A NEW ZEALAND ROMANCE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 33, 2 November 1907, Page 8

A NEW ZEALAND ROMANCE.

THE STORY OF A'FRAGMENT, HOW THE MO A WAS DISCOVERED. (By JAMES DRUMMOND, F.L.S.) ■ I. One day, in the early part of 1839, a man walked into the British Museum and offered to sell to the authorities a fragment of a bone, six inches long and about three inches wide, which ho carried in his hand. He said that it had hecn given to him In? Maoris in Now Zealand, who told him that .it was the bone of a great eagle. 'He asked ten guineas for it. The Museum authorities declined his offer, hut they sent him and his bone to tho Royal College of Surgeons, in hondon,. There the man from New Zealand was referred to Sir liichard Owen, who took tho Lone from his hands, and, turning it over several times, casually inspected it. He saw at once that it was part of a thigh hone. He also saw that the mnu's story was not correct in its details. The specimen could not have belonged to a bird of flight like the eagle, hecauso tho eagle's'bones are. pneumatic, and the specimen was a marrow hone. "It's a marrow jbono," Owen said, "like those brought to a ' table wrapped up in a napkin." Tho Now Zoalandor was greatly disappointed at this. He. could not, of course, deny the scientist's statement, but he held to liis opinion that the. bone must possess some extraordinary interest. Owen was not inclined to argue the point just then, as ho was very busy with other work which he had- in- hand; but he promised to extend his 'investigations later in the day, and to communicate tho result to his visitor on the following day. An Unpromising Specimen. As soon as he was at leisure ho took the fragment into tho College Museum. He wont first to the skeleton of an ox, expecting to verify" his surmise that tho bone was ■fart of an animal brought to New Zealand hy Europeans. Ho knew that before the ;arrival of human beings New Zealand had mo large mammals, but he thought that the hone belonged to some introduced by early settlers. Thero were' resemblances between ;he fragment and tho thigh-bone of an ox, but there were also some striking differsnees which would not allow him to ascribe it to that animal. The wall of the cavity ihiit had held the mavi:ow was very thick. Phis fact led him to tho skeletons of other large animals. Ho passed from an ox to a camel, a lion, a buffalo, 'a grizzly bear}' and an orang-outang. While he 'was making these comparisons be saw that on the bone, which had now , oxeited his keen attention, there were some

obscure markings. These recalled to his mind markings ho had seen on the surface of the log-bones of largo birds. Ovvsn's Surprise. , By this time, it may be supposed,- hi'< interest was at fever heat. The general public cannot understand the thrill of excitement experienced by an ornithologist, when ho realises that ho may lie on the point of an important discovery. The finding of a now species of bird is ample reward for months, perhaps years, of toilsome) search, hardships, and dangers. It is an honour and a pleasure to handle a skeleton vhieh lias not been described before. To make known to science a bird of gigantic proportions, which might still be living in a remoto corner of the world, is an achievement that might well make the ornithologist's blood run quickly, and his heart, beat wildly.

Tlio largest bird known than was the ostrich, and Owen hastened to an ostrich skeleton, with which Im compared the wonderful fragment. It corresponded with the t ngh-bono of that bird in size, but not in shape. Both bones lnul tbo .same reticulate impressions that arrested his attention when

lie made the comparisons with the hones of the mamniiils. A Bold Conclusion. Ho now knew that he was on the evo of a groat discovery. Without resting, ho extended his examinations,- and made 'them

more liimiito. By the time lio had finished lie had eoino to tli« conclusion that the; bone from Now Zealand had belunped to a bird, that it wns tins shaft of a thigh-bone and that it must iiavo formed part of the skeleton of a bird as largo as a full-sized

°f-n lc , ', 01 ' lal- Scr. The specimen, however, still had a marked distinction. The thHibone of thq ostrich, like the thigh-bone of an eagle, is pneumatic, while there was no doubt, ns he had.seen at first glance, -tliaft tlio bone from New Zealand was a marrow bone,.like that of a beast. At that time • the kiwi was the ■larces-i bird reported from New Zealand. It is not much larger than an ordinary domestic fowl. J he fragment seemed to represent a bird of almost fabulous proportions. The ostrich and all the other members of the strange group of struthious birds roam over vast continental area's. New Zealand is composed mainly of two small islands' Owens contemporaries and seniors pointed out that tlip. evidence was against th" probability of a largo terrestrial bird being able to nntl sufficient food supplies in a small country like New Zealand. Owen's interpretation of the fragment, therefore, was considered hazardous, far-fetched, and unwarranted. Sceptical Scientists. Owen was convinced that his s.iirmiso was right, and he refused to relinquish his opinion. He made a sketch of the fragment, and wrote a short papar on it. This paper ho read before the Zoological Society ot London. There seems to have been very little comment on it. Probably his fellow' scientists thought that the subject was hardly worthy of serious consideration. Then came tlio question of publication. Should the paper bo lulmiUed of the. Zoological Society s "Transactions?" Tlio Publishinn Committee discussed the point for a long tune. Owen already had a high reputation and a statement by him could not be swept aside lightly. He showed that ho was very earnest. lie placed his reputation side by side with the fragment. "Any opinion-*as to the specific form of this bird," he said, can onlyJ>o conjectural; lint so fan as my skill in interpreting an osseous fragment, jinny bo credited, Tain willing to risk thn reputation for it nn the statement that there has existed in New Zealand, if there do«> not now exist, a .struthious bird nearly, if not finite, equal in si/.e to I lie ostrich"." Ultimately a majority of tlio members of tho committee agreed to admit, the bold statements into the "Transactions," together with one plate of illustrations, but tho risk taken was felt to bo a fairly heavy one, and a stipulation was made- that the responsibility of tho publication should rest entirely on Owen. A Despised Bone, His reputation bung in the balanco for four years. During that time, from 1839 to 184.'), nothing more was heard in England of the wonderful- bird from New Zealand. Owen recommended the Museum Committee, of the Collego of Surgeons to purchase a fragment from the owner. In spite of the ornithologist's testimony as to its value, tho committee declined to do so. Owen was a poor man. He could not afford to pay the ton guineas out of bis own pocket. Ho told the New Zealander, however, that ho would recommend tlio specimen to other men and institutions, and

he soon found a purchaser in Mr. Benjamin Blight, Jl.p. f or Bristol _ It found a place in the famous "Bright collection," and some years afterwards it was presented to tlie British Museum, together with the rest or tlio collection, by the grandson of 1 the loumler. It j s now regarded as one of the most valuable and interesting exhibits in the ornithological department of the great scientific institution. Jn the meantime, Owen did not allow the wonderful bird ho believed he bad discovered to rest in the "Transactions" of the Zoolo gical .Society. Hundreds of copies he sent cp all parts of New. Zealand, with a request that oiKjiiirios should be made in regard to the ( existence, in the present or the past, or a stiuthious bird nearly, if not quite, equal in si;:e to the ostrich." Owen's Theory Confirmed.. " °"° of these circulars fell into the hands or. the Rev. AV. Cotton, a missionary stationed at Waimato North,,near Auckland. He had neither seen nor heard of' the bird Owen described, but while he was visiting the mission station in Poverty Bay, ho told ISisliop \\ ilhams of the enquiries that were being made. The Bishop had a basketful ol moa bones in the next room. The two missionaries ransacked these, and on tlio. following day Maoris were instructed to gather largo quantities of the bones, which were scattered in the sand. Seven?] boxes were filled with, tlio bones, and the consignment was sent to Owen with all the expedition that shipping arrangements in those days allowed. It is a matter for regret that Owen has not recorded his feelings when be opened the boxes. It would be interesting to know if he steeped bis arms in the bones, as iwgai- Allan Poe's. treasure T scekerk dipped their arms into the gold and silver to which they were led by the famous gold bug. We would like to know how far his delight carried him, and into what ecstacies he was thrown frheii his eyes feasted on the beautiful, white, glistening bones, into which his genius subsequently breathed tlio breath of life, and from which ho gave to the world the most remarkable being which has inhabited this Dominion, and which he happily named , Diiibrnis—"The Terrible Bird/ . A Brilliant Ta-iumph. This episode is one of the most romantic and extraordinary in the annals of natural history. A fragment of a boiie, found in a distant corner of the world, was .placed in a scientist's band in London, and in a few days—in a few hours, ,in . fact—he had read its story. In all the records of all the learned societies of the world there cannot'be found a more'brilliant and striking example of the value of profound scientific knowledge, or a more triumphant- application of philosophical reasoning.