OSTEOLOGY OF THE DODO. 51 



" The book which you kmdly sent me on the Aye-Aye has been read by many, and 

 especially by medical men, with much mterest. I entrusted the other copy to Mr. 

 John Douglas for the Society here. 



" I remain, my dear Sir, 



" Your very faithful Servant, 



(Signed) " Vincent N. Maueitius." 



"Professor Owen." 



This letter was accompanied with the following " Statement " by Mr. George Clark, 

 Master of the Government School at Maheboiu-g, Island of Mauritius : — 



" On the estate called ' Plaisance,' about three miles from Mahebourg, in the island 

 of Mauritius, there is a ravine of no great depth or steepness, which, apparently, once 

 conveyed to the sea the drainings of a considerable extent of circumjacent land, but 

 which has been stopped to seaward, most likely for ages, by an accumulation of sand 

 extending all along the shore. The outlet from this ravine having been thus impeded, 

 a sort of bog has been formed, called ' La Mare aux Songes,' in which is a deposit of 

 alluvium, varying in depth, on account of the inequalities of the bottom, which is formed 

 of large masses of basalt, from three to ten or twelve feet. The proprietor of the 

 estate a few weeks ago conceived the idea of employing this alluvium as manure ; and 

 shortly after, the men began digging in it ; when they had got to a depth of three or 

 four feet they found numerous bones of large tortoises, among which were a carapace 

 and a plastron pretty nearly entire, as also several crania., 



" When I heard of this, it immediately struck me that the spot was one of the most 

 likely possible to contain bones of the Dodo, and I gave directions to the men working 

 there to look out for any bones they might find. Nothing, however, was turned up but 

 a fragment of what I supposed to be the humerus of a large bird. This encouraged 

 me to look further ; and my search was rewarded by the discoveiy of several tibise, more 

 or less perfect, two tarsi, one nearly perfect pelvis, and fragments of three others. 



" These were found imbedded in a black vegetable mould, the lighter-coloured 

 specimens being near the springs.. My reasons for believing these to be remains of the 

 Dodo are : — the certainty that that bii-d once existed in Mauritius ; the similarity of 

 these bones to what the representations of the Dodo which I have seen would lead one 

 to expect, particularly the breadth of the pelvis, the stoutness of the tibise and tarsi, 

 and the shortness of the latter ; the favourable nature of the spot in which they were 

 found for the haunts of such birds when living — a sheltered hollow with two springs 

 in it ; the non-existence, actual or traditional, in Mauritius of any bird to which bones 

 such as these could have belonged ; the indubitable antiquity of these bones, proved by 

 the deposit of alluvium which covered them. 



" During nearly thirty years that I have inhabited this colony, I have made frequent 

 inquiries of old people as to the finding of the bones of large birds, and have offered liberal 



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