50 PROFESSOE OWEN ON THE 



above-cited work, left little doubt of the " striking affinity which exists between this 

 extinct bird and the Pigeons"'. 



Whatever doubt, indeed, may have lingered in the minds of naturalists as to this 

 affinity will probably be finally set at rest by the results of the comparison of the 

 large proportion of the skeleton of the Didus ineptus which has at length been 

 transmitted from the island of Mauritius to London, under the following circum- 

 stances. 



In 1863, 1 was favoured by Miss A. Burdett Coutts with an introduction to the Bishop 

 of Mauritius, then in this country, and I endeavoured to interest his lordship in aiding 

 or promoting the acquisition, by the British Museum, of the zoological rarities of Mada- 

 gascar, and especially of any remains of the Dodo which might be discovered in the 

 island of Mauritius, to which his lordship was about to return. 



How speedily and successfully the Bishop has fulfilled my latter desire will be shown 

 by the following letter, with which I was favoured in November, 1865. 



" St. James, Port Louis, 

 '' October 7, 1865. 

 " Mr DEAR Sir, — when I had the pleasure of conversing with you for a short time 

 in London two years ago, I promised to acquaint you with any facts or discoveries 

 which might come to my knowledge, likely to interest you in connexion with Mada- 

 gascar. I have not anything as yet to communicate definitely respecting that island 

 in the way of natui-al history, but I have strong reasons to believe that a discovery 

 has been made here recently which will gratify you very much. Mr. George Clark, 

 who has for many years devoted himself to the work of teaching in. this island with 

 great success, is an ardent student of natural history, and has explored many parts of 

 the island in search of information on the subject. From careful observation he was 

 led to conclude that no remains of the Dodo were likely to be found in any of our 

 watercourses, because of their steep descent and the immense rush of water which 

 sweeps down them at times. But he had also frequently expressed his opinion that 

 in certain marshes, with high banks of sand between them and the sea, such remains 

 would probably be found. In one of these places he has found several of the bones 

 of the Dodo (as he believes), and is now forwarding them home for your in- 

 spection ^. 



At his request, I write these lines to ask for your kind care of his interests in 

 securing any reward which may accrue to him. It would be a great pleasure to me 

 to find that his discovery was really important, and likely to be useful to himself; 

 for he has pursued these and similar investigations with an amount of intelligence, 

 skill, and diligence, in his vacation-times (by no means extensive), which deserves much 

 credit and encouragement. 



' Reinhardt, quoted by Strickland, op. cit. p. 41 (see also p. 70). 



- Tbis Collection was purchased by the Trustees of the British Museum for the sum of ^100. 



