The New York herald., 1922-09-17


HI,
Our good friend M Forbin. to whom
we are indebted for many interesting
items and illustrations. recently sent US
photograph Of tho only creature now
alive that saw the great Napoleon. This
is tortoise from Aldabra that is still
living a peaceful existence at st. Helena.
though Napoleon passed away a century
ago-May s. 1891. How old this tor
toise was when brought to st. Helena
to US with our allotted span OF three
score years and ten its age II exceeded
by that of another tortoise that is-or
was recently-llving in the island OF
Mauritius. whittier 1t was brought from
the Seychelles many years before. be-
ing even then of unusual size. In Maui
ritius Il became a national possession
and In 1910 was specifically mentioned
In tho treaty by which tho French coded
Mauritius to England. TT is said" to
have lived in Mauritius for At least ssv-
enty years previously. 50 that It Is
pretty safe to conclude that It II 1t least
$50 years old.
Unfortunately this tortoise has been
confounded with another brought to
England from Mauritius in 1897
through tho efforts Of Sir Walter Roth
schild. The latter specimen originally
came from South Aldabra and was taken
70 Egmont Island and thence to Maui
ritius before being transferred to Eng
A~1v T.
III. Incidents in tho history Of this tor
toise are assigned. in error. to the tor
toise that figured in the treaty-or a.
the writer in "All About Animals" will
have 1t, in two treaties-with tho result
that Aldabra IL mentioned as the place
of origin Of the historic tortoise Of Mau-
ritius instead Of tho Seychelles, its true
birthplace.
Through the Same error tho historic
tortoise is. in tho account given in the
volume mentioned. transshipped to Eng
land in 1897, although the very fact
that 1t was regarded by Sir Hubert
birmingham a. Government property.
and therefore not subject to sale. made
such a transfer impossible. This tor
toise remained at Port Louis. Mauritius.
whereas the tortoise from South Aida
bra is preserved to-day in the Rothschild
museum at Tring. the latter was GER
tainly mora than $50 years old at the
time Of its death. probably nearer zoo.
and enjoys the distinction OF being. aside
from fossil specimens. the largest known
tortoise. having. It is reported. attained
a weight Of $50 pounds.
Still another Ancient OF Days was Q
tortoise from the Galapagos. taken to
Honolulu probably by some whaler dur
ing the golden days Of the whale fish,
cry, before 1850. and given to Paki.
father Of Mrs. Bernice Pauahi Bishop.
by whom It was christened Maeleka.
Some time before his death in 1856 he
gave the tortoise to Queen Liliuokalani.
who later placed 1t In Kapiolani Park.
From there, at the instance Of Sir Wal
ter Rothschild. It was sent to England
In 1915, where 1t died two years later.
These three historic tortoises." 90
far as we can determine. attained the
greatest ages recorded for any animals.
being the oldest known members of an
ancient and long lived race, for even
such little species as our box turtle
reach a good old age. True the most
accurate record, that OF an individual
that was caught and marked from time
to time, Is only forty-one years. but
there is rather reliable account OF a
tortoise 10 years old and a less relia-
Die note OF specimen marked by DAN
III Webster. though here l confess that
have lost the published account.
This naturally leads to the questions:
what Is the limit Of life, what animals
live the longest and what is the age
they attain?
There are plenty of statements that
Ash are known to attain. and birds have
reached. many scores Of years. but when
an attempt is made to verify these
statements they resolve themselves into
matters Of hearsay or OF belief rather
than records of facts. We naturally
associate size with age. for the bigger
an animal the longer should It take to
reach that size but while we are apt to
credit such creatures as whales with a
century or more Of existence there Is
reason to believe that they are by no
means as venerable as they appear. and
the same seems to be true of elephants
which reach their full stature in COM
paratively few years.
Thus the once famous Jumbo. whose
name has been embodied in the diction-
ary as a synonym for all things big.
reached his full height and weight In
twenty-one years, growing In this time
from an infant three feet high, weighing
a few hundred pounds. to a towering
adult eleven feet in height and weighing
six and half tons.
As for the Indian elephant. Mr.. Po-
cock. from a study of the teeth. esti-
mates the average duration of life at
about seventy years, and SO far I have
not been able to lay hands on an au-
thenticated record OF an elephant older
than this, although these animals are
said. to attain an age Of 120 years. ,
Personally / confess that I believed
whales required many years. possibly
100, to reach their full growth until
became somewhat intimately acquainted
with them at Baiaena. when my ideas
underwent a radical revision. Briefly.