186 Walter Goodfelloio—Some Re?niniscences of a Collector


They have ranged from kangaroos, monkeys of various kinds, parrots

and other birds, to a jaguar, ocelots, and snakes. The last of course

more often than not in bags.


Waking up during the night, I found the egg very hot—too hot, I

thought—and not a sound from it, and I was afraid I had overcooked

it and laid it by the side of the bed to cool off a bit. In the morning

the egg still remained very warm and silent and I got a bit anxious.

Later I sent for the chiefs and talked it over with them, and the con¬

clusion we came to was that all must be well, for if the chick was

dead the egg would have got cold quickly. No doubt it was then

warm and comfortable. The egg remained like this for four days,

during which time I did hear an occasional chirp. I had found it

unnecessary to keep it in my shirt all day ; a warm up now and then

was sufficient, and the rest of the time it was under the blanket, but

at night I kept it in bed with me. On the fourth morning I noticed

a crack in the shell, and a little later the tip of the beak could be seen

working at the opening. It seemed slow work, but by night the crack

had extended considerably, so again it had to go to bed with me. No

doubt at this stage the parent bird would have -helped the young one

to break loose, but I was afraid of damaging it. During the night it

was apparent that something violent was happening, and a sudden

vigorous kick on the part of the chick smashed the shell, and a very

wet and leggy creature was struggling about in the bed. A light was

brought, and my man and I duly admired the new-born babe. After

it had been wrapped in a dry cholera belt and clean sheets put on the

bed, we settled down comfortably until the morning.


After this came an influx of squeaking eggs, and in a similar manner

hatched out no less than seven. Some only took twenty-four hours,

and the longest I kept one was eight days before the chick emerged.

Naturally I was very solicitous for my little family and careful to see

they never lacked food or water, but even for young Cassowaries I

thought their appetites large. Alas, the sequel was sad, for their

bodies developed at such a rate that their legs began to bow out under

the weight and finally were unable to support them. I had made a

large enclosure for them to run in but all to no avail. I had practically

killed them with kindness and overfeeding. They ought to have been



