160 Prof. Schlegel on some Extinct Gigantic Birds 



time, however, there were, besides the Europeans dwelling in 

 the fort, from thirty to forty Dutch families scattered over the 

 island and there established*. They lived partly by hunting, 

 and had dogs expressly for this purposef. These Europeans 

 living apart, the dogs (which, as we have seen from Leguat, 

 easily overpowered the gigantic birds), the cats, and later, per- 

 haps, the runaway negros have probably thus silently con- 

 tinued the work of destruction, and also completely extirpated 

 this remarkable animal. How quickly and secretly such a 

 destruction can be effected is proved, among other instances, by 

 the history of the different species of Dodos on the Mascarene 

 Islands. Even the great Dodo of Mauritius, first made known 

 in 1598, was no more mentioned by any traveller after 1681 J ; 

 and Leguat, who recorded so many observations on the pro- 

 ductions of the countries which he visited, makes no mention of 

 this strange bird. It must therefore be inferred that the Dodo, 

 when Leguat was in Mauritius, was already extirpated, at least 

 in the inhabited and accessible districts of the island §. Per- 

 haps, also, the abode of this bird, in contradistinction to that of 

 the gigantic Waterhen, was limited to the stony dry places 

 which are round the south-east harbour, where it was observed 

 in great numbers^ and at which spot all the accounts of this 

 bird were obtained. 



* Op. cit. ii. p. 64. t Ibid. ii. p. 10. 



J In ' A Coppey of Mr. Benj. Harry's Joui'nall wlien lie was clieif mate 

 of the Sliippe Berkley Castle Captn. Wm. Talbot then Commander,' &c., 

 a manuscript in the British Museum (see Strickland, ' The Dodo, &c.,' 

 p. 36), is found the last mention of the Dodo in Mauritius. 



§ Leguat himself (ii. p. 71) speaks of the extraordinary decrease of 

 the animals of the island in the following terms : — " L'Isle etoit autrefois 

 toute remplie & d'Oyes & de Canards sauvages ; de Poules d'eau ; de 

 Gelinotes; de Tortues de mer & de terre; mais tout cela est devenu 

 rare. Les Lamentins memes & d'autres animaux marins se sont 

 ^loignez, depuis qu'on a commenct^ a leur tendre des pieges." With 

 respect to the Dugong, which is the Lamentin of Leguat, we may observe 

 that this lai'ge marine animal has not occurred for a long period on the 

 coasts of the Mascarene Islands ; while in Leguat's time (i. p. 95) it was 

 found in great numbers on the coast of Rodriguez, and was so tame that 

 a man could walk into the middle of a herd of these animals, feel them, 

 pick out the best, and kill them on the spot or drag them to land. 



