AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2222, 10 September 1889, Page 2

AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY

»' . ■ Over the signature " Naturalist " tha following lettßr hs 8 been addreiaod to the " Buller Miner ":— SiE.—lt is somewhat surprising that, In a place where the "Bailer Miner" and othar Intelligent pipers are issued— for waa it not recently Asserted m the Houbb that tho Bailer j mrnala were among tha beat m the coiony— that no notice should have been tnken of the visit of tho Hlnamoa 10 thb port soma weeka ago, or of the remarkable dlscoverjr made* by one of her passenger m hiu explorations on "ha west, ooaat of Otago. The Hlnemoa oall.td In here on har netnratrlp from the Soonda »nd was vleited by; large numbers of people to sco th« l!«»rd#. Maori hen-, aad o:her thh.ga of note on board, but few are, perhaps, aware of the vnry notable explorer and prospector, Mr Dooherty, being on board, and that ha had with him a great oollpotlon of valuable specimens and rarUlpe, which he le> taking to ho examined b? tha soient'atij of the colony. Among the latter, I am told, are two empty broken sho'ls of the Mon's egg, -*h!ch afford evidence of belnjf recently hatohoi, I aloo hew. that ho newly secured a opeclmen of a live ohlcken of the glsjantlo dfnornls. From footprints he n«d B3cn on the aand bank of a larga oro-k, ho lay watching fnr two daya nnder a fl.«x bnab, and waa startled en the afternoon of the second day by a bird about tho bI»9 of a turkey oock pani&ig qatto mar to him. Ha made a rmhifct It. »nd oaiight it by the foot, bat it tur»ad on him, nnd while peokfn? madly at felm kept. op a tremendous (qiallin." nolid, thlo being* aoon answered by a dotp booming oralkInj; nolae, which kept neorlog him fast through ihe bush, and jadglng from »b.* ntrength of what he took to be the yooag chick of the moj, he knew ho would fare' ill if the psrent bird came upon bi», unarmed as be was. Not having & taomentt to apar»>, from tho fast naMfog noise* he let tho yoang bird go awd dashed Into tho doap wator of the o*eok, and keeping well out of eight till he- reaohed the opposite Bide of the b*nk, just m time to look back and Bee a mass of dark feathers a* !a,rge as a horoe disappearing m the bash. Ha did not get & view of the bird sufficient to be abe to judge of its exact are, bathe was able to form an idea of this from a careful msasarement of the height whet* It had been feeding on the broadlesfc which was 15 feet high to the )«»«» nipped and eaten. However, I can •■■at ft you that he hta the two nawly hatobe^ egg sheila as part proof of thla MnafkVoU story, and we are like!, to hear note about Me Docherty'a expeii«j»- 0M JLJ ?£'X at " ild * B<i -«V^7.."1 I havo g;lv«a the abor a tCfl oant of tha adventaw as nearlf %p, poßß , b i e m hit own 7»«w*in J-T *° ain * lno " dI b'« •« «>• V J * v ; *V iP;oh a discovery is jast waat naturally ► ava boan , xpabt , J^ V W ous [J 8 • g^d atatt for the Aoollmitfaatioh J* .y 'o got a few young mooa aud keep "* om In a atrong, high enolosnre, say is the Domain, ea the naoleos of a futqra Zoological Garden.