodriguez, in the same geographical province, has also lost its wingless Solitaire.

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