Title
Copies of Letters from G.M. Fessenden to George I. ChaceDescription
Fessenden has come into possession of what he deems a “natural curiosity”. He writes about the leg bone of a bird from New Zealand. The bone is so big that doubts as to whether it really is that of a bird have been raised. Fessenden sends Chace a drawing of the bone. The bone itself measure 29 in lengthwise, 14 in around the largest end, and 6.6 1/4 in around the body. It weights 3 lbs and 9 oz. A piece is missing from the bone which is believed to have been around 7 oz.
According to Fessenden, Captain William Mayhew acquired the bone while living in New Zealand for three years. A Māori chief presented it to him. They say the bone is that of a dangerous bird that was hunted to extinction on purpose due to its ferocity. There was a report of a scientist named Dr. Williams who was living in Poverty Bay (also known as Tūranganui-a-Kiwa) who acquired enough bones to make a skeleton. Fessenden also draws of similarities between that bird and the cassowary bird in New Holland (Australia).
Attached notes: the name of the bird in the language of the natives is “Mauwee” which is the same name they call the island itself.Creator
Guy Mannering FessendenDate(s) of Creation
Mar 20, 1849 - Mar 23, 1849Container
File Folder 6Subjects
Birds--New Zealand--Identification, Bones--Identification, Chace, George Ide, 1808-1885, Fessenden, Mannering Guy, 1804-1871, Māori (New Zealand people), Mayhew, William, 1798-1854Title
Letter from George I. Chace to G.M. FessendenDescription
Chace sees no reason to doubt the bone is that of a bird. Based on the drawing Fessenden had provided in another correspondence, Chace believes it could belong to a specimen of the [feathered tribe]. This is identifiable by the femur. However, the membrane is possibly the [peritoneum] which is surrounded by a thick mass of muscles in the living animal. Chace is glad to come examine it in person. Additionally, he asks Fessenden if Capt. Mayhew could be convinced to part with it for the cabinet at Brown University. He could be compensated reasonably for it. Chace also mentions comparing the bone that of the leg of a turkey.Creator
George Ide ChaceDate(s) of Creation
Mar 23, 1849Container
File Folder 6Subjects
Birds--New Zealand--Identification, Bones--Identification, Brown University, Chace, George Ide, 1808-1885, Fessenden, Mannering Guy, 1804-1871, Mayhew, William, 1798-1854Title
Copy Letter from G.M. Fessenden to George I. ChaceDescription
Content Warning: Offensive Racial Remarks
This letter is a continuation of a discussion on the New Zealand bone. Fessenden has obtained Captain Mayhew’s permission to send Chace the bone to be deposited in the cabinet at Brown University. However, the bone is subject to be withdrawn sold at a price named by Mayhew at any time. Some natural history specimens obtained by Fessenden to be sent over to Chace include a piece of lava from the volcano Kilauea [Owyhee] on the Sandwich Islands, the upper mandible and wing bones of an albatross, fossil shells found in Smithfield, Pennsylvania, stalactite from Meyer’s Cave, Virginia, circular petrifaction showing concave shata from the Ohio River, a rhinoceros beetle, and from Captain John Smith the jaw of a Sawfish.
Fessenden also engages in discourse recounted from Captain Mayhew to himself. He writes that the people of New Zealand have distinct traditions and language similarities to their ancestors from the Sandwich Islands. He draws conclusions on the provenance of the bone based on the fact that the name of the bird bone, the island which it was found and the second largest Island of the Sandwich group are the same word: “Mauwe” and “Mowee”. He also writes that the people of New Holland [Australia] are dissimilar to the people of New Zealand with the latter being more “intelligent, ingenious, and apt to learn.”Creator
Guy Mannering FessendenDate(s) of Creation
Mar 26, 1849Container
File Folder 6Subjects
Chace, George Ide, 1808-1885, Fessenden, Mannering Guy, 1804-1871, Māori (New Zealand people), Mayhew, William, 1798-1854, Natural history--Collectors and collecting--Rhode Island--19th centuryTitle
Letter from George I. Chace to G.M. Fessenden (Apr)Description
Chace gives his thanks for the specimens as well as to extend a thanks to Captain Mayhew for the bone. He maintains he needs more time to identify them properly and that he shall consult a professor who has done work in comparative anatomy.Creator
George Ide ChaceDate(s) of Creation
Apr 2, 1849Container
File Folder 6Subjects
Brown University, Chace, George Ide, 1808-1885, Fessenden, Mannering Guy, 1804-1871, Natural history--Collectors and collecting--Rhode Island--19th centuryTitle
Letter from George I. Chace to G.M. Fessenden (May)Description
Chace has received another jawbone from Fessenden and expresses his thanks. Regarding the bird bone, Chace is obliged to abandon the idea that it belongs to a bird at all. It lacks some characteristics that his associate has described as universally marking the femur.Creator
George Ide ChaceDate(s) of Creation
May 24, 1849Container
File Folder 6Subjects
Brown University, Chace, George Ide, 1808-1885, Fessenden, Mannering Guy, 1804-1871, Natural history--Collectors and collecting--Rhode Island--19th centuryTitle
Division Orders from Maj. Gen. SmithDescription
The Brigades will meet for the purpose of training, disciplining, and improving in martial exercises. The 1st Brigade will meet on the 5th of October, the 2nd Brigade on the 6th of October, the 3rd Brigade on the 8th of October, the 4th Brigade on the 9th of October, and the 5th Brigade on the 10th of October.Creator
Joseph M. SmithDate(s) of Creation
Sep 21, 1849Container
File Folder 6Subjects
Fessenden, Mannering Guy, 1804-1871, Military orders, Smith, Joseph Mason, 1815-1898, Warren, Rhode IslandTitle
Brigadier Training LetterDescription
Letter from Col. Samuel Pearce to Fessenden requesting that the 5th Brigade be excused from training on the 10th having done camp duty for three days prior.Creator
Samuel PearceDate(s) of Creation
Sep 25, 1849Container
File Folder 6Subjects
Fessenden, Mannering Guy, 1804-1871, Military correspondence, Pearce, Samuel, 1810-1885, Warren, Rhode Island
