PROFESSOR OWEN ON THE GENUS DINORNIS. 237 



letter' addressed to him by the Rev. Wm. Williams, a zealous and successful Church 

 Missionary long resident in New Zealand, on the occasion of transmitting to Dr. Buck- 



' " Poverty Bay, New Zealand, Feb. iSth, 1842. 



•■ Dear Sir,— It is about three years ago, on jiaying a visit to this coast, south of the East Cape, that the 

 Natives told me of some extraordinary monster which they said was in existence in an inaccessible cavern on 

 the side of a hill near the river M^airoa ; and they showed me at the same time some fragments of bone taken 

 out of the beds of rivers, which they said belonged to this creature, to which they gave the name of ' Moa.' 

 Wlien I came to reside in this neighbourhood I heard the same story a little enlarged, for it was said that the 

 creature was still existing at the said hill, of which the name is ' Wakapunake,' and that it is guarded by a reptile 

 of the Lizard species, but I could not learn that any of the present generation had seen it. I still considered 

 the whole as an idle fable, but offered a large reward to any one who would catch me the bird or its protector. 

 At length a bone was brought from a river running at the foot of the hill, of large size, but the extremities 

 were so much worn away that I could not determine anything as to its proper relationship. About two months 

 ago a single bone of smaller size was brought from a freshwater stream in this bay, for which I gave a good 

 payment, and this induced the natives to go in large numbers to turn up the mud at the banks and in the 

 bed of the same river, and soon a large number of bones was brought, of various dimensions. On a comparison 

 with the bones of a fowl, I immediately perceived that they belonged to a bird of a gigantic size. The bones 

 of which the greatest number have been brought are the three bones of the leg, a few toe-bones, and one claw, 

 which is one inch and a half in length, a few imperfect pelves, and a few vertebrEe of different dimensions, and 

 one imperfect cranium, which is small. There are also a few broken pieces, which seem to be ribs. In the 

 case now sent you will receive the largest specimens I have obtained, and also a few of smaller size. The length 

 of the large bone of the leg is two feet ten inches. I have a second case, which I shall send by another vessel, 

 to make sure of your receiving them. If the bones are found to be of sufficient interest, I leave it to your 

 judgement to make what use of them you think proper ; but if the duplicates reach you, perhaps one set may 

 with propriety be deposited in our museum at Oxford. 



" The following observations may not be devoid of interest : — 



" 1st. None of these bones have been found on drj' land, but are all of them from the bed and banks of fresh- 

 water rivers, buried only a little distance in the mud ; the largest number are from a small stream in Poverty 

 Bay, Wairoa, and at many inconsiderable streams, and all these streams are in immediate connexion with hills 

 of some altitude. 



" 2nd. This bird was in existence here at no very distant time, though not in the memory of any of the in- 

 habitants, for the bones are found in the beds of the present streams, and do not appear to have been brought 

 into their present situation by the action of any sudden rush of waters. 



" 3rd. That they existed in considerable numbers. I have received perfect and imperfect bones of thirt)' 

 different birds. 



" 4th. It may be inferred that this bird was long-lived, and that it was many years before it attained its full 

 size : out of a large number of bones, only one leg-bone now sent is of the size two feet ten inches : two others 

 are two feet six inches, one of which I shall send hereafter. The rest are all of inconsiderable size. 



" 5th. The greatest height of the bird was probably not less than fourteen or sixteen feet. The leg-bones 

 now sent give the height of six feet from the root of the tail. I am told that the name given by the Malays to 

 the Peacock is the same as that given by the natives to this bird. 



" Within the last few days I have obtained a piece of information worthy of notice. Happening to speak to 

 an American about the bones, he told me that the bird is still in existence in the neighbourhood of Cloudy Bay, 

 in Cook's Straits ; he said that the natives there had mentioned to an Englishman of a whaling party that there 

 was a bird of extraordinary size to be seen only at night on the side of a hill near there ; and that he, with the 

 native and a second Englishman, went to the spot; that after waiting some time they saw the creature at some 

 little distance, which they describe as being fourteen or sixteen feet high. One of the men proposed to go 

 nearer and shoot, but his companion was so exceedingly terrified, or perhaps both of them, that they were satis- 



2i 2 



