160 
Prof. Schlegel on some Extinct Gigantic Birds 
time, however, there were, besides the Europeans dwelling in 
the fort, from thirty to forty Dutch families scattered over the 
island and there established* * * § . They lived partly by hunting, 
and had dogs expressly for this purposef. These Europeans 
living apart, the dogs (which, as we have seen from Leguat, 
easily overpowered the gigantic birds), the cats, and later, per¬ 
haps, the runaway negros have probably thus silently con¬ 
tinued the work of destruction, and also completely extirpated 
this remarkable animal. How quickly and secretly such a 
destruction can be effected is proved, among other instances, by 
the history of the different species of Dodos on the Mascarene 
Islands. Even the great Dodo of Mauritius, first made known 
in 1598, was no more mentioned by any traveller after 1681J ; 
and Leguat, who recorded so many observations on the pro¬ 
ductions of the countries which he visited, makes no mention of 
this strange bird. It must therefore be inferred that the Dodo, 
when Leguat was in Mauritius, was already extirpated, at least 
in the inhabited and accessible districts of the island§. Per¬ 
haps, also, the abode of this bird, in contradistinction to that of 
the gigantic Waterhen, was limited to the stony dry places 
which are round the south-east harbour, where it was observed 
in great numbers, and at which spot all the accounts of this 
bird were obtained. 
* Op. cit. ii. p. 64. t Ibid. ii. p. 10. 
J In ‘ A Coppey of Mr. Benj. Harry’s Journall when he was cheif mate 
of the Shippe Berkley Castle Captn. Wm. Talbot then Commander,’ &c., 
a manuscript in the British Museum (see Strickland, ‘ The Dodo, &c.,’ 
p. 36), is found the last mention of the Dodo in Mauritius. 
§ Leguat himself (ii. p. 71) speaks of the extraordinary decrease of 
the animals of the island in the following terms :— u L’lsle etoit autrefois 
toute remplie & d’Oyes & de Canards sauvages; de Poules d’eau; de 
Gelinotes; de Tortues de mer & de terre; mais tout cela est devenu 
rare. Les Lamentins memes & d’autres animaux marins se sont 
eloignez, depuis qu’on a commence a leur tendre des pieges.” With 
respect to the Dugong, which is the Lamentin of Leguat, we may observe 
that this large marine animal has not occurred for a long period on the 
coasts of the Mascarene Islands; while in Leguat’s time (i. p. 95) it was 
found in great numbers on the coast of Rodriguez, and was so tame that 
a man could walk into the middle of a herd of these animals, feel them, 
pick out the best, and kill them on the spot or drag them to land. 
