Evening journal., 1903-09-03
TO START HUNT
FOR GIANT BIRD
German Expedition to Find
the Roc in NADIA
gascar
EVIDENCE OF LIV! SPECIMEN SEEN
For a sinqle hlrd -s1n0.000,

ANA "a HAAhi' hAAh -FANNNNNa
That giant roc which terrorlzcd Sind
had the Sailor and all BIS men was no
myth. says tho New York World The
Arabian Nights" tolls the truth when
II speaks OF that monster OF tnc skies.
which would carry on a man in It's
great claws. schezcrade was telling
no fairy tale.
Professor Krausc, foremost among
the savan.s o. the University of Ber.
lin, is even now IN Madaga scar seck-
ing the great bird which boy readers
know as tie roe and which scientists
call the wpyornls. Arabian romance
had a shorter name-thc roe. The
savant has been commissioned TO en-.
gage whatever mon and transport he
needs and TO spend 100000 marks II he
can bring back just one Of those giant
birds. long since believed to be extinct.
Have started on the hunt is the
last cable message which the senate
OF the university has received. Now,
Il Is all that those grave and spec
tacled German scientists can do To
wait for the great day when the in.
trepid IIrause shall return TO clviliza-
ton with perhaps another message;
Il have the roe itself"'
But how does Professor Krause
know that there Is 1--we roc IN the
heart OF Madagascar? That question
Is most easy TO answer because fresh
egg has been found. IL was floating
down the quiet stream toward the
southeast coast. borne upon the bosom
Of the current that had brought 1t from
the wild and almost unexplored In.
terror OF the great island of the east
African coast
Natives found It. With loud cries Of
JOY they bore it to a little party Of
white mon who happened TO be near
by. One chanced 20 be n naturalist.
For moment be was dumfoundedi
then he spoke. "Thc egg Of the rpy.
3rnis." he said, "the roc Of Arabian
fable. The egg is fresh II would
have turned within week. The bird
/ that laid this egg Is still alive" The
/ great egg was twelve inches IN diam.
/ eter and twenty inches long II
weighed twenty-sevcn pounds Think
OF a chick OF such tremendous weight
The white men wore Germans They
cablcd at once TO Berlin. and back tn,
next day came the orier for Professor
Krause to take command and 20 worl
his way up the river at any price T.
end the live bird that laid the csc
That the egg was still fresh provei
that tie bird could not be far away.
Tie expedltlon jig eGplpped with c'
cryt,hIig that science cnn suggest. IL
orders are TO bring the great bird bac
alive and 70 study It's native haunt
its life and it's present condition.
the expedition IS successful. IL VIII b
one OF the notable achievements 70
natural history OF tho present century
For long period the marshes O
Madagascar have yielded the foss
eggs OF these enormous extinct bird:
the rocs OF days long since bygonl
The natives have known Of them fo
many. many years and have been nc
! customed 20 hunt them for naturalist
by probing the bottoms Of the swamp
with long iron rods An the bette
museums CT the world have one o
more Of the giant fossil eggs.
Fer the monster birds the name o
mpycrnis was proposed when th
frst fossil eggs were found. Gradual.
IL became accepted as the scientih
name Of the giant bird that had lai
those great eggs. In the course 0
time naturnllsts were rewarded by IN
discovery Of fossil bones Of the bird
Some OF these disinterred within r.,
cent years indicate that they belonge
to birds bigger than any others know
10 students OF natural history. Th
bones OF the toes seemed almost o
large as those OF mastodons. Some d
the birds had four toes; others ha
three. The toes can be told by the e.
perts because OF the absence OF IN
bony bridge at the lower end Of III
shin bones, which are as thick and d
long as those OF the average elephaI
Of today.
Many Of the fossil eggs are far larg'
than the fresh one just discovers
Some Of them have a circumference
thirty inches and longer girth {
thirty-six inches. The birds they hay
Matched in prehistoric times have bee
like the ordinary ostrich, yet possesse
OF wings which gave them tremendoi
powers Of flight. They were endow'
with strength sufficient TO give bait
to lions and tigers.
Should one of these great feather'
creatures be brought back to the Goa
and successfully shipped u some me
agerie or avairy it could easily be T
gardcd as the most valuable natur
history specimen in the whole worl
An ordinary specimen. which is
that Professor Krause hopes for, wou
be about fifteen feet high and wou
weigh 1000 pounds.
The egg that was found hoatil
down the stream has been careful
preserved. It's contents would equ
twenty dozen eggs Of the ordinary h
and would easily make an omelet I
the crew OF United States cruiser
provide a meal for a battalion Of reg
lar army soldiers. with hard tack al