11 
he has done me the honour to adopt the arrangement and the information collected in 
my article ‘Dodo, in the ‘Penny Cyclopaedia^,’ gives some addenda in his postscript to 
Part I. of his and Dr. Melville’s book. ‘ The first of these,’ writes Mr. Strickland, ‘ is 
a rare edition of Bontekoe’s Voyage, kindly communicated to me by Dr. Bandinel, the 
Bodleian Librarian, entitled “Journael van de acht-jarige avontuerlijcke Eeyse van 
Willem Ysbrantsz Bontekoe van Hoorn, gedaen nae Oost-Indien,” published in quarto 
at Amsterdam, by Gillis J oosten Zaagman. There is no date ; but from a narrative 
introduced at the end, it must be subsequent (probably by a year or two) to 1646. The 
narrative is nearly a verbatim version of the other Dutch editions of Bontekoe ; and the 
only variation of text which concerns us, is in the statement that the underside of the 
Dodo dragged along the ground, which is here qualified thus : — “ sleepte haer de neers 
hy na (i. e. almost) langs de Aerde.” But what gives a peculiar interest to this volume 
is, that it contains (alone of all the editions of Bontekoe which I have seen) a figure of 
the Dodo, which 1 here present.’ Then follows the cut. 
“ ‘ This highly ludicrous representation,’ continues Mr. Strickland, ‘ is more like a 
fighting cock than a Dodo; and the black letter of the Dutch text omits to tell us 
whether this design was due to the pencil of Bontekoe or his publisher Zaagman, or 
whether it was copied from some contemporary painting now forgotten. But there can 
be no doubt that this figure refers to the true Dodo of Mauritius, and not to the 
“ Solitaire ” of Bourbon, with which Bontekoe confounded it. 
“ ‘ We may regret that the rudeness of the original woodcut leaves us in the dark as 
to the nature of the object on which the Dodo appears about to feed. This figure 
would pass equally well for a testaceous mollusk, or for an arboreal fruit ; so that the 
problem of the Dodo’s food seems as far from a solution as ever.’ 
“In Wolfgangh’s publication, p. 480, is the following description: — 
“ ‘ Op t Eylandt Mauritius in Oost-Indien, als mede op sommige andere plaetsen 
gelijck mede in West-Indien, vindt men voegels soo groot als Swanen, die men Dod- 
aersen of Dronten noemt, sy hebben groote hoofden, en daer op een velleken in manier 
van. een Kapken, sy hebben geen vleugels, dan in plaetsvan dien, 3 of 4 swarte penne- 
kens, en daer haer staert behoorde te staen, daer Zijn 4 of 5 gekrulde Pluymkens, van 
graeuwachtige verwe. Sy hebben een dicke ronde Naers, daer uyt het schijnt, dat haer 
de naem van Dodaers toe gekomen is; in de maegh hebben sy gemeenlijck een Steen 
van een vuyst groot, dese is bruyn, graeuw van verwe, en vol gaetkens, en hollingheydt, 
doch soo hart als grauwe Bentemeer-steen. Het Boots-volck van Jacob van NecJc, 
noemdense Walgh-vogels, om datse die niet recht gaer of murrruw konden koken; of 
om datse soo veel Tortel-duyven konden bekomen, die leckerdev smaeckten, datse van 
dese Dod-aersen de walgh kregen. Aen 3 of 4 van dese Vogels had al’t Scheeps volck 
van een Schip, voor een maeltijdt genoegh t’ eeten: Dese Dod-aersen hebbense oock 
ingesouten en op de reys mede genomen.’ 
c 2 
“ * Vol. ix. j). 47 (1837).” 
