Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-06-17


New Zealand is, or rather was. the
home of these wonderful and gigantic
birds called moas by the natives, and
ainoris gigantess and dtnornis elephant
opis by scientists, which reach way back
into the post-pliocene period (the birds,
not the scientists), belonging to the
quaternary epoch towards the close or
end of the glacial period, and which
have become extinct within the memory
of man. The bird is spoken of in the
traditions of the natives, and the last
living moa is said by them to have lived
in Poverty Bay District, in the North
Island, and when resting to have stood
on one foot with its beak always turned
to the quarter in which the wind blew
The feathers of the bird were said to be
very beautiful and to have been used
for ornament by the native chieftains.
There are fourteen species of this bird
of which the fossil remains have been
discovered (many more may be found
in the future); all are now extinct. The
largest of these is the dsnornis giganteus
(huge bird), probably twelve feet high,
possibly fifteen or sixteen feet. The
tibia, or thigh bone, has been found
nearly yard long and as thick as that
of horse; and an egg was also found,
still well preserved, over foot long
and nine inches in diameter, which
would hold two gallons. These birds
are all wingless, with two enormously
powerful hind limbs (the forward limbs
or wings being rudimentary), adapted
for running. The dinornis eIephantopis
was of even heavier build, had toe bones
as large as those of an elephant three
toes on each foot), their feet were big
enough to fill those mysterious three
toed footprints of the triastic sandstone
in the Connecticut Valley, which have
caused so much wonder, for nothing
. could be found to fill them in the forma-
ton in which they were imprinted. They
stood out in bold relief, only three-toed
footprint, and nothing more. 1t is
known that these birds have become
extinct at a comparatively recent date,
because bones have been found with
feathers attached and with pieces
of horny skin sticking to the legs. The
dodo. clumsy old fellow of about fifty
pounds weight, has died out within the
last two centuries, and the apteryx, a
bird like itself and no other, is fast
leaving us. The apteryx is the highest
representative of the warm bloOded
class of animals that lived in New Zea-
land before the introduction of man.
(The term introduction of man" is
Professor Ovens, and you will notice
now cautious he is. 1t is such a vexed
question how, when and where man
first came upon the earth, that the
learned Professor handles it carefully.)
In Madagascar the remains of bird
larger than any of these have been late
" discovered, also wingless the apior-
MS naa1imus Qall bird.) With the
bones have been found eggs three times
as large as an ostrich egg. Two other
species, similar but smaller, have been
found SO closely resembling the New
Zealand dinor7sis that some biologists
say that these two regions, now so far
apart G 900 miles) were once united,
forming one immense continent. These
birds could not fly and unless there
were two separate creations how could
they have got there? There are some
objections, it appears to me, to this
theory, viz: snakes, large and small,
abound in Madagascar while there are
none in New Zealand; crocodiles, scor-
pions, centipedes and lizards make the
former place agreeable and pleasant to
ramble in; the reverse is true of the lat
ter. New Zealand is remarkably healthy
and Madagascar is remarkably un-
healthy, etc.
But to return to my big bird. In a
history of Madagascar, taken principal
ly from materials and papers sent here
by missionaries to that island in the
early part of this century, it is said: "a
bird of the ostrich kind is reported to
frequent the most desert places of the
island" and adds ''that the story which
Marco Paulo refers to may not be with
out foundation. The story is briefly
this: "The people of the island report
that at certain seasons of the year
an extraordinary bird comes from
the southern regions, and that it was
SO large and strong that it could seize
an elephant in its talons, lift it in the
air and dash it to the ground in order
to kill it and eat it. The quill part of
the feathers was said to be two hand
breadths' wide." The people call this
bird the 6 Rukh." So much for Marco
Paulo. Now, in an Arab or Persian
dictionary, "Rukh" is defined as the
name of monstrous bird which was
powerful enough to carry off a rhinoce-
ros, and the editor of "Marco Paulo"
said that 1.-the existence of such bird
was universally credited in the East"
Now, it is proved by these recent dis
coveries that such a monstrous bird did
really exist, though not so large as the
fables say, and the elephant story
would, of course, be exaggerated, though
if our own eagle can carry off lamb or
child to his Inaccessible nest, do not
see why so much larger bird could not
carry off proportionately larger ami
NAL, and this same epiornis 17aarinaus
probably furnished or was the original
roc of Sinbad the Sailor, SO that there is
most likely, at least so far as the bird
is concerned, grain of truth in that
fanciful and fascinating narrative. We
now know, at any rate, that bird did
exist large enough and strong enough
to have carried Sinbad long distance.
The rocks of Madagascar are chiefly
primitive, huge masses of granite and
syenite, pure quartz, large blocks of
exquisite rose-colored quartz, chalce-
dony, marble, also sandstone and lime
stone, some volcanic rocks and coral.
One writer speaks of finding piece of
limestone containing a fossil which he