The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1885-07-04
VOLUME XVI.

times the size of any living specimen
of that graceful long-necked bird. In
dividual swans have been known t,
stand four and even five feet from tn,
ground to the tips of their bills. TIL,
gigantic swan of I'VE ancient days
must have reached height of at leas
twelve feet.
HARPAGoRNIs.
This eagle-like monster was the kins
of the ar. He is supposed to be thu
same bird of which travellers in tn,
earlier days told strange stories. Mar
co Polo tells in his Voyages of ;
colossal bird which he found upor
the Island of Madagascar. He says i
resembled an eagle in appearance
This tale was discredited, it beng
looked upon as sort of fable VIII cl
he took the liberty to insert in hi
Voyages - to amuse his readers.
More light can be found concerning
this e ant bird in the first volume o
Voyages, by Captain James Cook
page 113. Mr.. Cook says: I'VE founC
on Eagle Island (northeast coast o
Australia) the nest of bird of tire
mendous size. 1t was made of stick
upon the ground, and was no less thar
twenty-siX feet in circumference ant
two feet eight inches high" This nest
however, may not be certain evidenc,
that a tremendous bird built it. Tn,
megapode great FOOT, native o
Australia. is remarkable for raising
large mounds of leaves and dccavins
substances, with which they cover theii
eggs while Matching. The megapode'
general appearance is very much lik,
the American partridge, with the ex
ception of its feet, which are very large
and strong, with long claws. The nes
OF the me9apode has been found larger
than the one found by Captain Cook
upon the same island. nest thirty feet
IN diameter and six to eight feet in
height.
But we will not throw discredit upon
the story told by Captain Cook. Then,
You know. we have the ''true" stories
told us BY Mr.. IS nbad, the Sailor!"
And he tells us how on one occasion he
de celded into deep chasm by the aid
of the roc. which carried him, loaded
with diamonds as he was, up out of the
fearful gorge. This harpagornis must
have been terror and living night
mare to the her denizens of the air.
He was able to carry away with ease
the largest moa. He stood, when he
chose to test his height. eight to ten
feet high. and had spread of wings Of
twenty-five feet, or even more.
DINORNIs GIGANTEUs.
The dinornis giganteus was the tall
est member of the moa family of wing
less b rds the two other members hav-
ing already been mentioned, namely,
the nornis elephantopes and the
palapteryx ingens. They were native
to New Zealand and contiguous islands.
The first proof of the existence of the
moa was IN 1889. when fragment OF
an enormous bone was sent to London,
which, at first, was supposed to belong
to an OK. Prof. Owen, however, claimed
the bone belonged to an extremely
large bird, ten to twelve feet in height.
As late as 1864 bones have been discov-
cred of the moa family VIII CHI had the
appearance of not having been sepa-
rated from the living bird more than a
few years Enthusiastic ornithologists
yet hope that living specimen of this
g gantic BIRD may be obtai ned from the
Businesses of the yet unexplored in
terror of New Zealand.
The legs of the dinornis giganteus,
though the tallest of the moa family,
were not as stout and compact as were
those of its fellows; but they were as
big as those of horse. The bones
of an ostrich's legs look insignificant
beside them. Men and horses have
Il I.
kick from an ostrich. The leg-bones
of the dinornis g ganteus being so
much larger than those of an os-
trch, it is believed he could
break the leg of an elephant. 1t
is believed, also, that he was able
to run on foot as fast as an express
train. The tremendous strength of
the leg-bones of this running bird will
bear out this remarkable statement.
From the latest discoveries, the height
of "a full grown dinornis giganteus
is computed at thirteen feet, and
even more. He, like the ostrich, had
the habit Of p'cking up and swal-
lowing good-sized stones, ETC., to aid
in digestion.
The epiornis or ia l-birl is another of
the gigantic species, the fossils of which
are found only in the superficial or
more recent strata of our globe. Some
merchants in the seventeenth century,
Wis ting the southern part of the island
of Madagascar, saw the natives carry
ing vases IN which they transferred
water, food, etc, from one place to
another. Upon inspecting these enor-
nous vessels they were led to ques-
ton them as to where they could be
obtained. The answer returned by
the natives was to the effect that
they were eggs cut in halves, and
were found in the sand-banks far in the
interior of the island. The eggs were
about eight times the size of an os-
trich's egg, and more than fifty thou
sand times that of humming- bird s
eggs!
M. Jeoffrey Saint Hilaire recognized
in this astounding giant new type of
bird. and he dubbed it ''epiornis," or
1.-The great Bird This tremendous
fellow was Judged to be vulture. four
times the size of the condor. and capa-
BILE of p ercing the air with the velocity
of the wind. The eggs of this gigantic
bird are extremely and proportionately
In 1852 the Museum of
Paris purchased three ep'ornis eggs at
a price of $500 francs. The organiza-
t on and structure of this colossal bird
are as yet shrouded in mystery. More
may yet be learned concerning It as the
inland recesses of the island become
opened to the researches of scientific
men. The height of the bird is put
down at not less than thirteen feet for
an adult.
''BIRDs OF MASSACHUSETTS"
This tallest of all birds is found only
in America. We mean that no signs of
the same bird have so far been found
any where else. The name given is the
only one by which he is known, and the
only evidence he has left of having
once existed are his footprints
in the sandstone of Massachu-
sets and Connecticut. So soft
and impossible was this soil thou
sands of years ago. when this & ant
stalked upon earth, that even the tiny
raindrops are also preserved as well as
are the footprints. From the size of
the tracks it is judged the height of the
b I'd was from thirteen to fifteen feet
They measure eighteen to twenty
inches from end to end and from
twelve to fourteen inches in breadth.
This is more than an inch longer
than the feet of the largest genera of
the moa family. From the points of
the toes it is asserted that the bird was
of the same order as the ostrich, casso-
varies, cranes and others of the silt
or long-legged birds. This bird was