5
/f
ANECDOTES
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM;
CONTAINING
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE CHARACTERS, HABITS,
DISPOSITIONS, AND CAPABILITIES,
QUADRUPEDS, BIRDS, FISHES, REPTILES, AND INSECTS
AND FOP.MINO AI
APPROPRIATE SUPPLEMENT
OTORS
By CAPTAIN THOMAS BROWN,
FELLOW OF THE LIN.NEAN SOCIETY, MEMBER OP THE WERNCRIAN, K1RWAMAM
AND PHRENOLOGICAL SOCIETIES, AND LATE PRESIDENT UP THE ROYAL
PHYSICAL SOCIETY, &C. &C. &C.
GLASGOW:
ARCHIBALD FULLARTON & CO.,
14, HUTCHESON STREET, AND 31, SOUTH BRIDGE, EDINBURGH;
W. CURRY, JUN. & CO. DUBLIN ;
SIMFKIN & MARSHALL, AND ORR & SMITH, LONDON.
MDCCCXXXIV.
GLASGOW :
AND CO., PRINTERS, VILLAFJEL3.
PREFACE.
THIS Volume, which consists of Illustrative ANECDOTES
OF ANIMALS, is intended to form a supplement to the Edi-
tion of Goldsmith lately issued under the superintendence
of the present Editor. Numerous and extensive as the
Notes appended to that Edition were, it was found impossi-
ble to embrace in their plan the wide field of Anecdote con-
nected with the Animal Kingdom, the first and great ob-
ject of the Editor being to make such corrections and addi-
tions to the work as were called for by the many discoveries
and improvements that have taken place in the science since
the days of Goldsmith. To accomplish this object in a satis-
factory manner required all the bounds which the prescribed
limits of the publication afforded ; and, accordingly, the
Editor, in his appended Notes, refrained from indulging in
illustrative Anecdotes, except when they were found neces-
sary to prove or confirm a position. But by gathering to-
gether, as he has here done, in one volume, and in one con-
nected view, all the best anecdotes regarding animals which
he could collect from authentic sources, or which have come
under his own observation, he doubted not of making an in-
teresting and acceptable addition to Goldsmith ; for, as much
of the charm of Political History arises from the personal
biographies which it embraces, so much of the attraction of
Natural History consists in the individual illustrations of in-
stinct which it furnishes.
Many of the Anecdotes here given are original, or derived
from private sources ; and of those selected, care has been
taken that they should be well authenticated, or that they
should, in reality, be worth repeating. They are arranged in
a 2
2030982
accordance with the system pursued by Goldsmith ; but in
all other respects, this volume is entirely independent of the
'others, and may be purchased and read separately. The
Anecdotes, as will be seen, are not confined to those animals
with which we are all familiar, as the generous horse, the
confiding dog, or the jealous cat, but embrace nearly every
living creature of whom we have any account " the beast
of the field, the fowl of the air, the fish of the sea, and every
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." From the
comprehensive character of the type employed on this
work, the Editor has been enabled to lay before the reader a
store of Anecdotes regarding animals more extensive than is
to be found in any other single publication ; and altogether,
he ventures to hope, that this volume has peculiar claims on
the attention of the lover of Natural History, and of those
who, " looking from Nature unto Nature's God," acknow-
ledge a sympathy with every creature that breathes the
breath of life.
Natural History is not only the most captivating of the
sciences, but it is also the most humanizing. It is impossi-
ble to study the character and habits of the lower animals,
without imbibing an interest in their wants and feelings.
" To obtain the regards of man's heart," says Dr Chalmers,
" in behalf of the lower animals, we should strive to draw
the regards of his mind towards them. We should avail
ourselves of the close alliance that obtains between the re-
gards of his attention and those of his sympathy. The
beasts of the field are not so many automata without sensa-
tion, and just so constructed as to give forth all the natural
signs and expressions of it. Nature hath not practised this
universal deception upon our species. These poor animals
just look, and tremble, and give forth the very indications of
suffering that we do. Theirs is the distinct cry of pain.
They put on the same aspect of terror on the demonstration
of a menaced blow. They exhibit the same distortions of
agony after the infliction of it. The bruise, or the burn, or
the fracture, or the deep incision, or the fierce encounter
with one of equal or superior strength, just affects them simi-
larly to ourselves. Their blood circulates as ours. They have
pulsations in various parts of the body like ours. They sick-
en, and they grow feeble with age, and, finally, they die just as
we do. They possess the same feelings ; and what exposes
them to like suffering from another quarter, they possess
the same instincts with our own species. The lioness robbed
of her whelps causes the wilderness to ring aloud with the
proclamation of her wrongs ; or the bird whose little house-
hold has been stolen, fills and saddens all the grove with
melodies of deepest pathos. All this is palpable even to the
general and unlearned eye ; and when the physiologist lays
open the recesses of their system by means of the scalpel,
under whose operation they just shrink, and are convulsed as
any living subject of our own species, there stands forth to
view the same sentient apparatus, and furnished with the
same conductors for the transmission of feeling to every
minutest pore upon the surface. Theirs is unmixed and
unmitigated pain the agonies of martyrdom, without the
alleviation of the hopes and the sentiments whereof they are
incapable. When they lay them down to die, their only
fellowship is with suffering ; for in the prison-house of their
beset and bounded faculties, there can no relief be afforded
by communion with other interests or other things. The
attention does not lighten their distress as it does that of
man, by carrying off his spirit from that existing pungency
and pressure which might else be overwhelming. There is
but room in their mysterious economy for one inmate ; and
that is, the absorbing sense of their own single and concen-
trated anguish. And so in that bed of torment, whereon the
wounded animal lingers and expires, there is an unexplored
depth and intensity of suffering which the poor dumb animal
\tself cannot tell, and against which it can offer no remon-
strance ; an untold and unknown amount of wretchedness,
of which no articulate voice gives utterance. But there is
an eloquence in its silence ; and the very shroud which dis-
guises it only serves to aggravate its horrors."
o3
" To secure your kindness to the brute creation," continues
the same eloquent writer, " I would bid you think of all
that fond and pleasing imagery, which is associated with the
lower animals, when they become the objects of a benevolent
care, which at length ripens into a strong and cherished
affection for them as when the worn-out hunter is permit-
ted to graze and be still the favourite of all the domestics
through the remainder of his life ; or the old and shaggy
house-dog, that has now ceased to be serviceable, is never-
theless sure of its regular meals and a decent funeral j or
when an adopted inmate of the household is claimed as
property, or as the object of decided partiality, by some one
or other of the children; or, finally, when in the warmth and
comfort of the evening fire, one or more of these home
animals take their part in the living group that is around it,
and their very presence serves to complete the picture of a
blissful and smiling family. Such relationships with the in-
ferior creatures supply many of our finest associations of
tenderness, and give, even to the heart of man, some of its
simplest and sweetest enjoyments. He even can find in
these, some compensation for the dread and disquietude
wherewith his bosom is agitated amid the fiery conflicts of
infuriated men. When he retires from the stormy element
of debate, and exchanges, for the vindictive glare, and the
hideous discords of that outcry which he encounters among
his fellows, when these are exchanged for the honest wel-
come and the guileless regards of those creatures who gam-
bol at his feet, he feels that even in the society of the brutes,
in whose hearts there is neither care nor controversy, he can
surround himself with a better atmosphere far, than that in
which he breathes among the companionships of his own
species. Here he can rest himself from the fatigues of that
moral tempest which has beat upon him so violently ; and in
the play of kindliness with these poor irrationals, his spirit
can forget for a while all the injustice and ferocity of their
boasted lords."
INDEX
CONTENTS OF THE VOLUME.
A
PAGE
PAGE
ANECDOTES OF THE
ANECDOTES OF THE
Bird of Paradise,
503
Adder,
840
Birds, . ,':,: V v
415
Albatross,
643
Bison,
70
Alligator,
826
Bittern, . 623,
624
Amphibious Animals,
307
Bivalve Shells, .
811
Anaconda, . ' .
854
Blackbird, . .
535
Anchovy,
788
Black-cap,
563
Animalculse,
921
Black Cock,
465
Ant, . . ' . .
880
Boa Constrictor,
845
Antelope, . ;
92
Boar, Wild, .
120
Ape, . . if '
331
Brambling, . j ':-.
585
Argali, . . ' '
83
Buffalo, . r j.
72
Armadillo, .
302
Bull, v-',vy ';.',;N.
56
Ass,
36
Bullfinch, ii'v),-
583
Auk, .
658
Buntin,
552
Avoset, .
626
Bustard, . ^. ,
463
Butcher Bird, . . ;
441
B
Buzzard,
440
Baboon,
336
Babyrouessa,
129
C
Badger, ". * %v>
412
Cachalot,
694
Bantam, '. 4 . '
453
Camel,
395
Bat, . ". '' ."
303
Camelopard, . .
390
Bear, . V
399
Canary, . , .
578
Beaver,
310
Carp, . . ' .
790
Bee,
864
Cassowary, "J ;<
419
Beetle, .
894 Cat,
131
Beluga, . ,.
698
Cetaceous Animals,
636
viii
CONTENTS.
PA UK
l-.Ai.l.
ANECDOTES OF THE
ANECDOTES OF THE
Chaetodon,
736
Dromedary,
395
Chaffinch, .
551
Duck,
680
Chama, .
812
Chameleon,
834
E
Chamois,
89
Eagle,
420
Chimpanse,
325
Earth-worm, .
913
Chough,
490
Eels, .
753
Civet,
282
Eider Duck, . .
684
Coaita,
346
Elephant,
358
Cock,
447
Elk,
108
Cocooy,
901
Emu, .
418
Cod-fish,
771
Condor, .
427
F
Conger Eel,
762
Falcon, . 432
. 434
Coot,
640
Fallow deer,
106
Coral,
916
Ferret,
279
Cormorant, . .
644
Fieldfare,
537
Corn-crake,
641
Fireflare,
724
Cow, . . '. ".'
54
Fish,
707
Crab,
796
Flamingo, .
625
Crane, .
609
Flounder,
776
Crocodile, .
824
Flying fish,
789
Crossbill, .
548
Fox,
267
Crow, 479, Rook, 480,
Foumart,
280
Hooded Crow,
487
Frogs,
815
Crustaeeous Animals,
794
Fury,
911
Cuckoo, .
505
Curlew, . .
628
G
Ganet,
646
D
Gazelle, .
91
Dace, . . .
791
Giraffe,
390
Deer,
97
Glutton,
282
Dodo,
419
Goat,
83
Dog, .
214
Goatsucker,
599
Dolphin, . % r.
696
Goldfinch,
582
Doree Fish,
744
Gold-fish, . ' ,;.,'
792
Dormouse,
296
Goose, . 665,
667
Doterel,
640
Goshawk,
436
Douroucouli,
347
Grampus,
704
Dove, .
524
Grebre, . .
641
CONTENTS.
FACIE
PAGE
ANECDOTES OF THE
ANECDOTES OF THE
Greenfinch, ~ v
548
Jer Falcon, " *-'
433
Grossbeak, ". : .
. 549
Grouse, . ^Jjj?
465
K
Guariba, .
346
Kangaroo, ',' ^V* 1
353
Gudgeon,
731
Kestrel, . . '
434
Guillemot,
. 660
Kingfisher, . 4 91
684
Guinea Hen,
463
Kite, . .
439
Gull,
650, 652
Gurnards,
742
L
Gymnotus,
. 763
Lamprey,
725
Land-rail, . .
641
II
Lapwing, "...: 'j, 01
637
Haddock,
. 772
Lark,
562
Hair-worm, .
912
Leopard, . .t **?'*
203
Hake,
774
Ling, . <T-
773
Hare,
284
Linnet, .
584
Hawk, .
432
Lion, . .
157
Hedgehog,
300
Lioness,
183
Hen, . .
449
Lizard, . .
824
Heron,
613
Lobster,
795
Herring,
786
Locust, . .
863
Hippopotamus,
387
Hobby, .
435
M
Hog, .
120, 123
Mackerel,
733
Holibut,
776
Magpie,
492
Horse,
4
Martin, .
594
Humming Bird,
C01
Mire Drum, ; '* J :rti
623
Hycena,
272
Merlin,
435
Mole, . t^*"*
398
I
Monkey, . 325 and 344
Ibex, . . -i
89
Moth, (Punctured,)
864
Ichneumon, .
280
Mouse, i-^
295
Insects, . _.
860, 902
Mule, . ' . -'
48
Isatis, f ..
272
Mullets, . .
751
Multivalre Shells,
813
J
Jackall,
272
N
Jackdaw,
488
Narwal,
692
Jaguar,
198
Nightingale,
552
Jay,
495
Nuthatch,
501
X
CONTENTS.
PAGE
PAOB
O
R
ANECDOTES OF THE
ANECDOTES OF THE
Opossum,
353
Racoon, . .
413
Orang-Outang,
327
Rat,
292
Ostrich,
417
' Rattlesnake,
841
Otter,
307
Raven,
473
Owzel,
. 538
Ray Tribe,
717
Owl,
443
Redbreast,
555
Redwing, . .
537
P
Reindeer, . .
112
Remora,
777
Panther,
. 203
Rhinoceros,
384
Parrot, . .
512
Ring-Dove,
523
Partridge,
468
Roach,
792
Peacock, . .
453
Roebuck,
107
Peccary, .
129
Rook,
480
Pelican,
642
Ruff,
635
Penguin,
658
Perch, . .
738
S
Pettrel,
. 655
Salamander,
828
Pheasant, . .
458
Salmon,
779
Pigeon,
522, 524
Sea-fowl,
661
Pike,
782
Scallop,
812
Pilchard,
787
Seal, . . .
317
Pintado,
463
Serpents,
835
Pipit,
. 577
Sbad,
788
Plover,
638
Shark, 709, Basking
Pouched Animals,
. 353
Shark,
714
Polecat,
280
Sheep, ' .
75
Polypes, .
. 917
Shell Fish,
801
Porcupine, .
301
Shrike,
441
Porpoise,
705
SirenaJ^acertina,
833
Poultry,
447
Siskin,
552
Proteus Anguinus,
830
Smelt,
781
Ptarmigan,
467
Snails, . . .
807
Puffin, .
658
Snake, (Black) .
851
Puma,
198
Snipe,
632
Solan Goose,
646
Q
Sole, . . -'.
776
Solitaire,
419
Quail,
472 Sparrow, . 631
, 542
CONTENTS.
x:
PAQK
PAOS
ANECDOTES OF THE
ANECDOTES OF THE
Sparrow-hawk, .
436
Turkey, . . .
455
Spider, .
861
Spinous Fishes, H^ -
728
U
Sponges, .1 .
917
Univalve Shells,
807
Spoonbill, . ..
625
Sprat,
788
V
Squirrel,
289
Vampire,
304
Stag, .
97
Vibrio, . .
922
Starling, .
540
Vorticella,
. 921
Sticklebacks, . .
745
Vulture,
427
Stoat,
278
Stock-Dove, . .
522
W
Stonechat,
576
Wagtail, .. .
576
Stork, . . . .
610
Walrus, , -' :
321
Sturgeons,
726
Water-fowl,
642
Surmullets,
740
Waterhen, v
. 640
Surmulot,
292
Water-rail, .
641
Swallow, 586, 591, 593,
Weasel, .
. 276
594,
595
Whale,
688
Swan, . . 665,
666
Ca'ing Whale,
701
Swift, . ..".;
592
Wheat-ear, .
552
Sword-fish, . .
728
Whimbrel,
. 640
White-ear, ' .
576
T
Whiting,
. 773
Wolf, .
262
Tape worm,
908
Woodcock, .
. 629
Testaceous Shell Fish,
801
Woodpecker,
498
Thread worms,
909
Worms, .
908
Thrush, 531 ; Song
Wren, . 569,
571, 574
Thrush, 532 ; Missel
Wryneck,
499
Thrush, . . \
534
Tiger, .
187
Y
Titmouse,
568
Yellow Hammer,
557
Toad, :
819
Torpedo, . .
723
Z
Tortoise, . -- .
798
Zebra, *; . . .
51
Toucan, . .
497
Zebu, . *.:..
70
Turnstone, . .
640
Zoophytes, .
916
ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
THE sympathy which mail has for every object in nature is more
particularly called forth by the animated portion of creation. In
many of the accidents of their being, the inferior animals pre-
sent a resemblance of man. They grow to maturity in a pe-
riod proportioned to their lives ; they are moved by affections
and antipathies ; they are subject to disease and death. The
instinct or sagacity with which they are endowed, excites our
wonder and admiration, at one time by the force of its operation,
at another by the delicacy, the precision, or the beauty of its
effects ; and in its approaches to reason is the more interesting,
that it is separated from it by impassable barriers. Its opera-
tions present us with every variety of terrible power and fury,
of untameable ferocity, of curious skill, of gentleness, patience
and submission to the will of others. But the lower animals are
not a mere spectacle to engage our feelings, they are essential
to our comfort, we might almost say, to our existence. The
civilization of man begins with the subjugation of the useful,
and the extirpation of the noxious and formidable animals. They
are associated with man in his most important toils ; they minis-
ter to his pleasures and his tastes ; they adorn the landscape with
their beauty, and gladden the air with their song, and generally
return with manifold interest the small gratuity of care and
nourishment that is expended on them.
The fabulist has given a voice to the tongue of the dumb,
and taught them to utter lessons of wisdom. But they speak
with sufficient plainness by action, and who would not be in-
structed as well as amused, by the striking expression which
they give to all their wishes and inclinations, by their perse-
2 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
verance, and the steady regularity with which they fulfil the ap-
parent purposes of their being, and apply their various powers to
their several objects ? Reason itself may be improved by mark-
ing the operations of instinct. The attention will be increased,
the observation sharpened by a previous knowledge of the habits
of the animal that may be presented to us, and the intelligent
mind may thus enjoy a delight from that which would not
awaken the ignorant from listless inactivity. The consideration
of the habitudes of animated nature is particularly adapted to
the opening faculties of the young, but at no period of life does
this field of observation lose its freshness ; it is ever considered
as the inexhaustible repository of what is new and strange, the
occupation of the contemplative, the entertainment of an hour
when we wish to be profitably amused. It may be added as a
happy effect of this species of study, that it is well fitted for
promoting kindness of feeling and merciful conduct, toward
those animals that are so dependant on man, and often so ser-
viceable. That their habits should be now so favourite a study,
we consider a proof not only of the cultivation, but of the hu-
manity of the age ; which can never arrive at any approach to
perfection, till men have something like sympathy for the con-
dition of those creatures none of which fall to the ground with-
out the permission of their Creator.
It is the object of Natural History to define the distinctions
that separate one species from another, and to describe the
habits and dispositions that are common to the several classes of
animals. This is the work which has been accomplished by
Goldsmith, with singular powers of graphic description, with a
sustained feeling that is always interesting, and a liveliness of
fancy that never ceases to amuse. The information which suc-
ceeding philosophers have attained, sometimes correcting, some-
times 'illustrating that of Goldsmith, and often adding whole
branches to his system, will be found in the notes to the pre-
sent edition of that work. But while the boundaries of the
science have been enlarged, its limits more accurately distin-
guished, and the facts belonging to the system wonderfully in-
creased, there is a species of information connected with it
which has in the meantime been amassing, till it has grown into
a most interesting and extensive branch of knowledge. This is
what we purpose to furnish to our readers in this volume sup-
ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. 3
plemental to the Natural History. It will have respect to such
facts as are too circumstantial for a science, or too singular to be
affirmed of a class. The anecdotes brought forward may relate
to individuals only, or they may discover those traits which the
animals exhibit under particular treatment, or in remarkable
and uncommon circumstances. They may show the peculiar
habits of the animal by striking examples, or furnish instances
wherein the qualities common to a species have existed in a very
remarkable degree, discovered themselves in laborious or saga-
cious exertions, or been in any way instrumental to the produc-
tion of great or unexpected effects. In short, the well-authen-
ticated cases of animals becoming in any way remarkable either
from the uncommon exertions of their powers, or from their
ordinary habits being in any case marked and described with
more than ordinary attention and felicity by a diligent observer,
are the subjects that properly fall under our consideration.
In detailing such anecdotes, we shall follow the order which
has been already pursued by Goldsmith. The reader will thus
be enabled, either to turn readily from the anecdotes related
concerning any animal to the history and description of the class
to which it belongs, or to obtain illustrations of its history by a
reference to the anecdotes. We shall accordingly commence by
furnishing some anecdotes of the horse, the animal to which
Goldsmith has justly given the first place, as being distinguished
above all others, by " its activity, strength, usefulness, and
beauty."
THE HORSE KIND.
THE HORSE.
ISo animal has been for a longer period, or more usefully and
extensively associated with man, than the horse. Its services
are required at some stage of almost every labour and under-
taking. It is alike valuable to every grade of society, at one
time for its strength, at another for its incomparable swiftness,
and again for its stately beauty. It bears undaunted the warrior
to the field ; it is an indispensable ornament to his triumph ; but
it does not disdain to labour for the poor, or to share their utmost
hardships. Its nature seems to adapt itself to its employments.
It prances proudly in the chariot that rolls along the crowded
streets; it flies with a beautiful swiftness along the race
course ; or it drags the plough obedient to the command of the
husbandman, and conveys to the barn the fruits of the earth.
It is admirable in all its dispositions and habits. It loves the
presence of its master, and moves with a lighter step in the
company of one of its own species. Its strong nature requires
little repair from sleep, during which it does not generally indulge
in a recumbent posture. It is an enemy to no animal, nor ever
eats any thing that has possessed life. It is never voracious, and
the grass of the field is the nourishment of the animal that would
bear comparison with the lion in strength, and with the greyhound
in swiftness.
It is not wonderful then that in the earliest records of history*
we should find the horse mentioned with honour. In Homer
* For some records of the horse among the Jews and other ancient
nations, see Goldsmith, i. 501 n.
THE HORSE. 5
he is described in elevated terms, as the offspring of the wind
and of celestial influence. The horses of Achilles are thus
characterised, and their pedigree declared with a precision that
might satisfy even a modern amateur :
Tta^i xtti AtiTof^iSmv vvmyt uyov ux*<z; 'tiff oaf,
SavSav x.tti BaX/ov, TU a.fj.0, vfvuinff' wiriirt!riv'
Tovs trim ZiQvg/y nviftca ' A^iruia, Hei$a.gyn
Bixrxaftitn \iifj,u>ii 7fu,off. poor uxiavoio
Ev $i leap'no^yfffi af&v/ttava ttti^afiv hi,
Ton pa, Ttar Htriava; fXwv <ffo1.iv vyay A.%i1.Kivs'
'Qs KOU 6vr,ros tut, \irtP I'jfifais aHavaroiffi. IL, m. 149.
Then brave Autoraedon, -
The winged coursers harnessed to the car,
Xanthus and Balius of immortal breed,
Sprung from the wind, and like the wind in speed,
Whom the winged Harpy swift Podarge bore,
By Zephyr pregnant on the breezy shore ;
Swift Pedasus was added to their side,
Once great Action's, now Achilles' pride,
Who, like in strength, in swiftness, and in grace,
A mortal courser match'd the immortal race. POPE.
So early had the extraction of the horse become a subject of
importance. But the parallel to modern jockeyism will hold
farther. Even then the horse was valued not only for his direct
services, but also for the sums which he brought to his owner
by victory in the chariot-race. We say the chariot-race, for it is
worthy of remark, that not a proof can be adduced from Homer,
that any of the heroes of the Trojan war ever mounted on
horseback. Accordingly Agamemnon endeavours to mollify the
rage and command the services of Achilles, by the offer not only
of seven cities and twenty-seven handmaids, but stipulates also
to furnish the following presents :
V $, V '_. .,
OWQiXK IVTTOuf
Ou xtv u.\ntis itn avng, ta T/nnra, yivoiTe,
Ot/Ss x.iv axruftuv taiTiftoia ^^uffuo. It. ix. 265.
Twelve steeds unmatched in fleetness and in force,
And still victorious in the dusty course ;
Rich were the man whose ample stores exceed
The prizes purchased by their winged speed. POPE.
We shall quote only another of Homer's descriptions of the
horse. It paints in animated terms old Nestor's admiration of
A 3
6 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
the animal in its perfection, and affords a genuine account
of the most celebrated of all the Grecian breeds of horses,
namely the Thracian, and of the most remarkable specimens of
it that came to Troy, " the milk steeds of Rhesus."
<*' nyi f ta fa'^vtti'f Ctivfftu, [itya, xv^o; A%aiiuv,
'Ovr<jrtas Tovff'S' ivrirous Xafitrov' xaraSvvris t^i>.at
Tguav J n <rif erf at -Ttn^ii fan; ti-trifio/.r.ffa; J
A(v; axnvurfftv IOIXOTIS ni^icio.
Aiu fill Tgaiffff 1 ivriftifyefiai, auSt <ri (prtfti
Mifivaii>i vfa^tt vnucri, yi(><uv iri tav faXtf^iffrns'
AXX' owjra Taiaus ivrvrov; /Bov ovV ivontrK,
AXXa T/V, VIA/A om> lofjiitou 6tov wriaffctvra *. r. X.
'Ivsfoi S' et^t ytgan vexXuSff ay; igttnus,
Q^IIXIOI' TvS ffQiv amxr' ayatos ^taftr^m
E*rav. it. x. 544.
Say, thou whose praises all our host proclaim,
Thou living glory of the Grecian name ;
Say whence these coursers, by what chance bestowed,
The spoil of foes, or present of a god ?
Not those fair steeds so radiant and so gay,
That draw the burning chariot of the day;
Old as I am, to age I scorn to yield,
And daily mingle in the martial field.;
But sure till now no coursers struck my sight,
Like these, conspicuous through the ranks of fight ;
Some god, I deem, conferr'd the glorious prize,
Blest as ye are aud fav'rites of the skies, &c.
Father, not so, sage Ithacus rejoined,
The gifts of heaven are of a nobler kind;
Of Thracian lineage are the steeds ye view,
Whose hostile king the brave Tydides slew. POPE.
The horse we thus find employed in the chariot in the earliest
war which has been minutely recorded. But it was also soon
broken so as to bear a rider, and the fable of the centaur, an
animal half man, half horse, represents the idea which was
formed by the ignorant witnesses of a man on horseback. The
natives of America formed the same conclusion when viewing
the equestrian exercises of the Spaniards.
Of all the nations of antiquity, the Parthians are the most
commonly celebrated for their superior skill in the management
of the horse. They cultivated with great attention the breed
which was noted for the lightness of the colour of the eyes, and
for having the one eye generally differing from the other. The
horse was trained to obey the slightest motions of the rein, and
THE HORSE. 7
to change with the utmost rapidity from one direction to another.
They were naturally hardy and enduring, and accustomed to
perform long journeys without any nourishment. The horsemen
possessed a corresponding dexterity, and could discharge their
arrows with great precision in the face of a pursuing enemy,
either retaining the usual posture, or rapidly turning round in the
saddle during the hottest pursuit. It is on this account that the
danger to his pursuer of a Parthian flight has become proverbial ;
and the nation long maintained its independence, annihilated
the army of Crassus, and was formidable to the Romans in
the days of Augustus.
As the Parthians employed the horse in war, so the licentious
Sybarites associated it with their pleasures ; and as it long pre-
served the honour of the one nation, so it is said to have been
instrumental in the destruction of the other. The Sybarites
taught their horses to dance to the sound of pipes, and intro-
duced them as an amusement at their common feasts. The
Sybarites engaged in a contest with the inhabitants of Cretona,
and their horses were called to the unusual duties of war. The
Cretonians had recourse to a curious stratagem. At the moment
of attack, they caused a number of minstrels to sound those
strains to which the horses had been accustomed to dance.
These mechanically commenced their wonted evolutions and
frolics, which being little accommodated to war, the Sybarites
were thrown into inextricable confusion, were subdued, and
annihilated.
Among the wandering tribes of the predatory nations of
antiquity, the services of the horse were indispensable. These
lived in the open air, subsisting on the coarsest food, perform-
ing long journeys through uncultivated or hostile countries,
generally on horseback their wives and children followed in
waggons dragged by horses. They seldom dismounted, but eat
and slept on horseback. The horse was still farther serviceable
to the barbarous Sarmatians ; they eat its flesh and drank its
blood mixed with the milk of sheep. Yet these horses were
carefully reared, of an excellent breed, and, as Pliny says,
capable of performing a journey of one hundred and fifty miles
on a stretch.
But though the ancients were not defective in their care of
the horse, nor in admiration of its qualities, it is in modern times
8 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
that we are to expect the greatest cultivation of its various ex-
cellences, as well as the best accounts of its achievements. Still
it is to be found in great perfection, and certainly in its most
honoured relation to man, in the deserts of Arabia. The Ara-
bian horse is a hardy animal, and left exposed, says Chateau-
briand, to the most intense heat of the sun, tied by the four
legs to stakes set in the ground, and refreshed generally only
once in the twenty-four hours. Yet, continues the same writer,
release his legs from the shackles, spring upon his back, and he
will paw in the valley ; he will rejoice in his strength ; he will
swallow the ground in the fierceness of his rage, and you recog-
nise the original picture of Job.
Between this animal and his master a strong affection exists.
Nor is it wonderful, when we consider that the horse is the
support and comfort of the Arabian, his companion through
many a dreary day and night, enduring hunger and thirst in his
service. From their constant community, a kind of sociality of
feeling exists between them. The terms in which he addresses
his horse are thus given by Clarke : " Ibrahim "went frequently
to Rama to inquire news of the mare whom he dearly loved ;
he would embrace her, wipe her eyes with bis handkerchief,
would rub her with his shirt sleeves, would give her a thousand
benedictions during whole hours that he would remain talking
to her. ' My eyes ! my soul ! my heart ! ' he would say, ' must
I be so unfortunate as to have thee sold to so many masters, and
not keep thee myself? I am poor, my antelope ! I brought
thee up in my dwelling as a child ; I did never beat nor chide
thee ." But the poverty of the Arabs, and the desire of fo-
reigners to possess their horses frequently compel them to do
what they so much deprecate, to sell their horse. A horse he
may be tempted by a large sum to part with, but to sell a mare
is a heart-rending trial to an Arab. " When the envoy," says
Sir John Malcolm, " was encamped near Bagdad, an AraDrode
a bright bay mare, of extraordinary shape and beauty, before his
tent until he attracted his attention. On being asked if he would
sell her, ' What will you give me ? ' was the reply. ' That
depends upon her age ; I suppose she is past five ? ' ' Guess
again," said he. ' Four ? ' ' Look at her mouth,' said the
Arab with a smile. On examination she was found to be rising
three. This, from her size and symmetry, greatly enhanced her
THE HORSE. 9
value. The envoy said, I will give you fifty ' tomans," (a coin
nearly of the value of a pound sterling.) ' A little more, if you
please,' said the fellow, a little entertained, 'eighty a hundred.'
He shook his head and smiled. The officer at last came to two
hundred tomans. ' Well,' said the Arab, ' you need not tempt
me farther. You are a rich elchee (nobleman) ; you have fine
horses, camels, and mules, and I am told you have loads of sil-
ver and gold. Now,' added he, ' you want my mare, but you
shall not have her for all you have got.' " But their regard for
the mare can do more than conquer the love of gold. An Arab
sheick eloped with the daughter of a neighbouring chief, and
though hotly pursued, both effected their escape upon a mare
which they stole from the lady's father. The father, on his re-
turn from the pursuit, finding that the lover had stolen one ob-
ject of his affection to carry off another, was flattered to think
that he had not been beaten by a mare of another breed, and be-
came easily reconciled to the young man, that he might recover
the mare, which appeared an object about which he was more so-
licitous than his daughter.
Nor does the Arabian horse fail to repay the attachment of
his master. His horse not only flies with him over the desert,
but when he lies down to sleep, the faithful animal will browse
on such herbage as is near the spot ; will watch its master with
solicitude ; and, if a man or animal approaches, will neigh
loudly till he is awakened. " When I was at Jerusalem," says
Chateaubriand, " the feats of one of these steeds made a great
noise. The Bedouin to whom the animal, a mare, belonged,
being pursued by the governor's guards, rushed with him from
the top of the hills that overlooked Jericho. The mare scoured
at full gallop down an almost perpendicular declivity without
stumbling, and left the soldiers lost in admiration and astonish-
ment. The poor creature, however, dropped down dead on en-
tering Jericho, and the Bedouin, who would not quit her, was
taken, weeping over the body of his faithful companion. AH
Aga religiously showed me, in the mountains near Jericho, the
footsteps of the mare that died in the attempt to save her
master ! "
The Arabians are curious in the pedigree of their horses, and
even celebrate the union of those of noble extraction by a sort of
marriage ceremony, which is publicly announced. Unless this
10 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
formality Las been observed, the colt is termed Kadischi, or " of
an unknown race." They can thus trace the pedigree some hun-
dreds of years back to a celebrated ancestor. But of all the races,
the Kohlan is the most distinguished both for beauty of form
and docility of disposition. Many wonderful anecdotes are told
of its intelligence: "The Kohlan," says Count Rzeiousky,
" knows when he is sold, or even when his master is bargaining
to sell him. While the purchase is making, he soon guesses
what is going on, becomes restless, gives from his beautiful eye
a side glance at the interlocutors, scrapes the ground with his
foot, and plainly shows his discontent Neither the buyer nor
any other dares to come near him ; but the bargain being struck,
when the vender taking the Kohlan by the halter, gives him up
to the purchaser with a slice of bread and some salt, and turns
away never to look at him as his own an ancient custom of
taking leave of a horse it is then that this generous and noble
animal becomes tractable, mild and faithful to another, and
proves himself immediately attached to him whom his passion
a few minutes before, might have laid at his feet and trampled
under his hoof. This is not an idle story ; I have been a wit-
ness of, and an actor in the interesting scene." Nor will this
story seem improbable when we consider that of Kosciusko's
horse. That general having sent a young .man of the name of
Zeltuer on a message to Solothurn, the youth declared on his
return, that he would never ride his horse again, unless he gave
him his purse at the same time. Kosciusko asking what he
meant, he answered, " As soon as a poor man on the road takes
off his hat, and asks for charity, the horse immediately stands
still, and will not stir till something is given to the petitioner,
and, as I had no money about me, I was obliged to make a mo-
tion as if I were giving something in order to satisfy the horse."
Both anecdotes show how observant the horse is of the actions
of its master, something also like sympathy with his feelings and
interests.
The importation of the Arabian breed into England has be-
come intimately connected with the annals of our horse races,
Some of the horses first brought from Arabia having been by
no means celebrated, the breed had fallen into disrepute till the
descendants of one procured by Mr Darley from the deserts,
and on that account called the Darley Arabian, having borne
THE HORSE.
away the palm for fleetness from all others, turned the tide of
fashion in favour of that breed. Yet it is only the progeny of
the Arabian horses that excels. The English race-horses are
equal, if not superior, to all other coursers.
As the extraordinary swiftness of the horse has been most sig-
nally displayed in the English race-course, and can also be there
most precisely measured, we cannot omit the notice of some of
the most remarkable of our racers. The most celebrated of
these and indeed the fleetest horse that ever was bred in the
world was Flying Childers, got by the Darley Arabian. What
Achilles was among warriors, and Cassar among conquerors, such
was Childers among horses, without an equal and without a
rival. He ran against the most famous horses of his age, and
was always victorious. He has been known to move at the rate
of nearly a mile in the minute. Next to Childers, in fame and
fleetness, is Eclipse, so called from having been foaled during
the great eclipse of 1764. This horse likewise was never beaten :
one contemporary rival alone was supposed to exist, Mr Shaf-
toe's horse Goldfinder, but Goldfinder broke down the October
before the proposed competition. Eclipse's rate of going was
47 feet in the second. Childers had a rate of 49. One hun-
dred to one were offered on Eclipse against the most famous
racers of his day. Mr O'Kelly purchased him for sixteen hun-
dred and fifty guineas, and cleared by him twenty-five thousand
pounds. He had a vast stride, never horse threw his haunches
below him with more vigour or effect ; and his hind legs were so
spread in his gallop, that a wheelbarrow might have been driven
between them. King Herod, another famous horse, which was
generally though not like Eclipse uniformly successful, is chiefly
celebrated for his progeny ; his immediate descendants having
gained to their owners above two hundred thousand pounds.
The passion of the English for horse-racing is evident in the
large sums which often depend on a single race. Of these races,
which may be styled national, since they monopolize the atten-
tion of the whole sporting body, the chief in modern times
were the match over the Beacon-course at Newmarket between
Laburnum and Flea-catcher ; and, about twenty years after-
wards, that between Hambletonian and Diamond. The sums
sported on these races were immense ; the bettings seemed to
mix with all the transactions of life, and a man might have found
12 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
a bettor from five guineas to five hundred upon the Royal,
and more especially on the Corn-Exchange, with equal facility
as at the clubs in St James', at Medley's, or at Newmarket.
We cannot, however, estimate the horse's powers of running
from such matches only, where the speed, though it be indeed
extraordinary, yet is necessarily exerted only for a brief time. We
must take into consideration also his power of continuing for
a very long time at a rapidity of pace, which, though not
equal certainly to that displayed in the course, yet may well
satisfy the expectations and excite the admiration of man. The
horse particularly adapted for uniting swiftness with perseverance,
is termed the hackney or roadster, distinguished for depth of
shoulder, straightness of back, and strength of loins, in addition
to which qualities, the experienced judge will look for strong
fore-legs, the legs rather short than otherwise, the bones beneath
the knee deep and flat, with the tendon not much tightened in,
the foot pointing straight forward, lifting pretty high and coming
flat down on the whole sole at once. Such a horse has been
known to trot nine miles in half an hour, and sixteen miles in
an hour. On the 25th July, 1793, Mr Crockett's gray mare
trotted one hundred miles in twelve hours, but though the animal
was not overcome, the person who rode her was so fatigued,
that for the last ten miles he was obliged to be held on his saddle
by two men. But the most extraordinary trotter on record, was
a mare named Phenomena, bred by Sir Edward Astley in
Norfolk. This mare was matched by her owner to trot seventeen
miles in an hour, a feat till that time unheard of. She accom-
plished this with ease on another occasion within 53 minutes,
and Mr Robson her owner, offered at high odds to trot her
nineteen miles and a half in an hour. So reduced was this
animal from its excessive exertions, and so small is human
estimation of fallen greatness, that she was sold in 1810 for
seven pounds ; yet she seems to have recovered her vigour,
for in the year after, and when she was twenty-three years of
age, she trotted nine miles in twenty-eight minutes and a half,
and gained four matches in one day. Sometimes indeed, the
expedition of the horse has been so great, as from its incredibil-
ity to form a presumption against very strong evidence. At
four o'clock in the morning, a gentleman was robbed at Gadshill,
on the west side of Chatham, by a highwayman named Nicks,
THE HORSE. 13
who rode a bay mare. Nicks set off instantly for Gravesend,
where he was detained nearly an hour by the difficulty of getting
a boat, an interval which he employed to advantage in baiting his
horse. From thence he got to Essex and Chelmsford, where
he again stopped about half an hour to refresh his horse. He
then went to Baintree, Bocking, Westerfield, and over the
Downs to Cambridge, and still pursuing the cross roads, he went
by Fenney and Stratford to Huntingdon, where he again rested
about half an hour. Proceeding now on the north road, and at
full gallop most of the way, he arrived at York the same after-
noon, put off his boots and riding clothes, and went dressed to
the bowling-green, where, among other promenaders, happened
to be the Lord Mayor of the city. He there studied to do
something particular, that his lordship might remember him,
and asking what o'clock it was, the mayor informed him that it
was a quarter past eight. Upon prosecution for the robbery,
the whole safety of the prisoner rested upon this point. The
gentleman swore positively to the time and place, but, on the
other hand, the proof was equally clear of his being at York at
the time specified. The jury acquitted him on the supposed
impossibility, of his having got so great a distance from Kent by
the time he was seen in the bowling-green. Yet he had been
the highwayman. Nor is the expedition of the horse confined
to those of a large size and robust make. A Shetland pony,
eleven hands high, ran from Norwich to Yarmouth and back
again, that is forty-four miles, in three hours and forty-five
minutes ; and a Galloway nag went from London to Exeter
along with the mail, performing a distance of one hundred and
seventy-two miles, at the average rate of nine miles an hour.
These are feats which we would be sorry to see repeated. Let
it suffice that they have been accomplished, and let the fact,
that the horse has so exerted itself in obedience to the will of
man, save it from efforts which must be ruinous to the animal
that undergoes them. The English are too prone to urge to its
maximum the exertion of the horse's powers, but their horses are
not alone in the power of uniting remarkable swiftness with great
endurance of fatigue. " I ascertained," says Sir John Malcolm,
" that those small parties of Toorkomans, who ventured several
hundred miles into Persia, used both to advance and retreat at
the average of nearly one hundred miles a-day. They train
B
H ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
their horses for these expeditions as we should do for a race,
and describe him when in a condition for a foray by saying that
his flesh is marble. They expected success from the suddenness
of their attack, and the uncommon activity and strength of the
horses on which they rode. Their sole object was plunder, and
when they arrived at an unprotected village, the youth of both
sexes were seized, tied on led horses, and hurried away into a
distant captivity, with a speed which generally baffled all pursuit.
When I was in Persia, in 1800, a horseman mounted upon a
Toorkoman horse, brought a packet of letters from Shiraz to
Teherary, which is a distance of five hundred miles, within six
days."
Of the strength of the horse examples are daily seen, which
only fail to excite our wonder on account of their frequency.
It is well known what heavy loads he will bear upon his back,
but it is in the draught that his strength is put most fairly to
the test. A remarkable instance of the power of a horse, when
assisted by art, was shown near Croydon, on the Surrey iron
railway. A horse started, dragging twelve waggons, each with
their burdens weighing about three tons, and at each of four
successive pauses, four additional waggons were added to
the train. The whole weight thus dragged was above fifty-five
tons, and the horse proceeded at the rate of nearly four miles an
hour for six miles. In this case, however, we have to admire
not only the strength of the horse, but the facility which the
railway gives to its exercise.
In the exertions -of the coach-horse, we are presented with
the results of the union of swiftness and strength. To drag at
a rapid pace is much more laborious than at a slow one, for the
weight which in the latter case the horse is enabled by the force
of his muscles to throw into the collar, is in the latter expended
in the act of trotting or walking. Yet notwithstanding this,
many extraordinary instances of the swiftness of the coach-horse
are on record. In 1750, the Earl of March and Lord Egliriton
provided a four-wheel carriage, with a man in it, drawn by four
horses nineteen miles, in the space of fifty-three minutes and a
half. Mr Giles of Leadenhall-market drove his mare, called
the Maid of the Mill, twenty-eight miles on Sunbury Common,
in an hour and fifty-eight minutes the mare never throughout
her performance attempting to break from a trot. The fame
THK HORSE. 15
of the exploit reached the continent, and a gentleman from the
Netherlands purchased the mare.
For the purpose of leaping, that kind of horse called the Hun-
ter, is the best adapted. He should be not less than fifteen
hands in height, with a lofty forehand, light head and neck?
large thin shoulders, deep chest, and above all, should possess
firmness of joint, with legs and pastenis rather short. A hun-
ter so qualified has been known to leap over a bar three feet six
inches high, taking the leap at the distance of seventeen feet
seven inches from it, and covering nine yards and eight inches
of ground. Mr Cunningham of Craigends leaped on horseback
over the canal between Glasgow and Paisley, a breadth of ele-
ven feet, the horse clearing altogether fifteen feet. Some of the
most extraordinary leaps, however, have been made by the horse
when it overcame the control of man. Some years ago, a fine
Arabian horse disengaged himself at Greenock from the groom
who had charge of him ; ran with precipitation towards the dry
dock, and, unable to restrain himself when he came to the edge,
leaped down, and lighted on all fours on the flags which covered
the bottom, and, after trotting about for a while, thirty-four
feet below the level of the ground, mounted to the top by the
very steep stairs that surround the dock. A gentleman's servant
who was riding to the post-office on a hackney that had never
till that day been known to leap, received behind him a glazier.
No sooner was the latter mounted than the horse, alarmed at the
rattling of the crates of glass, started at full speed, and coming
to the lodge gate, which was five feet six inches high, and spiked
at the top, he cleared it all at one stroke, without any injury to
his riders, or even to the glass. In 1793, a young gentleman
riding between Ravenglass and Whitehaven, on a spirited blood
horse, passed a chaise which caused the animal to take fright.
It bolted off at full gallop, and coming upon Egremont bridge,
(the middle of the battlements of which presents nearly a right
angle to the entrance upon it,) was going with such fury, that,
unable to retrieve himself, he leaped sidelong upon the battle-
ments, which are upwards of four feet high. The rider seeing
it impossible to recover his horse, and the improbability of sav-
ing either of their lives had he floundered over head foremost,
had presence of mind to strike him on both sides with his spurs,
and force him to take a clear leap. Owing to this precaution
8
16 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
he alighted upon his feet, and the rider firmly kept his seat till
reaching the bottom he leaped off. When we consider the height
of the bridge, which has been accurately ascertained to be up-
wards of twenty feet and a-half to the top of the battlements,
and that there was not one foot depth of water in the bed of the
river where they alighted, it is really wonderful that they were
not both struck dead on the spot. Yet neither the horse nor
the man were disabled from immediately pursuing their journey.
" I will tell one more history of a horse," says Lord Herbert,
and we quote his own words, " which I bought of my cousin
Fowler, of the Grange, because it is memorable. I was passing
over a bridge, not far from Colebrook, which had no barrier on
the one side, and a hole in the bridge not far from the middle J
My horse, though lusty, yet being very timorous, and seeing
besides but very little in the right eye, started so much at the
hole, that, upon a sudden, he had put half his body lengthwise
over the side of the bridge, and was ready to fall into the river
with his fore-feet and hinder-foot on the right side, when I, fore-
seeing the danger I was in if I fell down, clapped my left foot, to-
gether with the stirrup and spur, flat-length the left side, and so
made him leap upon all-fours into the river, where, after some
three or four plunges, he brought me to land."
The horse is an inconvenient inmate in a ship, and has no
liking to employ his powers in swimming. The wide extended
field and the solid earth alone give scope to the exercise of his
energies. On some occasions it has been found very difficult to
overcome the opposition of a horse to go on board a ship, and
he rejoices at the termination of a voyage. He sometimes even
anticipates the entrance of the ship into the harbour. When
Ducrow's equestrian company was approaching the stone pier at
Newhaven, two of the horses getting a glimpse of the green
shore, became impatient of their situation, and so desirous of
the land, that they leaped overboard and made towards it. The
groom instantly sprung after them, and kept swimming beside
them, guiding and cheering them in their progress. When they
got out of the water, they, by snorting and various kinds of
gambols, expressed their high satisfaction at being restored to
their natural fields. Yet the horse is well-gifted with the power
of swimming, and whole regiments of cavalry have often thus
crossed broad rivers. Very extraordinary feats of the horse in
THE HORSE. 17
swimming are on record. We shall mention only two: The
first is related in a letter from Kingston, as having been achieved
by a horse which, as well as other live stock, was thrown, iu a
stress of weather, out of a vessel from America. The horse,
which was of a white colour, of great strength and agility, after
his companions had sunk, continued to contend with the waves,
and, having kept company with the vessel through a heavy sea
for two days, was then taken on board and brought safe and well
into port. The second is related by M. De Pages in his travels
round the world. " I should have found it difficult," he says,
" to give it credit had it not happened at this place (the Cape
of Good Hope) the evening before my arrival ; and if, besides
the public notoriety of the fact, I had not been an eyewitness
of those vehement emotions of sympathy, blended with admira-
tion, which it had justly excited in the mind of every individual
at the Cape. A violent gale of wind setting in from north and
north west, a vessel in the road dragged her anchors, was forced
on the rocks and bulged ; and, while the greater part of the crew
fell an immediate sacrifice to the waves, the remainder were
seen from the shore struggling for their lives, by clinging to the
different pieces of the wreck. The sea ran dreadfully high, and
broke over the sailors with such amazing fury, that no boat
whatever could venture off to their assistance. Meanwhile a
planter, considerably advanced in life, had come from his farm
to be a spectator of the shipwreck ; his heart was melted at the
sight of the unhappy seamen, and knowing the bold and enter-
prising spirit of his horse, and his particular excellence as a
swimmer, he instantly determined to make a desperate effort
for their deliverance. He alighted and blew a little brandy into
his horse's nostrils, and again seating himself in the saddle, he
instantly pushed into the midst of the breakers. At first both
disappeared, but it was not long before they floated on the sur-
face, and swam up to the wreck ; when taking with him two
men, each of whom held by one of his boots, he brought them
safe to shore. This perilous expedition he repeated no seldomer
than seven times, and saved fourteen lives ; but, on his return
the eighth time, his horse being much fatigued, and meeting a
most formidable wave, he lost his balance and was overwhelmed
in a moment. The horse swam safely to land, but his gallant
rider was no more ! " Sparrman relates the same story with
B3
18 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
some diversity of circumstances. The ship that was lost, he
says, was Dutch, named the Jong Theomas, and the brave in-
dividual who saved the people, was Voltemad, one of the
keepers of the Company's menageries. The East India directors
in Holland honoured his memory by calling one of the new-built
ships after his name, and causing the whole incident to be
painted on the stern. But the order to provide for his posterity
was neglected, for his son, a young corporal, who had been
witness of the affecting disaster, could not obtain even the sit-
uation left vacant by the heroic death of his father.
The foregoing anecdotes show to a great extent the various
capabilities of the horse, its strength, its fleetness, and its per-
severance. But, by the exertions of man in training him, its
docility and affectionate qualities have been made still more
evident. The different shapes of the various breeds of horses
naturally mark them out for different employments, but the
horse seems to enter into the spirit of all his occupations, and,
whether in the field of war, or dragging the peaceful plough ;
whether in the carriage, the course, or the gin, he wonderfully
accommodates himself to what is expected of him, and to the re-
quisite manner of life. A horse has resided for the last ten years
upon the upper floor of the Leith and Berwick wharf, London,
without having once touched the ground since his elevation. His
duty has consisted in working the discharging crane of the Ber-
wick smacks ; and although in this manner he has contrived to
walk upon a fair average computation nearly ten miles a-day,
he has never been more than thirty feet from his manger. As
might be expected from so long an apprenticeship, he does not
now require much attention, but, on the contrary, performs his
duty with a great deal of intelligence. When the weight he
is raising reaches the desired height, it is transferred from the
machinery to the keeping of a friction roller, by means of a rope
and pulley from below; the horse then quietly waits till the
noise of the clutch thrown back, when the end of the chain has
again reached the ship's hold, tells him his shoulders are again
wanted. One thing may be asserted, that he has raised more
grain than any other individual in the same number of summers,
and, at the same time, seen less of what he was about. He
appears to have been a hunter in his younger days, which renders
it likely that he has seen something of the world before he was
THE HORSE. 19
removed to his present habitation ; it would therefore be not a
little interesting to watch how far memory would serve him,
should he ever visit the world of his youth. Such instances
show how readily the spirit of the horse accommodates itself to
circumstances. Yet the breaking of horses is a task that
requires not a little skill and delicacy. They have different
dispositions ; some are timid, some courageous, they are to be
found intelligent or stupid, playful and generous, and a few
untameably furious or incurably vicious. Of this last disposi-
tion, it is probable that not a few of the instances have been
caused by the cruelty or ungenerous treatment of the person
who first attempts to break them. The spaniel will lick the
hand that beats it, but the horse must be won by kindness.
In Arabia, where the horse is to be found in its most intelligent,
mild, and docile state, it is also best treated. It is not there
trained by grooms and servants, among whom our horses often
acquire vicious tricks, but by the owner himself. After the
first trial, in which indeed the Arabian will sometimes ride on
a young steed a hundred miles over the burning sand, it is never
whipped, but domesticated and treated like a companion, and the
Arabian horse is found the most docile and affectionate of
animals.
There is required in the horse-trainer, however, besides
mildness and patience of temper, a proper command over the
animal, which can only be acquired by familiarity with its habits.
It is very certain that a horse speedily understands whether his
rider has been accustomed to that exercise, or whether he be
raw and inexperienced, and that in the latter case he will some-
times endeavour to throw the individual who is incapable of
retaining a powerful command over his energies. There is a
sort of authority over the horse which some possess, and which
does not depend on cruelty or severity, but on a particular
adaptation of the energies of the mind strengthened by confidence
and the results of experience. These remarks furnish the only
explanation which we can give of the Horse-whisperer, whose
feats in reducing the most incorrigible horses to obedience, have
drawn the attention of some individuals of great eminence.
The facts are recorded in Townsend's Survey of the County of
Cork, and independent of the fame which they have caused, they
are credible on the report of this gentleman, who states himself
20 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
to have been an eye-witness of the transactions which we now
quote. " James Sullivan," he says, " was a native of the county
of Cork, and an awkward, ignorant rustic of the lowest class,
generally known by the appellation of the whisperer, and his
profession was horse-breaking. The credulity of the vulgar
bestowed that epithet upon him, from an opinion that he com-
municated his wishes to the animal by means of a whisper ;
and the singularity of his method gave some colour to the
superstitious belief. As far as the sphere of his control extended,
the boast of veni, vidi, vici, was more justly claimed by James
Sullivan than by Caesar or even Buonaparte himself. How his
art was acquired, or in what it consisted, is likely to remain for
ever unknown, as he has lately left the world without divulging
it. His son, who follows the same occupation, possesses but a
small portion of the art, having either never learned its true
secret, or being incapable of putting it in practice. The wonder
of his skill consisted in the short time requisite to accomplish
his design, which was performed in private, and without any
apparent means of coercion. Every description of horse or
even mule, whether previously broke or unhandled, whatever
their peculiarities or ill habits might have been, submitted
without show of resistance to the magical influence of his art,
and in the short space of half an hour became gentle and trac-
table. Tke effect, though instantaneously produced, was generally
durable. Though more submissive to him than to others, they
seemed to have acquired a docility unknown before. When
sent for to tame a vicious horse, he directed the stable in which
he and the object of his experiment were placed to be shut, with
orders not to open the door until a signal given. After a tete-a-
tete between him and the horse for about half an hour, during
which little or no bustle was heard, the signal was made ; and
upon opening the door, the horse was seen lying down, and the
man by his side playing familiarly with him like a child with a
puppy dog. From that time he was found perfectly willing to
submit to discipline, however repugnant to his nature before.
I once saw his skill tried on a horse, which could never before
be brought to stand for a ijrnith to shoe him. The day after
Sullivan's half-hour lecture, I went not without incredulity to
the smith's shop, with many other curious spectators, where we
were eye-witnesses of the complete success of his art. This
THE HORSE. 2?
too had been a troop horse ; and it was supposed, not without
reason, that after regimental discipline had tailed, no other
would be found availing. I observed that the animal seemed
afraid whenever Sullivan either spoke or looked at him. How
that extraordinary ascendancy could have been obtained it is
difficult to conjecture. In common cases this mysterious pre-
paration was unnecessary. He seemed to possess an instinctive
power of inspiring awe, the result, perhaps, of natural intrepidi-
ty, in which I believe, a great part of his art consisted ; though
the circumstance of the tete-a-te'te shows that upon particular
occasions, something more must have been added to it. A fa-
culty like this would in other hands have made a fortune, and
great offers were made to him for the exercise of his art abroad ;
but hunting, and attachment to his native soil, were his ruling
passions. He lived at home in the style most agreeable to his
disposition, and nothing could induce him to quit Dunballow
and the fox-hounds."
Although the usual character of the horse be submission
and docility, yet it cannot be denied that there are many which
would require some such power as that of the Whisperer to re-
duce them to tractability, and failing such means, are, to a great
degree, irreclaimable. Nay, sometimes, whether that the animal
has been originally vicious, and his propensities have been only
suppressed, not overcome, or whether he has been trained amiss,
or that he is peculiarly sensible of injuries, and seeks a time for
revenging them, a horse has been known, though usually tame,
to break forth into acts of much ferocity. The following inci-
dent presents us with a case of fatal revenge, or an assertion of
a dignity not to be trifled with : A person who resided near
Boston, in America, was in the habit whenever he wished to
catch his horse while it was grazing in the field, of presenting it
with a quantity of corn in a measure. When called on, the horse
would come up and eat the corn, thus affording to his master an
opportunity of putting the bridle over his head. But the owner
having deceived the animal several times, by calling on him
when he had no corn in the measure, which he held out as if it
were full, the horse began to suspect his design, and coming up
one day as usual on being called, he looked into the measure,
and perceiving it empty, turned round, reared on his hind legs,
and killed his master on the spot. Sometimes the horse seems
22 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
to be actuated by a feeling of deep revenge. In 1734, the horse
of a nobleman in Ireland ran at a man, seized him with his teeth
by the arm, which he broke, then threw him down and lay upon
him, so that every effort to get him off proving unavailing, they
were forced to shoot him. The reason assigned for this ferocity
was that he had been castrated by this man some time before, an
injury which the animal seems to have remembered. The fol-
lowing incident might be adduced as an instance of injudicious
frolicsomeness in the horse, did not the suspicious manner in
which it occurred point it out as a singular case not merely of
fierceness which the horse sometimes possesses, but of a desire
to commit injury, which is not the quality of the animal even in
its state of wild nature. On a farm in the parish of Fintry, well
known for the superior breed of its lambs, the shepherd was
astonished and grieved to observe a gradual diminution in the
number of his flock. On his way to the hills in the morning the
dead bodies were found strewed in various directions, and what
greatly added to his surprise was, that they were quite entire,
which clearly proved that the work of destruction could not be
imputed to the fox or eagle, as these animals are never known to
destroy except for the purpose of allaying their hunger. The
faithful dog was consequently suspected as the depredator, and
the shepherd lay in wait to watch its motions ; but he was
astonished to see the real cause of his misfortunes appear in the
shape of a young colt, which cautiously approaching a group of
lambs that were sporting on a neighbouring knoll, sprung among
them, and seizing one of the innocents by the throat, would very
soon, but for the interference of the shepherd, have added it to
the number of the victims to its uncommon disposition.
More frequently, however, the horse is distinguished by the
remarkable extent to which the docility that is his common char-
acteristic has been carried. The labour and ingenuity expended
by public performers, to teach the horse feats of agility and imi-
tation have been abundantly rewarded ; and the intelligent actions
of the horse, performed in accordance to the wishes of his mas-
ter, have often furnished a very popular and agreeable spectacle.
A horse called Morocco, trained by one Banks, was famous in
the days of our early dramatists, and is alluded to by some ot
them. It is told of him that he would restore a glove to its owner
on his master's whispering the person's name into his ear ; that
THE HORSE. 23
he could dance to the sound of a pipe, tell the number of pence
in a silver coin, and count money with his feet. Of his master,
Sir Walter Raleigh says, " that had Banks lived in olden times,
he would have shamed all the enchanters in the world ; for who-
soever was most famous among them could never master or in-
struct any beast as he did his horse." To this horse Shakspeare
is supposed to allude in the following speech : " How easy it
is to put years to the word three, and study three years in two
words, the dancing horse will tell you !" * The most cele-
brated performer of equestrian feats in our times, Mr Ducrow,
of Astley's Amphitheatre, has also exhibited to the public a
corresponding dexterity and alacrity in the horse. Some of his
horses have been taught to carry their riders through the evo-
lutions of a dance, changing partners with the utmost propriety,
in all respects obeying the music, and bowing to the spectators
in token of gratitude for the applause which they received. One
in particular was taught to act the Bucephalus of Alexander, to
exhibit all the frowardness and tricks of a vicious and irreclaimable
horse, and, at the proper time, to become submissive and affec-
tionate to the representative of the Macedonian hero. In the same
Amphitheatre many instances of the extreme docility of the horse
have been exhibited. In the entertainment of the u Blood-red
Knight," one was introduced that mimicked death so complete-
ly, that he suffered himself to be handled and examined without
exhibiting the least signs of voluntary motion, or any symptoms
of life or feeling. Mr Astley, junior, of the same Theatre, had
in his possession a Barbary horse, forty-three years old, which
had been presented to him by the Duke of Leeds. This ani-
mal for several years officiated in the character of a waiter in the
course of the performances. He brought in the tea-table and its
appendages, with the requisite chairs, and finished his achieve-
ments by taking a kettle of boiling water from a blazing fire.
The same animal would ungirth his own saddle, and wash his
feet in a pail of water. When, from old age, he died, his hide
was made into a thunder-drum, which, to this day, stands on the
prompter's side of the theatre. Another instance may suffice
to give an idea of such feats of the horse, which may be, indeed,
frequently witnessed. It is mentioned by M. le Gendre, as
having been exhibited at the fair of St Germain in 1732, by a
* Love's Labour Lost, Act I. Scene II.
24 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
small horse six years old. Among other tricks which this animal
performed with great precision, he could specify by striking his
foot so many times on the ground the number of spots upon a
card which any person present had drawn out of a pack. He
could also tell, in a similar manner, the hour and minute to which
the hands of a watch pointed. His master collected from several
persons present different pieces of money, and threw them pro-
miscuously into a handkerchief; the horse restored with his
mouth to each his own piece.
But besides such feats as these, which must have been the
result of long training and much art on the part of the master
the horse has frequently and unexpectedly discovered, by singu-
lar actions, the natural sagacity that belongs to him. These
may be arranged under two heads, according as they discover the
exercise of memory united with sagacity, or as they evidence
something more, an instinct or an intelligence accommodating
itself to the circumstances and wishes of the animal. That the
horse remembers the scenes and transactions of past times, is
proved from every day's experience. It enters familiarly into
its usual abode ; inclines to stop at its ordinary halting-place ;
prefers a journey which it has formerly taken, and falls readily
into an occupation to which it has been accustomed. It seeks
the fields in which it has formerly pastured, and has been known
long afterwards to repair to the scenes of its earlier days. A
horse belonging to a gentleman of Taunton strayed from a field
at Corfe, three miles distant from thence. After a long and
troublesome search, he was discovered on a farm at Brans-
combe, in Devon, a distance of twenty-three miles, being the
place where he was foaled, although it is certain that the animal
had not been there for ten years, during the whole of which
time he had been in the possession of the gentleman who then
owned him. Five years after a Highland pony, reared upon
Drumchany, belonging to General Stewart of Garth, had been
brought to Edinburgh, Sir Patrick Walker rode him to Perth-
shire, in company with several gentlemen. " We were ad-
vancing," says he, " in the direction of Drumchany, when it
was proposed that a trial should be made of the pony's memory.
The evening being considerably advanced, and darkness rapidly
approaching, we were desirous of taking a ford which led di-
rectly to Drumchany, but were uncertain of the precise place,
THE HOKSE. g5
although we knew it could not be far off. My pony was, there-
fore, allowed to take the lead, and advanced cheerily, till sud-
denly pausing, and turning quickly to the right, he trotted down
a furrow, through a potato-field, that led directly to the ford in
question, which he crossed in the same decided manner, and
piloted the rest of the way to Drumchany. During my stay
there, I may add, that the pony got out of the stable one night,
and was found next day pasturing among the mosses where he
had been bred,"
The horse, however, not only remembers the earliest scenes
of its existence, but also those where it has been treated with
kindness, or received benefits. A cart horse, belonging to Mr
Leggat, Gallowgate, Glasgow, had been several times afflicted
with the botts, and as often cured by Mr Downie, a farrier,
near that street. After a considerable interval, the disorder re-
turned while the animal was employed in College-street, a dis-
tance of nearly a mile from Mr Downie's workshop. When
seized with the disease he was arranged in a row with other
horses engaged in the same work, and the carters being absent,
he left the other carts, and, unattended by any driver, went
down the High-street, along Gallowgate-street, and up a nar-
row lane, and did not stop till he reached the farrier's door. Be-
ing unaccompanied, it was surmised that he had been seized
with his old complaint. When unyoked he lay down, and showed
by every means of which he was capable, that he was in distress.
He was again treated as usual and sent home to his owner. In
the following case the horse discovering the same sagacity was
not so well rewarded. A horse, whose stable was situated about
a quarter of a mile from Dundee, had been for some years regu-
larly shoed by Mr Gow, and had also undergone several opera-
tions by him as veterinary surgeon. Years, however, had inca-
pacitated the animal from executing his wonted tasks ; but his
master, grateful for past services, had humanely tended him in
the winter, in the hopes that spring might bring fresh vigour to
his aged limbs. Some time after, Mr Gow and his workmen
were astonished by a visit of their old customer without any
attendant. The afflicted brute stood before his former benefac-
tor and commenced licking and biting his own sides, accom-
panying the action with a low moaning as indicative of some se-
vere internal commotion. Unfortunately, however, his dumb
c
26 ANKCDOTES OF ANIMALS.
eloquence was lost on the person he addressed, who, unable to
conjecture what this meant, shifted his place. His petitioner
still following him, met with rebuffs, arid was at last dismissed.
Foiled in this the distressed creature returned as he came,
lay down in his stall, and in less than fifteen minutes afterwards
expired. It was found that in the agonies of death he had brok-
en a strong rope by which he had been fastened, and disposed
of the stable door according to his mind, before he got out in
search of that relief which, after all, was unwittingly denied him.
The memory of the horse extends also to those habits, which
may at first have been taught him with much labour, and he is
urged into the enthusiasm of the chase, or of the field-day, by
any signal associated with these exercises. Though long unac-
customed to hear the words of military command, their recurrence
often gains from him implicit obedience, even at the peril of
his unprepared rider. An old cavalry horse has been known to
stop in the midst of a rapid gallop on hearing the word halt,
certainly very injudiciously in this case called. The Tyrolese,
in one of their insurrections in 1809, took fifteen Bavarian
horses, on which they mounted as many of their own soldiers
A rencontre occurring with a squadron of the regiment of Bu-
benhoven, these horses on hearing the trumpet and recognising
the uniform of their corps, set off at full gallop, and carried
their riders, in spite of all their resistance, into the midst of the
Bavarian ranks, where they were made prisoners. The cavalry
borse delights in the exercises and sounds of war, and whatever
strikes his mind as bearing a resemblance to them, operates
strongly on his feelings. Previously to the erection of the
cavalry barracks in Glasgow, the detachment of horse for the
West of Scotland was sometimes divided between Hamiltofi
and Kilmarnock ; those assigned to the latter place having
been sent to the fine grass fields in the vicinity of Loudon Castle,
presented on one occasion a most striking appearance. The
day was heavy and sultry ; the thunder, which had at first been
heard only at a distance, began to increase in loudness and fre-
quency, and drew the marked attention of the horses. As it
still became more loud, and the numerous peals echoed along
the extensive slopes of Galston moor, crept along the water of
Irvine, or were reverberated through the woods, the horses be-
came animated with the same enthusiasm which seizes them on
THE HORSE. 27
hearing the rolling sounds emitted from numerous cannon.
They rushed together, and rapidly arranging themselves in their
accustomed ranks, presented the front of a field of war. The
same enthusiasm is reported to have seized a dragoon regiment
of horses which was grazing at Haverscroft, in the west riding of
York, during a thunder-storm, and we do not doubt that the
same effect has been frequently witnessed. In the battle-field,
the horse, when wounded, is sometimes known to emit a shrill
cry, which, from its, rarity and its peculiar tone, is said to be of
all cries the most affecting. But the horse loves hunting as
well as war, and one accustomed to the hunt is apt to be urged
into it again, as soon as he hears the enlivening sounds which he
has so often obeyed. The very cry of the hounds has a power-
ful influence on one that has been accustomed to the chase.
A proof of this occurred in 1807, when the Liverpool mail was
changing horses at the inn, in Monk's Heath, between Congle-
ton and Newcastle-under-line. The horses that had performed
the stage had been just taken off, when Sir Peter Warburton's
fox-hounds were heard in full cry. With their harness on, the
horses immediately started after them, and followed the chase
until its termination, which was occasioned two hours after they
had joined it, by reynard running to earth in a plantation. The
following anecdote which shows the horse's recollection of habits,
however disreputable, deserves to be recorded for the somewhat
ludicrous situations into which the animal, in this case, brought
his master. Between 1750 and 1760, a Scottish lawyer made
a journey to London. At that period such journeys were us-
ually performed on horseback, and the traveller might either
ride post, or if willing to travel economically he bought a horse,
and sold him at the end of his journey. The lawyer had chosen
the latter mode of travelling, and sold the horse on which he
rode from Scotland as soon as he arrived in London. With a
view to his return, he went to Smithfield to purchase a horse.
About dusk a handsome one was offered, at so cheap a rate that
he suspected the soundness of the animal, but being able to
discover no blemish, he became the purchaser. Next morning,
he set out on his journey, the horse had excellent paces, and
our traveller while riding over the few first miles, where the
road was well frequented, did not fail to congratulate himself on
his good fortune which had led him to make so advantageous a
28 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
bargain. On Finchley common, and at a place where the road ran
down a slight eminence, and up another, the lawyer met a clergy-
man driving a one horse chaise. There was nobody within sight,
and the horse by his manoeuvre instantly discovered the pro-
fession of his former owner. Instead of pursuing his journey,
he laid his counter close up to the chaise and stopt it, having
no doubt but his rider would embrace so fair an opportunity of
exercising his profession. The clergyman seemed of the same
opinion, produced his purse unasked, and assured the astonished
lawyer, that it was quite unnecessary to draw his pistol as he
did not intend to offer any resistance. The traveller rallied his
horse, and with many apologies to the gentleman he had so in-
nocently and unwillingly affrighted, pursued his journey. The
horse next made the same suspicious approach to a coach, from
the windows of which a blunderbuss was levelled with denuncia-
tions of death and destruction to the hapless and perplexed rider.
In short, after his life had been once or twice endangered by the
suspicions to which the conduct of his horse gave rise, and his
liberty as often threatened by the peace-officers, who were dis-
posed to apprehend him as a notorious highwayman, the former
owner of the horse, he was obliged to part with the inauspicious
animal for a trifle, and to purchase at a large price one less
beautiful, but not accustomed to such dangerous habits.
In such cases as these we discern the effects of habit and
education, and great part of what appears to be sagacity, may be
referred to memory. There are many cases, however, in which
the horse discovers much intelligence, which may be properly
ascribed to its own instinct, its observation, and its natural pru-
dence. It is thus that it walks more distrustfully during the
night than the day, in places which it has never visited, than in
those to which it is accustomed, and even the very vice of start-
ing at any uncommon appearance, is only an excess of that
caution, which, in a proper degree, is alike useful to itself and
its rider. " I have often remarked," says Professor Hennings,
"that when I have wanted to ride through water where the
bottom could be seen, the horse went through without hesita-
tion, but when the water was muddy he shrunk back, tried the
bottom with one foot, and in case he found it firm, advanced
the other after it ; but if at the second step he took he found
the depth increase considerably, he went back. Why did he
THE HORSE. 29
act in this manner ? Certainly for no other reason than because
he supposed the depth would increase still farther and be
attended with danger. Did not the horse then act upon pre-
meditated grounds? Pontoppidan says that the Norwegian
horses in going up or down the steep paths among the rocks,
feel their way very cautiously before them, to ascertain whether
the stones upon which they are about to step are firm. In these
cases the best horseman's life would be in danger if he did not
let the animal act according to its own judgment." Horses are
particularly cautious in travelling over marshy ground, and those
accustomed to such a soil have a singular skill which they pro-
bably gather from experience. When the Highland pony comes
to any boggy piece of ground, it first puts its nose to it, then pats
on it in a peculiar way with one of its fore-feet, and from the
sound and feeling of the ground it knows whether it will bear
its footsteps. It follows the same method with ice, and deter-
mines in a minute whether it will proceed.
Other anecdotes might be adduced in abundance, to show not
merely a natural caution and instinct of self-preservation in the
horse, but also a certain ingenuity and the use of means to com-
pass an end. In 1794-, a gentleman in Leeds had a horse, which
on being turned into a field where there was a pump well sup-
plied with water, regularly procured by his own dexterity what
he required to drink. He took the handle into his mouth, and
worked it with his head till the trough had received a sufficient
quantity of water to satisfy his thirst. On one occasion, a horse
after having consumed his allotment of hay, ascended by the stairs
to the hay-loft, the floor of which being frail was penetrated by
his legs, so that the horse was found in a very helpless condition
but still in such a position as led those who saw him in it
to suppose, that he had been attempting to push a new supply
of hay into the rack. The horse has sometimes even gone beyond
the province allotted to him in the field, and given the intimation
expected only from the dog. A shooting pony has been known
to stop in the same way as a dog does when it feels the scent
of game, and to follow the keeper till he raised a covey of
partridges.
None but the most vicious horses will intentionally injure
any person, but for its master the animal has a particular regard.
It obeys his command with greater pleasure than that of a
c 3
30 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
stranger, testifies delight at his presence, seems to understand
his wishes, and spares no exertion to accomplish them. When
from any accident he receives injury, it manifests in a very
distinct manner its sorrow. A yeoman in Essex was riding his
hunter over his farm, and stooping to unfasten a five-barred
gate, his heel touched the horse's side, the hunter mistaking this
for a signal to take a leap, attempted it while the gate was
swinging, and his hinder legs becoming entangled, he came down
upon his unfortunate master's body and crushed him instantly to
death. A considerable time, as was supposed, elapsed before
any witness arrived, but the generous horse was standing close
by his dead master, as if understanding and lamenting his fate.
A somewhat similar regard for their master has been testified by
horses otherwise vicious. One that had a particular antipathy
to strangers, while bearing his master home from a jovial meet-
ing, became disburthened of his rider, who not secure of his
equilibrium on horseback preferred a brief indulgence of sleep
on the ground. The horse, however, did not scamper off, but
kept faithful watch by his prostrate master till the morning,
when the two were perceived about sunrise by some labourers.
They approached the gentleman with the intention of replacing
him on bis saddle, but every attempt on their part was resolutely
opposed by the grinning teeth and ready heels of the horse, who
did not allow himself to be seized till the gentleman himself
awoke from his sleep. The same horse among other bad pro-
pensities, constantly resented the attempts of the groom to
trim his fetlocks. This circumstance had been mentioned in a
conversation, during which his youngest child, a very few years
old, was present, when its owner defied any man to perform
the operation singly. The father next day, in passing through
the stable-yard, beheld with the utmost distress, the infant
employed with a pair of scissors in clipping the fetlocks of the
hind-legs of this vicious hunter an operation which had been
always hitherto performed with great danger even by a number
of men. But the horse, in the present case, was looking with
the greatest complacency on the little groom, who soon after, to
the very great relief of his father, walked off unhurt.
The horse is far from being always passive or without
ingenuity and invention in the demonstrations of his affection
for his master. On an evening in the midst of the winter
THE HORSE. 31
of 1830, when Mr Smith, supervisor of excise at Beauly,
was returning from Fort Angustus to that place, the road
among the hills was so blocked up with snow as to leave all tract
of it indiscernible. In this difficulty, he resolved to trust to his
horse, and throwing loose the reins, allowed him to choose his
course. The animal proceeded slowly and cautiously, till com.-
ing to a ravine near Glenconvent, horse arid rider sunk in a
snow-wreath several fathoms deep. Mr Smith, on recovering,
found himself nearly three yards from the dangerous spot, with
his faithful horse standing over him and licking the snow from
his face. He thinks the bridle must have been attached to his
person, but so completely had he lost all sense of conscious-
ness, that beyond the bare fact as stated, he had no knowledge
of the means by which he made so remarkable an escape. In
the following case, related by Professor Kruger of Halle, the
horse has rivalled the most remarkable examples of the sagacity
and fidelity of the dog : " A friend of mine," says he, '' who
was one dark night riding home through a wood, had the mis-
fortune to strike his head against the branch of a tree, and
fell from his horse stunned by the blow. The horse imme-
diately returned to the house they had left, which stood about
a mile distant. He found the door closed, the family had
retired to bed. He pawed at the door, till one of them hear-
ing the noise, arose and opened it, and, to his surprise, saw
the horse of his friend. No sooner was the door opened than
the horse turned round ; and the man, suspecting there was
something wrong, followed the animal, which led him directly
to the spot where his master lay on the ground in a faint."
Horses are naturally gregarious, and in those regions in
which they exist in a state of untamed freedom, they are always
found in large companies. Even in their domesticated and
servile condition, they continue to preserve a strong sympathy
for one another. They testify mutual delight in company, repeat
the enlivening neigh, and are at once more submissive and alert
when working together, as if they found a consolation for their
toils in mutual encouragement. The strength of their social
feelings is very evident in the solicitude of the mare for its foal.
It is related that in the month of April, 1794, owing to a strong
wind blowing contrary to the current of the river, the island
Kroutsand, surrounded by the two branches of the Elbe, be-
32 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
came entirely covered with water, to the great alarm of the
horses, which, with some foals, had been grazing on it. They
set up a loud neighing, and collected themselves together with-
in a small space. To save the foals that were now standing
up to their bellies in water seemed to be the object of their con-
sultation. They adopted a method at once ingenious and ef-
fective. Each foal was arranged between horses, who pressed
their sides together so as to keep them wedged up. and entirely
free from injury from the water. They retained this position
for six hours, nor did they relinquish their burden till the tide
having ebbed and the water subsided, the foals were placed out
of danger. Of the solicitude of the mare for its foal another
instance may be given. A pony mare and its colt grazed in a
field adjoining the Severn. One day the pony made its ap-
pearance before the gentleman's house to whom- she belonged,
and, by clattering with her feet and other gestures, drew his at-
tention. A person being sent out, she immediately galloped off,
and, being followed, proceeded through various gates all broken
open. . She then came to the field, through which she passed di-
rectly for a spot in the river, over which she hung with a mourn-
ful look, and there the colt was found drowned ! Nor does the
horse forget the wants or the claims of its aged kindred. M. de
Boussanelle, captain of cavalry in the regiment of Beauvilliers,
mentions that a horse belonging to his company being disabled
by age for eating his hay or grinding his oats, was fed for two
months by two horses on his right and left who eat with him.
They drew the hay out of the rack, chewed it, and put it before
their aged comrade, and, in the same way, prepared for him his
portion of oats. This sympathy, however, does not exclude
the most powerful exercise of emulation, and, in the race-course
especially, the steed exerts bis utmost spirit, and plies every
nerve, not only in obedience to his master, but in rivalry of bis
competitors. He has been even known to endeavour to secure
victory by what must certainly be considered as unfair means.
In 1 753, Mr Quin had a famous racer, who. finding his oppo-
nent likely to pass him, seized him by the legs, so that both
riders were obliged to dismount in order to separate the enraged
animals, who were engaged with one another in a most furious
conflict.
We have mentioned the sympathy of the horse with its own
THE HORSE. 33
species ; but, in the strength of its social feelings, it has often
extended its benevolence to animals which had no natural claim
to it. The dog, in particular, so often associated with the horse
in the chase, and even in the labours of the field, has been fre
quently received very far into the good graces of the more
dignified animal. A gentleman in Bristol had a greyhound
which slept in the same stable, and contracted a very great inti-
macy with a fine hunter. When the dog was taken out the
horse neighed wistfully after him ; he welcomed him home with
a neigh ; the greyhound ran up to the horse and licked him ;
the horse, in return, scratched the greyhound's back with his
teeth. On one occasion, when the groom had the pair out for
exercise, a large dog attacked the greyhound, bore him to the
ground, and seemed likely to worry him, when the horse threw
back his ears, rushed forward, seized the strange dog by the
back, and flung him to a distance which the animal did not
deem it prudent to make less. Doctor Smith, a practising phy-
sician in Dublin, had no other servant to take charge of his
horse while at a patient's door, than a large Newfoundland dog ;
and, between the two animals, a very good understanding sub-
sisted. When he wished to pass to another patient without re-
mounting, he needed but to give a signal to the pair, who fol-
lowed him in the most perfect good order. The dog also led
the horse to the water, and would give him a signal to leap over
a stream. While performing this on one occasion, the dog lost
hold of the reins, when the horse, having cleared the leap, trot-
ted back to the dog, who resumed the reins. Not the dog only,
however, has gained the confidence of the horse. A horse be-
longing to Mr Jennings, and called the Mad Arabian, from his
furious disposition, was afterwards tamed by Hughes of the
London circus, and became so attached to a lamb, that he would
allow it to mount on his back and gambol about his shoulders.
To prove that disparity of kind does not always prevent social
advances, the natural historian of Selbome says, that a very in-
telligent person had assured him that, " in the former part of his
life, keeping but one horse, he happened also on a time to have
but one solitary hen. The two incongruous animals spent much
of their time together in a lonely orchard, where they saw no
creature but each other. By degrees an apparent regard began
to take place between the two sequestered individuals ; the fowl
34 ANECDOTES OF ANIAIALS.
would approach the quadruped with notes of complacency, rub-
bing herself quietly against his legs, while the horse would look
down with satisfaction, and move with the greatest caution and
circumspection, lest he should trample on his diminutive com-
panion."
The horse has also his antipathies ; and, as the dog and cat, so
exclusively adopted to the domestic circle, are, nevertheless, ir-
reconcileably hateful to one another, so the horse and the
camel, the most useful of all beasts of burden, never see one
another without testifying the strongest marks of fear and aver-
sion. Gibbon, indeed, has ventured to assert the contrary ; and
that every stable in Persia is a proof that they are perfectly re-
concileable. The reconciliation, like that of the dog and cat, is
produced by art ; the antipathy is natural, and remains in the
nature of the animals. The fact is confirmed by many obser-
vers. M. Sante, in a memoir on camels, published at Paris in
J811, states that, at Pisa, it is necessary to accustom young
horses to the sight of camels, and that, without some such pre-
caution there would be constant accidents from their meeting.
If a strange horse passes through Pisa and sees a camel, which
is there a frequent occurrence, he immediately starts, stops, ele-
vates his mane and ears with terror, paws the earth, and, in many
cases, takes the bit in his teeth and flies off precipitately. Si-
milar effects may be witnessed in our own country whenever
camels are exhibited on our streets. This antipathy has been
noticed by the earliest historians. Herodotus tells us that Cy-
rus, meeting a great force of Lydian cavalry under the com-
'.Tnand of Croesus, disencumbered his camels of their burdens,
and marched them in front of the Persian infantry against the
foe. The stratagem was effectual, for the cavalry of Croesus
became unmanageable, and ran off immediately on feeling the
obnoxious smell of the camels. The horse, as is well known,
has a natural aversion to the braying of the ass. It has also,
in common indeed with other animals, an antipathy to ser-
pents. As Morreau de Jonnes was riding in the island of
Martinique, his horse suddenly started, and stood trembling in
every limb. On looking round he observed a fer-de-lance, erect
in a bush of bamboo. The horse drew back immediately, keep-
ing his eyes fixed on the snake. As de Jonnes was looking for
some one to hold his horse, that he might shoot the viper, he
THE HORSE. 35
beheld a Negro streaming with blood, and cutting the flesh
from a wound which the serpent had inflicted. Yet he en-
treated de Jonnes not to kill the serpent, as he wished to seize
it alive as a charm against future bites.
That the horse is much affected by musical sounds must be
evident to every one who has paid attention to its motions and
the expression of its countenance while listening to the per-
formances of a military band. It is even said that in ancient
times the Libyan shepherds were enabled to allure to them wild
horses by the charms of music. That this is at least not entirely
improbable, is evident from an experiment made by a gentleman
in the year 1829, on some of the Duke of Buccleuch's hunters.
The horses being shy of his approach, and indeed retreating
from it, he sounded a small musical instrument, called the
mouth Eolian harp. On hearing it, they immediately erected
their heads and turned round. On his again sounding it, they
approached nearer him ; he began to retreat, and they to fol-
low. Having gone over a paling, one of the horses came up
to him, putting its mouth close to his breast, and seemingly
delighted with the sounds which he continued to produce. As
the other horses were coming up, apparently to follow the ex-
ample of their more confident comrade, the gentleman retired.
The horse is to be found of very various sizes. Some of
the shelties, though exceedingly vigorous and fully formed,
scarcely exceed the size of a Newfoundland dog. In 1824,
there were two horses at the riding-school of Valenciennes,
well-matched, and only thirty inches in height. On the other
hand, the English horses and breeds obtained from them and
the Netherland horse, often unite the stature of the camel with
the corpulence of the ox. The horses to be seen in London
are almost all of an imposing grandeur of height, and in particu-
lar the dray horses might almost rival the magnitude of the
elephant.
As to the duration of the life of the horse many instances of
longevity might be produced. The charger of Sir Ralph Aber-
crombie, which was wounded at the battle of Alexandria, after-
wards died at Malta, and, on a stone erected there in commemora-
tion of its services, the age of thirty- six is inscribed. In 1790,
there was alive, near Haddington, a Shetland pony which had
been at the battle of Prestonpans in 174o, and whose age
36 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
amounted to forty-seven years. At eight years of age the marks
on the lower jaw of the horse are filled up, and he is then con-
sidered the worse for his years. He is often serviceable till
nearly twenty years of age, but generally long before that period,
his various hardships, ill treatment, and fatigues, have induced
perhaps a premature decay of all his powers.
WHEN the ass is brought into comparison with the horse, in
respect to external form, every thing appears to be in favour of
the latter animal. The ass is inferior to the horse in size, less
sprightly in its motions, its head is heavy, and it stoops in its
gait. The horse generally moves with its head erect, looks
freely abroad on the skies and earth, with an eye expressive of
lively emotions ; the ass is seen trudging slowly along, as if
sensible of the hopelessness of a cessation from toil, and full of
melancholy thoughts, its leaden eye is fixed on the ground. It
even seems painfully conscious of the estimation in which it is
generally held ; and if we may suppose that the horse borrows a
sprightliness and hilarity from the approbation and affection of
its master, why should we not also ascribe part of the dejection
and awkwardness of the ass, to a consciousness that it is often
an object of ridicule, of harsh and unjust treatment. Yet its
shape and its habits, in its state of servitude, though presenting
much that is pleasing, also it must be confessed are somewhat
untoward and ungainly. Its mouth is indeed finely shaped, but
the head above it increases to a disproportioned size, and the
appearance is far from being extenuated by the extraordinary
thickness of its skull and skin, the shaggy hair which clouds its
visage, and the heavy and muscular ears which rise on either
side. Its legs are neat, perpendicular, and finely placed, but
they rather contrast with a very solid and thick-skinned body,
which seems to overload its supporters.
Yet the ass is not without great intrinsic merit ; it is assc*-
ciated with many recollections both tender and impressive ; and
it has accordingly been mentioned by Stewart as an instance
of an object, which, though it may never attain honour in the
THE ASS. 37
pr,ges of the poet, is highly distinguished and interesting amidst
the scenes presented by the painter. " Not to speak," says he,
" of the frequent allusions to it in holy writ, what interest are
we led to attach to it in our early years by the fables of .33sop,
by the similes of Homer, by the exploits of Don Quixote, by
the pictures which it recalls to us, of the by-paths in the forest,
where we have so often met with it as a beast of burden, and
the associate of the vagrant poor, or where we have stopped to
gaze on the infant beauties which it carried in its panniers ; in
fine, by the circumstances which have called forth in its eulogy,
one of the most pleasing efforts of Buffon's eloquence," its own
quiet and inoffensive manners, and the patience with which it
submits to a life of drudgery."
But the associations connected with the ass, are not exclusive-
ly those of a quiet submission to the cares and drudgeries that
are the share of poverty. The ass is to be found also in a wild
state, the emblem of irreclaimable freedom. " He scorneth," says
Job, " the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying
of the driver ; the range of the mountains is his pasture, and he
searcheth after every green thing." The ass, in its wild state,
possesses astonishing swiftness ; it has feet, saysOssian, like the
whirlwind, it moves, says ^Elian, as if it were carried forward
by wings like a bird. The accounts of those who have seen
the ass in its untamed condition, correspond with these descrip-
tions. The desert tract, called by the Indians Run, which di-
vides Kattewar from Cutch, is one of the resorts of the wild
ass. A traveller who visited the region, discovered several
herds of these animals, amounting to sixty or seventy. Wish-
ing to have a nearer view, he galloped towards them, but though
mounted on a horse of proved speed, he could never approach
nearer than twenty yards. A dog which accompanied him was
close at their heels, when they turned and pursued him with an
angry snorting noise. This ass, which the Persians call Khur,
is considerably larger than in its tame state ; the body is of an
ash colour, which gradually fading, becomes a dirty white under
the belly. The ears and shoulder stripe resemble those of the
* It may be remarked, that the description given by Goldsmith of the as(=,
vol. i. p. 5046, though, as he acknowledges, formed npon Buftm's, is emi-
nently graphic, and distinguished by a gentle eloquence.
38 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
common kind, but the Lead seemed much longer, and the limbs
more roughly and strongly formed. The natives of India de-
scribe the Khur as extremely watchful, so that it cannot be caught
without great difficulty. It breeds on the banks of the Run,
and the salt island in the centre of this tract. It browses on the
stunted and saline vegetation found in the desert, but in Novem-
ber and December, it advances into the country in herds of
hundreds, to the utter destruction of whole fields of grain. The
animal is then caught in pits, but is found to be fierce and un-
tamable. He bites and kicks in the most furious and danger-
ous manner, accompanied by the angry snorting, which appears
to be his only voice. Their flesh is esteemed good food by
some of the natives of the lowest cast, who lie in wait for them
near the drinking places. The following extract from Heber
describes the same animal in a better situation : " I saw in a
paddock, near Bombay," says he, " a noble wild ass from
Cutch, as high as a well-grown Galloway, a beautiful animal,
admirably formed for fleetness and power, apparently very
gentle and very fond of horses, and by no means disliked by
them, in which respect the asses of India differ from all
others of which I have heard. The same fact has been told me
of the wild ass in Rajpootana. No attempt has, however, been
made to break him in for riding, and it is doubtless now too
late. Mr Elphinstone said, that he had never heard of any thing
of the sort being tried by the natives, though they are much in
the habit of mounting different animals, such as stags, &c."
The ass, after being taken into the service of man, was not
immediately subjected to the most degrading employments. The
Indian horse, says Herodotus,f were armed like their foot ; but
besides led horses, they had chariots of war drawn by horses and
wild asses. The use of the ass in active employments, and even
in war, is not confined to the Indians or to ancient times. In
Egypt, the inhabitants generally ride upon mules or asses ; the
latter are so active in this country and possess such extraordi-
nary strength, that for all purposes of labour, even for carrying
heavy burdens across the sandy desert, they are next in utility
to the camel, and will bear work better than horses. The horse
* Journey through the Upper Provinces of India, iil. 101.
f B. vii. c. 86.
in Egypt, is rather an animal of parade than for essential service.
The vast army of the Wahabees, in the desert, were said to be
mounted upon camels and upon asses.*
The ass prospers in a warm climate; it is seldom indeed to
be found in the colder regions of the earth, and it is in the east
that we are to seek for it in its greatest perfection. That the
ass was not produced in Scythia on account of its extreme cold,
was observed so early as the time of Herodotus, a fact which he
produces as tending to account for the confusion of the Scythian
cavalry, on the approach of the Persian army, which contained
great numbers both of mules and asses. The ass is still to be
found in high perfection in Persia.f There are two kinds of
asses in this country, the one slow and heavy, and used for bear-
ing burthens, the other beautiful, and perhaps the finest in the
world. Their skin is glossy, their heads high, they have light
feet, which are raised with grace, walk well, and are solely em-
ployed to ride on. The saddles used are round on the one side,
flat on the other, made of woollen cloth or tapestry, arid the rider
sits on them nearer the crupper than the neck. Some of these
cost about eighteen pounds sterling, none are sold under twenty-
five pistoles. They are broke like horses, and taught no other
pace than the amble. The manner of teaching them is by tying
their hind and fore legs with two ropes of cotton, which are
made to the length the ass is to pace, and are suspended by a
cord fastened to the girth. Their nostrils are slit to make them
breathe more freely ; and a horse must gallop to keep pace with
them.
The asses, even in Arabia, travel much more expeditiously
than the camel. The loaded camels take two nights to perform
the journey between Djidda and Medina, resting mid-way at
Hadda during the day, but a small caravan of asses lightly laden,
which starts every evening, performs the journey of fifteen or
sixteen hours in one night, arriving regularly at Mecca early in
the morning. It is by the ass-caravan that letters are conveyed
between the two towns. In time of scarcity, or at the approach
of the Hadj, or pilgrimage, the hire of an ass from Djidda to Mec-
ca, is twenty piastres. This price would be considered enor-
mous in any other part of the Levant. Only fifteen piastres
are paid for a camel from Cairo to Suez, which is double the
* Clarke's Travels, vol. v. 81. f Buffon.
40 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
distance between Djidda and Mecca, and the hire of a camel is
more than double that of an ass.*
The ass was anciently unknown in the countries of Northern
Europe. In Greece and Rome, however, it was held in much
estimation, and honoured in their mythology and festivals. By
its braying, it was said to have discomfited, severally, the deities
who warred against the liberty of Jupiter and the chastity of
Vesta, and the ides of June were celebrated in Rome as the
festival of the ass. On that occasion banquets were set forth at
the doors of the citizens ; the millstones were decked with gar-
lands : the asses, which on workdays turned them, were led in
holyday triumph covered with wreaths of flowers, and the grate-
ful ladies of Rome walked before them in the procession bare-
foot, to the temple of the goddess whose honour the braying of
the ass had saved. The church of Rome, many of whose fes-
tivals were an accommodation of pagan rites to a supposed sub-
servience to Christianity, formed of the festival of Vesta, the
feast of asses, which, during the dark ages, was held with par-
ticular hilarity in Britain. Of this singular ceremony we have
the following account from a very excellent authority :f
" On the eve of the day appointed to celebrate it, before the
beginning of vespers, the clergy went in procession to the door
of the cathedral, where were two choristers singing in a minor
key, or rather with squeaking voices,
Lux hodie, lux letitiae, me judice, tristis
Quisquis erit, removendus erit solemnibus istis.
Sicut hodie, procul invidise, procul umnia moesta;
Lacta volunt, quit-unique celebrant Asinaria Fasta.
Light to-day, the light of joy I banish every sorrow ;
Wherever found, be it expell'd from our solemnities to-morrow ;
Away be strife, and grief,, and care, from every anxious breast ;
And ail be joy and glee in those who keep the ass's feast.
" After this anthem, two canons were deputed to fetch the
ass, and to conduct him to the table, which was the place where
the great chanter sat, to read the order of the ceremonies, and
the names of those who were to take any part in them. The ani-
* Burckhardt's Travels in Arabia, vol. f. 4fl.
f Turner's History of England during the Middle Ages, vol. v. p. 105107.
THE ASS. 41
mal was clad with precious priestly ornaments, and, in this ar-
r.iy, was solemnly conducted to the middle of the choir ; during
which procession the following hymn was sung in a major key.
The first and last stanzas of it were :
Orientis partibus
Adventavit asiuus,
Pulcher ct fortissimus,
Sarcinis aptisaimus.
Hez, Sire Ane, hez .' &c., &c.
Amen, dicas asine !
Jam satias de gramine :
Amen! Amen.' itera,
Aspernare vetera.
Hez, Sire Ane, hez !
These have been thus Englished :
From the country of the East
( amr this strong and handsome beast,
This able ass beyond compare,
Heavy loads and packs to bear.
Huzza, Siguor Ass, huzza !
Amen ! bray, most honour'd Ass,
Sated now with grain and grass :
Amen repeat, amen reply,
And disregard antiquity.
Huzza, Signer Ass, huzza!
" After this the office began by an anthem in the same style,
sung purposely in the most discordant manner possible. The
office itself lasted the whole of the night and part of the next
day ; it was a rhapsody of whatever was sung in the course of
the year at the appropriated festivals, forming altogether the
strangest and most ridiculous medley that can be conceived. As
it was natural to suppose that the choristers and the congregation
should feel thirst in so long a performance, wine was distributed
in no sparing manner. The signal for that part of the ceremony
was an anthem, commencing ' Conductus ad poculum,' &c.
(Brought to the glass, &c.)
" The first evening after vespers the grand chanter of Sens
headed the jolly band in the streets, preceded by an enormous
lantern. A vast theatre was prepared for their reception before
the church, where they performed not the most decent interludes.
D3
42 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
The singing and dancing were concluded by throwing a pail of
water on the head of the grand chanter. They then returned to
the church to begin the morning office ; and on that occasion,
several received, on their naked bodies, a number of pails of wa-
ter. At the respective divisions of the service, great care was
taken to supply the ass with drink and provender. In the middle
of it a signal was given by an anthem, ' Conductus ad ludos,'
&c. (Brought to play, &c.) and the ass was conducted into the
nave of the church, where the people, mixed with the clergy,
danced round him, and strove to imitate his braying. When the
dancing was over, the ass was brought again to the choir, where
the clergy terminated the festival."
But the circumstance of the animal having been made an object
of ludicrous admiration in superstitious ages is not that on which
its estimation depends. The ass is a useful, a docile, in many
cases, an affectionate, animal. In eastern countries it conduces
to the splendour and convenience of the rich ; with us it is
especially the friend and support of the poor. It assists them
in travelling, drags patiently to the market-place their little
merchandise ; and though, if overloaded, it refuses to stir, yet
the load under which it will move, when compared with its
size, is such as may well satisfy expectation ; is even greater,
comparatively, than is commonly allotted to the horse.
The ass, though with us it generally moves with the appa-
rent determination to proceed as slowly as possible, is naturally
a very swift animal, and often, even bearing a burden, moves
with considerable rapidity. For a small wager, a Mr Wilson
of Ipswich, drove an ass in a gig to London and back again,
a distance of one hundred and forty miles, in two days. The
animal went at the rate of an ordinary gig-horse, and so great
was its endurance and spirit, that without the application of the
whip it came in at the rate of seven miles an hour. It was
twelve hands and a half high, and half-bred Spanish and English.
Ass-races have been frequently celebrated in various countries,
more, it must be supposed, for the ludicrous effect which many
of their tricks and uncouth motions on such an occasion ex-
hibit, than for the purpose of discovering the swiftness of the
animal. Skippon mentions, in his journey through Italy, that
he saw ass-races at Florence, and cart and waggon- races, at
which the Great Duke was present. In France, likewise, dur-
THE ASS. 43
ing the year 1776, about the time that the mania for horse racing
was at its height there, ass-races were also introduced, and were
placed under the special patronage of the Queen. She ho-
noured such exhibitions in the neighbourhood of Paris by her
presence, and the winner had for his reward, a hundred livres
and a golden thistle, in allusion to the plant of which the ass is
so fond.
In Scotland likewise ass-races have been frequently celebrated,
not only in modern, but in ancient times, and as well for the
amusement of the multitudes who congregate at a country fair,
as for the gratification of royal and noble spectators. They are
numbered among the favourite amusements of James V. ; and
the following description of an ass-race, supposed to have taken
place in Fife before that monarch, must be interesting not only
as a good account of the various features of the race, but as
most humorously characteristic of the qualities and dispositions
of the animal itself:
" Who can in silly pithless words paint well
The pithy feats of that laborious race ?
Who can the cudgellings and whippings tell,
The hurry, emulation, joy, disgrace ?
'T would take for tongue the clapper of a boll,
To speak the total wonders of the chase ;
'Tivould need a set of sturdy brassy lungs,
To tell the mangled whips, and shatter'd sticks and rungs.
E;ich rider pushes on to be the first,
Nor has he now an eye to look behind ;
One ass trots smartly on, though like to burst
With bounding blood and scantiness of \vi:ul ;
Another, by his master bann'd and cursed,
Goes backward through perversity of mind,
Inching along in motion retrograde,
Cuntrarioiis to the course which Scotland's Monarch bade.
A third obdurate stands, and cudgel-proof,
And Btedfait as th" unchisell'd rock of flint,
Regardless though the heaven's high marble roof
Should fa'.l upon his skull with mortal dint,
Or though conspiring earth beneath his hoof,
Should sprout up coal with fiery flashes in't,
Whilst on his back his grieved and waspish master,
The stubborner he stands, still bangs and bans the faster.
41-
ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
Meantime the rabblement, with fav'ring shout
And clapping hand, set up so loud a din,
As almost with stark terror frighted out
Each ass's soul from his particular skin :
Rattled the bursts of laughter round about,
Grinned every phiz with mirth's peculiar grin,
As through the loan they saw the cuddies awkward,
Bustling, some straight, some thwart, some forward, and some
backward.
-In foul confusion and alarm
Jostle the cuddies with rebellious mind,
But who is yon, the foremost of the swarm,
That scampers fleetly as the rushing wind ?
'Tis Robert Scott, if I can trust my eyne,
I know the borderer well, by his long coat of green.
See how his bright whip, brandish'd round his head,
Flickers like streamer in the northern skies ;
See how his ass on earth with nimble tread
Half .flying rides, in air half-riding flies,
As if a pair of ostrich wings, outspread,
To help him on, had sprouted from his thighs,
Well-scamper'd Bob well whipf, well spurr'd, my boy '.
O haste ye, Ranter haste rush gallop to thy joy.
The pole is gain'd ; the ass's head he turns
Southward to tread the trodden ground again ;
Sparkles like flint the cuddy's hoof, and burns,
Seeming to leave a smoke upon the plain ;
His bitted mouth the foam impatient churns ;
Sweeps his broad tail behind him like a train ;
Speed cuddy, speed I O, slacken not thy pace,
Ten minutes more like this and thou shalt gain the rare.
He comes careering on the sounding loan,
With pace unslacken'd hast'ning to the knoll,
And, as he meets with those that hobble on
With northward heads to gain the ribbon'd pole,
Ev'n by his forceful fury are o'erthrown
His long-ear'd brethren in confusion droll ;
For as their sides he passing, slightly grazes,
By that collision shock'd, doivn roll the founder'd asses.
Heels over head they tumble, ass on ass
They dash, and twenty times roll o'er and o'er,
Lubberly wallowing along the grass,
In beastly ruin and with beastly roar ;
While their vext riders in poor plight alas !
Hung from their saddles three long ells aud more,
Tin: ASS. 45
Bruised and fomminglivl with their cuddies sprawl,
Cur.-.;: 3 th' impetuous brute whose conflict caused their fall.
With hats upon their heads they down did light
Withouten hati disgracefully they rose ;
Clean were their faces ere they fell and bright,
But dirty faced they got up on their toes ;
Strong were their sinuws ere they fell and tight,
Hip-shot they stood up, sprained with many woes ;
Blythe were their aspects ere the ground they took,
Grim louring rose they up, with crabbed ghastful look.
Ah ! then, with grievous limp along the ground,
They sought their hats that had so flown away,
And some were ciift'd and much disaster'd foui.d,
And haply some not found unto this day.
Meanwhile, with vast and uudiminished bound,
Sheer through the bestial wreck and disarray,
The brute of Mesopotam hurries en,
And in his madding speed devours the trembling loan.
Speed, cuddy, speed one short, short minute more,
And finished is thy toil, and won the race
Now one-half minute, and thy toils are o'er
His toils are o'er, and he has gain'd the base !
He shakes his tail, the conscious conqueror,
Joy peeps through his stupidity of face,
He seems to wait the monarch's approbation,
As quiver his long ears with self-congratulation."*
The ass is far from being incapable of understanding the
nature of the employments in which he is engaged, or disobedient
to the commands of his master. An ass was employed at
Carisbrook, in the Isle of Wight, in drawing water by a large
wheel from a deep well, supposed to have been sunk by the
Romans. When his keeper wanted water he would call the ass
by his name, saying, " I want water, get into the wheel," which
wish the ass immediately complied with : and there can be no
doubt but that he knew the precise number of times necessaiy
for the wheel to revolve upon its axis in order to complete his
labour, for every time he brought the bucket to the surface of
the well, he stopped and turned round his head to observe the
moment when his master laid hold of the bucket to draw it
towards him, because he had then a nice motion to make either
* Tcnnant's Anster Fair.
46 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
slightly forward or backward as the situation of the bucket
might require. The ass has been taught to perform tricks on the
stage, and to act such mimickries as are considered wonderful
even in the dog and horse. John Leo, who wrote a description
of Africa, which was printed in 1556, says, " that when the
Mahometan worship was over, the common people of Cairo
resorted to the foot of the suburbs called Bed-Elloch to see the
exhibition of stage-players and mountebanks, who teach camels,
asses, and dogs to dance. The dancing of the ass is diverting
enough ; for after he has frisked and capered about, his master tells
him, that the Soldan, meaning to build a great palace, intends
to employ all the asses in carrying mortar, stones, and other
materials ; upon which the ass falls down with his heels upwards,
closing his eyes, and extending his chest, as if he were dead.
This done, the master begs some assistance of the company, to
make up the loss of the dead ass ; and having got all he can, he
gives them to know that truly his ass is not dead, but only being
sensible of his master's necessity, played that trick to procure
some provender. He then commands the ass to rise, who still lies
in the same posture, notwithstanding all the blows he can give
him, till at last he proclaims, by virtue of an edict of the Soldan,
all are bound to ride out next day upon the comeliest asses they
can find, in order to see a triumphal show, and to entertain their
asses with oats and Nile water. These words are no sooner
pronounced, than the ass starts up, prances, and leaps for joy.
The master then declares, that his ass has been pitched upon by
the warden of his street, to carry his deformed and ugly wife ;
upon which the ass lowers his ears, and limps with one of his
legs, as if he were lame. The master, alleging that his ass
admires handsome women, commands him to single out the
prettiest lady in company ; and accordingly, he makes his choice,
by going round, and touching one of the prettiest with his head,
to the great amusement of the company."
There is a remarkable instinct possessed by many animals by
wliieb. they are enabled, though removed to a distance, to regain
their ordinary haunts or places of residence. That this instinct
is possessed in considerable perfection by the ass, the following
instance shows. In 1816, an ass belonging to Captain Dundas
was shipped on board the Ister, bound from Gibraltar to Malta.
The vessel struck on a sand-bank off the Point de Gat, and the
THE ASS. 47
ass was thrown overboard into a sea which was so stormy that
a boat that soon after left the ship was lost. In the course of a
few days, when the gates of Gibraltar were opened in the
morning, the guard was surprised by the same ass which had so
recently been removed, presenting itself for admittance. On
entering, it proceeded immediately to the stable which it had
formerly occupied. The ass had not only swam to the shore, but
found its own way from Point de Gat to Gibraltar, a distance
of more than two hundred miles, through a mountainous and
intricate country intersected by streams, which it had never
passed before but which it had now crossed so expeditiously
that it must have gone by a route leading the most directly to
Gibraltar.
The ass, though usually quiet, and apparently rather dull
and insensible, is capable of the extremities of ferocity and
timidity. One, which had been bit by a mad dog, attacked
several persons furiously with its teeth, and even when
beat off by stunning blows, returned to the conflict. A few
years ago, at Swalwell, a man set his bull dog to attack an ass,
that for a while gallantly defended itself with its heels, which
it was agile enough to keep presented to the dog. Suddenly,
turning round on its adversary, it caught it with its teeth,
in such a manner, that the dog was unable to retaliate. It
then dragged the assailant to the river Derwent, into which it
plunged it over head, and lying down upon it, kept it in
the water till it was drowned. On the other hand, the ass is
said to manifest in the presence of the lion such fears, as those
which the fascinating power of the serpent causes in certain birds.
Though the ass be very frequently the subject of ill treatment,
yet it seems to be an animal not without affection for its master,
which in many cases we may suppose to be returned by kindness
and care on his part. These little interchanges of benefits in a
life of hardship, while they must soothe the toils of the animal
may warm and gladden the heart of its master. A pleasing
instance of this effect we have in the following anecdote, related
in Church's Cabinet of Quadrupeds. " An old man, who some
time ago sold vegetables in London, had an ass which carried
his baskets from door to door. He frequently gave the poor
industrious creature a handful of hay, or some pieces of bread
or greens, by way of refreshment and reward. The old man
48 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
had no need of any goad for the animal, and seldom indeed had
he to lift up his hand to drive it on. His kind treatment was
one day remarked to him, and he was asked whether the beast
was not apt to be stubborn. ' Ah !' he said, ' it is of no use to
be cruel ; and as for stubbornness I cannot complain, for he is
ready to do any thing or go any where. I bred him myself.
He is sometimes skittish and playful, and once ran away from
me you will hardly believe it, but there were more than fifty
people after him, attempting in vain to stop him; yet, he turned
back of himself, and never stopped till he ran his head kindly
into my bosom.' "
THE MULE.
THE hybrid animal, engendered between the horse and ass,
has been well known, and held in high estimation from the
earliest times. It is mentioned in the book of Genesis, and in
the earliest of the heathen writers. David and his nobles rode
upon mules. Mules dragged the combustibles to the funeral pile
of Patroclus, and the chariot of Priam to the tent of Achilles.
Mules were often employed in the chariot race : Pelias thus
contended for the prize ; and mules in the age of Homer
ploughed the plains of Greece.
The Latins distinguished the animal into two classes, ac-
cording as a she-ass or a mare was the mother. The former
was called Hinnus, the latter Mulus. The hinnus was charac-
terised as being small, slow and stubborn ; the mulus, as large,
swift and good-tempered ; a description which holds good still.
There are male and female mules, but both are sterile, for it
seems to be a law of nature, that propagation should cease with
the offspring of two different species : thus the same sterility that
characterises the produce of the horse and zebra, the lion and
tiger, the goldfinch and canary, belongs to that of the horse and
ass. Yet to this almost universal rule, a few exceptions are in
the present case to be found. Some of these have occurred in
foreign countries, and one or two well-attested cases in Scotland.
In all these instances, however, it is to be remarked, that
the foal either was produced dead, or died before it reached
maturity.
THE MULE. 49 f
The mule possesses some of the best qualities of the two
useful animals, from which it springs. It is, indeed, inferior to
the horse in strength, and to the ass in patience, but it retains
somewhat of the agility and beauty of motion, which we admire
in the one, and is sure-footed like the other. It has a spirited
look like the horse it toughly endures labour like the ass ; the
external resemblance to both its parents is wonderfully preserved
throughout every part of its body.
The mule, like the ass, is found in greatest perfection in warm
climates, and in the region of the east. " In almost all the
other provinces of Persia but Khorassan," says Sir John Mal-
colm, " mules are in more general use than camels, and their
extraordinary strength and activity, combined with their power
of enduring fatigue, place this animal in the estimation of the
natives of Persia, next to the horse, and their breed is hardly an
object of inferior care." In mountainous and uncultivated
countries, amidst the regions of the Andes and the Alps, the
mule is of indispensable service, carrying burdens or its rider
along stony or precipitous tracts with singular sagacity, vigour,
and safety. In Cairo, mules stand on the streets ready to be
hired, and the muleteers there are a numerous class.
The mule, in our country, is frequently to be found of a
considerable size and strength. Of those used on the Bridge-
water canal, near Manchester, many measure upwards of fourteen
hands high. But of all the countries in Europe, Spain is most
distinguished for its fine breed of mules, for the care with which
they are trained, and the estimation in which they are held.
They are there employed in very honourable services, highly
valued, and sometimes disposed of for not less than fifty or sixty
pounds sterling. In proportion to the care which is employed
in training them, their sagacity and useful qualities are dis-
covered, of which the following quotation from Townsend's
Journey through Spain, furnishes a good description.
" In this little journey, I was exceedingly diverted and sur-
prised with the docility of the mules, and the agility of their
drivers. I had travelled all the way from Barcelona to Madrid,
in a cache de colleras, with seven mules ; and, both at that time
and on subsequent occasions, had been struck with the quick-
ness of understanding in the mule, and motion in the driver ;
50 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
but, till this expedition, I had no idea to what extent it might be
carried.
" The two coachmen sit upon the box, and, of the six mules,
none but the two nearest have reins to guide them : the four
leaders being perfectly at liberty, and governed only by the voice.
Thus harnessed, they go upon the gallop the whole way ; and,
when they come to any short turning, whether to the right or
to the left, they instantly obey the word, and move altogether,
bending to it like a spring. As all must undergo tuition, and
require frequently some correction, should any one refuse the
collar, or not keep up exactly with the rest, whether it be, for
example, Coronela or Capitana, the name pronounced with a
degree of vehemence, rapidly in the three first syllables, and
slowly in the last, being sufficient to awaken attention, and to
secure obedience ; the ears are raised, and the mule instantly
exerts its strength. But, should there be any failure in obe-
dience, one of the men springs furiously from the box, quickly
overtakes the offending mule, and thrashes her without mercy ;
then, in the twinkling of an eye, leaps upon the box again, and
calmly finishes the tale he had been telling his companion.
" In this journey I thought I had learnt the names of all the
mules ; yet one, which frequently occurred, created some con-
fusion, because I could not find to which individual it belonged,
nor could I distinctly make out the name itself.
" In a subsequent journey, the whole difficulty vanished, and
my high estimation of the mule, in point of sagacity, was con-
firmed. The word in question, when distinctly spoken, was
Aquella otra, that is, you other also : and then, supposing Coro-
nela and Capitana to be pairs, if the coachman had been calling
to the former by name, Aquella otra became applicable to the
latter, and was equally efficacious as the smartest stroke of a
long whip ; but if he had been chiding Capitana, in that case
. Aquella otra acted as a stimulus to Coronela, and produced in
her the most prompt obedience."
Yet the Spanish mule is in some cases a headstrong animal,
and is so wedded to custom that it is almost impossible to get
.it to act out of the routine to which it has been once trained.
A singular instance of this was afforded by the mules, which on
one occasion were employed to drag the baggage of Buonaparte.
No threats, no blows could move them ; nor did it seem as if
THE ZEBRA. 51
they could be brought to be serviceable on the occasion, till
some one noticed that they were not arranged in their usual or-
der in the traces of the waggons. No sooner, however, had
they obtained their desired position, than they began to drag the
waggons with their wonted strength and animation.
THE ZEBU A.
IN very early times we find mention made of an animal which
the Romans called the hippotigris, as possessing at once the
shape and agility of the horse, and the ferocity and the beauty
of skin and colour which distinguish the tiger. Bassianas Cara-
calla is said to have killed in one day an elephant, a rhinoceros,
a tiger, and a hippotigris. The animal was thus even then consi-
dered better fitted to furnish a savage sport in the combat than to
be rendered useful by domestication. The same character still be-
longs to the zebra, which is doubtless the animal designated by
the name hippotigris. It possesses some of the characteristics
of the horse, smaller in size it strongly resembles it in the
shape of its body, its head, its limbs, and its hoofs. It moves
in the same paces, with a similar activity and swiftness. But
it discovers none of that docility which has rendered the services
of the horse so invaluable to man. On the contrary, it is pro-
verbially untameable ; it is ever the most wild even among those
ferocious animals which are ranged in the menagerie, and it pre-
serves in its countenance the resolute determination never to
submit. So completely, indeed, is this its character, that the
few instances in which it has shown any thing like submission,
are looked upon as the most extraordinary triumphs of art over
nature. Even in these cases the complacency which the ani-
mal discovers is partial, and not to be trusted. In the year 1803,
General Dundas brought a female zebra from the Cape of Good
Hope, which was deposited in the Tower, and there showed less
than the usual impatience of subordination. The person who
had accompanied her home and attended her there, would some-
times spring on her back, and proceed thus for about two hun-
dred yards, when she would become restive, and oblige him
to dismount. She was very irritable, and would kick at her
i>2 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
keeper ; one day she seized him with her teeth, threw him down,
and showed an intention to destroy him, which he disappointed
by rapidly extricating himself. She generally kicked in all
directions with her feet, and had a propensity to seize with her
teeth whatever offended her. Strangers she would not allow to
approach her unless the keeper held her fast by the head, and
even then she was very prone to kick. Another which was kept
at Kew showed the same savage disposition, allowing no one to
approach except his keeper. He was sometimes able to mount
the back of the animal. It one day eat a quantity of tobacco,
and the paper that contained it ; and was said even to eat Mesh.
The most docile zebra on record was burnt at the Lyceum, near
Exeter Change. This animal allowed its keeper to use great
familiarities with it, to put children on its back without dis-
covering any resentment. On one occasion a person rode it from
the Lyceum to Pimlico. It had been bred in Portugal, and was
the offspring of parents half reclaimed. At the Cape of Good
Hope many attempts have been made to train the zebra, but
they have been all to a great degree unsuccessful. A merchant,
who had succeeded so far as to be able to get them harnessed to
his chariot, almost lost his life from the ungovernable fury with
which they rushed back to their stalls.
There are instances of mules having been obtained from the
ass and zebra, but these in Europe do not exceed three, and
they either died soon, or were unserviceable. One which was
bred in the Menagerie at Paris, from a female zebra and Spanish
ass, had a good deal of the form of its sire ; but it had the un-
governable and vicious temper of the zebra, and attacked with its
teeth every one who approached it
The zebra which we have been describing, is that of the
mountains or common zebra. Besides this, however, there is a
variety which is called the zebra of the plain, from the nature of
the regions in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope which it
inhabits. It differs from the other species in having the ground
colour of the body white, the mane alternately striped with black
and white, and the tail of a yellowish white. A specimen of
this animal is to be found in the Tower of London, where it has
been brought to a degree of lameness seldom reached by the
other variety. It runs peaceably about the Tower, with a man
by its side, whom it does not attempt to leave except for the
THE ZEBRA. 53
purpose of breaking off to the canteen, where it is sometimes
regaled with a glass of ale, a liquor for which it discovers a
considerable fondness.
There are two other animals of the horse kind, for the know-
ledge of which we are indebted chiefly to the reports of travel-
lers. These are the Dziggtai and the Quagga, the former a na-
tive of Central Asia, the other ranging in herds through the so-
litary deserts of Southern Africa. The former is a wild animal,
and is shot by the natives for the purposes of food, the latter is
of a disposition susceptible of domestication, and has been seen
in London drawing a fashionable curricle. They have both been
too little under the observation of men to allow of an interesting
biography beyond the notices which have been given of them in
the notes to Goldsmith.
THE COW KIND.
WE come now to a class of animals whose principal qualities
are connected with their incomparable utility. They do not pos*
sess the sprightliness, the intelligence, or the strength of the
foregoing class of animals ; they are either peacefully submissive
to their condition, or when excited, ungovernably ferocious.
Neither can they be termed so beautiful either in shape or mo-
tion. Yet they have connected with them many pleasing asso-
ciations ; and there is no object which could be worse spared in
a wide landscape of rich arid green fields, expanding to the
summer sun, than the animals which convert even the verdure
of the seasons to the use of man. There is no picture of con-
tentment, security, and abundance, more complete than that
which represents the lowing herd on a shining summer even-
ing, filling the air with a rich perfume from their distended
udders, and delighting to be driven homewards by the milk-
maid. The advantages derived by mankind from the cow are
numerous, many of them essential to the comfort both of rich
and poor. Their flesh is the most nutritious diet which we
possess. The milk of the cow is rich and salubrious ; when
converted into cheese, it is the strengthening nourishment of
the most industrious classes in the land. Combs, knife-handles,
and a variety of instruments are composed of the horns. From
the cartilages, and the finer parings of the hides, is obtained
glue j the hides compose leather ; the fat, candle. Let it be
remembered also, that from the cow was first derived the sub-
stance which, employed in vaccination, has caused so many to
THE COW. 55
IK; thankful for preservation from deadly disease and irreparable
injury to beauty.
In every pastoral country the cow forms the principal riches,
arid the care of the herd the principal employment of the pea-
santry. The mountaineer of Switzerland lives with his cow
almost as familiarly as the Arabian with his horse. He never
ill-treats his cattle, nor makes use of a stick or a whip ; a per-
fect cordiality seems to subsist between them, and the voice of
the keeper is sufficient to guide and govern the whole herd.
Fine cattle are the pride of the cow-keeper who inhabits the
Alps ; and, not satisfied with their natural beauty, he adorns
his best cows with large bells, suspended from broad thongs, in
the procuring of which alone he is expensive. Every peasant
has a harmonious set of bells, which chime in with the famous
ranz des vackes. The inhabitants of the Tyrol bring a number
of such bells, of all sizes, to every fair kept in the canton of
Appenzell. They are fixed on a broad strap, neatly pinked, cut
out, and embroidered, and fastened round the cow's neck by
means of a large buckle. One of the largest bells will cost
from forty to fifty gilders, and the whole peal of bells, in-
cluding the thongs, will be worth a hundred and fifty gilders ;
while the whole apparel of the cow- herd himself, jeven when
in his best attire, does not, in value, amount to twenty. The
finest black cow is adorned with the largest bells, the next
hi beauty have two smaller. These ornaments are only worn
on solemn occasions, when, in the spring, they are led up the
Alps, or removed to another pasture ; or when they descend
in autumn, or travel in winter, to the different farms where
their owners have procured them hay. On such days, even
in the coldest season, the peasant appears dressed in a fine
white shirt, of which the sleeves are rolled up above the el-
bow ; neatly embroidered braces sustain his yellow linen trow-
sers ; a small leather cap covers his head, and a new milk-
bowl of wood, skilfully carved, hangs across his left shoulder.
Thus, recalling the picture of the pastoral age of antiquity,
the peasant proceeds, singing the ranz des vaches, that air which
is so indissolubly connected with the thoughts and the love of
his home, that the remembrance of it is sufficient to cause, in
the Swiss peasant when in distant lands, such a longing for
his native scenes', as totally unfits him for every occupation
50 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
and enjoyment. On the present occasion, however, he sings it
in triumph, followed by three or four goats, then by the pride of
the procession, the handsomest cow with the great bell, then by
two others with smaller bells, which are succeeded by the rest
of the cattle walking one after another, and having in their rear
the bull with a three-legged milking stool hanging on his horns.
The procession is closed by a sledge, on which are placed all the
implements for the dairy.
There is, perhaps, no animal in which the difference of dis-
position between the male and the female is so marked, as in
that now under consideration. The cow, as every one knows,
is generally a placid and mild animal, submissive to all the ar-
rangements of the dairy, and obedient to the will of a child.
The bull, on the other hand, is liable to be excited to an unman-
ageable fury ; which disposition increasing with his years,
renders him generally unsafe, sometimes in a great degree
dangerous. As the manly and independent Swiss honour the
useful and harmless qualities of the animal in a pastoral festivity,
so less humane nations have taken advantage of the ferocity to
which the bull may be excited, to furnish a sport suited to their
own dispositions. The Portuguese and Spaniards have been
especially devoted to those barbarous sports, which they call
bull-feasts. " I have been present," says Sir W. Wraxall, " at
these entertainments at Lisbon in 1772, which then distinguished
it from all the other capitals of Europe. They were already
extinct in Spain, where Charles III. had abolished them on as-
cending the throne, in 1759. Joseph and the Queen his wife,
on the contrary, nourished the strongest partiality for these
games of Moresco origin, which they seldom failed to attend.
I have seen the king present there, though one of his eyes was
bandaged and swelled from the effect of a spark that had flown
into it from the flint of a fowling-piece. The Portuguese bull-
feasts were celebrated in a large wooden amphitheatre, capable
of accommodating many thousand persons, containing benches
below which were surmounted by tiers of boxes. The arena
was spacious ; the champion entered gaily dressed, mounted on
a spirited horse, held a spear in his hand, and made obeisance to
the corporation of Lisbon. From sixteen to twenty bulls were
made the victims of this cruel sport every Sunday, and sometimes
this number was killed in the course of three hours. Circular
THE COW. 57
pieces of leather were fastened on their horns, to prevent their
ripping up or mortally wounding the combatants, yet I have
witnessed many very severe, and several nearly fatal accidents.
Prodigious dexterity and vigour were displayed by some of the
horsemen, particularly by a Castilian, who frequently made his
appearance, and whom I have seen drive his spear at the first
thrust into the heart of the animal, when furiously running at
him the amphitheatre then rung with applause. Several of the
men who fought on foot exhibited extraordinary agility and cool-
ness, in eluding the rage of the incensed animal ; but it must at
the same time be remembered, that there were commonly six or
seven combined, all armed with long spears. I have seen
women engage the bull, ride up and wound him. It frequently
happened, that the bulls wanted disposition for the contest. In
these cases, the spectacle became rather a butchery, than a com-
bat ; but some of them would not have disgraced a Roman
amphitheatre if, as I have been assured, was customary a century
earlier, their horns instead of being blunted or covered, had been
iiled and sharpened to a point."
Such is a general account of the formalities of a bull-fight
The following relation of one taken from an account lately
published, presents a more minute and lively description of the
various performances of the assailant, and more particularly of
the behaviour of the injured animal. As it may be expected
that such sports will be less frequently witnessed for the future,
we shall give the narration in the words of the describer, hoping
that it may soon be an account of things that are passed and gone.
' The circus of Roiida is one of the largest in all Spain. It
contains two rows of boxes. The diameter of the ring, clear of
the wall that protects the people, is 190 feet. Each box has
seven seats, and the whole contains about five thousand people.
The price of admission to the lower circle is about two shillings
English, that to the upper about fifteen pence. On entering
the circus through the grand gate, you see at the opposite side
similar folding doors to those which admit you. Through these
come the horses from the stables, and through them also the
mules drag those animals that are killed in the ring. The
building is open at the top, except that a tiled roof extends over
the boxes, very insufficient, however, to protect all the audience
lioin the sun. Iir'front of the benches all round extends a
8 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
stone wall four feet and a half high. You may walk between
this and the people three or four abreast. Its use is to
protect the boxes from the unceremonious visit of the bull,
which is frequently attempted ; however it is not always a
security against the activity of the animals. They have been
known to jump into the centre of the box more than once,
where they produced a sensation amongst the well-packed
people not easily forgotten. During the greater part of an hour
we here had an opportunity of observing the busy and varie-
gated scene around us ; and although that time might appear
long to one seated on the bench of expectation for a bull-fight, I
confess I felt it but too short, engaged as I was in observing the
brilliancy and variety of costume that moved before me. The
well-dressed of the assembly always make it a point to lounge ir.
the circle before the combat begins, and it seems to be a plea-
sure to them only inferior to the fight itself to strut round the
circle, gazing at the crowded benches, and almost bursting with
the consciousness of their elegant appearance. The peasants, on
the other hand, mingle in the promenade from curiosity ; the
middle orders of the Andalusians, and the peasantry themselves,
even to the goatherd of the highest mountain in the Sierra, walk
where others walk, and do as others do, as far as lies in their
power, without conceiving that they have a whit less right than
their better neighbours to do so. From this it may be inferred
that the promenaders in the circle were of a very mixed nature ;
but it was this very variety of quality and appearance which gave
the scene, in my eyes, its greatest attraction. The humblest
farmer, nay, the merest peasant, presented to you a figure, bold,
unrestrained and graceful. Although their garments might have
been neither new, nor fine, there was not a fold in them unbe-
coming. Of ladies there were but few ; they generally chose to
keep their seats, from which they dispensed their glances to the
passing promenaders. A few of the mountain gentry too, who
live by levying contributions on the road, mingled in the scene
with their coarse, dark, and somewhat ragged dresses, their un-
washed faces, and unshorn chins ; nor was the dusty muleteer,
nor the cowled monk, nor the ragged water-seller with his jar
and glass, wanting to relieve the eye from brighter objects. Our
box, as I said before, was on the right as you entered the circus,
and next to the royal box. As the door through which the bulls
THE COW. 59
made their appearance was under the latter, we were close to
them on their first rush, and found an excellent place to get a
near view of the countenances both of the bulls and the picadors.
We also fronted the doors by which the procession entered the
ring to open the sports of the day. The order in which it ap-
peared was this : eight mounted dragoons, at the sound of a
trumpet, rode into the ring, and, dividing into double files,
cleared the arena of the promenaders ; on doing which they re-
tired at the same gate by which they entered. All was silence,
all was clear in the ring, and the seats in both rows densely
packed with anxious spectators. The bright sun enlivened every
thing ; silence gave an awful grandeur to the scene, expectation
heightened the interest of the moment. The trumpet again
sounds, and the three mounted picadors ride slowly forward with
spear in hand, and ready for the combat. Then follow two ma-
tadores and six banderilleros, two abreast ; lastly are led in, three
mules covered with little bells and ornamented harness. The
whole advance towards the royal box, and respectfully bow be-
fore the authorities of the town therein seated, who graciously
receive the salute. The trumpets then sound, and the combat-
ants take their respective stations. One picador draws up his
horse within twenty yards of the door from which the bull is to
be admitted, and close to the wall of the ring ; the horse's head
rather turned towards the place from whence his antagonist is to
spring. The second picador places himself behind the first, but
nearly quarter-way round the circle, so as to be ready to receive
the bull when his attack on the first picador terminates, and
the third picador is behind him again. The banderilleros throw
themselves at various points of the ring, so as to be able to dis-
pose of their exertions as may be required, but two generally
stand near to each horse, to draw off the bull by their flags in
proper time. The dress of the picadors and banderilleros is
particularly imposing, and their whole appearance gives a grand
and chivalric character to the scene. Those who exhibited be-
fore us were dressed as follows . One picador, an able brawny
veteran, of fifty-five years of age, wore a scarlet jacket, of a
Moorish cut; his hair, which was powdered and clubbed behind, in
the old Spanish fashion, was surmounted by a buff-coloured hat,
ornamented by a cockade of pink and yellow ribands. This sat ra-
ther on the side of his head, and was fastened by a leather strap
60 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
under the chin. A silk sash was tied round his waist, and his waist-
coat was of light blue silk, embroidered like the jacket, with silver.
The covering of the thighs and legs down even to the toe was
all of strong yellow buck-skin leather, which, in order to protect
the picador from the weight of the horse and the concussion in
falling, was lined with cork; but although this gave the limbs of
the man a somewhat larger bulk than the natural, yet mounted
and at a distance, it did not destroy the appearance of propor-
tion. He wore thick gauntlets, and his saddle, which was buff-
coloured, rose high before and behind him. His stirrups were
cases for his feet, and his horse, although worn out, still held
the erect and noble carriage of the best of Andalusia's breed.
The second picador was a young man, and similarly dressed.
The third picador was a man of middle age, large and stout, and
only differed in dress from the others described, by a black
velvet jacket embroidered with gold. His horse was piebald,
cream and brown coloured, the remains of a most beautiful
animal ; and his conduct through the awful struggle of the com-
bat gave proof that he was as brave as he had been beautiful.
The banderilleros wore different coloured jackets and short
breeches, beautifully embroidered. They had nothing on their
heads, the hair fastened by a comb behind j light silk sashes
surrounded the waist, and white silk stockings with spangled shoes
set off their well turned limbs. Nothing struck me so forcibly as
the appearance of those picadors and banderilleros as they entered
the ring, all my early ideas of chivalry and romance rushed upon me,
and I felt myself, as it were, in the reality of my former cherished
imaginings. There was something in the scene associated alike
with the ancient classic games, the sanguinary bull-fights of
the Italians in their best days, and the tilts and tournaments
of knight-errantry, that threw a fascinating colouring over it ;
I can no more forget the sensation than I can describe it. All
things in readiness for the attack, the signal to commence was
given by the authorities in the royal box : the trumpet sounds,
and as it ceases, leaves not a murmur behind every thing is
still as death. The picadors are fixed firmly in their saddles,
the banderilleros are at their various points the countenances
of the multitude become strained with expectation hearts
palpitate, and every one holds his breath. The angry murmurs
of the bull are now heard deep and portentous the bolt is
THE COW. Gl
slipped every eye is on the gates. In a moment they were
opened, and the bull darted into the ring. Perceiving the
mounted picador on his left, he without a pause sprang at him,
but the well-directed spear received the enraged animal, and
although the shock had almost pushed the horse on his haunches,
the rider's arm succeeded in turning off his assailant, who,
galled and foiled in his fiercest charge, became furious, and flew
at the next horseman with astonishing rapidity. The hardy
veteran stood prepared, and received the attack well with the
spear, but although he turned the bull off for the moment, the
charge was renewed before he could draw back his spear, and
the horns were buried in the bowels of the horse, which, together
with the rider, were lifted by main strength clear off the ground,
and both fell. Shouts filled the arena. The bull continued to
follow up his success, and gored with all his might, but the
picador lay beneath his horse, and thus escaped the deadly
thrusts of the horns ; and he had nearly lost his life by the bull
lifting the carcass of the horse right upon him, had not the
banderilleros succeeded in drawing off the assailant by the flags
which they waved between his eyes and his fallen foe. ' The
picador is killed !' was the cry, and we all supposed it to be the
case ; however, he was lifted from the ground, and although
somewhat lamed by the fall, soon appeared again in the ring
mounted on a fresh horse, for the other never rose, he had been
killed on the instant. The bull having made his two charges,
pursued the active banderilleros, whose flags alone protected them
from destruction, by attracting the bull, whose efforts being
directed to the glaring colours, passed by the real enemy.
They were as the fairies in the legend, and the bull, as he
who pursued them ever before his eye, ever close to him, yet
ever vanishing and never to be touched. Throughout the ring
he chased the imps, now one, now another, and often it became
a race for life and death ; but the wall was the man's resource,
and when the bull with his bended neck had the point of his
powerful horn at the fugitive's back, the latter flew over the
wall, and disappeared, leaving the animal in amazement, who
now stopped and looked up at the crowded benches before him,
with rage and disappointment ; pawed the ground, and backing
himself a few paces with tail erect, seemed as if about to spring
02 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
in among the people. Now approached the courageous picador
on his flank, with spear couched, and watching eye : the bull
turns, and like lightning darts upon the horse ; but the firm
arm receives him the point is in his shoulder, and it raises the
ponderous animal on his haunches the noble horse keeps his
ground, and the bull is turned off successfully. A universal
shout of triumph greets this second victory. But the bull has
not paused ; he runs at the next, who is the remounted
antagonist, and before the shout of joy has ceased, this new
charge is successful both horse and rider again fall to the
ground. The banderilleros draw off the victor ; the picador
retires for a third horse, and the fallen is left to die. Words
could scarcely express the feelings of triumph, satisfaction, and
determined daring, as did the attitudes and aspect of the courage-
ous bull at this period of the fight. He took the centre of the
ring, stood with bead and tail erect, surveyed his enemies with
a look of defiance, while they separated and cautiously clung to
the protecting wall, from which, if one dared but to advance a
single step, the threatening movement of the bull caused him
quickly to resume his safety. Fresh-mounted for the third
time, the vanquished picador appears in the ring, and burning to
retrieve his reputation, moves boldly up to the bull. Again the
rush is made, and again are the horns buried in the writhing
horse ; the bull is a third time the victor. The second horseman
now approaches, and stands boldly before him. The combatants
survey each other a moment the bull moves the horse still
faces him. At length the spear receives the shoulder of the
impetuous animal, and turns him off, roaring and disappointed,
amidst the huzzas of approbation. Now came the banderilleros,
each bearing two darts, winged with cut paper of various
colours. They carried no flags, and from this circumstance
were exposed to great danger in their attacks ; a quick eye and
a light foot were their only protection, and certainly this protec-
tion they possessed amply ; for never did foot or eye turn off the
close bolt of death with more deserving eclat than on this occa-
sion. The darts are only thirty inches long ; they are green ash
sticks, with a spike at the end, bearded at one side so as to hold
when once stricken into the skin. The banderillero steps
lightly up to the bull, witfcin a foot of his horns, and as he
instantaneously plants the two darts in his neck, he jumps aside,
THE COW. 63
escaping miraculously 1'rom the quick and desperate plunge of
the beast. Again the bull receives the darts and again and
again : one after the other the active banderilleros meet him in
the midst of his most frantic boundings, and fly about him like
' spirits of. air,' whom all his might arid rage cannot reach. One
cannot help thinking, on seeing this wonderful display, that if
the noble animal thus persecuted had but one millionth part of
the .cunning of his active tormentors, he would make short
work with the whole nay, one could almost wish such a con-
summation, so treacherous and cruel is this attack. The his-
tory of the correo, however, is not without some records of such
just punishment. It is, if not the only, at least the most ex-
ceptionable part of the exhibition. The bull thus tormented al-
most to madness bleeding profusely, his massive neck made
still thicker by the swollen wounds of the darts, yet unconquer-
ed, and still bent on resistance and revenge finds a momentary
respite from persecution by the sound of the trumpet calling off
the banderilleros. One of these, the most experienced, now
walks up to the Royal box, bearing a drawn sword and a co-
loured flag. He bows to the authorities, declares he will meet
the bull single-handed, and bring him to his feet. He then flings
into the air his little black silk-cap, bows gracefully, and ad-
vances at once singly to the raging animal. He is called a ma-
tador, and the one who officiated in the combat J am describing,
was one of the most experienced in all Spain : which, however,
could hardly be said of his bungling colleague. He was about
thirty years of age, above the middle stature, and of long, dark,
grave, and truly national visage. His black hair was plaited,
and turned up behind, and his limbs were light and athletic.
His step was firm and elastic, and he was cool and collected in
his demeanour. Like the chivalric Italians of the fourteenth
century, he met the bull single-banded, and, although his flag
gave the odds in his favour, still his attack might be said to be
the most dangerous, as well as the most equal in the whole
fight. So cool, so determined, so prepared seemed the man,
as he stood before the bull, that the fierce and maddened ani-
mal paused and surveyed this new enemy with recollected cau-
tion. He seemed, as it were, to acquire reflective powers,
and to be, for the first time, aware of the necessity of dis-
cretion. As long as the bull remains inactive, the mata-
F2
64 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
dor can have no chance of inflicting the mortal wound ; it
must be the bull's own strength that is to be turned to ac-
count, for his death ; nor would the chances be more favour-
able if the bull were to rush at the matador directly. Although
the sword is unusually long, it would not be sufficient to reach
the life at the point to which the matador directs the blade,
which is between the shoulder -bone and the neck, or anatomi-
cally speaking, between the scapula and the ribs ; that is to say,
the bull's horn would reach the ribs of the matador before the
sword's point would reach those of the bull's. But to insure
success, the flag is used. The matador awaits until the bull is
about to rush, and he urges him by every menace to make this
rush. As soon as he sees the animal preparing for it, he dis-
plays the flag before it, standing a little on one side ; the bull
darts at it, and while in the act, the matador pushes the sword
home to the hilt, and leaves it in its bloody sheath. It is in his
heart The crimson life-tide gushes out both at the wound and
at the mouth ; the beast reels quickly round, and with a cough
and a groan falls lifeless. This was the case with the bull in
the fight I describe. From the moment he received the wound
until he was dead, a dozen seconds did not elapse. The three
mules are now brought in, the traces yoked to the horns of
the fallen combatant, and his body is dragged in triumph out of
the ring, after which the bodies of the dead horses are removed.
In a few minutes the trumpets sound the signal for the next
course, and the clamour that naturally follows on the conclusion
of the first, subsides into dead silence. It would be monotonous
to go through a detail of the subsequent attacks. Suffice it to
say, that six bulls were killed, and about as many horses, in the
first day's sport, and that the veteran picador, who was so un-
successful in the first attack, recovered his reputation gallantly.
And it is worthy of remark, that the noble old piebald horse,
that bore his rider so well in the onslaught of the first fight, left
the arena with only one wound of any consequence ; this was a
deep gore in the breast, which was not of any immediate danger ;
several slight wounds were, however, discernible on his haunches.
]t is worthy of remark, because it seldom happens that a horse
lives out the whole of a day's combats. This excellent animal
bore away that honour, and with his masterly rider, was loudly
cheered as he left the ring."
THE COW. G5
The bull-feasts held at Rome in the fourteenth century, were
of a more sanguinary character than those of modern Spain.
The nobles of the city, and often the chiefs of the rival houses
of Colonna and Ursini displayed their rivalry in the arena, be-
fore the fairest of the Roman ladies. The bull was there
encountered by one champion on foot, armed with a sword.
The fight was for life and death, and the horned combatant
usually had the best of it. An Italian writer states, that, at one
fight, no less than eighteen young men of the best families in
Rome were killed. But the description now given of a parti-
cular combat, may be received also as a description of bull-fighting
in general.
The cruelties perpetrated on this class of animals have not
however been confined even to such customs as are above re-
lated. The account given by Bruce, of a practice common in
Abyssinia, seemed so monstrous, that rather than believe it, the
public at first were disposed to account it the fiction of a tra-
veller subsequent inquiries have ascertained the fact, and while
they have proved the veracity of the narrator, they have fixed
the stain of inhumanity on the Abyssinians. We shall present
the reader with the statement as it is made by Bruce himself:
" Not long after our losing sight of the ruins of Axum, we over-
took three travellers driving a cow before them ; they had black
goat skins upon their shoulders, and lances and shields in their
hands ; they appeared to be soldiers. The cow did not appear
to be fitted for killing, and it occurred to us all that it had
been stolen. We saw that our attendants attached themselves
in a particular manner to the three soldiers that were driving the
cow, and held a short conversation with them. Soon after we
arrived at the hithermost bank of the river where I thought we
were to pitch our tent. The driver suddenly tripped up the cow
and gave the poor animal a very nide fall upon the ground, which
was but the beginning of her sufferings. One of them sat across
her neck holding down her head by the horns. The other twisted
the halter about her forehead, while the third, who had a knife in
his hand, to my very great surprise, in place of taking her by the
throat got astride upon her belly before her hind-legs, and gave
her a very deep wound in the upper part of the buttock Upon
proposing to my men that they should bargain for part of the cow,
they answered, what they had already learned in conversation,
66 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
that they were not then to kill her that she was not wholly
theirs and that they could not sell her. This awakened iny
curiosity ; I let my people go forward, and staid myself, till I saw
with the utmost astonishment, two pieces thicker and larger than
our ordinary beef-steaks cut out of the higher part of the
buttock of the beast. How it was done, I cannot positively
say, because, judging the cow was to be killed, from the moment
I saw the knife drawn, I was not anxious to behold the catas-
trophe, which was by no means an object of curiosity : what-
ever way it was done, it surely was adroitly, and the two pieces
were spread upon the outside of their shields. One of them
still continued holding the head, while the other two were
busied in curing the wound. This too was done not in an
ordinary manner : the skin which had covered the flesh that was
taken away was left entire, and flapped over the wound, and was
fastened to the corresponding part by two or three small skewers
or pins. Whether they had put any thing under the skin,
between that and the wounded flesh, I know not ; but at the
river-side where they were, they had prepared a cataplasm of
clay, with which they covered the wound ; they then forced
the animal to rise, and drove it on before them, to furnish them
with a fuller meal when they should meet their companions in
the evening."*
These are savage and inhuman abuses of a most extensively
useful animal. Nor are the advantages received from this class
confined to the nourishment which they directly yield to the life
of man ; in many countries their actual services have been
called into request for such offices as are with us assigned to
the horse. They were the first that dragged the plough, and an
ancient proverb represented the adaptation of the ox to this use
as the perfection of fitness, f They are in some countries, par-
ticularly in South Africa, employed in drawing those waggons,
which convey the traveller or the merchant over the sandy or
stony desert, and there they choose their steps and pursue their
course with a surprising sagacity. In Egypt, Eurckhardt saw
cows employed in drawing buckets of water from deep-sunk
wells. Even the ferocity of the bull has been so far overcome,
that he has been used as a racer. In 1 794, at Low Haughton in
* Travels to discover the source of the Nile. t Ut bos ai atro.
THE COW. 67
Derbyshire, a race was run between an ass and a bull, each
animal having a rider properly equipped with spurs and whip.
The bull, which might not have been obedient to a bit, had a
ring through his nose, from which chains were hung on his
horns and attached to a bridle. The bull in this case proved
more swift than the ass.
Like the dog, the bull is very readily affected by any thing
extraordinary in the human voice or gesture. A farmer, through
one of whose parks there lay a thoroughfare, was desirous that
it should be abandoned ; and for this purpose, put a mischievous
bull to graze in the park. The first who ventured to traverse
the path was a crazy woman, who, when the bull approached,
made such uncouth gesticulations with her head and hands, and
uttered such hideous sounds, that the terrified animal scampered
off. The thoroughfare soon became as much frequented as it
bad been before.
Some share even of sagacity must be allowed to this animal.
The cattle of South America, especially in the neighbourhood
of Buenos Ayres, give indications of approaching rain, before
the signs of it are visible in the atmosphere. A traveller relates,
that in passing from this place the weather had been long dry,
almost every spring had failed, and the negroes were sent
in all directions to discover fountains. Soon after, the cattle
began to stretch their necks to the west, and to snuff in a
singular manner through their noses, which they held very high
in the air. Not a cloud was then seen, nor the slightest
breath of wind felt. But the cattle proceeded, as if seized with
a sudden madness, to scamper about, then to gather together,
squeezing closer and closer, and snuffing as before. While
he was wondering what was to be the result of such extravagant
motions, a black cloud rose above the mountains, thunder
and lightning followed, the rain fell in torrents, and the cattle
were soon enabled to quench their thirst on the spot where they
stood.
The cow is well known to have a strong affection for its
young. When the calf is removed from the mother, especially
if the two have been kept some time near each other, the latter
testifies its grief by a mournful lowing, refuses to eat its food,
and to yield the wonted abundance to the milker. The beha-
viour of cows in such circumstances in Hungary, has been re-
68 ANECDOTES OF ANIiMALS.
marked by Dr Bright :* " We met two cows," says he, " wan-
dering wildly in the forest, looking in every direction, snuffing
the air, and lowing continually. They had just lost their calves.
The keeper gave me a singular account of their conduct under
such circumstances. The mother no sooner perceives her loss
than she appears distressed ; the first day she seems to search
for her calf with hope, the second, she becomes disappointed
and frantic, and the third, still pursues her solitary search, after
which she returns to the herd, gradually becomes tranquil and
composed, and associates again with her former companions."
The cow has been known also to associate with a pig, to defend
it from the annoyance of dogs, and give symptoms of congratu-
lation on its safety. She has more frequently taken a kind of
maternal charge of the lamb, and afforded it the nourishment of
her milk.
We know not whether the maternal solicitude exhibited by
the cow has contributed much to render it that object of venera-
tion among the Hindoos which it assuredly is. While, contrary
to the common notion here, the purest Brahmins are allowed to
eat mutton and venison, while fish is permitted to some castes,
and pork to others, it is considered a grievous, in many cases a
capital crime, to kill a cow or a bullock for the purpose of eat-
ing. The cow has a most honoured place in a Brahminical asy-
lum for animals. " At Broach," says Bishop Heber.f " is
one of those remarkable institutions which have made a great
deal of noise in Europe as instances of Hindoo benevolence to
inferior animals. I mean hospitals for sick and infirm beasts,
birds, and insects. I was not able to visit it, but Mr Corsellis
described it as a very dirty and neglected place ; which, though
it has considerable endowments in land, only serves to enrich
the Brahmins who manage it. They have really animals of se-
veral different kinds there, not only those which are accounted
sacred by the Hindoos, as monkeys, peacocks, &c., but horses,
dogs, and cats ; and they have also, in little boxes, an assortment
of lice and fleas. It is not true, however, that they feed these
pensioners on the flesh of beggars hired for the purpose. The
Brahmins say that insects as well as the other inmates of their
infirmary, are fed with vegetables only, such as rice, &c. How
* Travels in Lower Hungary, p. 15(5.
f Journey through the Upper Provinces of India, rol. iii. 67.
the insects thrive I did not hear ; but the old horses and dogs,
nay, the peacocks and apes are allowed to starve ; and the only
creatures said to be in any tolerable plight, are some milch cows,
which may be kept from other motives than charity."
The Zoological Society possesses a remarkably beautiful spe-
cies of bull, called the Brahmin Bull. In India this animal is
almost useless, allowed to wander about at his will amidst the
rice fields and gardens, and caressed by the natives with religi-
ous veneration. The Committee of the Zoological Society are
anxious that there should be some stock from this noble animal,
the only specimen in England. It is possible that this gentle
and beautiful creature might become the founder of a race supe-
rior in docility to the common ox.
The cow varies in appearance in different climates and cir-
cumstances ; but of these varieties a full account is given in the
Natural History and the Notes appended.* We shall only notice
a very remarkable specimen belonging to a Frenchwoman, which
she said was brought from Africa when a calf, and which was
lately exhibited in various parts of the Continent and in Lon-
don. Its hair was short and silky, the colour of a yellowish
white ; and on the back of the neck was a hump or swelling.
The aspect of the animal was usually mild and docile j but what
peculiarly distinguished it was the expression of the eye when
it was irritated. On these occasions the eye rose more than
one half above the orbit, bearing a resemblance to a cup or ball,
enabling it to see on all sides ; and the iris, which was naturally
of a pale blue colour, changed from that to a very deep crim-
son We proceed now to give notices of animals which, though
possessing the general characteristics of the cow, are easily dis-
tinguished from it both by their appearance and their habits.f
* Vol. i. 520 and 523, and n.
f There is an animal called the musk-bull, about the size of a small cow,
anil smelling powerfully of musk. They are very jealous, and the males
are often found dead, and those alive bear but a small proportion to the
females found in a herd. A specimen was presented by Captain Parry to
the Edinburgh College Museum. He found them as far north as Mel-
ville's Island. For these and other particulars respecting it, see the Notes
to Goldsmith, vol. i. p. 540, ft 11.
70 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
THE ZEBU.
THE difference between this animal and the domestic cattle
of India, of which country it is a native, may be rather ascribed
to the influence of climate and habit than to any original diver-
sity in the stock. The Zebu is about the size of our domestic
cow, the forehead flat or slightly depressed. It is nearly square
in its outline, its height equal to its breadth, and bounded above
by a prominent line forming an angular protuberance passing
directly across the skull between the bases of its horns, which
sometimes stand out, or pointing backwards, with their tips
slightly inflected. But that which chiefly distinguishes it is a
large fatty hump, of about fifty pounds weight, on the top of the
shoulders. Its usual colour is cream-yellow, or milkrwhite.
It is of a gentle and tractable disposition, and is used as a beast
of burden in India. In some places it is used like the horse,
being either saddled, ridden, or harnessed in a carriage, and per-
forms tolerably long journeys at the rate of from twenty to thirty
miles a-day. Their pace, like that of the ox, is a brisk but easy
trot. Instead of a bit, they are guided by a ring passed through
the cartilage of their nostrils, and to it is fastened the cord that
serves as a bridle. Those belonging to nabobs and men of wealth,
have their horns gilded and are richly decorated with embroidered
trappings.
THE BISON.
THE bison is the general name of the cow with the hump, and
though this animal breeds with the cow, in external appearance
it is remarkably different. It has an elevated forehead, of much
greater breadth than length, and bounded above by an arched
line passing across the head, about two inches behind the roots
of the horns. The head is extremely large in proportion to the
size of the body, supported by strong and powerful muscles.
The eyes are small, black, and piercing ; the horns are short,
black, and very thick at their base, placed widely apart, directed
outwards, backwards, and upwards, slightly curved towards their
THE BISON. ?L
tips. Its withers are elevated in the form of a large lump, ex-
tending nearly to the middle of the back, to which point it
gradually slopes ; thus giving the fore parts a very strong ap-
pearance. This protuberance does not consist merely of flesh,
and fat, but is supported by an actual elongation of the spinous
processes of the vertebrae beneath. This lump, as well as the
head, neck, throat, and shoulders, are covered with a long shaggy
coat of black woolly hair. All the other parts of the body are
covered with short, thick set, curling hair, which becomes woolly
in winter, and falls off in summer ; the general colour of the
hair is of a deep blackish brown, but the hinder parts are nearly
black. The legs are short, firm, and muscular ; the tail is very
short, measuring only a foot in length, and is nearly naked,
except at the tip, which is furnished with a tuft of long black
hairs. The bison differs from the common ox, by having two
additional ribs ; the ox is well known to have but thirteen, while
the bison has fifteen; The female is smaller than the male,
more slender in her make, and her mane is much shorter.
These animals inhabit all the wild tracts of North America,
from Hudson's Bay to Louisiana, extending southwards to the
frontiers of Mexico, increasing in size as they diverge from the
north. In northern situations they are only to be met with in
small herds, while, in the immense and fertile savannahs of the
south, the herds extend for miles. Captains Lewis and Clerk
say, " Such was the multitude of these animals, that, although
the river, including an island over which they passed, was a mile
in breadth, the herd stretched, as thick as they could swim,
completely from cne side to the other." And in another passage,
" If it be not impossible to calculate the moving multitude which
darkened the whole plains, we are convinced that twenty
thousand would be no exaggerated number."
Bisons generally prefer the open plains, and do not resort to
woods, except when attacked : they seldom attempt to defend
themselves, but almost invariably take to flight. They are ex-
tremely fleet, and their sense of smell is so acute, that they
discover an enemy at a great distance, so that it is difficult to
get near them. They are frequently hunted by the natives, who
live principally on their flesh. When the hunters kill the old
dams, they pay no attention to the calf, as it is sure to remain
by its dead mother. Instances have been known of a mother
72 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
entering the town of Cincinnati, followed by its calves. Many
of them fall victims to wolves and grizzly bears. Their beef is
said to be of an excellent quality, and of a very superior flavour.
A pigmy bison, exhibited by a dealer in curiosities at Hastings,
and which was said to have belonged to Count Bournon, may
be mentioned, not as any illustration of the animal, but as a re-
markable instance of those impostures, of which even the
student of natural history requires to be aware. It was certainly
unique in its kind, being only about eight inches high, whereas
the bison possesses the stature of an ox, and will weigh some-
times twenty or thirty hundred pounds. This little model was
quite proportionate and symmetrical, perfect in horns and coat,
and a complete miniature of the animal which it represented.
It appeared to a person who took some pains to examine it, to
have been grounded on a well-formed model of wood, covered
first of all very tightly with the skin of a pug dog of corresponding
size, the long hair about the head, hunch, and belly, being added
with consummate skill from the skin of a young bear -. while
the horns and hoofs were formed of the black horn of the
buffalo ; all, however, so admirably put together, as to stamp the
contriver as the first of his art.*
THE BUFFALO.
WERE we to attend to external appearance only, we should
readily conclude, that the buffalo is an animal less formidable
than the bison. It does not possess the hump of the other, nor
the shaggy neck, which would lead us to expect that it should
be as the lion of the ruminating tribes. Yet the buffalo is the
strongest and fiercest of his class, and in oriental countries,
where he is brought into the arena to contend with the most
savage animals of the desert, he is formidable to the lion, and
almost invariably conquers the tiger.
The buffalo has a strong resemblance to the common ox.
His horns are compressed, and directed laterally, with a ridge in
front, reclining towards the neck, and the tips turned up. The
London's Magazine of Natural History, vol. ii. p. 218.
THE BUFFALO. 73
forehead is convex ; the ears are large and hanging ; the hair is
nearly black, and of a coarse texture ; and the tail tufted at the
end, like that of a bull.
This animal is a native of various countries of the East, They
are common in Western Hindostan, and also in Africa. The
latter breed differs from those of India, particularly in the horns,
which are very thick and rugged at the base. The horns are of
great size, frequently measuring three feet in length. The body
and limbs are thick and muscular. The head hangs down, which
gives it a gloomy and fierce aspect. The buffalo is now very
common in many parts of Germany and Hungary, where it
is used as a beast of draught.
These animals are naturally very fierce ; and it is dangerous
to approach the situations where they feed, in their native wilds ;
for, differently from most other ruminating animals, they will
fearlessly attack a man ; and, in this case, there is no chance
of escape. When the buffalo encounters a person, he runs
against him with his horns, and having thrown him down,
tramples him with his hoofs and knees, and tears him to pieces
with his horns.
In Africa, the buffalo is hunted by the Caffres, at which ter-
rible scenes often take place. It is likewise hunted in India,
and the following is the description of a hunt which took place
in that country : On the morning of the 2d of March, 1813,
a herd, consisting of seven wild buffaloes, with one calf, was
suddenly discovered at Keshennagar, in Hindostan. Four gen-
tlemen on horseback commenced a pursuit of these animals with
much ardour. After having followed them three miles, the
young one separated from the herd, and joined some tame cattle
belonging to a neighbouring village. It was killed by the party,
who afterwards continued the pursuit of the old ones, when they
were overtaken in a high grass jungle four miles farther on".
They were quickly driven from this place, and closely followed
for more than six miles over a plain : at length the party suc-
ceeded in separating one buffalo from the herd. Here the en-
counter began. After receiving several wounds, he still conti-
nued his flight ; he suddenly halted, and kept his pursuers at
bay ; after a short interval he again fled, and was pursued and
wounded as before, carrying the spears sticking in his back and
sides for several hundred yards. Lieutenant White, of the 15th
74 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
Native Infantry, rode tip very close to him, threw his spear,
and wounded the animal in the loins. His horse being much
exhausted, was unable to wheel round before the buffalo turned
about and charged with such vigour, that both horse and rider
were overthrown, and lay many yards distant. Fortunately,
the lieutenant received no material injury ; and when the ani-
mal approached he had the presence of mind to lie flat on his
back. The beast approached, but stood at his feet, without of-
fering any violence. The other sportsmen called repeatedly to
their companion to arise and escape. For some time, however,
he disregarded the advice, fearful of the consequences ; at
length, in compliance with their entreaty, he arose ; the buf-
falo instantly rushed forward, but Mr White escaped by throw-
ing himself down ; while the enraged beast, missing his aim,
fell on the ground, his horns grazing Mr White's back, as he
passed over him. After this lucky escape, he seized the fa-
vourable opportunity, and regained his horse. The buffalo then
took refuge in a tank ; and when his former opponent joined
his companions, who were standing upon the bank, the animal
issued forth, and selecting Lieutenant White for the object of
its vengeance, pursued him to a considerable distance. The ani-
mal was now rendered quite furious, and attacked every thing
within his reach, such as cows and dogs. Unfortunately, an
old woman returning from market passed, and became the vic-
tim of his rage ; she was taken up without any appearance of
life, having her arms broken, and many wounds. The cavalry
being, from fatigue, hors de combat, could not renew the attack ;
and the buffaloes, whose system was retreat, having gained a vic-
toiy, now continued their course without molestation.
THE SHEEP KIND.
THE SHEEP.
DESCENDING in the scale of the domesticated animals \ve
come to the sheep, less marked than the former by noble and
powerful qualities, but distinguished by its universal utility,
its meek subservience to the will of men, and the many pleasing
images with which it is associated. The horse serves mankind
by its labours only ; the cow-kind by their produce, and frequent-
ly by their labours ; the sheep by its produce only. Yet, in those
climates in which the sheep is reared in most abundance, there
are few animals that could be worse spared. There, scarcely
an individual exists who does not owe the comforts of warmth,
and the security of his health, to the woolly covering that once
defended the sheep.
That fleece which has rendered the sheep so valuable to man,
enables it to endure greater severities of climate than most other
animals ; though sagacious in its selection of food, it is capable
of subsisting on a very barren soil ; and these circumstances have
rendered it particularly the inhabitant of bleak and mountainous
regions. There they endure cold and snow that would be fatal
to most other quadrupeds. They seem to have an instinctive
notion of the approach of a storm, and take refuge by the side
of some hill or projecting cliff. On these occasions they crowd
together ; frequently subsist whole days beneath a covering of
snow ; and the shepherd, after having looked with dismay on an
expanse of snow on which no living creature was visible, has
been delighted to see his whole flock rush forth on the break-
ing up of an aperture in a drifted pile.
08
76 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
The sheep has been said to be an animal without any cour-
age. It may be more properly characterised as one much af-
fected by circumstanced ; disposed to be implicitly submissive to
the shepherd, and, when under his protection, trusting to him
for its defence ; but, in other circumstances, and when obliged
to rely on its own resources, capable of exerting an energy and
sagacity corresponding to the powers with which it has been fur-
nished by nature. On extensive mountains where numerous
flocks range at liberty, arid, generally speaking, independent of
the shepherd's aid, they exhibit a very different character ; and
a ram or a wedder has been frequently seen to attack a dog, and
to come off victorious. When the danger is more pressing, they
have recourse to the collective strength of the whole, drawing
up into a compact body, and presenting to every quarter, an
armed front which cannot be attacked without danger to the
assailant. In the mountainous parts of Wales, where the sheep
enjoy so great a share of liberty as to render them very wild,
they do not always collect into large flocks, but frequently graze
in parties of from eight to ten or twelve, of which one is sta-
tioned at a distance from the rest to give notice of the approach
of danger. On observing any one approach, at the distance of
two or three hundred yards, the sentinel turns his face to the
enemy, keeping a vigilant eye upon his motions, and allowing
him to advance as near as eighty or a hundred yards ; but, if
the suspected foe attempt to come nearer, the watchful guard
alarms his comrades by a loud hiss, or whistle, which is repeated
two or three times. Upon this signal the whole party scour
away with inconceivable rapidity, and soon gain the most inac-
cessible parts of the mountains. When safety cannot be ob-
tained by flight, a ram will often make a stand against a more
powerful animal. If necessary, the whole flock joins in the re-
sistance ; they form a dense body, having the females and young
in the centre, wait till the enemy is within a few yards ; then
a party of the rams darts on the assailants, and the fox or dog
will not generally be left to vaunt a successful attack.
As we are defending the suspected courage of the sheep,
we may here adduce a notice of a petulant one, though, from
the remark with which it is introduced, it will be seen not
to be so conclusive as the proofs adduced above. " The
guanaco," says Haigh, " is generally classed under the head
THE SHEEP 77
of South American sheep, but I think it is more like a
camel ; it has memory and affection, as I shall give an anec-
dote to prove. I sent a pair of these animals as a present to a
friend of mine, who has an estate in Surrey. The male died
on the passage, but the female arrived safe in the London docks.
I bought them of an Indian market-woman when they were only
a few months old. Whilst they were in my possession, she
came to see them once a-week, and they always showed great
joy when she spoke to them, and would leap about and endea-
vour to get near her. Arrived in England, the female after
some time took a fancy to one of my friend's carriage horses,
and when he was turned out to the grass, she would not allow
any one to approach her favourite. When the carriage drove
down the sweep, she would accompany her friend, and proceed
bounding down the drive by his side, and become highly indig-
nant when the lodge-gate was closed against her. After com-
mitting a variety of freaks, such as knocking down the groom,
and on more than one occasion entering the kitchen and frighten-
ing the cook from the spit, my friend voted ' Miss Fanny' un-
manageable and returned her to me, and I placed her under the
tuition of Mr Cross, head master of the academy for wild beasts,
at Exeter change."*
The more remarkable qualities of the sheep, however, are
innocence, and the most implicit submission to the will of the
shepherd. These are the qualities which have rendered them
such an impressive feature in every scene of simple and innocent
life. The shepherd has but one object to preserve his helpless
charge from injury ; they seem to have but one feeling, implicit
confidence in his protection. His life, therefore, is one either
of lonely meditation, as in the summer when the care of the
sheep is comparatively easy, or of solicitude in winter, when their
lives as well as his own are frequently in peril. The most
marked character of the sheep, is natural affection, of which it
possesses a large share. It has few wants, and fewer expedients.
The old black-faced or forest breed, have more powerful capa-
bilities than any of the finer breeds that have been introduced
into Scotland. The anecdotes furnished by Hogg of the affe<T-
tionate character of the sheep, are confined to this class ; but as
* Haigh's Sketches of Buenos Ayrcs, &c.
G3
78 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
they are pleasing, and written in the best style of that lively
author, we shall here quote them : " So strong is the attach-
ment of sheep to the place where they have been bred, that I
have heard of their returning from Yorkshire to the Highlands.
I was always somewhat inclined to suspect that they might have
been lost by the way. But it is certain, however, that when
once one or a few sheep get away from the rest of their acquain-
tances, they return homeward with great eagerness and perse-
verance. I have lived beside a drove-road the better part of my
life, and many stragglers have I seen bending their steps north-
ward in the spring of the year. A shepherd rarely sees these
journeyers twice ; if he sees them, and stops them in the morning,
they are gone long before night ; and if he sees them at night,
they will be gone many miles before morning. This strong
attachment to the place of their nativity, is much more predo-
minant in our old aboriginal breed, than in any of the other
kinds with which I am acquainted. The most singular instance
that I know of, to be quite well authenticated, is that of a black
ewe, that returned with her lamb from a farm in the head of
Glen-Lyon, to the farm of Harehope, in Tweeddale, and ac
complisbed the journey in nine days. She was soon missed by
her owner, and a shepherd was despatched in pursuit of her, who
followed her all the way to Crieff, where he turned, and gave
her up. He got intelligence of her all the way, and every one
told him that she absolutely persisted in travelling on, she
would not be turned, regarding neither sheep nor shepherd by
the way. Her lamb was often far behind, and she had con-
stantly to urge it on by impatient bleating. She unluckily
came to Stirling on the morning of a great annual fair, about
the end of May, and judging it imprudent to venture through
the crowd with her lamb, she halted on the north side of the
town the whole day, where she was seen by hundreds, lying
close by the road-side. But next morning, when all became
quiet, a little after the break of day, she was observed stealing
quietly through the town, in apparent terror of the dogs that
were prowling about the street. The last time she was seen on
the road, was at a toll-bar near St Ninian's ; the man stopped
her, thinking she was a strayed animal, and that some one
would claim her. She tried several times to break through by
force when he opened the gate, but be always prevented her,
THE SHEEP. 79
and at length she turned patiently back. She had found some
means of eluding him, however, for home she came on a Sabbath
morning, the 4th of June ; and she left the farm of Lochs, in
Glen-Lyon, either on the Thursday afternoon, or Friday
morning, a week and two days before. The farmer of Harehope
paid the Highland farmer the price of her, and she remained on '
her native farm till she died of old age, in her seventeenth year.
" There is another peculiarity in the nature of sheep, of which J
have witnessed innumerable examples. But as they are all alike,
and show how much the sheep is a creature of habit, I shall only
relate one : A shepherd in Blackhouse bought a few sheep from
another in Crawmel, about ten miles distant. In the spring
following, one of the ewes went back to her native place, and
yeaned on a wild hill, called Crawmel Craig. One day, about
the beginning of July following, the shepherd went and brought
home his ewe and lamb took the fleece from the ewe, and kept
the lamb for one of his stock. The lamb lived and throve,
became a hog and a gimmer, and never offered to leave home ;
but when three years of age, and about to have her first lamb,
she vanished j and the morning after, the Crawmel shepherd, in
going his rounds, found her with a new- yeaned lamb on the very
gair of the Crawmel Craig, where she was lambed herself. She
remained there till the first week of July, the time when she
was brought a lamb herself, and then she came home with hers
of her own accord ; and this custom she continued annually with
the greatest punctuality as long as she lived. At length her
lambs, when they came of age, began the same practice, and the
shepherd was obliged to dispose of the whole breed.
" With regard to the natural affection of this animal, stupid and
actionless as it is, the instances that might be mentioned are
without number. When one loses its sight in a flock of short
sheep, it is rarely abandoned to itself in that hapless and helpless
state. Some one always attaches itself to it, and by bleating
calls it back from the precipice, the lake, the pool, arid all dan-
gers whatever. There is a disease among sheep, called by
shepherds the Breakshugh, a deadly sort of dysentery, which is
as infectious as fire, in a flock. Whenever a sheep feels itself
seized by this, it instantly withdraws from all the rest, shunning
their society with the greatest care ; it even hides itself, and is
often very hard to be found. Though this propensity can hardly
80 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
be attributed to natural instinct, it is, at all events, a provision
of nature of the greatest kindness and beneficence.
" Another manifest provision of nature with regard to these
animals, is, that the more inhospitable the land is on which they
feed, the greater their kindness and attention to their young.
J once herded two years on a wild and bare farm called Willens-
lee, on the border of Mid- Lothian, and of all the sheep I ever
saw, these were the kindest and most affectionate to their young.
I was often deeply affected at scenes which I witnessed. We
had one very hard winter, so that our sheep grew lean in the
spring, and the thwarter-ill (a sort of paralytic affection) came
among them, and carried off a number. Often have I seen these
poor victims, when fallen down to rise no more, even when
unable to lift their heads from the ground, holding up the leg,
to invite the starving lamb to the miserable pittance that the
udder still could supply. I had never seen aught more pain-
fully affecting.
" It is well known that it is a custom with shepherds, when a
lamb dies, if the mother have a sufficiency of milk, to bring her
from the hill, and put another lamb to her. This is done by
putting the skin of -the dead lamb upon the living one ; the ewe
immediately acknowledges the relationship, and after the skin
has warmed on it, so as to give it something of the smell of her
own progeny, and it has sucked her two or three times, she
accepts and nourishes it as her own ever after. Whether it is
from joy at this apparent reanimation of her young one, or
because a little doubt remains on her mind which she would
fain dispel, I cannot decide ; but, for a number of days, she
shows far more fondness, by bleating and caressing over this
one, than she did formerly over the one that was really her own.
But this is not what I wanted to explain ; it was, that such
sheep as thus lose their lambs, must be driven to a house with
dogs, so that the lamb may be put to them ; for they will only
take it in a dark confined place. But at Willenslee, I never
needed to drive home a sheep by force, with dogs, or in any
other way than the following : I found every ewe, of course,
standing hanging her head over her dead lamb, and having a piece
of twine with me for the purpose, 1 tied that to the lamb's neck
or foot, and trailing it along, the ewe followed me into any house
or fold that I chose to lead her. Any of them would have
THE SHEEP. 81
tollowed me in that way for miles, with her nose close on the
lamb, which she never quitted for a moment, except to chase my
dog, which she would not suffer to walk near me. I often, out
of curiosity, led them in to the side of the kitchen fire by this
means, into the midst of servants and dogs ; but the more that
dangers multiplied around the ewe, she clung the closer to her
dead offspring, and thought of nothing whatever but protecting
it. One of the two years while I remained on this farm, a
severe blast of snow came on by night, about the latter end of
April, which destroyed several scores of our lambs; and as we
had not enow of twins and odd lambs for the mothers that had
lost theirs, of course we selected the best ewes, and put
lambs to them. As we were making the distribution, I re-
quested of my master to spare me a lamb for a hawked ewe
which he knew, and which was standing over a dead lamb in
the head of the Hope, about four miles from the house. He
would not do it, but bid me let her stand over her lamb for a
day or two, and perhaps a twin would be forthcoming. I did
so, and faithfully she did stand to her charge ; so faithfully, that
I think the like never was equalled by any of the woolly race.
I visited her every morning and evening, and for the first eight
days never found her above two or three yards from the lamb ;
and always, as I went my rounds, she eyed me long ere I came
near her, and kept tramping with her foot, and whistling through
her nose, to frighten away the dog ; be got a regular chase
twice a-day as I passed by : but, however excited and fierce a
ewe may be, she never offers any resistance to mankind, being
perfectly and meekly passive to them. The weather grew fine
and warm, and the dead lamb soon decayed, which the body of
a dead lamb does particularly soon -. but still this affectionate
and desolate creature kept hanging over the poor remains with
an attachment that seemed to be nourished by hopelessness.
It often drew the tears from my eyes to see her hanging with such
fondness over a few bones, mixed with a small portion of wool.
For the first fortnight she never quitted the spot, and for another
week she visited it every morning and evening, uttering a few
kindly and heart-piercing bleats each time ; till at length every
remnant of her offspring vanished, mixing with the soil, or
wafted away by the winds."
* Shepherd's Calendar, vol. H. p. 185 192.
82 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
We shall give but another instance of this affectionate character
of the sheep, and one in which the animal discovered something
more than its usual sagacity. A gentleman, while passing through a
lonely district of the Highlands, observed a sheep hurrying towards
the road before him, and bleating most piteously. On approaching
nearer, it redoubled its cries, looked in his face, and seemed to im-
plore his assistance. He alighted, left his gig, and followed the
sheep to a field in the direction whence it came. There, in a solitary
cairn, at a considerable distance from the road, the sheep halted,
and the traveller found a lamb completely wedged in betwixt two
large stones of the cairn, and struggling feebly with its legs up-
permost. He instantly extricated the sufferer, and placed it on
the green sward, while the mother poured forth her thanks and
joy in a long-continued and significant strain.
It may be here mentioned that monstrous productions of the
sheep kind are not uncommon. Of one of these a minute and
anatomical description has been given by Dr Chichester of Chel-
tenham.* It presented, in appearance, one head and two bodies.
The head was of the natural size, complete in all its parts ;
common to both, without the least rudimentary trace of a second.
The ribs of the one animal were connected with those of the
left side of the other, by a regularly formed sternum. There
was only one oesophagus, and one stomach, which appeared quite
natural. There was a liver under the right ribs of each body ;
that belonging to the right animal about half the size of that
found in the left. There was only one heart, one trachea, and one
set of lungs. From each ventricle of the heart sprung an aorta ;
of these two vessels one turned to the right and another to the
left The philosophical history of these strange productions
philosophers themselves confess to be in its infancy. It seems
ridiculous to seek a law for those cases in which nature has, con-
fessedly, singularly surmounted law. At least, as yet, no sa-
tisfactory method of accounting for such productions has been
attained.
* London's Magazine of Nat. Hist, vol. i. p. 325.
THE ARGALt. 83
THE ARGALI.
THE sheep in some regions is found wild, about the size of a
small deer, with large arched horns, and a fleece in summer of
an ash-colour, which in winter darkens in hue. The animal in
this condition is called the Argali. They abound chiefly in Kamt-
schatka, where they furnish the rude natives with food and cloth-
ing, of the superiority of which they express themselves in the
highest terms. Instead of herding, however, they hunt these ani-
mals, and in the spring, whole families abandon their winter ha-
bitations, and devote the entire summer to the chase, of which the
scene is commonly the steepest and most rocky mountains. The
Argali is killed with guns or arrows, or by means of cross-bows
placed in their paths, and discharged by their treading on a spring.
When chased by dogs, their fleetness is exerted to gain the
heights, and if successful, they look down on their pursuers with
contempt. But the hunter gains his purpose, for stealing cau-
tiously upon them, he brings them down with his gun or arrow.
The wool becomes loose at the end of May, and falls off in an
entire fleece so that the Kamtschadales are saved even the
trouble of shearing. The flesh is excellent, and Mr Pennant
observes, that when dried, it constitutes there an article of com-
merce.
THE GOAT.
This animal, though evidently belonging to the sheep kind,
combines in its form, particularly in the position of its legs, a
certain resemblance to some of the deer kind, while in its disposi-
tion it is distinguished from both. Its character hovers between
that of a wild and a domestic animal, and in either condition it
proceeds to extremes. When tamed it is petulantly familiar, when
wild it seeks the most savage scenes of nature, the acclivities of
the steepest mountains, the recesses or the eminences of rocks.
It is in all cases courageous and sportive, indeed of so frolick-
some a disposition, that the ancient mythology gave to Pan, the
personification and presiding deity of rustic festivity, the limbs
and shaggy covering of the goat.
84 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
In the picturesque scenery of Switzerland, among the moun-
tains of the Tyrol, this class of animals is to be found in their
natural regions, and the extraordinary energy, agility, and wild-
ness of disposition which they discover in their flights along the
precipitous tracts of the Alps, have excited a corresponding
passion and enterprise in their hunters. " The Tyrolese," says
Kotzebue, in his recent tour, " are all hunters, though every per-
son unlicensed is deemed a poacher, and if caught, obliged to serve
as a soldier. Yet the pursuit is grown into such a passion with
them, that neither threats nor punishments can deter them from
the practice. One who had been many times caught in the
fact, declared aloud, ' And if I knew that the next tree must be
my gallows, I must hunt.' Gain cannot be the principal induce-
ment for this risk of their liberty, for a goat when shot weighs
only fifty or sixty pounds, and sells, skin and all, for only ten or
twelve florins. For this the hunter exposes himself to a thou-
sand dangers, to ignominy, and a severe punishment. For this
he spends the coldest winter nights on the cliffs, buries himself
in the snow, and sacrifices his hours of sleep. Provided with a
scanty store of victuals, he ranges the desert mountains, and in
spite of hunger and thirst, pursues this way of life as the highest
enjoyment. But when he has gained his poor plunder he is
still exposed to great danger and trouble in disposing of it, unless
he happens to be near the monastery at Wiltan, where he may
find friends in the monks, who love to be provided with game at a
cheap rate. The inns at Jnspruck are also good customers to
such hunters as will carry their prey thither in the night. One
of these sportsmen seldom or never shoots a goat alone ; they
are obliged to go in company and surround the animals. A herd
of goats has always a sentinel placed at a distance. On the
point of a rock presenting little more space than the hand could
cover, the goat stands, and when be perceives the human form,
he makes a loud whistling sound, and in an instant the whole
herd vanish. The poachers wear masks, or by some other
means disguise their faces. If they see a gamekeeper at a dis-
tance, they beckon to him with their hands to depart in haste,
saying to him, ' Go, or we will make you ;' if he does not go they
level their pieces at him, not however, till they have seen no
other method of escape possible. If a gamekeeper recognises
one of them, and informs against him, he must afterward guard
THE GOAT. 85
against their revenge. Of this there have been some melancholy
instances. A poacher who in consequence of these practices had
been for many years obliged to serve in a distant regiment, was at
length discharged, and returned to his country. He immediately
began climbing the mountains again in search of game, met the
informer, and shot him dead. I am not prepared to decide
whether the government would do better in yielding to this un-
conquerable propensity, and whether a people who in case of
urgency must defend their frontiers, should not be allowed to
train themselves for war with men by a constant pursuit of wild
beasts. It is certain that these hardy Tyrolese defended them-
selves with great bravery against the French."
Nor does the goat lose its activity in a life of domestication ,
or even of servitude. It has been trained to perform, as a pub-
lic show, the same arts of the nice position and balancing of its
body which, in a state of nature, it practises among the wild
crags and mountains of the Alps. " We met," says Dr Clarke,
"an Arab with a goat which he led about the country to .ex-
hibit, in order to gain a livelihood for itself and its owner. He
had taught this animal, while he accompanied its movements
with a song, to mount upon little cylindrical blocks of wood,
placed successively one above another, and in shape resem-
bling the dice-box belonging to a backgammon table. In this
manner the goat stood, first on the top of one cylinder, then on
the top of two ; afterwards, of three, four, five and six, until it
remained balanced upon the summit of them all, elevated seve-
ral feet above the ground, and, with its four feet collected upon
a single point, without throwing down the disjointed fabric
where it stood. The diameter of the upper cylinder, on which
its four feet alternately remained until the Arab had ended his
ditty, was only two inches, and the length of each six inches.
The most curious part of the performance occurred afterwards ;
for the Arab, to convince us of the animal's attention to the
turn of the air, interrupted the Da Capo ; and, as often as he
did this, the goat tottered, appeared uneasy, and, upon his be-
coming suddenly silent, in the middle of his song, it fell to the
ground."
The goat possesses great natural affection for its young, arid
uses both courage and artifice in their defence. The fox, which
is the particular enemy of the whole of the sheep kind, does
B
86 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS!.
not fail to attempt to seize the young of the goat. When the
mother discovers the fox approaching while the insidious foe is
yet at a distance, she conceals her offspring in some thicket,
and interposes herself between it and the wily marauder. The
kid, when conveyed to this retreat, invariably lies close and still,
as if, according to the fable, she had received the verbal in-
structions of the dam. But the fox generally discovers the re-
treat of the kid, and a contest ensues between the rapacious
and the affectionate animal. The manner of these contests is
illustrated by the following anecdote, which furnishes an affect-
ing instance at once of the courage and of the love of its off-
spring possessed by the goat : A person having missed one of
his goats when his flock was taken home at night, being afraid
the wanderer would get among the young trees in his nursery,
two boys, wrapped in their plaids, were ordered to watch all
night. The morning had but faintly dawned, when they sprung
up the brow of a hill in search of her. They could but just
discern her on a pointed rock far off, and hastening to the spot,
perceived her standing with a newly dropped kid, which she was
defending from a fox. The enemy turned round and round to
lay hold of his prey, but the goat presented her horns in every
direction. The youngest boy was despatched to get assistance
to attack the fox, and the eldest, hallooing and throwing up
stones, sought to intimidate him as he climbed to rescue his
charge. The fox seemed well aware that the child could not
execute his threats ; he looked at him one instant, and then re-
newed the assault, till, quite impatient, he made a sudden effort
to seize the kid. The whole three disappeared, and were found
at the bottom of the precipice. The goat's horns were darted
into the back of the fox ; the kid lay stretched beside her. Jt
is supposed the fox had fixed his teeth in the kid, for its neck
was lacerated ; but when the faithful mother inflicted a death-
wound upon her mortal enemy he probably staggered, and
brought his victims with him over the rock.
There is nothing more pleasing than a distinct instance of gra-
titude in one of the inferior animals. The obedience wrung
from them by force or constraint can never be either so flatter-
ing or so agreeable as the services which flow from an apparent
recollection of kindness. We have observed the horse remem-
bering the places where he had been cured of disease ; the pro-
THE GOAT. 87
tcction which the dog is always ready to yield at the expense of
its life to the person and property of its master, we are willing
to ascribe to the same feeling ; and it is this also which gives
the charm to the story of Androcles and the lion, and to others
of the same class. In the following anecdote we are presented
with an instance of an apparent wish to secure from injury, the.
person who had done the animal a benefit : A gentleman who
had taken an active share in the rebellion of 1715, after the
battle of Preston, escaped to the West Highlands to the re-
sidence of a female relative who afforded him an asylum. As
it was soon judged unsafe for him to remain in the house of
his friend, he was conducted to a cavern in a sequestered situa-
tion, and furnished with a supply of food. The approach to
this lonely abode consisted of a small aperture, through which
he crept and dragged his provisions along with him. A little
way from the mouth the roof became elevated, but on advancing
an obstacle obstructed his progress ; unwilling to strike at a
venture with his dirk, he stooped down, and discovered a goat
and her kid lying on the ground. He soon perceived that the
animal was in great pain, and feeling her body and limbs, ascer-
tained that one of her legs had been fractured. He bound it up
with his garter, and offered her some of his bread ; but she
refused to eat, and stretched out her tongue, as if intimating
that her mouth was parched with thirst. He gave her water,
which she drank greedily, and then she eat the bread. At
midnight he ventured from the cave, pulled a quantity of grass
and the tender branches of trees, and carried them to the poor
sufferer, which received them with demonstrations of gratitude.
The only thing which this fugitive had to arrest his attention in
his drear abode, was administering comfort to the goat ; and he
was indeed thankful to have any living creature beside him.
The goat quickly recovered, and became tenderly attached to him.
It happened that the servant who was intrusted with the secret
of his retreat fell sick, when it became necessary to send another
with provisions. The goat, on this occasion, happening to be
lying near the mouth of the cavern, opposed his entrance with
all her might, butting him furiously; the fugitive hearing a
disturbance, went forward, and receiving the watchword from his
new attendant, interposed, and the faithful goat permitted him
H 2
88 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
to pass. So resolute was the animal on this occasion, that the
gentleman was convinced she would have died in his defence.
Though the favourite abode of the goat be the mountains,
and its agility well fitted for that residence, yet it is found in
other situations, and variously affected by habit and climate.
The wood-goat is about thirty inches high, and has legs and feet
remarkably slender. The colour of the body is a dark brown,
varied by a long stripe of white along the ridge of the back, by
two large white spots on each cheek-bone, and by others
sprinkled on the haunches. This kind is sometimes hunted
with dogs, and during the chase they are observed to lay their
horns, which are long and wreathed, upon their necks, to prevent
their becoming entangled among the bushes. When overtaken,
they place themselves in an attitude of defence, and frequently
kill or gore some of the hounds before they are overcome.
Of Asiatic goats, judging by their fleece, there are two
sorts ; that of Angora, distinguished by the length and pendent
nature of the hair; and that of Thibet, by its shortness
and stiffness. The former has no down, the latter on the
contrary is covered during winter, with a down, which is finer
and more abundant in those kept on the mountains. These two
races, originally from Asia, have produced by their mixture,
aided by the influence of climate, many varieties. On examining
with attention the Europeon goat, it will be found also, that the
long-haired ones have no down ; or if they have any, it is in very
small quantities along the vertebral column ; while of those
which have short hair, there are to be found some which have a
down spread over the entire carcass. This down grows almost
to the length of hair in the spring ; then comes off and appears
on the surface, to which it gives a grey tint. By the mixture
of these breeds, a bastard race is formed, which have more or
less down ; but it is observed, that the offspring partake more of
the dam than of the sire. The two principal importations of
the goats of Asia into Germany, are those of M. Wallner of
Geneva, who procured them directly from Thibet ; and of M.
Lowenherz, who received them from M. Terneaux ; so that the
former are goats of Thibet, the latter Kirguises. The emperor
of Austria, the kings of Bavaria and Wurtemburg, all the
archdukes, and some private individuals, have procured goats of
the former importation. They have been introduced into Saxony
THE IBEX AND CHAMOIS.
by M. de Buest, on his domain of Tossfell. The project of
introducing the breed of goats of Cashmere into Germany has
not been very favourably entertained. One writer has pretended
to show, that the European goat, by a single cross, might be
brought to yield the precious article for which so much money
is sent into Asia. Another argues against the Asiatic animal,
on the ground that a single sheep of a good breed will bring four
times the profits of a goat of Thibet ; and a third, M. Schmidt,
rejects their introduction into Germany, because France has
anticipated that country in the manufacture of the merchandise
in which their down is used.*
THE IBEX AND CHAMOIS.
THE Ibex has a near resemblance to the goat, but exceeds it
in size. The beard is long; the body short, thick, and strong;
the hair long, of a brownish or ash colour, with a streak of black
running along the back, and the belly and thighs of a delicate
fawn colour. It is found on the highest points of the Rhaetian
Alps, on the Pyrenean and Carpathian mountains, and on the
hills of Crete. There ibexes assemble in flocks, not generally
exceeding ten or fifteen in number. They feed during the night
in the highest woods, but at sunrise begin to ascend the moun-
tains, feeding in their progress till they have gained the most
considerable heights. They prefer the east or south side of a
hill, and repose in the hottest exposures. As the sun declines
they descend toward the woods. In them too they spend the
winter. As the individuals of this class advance in years they
become inclined to solitude, and frequent more elevated places
at the same time that they become hardened against the effects
of cold.
This class of animals is hunted by mountaineers only, or by
those who are capable of looking down from the most tremen-
dous acclivities without fear, of enduring much fatigue, and of
leaping with great agility. The hunters associate in numbers of
two or three, furnish themselves with small bags of provisions,
* Bulletin des Sciences Naturelles,
a 3
90 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
and are armed with rifle-guns. They pass the night on the
mountains in miserable huts, of which they find the entratice
often blocked up in the morning with snow of several feet
deep. As the animals ascend into the higher regions very early
in the morning, it is necessary to gain the heights before them ;
otherwise they scent the hunters, and fly off to a distance of
several leagues. Their strength is also so prodigious, that when
close pressed they sometimes turn upon the incautious huntsman,
and tumble him down the precipices, unless he has time to lie
down, and let the animal bound over him. Some authors have
likewise asserted, that when they cannot otherwise avoid the
hunter, they will even precipitate themselves from the summits
of the rocks, and fall on their horns in such a manner as to es-
cape unhurt ; or that they will suspend themselves by their horns
over the precipices, by a projecting tree, and remain in that
situation till the pursuer abandon his fruitless efforts.
The ibex, it is said, will mount a perpendicular rock of fifteen
feet, at three successive bounds, of five feet each. If he happen
to be between two rocks which are near each other, and he want
to reach the top, he leaps from the side of one rock to that of
the other alternately, till he has attained the summit. The fore-
legs of these animals being considerably shorter than the hinder
ones, enables them to ascend with much more ease than to
descend ; hence nothing but the severest weather can induce
them to go down into the valleys.
The voice of the ibex is a short acute whistle, somewhat like
that of the chamois, but of less continuance. The female sel-
dom produces more than one kid at a time ; but towards this
she exhibits the utmost maternal tenderness.
THE CHAMOIS is the name given to a species of goat that is
found dispersed among the picturesque mountains of Switzerland,
Italy, and Greece. It nearly resembles the common goat in
form and appearance, but is remarkable for its extraordinary
agility, and the wonderful extent and precision of its leaps. It
springs from one projection to another with unerring certainty
bounding over the chasms of rocks, or throwing itself from s
height of twenty or even thirty yards upon the smallest ledge,
where there is scarcely room for its feet to plant themselves.
This extraordinary power of balancing the body is the peculiarity
of the goat tribe and is possessed, as we have shown in the
THE GAZELLE. 91
anecdote related by Clarke, in great perfection by the goat itself.
With this power is associated an ability to measure distances by
the eye with unerring certainty. These are natural faculties
possessed by the animal, and not the result of training ; for no
sooner does the young chamois possess the necessary strength,
than it imitates the feats of its more practised companions. The
hunting of an animal so peculiarly active, and which inhabits the
most inaccessible parts of the woody regions of the greatest
mountains in Europe, must be a work of no common enterprise
and difficulty. Its success depends on the precision with which
the hunter aims at it from a very great distance, or on the per-
severance wich which he follows it, perhaps for days, from rock
to rock. Of the passion which the hunters of the Alps have
for this kind of enterprise we have already, whe.i treating of
the goat, given an account For a minute description of the
manner of the pursuit we refer the reader to Goldsmith's ac-
count of this animal, and to the copious notes appended to
it.*
THE GAZELLE.
UNDER this name Goldsmith has included a class of animals
which, though admitting several sub-divisions, and distinguished
from one another by particular characteristics,^ are all remarkable
for a disposition gentle and social, and for the extreme delicacy
of their sight, their hearing, and their smell.
The most elegant of the class is that to which the name of
Gazelle properly belongs. Its skin is beautifully sleek, its legs
slender as a reed, its ears highly flexible, and its eyes brilliant
and glancing. To it the Arabian poets have applied their
choicest epithets ; and Byron, to give an idea of the dark eyes
of an eastern beauty, says, " Go look on those of the Gazelle !"
The Arabian boasts of this animal as his pride and his delight ;
as one of the few gifts of nature which his country possesses
in great perfection :
* Vol. ii. p. 33, and p. 3735), notes.
+ For these, see Goldsmith, vol. ii. p. 42, and the note to p. 33.
92 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
Our hills are bare, but down their slope
The silvery-footed Antelope,
As lightly and as gaily springs,
As o'er the marble courts of kings.
The tribe is spread in innumerable herds from Arabia to the
river Senegal in Africa. Lions and panthers feed upon them ;
and man chases them with the dog, the ounce, and the falcon.
The incalculable numbers in which these animals are produced
preserve the breed notwithstanding all the ravages to which they
are liable.
So numerous are the herds of the SPRINGBOK, an animal of
this class, that, in Southern Africa, where they migrate from
the more wild to the more cultivated districts ; when the dry
season sets in, the grazier makes up his mind to look for pas-
ture for his flocks elsewhere, and considers himself entirely dis-
possessed of his lands until heavy rains fall. Mr Pringle, speak-
ing of them, says, " Some passed through a most astonishing
multitude scattered over the grassy plains near the Little Fish
River. I could not, for my own part, profess to estimate their
numbers with any degree of accuracy, but they literally whitened,
or rather speckled the face of the country, as far as the eye
could reach over those far-stretching plains ; and a gentleman,
better acquainted than myself with such scenes, who was riding
with me, affirmed that we could not have fewer of these animals,
at one time, under our eye, than twenty-five or thirty thousand."
THE ANTELOPE.
Tins is likewise a very beautiful animal. In the elegant
symmetry of their form, and the light and graceful agility of
their motions, the Antelopes are superior even to the Deer,
whom, however, they closely resemble, not merely in outward
shape, but also in internal structure. Like them, in addition
to the coincidence of a slightly made and beautifully propor-
tioned figure, they are frequently furnished with a naked
muzzle, and with the same remarkable sinus beneath the
inner angle of the eye ; and their ears are generally of con-
siderable size, erect, and pointed. But they are strikingly
THE ANTELOPE. 93
distinguished from them and from all the other animals of the
order by the peculiar character of their horns, which are formed
of an elastic sheath enclosing a solid nucleus, and are for the
most part common to the females as well as to the males. They
have no canine teeth, and exhibit no appearance of a beard such
as is seen in the goats. The horns vary greatly in the different
races ; they are sometimes straight and upright, at other times
slightly curved, and frequently spirally twisted with the most
beautiful regularity : they are usually surrounded by elevated
rings or by a spiral ridge, are constantly of the same form in the
same species, and are not subject to an annual falling off and
renewal, as in the deer, from which they differ also in their mode
of growth, the horns of the latter group lengthening at their
apices, while those of the former receive their increase at the
base.
In their natural habits the numerous species of which this
group is composed approach very closely to the deer ; there is,
however, considerable variety in their mode of life. They in-
habit almost every description of country ; the sandy desert, the
open plain, the thicket, the forest, the mountain, and the preci-
pice, being, each in its turn, the favourite haunt of the different
races ; but, with the exception of a few species, they do not ad-
vance much beyond the limits of the tropics. The smaller ones
usually prefer a solitary life, but the larger, for the most part,
congregate together in herds, which are generally few in number.
In their manners they exhibit much of that cautious vigilance
and easily startled timidity, combined with a certain degree of
occasional boldness and not a little curiosity, which are the na-
tural consequences of their wild and unrestricted habits, of their
trivial means of defence against the numerous enemies to whose
attacks they are exposed, and of the unequalled fleetness of their
speed. In some this latter quality consists of a continued and
uniform gallop, which in others is interrupted at every third or
fourth stroke by along and generally a lofty bound, producing a
beautiful effect by its constant and rapid recurrence.
The Indian antelope, of which a specimen in the Tower con-
stitutes a remarkable and highly interesting variety, is not only
one of the most beautiful, but also the most celebrated species
of the group. In size and form it closely resembles the Gazelle
of the Arabs, the well known emblem of maiden beauty, typih'ed,
91 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
according to the poets, in the elastic lightness of its bound, the
graceful symmetry of its figure, and the soft lustre of its full and
hazel eye. From this truly elegant creature that in the Tower
is, however, essentially distinguished by several striking charac-
ters. Its horns, which are peculiar to the male, are spirally
twisted, and form, when fully grown, three complete turns ; they
are closely approximated to each other at the base, but diverge
considerably as they proceed upwards. They occasionally at-
tain a length of nearly two feet, and are surrounded throughout
by elevated and close-set rings. The two horns taken together
have frequently been compared to the branches of a double lyre.
The extremity of the nose is bare, forming a small and moist
muzzle ; the sub-orbital openings are larger and more distinct
than in almost any other species ; and the ears are pointed and
of moderate size. The natural colours vary with the age of the
animal, but correspond in general pretty closely with those of
the common deer. They may be shortly described as fawn above
and whitish beneath, becoming deeper with age, and lighter in
the females than in the males. The occasional stripes of a
lighter or darker colour, which are generally visible on various
parts of the body, can scarcely be considered as occurring with
sufficient regularity to allow of their being described as charac-
teristic of the species.
But for these shades of colour, or for any other, we should
look in vain in the animal of the Tower Menagerie, which, in
consequence of a particular confirmation, not unfrequent in some
species of animals, and occasionally met with even in the human
race, is perfectly and purely white. In order to explain this phe-
nomenon, which is one of the most curious, but at the same time
one of the most simple in physiology, it is necessary to observe that
there exists beneath the epidermis, or outer covering of the skin,
both in man and animals, a peculiar membrane of very fine and
delicate texture, which is scarcely visible in the European but
sufficiently obvious in the Negro, termed by anatomists the rete
mucosum. In this net-work is secreted, from the extremities
of the minute vessels which terminate upon its surface, a mucous
substance which varies in colour according to the complexion
of the individual, of the varieties in which it is theimmediate cause;
and from the substance thus secreted, the colouring matter of
the hairs and of the iris is derived. The pure whiteness then
THE ANTELOPE. 95
of the covering of the animal in question, and of all those which
exhibit a similar variation from their natural tinge, is attributable
solely to the absence of this secretion from whatever cause.
It is always accompanied, as in the present instance, by a redness
of the eyes, arising from the blood vessels of the iris being
exposed to view in consequence of the want of the usual coating
formed by this secretion, by which they are naturally protected
from the too great influence of the light. In the human race,
the individuals who are thus afflicted, characterized by the dull
whiteness of their skins, the deep redness of their eyes, and
their colourless, or, as it is generally termed, flaxen hair, are
called Albinos. They are generally timid in disposition, languid
in character, and weak both in mind and body. The same
original conformation, for it is always born with the individual
and never acquired in after life, although sometimes prolonged
beyond its limits in the shape of a hereditary legacy, is common
to many animals. Perhaps the most familiar instances among
these are the white mice, the white rabbits, and the white
pigeons, which are known to every one. But it has also been
occasionally seen in many other species, as monkeys, squirrels,
moles, pigs, and even cows and horses, and, to come a little
closer to our present subject, in goats and deer. Not even that
massive and stupendous beast the elephant is exempted from its
influence. It can hardly be necessary to recall to the reader the
title on which the ruler of millions of not uncivilized Asiatics,
the Burmese monarch, prides himself more than on any other,
inasmuch as it is the emblem of power and prosperity, that of
Lord of the White Elephant ; a title, which, while it demonstrates
the fact of the existence of this deviation in the elephant as well
as in other animals, proves also the extreme rarity of its occur-
rence. It has moreover been noticed in many species of birds.
The present species of antelope is spread over the whole of
the peninsula of Hindoos! an and a part of Persia ; but it is
questionable whether it has been found in Africa, as is commonly
asserted. They are said to bound with apparent ease over a
distance of from twenty-five to thirty feet, and mounting to the
height of ten or twelve. It is consequently useless to attempt
to chase them in the common mode with hounds ; and their
pursuit is restricted to the higher nobility, who employ for the
purpose either hawks, who pounce upon their quarry, and detain
96 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
it until tbe dogs can come up ; or chetahs, who attack them by
surprise in the manner before described.
The elegant Albino now in the tower was brought from
Bombay by Captain Dalrymple of the Vansittart, and remained
for a considerable time at Sand Pit Gate, where it was an
especial favourite with his majesty as well on account of tbe
gentleness of its disposition, as for its rarity and beauty. It
bears its confinement in the menagerie with perfect resignation,
and it is remarkable for the mildness and tranquillity of its
deportment.
The antelopes of America are lean. Being fleet and quick-
sighted, they are generally the victims of their curiosity; for
when they first see the hunters, they run with great velocity;
if he lies down on the ground, and lifts up his arm, his hat, or
his foot, the antelope returns on a light trot to look at the
object, and sometimes comes and goes two or three times, till it
gets within reach of the rifle. Sometimes too they leave their
own herd to go and look at the wolves, who crouch down, and
if the antelope be frightened at first, they repeat the same
manoeuvre, and sometimes relieve each other, till they get it
completely from the rest, when they seize it. But generally
the wolves seize the antelopes while they are crossing the rivers ;
for though swift of foot, they are bad swimmers.*
* Capte. Lewis and Clarke's Travels.
THE DEER KIND.
THE STAG.
THE stag is the most beautiful and elegant of all the deer
kind, and furnishes a similar ornament to the plains, the moun-
tains, and woods of the North which the Antelope does to the
sandy hills of Arabia, or the wide extended plains of India
and Southern Africa. The eyes of this animal are bold and ex-
pressive, furnished with lachrymal sinuses which also relieve it
in hurried breathing. Its height is from three feet six inches
to four feet high at the shoulders ; and it is of that colour
which has given to it the denomination of red deer. It pos-
sesses great lightness of motion and flexibility of limbs. The
bone of its foot is peculiarly small and hard, properties which
contribute to the fleetness and strength of the animal. The
strength of the joints of an animal's foot depends less upon their
own ligaments than on the action of the muscles where ten-
dons pass over them, " a fact which," says Sir Everard
Home,* " was strongly impressed on my rnind by seeing a deer
which leaped over the highest fences, and the joints of whose
feet, when examined, were as rigid in every other direction but
that of the motion as the bone itself; but when, with a view
to keep the animal from running away, the tendo Achillis
which passed over the joint was divided, the foot would readily
be moved in any direction, the joint no longer having the
smallest firmness."
The horns of the stag grow into a great many ramifica-
tions, which, while the animal was less under the influence
* Comparative Anatomy, vol. i. p. 96.
I
98 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
of man, were more numerous than at the present day. In
some individuals these multiplied to an extraordinary extent.
There is one in the museum of Hesse Cassel, with twenty-
eight antlers. Baron Cuvier mentions one of sixty six, or
thirty-three on each horn. This stag was killed by the first
king of Prussia. The stag begins to shed his horns in the
latter end of February, or beginning of March, when he re-
tires to thickets, and remains till the horns are completely re-
stored. Soon after the old horns have fallen off, a soft tu-
mour begins to appear, which is quickly covered with a vel-
vety-like substance. From this every day little buds shoot
forth, like the grafts of a tree, and, rising by degrees, spring
out the antlers on each side ; the skin continues to cover it for
some time, and is furnished with blood-vessels, which supply the
growing horn with nourishment, and occasion the furrows ob-
servable in them when the covering is stript off. When the
horns are full grown, they acquire strength and solidity, and
the velvet covering, or skin, with its blood-vessels, dries up, and
begins to fall off; which is facilitated by the animal rubbing
them against trees. At this time they again enter the open
parts of the forest, to join the female. The hind is gravid
eight months and some days, and produces a single fawn, in
the end of May or beginning of June. The fawn continues
with the dam during the summer, but in the winter all the ani-
mals of both sexes, and their young, congregate in large herds,
and extend as the severity of the winter increases, remaining to-
gether till the males disperse to shed their horns. The velvet
of the horns when fried, is considered by epicurean sportsmen
the most delicate part of the deer. The horns, the growth of
which occupies only about six weeks, have been known to
weigh twenty pounds. " It is a mistaken notion, that the ant-
lers impede the deer in cover, as they enable him, on the con-
trary, to dash through thickets and save his eyes, as also to aid
him when reared on their hind legs, which they do to an extraor-
dinary height to draw down the young branches for sustenance."*
It was to be expected that an animal whose flesh is so pa-
latable as that of the stag is, and one so distinguished for ele-
gance, fleetness, and resources when pursued, should have be r
, * Colonel Thornton's Sporting Anecdotes.
THE STAG. 99
come a very favourite object of chase. Yet the stag-chase does
not seem to possess even the small palliations that belong to fox-
hunting. The fox is an animal which, if persecuted by the art
of men, itself persecutes in turn with the greatest cunning,
meanness, and cruelty. The noble and generous qualities of
the stag, the innocence of its life, its capability of being kept
in parks, and almost in a state of domestication, seem all like
an appeal to humanity against the cruelties of the hunt. We
shall, however, quote an account of a stag-hunt, told in the
usual language, and presenting somewhat more than the usual
incidents that attend such a proceeding, leaving the reader to
find where the charms of the pursuit may lie: " On Monday,
Nov. 20, 1820, the royal hounds met at Stoke Common, Bucks,
where a remarkably fine deer was turned out. The field was
extremely numerous. The deer, at starting, showed great sport,
taking, at full speed, through the enclosures, making towards
Slough, and afterwards for Datchet, where he crossed the
Thames, and then took to the right, and again crossed the
river. The deer proceeded up a lane at the back of Eton Col-
lege, running with great swiftness into the yard of Mr Castles,
pork- butcher. He boldly proceeded through the house into
the street, with a cur-dog at his heels ; and crossing Windsor
Bridge, to the bottom of Thames-street, actually run up the
Hundred Steps, a steep and winding ascent to the Castle. On
his reaching the top, he made a pause, and then returned into
Thames-street, many of the sportsmen having rode round into
the Castle, with the object of heading him as he came up the
steps. The stag crossed Windsor Bridge again with great swift-
ness, and passed down Eton, entered the shop of Mr Levy, an
orange merchant, making his way in different parts of the house,
till he got into the kitchen, where he remained some time : a
great crowd was collected round the house. On his leaving the
kitchen, he passed through the back way into gardens. At this
time, many hundreds of persons joined in the chase. This ex-
cellent deer, after having performed these extraordinary feats,
and afforded a charming day's sport, was at last taken in attempt-
ing to leap over the high wall between Eton College and the
Fifteen-arch Bridge."*
* Sporting Mapa/ine, New Series, vol. vii. p. 87.
12
100 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
In ancient times, the stag-hunting even of England had more
real excitement about it, for it was not unattended with danger.
He that was foremost in the run had duties to perform, and
these duties had sometimes rather more of peril about them, than
falls to the lot of the modern sportsman, who leaves all which
constituted " wood-craft" to the huntsman and the whipper-in.
Scott has described one of these dangers in the notes to the
Lady of the Lake :
" When the stag turned to the bay, the ancient hunter had
the perilous task of going in upon and killing or disabling the
desperate animal. At certain times of the year this was held
particularly dangerous, a wound received from a stag's horn be-
ing then deemed poisonous, and more dangerous than one from
the tusks of a boar, as the old rhyme testifies :
If thou be hurt with hart it brings thee to thy bier,
But barber's hand will boar's hurt heal, thereof thou need'st not fear.
" At all times, however, the task was dangerous, and to be
adventured upon wisely and warily, either by getting behind the
stag while he was gazing on the hounds, or by watching an op-
portunity to gallop roundly in upon him, and kill him with the
sword. Wilson, the historian, has recorded a providential escape
which befell him in this hazardous sport, while a youth, and fol-
lower of the Earl of Essex :
" ' Sir Peter Lee, of Lime, in Cheshire, invited my lord
one summer to hunt the stagg. And having a great stagg in
chase, and many gentlemen in the pursuit, the stagg took soyle.
And divers, whereof I was, one, alighted, and stood with swords
drawne, to have a cut at him, at his coming out of the water.
The stagg then, being wonderfully fierce and dangerous, made
us youths more eager to be at him. But he escaped us all.
And it was my misfortune to be hindered of my coming nere
him, the way being sliperie, by a fall ; which gave occasion to
some, who did not know mee, to speak as if I had falne for
feare. Which being told mee, I left the stagg, and followed
that gentleman who [first] spake it. But I found him of that
cold temper, that it seems his words made an escape from
him ; as by his denial and repentance it appeared.
" ' But this made mee more violent in pursuite of the stagg,
to recover my reputation. And I happened to be the only horse-
THE STAG. 101
man in, when the dogs sett him up at bay ; and approaching
nere him on horsebacke, hee broke through the dogs, and run
at mee, and tore my horse's side with his homes, close by my
thigh. Then I quitted my horse, and grew more cunning (for
the dogs had sette him up againe), stealing behind him with my
sword, and cut his ham-strings ; and then got upon his back,
and cut his throate ; which as I was doing, the company came
in, and blamed my rashness for running such a hazard.' "
But the chase, at these early periods of our history, supplied
the wants both of food and clothing, in a country .imperfectly
cultivated. Hunting was, originally, a serious occupation, which
employed the skill of the bravest men. The first founders of
empires are represented to have been hunters. Even within a
few centuries, the people of these islands hunted partly for ne-
cessity and partly for amusement. When the arts of civilized
life, which arise out of the division of labour, were imperfectly
known and sparingly pursued, the huntsman found most of his
wants supplied by the deer which he killed. A highlander thus
addressed Henry VIII. :
" We go a hunting, and after that we have slain red-deer,
we flay off the skin by and by, and setting of our bare foot on
the inside thereof, for want of cunning shoemakers, by your
grace's pardon, we play the cobblers, compassing and measuring
so much thereof, as shall reach up to our ancles, pricking the
upper part thereof with holes, that the water may repass where
it enters, and stretching it up with a strong thong of the same
above our said ancles. So, and please your noble grace, we
make our shoes. Therefore, we using such manner of shoes,
the rough hairy side outwards, in your grace's dominions of Eng-
land, we be called ' Rough-footed Scots.' "
The stag, though thus vigorous in eluding the pursuit and
resisting the violence of the huntsman, is like some other ani-
mals, liable to a kind of fascination. A gentleman writing or
Bengal, says that in that country, three or four times, where
a line of troops was marching in a long uninterrupted series,
past a herd of deer, he observed that when their attention was
taken off from grazing by the humming murmuring noise pro-
ceeding from the troops, they at first, and for a while, stood
staring and aghast, as if attracted by the successive progression
of the files, all clothed in red. At length, however, the leading
I 3
102 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
stag striking the ' ground, snorted, and immediately rushed
forward across the ranks, followed by the whole collection, to
the utter surprise and confusion of the soldiery, thus running
into the very danger one naturally supposes they must have at
first been anxious to avoid. They who were apprised by the
sound of their approach, stopped arid made way for them. Over
the heads of others, who were heedless and inattentive, they
bounded with wonderful agility, and fled over the plain. A si-
milar rush of a herd of deer through a band of hunters encircling
them was not uncommon in the Highlands of Scotland. * In
this latter case it may be referred to a desperate effort to escape.
Our author ascribes the incident which he relates to fascination,
and supposes a parallel case to that of a young heifer which pur-
sued his carriage ; fixed its eyes on the wheel ; after a little,
rapidly darted forward on it, and was only induced to withdraw
by the injury which she received from the violence of the fric-
tion.
The stag is only driven to attempt to inflict injury on any
other animal by a last effort to escape destruction itself. In
these circumstances it discovers great vigour and boldness. The
following experiment was made more than eighty years ago by
the late Duke of Cumberland, to ascertain the true and natural
instinctive courage of the stag, when opposed to an enemy of
the most formidable and terrific description: To effect this,
one of the ablest stags in Windsor Forest was enclosed in an
area formed upon a selected spot near the lodge, and surrounded
with a remarkably strong net toiling, full fifteen feet high. This
operation took place in sight of Ascot Heath races, so that
thousands were present upon the occasion. When every thing
was prepared, and the stag parading in majestic consterna-
tion at the assemblage of people around the net-work, a trained
ounce, or bunting tiger, was led in, hoodwinked, by the two
blacks that had the care of him, and who, upon a signal, set him
and his eyes at liberty. Perhaps so general a silence never
prevailed among so many thousands of spectators as at that
moment, when the slightest aspirations of a breeze might have
been distinctly heard. The ounce, taking one general survey,
instantly caught sight of the deer, and, crouching down on his
* See Waverley.
THE STAG. 103
belly, continued to creep exactly in the manner of a cat drawing
up to a mouse, watching to dart upon it with safety. The stag,
however, most warily, steadily, and sagaciously, turned as he
turned , and this strange and desperate antagonist found himself
dangerously opposed by the threatenings of his formidable brow
antlers. In vain did the ounce attempt every manoeuvre to turn
his flanks ; the stag possessed too much generalship to be foiled
upon the terra firma of his native country, by a foreign invader.
This cautious warfare continuing so long as to render it tedious,
and, probably, to protract the time of starting the horses upon
the race ground, his Royal Highness inquired, if, by irritating
the ounce, the catastrophe might not be hastened. He was
answered, it probably might prove dangerous, or be attended
with disagreeable consequences ; but it was ordered to be done ;
upon which the keepers proceeded very near the ounce, and did
as they were directed ; when immediately, without attacking the
deer, with a most furious and elastic bound, he sprang at and
cleared the toiling that enclosed them ; landing amidst the
clamours, shouts, and affrighted screams of the multitude, who
tied in every direction, each male and female thinking themselves
the destined victim of the ounce's rage, who, nevertheless,
regardless of their fears or their persons, crossed the road, and
rushed into the opposite wood, where he fastened upon the
haunch of one of the fallow deer, and brought him to the ground.
His keepers, to whom he was perfectly familiarized, hesitated
for some time to go near him ; at length, however, they mustered
resolution to approach, and, cutting the deer's throat, separated
the haunch which he had seized, and led him away with it in his
mouth.
At Veuve, a village situated on the river Ouche, which falls
into the Paone, about twelve miles below Dijon, in the province
of Cote d'Or, France, it was customary, from the beginning of
April till the end of June, to drive the cows to graze upon the
neighbouring hills, situated on the opposite side of the river,
through which they wade without difficulty. In the year 1757,
at the hour when the herds were driven to pasture, a stag used
daily to come down from the hills to the banks of the river and
meet them. The bull which accompanied these cattle, proud of
his imagined superiority and strength, and jealous of bis rights,
attempted to drive away this intruder, by butting him with his
101 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
horns. The stag willingly accepted the challenge, and attacked
the bull with such impetuosity, that he was obliged to yield to
him the command of the herd. This combat was daily renewed,
and the two rivals challenged each other to the onset, while still
at a great distance from each other, and the hills actually
resounded with their bellowing. But such was the vigour of
the stag's attacks, and the rapidity of his movements, that he
always came off victorious, and led the cows every day trium-
phantly to the hills, availing himself of all the rights of a
conqueror.
We add another notice of the courage of the stag : As Cap-
tain Smith, of the Bengal Native Infantry, was out in the
country with a shooting party, very early in the morning, they
observed a tiger steal out of a jungle, in pursuit of a herd of
deer ; having selected his object, the poor animal was quickly
deserted by the herd ; the tiger advanced with such amazing
swiftness, that the stag in vain attempted to escape, and at the
moment the gentleman expected to see the fatal spring, the stag
gallantly faced his enemy, and for some minutes kept him at
bay ; and it was not till after three attacks that the tiger
succeeded in securing his prey. He was supposed to have been
considerably injured by the horns of the stag, as, on the advance
of Captain Smith, he abandoned the carcass, having only sucked
the blood from the throat.
The stag is capable of being tamed, when it becomes rather
petulant and dangerous, and also of being trained to various uses,
even to drag a phaeton : Among the various experiments
of' a sporting nature, performed by the late Lord Oxford,
perhaps none was more eccentric than his determination to
drive four red deer stags in a phaeton, instead of horses, and
these he had reduced to perfect discipline for his excursions
and short journeys upon the road ; but, unfortunately, as
he was one day driving to Newmarket, their ears were
saluted with the cry of a pack of hounds, which, soon after
crossing the road in the rear, caught scent of the "four in
hand," and commenced a new kind of chase, with " breast-high"
alacrity. The novelty of this scene was rich beyond descrip-
tion ; in vain did his Lordship exert all his charioteering skill
in vain did his well-trained grooms energetically endeavour to
ride before them ; reins, trammels, and the weight of the carriage,
THE STAG. 105
were of no effect, for they went with the celerity of a whirlwind ;
and this modern Phaeton, in the midst of his electrical vibrations
of fear, bid fair to experience the fate of his namesake. Luckily,
however, his Lordship had been accustomed to drive this set of
" fiery-eyed steeds" to the Ram Inn, at Newmarket, which was
most happily at hand ; and to this his Lordship's most fervent
prayers and ejaculations had been ardently directed. Into the
yard they suddenly bounded, to the consternation of hostlers and
stable boys, who seemed to have lost every faculty upon the
occasion. Here they were luckily overpowered, and the stags,
the phaeton, and his Lordship, were all instantaneously huddled
together in a barn, just as the hounds appeared in full cry at
the gate.
Nor are its feats confined to such exercises ; the stag has been
taught tricks, almost equal to those which excite wonder when
performed by the dog or horse. The following circumstances,
mentioned by Delacroix, prove that the stag is susceptible of
receiving instruction, and must be capable of considerable obser-
vation :" When I was at Compeigne," says he, "my friends
took me to a German, who exhibited a wonderful stag. As
soon as we had taken our seats in a large room, the stag was
introduced. He was of an elegant form and majestic stature,
his aspect at once animated and gentle. The first trick he per-
formed was, to make a profound obeisance to the company as he
entered, by bowing his head ; after which he paid his respects
to each individual of us in the same manner. He next carried
about a small stick in his mouth, to each end of which a small
wax taper was attached. He was then blind-folded, and, at the
beat of a drum, fell upon his knees, and laid his head upon the
ground. As soon as the word pardon was pronounced, he
instantly sprang upon his feet. Dice were thrown upon the
head of a drum, and he told the numbers that were cast up, by
bowing his head so many times. He discharged a pistol, by
drawing with his teeth a string that was tied to the trigger.
He fired a small cannon, by means of a match that was fastened
to his right foot, without showing any signs of fear. He leaped
several times, with the greatest agility, through a hoop, which
his master held at a man's height from the ground. At length
the exhibition was closed, with his eating a handful of oats from
the head of a drum, which a person was beating the whole time
106 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
with the utmost violence. Almost every trick was performed
with as much steadiness as it could have been accomplished by
the best trained dog."
No animal is more affectionate than the stag, or discovers
greater sympathy towards such of its herd as may chance to be in
pain or suffering : A gamekeeper hit a stag with a ball, which
did not prove fatal, and he had strength enough to fly into the
heart of the forest, where the gamekeeper lost sight of him.
Convinced that he had not missed his mark, and that the deer
must sooner or later fall, he followed his track ; but he had to
traverse the forest for a long time before he saw any thing of
the stag. At length he heard the animal groaning in a thicket
at some little distance. He quickened his pace, and discovered
the wounded animal stretched upon the ground. He was just
about to fire a second time, when he saw two other stags run up
to the wounded animal. His curiosity being excited, he stopped
to observe what they would do, without being himself seen by
them. As soon as the wounded animal saw bis friends, he al-
tered his tones, and moaned in a louder and more impressive
voice. The two others then began to lick his wounds ; and as
long as they continued to lick, the wounded stag was silent, for
it seemed to afford him relief. The man then shot a second
time, and hit him in the heart. The two others fled into the
wood.
At Wbnersb, near Guildford, the seat of Lord Grantley, a
fawn was drinking in the lake, when one of the swans suddenly
flew upon it, and pulled the poor animal into the water, where
it held it under till it was drowned. This act of atrocity was
noticed by the other deer in the park, and they took care to
revenge it the first opportunity. A few days after, this swan
happening to be on land, was surrounded and attacked by the
whole herd, and presently killed. Before this time they were
never known to molest the swans.
THE FALLOW DEER.
THE fallow deer is a native of Western Asia ; but has long
been domesticated in Great Britain, forming a beautiful ornament
TIIC IIOE-BUCK. 107
to some of our finest parks and pleasure grounds. The princi-
pal difference between this animal and the stag seems to be in the
size and form of their horns, and in the skin being marked with
numerous, somewhat triangular spots. The horns of the fallow
deer are much less than those of the stag, and are broad and
palmated at their ends, being better garnished with antlers. The
ftir is also of a brighter hue. The fallow deer is much less
furious than the stag during the rutting season. They never
leave their pasture j but generally fight till one buck becomes
master of the field. This species associate in herds ; and these
sometimes divide into two parties, and maintain obstinate battles
for some favourite part of the park. Each party has its leader,
which is always the oldest and strongest of the herd. The
female goes with young eight months, generally producing one,
sometimes two, and rarely three at a birth.
In Great Britain, there are two varieties of this animal, the
spotted kind, supposed to have been imported from Bengal, and
the deep brown sort, now so common, the last of which was in-
troduced by King James the First, from Norway. He noticed
their hardiness in that cold climate ; and brought them first to
Scotland, and from thence transported them to Epping and En
field Chases, in England. Their increase has been great ; and
we can now boast of venison superior to that of every other
country. The fallow deer is now common all over Europe";
and, in Spain, grows as large as a stag.
THE ROE- BUCK.
THE roe-buck is the smallest of the deer kind, being only
about two feet in height, and three feet in length. The horns
are from eight to nine inches long, upright, round, and divided
into three branches. The body is covered with long hair, of a
grayish brown, or a fawn colour above, and ash beneath. This
is an elegantly formed animal. Its motions are light and easy.
It bounds without effort, and inns with great swiftness. It
possesses much cunning ; and in the chase eludes its pursuers,
by the most subtle artifices, repeatedly returning upon its former
steps ; and thus confounds the scent. It has been known to
108 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
make a great bound to one side, lie down on its belly, with its
head laid flat on the ground ; and the hounds have passed it un-
observed. They do not congregate in herds ; but each family
keep by themselves. The rut is in October. The female goes
with young five months ; and generally produces two fawns at
a time, and sometimes three.
The roe-buck was at one time very common in Great Britain ;
but it is now nearly extinct. It is only to be found in some of
the wild Highland districts of Scotland. It is common in various
parts of Europe. It is a timid animal, and difficult to tame.
The flesh is very fine, and well tasted j and is in the highest
state of perfection at eighteen months.
Some years ago, a roe-buck, after being hunted out of Scot-
land, found its way into Cumberland, and passed into the woody
banks of the Tyne, between Prudhoe Castle, and Wylam,
Northumberland. It was repeatedly seen and hunted ; but no
dogs were equal to its speed ; and, during a chase, it would fre-
quently cross the river, and, either by swiftness or artifice, always
eluded its pursuers. It happened, during the rigour of a severe
winter, that, being pursued, it crossed the river upon the ice
with some difficulty ; and being much strained by its violent
exertions, was taken alive. It was kept for some weeks in the
house, and was again turned out ; but all its cunning and activity
were gone. It seemed to have forgotten the pla.-es of its former
retreat ; and, after running some time, it lav Aov.it in the midst
of a brook, where it was killed by the dogs oefore any person
arrived to rescue it.
THE ELK OR MOOSE-DEER.
THIS is the largest animal of the deer kind, and one of the
largest that inhabit the globe. Four of a very small class of this
species were measured by Dr Smith, but as they were all young,
the extreme limits of their size could not be ascertained from
them. .A male two years old was seven feet three inches in
length ; a female three years old exceeded it by six inches, its
height was nearly five feet, the ear was nine inches long, the tail
only three. There is a sort of carbuncle or excrescence pendent
THE ELK 00. MOOSE-DEER. 109
from tne throat of some ; but it is not ascertained whether this
is a general characteristic of the animal or belongs only to the
male. The tail, as we have seen, is short ; the ears large and
erect ; the hoofs broad. But what chiefly distinguish the elk,
are two widely spreading palmated horns of great size, proceeding
from the forehead, between two and three feet long ; in those of
the largest size, between four and five. The animal we have been
now describing, is the elk of North America, there called the
moose-deer, and by the natives the wampoose. It is often seen
larger than the tallest horse, not less than eight or ten feet high,
of a dark grey colour, paler on the legs, the hair long and coarse,
and forming a kind of mane on the upper part of the neck.
The other species is smaller, of a light grey colour, herds in
flocks of twenty or thirty, and bears a considerable resemblance
to the fallow deer. The larger species is solitary, or found in
companies not exceeding four or five.
The motion of the elk is unlike that of the deer ; it does not
spring on being surprised, but advances with a shambling gait,
while the hoofs make a loud clattering noise, and it runs with
great speed. It dwells on hills or in woody countries, sometimes
choosing open pastures in summer, and retreating to thickets and
the banks of lakes or rivers in winter. Its food is the herbage
of the ground, or the foliage of young trees. From the shortness
of its neck and length of its legs, declivities are principally
frequented, for the ease of reaching the ground. In winter it
prefers willows and some aquatic plants. The males cast their
horns annually in November, and renew them in spring. The
females have none, and differ still farther from the male in being
inferior in size, of a brownish sandy colour, the hair white at
the root, and nearly so in some parts of the surface.
The elk is easily tamed, and is then quiet and tractable ; and
in its wild state it is harmless and inofFensive. When pursued,
in crossing rivers and lakes, it makes no resistance, and boys or
women can then destroy it. Mr Hearne relates* that he
repeatedly saw many as tame as sheep at the settlement in
Hudson's Bay, and that they would follow their keepers or come
to meet them, in the same manner as the best domesticated
animal would have done. At New York, they have been broke
* Journey from Hudson's Bay.
K
1 10 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
to harness, and apparently with success. The disposition of the
animal renders it favourable for such experiments, and it is not
unlikely that it might be naturalized and domesticated in this
island.
The elk is found chiefly in the colder climates in the north-
eastern parts of Europe and Asia, and in North America. It
is, however, also a native of hot climates ; Captain Cook saw
them at the Cape of Good Hope * five feet high, with horns a
foot long, They were handsome creatures, having a beautiful
head and neck, slender legs, and soft smooth hair of an ash
colour. Their upper jaw is larger than their under; the tail
about a foot in length ; and the flesh, by the epicures of that
country, said to excel the best beef. They run swiftly, and
climb the rocks with great agility, though they usually weigh
about four hundred pounds. It is evident from this description,
that a warm climate is not favourable to the growth of the elk,
but tends to reduce it to the character of the deer.
There is a striking peculiarity in the nature of the elk which
has given rise to various conjectures. When sprung by the
huntsman, it sometimes suddenly falls down, as if in a fit; and
then as suddenly recovering itself, sets off at a great speed. An
opinion has hence prevailed that it is subject to epilepsy, and a
part of the animal's hoof has been worn as an amulet or charm
against that distemper. Horses, it is said, have been seen with
the same peculiarity ; and we know that there are some of the
smaller tribes of animals, such as the termes or death-watch,
which counterfeit death on being alarmed.
The elk presents great temptations to the cupidity of the
huntsman. Its flesh is good and nutritious ; the skin serves for
covering the tent of the Indian, for his shoes, belts, and all the
rest of his clothing ; while ladles are made of the horns. As
the fur of wild animals is richer in winter, that season is com-
monly selected for its capture. The Indians, near Hudson's
Bay, can easily run it down, for though endowed with sufficient
speed, the elk is tender-footed and short-winded, so that a good
runner will generally tire it in less than a day, and frequently in
six or eight hours. However, the huntsman has been known to
continue the pursuit two days before coming up with the game.
* Voyages, vol i. p. 318.
THE ELK OR MOOSE-DEER. 11]
On such occasions, the Indians go lightly clothed, to preserve
themselves from fatigue. When the elk can advance no
farther, it stands and keeps its pursuers at bay with its head
and fore-feet : by means of the latter it can kill a dog or even a
wolf, and people who suddenly rush upon it are in danger of
serious injury ; therefore, the Indians, who are without fire-arms
or bows and arrows, kill the animal with a knife fixed to the
end of a long stick. This kind of pursuit is much facilitated by
the state of the snow : for a heavy animal like the elk, when a
thaw begins, sinks deep at every step, while the huntsman is
kept up by snow shoes on the surface. Snares are also set for
the elk : its approach to lakes and rivers is watched, when it is
shot with guns or arrows ; dogs are likewise used in the chase,
and there are various other modes of capture.
Among the fables regarding the elk, there is one, that in those
found in Muscovy the legs are jointless. They are not so ; but
still they are stiff and more inflexible than those belonging to
other classes of the deer kind. Nor is this without its uses to
the animal. Being particularly a native of cold climates, it has
frequent occasion to traverse the ice, and by means of the
rigidity of the joints of its legs, it is better able to do so without
slipping. By this means, it is also frequently enabled to escape
from wolves or such beasts of prey, as have not the same facility
in walking on a slippery surface.
The elk, like some others of the deer kind, is liable to the
annoyance of flies ; to avoid which, the animal plunges into
marshes, where he often remains night and day, feeding upon
the water plants, and occasionally lifting his head only above
the surface. The North American Indians believe that the
moose has the power of remaining entirely under water, as
appears by the following notice contained in Tanner's Narrative :
" There is an opinion prevalent among the Indians, that the
moose, among the methods of self-preservation, with which he
seems better acquainted ,than almost any other animal, has the
power of remaining a long time under water. Two men of the
band of Wage-to-toh-gun, whom I knew perfectly well, and
considered very good and creditable Indians, after a long
day's absence on a hunt, came in and stated, that they had
chased a moose into a small pond, and that they had seen him
go to the middle of it and disappear j and then choosing
K 2
112 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
positions from which they could see every part of the circum-
ference of the pond, smoked and waited until near evening ;
during all which time they could see no motion of the
water or other indication of the position of the moose. At
length, being discouraged, they had abandoned all hope of taking
him, and returned home. Not long afterwards, came a solitary
hunter loaded with meat, who related, that having followed the
track of a moose for some distance, he had traced it to the pond
before mentioned ; but having also discovered the tracks of two
men made at the same time as those of the moose, he concluded
they must have killed it. Nevertheless, approaching cautiously
to the margin of the pond, he sat down to rest. Presently, he
saw the moose rise slowly in the centre of the pond, which
was not very deep, and make towards the shore where he
was sitting. When he came sufficiently near, he shot him in
the water. The Indians consider the moose shyer and more
difficult to take than any other animal."
THE HEIN-DEEB,
THE Rein-Deer, which supplies the Laplander with those
advantages which we derive from the horse, the cow, and the
sheep, seems confined to that country where he is so essentially
useful ; and has been denied to those regions, where the same
services are obtained in greater abundance from more various
sources. It has been indeed supposed, the opinion origin-
ated with Buffon, that the rein-deer once existed among the
Alps and Pyrenees. The notion was founded on a passage of
Gaston de Foix, which stated that he had seen the rein-deer in
Savoy and Berne ; but the examination of a copy of his work,
presented by the author himself to Philip of Burgundy, discovered,
instead of these two places as the locality in which he had seen
it, Norway and Sweden. Indeed, it seems incapable of existing
except in the very coldest of the northern climates. There it has
been domesticated from the earliest ages. On it the Laplander
depends for subsistence and warmth, and the continuance of that
intercourse by which civilization is maintained and advanced.
Travelling is with them suspended during the summer. It is in the
THE REIN-DEER. 113
winter, when the snow affords a smooth tract for his sledge, that
the Finmark dealer travels from his native wilds, to dispose of
his produce in the markets of Tornea, and Stockholm. By this
animal are the extremities of that snowy region, which seems
separated from all mankind, connected together. Harnessed to a
sledge, the rein-deer will draw about 300 Ibs. ; but the Laplanders
generally limit the burthen to 240 Ibs. The trot of the rein-
deer is about ten miles an hour ; and their power of endurance
is such, that journeys of one hundred and fifty miles in nineteen
hours are not uncommon. There is a portrait of a rein-deer in
the palace of Drotningholm (Sweden), which is represented,
upon an occasion of emergency, to have drawn an officer with
important despatches the incredible distance of eight hundred
English miles in forty-eight hours.* This event is stated to
have happened in 1699, and the tradition adds, that the deer
dropped down lifeless upon his arrival. Pictet, a French as-
tronomer, who visited the northern parts of Lapland in 1769,
for the purpose of observing the transit of Venus, was anxious
to know the speed of the rein- deer; and therefore started three
rein-deer in light sledges, for a certain short distance, which he
accurately measured. The following was the result : " The
first deer performed 3089 feet, 9 inches, in two minutes, being
at the rate of nearly 19 English miles in an hour, and thus ac-
complishing 25 feet, 9 inches, in every second. The second
did the same in three minutes ; and the third and last deer, in
three minutes and twenty-six seconds. The ground in this race
was nearly level."
The rein-deer requires considerable training to prepare him
fur sledge- travelling; and he always demands an experienced
driver. If the animal is not well broken-in he is unmanageable ;
and if the driver is inexpert, the deer has sagacity enough to turn
round and rid himself of him by the most furious assaults. Mr
l)e Broke several times felt the inconvenience of ill-trained
deer, in his winter journey across Lapland. " The deer we had
procured were as unmanageable and unruly as deer could well be,
being none of them well broken in ; and our first set off was by
no means a pleasant one, as, after tumbling with the quickness
of lightning down the steep bank of the river, the deer proceed-
* De Broke's Winter in Lapland.
K 3
114 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
ed at full gallop across a very rough and broken country, with
steep and slippery descents. It was quite impossible, from the
nature of the ground, to prevent being frequently rolled over in
the pulk (sledge) ; and, when this was the case, the strength
and freshness of the deer, and the good order of the snow, which
was very hard, made them regard very little the additional weight
caused by the prostrate position of the sledge ; so that they con-
tinued to follow, at full speed, the rest of the deer, leaving the
unfortunate wight at their heels to find his balance again as
well as he could. Notwithstanding that which had been har-
nessed to my pulk was by no means a lamb in quietness, I had
good reason to congratulate myself upon having escaped the
animal which one of the party had to his share, and which was
a deer of the wild breed, that had been caught when young by
the Laplanders. In size it was larger than the others, thinner,
with more appearance of bone, and considerably stronger. With
respect to any command over it, this was quite out of the
question ; and it dragged pulk arid driver along with the greatest
ease wherever it pleased." Such instances of resistances to
their drivers are, however, exceptions to the general character of
the rein deer. He is ordinarily so docile that he scarcely needs
any direction ; and so persevering that he toils on, hour after
hour, without any refreshment, except a mouthful of snow which
he hastily snatches. " We again resumed our course, the deer
appearing no way fatigued, and proceeding so steadily and quietly,
that the act of driving them was merely holding the rein, which
became at last so tedious, that some of the party behind lashed
their deer to the sledge before, the whole keeping up a long
steady trot. This is the usual travelling pace of the rein-deer
when performing long journeys ; for though, occasionally, the
animal may proceed at a gallop for some miles on first starting,
or in those situations where the snow is very good, it is natural
to suppose it will gradually relax its pace. The speed of the
party, however, is entirely dependent upon the foremost deer,
by which the motions of those behind are almost entirely regu-
lated ; and I observed, that, when we first set off in the morning,
the instant it had its head at liberty, it almost invariably com-
menced a full gallop, the rest all following at a similar pace, as
if moved by one common impulse. This was kept up by them
as long as they remained unexhausted, the driver having little
THE REIN-DEER. 1 15
power to stop the animal, from the rein being merely attached
in the manner it is to the head. The eagerness of the deer to
set off is frequently followed by ludicrous scenes, the driver
being often placed in an awkward situation, if he be inattentive,
and do not happen to have the rein in his hand at the moment."*
The rein-deer, even in a state of domestication, preserves that
feeling which leads the whole deer tribe to assemble in herds.
This, united with a disposition to follow the leader, so observ-
able among the sheep kind, is shown in the following notice :
" In proceeding along the extensive and endless lakes of Lap-
land, if the number of deer be great, a close and lengthened
procession is invariably formed ; each deer following the fore-
most sledge so closely that the head of the animal is generally
in contact with the shoulders of the driver before. Should the
guide alter his direction, by making a bend to the right or left,
the whole of the deer in the rear will continue their course, till
they arrive at the spot where the turn was made. It thus fre-
quently happens, that, when the distance between the foremost
and hindmost deer is great, the guide making a bend, consider-
able saving might be obtained by cutting across. This, how-
ever, it is scarcely possible to do ; for should the deer even be
pulled by main force out of its former course, it will immediately
turn aside from the new direction it is placed in, and regain the
old track, in spite of all the driver can do to prevent it. It is
useless to contend with the animal ; and the time thus lost
might leave the driver at such a distance from the rest of the
party as to render it a matter of some difficulty to overtake them.
This unwillingness to separate from its companions is one f'ea-
ture of the instinct given to this animal ; and it is the very
circumstance that, more than any other, insures the safety of
the traveller. Should any accident separate him from the rest
of his party, the deer be fatigued, or other occurrences throw
him considerably in the rear, if he trust entirely to his deer, it
will enable him to overtake the rest though they should he some
miles in advance, from the exquisite olfactory sense it possesses.
The animal, in this case, holding its head close to the snow,
keeps frequently smelling, as a dog would do to scent the foot-
steps of its master ; and is thus enabled to follow with certainty
* De Broke, p. 508.
116 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
the track the other deer have gone. Were it not for this pro-
perty of the animal, travelling across Lapland would be not a
little hazardous, particularly in those parts where the weather is
the darkest, which is generally while crossing the mountains of
Finmark. It often happens that the party is unavoidably
scattered, and the sound of the bell enables them to rejoin each
other. The bells, however, should the weather be very thick
and stormy, can only be heard a short distance off; and it is then
by the sagacity of the deer alone that the difficulty is sur-
mounted."*
The travels of the Laplander are not always however made
for his own gain or convenience ; sometimes the migrations
which he undertakes are for the preservation of the deer.
" The causes that induce," says De Broke, " nay, even compel
these people to undertake their long and annual migrations from
the interior parts of Lapland to its coast, though they may
appear singular, are sufficiently powerful. It is well known,
from the account of those travellers who have visited Lapland
during the summer months, that the interior parts of it, parti-
cularly its boundless forests, are so infested by various species
of gnats and other insects, that no animal can escape their
incessant persecutions. Large fires are kindled, in the smoke
of which the cattle hold their heads, to escape the attack of their
enemies ; and even the natives themselves are compelled to
smear their faces with tar, as the only certain protection against
their stings. No creature, however, suffers more than the rein-
deer from the larger species (oestrus tarandi), as it not only
torments it incessantly by its sting, but even deposits its egg in
the wound it makes in its hide. The poor animal is thus tor-
mented to such a degree, that the Laplander, if he were to
remain in the forests during the months of June, July, and
August, would run the risk of losing the greater part of his
herd, either by actual sickness, or from the deer fleeing of their
own accord to mountainous situations to escape the gad-fly.
From these causes, the Laplander is driven from the forests to
the mountains that overhang the Norway and Lapland coasts,
the elevated situations of which, and the cool breezes from the
ocean, are unfavourable to the existence of these troublesome
* De Broko, p. 462.
THE REIN -DEER. J17
insects, which, though found on the coast, are in far less con-
siderable numbers there, and do not quit the valleys ; so that the
deer, by ascending the highlands, can avoid them." The wild
herds of rein-deer ascend the mountains in the summer to free
themselves from these parasitical insects of the forests ; and the
tame deer often wander from their masters for the same object.
These insects, particularly the oestrus, so terrify the herds, that
the appearance of a single one will render them furious. The
Laplanders say, that one of their objects in going to the coasts
is, that the deer may drink the sea- water ; and that he takes one
draught, which destroys the larvae of the fly, but never repeats it.
According to the accounts of the people of Finmark, the
attacks of these fearful creatures are riot the only torments of
the rein-deer. An insect, or rather worm, the furia infernalis,
originally mentioned by Linnaeus, is said to produce the most
fatal effects upon the herds. Linnaeus, indeed, altered his
opinion late in life as to the existence even of this worm ; and
the Swedish naturalists now treat it as entirely fabulous. Dr
Clarke, however, supposes himself to have been wounded by
this very creature during his travels in Sweden. The Lap-
landers themselves firmly believe in its existence : and its fatal
powers, as represented by these people, are thus described by De
Broke : " In 1823, the Laplanders are stated to have suffered
so greatly in their herds, that five thousand head died from the
sting of this creature; and that even the wolves and other animals,
that preyed upon the dead carcasses, caught the infection, and
died with the same symptoms. A Laplander, who possessed
five hundred deer, on perceiving the destruction among them,
thought it best to kill the whole herd ; but so quickly did its
ravages spread, that, before he could accomplish his purpose,
they all died. Great numbers of cattle and sheep were likewise
destroyed by its attack, and it fell in some degree upon the
human species, a few having become victims to it. A young
girl, who was shearing some sheep that had died from the attack
of the furia, felt, while thus employed, a sudden pain in one of
her fingers, which rapidly increased, and on examining the part,
she found a small puncture, like the prick of a needle ; her
master, who was by, had the presence of mind to cut the finger
off on the spot, and it was the means of saving her life. The
pest is stated to have been confined to Russian and Swedish
118 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
Lapland, and did not spread higher than Muonioniska. Nor-
wegian Lapland fortunately was not visited with this calamity ;
and, in order to prevent it from being introduced, all furs, during
the year of its prevalence, were forbidden to be purchased."
We shall conclude our notice of the rein-deer, by an account
of the hunting of the animal in its wild state, as related by Lyon
and Franklin : " The rein-deer," says Lyon, " visits the polar
regions at the latter end of May or the early part of June, and
remains until late in September. On his first arrival he is thin,
and his flesh is tasteless, but the short summer is sufficient to
fatten him to two or three inches on the haunches. When feed-
ing on the level ground, an Esquimaux makes no attempt to
approach him, but should a few rocks be near, the wary hunter
feels secure of his prey. Behind one of these he cautiously
creeps, and having laid himself very close, with his bow and
arrow before him, imitates the bellow of the deer when calling
to each other. Sometimes, for more complete deception, the
hunter wears his deer-skin coat and hood so drawn over his head,
as to resemble, in a great measure, the unsuspecting animals he
is enticing. Though the bellow proves a considerable attraction,
yet if a man has great patience he may do without it, and may
be equally certain that his prey will ultimately come to examine
him ; the rein-deer being an inquisitive animal, and at the same
time so silly, that if he sees any suspicious object which is not
actually chasing him, he will gradually, and after many caperings,
and forming repeated circles, approach nearer and nearer to it.
The Esquimaux rarely shoot until the creature is within twelve
paces, and I have frequently been told of their being killed at a
much shorter distance. It is to be observed that the hunters
never appear openly, but employ stratagem for their purpose ;
thus, by patience and ingenuity, rendering their rudely-formed
bows, and still worse arrows, as effective as the rifles of
Europeans. When two men hunt in company, they sometimes
purposely show themselves to the deer, and when his attention
is fully engaged, walk slowly away from him, one before the
other. The deer follows, and when the hunters arrive near a
stone, the foremost drops behind it and prepares his bow, while
his companion continues walking steadily forward. This latter,
the deer still follows unsuspectingly, and thus passes near the
concealed man, who takes a deliberate aim and kills the animal.
THE REIN-UEER. J19
When the deer assemble in herds, there are particular passes
which they invariably take, and on being driven to them are
killed by arrows by the men, while the women with shouts
drive them to the water. Here they swim with the ease and
activity of water-dogs, the people in kayaks chasing and easily
spearing them ; the carcasses float, and the hunter then presses
forward and kills as many as he finds in his track. No springs
or traps are used in the capture of these animals, as is practised
to the southward, in consequence of the total absence of standing
wood." Captain Franklin describes the mode in which the
Dog-rib Indians kill the rein-deer, which he had from Mr
Wentzel, who resided long amongst that people : " The hunters
go in pairs, the foremost man carrying in one hand the horns
and part of the skin of the head of a deer, and in the other a
small bundle of twigs, against which he, from time to time, rubs
the horns, imitating the gestures peculiar to the animal. His
comrade follows, treading exactly in his footsteps, and holding
the guns of both in a horizontal position, so that the muzzles
project under the arms of him who carries the head. Both
hunters have a fillet of white skin round their foreheads, and
the foremost has a strip of the same round his wrists. They
approach the herd by degrees, raising their legs very slowly, but
setting them down somewhat suddenly, after the manner of a
deer, and always taking care to lift their right or left feet
simultaneously. If any of the herd leave off feeding to gaze
upon this extraordinary phenomenon, it instantly stops, and the
head begins to play its part by licking its shoulders, and per-
forming other necessary movements. In this way the hunters
attain the very centre of the herd without exciting suspicion,
and have leisure to single out the fattest. The hindmost man
then pushes forward his comrade's gun, the head is dropped,
and they both fire nearly at the same instant. The deer scamper
off, the hunters trot after them ; in a short time the poor
animals halt, to ascertain the cause of their terror; their foes
stop at the same moment, and having loaded as they ran, greet
the gazers with a second fatal discharge. The consternation of
the deer increases ; they run to and fro in the utmost confusion ;
and sometimes a great part of the herd is destroyed within the
space of a few hundred yards."
THE HOG KIND.
THE WILD BOAR.
THIS is the original, from which all the different kinds of the
tame hog have sprung. He is not subject to the varieties of the
domestic races, but is uniformly of a brindled or dark gray, in-
clining to black. His snout is longer than that of the tame hog,
his ears short, and pricked. He has formidable tusks in each
jaw, sometimes nearly a foot long, those in the upper jaw,
bending upwards in a circular form, exceedingly sharp, and
those with which the animal defends himself and frequently
inflicts mortal wounds.
The wild boar is to be found in various parts of Europe and
Asia, and in Africa. The hunting of this animal has always
afforded a rather barbarous sport to the natives of the countries
in which it is to be found. The season for this sport is in the
beginning of winter. The older boars are preferred, as turning
sooner upon the dogs. The boars leave a strong scent behind
them, so that ordinary mastiffs are preferred for the chase. The
huntsmen ride with the dogs, and encourage them at the same
time that, by the spear, they endeavour to dishearten the boar.
The spear is generally directed towards the front of the animal's
head, but cautiously, for were the boar to seize the spear, which
it attempts to do, it would wrest it from the hand of the hunter,
who, unless supported, would fall a victim to its strength and
ferocity. There are generally more hunters than one ; the boar
is called off by each as he provokes it, and the animal thus gener-
ally perishes by a system of alternate attack.
THE WILD BOAR. 121
The boar was a very formidable animal among the savage
nations of antiquity ; often laying waste whole provinces, and
its destruction conferring a claim to the title of hero, on the
person who was successful in killing it :
Where Calydon on rocky mountain stands
Once fought the .flto!ian and Curetian bands ;
To guard it those, to conquer these advance,
And mutual deaths were dealt with mutual chance.
The silver Cynthia bade contention rise.
In vengeance of neglected sacrifice ;
On OSneus' fields she sent a monstrous boar,
That levelled harvests and whole forests tore,
This beast, when many a chief his tusks had slain,
Great Meleager stretch'd along the plain, &c.
POPE'S HOMER'S ILIAD, IK.
The victory was not always on the side of the hero. The
death of Adonis, so celebrated in antiquity, was occasioned by a
boar;
By chance the dogs, pursuing long before,
His scenting footings had dislodged a boar,
Whom, rushing from his covert, the bold youth
Obliquely wounds. The boar, with crooked tooth,
Writhes out the javelin, with his blood embrued,
Who now the safety-seeking youth pursued,
Sheathing his tushes in his groin, and threw
To earth the dying boy.
SANDYS' OVID'S MET. x.
The skin of the boar is of remarkable strength and thickness,
capable of resisting or impeding the progress of very powerful
weapons. In the year 1787, a boar of an extraordinary size
near Cognac, in Angoumois, resisted all the attempts of the
huntsmen, and killed several dogs and men whenever he was
attacked. He was at length slain, and several bullets were
found between his skin and flesh. Of the power which the
animal has of enduring wounds with the spear, the following
notice by Bruce* furnishes a proof. " We pitched our tent in
a small plain by the banks of a quick clear running stream ; the
spot is called Mai-Shum. A peasant had made a very neat
little garden, on both sides of the rivulet, in which he had sown
abundance of onions and garlic, and he had a species of pumpkin
* Travels, vol. iv. p. 330.
L
122 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
which I thought was little inferior to a melon. This man
guessed by our arms and our horses that we were hunters, and
he brought us a present of the fruits of his garden, and begged
our assistance against a number of wild boars, which carried
havoc and desolation through all his labours, marks of which
were indeed too visible every where Amongst us all we killed
five boars, all large ones, in the space of about two hours ; one
of which measured six feet nine inches ; and though he ran at
an amazing speed near two miles, so as to be with difficulty
overtaken by the horse, and was struck through and through
with two heavy lances loaded at the end with iron, no person
dared to come near him on foot, and he defended himself above
half an hour, till having no other arms left, I shot him with a
horse-pistol."
The rajahs of some of the northern provinces of India have
an ungenerous mode of shooting the wild boar. On the brow
of a hill they build little clay fortresses, at the foot of which a
quantity of food is scattered every evening. The voice and
person of their feeder are at length rendered familiar to them,
and they will take their meal with considerable confidence as
soon as he has retired to a small distance. The rajah conceals
himself in the fortress, and when the unsuspecting animals come
to feed, he shoots them through a hole in the wall.
Nearly resembling the common hog in appearance, but possess-
ing the ferocity and strength of the wild boar, is the boar of
Ethiopia. It is distinguished from both, however, by the breadth
of its snout, by two great lobes or wattles under the eyes, placed so
as to prevent the sight of any thing immediately beneath them,
but above all, by the habit of living in holes underground. They
inhabit the hottest parts of Africa, and as they are of a savage
disposition, and often rush to the attack unexpectedly, their re-
treats are cautiously avoided by the natives. A boar of this
species was, in 1 765, sent by the governor of the Cape of Good
Hope to the Prince of Orange. From confinement and atten-
tion he became tolerably mild and gentle, except when offended,
in which case even those persons to whose care he was intrusted
were afraid of him. In general, however, when the door of his
cage was opened, he came out in perfect good humour, frisked
about in search of food, and greedily devoured whatever was
given him. He was one day left alone in the court-yard for a
THE HOG. 123
few minutes, and on the return of the keeper was found busily
digging into the earth, where, notwithstanding the cemented
bricks of the pavement, he had made a very large hole, with the
purpose, as was afterwards conceived, of reaching a common
sewer that passed at a considerable depth below. When after
long confinement he was set at liberty, for a little while he was '
very gay, and leaped about in an entertaining manner.
During Sparrman's residence in Africa, he witnessed a curious
method by which these animals protected their young when
pursued. The heads of the females, which at the commence-
ment of the chase had seemed of a tolerable size, appeared, on
a sudden, to have grown larger and more shapeless than they
were. This be found to have been occasioned by the fact, that
each of the old ones, during its flight, had taken up and carried
forward a young pig in its mouth ; and this explained to him
another subject of surprise, which was, that all the pigs he had
just before been chasing, with the old ones, had suddenly vanished.
The boar is considered unclean, both by Christians and
Mahometans in the regions of Northern Africa ; it is conse-
quently not much persecuted by the hunter, and should have
multiplied, were it not, like many other beasts, destroyed when
young by the voracious hyaena.*
THE effect of domestication on the larger animals, seems to
be a diminution of their powers of resistance or defence, no
longer necessary to their safety ; and on account of the want of
free exercise, an increase of size, attended by a relaxation of the
fibres and frame of the body. On these accounts, domestication
has told with considerable disadvantage on the hog. By the
diminution of the size of its tusks, and of its inclination or power
to use them, it ceases to be very formidable ; and by luxurious
habits, by overfeeding, and indolence, the animal that fearless
ranges the forest, becomes one, whose sole delight it seems to
be, to rise to eat, and to lie down to digest ; and that animal,
* Uruce's Travels, Appendix, p. 191.
i. 2
121 ANECDOTi.8 OF ANIMALS.
whose external appearance, beyond that of any other quadruped,
testifies the gluttony of its disposition and of its practices.
The hog uses considerable selection in its vegetable diet, but
it compensates itself for the loss which its appetite might thus
sustain, by occasional recourse to animal food. While digging
for roots, it does not reject worms or frogs ; it will eat the offals
of markets, or putrid flesh, and will occasionally chew bones.
In the island of Sumatra, it feeds upon crabs as well as vege-
tables. The following statement, made a few years ago, by a
gentleman in Stanbridge, developes the carnivorous propensities
which the hog sometimes, in a condition of perfect domestication,
discovers, the variety too of animals which it is inclined to
devour : " I had a pig," says this writer, " of the Chinese
species, a most voracious fellow, but through necessity I have
lately been obliged to have him killed, finding him incompatible
with the safety of my rabbits, hens, and ducks. Previous to
possessing him, I had a small warren of about forty yards square,
walled in, and well stocked with various coloured rabbits, which
I had been at infinite pains to collect. But unfortunately, one
day a rabbit having intruded into his stye, the pig immediately
caught and devoured it. This having given him an opportunity
of knowing the agreeable flavour of rabbit, he next day when let
out directed his course to the warren, and soon was successful
in securing one ; he then returned to his stye, and consumed it
with the greatest avidity. After this circumstance occurred,
he was confined three weeks, but being again set at liberty, he
immediately returned to bis favourite pursuit, and after trying
various manoeuvres for the space of a quarter of an hour, he
seized another rabbit, and was returning, when I ordered my
servant to take it away ; unluckily for the servant, the pig, after
trying many devices to get by him, crouched for a moment, and
then running furiously at him, seized on his leg, lacerating
it so severely, that he was confined to the house for six weeks.
So greedy was the pig, that while the man was limping towards
the house, he actually went back to his prey, and carried it off
victoriously. Being at a party the next day, and relating the
above, a gentleman in company appeared to doubt the veracity
of it. I asked him, with the rest of the party, to dine with me
the following day, that they might witness the exploits of the
creature. They all attended at an early hour. No sooner had
THE HOG. 125
we released bim, than off he went with the most voracious
eagerness, and entered the warren through a hole in the wall ;
but he was not quite so successful to-day, for after making many
fruitless attempts, most of the rabbits were driven to their
burrows. He now seemed, as we supposed, despairing of success,
as he laid down amongst some furze, but on our returning to the
house, we were surprised by the cry of his victim, and imme-
diately turning round, saw him coming through the hole in the
wall with a fine black rabbit. The gentleman who doubted the
facts over night, nearly met the fate of my servant; but by
actively springing over him at the moment the furious animal
was seizing his legs, he escaped unhurt. After showing his
dexterity to many more gentlemen, I devised means to keep him
out of the warren. The carnivorous animal then took to my
ducks and hens ; still, however, I put up with his depredations
while he confined himself to my own yard, but having visited a
neighbour's, and killed two ducks and a favourite Guinea-hen,
and much frightened the lady who went to drive him away, I
was obliged to kill him the next morning." *
It is not surprising, that with such voracious propensities, the
hog should sometimes grow to an excessive size. One, which
about four years ago was in the possession of a Mr Lunton, at
Bodmain, measured nine feet in length, seven feet five inches in
girth, and weighed eight hundred and fifteen pounds. This size
it had attained before it was twenty-two months old. Some
have weighed twelve hundred pounds. The sow, particularly
that from China, which has been very extensively mixed of late
with the breed of this country, is also very prolific. It produces
twice in the year, and from ten to twenty at a litter : a person in
Perth had one that littered twenty-nine pigs ; and another, who
lived in Leicestershire, had one that produced three hundred and
fifty pigs in twenty litters. From such a rapidly multiplying
progeny, it is evident, the whole stock in Europe could be
speedily replaced.
Yet the hog is not without a certain degree of sagacity.
Their sense of smell is far from being blunt ; there is a notice
of one having been taught to perform the service of a pointer,
and find game. A gamekeeper of Sir Henry Mildmay broke a
* Sporting Magazine, New Series, voL vii. p. 163,
L 3
126 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
black sow to find game, back and stand to her point nearly as
steadily as a well-bred dog. The sow was a thin long-legged
animal of the New Forest breed. When young, it manifested a
great partiality for some pointer puppies, and it occurred to the
gamekeeper, that as he had often succeeded with obstinate dogs,
he might attempt to break a pig. He enticed her to follow
him by bits of barley-meal pudding, which he carried in one
of his pockets, while the other was filled with stones, which he
threw at his pupil when she misbehaved, as she would not allow
herself to be caught and corrected like a dog. Under this sys-
tem she proved tolerably tractable. When she came on the cold
scent of game she slackened her trot, and gradually dropped her
ears and tail till she was certain, and then fell down on her
knees. As soon as the game rose she returned, grunting for
her reward of pudding. When the gamekeeper died, his widow
sent the pig to Sir H. Mildmay who kept it for three years,
and often amused his friends by hiding a fowl among the
fern in some part of the park, and bringing out the pig, which
never failed to point at it in the manner described. Sometime
after, a great number of lambs were lost nearly as soon as they
were dropped, and a person being sent to watch the flock, de-
tected the sow in the act of devouring a lamb. This carnivorous
propensity was ascribed to her having been accustomed to feed
with the dogs on flesh ; but it obliterated the memory of her
singular sagacity, and she was killed for the benefit of the widow
of the gamekeeper who had trained her.* An animal possessing
so good a sense of smell, readily ascertains where those roots on
which it feeds are to be found. In some parts of Italy, hogs
are used for hunting truffles, which grow a few inches deep in
the ground. A cord is tied round the hind-leg of one of the
animals, it is driven into one of the pastures, and wherever it
stops and begins to root with its nose, that species of mushroom
is always to be found. The hog also discovers its sensibility by
being peculiarly affected from the approach of a storm or strong
wind, running about its stye in great agitation, and carrying
straw as if to provide against the effects.
If the hog in its domesticated state does not altogether lose
the acuteness of the senses which belong to its natural condition,
*Sce Goldsmith's Natural History, vol. ii. p. 151 n.
THE HOG. 127
neither can we be always assured that it has laid aside its ferocity.
It is indeed generally sluggish and inactive, attached iu a small
degree to the persons that it commonly sees, and especially to
its feeders, yet it occasionally breaks out into enormities that
discover its savage disposition. A woman residing near Sligo
having occasion to go to a neighbouring well for water, left her
infant sleeping in its cradle. During her absence nine swine
entered the house, dragged the child from the cradle and com-
menced tearing it to pieces. The child's cries attracted the
notice of some persons passing, who ran into the house and drove
off the swine, but not till the child was so much injured that it
expired in a few minutes. A few years ago, a dealer in hogs
was driving a large boar which he kept ; when near the canal
bridge in Maiden-lane, the beast turned on him with the utmost
ferocity, and inflicted with its tusks several wounds on his abdo-
men. He was immediately placed on a cart for conveyance to
St Bartholemew's Hospital, but he died on the way.
The strength of the hog and the formidable nature of those
tusks with which it is furnished, render it a formidable opponent
to most beasts of prey, but it adds in some cases to the force
which it individually possesses, the advantages of acting in con-
cert with its own kind. In the United States the hogs are
often allowed to run almost wild among the woods, which abound
in acorns, their favourite food, and they then become very active
and fierce. A gentleman travelling some years ago through the
wilds of Vermont, observed before him a herd of swine to which
his attention was still farther called by the appearance of agita-
tion which they exhibited. He perceived that they had secured
their pigs in the centre of the herd, in the same manner as wild
sheep do their lambs, and that the older hogs were arranged
around them in a conical figure, having their heads all turned
outwards. At the apex of this cone stood a huge boar, the
master of the herd. He now observed that a famished wolf was
attempting by various methods, to seize one of the lesser hogs
in the middle, the large boar always presenting himself to its
attacks, and the hogs dexterously accommodating themselves to
the change of position. The attention of the traveller being a
moment withdrawn, when he turned to view the combatants the
herd had dispersed and the wolf was not to be seen. On riding
up to the spot, he found the wolf lying dead on the ground with
128 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
a rent in his side more than a foot in length, which the boar had
no doubt on a favourable opportunity inflicted.*
Somewhat analogous to the military are the naval tactics of
the hog ; for there is a species of the animal inhabiting the
island of Sumatra, which at certain times of the year swims in
herds of sometimes not less than a thousand, from one side of
the river Siak to the other, a breadth of three or four miles, and
returns after a stated period. The form of the wedge, indeed,
is in this case laid aside for that of the column ; but the boars
still take the lead, followed by the females and the young, all in
regular rows and each resting its head on the hinder parts of the
one preceding. They are however particularly exposed at these
times to the attack of the Salettians, a distinct tribe of the
Malays, who occupy the shores of the Siak. These go out in
flat boats, throw mats before the leaders of as many of the rows
as they can reach, and though the row perseveres in its forward
motion, even when the leader is blinded, still their whole pro-
gress is so much impeded that they are easily pierced by the
hunters who are furnished with javelins for this purpose. The
animals when killed are picked up and carried off in the larger
boats which follow.
We shall conclude our notices of the hog by the mention of
an extraordinary dwarf-pig, possessed a few years ago by Mr
Knell, near Maidstone, which weighed only fourteen ounces,
was seven inches in length from the snout to the end of the tail,
five inches and a half round the body, and three inches three
quarters in height. It was produced at a litter, of which the
others were of the ordinary size, had a head rather larger in
proportion to its body, was in perfect health, squeaked loud and
ran fast. It likewise fed very well, but what effect this had in
gradually assimilating its appearance to that of the rest of its
species, we are not informed.
* It has been remarked, that the Romans, among their various methods of
drawing up their forces in the field of battle, had one of the same nature as
that now described which they called the wedge, or hog's head. The allu-
sion, however, we need not suppose to be made to this practice of herds of
swine, but to the shape of the head of the animal.
THE BABYROOESSA. 129
THE PECCARY.
THE distinctions between this animal and the hog, though
not drawn from external appearance, are decided. The head is
indeed shorter, the snout proportionally longer, and the tail
so fiat and so concealed among the bristles of its skin, that it
has been said to be without one ; but what chiefly distinguishes
it, not only from the hog, but from all other animals, is a large
gland immediately under the skin on the middle of the loins.
When killed, this must be immediately cut off; for, if the oper-
ation were deferred only half an hour, the flesh would become
unfit to be eaten. They are not nearly so prolific as the hog j
and this circumstance, along with the fetid odour of their glands,
has prevented them from undergoing extensive domestication.
They are left to the forests, which they prefer, and to the place
where they were propagated, and which they do not generally
choose to leave.
When taken young they may be domesticated like the hog.
One which was in the possession of Mr Pidcock, of Exeter
Change, was so perfectly tame as to be allowed the range of
one of the principal apartments in the menagerie. It is a na-
tive of South America, and is sometimes described under the
name of the Mexican hog.
THE BABYROtTESSA.
THIS animal is supposed to be the one mentioned by ^Elian,
under the title of the four-horned, and by Cosmeo, under the
name of the swine-deer. In both of these allusion is made to
the distinguishing characteristics of the animal, its four tusks,
the two strongest of which proceed from the under jaw like
those of the \yild boar ; the other two rise like horns on the out-
side of the upper jaw, just above the nose, and extend in a
curve over the eyes, almost touching the forehead, and fully
twelve inches in length. They are of beautiful ivory, but not
so bard as those of the elephant.
The form of the animal is not so heavy as in the case of tie
J30 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
other species of the hog ; it is covered with a short wool-like
hair, of a brownish colour ; the skin is thin, and the flesh said
to be palatable. Its voice resembles that of the pig. Its sense of
smell is very acute. When hunted it flies towards the water, if
there be any near. It inhabits the islands in the Indian Archi-
pelago, and swims readily from one to another. Though an
animal long discovered, its habits are little known, and no per-
fect specimen of it has ever been brought to Europe.
The singular tusks of the babyrouessa have been very point-
edly noticed by Paley,* as an instance of an extraordinary struc-
ture having an unexpected use. " It has two bent teeth more
than half a yard long, growing upwards, and (which is the singu-
larity) from the upper jaw. These instruments are not wanted
for oifence, that service being provided for, by two tusks issuing
from the under-jaw and resembling those of the common boar ;
nor does the animal use them for defence. They might seem
therefore to be both a superfluity and incumbrance. But observe
the event : the animal sleeps standing ; and in order to support
its head, hooks its upper jaws upon the branches of trees."
* Nat. Theology, p. 274.
OF THE CAT KIND.
THE animals of the cat kind are distinguished, among quad-
rupeds, for their power, beauty, agility, and ferocity. As a
class, they are the most formidable of all other animals, and
the least useful to man. On the score of utility, indeed, the
only one which has any claims to public attention is the smallest
of the tribe, the Domestic Cat, or the Cat, par excellence ;
and yet its usefulness is by many held to be apocryphal, or is
not generally recognised to the extent which it merits. This,
however, is but one of several acts of injustice done to the cha-
racter of grimalkin, which it shall be our pleasure, as well as
duty, to expose. The cat genus embraces the lion, the tiger,
the panther, the leopard, the puma, the jaguar, the ounce, the
ocelot, &c. Of all these we shall have something pleasant to
record in their proper order, taking up, in the first place, the
common cat, according to the arrangement of Goldsmith.
IT is the misfortune of cats, that they are generally brought
into contrast with dogs, whose fidelity, attachment, and saga-
city are so often subjects of admiration. But it is obviously
unfair to bring into comparison animals differently constituted,
and dissimilar both in their pretensions and capabilities. Man-
kind, in such estimates, are apt, besides, to be influenced by
selfish motives, and to applaud those qualities only which mini-
ster to their own interest, importance, or gratification. The
132 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
character of the dog, for example, however admirable in our own
eyes, would, if viewed in a universal spirit, be open to impeach-
ment. His attachment and fidelity are certainly very gratifying,
so far as we are concerned j but it cannot be denied, that he is
a traitor to his own order, and a terror, not to speak of a disgrace,
to all his four-footed connexions. He abandons his kind, and
becomes the willing slave and fawning parasite of man ready to
wage war with every creature, his own tribe not excepted. There
is no indignity, whether of lash or kick, from the hands of his
master, to which he will object, and no paltry office, not even
that of turnspit, too humiliating for him to fulfil. He will go
crouching through the fields to point out poor partridges for de-
struction, and condescend to watch wood-yards with a chain
about his neck, as if he had a standing interest in fir deals and
splinters ! Look if the cat will so far forget her natural dignity,
or outrage any of her inherent propensities, for the gratification
of man. She is connected with royalty, the head of her family
being the lion, the king of the forest and she therefore appro-
priately leads a luxurious life, having a proper aristocratic
indifference to every thing which does not minister to her own
pleasure. It must be from her relationship, that the adage has
arisen, " A cat may look at a king." Like the rest of the nobi-
lity, she is much given to hunting, birding, and fishing, but hates
all other sorts of exertion. When not engaged in the chase
after " mice and such small deer," she loiters by the fireside, on
chair or sofa, humming a tune, in falsetto voice, or feeling with
her paw the length of her whiskers. She is a courtier by pro-
fession, and loves to bask in the sun. In every revolution, she
takes care to "light on her feet." She is more attached to
places than persons, being generally ready to sacrifice the one for
the other. She keeps fashionable hours, for she is generally up
all night at play, and goes to bed when the sun rises. She is
also passionately fond of serenading on the house tops, when all
the " lower classes" are asleep. She " stands or falls by her
order," and by the merits of her order she should alone be
judged.
However cheaply cats may be now held in this country, they
were in ancient times and in other countries greatly esteemed
and even venerated. This may be inferred from the fables of
and Phaedrus, in which the cat is frequently made to dis-
THE CAT. 133
play its cunning and sagacity, both as actor and interlocutor. By
the Egyptians, cats were considered as an emblem of the moon,
and placed upon their systrum, an instrument of religious wor-
ship and divination : to slay a cat was death by law ; and the
Roman soldier who killed one, ignorantly and unawares, was
torn to pieces by the enraged people in the streets. When a
cat died, the family to which it belonged mourn,d, as fora child ;
it was carried into a consecrated house, embalmed and wrapt in
linen, and interred with religious rites at Bulastis, a city of
Lower Egypt, being placed in a sepulchre near the altar of the
principal temple. Cambyses conquered Thebes, by placing in
front of the Persian army a corps of cats, with other animals vene-
rated by the Egyptians ; and, not daring to advance to the combat,
the Theban garrison fell, as tlw wily invader had anticipated, an
unresisting prey to his stratagem. At the present day, they are
still much respected in Egypt. The Mohammedans have an
extraordinary veneration for them. Baumgarten saw at Damas-
cus an hospital for cats, which was a large building, walled round,
and said to be full of them. This singular institution, it is said,
originated Li the circumstance of Mahomet having brought with
him a cat to Damascus, which he kept carefully in the sleeve of
his gown, and fed with his own hands.
It is not known when cats were introduced into this island,
or to what country they originally belong, although some suppose
them to have been brought to England from Cyprus. It is
natural to imagine that their value would be regulated by their
scarcity. Southey, in his History of the Brazils, narrates that
the first couple of cats which were carried to Cuyaba, sold for a
pound weight of gold. As there was a plague of rats in the
settlement, these cats were purchased as a speculation, which
proved an excellent one. The first kittens were sold for the
sum of thirty oitavas each. The next generation were worth
twenty ; and the price gradually fell as the inhabitants became
stocked with these beautiful and useful creatures. Montenegro
presented to the elder Almagro the first cat which was brought
to South America, and was rewarded for it with six hundred
pesos.
Camden records a story similar to that famous one of Whit-
tington and his cat," How Alphonse, a Portuguese, being
wrecked on the coast of Guinea, and being presented, by the
134 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
king thereof, with his weight in gold, for a cat to kill their mice,
and an ointment to kill their flies, which he improved within five
years, to six thousand pounds on the place, and, returning to
Portugal, after fifteen years' traffic, became the third man in the
kingdom." Sir W. Gore Ouseley quotes a similar legend from
a Persian MS.
The laws of Howell Dba, Prince of Wales in the 10th cen-
tury, give us the exact value of Welsh cats ; for the ancient
law of Wales estimates a cat at the price of as much corn as
would be sufficient to cover her, if she were suspended by the
tail, with her fore feet touching the ground. The price of a
kitten, before it could see, was fixed at one penny; till proof
could be given of its having caught a mouse, at twopence ; af-
ter which, it was rated at fourpence, which was a great sum in
those days, when the value of specie was extremely high. It
was likewise required that it should be perfect in its senses of
hearing and seeing.
We are informed by Browne, in his Natural History of
Jamaica, that cats are considered a very dainty dish among the
negroes j and Goethe, in his Rifleman's Comrade, says, " At
Palmero, some of the soldiers caught a cat belonging to a con-
vent, and, having skinned the carcass, it was cut into pieces,
and socked twenty-four hours in vinegar, then anointed with
garlic and honey, until the strong flavour had left it, after which
it formed an excellent/ricassee. To be serious," continues our
author, " I can assure my readers, that the flesh of a well fed
cat is extremely good. It is indeed, (presuming her to be pro-
perly dressed,) not only agreeable in taste, but actually a dainty ;
and it is imagination and prejudice alone which protect the feline
race amongst us from the uses of the gastronomic art." In for-
mer days, cats had a place in the pharmacopeia, sundry medica-
ments being composed of their head, paws, liver, &c. for the use
of invalids.
Among the superstitions connected with cats, Mills, in his
History of the Crusades, narrates the following custom, as prac-
tised by Christians in the middle ages : " At Aix, in Provence,
on the festival of Corpus Christi, the finest tom-cat of the coun-
try, wrapped in swaddling clothes, like a child, was exhibited
in a magnificent shrine to public admiration. Every knee was
bent, every hand strewed flowers, or poured incense, and grimal-
THE CAT. 135
kin was treated in every respect as the god of day. But on the
festival of St John, poor Tom's fate was reversed ; a number of
the tabby tribe were put into a wicker basket, and thrown alive
into the midst of a large fire, kindled in the public square by the
bishop and his clergy. Hymns and anthems were sung, and
processions were made by the people in honour of the sacrifice."
A cat has been at all times an indispensable companion of a
witch, and the fact of keeping one formed a confirmatory part of
the libel of witchcraft. On Hallowe'en, it was usual in Scot-
land for families to tie up their cat, in order to preserve it from
being used as a poney by the witches that night. Those who
neglected this precaution ran the risk of seeing their cat scam-
pering through the fields, with a witch on its back, on the high
road to Norway. A black cat was commonly sacrificed by
the ancients to Hecate, or among the Scandinavians, to Frea,
the northern Hecate. A black cat, sent with a prayer book and
a bag of sand into a new house, so as to precede the proprietor
in possession, was formerly deemed essential to insure prosperity
to the person changing his abode. To steal a black cat, and
bury it alive, is in the Irish Highlands considered as a specific
for a disorder in cattle, termed " blacklegs," which otherwise
proves fatal. A black cat is an object of great superstitious
aversion to the sailor, nor is it often regarded with more
favourable eyes by the landsman.
When cats wash their faces with their paws, it is generally sup-
posed to indicate rain or a storm, and of this opinion was Linnaeus.
To dream of cats is said to be unlucky, denoting quarrels and
treachery on the part of friends. That cats will suck the breath
of children until they die, and that they can play with serpents
and remain uninjured, are old prejudices which nobody now
believes. A writer in the Connoisseur thus ridicules some frets
regarding cats : " If the cat turned her tail to the fire, we
were to have a hard frost ; if the cat licked her tail, rain would
certainly ensue. They wondered what stranger they should see,
because puss washed her face over her left ear. The old lady
complained of a cold, and her eldest daughter remarked it would
go through the family ; for she observed that poor Tab had
sneezed several times. Poor tab, however, once flew at one of
my cousins, for which she had like to have been destroyed, as
Kf
136 ANECUOTE6 OF ANIMALS.
the whole family began to think she was no other than a
witch."
Cats possess in an eminent degree the qualities of vigilance,
patience, gentleness, and maternal affection. They also mani-
fest a grateful sense of kindness conferred, by purring, rubbing
and rolling, licking of the hand extended to caress them, and a
gentle undulatory motion of the tail. Although the cat has not
the same natural and unshaken attachment for mankind as the
dog, yet it often displays unequivocal proofs of regard and
affection. The following instances may be given:
The earl of Southampton, the friend and companion of the
earl of Essex in his fatal insurrection, was one day surprised by
a visit from his favourite cat, which is said to have reached its
master by descending the chimney of his apartment.
M. Zimmerman, a schoolmaster at Thorn, had a cat, which
had been the constant companion of one of his sons from his
infancy, and they were mutually attached. The child became
sick, when the cat kept close to his bed, day and night. He
died, and the affectionate cat would not quit his remains till
they were interred. She then crept into a retired corner of the
house, and, refusing sustenance, pined herself to death.
In a village of Stirlingshire, a poor man, whose domestic
habits were very retired, grew weary of life, and stole from the
world by that forbidden step, to which too many, becoming the
dupes of their own unfounded worldly fears and foolish notions,
drive themselves. The only other inmate of his cabin was a
favourite cat, who, during the time that the corpse lay in the
house, evinced the strongest desire to lie close by it ; but this
was not permitted by the attendants, partly from superstitious
feelings, and also from distrusting the cat's real motives. On
the morning after the funeral, a number of schoolboys visited
the grave, which, on account of the recent singular circumstances
connected with its silent tenant, and from the novelty of its
being placed at the outer boundary of the churchyard, claimed
their peculiar regard. Their curiosity, however, was much more
eScited at a very unlooked-for occurrence, in finding a deep hole
made into the side of the grave. The story took wing, and the
whole neighbourhood was soon astir. The disturbed turf was
again restored to its place, and the good folks of the village con-
gratulated themselves on the narrow escape it had made from
THE CAT. 137
the ravages of the churchyard marauders. Another morning
followed, and more than ordinary interest seemed to be excited,
as numbers made an early visit to the grave. Again the turf
was found displaced by some unknown sacrilegious hand, and a
hole, darker and deeper dug than ever, yawned into the very
bowels of the tomb. What was to be done? While the whole
assemblage looked aghast, and communicated with each other
only in broken ejaculations and expressions of surprise, their
fears were suddenly dissipated, by the " midnight resurrectionist"
starting from the dreary hole, in the shape of a poor frightened
cat, whose affection for her master had literally followed him to
the grave. Her efforts to share his tenement of clay ended not
Jiere ; for several mornings, fresh proofs were found of her
unceasing perseverance : and these were only put a stop to by
her death, which, after many an unsuccessful attempt, was at
length effected by a gunshot.
" A country gentleman of our acquaintance," says the Editor
of the Edinburgh Evening Courant, " who is neither a friend to
thieves not poachers, has at this moment in his household, a
favourite cat, whose honesty, he is sorry to say, there is but too
much reason to call in question. The animal, however, is far
from being selfish in her principles ; for her acceptable gleanings
she regularly shares among the children of the family in which
her lot is cast. It is the habit of this grimalkin to leave the
kitchen or parlour, as often as hunger and an opportunity may
occur, and wend her way to a certain pastrycook's shop, where,
the better to conceal her purpose, she endeavours slyly to ingra-
tiate herself into favour with the mistress of the house. As soon as
the shopkeeper's attention becomes engrossed in business, or
otherwise, puss contrives to pilfer a small pie or tart from the
shelves on which they are placed, speedily afterwards making
the best of her way home with her booty. She then carefully
delivers her prize to some of the little ones in the nursery. A
division of the stolen property quickly takes place ; and here it
is singularly amusing to observe the sleehit animal, not the least
conspicuous among the numerous group, thankfully mumping
her share of the illegal traffic. We may add, that the pastrycook
is by no means disposed to institute a legal process against poor
Mrs Gib, as the children of the gentleman to whom we allude
are honest enough to acknowledge their fourfooted playmate'*
M 3
138 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
failings to papa, who willingly compensates any damage the
shopkeeper may sustain from the petty depredations of the
would-be philanthropic cat."
A cat belonging to a person named Stankley, who lives
adjoining the Dun Cow Inn, near Denistan, is in the habit of
going out with the children. In August, 1828, puss entered the
house without any of its usual company, rubbed and mewed
about Stankley's wife, went out and returned, and repeated these
motions so long, that she at length suspected the animal had
something in view, followed it out, and, to her astonishment, it
preceded her, seemingly delighted that it had gained its object,
to some little distance, where her youngest child stuck fast in
the mud of a ditch, incapable of moving.
A beautiful cat was brought up in a family, and became
extremely attached to the eldest child, a little boy, who was very
fond of playing with her. She bore, with the most exemplary
patience, any maltreatment which she received from him and
which even good-natured children seldom fail, occasionally, to
give to animals, in their sports with them without ever making
any attempt at resistance. As the cat grew up, however, she
daily quitted her playfellow for a time, from whom she had
formerly been inseparable, in order to follow her natural pro-
pensity to catch mice ; but, even when engaged in this employ-
ment, she did not forget her friend ; for, as soon as she had
caught a mouse, she brought it alive to him. If he showed an
inclination to take her prey from her, she anticipated him, by
letting it run, and waited to see whether he was able to catch it.
If he did not, the cat darted at, seized it, and laid it again before
him ; and in this manner the sport continued as long as the child
showed any inclination for the amusement. At length the boy
was attacked with the small-pox, and, during the first days of his
disorder, the cat never quitted his bedside ; but, as his danger
increased, it was found necessary to remove the cat, and lock it
up. The child died. On the following day, the cat, having,
probably by accident, been liberated from her confinement,
immediately ran to the apartment where she hoped to find her
playmate. Disappointed in her expectation, she ran, with symp-
toms of great uneasiness and loud lamentation, about the house,
till she came to the door of the room in which the corpse lay.
Here she lay down, in silent melancholy, till she was again
THE CAT. 139
locked up. As soon as the child was interred, and the cat set
at liberty, she disappeared ; and it was not till a fortnight after
that event, that she returned to the well-known apartment, quite
emaciated. She would not, however, take any nourishment, but
ran away, with dismal cries. At length, compelled by hunger,
she made her appearance every day at dinner-time, but always
left the house again, as soon as she had eaten the food that was
given her. No one knew where she spent the rest of her time,
till she was found one day under the wall of the burying ground,
close to the grave of her favourite : and so indelible was the
attachment of the cat to her deceased friend, that till the parents
removed to another place, five years afterwards, she never,
except in the greatest severity of winter, passed the night any
where else than at the above mentioned spot, close to the grave.
The cat was, ever afterwards, treated with the utmost kindness
by every person in the family. She suffered herself to be played
with by the younger children, although without exhibiting a
particular partiality for any of them. At the time this story
was related, by the parents of the child, the cat had attained her
thirteenth year.
In the month of July, 1801, a woman was murdered in Paris.
A magistrate, accompanied by a physician, went to the place
where the murder had been committed, to examine the body.
It was lying upon the floor, and a greyhound, who was standing
by the corpse, licked it from time to time, and howled mourn-
fully. When the gentlemen entered the apartment, he ran to
them without barking, and then returned, with a melancholy
mien, to the body of his murdered mistress. Upon a chest in
a corner of the room a cat sat motionless, with eyes expressive
of furious indignation, steadfastly fixed upon the body. Many
persons now entered the apartment, but neither the appearance
of such a crowd of strangers, nor the confusion that prevailed in
tbe place, could make her change her position. In the mean-
time, some persons were apprehended on suspicion of being the
murderers," and it was resolved to lead them into the apartment.
Before the cat got sight of them, when she only heard their
footsteps approaching, her eyes flashed with increased fury, her
hair stood erect, and so soon as she saw them enter the apart-
ment, she sprang towards them with expressions of the most
violent rage, but did not venture to attack them, being probably
1 40 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
afraid of tue numbers that followed. Having turnea sever^.
times towards them with a peculiar ferocity of aspect, she crept
into a corner, with a mien indicative of the deepest melancholy.
This behaviour of the cat astonished every one present. The
effect which it produced upon the murderers was such, as almost
amounted to an acknowledgment of their guilt. Nor did this
remain long doubtful, for a train of accessory circumstances was
soon discovered which proved it to a complete conviction.
" A favourite cat," says Dr Good, in his Book of Nature,
" that was accustomed from day to day to take her station
quietly at my elbow, on the writing table, sometimes for hour
after hour, whilst I was engaged in study, became at length less
constant in her attendance, as she had a kitten to take care of.
One morning she placed herself in the same spot, but seemed
unquiet, and, instead of seating herself as usual, continued to
rub her furry sides against my hand and pen, as though resolved
to draw my attention, and make me leave off. As soon as she
had accomplished this point, she leaped down on the carpet, and
made towards the door, with a look of great uneasiness. I
opened the door for her, as she seemed to desire, but, instead of
going forward, she turned round, and looked earnestly at me, as
though she wished me to follow her, or had something to com-
municate. I did not fully understand her meaning, and, being
much engaged at the same time, shut the door upon her, that
she might go where she liked. In less than an hour afterwards,
she had again found an entrance into the room, and drawn close
to me, but, instead of mounting the table, and rubbing herself
against my hand, as before, she was now under the table, and
continued to rub herself against my feet, on moving which I
struck them against a something which seemed to be in their
way, and, on looking down, beheld, with equal grief and astonish-
ment, the dead body of her little kitten, covered over with cinder
dust, and which I supposed had been alive and in good health.
I now entered into the entire train of this afflicted cat's feelings.
She had suddenly lost the nursling she doted on, and was
resolved to make me acquainted with it, assuredly that I might
know her grief, and probably also that I might inquire into the
cause, and, finding me too dull to understand her expressive
motioning that I would follow her to the cinder heap on which
the dead kitten had been thrown, she took the great labour of
THE CAT. 141
bringing it to me herself, from the area on the basement floor,
and up a whole flight of stairs, and laid it at my feet. I took
up the kitten in my hand, the cat still following me, made
inquiry into the cause of its death, which I found, upon summon-
ing the servants, to have been an accident, in which no one was
much to blame ; and the yearning mother having thus obtained
her object, and gotten her master to enter into her cause, and
divide her sorrows with her, gradually took comfort, and resumed
her former station by my side."
Instances are common of cats returning, of their own accord,
to the place whence they have been carried, though at the
distance of several miles, and even across rivers where they could
not possibly have had any knowledge of the road. Many years
ago, a cat, which was brought up at Bowfield in Renfrewshire,
\vas sent, with its kitten, in a bag to Clippings, in the same
county, a distance of five miles. The animal, seeming not to
like its new quarters, made its escape, and arrived safely at its
old residence, with its kitten in its mouth. Within these few
years, a family removed from Glasgow to Edinburgh, bringing
with them a favourite cat in a bag, which seemed dissatisfied
with its new place of abode. One evening, it left the house,
and arrived at Glasgow next morning.
A passion for cats is not uncommon, especially among females,
some of whom resemble the feline race, in their domesticity, in
the patience with which they watch for their prey, in the
treachery of their blandishments, and the ferocity that lurks
beneath their meek demeanour. A cat is the proverbial accom-
p:iuiment of old maids, as it formerly was of witches. Pope in
the well-known line,
" Die, and endow a college or a cat,"
alludes to a certain duchess, who bequeathed considerable
legacies and annuities to her cats. In the Mercure Galante for
July, 1678, we read of a famous lawsuit, relative to a cat of
Madame de Puis, a celebrated harp player. This lady's will,
in favour of her cat, made a great noise at the time; and a suit
\vas carried on to set it aside. Messrs Weaurier, Vautier, and
De Ferriere, all famous lawyers, displayed their genius and
abilities, the former in defending, and the two others in plead-
ing against it. The pension which the deceased lady settled
142 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
on her cat, and the visits which she ordered should be paid
every week, were the circumstances most inveighed against.
Similar instances of cat legacies are to be met with in our own
time. In the house of a Mrs Griggs, of Southampton Row,
who died on the 16th January, 1792, her executors found eighty-
six living, and twenty-eight dead cats. This lady, who died
worth 30,000, left her black servant 150 per annum, for the
maintenance of the eighty-six surviving grimalkins and himself.
Nor is the cat mania confined to females. We are told, that
Mr Peter King, who died at Islington, in 1806, had two torn
cats that used to be set up at table with him at his meals ; and
it further appears, that as Mr King was a great admirer of fine
clothes richly laced, he thought his cats might like them too.
The grimalkins were according measured, and wore rich liveries,
until they departed for the paradise of brutes, which some authors
Lave maintained is provided for them. In the vicinity of Ul-
verston there resides an elderly and eccentric bachelor, who
keeps no fewer than seventy cats, which he feeds and attends
with great regularity. In this harmonious society, instead of a
wife and children, his happiness seems to consist ; and their
delightful caterwauling, which, by others, would be deemed rather
unmusical, is, by him, esteemed as a " concord of sweet sounds."
There are few animals which have a stronger attachment for
their young than the cat ; and she has frequently been known to
transfer her affections to other young animals, and to nurture
them with much assiduity. She is also capable of attaching
herself to animals, that are supposed to be naturally opposed to
her, and with whose nurture she had nothing to do. In illustra-
tion of these positions, we are enabled to present the reader
with a variety of anecdotes.
A cat, which had a numerous litter of kittens, one summer
day in spring, encouraged her little ones to frolic in the vernal
beams of the noon, about the stable door, where she domiciled.
While she was joining them in a thousand tricks and gambols,
a large hawk, who was sailing above the barn-yard, in a mo-
ment darted upon one of the kittens, and would have as
quickly borne it off, but for the courageous mother, who, seeing
the danger of her offspring, sprung on the common enemy, who,
to defend itself, let fall the prize. The battle presently became
severe to both parties. The hawk, by the power of his wings,
THE CAT. 113
the sharpness of his talons, and the strength of his beak, had
for a while the advantage, cruelly lacerating the poor cat, and
had actually deprived her of one eye in the conflict ; but puss, no
way daunted at the accident, strove, with all her cunning and
agility, for her kittens, till she had broken the wing of her ad-
versary. In this state, she got him more within the power of
her claws, and availing herself of this advantage, by an instan-
taneous exertion, she laid the hawk motionless beneath her
feet ; and, as if exulting in the victory, tore the head off the van-
quished tyrant. This accomplished, disregarding the loss of
her eye, she ran to the bleeding kitten, licked the wounds made
by the hawk's talons in its tender sides, and purred whilst
she caressed her liberated offspring.
A cat, belonging to a person in Taunton, in May, 1822, hav-
ing lost her kittens, transferred her affections to two ducklings
which were kept in the yard adjoining. She led them out
every day to feed, seemed quite pleased to see them eat, return-
ed with them to their usual nest, and evinced as much attach-
ment for them, as she could have shown to her lost young ones.
A lady had a tame bird, which she was in the habit of letting
out of its cage every day. One morning, as it was picking crumbs
of bread off the carpet, her cat, who always before showed great
kindness for the bird, seized it-oil a sudden, and jumped with it
in her mouth upon the table. The lady was much alarmed for
the safety of her favourite, but, on turning about, instantly dis-
covered the cause. The door had been left open, and a strange
cat had just come into the room. After turning it out, her own
cat came down from her place of safety, and dropped the bird,
without doing it the smallest injury.
A man, one day in September, 1 793, saw, in a hay field, in
the parish of Storrington, Surrey, a cat and a hare at play to-
gether ; and he was gratified with the sight for more than ten
minutes, when the timid animal, on being alarmed at his nearer
approach, ran into a thicket of fern, and was followed by the cat.
In the summer of 1792, a gentleman who lived in the
neighbourhood of Portsmouth, had a cat, which kittened
four or five days after a hen had brought out a brood of chick-
ens. As he did not wish to keep more than one cat at a time,
the kittens were all drowned, and the same day the cat and one
chicken went amissing. Diligent search was immediately
114 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
made in every place that could bethought of, both in and out of
the house, to no purpose ; it was then concluded that some mis-
chance had befallen both. Four days afterwards, however, the
servant having occasion to go into an unfrequented part of the
cellar, discovered, to his great astonishment, the cat lying in one
corner, with the chicken hugged close to her body, and one paw
laid over it, as if to preserve it from injury. The cat and adopt-
ed chicken were brought into a closet in the kitchen, where they
continued some days, the cat treating the chicken in every re-
spect as a kitten. Whenever the chicken left the cat to eat,
she appeared very uneasy, but, on its return, she received it with
the affection of a mother, pressed it to her body, purred, and
seemed perfectly happy. If the chicken was carried to the hen,
it immediately returned to the cat. The chicken was by some
accident killed, and the cat would not eat for several days after-
wards, being inconsolable for its loss.
A similar attachment is mentioned as having taken place at a
farm near Leipsic. A cat was observed to have a particular re-
gard for a chicken. She almost constantly attended, and pro-
tected it from every danger. But what is still more remarkable,
this attachment, on the part of the cat, continued after the
chicken grew up. When the poultry were called to receive their
food, grimalkin was sure to make her appearance, and would
not allow any of the other hens to peck, till her favourite
had first eaten her fill ; after which she let them satisfy them -
selves.
Two lads in the north of England, being out a squirrel hunt-
ing, found a nest, in which were two young ones. Though quite
helpless, and though little hope could be entertained of their sur-
viving their dam, yet the lads took the poor little animals home.
One of these, which was yet blind, was an object of great solici-
tude to its youthful possessor, from its helpless state, and his want
of knowledge how to rear it. However, he was at length released
from his care by the extraordinary attachment of the family cat
to the young squirrel, which she carried in her mouth, (according
to custom,) placed it near a kitten which she then had, and
cherished it as her own. In a few days, its eyelids opened, and
it throve well for the space of eight months. It became re-
markably sportive, performing many curious tricks. This pet,
however, died, to the unspeakable chagrin of its foster-mother,
THE CAT. 145
puss, who had always been in the habit of treating it with the
utmost tenderness, and to the no small grief of its doting pos-
sessor.
A short time ago, a young girl, daughter of Mr John Ander-
son, farmer at Collin, on the road to Annan, brought home early
one morning two fine larks, which she had taken from the nest'
in a neighbouring field. Soon after, the girl discovered, that
one of the birds had been taken out of the cage, and, on search-
ing for it, found that the cat, whose only kitten died a day or
two before, had carried the bird to the place where she usually
nurtured her offspring, and was trying every method to make it
suckle her ; and, when the lark attempted to get away, she still
detained it, evincing the utmost anxiety for its safety. The
girl, however, caught the bird, and placed it in the cage, which
she hung in a situation beyond the reach of the cat. A few
days after, several more birds were brought to the house, one of
which the persevering cat also stole, and again tried, by all the
endearing arts in her power, to make this one likewise accept of
her nourishment. Neither of the birds suffered the least injury
from the animal.
A cat, belonging to Mr Michel, dentist, having kittened
at the same time that his bitch had whelped, absolutely for-
sook her own offspring, and suckled and reared one of the
pups.
M. Hecart, of Valenciennes, procured the kitten of a wild
cat, which he so effectually tamed, that she became the friend
and protector of a domesticated sparrow. M. Hecart always
allowed the sparrow to fly about at perfect liberty. One
day, a cat, belonging to a neighbouring house, had seized upon
this sparrow, and was making off with it; but, this wild cat,
observing her at the very moment, flew at puss, and made her
quit the bird, which she brought bleeding, and half dead, to her
master. She seemed, from her manner, really to sympathize
very sincerely with the situation of the poor sparrow, and
rejoiced when it recovered from the injury, and was again able
to amuse itself with this wild grimalkin.
A cat, belonging to Mr Large, of Fairnlaw House, Tunbridge
Wells, brought forth five kittens, four of which were doomed to
destruction, by drowning in a pail of water. After being im-
mersed for three quarters of an hour, a hole of considerable depth
146 ANECDOTES OF ANIMA'LS
was dug in a dung heap, into which they were thrown, the hole
filled up, and they were no more thought of. A considerable
time after, Mr Large, getting into a bay-loft, was struck with
astonishment at seeing the cat with her five kittens, all alive and
well. Two extraordinary circumstances were connected with
the event, the reanimation of the animals after being under
water so long, and their being extricated from their sepulchre.
The first was supposed to be occasioned by the heat of the
dung, and the second from the instinctive sagacity, and perse-
vering industry of the affectionate parent.
A cat, belonging to Mr Stevens, of the Red Lion Hotel in
Truro, during the period of her gestation, was conveyed to a
barn, near the turnpike gate, on the Mitchell road. She pro-
duced four kittens. Not wishing the stock increased, Mr
Stevens desired three of them to be drowned, next morning,
before opening their eyes on the world. Puss was deeply
affected by this bereavement, and resolved on removing her
remaining offspring to a place of security. When the person
appointed to feed grimalkin went with her breakfast next day, no
traces of her or her kitten were to be found. He called ; but
all was silent as the tomb ; every corner was searched in vain ;
no cat was forthcoming. Here the matter rested for several
days, when, at length, early one morning, puss made her
appearance in the court of her master's house, a melancholy
picture of starvation. Having satisfied her hunger, and loitered
about the house during the day, late in the evening she took her
departure, carrying away some meat. For several days she con-
tinued her visits in the same manner, taking care never to leave
home empty-mouthed at night. Her proceedings having excited
attention, she was followed by two men, in one of her nocturnal
retreats, and traced to the top of a wheat stack, at some distance.
On obtaining a ladder, her surviving kitten was found, in a
curiously constructed hole, sleek and plump, but as wild as a
young tiger, and would allow no one to touch it. A few days
afterwards, the mother finding, perhaps, that her own daily
journeys were rather fatiguing, or thinking it was time that the
object of her solicitude should be introduced into the world,
or, probably, that the kitten had attained an age when if could
protect itself, she took advantage of a dark and silent night,
when cat- worrying dogs and boys were reposing, to convey it
THE CAT. 147
safely to Truro, where, we need not say, tabby and her kitten
found a welcome reception.
" I had," says M. Weuzel, the author of Observations on the
language of Brutes, " a cat and a dog, which became so attach-
ed to each other, that they would never willingly be asunder.
Whenever the dog got any choice morsel of food, he was sure to '
divide it with his whiskered friend. They always ate sociably
out of one plate, slept in the same bed, and daily walked out
together. . Wishing to put this apparently sincere friendship to
the proof, I, one day, took the cat by herself into my room,
while I had the dog guarded in another apartment. I enter-
tained the cat in a most sumptuous manner, being desirous to
see what sort of meal she would make without her friend, who
had hitherto been her constant table companion. The cat en-
joyed the treat with great glee, and seemed to have entirely for-
gotten the dog. I had had a partridge for dinner, half of which
I intended to keep for supper. My wife covered it with a plate,
and put it into a cupboard, the door of which she did not lock.
The cat left the room, and I walked out upon business. My
wife, meanwhile, sat at work in an adjoining apartment. When
I returned home, she related to me the following circumstances :
The cat, having hastily left the dining-room, went to the
dog, and mewed uncommonly loud, and in different tones of
voice ; which the dog, from time to time, answered with a short
bark. They then went both to the door of the room where the
cat had dined, and waited till it was opened. One of my children
opened the door, and immediately the two friends entered the
apartment. The mewing of the cat excited my wife's attention.
She rose from her seat, and stepped softly up to the door, which
stood ajar, to observe what was going on. The cat led the dog
to the cupboard which contained the partridge, pushed off the
plate which covered it, and, taking out my intended supper, laid
it before her canine friend, who devoured it greedily. Probably
the cat, by her mewing, had given the dog to understand what
an excellent meal she had made, and how sorry she was that he
had not participated in it ; but, at the same time, had given him
to understand that something was left for him in the cupboard,
and persuaded him to follow her thither. Since that time I have
paid particular attention to these animals, and am perfectly con-
vinced that they communicate to each other whatever seems in-
N2
X
X
H8 ANECDOTES Oi' ANIMAL^.
teresting to either." It may be added, that we have often
seen the cat and dog of a family on a friendly footing, and
in these cases it was always the cat that showed most affec-
tion, the dog's friendship being only a matter of tolerance or
necessity.
In June, 1825, a farmer, residing in the neighbourhood of
Ross, sent a load of grain to Gloucester, a distance of about
sixteen miles. The waggoners loaded in the evening, and start-
ed early in the morning. On its being unloaded at Gloucester,
a favourite cat, belonging to the farmer, was found among the
sacks, with two kittens of very recent birth. The waggoner
very humanely placed puss and her young in a hay-loft, where
he expected they would remain in safety, until he should be
ready to depart for home. On his return to the loft shortly af-
terwards, neither cat nor kittens were to be found, and he re-
luctantly left town without them. Next morning she entered
the kitchen of her master's house with one kitten in her mouth.
It was dead j but she placed it before the fire, and without seek-
ing food, or indulging, for a moment, in the genial warmth of
her domestic hearth, she disappeared. In about an hour she re-
turned with the other kitten, 'laid it down by the hearth, stretch-
ed herself beside them, and instantly expired ! The poor
creature could have carried but one at a time, and, conse-
quently, must have travelled three times over the whole line of
her journey, and performed forty-eight miles in less than twelve
hours.
Mr White mentions, in his Natural History of Selborne, that
he had a friend who got a helpless leveret brought to him, which
the servants fed with milk in a spoon ; and, about the same
time, his cat kittened, and the young were despatched and buri-
ed. The hare was soon lost, and supposed to be gone the way
of most foundlings, to be killed by some cat or dog. However,
in about a fortnight, as the master was sitting in his garden, in
the dusk of evening, he observed his cat, with tail erect, trotting
towards him, and calling with little, short, inwards notes of
complacency, such as they use towards their kittens, and some-
thing gamboling after, which proved to be the leveret, that the
cat had supported with her milk, and continued to support with
great affection. Thus was a granivorous animal nurtured by a
carnivorous and predaceous one ! This strange affection was,
THE CAT. 149
probably, occasioned by those tender maternal feelings which the
loss of her kittens had awakened, and by the complacency and
ease she derived from the procuring of her teats to be drawn,
which were too much distended with milk. From habit, she
became as much delighted with this foundling, as if it had been
her real offspring.
Some time ago, a sympathy of this nature took place in the
house of Mr James Greenfield, of Mary-land, betwixt a cat and
a young rat. Puss had kittens, to which she frequently carried
mice,*and other small animals, for food ; and amongst them is
supposed to have been carried a young rat alive. The kittens,
probably, not being hungry at the time, played with it; and,
when grimalkin gave suck to the kittens, the rat also participat-
ed. This having been observed by the servants of Mr Green-
field, he was informed of the strange circumstance. He had
the kittens and rat conveyed down stairs, and laid on the floor ;
they were followed by the cat, who licked them all over, the
young rat included. She was allowed to carry them off to their
bed, when it was remarked that she mouthed the rat with as much
tenderness as her own offspring. This experiment was as often
repeated as he had company, till great numbers had become eye-
witnesses to this preternatural affection.
These numerous anecdotes display the strong affections, espe-
cially of the maternal kind, with which the cat is embued. We
have still some historical notices and anecdotes of a miscellaneous
description, to record regarding puss, and which we here lay be-
fore the reader.
Cecco maintained, that nature was more potent than art,
while Dante asserted the contrary. To prove his principle, the
great Italian bard referred to his cat, which by repeated practice,
he had taught to hold a candle in its paw, while he supped or
read. Cecco desired to witness the experiment, and came not
unprepared for his purpose. When Dante's cat was performing
its part, Cecco, lifting up the lid of a pot, which he had filled
with mice, the creature of art instantly showed the weakness of
a talent merely acquired ; and, dropping the candle, sprung on
the mice, with all its instinctive propensity- Dante was him-
self disconcerted ; and it was adjudged, that the advocate for
the occult principle of natural faculties had gained his cause.
In the Bibliotheque Universelle, for 1821, it is mentioned,
N3
150 ANECDOTES Of ANIMALS.
that a prolific cross breed had been produced between the do-
mestic cat and pine martin, the fur of which promises to be a
valuable article of commerce. A specimen of this cross breed
was presented in that year, to the Imperial Society of Natural
History of Moscow ; it was sent from the government of Penza,
where the pine martin is very abundant. The following history
is given of this cross breed : A domestic cat disappeared from
a house in Penza. After being absent some time, she returned ;
and within the regular time, produced four young ones, two of
which strongly resembled the martin. Their claws were not
retractile, as in the cat, and the snout was elongated, like that
of the pine martin. The two others of the same litter more
nearly resembled the cat, as they had retractile claws and round
heads. All of them had the black feet, tail, and ears of the
martin ; and they killed birds and small animals, more for the
pleasure of destroying them, than for food. The proprietor
endeavoured to multiply this bastard race, and to prevent their
intermixing with the other domestic cats, in which he proved
highly successful. In the space of a few years, he reared more
than a hundred of these animals, and made a very beautiful
article of furriery of their skins. The specimen presented to
the society, was of the third or fourth generation ; and it retained
all the characters of the first. The fur is as beautiful and silky
as that of the pine martin.
" There is a propensity belonging to common house cats,"
says Mr White, " that is very remarkable ; I mean their violent
fondness for fish, which appears to be their most favourite food ;
and yet nature, in this instance, seems to have planted in them
an appetite that, unassisted, they know not how to gratify ; for,
of all quadrupeds, cats are the least disposed towards water, and
will not, when they can avoid it, deign to wet a foot, much less
to plunge into that element." Still there are many instances in
which their relish for fish overcomes their repugnance to water.
The Rev. W. Bingley mentions one of a cat freely taking the
water, related by his friend, Mr Bill, of Christ Church. When
he lived at Wallington, near Carshalton, in Surrey, he had a cat
that was often known to plunge, without hesitation, into the
river Wandle, and swim over to an island, at a little distance
from the Bank. To this there could be no other inducement,
than the fish she might catch on her passage, or the vermin that
THE CAT. 151
the island afforded. This is a curious instance ; but the
following, which may be depended upon as a fact, is still more
remarkable : At Caverton Mill, in Roxburghshire, a beautiful
spot upon the Kale water, there was a favourite cat, domesticated
in the dwelling-house, which stood at two or three hundred
yards from the mill. When the mill work ceased, the water
was, as usual, stopped at the dam-head ; and the dam below,
consequently, ran gradually more shallow, often leaving trout,
which had ascended when it was full, to struggle back with
difficulty to the parent stream ; and so well acquainted had puss
become with this circumstance, and so fond was she of fish, that
the moment she heard the noise of the mill-clapper cease, she
used to scamper off to the dam, and, up to her belly in the
water, continued to catch fish, like an otter. It would not be
easy to cite a more curious case of animal instinct approaching
to reason, and overcoming the usual habits of the species.
Mr Moody, of Jesmond, near Newcastle-on-Tyne, had a cat,
in 1827, which was in his possession for some years, that caught
fish with great assiduity, and frequently brought them home
alive ! Besides minnows and eels, she occasionally carried home
pilchards, one of which, about six inches long, was found in her
possession, in August, 1827. She also contrived to teach a
neighbour's cat to fish ; and the two have been seen togethei
watching by the Uis for their prey. At other times they have
been seen at opposite sides of the river, not far from each other.
A still more extraordinary circumstance of a cat's propensity
for fishing is recorded in the Plymouth Journal, June, 1828:
" There is now at the battery on the Devil's Point, a cat, which
is an expert catcher of the finny tribe, being in the constant
habit of diving into the sea, and bringing up the fish alive in her
mouth, and depositing them in the guard-room, for the use of
the soldiers. She is now seven years old, and has long been a
useful caterer. It is supposed that her pursuit of the water-rats
first taught her to venture into the water, to which it is well
known puss has a natural aversion. She is as fond of the water
as a Newfoundland dog, and takes her regular peregrinations
along the rocks at its edge, looking out for her prey, ready to
dive for them at a moment's notice."
A cat, belonging to an elderly lady in Bath, was so attached
to her mistress, that she would pass the night in her bed-
152 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
chamber, which was four stories high. Outside of the window
was the parapet wall, on which the lady often strewed crumbs
for the sparrows that came to partake of them. The lady
always sleeping with her window open, the cat would pounce
upon the birds, and kill them. One morning, giving a " long-
ing, lingering look" at the top of the wall, and seeing it free
from crumbs, she was at a loss for an expedient to decoy the
feathered tribe, when, reconnoitring, she discovered a small
bunch of wheat suspended in the room, which she sprang at,
and succeeded in getting down. She then carried it to the fa-
vourite resort of the sparrows, and actually thrashed the corn
out, by beating it on the wall, then hiding herself. After a
while, the birds came, and she resumed her favourite sport of
killing the dupes of her sagacity.
A curious fact respecting cats has lately been discovered, and
is first mentioned in the Magazine of Natural History.* A cor-
respondent briefly states, " White cats with blue eyes are al-
ways deaf." Another contributor to the same work says, that,
in confirmation of what is above stated, he forwards the follow-
ing extraordinary fact, which came within his own observation :
" Some years ago, a white cat, of the Persian kind, (probably
not a thorough bred one,) procured from Lord Dudley's at Hind-
ly, was kept in my family as a favourite. The animal was a
female, quite white, and perfectly deaf. She produced, at va-
rious times, many litters of kittens, of which,, generally, some
were quite white, others more or less mottled, tabby, &c. But
the extraordinary circumstance is, that of the offspring produced
at one and the same birth, such as were, like the mother, en-
tirely white, were, like her, invariably deaf, while those that
had the least speck of colour on their fur, as invariably possess-
ed the usual faculty of hearing, "f
In November, ] 822, a cat, the property of Mr Dewsbury,
tanner, of Bodnant, brought forth three kittens, which vied
with each other in the singularity of their appearance. One of
them had two heads, and apparently three eyes, the one eye in
the centre being common to both ; the second kitten had six
legs, two of which were useless, having no joints : it was also
* Vol. i. p. 66. Signed E. W. S. Chelsea, March 20, 182a
t \V. F. Bree, Alleabury Rectory, uear Coventry, 23d May, 1828.
furnished with a double spine, which gave the back a very broad
appearance ; the third was formed like cats in general, but was
of a deep liver colour, a thing never before remembered. A
great many respectable people paid their respects to the " lady
in the straw."
The following extraordinary anecdote of the sensibility of
cats to approaching danger from earthquakes, is well authenti-
cated: In the year 1783, two cats, belonging to a merchant of
Messina, in Sicily, announced to him the approach of an earth-
quake. Before the first shock was felt, these two animals
seemed anxiously to work their way through the door of a
room in which they were. Their master, observing their fruit-
less efforts, opened the door for them. At a second and third
door, which they likewise found shut, they repeated their ef-
forts, and, on being set completely at liberty, they ran straight
through the street, and out of the gate of the town. The mer-
chant, whose curiosity was excited by this strange conduct of
the cats, followed them into the fields, where he again saw
them scratching and burrowing in the earth. Soon after, there
was a violent shock of an earthquake, and many of the houses
of the city fell down, of which number the merchant's was
one ; so that he was indebted for his life to the singular fore-
sight of his cats, which doubtless arose from the perfection
of their animal sensibilities, making them conscious of the in-
ternal commotions of the earth before these were descernible by
man.
The following instance of what may be termed pride or con-
ceit in a cat, came under the observation of a gentleman, in
the neighbourhood of Sheffield, in July, 1827: " This fair
grimalkin carried her notions of beauty so far, and her admi-
ration of her own person was so great, that she would not con-
descend to nourish and protect her own offspring, if they hap-
pened to be tinted with colours different from what adorned
her own figure, which was what is usually denominated tor-
toise-shell. She happened on one occasion only, to produce
one kitten, of a jet black. The cruel mother drew the unfor-
tunate little creature out of the bed in which it lay, and refus-
ing to give it suck, it perished on the cold ground. Some time
after, she gave birth to three more, one of which had the mis-
fortune not to be clad in the same colours as the mother. It was
154 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
therefore ousted by the unnatural parent ; and, although again
and again replaced in its bed, it was as frequently turned out
again. The owner of the cat, finding it useless to persist in
what puss had determined should not be, in humanity con-
signed the kitten to a watery grave, the victim of a parent's
pride and cruelty."
A family were accustomed to feed their cat in the dining-
room every day, while they were at dinner. Puss was so well
acquainted with the sound of the bell, which announced that the
meal was on the table, that she never failed to repair thither
regularly with the family. By accident, one day, she was shut
up in a room by herself, where she remained undiscovered till din-
ner was over. Some hours afterwards, however, she was eman-
cipated from her confinement, when she hastened to the room,
but found nothing reserved for her. Hungry and disappointed,
she ran to the bell, and began tumbling it about, with the inten-
tion of ringing it ; but it proved too unwieldy for her.
De la Croix relates the following almost incredible instance
of sagacity in a cat, who even, under the receiver of an air-
pump, discovered the means of escaping a death, which appear-
ed, to all present, inevitable : " I once saw," says he, " a lec-
turer upon experimental philosophy place a cat under the glass
receiver of an air-pump, for the purpose of demonstrating that
very certain fact, that life cannot be supported without air and
respiration. The lecturer had already made several strokes with
the piston, in order to exhaust the receiver of its air, when the
animal, who began to feel herself very uncomfortable in the
rarefied atmosphere, was fortunate enough to discover the
source from which her uneasiness proceeded. She placed
her paw upon the hole through which the air escaped, and thus
prevented any more from passing out of the receiver. All the
exertions of the philosopher were now unavailing ; in vain he
drew the piston : the cat's paw effectually prevented its opera-
tion. Hoping to effect his purpose, he let air again into the
receiver, which, as soon as the cat perceived, she withdrew
her paw from the aperture ; but whenever he attemped to exhaust
the receiver, she applied her paw as before. All the spectators
clapped their hands in admiration of the wonderful sagacity of
the animal, and the lecturer found himself under the necessity
of liberating her, and substituting in her place another, that
THE CAT. 155
possessed less penetration, and enabled him to exhibit the cruel
experiment."
Cats, as well as dogs, are liable to madness. On Sunday,
the 16th Februray, 1825, just before church time, as a person
of the name of Wilson was fresh marking his baskets in Covent
Garden market, London, he saw a large cat rush suddenly by,
when the animal turned short round, and fastened on a man
named Hutchen. The enraged animal fixed upon the man's
thigh, biting him quite through the trousers, whence it was
with great difficulty got off. The unfortunate man who was
bit, seized the cat with both his hands, while the bystanders,
with some difficulty, killed it. Mr Cole, a surgeon in Russel
Street, was applied to upon the occasion, and found it necessary
to have the bitten part cut out. Nothing of madness was ever
before perceived in the animal. In May, 1830, a young man,
of Camberwell, was brought to St Thomas' Hospital, London,
labouring in the last stage of hydrophobia. He had been
bitten in the hand by a cat, about five months before that time.
: On the 1 Ith April, 1831, an exhibition of cats (six in number)
was opened in Edinburgh by a company of Italians. These
animals gave astonishing proofs of their intelligence. They
were kept in a large sparred box, and individually came forth, at
the command of the exhibitor, and seemed perfectly to under-
stand their duty. These well tutored creatures beat a drum,
turned a spit, struck upon an anvil, turned a coffee roaster, and
rung bells. Two of them, who seemed to be more sagacious than
the rest, drew a bucket, suspended, by a pulley, in the manner
water is raised from a draw-well. The length of the rope was
about six feet ; and they perfectly understood when the bucket
was high enough, when they stopt pulling. In the greater part
of their performances, they stood on their hind legs. We re-
marked an instance of great cunning in one of the animals, which
was not at the time employed, but was in its box, and seemed
to know, that its companion, who was employed in drawing the
water, would be rewarded the second time with a small bit of
meat, which was put into the bucket. It came slyly out, and,
when the bucket was on a level with the place where it was sit-
ting, caught hold of it with its claws, and purloined the beef.
There was also in the exhibition, a tame white rat, which the
exhibitor brought out of a box, and desired one of the cats to kiss
156 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
it, when it immediately licked the cat all over. He afterwards
put it on the cat's head, and it walked over her body, without
seeming to give her any unpleasant sensation. One of the cats
would turn a wheel, only when a piece of meat, stuck on a spit,
was put before it ; but the instant it was removed, she stopt,
and however loudly the exhibitor called to it, and even threatened
to whip it, no attention was paid to his orders, till the meat was
replaced.
We shall conclude these anecdotes of the cat by one of an
affecting nature, which lately came under our own experience.
Our family happened to have a young cat of a very timid dis-
position. Whenever a stranger entered the house, she hid
herself in some dark corner, and would not make her appearance
until his departure, however long the visit might be. To the
female part of the family, she was ever trusting and affectionate,
but she had an intuitive dread of the male. In particular, the
writer of this was no favourite : she always evinced the utmost
alarm at his approach, and could by no inducement be led to
come near him. We tried every conceivable method to place
puss on a good understanding with us, but to no purpose. She
still continued to run from us, till at last, provoked by her
skulking timidity, for which she had no apparent cause, for our
deportment towards her had been throughout of the most sooth-
ing character, we were tempted, one day, to give her a whipping.
Nothing could be more slight than the chastisement we bestowed ;
but it increased her terror for us tenfold. She now flew from
every apartment which we happened to enter, and betrayed such
unworthy fear of us, that we at length gave up all hopes of
gaining her friendship, or even of establishing a decent acquain-
tanceship with her. While matters stood thus, our family
removed from Glasgow to Edinburgh, leaving puss and ourselves
in the first-mentioned city. It was afterwards matter of deep
regret and self-reproach, that they did not fake the cat with
them ; but fearing the trouble she would occasion during so long
a journey, they gave her in charge to a neighbour, upon whose
kind treatment they had some reliance. About a fortnight after
their removal, we called on this neighbour, with the view of
seeing how our old enemy was getting on. The goodwife of
the house had a world of lamentations to make. She could
make nothing of the cat, she said j it would take no meat nor
THE LION. 157
drink, but kept constantly crouching under the bed, and sending
forth pitiful cries. It was reduced to skin and bone ; she had
done every thing she could think of to reconcile it to its change
of situation, but to no purpose. While thus speaking, poor
puss herself came crawling from underneath the bed the shadow
of what she was and leapt upon our knee! The unhappy
creature had heard our voice ; and although it had formerly been
only a source of terror to her, she now recognised it as connected
with all she loved, and, in her extremity, she claimed our protec-
tion on the faith of old acquaintanceship. We were much affected
by this incident, and would certainly have forwarded poor puss to
her friends in Edinburgh ; but as she refused all nourishment, she
died before that could be accomplished. Her death was lamented
with a grief embittered by self-accusation at leaving her behind.
THE Lien stands at the head of the cat tribe, and has long
been considered the undisputed monarch of the brute creation.
From the earliest times, he has been held in reverent regard for
his power, courage, and generosity. When we speak of a lion,
we call up to our imaginations the splendid picture of might
unmingled with ferocity, of courage undebased by guile, of
dignity tempered with grace and ennobled by generosity; in short,
of that combination of brilliant qualities, the imputation of
which, by universal consent, has placed him above other beasts,
and invested him with regal attributes.
Buffon, and, after him, Goldsmith, have given way to the
popular prejudices in favour of the lion, representing him in
exaggerated and delusive colours, not as he is delineated in the
authentic accounts of those naturalists and travellers who have
had the best means of observing his habits. Perhaps the most
effectual way of guarding against the general prejudice, which
has delighted in exalting him at the expense of his fellow-beasts,
will be found in the recollection that, both physically and
morally, he is neither more nor less than a cat, of immense size
and corresponding power it is true, but riot on that account the
less endowed with all the guileful and vindictive passions of that
o
158 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
tribe. He is distinguished from other cats by the uniformity of
his colour, which is pale tawney above, becoming somewhat
lighter beneath, and never, except in his young state, exhibiting
the least appearance of spots or stripes ; by the long and flowing
mane of the adult male, which originating nearly as far forward
as the root of the nose, extends backwards over his shoulders,
and descends in graceful undulations on each side of his neck
and face ; and by the tuft of long and blackish hairs which ter-
minates his powerful tail.* These constitute what is termed
his specific character, or that which is peculiar to the species or
race ; connecting the individuals together by marks common to
them all, and at the same time separating them from the other
animals of the same group or genus.
In his moral and intellectual faculties, as well as in his
external and physical character, the lion exhibits a close agree-
ment with the strikingly distinct and well-marked group to
which he belongs. His courage is proverbial ; but this cannot
be attributed to any innate elevation of sentiment, and must
rather be ascribed to the consciousness of his own physical
powers, finding that there is no other animal of the forest who
singly can overcome him. Attached by nature to the arid
regions of Africa and Asia, he ranges uncontrolled, making the
timid and defenceless antelope, the ferocious hya?na, and the
* Homer, and many other ancient poets, both Greek and Latin, when
they describe an enraged lion, relate that he stimulates himself with blown
of his tail ; and Fliny, indeed, calls the tail the index of the lion's mind :
for, says he, " when the tail is at rest, the animal is quiet, gentle, and Stems
pleased, which is seldom, however, the case ; and anger is much more
frequent with him, in the commencement of which he lashes tlie ground,
but, as it increases, his sides, as if with the view of rousing it to a higher
pitch." Again, Alexander Aphrodisiensis has, among his Problemata, the
following : " Why, since the moving of the tail is, in most animals, a sign
of their recognition of friends, does the lion lash his sides, when enraged,
and the bull in the same manner?" But the ancient commentator of Homer,
who commonly goes by the name of Didymus Alexandrinus, asserts, with
reference to the place in the Iliad, Book XX, where it is mentioned, " that
the lion has a black prickle on its tail among the hair, like a horn, when
punctured with which, it is stili more irritated by the pain." This opinion,
however, was regarded by modern anatomists as a mere fiction, until
Professor Blumenbach determined the truth of it. A lioness, which was
presented to him, having died, he searched for the spine, and detected it in
the skin, where he found a singular follicle of a glandular appearance, to
which the prickle firmly adhered.
THK LION. 159
cunning baboon an easy prey. His pliable agility, and sinewy
frame, together with the resistless and impetuous fury of his
attacks, enable him to overcome even the massive bulk of the
elephant, rhinoceros, and buffalo. Roving in the boundless
desert, the extensive plains, or in the shade of the vast jungles
of his native country, he holds despotic sway, and well deserves
the title of "the king of beasts." But, look at him in the
neighbourhood of large towns, and populous districts, and it will
be seen that his fortitude and conscious superiority are greatly
modified ; for, in these situations, he yields to the power of man,
skulking only in the deepest recesses of extensive jungles, or in
the impenetrable depths of mighty forests, seeking to overcome
his unwary prey, by lying in ambush, and seizing them when
they little expect, his attacks. To the consciousness of a want
of capacity to overcome the lords of creation, must, in a great
measure, be attributed his docility under captivity ; and to his
native dignity of aspect he is indebted for the general impression
mankind have formed of his noble character, and amiable
disposition.
The lion is destined by nature to subsist on animal food alone,
and has been invested with physical energies, constructed on
principles which give him, in an astonishing degree, the power
of destroying animal life. His head is particularly large, his
jaws have immense strength, and his shoulders and chest have a
depth far exceeding all other animals of his size.
" It is singular," says Sparrman, " that the lion, which, accord-
ing to many, always kills his prey immediately if it belongs to
the brute creation, is reported, frequently, although provoked, to
content himself with merely wounding the human species ; or,
at least, to wait some time before he gives the fatal blow to the
unhappy victim he has got under him. A farmer, who the year
before had the misfortune to be a spectator of a lion's seizing
two of his oxen, at the very instant he had taken them out of the
waggon, told me, that they immediately fell down dead upon the
spot, close to each other ; though, upon examining the carcasses
afterwards, it appeared that their backs only had been broken.
In several places through which I passed, they mentioned to me
by name a father and his two sons, who were said to be still
living, and who, being on foot near a river on their estate, in
search of a lion, this latter had rushed out upon them, and
o 2
160 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
thrown one of them under his feet. The two others, however, had
time enough to shoot the lion dead upon the spot, which had lain
almost across the youth, so nearly and dearly related to them,
without having done him any particular hurt. I myself saw,
near the upper part of Duyvenhoek-rivier, an elderly Hottentot
who, at that time, (his w6unds being still open,) bore under one
eye, and underneath his cheek bone, the ghastly marks of the
bite of a lion, which did not think it worth his while to give him
any other chastisement for having, together with his master,
(whom I also knew,) and several other Christians, hunted him
with great intrepidity, though without success. The conversa-
tion ran every where in this part of the country upon one Bota,
a farmer, and captain in the militia, who had lain for some time
under a lion, and had received several bruises from the beast,
having been at the same time a good deal bitten by him in one
arm, as a token to remember him by ; but, upon the whole,
had, in a manner, had his life given him by this noble animal.
The man was said then to be living in the district of Artaquas-
kloof."
The lion, when in captivity, is fed but once a-day, and is
generally allowed from eight to nine pounds of beef to a meal,
exclusive of bones. When his food is given to him, he generally
seizes it with avidity, instantly tears it to pieces with his claws,
and voraciously devours it, contrary to the practice of those in a
state of nature.
The lion generally sets out on his predatory excursions during
the night ; and his eyes are so formed, that nature seems to have
designed him for a nocturnal animal, being constructed similar
to those of the cat, so that the full glare of a vertical sun must
be not only troublesome, but even painful to him. It is a
knowledge of this that prompts travellers during the night to
light fires, and keep them blazing; their effect on the animal's
eyes deters him from approaching, which he seldom will do,
except when very hard pressed by hunger. But, if excited by
the cravings of his appetite, he will break through every obstacle,
and assume a boldness not his natural characteristic.
Africa is the native country of the lion, in the vast and un-
trodden wilds of which he reigns supreme and uncontrolled. In
the sandy deserts of Arabia, in some of the wilder districts of
Persia, and in the vast jungles of flindostan, he still maintains
THE LION. 161
a precarious footing ; but from the classic soil of Greece, as well
as from the whole of Asia Minor, both of which were once ex-
posed to his ravages, he has been utterly dislodged and extirpated.
There are some variations in the different races of lions from
these distant localities. The Asiatic lion seldom attains a size
equal to that of the Southern African ; its colour is a more uni-
form and paler yellow throughout, and its mane is, in general,
fuller and more complete. Their habits, however, are in essen-
tial particulars the same. Of the African lion, there are two
varieties, known to the settlers under the names of the Pale and
the Black Lion, and distinguished, as their names imply, by the
lighter or darker colour of their coats, and more particularly of
their manes. The Black lion, as he is termed, is the larger and
more ferocious of the two, often attacking man himself, if less
noble prey should fail him. He is, however, of less frequent
occurrence than the pale variety.
In no part of Africa does the lion attain greater size, or ex-
hibit all his characteristic features in more complete develop-
ment, than in the immediate vicinity of the settlements which
have been formed in the interior of its southern extremity
by the Dutch and English colonists of the Cape. There,
he is often brought into contact with man, and encounters
take place, which acquire a terrible interest from their dan-
ger. Very interesting descriptions of these have been given
by Mr Burchell in his ' Travels in Africa,' and by our dis-
tinguished countryman Mr Pringle, in the Notes to his
' Ephemerides." The reader will find these accounts extracted
in the Notes to our edition of Goldsmith. We have still
some equally curious accounts of similar rencounters to lay be-
fore him.
The Landdrost Joseph Sterreberg Kupt, who proceeded
on a journey into the country, to purchase some young oxen
for the Dutch East India Company, wrote an amusing jour-
nal, which contains the following distressing adventure of his
company with a lion : " Our waggons, which were obliged
to take a circuitous route, arrived at last, and we pitched our
tent a musket-shot from the kraal, and, after having arranged
every thing, went to rest, but were soon disturbed ; for, about
midnight the cattle and horses, which were standing between
the waggons, began to start and run, and one of the drivers to
o3
162 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
shout, on which every one ran out of the tent with his gun.
About thirty paces from the tent stood a lion, which, on seeing
us, walked very deliberately about thirty paces farther, behind
a small thorn bush, carrying something with him, which I took
to be a young ox. We fired more than sixty shots at that bush,
and pierced it stoutly, without perceiving any movement. The
south-east wind blew strong, the sky was clear, and the moon
shone very bright, so that we could perceive every thing at that
distance. After the cattle had been quieted again, and. I had
looked over every thing, I missed the sentry from before the
tent, Jan Smit, from Antwerp, belonging to the Groene Kloof.
We called as loudly as possible, but in vain, nobody answered ,
from which I concluded that the lion had carried him off. Three
or four men then advanced very cautiously to the bush, which
stood right opposite the door of the tent, to see if they could
discover any thing of the man, but returned helter-skelter ; for
the lion, which was there still, rose up, and began to roar.
They found there the musket of the sentry, which was cocked,
and also his cap and shoes. We fired again about a hundred
shots at the bush, (which was sixty paces from the tent, and
only thirty paces from the waggons, and at which we were
able to point as at a target,) without perceiving any thing of
the lion, from which we concluded that he was killed, or had
run away. This induced the marksman, Jan Stamansz, to go
and see if he was there still or not, taking with him a firebrand.
But, as soon as he approached the bush, the lion roared terribly,
and leapt at him ; on which he threw the firebrand at him,
and the other people having fired about ten shots, he retired
directly to his former place behind that bush. The firebrand
which he had thrown at the lion had fallen in the midst of the
bush, and, favoured by the strong south-east wind, it began to
burn with a great flame, so that we could see very clearly into
and through it. We continued our firing into it ; the night
passed away, and the day began to break, which animated every
one to aim at the lion, because he could not go from thence
without exposing himself entirely, as the bush stood directly
against a steep kloof. Seven men, posted on the farthest wag-
gons, watched him, to take aim at him if he should come out.
At last, before it became quite light, he walked up the hill, with
the man in his mouth, when about forty shots were fired with-
THE LION. 163
out hitting him, although some were very near. Every time this
happened, he turned round towards the tent, and came roaring
towards us ; and, I am of opinion, that if he had been hit, he
would have rushed on the people and the tent. When it became
broad daylight, we perceived, by the blood, and a piece of the
clothes of the man, that the lion had taken him away, and car-
ried him with him. We also found, behind the bush, the place
where the lion had been keeping the man, and it appeared im-
possible that no ball should have hit him, as we found, in that
place, several balls beaten flat. We concluded that he was
wounded, and not far from this. The people, therefore, re-
quested permission to go in search of the man's corpse, in order
to bury it, supposing that, by our continual firing, the lion
would not have had time to devour much of it. I gave permis-
sion to some, on condition that they should take a good party of
armed Hottentots with them, and made them promise that they
would not run into danger, but keep a good look-out, and be
circumspect. On this, seven of them, assisted by forty-three
armed Hottentots, followed the track, and found the lion about
half a league farther on, lying behind a little bush. On the
shout of the Hottentots, he sprang up and ran away, on which
they all pursued him. At last the beast turned round, and
rushed, roaring terribly, amongst the crowd. The people, fa-
tigued, and out of breath with running, fired and missed him,
on which he made directly towards them. The captain, or
chief of the kraal, here did a brave act in aid of two of the
people whom the lion attacked : the gun of one of them burnt
priming, and the other missed his aim, on which the captain
threw himself between the lion and the people so close, that
the lion struck his claws into the caross (mantle) of the Hot-
tentot. But he was too agile for him, doffed his caross, and
stabbed him with an assagai.* Instantly the other Hottentots
hastened on, and adorned him with their assagais, so that he
looked like a porcupine. Notwithstanding this, he did not
leave off roaring and leaping, and bit off some of the assa-
gais, till the marksman, Jan Stamansz, fired a ball into his
The ffenercras bravery of this man towards strangers offers a striking
refutation of the calurcnies against the Hottentot race, which the Dutch
! 1'iiii is employed to defend their cruel and treacherous persecutions.
10% ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
eye, which made him turn over, and he was then shot dead
by the other people. He was a tremendously large beast, and
had, but a short time before, carried off a Hottentot from the
kraal, and devoured him."
The lion has great dulness in his sense of hearing ; he is
awoke with difficulty; and when awake, appears confused, ex-
hibiting a want of presence of mind. The bluntness of this
sense is favourable to his pursuers, and is thus well described by
Dr Philip : " The wolf and the tiger generally retire to the
caverns and the ravines of the mountains ; but the lion is most
usually found in the open plain, and in the neighbourhood
of the flocks of antelopes, that invariably seek the open
country, and who manifest a kind of instinctive aversion to
places in which their powerful adversary may spring upon them
suddenly and unexpectedly. It has been remarked of the lion,
by the Bushmen, that he generally kills and devours his prey
in the morning at sunrise, or at sunset. On this account, when
they intend to kill lions, they generally notice where the spring-
boks are grazing at the rising of the sun ; and by observing, at
the same time, if they appear frightened and run off, they con-
clude that they have been attacked by the lion. Marking ac-
curately the spot where the alarm took place, about eleven o'clock
in the day, when the sun is powerful, and the enemy they seek
is supposed to be fast asleep, they carefully examine the ground,
and, finding him in a state of unguarded security, they lodge
a poisoned arrow in his breast. The moment the lion is
thus struck, he springs from his lair, and bounds off as help-
less as the stricken deer. The work is done ; the arrow of
death has pierced his heart, without even breaking the slum-
bers of the lioness, which may have been lying beside him ;
and the Bushman knows where, in the course of a few
hours, or even less time, he will find him dead, or in the agonies
of death."*
The following interesting particulars respecting the lion are
from the Travels of Sparrman, whose accounts may be strictly
relied on. The first paragraph shows that the lion is capable
of reflection, otherwise he would not have acted with so much
judgment.
* rhilip's South Africa, vol. ii.
THE LION. 165
" Several Hottentots being a-hunting near Boshiesman-
rivier, they perceived a lion dragging a buffalo from the plain
to a neighbouring woody hill. They, however, soon forced it
to quit its prey, in order to make a prize of it themselves ; and
found that this wild beast had had the sagacity to take out the
buffalo's large and unwieldy entrails, in order to be able the
easier to make off with the fleshy and more eatable part of the
carcass. The lion, however, as soon as he saw, from the skirts
of the wood, that the Hottentots had begun to carry off the flesh
to the waggon, frequently peeped out upon them, and probably
with no little mortification."
" It is only on the plains that the hunters venture to go out
on horseback after the lion. If it keeps in some coppice, or
wood, on a rising ground, they endeavour to tease it with dogs
till it comes out. They likewise prefer going together two or
more in number, in order to be able to assist and rescue each
other, in case the first shot should not take effect. When the
lion sees the hunters at a great distance, it is universally allowed,
that he takes to his heels as fast as ever he can, in order to get
out of their sight ; but, if they chance to discover him at a small
distance from them, he is then said to walk off in a surly man-
ner, but without putting himself in the least hurry, as though
he were above showing any fear, when he finds himself discover-
ed or hunted. He is therefore reported likewise, when he finds
himself pursued with vigour, to be soon provoked to resistance,
or, at least, he disdains any longer to fly. Consequently, he
slackens his pace, and at length only sidles slowly off, step by
step, all the while eyeinghis pursuers askaunt, and finally makes
a full stop, turns round upon them, and, at the same time giving
himself a shake, roars with a short and sharp tone, in order to
show his indignation, being ready to seize on them, and tear
them in pieces. This is now precisely the time for the hunters
to be upon the spot, or else to get as soon as possible within a
certain range of him, yet so as, at the same time, to keep at a
proper distance from each other ; and he that is nearest, or
most advantageously posted, and has the best mark of that part
of the lion's body which contains his heart and lungs, must be
the first to jump off his horse, and, securing the bridle by put-
ting it round his arm, discharge his piece ; then, in an instant,
recovering his seat, must ride obliguely athwart his companions ;
166 ANECOOTES OF ANIMALS.
and, in fine, giving his horse the reins, must trust entirely to the
speed and fear of this latter to convey him out of the reach of
the fury of the wild beast, in case he has only wounded, or
has absolutely missed him. In either of these cases, a fair
opportunity presents itself for some of the other hunters to
jump off their horses directly, as they may then take their aim,
and discharge their pieces with greater coolness and certain-
ty. Should this shot likewise miss, (which, however, seldom
happens,) the third sportsman rides after the lion, which at
that instant is in pursuit of the first or second, and, springing
off his horse, fires his piece as soon as he has got within a
proper distance, and finds a sufficiently convenient part of
the animal present itself, especially obliquely from behind.
If now the lion turns upon him too, the other hunters turn
again, in order to come to his rescue with the charge, which
they had loaded on horseback, while they were flying from the
wild beast.
" No instance has ever been known of any misfortune happen-
ing to the hunters in chasing the lion on horseback. The Afri-
can colonists, who are born in, or have had the courage to re-
move into the more remote parts of Africa, which are exposed
to the ravages of wild beasts, are mostly good marksmen, and
are far from wanting courage. The lion, that has the boldness
to seize on their cattle which are the most valuable part of
their property sometimes at their very doors, is as odious to
them as he is dangerous and noxious. They consequently seek
out these animals, and hunt them with the greatest ardour and
glee, with a view to exterminate them. When the lion, there-
fore, comes upon their grounds, it is much the same as if they
were going to fight pro aris et focis, and I have heard several
yeomen at Agter Bruntjes Hoogtee, when I was out a-hunting
with them, merely express a wish to meet with the lions, in
case there were any in that neighbourhood, without mention-
ing a word about shooting them, a sign that, with regard to that
part of the business, they were pretty sure of their hands.
" The lion is by no means hard to kill. Those who have
had occasion to shoot several of these animals, have assured
me, that while buffaloes and the larger species of antelopes
will now and then make their escape, and run fairly off, with
a ball in their bowels, or in the cavity of their abdomen, of
THE J.ION. 167
which I myself have seen instances, the lion, on the contrary,
on being shot in this mariner, will be thrown into a vomiting,
and be disabled from running. But be that as it may, it is
natural to suppose, that a well-directed shot which enters the
heart or lungs, should suffice to kill the lion as well as the ele-
phant, and every other creature : therefore, as M. de Buffon
acknowledges that the lion's hide cannot withstand either ball or
dart, it is inconceivable how it should come into this author's
head to assert, without having the least authority for it, that
this furious beast is hardly ever to be killed with a single shot.
The hides of lions are looked upon as being inferior to, and
more rotten than those of cows, and are seldom made use of at
the Cape, excepting for the same purpose as horses' hides. I
met with a farmer, however, who used a lion's hide for the
upper leathers to his shoes, and spoke highly of them, as being
pliable and lasting."
Night is the usual time when the lion goes in search of prey :
and he never ventures to approach villages or the habita-
tions of man at other times. Such is his strength, that he will
carry off a horse which he has slaughtered, with apparent ease.
In the miserable and remote Hottentot kraals, or villages, be-
yond the precincts of European civilization, hungry lions often
commit dreadful havoc, even among the inhabitants. When
the lion makes an attack on these wretched people, it is said,
on good authority, that the old and infirm are put in his way ;
and, finding his prey so easily obtained, he will return night after
night, and carry off a fresh victim, until the inhabitants are
forced at length to abandon a situation where they are subject to
perpetual fear.
In Campbell's Second Journey to Africa, the following descrip-
tion is given of a combat with a lion: A lion had been near a
Bushman's hut the whole night, waiting, as they supposed, for
the arrival of its companions, to assist in attacking the family ;
and, if they had made the attack in conjunction with each other,
it is probable they would have succeeded. Two Bootchuana
herdsmen, attending near the place next morning, saw him, and ran
towards Kok's-kraal, to inform the people. On their way thither
they met six Girquas coming to attack the formidable creature,
having already heard he was there. Advancing towards him,
they fired and wounded, but did not disable him. Enraged by the
168 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
smart, he advanced to take revenge on his assailants. On seeing
him approach, the Girquas instantly leaped from their horses,
formed them into a close line, with their tails towards the lion,
and took their stand at their horses' heads. The enraged animal
flew upon a Bootchuana, who was not protected by the inter-
vention of the horses, and who tried to defend himself with his
skin-cloak, or caross. The lion, however, caught him by the
arm, threw him on the ground, and, while the poor man still
tried to defend himself, by keeping his caross wrapped round
him, the lion got under it, and gnawed part of his thigh. His
Bootchuana companion at that time threw his assagai, which
penetrated the man's cloak, and entered the lion's back. The
same Bootchuana threw another assagai, but, instead of taking
the direction he intended, it pierced the body of a dog that was
barking near. The Girquas would have fired, but they were
afraid of shooting the man. To drive him away, if possible, they
made a great noise, and threw some stones. The lion then left
the man, and rushed towards them, when they again checked his
attack, by turning the horses round. He next crept under the
belly of a mare, and seized her by the fore-legs, but, with a
powerful kick, she made him let go his hold. In revenge, and
by one stroke of his paw, he tore open the body of the mare,
and retired. After this, he tried to get round the horses to the
men ; but when within two yards of one of them, and on the
point of making a spring, he was happily killed by a musket
shot, the ball penetrating behind the ear.
The Hottentots often adopt crafty expedients for escaping or
ensnaring the lion. An elderly Hottentot in the service of a
Christian, near the upper part of Sunday river, on the Camdebo
side, perceived a lion following him at a great distance for two
hours together. Thence, he naturally concluded, that the lion
only waited for the approach of darkness, in order to make him
his prey ; and, in the meantime, expected nothing else than to
serve for this fierce animal's supper, inasmuch as he had no
other weapon of defence than a stick, and knew that he could
not get home before it was dark. But he was well acquainted
with the nature of the lion, and its manner of seizing its prey,
and, at the same time, had leisure to ruminate on the ways and
means in which it was most likely that his existence would be
put an end to. He at length hit on a method of saving his life,
THE LIOX. 169
for whicb, in fact, he had to thank his meditations upon death,
and the small skill he had in zoology, (or, to speak plainly, his
knowledge of the nature of animals.) For this purpose, instead
of making the best of his way home, he looked out for a
hilphrans, (so they generally call a rocky place, level and plain
at top, and having a perpendicular precipice on one side of it,)
and, sitting himself down on the edge of one of these precipices,
he found, to his great joy, that the lion likewise made a halt,
and kept the same distance as before. As soon as it grew dark,
the Hottentot, sliding a little forwards, let himself down below
the upper edge of the precipice upon a projecting part, or cleft
of the rock, where he could just keep himself from falling.
But, in order to cheat the lion still more, he set his hat and
cloak on the stick, making with it at the same time a gentle
motion just over his head, and a little way from the edge of the
mountain. This crafty expedient had the desired successt He
did not stay long in that situation, before the lion came creeping
softly towards him like a cat, and mistaking the skin- cloak for
the Hottentot himself, took his leap with such exactness and
precision, as to fall headlong down the precipice, close to the
snare which had been set up for him.
Sparrman says, " A yeoman, a man of veracity, (Jacob Kok,
of Zeekoe.rivier,) related to me an adventure he had, in these
words: One day, walking over his lands with his loaded gun,
he unexpectedly met with a lion. Being an excellent shot, he
thought himself pretty certain, in the position he was in, of kill-
ing it, and therefore fired his piece. Unfortunately, he did not
recollect that the charge had been in it for some time, and con-
sequently, was damp, so that his piece hung fire, and the ball,
falling short, entered the ground close to the lion. In consequence
of this, he was seized with a panic, and took directly to his
heels ; but, being soon out of breath, and closely pursued by the
lion, he jumped up on a little heap of stones, and there made a
stand, presenting the butt-end of his gun to his adversary, fully
resolved to defend his life as well as he could to the utmost.
My friend did not take upon him to determine, whether this
position and manner of his intimidated the lion or not ; it had,
however, such an effect upon the creature, that it likewise made
a stand ; and what was still more singular, laid itself down at the
distanre of a few paces from the heap of stones, seemingly quite
170 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
unconcerned. The sportsman, in the meanwhile, did not dare to
stir a step from the spot ; besides, in his flight, he had the mis-
fortune to lose his powder-horn. At length, after waiting a good
half-hour, the lion rose up, and, at first, went very slowly, and
step by step, as if it bad a mind to steal off j but, as soon as it
got to a greater distance, it began to bound away at a great rate.
It is very probable, that the lion, like the hyena, does not easily
venture upon any creature that makes a stand against it, and
puts itself in a posture of defence. It is well known, that it
does not, like the hound, find out its prey by the scent, neither
does it openly hunt other animals. At least, the only instance
ever known of this, is that which I have mentioned before, as
having hunted an elk-antelope ; though it might possibly be, that
this wild-beast was reduced by extreme hunger to such an extra-
ordinary expedient. The lion, nevertheless, is swift of foot.
Two hunters informed me, that an imprudent and foolhardy
companion of theirs was closely pursued by a lion in their sight,
and very nearly overtaken by it, though he "was mounted on an
excellent hunter."
The following account of the preservation of a Hottentot,
when attacked by a lion, is given in the Journal of Air Kay, one
of the missionaries in South Africa. We quote his own words :
" When divine service was over, I visited a poor sick Hottenr
tot, who recently experienced one of the most remarkable and
providential deliverances that I ever read or heard of. I found
him in great pain from the shocking wounds which he had
received on the occasion ; and, in the course of conversation, he
furnished me with the following particulars of his escape from
the jaws of a lion, which he ascribes wholly to the gracious
interposition of the Father of Mercies, and which are therefore
worthy of being recorded to his glory. About three weeks or
a month ago, he went out on a hunting excursion, accompanied
by several other natives. Arriving on an extensive plain, where
there was abundance of game, they discovered a number of lions
also, which appeared to be disturbed by their approach. A
prodigiously large male immediately separated himself from the
troop, and began slowly to advance towards the party, the
majority of whom were young and altogether unaccustomed to
rencontres of so formidable a nature. When droves of timid
antelopes, or spring-boks only, came in their way, they made a
THE LION. 171
great boast of their courage, but the very appearance of the
forest's king made them tremble. While the animal was yet at
a distance, they all dismounted to prepare for firing, and accord-
ing to the custom on such occasions, began tying their horses
together by means of the bridles, with the view of keeping the
latter between them and the lion, as an object to attract his
attention, until they were able to take deliberate aim. His
movements, however, were at length too swift for them. Be-
fore their horses were properly fastened to each other, the mon-
ster made a tremendous bound or two, and suddenly pounced
upon the hind parts of one of them, which, in its fright, plunged
forward, and knocked down the poor man in question, who
was holding the reins in his hand. His comrades instantly
took flight, and ran off with all speed ; and he, of course, rose
as quickly as possible, in order to follow them. But no sooner
had he regained his feet, than the majestic beast, with a seeming
consciousness of his superior might, stretched forth his paw,
and striking him just behind the neck, immediately brought him
to the ground again. He then rolled on his back, when the lion
set his foot upon his breast, and lay down upon him. The poor
man now became almost breathless, partly from fear, but prin-
cipally from the intolerable pressure of his terrific load. He
endeavoured to move a little to one side, in order to breathe,
but feeling this, the creature seized his left arm close to the
elbow ; and after once laying hold with his teeth, he continued
to amuse himself with the limb for some time, biting it in
sundry different places, down to the hand, the thick part of
which seemed to have been pierced entirely through. All this
time the lion did not appear to be angry, but he merely caught
at his prey, like a cat sporting with a mouse that is not quite
dead ; so that there was not a single bone fractured, as would in
all probability have been the case, had the creature been hungry
or irritated. Whilst writhing in agony, gasping for breath, and
expecting every moment to be torn limb from limb, the suffer-
er cried to his companions for assistance, but cried in vain. On
raising his head a little, the beast opened his dreadful jaws to
receive it, but providentially the hat, which I saw in its rent
state, slipped off, so that the points of the teeth only just
grazed the surface of the skull. The lion now set his foot
upon the arm from which the blood was freely flowing; his
f 2
172 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
fearful paw was soon covered therewith, and he again and again
licked it clean ! The idea verily makes me shudder while 1
write. But this was not the worst ; for the animal then steadi-
ly fixed his flaming eyes upon those of the man, smelt on one
side, and then on the other, of his face, and, having tasted the
blood, he appeared half-inclined to devour his helpless victim.
' At this critical moment,' said ".the poor man, ' I recollected
having heard that there is a God in the heavens, who is able to
deliver in the very last extremity, and I began to pray that he
would save me, and not allow the lion to eat my flesh and drink
my blood.' Whilst thus engaged in calling upon God, the
beast turned himself completely round. On perceiving this,
the Hottentot made an effort to get from under him ; but no
sooner did the creature observe his movement, than he laid
terrible hold of his right thigh. This wound was dreadfully
deep, and evidently occasioned the sufferer most excruciating
pain. He again sent up his cry to God for help : nor were his
prayers in vain. The huge animal soon afterwards quietly re-
linquished his prey, though he had not been in the least inter-
rupted. Having deliberately risen from his seat, he walked
majestically off, to the distance of thirty or forty paces, and
then lay down in the grass, as if for the purpose of watching
the man. The latter being happily relieved of his load, ven-
tured to sit up, which circumstance immediately attracted the
lion's attention : nevertheless, it did not induce another attack,
as the poor fellow naturally expected ; but, as if bereft of
power, and unable to do any thing more, he again arose, took
his departure, and was seen no more. The . man seeing this,
took up his gun and hasted away to his terrified companions,
who had given him up for dead. Being in a state of extreme
exhaustion, from loss of blood, he was immediately set upon
his horse, and brought, as soon as was practicable, to the place
where I found him."
Every body has read the story of Androcles and the lion ; and
many other instances are on record of the attachment of lions to
individuals of the human species. Of these we shall here re-
cord a few : A great plague raged at Naples, in the year 1650.
Sir George Davis, who was English consul there at the time, in
order to avoid the disease, retired to Florence. Happening one
day to visit the menagerie of the Grand Duke, he noticed a lion
THE LION. 173
at th-3 farther end of one of the dens, which lay in sullen majesty,
and which the keepers informed him they had been unable to
tame, although every effort had been used for upwards of three
years. Sir George had no sooner reached the gate of the den,
than the lion ran to it, and evinced every demonstration of joy
and transport. The animal reared himself up, purred like a cat
when pleased, arid licked the hand of Sir George, which he had
put through the bars. The keeper was astonished, and, fright-
ened for the safety of his visitor, entreated him not to trust an
apparent fit of frenzy, with which the animal seemed to be seiz-
ed ; for he was, without exception, the most fierce and sullen of
his tribe which he had ever seen. This, however, bad no effect
on Sir George, who, notwithstanding every entreaty on the part
of the keeper, insisted on entering the lion's den. The moment
he got in, the delighted lion threw his paws upon his shoulders,
licked his face, and ran about him, rubbing his head on Sir
George, purring and fawning like a cat, when expressing its af-
fection for its master. This occurrence became the talk of
Florence, and reached the ears of the Grand Duke, who sent
for Sir George, and requested an interview at the menagerie,
that he might witness so extraordinary a circumstance, when Sir
George gave the following explanation : " A captain of a ship
from Barbary gave me this lion, when quite a whelp. I brought
him up tame ; but when I thought him too large to be suffered
to run about the house, I built a den for him in my court-yard.
From that time he was never permitted to be loose, except when
brought to the house, to be exhibited to my friends. When he
was five years old, he did some mischief, by pawing and playing
with people, in his frolicsome moods. Having griped a man
one day a little too hard, I ordered him to be shot, for fear of
myself incurring the guilt of what might happen. On this, a
friend, who happened to be then at dinner with me, begged him
as a present. How he came here, I know not." The Grand
L)uke of Tuscany, on hearing his story, said it was the very same
person who had presented him with the lion.
In the history of the crusades, it is related, that GeofTroy de
la Tour, one of the knights that went upon the first crusade to
the Holy Land, as he rode through a forest, suddenly heard !i
cry of distress. Hoping to rescue some unfortunate sufferer, he
rode boldly into the thicket ; but what was his astonishment,
r 3
171 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
when he beheld a lion with a large serpent coiled round his
body ? To relieve the distressed, was the duty of every true
knight Animated with this sentiment, it made no difference to
him whether he was called upon to exert it for the preservation
of man or beast ; he, therefore, with a single stroke of his sword,
killed the serpent, and extricated the lion from his perilous situa-
tion. From that hour, the thankful animal constantly accom-
panied his deliverer, whom he followed like a dog, and never
displayed his natural ferocity but at his command. At length
the crusade was fortunately terminated, and the knight prepared
to set sail for Europe. He had wished to take his faithful lion
with him ; but the master of the vessel in which he sailed, could
not be prevailed upon to admit him on board, and he was there-
fore obliged to leave him on shore. The lion, when he saw him-
self separated from his beloved master, first began to roar hide-
ously ; and, seeing the ship diverging from him, plunged into
the waves, and endeavoured to swim after it. But all his efforts
to reach it were in vain. At length, his strength being exhaust-
ed, he sunk j and the ocean engulfed this generous animal, whose
unshaken fidelity had well deserved a better fate.
An instance of friendship and memory in a lion is thus related
by Mr Hope : " One day I had the honour of dining with the
Duchess of Hamilton. After dinner, the company attended her
Grace, to see a lion fed, that she had in the court. While we
were admiring his fierceness, and teasing him with sticks, to
make him abandon his prey, and fly at us, the porter came and
informed the Duchess, that a sergeant, with some recruits at
the gate, begged to see the lion. Her Grace, with great con-
descension and good nature, asked permission of the company
to admit the travellers. They were accordingly admitted. At
the moment, the lion was growling over his prey. The sergeant,
advancing to the cage, called, ' Nero, Nero, poor Nero ! Don't
you know me ?' The animal instantly turned his head to look
at him ; then rose up, left his food, and came wagging his tail to
the side of the cage. The man put his hand upon him, and
patted him, telling us, at the same time, that it was three years
since they had seen each other, and that the care of the lion on
his passage from Gibraltar had been committed to him ; and ho,
was happy to see the poor beast show so much gratitude for his
attention. The lion, indeed, seemed perfectly pleased. He
THE LION. 175
went to and fro, rubbing himself against the place where his
benefactor stood, and licked the sergeant's hand, as he held it out
to him. The man wanted to go into the cage to him ; but was
withheld by the company, who were not altogether convinced
that it would be save for him to do so.".
A lion, which the French at Fort St Louis, in Africa, were
about to send to Paris, on account of his great beauty, having
fallen sick before the departure of the vessel that was to convey
him to Europe, was loosed from his chain, and carried into an
open space of ground, M. Compagnon, author of an Account
of a Journey to Bambuk, as he returned home from hunting,
found this animal in a very exhausted state, and, out of com.
passion, poured a small quantity of milk down his throat,
whereby the lion was greatly refreshed, and soon after re-
covered his perfect health. From that time, the lion was so
tame, and acquired so great an attachment for his benefactor,
that he ate from his hand, and followed him about every where
like a dog, with nothing to confine him, but a string tied about
his neck.
M. Felix, the keeper of the animals at Paris, in the year
1808, brought two lions, a male and female, to the national
menagerie. About the beginning of the following June, he
was taken ill, and was unable to attend the lions. Another
person, therefore, was under the necessity of performing this
duty. The male, sad and solitary, remained from that moment
constantly seated at the end of his cage, and refused to receive
any thing from the stranger, whose presence was hateful to him,
and whom he often menaced, by bellowing. The company even
of the female seemed now to displease him j and he paid no at-
tention to her. The uneasiness of the animal afforded a belief,
that he was really ill ; but no one dared to approach him. At
length Felix recovered j and, with intention to surprise the lion,
he crawled softly to the cage, and showed only his face between
the bars. The lion in a moment made a bound, leaped against
the bars, patted him with its paws, licked his face, and trembled
with pleasure. The female also ran to him : but the lion drove
her back, and seemed angry, and, fearful that she should snatch
any favours from Felix, a quarrel was about to take place ; but
Felix entered the cage to pacify them. He caressed them by
turns ; and was afterwards frequently seen between them. He
176 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
had so great a command over these animals, that whenever he
wished them to separate and retire to their cages, he had only to
give the order. When he had a desire that they should lie
down, and show strangers their paws or throats, on the least
sign they would lie on their backs, hold up their paws, one after
another, open their throats ; and, as a recompense, obtain the
favour of licking his hand. These animals were of the Asiatic
breed, and, at the time above mentioned, were five years and a
half old.
In the beginning of last century, there was in the menagerie
at Cassel, a lion that showed an astonishing degree of lameness
towards the woman that had the care of him. This went so far,
that the woman, in order to amuse the company that came to see
the animal, would often rashly place not only her hand, but even
her head, between his tremendous jaws. She had often performed
this experiment, without suffering any injury. Upon one occa-
sion, however, having introduced her head as usual into the
lion's mouth, the animal made a sudden snap, and killed her on
the spot. Undoubtedly, this cataslrophe was uninlentional on
the part of the lion j for, probably, at the fatal moment, the hair
of the woman's head had irritated the lion's throat, and com-
pelled him to sneeze or cough. At least, this supposition seems
to be confirmed by what followed ; for, as soon as the lion per-
ceived that he had killed his attendant, the good tempered,
grateful animal exhibited signs of the deepest melancholy, laid
himself down by the side of the dead body, which he would not
suffer to be taken from him, refused to take any food, and in a
few days pined himself to death.
In the year 1801, there were kept in one den, at Exeter
Change, London, a lion and lioness, which were imported from
Africa together. The animals were each about eighteen months
old, and were attended by a negro, who accompanied them home,
and also had reared them, from the time they were whelps.
With this negro they were in habits of great intimacy; and
he frequently entered their den, when they would frisk round
him with all the playfulness of kittens. He often had a table,
with pipes and glasses, in their cell, and, sitting down in it, in-
dulged himself in the luxury of smoking his pipe. If, however,
their gambols became too noisy, he had only to signify his dis-
pleasure, by stamping his foot, or even to give them an anjry
THE LION. 177
look, when they would immediately become quiet, and peaceably
lie down by his side. He, however, would not at all times ven-
ture himself with them ; for they were liable to irregularity of
temper, from being thoughtlessly irritated by those who came to
see them. When their temper was thus ruffled, he invariably
refrained from trusting himself with them, nor would he even
do so while they were feeding. The proprietor of Exeter
Change parted with this man, which the female took so much
to heart, that she loathed her food, pined away, and soon after-
wards died.
A remarkable instance of the docility of a lion occurred some
time ago in Chester : The head keeper of Messrs Earl, James,
and Son's menagerie being absent, the magnificent male lion,
which forms part of this collection, was fed on Sunday night by
a strange keeper, who omitted to fasten the door when he left
the den. The watchman, when going his rounds about three in
the morning, discovered the king of beasts deliberately walking
about the yard, and surveying the surrounding objects with
apparent curiosity. The watchman immediately went to call
the proprietors, and some of the people connected with the ex-
hibition ; and, when they arrived, they found the lion couchant
on the top of one of the coaches in the coachmaker's yard, in
Prince's Street, as if he alone deserved to be free, and, conscious
of his royal dignity, was giving audience to his quadruped sub-
jects, who were in durance around him. With very little en-
treaty from the proprietors, the monarch of the forest deigned to
descend from his throne, and very graciously followed a young
lady, the proprietor's daughter, into his den again.
Notwithstanding that strength of attachment to which lions
are liable, numerous accidents have occurred, arising either from
carelessness or temerity on the part of those who have the animals
in keeping. In the anecdotes already given, notice is taken of
a poor woman, the keeper of a lion, who lost her head in the
end, by her practice of thrusting it into the animal's mouth a
practice which cannot be sufficiently reprobated as at once dan-
gerous to the actor, and disagreeable to the spectator. Instances
of similar accidents may be given.
Rubens, when painting a lion from the only live specimen he
ever had in his power to study, expressed a desire to see him in
the act of roaring. Anxious to please him, the keeper plucked
178 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
a whisker off the royal beast, and with such success, that he
daily repeated the experiment. Rubens, however, perceived
such deadly wrath in the countenance of the animal, that he beg-
ged the man to desist ; his hint was at first regarded, but too
eoon neglected. The consequence was dreadful ; the enraged
lion struck down the keeper, and lay on him the whole day ;
in the evening he was shot by a body of guards, but in the agonies
of death the keeper was torn to pieces.
Under the reign of Augustus, King of Poland, and Elector
of Saxony, a lion was kept in the menagerie at Dresden, between
whom and his attendant such a good understanding subsisted,
that the latter was in the practice of entering the cage of the
former with his food. The keeper's usual habit was a green
jacket ; and the lion had long manifested gratification when the
man paid him a visit. Upon a certain occasion, the keeper hav-
ing been at church to receive the sacrament, had put on a black
coat, as is usual in that country on such occasions, and be did
not think of laying it aside before giving the animal his dinner.
The unusual appearance of this attire enraged the lion. He
leapt at his keeper, and struck his claws into his shoulders.
The man spoke to him gently, when the well known tone of his
voice brought the lion in some degree to his recollection. Doubt,
however, still appeared expressed in his terrific features ; how.
ever, he did not quit his hold. An alarm was raised ; the wife
and children ran to the place with shrieks of terror. Soon some
grenadiers of the guard arrived, and offered to shoot the animal,
as there seemed, in this critical moment, to be no other means
of extricating the man. But the keeper, who was attached to
the lion, begged them not to do it, as he hoped to extricate him-
self at less expense. This, however, he was unable to accom-
plish for nearly a quarter of an hour, during which the lion kept
his hold, shook his mane, lashed his sides with his tail, and roll-
ed his fiery eyes. At length, the man felt himself unable to
sustain the animal's weight, and yet, any serious effort to escape
would have been at the immediate hazard of his life. He there-
fore desired the grenadiers to fire, which they did through the
grating, and killed the lion instantaneously ; but, in the same
moment, perhaps only by a convulsive dying grasp, he squeezed
the keeper between his powerful paws with such force, that he
broke his arms, ribs, and spine ; and they both expired at the
THE LION. 179
same time ! This anecdote goes far to prove, that the sense of
smell is deficient in the lion, and shows clearly that his strength
is immense.
The attachment which lions sometimes imbibe towards animals
not of their own species is remarkable: Some time ago, for
the purpose of seeing the manner in which the lion pounces on
his prey, a little dog was most cruelly put into the den of one,
in the Royal Menagerie at the Tower of London. No sooner
was the poor dog thrown into the lion's apartment, than he be-
came much afraid, and skulked into the most remote corner of
it. The noble lion, however, looked upon the little trembler
with the utmost complacency, and refrained from touching him ;
and the dog seeing the lion's forbearance, soon ventured to ap-
proach him. In a day or two, they became quite familiar, and
thenceforward lived in perfect harmony, as far as the lion was
concerned ; although the dog frequently had the temerity to
dispute his share of food with the -king of beasts, who magnani.
mously treated him with the greatest forbearance, by allowing
him to satisfy his appetite before he thought of making a meal
himself.
During the present year, 1832, a bear was taken to the mena-
gerie exhibiting at New Orleans, and let down into the cage of
an African lion, 24 years of age, with the belief that it would
be immediately torn to pieces. Many people assembled under
the awning which encompasses the exhibition, to witness the
scene, but all were disappointed and struck with astonishment
for although the bear, so soon as he had reached the bottom
of the cage, placed himself in a righting position, and once or
twice flew at the lion, with the apparent intention to commence
the battle, the lion did not attempt to injure it, but on the
contrary, after some time had elapsed, placed his paw on the
bear's head, as if to express bis pity for its helpless situation,
and evinced every disposition to cultivate friendship. Having
heard and read much (says the New Orleans Emporium) of
the lion's nobleness of disposition, and understanding that the
bear was still in the cage, prompted by curiosity we visited the
menagerie this morning, and actually saw them together. The
manager of the lion tells us that since the bear has been put
into the cage, no person has dared to approach it, and that the
lion had not slept for three hours, but continues constantly
180 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
awake to guard his weaker companion from danger. " The
lion," says the manager, " suffers the bear to eat of whatever is
thrown into the cage, until he has enough, but will scarcely
touch food himself." During the time that we remained, the
lion once or twice walked to the end of the cage opposite to that
at which the bear was lying, and some person motioned his hand
towards the bear, but so soon as the lion saw it, he sprang to
the bear, and kept his bead resting over it for some time. He
is so fatigued with watching, that as soon as he lies down he falls
asleep, but awakes again at the first noise that is made, and
springs to the object of his care.
Lion fights were favourite amusements of the ancients :
notices of them will be found in Goldsmith. In our own day,
lions have been baited by dogs : In the year 1791, at which
period the custom of baiting wild beasts still existed in the city
of Vienna, a combat was to be exhibited between a lion and a
number of dogs. As soon as the noble animal made his ap-
pearance, four large bull-dogs were let loose upon him, three
of which, however, when they came near him, took fright,
and ran away. One only had courage to remain and make the
attack. The lion, without rising from the ground on which
he was lying, showed the dog, by a single stroke with his
paw, how greatly his superior he was in strength ; for the dog
was instantly stretched motionless on the ground. The lion
drew his victim towards him, and laid his fore paws upon him, in
such a manner that only a small part of his body could be seen.
Every one imagined that the dog was dead, and that the lion
would soon rise and devour him. But they were mistaken :
the dog began to move, and struggle to get loose, which the lion
permitted him to do. He seemed merely to have warned him
not to trespass any more. But, when the dog attempted to run
away, and had already got half over the inclosure, the lion's in-
dignation seemed to be excited. He sprang from the ground,
and, in two leaps, reached the fugitive, who had just got as far
as the paling, and was whining to have it opened for him to es-
cape. The flying animal had called the instinctive propensity
of the monarch of the forest into action, the defenceless enemy
now excited his pity ; for the generous lion stepped a few paces
backward, and looked quietly on, while a small door was open-
ed to let the dog out of the inclosure. This unequivocal
THE LION. 181
trait of generosity moved every spectator. A shout of ap-
plause resounded throughout the assembly, which had enjoyed
a satisfaction of a description far superior to what they had ex-
pected.
So late as 1825, a remarkable exhibition took place at War-
wick, of two combats between lions and dogs. The tempers of
the lions Nero and Wallace were very different. Nero, a
docile animal, was too innocent for combat. In fact, he was so
tame, that a stranger might with safety approach him. Not so
Wallace. He appeared as wild as if just caught in a forest,
and would only allow one or two, known to him as feeders, to
approach his den, and that only when he was in a mild mood.
Wallace was whelped at Edinburgh in September, 1819, and
weighed about four hundred pounds. He was turned from his
den on the same stage where Nero fought, which was well
ironed round. The match was, for a hundred sovereigns,
First, Three couple of dogs to be slipt at him, two at a
time. Second, Twenty minutes, or more, as the umpires should
think fit, to be allowed between each attack. Third, the dogs
to be handed to the cage once only. We quote the newspaper
account.
The Fight. In the first round, Tinker and Ball were let
loose, and both made a gallant attack. The lion heard their
barking, and waited for them, as if aware of his foes. H*
showed himself a forest lion, and fought like one. He clapped
his paw upon poor Ball, took Tinker in his teeth, and deliber-
ately walked round the cage with him, as a cat would do with
a mouse. Ball, released from the paw, worked all he could, but
Wallace merely treated his slight punishment by an occasional
kick. He at length dropped Tinker, who crawled off the stage
as well as he was able. The lion then seized Ball by the mouth,
and played precisely the same game, as if he had been trained
to it. Ball would have been demolished, but his second got
hold of him through the bars, and hauled him away. Betting
five to four on the lion at the onset, was now two to one. Bout
Second. Turpin, a London, and Sweep, a Liverpool dog,
made an excellent attack, but it was three or four minutes before
the ingenuity of their seconds could get them to make the as-
sault. Wallace squatted on his haunches, and placed himself
erect at the slope where the dogs mounted the cage, as if he
Q
180 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
awake to guard his weaker companion from danger. " The
lion," says the manager, " suffers the bear to eat of whatever is
thrown into the cage, until he has enough, but will scarcely
touch food himself." During the time that we remained, the
lion once or twice walked to the end of the cage opposite to that
at which the bear was lying, and some person motioned his hand
towards the bear, but so soon as the lion saw it, he sprang to
the bear, and kept his bead resting over it for some time. He
is so fatigued with watching, that as soon as he lies down he falls
asleep, but awakes again at the first noise that is made, and
springs to the object of his care.
Lion fights were favourite amusements of the ancients :
notices of them will be found in Goldsmith. In our own day,
lions have been baited by dogs : In the year 1791, at which
period the custom of baiting wild beasts still existed in the city
of Vienna, a combat was to be exhibited between a lion and a
number of dogs. As soon as the noble animal made his ap-
pearance, four large bull-dogs were let loose upon him, three
of which, however, when they came near him, took fright,
and ran away. One only had courage to remain and make the
attack. The lion, without rising from the ground on which
he was lying, showed the dog, by a single stroke with his
paw, how greatly his superior he was in strength ; for the dog
was instantly stretched motionless on the ground. The lion
drew his victim towards him, and laid his fore paws upon him, in
such a manner that only a small part of his body could be seen.
Every one imagined that the dog was dead, and that the lion
would soon rise and devour him. But they were mistaken :
the dog began to move, and struggle to get loose, which the lion
permitted him to do. He seemed merely to have warned him
not to trespass any more. But, when the dog attempted to run
away, and had already got half over the inclosure, the lion's in-
dignation seemed to be excited. He sprang from the ground,
and, in two leaps, reached the fugitive, who had just got as far
as the paling, and was whining to have it opened for him to es-
cape. The flying animal had called the instinctive propensity
of the monarch of the forest into action, the defenceless enemy
now excited his pity ; for the generous lion stepped a few paces
backward, and looked quietly on, while a small door was open-
ed to let the dog out of the inclosure. This unequivocal
THE LION. 181
trait of generosity moved every spectator. A shout of ap-
plause resounded throughout the assembly, which had enjoyed
a satisfaction of a description far superior to what they had ex-
pected.
So late as 1825, a remarkable exhibition took place at War-
wick, of two combats between lions and dogs. The tempers of
the lions Nero and Wallace were very different. Nero, a
docile animal, was too innocent for combat. In fact, he was so
tame, that a stranger might with safety approach him. Not so
Wallace. He appeared as wild as if just caught in a forest,
and would only allow one or two, known to him as feeders, to
approach his den, and that only when he was in a mild mood.
Wallace was whelped at Edinburgh in September, 1819, and
weighed about four hundred pounds. He was turned from his
den on the same stage where Nero fought, which was well
ironed round. The match was, for a hundred sovereigns,
First, Three couple of dogs to be slipt at him, two at a
time. Second, Twenty minutes, or more, as the umpires should
think fit, to be allowed between each attack. Third, the dogs
to be banded to the cage once only. We quote the newspaper
account.
The Fight. In the first round, Tinker and Ball were let
loose, and both made a gallant attack. The lion heard their
barking, and waited for them, as if aware of his foes. H
showed himself a forest lion, and fought like one. He clapped
his paw upon poor Ball, took Tinker in his teeth, and deliber-
ately walked round the cage with him, as a cat would do with
a mouse. Ball, released from the paw, worked all he could, but
Wallace merely treated bis slight punishment by an occasional
kick. He at length dropped Tinker, who crawled off the stage
as well as he was able. The lion then seized Ball by the mouth,
and played precisely the same game, as if he had been trained
to it. Ball would have been demolished, but his second got
hold of him through the bars, and hauled him away. Betting
five to four on the lion at the onset, was now two to one. Bout
Second. Turpin, a London, and Sweep, a Liverpool dog,
made an excellent attack, but it was three or four minutes before
the ingenuity of their seconds could get them to make the as-
sault. Wallace squatted on his haunches, and placed himself
erect at the slope where the dogs mounted the cage, as if he
182 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
thought they dared not approach. The dogs, when on, fought
gallantly, but both were punished in less than a minute after the
attack ; and, although they were truly game dogs, maiming
damped their courage. The London dog fled as soon as he
could extricate himself from the lion's grasp, and Sweep would
have been killed on the spot, but he was released, and bolted as
well as his assistant, Turpin. Some murmurs were heard that
the dog Sweep ought to go on again. The umpires, however,
said " No." It was only a wrangle, for the dog could scarcely
have been dragged on. It was now all the pictures in Warwick
Castle to the broken casements of the Factory on the noble
Wallace, who, however, was supposed to have shied the dogs.
A secret committee was now held amongst the owners of the
dogs : Wedgebury, the purveyor of the London dogs, swore with
more energy than eloquence, that he would not bring his dog
Billy to the scratch. Edwards had got his dog Tiger ready, and
said to Wedgebury, " You surely would not disappoint the gen-
tlemen !" This seemed to have an impression on Wedgebury,
who untied Billy, casting a most piteous look upon the wounded
dogs around him. Billy was more willing than his master, who
was now obliged to let him loose. Both went to work ; Wallace
fancied Billy, grasped him by the loins, and, when shaking him,
Tiger ran away. Billy was not exactly killed, but bit an inch
or two deep in the loins only. Turk died of his wounds, Cap-
tain, Billy, and Sweep, all recovered ; but it required a great
deal of nursing to preserve their lives.
The den in which Nero and Wallace fought was ten feet high,
and fifty-seven in circumference, the bars of a proportionable
thickness, and nine inches apart, to allow the dogs to pass be-
tween them.
Notwithstanding his meekness, Nero did not readily forget the
ill usage which he had received, as will be seen from the follow-
ing anecdote.
Wedgebury, the proprietor of the dogs, Turk, Captain, Billy,
and Sweep, that fought with Nero and Wallace, happened soon
after the fight to return to Warwick, and visited WombwelPs
menagerie. He was standing within a quarter of a yard of the
den in which Nero was confined. The lion, on hearing Wedge-
bury's voice, instantly recognised it, arid made a dreadful plunge
at him ; and, protruding one of his paws through the iron rails
THE LIONESS. 183
seized hold of the back part of his coat. Wedgebury, however,
got away, without any injury to his person ; but was compelled
to have the assistance of a tailor to repair his coat and waistcoat,
and quite glad he had escaped in a whole skin, and without re-.
quiring the assistance of a surgeon. It is impossible to give an
adequate idea of the rage exhibited by Nero on this particular
occasion.
THE LIONESS.
THE lioness is distinguished from the lion by the absence of
the rnane, and also by being of a smaller size, and more slender
and delicate formation. The position in which she holds her
head forms another characteristic between her and her royal mate
the head of the lion being almost uniformly elevated and
thrown upwards, while that of the lioness is generally held on a
level with the line of her back, which assimilates her more
closely to the inferior races of the feline tribe. Although inferior
in muscular strength to the lion, she is equally formidable as an
opponent, from the impetuosity of her temper and the superior
agility of her motions. The excitability of her disposition is
especially displayed while rearing her cubs. There are few ani-
mals, indeed, more tenderly attached to their offspring than the
lioness. This inherent property produces in her an astonishing
change of demeanour whenever she becomes a mother : for, it
has been observed, that lionesses which were in the highest state
of domestication, lay aside every vestige of their former docility
when they have cubs. On such occasions, all her former attach-
ments are abandoned, and old established friendship is no longer
a safeguard to those approaching her. In this condition, she
guards her young with a watchful feverishness, which keeps her
in continual excitement, and, on the slightest grounds, she breaks
out in violent and terrific fits of rage ; and, so tremendous is her
fury at times, that the bars seem insufficient to confine her.
The lioness goes with young five months, and produces from
two to eight at a birth ; and the young ones are generally some-
what striped like a tiger, till they have nearly reached their adult
state. They are five years in arriving at perfection.
184 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
Notwithstanding the ferocity attributed to the lioness while
rearing her cubs, instances are on record in which she is said to
have displayed an amiable and tractable spirit. Two of these
we shall here give, without, however, pledging ourselves to
their accuracy : Chernier, in his Present State of Morocco, says,
" I have been assured that a Brebe, who went to hunt the lion,
having proceeded far into a forest, happened to meet with two
whelps of a lion that came to caress him. The hunter stopped
with the little animals, and, waiting for the coming of the sire
or the dam, took out his breakfast, and gave them a part. The
lioness arrived, unperceived by the huntsman, so that he had
not time, or perhaps wanted the courage, to take his gun.
After having for some time looked at the man that was thus
feasting her young, the lioness burst away, and soon after re-
turned, bearing with her a sheep, which she came and laid at
the huntsman's feet. The Brebe, thus become one of the family,
took this occasion to make a good meal, skinned the sheep,
made a fire, and roasted a part, giving the entrails to the young.
The lion, in his turn, came also j and, as if respecting the rights
of hospitality, showed no tokens whatever of ferocity. Their
guest, the next day, having finished his provisions, returned
home, and came to a resolution never more to kill any of these
animals, the noble generosity of which he had so fully experienced.
He stroked and caressed the whelps at taking leave of them,
and the dam and sire accompanied him till he was safely out of
the forest."
The other instance is as follows, and is scarcely less credi-
ble : Part of a ship's crew being sent ashore on the coast of
India, for the purpose of cutting wood, the curiosity of one of
the men having led him to stray to a considerable distance from
his companions, he was much alarmed by the appearance of a
large lioness, who made towards him ; but, on her coming up,
his fear was allayed, by her lying down at his feet, and looking
very earnestly, first in his face, and then at a tree some little
distance off. After repeating these looks several times, she
arose, and proceeded towards the tree, looking back, as if she
wished the sailor to follow her. At length, he ventured, and,
coming to the tree, perceived a huge baboon, with two young
cubs in her arms, which he immediately supposed to be those of
the lioness, as she couched down like a cat, and seemed to eye
THE LIONESS. 185
them very stedfastly. The man, being afraid to ascend the tree,
decided on cutting it down, and, having his axe with him, he set
actively to work, when the lioness seemed most attentive to
what he was doing. When the tree fell, she pounced upon the
baboon, and, after tearing her in pieces, she turned round, and
licked the cubs for some time. She then returned to the
sailor, and fawned round him, rubbing her head against him in
great fondness, and in token of her gratitude for the service he
had done her. After this, she carried the cubs away one by one,
and the sailor rejoined his companions, much pleased with the
adventure.
Like her royal partner, the lioness is capable of acts of genero-
sity, and of attaching herself to animals not of her own tribe :
Jn the year ] 773, a lioness in the Tower formed such an attach-
ment for a little dog which was kept with her in the den, that
she would not eat till the dog was first satisfied. When the
lioness was near her time of whelping, it was thought advisable
to take the dog away. Shortly after, when the keepers were
cleaning the den, the dog, by some means, got into it, and ap-
proached the lioness with his wonted fondness, who was then
playing with her cubs. She made a sudden spring at him, and,
seizing the poor little animal in her mouth, seemed in the act of
tearing him to pieces ; but, as if she momentarily recollected
her formed fondness for him, carried him to the door of the den,
and suffered him to be taken out unhurt.
Another instance of the attachment of a lioness to a dog was
to be found at the Jardin des Plantes, of Paris, in the year
1812. She permitted the dog to live in her den, and the two
animals would frequently gambol together, and caress one
another. Sometimes the keeper let the dog out for exercise,
on which occasions the lioness displayed great uneasiness till
bis return.
Of the jealous fury of the lioness, we have one illustration :
A lion and lioness were kept in the menagerie of the Land-
grave of Hesse Cassel, in two cages, close to each other, separ-
ated by a single grating, and communicating by means of a door,
which could be opened whenever it was thought proper to let
the two animals together. They were both very tame towards
the keeper and his wife, who had the care of them. On one
occasion, the latter having caressed the lion for a considerable
Q3
186 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
time, the lioness observed it with evident marks of displeasure,
and evinced an inclination to break through the grating, in order
to get at her supposed rival. Unfortunately, the door by which
the two cages communicated with each other, not being properly
secured, gave way, upon which the lioness entered the den of the
lion, and flew at the woman, who would undoubtedly have fallen
a sacrifice to her jealous fury, had not the lion immediately in-
terposed and defended her.
Not many years ago, a curious example of the ferocity of the
lioness occurred in England : The Exeter mail-coach, on its
way to London, was attacked on Sunday night, the 20th Octo-
ber, 1816, at Winter's -Law-Hut, seven miles from Salisbury,
in a most extraordinary manner. At the moment when the
coachman pulled up, to deliver his bags, one of the leading horses
was suddenly seized by a ferocious animal. This produced a
great confusion and alarm. Two passengers, who were inside
the mail, got out, and ran into the house. The horse kicked
and plunged violently ; and it was with difficulty the coachman
could prevent the carriage from being overturned. It was
soon observed by the coachman and guard, by the light of the
lamps, that the animal which had seized the horse was a huge
lioness. A large mastiff dog came up and attacked her fiercely,
on which she quitted the horse, and turned upon him. The
dog fled, but was pursued and killed by the lioness, within about
forty yards of the place. It appears that the beast had escaped
from a caravan, which was standing on the roadside, and belong-
ed to a menagerie, on its way to Salisbury Fair. An alarm being
given, the keepers pursued arid hunted the lioness, carrying the
dog in her teeth, into a hovel under a granary, which served for
keeping agricultural implements. About half past eight, they
had secured her effectually, by barricading the place, so as to
prevent her escape. The horse, when first attacked, fought with
great spirit ; and if he bad been at liberty, would probably have
beaten down his antagonist with his fore feet ; but in plunging,
he embarrassed himself in the harness. The lioness, it appears,
attacked him in front, and springing at his throat, had fastened
the talons of her fore feet on each side of his gullet, close to the
head, while the talons of her hind feet were forced into the
chest. In this situation she hung, while the blood was seen
streaming, as if a vein had been opened by a lancet. The furious
THE TIGER. 187
animal missed the throat and jugular vein ; but the borse was so
dreadfully torn, that be was not at first expected to survive.
The expressions of agony, in his tears and moans, were most
piteous and affecting. Whether the lioness was afraid of her.
prey being taken from her, or from some other cause, she con-
tinued a considerable time after she had entered the hovel, roar-
ing in a dreadful manner, so loud, indeed, that she was distinctly
heard at the distance of half a mile. She was eventually
secured, and taken to her den ; and the proprietor of the mena-
gerie did not fail to take advantage of the incident, by having a
representation of the attack painted in the most captivating
colours, and hung up in front of his establishment. We have
seen the menagerie, with this attraction, both in Edinburgh and
Glasgow.
The lioness was considered a very domesticated creature, and,
before this, had never manifested marks of ferocity. But this
proves, that it is not safe to trust even the most docile of these
animals.
THE TIGER.
THE tiger is by no means held in the same popular respect
and veneration as the lion, although it differs little from that
animal either in size, power, external form, or natural disposi-
tion. While the lion has been esteemed the type and standard
of heroic perfection, the tiger has been looked upon by mankind
in general as an emblem of blood-thirstiness, treachery, and
untameable ferocity. The recorded observations, however, of
naturalists and travellers sufficiently prove the gratuitous nature
of such popular distinctions, and that in character and habits,
as well as corporeal structure, the differences between the lion
and tiger are in reality slight and unessential.
The mane, which adds so much to the dignified look of the
lion, is awanting in the tiger; but this is compensated by a
beautiful striped skin, and superior ease and activity of motion.
The moral qualities of both animals are much alike, being only
marked by shades of difference. The tiger has the same man-
ner of attacking his prey as the lion, by lying in ambush, and
188 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
springing upon it j indeed, this is the common practice of the
whole cat tribe. The bound of the tiger is tremendous, and
performed with astonishing speed, and to so great a distance,
that few would credit it. It has been supposed by some writers,
that the tiger derives his name from this circumstance, as in
the Armenian language tiger signifies an arrow. Unlike the
lion, however, the tiger does not usually slink sullenly back
into his retreat if his first attack proves unsuccessful and
he misses his aim, but pursues his victim with a speed and
activity which is seldom baffled even by the fleetest animals.
In his domestic relations, the tiger is scarcely so amiable as
the lion. He does not fulfil his duties so faithfully as husband
and father; nor does the tigress herself at all times conduct
herself like a fond and indulgent mother. The lion assists the
lioness in rearing her young, while the tiger generally forsakes
the female at that time. The lioness is never known to destroy
her progeny, while the tigress frequently does so. It cannot, how-
ever, be said that the tigress is always cruel to her young, for,
in general, where tigers have produced in Europe, they have
shown much anxiety regarding them. We are informed by
Captain Williamson in his " Oriental Field Sports," that he
had two tiger cubs brought to him while quartered at Ramghur.
They had been discovered, with two more, by some villagers,
while their mother had been in quest of prey. The captain
put them into a stable, where they were very noisy during
night. A few nights having elapsed, their mother at length
discovered where they were, came to relieve them, and repli-
ed to their cries by tremendous bowlings, which induced
their keeper to set the cubs at liberty, lest the dam should break
in. She had carried them off to a jungle adjoining before
morning.
There appears to be no greater difficulty in rendering the
tiger tame than the lion ; for we have seen numberless instances
of their docility, in a state of confinement. Accounts of some of
these will be found in the notes to Goldsmith. In India the
faquirs or priests of Hindostan, who roam about as mendicants,
are generally accompanied by tame tigers. In the summer of
1830, when Mr Wombwell was in Edinburgh, I happened one
morning to visit his menagerie, when a young tiger, upwards of a
year old, got out of his cage, but. in place of offering any injury
THE TIGER. 189
to those who were present, he squatted down like a frightened
cat, close below his cage ; and quietly allowed the keepers to
lift him into his apartment.
The tiger is a native of all the countries of southern Asia,
which lie between the north of China, Chinese Tartary, arid
the Indies. He is entirely unknown in Africa. He abounds in
Bengal, Tonquin, and Sumatra, and is to be found on most of
the larger islands in that side of India. Of the ravages com-
mitted by tigers in these countries, some idea may be gained
from the following narrative of a tiger excursion at Doongal,
given in the East India Government Gazette.
" There were five tigers killed by the party, besides one bear
killed, and another wounded ; a wolf, a hyaena, a panther, a
leopard, wild hogs killed every day, innumerable hares, partridges,
floricans, &c. and some peacocks, wild goats, spotted deer and
porcupines, and immense rock and cobra capella snakes. Among
the occurrences during the excursion at Doongal, some are of a
peculiar and pathetic nature. The first was a poor Bunnia, or
dealer, of the village of Doongal, who had been to the city of
Hydrabad, to collect some of his money, and was returning, after
having gathered together a small sum, when on the way, a little
beyond the cantonment of Secunderabad, he saw an armed Paeon
seated, and apparently a traveller on the same way. After
mutual inquiries, the Paeon told the Bunnia he was going to the
same place ; and, as the Bunnia was glad to have somebody to
accompany him, he gave him a part of his victuals ; and, on their
way, they mutually related their histories. The Bunnia inno-
cently mentioned the object of his visit to the city, and of his
returning with the money he had collected : this immediately
raised the avarice of the Paeon, who decided in his mind to kill
the poor Bunnia in a proper place, and strip him of his money.
They proceeded together, with this design in his mind, until they
came to a place where the ravages of the tiger were notorious,
and he prepared to kill the Bunnia ; and while he was strug-
gling with him, and in the act to draw his sword to slay him, a
tiger sprang upon the Paeon, and carried him off, leaving his
shield and sword, which the Bunnia carried to Doongal, as
trophies of retributive justice in his favour. The next was a
Bunjarra and his wife, who were lying under a tree, when a tiger
sprang up, and seized the woman by the head. The husband,
190 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
from mere impulse to save his wife, held her by the legs ; and a
struggle ensued between the tiger pulling her by the head, and
the man by the legs, until the issue, which could not be doubted,
when the tiger carried off the woman. The man seemed to be
rather partial to his wife, and devoted himself to revenge her
death, forsook his cattle and property, resigned them to his
brother, and offered his services to be of the tiger killing party,
and strayed about the jungles, until he was heard of no more.
A young handsome woman, who had dressed and ornamented
herself for some particular occasion, happening to go a little be-
yond the precincts of a village, was seized by a tiger ; but, being
rather stout, and too heavy to be clearly carried off, the limbs
were torn from the waist, and the other part of the body was
removed about a mile from the place, through a thick part of the
iungle, where it was seen by the party fresh, with the viscera
devoured. The sight caused many painful emotions. A camel
driver, who had been just married, was bringing home his bride,
when a tiger followed, and kept them in view a great part of the
road, for an opportunity to seize one of them. The bride having
occasion to alight, was immediately pounced upon by the feroci-
ous beast, and he scampered away with her in his mouth. A
shepherd was taken by a young tiger, which was followed by the
mother, a large tigress, and devoured at the distance of two miles ;
and a Bunnia, or dealer, from Bolarum, was seized returning
from a fair. A woman, with an infant about a year old, was
captured by a tiger ; and the infant was found by the Puttal, or
head of the village, who brought it to his house. Some of the
Company's elephants that were going for forage were chased by
a tiger, which was kept off by a spearman ; and a comical chase
of them was made up to Doongal, the elephants running before
the tiger, until they entered the village. These are what occur-
red during the stay of the party at Doongal, besides many others
that were daily reported, and do not require describing, from the
uniformity of the occurrences. It is said the lives lost by these
tigers amounted to about three hundred persons in one year,
within the range of seven villages ; and the destruction of cattle,
sheep, and goats, was said to be immense."
An individual case of destruction by a tiger happened to Mr
Munro, only son of Sir Hector Munro, and is thus described by
an eye-witness of that distressing event, dated from on board the
THE TIGER. 191
ship Shaw Ardasier, off Saugur Island, December 23d, 1792 :
" To describe the awful, horrid, and lamentable accident I have
been an eye-witness of, is impossible. Yesterday morning,
Captain George Downey, Lieutenant Pyefinch, poor Mr Munro,
(of the Honourable East India Company's service,) and myself,
(Captain Consar,) went on shore, on Saugur Island, to shoot
deer. We saw innumerable tracks of tigers and deer ; but still
we were induced to pursue our sport ; and did so the whole day.
About half past three, we sat down on the edge of the jungle,
to eat some cold meat, sent to us from the ship, and had just
commenced our meal, when Mr Pyefinch and a black servant
told us, there was a tine deer within six yards of us. Captain
Downey and I immediately jumped up, to take our guns ; mine
was nearest, and I had but just laid hold of it, when I heard a roar
like thunder, and saw an immense royal tiger spring on the un-
fortunate Munro, who was sitting down ; in a moment his head
was in the beast's mouth, and he rushed into the jungle with him,
with as much ease as I could lift a kitten, tearing him through
the thickest bushes and trees, every thing yielding to his mon-
strous strength. The agonies of horror, regret, and, I must say,
fear, (for there were two tigers,) rushed on me at once ; the
only effort I could make was to fire at him, though the poor
youth was still in his mouth. I relied partly on Providence,
partly on my own aim, and fired a musket. The tiger staggered,
and seemed agitated, which I took notice of to my companions.
Captain Downey then fired two shots, and I one more. We
retired from the jungle, and, a few minutes after, Mr Munro
came up to us, all over blood, and fell. We took him on our
backs to the boat, and got every medical assistance for him, from
the Valentine Indiaman, which lay at anchor near the island ;
but in vain. He lived twenty-four hours, in the utmost torture ;
his head and skull were all torn and broke to pieces, and he was
also wounded, by the animal's claws, all over his neck and
shoulders ; but it was better to take him away, though irrecover-
able, than leave him to be mangled and devoured. We have
just read the funeral service over his body, and committed it to
the deep. Mr Munro was an amiable and promising youth. I
must observe, there was a large fire blazing close to us, composed
of ten or a dozen whole trees. I made it myself, on purpose to
keep the tigers off, as I had always heard it would. There were
192 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
eight or ten of the natives about us ; many shots had been fired
at the place; there was much noise and laughing at the time;
but this ferocious animal disregarded all. The human mind
cannot form an idea of the scene : it turned my very soul within
me. The beast was about four feet and a half high, and nine
long. His head appeared as large as that of an ox ; his eyes
darting fire, and his roar, when he first seized his prey, will never
be out of my recollection. We had scarcely pushed our boat
from that cursed shore, when the tigress made her appearance,
raging, almost mad, and remained on the sand, as long as the
distance would allow me to see her."
Lieutenant Collet, of the Bombay army, having heard that a
very large tiger had destroyed seven inhabitants of an adjacent
village, resolved, with another officer, to attempt the destruction
of the monster. Having ordered seven elephants, they went in
quest of the animal, which they found sleeping beneath a bush.
Roused by the noise of the elephants, he made a furious charge
upon them, and Lieutenant Collet's elephant received him on
her shoulder, the other six having turned about, and run off, not-
withstanding the exertions of their riders. The elephant shook
off the tiger, and Lieutenant Collet having fired two balls at
him, he fell ; but, again recovering himself, he made a spring at
the lieutenant. Having missed his object, he seized the elephant
by the hind leg, and, having received a kick from her, and another
ball, he let go his hold, and fell a second time. Supposing that
he was now disabled, Collet very rashly dismounted, with the
resolution of killing him with his pistols ; but the tiger, who had
only been crouching to take another spring, flew upon the lieu-
tenant, and caught him in his mouth. The strength and intre-
pidity of the lieutenant, however, did not forsake him : he im-
mediately fired his pistol into the tiger's body, and, finding that
this had no effect, disengaged his arms with all his force, and,
directing the other pistol to his heart, he at last destroyed him,
after receiving twenty-five severe wounds.
A company, seated under the shade of some trees near the
banks of a river in Bengal, were alarmed by the unexpected
sight of a tiger, preparing for its fatal spring, when a lady, with
almost unexampled presence of mind, unfurled a large umbrella
in the animal's face, which, being confounded by so extraordinary
THE TIGER. 193
and sudden an appearance, instantly retired, and thus afforded
them an opportunity of escaping from its terrible attack.
Tiger hunting is a favourite amusement in India, both with
the natives and our countrymen. We extract the following
lively account of a tiger hunt from the journal of the late excel-
lent Bishop Heber :
" At Kulleanpoor, the young Raja Gourmaii Singh mention-
ed in the course of conversation, that there was a tiger in an
adjoining tope which had done a good deal of mischief; that he
should have gone after it himself had he not been ill, and had
he not thought it would have been a fine diversion for Mr Boul-
derson, the collector of the district, and me. I told him I was
no sportsman, but Mr Boulderson's eyes sparkled at the name
of the tiger, and he expressed great anxiety to beat up his quar-
ters in the afternoon. Under such circumstances, I did not
like to deprive him of his sport, as he would not leave me by
myself, and went, though with no intention of being more than
a spectator. Mr Boulderson, however, advised me to load my
pistols for the sake of defence, and lent me a very fine double-bar-
relled gun for the same purpose. We set out a little after three
on our elephants, with a servant behind each howdah, carrying a
large chatta, which, however, was almost needless. The Raja,
in spite of his fever, made his appearance too, saying that he
could not bear to be left behind. A number of people, on foot and
horseback, attended from our own camp, and the neighbouring
villages, and the same sort of interest and delight was evidently
excited which might be produced in England by a great coursing
party. The Raja was on a little female elephant, hardly bigger
than the Durham ox, and almost as shaggy as a poodle. She
was a native of the neighbouring wood, where they are generally,
though not always, of a smaller size than those of Bengal and
Chittagong. He sat in a low howdah,* with two or three guns
ranged beside him, ready for action. Mr Boulderson had also a
formidable apparatus of muskets and fowling pieces, projecting
over his mohout's head. We rode about two miles across a plain
covered with long jungly grass, which very much put me in mind
of the country near the Cuban. Quails and wild-fowl rose in
* The howdah is a seat somewhat resembling 1 the body of a gig, and i* fas.
tened by girths to the back of the elephant.
R
194 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
great numbers, and beautiful antelopes were seen scudding away
in all directions."
The Bishop then describes the beating of the jungle, the
rushing out of two curious animals of the elk kind, called the
' mohr,' and the growing anxiety of all the people engaged in the
hunt. He then proceeds thus :
" At last the elephants all drew up their trunks into the air,
began to roar, and stamp violently with their fore-feet. The
Raja's little elephant turned short round, and in spite of all her
rnohout (her driver) could say or do, took up her post, to the
Raja's great annoyance, close in the rear of Mr Boulderson.
The other three (for one of my baggage elephants had come out
too, the mohout, though unarmed, not caring to miss the show)
went on slowly, but boldly, with their trunks raised, their ears
expanded, and their sagacious little eyes bent intently forward.
' We are close upon him,' said Mr Boulderson, ' fire where you
see the long grass shake, if he rises before you.' Just at that
moment my elephant stamped again violently. ' There, there,'
cried the mohout, ' I saw his head.' A short roar, or rather
loud growl followed, and I saw immediately before my elephant's
head the motion of some large animal stealing through the grass.
I fired as directed, and a moment after, seeing the motion still
more plainly, fired the second barrel. Another short growl fol-
lowed ; the motion was immediately quickened, and was soon
lost in the more distant jungle. Mr Boulderson said, ' I should
not wonder if you hit him that last time ; at any rate we shall
drive him out of the cover, and then J will take care of him.'
In fact at that moment the crowd of horse and foot spectators
at the jungle side, began to run off in all directions. We went
on to the place, but found it was a false alarm ; and, in fact, we
had seen all we were to see of him, and went twice more through
the jungle in vain.
" I asked Mr Boulderson in our return, whether tiger-hunting
was generally of this kind, which I could not help comparing to
that chase of bubbles which enables us in England to pursue an
otter. In a jungle, he answered, it must always be pretty much
the same, inasmuch as, except under very peculiar circumstances,
or when a tiger felt himself severely wounded, and was roused
to revenge by despair, his aim was to remain concealed, and to
make off as quietly as possible. It was after he had broken
THE TIGER. I9a
cover, or when he found himself in a situation so as to be fairly
at bay, that the serious part of the sport began, in which case he
attacked his enemies boldly, and almost died fighting. He
added, that the lion, though not so large or swift an animal as
the tiger, was generally stronger and more courageous. Those
which have been killed in India, instead of running away when
pursued through a jungle, seldom seem to think its cover neces-
sary at all. When they see their enemies approaching, they spring
out to meet them, open-mouthed, in the plain, like the boldest
of all animals, a mastiff dog. They are thus generally shot with
very little trouble ; but if they are missed, or only slightly
wounded, they are truly formidable enemies. Though not
swift, they leap with vast strength and violence ; and their large
heads, immense paws, and the great weight of their body for-
wards, often enable them to spring on the head of the largest
elephants, and fairly pull them down to the ground, riders and
all. When a tiger springs on an elephant, the latter is generally
able to shake him off under his feet, and then woe be to him.
The elephant either kneels on him and crushes him at once, or
gives him a kick which breaks half his ribs, and sends him flying
perhaps twenty paces. The elephants, however, are often dread-
fully torn ; and a large old tiger sometimes clings too fast to be
thus dealt with. In this case it often happens that the elephant
himself falls, from pain, or from the hope of rolling on his
enemy ; and the people on his back are in very considerable dan-
ger both from friends and foes ; for Mr Boulderson said the
scratch of a tiger was sometimes venomous, as that of a cat is
said to be. But this did not often happen ; and, in general, per-
sons wounded by his teeth or claws, if not killed outright, re-
covered easily enough.'
Of the muscular powers of the tiger, the following furnishes a
notable illustration : A buffalo, belonging to a peasant in the
East Indies, having fallen into a quagmire, the man was himself
unable to extricate it, and went to call the assistance of his
neighbours. Meanwhile, a large tiger, coming to the spot,
seized upon the buffalo, and dragged him out. When the men
came to the place, they saw the tiger, with the buffalo thrown
over his shoulder, in the act of retiring with him towards the
jungle. No sooner, however, did he observe the men, than
he let fall the dead animal, and precipitately escaped. On
Bi
198 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
a tiger and tigress and a lion in the Tower of London. An ac-
count of it will be found in Goldsmith.
Some years ago, a tame tiger was led about Madras by some
of the natives, without any other restraint than a muzzle, and a
small chain about his neck. The former was only rendered
necessary, from the particular manner in which they had trained
the animal. They lived by exhibiting, to the curious, the tiger's
method of seizing his prey. The manner in which they showed
this, was by fastening a sheep with a cord to a stake driven into
the ground. The tiger was no sooner brought in sight of it,
Than he crouched, and moved along the ground on his belly,
slowly and cautiously, till be came within the limits of a bound,
when he sprung upon it with the rapidity of an arrow, and struck
it dead in an instant. He then seized it by the throat with his
teeth, rolled on his back, supporting the sheep on his breast, and
drawing his hind legs up near the throat of the animal, fixed his
claws firmly into it, and then forcing his legs backwards, tore it
open in an instant. This tiger would yield up the carcass, on
a small piece of meat being thrown down to it.
THE JAGUAR AND PUMA.
THE most formidable quadrupeds of the new world, are the
Jaguar or American tiger, and Puma or American lion. They
are both particularly described in the notes to the edition of
Goldsmith. The Jaguar inhabits the swampy forests of South
America from Paraguay almost to the Isthmus of Darien. Al-
though inferior in grace and elasticity of motion to the tiger of
the old world, he is scarcely so in strength and ferocity. His
onset is always made from behind, and in the same treacherous
manner as that of all of the cat tribe : of a herd of animals or a
band of men passing within his reach, he uniformly singles out
the last as the object of his fatal bound. He springs upon the
neck of his victim, and by a sudden jerk twists its head, so as to
deprive it instantaneously of life and motion. Horses, oxen, and
sheep are his favourite food ; but, when pressed by hunger, he
will attack man. D'Azara mentions, that during his residence
at Paraguay, six men were destroyed by these animals ; two of
THE JAGUAR AND PUMA. 199
whom were even seized and carried off in the night, while sitting
by a blazing fire.
The jaguar is an excellent swimmer, and is said to attack and
overcome the alligator, of whose flesh he is very fond.
As an instance of the physical powers of the jaguar, D'Azara
mentions, that having heard of a horse being attacked by one, he
hastened to the spot, where he found him dead, and part of the
breast already devoured ; but the jaguar had fled, on seeing him
approach. He got the body of the horse dragged within musket
shot of a large tree, where he intended to pass the night, in hopes
of shooting the jaguar, which he had no doubt would return to
fetch its prey. He went away to prepare himself for the adven-
ture, leaving a man concealed to watch the carcass. He had not
been long gone before the jaguar made his appearance, from the
opposite side of a broad and deep river, about sixty paces from
the banks on which the horse lay. He approached, and, seizing
it in his teeth, pulled it to the river, and swam across with his
prey ; dragged it out of the water, and drew it into a neighbour-
ing wood.
M. Sonnini mentions, that in a journey through the extensive
forests of Guiana, he, and the party by whom he was accom-
panied, were much annoyed by one of these animals, who con-
tinued to follow them in their route, for two successive nights ;
and who evaded every effort, on their part, to destroy him. They
kept up very large fires to scare him, and he, at length, took his
departure, after uttering a horrid howl of disappointment.
The powers of the jaguar in climbing lofty trees, is very
remarkable. Some of the stumps of the mighty trees which
compose the extensive forests of South America, are free
from branches, to the distance of fifty feet from the ground, and
the bark of some is nearly as smooth as glass. M. Sonnini ob-
served, while travelling through that country, the marks of the
claws of the juguar at the top of some of the highest trees ; and
although it was quite apparent that the animal had slipped more
than once, in his attempt to gain the branches, which was quite
perceptible, from the deep ruts his claws had made in the bark,
yet he had ultimately gained his object, no doubt in pursuit of
some favourite prey.
The PUMA, Cougar, or, as he was once called, the American
lion, is smaller than the Jaguar, and resembles the liou of the old
200 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
world, chiefly in the uniformity of his general colour, which is
brownish red. The belly is white, or pale cream colour. It has
no mane, like the African and Asiatic lions.
The puma lives in high and mountainous tracts, in the wanner
parts of the United States, and is common in the open plains of
South America. He feeds on all domestic, and also most wild
animals which he is capable of overcoming. Although power-
ful, he is cowardly, and is little dreaded either by man or the
larger animals. Molina and D'Azara even assert, that the puma
will not attack man ; but an incident related to Major Smith by
Mr Skudden, proves the contrary : Two hunters having gone
in quest of game to the Katskill mountains, province of New
York, each armed with a gun, and accompanied by a dog, they
agreed to go in contrary directions round the base of the hill,
which formed one of the points of that chain of mountains ; and
it was settled that, if either discharged his piece, the other should
hasten to the spot whence the report proceeded as speedily
as possible, to join in the pursuit of whatever game might fall to
their lot. They had not been long asunder, when the one beard
the other fire, and, agreeably to promise, hastened to join his
companion. He looked for him in every direction ; but to no
purpose. At length, however, he came upon the dog of his
friend, dead, and dreadfully lacerated. Convinced by this, that
the animal his comrade had shot at, was ferocious and formidable,
he felt much alarm for his fate, and sought after him with great
anxiety. He had not proceeded many yards from the spot where
the dog lay prostrate, when his attention was arrested by the
ferocious growl of some wild animal. On raising his eyes to
the spot whence the sound proceeded, he discovered a large
puma couching on the branch of a tree, and under him the body
of his friend. The animal's eyes glared at him, and he appeared
hesitating whether he should descend, and make an attack on the
survivor also, or relinquish his prey, and decamp. The hunter,
aware of the celerity of the puma's movements, knew that there
was no time for reflection, levelled his piece, and mortally wound-
ed the animal, when it and the body of the man fell together from
the tree. His dog then attacked the wounded puma, but a single
blow from its paw laid it prostrate. In this state of things, find-
ing his comrade was dead, and knowing it was dangerous to ap-
proach the wounded animal, he went in search of assistance, and,
THE JAGUAR AND PUMA. 201
on returning to the spot, he found the puma, his friend, and
the two dogs, all lying dead. The skin of this puma is pre-
served in the New York museum, in remembrance of the story.
Another and less tragical encounter with a puma is thus de-
scribed by Captain Head, in his Journey across the Pampas :
" The fear which all wild animals in America have of man is
very singularly seen in the Pampas. I often rode towards the
ostriches and zamas, crouching under the opposite side of my
horse's neck ; but I always found that, although they would
allow my loose horse to approach them, they, even when young,
ran from me, though little of my figure was visible ; and when
I saw them all enjoying themselves in such full liberty, it was
at first not pleasing to observe that one's appearance was every
where a signal to them that they should fly from their enemy.
Yet it is by this fear ' that man hath dominion over the beasts
of the field,' and there is no animal in South America that does
not acknowledge this instinctive feeling. As a singular proof
of the above, and of the difference between the wild beasts of
America and of the old world, I will venture to relate a cir-
cumstance which a man sincerely assured me had happened to
him in South America: He was trying to shoot some wild
ducks, and, in order to approach them unperceived, he put the
corner of his poncho (which is a sort of long narrow blanket)
over his head, and crawling along the ground upon his hands
and knees, the poncho not only covered his body, but trailed
along the ground behind him. As he was thus creeping by a
large bush of reeds, he heard a loud, sudden noise, between a
bark and a roar : he felt something heavy strike his feet, and,
instantly jumping up, he saw, to his astonishment, a large puma
actually standing on his poncho ; and, perhaps, the animal was
equally astonished to find himself in the immediate presence
ot so athletic a man. The man told me he was unwilling to
fire, as his gun was loaded with very small shot ; and he there-
fore remained motionless, the puma standing on his poncho
for many seconds ; at last the creature turned his head, and
walking very slowly away about ten yards, he stopped, and
turned again : the man still maintained his ground, upon
which the puma tacitly acknowledged his supremacy, and walk-
ed off."
A puma having been taken in America, was ordered to be
202 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
shot, immediately after, while taking some food. The first ball
penetrated his body, which merely had the effect of making him
utter a loud growl ; after which, he ate his food with the most
savage voracity and keenness, swallowing along with it quantities
of his own blood, till he sunk under exhaustion.
The puma in a state of captivity, loses all its natural fierce-
ness. Buffon mentions one, that would allow himself to be
patted by the hand, and he would even permit children to
mount on his back, without any attempt to scratch or bite them.
There was one kept alive for some time in the College of Edin-
burgh, which was very tame, although not completely domesti-
cated. Mr Kean, the celebrated actor, also had a tame puma,
which died some time ago. This animal followed him, without
exhibiting any proofs of wildness.
The following story shows the gratitude and attachment of
which a puma is capable : A dreadful famine raged at Buenos
Ayres, during the government of Don Diego de Mendoza, in
Paraguay ; yet Don Diego, afraid to give the Indians a habit of
spilling Spanish blood, forbade the inhabitants, on pain of death,
to go into the fields, in search of relief, placing soldiers at all the
outlets to the country, with orders to fire upon those who should
attempt to transgress his orders. A woman, however, called
Maldonata, was artful enough to elude the vigilance of the
guards, and escape. After wandering about the country for a
long time, she sought shelter in a cavern ; but she had scarcely
entered it, when she became dreadfully alarmed, by espying a
female puma. She was, however, soon quieted, by the animal
approaching and caressing her. The poor brute was in a state,
in which assistance is of the most service, and when rendered,
is gratefully remembered, even by the brute creation. Of this,
the puma gave her benefactress the most sensible proofs. She
never returned from searching after her daily subsistence, without
laying a portion of it at the feet of Maldonata, until, her whelps
being strong enough to walk abroad, she took them with her,
and never returned.
Some time after, Maldonata fell into the hands of the
Spaniards ; and, being brought back to Buenos Ayres, was con-
ducted before Don Francis Ruez de Galen, who then command-
ed there. She was charged with having left the city, contrary to
orders. Galen was a man of a cruel and tyrannical disposition,
THE PANTHER ANU LEOPARD. 203
and condemned the unfortunate woman to a death which none
but the most cruel tyrant could have devised. He ordered some
soldiers to take her into the country, and leave her tied to a
tree, either to perish with hunger, or to be torn to pieces by wild
beasts, as he expected. Two days after, he sent the same
soldiers to see what had been her fate, when, to their great sur-
prise, they found her alive and unhurt, though surrounded
by pumas and jaguars, while a female puma, at her feet kept
them at bay. As soon as the puma saw the soldiers, she re-
tired to some distance ; and they unbound Maldonata, who re-
lated to them the history of this puma, whom she knew to be
the same she had formerly assisted in the cavern. On the
soldiers taking Maldonata away, the lioness approached, and
fawned upon her, as if unwilling to part. The soldiers re-
ported what they had seen to their commander, who could not
but pardon a woman who had been so singularly protected,
without the danger of appearing more inhuman than pumas
themselves.
THE PANTHER AND LEOPARD.
NATURALISTS are not very well agreed as to the distinctions
between the panther and leopard. Both animals are spotted in
the skin, and not striped, as the tiger is ; and the panther is
generally allowed to be larger than the leopard, and his range to
be confined to Africa, whereas the leopard is widely extended
over Asia as well as Africa. The habits of both are nearly allied
to those of the tiger, being only modified by a more limited com-
mand of physical force.
The following very interesting notices of a panther belonging
\o Mr Bowdicb, the African traveller, show how capable of
domestication even the most ferocious animal is : " This pan-
ther and another were found, when very young, in the forest,
apparently deserted by their mother. They were taken to the
king of Ashantee, in whose palace they lived several weeks,
when my hero, being much larger than his companion, suffocat-
ed him in a fit of romping, and was then sent to Mr Hutchison,
the resident left by Mr Bowdich at Coomassie. This gentle-
2(H ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
man, observing that the animal was very docile, took pains to
tame him, and in a great measure succeeded. When he was
about a year old, Mr Hutchison returned to Cape Coast, and
had him led through the country by a chain, occasionally letting
him loose when eating was going forward, when he would sit by
his master's side, and receive his share with comparative gentle-
ness. Once or twice he purloined a fowl, but easily gave it up
to Mr Hutchison, on being allowed a portion of something else.
The day of his arrival he was placed in a small court, leading to
the private rooms of the governor, and, after dinner, was led by
a thin cord into the room, where he received our salutations
with some degree of roughness, but with perfect good humour.
On the least encouragement, he laid his paws upon our shoul-
ders, rubbed his head upon us, and, his teeth and claws having
been filed, there was no danger of tearing our clothes. He
was kept in the above court for a week or two, and evinced no
fer&city, except when one of the servants tried to pull his food
from him : he then caught the offender by the leg, and tore out
a piece of flesh, but he never seemed to owe him any ill will af-
terwards. He one morning broke his cord ; and, the cry being
given, the castle gates were shut, and a chase commenced. After
leading his pursuers two or three times round the ramparts, and
knocking over a few children, by bouncing against them, he suf-
fered himself to be caught, and led quietly back to his quarters,
under one of the guns of the fortress.
" By degrees, the fear of him subsided, and, orders having
been given to the sentinels to prevent his escape through the
gates, he was left at liberty to go where he pleased, and a boy
was appointed to prevent him from intruding into the apart-
ments of the officers. His keeper, however, generally passed
his watch in sleeping ; and Sai, as the panther was called, after
the royal giver, roamed at large. On one occasion he found
his servant sitting on the step of the door, upright, but fast
asleep, when he lifted his paw, gave him a blow on the side of
the head, which laid him flat, and then stood wagging his tail,
as if enjoying the mischief he had committed. He became ex-
ceedingly attached to the governor, and followed him every
where like a dog. His favourite station was at a window of
the sitting-room, which overlooked the whole town ; there
standing on his hind legs, his fore paws resting on the ledge of
THE PANTHEtt AND LEOPARD. 205
the window, and his chin laid between them, he appeared to
amuse himself with what was passing beneath. The children
also stood with him at the window ; and one day, finding his
presence an encumbrance, and that they could not get their chairs
close, they used their united efforts to pull him down by the tail.
He one morning missed the governor, who was settling a dispute
in the hall, and who, being surrounded by black people, was
hidden from the view of his favourite. Sai wandered, with a
dejected look, to various parts of the fortress in search of him ;
and, while absent on this errand, the audience ceased, the
governor returned to bis private rooms, and seated himself at a
table to write. Presently he heard a heavy step coming up the
stairs, and, raising his eyes to the open door, he beheld Sai. At
that moment he gave himself up for lost, for Sai immediately
sprang from the door on to his neck. Instead, however, of de-
vouring him, he laid his head close to the governor's, rubbed his
cheek upon his shoulder, wagged his tail, and tried to evince his
happiness. Occasionally, however, the panther caused a little
alarm to the other inmates of the castle, and the poor woman
who swept the floors, or, to speak technically, the pra-pra wo-
man, was made ill by her fright. She was one day sweeping the
boards of the great hall with a short broom, and in an attitude
nearly approaching to all-fours, and Sai, who was bidden under
one of the sofas, suddenly leapt upon her back, where he stood
in triumph. She screamed so violently as to summon the other
servants, but they, seeing the panther, as they thought, in the act
of swallowing her, one and all scampered off as quickly as possi-
ble ; nor was she released till the governor, who heard the noise,
came to her assistance. Strangers were naturally uncomfortable
when they saw so powerful a beast at perfect liberty, and many
were the ridiculous scenes which took place, they not liking to
own their alarm, yet perfectly unable to retain their composure
in his presence.
" This interesting animal was well fed twice every day, but
never given any thing with life in it. He stood about two feet
high, and was of a dark yellow colour, thickly spotted with black
rosettes ; and, from the good feeding and the care taken to clean
him, his skin shone like silk. The expression of his countenance
was very animated and good-tempered, and he was particularly
gentle to children ; he would lie down on the mats by their side
a
206 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
when they slept ; and even the infant shared his caresses, and
remained unhurt. During the period of his residence at Cape
Coast, I was much occupied by making arrangements for my
departure from Africa, but generally visited my future com-
panion every day, and we, in consequence, became great friends
before we sailed. He was conveyed on board the vessel in a
large wooden cage, thickly barred in the front with iron. Even
this confinement was not deemed a sufficient protection by the
canoe men,* who were so alarmed at taking him from the shore
to the vessel, that, in their confusion, they dropped cage and all
into the sea. For a few minutes I gave up my poor panther as
lost, but some sailors jumped into a boat belonging to the vessel,
and dragged him out in safety. The beast himself seemed com-
pletely subdued by his ducking, and, as no one dared to open his
cage to dry it, he rolled himself up in one corner, nor roused
himself till after an interval of some days, when he recognised
my voice. When I first spoke, he raised his head, held it on
one side, then on the other, to listen ; and when I came fully
into his view, he jumped on his legs, and appeared frantic ; he
rolled himself over and over, he howled, he opened his enormous
jaws and cried, and seemed as if he would have torn his cage to
pieces. However, as his violence subsided, he contented himself
with thrusting his paws and nose through the bars of the cage,
to receive my caresses. I suspect that he had suffered from sea
sickness, as he had apparently loathed all food ; but, after this
period, he ate every thing that was given to him.
" The greatest treat I could bestow upon my favourite was
lavender water. Mr Hutchison had told me that, on the way
from Ashantee, he drew a scented handkerchief from his pocket,
which was immediately seized on by the panther, who reduced
it to atoms ; nor could he venture to open a bottle of perfume
when the animal was near, he was so eager to enjoy it. I in-
dulged him twice a-week, by making a cup of stiff paper, pouring
a little lavender water into it, and giving it to him through the
bars of his cage : he would drag it to him with great eagerness,
roll himself over it, nor rest till the smell had evaporated. By
this I taught him to put out his paws without showing his nails,
* The panther, in these countries, is a sacred or Fetish animal ; and not
only a heavy fine is extorted from those who kill one, but the Fetish is sup.
posed to revenge his death by cursing the offender.
THE PANTHER AND LEOPARD. 207
always refusing the lavender water till he had dravvn them back
again ; and, in a short time, he never, on any occasion, protruded
his claws when offering me his paw.
" We lay eight weeks in the river Gaboon, where he had plenty
of excellent food, but was never suffered to leave his cage, on
account of the deck being always filled with black strangers, to
whom he had a very decided aversion, although he was perfectly
reconciled to white people. His indignation, however, was con-
stantly excited by the pigs, when they were suffered to run past
his cage ; and the sight of one of the monkeys put him in com-
plete fury. While at anchor in the before mentioned river, an
orang-outang fSimia SutyrusJ was brought for sale, and lived
three days on board ; and I shall never forget the uncontrollable
rage of the one, or the agony of the other, at this meeting. The
orang was about three feet high, and very powerful in proportion
to his size ; so that when he fled, with extraordinary rapidity,
from the panther to the farther end of the deck, neither men nor
things remained upright when they opposed his progress : there
he took refuge in a sail, and, although generally obedient to the
voice of his master, force was necessary to make him quit the
shelter of its folds. As to the panther, his back rose in an arch,
his tail was elevated and perfectly stiff, his eyes flashed, and, as
he howled, he showed his huge teeth ; then, as if forgetting the
bars before him, he tried to spring on the orang, to tear him to
atoms. It was long before he recovered his tranquillity ; day and
night he appeared to be on the listen j and the approach of a
large monkey we had on board, or the intrusion of a black man,
brought a return of his agitation.
" We, at length, sailed for England, with an ample supply of
provisions ; but, unhappily, we were boarded by pirates during
the voyage, and nearly reduced to starvation. My panther must
have perished, had it not been for a collection of more than three
hundred parrots with which we sailed from the river, and which
died very fast while we were in the north-west trades. Sai's
allowance was one per diem, but this was so scanty a pittance
that he became ravenous, and had not patience to pick all the
feathers off before he commenced his meal. The consequence
was, that he became very ill, and refused even this small quantity
of food. Those around tried to persuade me that he suffered
from the colder climate ; but his dry nose and paws convinced
s 2
208 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
me that he was feverish, and I had him taken out of bis cage ;
when, instead of jumping about and enjoying his liberty, he lay
down, and rested his head upon my feet. I then made him
three pills, each containing two grains of calomel. The boy
who had the charge of him, and who was much attached to him,
held his jaws open, and I pushed the medicine down his throat.
Early the next morning I went to visit my patient, and found
his guard sleeping in the cage with him ; and having administer-
ed a farther dose to the invalid, I had the satisfaction of seeing
him perfectly cured by the evening. On the arrival of the vessel
in the London Docks, Sai was taken ashore, and presented to the
Duchess of York, who placed him in Exeter Change, to be taken
care of, till she herself went to Oatlands. He remained there
for some weeks, and was suffered to roam about the greater part
of the day without any restraint. On the morning previous to
the Duchess's departure from town, she went to visit her new
pet, played with him, and admired bis healthy appearance and
gentle deportment. In the evening, when her Royal Highness's
coachman went to take him away, he was dead, in consequence
of an inflammation on his lungs."
Although smaller than the panther and tiger, the leopard has
an advantage over both, in the extreme pliability of his spine,
which gives him a degree of velocity and agility surpassed by no
other animal. He climbs trees with astonishing rapidity, so that
few animals are safe from his ravages. Man alone seems to be
respected by him ; but, if pressed hard in the pursuit by the
hunter, he will turn upon him, and it requires both skill and
prowess to guard against the fury of his attacks.
The following particulars of an encounter with one of these
animals, are from the pen of a gentleman who witnessed it : " J
was at Jaffna, at the northern extremity of the Island of Ceylon,
in the beginning of the year 1819, when, one morning, my ser-
vant called me an hour or two before my usual time, with
' Master, master ! people sent for master's dogs tiger in the
town !' Now, my dogs chanced to be some very degenerate
specimens of a fine species, called the Poligar dog, which I should
designate as a sort of wiry haired greyhound, without scent. I
kept them to hunt jackals ; but tigers are very different things.
By the way, there are no real tigers in Ceylon ; but leopards
and panthers are always called so, and by ourselves as well as
THE PANTHER AND LEOPARD. 209
by the natives. This turned out to be a panther. My gun
chanced not to be put together ; and, while my servant was do-
ing it, the collector and two medical men, who had recently
arrived, in consequence of the cholera morbus having just then '
reached Ceylon from the Continent, came to my door, the former
armed with a fowling-piece, and the two latter with remarkably
blunt hog-spears. They insisted upon setting off, without wait-
ing for my gun, a proceeding not much to my taste. The tiger
(I must continue to call him so) had taken refuge in a hut, the
roof of which, like those of Ceylon huts in general, spread to the
ground like an umbrella ; the only aperture into it was a small
door, about four feet high. The collector wanted to get the tiger
out at once. I begged to wait for my gun ; but no the fowling-
piece, (loaded with ball, of course,) and the two hog-spears, were
quite enough. I got a hedge-stake, and awaited my fate, from
very shame. At this moment, to my great delight, there arrived
from the fort an English officer, two artillery-men, and a Malay
captain ; and a pretty figure we should have cut without them,
as the event will show. I was now quite ready to attack, and
my gun came a minute afterwards. The whole scene which
follows took place within an enclosure, about twenty feet square,
formed, on three sides, by a strong fence of palmyra leaves, and
on the fourth by the hut. At the door of this, the two artillery-
men planted themselves : and the Malay captain got at the top,
to frighten the tiger out, by worrying it an easy operation, as
the huts there are covered with cocoa-nut leaves. One of the
artillerymen wanted to go in to the tiger, but we would not suffer
it. At last the beast sprang. This man received him on his
bayonet, which he thrust apparently down his throat, firing his
piece at the same moment. The bayonet broke off short, leav-
ing less than three inches on the musket ; the rest remained in
the animal, but was invisible to us. The shot probably went
through his cheek, for it certainly did not seriously injure him,
as he instantly rose upon his legs, with a loud roar, and placed
his paws upon the soldier's breast. At this moment, the animal
appeared to me to about reach the centre of the man's face ; but
I had scarcely time to observe this, when the tiger, stooping his
head, seized the soldier's arm in his mouth, turned him half round
staggering, threw him over on his back, and fell upon him. Our
dread now was, that, if we fired upon the tiger, we might kill
S3
210 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
the man. For a moment, there was a pause, when his comrade
attacked the beast exactly in the same manner as the gallant fel-
low himself had done. He struck his bayonet into his head ;
the tiger rose at him he fired ; and this time the ball took effect,
and in the head. The animal staggered backwards, and we all
poured in our fire. He still kicked and writhed ; when the gen-
tlemen with the hog-spears advanced, and fixed him, while he
was finished by some natives beating him on the head with
hedge-stakes. The brave artilleryman was, after all, but slightly
hurt : He claimed the skin, which was very cheerfully given to
him. There was, however, a cry among the natives, that the
head should be cut off: it was ; and, in so doing, the knife came
directly across the bayonet. The animal measured little less
than four feet, from the root of the tail to the muzzle. There
was no tradition of a tiger having been in Jaffna before. Indeed,
this one must have either come a distance of almost twenty miles,
or have swam across an arm of the sea nearly two in breadth ;
for Jaffna stands on a peninsula, on which there is no jungle of
any magnitude."
We have an account of another adventure with a leopard, which
took place in Southern Africa in 1822. Two boors returning
from hunting the hartebeest, (the antelope bubalis,) fell in with a
leopard in a mountain ravine, and immediately gave chase to him.
The animal at first endeavoured to escape, by clambering up a
precipice, but, being hotly pressed, and slightly wounded by a
musket-ball, he turned upon his pursuers, with that frantic fero-
city, which, on such emergencies, he frequently displays, and,
springing upon the man who had fired at him, tore him from his
horse to the ground, biting him at the same time very severely
on the shoulder, and tearing his face and arms with his claws.
The other hunter, seeing the danger of his comrade, sprung from
his horse, and attempted to shoot the leopard through the head ;
but, whether owing to trepidation, or the fear of wounding his
friend, or the sudden motions of the animal, he unfortunately
missed his aim. The leopard, abandoning his prostrate enemy,
darted with redoubled fury upon this second antagonist j and so
fierce and sudden was his onset, that before the boor could stab
him with his hunting-knife, he struck him in the eyes with his
flaws, and had torn the scalp over his forehead. In this fright-
ful condition, the hunter grappled with the raging beast, and,
THE PANTHER AND LEOPARD. 211
struggling for life, they rolled together down a steep declivity.
All this passed so rapidly that the other man had scarcely time
to recover from the confusion into which his feline foe had
thrown him, to seize his gun and rush forward to aid his comrade,
when he beheld them rolling together down the steep bank, in
mortal conflict. Jn a few moments he was at the bottom with
them, but too late to save the life of his friend, who had so gal-
lantly defended him. The leopard had torn open the jugular
vein, and so dreadfully mangled the throat of the unfortunate
man, that his death was inevitable ; and his comrade had only
the melancholy satisfaction of completing the destruction of the
savage beast, which was already much exhausted by several deep
wounds in the breast, from the desperate knife of the expiring
huntsman.
In a captive state, the leopard is as domesticated as any of the
cat tribe. There are at present in the Tower a pair of these
animals, from Asia, confined in the same den. The female is
very tame, and gentle in her temper, and will allow herself to be
patted and caressed by the keepers, while she licks their hands,
and purs. She, however, has one peculiarity, that she cannot
bear many of the appendages which visitors bring with them to
the menagerie. She has a particular predilection for the destruc-
tion of parasols, umbrellas, muffs, and hats, which she frequent-
ly contrives to lay hold of before the unwary spectator can pre-
vent it, and tears them to pieces in an instant. She has been
Eve years in the Tower, during which time she has seized and
destroyed several hundreds of these articles, as well as other
parts of ladies' dress. While this creature is in a playful mood,
she bounds about her cell with the quickness of thought, touch-
ing the four sides of it nearly at one and the same instant. So
rapid are her motions, that she can scarcely be followed by tbe
eye ; and she will even skim along the ceiling of her apartment
with the same amazing rapidity, evincing great pliability of form
and wonderful muscular powers. The male has been about two
years in the Tower, and is only beginning to suffer familiarities ;
but he seems jealous of the slightest approach. He is larger
than the female, the colour of his skin more highly toned, and
the spotting more intensely black. Of the Hunting Leopard, a
variety of the Leopard, a particular account will be found in the
notes to Goldsmith.
212 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
The other animals of the cat kind are numerous : the Ounce,
the Ocelot, the Lynx, the Serval, the Margay, &c. These are
all more distinguished by differences of size than of habits or
disposition.
The OUNCE is smaller than the leopard, and more gentle in
its manners. It is to be found in different parts of Asia and
Africa, and is frequently trained to the chase like the hunting
leopard.
The OCELOT is the most beautiful of its tribe : the whole
body and legs are covered with longitudinal chainlike stripes,
broken into patches of some inches ; black at the margins, and
pale inside, with an open space in the centre, of the ordinary
ground colour of the fur ; on the neck and head these black
lines have no central opening. It is a native of South America,
where it frequents the depths of the forest, living upon deer and
birds. It seldom attacks man, although instances have occurred
of its doing so. When hunted, and overtaken, it defends itself
with great obstinacy. Its natural disposition, however, is timid
and rather cowardly. The ocelot seems less susceptible of do-
mestication than the other members of the cat tribe. In con-
finement it is in a state of perpetual motion, and will not submit
to the caresses of its keeper. A male and female ocelot were
brought to France about twenty years ago, which had been taken
when very young. At the age of three months, they became so
strong and fierce, as to kill a bitch, by which they were nursed.
When a live cat was thrown to them, they immediately pounced
upon it, sucked its blood, but left the flesh untouched. The
male seemed to have a great superiority over the female, as he
never allowed her to partake of a meal till he was satisfied.
D'Azara mentions an ocelot, which was so completely domesti-
cated, as to be left at perfect liberty ; it seemed strongly attached
to its master, and never attempted to escape.
The LYNX of the ancients was the Caracal, of which an ac-
count will be found in the notes to Goldsmith. The modern
lynx is thus described. Its length is about two feet six inches,
and its height sixteen inches. The ears are erect, and have a
long pencil of black hairs at their tip. The fur is long, thick,
and soft, of a grayish ash colour on the upper parts, with a red-
dish tinge, marked with dusky spots. The legs and feet are
thick, short, and strong, covered with long fur ; and the tail
THE PANTHER AND LEOPARD. 213
black at its extremity. The eyes are of a pale yellow, a colour
not favourable to powerful vision, yet the creature is proverbial
for its piercing sight. There was one of these lately in the
Zoological Gardens of London, which had not any strong ex-
pression, or brilliancy of the eye ; so that, in all probability,
this is only one of the remains of ancient fable. The fur of the
lynx is valuable, on account of its great softness and warmth,
and is in consequence an extensive article of commerce. It in-
habits the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and America ; and
prefers cold or temperate climates, differing in this respect from
most of the cat tribe. Lynxes conceal themselves in thick forests,
prey upon stags, roebucks, bares, and other animals, and climb
with facility up the highest trees after birds and squirrels. The
general disposition of this animal is like that of his congeners, and,
like them, he may be tamed if properly treated.
The SERVAL is somewhat larger than the ordinary wild cat.
Its general colour is a pale fulvous yellow. It inhabits the
mountainous parts of India, and is called by the natives of Ma-
labar, the Marapute. It resides on trees, where it makes a bed,
and breeds its young. It seldom appears on the ground, living
principally on birds, squirrels, and small animals j it is extreme-
ly agile, and leaps, with great rapidity, from one branch to an-
other. The serval never assaults man, but rather endeavours to
avoid him j if, however, it is compelled to attack, it darts furi-
ously on its antagonist, and bites and tears, like the rest of the
cat kind.
The MARGAY is about the size of the wild cat, and resembles
it very much in disposition. It is subject to considerable va-
riety of colour. It is common in Brazil and Guiana, and various
other parts of South America} seeming to prefer a warm to a
temperate climate.
THE DOG KIND.
THE dog kind is more closely associated with the class which
we have been just considering, than with any other species of
animals. Both kinds are carnivorous, both capable of encounter-
ing or pursuing very formidable animals, alike in their natural
state, voracious and cruel ; and both have, in one species only out
of their numerous tribes, been subjected to domestication. But
while they resemble each other in strength, ferocity, and an un-
relenting disposition to prey on other animals, and thus may be
associated in regard to the objects of their powers, they are very
strikingly distinguished in respect of the powers with which they
are furnished and their manner of using them. The cat kind
rather waits for than pursues its prey, and draws its intimations
from the sense of sight only ; the dog kind is gifted with a keen
sense of smell, and can follow the tract of its prey for a great
distance, the one springs on its prey, the other runs it down,
the one trusts much to the strength of its paw, and the firmness
of the grasp of its claws, the other never uses its feet, and, unable
to compress its claws in the assault of an enemy, employs only
its powerful jaws. Among the cat kind there is greater differ-
ence in size and less in form. With the exception of some of
the smallest species of the dog, which are the result of domestica-
tion, the size of the dog kind is confined within a narrower range,
while in appearance and the expression of countenance, the
different kinds are very strikingly marked. The cat species resem-
ble one another in disposition, and even the domestic cat retains
many of its natural tendencies, the dog kind varies from the
most perfectly docile of all the creatures, associated in the plea
THE DOG. 215
sures and employments of life, to the most savage and untame-
able monster that traverses the desert. Of all the species now
under consideration, the dog is the only one that is useful or
obedient to man, but it possesses enough of these qualities to
render the whole tribe interesting.
OF all animals, the dog presents the appearance of the most
thorough submission to the will and subservience to the use of
man. If we look at the individual, we perceive it attached to a
person whom it acknowledges as master, with whom it has form-
ed a very humble alliance, and whose interest it considers its
own. It answers to its name, is willing to follow its master
wherever be goes, and exerts all its energies in any service to
which he may command it, and that without any constraint ex-
cept what arises from its own disposition. A more perfect image
of obedience and subservience cannot be conceived. If, on the
other hand, we survey the species, we find it in every variety of
size, and shape, and disposition, according to the various services
of which it is capable. The division of labour is almost as complete
among the different species of the dog as among men themselves.
It, like its masters, gives up the exercise of one faculty that it
may bring another to a greater perfection.
The general characteristic of the external appearance of an
animal so changed and varied by its employments it is somewhat
difficult to determine. It is graceful in the greyhound majestic
in the stag-houndexpressive of honesty and firmness in the
mastiff. The actions and gestures of some of the species are
expressive of much intelligence, while, on the other hand, many
of the kinds have been so reduced by the treatment to which they
are subjected by domestication, as to have lost what calls for
admiration in the nobler breeds. Most of the species are formi-
dable, and capable of giving a very severe bite, and though sub-
missive to its master, very readily irritated against those whom
it judges to be interfering with his property. The charge of an
impudent look has probably from this circumstance been from
the earliest ages advanced against the dog ; the term dog-faced
216 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
Homer represents as being applied to Agamemnon by Achilles,
as denoting a countenance of the most insolent audacity. It
must be allowed that the dog often stares people in the face,
that its look is steady sometimes forward, and that to strangers
it turns a suspicious and inquisitive eye, yet still its countenance
is capable of expressing gratitude, affection, and the utmost
kindness, and its gaze is often that of intelligence or inquiry.
The dog, in its wild state, differs little in its habits from those
of the same order of quadrupeds ; it resembles the wolf rather than
the fox, hunts in troops, and thus associated attacks the most
formidable animals wild boars, tigers, and even lions. They
are said, however, even while in this condition, to exhibit a dis-
position to yield to man, and if approached by him with gentle-
ness, will submit to be caressed. On the other hand, if dogs
that have been once tamed are driven from the haunts of men
and the protection to which they have been accustomed, they
readily become wild and associate together in troops. There
are many instances of such troops to be found in Canada and
America, and there they hunt in packs like wolves, and are so
totally estranged from their former habits as to attack the poul-
try and hogs which they had been taught to respect, arid even
to destroy foals, though previously accustomed to horses. There
is an instance recorded of a black greyhound bitch, belonging to
Mr Heaton in Lancashire, that forsook the habitation where
she had been reared, and adopted a life of unlimited freedom ;
but in this country such occurrences are very rare. In the pre-
sent case, however, though many attempts were made to shoot
the greyhound, she eluded for more than six months the vigi-
lance of her pursuers. During all that time she lived on the re-
sults of her depredations. She was at length observed frequent-
ly to repair to a barn, and was caught by a rope snare placed at
the hole through which she entered. Three whelps were found in
the barn, which were immediately destroyed, and though she her-
self was so far reduced to the common habits of her species as
to be employed afterwards in the course, she still retained a wild-
ness of look expressive of the life of unusual freedom which she
had for a short season enjoyed.
The varieties of the dog, so strong an evidence of its total
subjugation, are almost innumerable. These result not only from
the treatment to which it is individually subjected, but from the
THE DOG. 217
mixture of the races crossed by dogs of all sizes, colours, and
countries. It is however observed, that mongrels do not pos-
sess the sagacity belonging to the distinct races, but descend in
the scale of intelligence according to the remoteness or impurity
of the cross. The effect of domestication extends not only to
the shape and colour, but to the size, to the uses, to the very
qualities that would seem natural and born with the animal. The
dog varies in size from the Irish greyhound, one of which belonging
to the Marquis of Sligo measured, from the point of the nose to
the tip of the tail, sixty-one inches, from the toe to the top of
the fore shoulder twenty-eight inches ; round the chest, about
three inches from the forelegs, thirty five inches, down to the
comforter or the mopsie which will not equal in size the head
of the former. The tracks of Sir Walter Scott's Maida were of-
ten thought to be those of some wild animal escaped from a
menagerie. Some of the smaller dogs might be not inconveniently
carried in a lady's reticule. It is not only in shape and size,
but in powers also, that the dog varies ; some are very heavy in
their motions, the greyhound is among the swiftest of all ani-
mals. There is scarcely an animal which the dog has not been
employed in hunting or attacking, and it seems to understand the
species of prey to which it is particularly fitted, and exercises the
faculties solely that adapt it to that pursuit. The stag, the fox, and
the hare, the badger and the otter, are animals most commonly
hunted by dogs ; and the dog which has been accustomed to the
chase of one of these animals, never once dreams of being em-
ployed in pursuing the others. The bull-dog again attacks the
animal from which it has received its cognomen, and chiefly dis-
plays its powers in this contest. The mastiff leaves hunting to
the other species, and confines himself to the duties of watching
his master's property. Yet though they do not naturally seek,
they are capable of being encouraged to other exertions. In
Stow's Annals there is an account of an engagement between
three mastiffs and a lion in the presence of King James the
First. The dogs were let loose successively, and the two first
received such wounds from the jaws of the lion as caused their
death soon after. The third seized the lion by the lip, and did
not yield its hold till dreadfully torn by the claws of its antago-
nist, when the more powerful animal, unwilling to renew the en-
gagement, suddenly leaped over the dog and fled into the inte-
218 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
rior of its den. The dog recovered, and was afterwards taken
care of by the king's son, who said with that pointedness of ex-
pression for which alone that family was distinguished, " He
that fought with the king of beasts should never after fignt
with an inferior creature."
Still, however, though education has done much to bring to
perfection the different adaptations of the qualities of the dog,
yet it cannot be denied that even in a comparatively untutored
state it possesses the germs of these various gifts, and this very
circumstance in a remarkable way fits it for domestication. This
is made evident by the following remarks of Air Burcbell :*
" Our pack of dogs consisted of about five-and-twenty of vari-
ous sorts and sizes. This variety, though not altogether inten-
tional, as I was obliged to take any that could be procured, was
of the greatest service on such an expedition, as I observed that
some gave notice of danger in one way, and others in another.
Some were more disposed to watch agaitist men, and others against
wild beasts ; some discovered an enemy by their quickness of
hearing, others by that of scent ; some were useful for speed in
pursuing game, some for their vigilance and barking, and others
for their courage in holding ferocious animals at bay. No cir-
cumstance could render the value and fidelity of these animals
so conspicuous and sensible as a journey through regions which,
abounding in wild beasts of almost every class, gave continual
opportunities of witnessing the strong contrast in their habits
between the ferocious beasts of prey which fly at the approach
of man, and these kind, but too often injured companions of the
human race. Many times, when we have been travelling over
plains when those have fled the moment we appeared in sight,
have I turned my eyes towards my dogs, to admire their attach-
ment, and have felt a grateful affection towards them for pre-
ferring our society to the wild liberty of other quadrupeds. We
must not mistake the nature of the case ; it is not because we train
him to our use, and have made choice of him in preference to other
animals, but because this particular species feels a natural desire
to be useful to man, and from spontaneous impulse attaches it-
self to him'. Were it not so, we should see in various countries
an equal familiarity with various other quadrupeds, according to
* Travels in Africa.
THE DOG. 219
the habits, the taste, or the caprice of different nations. But
everywhere it is the dog only takes delight in associating with
us, in sharing our abode, and is even jealous that our attentions
should be bestowed on him alone ; it is he who knows us per-
sonally, watches for us, and warns us of danger. It is impossible
for the naturalist, when taking a survey of the whole animal crea-
tion, not to feel a conviction that this friendship between two
creatures so different from each other must be the result of the
laws of nature ; nor can the humane and feeling mind avoid the
belief, that kindness to those animals, from which he derives
continued and essential assistance, is part of his moral duty."
We accordingly trace in the various pursuits and duties to
which the dog has been rendered familiar, the mingled results of
the original variety of disposition and adaptation, along with those
to be ascribed to careful training ; sometimes we observe nature
and sometimes art predominant. The dhole, or wild dog of In-
dia, though not above the size of a small greyhound, has compact
and remarkably strong limbs, and its courage being equal to the
attack of the largest animals, it seeks these as its prey. It pre-
fers elks to other deer, and is particularly disposed to the pursuit
of the tiger. Captain Williamson supposes that there is a sin-
gular enmity between this dog and the tiger, and that to this
cause we are to ascribe the thinness of the latter species in the
wilds of India ; otherwise they would multiply to such an extent
as to exterminate the other tenants of the desert. As the dhole
hunts in packs, it may svith ease overcome the tiger found singly
in these regions. The blood-hound of England and Scotland, it
is well known, possessed the remarkable property of pursuing
depredators either by scent of their footsteps, or the game or
prey which they had abstracted. It is now scarce. Sir Walter
Scott describes the only specimen which, he ever saw, one kept
at Keeldar castle, as being " like the Spanish pointer, but much
stronger, and untameably fierce ; colour black and tawny, long
pendulous ears, a deep back, and strongly made, something like
the old English mastiff now so rare." Yet we are not without
proofs well-authenticated of'its peculiar powers in tracing persons'
footsteps. " A person of quality," says Mr Boyle, " to make
trial whether a young blood-hound was well-instructed, desired
one of his servants to walk to a town four miles off, and then
to a market town three miles from thence. The dog, without see-
T2
220 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
ing the man he was to pursue, followed him by the scent to the
above mentioned places, notwithstanding the multitude of mar-
ket people that went along the same road, and of travellers that
had occasion to cross ; and when the blood-hound came to the
cross market town, he passed through the streets without taking
notice of any of the people there, and ceased not till he had gone
to the house where the man he sought rested himself; and where
he found him in an upper room, to the wonder of those who had
accompanied him in this pursuit"
The same determination in the pursuit of its peculiar object
is observable in the stag-hound. Many years since, a very large
stag was turned out of Whinfield park in the county of West-
moreland, and was pursued by the hounds till, by accident or
fatigue, the whole pack was thrown out with the exception of
two dogs which continued the chase. Its length is uncertain,
but the chase was seen at Red Kirk near Annan in Scotland,
distant by the post road about forty-six miles. The stag return-
ed to the park from which he had set out, so that considering
the circuitous route which it pursued, it is supposed to have run
over not less than one hundred and twenty miles. It was its
greatest and last achievement, for it leapt the wall of the park
and immediately expired ; the hounds were also found dead at
no great distance from the wall which they had been unable to
leap. An inscription was placed on a tree in the park, in me-
mory of the animals, and the horns of the stag, the largest ever
seen in that part of the country, were placed over it. In like
manner, the fox-hound, with undaunted determination, pursues
its less fleet but more wily prey. A young bitch of this species
pursuing a track contrary to the other hounds and to the opinion
of the whipper-in, he applied the whip to the animal and acci-
dentally struck one of her eyes out of the socket. She still
persevered, and proved herself right, for the fox had stolen away,
and she pursued him unheeded alone. Some time afterwards the
pack hit off the chase ; after they had run a good distance, a
farmer told them that they were far behind the fox, which was
flying before a single hound very bloody about the head. The
pack got up ; the bitch, however, pursued to the death, when her
eye which had hung down during the chase, was cut off with a
pair of scissors. Terriers discover a similar earnestness and ac-
tivity in the destruction of vermin. One named Billy killed a
hundred rats in eight minutes these, however, were confined in
a space twelve feet square. Another English terrier belonging
to Sir Patrick Walker, came to that gentleman one morning, and
with expressive gestures intimated its anxiety that he should,
follow it. It led him to a large chest filled with pieces of old
wood, which it seemed to solicit should be removed ; when this
was done, a large rat appeared, on which the dog instantly sprung.
On another very similar occasion, the rat had gone off, but after
testifying its disappointment, it suddenly dashed up a ladder
placed against an out-house, and caught the hapless fugitive in
a spout. The Tumbler displays the same earnestness in the
pursuit of the rabbit, and a peculiar cunning, from which it de-
rives its name. It does not run directly at its game, but scamp-
ers and tumbles about in an apparently heedless manner till
within reach of its prey, which it seizes by a sudden spring. It
is also sure to watch in such a position that the wind be blowing
from the rabbit burrows towards itself, so that the rabbits do not
feel its scent, while it has the advantage of perceiving theirs.
Bewick, during moonlight, at Holy Island, having fallen in with
some rabbit stealers, had an opportunity of observing the prompt
sagacity of the lurcher, the species of dog which they employed.
The dogs successively came in, bearing a rabbit, which each laid
at the feet of its master. The dogs never attempted to go out
during the day, but when the men intended to set forth at night,
they threw down the sacks in which they carried their booty,
when the dogs would lie down beside them without attempting
to stir till their masters took up the sacks. The dogs almost
never barked, except on the way to or from the place of plunder.
When they met any person, they invariably made a noise. They
knew where to leave the high ways to avoid villages, and though
undoubtedly much pains must have been bestowed in training
them, they showed an extraordinary readiness in apprehending
*he peculiar nature of their employment.
It is not however solely in the pursuit of prey that the dog
discovers its various capabilities. The mastiff is no less remark-
able for its fidelity in watching than some other species for their
fckill in the chase. It seems to understand the importance of its
charge, and will not quit it but with the loss of life. It makes
regular rounds of the premises committed toils charge; its care-
fulness increases during the night, when it gives signals of its
T.3
222 ANECDOTES Or ANIMALS.
presence by repeated barkings, which increase in vehemence on
the appearance of any cause of alarm. It will not itself touch the
property it protects. One which had by accident been shut up
for a whole day in a well-stored pantry, never touched the pro-
visions of which it must have stood in need, though immediately
on coming out it attacked a bone which was given it with great
voracity. It is immoveably faithful. A mastiff that belonged to
a chimney-sweeper lay down, according to his orders, on a soot-
bag in the middle of a narrow street in Southampton, and was
left there. A loaded cart coming up, the driver desired the
dog to remove, it refused ; he threatened to drive over it and
did so and the faithful animal was crushed to death.
Many species of dogs and spaniels in particular will protect
meat from the assaults both of cats and of other dogs. Mr
Elaine relates that being called from dinner he left a cat and a
spaniel in the room. When he returned he found the latter
stretched along the table by the side of a leg of mutton, which
it had evidently been defending from the cat which was skulking
in a corner. Mr Sharp states that his grandfather, Kirkpatrick,
had a greyhound which watched the kitchen, especially protect-
ing meat from the assaults of other dogs and of cats. Lieuten
ant Shipj)* gives an account of an Albanian dog that would
regularly, when his master was on watch, stand his hour and walk
his round, in dark nights put his ear to the ground and listen, and
never during the period assigned venture to lie down. The man
who gave him the account stated, that having presented the dog to
an officer in the Company's service who took him from Meerut,
where he then was, to Loodianna, a distance of four hundred miles,
the moment the officer let him loose he set off for his old mas-
ter, and performed the journey in two days and a half. He went
through the whole barrack, visiting every sleeping soldier in his
separate bat, till he found his master on the mainguard, and
awakened him by licking his face. One day his master fell
asleep at some distance from the camp, and when he awoke
found his clothes torn and himself dragged more than three
yards from the bush where he lay down ; on getting up he found
a large serpent almost torn to pieces, no doubt by his faithful
guard. Very different services have been allotted to the Sibe-
* Shipp's Memoirs.
THE DOG. 223
rian dog, yet even from these the animal does not recoil. Though
turned loose in the summer to shift for themselves, in the win-
ter these dogs return to their masters to a sparing and putrid
diet, and to subjection to the yoke. They are employed in drag-
ging sledges along the snow, and they will perform seventy miles
in a day. They seldom miss the path ; though not observable by
the master when they do lose it, they soon regain it by the smell,
and if their master stops in the middle of a savage waste, they
gather round him, and defend and keep him warm. They even
give intimations of the approach of such storms as render it
advisable to seek for some shelter, by stopping and scraping with
their feet. In the same way Newfoundland dogs, in their native
country, are harnessed in the sledge, and four or five of them will
drag with ease for some miles a load of wood of twenty or thirty
stones. A gentleman relates, that he has seen a dog of this spe-
cies which used to lie at the door of a tavern in the High-street
of Glasgow, and when any person came to the house, it trotted
before him, rang the bell, and then resumed its station at the
door. The Turnspit, it is well known, derived its name from
the service in which it was engaged before the invention of ma-
chinery to do the same work, and, what is remarkable, now
that the office is extinct, so also has nearly become the
species which used to perform it. " I have now in my kitchen,"
said the Duke de Laincourt to M. Descartes, " two Turn-
spits which take their turns regularly every other day in
the wheel : one of them not liking his employment, hid
himself on the day he should have wrought, when his com-
panion was forced to mount the wheel in his stead ; but crying
and wagging his tail, he intimated that those in attendance should
first follow him. He immediately conducted them to a garret,
where he dislodged the idle dog, and killed him immediately."
This occupation, it is plain, has not been an agreeable one yet
the following occurrence at the Jesuits' college at Fleche shows,
like the preceding, that some of the species have thought it the
duty of the Turnspit. When the cook had prepared the meat for
roasting, he found that the dog which should have wrought the
spit bad disappeared. He attempted to employ another, but it
bit his leg and fled. Soon after, however, the refractory dog
entered the kitchen driving before him the truant turnspit, which
immediately of its own accord went into the wheel. Dogs
221 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
are equally willing to obey their masters in illicit services, as in
these various and useful duties. In the Netherlands in 179.3,
they were employed in smuggling, and were trained to go back-
wards and forwards loaded with lace and such commodities, be-
tween two places on the frontiers, without any person to attend
them, and when it was perfectly dark. A sagacious dog always
preceded them, and when he scented custom-house officers he
always turned back, which was a signal for a retreat. When
they had escaped all dangers and reached the receiving house, the
leading dog entered, and the rest did not hasten -up till a whistle
intimated to them that all was safe. In some places the same
practice prevails at the present day, and by an official statement
published at Metz, it appears that no fewer than 55,800 dogs had
crossed the Rhine loaded with contraband goods, and escaped the
vigilance of the excise ; and, drawing a calculation from the loads
carried by those which were seized, they must have conveyed
upwards of one hundred and thirty four tons of unlasvful mer-
chandise.
All these instances show the wonderful exertions which the
dog may be brought to make of its varied capabilities, but the
services of the shepherd's dog are the most peculiar and useful
of all, and if we consider the sagacity displayed, perhaps the
most remarkable. When once trained he becomes perfectly ac-
quainted with the extent of his sphere of duty, however great,
and with every individual in the flock ; he will most correctly
select his own party and drive off intruders. A word or signal
from the shepherd will direct him to conduct the flock to any
point required. The labour of the shepherd with the assistance
of his dog is comparatively easy, without its aid it would be next
to impossible to collect flocks in those extensive and precipitous
tracts of mountain land, where the sheep delight to graze, and
which in many places are quite inaccessible to man. When
driving the sheep on a road, the assistance of the dog is equally
valuable as in the field. Though left alone for hours, the dog
always keeps the flock within the limits of a made road, even
though there are no fences, he watches every avenue and cross
path that leads from it, at these he posts himself till they are all
past, threatening every one that attempts to move that way ; and
should any of them escape he pursues them, and will force them
back to their companions without injuring them. On the sub-
THE DOG. 225
ject of the habits and sagacity of the shepherd's dog, we are
happy at being able to quote from Mr Hogg, a man who on this
subject has singularly united the advantage of experience, and the
talent of very happy description.
" My dog Sirrah," says he, " was, beyond all comparison, the
best dog I ever saw : he was of a surly and unsocial temper,
disdaining all flattery, he refused to be caressed ; but his atten-
tion to my commands and interests will never again, perhaps, be
equalled by any of the canine race. When I first saw him, a
drover was leading him in a rope ; be was both lean and hungry,
and far from being a beautiful animal, for he was almost all black,
and had a grim face, striped with dark-brown. The man had
bought him of a boy, somewhere on the Border, for three shil-
lings, and had fed him very ill on his journey. I thought I dis-
covered a sort of sullen intelligence in his countenance, notwith-
standing his dejected arid forlorn appearance ; I gave the drover
a guinea for him, and I believe there never was a guinea so well
laid out, at least I am satisfied I never laid one out to so good
a purpose. He was scarcely a year old, and knew so little of
herding, that he had never turned a sheep in his life ; but as soon
as he discovered that it was his duty to do so, and that it obliged
me, I can never forget with what anxiety and eagerness he learned
his different evolutions. He would try every way deliberately,
till he found out what J wanted him to do, and, when I once
made him understand a direction, he never forgot or mistook it
again. Well as I knew him, he often astonished me j for, when
hard pressed in accomplishing the task that he was put to, he
had expedients of the moment that bespoke a great share of the
reasoning faculty."
Among other remarkable exploits of Sirrah, as illustrative of
his sagacity, Mr Hoog relates, that, upon one occasion, about
seven hundred lambs, which were under his care at weaning time,
broke up at midnight, and scampered off, in three divisions,
across the neighbouring hills, in spite of all that he and an as-
sistant could do to keep them together. The night was so
dark that he could not see Sirrah ; but the faithful animal heard
his master lament their absence in words which, of all others,
were sure to set him most on the alert ; and, without more ado,
he silently set off in quest of the recreant flock. Meanwhile
the shepherd and his companion did not fail to do all in their
226 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
power to recover their lost charge ; they spent the whole night
in scouring the hills for miles round, but of neither the lambs
nor Sirrah could they obtain the slightest trace. It was the most
extraordinary circumstance that had ever occurred in tbe annals
of pastoral life. They had nothing for it, day having dawned,
but to return to their master, and inform him that they had lost
his whole flock of lambs, and knew not what was become of one
of them. " On our way home, however," says Mr Hogg, " we
discovered a lot of lambs at the bottom of a deep ravine called
the Flesh Cleuch, and the indefatigable Sirrah standing in front
of them looking round for some relief, but still true to his
charge. The sun was then up, and when we first came in view,
we concluded that it was one of the divisions which Sirrah had
been unable to manage until he came to that commanding situ-
ation. But what was our astonishment when we discovered
that not one lamb of the whole flock was wanting ! How he
had got all the divisions collected in the dark is beyond my com-
prehension. The charge was left entirely to himself from mid-
night until the rising sun ; and if all the shepherds in the Forest
had been there to have assisted him, they could not have effect-
ed it with greater propriety. All that I can further say is, that
I never felt so grateful to any creature under the sun as I did
to my honest Sirrah that morning."
" I sent you," says Mr Hogg, in a letter to the Editor of
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, " an account of a notable
dog of my own, named Sirrah, which amused a number of your
readers a great deal, and put their faith in my veracity somewhat
to the test ; but in this district, where the singular qualities of
the animal were known, so far from any of the anecdotes being
disputed, every shepherd values himself to this day on the pos-
session of facts far outstripping any of those recorded by you
formerly. But, in the first place, I must give you some account
of my own renowned Hector, which I promised long ago. He
was tbe son and immediate successor of the faithful old Sirrah ;
and though not nearly so valuable a dog as his father, he was a
far more interesting one. He had three times more humour and
whim about him : and though exceedingly docile, his bravest
acts were mostly tinctured with a grain of stupidity, which show-
ed his reasoning faculty to be laughably obtuse. I shall men-
tion a striking instance of it. I was once at the farm of Short-
THE DOG. 227
hope on Ettrick head, receiving some lambs that I had bought,
and was going to take to market, with some more, the next day.
Owing to some accidental delay, I did not get final delivery of
the lambs till it was growing late ; and being obliged to be at my
own house that night, I was not a little dismayed lest I should'
scatter and lose my lambs if darkness overtook me. Darkness
did overtake me by the time I got half- way, and no ordinary
darkness for an August evening. The lambs having been wean-
ed that day, and of the wild black -faced breed, became exceed-
ingly unruly, and for a good while I lost hopes of mastering them.
Hector managed the point, and we got them safe home ; but
both he and his master were alike sore forefoughten. It had
become so dark that we were obliged to fold them with candles ;
and, after closing them safely up, I went home with my father
and the rest to supper. When Hector's supper was set do\\ n,
behold he was awanting! and as I knew we had him at the fuid,
which was within call of the house, I went out and called and
whistled on him a good while, but he did not make his appear-
ance. I was distressed about this ; for, having to take away the
lambs next morning, I knew I could not drive them a mile with-
out my dog if it had been to save me the whole drove. The
next morning, as soon as it was day, I arose and inquired if Hec-
tor bad come home ? No ; he had not been seen. I knew not
what to do ; but my father proposed that he would take out the
lambs and herd them, and let them get some meat to fit them
for the road, and*that I should ride with all speed to Shorthope
to see if my dog had gone back there. Accordingly we went to-
gether to the fold to turn out the lambs, and there was poor
Hector sitiing trembling in the very middle of the fold-door, on
the inside of the flake that closed it, with his eyes still stedfast-
ly fixed on the lambs. He had been so hardly set with them
after it grew dark, that he durst not for his life leave them, al-
though hungry, fatigued, and cold, for the night had turned out
a deluge of rain. He had never so much as lain down ; for on-
ly the small spot that he sat on was dry, and there had he kept
watch the whole night. Almost any other coliey would have
discerned that the lambs were safe enough in the fold, but hon-
est Hector had not been able to see through this. He even re-
fused to take my word for it ; for he would not quit his watch
though he heard me calling both at night and morning.
228 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
" Hector was quite incapable of performing the same feats
among sheep that his father did; but as far as his judgment
served him, he was a docile and obliging creature. He had one
singular quality, of keeping true to the charge to which he was
set. If we had been shearing, or sorting sheep in any way,
when a division was turned out, and Hector got the word to at-
tend to them, he would have done it pleasantly for a whole day
without the least symptom of weariness. No noise or hurry
about the fold, which brings every other dog from his business,
had the least effect on Hector, save that it made him a little
troublesome on his own charge, and set him a- running round and
round them, turning them in at corners, out of a sort of impa-
tience to be employed as well as his baying neighbours at the
fold. Whenever old Sirrah found himself hard set in command-
ing wild sheep on steep ground, where they are worst to manage,
he never failed, without any hint to the purpose, to throw him-
self wide in below them, and lay their faces to the hill, by which
means he got the command of them in a minute. I never could
make Hector comprehend this advantage with all my art, al-
though his father found it out entirely of himself. The former
would turn or wear sheep no other way but on the hill above
them ; and, though very good at it, he gave both them and him-
self double the trouble and fatigue.
" It is a curious fact, in the history of these animals, that the
most useless of the breed have often the greatest degree of sa-
gacity in trifling and useless matters. An exceedingly good
Sheep-Dog attends to nothing else but that particular branch of
business to which he is bred. His whole capacity is exerted
arid exhausted on it, arid he is of little avail in miscellaneous
matters ; whereas, a very indifferent cur, bred about the house,
and accustomed to assist in every thing, will often put the more
noble breed to disgrace in those paltry services. If one calls
out, for instance, that the cows are in the corn, or the hens in
the garden, the house-colley needs no other hint, but runs and
turns them out. The Shepherd's Dog knows not what is astir ;
and, if he is called out in a hurry for such work, all that he will
do is to break to the hill, and rear himself up on end to see if no
sheep are running away. A bred sheep-dog, if coming hungry
from the hills, and getting into a milk-house, would most likely
think of nothing else than filling his belly with the cream. Not
THE DOG. 229
so his uninitiated brother ; he is bred at home to far higher
principles of honour. I have known such lie night and day
among from ten to twenty pails full of milk, and never once
break the cream of one of them with the tip of his tongue, nor
would he suffer cat, rat, or any other creature to touch it. This
latter sort, too, are far more acute at taking up what is said in a
family.
" The anecdotes of these animals are all so much alike, that
were I but to relate the thousandth part of those I have heard,
they would often look very much like repetitions. I shall there-
fore only mention one or two of the most singular, which I
know' to be well authenticated.
" There was a shepherd lad near Langholm, whose name was
Scott, who possessed a bitch famed over all the West Border
for her singular tractability. He could have sent her home with
one sheep, two sheep, or any given number from any of the
neighbouring farms ; and, in the lambing season, it was his uni-
form practice to send her home with the kebbed esves just as he
got them. I must let the town reader understand this. A keb-
bed ewe is one whose lamb dies. As soon as such is found,
she is immediately brought home by the shepherd, and another
lamb put to her ; and Scott, on going his rounds on the hill,
whenever he found a kebbed ewe, immediately gave her in charge
to his bitch to take home, which saved him from coming back
that way again and going over the same ground he had visited
before. She always took them carefully home, and put them
into a fold which was close by the house, keeping watch over
them till she was seen by some one of the family ; upon which
she instantly decamped and hastened back to her master, who
sometimes sent her three times home in one morning with dif-
ferent charges. It was the custom of the farmer to watch her
and take the sheep in charge from her : but this required a good
deal of caution ; for as soon as she perceived that she was seen,
whether the sheep were put into the fold or not, she concluded
her charge was at an end, and no flattery could induce her to stay
and assist in folding them. There was a display of accuracy and
attention in this that I cannot say I have ever seen equalled."
" The late Mr Steel, flesher in Peebles, had a bitch that was
fully equal to the one mentioned above, and that in the very
same qualification too. Her feats in taking sheep from the
230 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
neighbouring farms into the Flesh-market at Peebles, form innu-
merable anecdotes in that vicinity, all similar to one another.
But there is one instance related of her, that combines so much
sagacity with natural affection, that J do not think the history
of the animal creation furnishes such another.
" Mr Steel had such an implicit dependence on the attention
of this animal to his orders, that, whenever he put a lot of sheep
before her, he took a pride in leaving them to herself, and either
remained to take a glass with the farmer of whom he had made
the purchase, or took another road to look after bargains or other
business. .But one time he chanced to commit a drove to her
charge at a place called Willenslee, without attending to her
condition as he ought to have done. This farm is five miles
from Peebles, over wild hills, and there is no regularly defined
path to it Whether Mr Steel remained behind, or chose an-
other road, I know not ; but, on coming home late in the even-
ing, he was astonished at hearing that his faithful animal had
not made her appearance with the Hock. He and his son, or
servant, instantly prepared to set out by different paths in search
of her ; but, on their going out to the street, there was she com-
ing with the drove, no one missing ; and marvellous to relate,
she was carrying a young pup in her mouth ! She had been
taken in travail on those hills ; and how the poor beast had con-
trived to manage the drove in her state of suffering is beyond
human calculation, for her road lay through sheep the whole
way. Her master's heart smote him when he saw what she had
suffered and effected : but she was nothing daunted ; and having
deposited her young one in a place of safety, she again set out
full speed to the hills, and brought another and another, till she
removed her whole litter one by one ; but the last one was dead.
I give this as I have heard it related by the country people ; for
though I knew Mr Walter Steel well enough, I cannot say I
ever heard it from his own mouth. I never entertained any
doubt, however, of the truth of the relation ; and certainly it is
worthy of being preserved, for the credit of that most docile and
affectionate of all animals, the Shepherd's Dog."
Other instances might be adduced, showing a similar fidelity and
sagacity, but as the foregoing have been so abundant, we shall con-
fine ourselves to one, which proves that the animal is willing to
sacrifice its life to its trust A shepherd having driven a part
of his flock to a fair, left the rest in charge of his dog. Unfor-
tunately, when at the fair, he forgot the circumstances in which
he had left both dog and sheep, and did not return till the third
day. His first inquiry on reaching home, was, whether the dog
had been seen, and he was answered in the negative. " Then he'
must be dead !" he said in a tone of anguish, and repaired to the
heath. There the dog lay, in the vicinity of its charge, but it
had just power to crawl to its master's feet, and express joy at
his return, and then immediately expired.
The alertness and sagacity which the Shepherd's dog displays
is the result of instinct or natural adaptation and training, along
with a desire to serve its master, but it is equally willing to as-
sist him in stealing his neighbour's, as in watching his own
flock, and as Mr Hogg says, it seems to discover a peculiar de-
light in forwarding such dangerous and unlawful proceedings.
" The stories related of the dogs of sheep-stealers," says he, "are
fairly beyond all credibility. I cannot mention names, for the
sake of families that still remain in the country ; but there
have been sundry men executed, who belonged to this district of
the kingdom, for that heinous crime, in my own days ; and
others have absconded, just in time to save their necks. There
was not one of these to whom I allude who did not acknowledge
his dog to be the greatest aggressor. One young man in parti-
cular, who was, I believe, overtaken by justice for his first of-
fence, stated, that after he had folded the sheep by moonlight,
and selected his number from the flock of a former master, he
took them out, and set away with them towards Edinburgh.
But before he had got them quite off the farm, his conscience
smote him, as he said, (but more likely a dread of that which
soon followed,) and he quitted the sheep, letting them go again
to the hill. He called his dog off them ; and mounting his pony,
he rode away. At that time he said his dog was capering and
playing around him, as if glad of having got free of a trouble-
some business ; and he regarded him no more, till, after having
rode about three miles, he thought again and again that he heard
something coming up behind him. Halting, at length, to ascer-
tain what it was, in a few minutes there comes his dog with the
stolen animals, driving them at a furious rate to keep up with
his master. The sheep were all smoking, and hanging out their
tongues, and their guide was fully as warm as they. The young
232 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
man was now exceedingly troubled, for the sheep having been
brought so far from home, he dreaded there would be a pursuit,
and he could not get them home again before day. Resolving,
at all events, to keep his hands clear of them, he corrected his
dog in great wrath, left the sheep once more, and taking colley
with him, rode off a second time. He had not ridden above a
mile, till he perceived that his assistant had again given him the
slip ; and suspecting for what purpose, he was terribly alarmed
as well as chagrined ; for daylight now approached, and he durst
not make a noise calling on his dog, for fear of alarming the
neighbourhood, in a place where they were both well known.
He resolved therefore to abandon the animal to himself, and take
a road across the country which he was sure the other did not
know, and could not follow. He took that road ; but being on
horseback, he could not get across the enclosed fields. He at
length came to a gate, which he shut behind him, and went about
half a mile farther, by a zigzag course, to a farm-house where
both his sister and sweetheart lived ; and at that place he re-
mained until after breakfast time. The people of this house
were all examined on the trial, and no one had either seen the
sheep or heard them mentioned, save one man, who came up to
the aggressor as he was standing at the stable-door, and told him
that his dog had the sheep safe enough down at the Crooked
Yett, and he needed not hurry himself. He answered, that the
sheep were not his they were young Mr Thomson's, who had
left them to his charge, and he was in search of a man to drive
them, which made him come off his road.
" After this discovery, it was impossible for the poor fellow to
get quit of them ; so he went down and took possession of the
stolen drove once more, carried them on, and disposed of them ;
and, finally, the transaction cost him his life. The dog for the
last four or five miles that he had brought the sheep, could have
no other guide to the road his master had gone, but the smell of
his pony's feet. 1 '
" It is also well known, that there was a notorious sheep-
stealer in the county of Mid-Lothian, who, had it not been for
the skins and the heads, would never have been condemned, as
he could, with the greatest ease, have proved an alibi every time
on which there were suspicions cherished against him. He al-
ways went by one road, calling on his acquaintances, and taking
THE DOG. 233
care to appear to every body by whom he was known, while his
dog went by another with the stolen sheep ; and then on the two
felons meeting again, they had nothing more to do than turn the
sheep into an associate's enclosure, in whose house the dog was
well fed and entertained, and would have soon taken all the fat-
sheep on the Lothian edges to that house. This was likewise
a female, a jet-black one, with a deep coat of soft hair, but
smooth-headed, and very strong and handsome in her make. On
the disappearance of her master, she lay about the hills and
places where he had frequented ; but she never attempted to steal
a drove by herself, nor the smallest thing for her own hand. She
was kept some time by a relation of her master's, but never act-
ing heartily in his service, soon came privately to an untimely
end."
The following is also a striking instance of the readiness and
skill with which the dog aids such proceedings. When a sheep-
stealer. who was some years afterwards hanged, intended to steal
sheep, he did not perform the act himself, but despatched his dog
as his substitute. With this view, under pretence of viewing
the sheep as a purchaser, he went over the grounds with the dog
at his feet, to which he secretly gave a signal, to let it know the
sheep he wanted, to the number, perhaps, of ten or twenty out
of a flock of some hundreds, he then went off, and from the dis-
tance of some miles sent back the dog, which soon separated the
assigned sheep from the rest, and brought them to its master.
The dog, so capable of being trained to various services, must
possess much natural sagacity, and it accordingly discovers strong
powers of observation and skill, in apprehending the uses of the
objects around it. A small Italian greyhound at Bologna, used
daily to leave home, for the purpose of visiting some other dogs
of the same species. On these occasions he placed himself
opposite to the house where they resided, and by loud barking
solicited admittance. His noise being troublesome, the inmates
not only refused him admittance, but used to drive him off with
stones ; these it was enabled to avoid by creeping close to the
door. Recourse was then had to the whip ; but he placed him-
self in a position where he could continue barking, where he
was secure from stones, and could escape from the lash. While
he was one morning waiting here, he saw a boy come to the
house, knock at the door, and gain admittance. From this he
u3
2:14 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
took the hint, crept to the door, leaped several times at the
knocker, succeeded in making it strike, and waited the issue.
When the door was opened he immediately rushed in, and
admiration for his ingenuity ever afterwards secured its success.
One of the most striking proofs of the natural sagacity of the
dog, is the notion of time, which in many instances unquestion-
ably belongs to the animal. In the neighbourhood of some
towns, there are dogs that regularly repair thither on the market
days, when they know they can procure booty. A dog which
was some time under the care of Mr Blaine in the Infirmary
attached to his premises, was visited by him on Sunday only,
and though no change whatever was made in the treatment of
the dogs on that day, it discovered its knowledge of the time, by
taking its station at the door till Mr Blaine came, a behaviour
so marked and so regular, as left no doubt as to the intelligence
of the animal. Mr Dibdin states that a friend of his made a
journey from home for a short time once a month, which was
always a cause of regret to a very affectionate dog which he pos-
sessed. As the period of his master's absence was always the
same, the dog which at its commencement showed much grief,
recovered his spirits towards its close. When he was convinced
his master would soon return, he took the first opportunity of
leaving home, and generally met him about two miles distance.
The gentleman having died, the dog, though then old and nearly
blind, became disconsolate, and after being for a little cheered by
mistaking for its master a person who wore similar stockings,
on discovering its error, it retired into a corner and soon died.
In the following instance the dog displays its sagacity and attach-
ment, as well as its knowledge of time. Hartsucker, in his Con-
jectures on Natural History, says, that his dog was in the habit
of accompanying him every Sunday from Paris to the neigh-
bouring village of Charenton. He did not always wish to be
accompanied by his dog, and on one occasion had him confined
at home. The dog seemed unhappy under his restraint, but that
having been repeated on the next occasion, he on the following
Saturday set off from Paris for Charenton, and remained there
in waiting for his master's arrival.
It becomes a curious question, seeing such is the intelligence
of the dog, how far it comprehends the looks and language of
those around. " The dog." says a writer in London's Magazine,
THE DOG. 235
" is the only animal that dreams, if the horse be not also an ex-
ception, and he and the elephant the only animals that understand
looks ; the elephant is the only animal that, besides man, feels
ennui, the dog the only quadruped that has been brought to
speak. Leibnitz bears witness to a hound in Saxony, that could
speak distinctly thirty words.' 1 Its name, and the common
torms in which it is addressed, it undoubtedly understands, and
promptly obeys, but it probably guesses at the meaning of more
than is directly addressed to it. The Reverend James Simpson,
Edinburgh, had a dog which, while he lived at Libberton, had
discovered its regard to the interests of its master, by refusing
to allow to leave the house, till detected by him, a number of
their friends, to whom one Sunday the servants had been fur-
nishing a feast in the kitchen. When about to go to reside in
Edinburgh, Mr Simpson had stated in the hearing of the dog,
the necessity of his parting with it. It chose its own fortunes,
for it disappeared that evening, and was never more heard of by
him. It is a well known practice of dogs to go to churches,
probably allured by the love of being in the midst of a crowd of
people. This practice had been followed by the dogs of a vil-
lage in Bohemia, not excepting a large English mastiff, which
belonged to a nobleman there. This had excited the attention of
the authorities, and at a court, a Magistrate who presided, said
in an authoritative voice, " that no dogs should be allowed to go to
church, let me not see one there in future." The mastiff was
present, and seemed to listen with attention ; nor without effect,
for on the ensuing Sunday, the mastiff rising early, ran barking
at the village dogs, took his station near the door of the church,
killed the only dog that ventured there, notwithstanding the pro-
hibition, and always posted himself as a sentinel on duty, before
the church, but without ever afterwards entering it. There is a
curious story told of the Bath Turnspits, which were fond of col-
lecting together in the Abbey-church during divine service.
Once on the occurrence of the word spit, in the service, they
were seized with the recollection of their ordinary employments,
and all ran out of the church in a hurry. Mr Hogg relates,
that his dog Hector comprehended a good deal of what was pass,
ing in the family circle, and that his attention and impatience
always became manifest when any thing was said about himself
the sheep the cat or a hunt. One evening Mr Hogg said
236 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
to his mother, that he was going to Bowerhope for a fortnight,
but that he would not take Hector with him, for he was constantly
quarrelling with the rest of the dogs, singing music, or breeding
some uproar. " Nay," said she, "leave Hector with me, I like
best to have him at home." These were all the words that passed.
Next morning, as the Yarrow was swollen with a great rain, the
shepherd did not go away till after breakfast, and when the time
came for tying up Hector, he was not to be found. Mr Hogg
at once suspected that his dog had anticipated him, in going to
Bowerhope, and though the Yarrow was so large, that he had to
go to St Mary's Loch, and get across by a boat, he found he had
guessed rightly, and that Hector had preceded him, and swam the
river ; for on coming to Bowerhope, he found the dog very wet,
sitting on a knoll at the east end of the house, impatiently wait-
ing his arrival.
Sir Walter Scott has furnished an anecdote on this subject,
concerning a dog, which, though meritorious in himself, must
ever deserve the greatest share of fame and interest, from the
circumstance of having belonged to such a master. " The wisest
dog," says Sir Walter, " I ever had, was what is called the Bull-
Dog Terrier. I taught him to understand a great many words,
insomuch that I am positive that the communication betwixt the
canine species and ourselves might be greatly enlarged. Camp
once bit the baker, who was bringing bread to the family. I
beat him, and explained the enormity of his offence ; after
which, to the last moment of his life, he never heard the
least allusion to the story, in whatever voice or tone it was men-
tioned, without getting up and retiring into the darkest corner
of the room with great appearance of distress. Then if you
said, ' The baker was well paid,' or ' The baker was not hurt af-
ter all,' Camp came forth from his hiding-place, capered, and
barked, and rejoiced. When he was unable, towards the end of
his life, to attend me when on horseback, he used to watch for
my return, and the servant used to tell him ' his master was com-
ing down the hill, or through the moor,' and although he did not
use any gesture to explain his meaning, Camp was never known
to mistake him, but either went out at the front to go up the
hill, or at the back to get down to the moor-side. He certainly
had a singular knowledge of spoken language."
Innumerable are the tricks, and arts, which have been taught
T1IK DOG. 237
the dog. Mr Wilkie, of Ladythort, had one that bad been in-
structed in the dramatic art, so far as to present to the specta-
tor an imitation of death. When ordered to die, he tumbled
on one side, stretched out his legs as if in pain, gave a few con-
vulsive throbs, then turning round on his back, remained motion-
less, till ordered to get up. Rather, however, than enumerate all
the tricks which have been taught these animals, as there is
scarcely a dog, on which any pains have been bestowed, that is not
an adept in some art, we shall notice one, which, of itself, suf-
ficiently shows the intelligence which the dog possesses, and the
arts to which it may be trained. Mr M'Intyre, patent-mangle
manufacturer, Regent Bridge, Edinburgh, has a dog of the New-
foundland breed, crossed with some other, named Dandie, whose
sagacious qualifications are truly astonishing and almost incred-
ible. As the animal continues daily to give the most striking
proofs of his powers, he is well known in the neighbourhood,
and any person may satisfy himself of the reality of those feats,
many of which the writer has himself had the pleasure to witness.
When Mr M. is in company, how numerous soever it may be, if he
but say to the dog, "Dandie, bring me my hat,'' he immediately
picks out the hat from all the others, and puts it in his master's hand.
Should every gentleman in company throw a pen-knife on the
floor, the dog, when commanded, will select his master's knife
from the heap, and bring it to him. A pack of cards being scat-
tered in the room, if his master has previously selected one of
them, the dog will find it out and bring it to him. A comb was
hid on the top of a mantle-piece in the room, and the dog requir-
ed to bring it, which he almost immediately did, although in the
search he found a number of articles also belonging to his mas-
ter, purposely strewed around, all which he passed over, and
brought the identical comb which he was required to find, fully
proving that he is not guided by the sense of smell, but that he
perfectly understands whatever is spoken to him. One evening
some gentlemen being in company, one of them accidentally drop-
ped a shilling on the floor, which, after the most careful search,
could not be found. Mr M. seeing his dog sitting in a corner,
and looking as if quite unconscious of what was passing, said to
him, " Dandie, find us the shilling and you shall have a biscuit."
the dog immediately jumped upon the table and laid down the
shilling, which he had previously picked up without having been
238 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
perceived. One time, having been left in a room in the house
of Mrs Thomas, High-street, he remained quiet for a consider-
able time ; but as no one opened the door, he became impatient,
and rang the bell ; and when the servant opened the door, she
was surprised to find the dog pulling the bell-rope. Since that
period, which was the first time he was observed to do it, he
pulls the bell whenever he is desired j and what appears still
more remarkable, if there is no bell-rope in the room, he
will examine the table, and if he finds a hand-bell, he takes
it in his mouth and rings it. Mr M. having one evening sup-
ped with a friend, on his return home, as it was rather late, he
found all the family in bed. He could not find his boot-jack in
the place where it usually lay, nor could he find it anywhere in
the room after the strictest search. He then said to his dog,
" Dandie, I cannot find my boot-jack, search for it." The
faithful animal, quite sensible of what had been said to him,
scratched at the room-door, which his master opened. Dandie
proceeded to a very distant part of the house, and soon returned
carrying in his mouth the boot-jack, which Mr M. now recol-
lected to have left that morning under a sofa. A number of
gentlemen, well acquainted with Dandie, are daily in the habit
of giving him a penny which he takes to a baker's shop and pur-
chases bread for himself. One of these gentlemen, who lives
in James' Square, when passing some time ago, was accosted by
Dandie, in expectation of his usual present. Mr. T. then said
to him, " I have not a penny with me to-day, but I have one at
home." Having returned to his house some time after, he
heard a noise at the door, which was opened by the servant, when
in sprang Dandie to receive his penny. In a frolic Mr T. gave
him a bad one, which he, as usual, carried to the baker, but was
refused his bread, as the money was bad. He immediately re-
turned to Mr T.'s, knocked at the door, and when the servant
opened it, laid the penny down at her feet, and walked off,
seemingly with the greatest contempt. Although Dandie, in gen-
eral, makes an immediate purchase of bread with the money
which he receives, yet the following circumstance clearly demon-
strates that he possesses more prudent foresight than many who
are reckoned rational beings. One Sunday, when it was very
unlikely that he could have received a present of money, Dandie
was observed to bring home a loaf. Mr M. being somewhat
THE DOG. 239
surprised at this, desired the servant to search the room to see
if any money could be found. While she was engaged in this
task, the dog seemed quite unconcerned till she approached the
bed, when he ran to her, and gently drew her back from it. Mr
M. then secured the dog, which kept struggling and growling
while the servant went under the bed, where she found 7^d.
under a bit of cloth ; but from that time he never could endure
the girl, and was frequently observed to hide his money in a cor-
ner of a saw-pit, under the dust. When Mr M. has company,
if he desire the dog to see any one of the gentlemen home, it
will walk with him till he reach his home, and then return to
his master, how great soever the distance may be. About
three years ago a mangle was sent by a cart from the ware-
house, Regent Bridge, to Portobello, at which time the dog
was not present. Afterwards, Mr M. went to his own house,
North Back of the Canongate, and took Dandie with him, to
have the mangle delivered. When he had proceeded a little way
the dog ran off, and he lost sight of him. He still walked for-
ward, and in a little time he found the cart in which the mangle
was, turned towards Edinburgh, with Dandie holding fast by the
reins, and the carter in the greatest perplexity, who now stated
that the dog had overtaken him, jumped on his cart, and ex-
amined the mangle, and then had seized the reins of the horse
and turned him fairly round, and would not let go his hold, al-
though he had beaten him with a stick. On Mr M.'s arrival,
however, the dog quietly allowed the carter to proceed to his
place of destination.
However great may be the intelligence of the dog, there can
be little doubt that it is greatly promoted by its affection for its
master, and chiefly devoted to his service. It scarcely obeys
others, and does not use the powers which it can easily employ
to serve them, while to give satisfaction and to yield service to
its master, it sets its invention to work, and with amazing
sagacity discovers what is required by his circumstances. About
the year 1796, a farmer at Hailing in Kent, was returning late
from Maidstone market in a state of intoxication. He went
astray from the road about half a mile from Willow-walk, and
becoming completely benumbed he fell among the snow, in one
of the coldest nights ever known. Turning on his back he was
soon overpowered by sleep, in such circumstances the usual con-
240 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
comitant of cold. His dog, that had followed closely-after him,
now scratched away the snow from about him, so as to form a
protecting wall round his person, and then lay down on his
master's breast, for which its shaggy coat proved a seasonable
protection from the inclemency of the night and the snow which
continued to fall. On the following morning, a person having
gone out with the expectation of falling in with some wild fowl,
had his notice attracted by the uncommon appearance, and on
coming up, the dog encouraged him by the most significant ges-
tures to come near its master. He wiped the icy incrustations
from the face of the farmer, whom he then recognised, and had
him conveyed to the nearest house in the village, where anima-
tion was soon restored. There can be little doubt that the dog,
by covering the most vital part, had prevented the stagnation of
the blood, and thus preserved the life of its master. He was not
ungrateful, but refused to part with the dog, though a large .sum
was offered for it, saying, that as long as he had a crust of bread,
he would share it with the preserver of his life. A farmer near
Brechin, having gone during a severe snow-storm in 1798, to
visit his sheep, while employed in driving them from the shelter
which they had taken beneath some precipitous rocks called
Ugly-face, was with his dog buried in an avalanche of snow which
fell from these rocks. He was unable to extricate himself, and
fell asleep in his desolate situation, but his dog worked its way
out, ran to his house, and by significant gestures procured the
assistance of some of the inmates, who, following the dog, were
led to the spot where he was overwhelmed with snow. They
began to dig, and by nightfall found the farmer in an erect posi-
tion, quite benumbed, but life not extinguished, and being rolled
in warm blankets he soon recovered. The last instance of this
case which we shall give, discovers a still more persevering at-
tachment in the dog. Eric Rnutson, a fisherman, who resided
at a place on the coast of Iceland called the Strand, twenty miles
to the south of Reikiavik, left his home early on a December
morning, before daylight, with the intention of paying a visit to
a friend at Prysivik. His way thither lay twenty-six miles east-
ward over a mountainous desert. The weather was bright and
frosty, and some snow had fallen and covered the ground. His
faithful dog, Castor, was his only attendant over the trackless
wilds. When he had proceeded about five miles from home, he
THE DOG. 2il
fell into a deep chasm, and alighted unhurt on a shelving part of
the rock, about sixty feet below the surface. Castor ran about
in all directions, howling mournfully, and seeking in vain for
some passage to lead him to his master. He frequently came
to the place whence the latter fell, and looked down, whin-
ing with much anxiety to receive his commands. Three or four
times he even seemed determined on leaping down, which Eric
prevented him from carrying into effect, by scolding him. In
this perplexed situation he ran about the whole day. Late in
the evening, however, a better idea seemed to have entered his
mind, when he ran home, which he reached about eleven o'clock,
and found the door shut, all the inmates of the cottage having
retired to sleep. He scratched violently at the door until he
awoke the family, when Ion, the younger brother of Eric, arose
and let him in. Thinking he had lost his master, and had in
consequence returned home, he proceeded towards his bed, but
Castor flew to him, scratched him with his paw, and then went
to the door and yelled. Some food was offered to him, which
he refused to eat, but again ran howling to the door ; nor would
he desist from visiting all the beds in the cottage, and scratching
and yelping, till Ion and another man dressed themselves and
followed him, on which he began to bark in that manner in which
dogs are in the habit of expressing their joy. They had not gone-
very far on their way when the weather became extremely bois-
terous, and they thought of returning home ; and, on their turn-
ing back, Castor expressed the utmost dissatisfaction, and pulled
them by the clothes to induce them to proceed. They did so,
and he conducted them to the chasm where poor Eric was. He
began to scratch away the new-fallen snow, and signified by a
most expressive yell that his master was below ; on which Ion
hallooed, and an answer was returned by Eric. A rope was soon
after procured, and the traveller safely drawn up ; when Castor
rushed to his master, and, with enthusiastic cordiality, testified
extreme joy.
The quality of affection for their masters is possessed by all
dogs, but in a much higher degree by those of the larger and
more generous species. The greyhound has become noted
from the approbation of King Charles I. " Methinks," says
Sir Philip Warwick, "because it shows his disesteem of a com-
mon c.ourt vice, it is not unworthy the relating of him, that one
x
242 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
evening his dog scraping at the door, he commanded me to let
in Gipsy, whereupon I took the boldness to say, ' Sir, I perceive
you love a greyhound tetter than a spaniel.' ' Yes,' says he, 'for
they equally love their masters, and yet do not flatter them so
much."' With this opinion, however, we must balance that of
King Richard II. probably as good a judge of fidelity. The cir-
cumstances occurred when that monarch was confined in the
Castle of Flint, and are thus recorded by Froissarr. " Arid it was
informed me, Kynge Richard had a Grayhound called Mathe,
who always waited upon the kynge, and would know no one
else. For whensoever the kynge did ryde, he that kept the
Grayhound did let bym loose, and he wolde streyght runne to the
kynge and fawne upon him, and leap with his fore fete upon the
kynge's shoulders. And as the kynge and the Erie of Derby
talked togyder in the courte, the Grayhounde, who was wont to
leape upon the kynge, left the kynge, and came to the Erie of
Derby, Duke of Lancaster, and made to hym the same friendly
countinuance and chere as he was wont to do to the kynge. The
duke, who knew not the Grayhounde, demanded of the kynge
what the Grayhounde would do ? ' Cosyn,' quod the kynge,
1 it is a great good token to you, and an evil sygne to me.' ' Sir,
how know ye that ?' quod the duke. ' I know it well,' quod the
kynge ; ' the Grayhounde maketh you chere this daye as kynge
of England, as ye shall be, and I shall be deposed ; the Gray,
hound hath this knowledge naturally, therefore take hym to you,
he will follow you and forsake me.' The duke understood well
those words, and cheryshed the Grayhounde, who would never
after follow Kynge Richarde, but follow the Duke of Lan-
caster."
There are cases on record, in which the dog seems to have en-
tered very singularly into its master's sentiments, and in circum-
stances of a delicacy apparently very remote from the natural
scope of the animal's feelings. The Count de Monte Veccios
had an Alpine Spaniel, which could understand, as his master re-
ported, whatever he said to him, and as it would appear from the
following anecdote, also much that he thought. The Count
had served long in the wars, and always had this faithful attend-
ant with him. The republic of Venice bad been signally obliged
to his courage, but had not rewarded him. He had a favour to
ask of the then General Morosini ; one day when the General
THE DOG. 243
himself had a request to make to the Doge, (who being a per-
son of high elegance and expense in his taste for entertainments,)
he laid out half his fortune on a cold collation, to which he bad
invited him, to put him in humour for his suit. The Count
thought this the happiest day in the world for his purpose,
imagining that he who was about to ask a favour for himself,
would not at that instant deny one to another. He went to him
some hours before the time the Doge was expected, and being
received in the room where the table was prepared, he began to
make his court by praising the elegance and pomp of the pre-
paration, which consisted of many thousands of finely-cut ves-
sels of Venetian glass, filled with the richest sweetmeats and
cold provisions, and disposed on fine tables, all covered with one
vast cloth, with a deep gold fringe, which swept the ground.
The Count said a thousand fine things about the elegance and
richness of the dessert, and particularly admired the profusion of
expense in the workmanship of the crystal and the weight of the
gold fringe. Thus far he was very courteously received ; and
the lord of the feast pompously told -him that all the workmen in
Venice had been half a year employed about them. From this
he proceeded to the business of his suit ; but this met with a
very different reception, and was not only refused, but the denial
attended with very harsh language. The Count was shocked
at the ill-nature of the General, and went away in a very melan-
choly mood. As he went out, he patted his dog upon the head,
and, out of the fulness of his heart, said to him, with an afflicted
air, " You see, my friend, how I am used." The dog looked
up wishfully in his face, and accompanied him till he was at
some distance from the General's, when, finding him engaged in
company, he took that opportunity of leaving him. Returning
back to the house of the haughty officer, he entered the great
room, and taking hold of the gold tassel at one of the corners of
the cloth, he ran forcibly back, and drew it after him, till the
whole preparation was in a moment strewed on the ground in a
vast heap of dirty and broken glasses ; thus revenging his mas-
ter's quarrel, and insuring as unexpected a reception to the
General's requests as the latter had given to those of the
Count.
It has been made a question, whether the dog remembers his
master after a long period of separation. The voice of anti-
244 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
quity is in favour of the dog. Homer makes the dog of Ulysses
to recognise him after many years' absence, arid describes Eume-
nes, the swine herd, as being thus led to apprehend in the per-
son before him, the hero, of seeing whom he had long despaired.
Byron,* on the other hand, was sceptical on the subject. Writ-
ing to a friend, who had requested the results of his experience
on the subject, he states, that seeing a large dog, which be-
longed to him, and had formerly been a favourite, chained at
Newstead, the animal sprung towards him, as he conceived, in
joy but he was glad to make his escape from it, with the com-
paratively trivial injury, of the loss of the skirts of his coat.
Perhaps this circumstance may have suggested the following
verses of that poet :
And now I'm in the world alone,
Upon the wide wide sea ;
But why should I for others groan,
When none will sigh for me ?
Perchance my dog will whine in vail),
Till fed by stranger hands,
But long ere I come back again,
He'd tear me where he standsf
Other equally well-authenticated instances, however, prove,
that many dogs long retain the memory of their masters, and are,
on seeing him, ready to discover an excessive, and on some occa-
sions to themselves a fatal joy. A gentleman lent a favourite
pointer dog to Captain Edwards, of Solihall, near Birmingham,
with whom he remained several years ; but as the dog refused
to hunt with him, the Captain requested by letter, to send him
back to bis master, at that time in Ireland. He was conveyed
on board a Cork packet, at Bristol, and when the former owner
heard that the vessel had arrived, he went to receive his long
absent favourite. The vessel was anchored at some distance
from shore, but being within hail, and seeing his dog on deck,
he called to the men to send him ashore. No sooner, however,
did the dog hear his master's voice, than he leaped into the water,
and quickly, with great demonstrations of joy, swam to him
on the shore. We have stated, that the joy, on recognising an
old master, is sometimes fatal to the dog. An officer in the
* Moore's Life of Byron. f Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto t
THE DOG. 243
British army bad a large dog, which he left at home on being
called to an expedition to America, during the war with the co-
lonies there. In his absence, the animal always appeared singu-
larly dejected. On the return of the officer, the dog happened
to be lying at the door of an apartment into which his master
was about to enter ; it immediately recognised him, leaped upon
his neck, licked his face, and in a few minutes, fell dead at his
feet. A similar instance of affection is related in the Memoirs
of the Marquis Langallery. The Marquis had been two years
in the army, and on returning home, was met by his dog, which
recognised him as if he had been only absent two days, and leap-
ing on his neck, immediately expired.
The affection of the dog for its master does not end with his
life, and innumerable are the anecdotes on record of dogs, which
have continued to pine after their master's death, or died imme-
diately after. We shall present one or two well authenticated
instances, but they are all so much alike, that it is unnecessary to
produce many. It is said in the life of Mary Queen of Scots,
lately published at Glasgow, that after her head was cut off, her
little favourite lapdog which had affectionately followed her, and
unobserved had nestled among her clothes, now continued to
caress her, and would not leave the body till forced away, and
then died two days afterward?.
Mr Renton, of Lammerton, had a herdsman, who, pursuing a
sheep that had ran down the steep bank of Blackadder water,
fell into the river and was drowned, his dog, a common shep-
herd's dog, returned home next morning and led his wife to the
spot, holding her by the apron. The body was found. The
dog followed it even to the grave, and died in a few dayV A
mastiff dog belonging to the Honourable Peter Bold of Bold,
Esq. attended his master in his chamber during the tedious sick-
ness consequent on a pulmonary consumption. After the gen-
tleman expired, and his corpse was removed, the dog almost every
moment entered the apartment, making a mournful whining
noise, and continued his researches for several days through all
the rooms of the house, but in vain ; he then retired to his ken-
nel, which he could not be induced to leave, but refusing all
manner of sustenance, died. Of this fact, and his previous af-
fection, the surgeon who attended his master was an eye-witness.
In the parish of St Olave, Tooley.street, Borough, the church-
x3
210 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
yard is detached from the church, and surrounded with high
buildings, so as to be wholly inaccessible but by one large close
gate. A poor tailor of this parish dying, left a small Cur Dog
inconsolable for his loss. The little animal would not leave his
dead master, not even for food ; and, to induce him to eat, it
was necessary to place his dish in the same room with the corpse.
When the body was removed for burial, this faithful attendant
followed the coffin. After the funeral, he was hunted out of the
churchyard by the sexton, who, the next day, again found the
animal, who had made his way by some unaccountable means
into the enclosure and had dug himself a bed on the grave of his
master. Once more he was chased out, and again he was found
in the same situation the following day. The minister of the
parish hearing of the circumstance, had him caught, taken home
and fed, and endeavoured by every means to win the animal's
affections ; but they were so entirely devoted to his late master,
that he took the first opportunity to escape, and regain his lone-
ly situation. With true benevolence, the worthy clergyman per-
mitted him to follow the bent of his inclinations ; but, to soften
the rigour of his fate, he built him, upon the grave, a small ken-
nel, which was replenished once a-day with food and water. Two
years did this example of fidelity pass in the manner now de-
scribed, when death put an end to his griefs ; and the philan-
thropy of the good clergyman allowed his remains an asylum
with his beloved master.
A somewhat similar anecdote is related by Lady Morgan.*
A Neapolitan dog, called Tortola, that attended its master when
sentry in Italy, followed him in the army of Buonaparte to Ger-
many, where he was killed ; returned to Italy, and continued
nightly and daily to pace the ground where formerly his round
had been, and was supported by the contributions of the inhabi-
tants, who also built for it a small house. The regret of the dog
for its master's death is not confined to inactive sorrow ; if his
death has been caused by violence, it discovers a singular and
persevering hatred of the murderers, which in some cases has led
to their detection. The following instance is related in a letter,
written in 1764, by a gentleman at Dijon, in France, to his
friend in London. " Since my arrival here a man has been
* Book of the Boudoir, vol. I.
THE DOG. 217
broken on the wheel, with no other proof to condemn him than
that of a water-spaniel. The circumstances attending it being
so very singular and striking, I beg leave to communicate them
to you. A farmer, who had been to receive a sum of money,
was waylaid, robbed, and murdered, by two villains. The far-
mer's dog returned with all speed to the house of the person
who had paid the money, and expressed such amazing anxiety
that he would follow him, pulling him several times by the sleeve
and skirt of the coat, that at length the gentleman yielded to his
importunity. The dog led him to the field, a little from the
roadside, where the body lay. From thence the gentleman went
to a public-house, in order to alarm the country. The moment
he entered, (as the two villains were there drinking,) the dog
seized the murderer by the throat, and the other made his escape.
This man lay in prison three months, during which time they
visited him once a week with the Spaniel, and though they
made him change his clothes with other prisoners, and always
stand in the midst of a crowd, yet did the animal always find him
out, and fly at him. On the day of trial, when the prisoner was
at the bar, the dog was let loose in the court-house, and in the
midst of some hundreds he found him out, (though dressed en-
tirely in new clothes,) and would have torn him to pieces had he
been allowed; in consequence of which he was condemned, and
at the place of execution he confessed the fact. Surely so use-
ful, so disinterestedly faithful an animal, should not be so bar-
barously treated as I have often seen them, particularly in Lon-
don."
Other cases might be produced, but we shall only present
that of the dog of Montargis, which has become familiar to the
public, by being made the subject of a melodrame, frequently
acted at the present time. The fame of this English blood-
hound has probably been transmitted by a monument in basso-
relievo, which still remains in the chimneypiece of the grand hall
at the Castle of Montargis, in France. The sculpture, which
represents a dog fighting with a champion, is explained by the
following narrative : Aubri de Mondidier, a gentleman of fami-
ly and fortune, travelling alone through the Forest of Bondy,
was murdered, and buried under a tree. His dog, a blood-
hound, would not quit his master's grave for several days ; till
at length compelled byhunger, he proceeded to the house of an
248 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
intimate friend of the unfortunate Aubri at Paris, and, by his
melancholy howling, seemed desirous of expressing the loss sus-
tained. He repeated his cries, ran to the door, looked back to
see if any one followed him, returned to his master's friend, pull-
ed him by the sleeve, and, with dumb eloquence, entreated him
to go with him. The singularity of all these actions of the dog,
added to the circumstance of his coming there without his mas-
ter, whose faithful companion he had always been, prompted the
company to follow the animal, who conducted them to a tree,
where he renewed his bowl, scratching the earth with his feet,
and significantly entreating them to search the particular spot.
Accordingly, on digging, the body of the unhappy Aubri was
found. Some time after, the dog accidentally met the assassin,
who is styled, by all the historians that relate this fact, the Che-
valier Macaire ; when, instantly seizing him by the throat, he
was with great difficulty compelled to quit his victim. In short,
whenever the dog saw the Chevalier, he continued to pursue
and attack him with equal fury. Such obstinate violence in
the animal, confined only to Macaire, appeared very extraordi-
nary, especially as several instances in which Macaire's envy and
hatred to Aubri de Mondidier had been conspicuous. Additional
circumstances created suspicion, and at length the affair reached
the royal ear. The King (Louis VIII.) accordingly sent for
the dog, which appeared extremely gentle, till he perceived
Macaire in the midst of several noblemen, when he ran fiercely
towards him, growling at arid attacking him as usual. The King,
struck with such a combination of circumstantial evidence against
Macaire, determined to refer the decision to the chance of bat-
tle ; in other words, he gave orders for a combat between the
Chevalier and the dog. The lists were appointed in the Isle of
Notre Dame, then an unenclosed, uninhabited place, and Macaire
was allowed for his weapon a great cudgel. An empty cask was
given to the dog as a place of retreat, to enable him to recover
breath. Every thing being prepared, the dog no sooner found
himself at liberty, than he ran round his adversary, avoiding his
blows, and menacing him on every side, till his strength was
exhausted ; then springing forward, he seized him by the throat,
and threw him on the ground. He confessed his guilt in presence
of the King and the whole court. In consequence of this, the
Chevalier, after a few days, was convicted upon his own acknow-
249
ledgment, and beheaded on a scaffold in the Isle of Notre
Dame.
The dog uses the most extraordinary exertions and sagacity to
save its master from injury. Of these the following anecdotes
furnish remarkable instances : Sir Harry Lee of Ditchley, in
Oxfordshire, ancestor of the earl of Litchfield, had a Mastiff
which guarded the house and yard ; but had never met with any
particular attention from his master, and was retained for his
usefulness alone, and not at all as a favourite. One night, as Sir
Harry was retiring to his chamber, attended by his valet, an
Italian, the Mastiff silently followed him up stairs, which he had
never been known to do before, and, to his master's astonish-
ment, presented himself in his bed-room. Being deemed an in-
truder, he was instantly ordered to be turned out ; which being
done, the poor animal began scratching violently at the door, and
howling loudly for admission. The valet was sent to drive him
away. Discouragement, however, could not check his intended
labour of love, or rather providential impulse ; he returned again,
and was more importunate than before to be let in. Sir Harry,
weary of opposition, bade the servant open the door, that they
might see what he wanted to do. This done, the Mastiff, with
a wag of his tail, and a look of affection at his lord, deliberately
walked up, and crawling under the bed, laid himself down, as if
desirous to take up his night's lodging there. To save farther
trouble, but not for any partiality for his company, the indulgence
was allowed. About the solemn hour of midnight, the chamber-
door opened, and a person was heard stepping across the room :
Sir Harry started from his sleep ; the dog sprang from his covert,
and seizing the unwelcome disturber, fixed him to the spot ! All
was dark ; Sir Harry rang his bell in great trepidation in order
to procure a light. The person was pinned to the floor by the
courageous Mastiff, and roared for assistance. It was found to
be the valet, who little expected such a reception. He endea-
voured to apologize for his intrusion, and to make the reasons
which induced him to take this step appear plausible ; but the
importunity of the dog, the time, the place, the manner of the
valet, all raised suspicions in Sir Harry's mind, and he determined
to refer the investigation of the business to a magistrate. The
perfidious Italian, alternately terrified by the dread of punish-
ment and soothed with the hopes of pardon, at length confessed
250 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
that it was his intention to murder his master, and then rob the
house. A full-length picture of Sir Harry, with the Mastiff by
his side, and the words, <( More faithful than favoured," is still
to be seen at the family-seat at Ditchley, and is a lasting monu-
ment of the gratitude of the master, the ingratitude and perfidy
of the servant, and the fidelity of the dog.
About the year 1742, a lady, who resided in a lone house in
Cheshire, permitted all her servants, except one female, to go to
a supper and dance, at a Christmas merry-meeting, held at an
inn about three miles distant, and kept by the uncle of the maid
who had remained in the house with her mistress. The ser-
vants were not expected back till the morning, consequently the
doors and windows were, as usual, secured, and the lady and her
servant were going to bed, when they were alarmed by the voice
of some persons apparently attempting to break into the house.
Fortunately a great Mastiff dog, named Caesar, was in the kit-
chen, and set up a tremendous barking, which, however, had not
the effect of intimidating the robbers. The maid-servant dis-
tinctly heard that the attempt to enter the house was made by
the villains endeavouring to force a way through a hole under
the sunk story, in the adjoining back-kitchen or scullery. Be-
ing a young woman of courage, she went towards the spot, ac-
companied by the dog, and, patting him on the back, exclaimed,
" At him, Caesar !" The dog made a furious attack on the person
who seemed to be at the hole, and gave something a violent
shake, when all became quiet, and the animal returned to her
with his mouth all besmeared with blood. She afterwards heard
some little bustle outside of the house, which soon was stilled.
The lady and servant sat up until morning, without farther
molestation, when, on going into the court, a quantity of blood
was found on the outside of the wall. The other servants, on
their return, brought word to the maid that her uncle, the inn-
keeper, had died suddenly during the course of the night, they
understood, of a fit of apoplexy, and was intended to be buried
that day. The maid got leave to go to the funeral, and was
surprised to find the coffin, on her arrival, screwed down. She
insisted on taking a last view of the body, which was most un-
willingly granted ; when, to her great surprise and horror, she
found his death had been occasioned from his throat being torn
open.
THE DOG. 251
The protection of tbe dog is not always confined to its master.
A gentleman returning to London from Newington Green,
where he had been on a visit to a friend, was stopped by a foot-
pad armed with a thick bludgeon, who demanded his money,
saying, he was in great distress. The gentleman gave him a
shilling ; but this did not satisfy the fellow, who immediately
attempted to strike him with the bludgeon, when, to the surprise
of the citizen, the villain's arm was suddenly arrested by a Cocker
dog, which seized him fast. The robber with some difficulty
extricated himself from his assailant, and made his escape. The
dog belonged to the gentleman's friend with whom he had dined,
and had followed him unperceived. The faithful creature guarded
him home, and then made the best of his way back to his
master.
The Newfoundland dog is especially alert in swimming, and
very active in saving drowning persons, sometimes even with-
out the command of its master, but as if by a natural and bene-
volent impulse. Mr Thomas Mackaill happened one day in the
year 1812, to be walking along the banks of the Thames, nearly
opposite the Penitentiary at Mill-bank, when a wherry upset,
with two men on board. A gentleman happened to pass at the
same time, accompanied by a fine Newfoundland dog ; but as he
did not at first observe the accident, he was surprised at his at-
tendant making a sudden leap into the river. He soon discovered
that he was making all possible speed for the unfortunate men,
orie of whom could not swim, and was using violent efforts to
sustain himself ; the dog seized him first, as seeming to stand
most in need of his assistance, and brought him safely to the
shore, and returned to the other, and brought him also, in the
presence of at least a hundred spectators.
The instances in which persons have been saved from drown-
ing, by the Newfoundland dog, are innumerable. The following
anecdote is the more remarkable, as it does not appear that the
affectionate animal was of that species. A young man belonging
to the city of Paris, desirous of getting rid of his dog, took it
along with him to the river Seine. He hired a boat, and rowing
into the stream, threw the animal in. The poor creature at-
tempted to climb up the side of the boat, but his master, whose
intention was to drown him, constantly pushed him back with
the oar. In doing this he fell himself into the water, and would
252 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
certainly have been drowned, had not the dog, as soon as he saw
his master struggling in the stream, suffered the boat to float
away, and held him above the water till assistance arrived, and
bis life was saved.
The bull-dog would appear the least likely to combat with a
heavy sea, and yet the following circumstances are well-authen-
ticated. On board a ship, which struck upon a rock near the
shore, there were three dogs, two of the Newfoundland variety,
and one a small but firmly built English bull-dog. It was im-
portant to have a rope carried ashore, and it was thought that
one of the Newfoundland dogs might succeed ; but he was not
able to struggle with the waves, and perished, and the other New-
foundland dog, being thrown over with the rope, shared the same
fate. But the bull-dog, though not habituated to the water,
swam triumphantly to land, and thus saved the lives of the per-
sons on board. Among them was his master, a military officer,
who still has the dog in his possession.
Among the instances of sagacity, mingled with an affection for
its master, may be mentioned those cases in which the dog no-
tices, or detects thefts, and restores lost or stolen articles to its
master. An acquaintance of Lord Fife's coachman, had put a
bridle belonging to the earl, in his pocket, and would have ab-
stracted it, had he not been stopped by a Highland cur, that ob-
served him, barked at him, and absolutely bit his leg. This was
unusual conduct in the dog, but the wonder of the servants
ceased, when they saw the end of the bridle peeping out of the
visitor's pocket, and it being delivered up, the dog became quiet.
It is well known, that in London, the other year, a box.'proper-
ly directed, was sent to a merchant's shop to lie there all night,
and be shipped off with other goods next morning, and that a
dog, which accidentally came into the shop with a customer, by
his smelling it, and repeatedly barking in a peculiar way, led to
the discovery that the box contained not goods, but a fellow who
intended to admit his companions and plunder the shop in the
night-time.
The following is an extract of a letter from St Germains =
" An English gentleman some time ago came to our Vauxhall
with a large Mastiff, which was refused admittance, and the
gentleman left him in the care of the body-guards, who are placed
there. The Englishman, some time after he had entered, re-
THE DOG. 233
turned to the gate and informed the guards that he had lost his
watch, telling the sergeant, that if he would permit him to take
in the dog, he would soon discover the thief. His request being
granted, the gentlemen made motions to the dog of what he had
lost, which immediately ran about amongst the company, and
traversed the gardens, till at last he laid hold of a man. The
gentleman insisted that this person had got his watch ; and on
being searched, not only his watch, but six others, were discov-
ered in his pockets. What is more remarkable, the dog pos-
sessed such a perfection of instinct as to take his master's watch
from the other six, and carry it to him."
Of the alertness of the dog, in recovering the lost property of
its master, we shall give one other instance. M. Dumont, a
tradesman of the Rue St Denis, Paris, offered to lay a wager
with a friend, that if he were to hide a six-livre piece in the
dust, his dog would discover and bring it to him. The wager
was accepted, and the piece of money secreted, after being care-
fully marked. When they had proceeded some distance from
the spot, M. Dumont called to his dog that he had lost some-
thing, and ordered him to seek it. Caniche immediately turned
back, while his master and his companion pursued their walk
to the Rue St Denis. Meanwhile a traveller, who happened
to be just then returning in a small chaise from Vincennes, per-
ceived the piece of money, which his horse had kicked from its
hiding-place ; he alighted, took it up, and drove to his inn in
Rue Pont-aux-Choux, and Caniche had just reached the spot in
search of the lost piece when the stranger picked it up. He
followed the chaise, went into the inn, and stuck close to the
traveller. Having scented out the coin, which he had been or-
dered to bring back, in the pocket of the latter, he leaped up in-
cessantly at and about him. The gentleman, supposing him to
be some dog that had been lost or left behind by his master, re-
garded his different movements as marks of fondness , and as
the animal was handsome, he determined to keep him. He gave
him a good supper, and, on retiring to bed, took him with him
to his chamber. No sooner had he pulled ofFhis breeches, than
they were seized by the dog ; the owner conceiving he wanted
to play with them, took them away again. The animal began
to bark at the door, which the traveller opened, under the idea
that he wanted to go out. Caniche instantly snatched p the
Y
254 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
breeches, and away he llew. The stranger posted after him with
his night-cap on. and literally sans culottes. Anxiety for the fate
of a purse full of double Napoleons, of forty francs each, which
was in one of the pockets, gave redoubled velocity to his steps.
Caniche ran full speed to his master's house, where the stranger
arrived in a moment afterwards, breathing and enraged. He
accused the dog of robbing him. " Sir," said the master, " my
dog is a very faithful creature, and if he has ran away with your
breeches, it is because you have in them money which does not
belong to you." The traveller becan,e still more exasperated.
" Compose yourself, Sir," rejoined the other, smiling ; " with-
out doubt there is in your purse a six-livre piece with such and
such marks, which you picked up in the Boulevard St Antoine,
and which I threw down there with a firm conviction that my
dog would bring it back again. This is the cause of the rob-
bery which he has committed upon you !" The stranger's rage
now yielded to astonishment ; he delivered the six-livre piece to
the owner, and could not forbear caressing the dog which had
given him so much uneasiness and such an unpleasant chase.
An animal so ready to obey its master's wishes, is easily taught
to become not a recoverer of stolen goods, but the thief itself, and
we are sorry to say, that as in sheep-stealing, so in stealing in
general, the dog discovers not a little invention, and quickness
of apprehending its precise position. There are many anecdotes
might be collected of dogs that have been taught to steal. We
shall present one. A gentleman residing in Edinburgh, having
bought from a dealer a cocker bitch, was soon not a little an-
noyed, by her bringing to him articles of bis neighbour's proper-
ty. He soon perceived the systematic behaviour of the dog,
and putting the persons most concerned on their guard, he used
to give his friends specimens of the manner in which she exer-
cised her faculty. As soon as the master entered the shop, the
dog seemed to avoid all appearance of recognising or acknow-
ledging any connexion with him, but lounged about in an indo-
lent, disengaged, and independent sort of manner, as if she had
come into the shop of her own accord. In the course of look-
ing over some wares, her master indicated by a touch on the
parcel, and a look towards the Cocker, the goods which he de-
sired she should appropriate, and then left the shop. The
dog, whose watchful eye caught the hint in an instant, instead of
following her master out of the shop, continued to sit at the
door, or lie by the fire, watching the counter, until she observed
the attention of the people of the shop withdrawn from the prize
which she wished to secure. Whenever she saw an opportunity
of doing so, as she imagined, unobserved, she never failed to
jump upon the counter with her fore-feet, possess herself of the
gloves, or whatever else had been pointed out to her, and escape
from the shop to join her master.
It is a well known fact, that dogs will seldom or never bite
infants, even though beaten or abused by them. It seems es-
pecially to take charge of them, is diligent in its searches for
them, and generally successful in recovering them when lost.
There is an anecdote, very commonly told of a Frenchman, who
had a plantation near the Blue-mountains, in the state of New
York and there lost his child, which after a long and extensive,
but vain search, was recovered by the generosity of an Indian,
who, accidentally hearing their distress, sent his dog Oniah,
which after a quest, returned with a face of joy, and then led them
to the child.
A shepherd on the Grampian mountains, having left his child
at the foot of a hill, was soon enveloped in mist ; and unable to
return to the precise place, he could not discover the child. In
vain he searched for it in the midst of the mist, not knowing
whither he went, and when at length the moon shone clearly,
he found himself at his cottage, and far from the hill. He
searched in vain next clay, with a band of shepherds. On return-
ing to his cottage, he found that the dog, on receiving a piece of
cake, had instantly gone off. He renewed the quest for several
days, and still the dog had disappeared, during the interval taking
with it a piece of cake. Struck with this circumstance, he re-
mained at home one day, and when the dog, as usual, departed
with his piece of cake, he resolved to follow him. The dog led
the way to a cataract at some distance from the spot where the
shepherd had left his child. The banks of the water-fall almost
joined at the top, yet separated by an abyss of immense depth,
presented that abrupt appearance which so often astonishes and
appals the traveller amidst the Grampian mountains. Down
one of these rugged and almost perpendicular descents the dog
began, without hesitation, to make his way, and at last disappear-
ed in a cave, the mouth of which was almost upon a level with
256 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
the torrent. The shepherd with difficulty followed ; but, on
entering the cave, what were his emotions, when he beheld his
infant eating with much satisfaction the cake which the dog
had just brought him, while the faithful animal stood by, eyeing
his young charge with the utmost complacence. From the si-
tuation in which the child was found, it appears that he had wan-
dered to the brink of the precipice, and either fallen or scram-
bled down till he reached the cave, which with the dread of the
torrent had afterwards prevented him from quitting. The dog,
by means of his scent, had traced him to the spot, and afterwards
prevented him from starving by giving up to him his own daily al-
lowance. He appears never to have quitted the child by night
or day, except when it was necessary to go for its food, and then
be was always seen running at full speed to and from the cot-
tage.
The memory of the dog Gelert has been preserved by tradi-
tion, and celebrated by poetry. In the neighbourhood of a village
at the foot of Snowden, a mountain in Wales, Llewellyn, son-
in-law to King John, had a residence. The king, it is said, had
presented him with one of the finest greyhounds in England,
named Gelert. In the year 1205, Llewellyn one day on going
out to hunt called all his dogs together, but his favourite grey-
hound was amissing, and nowhere to be found. He blew his
horn as a signal for the chase, and still Gelert came not. Lle-
wellyn was much disconcerted at the heedlessness of his favour-
ite, but at length pursued the chase without him. For want of
Gelert the sport was limited ; and getting tired he returned
home at an early hour, when the first object that presented itself
to him at the castle gate was Gelert, who bounded with the us-
ual transport to meet his master, having his lips besmeared with
blood. Llewellyn gazed with surprise at the unusual appearance
of bis dog. On going into the apartment where he had left his
infant son and heir asleep, he found the bed-clothes all in confu-
sion, the cover rent, and stained with blood. He called on his
child, but no answer was made, from which he hastily concluded
that the dog must have devoured him ; and, giving vent to his rage,
plunged his sword to the hilt in Gelert's side. The noble ani-
mal fell at his feet, uttering a dying yell which awoke the infant,
who was sleeping beneath a mingled heap of the bedclothes,
while beneath the bed lay a great wolf covered with gore, whom
THE DOG. 257
the faithful and gallant hound had destroyed. Llewellyn, smit-
ten with sorrow and remorse for the rash and frantic deed which
had deprived him of so faithful an animal, caused an elegant
marble monument, with an appropriate inscription, to be erected
over the spot where Gelert was buried, to commemorate his
fidelity and unhappy fate. The place to this day is called Bet h-
Gelert, or the Grave of the Greyhound.
Here never could the spearmen pass,
Or forester unmoved,
>lere oft the tear .besprinkled grass
Llewellyn's sorrow proved.
Aud here he hung his horn and spear,
And oft as evening fell,
In fancy's piercing sounds would hear
Poor Gelert's dying yell.*
It is well known that the horse, the ass, and even the cow,
voluntarily return from a great distance to the place of their
usual residence, and that they discover a remarkably acute in-
stinct in finding the way, the same power is possessed by the
dog in still greater perfection, and exercised by it in searching
for its master. A young gentleman from Glasgow, making the
tour of the continent, was drowned while bathing in the river
Oder, and a Newfoundland dog which he possessed, after vainly
attempting to save him, found its way either to Frankfort or
Hamburgh, got on board a vessel to some part of the English
coast, (for on inquiry it was not found to have landed at Leith,)
and from thence it proceeded to the person from whom it had
been originally purchased, and who resided near Holyrood-
house. Lord Maynard lately lost a Dalmatian or coach-dog in
France, which he found at his house on his return to England,
though how it had got there he never could trace. It is not
necessary that the dog have previously travelled the ground by
which it returns. A person who went by sea from Aberdeen to
Leith, lost his dog at the latter place, and found it on his return
at Aberdeen. It must have travelled over a country unknown to
it, and have crossed the firths of Forth and Tay. The following
is also a remarkable case. A greyhound bitch was sent from
Edinburgh by a carrier to Castle Douglas, where she had pups,
j.J i * Spencer.
Y3
258 ANECUOTES OF ANIMALS.
and in the following year, by a quite different route she was con-
veyed to Cumnock. After remaining there for about six
months, she set off across the country to Castle Douglas, where
she had reared her pups, and was seen on her progress accom-
panied by a pointer dog, which as soon as she had arrived at her
place of destination left her and returned.
It will be inferred from the last of the above anecdotes, that
the bitch had in some way commanded the assistance of the
pointer to serve as her pilot. How a dog can make communi-
cation of its wishes on such a nice point to another dog, it is
difficult exactly to specify, but that they do communicate with
one another, is very evident from many examples. A dog which
had got its leg, when broken, set by a surgeon, appeared one day
at his door in company with another dog, which had met with a
similar accident. It must have found its companion in distress,
and obtained its compliance to accompany it to the surgeon. At
Hortou in Buckinghamshire about 1818, a gentleman from Lon-
don took possession of a house, bringing with him a large French
poodle to serve as a watch-dog. Its office had been formerly
discharged by a Newfoundland dog, which was taken by the
former tenant to a farm about half a mile off, but a puppy of the
same breed was left behind, and met with incessant persecution
from the French poodle. At length he was one day missing for
some hours, he returned accompanied with his old friend ; and
the two immediately fell upon the poodle, and killed him before
he could be rescued from their fury. In this case, the injuries
of the young dog must have been made known to his friend, a
plan of revenge concerted, arid the determination to carry that
plan into effect, formed and executed with equal promptitude.
The dog, though its chief regards are bestowed on man, and
though at his suggestion, or in maintaining the charge with which
it is intrusted, it will instantly attack another dog, is neverthe-
less naturally very affectionate to its own kind. In the wild
state they hunt in packs ; even when tame they mutually encour-
age one another in the chase, and assist in the attack. A grey-
hound in the county of Stirling, used to carry a large iron collar
attached to the neck of a pointer, for the purpose of preventing
disorderly hunting. When the pointer started prey, the grey-
hound let the collar fall, and after the chase was ended, returned
to serve the pointer as usual. A strange dog that wandered in
THE DOG. 259
the vicinity of a farm-house at Bannockburn, was observed to
be fed by one of the dogs of the house, with food which it saved
from its own allotment for this purpose. A Newfoundland dog
has been seen to save from drowning, one of a species less adapted
to swimming. A spaniel bitch having been shot by a game-
keeper in Mr Drake's woods near Amersham, one of her off
spring lay down by her side, there remained till removed, and
even then continued to decline, and died in six weeks.
To other species of animals the dog has been known to ex-
tend its affections. A pointer which had killed a gander, was
chastised for the offence, and had the dead bird tied round its
neck. The goose was disconsolate for the loss of her mate, at
first continually persecuted the pointer, but afterwards formed a
strict alliance with it, and the two fed out of the same trough,
and lay on the same straw.* At Dunrobin castle in Sutherland,
a seat of the Marchioness of Stafford, a terrier bitch, which had
lost its own young, took a brood of ducklings under her protec-
tion, and nursed them with great care. They have even been
known to become attached to cats.
On the other hand the dog has its antipathies : This is not
merely that there are certain animals, such as the stag, the hare,
&c., which it pursues for food, but some for which it has a dis-
tinct and peculiar aversion. Whether it be such an antipathy,
or a preference to the flesh of the animal, certain it is that the
Newfoundland dog is an implacable enemy of sheep, and that
though very obedient in other respects, it will take every oppor-
tunity of secretly attacking and killing these innocent animals.
But the principal antipathy of the dog, and one which is possess-
ed by the whole species, is towards the cat. A good illustration
of this may be drawn from the following notice by Hogg. There
was not a day and scarcely an hour passed over, that the family
did not get some amusement with these two animals. Whenever
the dog was within doors, his whole occupation was watching
and pointing the cat from morning to night. When she flitted
from one place to another, so did he in a moment ; and then
squatting down, he kept his point sedulously, till he was either
called off or fell asleep. He was an exceedingly poor taker of
meat, was always to press to it, and always lean, and often he
* Montague's Supplement to his Ornithological Dictionary.
260 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
would not take it till we were obliged to bring in the cat. The
malicious looks that be cast at ber from under his eyebrows on
such occasions were exceedingly ludicrous, considering his utter
incapacity of wronging her. Whenever he saw her, he drew
near his bicker and looked angry, but still he would not taste till
she was brought to it, and then he cocked his tail, set up his
birses, and began a-lapping furiously in utter desperation. His
good nature was so immoveable, that he would never refuse her
a share of what he got ; he even lapped close to the one side of
the dish, and left her room, but how he did ply !
The following anecdote distinctly proves, what many observa-
tions would lead us to suppose, that the dog is actuated by the
remembrance of injuries, or the spirit of revenge. A blacksmith
of the name of Smith, at Stirches, near Hawick, had a large
Mastiff, which generally lay on the smithy hearth in cold wea-
ther. One evening a farmer's servant in the neighbourhood, who
had come for some plough-irons which were repairing, gave the
dog a kick, and possessed himself of his place on the warm
stones. The Mastiff, in the meantime, only looked sulky at
him, and lay down at the door, but when the man went away
with his plough-irons on his shoulders, the dog followed him,
and, at the distance of sixty yards from the smithy, flew upon
him, and, seizing him by the collar, brought him to the ground.
He offered him no personal injury, but treated him in a manner
which strongly indicated his sovereign contempt for the delin-
quent
A certain degree of gratitude may be supposed to be included
in the attachment of the dog to its master, but that it is capable
of this feeling apart from such circumstances, cannot be disputed.
Two near neighbours in the county of Suffolk, a tanner and a
farmer, entertained great friendship for each other, and kept up
a close intimacy by frequent visits. The tanner had a large Ban-
Dog for watching his yard, which, from some unknown cause,
had conceived such an inveterate hatred to the farmer, that he
could not go with safety to call on his friend when the dog was
loose, and on this account the tanner loaded him with a heavy
clog, that he might not be able to fly at him. As the farmer and
one of his ploughmen were going about the grounds together one
day, they perceived the tanner's dog, which, in attempting to leap
a wall, had left the clog on the other side, and was thereby
THE DOG. 261
almost strangled. The boy, knowing the enmity which the dog
had to his master, proposed to despatch him by knocking him
on the head ; but the latter was unwilling to kill a creature
which he knew was useful to his friend. Instead of doing so,
he disengaged the poor beast, laid him down on the grass, watch-
ed till he saw him recover so completely as to be able to get up
on his legs, and then pursued his walk. When the farmer re-
turned to the stile, be saw the dog standing by it, quite recover-
ed, and expected an attack ; but, to his great astonishment, the
creature fawned upon him, and expressed his gratitude in the
most lively manner ; and from that time to the day of his death
he attached himself to his benefactor, and never could be pre-
vailed upon to go back to his former master.
The dog, it is well known, has a great aversion to any of its
species which are seized with hydrophobia. The late celebrated
Dr James relates the following anecdote, as proving the quick-
ness of their apprehension, in discerning the presence of that
malady. A man who used to come every day to the Doctor's
house, was so beloved by three Cocker Spaniels which he kept,
that they never failed to jump into his lap, and caress him the
whole time he staid. It happened that this man was bitten by
a mad dog, and the very first night he came under the influence
of the distemper, they all ran away from him to the very top of
the garret stairs barking and howling, and showing all the other
signs of distress and consternation. The man was cured, but
the dogs were not reconciled to him for three years afterwards.
Hydrophobia most commonly affects dogs in the warmer sea-
sons of the year, and yet Mr Barrow says that this disease is
unknown in South Africa. Perhaps the change from cold to heat,
may produce an effect on the system of the animal, which does
not flow from a more equable, though warmer climate. As this
malady is the severest with which perhaps any animal is visited, and
often an object of much apprehension to man himself, we cannot
conclude our notices of the dog, without subjoining the descrip-
tion furnished by Chaussier and Orfila, who have written a sci-
entific work on this disorder : " A dog at the commencement of
madness is sick, languishing, and more dull than usual. He
seeks obscurity, remains in a corner, does not bark, but growls
continually at strangers, and, without any apparent cause, refu-
ses to eat or drink. His gait is unsteady, nearly resembling that
262 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
of a man almost asleep. At the end of three or four days he
abandons his dwelling, roving continually in every direction : he
walks or runs as if tipsy, and frequently falls. v His hair is bris-
tled up ; his eyes haggard, fixed, and sparkling ; his head hangs
down ; his mouth is open and full of frothy slaver ; bis tongue
hangs out ; and his tail between his legs. He has, for the most
part, but not always, a horror of water, the sight of which seems,
generally, to redouble his sufferings. He experiences from time
to time transports of fury, and endeavours to bite every object
which presents itself, not even excepting his master, whom in-
deed he begins not to recognise. Light and lively colours
greatly increase his rage. At the end of thirty or thirty-six
hours he dies in convulsions."
THE WOLF.
THE wolf possessing powers very similar to those of the dog,
directs them as much to savage and lawless purposes, as the
other yields them to the service of his master. Its form, though
kindred to that of the dog, is marked by the ferocity of its na-
ture. Its eyes in an oblique position, are expressive of malig-
nity and fierceness, and the pendulous manner in which it hangs
its tail, gives intimation of the unjust nature of its purposes,
and of the cruel manner in which it pursues them. It is no
less implacably hostile to man than the dog is naturally a
friend. The two indeed seem not only to be different in
their dispositions, but to have a peculiar enmity to one another.
This has been often observed, and is proved by the following
circumstances, recorded in Broke's Travels, as happening in the
north of Sweden : "I observed, on setting out from Sormjole,
the last post, that the peasant who drove my sledge was armed
with a cutlass; and, on inquiring the reason, was told that, the day
preceding, while he was passing in his sledge the part of the fo-
rest we were then in, he had encountered a wolf, which was so
daring, that it actually sprung over the hinder part of the sledge
he was driving, and attempted to carry off a small dog which was
sitting behind him. During my journey from Tornea to Stock,
holm, I heard everywhere of the ravages committed by wolves,
THE WOI.F. 26S
not upon the human species or the cattle, but chiefly upon the
peasants' dogs, considerable numbers of which had been devour-
ed. I was told that these were the favourite prey of this ani-
mal ; and that, in order to seize upon them with the greater ease,
it puts itself into a crouching posture, and begins to play sever-
al antic tricks, to attract the attention of the poor dog, which,
caught by these seeming demonstrations of friendship, and fancy-
ing it to be one of his own species, from the similarity, ad-
vances towards it to join in the gambols, and is carried off by its
treacherous enemy. Several peasants that I conversed with
mentioned their having been eye-witnesses of this circumstance."
Wolves vary considerably in colour and size, according to the
species and variety. They are natives of every quarter of the
globe, are possessed of great strength, and are most ferocious in
their disposition ; associating in large packs, often spreading de-
solation in the districts they invade ;
By wintry famine roused, from all the tract
Of horrid mountains, which the ehining Alps,
And wavy Apennine, and Pyrenees,
Branch out stupendous into distant lands,
Cruel as death ! and hungry as the grave !
Burning for blond .' bony, and gaunt, and grim .'
Assembling- wolves in raging troops descend ;
And pouring o'er the country, bear along-,
Keen as the north wind sweeps the glossy snow-
All is their prize.*
Their habits, however, accommodate to circumstances. In
Canada, the wolves are in sufficient numbers through all parts,
but they are sly and cowardly, for there are enough of deer,
and other smaller animals to appease their hunger, and mode-
rate their ferocity. When they are met with there, it is general-
ly singly, or in small parcels of two or three together trotting
sluggishly along. -f- On the other hand, in desert regions they are
savage and bold, and attack man himself. " In the course of the
afternoon," says Park, " Lawrence Cahill came up, but Wiljiam
Hall, who had gone into a ruined hut near the road, and who did
not appear to be very sick, did not arrive ; suspected that he
* Thomson's Winter.
f Head's Journey through Canada. For some notices of the habits of
wolves in America, see notes to Goldsmith's Nat Hist. vol. ii. p. 236239.
264 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
might be killed by the wolves in the hut, during the nipht. At
sunset had all the asses properly tied near the huts, and watched
myself with the sentries all night, as the wolves kept constantly
howling round us."* t
The following is a striking instance of the cruelty of the wolf,
and of a still more uncommon want of natural affection in a mother.
It occurred in Russia some years fcgo, and is related by Mr
Lloyd, on the authority of a gentleman attached to the embassy
at St Petersburg ; " A woman, accompanied by three of her
children, was one day in a sledge, when they were pursued by a
number of wolves. On this she put the horse to a gallop, and
drove towards her home, from which she was not far distant,
with the utmost possible speed. All, however, would not avail ;
for the ferocious animals gained upon her, and at last were on
the point of rushing on the sledge. For the preservation of her
own life, and that of the remaining children, the poor frantic
creature now took one of her babes, and cast it a prey to her
bloodthirsty pursuers. This stopped their career for a moment ;
but, after devouring the little innocent, they renewed the pur-
suit, and a second time came up with the vehicle. The mo-
ther, driven to desperation, resorted to the same horrible expe-
dient, and threw her ferocious assailants another of her offspring.
To cut short this sad story, a third child was sacrificed in a si-
milar manner. Soon after this, the wretched being reached her
home in safety. Here she related what had happened, and en-
deavoured to palliate her own conduct, by describing the dreadful
alternative to which she had been reduced. A peasant, however,
who was among the bystanders, and heard the recital, took up
an axe, and, with one blow, cleft her skull in two, saying, at the
same time, that a mother, who could thus sacrifice her children
for the preservation of her own life, was no longer fit to live.
This man was committed to prison, but the Emperor subse-
quently gave him a pardon. "(
On the 10th of January, 1830, a frightful event spread terror
throughout the neighbourhood of Eux-Bonnes, in the depart-
ment of Basses Pyrenees : The curate of the little village of
Atra, situated on the mountain, was returning home on horse-
back, after administering the sacrament, when he was surround-
* Park's Second Journey, p. 168.
+ Field Sports in the North of Europe, vol ii. p. 173.
THE WOLF. 265
ed by wolves, which precipitated themselves upon him and the
horse with all the ferocity occasioned by hunger. A number of
bones, and fragments of flesh, which were strewed about, as well
as the traces of blood, with which the snow was crimsoned, left
no doubt of the horrible fate of the unfortunate clergyman.
Hunger, which gives an unusual ferocity to all savage animals,
drives the wolf to unparalleled acts of devastation. In the
mountainous tracts of Switzerland, when the ground is covered
with snow, and the wolves are deprived of their usual prey, they
unite in large companies, and carry destruction among all ani-
mal-, and attack companies of men themselves. In the com-
mencement of the reign of Louis XIV. in the depth of winter,
and of the snows, a large party of dragoons were attacked near
Pontharlier, at the foot of the mountains of Jurat, by a multi-
tude of wolves : the dragoons fought bravely, and killed many
hundreds of them ; but at last, overpowered by numbers, they
and their horses were all devoured. A cross is erected on the
place of combat, with an inscription in commemoration of it,
which is to be seen at this day.
But though fierce in its nature, many instances may be brought
to prove that the wolf is incapable of a brave defence. Mr
Lloyd, whom we have already quoted, relates that a peasant
near St Petersburg, when one day in his sledge, was pursued by
eleven of these ferocious animals. At this time he was only
about two miles from home, towards which he urged his horse
at the very top of his speed. At the entrance to his residence
was a gate, which happened to be closed at the time ; but the
horse dashed this open, and thus himself and his master found
refuge within the court-yard. They were followed, however, by
nine out of the eleven wolves ; but, very fortunately, at the in-
stant these had entered the enclosure, the gate swung back on
its hinges, and thus they were caught as in a trap. From being
the most voracious of animals, the nature of these beasts now
that they found escape impossible became completely changed :
so far indeed from offering molestation to any one, they slunk
into holes and corners, and allowed themselves to be slaughtered
almost without making resistance.
Yet though the wolf be thus naturally savage, it has been in
some cases domesticated. These, however, may rather be con-
sidered as triumphs of the art of man, than proofs of a relenting
z
266 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
nature in the wolf. Even when domesticated, it is dangerous.
One which was kept tame by the Duke of Wirtemberg, in the
castle of Louisburg, without provocation, bit a piece out of
an officer's cheek.
The wolf has even been broken to the harness. In the summer
of 1824, for upwards of six months, a calash might be occasional-
ly seen in the streets of Munich, drawn by two enormous wolves,
which a merchant at St Petersburg had found very young in a
wood near Wilna, and tamed to this service. They were very
obedient, and had lost the ferocious aspect of the species.
M. F. Cuvier gives a very interesting account of a tame wolf
which had all the obedience towards, and affection for, his mas-
ter, that the most sagacious and gentle of domestic dogs could
possibly evince. He was brought up in the same manner as a
puppy, and continued with his original owner till he was full
grown. He was then presented to the Menagerie at Paris.
For many weeks he was quite disconsolate at the separation from
his master, who had been obliged to travel ; he would scarcely
take any food, and was indifferent to his keepers. At length
he became attached to those about him, and he seemed to have
forgotten his old affections. His master returned, after an
absence of eighteen months ; the wolf heard his voice amidst
the crowd in the gardens of the Menagerie, and being
set at liberty, displayed the most violent joy. Again was
he separated from his friend ; and again was his grief as
extreme as on the first occasion. After three years' absence
his master once more returned. It was evening, and the
wolf's den was shut up from any external observation ; yet
the instant the man's voice was heard, the faithful animal set
up the most anxious cries : and the door of his cage being opened,
he rushed toward his friend leaped upon his shoulders licked
his face and threatened to bite his keepers, when they attempt-
ed to separate them. When the man left him, he fell sick, and
refused all food ; and from the time of his recovery, which was
long very doubtful, it was always dangerous for a stranger
to approach him. He appeared as if he scorned any new
friendships.
There is now in the menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes, at
Paris, a black wolf. He was brought when very young, and
presented to Baron Cuvier's step-daughter, Mademoiselle De-
THE FOX. 267
vouse), who, finding him so tame, desired he might have a dog
as a companion, and be fed entirely on broth and cooked meat.
Her orders have been obeyed, arid the animal retains all his gen-
tleness and docility. He never sees her but he stretches his
paws through the bars to be shaken ; and, when she lets him
loose, he lies down before her, licks her feet, and shows every
mark of joy arid affection.
The wolf, however, is scarcely ever to be trusted as a friend;
and the exertions of mankind have been directed to the extirpa-
tion of an animal, of which the subjugation was so hopeless a
task. From its presence England, Scotland, and Ireland have
been successively delivered, the last more than a century ago.
In those countries in which they are still to be found, it is fre-
quently necessary for the inhabitants to unite, for diminishing
the numbers of an animal which they cannot extirpate. In the
year 1830, the wolves driven by the cold and hunger from their
haunts in the Pyrennees, having spread themselves in vast bands
over the country, orders were given at Pau, by the prefect of
the department, for a general battue, or chase, on the 22d of
January. The country magistrates having received the instruc-
tions requisite for this chase, set out accordingly, accompanied by
all and sundry, on the general pursuit, and relieved the extensive
district from these dangerous visitors, by killing many, and driv-
ing the rest to their native fastnesses.
WHILE the wolf has been industriously destroyed by man
wherever his power is complete, the fox still remains in our
country as almost the only specimen of a strong and savage
animal in its wild state. For this exception in its favour, it
seems to be indebted partly to its own habits and cunning, and
partly to the light in which it is held by man. Its sly and so-
litary manners, its abode in the earth, and generally in a place
singularly adapted to its self-preservation, its caution, and its
swiftness, must all be enumerated as causes of preservation,
which it possesses in itself. The passion for the chase of the
fox which has so long prevailed in the country, while it has led
z2
268 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
to the persecution of the animal, has rendered its total ex-
tirpation undesirable to those gentlemen to whom its pursuk is
a favourite sport.
It is also in favour of the fox, that it seeks its prey singly,
not like the wolf, associating in packs, so formidable as to ren-
der its destruction indispensable to safety. The habits of the
fox, however, are strictly predatory, and if the country gentleman
seeks its preservation for the chase, the farmer as earnestly seeks
its destruction, as the determined enemy to his poultry, and
the other defenceless domestic animals. The fox generally
fixes his habitation near some farm or village, committing great
depredations in the poultry yards. The prey which he there
finds is his favourite diet, but when these fail, he will destroy
serpents, lizards, toads, moles, frogs, rats, and mice : and, when
extremely pressed by hunger, he will feed on roots, and other
vegetable substances ; but this is a last shift with him. He is
known to eat crabs, shrimps, or other shell-fish. He is also
said by Buffon to be fond of honey, and will boldly attack hives
and wild bees' nests, frequently robbing them of their stores
but not always with impunity, for these little warriors are ever
ready to defend their castles, from whence they issue, and, fasten-
ing on the invader, force him to retire. Frequently a number
stick to his back, of which he rids himself by rolling upon the
ground, and crushing them to death, when he returns to the
charge, and devours both wax and honey.
The fox will either run down his prey, or sometimes slip
cautiously forward like a cat, trailing his body on the ground,
and then make a sudden bound at bis booty, seldom missing his
aim. This he either bides among bushes or herbage, or carries
off to his burrow. In this manner, he returns repeatedly to his
work of destruction, and generally keeps a considerable stock of
provisions in store, but always in different places, to serve him
in time of need. It is seldom, however, that he prolongs his
excursions after the sun has risen.
The cunning of the fox is that which has rendered it most re-
markable among the animals. For this quality, it is universally
proverbial. Its fame may have exceeded the reality, but it has
its foundation in truth. The figure and appearance of animals
give us a pretty correct notion of their qualities, and the form,
the eye, the whole expression, and carriage of the fox, mark it
THE FOX. 269
out as the most cunning among quadrupeds. Nor do its habits
fall beneath the promise of its look all its endeaveurs, whether
directed against the life of other creatures, or for the preserva-
tion of its own, show the same mixture of slyness and determi-
nation. The abode of which it makes choice for its young, the
provision of prey which it there lays up, the selection of houses
on which it makes its predatory attacks, so as to prevent the sus-
picion of its real residence, are instances of a foresight and
caution peculiar to itself. But in this case, as in that of all re-
markable animals, fable has added as much to the popular opin-
ion as fact. Perhaps not one in ten of the following statements,
made by Olaus Magnus, Archbishop of Upsal,* can be received
as authentic " When the fox is pressed with hunger, cold, and
snow, he will come near houses and bark like a dog, which
brings the domestic animals about him, some of whom he makes
his prey. Sometimes he will feign himself dead, lying on his
back, drawing in his breath, and lolling out his tongue. Some-
times when hungry, he will roll himself in red earth, and make
himself appear as if killed and bloody, birds coming down to
feed on his carcass, are snapped up unawares. To avoid the
prickles of the hedgehog, he will throw him on his back. Some-
times meeting a multitude of wasps, he hides his body all but
his tail, and when they are entangled in it, he will come out and
rub them against a stone or a tree till they are quite dead. Much
in the same manner he catches crabs and small fish. JHow he
gets rid of his fleas is well known. Sometimes he will play
with a hare ; but this animal often escapes him by its quickness.
Sometimes the fox has been known to escape as a dog, by bark-
ing ; but he most certainly escapes his enemies when he hangs
himself by a bough, and makes the dogs loose scent. He is al-
so wont to deceive the hunter when he runs amongst a herd of
goats, or sometimes by leaping upon a goat, which runs with him
on its back up inaccessible heights. If fastened after being taken,
he will sometimes bite off his foot and get away. But if no
other way remains, he will, when taken out of the snare, feign
himself dead. I once saw on the rocks of Norway a fox with a
huge tail, who brought many crabs out of the water and then
ate them. And that is no rare sight, as no fish will stick to a
* Sporting Magazine, vol. xlvi. p. 60.
z3
270 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
bristly .thing let down into the water like crabs. Persons
troubled with the gout are cured in these northern countries by
the warm skin of the fox bound upon the part affected, or by
anointing themselves with its fat."
In the same spirit we are told by Pontoppidan, that when a
fox observes an otter enter the water to fish, he will place him-
self behind a stone or a bush, and there lie concealed till he sees
the otter safely on shore with his prey, when he makes a violent
spring at the booty, which generally surprises and frightens the
otter so much, that he rushes into the water, leaving the fish
behind him.
Not a few well-authenticated instances, however, might be
produced, to show that the general belief of the extraordinary
cunning of the fox is well founded. In the autumn of the year
1819, at a fox-chase in Galloway, a very strong fox was hard
run by the hounds. Finding the danger he ran of being taken,
reynard made for a high wall at a short distance, and, springing
over it, crept close under the other side : the hounds followed
him ; but, no sooner had they leapt the wall, than he sprang
back again over it, and, by this cunning device, gave them the
slip, and got safe away from his pursuers. Mr Hawkins, of
Pittsfield, an American gentleman, accompanied by two blood-
hounds, found a fox, and pursued him for nearly two hours,
when, suddenly, the dogs appeared at fault. Mr Hawkins
came up with them near a large log of wood lying on the ground,
and felt much surprise at their making a circuit of a few roods
without any object in view, every trace of reynard seeming to
have been lost, while the dogs still kept yelping. On looking
about him, he discovered the fox stretched upon the log, appa-
rently lifeless. Mr Hawkins made several unsuccessful efforts
to direct the attention of the dogs towards the place. At length,
he approached so near the artful object of his pursuit, as to see
him distinctly breathe. Even then, reynard exhibited no alarm,
and Mr Hawkins, seizing the branch of a tree that lay hard by,
aimed a blow at him, which the fox evaded by a leap from his
singular lurking place, having thus for a time effectually eluded
the observation of his enemies.
The following is one of the many dexterous artifices, to which
with various success, the fox in time of danger has recourse.
On the 28th of October, 1815, the hounds belonging to the
THE i'OX. 271
Newry Hunt started a fox at Tamary. After a short chase,
reynard disappeared, having cunningly mounted a turf stack, on
the top of which he lay down flat. Finding himself, at last,
perceived by one of the hounds, he left his retreat, closely pur-
sued by the pack. Being again hard pressed, he ran up a stone
wall, from which he sprang on the roof of an adjoining cabin,
and mounted up to the chimney-top. From that elevated situ-
ation he looked all around him, as if carefully reconnoitring the
coming enemy. A cunning old hound approached, and, having
gained the svimmit of the roof, had already seized the fox in ima-
gination, when, lo ! reynard dropped down the chimney, like a
fallen star into a draw-well. The dog looked wistfully down
the dark opening, but dared not pursue the fugitive. Mean
time, whilst the hound was eagerly inspecting the smoky orifice
of the chimney, reynard, half enrobed in soot, had fallen into the
lap of an old woman, who, surrounded by a number of children,
was gravely smoking her pipe, not at all expecting the entrance
of this abrupt visitor. " Emiladh deouil !" said the affrighted
female, as she threw from her the black and red quadruped :
Reynard grinned, growled, and showed his fangs ; and when the
sportsmen, who had secured the door, entered, they found him
in possession of the kitchen, the old woman and the children
having retired, in terror of the invader, to an obscure corner of
the room. The fox was taken alive by William Gordon of
Sheepbridge, Esq.
As to the other qualities common to most wild animals, such
as affection for their offspring, and increased courage in their
defence, they are possessed in a considerable perfection by the
fox. Sometimes when pursued, the fox will take up her cub in
her mouth and fly with it till exhaustion and terror overcome
maternal affection. When attacked with her offspring in her
habitation under ground, she will fight with the strongest terrier,
with a determined if not successful ferocity. Though a solitary
animal, it is known to manifest an interest in one of its own
species. On one occasion, two foxes resisted the attempt of a
person to pass by a certain road, with great fierceness, nor could
he perceive the reason, till having procured assistance, and driven
them away, he found a little further onward a third fox, which
they doubtless wished to defend, it having got so entangled
among some branches of a tree, as to be unable to extricate itself.
ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
THE JACKAL AND ISATIS.
THE Jackal is the wolf of Eastern countries, as the Isatis is
the fox of the North. Bruce remarks that Deeb, or Deep is
a name in Arabic given to the hyaena, the jackal and the wolf, a
fact of itself sufficient to show the confusion which must exist
in their ideas of these animals. Yet they -we very distinct from
one another, the hyaena being solitary in its habits, and the jackal
hunting in large packs. In Barbary and Syria, the jackals are
heard howling and shrieking in great numbers, in the evening and
morning. Their cry is dreadful, and resounding through the de-
esert, has the effect of arousing the duller, but more powerful
beasts of prey, from which circumstance chiefly, the jackal has
been termed the lion's provider. The isatis resembles the fox,
and is a native of the coldest climates, but neither the isatis nor
the jackal furnish, beyond the simple characteristics which are no-
ticed in the history, any peculiar traits, as the subject of
anecdote.
THE HY^NA.
OF the Hyaena, there are two species, the striped and the
spotted, the former a native of Northern, the latter of Southern
Africa. These species have been accurately distinguished in
the notes to the Natural History.
The striped hyaena is a most ferocious animal, and though
taken young, can never be rendered tame. * It generally seeks
its prey during the night ; during the day it resides in its den,
which is generally some cavern, or cleft in a mountain, or a hole
dug by itself. The cry of the hyaena is very peculiar and dismal ;
its commencement is somewhat like the moaning of a human
being, and ends like a person making a violent and strained ef-
fort to vomit. As Bruce seems to have rightly estimated his op-
portunities for describing this animal, we shall quote his remarks
on its habits.* " I do not think there is any one that has
hitherto written of this animal, who ever saw the thousandth
* Bruce'f) Travels, vol. vii. p. 213.
THE HYJENA, 273
part of them that I have. They were a plague in Abyssinia in
every situation, both in the city and in the field, and I think
surpassed the sheep in number. Gondar was full of them from
the time it turned dark till the dawn of the day, seeking the dif.
ferent pieces of slaughtered carcases which this cruel and un-
clean people expose in the streets without burial ; and who
firmly believe that these animals are Fulasha from the neighbour-
ing mountains, transformed by magic, and come down to eat
human flesh in the dark in safety. Many a time in the night,
when the king had kept me late in the palace, and it was not my
duty to lie there, in going across the square from the king's
house, not many hundred yards distant, I have been apprehen-
sive they would bite me in the leg. They grunted in great num-
bers about me, though I was surrounded with several armed
men, who seldom passed a night without wounding or slaughter-
ing some of them. One night in Maitsha, being very intent on
observation, I heard something pass behind me towards the bed,
but upon looking round could perceive nothing. Having finished
what I was then about, I went out of my tent, resolving directly
to return, which I immediately did, when I perceived large blue
eyes glaring at me in the dark. I called upon my servant with
a light ; arid there was the hyaena standing nigh the bead of the
bed, with two or three large bunches of candles in his mouth.
To have fired at him, I was in danger of breaking my quadrant
or other furniture ; and he seemed, by keeping the candles steadi-
ly in his mouth, to wish for no other prey at that time. As his
mouth was full, and he had no claws to tear with, I was not
afraid of him, but with a pike struck him as near the heart as 1
could judge. It was not till then he showed any sign of fierce-
ness ; but, upon feeling his wound, he let drop the candles, and
endeavoured to run up the shaft of the spear to arrive at me ; so
that, in self-defence, I was obliged to draw out a pistol from my
girdle and shoot him, and nearly at the same time my servant
cleft his skull with a battle-axe. In a word, the hya?na was the
plague of our lives, the terror of our night-walks, the destruction
of our mules and asses, which above all others are his favourite
food. He stands ill upon his hind-legs, nor can his measure then
be marked with precision. It is observable in all hya;nas, that
when they are first dislodged from cover, or obliged to run, they
limp so remarkably, that it would appear the hind-leg was brok-
274 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
en, and this has often deceived me ; but, after they have con-
tinued to run some time, this affection goes entirely away, and
they move very swiftly. To what this is owing it is impossible
for me to say. I expected to have found something likely to be
the origin of it in the dissection of this animal given by M. de
Buffon ; but no such thing appears, and I fear it is in vain to
look for it elsewhere. Hyasnas are not gregarious, though they
troop together upon the smell of food. We have no reason to
attribute extraordinary wisdom to him ; he is, on the contrary,
brutish, indolent, slovenly, and impudent, and seems to possess
much the manners of the wolf. His courage appears to proceed
from an insatiable appetite, and has nothing of the brave or
generous in it, and he dies oftener flying than fighting.
" In Barbary I have seen the Moors in the day-time take this
animal by the ears, and pull him towards them, without his at-
tempting any other resistance than that of his drawing back :
and the hunters, when his cave is large enough to give them ad-
mittance, take a torch in their hand, and go straight to him ;
when, pretending to fascinate him by a senseless jargon of words
which they repeat, they throw a blanket over him, and haul him
out. He seems to be stupid or senseless in the day, or at the
appearance of strong light, unless when pursued by the hunters.
I have locked up a goat, a kid, and a lamb, with him all day
when he was fasting, and found them in the evening alive and
unhurt. Repeating the experiment one night, he ate up a young
ass, a goat, and a fox, all before morning, so as to leave nothing
but some small fragments of the ass's bones. In Barbary,
then, he has no courage by day ; he flies from man, and hides
himself from him : but in Abyssinia or Atbara, accustomed to
man's flesh, he walks boldly in the day-time like a horse or mule,
attacks man wherever he finds him, whether armed or unarmed,
always attaching himself to the mule or ass in preference to the
rider. I may safely say, I speak within bounds, that I have
fought him above fifty times hand to hand, with a lance or spear,
when I had fallen unexpectedly upon him among the tents, or in
defence of my servants or beasts. Abroad, and at a distance,
the gun prevented his nearer approach ; but in the night, evening,
or morning, we were constantly in close engagement with him.
" I have oftentimes hinted, in the course of my travels, at the
liking he has for mules and asses j but there is another passion
THE HV^NA. 275
for which he is still more remarkable, that is, his liking to dog's
flesh, or, as it is commonly expressed, his aversion to dogs. No
dog, however fierce, will touch him in the field. My greyhounds,
accustomed to fasten upon the wild boar, would not venture to
engage with him. On the contrary, there was not a journey I
made that he did not kill several of my greyhounds, and once or
twice robbed me of my whole stock : he would seek and seize
them in the servants' tents where they were tied, and endeavour
to carry them away before the very people that were guarding
them."
Mr Barrow, in his Travels in Southern Africa, says, " The
cadaverous crocuta, or spotted hyaena, has lately been domesti-
cated in the Snewberg, where it is now considered one of the
best hunters after game ; and as faithful and diligent as any of
the common sorts of domestic dogs." Bishop Heber mentions
having seen one in India, in the possession of Mr Traill, which
followed him about like a dog, and fawned on those with whom
be was acquainted.
The spotted hyaena is said to have great muscular strength in
his neck, which seems to be confirmed by the following anec-
dote : The den of a spotted hyaena, that was kept in the Tow-
er about sixteen years ago, requiring some repairs, the carpenter
completed them by nailing on the floor a thick oak plank, of
seven or eight feet in length, with at least a dozen nails, each
longer than the middle finger of the hand. At one end of this
plank, however, there was a small piece left, that stood up high-
er than the rest ; and the man, not having a proper chisel along
with him to cut it off, returned to bis shop for one. During his
absence, some persons came in to see the animals, and the hy-
aena was let down by the keepers from the other part of the den
He had scarcely entered the place before he discovered the piece
that was left at the end of the plank, and seizing it with his teeth,
tore the plank completely up, drawing every nail with the utmost
facility.
Mr Pringle says, that hyaenas are the general scavengers
of the country at the Cape, never failing to devour the refuse left
by other beasts of prey, as well as their own species, when they
find a dead one, while the flesh of the spotted hyaena is so rank
and offensive, that no other beast of prey will come near it.
THE WEASEL KIND.
THIS class of animals are distinguished by the shortness of
their legs, the long and firm texture of their bodies, the sharpness
of their teeth, and the sanguinary nature of their dispositions.
Slender in shape, and small in size, they wind their way amidst
the underwood of the forest, and the loose stones of a wall, or
insinuate themselves into the smallest openings into the barn, or
the poultry house, in all cases carrying destruction to every ani-
mal less powerful than themselves. They are insidious in their
attempts, eager and distrustful in their motions ; they are enemies
to all the weaker animals, and they justly suspect all the strong-
er of being enemies to them. The anecdotes respecting such a
class must necessarily be little varied, and therefore need not be
very numerous. Proofs of their love of blood, of their ferocity
in attack, and of their irritable disposition, for the most part
compose the annals of this small and cruel race.
The WEASEL, from which the class derives its name, and of
whose form it generally partakes, is an active blood-thirsty little
animal, not exceeding seven inches in length, from the nose to
the tail. It is much about the same size as a rat, though more
slender, but it is a mortal enemy to this animal, pursuing them
to their holes, and killing them in great numbers. It is also
often fatal to the hare, as it will either creep upon it when at rest,
or lying unseen amidst rubbish or furze, will spring at its throat,
where, as in the case of other animals which it kills, it fixes its
bite, and then sucks the blood. In the same way it makes a
hole in the ends of eggs, and sucks the contents ; differently
from the rat, which breaks the shell to pieces. It is a destnic-
THE WEASEL KIND. 277
tive enemy to pigeons, as it creeps into the holes of a dovecot
in the evening, and surprises its prey while they are asleep ; and,
from the peculiar construction of its body, there are few situ-
ations it is incapable of reaching, for it can clamber up an almost
perpendicular wall. When it sees a man, it endeavours as quick-
ly as possible to get out of the way, and hide itself amidst the
grass or loose stones, but if trodden on, or seized, it will turn
arid bite like a serpent. An ordinary dog does not wish to attack
it, for it instantly fixes itself on his lips.
Weasels seem to unite in many cases, for mutual defence, or
the attack of man. In January, 1818, a labourer in the parish
of Glencairn, Dumfriesshire, was suddenly attacked by six wea-
sels, which rushed upon him from an old dyke in the field where
he was at work. The man, alarmed at such a furious onset, in-
stantly betook himself to flight, but he soon found he was close-
ly pursued ; and, although he had about him a large horse-whip,
with which he endeavoured, by several back-handed strokes, to
stop them, yet, so eager was their pursuit, that he was on the
point of being seized by the throat, when he luckily noticed
at some distance the fallen branch of a tree, which he made for,
and, hastily snatching it up, manfully rallied upon his enemies ;
and had such success, that he killed three of them, and put the
remaining three to flight. A similar case occurred about thirty
years ago, at Gilmerton, near Edinburgh, when a gentleman,
observing a person leaping about in an extraordinary manner,
made up to him, and found him beset, and dreadfully bit, by
about fifteen weasels, which continued their attack. Being both
strong persons, they succeeded in killing a number, and the rest
escaped, by flying into the fissures of a neighbouring rock. The
account the person gave of the commencement of the affray was,
that walking through the park, he ran at a weasel which he saw,
and made several attempts to strike it, remaining between it and
the rock to which its retreat lay. The animal being thus cir-
cumstanced, squeaked aloud, when an instantaneous sortie was
made by the colony, and the attack commenced.
The weasel is exceedingly difficult to tame. When kept in a
cage, it seems in a perpetual state of agitation, is terrified at the
sight of all who approach to look at it, and generally endeavours
to hide itself behind the straw, or other substances which may
2 A
278 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
be at the bottom of its cage. There are, however, instances on
record of weasels being completely domesticated.*
The STOAT, or Ermine, is about three inches longer than the
weasel, is similar in shape, but has a longer tail. It is very
hairy, with a black tip ; the edges of the ears, and ends of the
toes, are yellowish white ; in other respects, it perfectly resembles
the weasel, both in colour and form, except in winter, when, in the
northern parts of Europe, the fur changes to a pure white, except
the tip of the tail, which retains its blackness through all seasons
and climates. In its winter change, it has received the name of
the ermine ; and, in this condition, is much sought for, on account
of the high value of its fur, which has been that worn by royalty
from remote times. The stoat abounds in Norway, Lapland,
Russia, and other northern latitudes, and forms a principal article
of commerce in these states. It is found even so far north as
Kamtschatka and Siberia, where the hunters take it in traps,
baited with flesh. In Norway it is their practice, either to shoot
the stoats with blunt arrows, or they are taken by traps made
with two flat stones, one being propped up with a stick, to which
is attached a baited string ; and, as soon as the animal begins to
nibble, the stone falls down, and crushes it to death. In Britain
they also, sometimes, change to white in winter j but their skins
are of little value, compared to those in northern Europe, having
neither the same closeness nor whiteness of fur. The skins are
sold, in the districts where they are caught, from two to three
pounds sterling the hundred.
The stoat is an animal peculiarly fierce, and persevering in its
attacks on its prey, as many anecdotes testify. In the Sporting
Magazine for October, 1820, there is an etching of an incident
proving this, that occurred to Mr Waring of Chepstead. While
walking on his farm, his notice was attracted to a spot, by the
cries of an animal which he found to be a rabbit just seized by a
stoat. On his approach, the latter retired, and he took up the
rabbit, but the stoat again returned, and while he held the rabbit
by the hind legs, the fierce little animal made a spring at its
former prey, upon which, Mr Waring lifting his weeding spud,
destroyed the noxious creature. A singular circumstance was
* For an account of Mademoiselle de Laistre's tame weasel, and other
notices of the animal ; see notes to Gold. Nat. Hist. vol. ii. p. 260 26*.
THE WEASEL KIND. 279
observed by a friend of the present vicar of Liskeard, in Corn,
wall, in August 1829 : A stoat was in hot pursuit of a water
rat, which took the water, where he, doubtlessly, expected to be
safe from his enemy ; the stoat, however, followed his prey across
the narrow pond ; but lost it, at last, from the rat getting into a'
hole.
Although it is a well known fact, that weasels, stoats, and
their congeners, are very destructive to young game, yet the
following well-authenticated instance of their depredations far
surpasses any idea we could have formed upon the subject :
About the middle of July, 1827, a gentleman at Cathcart shot at
and wounded a stoat. The animal escaped into a hole in an old
stone wall. He was induced to explore the place of its retreat,
when the first victims he met with, were a couple of leverets,
unmutilated ; a little further on, two young partridges, also en-
tire ; and a pheasant's egg unbroken. Beyond these, were found
the heads of two other leverets, in a state of putrefaction ; and,
at the extremity of the hole, lay the little mischievous marauder
himself, dead. We would have thought this extraordinary ac-
cumulation of plunder was the consequence of a provident dis-
position in the animal ; but from the appearance of the leveret's
head, &c. it seems to bear out, what has been so often stated by
naturalists of this tribe of animals, that they seldom devour any
of their prey till it begins to putrefy.
The FERRET is larger than the stoat, of a whitish yellow
colour, and red eyes. The Ferret is a native of Africa, and
requires much care to preserve it alive in this country. It is
kept for the purpose of dislodging rabbits from their warren,
and has such a natural antipathy to these animals, that if a dead
one be presented to a young ferret, though it has never seen a
rabbit before, it will eagerly seize it. The ferret is also a great
enemy to rats, and will not suffer one to remain alive, where it
is allowed to go in search of them. Although easily tamed, it
seldom evinces any attachment, and is readily irritated. They
emit a very fetid odour, like all their tribe. Like the rest of
the species, likewise, it is remarkable for the pertinacity with
which it retains the bite, which it has once taken. This cir-
cumstance is illustrated by the following occurrence : A man, of
the name of Isles, a bargeman, finding himself much incommod-
ed by the repeated mischief done in his barge by rats, procured
280 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
a ferret to destroy them. The ferret remaining away a consid-
erable time, he thought it was devouring some rats that it had
killed, and went to sleep, but was awakened early next morning
by the ferret who was commencing an attack upon him. The
animal had seized him near his eyebrow ; and the man, after
endeavouring in vain to shake him off, at length severed the body
from the head with a knife, the latter still sticking so fast, as
, to be with difficulty removed.
The POLECAT or Foumart, is a still larger animal, and not un-
common in our country. Its skin, when properly manufactured,
is esteemed a fine fur, especially when the animal is taken in
winter. It is,, however, a difficult process to free the skin from fetid
and offensive odour. Its prey is nearly the same as that of the
weasel. Aldrovandus, Johnson, and several of the old writers,
mention that the polecat will prey upon fish. The following
fact is recorded in Bewick's Quadrupeds : " During a severe
storm, one of these animals was traced in the snow from the
side of a rivulet to its hole, at some distance from it. As it was
observed to have made frequent trips, and as other marks were
to be seen in the snow, which could not easily be accounted for,
it was thought a matter worthy of greater attention. Its hole
was accordingly examined, the foumart taken, and eleven fine
eels were discovered to be the fruits of its nocturnal exertions.
The marks on the snow were found to have been made by the
motions of the eels while in the creature's mouth."*
The ICHNEUMON, which is about the size of a cat, is chiefly
known, and is highly valued in Egypt, for its agility and boldness in
destroying serpents. In Egypt and India, it is accordingly kept
as a domestic cat No animal has a stronger propensity for the
: destruction of life. It soon rids a house of rats and mice, preys
upon every reptile of the torrid zone, and frequently kills that
fatal snake, the cobra di capello. Lucan in his Pharsalia, de-
scribes the manner in which the ichneumon combats the Egyp-
tian asp, a serpent whose bite is most deadly. The passage
Las been thus translated :
Thus oft the ichneumon on the banks of Nile,
Invades the deadly aspic by a wile ;
Of the Martin and Sable, little requires to be noticed beyond what i
contained in Goldsmith's Nat. Hist. vol. ii. p. 271 276. and n.
THE WFASEL KIND. 281
While artfully his slender tail is play'd,
The serpent darts upon the dancing shade ;
Then turning on the foe, with swift surprise,
Full on the throat the nimble seizer flies ;
The gasping snake expires beneath the wound,
His gushing jaws with poisonous floods abound,
And shed the fruitless mischief on the ground.
So strong is the disposition of this animal for destruction,
that an accident is sufficient to awaken this propensity, though
it may have been long dormant.
" I had," says M. d'Obsonville, in his Essay on the Nature
of various Animals, "an ichneumon very young, which I brought
up. I fed it at first with milk, and afterwards with baked meat,
mixed with rice. It soon became even tamer than a cat ; for it
came when called, and followed me, though at liberty, into the
country. One day I brought to him a small water serpent alive,
being desirous to know how far his instinct would carry him,
against a being with which he was hitherto totally unacquainted.
His first emotion seemed to be astonishment, mixed with anger :
for his hair became erect : but in an instant after, he slipped be-
hind the reptile, and, with remarkable swiftness and agility,
leaped upon its head, seized it, and crushed it between his teeth.
This essay, and new aliment, seemed to have awakened in him
his innate and destructive voracity, which, till then, had given
way to the gentleness he had acquired from his education. I
had about my house several curious kinds of fowls, among which
he had been brought up, and which, till then, he had suffered to
go and come unmolested and unregarded ; but, a few days after,
when he found himself alone, he strangled them every one, eat
a little, and, as it appeared, drank the blood of two."
In its conflicts with poisonous serpents, they sometimes bite
the little creature, in which case, as is reported, it immediately
riies to the root of a certain plant, which is said to counteract
the effects of poison. This plant is called by the Indians after
the animal. Mr Percival saw an experiment tried in a closed
room, where the ichneumon, instead of attacking a poisonous
serpent that was presented to him, did all in his power to avoid
it. On the snake being carried out of the house, however, and
laid near his antagonist in a plantation, he immediately darted
at, and soon destroyed it. It then retired to the wood, and ate
2A3
282 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
a portion of that plant which is said to be an antidote to the
serpent's bite.
All the animals of the weasel kind have glands, which furnish
an odorous matter. In those already described, the odour emit-
ted is disagreeable but there remain two animals of this class,
in which it is to be found in the extremes of the most intolerable
and suffocating fcetor in nature, and one of the most highly prized
of perfumes. The former of these is characteristically denomi-
nated the STINKARD, or, according to the minor distinctions,
noticed in the Natural History, the skirik, and the zorille. So
abominable and powerful is the fetor sent forth from the stink-
ard, that provisions once touched with it are irrecoverable.
Cloths have been washed, soaked for days in water, dried in the
sun, and still retained this fetid smell for many weeks. Cattle
that come within the influence of this vapour, are so disgusted
and alarmed, that they set up a horrid bellowing.
The CIVET, on the other hand, is remarkable, as yielding the
well-known perfume, which bears the name of the animal from
which it is extracted. The perfume is contained in the usual
pouch, and so liberally does the animal furnish it, that the pouch
will bear to be emptied two or three times a week.
In a native state, the civet feeds on birds and small animals.
It is naturally savage and ferocious, but is easily tamed. It is
possessed of great agility, leaps with all the nimbleuess of a cat,
and, like that animal, takes its prey by pouncing upon it.
M. Barbot had a tame civet at Guadaloupe, which was al-
lowed to be a whole day without food. On the following morn-
ing, the hungry animal gnawed through the wood of his cage,
and entered a room in which M. Barbot was writing. The civ-
et stared about with a ferocious and sparkling eye for some
time, and then made a leap at a beautiful American parrot, which
was perched on a piece of wood, fixed in the wall, about six feet
from the ground. Before Barbot could reach the bird, the civet
had torn his head off, and had actually begun to feast on his
victim.
The GLUTTON, or, as it is commonly called, the WOLVERENE,
is now ascertained to belong rather to the bear, than to the weasel
tribe. It is about the size of a fox, but it attacks that animal even
in its burrow, and readily destroys it. The extraordinary voracity
of the glutton gives the impulse to all its exertions. Inces-
THE WEASEL KIND. 2 3
antly in search of food it kills animals larger and stronger
than itself, seizes the deer which the hunter has just shot, plun-
ders the bait on his traps, or the game they have taken. A proof
at once of the strength, the cunning, and the strong appetite of
the wolverene, was afforded by one at Churchill, on Hudson's
Bay, about twenty years since, that overset the greatest part of
a pile of wood, which measured upwards of seventy yards round,
and contained a whole winter's firing, to get at some provisions
that had been hidden there by the Company's servants when go-
ing to the factory to spend the Christmas holidays. This ani-
mal had for many weeks been lurking about the neighbourhood
of their tent, and had committed many depredations on the game
caught in their traps and snares, as well as eaten many of the
foxes that were killed by guns set for the purpose ; but he was
too cunning either to take gun or trap himself. The people
thought they had adopted the most effectual method to secure
their provisions, by tying them up in bundles, and placing them
on the top of the wood pile. They could not suppose the wol-
verene would even have found out where they were, and, much
less, that he could get at them if he did make the discovery.
To their astonishment, however, when they returned, they found
the greatest part of the pile thrown down, notwithstanding some
of the trees with which it was constructed were as much as two
men could carry. The wood was very much scattered about ;
and it was imagined that, in the animal's attempting to carry off
the booty, some of the small parcels of provisions had fallen
down into the heart of the pile, and, sooner than lose half his
prize, he was at the trouble of doing this. The bags of flour,
oatmeal, and pease, though of no use to him, he tore all to pieces,
and scattered the contents about on the snow ; but every bit of
animal food, consisting of beef, pork, bacon, venison, salted
geese, and partridges, in considerable quantities, he carried away.
THE HARE KIND.
THE Hare kind not inappropriately follows the weasel, as
being the prey of these fierce little animals. Every region of
nature seems rilled with contention and cruelty ; the lion springs
oti the deer in the spacious desert, and the weasel fastens on the
hare or the rabhit, amidst cultivated fields, or the furze of a
seemingly peaceful solitude. The hare kind are the most timid
and innocent of animals, and accordingly they have the most per-
secutors. Every animal that feeds on flesh, seeks them as its
prey. They live a life of perpetual alarm, every moment seems
to them fraught with danger, and every faculty that they possess,
to be fitted, not for resistance but flight. The fecundity main-
tains the existence of the species ; the succession of the individu-
als is rapid beyond parallel, they perish, and are replaced by
hundreds. They all likewise possess extraordinary powers of
escape, varied according to the different tribes of the species.
THE HAKE.
The single resource of the hare is to be found in its swiftness.
It sometimes indeed uses sleights and arts, in attempting its es-
cape, but these all depend on its rapidity of flight, and are directed
to give it efficiency. Many of its habitudes betray it to destruction.
Its course, seldom directed to a distance from its form, does not,
like the flight of the fox, render its pursuit more inconvenient to
the sportsman ; and its habit of always proceeding when unmolest-
ed in identically the same tracks, makes it an easy victim to the
snare or gin. Its terror, too, which sometimes adds wings to the
THE HARE. 285
flight of the animal, on other occasions, overwhelms its energies,
so that it will occasionally be caught by a dog, that in other cir-
cumstances it would have left with the rapidity of the wind. Per-
haps no animal can run so swiftly as the hare when first started.
Even when overtaken by the greyhound, her hope is not over ;
she turns aside, and allows the pursuer to waste his impetus on
a wrong direction ; but the greyhounds become accustomed to her
sleights, and counting on them, often seize her at the very turn
which she intended for her preservation. Still more hopeless is
her escape from a pack of hounds that hunt by the scent.
She Hies, she leaps, and bounces to deceive,
Till fainting, breathless, spent, at last she drops
On some fresh verdant turf or thymy bank,
Once the gay scene of her nocturnal sports.
But if experience supplies the dog with knowledge of the
habitudes of the hare, the life which it leads, and the dangers it
experiences, as well as natural instinct, suggest to the hare, not
a few artifices in flight. It acquires a certain coolness and cau-
tion in its very fear, which often aid its escape. An experienced
hare will even trifle with a dog which she sees incapable of tak-
ing her. She runs for a while just at such a speed as to keep at
a certain distance from her pursuer, and as soon as he seems
sufficiently fatigued, she rapidly leaves him to whine and growl
over his disappointment. Her arts of doubling, returning on
her path, and taking long leaps across it, to perplex such hounds
as follow by the scent, are all well known j and in the case of
those hounds that pursue by the sight, she has an advantage in
her colour, which so closely resembles that of the ground, that
at a small distance it requires the eye of an experienced man
to distinguish her. The following is a not uncommon resource
of the hare, and is recorded in the Sporting Magazine, as having
happened during a run with a well-known pack of harriers, in
the West of ngland. The hunted hare being nearly exhausted,
happened to come upon another hare in her form, from which
she drew her out, and introduced herself ; the pack followed the
new started hare ; and the huntsmen, on coming up, found the
hare which they had been hunting squatted, panting very hand,
and covered with mud. In March, 1793, a hare that had been
chased upwards of two hours, by a pack of beagles, was after-
286 ANECDOTES OF ANIAJALS.
wards pursued by a couple of lurchers, to escape which, she jump-
ed into the window of a blacksmith's shop at Salehurst, and
was taken alive in the coal- trough. FouUloux says, he saw a
hare start from its form at the sound of the hunter's horn, rui
towards a pool of water at a considerable distance, plunge in
and swim to some rushes in the middle, where it lay down and
concealed itself from the pursuit of the dogs.
The hare, though she has every reason to dread man as her
worst enemy, often approaches very near Lis habitation, and
seeks refuge sometimes in gardens, or out-houses. In the An-
nals of Sporting, for May 1822, a gentleman furnishes the fol-
lowing interesting relation. " Two years ago, a doe hare pro-
duced two young ones in a field adjoining my cottage ; and the
three were occasionally seen, during the summer, near the same
spot. But the leverets were, I have reason to believe, killed at
the latter end of September of the same year ; the old doe hare
was also coursed, and making directly for my cottage, entered
the garden, and there blinked the dogs. I repeatedly afterwards
saw her sitting, sometimes in the garden, (which is one hundred
and ten yards by forty-three,) but more frequently in the garden-
hedge. She was repeatedly seen by greyhounds when she sat at
some distance, but uniformly made for the garden, and never
failed to find security. About the end of the following Jan-
uary, puss was no longer to be seen about the garden, as she had
probably retired to some distance with a male companion. One
day, in February, I heard the hojiinds, and shortly afterwards
observed a hare making towards the garden, which it entered at
a place well known, and left not the least doubt on my mind,
that it was my old acquaintance, which, in my family, was dis-
tinguished by the name of Kitty. The harriers shortly after-
wards came in sight, followed Kitty, and drove her from the
garden. I became alarmed for the safety of my poor hare, and
heartily wished the dogs might come to an irrecoverable fault.
The hare burst away with the ileetness of the wind, and was fol-
lowed breast high, by her fierce and eager pursuers. In about
twenty minutes I observed Kitty return towards the garden,
apparently much exhausted, and very dirty. She took shelter
beneath a small heap of sticks, which lay at no great distance
from the kitchen door. No time was to be lost, as, by the cry
of the hounds, I \vas persuaded they were nearly in sight. I took
THE HARE. 287
a fishing-net, and, with the assistance of the servant, covered
poor Kitty, caught her, and conveyed the little, panting, trem-
bling creature into the house. The harriers were soon at the
spot, but no hare was to be found. I am not aware that I ever .
felt greater pleasure than in thus saving poor Kitty from her
merciless pursuers. Towards evening I gave Kitty her liberty ;
I turned her out in the garden, and saw her not again for some
time. In the course of the following summer, however, I saw
a hare several times, which I took to be my old friend ; and,
in the latter end of October, Kitty was again observed in the
garden. Henceforward she was occasionally seen as on the pre-
ceding winter. One morning, in January, when I was absent,
a gun was fired near my cottage ; Kitty was heard to scream,
but, nevertheless, entered the garden vigorously. The matter
was related to me on my return home ; and I was willing to
hope that Kitty would survive. However, I had some doubt
on the subject ; and, the next morning, as soon as light permit-
ted, I explored the garden, and found that my poor unfortunate
favourite had expired ; she was stretched beneath a large goose
berry tree ; and I could not help regretting very much her
death.
The hare is said to love music. There is an anecdote related
of five choristers, who, while singing an anthem by the banks of
the Mersey, in Cheshire, attracted the notice of a hare ; when
they ceased, she made off but on their again commencing, she
returned quickly and stood about twenty yards distant in
the open field, When they finished, she again bent her way to
a neighbouring wood.
The hare has been frequently tamed. We are informed by
Borlase, in his Natural History of Cornwall, that he had a hare
so completely tamed, as to feed from the hand ; it always lay
under a chair in the ordinary sitting room, and was as much do-
mesticated as a cat. It was permitted to take exercise and food
in the garden, but always returned to the house to repose. Its
usual companions were a greyhound and a spaniel, with whom
it spent its evenings. The whole three seemed much attached,
and frequently sported together, and at night they were to be
seen stretched together on the hearth. What is remarkable,
both the greyhound and spaniel were often employed in sport-
ing, and used secretly to go in pursuit of hares by themselves,
288 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
yet they never offered the least violence to their timid friend at
home. Dr Townson, the traveller, when at Gottingen, brought
a young hare into such a state of domestication, that it would
run and jump about his sofa and bed. It leapt on his knee, pat-
ted him with its fore feet j and frequently, while he was reading,
it would knock the book out of his hands, as if to claim, like a
fondled child, the preference of his attention.
There is something very pleasing to the mind, in reconciling
to domestic life an animal so naturally shy and fearful as the
hare. The success which has attended such attempts, shows
that the want of confidence in the animal, arises from the expe-
rience, and the fear of danger, and these need but to be removed,
to obtain a considerable familiarity from the animal. The traits
of character developed, will be different, in different instances,
as has been well delineated by Cowper, who often soothed or
amused his mind in the intervals of agonized feeling, by the cares
and satisfactions of taming hares. His very characteristic and
amusing account of his tame hares, is too well known, or too
easily accessible, to require insertion here.
The hare is protected even by its persecutors, and it is certain,
that in many places, were it not for the attentions of the game-
keeper, the race would become nearly extinct. The amazing fe-
cundity of the animal corresponds somewhat to its innumerable
enemies. We are informed, in the first volume of the Sporting
Magazine, that a gentleman, anxious to ascertain the fecundity
of the hare, turned out a male and two females into a very large
garden, well walled round, and on that day twelvemonth, the
gate being opened, exactly forty seven were turned out. This
progression, proceeding at the same rate, would soon overrun
the earth.
The RABBIT, though an animal with which we are most fa-
miliar, seems so uniform in its habits, as to leave almost nothing
to be reported of it, in the way of anecdote. It resembles the
hare in appearance, but is smaller, and wants that wild, and per-
secuted look which belongs to the latter. Above all, however,
it is distinguished from the hare, by burrowing in the ground ;
and when disturbed, it makes directly for its retreat, in which it
rests secure from most animals. It is very easily made tame,
and is frequently domesticated. It then exhibits little to remark,
except the mildness of its demeanour, in most cases, and the
THE SQUIRREL. 289
sudden starts of rage to which it is liable when offended, in which
case, it stamps or beats loudly on the ground with its hind feet.
When tame, it retains so much of its natural disposition, as often
to scrape up the ground with its feet, but seldom sets about mak-
ing a burrow. They have been, however, kept in great numbers
in a garden, in a wild and sequestered spot in a moor, where they
burrowed as if at large, did not instantly fly the appearance of
a person, as in the wild state, and at the same time, would not
allow themselves to be caught. They might easily have got
away, for the hedge could not have kept them ; but either the
love of their burrows, or of the advantages of associating with
man, kept most of them to the spot not all, however, for a few
set off and established a colony in the nearest moor. They
seemed in general, satisfied, and yielded much satisfaction to the
solitary old man who kept them.
It may be remarked, that the rabbit, like the other tribes of
the hare, though so harmless to other animals, frequently fights
with its own kind. Two males, confined in the same place with
the other rabbits, will be sure to fight, and the stronger will bite
and persecute the weaker incessantly. The effect may often be
seen in wounds, extending over the back of the animal. The
rabbit will also, when offended, bite the hand or leg of the per-
son nearest it, with its sharp front teeth. It may be noticed
too, that the male rabbit has a great propensity for destroying
the young ; to prevent which, the female carefully covers up the
nest each time she goes out to feed, and when domesticated,
seeks a place of concealment from the male.
THE SQUIRREL.
THIS is a lively little animal, about eight inches in length,
with a body which would resemble that of a rabbit, but for a
busby tail, seven inches long, which gives a peculiar ap-
pearance to the animal. It is to be found in vast numbers, in
the larger woods of Europe, Asia, and America. It is a very
pleasing and lively object, when observed among the trees, skip-
ping from one to another with much grace and ease. The fol-
B*
20 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
lowing is a lively description of the appearance of the animal
in the woods of Canada, furnished by Head. *
" I was waiting the approach of a large flock of wild fowl, but
a little villain of a squirrel on the bough of a tree close to me,
seemed to have determined that even now I should not rest in.
quiet, for he sputtered and chattered with so much vehemence,
that he attracted the attention of my dog, whom I could scarcely
control. The vagrant inattention of my dog was truly morti-
fying ; he kept his eyes fixed upon the squirrel, now so noisy as
to be quite intolerable. With my hand, I made a motion to
threaten him, but the little beast actually set up his back, and
defied me, becoming even more passionate and noisy than before,
till all of a sudden, as if absolutely on purpose to alarm the game,
down he let himself drop, plump at once within a couple of
yards of Rover's nose. This was too much for any four-footed
animal to bear, so be gave a bounce and sprang at the imperti-
nent squirrel, who, in one second, was safe out of his reach, cock-
ing his tail, and showing his teeth on the identical bough where
he had sat before. Away flew all the wild fowl, and my sport
was completely marred. My gun went involuntarily to my
shoulder to shoot the squirrel. At the same moment, I felt I
was about to commit an act of sheer revenge, on a little coura-
geous animal which deserved a better fate. As if aware of my
hesitation, he nodded his head with rage, and stamped his fore
paws on the tree : while in his chirruping, there was an intona-
tion of sound, which seemed addressed to an enemy for whom
he had an utter contempt. What business, I could fancy he
said, had I there, trespassing on his domain, and frightening his
wife and little family, for whom he was ready to lay down his
life ? There he would sit in spite of me, and make my ears ring
with the sound of his war whoop, till the spring of life should
cease to bubble in his little heart."
These active qualities of the squirrel are very pleasantly de-
veloped, when it is domesticated and tamed. Many entertaining
accounts of its lively gambols might be quoted. A gentleman
procured one from a nest, found at Woodhouselee, near Edin-
burgh, which he reared, and rendered extremely docile. It was
kept in a box below an aperture, where was suspended a rope,
* Journey through Canada.
THE SQUIRREL. 291
by which the animal descended and ascended. The little crea-
ture used to watch very narrowly all its master's movements ;
and, whenever he was preparing to go out, it ran up his legs, and
entered his pocket, from whence it would peep out at passengers
as he walked along the streets, never venturing, however, to go
out. But no sooner would he reach the outskirts of the city,
than the squirrel leaped on the ground, ran along the road, as-
cended to the tops of trees and hedges, with the quickness of
lightning, and nibbled at the leaves and bark ; and, if he walked
on, it would descend, scamper after him, and again enter his
pocket. Whenever it heard a carriage or cart, it became much
alarmed, and always hid itself till they had passed by. This
gentleman had a dog, between which, and the squirrel, a certain
enmity existed. Whenever the dog lay asleep, the squirrel
showed its teasing disposition, by rapidly descending from
the box, scampering over the dog's body, and quickly mounting
its rope.
In the year 1814-, a common squirrel was caught in Leadstone
Park, near Ferry Bridge, and lodged for safe custody in a large
wooden trap, which was used for taking rats alive. He was
kept some weeks in this prison, till at length he contrived to ef-
fect his escape through a window, and repaired once more to his
native woods. But he seemed to have lost his relish for the
mingled sweets and troubles of liberty, for on the evening of the
same day, the servant, on going to remove the trap, to his joy and
surprise, found the squirrel, all wet and ruffled by the storm,
which had taken place during the day, snugly reposing in the
corner of the trap.
With respect to the other animals of the hare kind, the
Marmout, the Agouti, the Paca and the Guinea Pig, their
habits are so minutely detailed in the Natural History, and the
notes, as to preclude the necessity of here noticing them farther.
We now come to a class of animals which obtrude themselves
more frequently, though less agreeably on our notice.
THE RAT KIND, ETC.
THIS is a class of animals, which are chiefly remarkable from
their disagreeable qualities. Their voracity, their boldness,
their rapid multiplication in the very habitations of man, and
their frequent attacks on his food, render their habits equally
known and detested. Wherever men live, there also the rat
endeavours to establish a habitation, and it is even more trouble-
some on board a vessel than in the recesses of the pantry, or the
vacuities of walls and partitions.
The Brown, or Norway Rat, or Surmulot, as it is called by
Buffon, is now the common rat of the country, having almost
extirpated the weaker, and less noxious black rat. The brown
rat is large and formidable, even in comparison of its size, dis-
agreeable in its colour and appearance, and vile in its habits. It
propagates so rapidly, that were it not for the very voracity of
these animals, which impels them to destroy one another, their
numbers would be incalculable. They have, however, many
enemies dogs, cats, and weasels ; but man, by means of traps,
or poison, destroys more than all the others. They are still to
be found almost every where in ships, in the walls of harbours,
in storehouses, in all situations, from the palace to the dunghill.
Their presence is disagreeable enough, but that is a small evil
compared with their attacks on provisions, and the quantities,
which, if unmolested, they would devour. When other food fails,
they kill one another, and it is a curious fact in the history of
these animals, that the skins of such of them as have been de-
voured in their holes, are frequently found turned inside out ;
every part being completely inverted, even to the points of the
THE HAT. 293
toes. How this operation is performed, it would be difficult to
ascertain ; but it appears to be effected by some peculiar mode
of eating out the contents. Mice speedily disappear from a
house which is infested by rats, and there was, in 1827, in the
farmhouse of Lyonthom, near Falkirk, in Stirlingshire, a single
rat that first devoured the mice, which were caught in traps, and
was afterwards seen to catch them as they ventured from their
holes, till, at length the whole house was cleared of these
vermin.
Rats will bite a person who seizes them if they can ; they will
even bite a finger which may be thurst into one of the holes
which they have made in a floor, and they have been known in
a few cases, to attack individuals when asleep. In the house of
Mr Robertson, watchmaker, Paisley, in August 1825, a rat
entered the bed where his eldest boy lay, but was knocked off
by him under the supposition that it was the cat. It met with
similar treatment in a bed where other two children lay, and ex-
pressed great displeasure by squeaking ; it was then known to
be a rat. The horrid animal was not to be deterred from the
object in view by these rebuffs, and made another attack. Some
moments after the second alarm, one of the little girls was heard
to scream ; but all the children were inclined to sleep, and even
the little creature who was wounded fell also asleep. The
morning, however, presented a dismal scene. The bed contain-
ing the two girls, was found drenched with blood. The rat had
seized the child just under the middle of the forehead, and its
teeth having entered a vein, the poor girl was almost in a state
of insensibility from loss of blood. In 1829, a rat bit three
children, of a family in Exeter, two in the arms and legs, and
the third in the throat. The rat was caught and killed, and its
stomach being opened was found gorged with blood.
Asa proof of the ferocity of rats, we may adduce another
Instance. As Mr Hoare, jun. of Tring Grange farm, was re-
turning, about ten o'clock at night, he saw upwards of one hun-
dred rats approaching him on the common. He threw stones
among them, when they instantly surrounded him, and several
ran up his body as high as his shoulders. With much difficulty,
Mr Hoare succeeded in beating them off; both his hands were
severely bitten and swollen.
Though voracious, the rat is capable of enduring hunger for a
2B3
294 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
long time. A family in Leith having gone to the country dur-
ing summer, set a rat trap in the cellar adjoining the house
previous to their departure, baited with a piece of toasted cheese,
and a few slices of apple. They left home early in August,
1829, and on their return, on the 10th September, they visited
the cellar, and found a poor emaciated rat in the box, literally
spent to skin and bone, and in the last stage of exhaustion, the
presumption was, that it had been existing for a long time with-
out food of any kind. Hunger had made it perfectly tame, and
it was allowed to live. An animal so voracious is easily caught
in a trap, especially when baited with roast beef, a food of which
they are so fond, that they have been known to take out and de-
vour the stomach of one of their own species, caught in a trap,
baited with this kind of flesh. In the end of October, 1825, the
mounds of stones opposite to the houses in the High Street of
Edinburgh, which had been destroyed by fire, were overrun
with rats, which had escaped the flames. No sooner was it
dark, than these animals were to be seen running about in all di-
rections in search of food. A number of boys regularly assem-
bled there to destroy them. One boy baited a fish-hook with
flesh, and casting it into the watercourse beneath one of these
mounds, he drew out, in succession, a number of rats,
The rat is not only fierce, but sometimes courageous. A cat
which leapt into the midst of about a dozen of them in a dung-
cart at Dundee, was so astonished by the manner in which they
all, with the exception of two that fled, displayed their teeth,
that it immediately hastened off.
Of the ingenuity of the rat in its self-preservation, the follow-
ing is an instance. During the great flood of 4th September, 1829,
when the river Tyne was at its height, a number of people were
assembled on its margin. A swan at last appeared, having a
black spot on its plumage, which the spectators were surprised
to find, on a nearer approach, was a live rat. It is probable it
had been borne from its domicile on some hay rick, and, observ-
ing the swan, bad made for it as an ark of safety. When the
swan reached the land, the rat leapt from its back, and scamp-
ered away.
The Black Rat was once the ordinary species of Britain, and
is supposed to have been introduced from India and Persia. So
voracious are they, that in 1766, when the Valiant man-of-war
THE MOOSE. 295
was returning from Havannah to Britain, they increased to such
numbers, that they destroyed daily an hundred weight of biscuit.
They are also very apt to gnaw clothes, a circumstance which was
considered ominous in former times. Sir James Turner, in his
Memoirs,* has narrated the theft nightly " of one lirmen stockine,
one halfe silke one and one boothose, the accoustrement under
a boote for one leg," for three successive nights. On searching,
he found at the top of a hole, a fragment of his property, and on
raising the boards, he got also four and twenty angels of gold,
which the insecure nature of the times, and the spending dis-
position of her husband, had induced his hostess to hide. But
though the rats had spared the gold, which he restored to the
woman, they had entirely gnawed in pieces the velvet purse in
which it had been secreted, and the stockings, &c. of Sir James
Turner. His reflections on the subject are rather curious. " I
have often heard that the eating or gnauing of cloths by rats
is ominous, and portends some mischance to fall on these to
whom the cloths belong. I thank God I was never addicted
to such divinations, or heeded them. It is true, that more mis-
fortunes than one fell on me shortlie after; bot I am sure I
could have better forseene them myselfe than rats or any such
vermine, and yet did it not. I have heard indeed many fine
stories told of rats, how they abandon houses and ships, when
the first are to be burnt, and the second dround. Naturalists
say they are very sagacious creatures, and I beleeve they are so ;
bot I shall never be of the opinion they can foresee future con-
tingencies, which, I suppose the divell himselfe can neither for-
know nor fortell ; these being things which the Almightie hath
kecped hidden in the bosome of his divine prescience."
THE MOUSE.
THE Mouse is too well known to need description here, and
some curious circumstances, relating to the varieties of the spe-
cies, are recorded in the Notes to the Natural History. -J- We
shall here notice, in addition, the manner in which this animal is
Printed for the Bannatyne Club, p. 59. f Vol. ii. p. 331.
296 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
affected by music. Dr Archer of Norfolk, in the United States,
has recorded an instance in which a mouse became attracted by
the sound of his flute, reappeared at the mouth of its hole, when
after having ceased he re commenced playing. This experiment
was repeated frequently with the same success, and the animal
was always differently affected, as the music varied from the
slow and plaintive, to the brisk or lively. It finally went off,
and all his art could not entice it to return.
A still more remarkable occurrence of the same kind
has been communicated to the Philadelphia Medical and
Physical Journal, by Dr Cramer, of Jefferson's county, on
the authority of a gentleman of undoubted veracity, who states,
that " one evening in the month of December, 1817, as a few
officers on board a British man-of-war, in the harbour of
Portsmouth, were seated round the fire, one of them began to
play a plaintive air on the violin. He had scarcely performed
ten minutes, when a mouse, apparently frantic, made its ap-
pearance in the centre of the floor. The strange gestures of
the little animal strongly excited the attention of the officers,
who, with one consent, resolved to suffer it to continue its
singular actions unmolested. Its exertions now appeared to
be greater every moment ; it shook its head, leapt about
the table, and exhibited signs of the most ecstatic delight.
It was observed, that in proportion to the gradation of the tones
to the soft point, the feelings of the animal appeared to be in-
creased. After performing actions which an animal so diminu-
tive would, at first sight, seem incapable of, the little creature,
to the astonishment of the delighted spectators, suddenly ceased
to move, fell down, and expired without evincing any symptoms
of pain."
THE DORMOUSE.
THIS animal is remarkable, not only among mice, but among
quadrupeds, from the dormant state in which he remains during
winter. His sleep, however, is not constant through the cold
season, like that of some other animals ; for he wakes, at times,
to eat of the store of nuts and beech-mast which he has provided
THE DORMOUSE. 297
for his sustenance in the autumn. The marmot, a quadruped
inhabiting some mountainous parts of Europe, makes no pro-
vision of this kind in his subterranean galleries. He sleeps
completely.
M. Mangili, an Italian naturalist, made some curious experi-
ments upon the dormouse and other animals which sleep during
the cold weather. He kept the dormouse in a cupboard in his
study. On the 24th December, when the thermometer was
about 4-0, that is, 8 above the freezing point, the dormouse
curled himself up amongst a heap of papers and went to sleep.
On the 27th December, when the thermometer was several de-
grees lower, M. Mangili ascertained that the animal breathed,
and suspended his respiration at regular intervals : that is, that
after four minutes of perfect repose, in which he appeared as it
dead, he breathed about twenty-four times in the space of a
minute and a half, and that then his breathing was again com-
pletely suspended, and again renewed. As the thermometer be-
came higher, that is, as the weather became less cold, the inter-
vals of repose were reduced to three minutes. On the contrary,
when the thermometer fell nearly to the freezing point, the in-
tervals were then six minutes. Within ten days from its begin-
ning to sleep (the weather then being very cold), the dormouse
woke and ate a little. He then went to sleep again ; and con-
tinued to sleep for some days, and then to awaken, throughout
the winter ; but as the season advanced, the intervals of perfect
repose, when no breathing could be perceived, were much longer,
sometimes more than twenty minutes. The effects of confine-
ment upon this individual animal caused him to sleep much long*
er than in a state of nature.
When a dormouse is discovered asleep, in his natural retreat,
he is cold to the touch, his eyes are shut, and his respiration is
slow and interrupted, as just described. Torpid animals, in
general, when thus found, may be shaken, or rolled, or even
struck, without a possibility of arousing them. But as the fine
weather advances, the heat of their bodies increases, as it de-
creases at the approaches of winter ; till at length they shake off
their drowsiness, and are again the busy and happy inhabitants of
the fields and gardens, active in the search of food to gratify
their appetite, which is now as keen as it was dull in the cold
months. These movements of course depend upon the states
208 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
of the atmosphere, and are different in individuals of the same
species.
THE MOLE.
THE form of this creature's body, and the peculiar construc-
tion of its fore feet, admirably adapt it for making its way
through the earth. His excavations are galleries of many feet
in length, worked out by his snout and strong fore-paws, with
all the skill arid expedition of a human miner ; and when he is
alarmed he retreats to his citadel, and defies all enemies. The
mole, as is well known to the country reader, is destroyed by
a trap of peculiar construction, which is discharged by the little
animal passing through it. The mole-catcher in general a quiet
old man, who passes the winter in making his traps in his
chimney corner comes forth at this season with his implements
of destruction. His practised eye soon discovers the track of
the mole, from the mound which he throws up to some neigh-
bouring bank, or from one mound to another. It is in this
track or run that he sets his trap, a few inches below the surface
of the ground. As the mole passes through this little engine of
his ruin he disturbs a peg which holds down a strong hazel rod
in a bent position. The moment the peg is moved the end of
the rod which is held down flies up, and with it conies up the
poor mole, dragged out of the earth which he has so ingeniously
excavated, to be gibbetted without a chance of escape. The
trap is very simple and effectual; but, somehow, the moles
flourish in spite of their human enemies. Mole-catchers, a
plodding, unscientific race, know little of their trade, which re-
quires the most accurate study of the habits of the animal.
There was a Frenchman of the name of Le Court, (he died
about two years ago,) a man of great knowledge and persever-
ance, who did not think it beneath him to devote his whole at-
tention to the observation of the mole. He established a school
for mole-catching ; and taught many, what he had acquired by
incessant perseverance, the art of tracing the mole to his hiding-
place in the- ground, and cutting off his retreat. The skill of
this man once saved a large and fertile district of France from
THE MOLE. 299
inundation by a canal, whose banks the moles had undermined
in every direction. Le Court alone saw the mischief, and
could stop it. Doubts have been entertained whether moles
are really so mischievous to the farmer as they are generally sup-
posed to be. It has been said that they assist the draining of land
by forming their excavations, and that they thus prevent the foot-
rot in sheep. The following is the Ettrick Shepherd's opinion on
the subject : " If a hundred men and horses were employed on
a common sized pasture farm, say from fifteen hundred to two
thousand acres, in raising and driving manure for a top dressing
of that farm, they would not do it so effectually, so neatly, or
so equally, as the natural number of moles on the farm would
do for themselves."
Nothing is more fatal to the mole than excessive falls of rain,
which fills their subterranean galleries with water ; and yet
from the following statement made by Mr A. Bruce in the
Linnaean Transactions, the animal seems to be not without en-
terprize on the water: " On visiting the Loch of Glume,
which I often did, I observed in it a small island at the distance
of one hundred and eighty yards from the nearest land, measur-
ed to be so upon the ice. Upon the island, the Earl of Airly,
the proprietor, has a castle and small shrubbery. I remarked
frequently the appearance of fresh mole casts, or hills. I for
some time took them for those of the water mouse, and one day
asked the gardener if it was so. No, said he, it was the mole ;
and that he had caught one or two lately. Five or six years
ago, he caught two in traps ; and for two years after this he had
observed none. But, about four years ago, coming ashore one
summer's evening in the dusk, with the Earl of Airly's but-
ler, they saw at a short distance, upon the smooth water, some
animal paddling towards the island. They soon closed with
this feeble passenger, and found it to be the common mole, led
by a most astonishing instinct from the castle hill, the nearest
point of land, to take possession of this desert island. It had
been, at the time of my visit, for the space of two years quite
free from any subterraneous inhabitant : but the mole has, for
more than a year past, made its appearance again, and its opera-
tions I have since been witness to."
Moles are said to be very ferocious animals. We are told
that a mole, a toad, and a viper, were enclosed in a glass case ;
300 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
the mole despatched the other two, and devoured a great part of
each.
The smell of garlic is so offensive to moles, that, to get rid of
them, nothing more is necessary than to introduce a few heads
of it into their subterraneous vaults.
THE HEDGEHOG.
Tins animal is well known from the thick and sharp prickles
with which its back and sides are covered, and the contractile
power by which it can draw its head and belly within the prickly
covering of its back, so as to give itself the appearance of a ball.
It is found near hedges and thickets ; from the fruits and herbage
of which it obtains its food. It is incontrovertible now, that it
also feeds upon small animals, such as snails and beetles. Mr
Woodcock, surgeon, Bury, Lancashire, obtained one from a pea-
sant which was rolled up, and had in its mouth a toad, the head
and one of the legs of which were consumed, and the remainder
the animal held the firmer, when any one attempted to with-
draw it. It feeds on eggs also, and for this purpose enters the
hen-roost, and drives the hen off her nest. Mr Lane, gamekeeper
to the Earl of Galloway, in 1818, saw a hedgehog crossing a
road, carrying on its back six pheasant eggs, which it had pilfer-
ed from a nest hard by. It crept into a furze bush, where the
eggs of several birds were strewed around.
The hedgehog lives in a state of torpidity during the winter,
and forms its hybernaculum of leaves and moss, which it de-
posits in a round hole, dug by itself, at the foot of a hedge.
A gentleman from Gloucester, states, that a tame one which he
kept, lost this natural habit, and was as lively in the month of
December as in June.
The sagacity of the hedgehog is celebrated in antiquity. We
are informed by Plutarch, that a citizen of Cyzicus thus ac-
quired the reputation of a good mathematician ; A hedgehog
generally has its burrow open in various points ; and, when its
instinct warns it of the change of the wind, it stops up the
aperture towards that quarter. The citizen alluded to, becom-
ing aware of this practice, predicted to what point the wind
would next shift.
THE PORCUPINE. 301
Though of a very timid disposition, the hedgehog has been
sometimes tamed : In the year 1799, there was a hedgehog in
the possession of Mr Sample, of the Angel Inn, at Feltori, in
Northumberland, which performed the duty of a turnspit, as
well, in all respects, as the dog of that denomination. It ran
about the house with the same familiarity as any other domestic
quadruped. In the ' Sporting Magazine,' for 1821, there is an
account of one that, after having been tamed in a garden, found
its way to the scullery, and there made regular search for the
relics of the dinner plates ; having its retreat in the adjoining
cellar. It was fed after the manner itself had selected, milk
was given in addition to the meat ; but it lost its relish for
vegetables, and constantly rejected them. It soon became as
well domesticated as the cat, and lived on a footing of intimacy
with it.
From the readiness with which, in the above case, the animal's
appetite became adapted to flesh, we may suspect that its dis-
position is riot uniformly pacific j and some instances prove that
it will occasionally attack small animals. In 1829, a labourer
of the name of Copland, while abroad in the fields near Ter-
raughty, Dumfriesshire, overheard a sound, which convinced
him that a hare was suffering ; and the man, after looking care-
fully round, came upon a leveret, which was now lying dead by
the side of a hedgehog. The enemy had by this time coiled
himself into a ball ; but, as appearances indicated that he had
killed the leveret, Copland was so enraged at his audacity, that
he took the top of his axe, and despatched him in a moment.
Young hares are so extremely stupid, even after they leave the
parent seat, that cats and weasels kill many of them every sea-
son ; and we must now, it appears, add the hedgehog to their
previously formidable list of enemies.
THE PORCUPINE.
LESS completely covered with weapons of defence than the
hedgehog, the porcupine possesses them in greater strength,
for its formidable quills are capable of inflicting severe wounds.
The animal, however, is timid, and its food more entirely com-
2c
302 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
posed of vegetables, than even that of the hedgehog. When ir-
ritated, or in danger, it raises its quills on its back ; but it is,
though fretful, not fierce in its disposition, but easily tamed.
The late Sir Ashton Lever had a tame porcupine, a domesticated
hunting leopard, and a Newfoundland dog, which he used fre-
quently to turn out together to play in a green behind his house.
No sooner were the dog and leopard let loose, than they com-
menced chasing the porcupine, who uniformly, at the outset,
tried to escape by flight ; but when he found there was no
chance of doing so, he would thrust his head into some corner,
make a snorting noise, and erect his spines. His pursuers, if
too ardent, pricked their noses, till the pain made them quarrel,
which generally afforded him an opportunity of effecting his
escape.
THE ARMADILLO.
THIS is one of a class of animals very distinct from other qua-
drupeds. Instead of hair, the bodies of this remarkable tribe
are covered with a kind of coat of mail, divided into bands or
shelly zones ; and, in this respect, they seem an intermediate
link between quadrupeds and tortoises. Armadillos afford a
beautiful example of deviation, in general structure and appear-
ance, from the quadrupedal form. They inhabit subterraneous
retreats or burrows, which they excavate with facility, by means
of their large and strong claws. They feed at night, on roots
and grain, and occasionally prey on the smaller animals of vari-
ous kinds, such as worms, insects, and lizards. In a captive
state, they feed on flesh readily, which they will eat in consider-
able quantity.
The flesh of the armadillo is considered excellent eating by
the natives of South America, especially when young ; but when
old, it acquires a strong musky flavour. When attacked, the ar-
madillo rolls itself up in the form of a round ball, and becomes,
in a degree, invulnerable. The mechanism of their singular
structure demands our highest admiration, and affords a striking
example of the powers of divine wisdom.
THE BAT KIND.
THIS well known little animal is about the size of a mouse,
and resembles it in the configuration of its body. It contains
the extraordinary addition of wings which, when extended,
measure from the extreme points about nine inches. It passes
the winter in a state of torpidity, and, as it appears, of total sus-
pension of the vital powers ; for in that state, it does not suffer
from carbonic acid gas, an atmosphere so deleterious, as instant-
ly to kill any small animal exposed to its influence.
The following is Spallanzani's account of his experiments on
the subject : " I first wished to ascertain if, when respiration
was suspended in these animals, there would be any production
of carbonic acid from the skin ; for which purpose, I substituted
azotic for carbonic acid gas. I then placed in this gas two bats,
the thermometer standing at nine degrees, and allowed them to
remain in it about two hours ; after which, I gradually removed
them into a warmer medium, when they exhibited evident signs
of life ; but I could discover no carbonic acid gas in the azotic
gas, from which I was led to conclude, that the temperature
was too low for the exhalation of this gas. I repeated these ex-
periments at different temperatures successively raised to three
and a half degrees, when five hundredths of carbonic acid gas
were produced, although the torpidity of the animal was equally
great.
" In this state of things, I repeated the experiments under
similar circumstances, only removing the bats into another ves-
sel, filled with atmospheric air, when I found not only the pro-
duction a five and a half hundredths of carbonic acid gas, but
the destruction of six hundredths of oxygen gas. Although
these two small quadrupeds were enclosed in common air, their
profound torpor prevented them altogether from respiring ; nor
could that swelling and sinking in their sides be perceived,
which are occasioned by the inflation and collapse of the lungs
304 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
during respiration ; neither did these phenomena occur in the
open air. From all which, it is evident, that the partial con-
sumption of oxygen gas was in consequence of its absorption by
the skin."
Bats have frequently been found alive in the centre of trees :
In the beginning of November, 1821, a woodman, engaged in
splitting timber for rail posts, in the woods close by the lake at
Haining, a seat of Mr Pringle's, in Selkirkshire, discovered, in
the centre of a large wild cherry tree, a living bat, of a bright
scarlet colour, which, as soon as it was relieved from its entomb-
ment, took to its wings, and escaped. In the tree, there was a
recess sufficiently large to contain the animal ; but all around,
the wood was perfectly sound, solid, and free from any fissure,
through which the atmospheric air could reach the animal. A
man engaged in splitting timber, near Kelsall, in the beginning
of December, 1826, discovered, in the centre of a large pear
tree, a living bat, of a bright scarlet colour, which he foolishly
suffered to escape, from fear, being fully persuaded, (with the
characteristic superstition of the inhabitants of that part of Che-
shire,) that it was a "being not of this world." The tree pre-
sented a small cavity in the centre, where the bat was enclosed ;
but was perfectly sound and solid on each side.
The above facts are corroborative of each other. It would be
difficult to account for the strange colour of these animals, on
philosophical principles ; for, no doubt, when they were first im-
mured, they must have been of the natural colour. Doubtless,
while here enclosed, they must have been in a state of torpor,
and, consequently, incapable of respiration ; so that the red
colour could not depend upon the oxygen breathed by the animal,
which is the colouring principle of blood in all red blooded
animals.
The common bat, from the melancholy nature of its haunts,
and its habit of flying in the dimness of the evening, is connected
with dismal associations but these are trifling, compared with
the terrors of the Spectre Vampyre.
This frightful looking animal, one of the largest of the bat
tribe, is a native of South America, and some of the islands of
the Pacific Ocean. It has an insatiable thirst for blood, like
many others of its congeners. M. de Condamine says, " The
bats, which suck the blood of horses, mules, and even men, when
THE BAT. 305
not guarded against, by sleeping under the shelter of a pavilion,
are a scourge to most of the hot countries of America." He
asserts, that, in his time, at Boria, and several other places, in
certain situations, they had even destroyed the breed of great
cattle introduced there by the missionaries.
We are assured by Mr Foster, that vampyres are very numer-
ous in the Friendly Islands, where he has seen them hanging,
like swarms of bees, in clusters, and not fewer than five hundred
of them, suspended from trees, some by their fore feet, and
others by their hind legs.
The length of the body of the spectre vampyre is about six
inches ; and the extent of its wings, upwards of two feet.
Captain Stedman, in his ' Narrative of a Five years' Expedition
against the revolted Negroes of Surinam,' relates, that, on awaking
about four o'clock one morning in his hammock, he was ex
tremely alarmed at finding himself weltering in congealed blood,
and without feeling any pain whatever. " The mystery was,"
says Captain Stedman, " that I had been bitten by the vampyre,
or spectre of Guiana, which is also called the flying dog of
New Spain ; and, by the Spaniards, perrovolador. This is no
other than a bat of monstrous size, that sucks the blood from
men and cattle, while they are fast asleep, even sometimes till
they die ; and, as the manner in which they proceed is truly
wonderful, I shall endeavour to give a distinct account of it.
Knowing, by instinct, that the person they intend to attack is
in a sound slumber, they generally alight near the feet, where,
while the creature continues fanning with his enormous wings,
which keeps one cool, he bites a piece out of the tip of the great
toe, so very small, indeed, that the head of a pin could scarcely
be received into the wound, which is, consequently, not painful ;
yet, through this orifice, he continues to suck the blood, until he
is obliged to disgorge. He then begins again, and thus conti-
nues sucking and disgorging, until he is scarcely able to fly, and
the sufferer has often been known to pass from time to eternity.
Cattle they generally bite in the ear, but always in places where
the blood flows spontaneously. Having applied tobacco ashes,
as the best remedy, and washed the gore from myself and ham-
mock, I observed several small heaps of congealed blood, all
round the place where I had lain, upon the ground ; on examin-
2c3
306 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
ing which, the surgeon judged that I had lost, at least, tvvelvC or
Iburten ounces of blood."
" Some years ago," says Mr Waterton, " I went to the river
Paumaron, with a Scotch gentleman, by name Tarbet. We
hung our hammocks in the thatched loft of a planter's house.
Next morning, I heard this gentleman muttering in his ham-
mock, and now and then letting fall an imprecation or two, just
about the time he ought to have been saying his morning pray-
ers. 'What is the matter, Sir?' said I, softly: ' is any thing
amiss ?' ' What's the matter ?' answered he, surlily ; ' why, the
vampyres have been sucking me to death.' As soon as there
was light enough, I went to his hammock, and saw it much
stained with blood. ' There,' said he, thrusting his foot out of
the hammock, ' see how these infernal imps have been drawing
my life's blood." On examining his foot, I found the vampyre
had tapped his great toe. There was a wound somewhat less
than that made by a leech. The blood was still oozing from it.
I conjectured he might have lost from ten to twelve ounces of
blood. Whilst examining it, I think I put him into a worse
humour, by remarking, that a European surgeon would not have
been so generous, as to have blooded him, without making a
charge. He looked up in my face, but did not say a word. I
saw he was of opinion, that I had better have spared this piece
of ill-timed levity." *
* Waterton 's Wanderings in South America, p. 176.
AMPHIBIOUS ANIMALS.
THE OTTER.
THE Otter belongs to the order Ferae, but is placed by Gold-
smith under the head of Amphibious Quadrupeds. It is only
in its amphibious qualities that it differs from the weasel kind.
Its body is long, measuring usually about two feet, besides the
tail, which is nearly sixteen inches ; the legs are short, strong,
muscular, and so placed, as to be capable of being brought into
a line with the body, and performing the functions of fins. - On
each foot are five toes, which are webbed, and furnished with
strong sharp nails. The eyes are large, brilliant, and so situated
in the head, that the animal can see any object that is above it,
which adds to the singularity of its aspect. The fur of the otter
is deep blackish brown, with two small light spots on each side
of the nose, and another under the chin.
The otter is a native of Britain, the whole continent of Eu-
rope, and America. Its principal food being fish, it makes its
habitation on the banks of rivers, where it burrows to some
depth. The burrow is constructed with great sagacity, the en-
trance of the hole being invariably under water, inclining up-
wards to the surface of the earth ; and before reaching the top,
he constructs several lodges, at different heights, to which he
may retire, in the event of floods ; for, although so much accus-
tomed to a watery element, no animal is more particular in lying
quite dry. At the top of the uppermost of these cells, he opens
a very small orifice, for the admission of air ; and the more effec-
tually to conceal this opening, it is generally in the middle of a
thick bush of willows, or other shrubs. When he has caught a
fish, he carries it to the bank of the river, and devours the head
and upper parts of the body, leaving the rest untouched. lie
308 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
pursues his prey generally from the bottom upwards, for which
the situation of his eyes is adapted.
During winter, in Canada, otters are in the habit of travelling
to a considerable distance from rivers, but for what purpose has
not been ascertained. In these cases, the Indians track them
in the snow, and kill them with clubs, which they carry. The
otter is a slow paced animal ; and, if closely pursued, before be-
ing overtaken, when the snow happens to be light and deep, he
immediately dives a considerable way under it : but this seldom
avails him ; for his crafty pursuers can easily trace him by his
motions in passing through the snow.
Hunting the otter was a favourite pastime in Britain ; but it
has now fallen greatly into disuse. A few otter hounds are,
however, still to be found. His Grace the duke of Buccleuch,
has some braces of them. During Elizabeth's reign, large packs
were kept for this diversion, which was eagerly practised by the
young nobles. The otter, when hunted, and overtaken by dogs,
defends itself with great obstinacy, never yielding while he has
life, and inflicting very severe wounds on his adversaries. He,
not unfrequently, fastens like a bull-dog, and seldom quits his
hold till killed.
The flesh of the otter is extremely rank and fishy j on which
account, the Romish Church permitted it to be eaten on meagre
days. We are informed by Pennant, that, when on his travels,
he once entered the kitchen of the Carthusian convent, near
Dijon, in France, where he saw an otter cooking for the religi-
ous of that rigid order, who, by their rules, were bound to per-
petual abstinence from animal food.
The female brings forth in the spring, from four to five at a
birth. Their parental affection is so powerful, that they will
frequently suffer themselves to be killed rather than quit their
progeny ; and this is often the occasion of their losing their lives,
when they might otherwise have escaped. Professor Stel-
ler says, " Often have I spared the lives of the female otters
whose young ones I took away. They expressed their sorrow,
by crying like human beings, and followed me as I was carrying
off their young, while they called to them for aid, with a tone of
voice which very much resembled the crying of children.
When I sat down in the snow, they came quite close to me, and
attempted to carry off their young. On one occasion, when I
THE OTTEB. 309
had deprived an otter of her progeny, I returned to the place
eight days after, and found the female sitting by the river list-
less and desponding ; who suffered me to kill her on the spot
without making any attempt to escape. On skinning her, I
found she was quite wasted away, from sorrow for the loss of
her young. Another time, I saw, at some distance from me,
an old female otter sleeping by the side of a young one, about a
year old. As soon as the mother perceived us, she awoke the
young one, and enticed him to betake himself to the river. But, as
lie did not take the hint, and seemed inclined to prolong his sleep,
she took him up in her fore paws and plunged him into the water."
The otter is naturally ferocious j but when taken young, and
properly treated, it can be rendered tame, and taught to catch
fish, and fetch them to its master. James Campbell, near In-
verness, procured a young otter, which he brought up and tamed.
It would follow him wherever he chose ; and, if called on by its
name, would immediately obey. When apprehensive of danger
from dogs, it sought the protection of its master, and would en-
deavour to spring into his arms for greater security. It was
frequently employed in catching fish, and would, sometimes,
take eight or ten salmon in a day. If not prevented, it always
made an attempt to break the fish behind the anal fin, which is
next the tail ; and, as soon as one was taken away, it always
dived in pursuit of more. It was equally dexterous at sea fish-
ing, and took great numbers of young cod, and other fish, there.
When tired, it would refuse to fish any longer, and was then re-
warded with as much as it could devour. Having satisfied its
appetite, it always coiled itself round, and fell asleep : in which
state it was generally carried home.
A person who kept a tame otter, taught it to associate with
his dogs, who were upon the most friendly terms with it on all
occasions ; and it would follow him on different excursions, in
company with his canine attendants. He was in the practice of
fishing rivers with nets ; on which occasions, the otter proved
highly useful to him, by going into the water, and driving trout
and other fish towards the net. It was very remarkable, that
dogs accustomed to otter hunting were so far from offering it the
least molestation, that they would not even hunt any other otter
while it remained with them ; on which account, the owner was
under the necessity of parting with it.
310 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
A man of the name of William Collins, who resided at Kil-
merston, near Wooler, in Northumberland, had a tame otter,
which followed him wherever he went. He frequently took it
to fish in the river for its own food; and when satiated, it never
failed to return to its master. One day, in the absence of
Collins, the otter being taken out to fish by his son, instead of
returning as usual, refused to come at the accustomed call, and
was lost. Collins tried every means to recover it ; and, after
several days' search, being near the place where his son had lost
it, and calling it by its name, to his inexpressible joy, it came
creeping to his feet.
THE BEAVER.
THE beaver is an animal which naturally excites in man a
curiosity to know its history and habits, from the important use
of its very fine and valuable fur. It is also remarkable, as pro-
ducing a secretion which is often successfully employed in me-
dicine ; and, perhaps, not less on account of its extraordinary
instinct, in building a habitation, formed with architectural re-
gularity. Although many of the lower animals possess this sort
of intelligence, certainly there is none so curious as that of the
beaver ; but in this alone does he display any mark of sagacity.
This animal spends a great part of its time in the water, for
which his peculiar conformation admirably adapts him ; and he
swims and dives with astonishing dexterity. His tail, which is
broad, flat, and covered with scales, serves him as rudder in the
direction of his motions. He always selects for his abode the
side of a lake or river, where the water is deep under the bank,
and which keeps at a pretty uniform height. They usually
choose the northern side, in consequence of its exposure to the
sun ; and they always prefer the bank of an island to any other
situation, as being more secure from the attacks of enemies. In
this respect, however, their instinct often misleads them ; for
they have been knovyn to select situations where no fish were to
be found, and, consequently, have been obliged to change their
residence, or submit to famine.
M. de Meyerinck gives an interesting account, in the ' Trans-
THE BEAVER. 311
actions of the Berlin Natural History Society for 1829,' of a
colony of beavers, which has been settled for upwards of a cen-
tury, in a desert and sequestered canton of the district of Mag-
deburg, on the banks of a small river, called the Nuthe, about
half a mile above its junction with the Elbe. M. Meyerinck
says, this small settlement in 1822, only consisted of fifteen or
twenty individuals ; but, although they were few in numbers,
yet they had executed all the laborious tasks of a more extensive
society. They had formed burrows of thirty or forty paces in
length, on the level with the stream, with a single opening below
the water, and another on the surface of the ground. They had
built huts of branches and trunks of trees, to the height of eight
or ten feet. These were laid down without any particular
form or regularity, and covered over with soft earth. They had
also constructed a dam of the same materials, so as to raise the
water more than a foot above its natural level.
A similar colony exists at this time in Bohemia, on the river
Galdbach, in the lordship of Weltingau, the domain of Prince
Schwartzenberg. The industry of these yields in nothing to
that of their brethren which inhabit the great rivers and lakes of
North America. The abundance of willows, which adorns the
banks of this river, furnishes them with both food and dwelling :
in summer, they eat the leaves, and in winter, the branches.
When beavers have fixed their habitation on the banks of a
shallow stream, which is subject to fluctuations, from a failure
of the supply of water, they begin their operations by first
throwing a dam across it, a little way below the part they intend
to occupy. Where the river is slow, it is made nearly straight ;
but where the current is strong, it is formed with a curve, larger,
or smaller, in proportion to its rapidity ; the convexity of which
is always turned towards the stream. This dam they construct
with branches of trees and willow boughs, thickly intermingled
with mud and stones ; it is formed in the shape of a mound,
thicker at the bottom, and gradually tapering towards the sum-
mit, which they make perfectly level, and of the exact height of
the water. These dams are constructed with such solidity, that
Captain Cartwright informs us he has walked over them. The
sticks employed for constructing these dams are from the thick-
ness of a man's thumb to that of his ankle. These the beavers
bring from the adjacent woods, gnawing them off with wonder-
312 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
ful dexterity. Captain Cartwright says that a beaver will cut
through a branch, the thickness of a walking stick, with its teeth,
at a single effort, and as neatly as if it had been done by a
gardener's pruning knife. If it becomes necessary to use larger
trunks, which is sometimes the case, owing to local circumstan -
ces, they gnaw them round nearer the base, and take care that
their operations shall be so conducted as to make them fall to-
wards the river, to lessen as much as possible the labour of
removing them. The operation of cutting must be performed
with great rapidity, as many trees are frequently used by them in
one season. When a tree has fallen, their first operation is to
remove all its branches, and drag them to the stream, throwing
them into the water above the dam, and they consequently float
down to it.
The houses of the beavers are formed exactly of the same ma-
terials as the dams. If the bank be abrupt, they are built im-
mediately under it, but if flat, at some little distance, on the
surface of the ground, the floor being so high above the level,
that it cannot be flooded. They commence their operations by
hollowing out the earth, and forming walls with it, mixed with
small sticks and stones. When they have constructed the
groundwork and walls, they then proceed to roof it in. This is
always in the shape of a dome, generally elevated from four to
seven feet above the water. There is a projection formed,
which slopes for several feet into the stream, with a regularly in-
clined plane, so deep as to be beyond the depth at which the
water can freeze. Each dwelling has from one to three of these,
which are termed angles by the beaver hunters. When beavers
form a settlement, they begin to construct their houses in sum-
mer ; and it generally costs them a whole season to complete
their buildings, and lay up a stock of provisions for the winter :
this consists of bark, and the tender branches of trees, cut into
lengths, and stored up near their domicile under the water, above
whose surface it is sometimes raised. The willow, poplar, arid
birch supply their favourite kind of bark ; in summer, they feed
also on the water lily, and berries. The inside of their habita-
tion consists generally of various apartments ; and it is suppos-
ed that each animal of the community has his distinct place of
repose, their beds being comfortably lined with moss and grass.
These communities usually consist of from two to ten. It not
THE BEAVER. 313
unfiequently happens, that various families of beavers congre-
gate near the same place, but they keep as distinctly apart as
bees ; and it is only when the construction of very large dams
becomes necessary for their mutual benefit, that their united
labours are exerted. The beaver only breeds once a-year, pro-
ducing two, three, or four at a birth. The young continue as-
sociated with their parents Jfor three years, at which time they
separate, and commence a new colony of their own. In many
cases, however, they remain with the old ones, and increase their
dwellings, and thus make a formidable association.
Single beavers sometimes break off their intercourse with the
community, and live in retirement, in holes dug in the banks of
rivers. These have their opening considerably under the sur-
face of the water, and extend to a considerable height above its
highest level, sometimes to the distance of eight or ten feet.
These solitary animals are called by the hunters, hermits, or
terriers.
CBptain Cartwright says, that the flesh of the beaver is " the
most delicious eating in the world, 1 ' except when they feed on
the water lily, which, although it fattens them very much, yet
renders the flavour strong and disagreeable.
There are at present in the gardens of the Zoological Society
a pair of beavers, which were sent from Canada by the Earl of
Dalhousie. Their sight was considerably impaired before they
reached this country ; one is totally blind, and the other has but
one eye. They are kept in an enclosure with a pond. The
blind one, in particular, is most persevering in diving for clay,
to stop up any crevice in its habitation. They seem to enjoy
perfect happiness in their captive state.
The beaver inhabits several countries of Northern Europe,
and is extremely numerous in North America, from which
country it forms an extensive article of commerce ; and,
in consequence of the great demand for their fur, they are eager-
ly sought after by the North American Indians. Their atten-
tion was first directed to this trade from a proclamation issued
by the British government, so early as the year 1638, which
forbade the use of any other article in the manufacture of hats,
except the fur of beavers. Since that period, immense num-
bers of this animal have been destroyed yearly. Some idea may
be formed of the quantities which have been killed, from the
314 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
following sales : The Hudson's Bay Company, in 1743, sold
twenty-six thousand, seven hundred and fifty skins ; and up-
ward of one hundred and twenty-seven thousand were imported
into Rochelle. In the year 1788, more than one hundred and
seventy thousand were exported from Canada ; and there were
sent to England from Quebec alone, in 1808, the large number
of one hundred and twenty-six thousand, nine hundred and
twenty-seven. The average value of a beaver's skin is eighteen
shillings and ninepence sterling. The skins of cubs a year old
are the most valuable, being darker, and more glossy than those
of adults; and the winter coat is always preferable to the sum-
mer one. Winter, therefore, is the time in which it is hunted
with most ardour. The ordinary method is to place a net at
the opening of their domicile, under water, and then break
down their houses, upon which they naturally fly to the river,
and are thus captured. Another plan is resorted to, which is to
break the ice into several holes, and then destroy their houses :
and the animal, after remaining as long under water as he is able,
is obliged to come to these apertures to breathe, and is then
easily caught.
Major Roderfort, of New York, had a tame beaver, which
he kept in his house upwards of half a year, and allowed to run
about like a dog, The cat of the house had kittens, and she
took possession of the beaver's bed, which he did not attempt
to prevent. When the cat went out, the beaver would take one
of the kittens between his paws, and hold it close to his breast
to warm it, and treated it with much affection. Whenever the
cat returned, he restored the kitten. The beaver collected all
the rags, and soft things he could lay hold of, to make his bed,
which was generally in some quiet corner of the house. Some-
times he grumbled, but never attempted to bite. This animal
was fed on bread, and sometimes fish was given to him, which
he ate very greedily.
The following very interesting account of a tame beaver is
taken from the ' Gardens and Menageries of the Zoological So-
ciety." It is from the pen of Mr Broderip. " The animal arrived
in this country in the winter of 1825, very young, being small and
woolly, and without the covering of long hair, which marks the
adult beaver. It was the sole survivor of five or six which were
shipped at the same time, and was in a very pitiable condition.
THE BEAVER. 31 5
Good treatment soon made it familiar. When called by its
name, ' Binny,' it generally answered with a little cry, and
came to its owner. The hearth rug was its favourite haunt,
and thereon it would lie, stretched out, sometimes on its back,
and sometimes flat on its belly, but always near its master.
The building instinct showed itself immediately after it was let
out of its cage, and materials were placed in its way, and this
before it had been a week in its new quarters. Its strength,
even before it was half grown, was great. It would drag along
a large sweeping brush, or a warming pan, grasping the handle
with its teeth, so that the load came over its shoulder, and ad-
vancing in an oblique direction, till it arrived at the point where
it wished to place it. The long and large materials were always
taken first, and two of the longesc were generally laid crosswise,
with one of the ends of each touching the wall, and the other
ends projecting out into the room. The area formed by the
crossed brushes and the wall he would fill up with hand brushes,
rush baskets, books, boots, sticks, cloths, dried turf, or any thing
portable. As the work grew high, he supported himself on his
tail, which propped him up admirably : and he would often,
after laying on one of his building materials, sit up over against
it, apparently to consider his work, or, as the country people
say, 'judge it.' This pause was sometimes followed by chang-
ing the position of the material 'judged,' and sometimes it was
left in its place. After he had piled up his materials in one
part of the room, (for he generally chose the same place,) he
proceeded to wall up the space between the feet of a chest of
drawers, which stood at a little distance from it, high enough on
its legs to make the bottom a roof for him, using for this pur-
pose dried turf and sticks, which he laid very even, and filling up
the interstices with bits of coal, hay, cloth, or any thing he could
pick up. This last place he seemed to appropriate for his
dwelling ; the former work seemed to be intended for a dam.
When he had walled up the space between the feet of the chest
of drawers, he proceeded to carry in sticks, cloths, hay, cotton,
and to make a nest ; and, when he had done, he would sit up
under the drawers, and comb himself with the nails of his hind
feet. In this operation, that which appeared at first to be a
malformation, was shown to be a beautiful adaptation to the
necessities of the animal. The huge webbed hind feet often
316 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
turn in, so as to give the appearance of deformities ; but, if the
toes were straight, instead of being incurved, the animal could
not use them for the purpose of keeping its fur in order, and
cleansing it from dirt and moisture. Binny generally carried
small and light articles between his right fore leg and his chin,
walking on the other three legs ; and large masses, which he
could not grasp readily with his teeth, he pushed forwards, lean-
ing against them with his right fore paw and his chin. He never
carried any thing on his tail, which he liked to dip in water,
but he was not fond of plunging in his whole body. If his tail
was kept moist, he never cared to drink, but, if it was kept dry,
it became hot, and the animal appeared distressed, and would
drink a great deal. It is not impossible that the tail may have
the power of absorbing water, like the skin of frogs, though it
must be owned, that the scaly integument which invests that
member has not much of the character which generally belongs
to absorbing surfaces. Bread, and bread arid milk, and sugar,
formed the principal part of Binny's food ; but he was very fond
of succulent fruits and roots. He was a most entertaining crea-
ture ; and some highly comic scenes occurred between the
worthy, but slow beaver, and & light and airy macauco, that was
kept in the same apartment."
An animal so sociable in his habits ought to be affectionate,
and very affectionate the beaver is said to be. Drage mentions
two young ones, which were taken alive, and brought to a neigh-
bouring factory in Hudson's Bay, where they throve very fast,
until one of them was killed accidentally. The survivor instant-
ly felt the loss, began to moan, and abstain from food, till it died.
Mr Bullock mentions a similar instance, which fell under his
notice in North America. A male and female were kept to-
gether in a room, where they lived happily, till the male was
deprived of his partner by death. For a day or two, he appeared
to be hardly aware of his loss, and brought food, and laid it before
her. At last, finding that she did not stir, he covered her body
with twigs and leaves, and was in a pining state, when Mr Bul-
lock lost sight of him.
317
THE Seal or Phcca is a nearer approach to the fish tribe, than
either the otter or beaver. Its ordinary length is from five to
six feet ; the head is large and round, and the neck short and
thick ; on each side of the mouth are several long and stiff
whiskers, each hair being marked, throughout its whole length,
by numerous alternate dilations and contractions : there are also
a few stiff hairs over each eye ; the tongue is cleft at the tip ;
the legs are so short, as to be scarcely perceptible ; the hinder
ones are so placed, as to be of use to the animal in swimming,
but of very little service when walking, being situated at the ex-
tremity of the body, and close to each other. All the feet are
strongly webbed, but the hind ones much more widely and con-
spicuously than the fore, having considerably the appearance
of fins ; each foot is furnished with strong and sharp claws
the tail is very short. The hair of the seal is short and very
thick set, varying in colour, from brown, blackish brown, gray,
and sometimes pied, with fawn colour and white. The seal
has a very offensive fishy smell : and when collected in num-
bers on the shore, their odour can be felt at a considerable
distance.
This animal spends a great part of its time in the water, al-
though it can live perfectly well on land. In summer, they are
frequently to be seen, on some sand bank, which has been left
dry by the reflux of the tide ; or on some shelving rocks, bask-
ing in the sunbeams. It is in these situations that the seal is
killed by their hunters in this country. They never enjoy a long
state of repose, being very watchful, probably from having no
external ears to catch the sound ; so that every minute or two
they raise their heads, and look round. When they observe an
enemy approaching, they suddenly precipitate themselves into the
water, or if closely assailed, make a desperate resistance. Every
reader of the Waverley Novels will remember the ludicrous en-
counter between Hector M'Intyre and a seal, which furnished
the Antiquary with so rich a fund of banter. The seal swims
with great swiftness, dives rapidly, and may be seen rising
at a distance of forty or fifty yards, in the course of a few se-
2 03
318 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
conds. The food of the seal consists of fish, and various sea
weeds.
The female produces in the winter, seldom more than two at
a birth, which she is said to suckle on the spot for a fortnight
only. When the young are fatigued with swimming, the parent
carries them on her back. The voice of a full grown seal re-
sembles the hoarse barking of a dog, and that of the young is like
the mewing of a kitten.
The skins of seals form a very important article of commerce ;
on which account, they are eagerly sought for in many places.
They are also valuable for producing oil. The time of hunting
them is in October and November. It is generally done by
lighting torches, and going into caverns on the sea shore,
where these animals repose during the night; the creatures,
being thus surprised, endeavour to retreat in all directions,
which the hunters prevent, by knocking them on the head with
bludgeons.
Hunting the seal forms an important occupation of the native
Esquimaux and Greenlanders. They feed upon its flesh, make
oil of its fat, and clothing of its skin j and even barter the latter
to a considerable extent, with vessels which annually goto those
places for the purpose. In Finland this is also a favourite and
profitable occupation. When the ice begins to break up, a few
men go to sea in a small boat, and, in their hazardous pursuit,
brave all the horrors of the northern seas ; floating amid broken
fields of ice, which every instant threaten the annihilation of
their slender bark. The seals in these situations are frequently
reposing on shoals of ice, on which some of the party land, and,
creeping on their hands and feet, cautiously steal upon them,
and kill the animals while they sleep. About twenty years ago,
a party of Finlanders, in pursuit of seals, having discovered
some on a floating field of ice, they fastened their boat to a point
of this little island, and having all left it, they crept towards the
seals. While they were busy in their work of destruction, a
sudden gust of wind separated the boat from the place where it
was attached. They saw it drift amid the numerous shoals, and
in a few minutes it was squeezed to pieces, and disappeared.
In this deplorable situation every ray of hope vanished ; and
they remained, floating to and fro, on this little island, at the
mercy of the elements, the sheet of ice every hour diminishing,
THE SEAL. 319
from the heat of the sun. Fourteen days did they suffer all the
miseries of famine and despair, when they determined on ending
their unhappy fate, by drowning. With this intention, they em-
braced each other for the last time, and were summoning up their .
resolution of changing from time to eternity, when they happily
discovered a sail ; on which one of them took off his shirt, and
holding it on the point of his gun, it attracted the attention of
some one on board the whale ship, when a boat was immediately
manned, and sent to their relief.
Seals when taken young are capable of being completely do-
mesticated ; will answer to their name, and follow their master
from place to place. In the notes to Goldsmith, an interesting
account will be found of three seals in the French menagerie, upon
which M. F. Cuvier made observations. In January, 1819, a gen-
tleman, in the neighbourhood of Burntisland, county of Fife, in
Scotland, completely succeeded in taming a seal. Its singularities
attracted the curiosity of strangers daily. It appeared to pos-
sess all the sagacity of a dog, lived in its master's house, and ate
from his hand. In his fishing excursions, this gentleman gene-
rally took it with him, when it afforded no small entertainment.
\f thrown into the water, it would follow for miles the tract of
the boat ; and although thrust back by the oars, it never re-
linquished its purpose. Indeed, it struggled so hard to regain
its seat, that one would imagine its fondnes for its master
had entirely overcome the natural predilection for its native
element.
A farmer at Aberdour, Fifeshire, in looking for crabs and
lobsters among the rocks, caught a young seal, about two feet
and a half long, and carried it home. He gave it some pottage
and milk, which it took with avidity. He kept it for three days,
always feeding it on this meal, when, his wife tiring of it, he
took it away, to restore it to its native element. He was ac-
companied by some of his neighbours. On reaching the shore,
it was thrown into the sea, but, in place of making its escape,
as one would have expected, it returned to the men. The tall-
est of them waded to a considerable distance into the sea, and
after throwing it as far from him as he was able, speedily got
behind a rock, and concealed himself : but the affectionate ani-
mal soon discovered his hiding-place, and crept close up to his
feet. The farmer, moved by its attachment, took it home
320 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
again. He kept it for some time, when, growing tired of it, he
had it killed, we are ashamed to say, for the sake of its skin.
Seals have a very delicate sense of hearing, and are said to be
much delighted with music. The fact was not unknown to the
ancient poets, and is thus alluded to by Sir Walter Scott :
Rude Heiskar's seals, through surges dark,
Will long pursue the minstrel's bark.
Mr John Laing, in his account of a voyage to Spitzbergen,
mentions that the son of the master of the vessel in which he
sailed, who was fond of playing on the violin, never failed to have
a numerous auditory, when in the seas frequented by seals : and
Mr Laing has seen them follow the ship for miles when any
person was playing on deck.
It is a common practice in Cornwall, when persons are in
pursuit of seals, as soon as the animal has elevated its head above
water, to holla to it, till they can approach within gunshot, as
they will listen to the sound for several minutes. I have seen
this method pursued by the fishermen at Newhaven.
The SEA BEAR, or URSINE SEAL is an animal of great size, the
male measuring about eight feet in length, and the female gene-
rally about six feet. Their bodies are thick, somewhat conical,
or tapering towards the tail ; their greatest circumference is
about the shoulders : the weight of a male is about eight hun-
dred pounds. They are inhabitants of the sea, in the neighbour-
hood of Kamtschatka, and also New Zealand, where they are
to be seen lying in thousands along the shore, in distinct fami-
lies, of from ten to fifty females, each attended by a male, who
guards his flock with the assiduity and jealousy of an eastern
monarch : and when intruded on by another male, a dreadful
conflict ensues, which generally sets the whole colony in a state
of tumult. The wounds they give each other are very deep,
and resemble the cut of a sabre.
The BOTTLE-NOSED SEAL. The male of the bottle-nosed seal
measures from fifteen to twenty feet in length, and is distinguish-
ed from the female by a projecting snout, which hangs several
inches over the under jaw : the upper part consists of a loose
wrinkled skin, which the animal can inflate when angry. The
feet are short, and the hind ones webbed, somewhat like fins.
The whiskers are long and thick. The general colour is of a
THE WALRUS. 321
rusty brown. The female never exceeds eighteen feet in length ;
l.ci- nose is blunt and tuberous at the top ; the nostrils are wide,
the mouth small. The bottle-nosed seal inhabits the seas about
New Zealand, and the Falkland Islands. They are to be
met with in immense bodies at Juan Fernandez, during the breed-
ing season, which is in June arid July. The females usually
produce two at a birth, which is rare with animals of so large a
size ; they are very fierce while suckling their cubs.
On the 2 1st June, 1818, above two hundred bottle-nosed
seals came into Stornoway harbour, when a desperate battle en-
sued between them. The inhabitants of the place, taking ad-
vantage of the conflict, attacked them with axes, swords, and
knives, so that few of these extraordinary combatants escaped.
Some of them measured above twenty feet in length, by fifteen in
circumference.
The bottle-nosed seal is, in general, very inactive ; but, when
irritated, is exceedingly revengeful. A sailor, who had killed a
young one, was in the act of skinning it, when its mother ap-
proached him unperceived, and, seizing him in her mouth, bit
him so dreadfully, that he died of the wound a few days after-
wards.
THE WALRUS.
THIS is one of the most clumsy animals in nature, with a head
uncommonly small for the size of the body ; the neck is short ;
the lips are very thick, the upper one cleft, studded with strong
semitransparent bristles, as thick as a crow quill, about three
inches long, and slightly pointed at the extremities. The body
is thick, and gradually tapering towards the tail. The skin of
the whole animal is thick, and somewhat wrinkled on various
parts of the body, covered with short brownish hair. This en-
ormous animal sometimes measures eighteen feet in length, and
from ten to twelve in circumference, over the chest. Sir Kver-
ard Home has discovered, that the hind foot of the walrus has
an apparatus like that of the foot of a fly, by which it is enabled
to carry on progression against gravity, In its operations, it re-
sembles that of a cupping-glass. In its bony structure, it has
a striking resemblance to the human hand.
The walrus is a harmless creature, and inhabits the seas about
322 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
North America, Davis's Straits, Hudson's Bay, and Greenland,
and also in the Gulf of St Lawrence. It is a gregarious animal,
and is often met with in immense numbers. They will never
make an attack ; but when roused, are very fierce and vindictive.
The females generally repose on the ice with their young ; and,
if attacked, they convey the cubs to the water, and then return
to avenge any injury they have sustained j when wounded, they
have been known to dive to the bottom, and bring up a host of
others to join them in an attack, when their roaring is fearfully
wild, arid all the time they gnash their teeth violently.
Early in the spring the walruses, from almost every quarter,
congregate in the Gulf of St Lawrence, spreading themselves
over the group called the Magdalene Islands, which seem highly
calculated to supply their wants, as they abound in a great vari-
ety of large shell- fish ; arid from the shores being of a gentle
slope, with few precipitous rocks, they are enabled easily to
scramble on shore, where they remain occasionally for many
days without food, when the weather is fine ; but on the slight-
est appearance of rain, they precipitate themselves into the sea.
In former times, before the Americans made a traffic of the oil
of the walrus, they have been known to assemble in these islands
to the amount of eight or ten thousand j but their numbers are
now much decreased in that quarter. The natives of these
islands do not attack the walruses on their first arrival, but al-
low them to repose quietly for some time, and frequently show
themselves, to accustom them not to be afraid of men. At a
fixed time, the people assemble in boats, and land in the dark,
near the place where many of these animals are reposing, and
separate those that are farthest inland from those that are next
the water. This is termed making a cut by those fishermen ;
and a dangerous enterprise it is ; for many fall victims to their
combined fury. They kill as many as possible of those next
the water, and then attack the others. The creatures get be-
wildered, from the darkness of the night, and the effect of torch
light ; and, straying farther from the water, become an easy prey.
Sometimes, in a single attack of this kind, from a thousand to
fifteen hundred have fallen victims in one night. The first oper-
ation is to skin the animal, and cut it into slices, of two or three
inches in breadth. These are imported to America for carriage
traces ; and the short pieces are sent to England, for making
THE WALRUS. 323
into glue. They then remove the coat of fat which lies under
the hide, melt it into oil, of which each walrus produces nearly
two barrels. The tusks, which weigh from ten to twelve pounds
each, are then sawn off, and sell at pretty high prices, as they
are ivory of a very hard texture, and much used by dentists,
in making artificial teeth. The weight of a walrus is from
fifteen hundred to two thousand pounds.
In early times this animal was called a horse-whale, and seems
to have been known in England so early as the year 890, during
the reign of King Alfred ; for we are informed by Hakluyt,
during that year, a voyage was made beyond the North Cape,
by Octher, the Norwegian, " for the mere commoditie of fishing
of horse-whales, which have in their teeth bones of great price
and excellence ; whereof he brought some on his returne unto
that king.'' The same author says, that the skins of horse-
whales and seals were converted into cables of sixty ells in
length, by the natives of northern Europe.
In the memorable voyage of Captain Cook, he describes hav-
ing met with a herd of walruses off the north coast of America.
" They lie in herds of many hundreds," says he, " upon the ice,
huddling over one another, like swine ; and roar or bray so very
loud, that in the night, or in foggy weather, they gave us notice
of the vicinity of the ice, before we could see it. We never
found the whole herd asleep, some being always upon the watch.
These, on the approach of the boat, would awake those next to
them ; and the alarm being thus gradually communicated, the
whole herd would be awake presently. But they were seldom
in a hurry to get away, till after they had been once fired at.
They then would tumble over one another into the sea, in the
utmost confusion ; and, if we did not, at the first discharge, kill
those \ve fired at, we generally lost them, though mortally wound-
ed. They did not appear to us to be that dangerous animal
which some authors have described, not even when attacked.
They are more so in appearance than reality. Vast numbers of
them would follow, and come close up to the boats ; but the
flash of the musket in the pan, or even the bare pointing of one
at them, would send them down in an instant. The female will
defend her young to the very last, at the expense of her own life,
whether in the water or upon the ice. Nor will the young one
quit the dam, though she be dead ; so that, if one is killed, the
324 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
other is certain prey. The dam, when in the water, holds the
young one between her fore arms."
In the year 1766, a vessel, which had gone to the North Seas,
to trade with the Esquimaux, had a boat out with a party of the
crew. A number of walruses attacked them ; and, notwith-
standing every effort to keep them at bay, a small one contrived
to get over the stern of the boat, looked at the men for some
time, and then plunged into the water, to rejoin his companions.
Immediately after, another one, of enormous bulk, made the
same attempt to get over the bow, which, had he succeeded,
would have upset the boat ; but, after trying every method in
vain, to keep him off, the boatswain lodged the contents of a gun,
loaded with goose shot, into the animal's mouth, which killed
him ; and he immediately disappeared, and was followed by the
whole of the herd. Seeing what had happened to their com-
panion, the enraged animals soon followed the boat j but it
Juckily reached the ship, and all hands had got on board before
they came up : otherwise, some serious mischief would have
befallen the boat's crew.
OF THE MONKEY KIND.
THE resemblance which the monkey tribe bear, more or less,
to man, gives an interest to all their doings, and invests them
with an apparent sagacity and shrewdness which no other animal
possesses. Yet in reality, they do not stand at the head of the
brute creation, either mentally or physically, being found to be
far inferior in both these respects to several other animals, such
as the dog, the elephant, and the horse. Their greatest faculty
lies in a power of imitation, which they possess to an astonishing
degree, and which, being generally displayed upon the lords of
the creation, places poor humanity often in very ludicrous and hu-
miliating positions. Monkeys are popularly divided into Apes,
Baboons, and Monkeys Proper. To the apes belong the Chim-
panse and Oran-outang, the largest and most perfect of the
monkey tribe.
THE CHIMPANSE.
THE chimpanse, both in face, form, and internal organization,
approaches very nearly to the human species. No adult specimen
has ever yet reached Europe, the largest having only measured
about three feet six inches, and, from the state of its dentition,
being evidently immature. There is a strong probability that
this is the wild man of the woods mentioned by travellers. He
diifers from the orang-outang, in wanting an intermaxillary bone,
and the last joint of his great toe is perfect. He also possesses
the round ligament of the thigh bone ; from which it is evident
he is more fitted than the orang, for assuming the upright po-
sition. His facial angle is only about 50 deg. while that of the
other species is 65 deg. The few young specimens of this ani-
mal which have been brought to Europe, evinced a considerable
2E
326 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
degree of melancholy, and were much more docile and submis-
sive than those orangs whose habits naturalists have described.
The chimpanse seems entirely confined to the inter-tropical
regions of Central Africa, and perhaps some of the islands in
the same latitude. He appears to have been known to the an-
cients, from a description we have of large apes, found in an
island on the western coast of Africa, by Hanno, a Carthaginian
admiral, three hundred and thirty-six years previous to the
Christian era. He says " There were many more females
than males, all equally covered with hair on all parts of the body.
The interpreters called them gorilbes. On pursuing them, they
could not succeed in taking a single male ; they all escaped with
astonishing swiftness, and threw stones at us: but we took three
females, who defended themselves with so much violence, that
we were obliged to kill them : but we brought their skins, stuf
fed with straw, to Carthage."*
We are told by Francois Pyard, that, in the neighbourhood of
Sierra Leone, on the coast of Africa, apes are to be found of a
robust structure of body, which walk upright, are strong and ac-
tive, and are sometimes trained to perform menial offices. They
have been taught to pound substances in a mortar, arid fetch
water from the river in jugs. But unless these are immediately
taken from them on their arrival at the door, they let them fall :
and, when they see them lying broken in pieces, they utter a
lamentable kind of cry. Schouten's account of certain apes
which he saw, so far agrees with that of Pyard ; for he says he
has seen them trained to various kinds of labour; namely, to
rinse out glasses, carry liquor about to a company at table, and
turn a spit, &c. It seems extremely probable that these are the
young chimpanse.
Speaking of the chimpanse of Africa, M. De Grandpre
says, f " His sagacity is extraordinary ; he generally walks
upon two legs, supporting himself with a stick. The negro
fears him, and not without reason, as he sometimes treats him
very roughly." M. de Grandpre saw, on board of a vessel, a fe-
male chimpanse, which exhibited wonderful proofs of intelli-
gence. She had learnt to heat the oven ; she took great care
not to let any of the coals fall out, which might have done mis-
* Hannonis Periplus, translated by V. Berkel.
f Voyage to the Coast of Africa.
THE CHIMPANSE. 327
chief in the ship; and she was very accurate in observing when
the oven was heated to the proper degree, of which she imme-
diately apprized the baker, who, relying with perfect confidence
upon her information, carried his dough to the oven as soon as
the chimpanse came to fetch him. This animal performed all
the business of a sailor, spliced ropes, bandied the sails, and as-
sisted at unfurling them ; and she was, in fact, considered by the
sailors as one of themselves. The vessel was bound for Ame-
rica ; but the poor animal did not live to see that country, having
fallen a victim to the brutality of the first mate, who inflicted
very cruel chastisement upon her, which she bad not deserved.
She endured it with the greatest patience, only holding out her
hands in a suppliant attitude, in order to break the force of
the blows she received. But from that moment she steadily re-
fused to take any food, and died on the fifth day from grief and
hunger. She was lamented by every person on board, not in-
sensible to the feelings of humanity, who knew the circum-
stances of her fate.
THE ORANG-OUTANG.
THE orang outang is an inhabitant of Cochin-China, Borneo,
Malacca, Sumatra, and several of the larger islands of the In-
dian Archipelago. He is next in order to the chimpanse in his
resemblance, in external conformation, to the human species,
and is endowed with considerable intelligence. He lives in re-
mote situations, avoiding man, and is, consequently, rarely seen
in a full grown state. He is of gigantic stature, measuring from
seven and a half to eight feet. Much confusion has existed re-
garding this species, as it has been confounded in its immature
state with the chimpanse, and other larger apes. We have had
many vague accounts and fables concerning it. All that have
hitherto reached Europe, have been young ones; and probably
the change of climate has checked their growth ; for these ani-
mals are found only under a tropical sun, and their geographi-
cal range is excessively limited. It was not till the description
of the animal, by Dr Clarke Abel, in May, 1825, that we had
any satisfactory account of the great wild man of the woods.
This will be found given at large in the Notes to Goldsmith.
The orarig which was in Holland in 1776 most commonly
2E2
328 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
walked on all fours, like other apes ; but she could also walk
erect. When, however, she assumed this posture, her feet
were not usually extended like those of a man, but the toes were
curved beneath, in such a manner that she rested chiefly on the
exterior sides of the feet. One morning she escaped from her
chain, and was seen to ascend with wonderful agility the beams
and oblique rafters of the building. With some trouble she was
retaken, and very extraordinary muscular powers were on this
occasion remarked in the animal. The efforts of four men were
found necessary in order to secure her. Two of them seized
her by the legs, and a third by the head, whilst the other fasten-
ed the collar round her body. During the time she was at liber-
ty, among other pranks, she had taken a bottle of Malaga wine,
which she drank to the last drop, and then set the bottle again
in its place. She ate readily of any kind of food which was
presented to her ; but her chief sustenance was bread, roots, and
fruit. She was particularly fond of carrots, strawberries, aro-
matic plants, and roots of parsley. She also eat meat, boiled
and roasted, as well as fish, and was fond of eggs, the shell of
which she broke with her teeth, and then emptied by sucking
out the contents. If strawberries were presented to her on a
plate, she would pick them up, one by one, with a fork, and
put them into her mouth, holding, at the same time, the plate
in the other hand. Her usual drink was water ; but she also
would drink very eagerly all sorts of wine, and of Malaga in
particular she was very fond. While she was on ship board, she
ran freely about the vessel, played with the sailors, and would
go like them into the kitchen for her mess. When, at the ap-
proach of night, she was about to lie down, she would prepare
the bed on which she slept by shaking well the hay, and putting
it in proper order ; and, lastly, would cover herself up snugly in
the quilt.* One day, on noticing the padlock of her chain open-
ed with a key, and shut again, she seized a little bit of stick, and
putting it into the keyhole, turned it about in all directions, en-
deavouring to open it. When this animal first arrived in Hol-
land, she was only two feet and a half high, and was almost
* The same thing is mentioned by M. Le Guat. When ho was at Java,
he saw one make her bed very neatly every day, lie upon her side, and
cover herself with the clothes. She often bound up her head with a hand-
iercliicf, and lay in bed in that state.
THE ORANG OtTTANG. 329
entirely free from hair on any part of her body, except her back
and arms ; but, on the approach of winter, she became thickly
covered all over, and the hair on her back was at least six inches
long, of a chestnut colour, except the face and paws, which were
somewhat of a reddish bronze colour. This interesting brute
died, after having been seven months in Holland.
M. Le Compte saw an orang-outang in the Straits of Malac-
ca, all the actions of which were so expressive and lively, that a
dumb person could scarcely have rendered himself better under-
stood. He was kind and gentle, exhibiting great affection for
all those from whom he received any attentions. One thing was
very remarkable, that, like a child, he would frequently make a
stamping noise with his feet, for joy or anger.
His agility was astonishing. He would run about with the
greatest ease and security among the rigging of the ship, vaulting
from rope to rope, and playing a thousand amusing pranks, as if
he had pleasure in exhibiting his feats before the company.
Sometimes, suspended by one arm, he would poise himself, and
then suddenly turn round upon a rope, with nearly as much
quickness as a wheel. He would sometimes slide down a rope,
and again ascend, with astonishing rapidity. There was no pos-
ture which this animal was incapable of imitating, nor any mo-
tion that he could not perform. He has been frequently known
to fling himself from one rope to another, at a distance of more
than thirty feet ; evincing, in all his feats, great muscular
strength.
Dr Abel says the orang-outang does not practise the grimaces
nor uncouth antics of other apes, and is, besides, less given to
mischief. Gravity and mildness are usually depicted in his
countenance.
Gemelli Carreri, in his voyage round the world, relates a
circumstance concerning the orang-outang, in its wild state, which
is indicative of very considerable powers, both of reflection and
invention. When the fruits on the mountains are exhausted,
they will frequently descend to the sea-coast, where they feed
on various species of shell-fish, but, in particular, on a large sort
of oyster, which commonly lies open on the shore. " Fearful,"
he says, " of putting in their paws, lest the oyster should close
and crush them, they insert a stone as a wedge within the shell ;
this prevents it from shutting, and they then drag out their prey,
2 E 3
330 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
and devour it at their leisure." Milo of old might have saved
his life, had he been only half as wise.
A female orang-outang was brought alive into Holland from
the island of Borneo, in the year 1776, and lodged in the mena-
gerie of the Prince of Orange. She was extremely gentle, and
exhibited no symptoms whatever of fierceness or malignity. She
had a somewhat melancholy appearance, yet loved to be in com-
pany, and particularly whith those persons to whose care she
was committed. Oftentimes, when they retired, she would
throw herself on the ground, as if in despair, uttering the most
doleful cries, and tearing in pieces any article of linen that hap-
pened to be within her reach. Her keeper having sometimes
sat near her on the ground, she would frequently take the hay
off her bed, arrange it by her side, and, with the greatest anxiety
and affection, invite him to sit down.
M. Palavicini, who held an official situation at Batavia, in
the year 1759, had in his house two orang-outangs, a male and
female, which were extremely mild and gentle. They were
nearly of human stature, and imitated very closely the actions
of men, particularly with their hands and arms. Jn some re-
spects, they had a degree of bashfulness and modesty, which is
not observable in savage tribes of the human race. If, for in-
stance, the female was attentively looked at by any person, she
would throw herself into the arms of the male, and hide her
face in his bosom.
M. de la Bosse purchased of a negro two orang-outangs, male
and female, that were only about a year old. " We had," says
he, " these animals with us on ship board. They ate at the
same table with us. When they wanted any thing, they, by
certain signs, acquainted the cabin boy with their wishes ; and,
if he did not bring it, they sometimes flew into a rage at him,
bit him in the arm, and not unfrequently threw him down. The
male fell sick during the voyage, and submitted to be treated
like a human patient The disease being of an inflammatory
nature, the surgeon bled him twice in the right arm ; and when
he afterwards felt himself indisposed, he used to hold out his
arm to be bled, because he recollected that he found himself
benefited by that operation on a former occasion."
331
THE above notices regard the two more perfect specimens of
the ape genus. What we have to add under the present head,
relates to apes in general. Their power of imitation we have
already adverted to ; and their propensity to indulge in it, not
unfrequently proves fatal to them, as it is often made a means
of entrapping them. The ape-catchers take a vessel filled with
water, and wash their hands and face in a situation where they
are sure to be observed by the apes. After having done so, the
water is poured out, and its place supplied by a solution of glue ;
they leave the spot, and the apes then seldom fail to come down
from their trees, and wash themselves in the same manner as
they have seen the men do before them. The consequence is,
that they glue their eyelashes so fast together, that they cannot
open their eyes, or see to escape from their enemy. The ape is
fond of spirituous liquors, and these are also used for the pur-
pose of entrapping them. A person places, in their sight, a
number of vessels filled with ardent spirits, pretends to drink,
and retires. The apes, ever attentive to the proceedings of man,
descend, and imitate what they have seen, become intoxicated,
fall asleep, and are thus rendered an easy conquest to their cun-
ning adversaries. In the ' General History of Travels,' we are
told that persons who catch apes in Africa, by means of traps,
are seldom successful more than once in the same district ; so
soon do these animals become acquainted with the artifices em-
ployed against them. When they perceive an ape wounded, the
community never fails to fly to his assistance. It has been said,
that, if wounded by an arrow, they will not pull it out, and
thereby lacerate the flesh, but bite off the shaft, to enable their
unfortunate brother to escape with greater facility.
The Indians make their proneness to imitation useful ; for,
when they wish to collect cocoa-nuts, and other fruits, they go
to the woods where these grow, which are generally frequented
by apes and monkeys, gather a few heaps, and withdraw. As
soon as they are gone, the apes fall to work, imitate every thing
they have seen done, and when they have gathered together a
considerable number of heaps, the Indians approach, the apes fly
to the trees, and the harvest is conveyed home.
Lc Vaillant who was an accurate observer of nature, says,
332 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
" The ape is an animal that never uses himself to discipline.
He possesses such perfection of instinct, that he can render very
important services to man, as mine (a dog-faced baboon which
he had in Africa) did to me upon a variety of occasions. But
even when he displays his inventive faculty, and renders himself
useful, he has always only his own, not his master's interest at
heart. Certainly no animal on earth is more ingenious and cun-
ning than he ; but when he is to be obliged to do any thing, he
is quite stupid and awkward. It is only by often keeping him
without food, and beating him, that he can be trained to certain
acts ; whereas it is impossible to break him off several of his
natural faults. He is lascivious, gluttonous, thievish, revenge-
ful, passionate ; and not a liar, the natives say, because he will
not speak."'
Froger says, that, on the banks of the Gambia, apes are larger
and more malicious than in any other parts of Africa. The ne-
groes of that district stand in great dread of them, for they sel-
dom go into the fields alone, without being attacked. These au-
dacious animals carry clubs, which they brandish in defiance,
and with which they frequently maltreat the defenceless ne-
groes.
Apes, in general, live very peaceably together. In large and
fertile solitudes, sometimes whole herds of them, of different
species, chatter together, without any dispute or disorder arising,
arid without one species intermingling with another. But if any
marauders intrude upon a district, of which another community
is in possession, they combine to assert their rights. M. de
Maisoupre, and six other Europeans, were spectators of such a
contest, which took place within the wall which surrounds the
pagoda of Clieringham. A large and strong ape had privately
got into the place, but was soon discovered by the resident tribe.
Upon the first alarm-cry, a number of males immediately united
together in an attack upon the interloper. Although the latter
was much larger and stronger than his assailants, yet be soon
perceived that he was in danger from the fury of their united at-
tack, and fled for refuge to the top of the pagoda, which was
eleven stories high, whither he was closely pursed by his enemies.
When he found himself at the top of the building, which termi-
nated in a small narrow dome, he took a secure position, and,
availing himself of the advantages of his situation, seized upon.
THE APE. 333
four of the most impetuous of his pursuers, and threw them
down. These proofs of his prowess intimidated the rest, who
thought proper, after a great deal of noise, to make good their
retreat. The victor kept his post till the evening, and then
escaped to a place of security.
Apes and monkeys, in many parts of India, are made objects
of religious veneration, and magnificent temples are erected to
their honour. In these countries, they propagate to an alarming
extent j they enter cities in immense troops, and even venture
into the houses. In some places, however, as in the kingdom
of Calicut, the natives find it necessary to have their windows
latticed, to prevent the ingress of these intruders, who lay hands
without scruple upon every eatable within their reach. There
are three hospitals for monkeys in Amadabad, the capital of
Guzerat, where the sick and lame are fed and relieved by medi-
cal attendants.
Bindrabund, a town of Agra, in India, is in high estimation
with the pious Hindoos, who resort to it from the most remote
parts of the empire, on account of its being the favourite resi-
dence of the god Krishna. The town is embosomed in groves
of trees, which, according to the account of Major Thorn, are
the residence of innumerable apes, whose propensity to mischief
is increased by the religious respect paid to them, in honour of
Hunaman, a divinity of the Hindoo mythology, wherein he is
characterized under the form of an ape. In consequence of this
degrading superstition, such numbers of these animals are sup-
ported by the voluntary contributions of pilgrims, that no one
dares to resist or ill treat them. Hence, access to the town is
often difficalt ; for, should one of the apes take an antipathy
against any unhappy traveller, he is sure to be assailed by the
whole community, who follow him with all the missile weapons
they can collect, such as pieces of bamboo, stones, and dirt,
making, at the same time, a most hideous howling. Of the
danger attending a recounter with enemies of this description,
a melancholy instance occurred in the year 1808. Two young
cavalry officers, belonging to the Bengal army, having occasion
to pass this way, were attacked by a body of apes, at whom one
of the gentlemen inadvertently fired. The alarm instantly drew
the whole body, with the fukeers, out of the place, with so much
fury, that the officers, though mounted upon elephants, woro
334- ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
compelled to seek their safety in flight ; and, in endeavouring to
pass the Jumna, they both perished.
Tavernier tells us, that, returning from Agra with the English
president to Surat, they passed within four or five leagues of
Amenabad, through a little forest of mangoes. " We saw here,"
says he, " a vast number of very large apes, male and female,
many of the latter having their young in their arms. We were
each of us in our coaches ; and the English president stopt his,
to tell me, that he had a very fine new gun ; and knowing that
I was a good marksman, desired me to try it, by shooting one of
the apes. One of my servants, who was a native of the coun-
try, made a sign to me not to do it ; and I did all that was in
my power to dissuade the gentleman from his design, but to no
purpose ; for he immediately levelled his piece, and shot a she
ape, who fell through the branches of the tree on which she was
sitting, her young ones tumbling at the same time out of her
arms on the ground. We presently saw that happen, which my
servant apprehended ; for all the apes, to the number of sixty,
came immediately down from the trees, and attacked the presi-
dent's coach, with such fury, that they must infallibly have de-
stroyed him, if all who were present had not flown to his relief,
and by drawing up the windows, and posting all the servants
about the coach, protected him from their resentment."
A striking instance of the audacity of the ape in attacking
the human species, is related by M. Mollien, in his ' Travels
in Africa.' A woman going with millet and milk to a vessel,
from St Louis, which had been stopped before a village in the
country of Golam, was attacked by a troop of apes, from three
to four feet high ; they first threw stones at her, on which she
began to run away ; they then ran after her, and, having caught
her, they commenced beating her with sticks, until she let go
what she was carrying. On returning to the village, she related
her adventure to the principal inhabitants, who mounted their
horses, and, followed by their dogs, went to the place which
served as a retreat to this troop of apes. They fired at them,
killed ten, and wounded others, which were brought to them by
the dogs ; but several negroes were severely wounded in this
encounter, either by the stones hurled at them by the apes, or
by their bites ; the females especially were most furious in re-
venging the death of their young ones, which they carried in
their arms.
THE APE. 335
D'Obsonville, speaking of the sacred haunts of apes in differ-
ent parts of India, says, that in the course of his travels through
that country, he occasionally went into the ancient temples, in
order to rest himself. He noticed always that several of the
apes, which abounded there, first observed him attentively, then
looked inquisitively at the food which he was about to take,
betraying, by their features and gestures, the great desire which
they felt to partake of it with him. In order to amuse himself
upon such occasions, he was generally provided with a quantity of
dried peas : of these he first scattered some on the side where
the leader stood (for, according to his account, the apes always
obey some particular one as their leader,) upon which the animal
gradually approached nearer, and gathered them eagerly up. He
then held out a handful to the animal ; and as they seldom see
any person who harbours any hostile intentions against them,
the ape ventured slowly to approach, cautiously watching, as it
seemed, lest any trick might be played upon him. At length,
becoming bolder, he laid hold, with one of his paws, of the
thumb of the hand in which the peas were held out to him,
while, with the other, he carried them to his mouth, keeping
his eyes all the while fixed upon those of M. d'Obsonville.
" If I happened to laugh," he observes, " or to move myself, he
immediately gave over eating, worked his b'ps, and made a kind
of growling noise, the meaning of which was rendered very in-
telligible to me by his long canine teeth, which he occasionally
exhibited. If I threw some of the peas to a distance from him,
he sometimes seemed pleased to see other apes pick them up ;
though, at other times, he grumbled at it, and attacked those
who approached too near to me. The noise which he made,
and the apprehensions he showed, though they might perhaps
proceed, in some measure, from his own greediness, evidently
proved, however, that he feared I might take advantage of their
weakness, and so make them prisoners. I also observed, that
those whom he suffered to approach the nearest to me, were al-
ways the largest and strongest of the males : the young and the
females he always obliged to keep at a considerable distance
from me."
It was with much delight that M. d'Obsonville witnessed the
care and tenderness which the female apes evinced towards their
young in a completely wild state. They watched them with
336 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
maternal affection, and, at the same time, kept them under great
subordination. He saw them suckle their young, caress them, ,
clean them of the vermin they had about them, and, after put-
ting them on the ground, watch their sports with great apparent
satisfaction. The little ones threw each other down, chased
one another, and gambolled like little children. When any of
them were guilty of a malicious trick, the mother laid hold of
the aggressor by the tail, with one of her paws, and with the
other boxed his ears. When she quitted her hold, some of them
ran off to a distance ; and, when they found themselves out of
danger, they approached again with suppliant gestures, although
they were soon again guilty of similar misbehaviour.
THE BABOON.
THE common Baboon is an inhabitant of the hottest parts of
Africa, grows to three and even four feet in height, and is par-
ticularly muscular in the chest and shoulders. He is more fero-
cious than others of the monkey tribe, and is rarely tamed 01
brought into obedience. In a state of captivity, he must be kept
closely confined. The general colour of the baboon is grayish-
brown ; the face is of a tawny flesh colour, with a large tuft of
hair on each side, extending half way down the muzzle, and sur-
mounted by a large bunch at top, which has altogether much the
form of a toupet, giving the animal a very grotesque appearance.
This species is very numerous in Siam, where they frequently
sally forth in astonishing multitudes to attack the villages, dur-
ing the time the peasants are occupied in the rice harvest, and
plunder their habitations of whatever provisions they can lay
their paws on. Fruits, corn, and roots, are their usual food, al-
though they will also eat flesh. When hunted, the baboon often
makes very formidable resistance to dogs ; their great strength
and long claws enabling them to make a stout defence ; and it is
with difficulty a single dog can overcome them, except when they
are gorged with excessive eating, in which they always indulge
when they can.
Some years ago, Mr Rutter, doing duty at the castle of Cape
Town, kept a tame baboon for his amusement. One evening it
broke its chain unknown to him. In the night, climbing up into
the belfry, it began to play with, and ring the belL Immediate-
THE BABOON. 337
ly the whole plnce was in an uproar, some great danger being
apprehended. Many thought that the castle was on fire ; others,
that an enemy had entered the bay, and the soldiers began ac-
tually to turn out, when it was discovered that the baboon had
occasioned the disturbance. On the following morning, a court-
martial was summoned, when Cape justice dictated, that,
whereas Master Rutter's baboon had unnecessarily put the cas-
tle into alarm, the master should receive fifty lashes ; Mr Rutter,
however, found means to evade the punishment.
The following circumstance is truly characteristic of the
imitative powers of the baboon : The army of Alexander the
Great marched in complete battle array into a country inhabited
by great numbers of baboons, and encamped there for the night.
The next morning, when the army was about to proceed on its
march, the soldiers saw, at some distance, an enormous num-
ber of baboons, drawn up in rank and file, like a small army,
with such regularity, that the Macedonians, who could have no
idea of such a manreuvre, imagined at first that it was the enemy,
drawn up to receive them.
The RIBBED-NOSE BABOON usually measures five feet when
full grown. The head is very large, in proportion to the size
of the body : the face naked, and the cheeks are of a clear violet
blue colour, with various oblique furrows. The whole nose is
of a bright scarlet, having more the appearance of being an arti-
ficial, than a natural production. The eyes are extremely small,
but acute and sparkling ; the irides are of a fine hazel colour. The
hair on the sides of the head is long, mostly growing upwards,
and terminating on the crown in an acute pointed form. The
beard is long, erect, and of a yellowish hue. The whole body
is covered with stiff, bristle-like hairs, each of which is annulated
with black and yellow ; and the general colour appears of a
greenish cast. The canine teeth are remarkable for their great
length and strength. It is scarcely possible to suppose a more
disgusting looking creature than this. He is of a fierce and sa-
vage nature ; and, even in the highest state of domestication, is
not to be depended on, from his naturally treacherous disposition.
He is an animal of very great strength, more especially in his
chest and arms, which are extremely muscular.
When young, the ribbed-nose baboon has sometimes been
known to evince attachment to man, and to exhibit feelings of
2F
333 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
tenderness to those with whom he is acquainted ; but when he
approaches the adult state, all these forsake him, and he becomes
fretful, capricious, and wicked. When irritated, he manifests a
horrid fierceness, and utters a hideous cry, which has somewhat
the sound of the lion's roar, but more approaching a grunt. He
inhabits the Gold Coast, and various districts of Africa. He
lives on fruits and roots ; and, in a domesticated state, eats
bread freely. I lately inspected a fine specimen of this animal,
in the menagerie of Mr Wombwell, which, although tolerably
tame, was not to be trusted. On one occasion, when Mr
Wombwell was showing me the consistence of the callosity on
his nose, I happened to put my face too near the bars of his
cage, when he forced his hands suddenly through them, and had
nearly deprived me of one of my eyes. This animal was fond of
carrots, fruits, potatoes, and bread ; and was very partial to nuts,
which he cracked. He liked fermented liquors, and ginger beer
was a favourite beverage with him.
The DOG-FACED BABOON. Immense troops of these animals
inhabit the mountains, in the neighbourhood of the Cape of
Good Hope, whence they descend to the plains to devastate
the gardens and orchards. In their plundering excursions, they
are very cunning, always placing sentinels, to prevent the main
body from being surprised. They break the fruit to pieces,
cram it into their cheek pouches, and keep it until hungry.
Whenever the sentinel discovers a man approaching, he sets up
a loud yell, which makes the whole troop retreat with the utmost
precipitation. They have been known to steal behind an unwary
traveller resting near their retreats, and carry off his food, which
they would eat at a little distance from him ; and, with absurd
grimaces and gestures, in ridicule, offer it back ; at the same time
greedily devouring it.
The following account is given by Lade ; " We traversed a
great mountain in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope,
and amused ourselves with hunting large apes, which are very
numerous in that place. I can neither describe all the arts prac-
tised by these animals, nor the nimbleness and impudence with
which they returned, after being pursued by us. Sometimes
they allowed us to approach so near, that I was almost certain
of seizing them. But, when I made the attempt, they sprang,
at a single leap, ten paces from me, and mounted trees with
THE BABOON. 339
equal agility, from whence they looked at us with great indiffer-
ence, and seemed to derive pleasure from our astonishment.
Some of them were so large, that, if our interpreter had not as-
sured us they were neither ferocious nor dangerous, our number
would not have appeared sufficient to protect us from their at-
tacks. As it could serve no purpose to kill them, we did not
use our guns. But the captain levelled his piece at a very large
one, that had rested on the top of a tree, after having fatigued
us a long time in pursuing him : this kind of menace, of which
the animal perhaps recollected his having sometimes seen the
consequences, terrified him to such a degree, that he fell down
motionless at our feet, and we had no difficulty in seizing him ;
but when he recovered from his stupor, it required all our dex-
terity and efforts to keep him. We tied his paws together ; but
he bit so furiously, that we were under the necessity of binding
our handkerchiefs over his head."
Le Vaillant had a dog- faced baboon with him, upon his ex-
pedition through the southern part of Africa, -to which he gave
the name of Kees. This animal was of great service to him ;
for he was a better sentinel than any of his dogs, and often gave
him warning of the approach of beasts of prey, when the dogs
seemed to know nothing of the matter. " I made him," says
Le Vaillant, " my taster. Whenever we found fruits or roots,
with which my Hottentots were unacquainted, we did not touch
them till Kees had tasted them. If he threw them away, we
concluded that they were either of a disagreeable flavour, or of a
pernicious quality, and left them untasted. The ape possesses
a peculiar property, wherein he differs greatly from other animals,
and resembles man, namely, that he is by nature equally glut-
tonous and inquisitive. Without necessity, and without appe-
tite, he tastes every thing that falls in his way, or that is given
to him. But Kees had a still more valuable quality, he was
an excellent sentinel j for, whether by day or night, he imme-
diately sprang up on the slightest appearance of danger. By his
cry, and the symptoms of fear which he exhibited, we were al-
ways apprized of the approach of an enemy, even though the
dogs perceived nothing of it. The latter at length learned to
rely upon him with such confidence, that they slept on in per-
fect tranquillity. I often took Kees with me when I went a-
hunting ; and when he saw me preparing for sport, he exhibited
340 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
the most lively demonstrations of joy. On the way, he would
climb into the trees, to look for gum, of which he was very
fond. Sometimes he discovered to me honey, deposited in the
clefts of rocks, or hollow trees. But, if he happened to have
met with neither honey nor gum, and his appetite had become
sharp by his running about, I always witnessed a very ludicrous
scene. In those cases, he looked for roots, which he ate with
great greediness, especially a particular kind, which, to his cost,
I also found to be very well tasted and refreshing, and therefore
insisted upon sharing with him. But Kees was no fool. As
soon as he found such a root, and I was not near enough to seize
upon my share of it, he devoured it in the greatest haste, keep-
ing his eyes all the while riveted on me. He accurately mea-
sured the distance J had to pass, before I could get to him ; and
I was sure of coming too late. Sometimes, however, when he
had made a mistake in his calculation, and I came upon him
sooner than he expected, he endeavoured to hide the root, in
which case, I compelled him, by a box on the ear, to give me
up my share. But this treatment caused no malice between us;
we remained as good friends as ever. In order to draw these
roots out of the ground, he employed a very ingenious method,
which afforded me much amusement. He laid hold of the her-
bage with his teeth, stemmed his fore feet against the ground,
and drew back his head, which gradually pulled out the root.
But if this expedient, for which he employed his whole strength,
did not succeed, he laid hold of the leaves as before, as close to
the ground as possible, and then threw himself heels over head,
which gave such a concussion to the root, that it never failed to
come out.
" When Kees happened to tire on the road, he mounted upon
the back of one of my dogs, who was so obliging as to carry him
whole hours. One of them, that was larger and stronger than
the rest, hit upon a very ingenious artifice, to avoid being pres-
sed into this piece of service. As soon as Kees leaped upon
his back, he stood still, and let the train pass, without moving
from the spot. Kees still persisted in his intention, till we
were almost out of his sight, when he found himself at length
compelled to dismount, upon which both the baboon and dog ex-
erted all their speed to overtake us. The latter, however, gave
him the start, and kept a good look-out after him, that he might
THE BABOON. 3U
not serve him in the same manner again. In fact, Kees enjoyed
a certain authority with all my dogs, for which he perhaps was
indebted to the superiority of his instinct. He could not endure
a competitor ; if any of the dogs came too near him when he was
eating, he gave him a box on the ear, which compelled him im-
mediately to retire to a respectful distance.
" Serpents excepted, there were no animals of whom Kees
stood in such great dread, as of his own species, perhaps owing
to a consciousness, that he had lost a portion of his natural capa-
cities. Sometimes he heard the cry of other apes among the
mountains, and, terrified as he was, he yet answered them. But,
if they approached nearer, and he saw any of them, he fled, with
a hideous cry, crept between our legs, and trembled over his
whole body. It was very difficult to compose him, and it re-
quired some time before he recovered from his fright.
" Like all other domestic animals, Kees was addicted to steal-
ing. He understood admirably well how to loose the strings of
a basket, in order to take victuals out of it, especially milk, of
which he was very fond. My people chastised him for these
thefts ; but that did not make him amend his conduct. I my-
self sometimes whipped him ; but then he ran away, and did
not return again to the tent, until it grew dark. Once, as I was
about to dine, and had put the beans, which I had boiled for
myself, upon a plate, I heard the voice of a bird, with which I
was not acquainted. I left my dinner standing, seized my gun,
and ran out of the tent. After the space of about a quarter of
an hour, I returned, with the bird in my hand ; but, to my
astonishment, found not a single bean upon the plate. Kees
had stolen them all, and taken himself out of the way. When
he had committed any trespass of this kind, he used always,
about the time when I drank tea, to return quietly, and seat
himself in his usual place, with every appearance of innocence,
as if nothing had happened ; but this evening he did not let him-
self be seen. And, on the following day, also, he was not seen
by any of us ; and, in consequence, I began to grow seriously
uneasy about him, and apprehensive that he might be lost for
ever. But, on the third day, one of my people, who had been
to fetch water, informed me that he had seen Kees in the neigh-
bourhood ; but that, as soon as the animal espied him, he had
concealed himself again. I immediately went out and beat the
312 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
whole neighbourhood with my dogs. All at once, I heard a
cry, like that which Kees used to make, when I returned from
my shooting, and had not taken him with me. I looked about,
and at length espied him, endeavouring to hide himself behind
the large branches of a tree. I now called to him in a friendly
tone of voice, and made motions to him to come down to me.
But he could not trust me, and I was obliged to climb up the
tree to fetch him. He did not attempt to fly, and we returned
together to my quarters ; here he expected tp receive his punish-
ment ; but I did nothing, as it would have been of no use.
" When exhausted with the heat of the sun, and the fatigues
of the day, with my throat and mouth covered with dust and
perspiration, I was ready to sink gasping to the ground, in tracts
destitute of shade, and longed even for the dirtiest ditch water ;
but, after seeking long in vain, lost all hopes of rinding any in
the parched soil. In such distressing moments, my faithful
Kees never moved from my side. We sometimes got out of
our carriage, and then his sure instinct led him to a plant. Fre-
quently the stalk was fallen off, and then all his endeavours to
pull it out were in vain. In such cases, he began to scratch
in the earth with his paws ; but as that would also have proved
ineffectual, I came to his assistance with my dagger, or my knife,
and we honestly divided the refreshing root with each other.
" An officer, wishing one day to put the fidelity of my ba-
boon, Kees, to the test, pretended to strike me. At this Kees
flew in a violent rage, and, from that time, he could never en-
dure the sight of the officer. If he only saw him at a distance,
he began to cry, and make all kinds of grimaces, which evident-
ly showed that he wished to revenge the insult that had been
done to me ; he ground his teeth j and endeavoured, with all his
might, to fly at bis face, but that was out of his power, as he was
chained down. The offender several times endeavoured, in
vain, to conciliate him, by offering him dainties, but he remained
long implacable.
" When any eatables had been pilfered, at my quarters, the
fault was always laid first upon Kees ; and rarely was the accu-
sation unfounded. For a time, the eggs, which a hen laid me,
were constantly stolen away, and I wished to ascertain whether
I bad to attribute this loss also to him. For this purpose, I went
one morning to watch him, and waited till the hen announced,
THE BABOON. 313
by her cackling, that she had laid an egg. Kees was sitting
upon my vehicle ; but, the moment he heard the hen's voice, he
leapt down, and was running to fetch the egg. When he saw
me, he suddenly stopped, and affected a careless posture, sway-
ing himself backwards upon his hind legs, and assuming a very
innocent look ; in short, he employed all his art to deceive me
with respect to his design. His hypocritical manoeuvres only
confirmed my suspicions, and, in order, in my turn, to deceive
him, I pretended not to attend to him, and turned my back to
the bush where the hen was cackling, upon which he imme-
diately sprang to the place. I ran after him, and came up to him
at the moment when he had broken the egg, and was swallowing
it. Having caught the thief in the fact, I gave him a good beat-
ing upon the spot ; but this severe chastisement did not prevent
his soon stealing fresh-laid eggs again. As I was convinced
that I should never be able to break Kees off his natural vices,
and that, unless I chained him up every morning, I should never
get an egg, I endeavoured to accomplish my purpose in another
manner : I trained one of my dogs, as soon as the hen cackled,
to run to the nest, and bring me t'he egg, without breaking it.
In a few days, the dog had learned his lesson ; but Kees, as soon
as he heard the hen cackle, ran with him to the nest. A con-
test now took place between them, who should have the egg :
often the dog was foiled, although he was the stronger of the
two. If lie gained the victory, he ran joyfully to me with the
egg, and put it into my hand. Kees, nevertheless, followed him,
and did not cease to grumble and make threatening grimaces at
him, till he saw me take the egg, as if he was comforted for the
loss of his booty by his adversary's not retaining it for himself.
If Kees had got hold of the egg, he endeavoured to run with it
to a tree, where, having devoured it, he threw down the shells
upon his adversary, as if to make game of him. In that case,
the dog returned, looking ashamed, from which I could conjecture
tlie unlucky adventure he had met with.
" Kees was always the first awake in the morning, and, when
it was the proper time, he awoke the dogs, who were accustom-
ed to his voice, and, in general, obeyed, without hesitation, the
slightest motions by which he communicated his orders to them,
immediately taking their posts about the tent and carriage, as he
directed them."
344 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
THE MONKEY PROPER.
THE varieties of the monkey kind are much more numerous
than those of the Ape or Baboon. We shall lay before our
readers a brief description of a few of the more remarkable of
these. Most of the anecdotes, of which we are in possession,
relate to monkeys whose species have not been ascertained.
The ENTELLCJS MONKEY It is only of late that this species
of monkey has been brought before the notice of naturalists,
which is somewhat remarkable, as it is very common in Bengal.
The proportion of its limbs, and its intellectual faculties, are pe-
culiar ; the former are particularly long, and remarkably slender ;
its motions are tardy; and it has an apathetic expression of
countenance, which no circumstances can alter. It possesses
characters nearly allied to those of the gibbon ; but the extreme
length of its tail removes it from that genus. This animal was
named by its first describer, M. Dufresne, of the Jardin des
Plantes, Paris, from a fancied resemblance to an old man. It
is deserving our observation, as it possesses characters very dis-
similar from all other species, and forms the type of a new ge-
nus. It is not merely distinct, from the colouring of its parts,
or the dimensions of its organs, but also essentially different in
its physiognomy. The entellus inhabits the Peninsula of Hiri-
dostaii, and the immense group of islands of the Indian Archi-
pelago. It is held in high veneration by the superstitious Hin-
doos ; and whatever ravages they commit, the natives dare not
destroy them, but only endeavour to scare them by their cries.
The animals thus emboldened, from meeting with no opposition,
assemble in vast troops, and possess themselves of the produce
of whatever fields they fix upon.
The COCHIN- CHINA MONKEY is a large species, measuring
upwards of two feet, from the nose to the tail. The face is
flattish, and of a yellowish bay colour, as are also the ears ;
across the forehead there is a narrow band. This curious moil-
THE PROBOSCIS MONKEY. 345
key is a native of Cochin- China and Madagascar. It is said,
that a bezoar is more frequently found in its stomach than in that
of almost any other species. This monkey is nearly the size of
the Barbary ape, and measures, standing in an upright posture,
from three and a half to four feet.
When I was at Paris, I frequently visited the superb mena-
geries at the ' Jardin des Plantes.' Among the numerous mon-
keys was a fine male specimen of the Douc or Cochin- China
monkey. In a cage on the opposite side of the room, was a
female of a different species. One day, while accompanying a
friend thither, I unthinkingly laid my hand on the cross bar of
the cage of the latter, when she flew at my hand with great fury,
and, but for my glove, I should have been severely scratched.
I struck at her with a small stick, which the douc no sooner ob-
served, than he set up the most shrill and loud scream I ever
heard ; leaped against the wires of his cage, and seemed most
anxious to set out, to punish me for the insult I had offered
his friend. He descended to the bottom of his cage, grinding
his teeth, and, by every possible gesture, indicating the greatest
rage; nor did he desist while I remained in the room. I did
not visit this apartment again for three days, when, the moment
I entered, the douc uttered a loud scream, put himself in the at-
titude of boxing, leaped about in a most fantastic manner, seiz-
ing his thighs with his hands ; and, at other times, placing his
hands on his side, and continued his fit of rage as long as I was
present, and never failed to manifest the same fury whenever he
saw me. I took apples, nuts, &c. to him, to endeavour to make
friendship ; but it was a futile attempt, for he would never after-
wards be reconciled to me.
The PROBOSCIS MONKEY. There is, perhaps, not a more re-
markable animal than the proboscis monkey among the whole of
this numerous tribe. Its aspect is singular, the nose being of
such a length and form as to present, especially when viewed in
profile, an appearance the most grotesque imaginable ; indeed,
from the figure alone, one would be inclined to think it was in-
tended by nature as a caricature of a monkey. The form of the
nose itself is most singular, being divided almost into two lobes
at the tip, a longitudinal furrow running along the middle. The
proboscis monkey is two feet long from the nose to the tail, and
stands upwards of three feet and a half in height ; the tail is
346 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
more than two feet long, tapering, and snowy white ; the face
has a kind of curved form, and is of a brown colour, marked
with blue and red ; the ears are broad, thin, naked, and hid with-
in the hair ; the head is large in proportion to the size of the
body, and covered with chestnut coloured hair ; the whole body
is also of a similar colour, approaching nearly to orange on the
breast. Round the throat and shoulders the hair is much longer
than on the other parts, so as to form a sort of tippet, as in some
of the baboons, to which, indeed, this species seems nearly allied.
It is an inhabitant of India, and very rarely to be met with ; its
principal habitation being Cochin- China, where it is sometimes
seen in large troops. This species is considered of a ferocious
disposition, and is said to feed on fruits alone. Its native name
is hho doc, or great monkey.
The COAITA. This animal is one of the most active and lively
of its tribe ; and, in a state of captivity, is of a tractable and
gentle disposition. The face is flesh coloured, and its whole
body of a uniform black ; it has no thumbs on its hands ; but,
instead of these, there are very small projections or appendices.
It inhabits the woods of South America; associating in immense
troops ; assailing such travellers as pass through their haunts,
with an infinite number of sportive and mischievous gambols ;
chattering, and throwing down dry sticks ; hanging by the tails
from the boughs, endeavouring to intimidate the passengers by
a variety of menacing gestures. In their mischievous pranks,
these animals seem to act without anger, and they only use
annoyance to drive off the intruder. The prehensile tail of the
coaita is a singular provision of nature : it is upwards of two feet
in length, nearly a foot longer than the body of the animal.
It is almost as useful as an additional hand, and he employs it
for the purpose of feeling and grasping objects, and of fetching
things to him, which are too remote to be reached by the band ;
and of suspending himself from the branches of trees. The
prehensile part of the tail is naked, and has a second covering of
a very delicate and sensitive skin, which is so susceptible of
touch, that it appears to possess it even in a higher degree than
the hands.
The GUARIBA ; or, PREACHER MONKEY. The preacher mon-
key is about the size of a fox, and of a black colour, with
smooth glossy hair : it has a round beard beneath the chin ; the
THE DOUROUCOULI. 317
feet and point of the tail brown. It is a native of Guiana, where
it inhabits the woods in immense numbers. The whole troop
often set up the loudest and most doleful howling. We are in-
formed by Marcgrave that one of them will sometimes mount
up to the top branch of a tree, and, by a peculiar call,
assemble a multitude of his species below ; he then gives
the signal, when the congregation set up the most horrible yell
imaginable, which falls on the ear of the distant traveller like the
war-whoop of an Indian tribe. After a certain space, he gives
a signal with bis hand, when the whole assembly join in a sort
of singing chorus ; but, on another signal, a sudden silence pre-
vails, when the leader seems to finish his harangue, and descends
the tree. The faculty this animal possesses of howling is owing
to the conformation of the os hyoides, or throat bone, which is
dilated into a bottle-shaped cavity. It would be difficult to ac-
count for the impulse which directs the preacher to exercise this
singular faculty in unison -. those who have witnessed the circum-
stance saw no apparent cause for it.
The SQUIRREL MONKEY. This species is a beautiful little
animal, not much bigger than a squirrel ; its colour is of a bright
gold yellow, with orange coloured hands and feet ; the head is
round ; the nose blackish ; the orbits of the eyes of a flesh
colour ; the ears are hairy and ill formed ; the under parts are
whitish ; and the tail very long, with a black tip. It is an in-
habitant of Cayenne, Brazil, and other parts of South America.
The DOUROUCOVLI. This animal is one of the most singular
of all the four-handed tribe. The hair of its body is gray, mixed
with white, and exhibits a silvery lustre in the sun ; and it has
a brown line passing down the back. The breast, abdomen, and
inner sides of the limbs are of a yellowish orange colour, inclin-
ing to brown. The forehead has three diverging lines of black ;
the face is covered with blackish hairs, and bears a considerable
resemblance to that of the tiger cat. The eyes are of a bright
yellow, and of great magnitude, compared with the size of the
animal. The mouth is surrounded with short, white, bristly
hairs. The palms of the hands are white. The tail is very
handsome and bushy, and about half as long again as the body,
same colour as the back, with a black point. There is no
appearance of external ears, but, on separating the hairs, two
large cavities are found, which are the organs of hearing. The
348 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
length of the body, exclusive of the tail, is nine inches and a
half.
The FOX-TAILED MONKEY is an animal of a remarkable ap-
pearance, and above the size of the domestic cat. Its colour is
of a dusky brown, with a slight rusty tinge through it, except
on the head and face ; from the top of the nose to the chin it is
black, being of a pyramidal form, and naked ; the face is sur-
rounded by white downy hair, which rises on each side of the
forehead like a wig, thin towards the top, but extremely large
and bushy at the cheeks and below them, but does not meet
beneath the chin, leaving a bare space, as if it were shaven, and
giving a singular aspect to the face. The eyes are large, and
the ears are round and flat ; the hands and feet are furnished
with sharpish claws ; the tail is equal to the body in length, and
even thicker and more brushy than that of a fox. The tusks of
this species are remarkably large for the size of the animal. It
inhabits French Guiana. This is the Garque of Buffon : he figures
another variety of the same animal, which he calls Singe de Nuit,
more shaggy and tufted in its fur.
The STRIATED MONKEY is one of the smallest of the monkey
tribe, its head and body being hardly twelve inches in length ;
the body and tail are beautifully marked with alternate transverse
bars of ash colour and black. This interesting little animal is a
native of Brazil, and feeds on fruits, vegetables, insects, and
snails, and is said to be fond of fish. We have an amusing
account of the united care and attention paid by two striated
monkeys to their offspring, born in the menagerie of the ' Jar-
diri des Plantes' at Paris. On the 27th April, 1819, the female
brought three young ones, a male and two females. They in-
stantly attached themselves to their mother, embracing her close-
ly, and hiding themselves in her fur. However, previously to
their sucking, she cruelly deprived one of them of life, and cut
its head off. The two others took the breast, and from that mo-
ment the mother bestowed on them the natural attention of a
parent, and her cares were shared by the father. When the
female was fatigued by carrying the young ones, she would ap-
proach the male, and send forth a little plaintive cry, and im-
mediately the latter would take them with his hands, and place
them under him, or on his back, where they held fast, and thus
he would carry them about until they showed uneasiness for
THE FAIR MONKEY. 349
want of suck, when he returned them to the female, who,
after satisfying their wants, got rid of them again as soon as
possible. The principal burden of the care of the young de-
volved upon the male. The mother did not evince for them that
degree of tenderness and affection, so usual in the females of
most species.
The FAIR MONKEY is one of the most beautiful of the tribe.
Its head is small and round : its face and hands are of the most
vivid scarlet, so much so, that it has more the appearance of art
than nature. Its body and limbs are covered with long hairs of
the purest white, of a shining and silvery brightness ; the tail is
long, of a deep chestnut colour, very glistening, and considerably
longer than the body. This animal is somewhat larger than the
striated monkey. It is an inhabitant of South America, and is
frequently to be met with on the banks of the Amazon. The
following circumstance, exhibiting the fickleness of the fair mon-
key, was communicated to Mr Bewick by the present Sir John
Trevelyan of Wallington and Nettlecome, in June, 1809. " Pug
was a gentleman of excellent humour, and adored by the crew ;
and, to make him perfectly happy, as they imagined, they pro-
cured him a wife. For some weeks, he was a devoted husband,
and showed her every attention and respect. He then grew
cool, and became jealous of any kind of civility shown her by the
master of the vessel, and began to use her with much cruelcy.
His treatment made her wretched and dull ; and she bore the
spleen of her husband with that fortitude which is characteristic
of the female sex of the human species. And pug, like the
lords of the creation, was up to deceit, and practised pretended
kindness to his spouse, to effect a diabolical scheme, which he
seemed to premeditate. One morning, when the sea ran very
high, he seduced her aloft, and drew her attention to an object
at some distance from the yard-arm ; her attention being fixed,
he all of a sudden applied his paw to her rear, and canted
her into the sea, where she fell a victim to his cruelty. This
seemed to afford him high gratification, for he descended in great
spirits."
RED TAILED MONKEY. This is another beautiful species.
Its size is about that of a large squirrel. The upper parts of
the body are of a pale reddish brown, and the under parts and
limbs are white. The face is black ; the hair on the head white,
2 G
350 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
long, loose, and spreading over the shoulders like a mantle ; the
lower parts of the back, and upper half of the tail, are of a deep
orange red; the remainder of the tail black; the claws small
and sharp. It is an active and lively animal ; its voice is a kind
of soft whistle, not unlike the note of a bird. Edwards says,
that, when gamboling about a room, it often assumes the appear-
ance of a lion in miniature, from the manner in which it carries
its tail over its back. It is a native of Guiana.
The subject of monkeys has been so entirely exhausted by
Goldsmith, that it is unnecessary to dwell longer upon it in this
place. We shall therefore conclude with a few stray anecdotes
of monkeys whose species are unknown.
A king of Egypt was so successful in training monkeys to the
art of dancing, that they were long admired for the dexterity and
gracefulness of their movements. On one occasion his majesty
had a ball, at which a vast number of these animals, " tripped it
on the light fantastic toe." A citizen, who enjoyed fun, threw
a few handfuls of walnuts into the ball-room, while these pictu-
resque animals were engaged in a high dance, upon which they
forgot all decorum, and sprung to the booty.
Forbes mentions, in his ' Oriental Memoirs,' that, while on
a shooting party, one of his friends killed a female monkey, and
carried her to his tent, which was soon surrounded by forty or
fifty of the tribe, who made a great noise, and seemed disposed
to attack the aggressor. When, however, he presented his fowl-
ing piece, they retreated, being fully sensible of its dreadful ef-
fects, which experience had taught them. The head of the
troop was not to be intimidated, and stood his ground, chatter-
ing furiously. Humanity prompted the sportsman to desist
from firing on him, and nothing short of firing would frighten
him. Finding threats of no avail, he at length approached the
door of the tent, set up a lamentable moaning, and, by the
most expressive gesture, began to beg for the dead body. It was
given him ; he took it sorrowfully in his arms, and bore it away
to his expecting companions. Those who witnessed this extra-
ordinary and affecting scene, resolved never again to fire at one
of the monkey race.
Animals of the monkey kind, of which we have no specific
account, abound in the plains and forests of the Ukraine. These
animals form separate parties, or classes, and, at certain times,
MONKEYS WHOSE SPECIES ARE NOT KNOWX. 351
meet in hostile bands, and engage in pitched battles. The op-
posing army have their chiefs, and officers of several subordinate
ranks. The various combatants appear to obey orders, and pro-
ceed with the same regularity that men do on the like occasions.
Cardinal Polignac, who was sent ambassador by Louis the
Fourteenth, in order to support the interests of the Prince of
Conde, against Stanislaus, had often an opportunity of witnessing
these creatures engage. He tells us, that they gave the word of
command for the onset, by a sort of shriek, when they advanced
in regular companies, each headed by its particular chief, and
on meeting, these chiefs engaged in combat with the most des-
perate fury.
A monkey, which was kept on board a frigate, was the fa-
vourite of all on board, but the midshipmen. This animal knew
well of a large store of apples being in a locker in the ward-
room, which was kept constantly secure, in consequence of his
propensity for plundering it. He, however, fell upon ways and
means to secure his booty. He procured a piece of wadding,
swung himself from the stern gallery by one hand, and, with
this in the other, broke a pane of glass in the wardroom window ;
and, after carefully picking out all the broken pieces of glass,
made his entree, where he gorged himself so fully, that he was
unable to effect his retreat by the place where he entered. He
was caught in the fact, and soundly flogged.
A singular piece of ingenuity was practised by a monkey, in
defending himself against fire-arms. This animal belonged to
Captain M , of the navy, who had also another small
monkey, of which he was very fond, from its lively playfulness.
The large monkey was often exceedingly troublesome, and could
not be driven from bis cabin, without blazing at him with a pis-
tol loaded with powder and currant jelly, a discharge which
produced a painful and very fearful effect. The old monkey was
at first astounded at the sight of the weapon, which stung him so
sore, that he at last learned a mode of defence ; and snatching
up the little favourite monkey, used to interpose him as a shield
between the pistol and his body.
It was probably the mona, or varied monkey, of which an
amusing, though tragical, account is given by Le Vaillant. In
one of his excursions, he killed a female monkey, which carried
a young one on her back. The young one continued to cling to
2(i2
352 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
her dead parent, till they reached their evening quarters ; and
the assistance of a negro was even then required to disengage it.
No sooner, however, did it feel itself alone, than it darted to-
wards a wooden block, on which was placed the wig of Le Vail-
lant's father. To this it clung most pertinaciously by its fore
paws ; and such was the force of this deceptive instinct, that it
remained in the same position for about three weeks, all this
time evidently mistaking the wig for its mother. It was fed,
from time to time, with goat's milk ; and, at length, emancipat-
ed itself voluntarily, by quitting the fostering care of the peruke.
The confidence which it ere long assumed, and the amusing fa-
miliarity of its manners, soon rendered it a favourite with the
family. The unsuspecting naturalist had, however, introduced
a wolf in sheep's clothing into his dwelling : for, one morning,
on entering his chamber, the door of which had been imprudent-
ly left open, he beheld his young favourite making a hearty
breakfast on a very noble collection of insects. In the first
transports of his anger, he resolved to strangle the monkey in
his arms : but his rage immediately gave way to pity, when he
perceived that the crime of its voracity had carried the punish-
ment along with it. In eating the beetles, it had swallowed
several of the pins on which they were transfixed. Its agony,
consequently, became great : and all his efforts were unable to
preserve his life.
OF POUCHED ANIMALS,
GOLDSMITH has arranged the opossum and its kind after mon-
keys, as they " seem to unite the monkey and the rat," and " fill
up the chasm between the monkey tribe and the lower orders of
the forest." The opossum, kangaroo, &c. are chiefly character-
ized by the possession of an abdominal pouch or double womb,
in which they rear their young. The opossum is peculiar to
South America, and the kangaroo to New Holland and some
of the islands of the Indian Archipelago. The opossum is by no
means eminent for intelligence, and indeed the whole tribe are
deficient in that respect.
The GREAT KANGAROO measures about nine feet, and weighs
about 150 Ibs. The head is like that of a deer : the neck is
thin and finely proportioned ; the fore legs are about nineteen
inches in length, and the hinder ones three feet and a half; the
latter are bare, and callous, granulated beneath, and very strong ;
and, when sitting erect, the animals rest on the whole of their
length ; the lower point of the rear being elevated several inches
from the ground. The hind feet are not unlike those of birds.
From the breast downwards, the body gradually enlarges, till it
reaches the lower part of the abdomen, where it is thickest,
and again decreases towards the tail. This member is very strong,
and is used by the animal in assisting it to bound, and as a wea-
pon of defence, the animal sometimes striking a man's leg with
such force, as to break it.
Although the general position of the kangaroo, when at rest,
is a sitting posture, supported on the hind legs, which lie flat on
the ground from the hock joint, yet it frequently places its fore
feet on the ground also, and thus feeds in the manner of other
quadrupeds. It drinks by lapping.
The kangaroo is naturally a timid animal and flies at the ap-
2G3
354) ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
proach of man. In New Holland this creature is hunted with
greyhounds, and affords an agreeable pastime to the settlers. It
does not run like other quadrupeds, but progresses by quick,
repeated bounds of more than twenty feet, and no obstacle of
nine or ten feet can obstruct its flight, for it will leap over any
object of that height with the greatest ease. It is hunted silent-
ly, for it has surprising quickness of hearing. When a dog finds
his game, the chase begins, the kangaroo hopping, and the dog
running at his full speed ; so that in a thickly wooded country
like New Holland they are quickly out of view. The following
account of kangaroo hunting is taken from Dawson's ' Present
State of Australia :'
" The country on our right consisted of high and poor stony
hills, thickly timbered ; that on the left, on the opposite side of
the river, was a rich and thinly timbered country. A low and
fertile flat meadow there skirted the river, and at the extremity
of the flat the hills gradually arose with a gentle slope, covered
with verdure, upon which an immense herd of kangaroos were
feeding. I crossed over with Maty Bill and a brace of dogs,
leaving the party to proceed on their route. The moment we
had crossed, the kangaroos moved off. It is extremely curious
to see the manner in which a large herd of these animals jump
before you. It has often been asserted in England that they
make use of their tails to spring from you when they are pur-
sued ; this is not correct. Their tails never touch the ground
when they move, except when they are on their feed, or at play ;
and the faster they run or jump, the higher they carry them.
The male kangaroos were called, by the natives, old men, wool
man ;' and the females, young ladies, ' young liddy.' The males
are not so swift as the females ; and the natives, in wet seasons,
occasionally run the former down when very large, their weight
causing them to sink in the wet ground, and thus to become tir-
ed. They frequently, however, make up for this disadvantage,
by fierceness and cunning, when attacked either by men or dogs ;
and it is exceedingly difficult for a brace of the best dogs to kill a
' corbon wool man.' When they can, they will hug a dog or a
man as a bear would do ; and as they are armed with long sharp
claws, they not unfrequently let a dog's entrails out, or otherwise
lacerate him in the most dreadful manner, sitting all the while
on their haunches, hugging and scratching with determined fury.
THE KANGAROO. 355
Young dogs, that are fierce and of good bottom, are always sure
to be sacrificed, if allowed to run at these old men,' before they
have acquired some experience with smaller ones. After having
been once or twice wounded, they get pretty cunning, and very
few dogs will attack a ' wool man,' when they are away from
their keepers : their practice is to keep the enemy at bay, by
running round, and barking at him, till some person come up,
when, either with large sticks or pistols, and the aid of the dogs,
he is finally despatched, but not without some difficulty and
caution. A full-sized ' wool man ' at bay always sits on his
Launches, and when he rises to move forward, he stands four,
or four and a half feet high. In this manner, he will, when
pressed, meet a man, and hug and scratch him, if not to death,
in such a way that he does not soon forget it. When hard
pressed, and near to water, the kangaroo always takes it ; if it be
deep water, and the dogs follow him, one or the other is almost
sure to be drowned. If a single dog, the kangaroo is nearly
certain to come off victorious, by taking his assailant in his fore
arms, and holding him under water till he is dead ; but, if he
has two dogs opposed to him, he is not left at liberty to hold
either of his opponents long enough under water to drown him,
and he generally himself falls a sacrifice, after a long and hard
struggle. Notwithstanding the courage and ferocity of the kanga-
roo, when pressed, he is otherwise extremely timid, and more
easily domesticated than any wild animal with which I am ac-
quainted. The smaller ones are frequently quite as swift as a
hare ; and I have sometimes seen them outstrip the fleetest dogs.
The kind of dog used for coursing the kangaroo is generally a
cross between the greyhound and the mastiff, or sheep-dog ; but
in a climate like New South Wales, they have, to use the com-
mon phrase, too much lumber about them. The true-bred grey-
hound is the most useful dog ; he has more wind ; he ascends
the hills with more ease, and runs double the number of courses
in a day. He has more bottom in running, and, if he has less
ferocity when he comes up with an ' old man,' so much the bet-
ter, as he exposes himself the less, and lives to afford sport an-
other day. The strongest and most courageous dog can seldom
conquer a ' wool man ' alone, and not one in fifty will face him
fairly : the dog who has the temerity, is certain to be disabled,
if not killed.
356 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
" The herd of kangaroos we had thus come upon was too nu-
merous to allow of the dogs being let loose ; but, as the day's
walk was drawing to a close, I had given Maty Bill liberty to
catch another kangaroo, if we should fall in with a single one.
After moving up to the foot of the hill, about a quarter of a
mile from the river, my sable companion eyed a ' corbon wool
man,' as he called it, quietly feeding at a distance, on the slope
of the bill. His eyes sparkled ; he was all agitation ; and he
called out ' Massa ! massa ! You tee ! you tee ! wool man ! wool
man ! corbon wool man !' and off he ran with his dogs, till he
was within a fair distance, when he slipped their collars. I was
at this time on foot, and the whole of them, therefore, were soon
out of my sight. They had turned round the bottom of the hill,
in the direction of the river, and, as I was following them down,
I heard the dogs at bay, and the shrill call of ' coo-oo-oo,' from
my companion, to direct me to the spot ; and, on turning the
corner of the hill, I met him, running, and calling as fast and as
loud as he could. As soon as he saw me, he stopped and called
out, ' Massa ! massa ; make haste ; dingo (dogs) have got him
in ribber. Many corbon wool man, all the same like it bullock.'
All this was said in a breath ; and as I could not pretend to run
with him, I desired him to go as fast as he could, and help the
dogs, till I should arrive. When I got up to the spot, he was in
the middle of the river, with about two feet depth of water,
while the kangaroo, sitting upright on its haunches, was keeping
both him and the dogs at a respectful distance, and had laid
bare the windpipe of one of the dogs. Billy's Waddy was too
short to reach him without coming to close quarters, and he
knew better than do that ; at length he got behind him, and,
with a blow on the head, he despatched him. No huntsman
could have shown more ardour in the pursuit, or more pleasure
at the death of a fox, than did poor Maty Bill upon this occa-
sion. The kangaroo was so heavy, weighing about a hundred
and fifty pounds, that he could riot lift him out of the water, and
we were obliged to leave him till our party arrived on the oppo-
site side. A fresh scene of pleasure ensued among the natives
when they became acquainted with our good fortune. They
were 'now all in the river, from whence they drew the ' wool
man,' and placed him on the back of one of the horses. I wish-
ed to have left him, as we had already enough ; but, as they were
THE KANGAROO. 357
eager beyond every thing to take him, I indulged them. It ap-
pears that the natives have a great partiality for the flesh of the
old and large kangaroos, just as we have for mutton or venison
of a proper age. I never could discover any difference in 'flavour ;
but, if they can partake of a ' wool man,' they refuse any other ;
and, when asked the reason, they replied to me, ' Wool man
budgeree (food) fatter. Black fellow like him always more
better."
The female kangaroo produces but one at a birth, which is
excessively small. The young one remains in the abdominal
pouch till it has grown to a considerable size. It frequently leaves
this comfortable retreat for exercise or amusement ; and after the
usual time of abandoning it altogether, on being alarmed, it will
often return to it for safety.
Kangaroos exist entirely on vegetables, chiefly on grass.
They are gregarious, and may be seen feeding in herds of from
thirty to fifty.
The kangaroo was introduced to the notice of naturalists
by the memorable voyage of discovery to the Pacific Ocean,
when Cook first circumnavigated the globe, in 1770. It was
discovered by some of his people, in Ne\v South Wales, a
country replete with new and highly curious objects of natural
history ; many of them with forms entirely new, and characters
differing from every other part of the world. Till this period,
these wonderful productions were only surveyed by the eyes of
savages.
OF THE ELEPHANT.
THE elephant is the largest quadruped at present extant on
the earth. In the world's early prime, however, it cannot be
doubted, that there existed animals far surpassing the elephant
in size. Fossil bones of "huge mammoths" have been found,
of almost incredible dimensions, before which the bulk of the
elephant dwindles into comparative insignificance. The habits,
dispositions, and resources of these enormous quadrupeds are
buried in everlasting oblivion ; they existed, it is probable, be-
fore the world's continents were trodden by the foot of man,
and while yet the earth bloomed in its young exuberance.
But small as the elephant may be in comparison with these
antediluvian monsters, it is still an animal of extraordinary size,
and its magnitude seldom fails to excite surprise in the beholder,
however much he may have been previously prepared for the
sight. Its average height is nine or ten feet, though it in many
cases rises as high as fifteen feet. Its weight varies from four
to nine thousand pounds. Nor is it more distinguished for its
size than for its sagacity. When tamed, it becomes the most
gentle, obedient, and affectionate of domestic animals, capable of
being trained to any service necessary in those warm countries
to which it natively belongs. It has, therefore, in all ages been
highly prized by mankind, and is well entitled to the character
bestowed on it by the poet, as being
" The wisest brute, with gentle might endowed,
Though powerful, not destructive."
Only two species of the elephant at present exist, the ASIATIC
and AFRICAN but the remains of several extinct species are
met with in almost every part of the world, particularly in
Asiatic Russia. The Asiatic is the largest, most readily do-
THE ELEPHANT. 359
mesticated, and best known. The African is distinguished from
the Asiatic by a difference in the character of the teeth and shape
of the head, and particularly by possessing enormous ears.
.Elephants hold undisputed sway in the mighty forests which
they inhabit ; their immense size, united strength, and great
swiftness, enabling them to dislodge all intruders on their
abodes. The lion and tiger fear their united attacks, and avoid
such formidable assailants. Seemingly sensible of the large
supply of food they require, they will allow no animal, however
peaceable, to browse in their territories, of which they hold ex-
elusive possession : and they can only exist in those extensive
woody ranges, or immense plains, where vegetation abounds in
all its wild luxuriance.
From the conformation of the legs of the elephant, he has
evidently been formed to move on level ground ; as he wants
the elastic ligament, which, in almost all quadrupeds, connects
the top of the thigh bone with the pelvis, and that gives the hind
legs power to resist the strain which is produced by moving
on irregular surfaces.* Although the elephant is capable of as-
cending elevated tracts, with a considerable weight, yet his action
plainly indicates, that it is by no means natural for him to do so.
But to make up for this deficiency, he moves with the utmost
caution, taking care always to have one foot secure, before he
rests upon another.
The elephant is an excellent swimmer, and is capable of
crossing the largest Asiatic rivers. This power seems very
essential ; for the great quantity of food which a herd must con-
sume, necessarily obliges them to remove from one place to an-
other. The elephant swims deep, being sometimes immersed
to the head in the water, which does not at all incommode
him, if he can reach the surface with the tip of his proboscis, so
as to breath the atmospheric air. In a captive state, this some-
times proves rather dangerous to his mohout, or driver ; and it
not unfrequently happens, that he is obliged to stand erect on
his back.
It will be noticed that the head of this quadruped is very
differently placed from that of all other herbivorous animals.
His neck is so short, that its vertebrae may rather be considered
* See the interesting observations on the anatomy of the Elephant, in Sir
K. Home's ' Comparative Anatomy,' vol. i. p. 95.
SCO ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
as a column for its support than to enable him to put his bead
to the ground to graze. The movements of his head are con-
fined to a very limited elevation and bending, as also a slight
motion from side to side. This shortness and compactness of
the vertebra is necessary for the support of his ponderous head,
and immense tusks. To supply the defect of a short neck, na-
ture has furnished him with a proboscis or trunk ; which is an
organ of the most exquisite sensibility, and fitted in an eminent
degree for a number of useful purposes, and to supply all his
necessities. This surprising organ has commanded the admira-
tion of mankind in all ages of the world ; its flexibility and
strength, and its extreme sensitiveness, excite our astonishment.
The proboscis is a prolongation of the organ of smell, for there
are two canals pierced through its centre, from one end to the
other, and nearly separated by a fatty substance, about the third
of an inch in thickness. These canals the animal has the power
of dilating or contracting at pleasure ; and it is with these that
he supplies himself with drink, by first filling them with the
liquid, and then turning the point into his mouth and discharg-
ing the water into it. The water is drawn up by suction, to a
certain point, beyond which it cannot pass. Some notion may
be formed of the command the animal possesses over'his trunk,
when it is known, that Cuvier has ascertained, from anatomical
dissection, that the muscles of this member, which have the
power of distinct action, amount nearly to forty thousand.
There is no animal organ at all to be compared to this for per-
fection, and possessing a mechanism so wonderful, and so com-
pletely adapted to its varied uses. The extreme termination of
the trunk consists of a finger-like process, of an exceedingly
flexible nature, and with which it can lift from the ground the
smallest object, by being pressed against an opposite process ;
between those two parts, which may be termed the finger and
thumb, are situated the nostrils. The first and most essential
property of the trunk is to supply the animal with food ; for
with it he can despoil the trees of their young shoots and leaves,
and crop the herbage of the fields ; he twists the point spirally
round them, and crops them as nicely off as with a knife ; and
then conveys them to his mouth. The elephant seems to be
quite sensible of the value of his trunk, for he rarely uses it as an
offensive weapon, arid takes the greatest care of it upon all occa-
THE ELEPHANT. 361
sions. It is said that he often makes use of his trunk in throw-
ing clods, stones, and other missiles, at his adversaries.
The elephant possesses the sense of hearing in a high degree ;
which has been given to him for some wise purpose. To as-
certain the effect of music on elephants, Sir Everard Home
tried experiments on one in London. He says, " As a matter of
curiosity, I got Mr Braidwood to send me one of his .tuners
with a piano-forte to the menageries in Exeter Change, that I
might know the effect of acute and grave sounds upon the ear of
a full grown elephant. The acute sounds seemed hardly to at-
tract his notice : but, as soon as the grave notes were struck, he
became all attention, brought forward his large external ear, tried
to discover where the sounds came from, remained in the atti-
tude of listening, and, after some time, made noises, by no means
of dissatisfaction." In the year 1798, an experiment was made
upon the musical capabilities of the male and female elephants
at the ' Jardin du Roi,' at Paris, from which it was quite evi-
dent, that the elephants were differently affected by various pieces
of music : the tender air of ' Charmante Gabrielle' produced in
them a languor of expression, while the lively national air of
' Ca-ira' effected a great degree of excitement. These are so far
confirmatory of ^Elian's account of the modulated dance of the
elephants of Germanicus.
Elephants are possessed of three distinct methods of utter-
ance, which their Asiatic keepers perfectly understand. The
first sound, which denotes pleasure, is produced by blowing
through the proboscis, in a sharp manner, like the notes of a
trumpet blown by a novice. The second, to signify their wants,
is expressed through the mouth in a low murmuring tone. The
third, which is indicative of rage, is a tremendous roar proceed-
ing from the throat.
Bathing is a favourite recreation with the elephant. This
probably arises from the pleasure the animal feels from the cuti-
cle being cooled and refreshed, as they have no hair to protect
it from the sun's influence. Bishop Heber, in his approach to
Dacca, saw a number of elephants enjoying themselves in this
way, which he thus narrates : " At a distance of about half a
mile from those desolate palaces, a sound struck my ear, as if
from the water itself on which we were riding, the most solemn
and singular I can conceive. It was long, loud, deep, and trem-
2u
362 ANECDOTES OF A.NIMALS.
ulous, something between the blowing of a whale, or perhaps
more like those roaring buoys which are placed at the mouths of
some English harbours, in which the winds make a noise to
warn ships off them. ' Oh,' said Abdallah, there are elephants
bathing ; Dacca much place for elephant.' I looked immediate-
ly, and saw about twenty of these fine animals, with their heads
and trunks just appearing above the water. Their bellowing it
was which I had heard, and which the water conveyed to us with
a finer effect than if we had been on shore."
The following anecdote illustrates the passion of elephants
for water, but still further illustrates the cunning and resources
of these animals. "At the siege of Bhurtpore, in the year 1805,
an affair occurred between two elephants, which displays at once
the character and mental capacity, the passions, cunning, and
resources of these curious animals : The British army, with its
countless host of followers and attendants, and thousands of cat-
tie, had been for a long time before the city, when, on the ap-
proach of the warm season and of the dry hot winds, the quantity
of water in the neighbourhood of the camps, necessary for the sup-
ply of so many beings, began to fail ; the ponds or tanks had dried
up, and no more water was left than the immense wells of the
country would furnish. The multitude of men and cattle that were
unceasingly at the wells, particularly the largest, occasioned no
little struggle for the priority in procuring the supply, for which
each was there to seek, and the consequent confusion on the spot
was frequently very considerable. On one occasion, two elephant
drivers, each with his elephant, the one remarkably large and
strong, and the other comparatively small and weak, were at the
well together ; the small elephant had been provided by his mas-
ter with a bucket for the occasion, which he carried at the end
of his proboscis ; but the larger animal being destitute of this
necessary vessel, either spontaneously, or by desire of his keep-
er, seized the bucket, and easily wrested it away from his less
powerful fellow-servant. The latter was too sensible of his in-
feriority openly to resist the insult, though it is obvious that he
felt it ; but great squabbling and abuse ensued between the keep-
ers. At length, the weaker animal, watching the opportunity
when the other was standing with his side to the well, retired
backwards a few paces, in a very quiet unsuspicious manner, and
then rushing forward with all his might, drove his head against
THE ELEPHANT. 363
the side of the other, and fairly pushed him into the well. It
may easily be imagined that great inconvenience was immediate-
ly experienced, and serious apprehensions quickly followed, that
the water in the well, on which the existence of so many seem-
ed, in a great measure, to depend, would be spoiled, or at least
injured by the unwieldy brute which was precipitated into it ;
and as the surface of the water was nearly twenty feet below the
common level, there did not appear to be any means that could
be adopted to get the animal out by main force, without the risk
of injuring him. There were many feet of water below the ele-
phant, who floated with ease on its surface, and experiencing
considerable pleasure from his cool retreat, he evinced but little
inclination even to exert what means he might possess in him-
self of escape. A vast number of fascines had been employed
by the army in conducting the siege ; and at length it occurred
to the elephant keeper, that a sufficient number of these (which
may be compared to bundles of wood) might be lowered into the
well, to make a hill, which might be raised to the top, if the
animal could be instructed as to the necessary means of laying
them in regular succession under his feet. Permission having
been obtained from the engineer officers to use the fascines, which
were at the time put away in several piles of very considerable
height, the keeper had to teach the elephant the lesson, which,
by means of that extraordinary ascendency these men attain
over their charge, joined with the intellectual resources of the
animal itself, he was soon enabled to do ; and the elephant began
quickly to place each fascine as it was lowered, successively under
him, until, in a little time, he was enabled to stand upon them j
by this time, however, the cunning brute, enjoying the pleasure
of his situation, after the heat, and partial privation of water to
which he had been lately exposed, (they are observed in their
natural state to frequent rivers, and to swim very often,) was
unwilling to work any longer ; and all the threats of his keeper
could not induce him to place another fascine. The man then
opposed cunning to cunning, and began, to caress and praise the
elephant ; and what he could not effect by threats, he was en-
abled to do by the repeated promise of plenty of rack. Incited
by this, the animal again went to work, raised himself consider-
ably higher, until, by a partial removal of the masonry round tlie
2u2
3G4 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
top of the well, he was enabled to step out. The whole affair oc-
cupied about fourteen hours."
It is computed that an elephant will perform the work of six
horses ; but he requires more care from his keeper, and a much
greater quantity of food, which, in India, usually consists of
rice and water, either raw or boiled, with the addition of fresh
vegetable substances. His daily allowance of rice is a hundred
pounds, and he is supposed to drink about forty-five gallons of
water. The elephant is easily overheated ; and it becomes
necessary to allow him to bathe as frequently as circumstances
will permit. Where the pool is not sufficiently deep to allow
him to immerse himself entirely in the water, he sucks up a
quantity in his trunk, and, elevating it over his head, spouts it
all over his body.
The elephant is a long-lived animal, although the exact
duration of his existence is not properly ascertained. It is, how-
ever, quite well known that they have lived one hundred and
thirty years. Some authors have gone the length of estimating
his life at four hundred years. The time of gestation in the ele-
phant is twenty months and eighteen days ; they produce
but one young at a time, which is, at birth, about thirty-five
inches in height. They suck the teats of their mother with
their mouth, and riot with their trunk, as many authors have as-
serted.
Naturalists, since the middle ages, have denied that the ele-
phant propagates in a state of captivity. JElian and Columella
both distinctly state that the elephant was in their time produc-
tive in a domesticated condition. The former of these authors
flourished in the beginning of the second century. Mr Corse,
keeper of the elephants to the East India Company, who has
probably seen and watched the habits of these animals more
than any other in Europe, distinctly asserts, that they bring forth
under the dominion of man. In India it was thought unlucky
to breed elephants ; but the origin of this belief may be
traced to the great expense of rearing young elephants, and
their being so long of reaching maturity. It was easier to
procure them by hunting, and securing them in their native
forests.
The manner of hunting and taming the wild elephant in Asia
is curious. In the middle of a forest, where these animals are
THE ELEPHANT. 365
known to abound, a large piece of ground is marked out, and
surrounded with strong stakes driven into the earth, interwoven
with branches of trees. One end of this enclosure is narrow,
and it gradually widens till it takes in a great extent of country.
Several thousand men are employed to surround the herd of ele-
phants, and to prevent their escape ; they kindle large tires at
certain distances, and by hallooing, beating drums, and playing
discordant instruments, so bewilder the poor animals, that they
allow themselves to be insensibly driven, by some thousands
more Indians, into the narrow part of the enclosure, into which
they are decoyed by tame female elephants, trained to this ser-
vice. At the extreme end of the large area is a small enclosure,
very strongly fenced in, and guarded on all sides, into which the
elephants pass by a long narrow defile. As soon as one enters
this strait, a strong bar is thrown across the passage from behind.
He now finds himself separated from his neighbours, and goaded
on all sides by huntsmen, who are placed along this passage,
till he reaches the smaller area, where two tame female ele-
phants are stationed, who immediately commence to discipline
him with their trunks, till he is reduced to obedience, and suf-
fers himself to be conducted to a tree, to which he is bound by
the leg, with stout thongs of untanned elk, or buckskin. The
tame elephants are again conducted to the enclosure, where the
same operation is performed on the others, till all are subdued.
They are kept bound to trees for several days, and a certain
number of attendants left with each animal to supply him with
food, by little and little, till he is brought by degrees to be sen-
sible of kindness and caresses, and thus allows himself to be
conducted to the stable. So docile and susceptible of domesti-
cation is the elephant, that, in a general way, fourteen days are
sufficient to reduce the animals to perfect obedience. During this
time they are fed daily with cocoa-nut leaves, of which they are
excessively fond, and are conducted to the water by the tame fe-
males. In a short time he becomes accustomed to the voice of
his keeper, and at last quietly resigns his freedom, and great
energies, to the dominion of man.
The mode employed by the Africans to take elephants alive
is in pits. Pliny, whose accounts were in general correct, men-
tions, that, when one of the herd happened to fall into this
snare, his companions would throw branches of trees and masses
2 H3
366 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
of earth into the pit, with the intention of raising the bottom,
so that the animal might effect his escape. Although this ap-
pears to be a species of reasoning hardly to be expected from an
animal, yet it has in a great measure been confirmed by Mr
Pringle, who says, " In the year 1821, during one of my ex-
cursions in the interior of the Cape Colony, I happened to
spend a few days at ^he Moravian Missionary Settlement of
Enon, or White River. This place is situated in a wild, but
beautiful valley, near the foot of the Zuurberg mountains, in
the district of Uiterhage, and is surrounded on every side by ex-
tensive forests of evergreens, in which numerous herds of ele-
phants still find food and shelter. From having been frequently
hunted by the boors and Hottentots, these animals are become
so shy as scarcely ever to be seen during the day, except amongst
the most remote and inaccessible ravines and jungles ; but in the
night time they frequently issue forth in large troops, and range
in search of food, through the inhabited farms in the White
River valley ; and on such occasions they sometimes revenge the
wrongs of their race upon the settlers who have taken possession
of their ancient haunts, by pulling up fruit trees, treading down
gardens and corn fields, breaking their ploughs, waggons, and so
forth. I do not mean, however, to affirm, that the elephants
really do all this mischief from feelings of revenge, or with the
direct intention of annoying their human persecutors. They
pull up the trees, probably because they want to browse on their
soft roots, and they demolish the agricultural implements merely
because they happen to be in their way. But what I am now
about to state assuredly indicates no ordinary intelligence : A
few days before my arrival at Enon, a troop of elephants came
down one dark and rainy night, close to the outskirts of the
village. The missionaries heard them bellowing, and making
an extraordinary noise, for a long time at the upper end of the
orchard ; but, knowing well how dangerous it is to encounter
these powerful animals in the night, they kept close within their
houses till day- light. Next morning, on their examining the spot
where they had heard the elephants, they discovered the cause
of all this nocturnal uproar. There was at this spot a ditch or
trench, about four or five feet in width, and nearly fourteen feet
in depth, which the industrious missionaries had recently cut
through the banks of the river, on purpose to lead out water to
THE ELEPHANT. 3G7
irrigate some part of their garden, and to drive a corn-mill. Into
this trench, which was still unfinished, and without water, one
of the elephants had evidently fallen, for the marks of his feet
were distinctly visible at the bottom, as well as the impress of
his huge body on the sides. How he had got into it was not
easy to conjecture ; but how, being once in, he ever contrived
to get out again, was the marvel. By his own unaided efforts it
was obviously impossible for such an animal to have extricated
himself. Could his comrades, then, have assisted him ? There
can be no question that they had, though by what means, unless
by hauling him out with their trunks, it would not be easy to
conjecture. And, in corroboration of this supposition, on ex-
amining the spot myself, I found the edges of this trench deeply
indented with numerous vestiges, as if the other elephants had
stationed themselves on either side, some of them kneeling,
and others on their feet, and had thus, by united efforts, and
probably after many failures, hoisted their unlucky brother out
of the pit."
" A herd of wild elephants," says Mr Pringle, " browsing in
majestic tranquillity amidst the wild magnificence of an African
landscape, is a very noble sight, and one of which I shall never
forget the impression. It is difficult to convey in a brief notice
an adequate idea of such a scene ; but if the reader will, in
imagination, accompany me in a short excursion into the wil-
derness, I shall endeavour to show him at least what the South
Africans call the spoor the vestigia of a troop of elephants.
During my residence on the eastern frontiers of the Cape
Colony, I accompanied a party of English officers on a little ex-
ploratory excursion, into a tract of country then termed the
Neutral Territory, immediately adjoining to the location of the
Scottish settlers at Bavian's River. This territory, which com-
prises an irregular area, of about two millions of acres, had re-
mained for several years entirely without inhabitants ; for its
native possessors, the Caffres and Ghonaquas, had been expelled
from it in 1819, by the colonial forces, and no other permanent
inhabitants had yet been allowed to occupy it. The colonists
were even forbidden to hunt in it under severe penalties, and
in consequence of this, the wild animals had resorted thither
in considerable numbers. The upper part of this exten-
sive tract, into which we now penetrated, is an exceedingly wild
3G8 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
and bewildering region, broken into innumerable ravines, en-
cumbered with rocks, precipices, and impenetrable woods and
jungles, and surrounded on almost every side by lofty and sterile
mountains. During our first day's journey, although we saw
many herds of large game, such as quaggas, gnus, hartebeests,
koodoos, with a variety of the smaller antelopes, there was no
appearance of elephants ; but, in the course of the second day,
as we pursued our route down the valley of the Koonap river,
we became aware that a numerous troop of these gigantic ani-
mals had recently preceded us. Footprints of all dimensions,
from eighteen to fifteen inches in diameter, were every where
visible ; and in the swampy spots, on the banks of the
river, it was evident that some of them had been luxuriously en-
joying themselves, by rolling their unwieldy bulks in the ooze
and mud. But it was in the groves and jungles that they had
left the most striking proofs of their recent presence and pecu-
liar habits. In many places, paths had been trodden through
the midst of dense thorny forests, otherwise impenetrable. They
appeared to have opened those paths with great judgment, al-
ways taking the best and shortest cut to the next open savannah,
or ford of the river ; and in this way they were of the greatest
use to us, by pioneering our route through a most difficult and
intricate country, never yet traversed by a wheel carriage : and
great part of it, indeed, inaccessible even on horseback, except for
the aid of these powerful and sagacious animals. In such places
(as the Hottentots assured me,) the great tall elephants always
march in the van, bursting through the jungle, as a bullock
would through a field of hops, treading down the thorny brush-
wood, and breaking off with their proboscis the larger branches
that obstruct their passage. The females and younger part of
the herd follow in their track in single file ; and, in this manner,
a path is cleared through the densest woods and forests, such as
it would take the pioneers of an army no small labour to accom-
plish. Among the groves of mimosa trees, which were thinly
sprinkled over the grassy meadows along the river margins, the
traces of the elephants were not less apparent. Immense num-
bers of trees had been torn out of the ground, and placed in an
inverted position, in order to enable the animals to browse at
their ease on the soft and juicy roots, which form a favourite
part of their food. I observed that, in numerous instances,
THE ELEPHANT. 3G9
when the trees were of considerable size, the elephant had em-
ployed one of his tusks exactly as we should use a crow-bar,
thrusting it under the roots, to loosen their hold of the earth,
before he could tear them up with his proboscis. Many of the
larger mimosas had resisted all their efforts ; and, indeed, it is only
after heavy rains, when the soil is soft and loose, that they can
successfully attempt this operation. While we were admiring
these and other indications of the elephant's strength and saga-
city, we suddenly found ourselves, on issuing from a woody
defile, through one of the wild paths I had mentioned, in the
midst of a numerous herd of these animals. None of them,
however, were very close upon us ; but they were seen scattered
in little clumps, over the bottoms and sides of a valley two or
three miles in length ; some browsing on the succulent speck
boom f Postulacaria afra,} which clothed the skirts of the hills
on either side ; others at work among the mimosa trees, sprin-
kled over the low and grassy savannah. As we proceeded cau-
tiously onward, and some of these parties came more distinctly
into view, (consisting, apparently, in many instances, of separate
families, the male, the female, and the young, of different sizes,)
the gigantic magnitude of the leaders became more and more
striking. The calm and stately tranquillity of their deportment,
too, was remarkable : though we were a band of about a dozen
horsemen, including our Hottentot attendants, they seemed
either not to observe, or altogether to disregard our march down
the valley." A natural love of sport excited Mr Pringle's com-
panions to attack these animals : but, says he, " When I looked
around on these noble and stately animals feeding in quiet secu-
rity in the depth of this secluded and picturesque valley, too
peaceful to injure, too powerful to dread any other living creature,
I felt that it would be almost a sort of sacrilege to attempt their
destruction in sheer wantonness, merely to furnish sport to the
great destroyer, man ; and I was glad when it was unanimously
agreed to leave them unmolested."
Of the attachment of elephants to their keepers, or to those
who have done them a kindness, many instances are on record.
We shall here lay a few before our readers : JLlian relates,
that a man of rank in India, having very carefully trained up a
female elephant, used daily to ride upon her. She was exceed-
ingly sagacious, and much attached to her master. The prince
370 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
having heard of the extraordinary gentleness and capacity of this
animal, demanded her of her owner. But so attached was this
person to his elephant, that he resolved to keep her at all hazards,
and fled with her to the mountains. The prince, having heard
of his retreat, ordered a party of soldiers to pursue, and bring
back the fugitive with his elephant. They overtook him at the
top of a steep hill, where he defended himself by throwing stones
down upon his pursuers, in which he was assisted by his faithful
elephant, who threw stones with great dexterity. At length,
however, the soldiers gained the summit of the hill, and were
about to seize the fugitive, when the elephant rushed amongst
them with the utmost fury, trampled some to death, dashed
others to the ground with her trunk, and put the rest to flight.
She then placed her master, who was wounded in the contest,
upon her back, and conveyed him to a place of security.
When Pyrrhus, King of Epire, attacked the territory of Argos,
one of his soldiers, who was mounted upon an elephant, receiv-
ed a dangerous wound, and fell to the ground. When the ele-
phant discovered that he had lost his master in the tumult, he
furiously rushed among the crowd, dispersing them in every di-
rection, till he had found him. He then raised him from the
ground with his trunk, and, placing him across his tusks, carried
him back to the town.
A wooden house was, in 1818, constructed at St Petersburgh
for the elephants which the Schah of Persia had presented to
the Emperor of Russia. The male elephant was twelve feet
high ; his tusks had been partly sawed off, and encircled in gol-
den rings. This was the same elephant on which the sovereign
of Persia used to ride, with a canopy over his head. Several
Persians, who were accustomed to attend on these animals, con-
tinued to reside at St Petersburgh. A singular incident took
place on one occasion with the male elephant : A lady, whom
curiosity frequently attracted to see him, never paid him a visit
without carrying along with her spme bread, apples, and brandy.
One day, the animal, as a testimony of his gratitude, seized her
with his trunk, and placed her upon his back. The poor lady,
who was not prepared for this act of gallantry, uttered piercing
shrieks, and entreated the assistance of those who were standing
near. The Persians, however, prudently advised her not to stir,
THE ELEPHANT. 371
and she was obliged to wait till the elephant placed her on the
ground as carefully as he had raised her.
Porus, a king of India, in a battle with Alexander the Great,
being severely wounded, fell from the back of his elephant. The
Macedonian soldiers, supposing him dead, pushed forward, in
order to despoil him of his rich clothing and accoutrements ; but
the faithful elephant, standing over the body of its master, boldly
repelled every one who dared to approach ; and, while the enemy
stood at bay, took the bleeding monarch up with his trunk,
and placed him again on his back. The troops of Porus came
by this time to his relief, and the king was saved ; but the faith-
ful elephant died of the wounds which he received in the
heroic defence of his master.
Some years ago, an elephant at Dekan, from a motive of re-
venge, killed its conductor. The wife of the unfortunate man
was witness to the dreadful scene, and, in the frenzy of her
mental agony, took her two children, and threw them at the feet
of the elephant, saying, " As you have slain my husband, take
my life also, as well as that of my children !" The elephant
became calm, seemed to relent, and as if stung with remorse, took
up the eldest boy with its trunk, placed him on its neck, adopted
him for its cornac, and never afterwards allowed another to oc-
cupy that seat.
A female elephant, belonging to a gentleman in Calcutta, who
was ordered from the upper country to Chittagong, in the route
thither, broke loose from her keeper, and, making her way to
the woods, was lost. The keeper made every excuse to vindi-
cate himself, which the master of the animal would not listen to,
but branded the man with carelessness, or something worse,
for it was instantly supposed he had sold the elephant. He was
tried for it, and condemned to work on the roads for life, and
his wife and children sold for slaves. About twelve years after-
wards, this man, who was known to be well acquainted with
breaking elephants, was sent into the country with a party to
assist in catching wild ones. They came upon a herd, and this
man fancied he saw amongst the group his long lost elephant,
for which he had been condemned. He resolved to approach it,
nor could the strongest remonstrances of the party dissuade him
from the attempt. Having reached the animal, he spoke to her,
when she immediately recognised his voice ; she waved her
372 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
trunk in the air as a token of salutation, and spontaneously knelt
down, and allowed him to mount her neck. She afterwards as-
sisted in taking other elephants, and decoyed three young ones,
to which she had given birth in her absence. The keeper re-
turned, and the singular circumstances attending the recovery
being told, he regained his character ; and, as a recompense for
his unmerited sufferings, had a pension settled on him for life.
This elephant was afterwards in possession of Warren Hastings,
when governor-general of Hindostan.
A soldier in India was in the habit of giving to an elephant,
whenever he received his pay, a certain quantity of arrack.
Once, being intoxicated, this soldier committed some excesses,
and was ordered to be committed to the guardhouse ; but he fled
from the soldiers who were sent to apprehend him, and took re-
fuge under the body of his favourite elephant, where he laid him-
self down quietly, and fell asleep. In vain the guard attempted
to seize upon him, and draw him from his place of refuge, for
the grateful elephant defended him with hi trunk, and they
were obliged to abandon their attempt to secure him. When
the soldier awoke next morning from his drunken slumber, he
was very much alarmed at finding himself under the belly of such
an enormous animal ; but the elephant caressed him with his
trunk, so as to quiet his apprehensions, and he got up and de-
parted in safety.
There is a curious fact of the attachment of an elephant for an
infant, mentioned in the ' Philosophical Transactions :' he is
said never to have been happy but when the infant was near him.
The nurse, therefore, frequently took the child in its cradle, and
placed it between the feet of its attached friend. He became
at length so accustomed to the presence of his guest, that he
would not eat his meat when the infant was absent. When
the child was asleep, he watched it with much solicitude, and,
when flies approached, he drove them off with his trunk ; if ic
awoke, and cried, he would rock the cradle till the child again
fell asleep.
The author of the ' Twelve Years' Military Adventures,' says,
" I have myself seen the wife of a mohout give a baby in
charge to an elephant, while she was on some business, and
have been highly amused in observing the sagacity arid care of
the unwieldy nurse. The child, which, like most children, did
THE ELEPHANT. 373
not like to lie still in one position, would, as soon as left to it-
yelf, begin crawling about, in which exercise it would probably
get among the legs of the animal, or entangle itself in the
branches of the trees on which he was feeding, when the ele-
phant would, in the most tender manner, disengage his charge,
either by lifting it out of the way with his trunk, or by removing
the impediments to his free progress. If the child had crawled
to such a distance as to verge upon the limits of his range, (for
the animal was chained by the leg to a peg driven into the
ground,) he would stretch out his trunk, and lift it back as gently
as possible to the spot whence it had started." .
That elephants are susceptible of the most tender attachment
to each other, is evinced by the following occurrence, which is re-
corded in a French journal : In the year 1786, two young ele-
phants, about two years and a half old, were brought from the
island of Ceylon into Holland, as a present to the stadtholder,
from the Dutch East India Company. They had been separ-
ated, in order to be conveyed from the Hague to the Jar din des
Plantes, at Paris, where there was a spacious apartment fitted
up for their reception. This was divided in the middle to keep
the animals apart, but communicated by means of a portcullis.
These apartments were surrounded by a palisade of strong
rails. The morning after their arrival they were brought into
this habitation, the male elephant being first introduced. He
examined, with an air of suspicion, the whole place, tried the
beams individually, by shaking them with his trunk, to see if
they were fast. He endeavoured to turn round the large screws
which bound them, but this he found impracticable. When he
came to the portcullis between the two partitions, he discovered
it was secured only by a perpendicular iron bolt, which he lifted
up with his trunk, pushed open the door, and entered the other
apartment, where he received his breakfast. It was with great
difficulty these animals had been separated ; and, not having seen
each other for some months, the joy they exhibited at meeting,
after so long a separation, is hardly to be described. They im-
mediately ran to each other, uttered a cry of joy that shook the
whole building, and blew air from their trunks with such vio-
lence that it seemed like the blast of a smith's bellows. The
pleasure of the female seemed the most lively: she expressed it by
moving her ears with astonishing rapidity, and tenderly twining
2i
374 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
her trunk round the body of the male. She particularly applied
it to his ear, where she kept it for a long time motionless, and,
after having again folded it round his body, she applied it to
her own mouth. The male, in like manner, folded his trunk
round the body of the female, and the pleasure he seemed to ex-
perience was of a sentimental cast, for he expressed it by shed-
ding tears. After that time, they were kept in the same apart-
ment, and their attachment and mutual affection excited the ad-
miration of all who visited the menagerie.
The following is an example of the attachment of the elephant
to other animals : In the year 1740, the Emperor of Turkey
sent the present of an elephant to the King of Naples, which
formed a particular attachment to a ram, that was, together with
some other animals, confined in the same stable with the ele-
phant. They became extremely familiar ; arid the ram used to
amuse himself, by butting with his horns against the elephant's
legs, and sometimes his forehead. This the elephant bore with
seeming good nature ; but sometimes the ram abused this fami-
liarity, by butting harder than was agreeable to his friend ; and
the only punishment which he inflicted upon him, was to take-
him up in his trunk, and throw him upon a dung heap at some
little distance. If any other of the animals attempted to take
liberties with him, he would dash them against the wall with
such violence, that they were killed on the spot.
The elephant is not less disposed to resent an injury, than to
reward a benefit. It has been frequently observed by those who
have had the charge of elephants, that they seem sensible of be-
ing ridiculed, and seldom miss an opportunity of revenging them-
selves for the insults they receive in this way. An artist in
Paris wished to draw the elephant in the menagerie at the Jardin
des Plantes in an extraordinary attitude, which was with his trunk
elevated in the air, and his mouth open. An attendant on the ar-
tist, to make the elephant preserve the attitude, threw fruits into
his mouth, and often pretended to throw them, without doing
so. The animal became irritated, and, seeming to think that the
painter was the cause of his annoyance, turned to him, and dash-
ed a quantity of water from his trunk over the paper on which
the painter was sketching the portrait.
A merchant at Bencoolen kept a tame elephant, which was so
exceedingly gentle in his habits, that he was permitted to go at
THE ELEPHANT. 375
large. This huge animal used to walk about the streets, in the
most quiet and orderly manner, and paid many visits through
the city to people who were kind to him. Two cobblers took
an ill will to this inoffensive creature, and attempted several
times to prick him on the proboscis with their awls. The noble
animal did not chastise them in the manner he might have done,
and seemed to think they were too contemptible to be angry
with them. But he took 'other means to punish them for their
temerity : He filled his trunk with water of a dirty quality, and,
advancing towards them in his ordinary manner, spouted the
whole of the puddle over them. The punishment was applauded
by those who witnessed it, and they were laughed at for their
folly.
Woif, in his Voyage to Ceylon, relates the following anec-
dote : A person in that island, who lived near a place where
elephants were daily led to water, and often sat at the door of
his house, used occasionally to give one of these animals some
fig leaves, a food to which elephants are very partial. Once he
took it into his head to play the elephant a trick : He wrapped
a stone round with fig leaves, and said to the cornac, " This
time I will give him a stone to eat, and see how it will agree
with him." The cornac answered, " that the elephant would
not be such a fool as to swallow a stone." The man, however,
reached the stone to the elephant, who, taking it with his trunk,
immediately let it fall to the ground. " You see," said the keeper,
" that I was right ;" and, without farther words, drove away his
elephants. After they were watered, he was conducting them
again to their stable. The man who had played the elephant
the trick was still sitting at his door, when, before he was aware,
the animal ran at him, threw his trunk around his body, and,
dashing him to the ground trampled him immediately to death.
The following interesting example of an elephant resenting an
injury is related by M. F. Cuvier. This animal was intrusted,
at the age of two or three years, to a young man who took care
of it, and who taught it various exercises, which he made it re-
peat for the amusement of the public. It was entirely obedient
to its master, and felt a lively affection for him. Not only did
it submit, without the smallest hesitation, to all his commands,
but was even unhappy in his absence : it repelled the advances
of every other person, and even seemed to eat with a kind of
2 i 2
376 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
regret when its food was presented by a strange hand. So long
as this young man was under the eye of his father, the proprietor
of the elephant, whether the influence of his family had restrain-
ed him, or age had not yet developed his bad propensities, he
conducted himself with propriety towards the animal intrusted
to his care ; but, when the elephant came to be placed in the
royal menagerie, and the young man, who was employed to take
charge of it, was left to himself, things became changed: he
gave himself up to dissipation, and neglected his duties ; he
even went so far, in his moments of drunkenness, as to strike
his elephant. The latter, from being habitually cheerful, be-
came melancholy and taciturn, insomuch as to be thought unwell.
It still, however, obeyed, but no longer with that briskness
which showed that all its exercises were regarded by it as amuse-
ments ; signs of impatience were even sometimes manifested,
but they were immediately repressed. It was obvious that very
different feelings were combating within ; but the situation, so
unfavourable to obedience, to which this violent state reduced
it, did not the less contribute to excite the discontent of its
keeper. It was in vain that the most positive orders were given
to this young man, never to strike his elephant, nor would he be
convinced that good treatment alone could restore the original
docility of the animal. Mortified at having lost his authority
over the elephant, and, especially, at not going through his ex-
ercises with the same success as formerly, his irritation increas-
ed, and one day, being more unreasonable than usual, he struck
the animal with so much brutality, that the latter, goaded to the
utmost, uttered such a cry of rage, that its dismayed keeper,
who had never before heard it emit such a terrible roar, ran off
precipitately ; and it was well for him, for henceforth the ele-
phant would not so much as suffer him to come near it. At
the mere sight of him, it became furious; and all the means
which were afterwards employed in order to inspire it with bet-
ter feelings, were ineffectual. Hatred supplied the place of
love, indocility succeeded to obedience ; and, as long as the
animal lived, these two were its predominating feelings.
A sentinel at the menagerie of the Jardin du Koi, at Paris,
was in the habit of forbidding visitors from giving the elephant
any thing to eat. This admonition was extremely disagreeable
to the female elephant, and she took a great dislike to the sen-
THE ELEPHANT. 377
tinel in consequence. She had several times endeavoured to
make him desist from interfering, by squirting water over him,
but without effect. One day, when several visitors came to see
these animals, a person offered a piece of bread, which he had
taken on purpose, to the female, which being observed by the
sentinel, he stepped forward to repeat bis usual admonition,
when the elephant, aware of his intention, moved opposite to
him, and threw a quantity of saliva in his face. This excited
the laughter of all the bystanders ; but the sentinel coolly
wiped his face, placed himself a little to one side, and re-
sumed his wonted vigilance. Not long after, he found it neces-
sary to interpose his bayonet between the hand of a person, who
was offering the elephant something, and the trunk of the animal,
but, scarcely had he done so, when the elephant tore his musket
out of his hand, wound her trunk round it, trode upon it, and
broke it to pieces.
It is related by M. Navarette, that an elephant driver at Ma-
cassar, upon one occasion, out of mere wantonness, struck a
cocoa nut twice against the forehead of his elephant to break it.
On the following day, the animal saw some cocoa nuts exposed
in the street for sale ; it took one of them up with its proboscis,
and beat the driver on the head with it, and killed him on the
spot. " So much," says Navarette, " for tampering with ele-
phants."
Mr Zoffary, an English artist, once witnessed the dreadful
effects of an elephant being irritated : During the government
of Lord Cornwaliis, the vizier of Oude sent an embassy to Cal-
cutta ; and, in the train, was a large male elephant, which car-
ried a number of people on its back. The mohout struck him
violently with his hawkuss. The animal became infuriated, and,
raising its trunk over its head, pulled its conductor from his
seat, and, suspending him for an instant in the air with its trunk,
dashed him on the ground with all its power, and killed him in
an instant.
An amusing anecdote is related by Captain Williamson, of an
elephant, which went by the name of the Paugal, or fool, who,
by his sagacity, showed he could act with wisdom. This animal,
when on a march, refused to carry on his back a larger load than
was agreeable to him, and pulled down as much of the burden as
reduced it to the weight which he conceived proper for him to
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378 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
bear. One day, the quarter- master of brigade became enraged
nt this obstinacy in the animal, and threw a tent pin at his head.
A few days afterwards, as the animal was on his way from camp
to water, he overtook the quarter-master, and, seizing him in his
trunk, lifted him into a large tamarind tree, which overhung the
road, and left him to cling to the branches, and to get down the
best way he could.
Elephants understand what is said to them, especially when
accompanied by signs ; but instances have been known where they
could be directed by their keeper to perform pieces of work, to
which they were by no means accustomed. " I once saw," says
M. d'Obsonville, "two elephants employed in demolishing a
wall, by the orders of their cornacs, which they had previously
received, and were encouraged to undertake the task by a pro-
mise of fruits and brandy. They united their powers, placed
their trunks together which were defended by a covering of
leather pushed against the strongest part of the wall, repeat-
ing their efforts, while they carefully watched the equilibrium.
At length, when sufficiently loosened, by applying their
whole strength, and giving a violent push, they speedily re-
treated out of the reach of danger, and the whole wall fell to
the ground."
M. Tornen informs us, that elephants are often employed to
pile wood at Mahie, on the coast of Malabar, and other parts
of India ; and that, after piling heap upon heap, they have been
known to draw themselves back, to see that it was on a level,
and perfectly perpendicular, and to correct any inaccuracy in
these respects. Elephants also are sometimes employed to
roll barrels to a distance, which they do with great speed and
neatness.
In early times, elephants were employed in India in the
launching of vessels. Ludolph mentions one which, upon being
commanded to pull a large ship into the water, made an attempt
to do so, which, however, proved beyond his strength. The
master, in a sarcastic tone, said to the keeper, " Take away that
lazy beast, and put another in his stead." The noble animal
immediately redoubled his efforts, fractured his skull, and fell
dead on the spot.
Captain Williamson mentions a remarkable circumstance of
a male elephant, the property of a gentleman of Chittngong,
THE ELEPHANT. 379
upon which all efforts to render him docile had for ten years
proved ineffectual : " He was repeatedly offered for sale at a
low price ; but his character was so well known, that none would
purchase him. It is customary in that district to have the fire-
wood, which is cut into stumps of about a foot or less in diame-
ter, and perhaps five or six feet long, piled regularly, and this
work is usually performed by elephants. When properly train-
ed, they will execute it as well as any labourers. The animal in
question could not be induced to perform this drudgery, and, all
attempts to enforce his obedience having proved useless, his
master at last gave up the point. To his utter astonishment,
the elephant became suddenly good tempered, and went of his
own free will to the wood yard, where he not only exerted him-
self greatly, but was, in the regularity of his work, at least equal
to those which had more practice." It would be difficult to ac-
count for this extraordinary alteration, whether it resulted from
some physical change, or proceeded from reasoning on the good
treatment which he saw was bestowed on his industrious compa-
nions, in comparsion with the constant punishment to which
he was subjected.
During a war in the East Indies, many Frenchmen had oc-
casion to observe the sensible conduct of an elephant that had
received a flesh wound from a cannon ball. Having been con-
ducted twice or thrice to the hospital by its cornac, where it lay
down at his command to have the wound dressed, afterwards it
always went by itself. The surgeon, in employing such means
as he thought would conduce to a cure, sometimes cauterized the
wound : and, although the animal expressed a feeling of pain,
which this operation occasioned it, by groaning, yet it never
showed any other sentiment towards the operator but those of
gratitude and affection. At length, the surgeon effected a com-
plete cure, when the animal discontinued his visits.
Germanicus Caesar, in the reign of Tiberius, exhibited at
Rome a play, in which there were twelve elephant performers,
six of them males, and six females, clothed as men and women.
At the command of their keeper, they danced, and performed
many other feats ; after which, a most sumptuous banquet was
served up for their refreshment. The table was covered with
all sorts of dainties, and the most expensive wines were served
up in golden goblets to them. Purple carpets were placed
380 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
round for the animals to lie upon, in the Roman style, when
feasting, under which were soft beds. The elephants laid
themselves down on these carpets, and, on receiving a signal, they
stretched out their trunks to the table, and commenced the feast
with great glee, and ate and drank in as orderly a manner as
Roman citizens.
Among the ancients, elephants, indeed, were often exhibited,
and in our own days, we have seen them made to play their part
in dramatic entertainments. The celebrated female elephant
Mademoiselle Jack, which was exhibited at the Adelphi theatre,
and in almost all the principal cities of Great Britain, in the
years 1828, 29, and 30, was an animal of great sagacity. She
performed a character, in a piece got up for the purpose, with as
much precision as any of the actors : she marched in a proces-
sion, carried a letter, and delivered it to a particular character ;
removed the diadem from the head of the usurper, and placed it
on the head of its rightful owner, and carried the prince off the
stage with her trunk. A rich banquet was then laid out for
her ; she sat down at table on her hind quarters, pulled a bell
for the servants to fetch and remove the dishes which he
had emptied ; drew the cork out of a bottle of wine, took the
bottle into her trunk, and emptied it inte the aperture of it,
rolled part of the proboscis around it, and then poured the liquor
down her throat. She then moved in the manner of a dance to
music ; she took a hat, which was placed about eighteen feet
from the ground, and placed it on her keeper's head ; and all
this amid the shouts of the audience, which did not at all dis-
compose her. When this animal was exhibited at the Caledo-
nian theatre, Edinburgh, it was necessary to erect a gangway
from behind, by which she was to ascend to the stage, a height
of nearly thirty feet. I witnessed her first ascent. The caution
she exhibited on this occasion was truly wonderful : At every
step she ascended, she carefully felt with her trunk every board
and support, to ascertain if it was secure : and before she allow-
ed the weight of her body to be upon any spot, she first tried its
strength, by gradually pressing upon it as she ascended. The
first time she got up, it took her upwards of twenty minutes ;
and she was equally cautious in her descent. But afterwards,
she ascended with comparative rapidity, having become acquaint-
ed with it* perfect security. Although Mademoiselle Jack was
THE ELEPHANT. 381
exceedingly good tempered, a short time after she left Edinburgh
she killed her keeper in a fit of rage.
Of the vital power or tenacity of life possessed by the ele-
phant, we have many instances. Bosmann relates, that one
morning, at six o'clock, an elephant came towards Fort Mina,
on the Gold Coast of Africa, and took his route along the river,
at the foot of Mount St Jago. Some of the negroes ran after,
and about him, unarmed, arid he neither exhibited signs of fear,
anger, nor suspicion. But a Dutch officer shot at him, and
wounded him over the eye. The animal, however, did not alter
his course ; but, pricking his ears, proceeded to a Dutch garden,
where the director-general, and some other officers, belonging
to the Fort, were sitting, under the shade of some palm trees.
He made an attack on the trees, and had torn down a dozen of
them with the greatest facility, when upwards of a hundred
bullets were discharged at him. He bled over his whole body,
but still kept his legs, and did not halt in the least. A negro
now, to plague the elephant, pulled him by the tail ; at which
the animal, being provoked, seized him with his trunk, threw
him to the ground, thrust his tusks twice through his body, and
transfixed him to the ground. As soon as the negro was killed,
he turned from him, and suffered the other negroes to take aw*ay
his body unmolested. He now remained upwards of an hour
longer in the garden and seemed to have directed his attention
to the Dutchmen, who were sitting at the distance of about
fifteen paces from him. As these had expended their ammuni-
tion, fearing the animal might attack them, they made good
their retreat. In the mean time, the elephant reached another
gate ; and, although the garden wall consisted of a double row
of stones, he easily threw it down, and went out by the breach.
He now walked slowly to a rivulet, and washed off the blood
that covered him, by taking a quantity of water in his trunk,
and then throwing it over his body. He again returned to the
palm trees, and broke some boards that were placed there for
the purpose of building a vessel. The Dutchmen, in the mean
time, procured a fresh supply of powder and ball ; and their re-
peated shots causing an immense loss of blood, rendered him
unable to make any further resistance ; and he fell. To prevent
any further mischief from him, they cut off his trunk, which was
accomplished with great difficulty. The pain of this operation
382 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
caused the animal to utter a hideous roar ; he made a violent
effort to get up, but fell back, and expired. The poor brute had
received upwards of two hundred balls in his body, and had
never emitted a sound, but that when bis trunk was cut off.
The elephant which was killed at Exeter Change in 1826, and
of which an account is given in the notes to Goldsmith,
received 120 musket balls before he expired.
Mr Burchell, in his ' Travels,' gives an account of the death
of a native African, by an elephant. It shows the immense
power of this animal, and especially exhibits the strength of his
proboscis. Carel Krieger was an independent and fearless hun-
ter, and being also an excellent marksman, often ventured into
the. most dangerous situations. One day, having with his party
pursued an elephant which he had wounded, the irritated ani-
mal suddenly turned round, and, singling out from the rest the
person by whom he had been injured, seized him with his trunk,
and lifting his wretched victim high in the air, dashed him with
dreadful force to the ground. His companions, struck with
horror, fled precipitately from the fatal scene, unable to turn
their eyes to behold the rest of the tragedy ; but on the follow-
ing day, they repaired to the spot, where they collected the few
bones that could be found, and/buried them near the spring.
The enraged animal had not only trampled his body literally
to pieces; but could not feel its vengeance satisfied, till
it had pounded the very flesh into the dust, so that nothing
of this unfortunate man remained, excepting a few of the larger
bones.
We shall conclude our anecdotes of the elephant with one which
shows it in an amiable light. The Rajah Dowlah chose once
to take the diversion of hunting in the neighbourhood of Luck-
now, where there was a great abundance of game. The grand
vizier rode his favourite elephant, and was accompanied by a
train of Indian nobility. They had to pass through a ravine
leading to a meadow, in which several sick persons were lying
on the ground, in order to receive what benefit they could from
exposure to the air, and the rays of the sun. As the vizier ap-
proached with his numerous hunting party, the attendants of
these sick persons betook themselves to flight, leaving the help-
less patients to their fate. The nabob seriously intended to
pass with his elephants over the bodies of these poor wretches.
THE ELEPHANT. 383
He therefore ordered the driver to goad on his beast. The ele-
phant, as long as he had a free path, went on at full trot ; but,
as soon as be came to the first of the sick people, he stopped.
The driver goaded him, and the vizier cursed; but in vain.
" Stick the beast in the ear !" cried the nabob. It was done ;
but the animal remained stedfast before the helpless human crea-
tures. At length, when the elephant saw that no one came
to remove the patients, he took up one of them with his trunk,
and laid him cautiously and gently to a side. He proceeded in
the same way with a second and a third ; and, in short, with as
many as it was necessary to remove, in order to form a free pas-
sage, through which the nabob's retinue could pass without in-
juring any of them. How little did this noble animal deserve
to be rode by such an unfeeling brute in human form !
THE RHINOCEROS.
IN common with the lion and the elephant, the rhinoceros
frequents the vast deserts of Asia and Africa. Its appearance
is chiefly remarkable, from possessing one solid conical horn on
the nose, sometimes three feet in length, and from having the
skin disposed about the neck in large plaits or folds. The body
of this animal is little inferior in size to the elephant, but he is
much shorter in the legs ; his length, from the muzzle to the
tail, is nearly twelve feet, and the girth about the same measure-
ment ; and, from the shortness of its legs, the belly nearly touch-
es the ground. The pendulous upper lip of the rhinoceros as-
sists it in a great measure to collect its food.
The Indian rhinoceros, without being ferocious, is very in-
tractable and rude. It is subject to paroxysms of fury, which
nothing can appease. It frequents moist and marshy ground,
is fond of wallowing in the mire, and seldom quits the banks of
rivers. It inhabits Bengal, Siam, Java, Sumatra, Ceylon, and
many places of Africa. It does not seem a numerous species,
and is less diffused than the elephant. The female produces
but one at a time. The sense of smell in the rhinoceros is said
to be exquisite, and hunters are in consequence always obliged
to keep to the windward of him. They follow him unobserved,
till he lies down to sleep, then steal close to him, and discharge
their muskets in the lower part of his belly, where the skin is
soft. The rhinoceros can run with great swiftness, and, from his
strength and hard impenetrable hide, he is capable of rushing
through the thickets with resistless fury ; almost every obstacle
is quickly overturned.
The first rhinoceros which was brought to England was in
1684. The next we have any distinct account of was imported
from Bengal about the year 1743. Another was brought from
THE RHINOCEUOS. 385
Atchavvs, in the dominions of the King of Ava, and was exhib-
ited at Paris. He was exceedingly docile, and showed great
fondness for some of his attendants. He was fed upon hay,
corn, and sharp prickly plants, of which he was excessively
fond.
Three of these animals have been brought to Britain within
the last sixty years. In 1790, one arrived in England, about
five years old, and was purchased by Mr Pidcock of Exeter
Change, for seven hundred pounds. He was very mild, and
allowed himself to be patted on the back by strangers. He was
quite obedient to the orders of his keepers, and would move
through the apartment to exhibit himself. His daily allowance
of food was twenty-eight pounds weight of clover, besides an
equal allowance of ship biscuit, and a great quantity of greens ;
and he drank five pails of water every twenty-four hours. He
liked sweet wines, and was sometimes indulged with a few
bottles. His voice resembled that of a calf, which he usually
exerted at the sight of fruit, or any favourite food. This animal
suffered much from a dislocation of the joint of one of his fore
legs, which induced inflammation. He died nine months after-
wards. It was remarkable with what facility incisions made in
this limb healed : in these openings, to endeavour to effect a re-
covery, they were always found to be closed up in twenty-four
hours.
The following particulars of a rhinoceros, exhibited at Exeter
Change, was obtained by the late Sir Everard Home, from the
person who kept him for three years, when it died ; and publish-
ed in the ' Philosophical Transactions' for 1822. " It was so
savage," says he, " that about a month after it came, it en-
deavoured to kill the keeper, and nearly succeeded. It ran at
him with the greatest impetuosity, but, fortunately, the horn
passed between his thighs, and threw the keeper on its head ;
the horn came against a wooden partition, into which the ani-
mal forced it to such a depth as to be unable for a minute to
withdraw it, and, during this interval, the man escaped. Its
skin, though apparently so hard, is only covered with small
scales, of the thickness of paper, with the appearance of tortoise
shell; at the edges of these the skin itself is exceedingly sen-
sible, either to the bite of a fly or the lash of a whip. By
this discipline, the keeper got the management of it, and the
2K
386 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
animal was brought to know him ; but frequently, (more espe-
cially in the middle of the night,) fits of frenzy came on ; and,
while these lasted, nothing could control its rage, the rhino-
ceros running with great swiftness round the den, playing all
kinds of antics, making hideous noises, knocking every thing to
pieces, disturbing the whole neighbourhood, and then, all at
once, becoming quiet. While the fit was on, even the keeper
durst not make his approach. The animal fell upon its knee to
enable the horn to be borne upon any object. It was quick in
all its motions, ate voraciously all kinds of vegetables, appearing
to have no selection. They fed it on branches of willow. Three
years' confinement made no alteration on its habits."
The AFRICAN or TWO-HORNED RHINOCEROS differs materially
from the Indian rhinoceros in the appearance of his skin, which
is devoid of the large folds and wrinkles of that species, having
merely a slight plait across the shoulders, and some fainter
wrinkles on the sides, being comparatively smooth, when oppos-
ed to the Indian species, having no hair on any part of it, except
at the edge of the ears, and extremity of the tail. Mr Bur-
chell ascertained that musket balls,, composed of lead and tin,
easily penetrated the skin of this species, though they were
flattened by striking against the bones ; but he is of opinion, that
balls of lead alone, or, if fired with a weak charge of powder,
might- possibly be turned by the thickness of the hide. The
flexible upper lip in this animal, like that of the former species,
is of great use in collecting its food.
At first sight, this animal has much the appearance of an en-
ormous hog, which it resembles, not merely in its general form,
but also in the contour of the head, the smallness of its eyes,
and size of its ears ; but, in its clumsy and rudely formed feet,
it is more allied to the hippopotamus and elephant. Mr Bur-
chell measured an African rhinoceros, which was eleven feet two
inches from the point of the nose to the insertion of the tail,
following the undulations, but, in a strait line, was only nine
feet three inches ; the tail, which was flattened vertically at its
extremity, was twenty inches; and the greatest girth of the
body was eight feet four inches. The organs of smell, and
other senses in this species strongly resemble that of the Indian
rhinoceros, arid its habits are so nearly allied, that a repetition of
them is unnecessary.
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 387
Some years ago, a party of Europeans, with their native at-
tendants and elephants, met with a small herd of seven of them.
These were led by a larger and more powerful animal than the
rest. When this large leader charged the hunters, the first ele-
phants, in place of using their tusks as weapons, which they are
generally in the practice of doing, wheeled round, and received
the blow of the rhinoceros's horn on their hind quarters ; and,
so powerful was the concussion, that it brought them instantly
to the ground, with their riders, and as soon as they could get
on their feet again, the brute was ready to repeat the attack,
and was certain to produce another fall ; and in this manner did
the contest continue, until four of the seven were killed, when
the rest made good their retreat.
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.
THE hippopotamus is larger than the rhinoceros, with a ca-
pacious head and mouth, and a hide of two inches in thickness.
It is an inhabitant of the countries borf Bring on the larger rivers
of Africa, and generally where the banks are muddy. It spends
the greater part of its time under water, feeding on water plants
and roots, at the bottom of rivers. It seldom, quits the water,
except during the night, in quest of food ; but whenever it hears
the slightest noise, it betakes itself to that eiement, and dives
instantly to the bottom ; and when it ascends to the surface to
breathe, the nostrils only are above the level ; hence, it is very
difficult to kill it.
The hippopotamus is a gregarious animal, and used to be seen
in early times in Egypt. It is now seldom to be met with in
that country, its ranges seeming to be confined to Southern
Africa. Burckhardt says, " It is very common in Dongola.
It is a dreadful plague there, on account of its voracity, and the
want of means in the inhabitants to destroy it. It often de-
scends the Nile as far as Sukkot. In 1812, several of them
passed the Bakr el Hadjar and made their appearance at Wady
Haifa and Den, an occurrence unknown to the oldest inhabitants.
One was killed by an Arab with a musket ball, over his right
eye. The peasants ate the flesh ; and the skin and teeth were
388 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
sold to a merchant of Sioutt. Another continued its course
northward, and was seen beyond the cataract of Assouan, at
Derau, one day's march north of the place." During the stay
of Mr Burckhardt at Boeydha, there was a hippopotamus in the
river, which made great havock in the neighbouring fields. He
usually left the water at night, voraciously ate up the grain, and
destroyed a great deal by his ponderous feet.
Mr Burchell, who opened the stomach of one, found that it
contained about six bushels of chewed grass. The food passes
in a very undigested state, and even has more the appearance of
mingled grass and straw. He says, the monstrous size, and al-
most shapeless mass, of even a small hippopotamus, when lying
on the ground, appear enormous. The animal is of an uniform
colour, which may be correctly imitated by a light tint of China
ink. The hide, above an inch in thickness, is hardly flexible ;
the ribs are covered with a thick layer of fat, known to the
colonists as a rarity, by the name of zeekoe-spek, or sea-cow
pork. This substance can only be preserved by salting, as, in
attempting to dry it in the sun, in the same manner as the other
parts of the animal are usually treated, it melts away ; the rest
of the flesh consists entirely of lean.
It is from the skin of the hippopotamus that the celebrated
whips, called korbadj, are manufactured at Sennaar, and other
places above it on the Nile. These are sold at Sheudy, at the
rate of sixteen for a Spanish dollar ; and in Egypt, where they
are in general use, and the dread of every servant and peasant,
they bring half a dollar each.
We are but imperfectly acquainted with the biography of this
animal, arising in a great measure from the peculiarity of its
habits. The time of gestation in the female is said to be nine
months, and it produces one at a birth.
In the south of Africa this animal is sometimes caught in pits
made in the paths leading to their haunts. Sparrmann says,
notwithstanding the unwieldy appearance of the hippopo-
tamus, it can run with considerable swiftness. He mentions,
that a negro, who had irritated one, was pursued by it, and had
great difficulty in escaping, after a long pursuit. Professor
Thunberg mentions, that while on a hunting party, a female
came to land, in order to calve. They concealed themselves
among the bushes, till the mother and her calf made their ap-
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.
peararice, and were approaching the river. They fired at and
killed the female, thinking to secure the young one ; but it in-
stinctively made the best of its way to the river, and dived to
the bottom.
THE CAMELOPARD OR GIRAFFE.
TILL within these few years, so little was known of this singu-
larly formed animal, beyond what Le Vaillant told us, that its
existence was doubted by many, or the accounts of it considered
apochryphal. In 1827, all doubts, however, on the subject were
dispelled by the Pasha of Egypt sending a present of a camelo-
pard, each, to the kings of England and France. We have no
accounts of any other of these animals having been in Europe
since the end of the fifteenth century. The one which reached
England was a young female, which measured only ten feet
when it arrived, but grew upwards of three feet before it died.
Its death took place in 1829, if we remember aright. Mr
Richard Davis, animal painter to the King, studied its habits
very minutely ; and in the absence of more direct anecdotes, we
cannot do better than lay a few of his interesting observations
before our readers.
" In its natural habits," he says, " I cannot conclude that the
giraffe is a timid animal, for, when led out by its keepers, the
objects which caught its attention did not create the least alarm,
but it evinced an ardent desire to approach whatever it saw ; no
animal was bold enough to come near it. Its docile, gentle dis-
position, leads it to be friendly, and even playful, with such as
are confined with it ; a noise will rouse its attention, but not
excite its fear. I do not think it very choice of its food when
out, so that it be green and sweet. It is fond of aromatics ; the
wood of the bough it also eats ; our acacia, and others of the
mimosa tribe, it does not prefer; and it never attempted to
graze ; it seemed a painful and unnatural action when it en-
deavoured to reach the ground ; I have seen it try to do so when
excited by an object which curiosity led it to examine ; its feet
were then two yards apart. It was constantly in motion when
THE CAMELOPARD. 391
the doors of its hovel were open ; but it has no sense of stepping
over any obstruction, however low. It is asserted by travellers,
that it resembles the camel, in having callosities on the breast
and thighs, and that it lies on its belly like that animal. There
are between the fore legs what, to the casual observer, may ap-
pear to be such, but these are folds of loose skin, which enable
it to separate its fore legs when reaching downwards. Its mode
of resting is, like most quadrupeds, on one side ; but the oper-
ation of lying down is curious and peculiar ; I will endeavour to
describe it : We will suppose it to be preparing to lie on the off-
side ; the first action is to drop on the fetlock of the off fore
leg, then on one knee of the near one, to bring down the other
knee; it then collects its hind legs to perform the next move-
ment, the near one being brought rather forward, but wide, until
the off hind leg is advanced between the fore ones ; this requires
some time to accomplish, during which it is poised with the
weight of its head and neck, until it feels that its legs are quite
clear and well arranged ; it then throws itself on one side, and
is at ease. When it sleeps, it bends the neck back, and rests
the head on the hind quarter."
In respect to what is above stated of the difficulty the giraffe
has of reaching the ground with its head, M. Acerbi, who saw
the above giraffe, as also the one which was sent to France, to-
gether at Alexandria, as well as two others, differs entirely from
Mr Davis ; he says, " There are few naturalists who have not
contributed to perpetuate the vulgar error, that in eating and
drinking from the ground, the giraffe is compelled to stretch his
fore-legs amazingly forwards. Some even assert that he is
obliged to kneel down. Of the few animals which fell under
my examination, three took their food from the ground with
comparative facility ; and one of them was scarcely under the
necessity of moving its fore-legs at all. I should infer that every
giraffe, in a natural state, is enabled to eat or drink from the
ground without inconvenience; and that, where any difficulty
exists in this respect, it is the effect of habit, acquired in the
progress of domestication."
Le Vaillant's enthusiastic description of his first seeing the
skin of a giraffe in Africa, and the strong excitement it produced
in him to see one of these wonderful animals alive, and the feel
ings which he experienced at the capture of one, beautifully
39:3 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
illustrates the ardour of a keen naturalist. " I was now struck
with a sort of distinction which I perceived on one of the huts ;
it was entirely covered with the skin of a giraffe. I had never
seen this quadruped, the tallest of all those upon the earth. I
knew it only from false descriptions and designs, and thus I
could scarcely recognise its robe. And yet this was the skin of
the giraffe. I was in the country which this creature inhabits.
I might probably see some living ones. I looked forward to the
moment when I should be thus recompensed, at least in part, for
all the sufferings and annoyances of my expedition.' 1 . . "One of
the Namaquas, who were my guides, came in great haste, to give
me information, which he thought would be agreeable to me.
He had seen the strong feeling of pleasure which I had evinced
at the sight of the skin of the giraffe ; and he had run to say,
that he had just found in the neighbourhood one of these ani-
mals, under a mimosa, the leaves of which he was browsing upon.
In an instant, full of joy, I leapt upon my horse. I made Bern-
fry, [one of his men,] mount another ; and, followed by my dogs,
I flew towards the mimosa. The giraffe was no longer there.
We saw her cross the plain towards the west ; and we hastened
to overtake her. She was proceeding at a smart trot ; but did
not appear to be at all hurried. We galloped after her, and oc-
casionally fired our muskets ; but she insensibly gained so much
upon us, that, after having pursued her for three hours, we were
forced to stop, because our horses were quite out of breath ; and
we entirely lost sight of her. The pursuit had led us far away
from each other, and from the camp ; and the giraffe having
made many turns and doubles, I was unable to direct my course
towards home. It was noon. I already began to feel hunger
and thirst ; and I found myself alone in a steril and arid spot,
exposed to a burning sun, without the least shelter from the
heat, and destitute of food." The traveller, however, shot and
cooked some birds of the partridge genus ; and was fortunate to
rejoin his companions in the evening. " The next morning, my
whole caravan joined me again. I saw five other giraffes, to
which I gave chase : but they employed so many stratagems to
escape, that, after having pursued them the whole day we entire-
ly lost them as the night came on. I was in despair at this ill
success. The next day, the 10th of November, was the happi-
est of my life. By sunrise, I was in pursuit of game, in the
THE CAMELOPABD. 393
hope to obtain some provisions for my men. After several
hours' fatigue, we descried, at the turn of a hill, seven giraffes,
which my pack instantly pursued. Six of them went off to-
gether ; but the seventh, cut off by my dogs, took another way.
Bernfry was walking by the side of his horse ; but in the
twinkling of an eye he was in the saddle, and pursued the six.
For myself, I followed the single one at full speed ; but, in spite
of the efforts of my horse, she got so much ahead of me, that, in
turning a little hill, I lost sigbt of her altogether ; and I gave up
the pursuit. My dogs, however, were not so easily exhausted.
They were soon so close upon her, that she was obliged to stop,
to defend herself. From the place where I was, I heard them
give tongue with all their might ; and, as their voices appeared
all to come from the same spot, I conjectured that they had got
the animal in a corner ; and I again pushed forward. I had
scarcely got round the hill, when I perceived her surrounded by
the dogs, and endeavouring to drive them away by heavy kicks.
In a moment I was on my feet ! and a shot from my carbine
brought her to the earth. Enchanted with my victory, I re-
turned to call my people about me, that they might assist in
skinning and cutting up the animal. Whilst I was looking for
them, I saw Klaas Baster, [another of his men,] who kept
making signals, which I could not comprehend. At length, I
went the way he pointed ; and, to my surprise, saw a gfraffe
standing under a large ebony tree, assailed by my dogs. It was
the animal I had shot, who had staggered to this place ; and it
fell dead at the moment I was about to take a second shot.
Who could have believed, that a conquest like this would have
excited me to a transport almost approaching to madness !
Pains, fatigues, cruel privation, uncertainty as to the future,
disgust sometimes as to the past, all these recollections and
feelings fled at the sight of this new prey. I could not satisfy my
desire to contemplate it. I measured its enormous height. I
looked from the animal to the instrument which had destroyed it,
I called and recalled my people about me. Although we had
combated together the largest and the most dangerous animals, it
was I alone who had killed the giraffe. I was now able to add
to the riches of natural history. I was now able to destroy the
romance which attached to this animal, and to establish a truth.
My people congratulated me on my triumph. Bernfry alone
394 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
was absent ; but he came at last, walking at a slow pace, and
holding his horse by the bridle. He had fallen from his seat,
and injured his shoulder. I heard not what he said to me. I
saw not that he wanted assistance ; I spoke to him only of my
victory. He showed me his shoulder; I showed him my girafle.
I was intoxicated, and I should not have thought even of my
ovvn wounds."*
* Second Voyage, en Afrique, torn. ii.
THE CAMEL AND DROMEDARY.
THE camel is considered to be distinguished from the drome-
dary by having two hunches instead of one, on its back ; but the
term camel is the generic name, and is applied to both in-
discriminately. The correct distinction of the terms is, drome-
dary means the swift species of camels, whether with one or
two hunches, and camel, the beasts of burthen a dromedary
being to a camel, what a race horse is to a draught horse.
The camel is certainly by far the most useful of all the animals
over which the inhabitants of Asia and Africa have acquired do-
minion. These continents are intersected by vast tracts of
burning sand, the seats of desolation and drought, so as ap-
parently to exclude the possibility of any intercourse taking
place between the countries that they separate. But by means
of the camel, the most dreary wastes are traversed, as by means
of navigation, the sea, instead of forming a barrier between dif-
ferent regions, is made subservient to intercourse. The camel's
great strength and astonishing powers of abstinence, both from
food and drink, render it truly invaluable in these inhospitable
countries. Denon tells us, that in crossing the Arabian Desert,
a single feed of beans is all their food for a day. Their usual
meal is a few dates, or some small balls of barleymeal, or oc-
casionally the dry and thorny plants they meet with at remote
intervals, during their progress across the Desert. With these
scanty meals, the contented creature will lie down to rest amid
the scorching sands, without exhibiting either exhaustion or a
desire for better fare. Well may the Arab call the camel " the
ship of the Desert !"
The first trade in Indian commodities, of which we have any
account, (Genesis xxxvii. 25.) was carried on by camels ; and
they still continue to be the instruments employed in the con-
396 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
veyance of merchants and merchandise throughout Turkey,
Persia, Arabia, Egypt, Barbary, and many contiguous countries.
The merchants assemble in considerable numbers, forming
themselves into an association or caravan, for mutual protection
against robbers, and other dangers incident to the journey. These
journeys are performed by camels of the largest kind, who go at
a slow pace, seldom exceeding ten or twelve leagues a day.
Every night the camels are unloaded, and if pasture happens to
be at the resting place, they are allowed to range at liberty.
The heirie, dromedary, or swift camel, goes, however, at a great
rate through the desert, but its motion is so violent that it can
only be endured by the hardy Arabs who are accustomed to it.
The most inferior kind of heirie are called Talatayee, a term ex-
pressive of their going the distance of three days' journey in one ;
the next kind is called Sebayee, a term appropriated to that which
goes seven days' journey in one ; and this is the general charac-
ter. There is also one called Tasayee, or, the heirie of nine
days : these are extremely rare. The swiftness of this useful
animal is thus described by the Arabs, in their figurative manner :
" When thou shall meet a heirie, and say to the rider, ' Salem
aliek,'* ere he shall have answered thee, 'Aliek salem,'f he
will be afar off, and nearly out of sight ; for his swiftness is
like the wind."
The camel has the faculty of scenting water at a great distance,
by which means the caravan is often saved from destruction ; as
the animal, when his instinct intimates its vicinity, invariably
bends his course directly towards it, which the drivers soon un-
derstand, from the determination they display to turn aside from
the direction they are pursuing. In seasons when the wells are
mostly dried up, the camels often die in their journeys. When
they fall, the Arabs open their stomachs, and drink the water
contained in them.
The following interesting story of the sufferings of a caravan
from thirst, is related by Burckhardt, and illustrates in a re-
markable degree the instinct of the camel in knowing their ap-
proach to water: " In the month of August, a small, caravan
prepared to set out from Berber to Daraou. They consisted of
five merchants and about thirty slaves, with a proportionate
* The common salutation, " Pence be between us !"
t The answer, " There is peace between us."
THE CAMEL. 397
number of camels. Afraid of the robber Naym, who at that
time was in the habit of waylaying travellers about the wells of
Nedjeym, and who had constant intelligence of the departure of
every caravan from Berber, they determined to take a more eas^
terly road, by the well of Owareyk. They had hired an Ababde
guide, who conducted them in safety to that place, but who lost
his way from thence northward, the route being little frequented.
After five days' march in the mountains, their stock of water
was exhausted, nor did they know where they were. They re-
solved, therefore, to direct their course towards the setting sun,
hoping thus to reach the Nile. After experiencing two days'
thirst, fifteen slaves and one of the merchants died ; another of
them, an Ababde, who had ten camels with him, thinking that the
animals might know better than their masters where water was
to be found, desired his comrades to tie him fast upon the saddle
of his strongest camel, that he might not fall down from weak-
ness, and thus he parted from them, permitting his camels to
take their own way ; but neither the man nor his camels were
ever heard of afterwards. On the eighth day after leaving
Owareyk, the survivors came in sight of the mountains of Shi
gre, which they immediately recognized ; but their strength was
quite exhausted, and neither men nor beasts were able to move
any farther. Lying down under a rock, they sent two of their
servants, with the two strongest remaining camels, in search of
water. Before these two men could reach the mountain, one of
them dropped off his camel, deprived of speech, and able only
to move his hands to his comrade as a sign that he desired to be
left to his fate. The survivor then continued his route ; but
such was the effect of thirst upon him, that his eyes grew dim,
and he lost the road, though he had often travelled over it before,
and had been perfectly acquainted with it. Having wandered
about for a long time, he alighted under the shade of a tree, and
tied the camel to one of its branches : the beast, however, smelt
the water, (as the Arabs express it,) and, wearied as it was,
broke its halter, and set off galloping in the direction of the
spring, which, as afterwards appeared, was at half an hour's dis-
tance. The man, well understanding the camel's action, en-
deavoured to follow its footsteps, but could only move a few
yards ; he fell exhausted on the ground, and was about to breathe
his last, when Providence led that way from a neighbouring en-
2L
398 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
catnpment, a Bisharye Bedouin, who, by throwing water upon
the man's face, restored him to his senses. They then wenl
hastily together to the water, filled the skins, and, returning to
the caravan, had the good fortune to find the sufferers still alive.
The Bisharye received a slave for his trouble."
The only place in Europe where camels are bred, and used to
any extent as beasts of burden, is at San Rossora. They are the
property of the government of Tuscany. It is not distinctly
known how long it is since this stud was established, but it is
supposed to have existed since before the middle of the sixteenth
century. They are much inferior in size to those of Arabia.
The female camel goes with young between eleven and twelve
months ; and no instance has occurred at San Rossora where
they have produced more than one at a birth. It has been at-
tempted, but without success, to introduce camels into the West
India Islands.
Camels are intelligent animals, and are very sensible of bad
usage, or of being loaded beyond what they are able to carry with
ease. They are said to retain a long recollection of an injury,
and to avail themselves of the first favourable opportunity to be
revenged. And when they have retaliated the injury, they no
longer bear ill will, but afterwards become reconciled.
THE BEAR.
THE brown bear of the Alps and the black bear of North
America, nearly resemble each other in every thing but the
colour of their furs. The Greenland or white bear, again, differs
materially in appearance, size, and colour from both.
The BROWN BEAR is a solitary animal ; for he only remains
associated with his mate for a short period, and then retires to
his sequestered retreat, which is usually in the hole of a rock,
the cavity of a tree, or a pit in the earth, which the animal fre-
quently digs for himself. He sometimes constructs a kind of
hut, composed of the branches of trees, which he lines with moss.
In these situations he continues, for the most part, in a lethar-
gic state, taking no food, but subsisting entirely on the absorp-
tion of the fat which he has accumulated in the course of the
summer.
The modes that are adopted by the inhabitants of different
countries, for taking or destroying bears, are various. Of these,
the following appear to be the most remarkable : In consequence
of the well known partiality of these animals for honey, the
Russians sometimes fix to those trees where bees are hived, a
heavy log of wood, at the end of a long string. When the
unwieldy creature climbs up, to get at the hive, he finds himself
interrupted by the log ; he pushes it aside, and attempts to pass
it; but, in returning, it hits him such a blow, that, in a rage, he
flings it from him with greater force, which makes it return with
increased violence ; and he sometimes continues this, till he is
either killed, or falls from the tree.
In Lapland, hunting the bear is often undertaken by a single
man, who. having discovered the retreat of the animal, takes his
dog along with nim, and advances towards the spot. The jaws
are tied round with a cord, to prevent his barking ; and the man
2 1.2
400 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
holds the other end of this cord in his hand. As soon as the
dog smells the bear, he begins to show signs of uneasiness, and,
by dragging at the cord, informs his master that the object of
bis pursuit is at no great distance. When the Laplander, by
this means, discovers on which side the bear is stationed, he
advances in such a direction, that the wind may blow from the
bear to him, and not the contrary ; for otherwise, the animal
would, by his scent, be aware of his approach, though not able to
see the enemy, being blinded by sunshine. The olfactory organs
of the bear are exquisite. When the hunter has advanced to
within gunshot of the bear, be fires upon him ; and this is very
easily accomplished in autumn, as he is then more fearless, and is
constantly prowling about for berries of different kinds, on which
he feeds at this season of the year. Should the man chance to
miss his aim, the furious beast will directly turn upon him iu
a rage, and the little Laplander is obliged to take to his heels
with all possible speed, leaving his knapsack behind him on the
spot. The bear, coming up to this, seizes upon it, biting and
tearing it into a thousand pieces. While he is thus venting his
fury, the Laplander, who is generally a good marksman, re-loads
his gun, and usually destroys him at the second shot ; if not, the
bear in most cases runs away.
We have the following account, by Mr Lloyd in his ' Field
Sports,' of a scene at bear-hunting in Scandinavia. The man-
ner in which this sport is performed, is by a great number of
people collecting, and forming a circle, which gradually closes,
and forces the animals from their retreat. A hunting match of
this kind is termed a shall. It is thus narrated : " The skall
to which this anecdote relates, and at which Captain Eurenius
himself was present, took place about the year 1790, in the
parish of Yestram, province of Wernersborg. It was conducted
in the usual manner, every person having his proper position as-
signed to him. One man, however, an old soldier, who was at-
tached to the hallet, or stationary division of the skall, thought
proper to place himself in advance of the rest, in a narrow defile,
through which, from his knowledge of the country, he thought
it probable the bear would pass. He was right in his conjec-
ture : for the animal soon afterwards made his appearance, and
faced directly towards him. On this, he levelledj and attempted
to discharge his piece ; but, owing to the morning being wet,
the priming had got damp, and the gun missed fire. The bear
was now close upon him, though it was probable that, if he had
stepped to the one side, he might still have escaped ; but, in-
stead of adopting this prudent course, he attempted to drive the
muzzle of his gun, to which, however, no bayonet was attached,
down the throat of the enraged brute. This attack the bear
parried with the skill of a fencing-master ; when, after wresting
the gun out of the hands of the man, he quickly laid him pro-
strate. All might have ended well ; for the bear, after smell-
ing at his antagonist, who was lying motionless and holding his
breath, as if he had been dead, left him almost unhurt. The
animal then went to the gun, which was only at two or three
feet distance, and began to overhaul it with his paws. The
poor soldier, however, who had brought his musket to the skall,
contrary to the orders of his officers, and knowing that, if
it was injured, he should be severely punished, on seeing the
apparent jeopardy in which it was placed, quietly stretched out
his hand, and laid hold of one end of it, the bear having it fast
by the other. On observing this movement, and that the man,
in consequence, was alive, the bear again attacked him ; when,
seizing him with his teeth by the back of the head, as he was
lying with his face on the ground, he tore off the whole of his
scalp, from the nape of the neck upwards ; so that it merely
hung to the forehead by a strip of skin. The poor fellow, who
knew that his safety depended upon his remaining motionless,
kept as quiet as he was able ; and the bear, without doing him
much farther injury, laid himself along his body. Whilst this
was going forward, many of the people, and Captain Eurenius
among the rest, suspecting what had happened, hastened to-
wards the spot, and advanced within twelve or fifteen paces of
the scene of action. Here they found the bear still lying upon
the body of the unfortunate man. Sometimes the animal was
occupying himself in licking the blood from the bare skull, and
at others, in eyeing the people. All, however, were afraid to
fire, thinking either that they might hit the man, or that, even
if they killed the bear, he might, in his last agonies, still farther
mutilate the poor sufferer. In this position, the soldier and the
bear remained a considerable time, until at last the latter
quitted his victim, and slowly began to retreat, when a tremen-
dous fire being opened upon him, he instantly fell dead.
402 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
hearing the shots, the poor soldier jumped up, his scalp hanging
over his face, so as completely to blind him ; when, throwing it
back with his hands, he ran towards his comrades like a mad-
man, franticly exclaiming, ' The bear ! the bear !' The mischief,
however, was done, and was irreparable. The only assistance
he could receive, was rendered to him by a surgeon who hap-
pened to be present, and who severed the little skin which con-
nected the scalp with the forehead, and then dressed the wound
in the best manner he was able. The scalp, when separated
from the head, Captain Eurenius described as exactly resem-
bling a peruke. In one sense, the catastrophe was fortunate for
the poor soldier : At this time, every one in the army was ob-
liged to wear his hair of a certain form, which was extremely
troublesome to dress and keep in order during the day ; and he,
in consequence, being now without any, immediately got his
discharge."
Bear-baiting was a favourite amusement of our ancestors.
Sir Thomas Pope entertained Queen Mary and the Princess
Elizabeth, at Hatfield, with a grand exhibition of a " bear-bait-
ing, with which their Highnesses were right well content."
Bear-baiting was part of the amusement of Elizabeth, among
" the princely pleasures of Kenilworth castle. " Rowland White,
speaking of the Queen, then in her sixty-seventh year, says,
" Her Majesty is very well. This day she appoints a French-
man to do feats upon a rope, in the Conduit Court. To-mor-
row she has commanded the bears, the bull, and the ape, to be
bayted in the tilt-yard. Upon Wednesday, she will have solemn
dauncing." The office of chief master of the bear was held
under the crown, with a salary of l6d. per diem. Whenever
the king chose to entertain himself or his visitors with
this sport, it was the duty of the master to provide bears and
dogs, and to superintend the baiting ; and he was invested with
unlimited authority to issue commissions, and to send his officers
into every county in England, who were empowered to seize
and take away any bears, bulls, or dogs, that they thought meet,
for bis Majesty's service. The latest record, by which this
diversion was publicly authorized, is a grant to Sir Saunders
Duncombe, October 11, 1561, " for the sole practice and profit
of the fighting and combating of wild and domestic beasts, within
tlie realm of England, for the space of fourteen years. Occa-
THE BEAR. "tO.'J
sional exhibitions of this kind were continued till about tie
middle of the eighteenth century.
We are told in Johnston's Sketches of India, that "bears will
often continue on the road, in front of the palanquin, for a mile
or two, tumbling and playing all sorts of antics, as if they were
taught to do so. I believe it is their natural disposition ; for
they certainly are the most amusing creatures imaginable, in a
wild state. It is no wonder they are led about with monkeys,
to amuse mankind. It is astonishing, as well as ludicrous, to
see them climb rocks, and tumble, or rather roll, down precipices.
If they are attacked by a person on horseback, they stand erect
on their hind legs, showing a fine set of white teeth, arid make
a crackling kind of noise. If the horse comes near them, they
try to catch him by the legs ; and, if they miss him, they
tumble over and over several times. They are easily speared
by a person mounted on horseback, that is bold enough to go
near them."
Bears climb trees with great ease. Of their fondness for
climbing, we have the following curious instance. In the end
of June, 1825, a tame bear took a notion of climbing up the scaf-
folding placed round a brick stalk, erecting by Mr G. Johnstone,
at St Rollox. He began to ascend very steadily, cautiously
examining, as he went along, the various joists, to see if they
were secure. He at length, to the infinite amusement and
astonishment of the workmen, reached the summit of the scaf.
folding, one hundred and twenty feet high. Bruin had no sooner
attained the object of his wishes, than his physiognomy exhibited
great self-gratulation ; and he looked about him with much
complacency, and inspected the building operations going on.
The workmen were much amused with their novel visitor ;
and every mark of civility and attention was shown him, which
he very condescendingly returned, by good-humouredly present-
ing them with a shake of his paw. A lime bucket was now
hoisted, in order to lower him down ; and the workmen, with
all due courtesy, were going to assist him into it; but he de-
clined their attentions, and preferred returning in the manner he
had gone up. He afterwards repeated the visit.
" Bears," says Mr Lloyd, " are not unfrequeritly domesticated
'in Wermeland. I heard of one that was so tame, that his mas-
ter, a peasant, used occasionally to cause him to stand at the
4-01 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
back of his sledge when on a journey ; but the fellow kept so
good a balance, that it was next to impossible to upset him.
When the vehicle went on one su'e, Bruin threw his weight the
other way, and vice versa. One day, however, the peasant
amused himself by driving over the very worst ground he could
find, with the intention, if possible, of throwing the bear off his
equilibrium, by which, at last, the animal got so irritated, that
he fetched his master, who was in advance of him, a tremendous
thwack on the shoulders with his paw. This frightened the man
BO much, that he caused the beast to be killed immediately."
Of the ferocity of the bear there are many instances on record.
A brown bear, which was presented to his late Majesty, George
the Third, while Prince of Wales, was kept in the Tower. By
the carelessness of the servant, the door of the den was left
open ; and the keeper's wife happening to go across the court at
the same time, the animal flew out, seized the woman, threw
her down, and fastened upon her neck, which he bit ; and with-
out offering any farther violence, lay upon her, sucking the
blood out of the wound. Resistance was in vain, as it only
served to irritate the brute; and she must inevitably have per-
ished, had not her husband luckily discovered her situation. By
a sudden blow, he obliged the bear to quit his hold, and retire to
his den, which he did, with great reluctance, and not without
making a second attempt to come at the woman, who was al-
most dead, through fear and loss of blood. It is somewhat re-
markable, that, whenever he happened to see her afterwards, be
growled, and made most violent struggles to get at her. The
Prince, upon hearing of the circumstance, ordered the bear to
be killed.
But the bear is also capable of generous attachment. Leo-
pold, Duke of Lorraine, had a bear called Marco, of the saga-
city and sensibility of which we have the following remarkable
instance : During the winter of 1709, a Savoyard boy, ready to
perish with cold in a barn, in which he had been put by a good
woman, with some more of his companions, thought proper to
enter Marco's hut, without reflecting on the danger which he
ran in exposing himself to the mercy of the animal which occu-
pied it. Marco, however, instead of doing any injury to the
child, took him between his paws, and warmed him, by pressing
him to his breast until next morning, when he suffered him to
THE BEAU. 405
depart to ramble about the city. The young Savoyard returned
in the evening to the hut, and was received with the same affec-
tion. For several days he had no other retreat ; and it added not
a little to his joy, to perceive that the bear regularly reserved
part of his food for him. A number of days passed in this man-
ner without the servants knowing any thing of the circumstance.
At length, when one of them came one day to bring the bear its
supper, rather later than ordinary, he was astonished to see the
animal roll his eyes in a furious manner, and seeming as if he
wished him to make as little noise as possible, for fear of awak-
ing the child, whom he clasped to his breast. The bear, though
ravenous, did not appear the least moved with the food which
was placed before him. The report of this extraordinary circum-
stance was soon spread at court, and reached the ears of Leo-
pold, who, with part of his courtiers, was desirous of being sa-
tisfied of the truth of Marco's generosity. Several of them pas-
sed the night near his hut, and beheld, with astonishment, that
the bear never stirred as long as his guest showed an inclination
to sleep. At break of day, the child awoke, was very much
ashamed to find himself discovered, and, fearing that he would
be punished for his temerity, begged pardon. The bear, how-
ever, caressed him, and endeavoured to prevail on him to eat
what had been brought to him the evening before, which he did
at the request of the spectators, who afterwards conducted him
to the prince. Having learned the whole history of this singular
alliance, and the time which it had continued, Leopold ordered
care to be taken of the little Savoyard, who, doubtless, would
have soon made his fortune, had he not died a short time
after.
Munster relates the following story of a man being relieved
from a perilous situation by a bear : A countryman in Muscovy,
in seeking for honey in the woods, mounted a stupendous tree,
which was hollow in the centre of its trunk ; and, discovering
that it contained a large quantity of comb, descended into the
hollow, where he stuck fast in the honey, which had been accu-
mulated there to a great depth ; and every effort on his part to
extricate himself proved abortive. And so remote was this tree,
that it was impossible his voice could be heard. After remain,
ing in this situation for two days, and allaying his hunger with
the honey, all hope of being extricated was abandoned, and he
406 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
gave himself up to despair; when a bear, who, like himself, was
in search of honey, mounted the tree, and descended the hollow
cleft, 'stern forward.' The man was at first alarmed, but
mustered courage to seize the bear, with all the firmness he
could ; upon which the animal took fright, made a speedy retreat,
and dragged the peasant after it. When fairly out of the recess,
he quitted his hold, and the bear made the best of its way to the
ground, and escaped.
Captains Lewis and Clarke, in their travels to the source of
the Missouri, give the following striking instance of the aston-
ishing physical powers of the bear, which proves that he is a
formidable enemy to encounter : " One evening, the men in the
hindmost of the canoes, discovered a large brown bear lying in
the open grounds, about three hundred paces from the river.
Six of them, all good hunters, set out to attack him ; and, con-
cealing themselves by a small eminence, came unperceived within
forty paces of him. Four of them now fired, and each lodged
a ball in his body, two of them directly through the lungs. The
enraged animal sprang up, and ran open mouthed at them. As
he came near, the two hunters who had reserved their fire, gave
him two wounds, one of which, breaking his shoulder, retarded
his motion for a moment ; but, before they could reload, he was
so near, that they were obliged to run to the river, and, when
they reached it, he had almost overtaken them. Two jumped
into the canoe ; the other four separated, and, concealing them-
selves in the willows, fired as fast as each could load. They
struck him several times, which only exasperated him ; and he
at last pursued two of them so closely, that they leaped down a
perpendicular bank of twenty feet into the river. The bear
sprang after them, and was within a few feet of the hindmost,
when one of the hunters from the shore shot him in the head,
and killed him. They dragged him to the banks of the river,
arid found that eight balls had passed through his body."
i Captain Lewis, having met a large herd of buffaloes, fired at
one ; and while he was watching to see him drop, had neglected
to reload his rifle, and, looking about, saw a large brown bear
stealing upon him, and already within twenty steps. In this
state, he saw there was no safety but in flight. It was an open
plain, not a bush nor a tree within three hundred yards, the
bank of the river sloping, and not more than three feet high.
THE BEAR. 407
He therefore thought of retreating at a quick walk towards the
nearest tree ; but, as soon as he turned, the bear ran at him
full speed. It then shot across his mind, that, if he ran into the
water, to such a depth that the bear would be obliged to attack
him swimming, there was still some chance of his life. He
therefore turned short, plunged into the river about waist deep,
and facing about, presented the point of his espontoon. The
bear arrived at the water's edge ; but when he saw Captain Lewis
in a posture of defence, he seemed frightened, and, wheeling
round, retreated with as much precipitation as he had advanced.
He ran till he reached the woods, looking back now and then, as
if he expected to be pursued.
THE GREENLAND, WHITE, OR POLAR BEAR.
THE polar bear is, as we said, larger considerably than the
brown or black bear, and is covered with a long thick fur, of a
bright white beneath, and of a yellowish tinge above. Besides
the difference in external appearance, there is a remarkable dis-
tinction between the brown and the polar bears ; for the former
prefers, as his abode, the wooded summits of Alpine regions,
feeding principally on roots and vegetables ; while the latter
fixes his residence on the sea coast, or on an iceberg, and seems
to delight in the stormy and inhospitable precincts of the Arctic
circle, where vegetation is scarcely known to exist, feeding en-
tirely on animal matter. But it cannot be regarded as a pre-
datory quadruped, for it seems to prefer dead to living animal
food, its principal subsistence being the floating carcasses of
whales. It also preys upon seals, which it catches with much
keenness and certainty as they ascend to the surface of the ocean
to breathe : and sometimes fish are caught by them, when they
enter shoals or gulfs. They move with great dexterity in the
water, and capture their prey with apparent ease. It is only
when these bears quit their winter quarters, and especially
when the female has to protect her young, that they manifest
great ferocity.
. While the Carcass, one of the ships of Captain Phipps's
voyage of discovery to the North Pole, was locked in the ice,
403 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
early one morning the man at the mast head gave notice, that
three bears were making their way very fast over the frozen
ocean, and were directing their course towards the ship. They
had no doubt been invited by the scent of some blubber of a sea
horse, which the crew had killed a few days before, and which,
having been set on fire, was burning on the ice at the time of
their approach. They proved to be a she bear and her two cubs ;
but the cubs were nearly as large as the dam. They ran eagerly
to the fire, and drew out from the flames part of the flesh of the
sea horse that remained unconsumed, and ate it voraciously.
The crew of the ship threw great lumps of the flesh they had
still left upon the ice, which the old bear fetched away singly,
laying every piece before the cubs as she brought it, and, divid-
ing it, gave each a share, reserving but a small portion to her-
self. As she was fetching away the last piece, they levelled their
muskets at the cubs, and shot them both dead, at the same time
wounding the dam in her retreat, but not mortally. It would
have drawn tears of pity from any but the most unfeeling, to have
marked the affectionate concern expressed by this poor animal,
in the dying moments of her expiring young. Though she was
sorely wounded, and could but just crawl to the place where they
lay, she carried the lump of flesh she had just fetched away, as
she bad done the others, tore it in pieces, and laid it down be-
fore them. When she saw they refused to eat, she laid her
paws first upon the one, then upon the other, and endeavoured
to raise them up, making, at the same time, the most pitiable
moans. Finding she could not stir them, she went off, and,
when she had got to some distance, looked back, and moaned ;
and that not availing to entice them away, she returned, and,
smelling round them, began to lick their wounds. She went off
a second time, as before, and having crawled a few paces, looked
again behind her, and for some time stood moaning. But still,
her cubs not rising to follow, she returning to them anew, and,
with signs of inexpressible fondness, went round, pawing them
successively. Finding, at last, that they were cold and lifeless,
she raised her head towards the ship, and growled a curse
upon the destroyers, which they returned with a volley of
musket balls. She fell between her cubs, and died licking their
wounds.
The polar bears are remarkably sagacious, as the following
THE BEAR. 409
instances may prove. Those in Kamtschatka are said to
have recourse to a singular stratagem, in order to catch the
bareins, which are much too swift of foot for them. These ani-
mals keep together in large herds ; they frequent mostly the low'
grounds, and love to browse at the base of rocks and precipices.
The bear hunts them by scent, till he comes in sight, when he
advances warily, keeping above them, and concealing himself
among the rocks, as he makes his approach, till he gets im-
mediately over them, and near enough for his purpose. He
then begins to push down, with his paws, pieces of rock
among the herd below- This manosuvre is not followed by
any attempt to pursue, until he finds he has maimed one of the
flock, upon which a course immediately ensues, that proves
successful, or otherwise, according to the hurt the barein has
received.
The captain of a Greenland whaler, being anxious to procure
a bear without injuring the skin, made trial of a stratagem of
laying the noose of a rope in the snow, and placing a piece of
kreng within it. A bear, ranging the neighbouring ice, was
soon enticed to the spot by the smell of burning meat. He
perceived the bait, approached, and seized it in his mouth ; but
his foot, at the same time, by a jerk of the rope, being entangled
in the noose, he pushed it off with his paw, and deliberately re-
tired. After having eaten the piece he had carried away with
him, he returned. The noose, with another piece of kreng,
having been replaced, he pushed the rope aside, and again walk-
ed triumphantly off with the bait. A third time the noose was
laid ; but, excited to caution by the evident observations of the
bear, the sailors buried the rope beneath the snow, and laid the
bait in a deep hole dug in the centre. The animal once more
approached, and the sailors were assured of their success. But
Bruin, more sagacious than they expected, after snuffing about
the place for a few moments, scraped the snow away with his
paw, threw the rope aside, and again escaped unhurt with his
prize.
A Greenland bear, with two cubs under her protection, was
pursued across a field of ice by a party of armed sailors. At
first, she seemed to urge the young ones to an increase of speed,
by running before them, turning round, and manifesting, by a
peculiar action and voice, her anxiety for their progress ; but,
2M
410 ANKCUOTES OF ANIMALS.
finding her pursuers gaining upon them, she carried, or pushed,
or pitched tkem alternately forward, until she effected theii
escape. In throwing them before her, the little creatures are
said to have placed themselves across her path to receive the
impulse, and, when projected some yards in advance, they ran
onwards, until she overtook them, when they alternately adjust-
ed themselves for another throw.
In the month of June, 1812, a female bear, with two cubs,
approached near a whale ship, and was shot. The cubs, not at-
tempting to escape, were taken alive. These animals, though
at first very unhappy, became at length, in some measure, recon-
ciled to their situation, and, being tolerably tame, were allowed
occasionally to go at large about the deck. While the ship was
moored to a floe, a few days after they were taken, one of them,
having a rope fastened round his neck, was thrown overboard.
It immediately swam to the ice, got upon it, and attempted
to escape. Finding itself, however, detained by the rope, it
endeavoured to disengage itself in the following ingenious way :
Near the edge of the floe was a crack in the ice, of considerable
length, but only eighteen inches or two feet wide, and three or
four feet deep. To this spot the bear turned, and when, on
crossing the chasm, the bight of the rope fell into it, he placed
himself across the opening ; then, suspending himself by his hind
feet, with a leg on each side, he dropped his head and most part
of his body into the chasm, and, with a foot applied to each side
of the neck, attempted, for some minutes, to push the rope over
his head. Finding this scheme ineffectual, he removed to the
main ice, and, running with great impetuosity from the ship,
gave a remarkable pull on the rope ; then, going backwards a
few steps, he repeated the jerk. At length, after repeated at-
tempts to escape this way, every failure of which he announced
by a significant growl, he yielded himself to hard necessity, and
lay down on the ice in angry and sullen silence.
Like the brown and black bear, polar bears are animals capa-
ble of great fierceness. Brentz, in his voyage in search of the
north-east passage to China, had horrid proofs of their ferocity
in the island of Nova Zembla, where they attacked his seamen,
seizing them in their mouth, carrying them off with the utmost
ease, and devouring them even in sight of their comrades.
About twenty years ago, the crew of a boat belonging to a
THE BEAR. 411
ship in the whale fishery, shot at a bear some little distance off,
and wounded him. The animal immediately set up a dreadful
howl, and scampered along the ice towards the boat. Before
he reached it, he had received a second wound. This increased
his fury, and he presently plunged into the water, and swam to
the boat ; and, in his attempt to board it, he placed one of his
fore paws upon the gunwale, and would have gained his point,
had not one of the sailors seized a hatchet and cut it off. Even
this had not the effect of damping his courage, for he followed
the boat till it reached the ship, from whence several shots were
fired at him, which hit, but did not mortally wound him : he
approached the vessel, and ascended the deck, where, from his
dreadful fury, he spread such consternation, that all the crew
fled to the shrouds, and he was in the act of pursuing them
thither, when an effective shot laid him dead on the deck.
THE BADGER.
LIKE the bear, the badger, in walking, treads on his
heels ; and, being short in the legs, his belly nearly touches the
ground. The principal food of the badger is roots, fruits, grass,
insects, and frogs. They live in pairs, and sleep during day
in their burrow, which is always formed in some sequestered
place.
The skin of the badger is dressed with the hair on, and manu-
factured into pistol cases. Its flesh is eaten, and the hind quar-
ters frequently converted into hams, which some consider su-
perior in their flavour to bacon.
Few creatures, when captured by man, are subjected to such
cruel and barbarous treatment, for it is kept only to be baited
by dogs. In this savage sport, the unfortunate brute is some-
times tormented and torn from morning to night. Humanity
shudders at such cruelty; and it is only to be wondered, that
in the present enlightened age, there are to be met with men
brutal enough to take pleasure in such sport, and that the laws
should permit it. With a harmless nature, few animals can de-
fend themselves with such obstinacy, or inflict keener wounds
on their adversaries ; and it is only a dog of great courage and
strength that can draw one from its hole. The thickness of its
skin, which is loose, enables it easily to turn round upon its
assailants, and wound them in the tenderest parts. In this
manner, being singularly endowed by nature, this animal is able
to resist repeated attacks, both of men and dogs, from all quar-
ters, till, being overpowered with numbers, and enfeebled by
wounds, it is at last obliged to submit.
The following instance of extraordinary affection in a badger
was related by a gentleman residing at Chateau de Vernours :
Two persons were on a journey, and passing through a hollow
THE RACOON. 413
way, a dog, which was with them, started a badger, which he
attacked, and pursued till he took shelter in a burrow under a
tree. With some pains he was hunted out, and killed. Being
a few miles from a village, called Chapellatiere, they agreed to
drag him thither, as the commune gave a reward for every one
which was destroyed ; besides, they proposed selling the skin,
as badgers' hair furnishes excellent brushes for painters. Not
having a rope, they twisted some twigs, and drew him along the
road by turns. They had not proceeded far, when they heard
the cry of an animal in seeming distress, and stopped to listen
whence it proceeded, when another badger approached them,
slowly. They at first threw stones at it;, notwithstanding
which, it drew near, came up to the dead animal, began to lick
it, and continued its mournful cry. The men, surprised at this,
desisted from offering any further injury to it, and again drew
the dead one along as before , when the living badger, determin-
ed not to quit its dead companion, lay down on it, taking it
gently by one ear, and in that manner was drawn into the midst
of the village ; nor could dogs, boys, or men induce it to quit its
situation by any means ; and, to their shame be it said, they had
the inhumanity to kill the poor animal, and afterwards to burn
it, declaring it could be no other than a witch.
THE RACOON.
The racoon approximates, in physical characters, to the bears,
but is much smaller and more elegantly formed. He is an ac-
tive and lively animal-, an excellent climber of trees, in which
the sharpness of his claws greatly aids him ; and he will even
venture to the extremity of slender branches. He is a good
tempered animal, and, consequently, easily tamed ; but his habit
of prying into every thing renders him rather troublesome, for
he is in constant motion, and examining every object within his
reach. He generally sits on his hinder parts when feeding,
conveying all his food to his mouth with his fore paws. He
will eat almost every kind of food, but is particularly fond of
sweetmeats, and will indulge in spirituous liquors even to
2M3
414 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS.
drunkenness. He feeds chiefly at night, in a wild state, and
sleeps during the day.
The fur of the racoon is much valued by hatters, being next,
in fineness, to that of the beaver ; it is also used as linings to
dresses ; gloves, and even the upper leather of shoes, are made
from its skin when dressed. Its flesh is considered a delicacy
by the negroes of some of the West India Islands. It is prin-
cipally to be found in North America.
Brickell gives an interesting account, in his ' History of North
Carolina," of the wonderful cunning manifested by the racoon
in that country. It is fond of crabs, and, when in quest of them,
will take its station by a swamp, and hang its tail over into the
water, which the crabs mistake for food, and lay hold of it ; as
soon as the racoon feels them pinch, he pulls up his tail with a
sudden jerk, and they generally quit their hold upon being re-
moved from the water. The racoon instantly seizes the crabs
in his mouth, removes them to a distance from the water, and
greedily devours his prey. He is very careful how he takes
them up, which he always does from behind, holding them
transversely, in order to prevent them catching his mouth with
their nippers.
ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
WE have now reached a beautiful class of the animal creation,
in which most people take an untiring interest. Analogy would
lead us to suppose that those birds which we meet with in every
rural walk, and with whose appearance we are perfectly fami-
liar, would ultimately cease to be the objects of any particular
interest to us but experience proves that this is not the case.
The redbreast, which, year after year, has come in the autumn
evenings to sing his plaintive song in our gardens, is still heard
and contemplated, as if he were some mysterious creature, who
had never visited us before. We fear lest any alien sound may
occur to interrupt his music, and scare him away. Even the
crow, as he floats along, has " his tribute of eyes," and we find
the charm of novelty in that most monotonous of all birds, the
house-sparrow,
Perhaps it is because birds, more than any other animals, have
the means of shunning our approach, that our interest in them
is so permanent. The difficulty of coming near enough to ob-
tain a distinct view, even of such as keep perpetually in our
neighbourhood, enhances the pleasure. The very tamest of
them are as tenacious of their liberty, as those which have
their haunts in the deepest solitudes. They all alike shun con-
tact with man and all of them are more or less the objects of
his permanent curiosity.
We may therefore say, that the department of " animated na-
ture " which we are now entering upon, is more calculated than
any other to interest the sympathies of readers in general. The
winged tribes are associated in the mind with all that is roman-
tic and beautiful in scenery. Their mysterious emigrations, at
416 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
stated seasons, from land to land, their foresight of calm and
storm, their melody or their beauty, and that wonderful con-
struction by which some of them are alike fitted for land and
air, and others for swimming also : these give them a variety
of interest, which attaches to no other tribe of the animal creation.
In our recollections of any rural scene, which we have visited,
are riot its winged inhabitants inevitably included ? Our sum-
mer walks through the dim woodland, owed much of their charm
to the music of the blackbird the thrush and the linnet and
the deep-toned cooing of the dove, far away amid the vaulted
umbrage. The sublimity of the ocean was enhanced by the
free sweep of its wide-pinioned fowl the mountain -top looked
still more lofty, when the eagle skimmed around it, the ancient
tower seemed more magnificent in its decay, when the rooks
hovered over it, the lonely moor was yet lonelier for the curlew's
voice that deprecated the intrusion of man.
Jt perhaps may be questioned, whether writers on the subject
are correct in placing birds, without exception, beneath quadru-
peds in the scale of intelligence. That they rank above insects
and fishes, can admit of no dispute, and when we take into ac-
count the ingenuity which they display, in constructing their
nests, in choosing the securest places for them, and in adapting
the form and situation of these to accidental circumstances, as
the swallow often does, and as the crow, and many others have
been known to do, (as we shall afterwards have occasion to state
particularly) : when we consider also the sagacious means
which they use for the protection of their young ; their suscep-
tibility of being taught ; when we consider all this, we shall
probably be at a loss for even equal proofs of sagacity among
what are termed the superior animals. Water-fowl are prover-
bially low in the scale of birds, and yet even they are known
to keep watch by turns, for mutual protection against an enemy,
and they can be taught to employ, in behalf of man, that dex-
terity which enables them to seize the swift-gliding fish. The
decoy-duck is a familiar instance to our present purpose, and
there are many others, hereafter to be mentioned in detail.
Altogether, if we except the elephant, the horse, the dog, and a
few others, a comparison might easily be instituted between the
remaining mammalia and the subjects of our present consideration,
to the ad vantage of the latter. Their conjugal fidelity, their attach.
THE OSTRICH. 417
ment to their young, added to the sagacity which they exhibit in
so many respects, entitle them, we think, to this superiority.
It has been urged on the other hand, that the comparative in-
sagacity of birds is proved by the fact, that those found in
situations never before intruded upon by man, allow themselves
to be taken without using any means for escape ; but surely
this only results from the same inexperience, which leads power-
ful wild beasts in similar circumstances, to meet indiscriminate-
ly, whatever force may be opposed to them. It is only expe-
rience of man's capabilities, that teaches them the limits of their
own.
Agreeably to the arrangement pursued by Dr Goldsmith, we
begin with the first of the following birds, which, from their,
great size, and their inability to fly, " do not well range in any
system," viz. the Ostrich, the Cassowary, the Emu, the Dodo,
and the Solitaire.
THE OSTRICH.
This largest of all the bird tribe is seldom to be met with,
excepting in the burning deserts of Africa, and it is peculiar to
that continent. It is chiefly valued for its feathers, which have
long made its name popular among the ladies of Europe. The
extreme stupidity ascribed to it by the old travellers, has been
considerably modified by their successors. It is not true, for
example, that the ostrich buries its eggs in the sand, and leaves
them to the influence of the sun, and that, unlike all other ani-
mals, it takes no charge of its progeny. A particular refutation
of these errors, and a description of the ostrich, will be found in
the new edition of Goldsmith. What is there stated of its sa-
gacity in detecting at once, on its return, if the eggs have been
touched by any person during its absence, and its consequent
abandonment of the nest, renders unlikely also the accounts
which state, that when overtaken by the hunters, the ostrich
plunges its head into the sand, or into a thicket, thinking its
whole body will be thus concealed from view. At the same
time, we must admit, that its bulk and sagacity are in strong
contrast with each other. In the dreary localities which it in-
418 ANECDOTES OF BHIDS.
habits, its food is every where found in undisputed profusion
for there, nothing comes amiss to it and its mental faculties
are limited accordingly, while its amazing swiftness of foot
enables it easily to pass beyond the horizon to elude an enemy,
while the whole compass of the desert is its home.
The following anecdotes will illustrate the conjugal affection
of the ostrich ; its indiscriminate use of articles as food ; and its
attachment to its young :
In the year 1822, there were two remarkably fine ostriches,
male and female, kept in the Rotunda of the Jardin du Roi at
Paris. The skylight over their heads having been broken, the
glaziers proceeded to repair it, and, in the course of their work,
let fall a triangular piece of glass. Not long after this, the fe-
male ostrich was taken ill, and died after an hour or two of great
agony. The body was opened, and the throat and stomach were
found to have been dreadfully lacerated by the sharp corners of the
glass which she had swallowed. From the moment his com-
panion was taken from him, the male bird had no rest ; he ap-
peared to be incessantly searching for something, and daily
wasted away. He was removed from the spot, in the hope that
he would forget his grief; he was even allowed more liberty,
but nought availed, and he literally pined himself to death.
Professor Thunberg relates, that as he passed on horseback,
near the spot where a female ostrich was sitting upon her nest, she
rushed out and pursued him for a considerable time, evidently for
the purpose of preventing him from seeing where it was situated.
The EMU is next in size to the preceding bird, and is by some
naturalists termed the American ostrich. Others state that it
is a native of New Holland only, and that the mistake arises
from confounding it with the Rhea of South America. The
body of the Emu is in colour a grayish brown, and its neck and
head are sprinkled with thin black feathers.
Mr Jesse says, " The only instance I have met with on which
the hen bird has not the chief care in hatching and bringing up
the young, is in the case of the Emus, at the farm belonging to
the Zoological Society, near Kingston. A pair of these birds
have now five young ones : the female, at different times, dropped
nine eggs in various places in the pen in which she was confined.
These were collected in one place by the male, who rolled them
gently and carefully along with his beak. He then sat upon
RAPACIOUS BIRDS. 419
them himself, and continued to do so with the utmost assiduity,
for nine weeks, during which time the female never took his
place, nor was he ever observed to leave the nest. When the
young were hatched, he alone took charge of them, and has con-
tinued to do so ever since, the female not appearing to notice
them in any way. On reading this anecdote, many persons
would suppose that the female emu was not possessed of that
natural affection for its young which other birds have. In or-
der to rescue it from this supposition, I will mention that a fe-
male emu belonging to the Duke of Devonshire at Chiswick,
lately laid some eggs ; arid as there was no male bird, she col-
lected them together herself, and sat upon them."
The CASSOWARY is found in southern Asia, and bears a gene-
ral resemblance to the emu, though in many respects it is dif-
ferent. It has a horny substance over the forepart of its head,
and wattles upon the neck.
This bird consumes an immense quantity of food, and has been
observed when tame, and in confinement, to manifest singular
antipathies. One in Paris could not endure the sight of persons
in rags, or in red clothes. When any such appeared, the cas-
sowary kicked like a man, and with a vigour which would have
enabled it to imprint some lasting remembrances on the body
and mind of the object of its resentment, had the cage bars per-
mitted them to come together.
The DODO, now extinct, is said to have been peculiar to the
Isle of France. Some writers are doubtful whether it ever ex-
isted. The accounts of it, both as respects its flesh and figure
and habits, are such as to render their doubts of little impor-
tance. A large and unwieldy body, whose motions resembled in
speed those of the tortoise, flesh of very questionable charac-
ter, and the cognomen of Walycogel, or Bird of disgust, which
was bestowed upon it by its Dutch discoverers, constitute its
claims upon the interest of the reader.
The SOLITAIRE is merely named by Goldsmith in his enumera-
tion of unclassifiable birds, and we have met with nothing
elsewhere regarding it, which would come expressly under the
plan of the present work. Our recollection does not enable us
to give the external characteristics of the solitaire but this is
immaterial for the reason now mentioned.
OF RAPACIOUS BIRDS.
THESE make deadly war against all the rest of the feathered
creation, and every other animal whom they are able to over-
come. Sometimes their motive for so doing is vindictive, but
the standing cause is, that they must have animal food, if it can
by any means be obtained. A few of them, indeed, prefer what
they find already dead, yet as all of them are very accommo-
dating and versatile in their habits, the peaceful birds have
long been of opinion that they are not much to be trusted, and
accordingly keep at a safe distance from them, as often as they
can. We shall find, as we proceed, that the largest of the ra-
pacious birds owe their reputation for courage, mainly to their
great size and strength. They are uniformly observed to avoid
even an equal combat, and are cautious how they provoke
some of the smaller of their own species. The latter, on the
other hand, seem to have courage in the inverse ratio of their
bulk, and wont put up with insults from the largest creature
that ever wore wings.
Rapacious birds are comprehended, under the five following
kinds, viz. the Eagle, Hasvk, Vulture, and Horned and Screech
Owl kinds, which we now proceed to treat of respectively, fol-
lowing the arrangement of Goldsmith.
THE EAGLE AND ITS CONGENERS.
The Golden Eagle ranks first for size and strength. From
the extremities of tail and beak, it has been found to measure
Till) EAGLE. 421
nearly four feet. Its body is of a dark colour, sprinkled with
spots of a livelier shade. Like other predatory birds, it
makes its dwelling in rocks, and other lonely elevations. As
their habits and characteristics are nearly the same, we shall
just give the following list of the eagle kind, and afterwards
notice particularly such of them as we happen to possess any en-
tertaining information respecting : the ring-tailed eagle, (now
known to be the young of the golden eagle, though mentioned
by Goldsmith as distinct from it,) the common eagle, the bald
eagle, the white eagle, the rough-footed eagle, the erne, the
black eagle, the osprey, the sea eagle, the crowned eagle,
&c._
There was a young Golden Eagle kept for some time, at
Thrampton Hall, the seat of J. E. Westcombe, Esq. It was
very fierce, and in fine feather. Having obtained its liberty, it
flew to a gate, some distance from its place of confinement, where
a public path came through. A foot passenger, who was a stran-
ger to the place, and consequently unacquainted with the bird,
wishing to pass through, the bird seemed determined to dispute
the passage, and offered battle ; the man, in self-defence, struck
the bird over the crown, and caused almost immediate death, by
fracturing the skull.
Of the Golden Eagle, which is diffused over all Europe and
North America, many curious stories have been told. It is very
often to be met with in the Highlands, and Western isles of
Scotland. The following romantic lines of Thomson refer to
it in the latter situation.
" High from the summit of a craggy cliff,
Hung o'er the deep, such as amazing frowns
On utmost Kilda's shore, whose lonely rare
Resign the setting sun to Indian worlds,
The royal eagle draws his vigorous young,
Strong pounc'd and ardent with paternal fire.
Now fit to raise a kingdom of their own,
He drives them from his fort, the towering seat,
For ages, of his empire ; which, in peace,
Unstain'd ne holds, while many a league to sea
He wings his course, and preys in distant isles."
The Golden Eagle is brown, terminating in a reddish colour
at the neck and head ; the % feathers of the tail are deep brown.
2*
422 ANECDOTES OF BlilCS.
dotted with ash-colour, and white at the roots, the legs feath-
ered with brown.
A lad, named Macdougall, who at present resides near the
village of Oban in Argyleshire, went out very early one morn-
ing to shoot rock pigeons, accompanied by a dog of the terrier
breed. As he stood watching the pigeons, an eagle came float-
ing over the brow of the precipice. Macdougall took aim, and
the bird fell to the ground with a broken wing. He attempted
to master it with his hands, but got them dreadfully lacerated,
and was obliged to desist. He next set his dog upon it, which,
though well accustomed to fight with badgers and otters, found
that they were weak foes compared to the eagle, and ran yelping
away from the first clutch. Had Macdougall not been desirous
of preserving the eagle alive, he would at once have employed
the butt end of his gun, and this he was at last compelled to do,
though the eagle was not killed till it had received about a dozen
heavy blows. He described it as having legs as thick as his
wrist, but this was evidently an exaggeration.
A party of New Galloway gentlemen, who had gone on a
fishing expedition to Loch Dungeon, were witness to a fierce
combat between two eagles and a large otter. One of the ea-
gles hovering over the lake, descried an otter sleeping on the
sunny side of a bank near the water's edge, and pounced upon
it Thus attacked, the otter soon stood on the alert, and pre-
pared to give the eagle battle, when another eagle appeared, and
joined in the attack. The unfortunate otter, finding himself as-
sailed behind and before, immediately retreated to his favourite
element. On reaching the water, the otter attempted to dive,
but was powerfully held by one of the eagles, whose talons had
been partly fixed in his skin, which made him redouble his ex-
ertions for life and liberty. In this way, the combat was long
and amusing, till the eagle, finding his claws fairly disengaged,
and little used to combat on such an element, precipitately beat
a retreat, and retired with his companion to his native moun-
tains.
We give the following anecdote of the eagle from the Edin-
burgh Literary Gazette : " Of the many absurd stories told of
eagles, this, by Von Buch, is not the least remarkable. We
learned, says he, with astonishment, that eagles were very much
dreaded in these islands ; for they arfl not contented with lambs
THE EAGLE. 423
and smaller animals, but even attack oxen, and not iinrrequentl)
master them. The manner of their attack is so singular, that
we should have doubted the truth of the account, if we had not
heard it so circumstantially and distinctly confirmed to us, in the
same terms, at places a great distance from each other. The
eagle plunges itself into the waves, and after being completely
drenched, rolls itself among the sand on the shore, till its wings
are quite covered with sand. It then rises into the air, and
hovers over its unfortunate victim, and when close to it,
shakes its wings, and throws stones ami sand into the eyes of
the ox, and completes the terror of the animal by blows with
its powerful wings. The blinded oxen run about quite raving,
and at length fall down completely exhausted, or dash them-
selves to death from some cliff. The eagle then mangles, un-
disturbed, the fruits of his victory. If this tale be true, tht
Norwegian eagles must be very different from ours, in respect to
courage and sagacity ; for the British eagles are so cowardly,
that they do not even venture to defend their nests against a
solitary rocksman, dangling upon a rope, like a spider upon its
thread. As to eagles plunging into the waves with the view of
getting drenched, we are very certain they would be very sorry to
ploy such pranks, for every body knows, that for a drenched bird
it is as impossible to fly, as for a drunk man to thread a needle."
The osprey is indeed often wholly submersed, but then, its
feathers are of the same close texture with those of a duck, or
any other waterfowl, and do not retain, if in truth, from their
oiliness they even may be said to receive, a wetting. The tale
seems to be an exaggeration of what is told of the condor, in the
notes to Goldsmith. Guillin, in his display of Heraldry, the
book mentioned by Sir Walter Scott, as being the Sabbath-day
amusement of the old knight Osbaldiston, in Rob Roy, thus
quaintly introduces an ancient anecdote of the eagle : " Though
the eagle's strength," says he, " be much in her leggs and beak,
yet sometimes she is for to use her wit to rend her prey ; as
especially she doth in breaking open all shell-fish, which she
useth (as Fortune doth many great men) to carry them up very
high, that they might fall with greater force, and so be broken
up for her food. Whereof there is recorded one memorable,
but pitifull experiment on the Poet ^Eschylus, who, sitting in
deep meditation, an eagle thinking his bald head had been a
2 x a
421 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
stone, let fall a tortoise upon it, and so made a tragical end of
that noble tragedian."
Among the ruins of Dunolly castle, Argyleshire, there has
been confined for many years, a fine eagle, said to be an osprey.
If so, it seems quite contented with dry land, and the food to
be had there.
" I was particularly amused, 1 ' says Mr Drosier, "one even-
ing, when standing at the foot of the loftiest hill in Orkney,
(called by the natives Snuge,) with the following circumstance :
An eagle was returning to his eyry, situated in the face of the
western crags, in appearance perfectly unconscious of approach-
ing so near to his inveterate foes; as, in general, the eagle re-
turns to the rocks from the sea, without even crossing the
smallest portion of the island. This time, however, he was
making a short cut of it, by crossing an angle of the land. Not
a bird was discernible : a solitary squa gull might, indeed, be
occasionally seen, wheeling his circling flight round the summit
of the mountain, which was already assuming its misty mantle.
As I was intently observing the majestic flight of the eagle, on
a sudden he altered his direction, and descending hurriedly, as
if in the act of pouncing, in a moment, five or six of the squa
gulls passed over my head with an astonishing rapidity ; their
wings partly closed and perfectly steady, without the slightest
waver or irregularity. They appeared, when cleaving the air,
like small fragments of broken rock, torn and tossed by a hurri-
cane from the summit of a towering cliff, until losing the power
that supported them, they fell prone to the sea beneath. The
gulls soon came up with him, as their descent was very rapid,
and a desperate engagement ensued. The short bark of the
eagle was clearly discernible above the scarcely distinguished cry
of the squa, who never ventured to attack his enemy in front ;
but, taking a short circle around him, until his head and tail
were in a direct line, the gull made a desperate sweep or stoop,
and, striking the eagle on the back, he darted up again almost
perpendicularly; when, falling into the rear, he resumed his cow-
ardly attack. Three or four of these birds, thus passing in quick
succession, invariably succeeded in harassing the eagle most un-
mercifully. If, however, he turns his head previously to the
bird's striking, the gull quickly ascends without touching him.
This engagement continued some time, the eagle wheeling and
THE EAGLE. 425
turning as quickly as his ponderous wings would allow , until I
lost the combatants in the rocks. As soon as this is the case,
the gulls leave and quickly return to the mountain."
In the year 1827, as two boys, the one seven and the other five .
years old, were amusing themselves in a field, in trying to reap
during the time that their parents were at dinner, in the parish
of St Ambrose, at New York, a large eagle came sailing over
them, and with a swoop, attempted to seize the eldest, but luckily
missed him. The bird, not at all dismayed, sat on the ground at
a short distance, and in a few moments repeated the attempt.
The bold little fellow defended himself with the sickle in his
hand, and when the bird rushed upon him, he struck it. The
sickle entered under the left wing, went through the ribs, and
penetrating the liver, instantly proved fatal. It turned out to be
the Ring-tailed eagle, and measured from the tip of one wing
to that of the other upwards of six feet. Its stomach was
opened, and found to be entirely empty. The little boy did not
receive a scratch.
Pliny relates that there was a wonderful example of the affection
of an eagle, at the city of Sestos ; upon which account that bird
became afterwards much honoured in the neighbouring country.
A young girl had brought up an eagle by hand. In return for
this kindness, the bird would go in quest of prey, and always re-
turned with part of what it had procured to its nurse, to whom
the eagle was devotedly attached. When the eagle grew strong-
er, she extended her depredations to wild beasts of the forest,
and continually provided her mistress with store of venison.
At length the young woman took ill and died, and when her
funeral pile was burning, the eagle flew into the midst of it, and
there was consumed to ashes with the corpse of the virgin. In
memorial of this extraordinary event, the inhabitants of Sestos
erected on the spot a stately monument, which they call Hero-
urn, because the eagle is a bird consecrated to God.
Several instances have been recorded of children being seized
and carried off by eagles to their young. In the year 1737, in
the parish of Norderhouss, in Norway, a boy, somewhat more
than two years old, was running from the house to his parents,
who were at work in the fields at no great distance, when an
eagle pounced upon and flew off with him in their sight. It
was with inexpressible grief and anguish, that they beheld their
2 N3
4-26 ANECDOTES OF BIUDS.
child drugged away, but their screams and efforts were in
vain.
Anderson, in his History of Iceland, says, that in that Island,
children of four or five years of age have been sometimes taken
away by eagles ; and Ray relates, that in one of the Orkneys, a
child of a year old was seized in the talons of an eagle, and car-
ried about four miles to its nest. The mother knowing the
place where it built, pursued the bird, found her child in the
eyry, and took it away unhurt.
A very formidable bird of the eagle kind remains to be men-
tioned, but as it is very well known, we shall dismiss it with
one anecdote, the only unappropriated one within our reach at
present. The Lammer-geyer, or Lamb Vulture, so called from
its devouring that animal, and also known by the name of the
Bearded Eagle, is the largest of the birds of prey, after the con-
dor of America, measuring sixteen feet across when the wings
are extended. It frequents the north of Switzerland, and some-
times carries off young kids, and even sheep and dogs. M. Ebel
relates a story of a chasseur of that country, (Joseph Schoren,)
who having discovered a nest belonging to one of these terrible
birds, and having killed the male, crept along the jut of a rock,
his feet bare, the better to keep himself firm, in hopes of catch-
ing the young ones. He raised his arm, and had already his
hand upon the nest, when the female, pouncing on him from
above, struck her talons through his arm, and her beak into his
loins. The hunter, whom the smallest movement would have
precipitated to the bottom, lost not his presence of mind, but
remained firm, rested his fouling piece, which fortunately he
held in his left hand, against the rock, and with his foot directing
it full on the bird, touched the trigger, and she fell dead. The
wounds which he had received confined him for several months.
These hunters are men, of whom the savages of America might
learn lessons of patience and courage in the midst of danger and
privations. The greater part of them come to a tragical end.
They disappear, and their disfigured remains, which are now and
then found, alone intimate their fate.
j HE VULTURE AND ITS CONGENERS. 427
THE CONDOR OF AMERICA.
THE notes to Goldsmith have anticipated us in all that is
worth recording of this native of the Andes, whose character and
exploits have been a good deal magnified. When strangers visit
a wild country, they are prepared for the marvellous, and the
natives are always sure to minister it in liberal dozes. We gen-
erally find that a Highlander suits his story to his auditor, and
according to the wonder excited, so is the supply. The narrator
partakes of the feeling to which he gives rise, and forsakes un-
consciously the truth for the poetry of his subject. Such has
been the fate of most local inquiries about the condor. Travel-
lers have received implicitly the heightened and almost super-
stitious native accounts of this bird and either had not oppor-
tunity or wish to compare them with nature. It is now ascer-
tained not to exceed in size the Vulture barbatus, or Lammer-
geyer, for which it has been sometimes mistaken. It is exceed-
ingly bold, arid will attack the puma, and even the bullock and
cow ; which it does by hovering over, and pecking them on the
back, sometimes tiring them to death, and then devouring them.
OF THE VULTURE AND ITS CONGENERS.
THE Vulture tribe all agree in their habits and nature ; rapa-
city, laziness, and an odour which suggests the idea of living
corpses. The bare head too, so often thrust into corrupted
bodies, completes the disgusting associations with which this
odious creature is contemplated. Notwithstanding, the vulture
has its place and use among the creatures of Providence. In
Grand Cairo, and elsewhere, they have had the freedom of the
town conferred upon them, and make such useful citizens, that
to meddle with them is punishable by law. They are employed
like scavengers but they swallow as well as remove, the offals
from the streets, and so prevent, or at least greatly modify many
of the distempers incident to the burning climates of Africa and
Asia. It will suffice to describe the golden vulture, since the
others so much resemble it. In length from beak to tail, in.
428 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
elusive, it is about four feet and a half. From the breast down-
wards it is of a reddish colour, fading on the tail and darkening
towards the head. The wings are yellow-brown, and the back
is black. The bill is straight nearly to the point, where it be-
comes hooked. The head, as before stated, is bare. Those of
South Africa are thus spoken of by Mr Pringle : " These fowls
divided with the hyaenas the office of carrion scavengers ; and the
promptitude with which they discover and devour every dead
carcass, is truly surprising. They also instinctively follow any
band of hunters, or party of men travelling, especially in solitary
places, wheeling in circles high in the air, ready to pounce down
upon any game that may be shot and not instantly secured, or
the carcase of any ox or other animal, that may perish on the
road. In a field of battle in South Africa, no one ever buries
the dead; the vultures and beasts of prey relieve the living of
that trouble." " In the year 1778," quotes an American
writer, " Mr Baber and several other gentlemen were on a
hunting party, in the island of Cossimbuzar, in Bengal, about
fifteen miles north of the city of Murshedebad. They killed a
wild hog of uncommon size, and left it on the ground near the
tent. An hour after, walking near the spot where it lay, the
sky perfectly clear, a dark spot in the air at a great distance
attracted their attention. It appeared to increase in size, and
move directly towards them. As it advanced, it proved to be
n vulture flying in a direct line to the dead hog. In an hour
seventy others came in all directions, which induced Mr Baber
to remark, ' this cannot be smell.'" This concluding reflection
is supported by additional evidence in the notes to Goldsmith,
to which we refer the reader.
The following interesting account of the Black Vulture, or as
it is termed, the carrion crow, of the United States, is from the
pen of Wilson: " February 21st, 1809. Went out to Hamp-
stead this forenoon. A horse had dropped down in the street,
in convulsions ; and dying, it was dragged out to Hampstead,
and skinned. The ground, for a hundred yards beyond it, was
black with carrion crows ; many sat on the tops of sheds, fences,
and houses within sight ; sixty or eighty in the opposite side of
a small run. I counted at one time two hundred and thirty-
seven, but I believe there were more, besides several in the air
over my head, and at a distance. I ventured cautiously within
THE VULTURE. 429
thirty yards of the carcass, where three or four dogs, and twenty
or thirty vultures, were busily tearing and devouring. Seeing
them take no notice,, I ventured nearer, till I was within ten
yards, and sat down on the bank. Still they paid little attention '
to me. The dogs being sometimes accidentally flapped with the
wings of the vultures, would growl and snap at them, which
would occasion them to spring up for a moment, but they imme-
diately gathered in again. I remarked the vultures frequently
attack each other, fighting with their claws or heels, striking
like a cock, with open wings, and fixing their claws in each
other's heads. The females, and I believe the males likewise,
made a hissing sound with open mouth, exactly resembling that
produced by thrusting a red hot poker into water ; and fre-
quently a snuffing like a dog clearing his nostrils, as I suppose
tltey were theirs. On observing that they did not heed me, I
stole so close that my feet were within one yard of the horse's
legs, and I again sat down. They all slid aloof a few feet ; but
seeing me quiet, they soon returned as before. As they were
often disturbed by the dogs, I ordered the latter home : my voice
gave no alarm to the vultures. As soon as the dogs departed,
the vultures crowded in such numbers, that I counted at one
time thirty-seven on and around the carcass, with several within ;
so that scarcely an inch of it was visible. Sometimes one would
come out with a large piece of the entrails, which in a moment
was surrounded by several others, who tore it in fragments, and
it soon disappeared. They kept up the hissing occasionally.
Some of them having their whole legs and heads covered with
blood, presented a most savage aspect. Still as the dogs ad-
vanced, I would order them away, which seemed to gratify the
vultures ; and one would pursue another, to within a foot or two
of the spot where I was sitting. Sometimes I observed them
stretching their necks along the ground, as if to press the food
downwards."
Bruce gives the following striking account of a predatory bird,
which we apprehend must have been one of the vultures, al-
though his description of the size would lead us to suppose it to
be the Condor. But as this bird has never been met with in
Africa, we must suppose it some other species.
" This noble bird," says this celebrated traveller, " was not an
object of any chase or pursuit, nor stood in need of any strata-
40 ANECDOTES OF BIKDS.
gem to bring him within our reach. Upon the highest top ot
the mountain Lamalmon, while my servants were refreshing
themselves from that toilsome, rugged ascent, and enjoying the
pleasure of a most delightful climate, eating their dinner in the
outer air, with several large dishes of boiled goat's flesh before
them, this enemy, as he turned out to be to them, suddenly ap-
peared ; he did not stoop rapidly from a height, but came flying
slowly along the ground, and sat down close to the meat, within
the ring the men had made round it. A great shout, or rather
cry of distress, called me to the place. I saw the eagle stand
for a minute, as if to recollect himself; while the servants ran
for their lances and shields. I walked up as nearly to him as
I had time to do. His attention was fully fixed upon the flesh.
I saw him put his foot into the pan, where was a large piece in
water prepared for boiling ; but finding the smart, which he had
not expected, he withdrew it, and forsook the piece that he
held.
" There were two large pieces, a leg and a shoulder, lying upon
a wooden platter ; into these he thrust both his claws, and car-
ried them off; but I thought he still looked wistfully at the
large piece which remained in the warm water. Away he went
slowly along the ground, as he had come. The face of the
cliff over which criminals were thrown, took him from our sight.
The Mahometans that drove the asses, were much alarmed, and
assured me of his return. My servants, on the other hand, very
unwillingly expected him, and thought he had already more
than his share.
" As I had myself a desire of more intimate acquaintance with
him, I loaded a rifle-gun with ball and sat down close to the
platter, by the meat. It was not many minutes before he came,
and a prodigious shout was raised by my attendants, ' He is
coming, be is coming,' enough to have dismayed a less courage-
ous animal. Whether he was not quite so hungry as at his first
visit, or suspected something from my appearance, I knew not,
but he made a small turn, and sat down about ten yards from
me, the pan with the meat being between me and him. As the
field was clear before me, and I did not know but his next mos-e
might bring him opposite to some of my people, so that he
inight actually get the rest of the meat, and make off, I shot him
with the ball through the middle of the body, about two inches
THE VULTURE. 43 L
below the wings, so that he lay down upon the grass without
a single flutter.
" Upon laying hold of his monstrous carcass, I was not a little
surprised at seeing my hands covered and tinged with yellow
powder or dust. On turning him upon his belly, and examin-
ing the feathers of his back, they also produced a dust, the co-
lour of the feathers there. This dust was not in small quanti-
ties ; for, upon striking the breast, the yellow powder flew in
far greater quantity than from a hair-dresser's powder-puff.
The feathers of the belly and breast, which were of a gold-
colour, did not appear to have any thing extraordinary in their
formation ; but the large feathers in the shoulder and wings,
seemed apparently to be fine tubes, which, upon pressure, scat-
ter their dust upon the finer parts of the feather ; but this was
brown, the colour of the feathers of the back. Upon the side
of the wing, the ribs, or hard part of the feathers, seemed to be
bare, as if worn , or, I rather think, were renewing themselves,
having before failed in their functions.
" What is the reason of this extraordinary provision of nature,
is not in my power to determine. As it is an unusual one, it is
probably meant for a defence against the climate, in favour of
the birds which live in those almost inaccessible heights of
country, doomed, even in its lower parts, to several months ex-
cessive rain."
The Ghebirs, or fire worshippers of India, expose their dead
on high altars or towers of wood, where they become the prey of
the vultures. When gorged with this food, these birds may be
seen drowsily resting upon the trees, from which they will not
depart whatever noise may be made to raise them. They will
even continue stationary after being struck with a stone. Some-
times, in truth, they have eaten so much that they are not able
to stir, and in this situation, and after such a repast, it is no won-
der that passers by should be sometimes provoked to assail them,
so indolent and self-satisfied are their looks. The Ghebirs, who
might be supposed the most likely to punish these pillagers,
make it a point of religion to spread the feast purposely for the
fowls of the air.
432 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
OF THE FALCON AND ITS CONGENERS.
THE days of hawking, like those of chivalry, may be said to be
past, and this class of birds, once subservient to the amuse-
ments of man, are now chiefly known to him as marauders upon
his property. Occasionally, indeed, some old game-keeper of
an ancient family, may still be seen with a falcon on his wrist,
as if he had stepped out of a picture-frame, but the sight only
reminds us of " a glory" that hath for ever departed. It is dif-
ficult to conceive how the sport of falconry should have fallen
into desuetude, while almost all the other forms of hunting still
continue to be practised among us. Such is the case, how-
ever, and all the treatises on the subject, with their intricate no-
menclature, have become so much dead letter. Little did
Guillim dream of this sad change, when he thus spoke of the
noble art. " Now," says he, " since we are come to treat of
fowls of prey ; whereof (next to the eagle, which is reckoned the
sovereign queen of all fowls, like as the lion is reputed the king
of all beasts) the Goshawk, the Falcon, the Gerfalcon, and all
other long-winged hawks ; as also all Sparhawks, Marlions,
Hobbeys, and other like small fowl of prey are the chief, it shall
not be altogether impertinent, (though therein I do somewhat
digress for my principal purpose,) if I give some little touch
of the propriety of terms commonly used of falconers, in manag-
ing their hawks, and things to them appurtenant, according to
the slenderness of my skill, always subscribing herein to the
censure *rd T^rmation of professed falconers. The cause of
this mj digression is, the desire I have to give some superficial
taste unto gentlemen, of the terms of falconry, that so in their
mutual converse together, they may be able to deliver their
minds in apt terms, when in their meetings they happen to fall
into discourse of the noble recreations and delights, either of
our generous armorial profession, or of hunting and hawking."
Goldsmith has given a specimen from Willoughby, of the terms
used in falconry, and we shall treat our readers to one or two,
from Guillim. " Your hawk is said to rouse, and not to shake
herself. Sometime your hawk countenances, when she picketh
herself. Then shall you not say she pruneth herself, but that
she reformeth her feathers. Your hawk collietb, and not break-
THE FALCON. 433
eth ; your hawk straineth, not clitcheth or snatclietli. After she
inantletb, she crosseth her wings together over her back, which
action you shall term the warbling of her wings. You shall
say your hawk mutesbeth or rnutetb, not skliseth ;" and so OH
through a series of distinctions equally elegant and important.
THE JER-FALCON.
THIS bird is the largest and strongest of the falcon kind, and
is found in Russia, Norway, and Iceland, and in the Highlands
of Scotland, and the Orkney Isles. It was trained in the days
of falconry, to take wild geese, cranes, and other large game.
Its breast and belly are white, with darkish spots: the neck
white also, and similarly spotted. The upper part is dark brown
inclining to black, with light spots and bars. The tail is barred
white and brown ; the legs yellow; the claws black : the head
is flat and of an ashen hue ; and the bill is a bluish gray.
An old gentleman of Gallowayshire was in the habit of rest-
ing during his morning walks, on a seat beneath a wooded pre-
cipice. For two or three mornings, a young Jer-falcon came
and rested upon a bough above his head as he sat, and at last
grew so familiar, as to settle upon his shoulder. The gentle-
man was highly delighted with his new acquaintance, and brought
it such food as, from a knowledge of these birds, he knew to be
suitable. At length, it ceased to meet him, probably its wild
nature, as it got older, subduing the gentle confidence which had
dictated its first approaches. He often spoke with lively regret
of this interesting friendship ; remarkable in any point of view,
but still more so, when it is considered that the Jer-falcon is al-
most never seen in the place we refer to, viz. the parish of Urr,
or Orr. The old gentleman was quite confident that he had
not mistaken the species, which he had had opportunities, else-
where, of distinctly knowing. Perhaps the young falcon had
somehow wandered from its proper home, and was thus induced
to put itself under human protection.
2o
434 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
THE COMMON FALCON.
IT is now ascertained, that the Peregrine Falcon is the same
bird, in a state of maturity, which has been termed the Common
Falcon. It is found in the same localities with the Jer-falcon,
which it resembles.
" In daring disposition," says Mr Selby, speaking of this bird,
" it equals most of its congeners. I may be allowed to add the
following instance, as having happened under my own observa-
tion, and as exemplifying not only its determined perseverance in
pursuit of its prey, when under the pressure of hunger, but as
arguing also an unexpected degree of foresight : In exercising
ray dogs upon the moors, previous to the commencement of the
shooting-season, I observed a large bird of the hawk genus,
hovering at a distance, which, upon approaching, I knew to be a
Peregrine Falcon. Its attention was now drawn towards the
dogs, and it accompanied them, whilst they beat the surrounding
ground. Upon their having found, and sprung a brood of
grouse, the falcon immediately gave chase, and struck a young
bird, before they had proceeded far upon wing. My shouts and
rapid advance, prevented it from securing its prey. The issue of
this attempt, however, did not deter the falcon from watching
our subsequent movements, and another opportunity soon offer-
ing, it again gave chase, and struck down two birds, by two
rapidly repeated blows, one of which it secured, and bore off in
triumph."
THE KESTREL.
THIS is a widely diffused and well known species. We again
quote Selby's Ornithology : " The castings of a nest of young
kestrels that I frequently inspected, consisted entirely of the fur
and bones of mice : and Montague remarks, that he never found
the feathers or remains of birds in the stomach of this hawk.
He therefore concluded, that it is only when it finds a difficulty
in procuring its favourite food, that it attacks and preys on the
feathered tribe. That it will do so, under some circumstances,
THE MEKLIN. 435
is evident, since bird-catchers have discovered the kestrel in the
very act of pouncing their bird-calls : and I have myself caught
it in a trap baited with a bird. In summer, the cockchaffer sup-
plies to this species an object of pursuit and food, and the fol-
lowing curious account is given from an eye witness of the fact.
' I had,' says he, ' the pleasure, this summer, of seeing the kestrel
engaged in an occupation entirely new to me, hawking after
cockchaffers late in the evening. I watched him through a glass,
and saw him dart through a swarm of the insects, seize one in
each claw, and eat them whilst flying. He returned to the charge
again and again.'"
A sparrow, pressed by a kestrel hawk, flew into the window
of a dwelling house, at Beargate, in Exeter ; and so eager was
the pursuer to obtain possession of the quarry, in the wing of
which he had already fastened his talons, that the window was
closed upon them, and both were captured.
An extraordinary spectacle was in 1828 exhibited in the gar-
den of Mr May, of the Chequers Inn, Uxbridge, in the instance
of a tame male hawk sitting on three hen's eggs. The same
bird hatched three chickens last year ; but being irritated by
some person, destroyed them. The hawk has this year also
hatched one chicken, which was placed with another brood.
THE HOBBY.
THIS bird is migratory in England. It preys upon small
birds, preferring the lark to all others. In general colour it is a
greyish black. Like the swallow, it travels with the sun ; al-
ways seeking warm regions as soon as winter begins to be felt.
THE MERLIN.
THIS bird is the smallest of the hawk kind, but equals any of
its congeners in courage. Its size is little beyond that of the
blackbird. Its colour on the back is a light grey : the tips of
the tail are white. " In witnessing," says Selby, " its attacks
upon a flock of small birds, I have been astonished at the rapid-
2o2
436 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
hy of its evolutions, and the certainty of its aim, as it never
failed in securing and carrying off its victim, even though chosen
from the centre of the flock." The Merlin concludes the
generous tribe of hawks, or those formerly in esteem among fal-
coners. We come now to the short-winged kinds.
THE GOSHAWK.
THIS hird is rare in England, but very common in some of
the wild districts of Scotland, and also in Russia and North
America. It ranks first among the short-winged hawks, for the
purposes of falconry.
In the year 1830, a Goshawk was observed to alight upon a
high rock in the island of Kerrara, Argyleshire, where it was
soon disturbed by two of a species of hooded crow, very common
in that quarter. The Goshawk, apparently not anxious for a
quarrel, made majestically out to sea, pursued by the crows,
which no doubt thought that its retreat proved their superiority
to it. This made them risk too much the hawk, enraged at
last by their insolence, suddenly wheeled round and made a
stroke at one of them, which caused it to fall downwards almost
into the waves ere it could recover itself sufficiently to fly to
shore. The remaining crow was ultimately reinforced by some
sea-gulls, and a screaming contest was maintained as long as the
party remained in sight, flying off towards Mull.
THE SPARROW-HAWK.
THIS bird, so very destructive in its wild state, may be easily
tamed, and is capable of strong attachment. The female ex-
ceeds the male in size, beyond the proportion usual among ra-
pacious birds. A remarkable instance of the boldness and
ferocity of the sparrow-hawk was witnessed at Market Deep-
ing one Sunday. Just as the congregation were returning
from divine service in the afternoon, a hawk of this species
made a stoop at a swallow which had alighted in the cen-
THE SPAUROW-HAWK. 437
tre of the church ; and, notwithstanding the surrounding specta-
tors, and the incessant twitterings of numbers of the victim's
friends, the feathered tyrant succeeded in bearing his prey tri-
umphantly into the air.
Mr W. B. Clarke gives the following interesting account of
a tame sparrow-hawk. " About three years ago (1828), a young
sparrow-hawk was purchased, and brought up by my brother.
This was rather hazardous, as he, at the same time, had a large
stock of fancy pigeons, which, in consequence of their rarity and
value, he greatly prized. It seems, however, that kindness and
ease had softened the nature of the hawk, or the regularity with
which he was fed rendered the usual habits of his family unne-
cessary to his happiness ; for as he increased in age and size, his
familiarity increased also, leading him to form an intimate ac-
quaintance with a set of friends who have been seldom seen in
such society. Whenever the pigeons came to feed, which they
did oftentimes from the hand of their almoner, the hawk used
also to accompany them. At first the pigeons were shy, of
course ; but, by degrees, they got over their fears, and ate as
confidently as if the ancient enemies of their race had sent no
representative to their banquet. It was curious to observe the
playfulness of the hawk, and his perfect good nature during the
entertainment ; for he received his morsel of meat without any
of that ferocity with which birds of prey usually take their food,
and merely uttered a cry of lamentation when the carver disap-
peared. He would then attend the pigeons in their flight round
and round the house and gardens, and perch with them on the
chimney-top, or roof of the mansion ; and this voyage he never
failed to make early in the morning, when the pigeons always took
their exercise. At night, he retired with them to the dove-
cot : and though for some days he was the sole occupant of the
place, the pigeons not having relished this intrusion at first, he
was afterwards merely a guest there ; for he never disturbed his
hospitable friends, even when their young ones, unfledged and
helpless as they were, offered a strong temptation to his appetite.
He seemed unhappy at any separation from the pigeons, and
invariably returned to the dove-house after a few days purposed
confinement in another abode, during which imprisonment he
would utter most melancholy cries for deliverance : but these
were changed to cries of joy on the arrival of any person with.
2 o 3
438 ANECDOTES OF BIttDS.
whom he was familiar. All the household were on terms of
acquaintance with him ; and there never was a bird who seemed
to have won such general admiration. He was as playful as a
kitten, and, literally, as loving as a dove.
" But that his nature was not altogether altered, and that, not-
withstanding his education, which, as Ovid says,
" Emollit mores, nee smit esse feros,''*
he was still a ha\vk of spirit, was proved on an occasion of al-
most equal interest. A neighbour had sent us a very fine speci-
men of the smaller horned owl, (Strix brachyotus,") which he
had winged when flying in the midst of a covey of partridges ;
and -after having tended the wounded bird, and endeavoured to
make a cure, we thought of soothing the prisoner's captivity by
a larger degree of freedom than he had in the hen-coop, which
he inhabited. No sooner, however, had our former acquaintance,
the hawk, got sight of him, than he fell upon the poor owl most
unmercifully ; and from that instant, whenever they came in
contact, a series of combats commenced, which equalled in skill
and courage any of those which have so much distinguished that
hero, who to the boldness and clearness of vision of the hawk,
unites the wisdom of the bird of Athens. The defence of the
poor little owl was admirably conducted ; he would throw him-
self upon his back, and await the attack of his enemy with pa-
tience and preparation ; and, by dint of biting and scratching,
would frequently win a positive, as he often did a negative, vic-
tory. Acquaintanceship did not seem in this case likely to
ripen into friendship; and when his wing had gained strength,
taking advantage of a favourable opportunity, the owl decamped,
leaving tfee hawk in possession of his territory.
" The fate of the successful combatant was, however, soon to
be accomplished ; for he was shortly after found drowned in a
butt of water, from which he had once or twice been extricated
before, having summoned a deliverer to his assistance by
cries that told he was in distress. There was great lamentation
when he died, throughout the family; and it was observed by
more than one person, that that portion of the dovecot in which
he was wont to pass the night, was for some time unoccupied
* " Softens the manners, nor permits to be cruel."
by the pigeons with whom he had lived so peaceably, even dur-
ing his wars with the unfortunate owl." Mag. of Nat. fJLif.
"About the tenth of July." says White, in his Natural History
of Seiborne, " a pair of sparrow-hawks bred in an old crow's '
nest on a low beach in Selborne-hanger ; and as their brood,
which was numerous, began to grow up, they became so daring
and ravenous, that they were a terror to all the dames in the village
that had chickens or ducklings under their care. A boy climbed
the tree, arid found the young so fledged that they all escaped
from him ; but discovered that a good house had been kept ;
the larder was well stored with provisions ; for he brought down
a young blackbird, jay, and house martin, all clean picked, and
some half devoured. The old birds had been observed to make
sad havoc for some days among the new flown swallows and
martins, which, being but lately out of their nests, had not ac-
quired those powers and command of wing that enable them
when more mature to set enemies at defiance."
THIS well known prowler was formerly used in training young
falcons. Something of the ludicrous and contemptible attaches
to him on this account, as well as on account of the stealthy
methods he employs to catch his prey. He might, however, if
he knew it, content himself with the reflection that he has fre-
quently, when high in his spiral flights, been by ignorant people
mistaken for the eagle. It is amusing to see him on a bird-
nesting excursion, gliding noiselessly and slowly along the hedge
top of some secluded garden, pausing from time to time,' and
peeping like a school boy into the branches. If his success in
these cases were equal to his assiduity and good will, very
few nests could escape him, but the small birds build in as in.
tricate places as they can find, and thus so many prove too
knowing for him. He is the detestation of the husbandman, who
takes every opportunity to destroy him. Still we would not
like that the kite were extirpated, for he is a fine spectacle in a
calm summer day, floating with motionless wing along the burn-
side, or away among the winding hills, or wavering in the region
440 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
of the clouds. The kite is distinguished from other birds of prey,
by his forked tail. His colour on the head and back is a pale asli.
His spread wings measure five feet from tip to tip, though he
weighs rather under three pounds.
THE BUZZARD.
THE Common Buzzard is brown above, and pale below, and
measures in length about twenty inches. It has the character of
being a cowardly bird, so much so, that the sparrow-hawk is
said often to attack, and vanquish it. The following anecdote,
however, rather goes to modify this account.
The velocity which birds of prey exert, when in pursuit, was
exemplified in a singular manner at Nattwell-court, the seat of
Sir Trayton F. E. Drake, Bart, some time ago. One of the
maid servants had been sweeping the library, and was taking up
the dust, close to the window, which overlooks the lawn, when
a violent blow from the outside shivered one of the panes of
thick plate glass to atoms, and the girl ran out of the library, ex-
claiming that she had been shot at. Captain Fuller, the brother
of Sir Trayton Drake, being in the adjoining room, and hearing
the noise, came out to investigate the cause, which he soon as-
certained to have proceeded from the attack of a buzzard, then
lying dead a few yards from the window. The bird had probably
been attracted by the girl's cap as she stooped down, and in the
violence of his attack on the supposed quarry, had broken the
glass, and with it the thread of his own existence. The glass was
nearly a quarter of an inch thick.
The Hough-legged Buzzard, resembles the former. " Two of
these birds," says Selby, " from having attached themselves to a
neighbouring marsh, passed under my frequent observation.
Their flight was smooth, but slow, and not unlike that of the
common buzzard, and they seldom continued for any length of
time on the wing. They preyed upon wild ducks, and other
birds, which they mostly pounced upon on the ground ; and it
would appear, that mice and frogs must have constituted a great
part of their food, as the remains of both were found in the sto-
machs of those that were killed." This bird is a native of nor-
them Europe.
THE BUTCHER BIRD. 441
The Honey Buzzard is rare in Britain, but frequently to be
met with in the south of France, where it is migratory. It dif-
fers particularly from the rest of the buzzard kind, in having
small round feathers in the space between its bill and eyes. It
is very rarely killed in this country.
The Marsh Harrier, and the rest of its kind, resemble the
buzzards. It preys on water-fowl, young game, leverets and
rats, and flies skimmingly along the ground. It is stationary
in this country, and migratory on the continent.
The Hen Harrier or Bhe Hawk, is very like the preceding,
both in form and habits. It frequents marshy levels, and builds
in long grass, bushes, or the low branches of trees, and is rarely
to be met with in mountainous countries.
The Ash- Coloured Harrier is rare with us and in Italy, but
common in many other European countries. It closely resem-
bles the hen harrier, with which it was formerly confounded by
naturalists. Goldsmith dismisses the buzzards and harriers in a
few words. He terms them a " stupid tribe."
THE BUTCHER EIRD.
THE Greater Butcher Bird, or Cinereous Shrike is nearly the
size of the thrush. The peculiarity from which this class of
birds take their name, has already been mentioned in the notes
to Goldsmith. We add the following from Mr Rennie, on the
architecture of birds : " We discovered near those nests large
insects, such as humble bees, and that the unfledged nestlings of
small birds were frequently seen stuck upon thorns ; but we
obtained what we considered good proof of the fact : for the
peasants all concurred in affirming, that the butcher-bird fixes
its prey upon thorns, not, however, according to their belief,
to allure large game, but to kill or secure what has been already
captured. Selby, an eminent living naturalist, has confirmed
the fact. ' I had the gratification,' he says, ' of witnessing this
operation of the shrike, upon a hedge accentor which it had just
killed, and the skin of which, still attached to the thorn, is now
in my possession. In this instance, after killing the bird, it ho-
vered with it in its bill for a short time over the hedge, appa-
442 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
rently occupied in selecting a thorn for its purpose. Upon dis-
turbing it, and advancing to the spot, I found the accentor firmly
fixed by the tendons of the wing, at the selected twig.' ' I
have met,' continues Selby, ' with the remains of a mouse in the
stomach of a Shrike, and Montague mentions one in which he
found a shrew. When confined in a cage, this bird still evinces
the same propensity for fixing its food, and, if a sharp-pointed
stick or thorn is not left for that purpose, it will invariably fasten
it to the wires before commencing its repast.' " It is very bold,
and will attack almost any bird that intrudes upon its localities.
In America, the Great Shrike has been observed to adopt an
odd stratagem for the purpose of decoying its prey. A gentle-
man there, accidentally observing that several grasshoppers were
stuck upon the sharp thorny branches of some trees, inquired of
a person who lived close by, the cause of the phenomenon, and
was informed that they were stuck there by this bird, which is
called by the English settlers, the Nine- Killer.
On farther inquiry, he was led to suppose that this was an
instinctive stratagem adopted by the bird, in order to decoy the
smaller birds, which feed on insects, into a situation whence he
could dart on them. He is called the Nine- Killer, from the
supposition that he sticks up nine grasshoppers in succession.
That the insects are placed there as food to tempt other birds,
is said to appear from their being frequently left untouched for
a considerable length of time.
Le Vaillant gives the following account of the Shrike of Southern
Africa, (Lanius collurio). " When it sees a locust or mantis, or
a small bird, it springs upon it, and immediately carries it off, in
order to impale it on a thorn, which it does with great dexterity,
always passing the thorn through the head of its victim. Every
animal which it seizes is subjected to the same fate ; and it thus
continues all day long its murderous career, apparently instigated
rather by the love of mischief, than the desire of food. Its
throne of tyranny is usually a dry and elevated branch of a tree,
from which it pounces on all intruders, driving off the stronger
arid more troublesome, and impaling the inexperienced alive ;
when hungry it besets its shambles, and helps itself to a savoury
meal."
The Lesser Butcher-Bird, or Red-backed Shrike, is migratory
in Britain, and not widely diffused during its visits to our shores.
THE OWL KIND. 443
It comes iii spring, and never stays longer than till October,
when it generally commences its equatorial migration ; but some-
times departs in September. Its habits are like those of the
preceding.
Mr Blyth, in describing the predatory habits of the Flusher,
or Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio), says, " Wishing to
ascertain the manner in which the Shrike attacks its prey, I
opened the door of a cage containing one of these birds, and was
about to put a sparrow in it, when, before I could disengage it
from my hand, the Shrike seized it most instantaneously in its
claws, striking out in the manner of a falcon. Its death was
effected in an instant. The Shrike extended its wings and spread
its tail over it, in precisely the same manner of a hawk, and kill-
ed it by pricking a hole in the skull. He then flew to a perch,
carrying the sparrow in his claws, and fixing one foot upon it,
began to devour it ; nor did he desist until he had nearly finished
the whole bird, which he held in this manner for upwards of
two hours."
THE OWL KIND.
THE owl has sometimes been made the emblem of wisdom,
and sometimes of stupidity. Examples of the former occur in
many old works, on grave subjects, and an instance of the latter
will be found in the title page of one edition, at least, of Pope's
Dunciad. From this it may be inferred, that the owl is equivo-
cal in his character, but at the same time it should be con-
sidered, that as he comes abroad, with the exception of a few
species only, in the night, unless disturbed, the same opportunity
is not afforded us to know him so well as we do the rest of the
feathered tribes.
THE GREAT HORNED, OR EAGLE OWL.
THIS bird is as large as some kinds of eagles, and is very
rarely met with in Britain. Like the rest of the horned species,
it has a tuft of long feathers on each side of the head. It is in-
digenous in many parts of Europe, Asia, and America, and its
44'1 ANFXDOTES OF BIRDS.
sight is stronger than in the other species. It frequently preys by
day. The upper parts of its body are sprinkled with black, yel-
low, and greyish spots ; the under parts are yellow, spotted, and
streaked with black.
The Common Horned Owl is much smaller than the former,
and has shorter horns. There is a much smaller species, which
does not much exceed the blackbird in size.
The Long-Eared Owl has, as the name implies, very long
tufts of feathers on its head, which give it an imposing appear-
ance. It is indigenous to this country.
" The Virginian Horned owl,'' says Richardson, " is found in
almost every quarter of the United States, and occurs in all parts
of thefurcountries, where the timber is of a large size. Its
loud, and full nocturnal cry, issuing from the gloomy recesses of
the forest, bears some resemblance to the human voice, uttered
in a hollow sepulchral tone, and has been frequently productive
of alarm to the traveller, of which an instance occurred within
my own knowledge. A party of Scottish Highlanders, in the
service of the Hudson's Bay Company, happened in a winter
journey to encamp after night fall in a dense clump of trees,
whose dark tops and lofty stems, the growth of centuries, gave
a solemnity to the scene that strongly tended to excite the su-
perstitious feelings of the Highlanders, The effect was height-
ened by the discovery of a tomb which, with a natural taste often
exhibited by the Indians, had been placed at this secluded spot.
Our travellers, having finished their supper, were trimming their
fire preparatory to retiring to rest, when the slow and dismal
notes of the horned owl fell on the ear with a startling near-
ness. None of them being acquainted with the sound, they at
once concluded that so unearthly a voice must be the moaning
of the spirit of the departed, whose repose they supposed they
had disturbed, by inadvertently making a fire of some of the
wood of which his tomb had been constructed. They passed a
tedious night of fear, and with the first dawn of day, hastily
quitted the ill-omened spot."
Brown owls are occasionally very furious and bold in defence
of their young. A carpenter, some years ago, passing through
a field near Gloucester, was suddenly attacked by an owl that
bad a nest in a tree near the path. It flew at his head ; and
the man struck at it with his tool that he had in his hand, but
THE SNOWY OWL. 445
missed his blow. The enraged bird repeated the attack ; and
fastening her talons in his face, lacerated him in a most shock-
ing manner.
Audubon gives the following curious particulars concerning
the Barred Owl. " In Louisiana it seems to be more abundant
than in any other state. It is almost impossible to travel eight
or ten miles in any of the retired woods there, without seeing
several of them, even in broad day ; and, at the approach of night,
their cries are heard proceeding from every part of the forest
around the plantations. Should the weather be lowering, and
indicative of the approach of rain, their cries are so multiplied
during the day, and especially in the evening, and they respond
to each other in tones so strange, that one might imagine
some extraordinary fdte about to take place among them. On
approaching one of them, its gesticulations are of a very extraor-
dinary nature. The position of the bird, which is generally
erect, is immediately changed. It lowers its head and inclines
its body, to watch the motions of the person beneath ; throws
backward the lateral feathers of the head, which thus has the
appearance of being surrounded by a broad ruff; looks towards
him as if half blind, and moves its head to and fro in so extraor-
dinary a manner, as almost to induce a person to fancy that part
dislocated from the body. It follows all the motions of the in-
truder with its eyes ; and should it suspect any treacherous in-
tentions, flies off to a short distance, alighting with its back to
the person, and immediately turning about, with a single jump,
to recommence its scrutiny."
THE SNOWY OWL.
THIS bird, and those that follow, are of the smooth-headed class
of owls. The snowy owl has only lately been ascertained as in-
digenous to Britain. " I have seen specimens," says Selby, " that
were killed in Shetland, and some of which are now in the mag-
nificent collection at the Edinburgh Museum. From the ob-
servations that have been made on its habits, it appears to be by
no means confined to twilight for its supplies of food, rather per-
haps the reverse, as it has been seen pursuing its prey in the
day-time. Alpine hares, rabbits, rats, and the different species
2p
44*6 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
of grouse, fall under that description. It rests exposed upon tlie
ground, where it can look around it, and descry the approach of
an enemy." The following is a traditionary anecdote of the
Snowy Owl.
Jengis Khan, who was founder of the empire of the Mogul
and Kalmuc Tartars, being defeated, and having taken shelter
from his enemies, owed his preservation to a Snowy Owl,
which was perched over the bush in which he was hid, in
a small coppice. The pursuers of Jengis Khan, on seeing
this bird, never thought it possible he could be near it. Jen-
gis in consequence escaped, and ever afterwards, this bird was
held sacred by his countrymen, and every one wore a plume of
its feathers on his head. The Kalmucs continue the practice
at all their great festivals ; and indeed pay it divine honours,
for they have an idol, in the form of a white owl, to which they
affix the real legs of this bird.
THE BARN OWL.
THE Barn Owl, or, as it is provincially styled, the Howlet,
is a very well known species. It is romantically and drearily
associated in the mind with the solitude of ruined towers and
shadowy churchyards. Every person must remember Gray's
lines, where he speaks of a stillness that is unbroken.
" Save when from yonder ivy-mantled tower,
The moping owl does to the moon complain
Of such as wandering near her secret bower
Molest her ancient, solitary reign."
THE TAWNY OWL.
THIS bird is the most numerous of the species in Britain.
It prefers making its nest in the depths of unfrequented woods.
The little owl is only occasionally found in England, but com-
mon in the warmer parts of Europe.
The species of the owl genus are about fifty in number;
but those we have noticed are the principal : besides, to enu-
merate all would be only tiresome, as they furnish no anecdotes,
which it is the chief object of this work to present to the
reader.
OF BIRDS OF THE POULTRY KIND.
THIS interesting class of birds comprehends not only such as
are domesticated, but several other speices, as the partridge
and the quail, which we shall notice in the order prescribed by
Goldsmith, mentioning also some varieties which he has not in-
cluded.
OF THE COCK.
THIS courageous and beautiful bird, now so widely diffused
throughout the world, was brought originally from Asia. " As
some," says Guillim, * " account the eagle the queen, and the
swallow or wagtail the lady, so may I term this the knight
amongst birds, being both of noble courage, and also prepared
evermore to the battel, having his comb for an helmet, his sharp
and hooked bill for a faulchion or court-lax, to slash and wound
his enemy : and as a compleat soldier armed cap-a-pe, he hath
his legs armed with spurs, giving example to the valiant soldier
to expell danger by fight, and not by flight. The cock croweth
when he is victor and giveth a testimony of his conquest. If
he be vanquished, he shunneth the light, and society of men."
The fowl we are now considering is finely portrayed in the
following lines of Dryden, in his tale of the Nun's Priest.
* A Display of Hera'dry, by John Quillim. London, 1677, fuL
448 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
" More certain was the crowing of the cock
To number hours, than is an abbey clock ;
And sooner than the matin bell was rung,
He clapt his wings upon his roost and sung ;
For when degrees fifteen ascended right,
By sure instinct he knew 'twas one at night.
High was his comb, and coral-red withal,
In dents embattled like a castle wall ;
His bill was raven-black and shone like jet ;
. . Blue were his legs, and orient were his feet ;
White were his nails, like silver to behold,
His body glittering like the btirnish'd gold."
" Of the several intimations," says Mr Knapp, " relating to
the voice of animals as preserved to us in Scripture, we have
none more deserving of attention than the ' crowing of the cock'
throughout the night, there being a first crowing about midnight,
and a second again as day began to dawn ; and this so regularly
proceeded in, as to be made use of to mark the progress of time
from a very early period, it being pointed out as a well known
and established occurrence above eighteen centuries gone by.
Though this vociferation of the bird is yet persevered in, it seems
to be without any regularity, except, perhaps, the general clam-
our of the early morning, as in particular nights this crowing
may be heard at various intervals during the darkness. Night-
travelling birds sound a signal for the guidance of their followers j
but these creatures, usually when at rest, or feeding in the gloom,
observe a profound silence, and perhaps the cock is the only
creature that notifies to any enemy within hearing his asylum on
the roost. If such are the habits of these creatures in an unre-
claimed state, it must very frequently be productive of injury to
them. But in this, his domesticated state, it is a voice which,
heard during some sleepless hour, in the deep quiet of the night*
becomes most impressive and solemn, brings past events to our
recollection, and has, perhaps, often produced holy thoughts and
meditations."*
The boldness with which nature has endowed this bird, for
purposes of protection, has been made subservient to the savage
amusement of man but the scenes of the cock-pit are now
happily of rare occurrence in this country. The variety known
by the name of the game cock excels in courage all the others
The Journal of a Naturalist. Third Edit p 272. Lond. 1830.
THE COCK. 449
and is perhaps, in this respect, unequalled by any bird what-
ever.
The hen's devoted attachment to her young is proverbial.
Though timid when she has only her own safety to care for, in
their defence she will sacrifice all personal consideration. Mr
Collins, a respectable innkeeper at Naul in Ireland, had a fa-
vourite game hen, which, in June 1820, was perambulating
round a large room followed by an only chicken, the remains of
a large brood. A rat made a sudden attack on her offspring,
seized and dragged it towards its hole. The shrieks of the little
captive drew the attention of the mother, who, excited by the
strongest maternal feelings, flew to the place from whence the
sound proceeded, and seized the murderous rat by the neck, who
contrived however to free himself from her bill, and commenced
an attack upon the hen/ which she courageously resisted by
striking with her claws, and pecking with her bill : both fought
with determination, and the conflict lasted for twelve minutes,
when with a violent blow from her feet she laid the marauder
lifeless, and then turned to her affrighted chicken, clucked
triumphantly, and encircled it in her wings. On taking up the
rat, it was found to have lost an eye in the engagement. There
was at Barclay's hotel in Adam's Square, Edinburgh, May,
1818, a hen which sat the usual time, and brought out a brood
of chickens. The weather being very severe at the time, the
whole brood died, when the affectionate hen attached herself
to a small pig that had been taken from its natural protector
when hardly able to provide for itself. She clucked round, and
sheltered him under her wings with maternal solicitude and ten-
derness. The little pig seemed grateful for this peculiar favour
conferred upon him, and was equally attached to his adopted pa-
rent. In June, 1822, a rat entered a poultry house at Heworth
near Newcastle, in which was a hen with a numerous brood of
chickens. The enraged mother pounced upon the intruder, and
a battle ensued, from which the rat endeavoured several times
to retreat, but was pursued and held fast by the hen, till the
noise attracted the attention of one of the family, who killed the
rat with a rake. The rat had young ones, and it is supposed
had before made free with some of the young poultry.
It is well known that young ducks, as soon as they are
hatched, take to the water and dart after flies with the greatest
2r3
450 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
activity. A hen which is made to hatch these in place of her
natural progeny suffers much anxiety and misery. When they
take to the water she is in perfect agony, running round the
brink of the pond, and sometimes flying into it, in hopes of res-
cuing her brood from the danger she apprehends them to be in.
The following is a remarkable instance of the degree to which the
natural apprehension for her brood may be overcome, in the hen,
by the habit of nursing ducks. A hen, who had reared three
broods of ducks in three successive years, became habituated to
their taking the water, and would fly to a large stone in the mid-
dle of the pond, and patiently and quietly watch her brood as
they swam about it. The fourth year she hatched her own eggs,
and finding that her chickens did not take to the water as the
ducklings had done, she flew to the stone in the pond, and called
them to her with the utmost eagerness. This recollection of
the habits of her former charge, though it had taken place a year
before, is strongly illustrative of memory in a hen.
Nicolas Cannon, the driver of the Kentish stages, had a fa-
vourite game cock, named Trumpeter, who had won twenty bat-
tles ; but who had the misfortune to break his leg in a rat-trap.
Cannon, who was uncommonly attached to this feathered hero,
determined, if possible, to save his life ; and amputating the bro-
ken part of the limb, gathered up the fibres of the leg, and placed
his favourite securely in a sling. After having attended and
fed him for five weeks, he took off the bandage, and found
the wound completely cicatrized. He next set about making an
artificial foot, and being an ingenious fellow, soon fashioned a
wooden leg and foot, armed with a spur, and affixed it to the
stump of the artificial limb, with which the cock strutted about
with great activity amongst the hens at Canterbury, and was a
terror to all his feathered rivals.
The courage which cocks display in their combats with each
other is too well known to require any illustration. That they
are susceptible of friendship for one another is evinced by the
following anecdote.
A person at Chester had two very fine cocks, who had often
signalised themselves in combat. Wishing to ascertain which
of them was the best cock, he pitted them against one another.
The spectators betted eagerly upon the event of the battle, and
were anxious to see it commence, but the two cocks, after sur-
THE COCK. 451
veying each other, to the great astonishment of every one pre-
sent, refused to fight. Some grains of corn were then thrown
to them in order to produce a quarrel between them ; but they
ate them without any disunion arising, and afterwards walked
about peaceably together. A hen was then turned into them,
in hopes that jealousy might prove occasion of a quarrel, but
they caressed her alternately, without any sign of rivalship.
They were then taken from each other, and their feathers painted
that they might not know one another under this disguise ; but
neither was this means effectual in disturbing the harmony that
subsisted between the two cocks. At last each of them was
pitted separately against a strange cock. They both fought
furiously, and both were victorious. As their metal seemed now
to be roused, the strange cocks were taken away, and they were
again pitted against each other, but still they would not fight, so
that it was at length found necessary to relinquish the attempt
to dissolve their mutual attachment.
" I have just witnessed," says Comte de Buffon, "a curious
scene. A sparrow hawk alighted in a populous court-yard j a
young cock, of this year's hatching, instantly darted at him, and
threw him on his back. In this situation, the hawk defending
himself with his talons and his bill, intimidated the hens and
turkeys, which streamed tumultuously around him. After hav-
ing a little recovered himself, he rose and was taking wing ;
when the cock rushed upon him a second time, upset him, and
held him down so long, that he was easily caught by a person
who witnessed the conflict."
The cock is very attentive to his females, hardly ever losing
sight of them. He leads, defends, and cherishes them ; collects
them together when they straggle ; and seems to eat unwillingly
till he sees them feeding around him.
Dr Percival mentions an incident of a cock, that happened
at a gentleman's seat near Berwick upon- Tweed, which proves
that the jealousy of the cock is not always confined to his rivals,
and that it sometimes extends to his beloved female, and he ap-
pears actuated by revenge, founded on suspicions of her conjugal
infidelity, which the following incident proves. " My mower,"
says the gentleman in question, " cut a partridge on her nest ; and
immediately brought the eggs, fourteen in number, to the house.
I ordered them to be put under a very large and beautiful hen,
452 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
and her own to be taken away. They were hatched in two days,
and the hen brought them up perfectly well, till they were fi ve
or six weeks old. During that time they were constantly kept
confined in an out-house without being seen by any of the other
poultry. The door happening to be left open, the cock got in.
My housekeeper hearing the hen in distress, ran to her assist-
ance, but did not arrive in time to save her life. The cock find-
ing her with the brood of partridges, had fallen upon her with
the utmost fury, and killed her. The housekeeper found him
tearing her with both his beak and spurs, although she was
then fluttering in the last agony, and incapable of any resistance.
This hen had formerly been the cock's greatest favourite."
A boy in the neighbourhood of St Andrews, some years ago,
set a Bantam hen with eggs, expecting her to hatch a fine brood
of chickens. On going one morning as usual to feed his favour-
ite, he found she had deserted her nest, and was no where to
be seen. In the course of his search he entered the cowhouse,
where he heard an unusual combination of sounds, issuing from
under the cow's stall. To his surprise he beheld the bantam,
with her wings spread over the backs of three nice kittens, which
his father's cat had produced the evening before. She appeared
to be making great exertions to quiet the objects of her care, but
they did not seem to relish the attentions of their new nurse.
Mr Roberts, a bootmaker, who resides opposite the Bunhouse,
Chelsea, London, who keeps fowls, has a cock in his posses-
sion, which he has had for the last seven years, since it was a
chicken, and it has every alternate year changed its colour from
pure white to red ; and vice versa. Last year it was white, and
is now in the moult, changing to red. On 5th June, 1826, the
following very singular occurrence took place at Kislingbury,
near Northampton: A hen with a brood of ducks had been
placed in a garden, and also water for the ducks. Some bees
from an adjoining hive coming to the water, were, it is supposed,
attacked by the ducks, which provoking great numbers who
swarmed from the hives, such a spirited onset was made, that in
a short time the hen and two of the ducklings were left dead on
the field. In April, 1823, died, at Alexander Cleave's, Moor-
park, near Wigton, a hen, whose age cannot be accurately ascer-
tained. Cleave's mother got her in a present 24 years ago, and
every succeeding year she hatched from 10 to 12 chickens. Un-
THE PEACOCK. 453
fortunately, however, last year, she was the fostermother of a
brood of young ducks, which she brought to maturity, although
at the expense of many a wet skin, being often exposed to an
element altogether foreign to her nature. It is supposed that
her care in attending upon, and fostering the young spade-nebs,
was the remote cause of her death. In June, 1822, a gentle-
man in Prince's street, Perth, had a hen, which hatched twenty
birds out of thirteen eggs. In September, 1823, a cat having
devoured three bantam chickens in a poultry yard in Wellington
Square, the young master of the flock conveyed the remainder
to his apartment, in which there was a small fracture in one of
the window panes. Having shut the door, he considered all
safe, but, to the astonishment of the family, the cock and hen
each conducted in safety one of their little ones to the situation
in the yard which they had formerly occupied. The window the
birds descended from is one of the highest in Wellington
Square.
A hen belonging to Mr Newport, proprietor of the Fly car-
riages in London, having broken her leg, concealed herself in a
corner of a loft, where a load of straw was afterwards housed ;
and after being completely covered for 16 days, upon the removal
of the straw, she came forth perfectly recovered, and is now
walking about apparently uninjured by her fast. The varieties
of the domestic cock are as follows :
The Crested cock, which, instead of a comb, has a plume of
feathers upon the head.
' The Turkish and Bantam cocks, which are not very much dif-
ferent from the domestic cock. The Bantam cock is distin-
guished from the Turkish by having the legs and sometimes
the toes feathered over.
The Dwarf cock, which, though much smaller, resembles the
common cock. There are other varieties, but too unimportant
to merit enumeration.
THE PEACOCK.
THIS bird was brought originally from India. In splendour
of plumage and general appearance, it exceeds any other of the
454 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
feathered race, but it never ranked high for sagacity, and it is
now despised by the epicure. It may, therefore, be pronounced
an almost useless bird ; and it is so common about every
country residence of the slightest pretensions, that one almost
ceases to regard it as an ornament. " The Peacock," says
Guillim, "is so proud, that when he erecteth his fan of plumes,
he admireth himself. He displayeth his plumes against the rays
of the sun, that they may glister the more gloriously : and he
loseth this beautiful train yearly with the fall of the leaf; at
which time he becometh bashful, and seeketh corners, where
he may be secret from the sight of men, until the spring of the
year, when his train beginneth to be renewed. And such is the
quality of many dames, who being painted and richly attired,
cannot keep within doors ; but being undressed, and in their own
hue, they are loath any man should see them.' 1
The peacock is not fond of having his roost prescribed to him.
A gentleman residing in the suburbs of Edinburgh had a pea-
cock which uniformly went to roost at night-fall in the avenue
of one of the public parks of the city, where it was liable to be
stolen, and was frequently annoyed. There were many large
trees on the property of the gentleman, but the stupid bird per-
sisted in visiting the avenue, where, as might have been expected,
it ultimately became the prey of thieves.
The peahen is a very timid bird, and though much attached to
her young, is never known to fight in their defence. The fol-
lowing account of her nest exhibits her in an interesting point
of view. " In the nest of a peahen which we lately examined,
we observed that the mother had taken care to choose a very
sheltered spot, the nest being overhung by a low branch of a
spruce fir, which was suspended over it like an umbrella, and
completely protected it from rain and dew. Another circum-
stance was still more remarkable. It is well known that female
birds, for the most part, wear off a considerable portion of the
feathers from their breasts, by their frequent movements in turn-
ing their eggs. Now, as her eggs were placed on the bare earth,
no grass growing under the drip of the spruce branch, the breast
of our peahen must soon have been rubbed bare of feathers.
Foreseeing this event, as it would appear, the careful creature
prepared a soft cushion of dry grass, upon which her breast
THE TUilKEV. 455
might rest. This cushion was placed on the most exposed side
of the nest, but no part of it under the eggs themselves."*
The Japan Peacoek would have been hitherto unknown in
Europe but by name, had not the Emperor of Japan sent a paint,
ing of it to the pope. This bird, and the two varieties that fol-
low, are particularly described in the notes to Goldsmith.
The Chinese Peacock exceeds the common peacock in size,
and has the peculiarity of being without spurs.
The Thibet Peacock is two feet two inches in length, or nearly
so, and is indigenous to the kingdom of Thibet, in Asia.
THE TURKEY.
Iris commonly agreed that the Turkey was brought to Europe
from America soon after the discovery of that continent, and
that its name arose from its being imported at a period when
many of the luxuries of life were derived from Turkey. The
turkey-cock is a coxcomb among birds. He is perpetually
quarrelling and almost perpetually overcome in combat, but this
never seems to lower him in his own opinion. Still he ostenta-
tiously displays his plumage, and repeats his foolish cry. He is
particularly irritated by the sight of a red dress, and is sure to
pursue the wearer, if the latter chooses to run from him. The
turkey hen is a timid inoffensive bird, and greatly attached to
her young.
There was in the spring of the year, 1 793, in the possession
of Mr Mundy, of Wick Farm, near Abingdon, a cock- turkey,
which being tired of his solitary life, during the confinement of
the hens while sitting, seemed desirous to sit himself, which he
did very closely on a rotten goose egg ; his master thinking it a
pity that so good a nurse should not be rewarded for his atten-
tion put thirteen eggs in a nest, on which he sat three weeks
longer, and hatched twelve fine chickens, which enjoyed, if pos-
sible, more attention than usual.
It was stated in a note to the text, that the Turkey was a na-
* The Architecture of Birds, p. 89. London, 1831. (Forming part of the
Library of Entertaining Knowledge.)
456 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
live of North America; all researches have hitherto failed
to discover by whom, or at what period it was introduced into
Europe ; but we may reasonably conclude that the Spaniards
are entitled to the credit of its introduction. Oviedo speaks
of it as a kind of peacock, found in New Spain. His descrip-
tion is exceedingly accurate, and proves that before the year 1526,
when his work was published at Toledo, the Turkey was already
reduced to a state of domestication. Gomarra and Hernandes,
soon after the discovery of Mexico in 1518, described this bird
among the natural productions of that country, the latter distin-
guishing the domesticated from the wild breed.
Almost immediately after its introduction into Spain, it found
its way to England, as at that period an intimate intercourse ex-
isted between the two greatest maritime nations of Europe.
But it is somewhat remarkable that there is no account whatever
of the transmission, the bird being of so interesting and valuable
a kind. It can hardly be supposed that Chabot, who made such
extensive discoveries on the coast of the New Continent, could
have introduced it direct. Baker, in his Chronicle, quotes the
following popular rhyme.
Turkeys, carps, hoppes, piccarel and beer,
Came into England all in one year.
This year, remarkable for so many important and useful ac-
quisitions, is said to have been about the 15th of the reign of
Henry the Eighth, in 1524. Hakluyt, an authority of some
credit, who in certain instructions given by him to a friend at
Constantinople, bearing date 1582, mentions among other valu-
able things introduced into England from foreign countries, says,
" Turkey-cocks and hennes have been introduced about fifty years
past." It may therefore be fairly concluded, that they were in-
troduced about the year 1530. At all events, they must have
increased with extraordinary rapidity, as in 1555, Dugdale men-
tions, that at the inauguration dinner of the sergeants-at-law,
created in that year, two turkey-cocks and four turkey-chicks
were among the delicacies ; and were only rated at four shillings
each, while swans and cranes, were charged ten shillings, and
capons half a crown. Indeed, in 1573 they became so common,
that they were enumerated by Trusscr, as among the usual
Christmas fare at a farmer's table.
THE TURKEY. 457
The Turkey seems to have been introduced into Prance
nearly about the same time as into England, and Haresbach
states that they were naturalised in Germany about 1530 ; and
a sumptuary law made at Venice in 1557, which Lanoni quotes,
particularises the tables at which they were permitted to be
served.
A gentleman of New York, received from his friend at a dis-
tance, a Turkey cock and hen, and a pair of Bantams, which he
put into his yard with other poultry. Sometime after, as he was
feeding them from the barn door, a large hawk suddenly made a
pitch at the bantam hen ; she immediately gave the alarm, by a
noise which is natural to her on such occasions ; when the
turkey cock, who was at the distance of about two yards, and no
doubt understood the intentions of the hawk, as well as the im-
minent danger of his old acquaintance and companion, flew at
the marauder with such violence, and gave him so severe a stroke
with his spurs, when about to seize his prey, as to knock him
from the hen to a considerable distance ; and the timely aid of
this faithful auxiliary completely saved the bantam from being
devoured.
To this we may add another instance, although very different
in its nature, of the gallantry of the turkey cock, which also
affords a singular example of deviation from instinct. In the
month of May, 1798, a female turkey belonging to a gentleman
in Sweden, was sitting upon eggs ; and as the cock in her ab-
sence began to appear uneasy and dejected, he was put into the
place with her. He immediately sat down by her side ; and it
was soon found that he had taken some eggs from under her,
which he covered very carefully. The eggs were put back
under the female, but he soon afterwards took them again. This
induced the owner, by way of experiment, to have a nest made,
and as many eggs put in it as it was thought the turkey-cock
could conveniently cover. The bird seemed highly pleased with
this mark of confidence ; he sat with great patience on the eggs,
and was so attentive to the care of hatching them, as scarcely to
afford himself time to take the food necessary for his support.
At the usual period, twenty-eight young ones were produced ;
and the cock, who was in some measure the parent of this
numerous offspring, appeared perplexed on seeing so many little
creatures picking around him, and requiring his care. It was,
458 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
however, thought proper not to intrust him with the rearing of
the brood, lest he should neglect them ; they were therefore
taken away, and reared by other means.
Mr Peacock, of Hockley, in January, 1804, kept a turkey,
under two years of age, which at that season, bad laid more than
one hundred eggs, had hatched ninety, and brought to maturity
seventy-five chickens, nearly all of which were cocks.
The famous thieving Magpie of Paloiseau, found in 1825 a
formidable rival in a Turkey of Manchester. A jeweller of
that town, being away from home for two days, left in his shop
a domesticated turkey. This bird, one of the largest of its kind,
urged by hunger, swallowed ahout five thousand pounds worth
of cut diamonds, and flew through a window in search of more
substantial nourishment. Being caught, killed, and cut up by a
cook, he strangely puzzled his new possessor. But the honest
man lodged the diamonds in the hands of his attorney ; who re-
stored them to the jeweller, when the newspapers made known
the loss he had sustained, and which was attributed to some very
adroit thieves, as he never dreamt that the turkey had been the
depredator.
The wild turkey is much larger than the domestic one, and is
uniformly of a deep brown.
Other gallinaceous birds might be added to our domestic
poultry, which are indigenous to America, such as the Curassovv
and its varieties, described in the notes to Goldsmith.
THE PHEASANT.
THE European Pheasant derives its name from the river
Phasis in Asia- Minor, on whose banks it was originally found.
In shape and colour it ranks with the most elegant of the fea-
thered race. The voice of the pheasant, when heard for the first
time, is apt to make us suppose that some maniac has broken his
chain and is uttering his plaint in unrestrained solitude. The
pheasant, though a contemplative bird, can bear confinement
much worse than our common fowls, who lose every wish for
liberty, in the mere delight of eating. His feathers become
ruffled and dim, and his aspect is expressive of confirmed melan-
THE PHEASANT. 469
choly. There are many varieties of the pheasant ; such as the
white, the crested, the spotted, and most splendid of all, the
golden pheasant of China.
It is the opinion of naturalists that a hen pheasant in a do-
mestic state will not lay ten or twelve eggs in one season ; but
this is an erroneous opinion, for there were lately a brace of
pheasants in the possession of Mr R. Lightfoot, of Harlow-hill,
the hen of which laid the amazing number of seventy-four eggs,
having upon the average laid two days out of three.
A hen pheasant left Houghton Hall, the seat of the Honour-
able Charles Langdale, some years ago ; and she returned to the
keeper's house, with a brood of young pheasants. She was so
tame, that she would take food out of the hand of a lady with
whom the bird had become familiar. There was also a cock
pheasant at Houghton Hall, which was so domesticated as to
come for its food when called upon.
The pheasant, when roused, will frequently perch on the first
tree, and is so intent upon the dogs as to suffer the sportsman
to approach very near. At the time they perch, they most
frequently crow, or make a chuckling noise, by which the poacher
is led to their destruction.
There is a remarkable physiological fact respecting the plum-
age of female birds, that many of them assume somewhat the
character of the male when they become aged. This fact has been
very frequently noticed in pheasants. The late Mr John Wilson,
janitor and stuffer to the Edinburgh College Museum, during
the course of his experience had through his hands upwards of
fifty hen pheasants which had assumed the male plumage.
Dr Butter of Plymouth has satisfactorily proved, that our
domestic female fowls have all a tendency to assume the male
plumage at an advanced period of their lives, so as to make them
resemble the cock of their own species. In illustration he
states, that " Mr Corham, at Compton, near Plymouth, has, for
a long series of years, possessed an excellent breed of game-
fowls, the cocks of which are of a beautifully dark-red colour,
and the hens of a dusky brown. One hen of this breed was al-
lowed to live as long as possible, because her chickens became
so renowned in the cock-pit. When, however, she had attained
the age of fifteen years, she was observed, after moulting, to
have acquired some arched cock's feathers in her tail, whilst
2Q.2
460 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
others (old feathers) remained straight and brown as formerly.
By degrees, and during one moulting season, the whole of her
dusky plumage was thrown off and succeeded by a covering of
red, and more beautiful feathers, quite like those of a cock of
her own breed. In the course of a single season, the change
was so fully accomplished, that as she walked about, any
stranger might have pronounced her rather to have been a cock
than a hen. Spurs, likewise, sprouted out on her legs, she ac-
quired a comb and wattles on her head ; and even crowed
hoarsely not unlike a young cock. Her wattles were, however,
cut off afterwards, for the purpose of making her like a fighting
cock. After the completion of this change of plumage, she dis-
continued to lay eggs ; and lived no very considerable time to
enjoy her recently acquired, but splendid costume." This hen
when she died, was stuffed, and is now in the collection of Dr
Butter. The Doctor adduces other evidence of a similar change,
in two old hens, kept for him by a Mrs Adams, of Bowden, near
Totness, on purpose to ascertain if the change was general.
One of these was fifteen years old, and the other thirteen. She
bought both of these when pullets. They were of the common
domestic breed, and excellent layers, which was the reason she
kept them so long ; and first noticed the change in their plum-
age after an absence from home of five months, and inquired of
her cook where she had got these young cocks, for such they
appeared to her, both by their plumage and crowing, and was
greatly surprised at being informed they were her old hens.
When we were at Downpatrick, our friend William Johnstone,
Esq, informed us of a circumstance, which no doubt was refer-
able to this cause. He had succeeded to a large fortune by the
will of an uncle, and among the animals which he acquired was
an old cock, a favourite of the old gentleman. Out of respect
for his uncle's attachment to this fowl, he kept it till it died a
natural death. Mr Johnstone showed us the cock which was
then alive, and which he considered as a very extraordinary one,
having, at short intervals, laid two small eggs, no larger than
those of a blackbird, and nearly circular, with very strong shells.
He was quite certain that they were extruded by this supposed
cock, as no other fowl could possibly get into the place where
he was kept at the time. We told him we had no doubt but it
was a hen, which had assumed the male plumage from age ; but
THE PHEASANT. 461
he was firmly of belief that it was an old cock, notwithstanding
our having informed him, that instances of this kind had been
recorded ; and even so far back as the time of Aristotle, who
flourished in the fourth century before the birth of Christ.
From circumstances of this kind have arisen, no doubt, the fable
of the cockatrice.
The facts of the female bird assuming the plumage of the
male, which have been recorded by authors, are the following :
the Pea- Hen, by Hunter; the Turkey, by Bechstein ; the Com-
mon Pheasant, by Hunter ; but of this we have of late had in-
numerable instances ; the Golden Pheasant, by Blumenbach ;
the domestic fowl, by Aristotle, Tucker, and Butter ; the Par-
tridge, by Montagu ; the Pigeon, by Tiedmann ; the Bustard, by
Tiedmann ; the American Pelican, by Catesby ; the Common
Wild-Duck, by Tiedmann. Some years ago, a female Golden
Pheasant, in the possession of the Duke of Buccleugh, assumed
the male plumage. Mr Falconer of Carlowrie, knew an in-
stance of a domestic Duck assuming the garb of the Drake ; and
a nobleman in Devonshire had a female Wild Duck, which made
a similar change. Lord Glenlee lately presented to the Edin-
burgh College Museum, a Pea Hen with the male attire.
Our friend, Dr Butter, who has bestowed much attention on
this interesting subject, comes to the three following conclusions :
1. That in order to separate and distinguish the sexes, nature
has affixed certain external characters, proper to each. 2. That
in early life, the differences between the male and female are
scarcely observable, but that at a certain period, the male as-
sumes characteristic distinctions, denominated by Mr Hunter,
"secondary properties," which the female then wants. 3.
That the female seldom makes an advance towards these se-
condary properties, until the powers of procreation are gone,
when an inclination to resemble the masculine form takes place.
And he considers this principle as common to all females, and
not as a monstrous occurrence, which some authors have termed
it. In this opinion I entirely concur.
" Some inferences may be drawn " says Dr Butter, " from the
foregoing remarks, as to the age of fowls. Natural historians
seem to have greatly overlooked this point. Aldrovandus, how-
ever, supposed that the domestic fowl seldom or never exceeded
ten years of age. In the instances given of Mrs Adams's hens,
2 Q.3
462 ANECDOTES OF BIBBS.
one lived to the age of thirteen, and the other to fifteen years,
and both were killed.
" Mr Corham'shen died a natural death, in the fifteenth or six-
teenth year of her age."
Tiedmann gives a well-attested instance of a domestic cock,
which lived twenty-five years.
" The computed age 6i a fowl, correspondent to that of man,
whose days are said to be three score and ten, I would average
at fifteen years, namely as about one to five, or fifteen to
seventy-two.
" Most fowls would probably die under that age, by accident or
disease ; but some few may live to the extraordinary age of twen-
ty-five, as old Parr lived to one hundred and fifty-two, and
Henry Jenkins to one hundred and sixty-nine." Both these re-
markable individuals died in the county of York.
White, in his interesting ' Natural History of Selborne,' says
" Lord Stowell sent me, from the great lodge in the Holt, a cu-
rious bird for my inspection. It was found by the spaniels of
one of his keepers in a coppice, and shot on the wing. The
shape, air, and habit of the bird, and the scarlet ring around the
eyes, agreed well with the appearance of a cock Pheasant, yet
there was no sign of any spurs on the legs, as is usual with all
full grown cock Pheasants, who have long ones. The legs and
feet were naked of feathers, and therefore it could be nothing of
the grouse kind. In the tail were no long bending feathers,
such as cock Pheasants usually have, and are characteristic of the
sex. The tail was much shorter than the tail of a hen pheasant,
and blunt and square at the end. The back, wing-feathers, and
tail, were all of a pale russet, curiously streaked, somewhat like
the upper parts of a hen partridge. I returned it with my ver-
dict, that it was probably a spurious or hybrid hen- bird, bred
between a cock Pheasant and some domestic fowl."
This curious lusus naturce is now in the collection of the
Earl of Egremont, at his seat at Petworth, and is considered by
naturalists to be a mule betwixt the black-cock and the common
pheasant.
THE GUINEA HEN. 463
THE PINTADO, OR GUINEA HEN.
THE Guinea hen is a native of Africa, but now common in
Europe and America. Though its plumage is very fine, its tail
hangs downwards in such a manner as to give it a somewhat
awkward appearance. Its colour is dark, spotted with white,
which at a distance blends into a greyish hue. Its cry is harsh
and very disagreeable.
It is said that wild birds of this species will receive food from
the hand, almost immediately after they are caught.
If trained young, no bird so soon becomes tame or familiar.
Mr Bruce informs us, that when he was on the coast of Sene-
gal, he received as a present from an African Princess, two
guinea-fowls. Both these birds were so familiar, that they
would approach the table and eat out of a plate. When they
had liberty to fly about the beach, they always returned to the
ship, when the dinner or supper bell rung.
THE BUSTARD.
THIS is the largest of our British land birds. They frequent
in flocks the downs of Salisbury Plain, the moorlands of Sus-
sex and Cambridgeshire, the uplands of Dorsetshire. They are
very timid, and as they always have sentinels at watch, they sel-
dom become the prey of the sportsman. From some peculi-
arity in their food, which has not yet been discovered, they have
never propagated their species, when domesticated.
Some years ago, a pair of Bustards, male and female, were
kept in a garden at Norwich infirmary. The male was an ex-
tremely majestic bird, and possessed of much courage, for he
feared nothing, seizing any one who approached near him by the
coat. The female, on the contrary, was shy and timid. It was,
however, remarkable that the male bird, on discovering even a
small hawk, however high in the air, squatted down on the
ground, exhibiting strong marks of fear.
In 1804, a fine bustard was shot, and taken to Plymouth
market, where it was purchased by a publican for a shilling, its
464 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
value being unknown, whereas it would have brought three or
four pounds in the London market. So completely lost was
this rare wanderer, that it was rejected at the second table, in
consequence of the pectoral muscles differing in colour from the
other parts of the breast, which is not unusual in birds of the
grouse kind. Some country gentlemen arriving at the inn the
following evening, and hearing of the circumstance, desired that
the princely bird might be introduced, and partook of it cold at
their repast.
The Little Bustard is rare with us, but very common in
France. Like the former, it is very timid and wary.
THE GROUSE, AND ITS CONGENERS.
Black grouse or Black cock. " The extirpation of that noble
bird the Capercailzie,* or Cock of the Wood, which formerly in-
habited the forests and mountainous districts of Scotland and
Ireland, has placed the black grouse at the head of this genus in
the British Fauna. The present species is now confined in the
southern parts of England, to a few of the wildest uncultivated
tracts, such as the New Forest, Dartmoor and Sedgemoor, in
Devonshire, and the heath of Somersetshire. It is also sparingly
met with in Staffordshire, and in parts of North Wales, where
it is under strict preservation. In Northumberland, it is very
abundant, and has been rapidly increasing for some years past,
which may be partly attributed to the numerous plantations that,
within that period, have acquired considerable growth in the
higher parts of the country, as supplying it both with food and
protection. It abounds throughout the Highlands of Scotland,
and is also found in some of the Hebrides. The bases of the
hills in heathy and mountainous districts, which are covered with
a natural growth of birch, alder, and willow, and intersected by
morasses, clothed with long and course herbage, as well as the
deep and wooded glens so frequently occurring in such extensive
wastes, are the situations best suited to the habits of these birds,
and most favourable to their increase."t Frequent attempts
have been made to domesticate this bird, but without success ;
and it is so timid when full grown, as to be with difficulty ap-
proached within gunshot. The general colour is a deep black,
which grows blue on the neck. The eye-brows are vermilion-
red. The legs are feathered over with durk grey.
The Red Grouse, or Red Game is very common in the high
* The last individual of this species in Scotland was killed about forty
years ago near Inverness ; previous to which date the breed had becomo
extinct in Ireland.
f Sclby's Ornithology.
466 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
moorlands of the northern districts of England, and in the High-
lands of Scotland. It also inhabits similar localities in Ireland
and Wales, though in the former it is by no means abundant.
It is more tameable than the black cock, and even breeds when
kept in confinement. Sometimes varieties are met with, of a
cream-colour. It has a scarlet fringe of skin above the eyes,
and is chestnut-brown below, and reddish with black spots
above.
Perhaps the most remarkable bird of this genus is the Pin-
nated Grouse of North America. It is nineteen inches long^
and weighs about three pounds and a-half ; the neck is furnished
with supplemental wings, each composed of eighteen feathers f
five of which are black, and about three inches long ; the rest
shorter, also black, streaked laterally with brown, and of un-
equal lengths ; the head is slightly crested ; over the eye is an
elegant semicircular comb of rich orange, which the bird has the
power of raising or relaxing; under the neck wings, are two
loose, pendulous, and wrinkled skins, extending along the side
of the neck, for two-thirds of its length ; each of which, when
inflated with air, resembles in bulk, colour, and surface, a mid-
dle-sized ripe orange ; the whole plumage is beautifully mottled
with black and reddish-brown. The female is considerably less ;
of a lighter colour, destitute of the neck wings, the naked yel-
low skin on the neck, and the semicircular comb of yellow over
the eye.
The season at which these curious birds pair is in March, and
the breeding time is continued through April and May. Then
the male grouse distinguishes himself by a peculiar sound.
When he utters it, the parts about bis throat are sensibly inflated
and swelled. It may be heard on a still morning for three or
more miles ; some think that they have perceived it as far as five
or six. This noise is a sort of ventriloquism. It does not strike
the ear of a bystander with much force, but impresses him with
the idea, though produced within a few roods of him, of a voice a
mile or two distant. This note is highly characteristic. Though
very peculiar, it is termed tooting, from its resemblance to the
frlowingof a conch or horn, from a remote quarter. The female
makes her nest on the ground, in recesses very rarely discovered
by men. She usually lays from ten to twelve eggs. Their
colour is of a brownish colour, much resembling that of a guinea-
THE GROUSE AND ITS CONGE^HS. 467
nen. When hatched, the brood is protected by her alone. Sur-
rounded by her young, the mother-bird exceedingly resembles
a domestic hen and chickens. She frequently leads them to
feed in the roads crossing the woods, on the remains of maize
contained in the droppings of horses. In that employment they
are often surprised by the passengers. On such occasions the
dame utters a cry of alarm. The little ones immediately scam-
per to the brush, and while they are skulking into places of
safety, their anxious parent beguiles the spectator by drooping
her wings, limping along the path, rolling over the dirt, and
other pretences of inability to walk or fly.
During the period of mating, while the females are occupied
in incubation, the males have a practice of assembling, princi-
pally by themselves, in some select and central spot, where there
is very little underwood. From the exercises performed there,
it is called scratching place. The time of meeting is the break
of day. As soon as the light appears, the company assemble
from every side, sometimes to the number of forty or fifty.
When the dawn is past, the ceremony begins by a low tooting
from one of the cocks. This is answered by another. They
then come forth one by one from the bushes, and strut about
with all the pride and ostentation they can display. Their necks
are incurvated ; the feathers on them are erected into a sort of
ruff; the plumes of their tails are expanded like fans ; they strut
about in a style nearly resembling the pomp of a turkey-cock.
They seem to vie with each other in stateliness ; and, as they
pass each other, frequently cast looks of insult, and utter notes
of defiance. These are the signals for battles. They engage
with wonderful spirit and fierceness. During these contests
they leap a foot or two from the ground, and utter a crackling,
screaming, and discordant cry.
The Ptarmigan or White Grouse, is totally extinct in England,
and is only to be met with in the Highlands and Islands of Scot-
land. It inhabits the rocky summits of high mountains, which
it so much resembles in hue, as often to escape the piercing
glance of the eagle. It is so tame, that it sometimes permits
the shepherds to knock it down with their staves. It is, as might
be inferred, easily domesticated. Other varieties, some of
which, however, have been identified with those just described,
will be found enumerated in the notes to Goldsmith.
THE PARTRIDGE AND ITS VARIETIES
THIS well known bird is about thirteen inches in length :
its plumage brown and ash, mingled with black. It is abundant
through the kingdom, with the exception of some of the moor-
lands of the north of England, and the Highlands of Scotland.
Partridges exhibit wonderful instances of instinct, in their at-
tachment to their young. If danger approaches the brood, be-
fore they are able to fly, both the parents take wing, and the
young ones get under the nearest shelter, where they remain
motionless -, the hen, after flying some hundred yards, lights on
the ground, and running to the place she set out from, collects
her little family, and conducts them to a place of safety. The
cock, at the same time, endeavours to engage the attention of the
sportsmen ; when all danger is over, the call of the female di-
rects him to her retreat. The hen, in the absence of her mate,
has been known to take the part of alluring men from her brood,
which is thus described by White, in his Naturalist's Calendar.
"A hen partridge came out of a ditch, and ran along, shivering
with her wings, and crying as if wounded, and unable to get from
us." " Montague," says Selby, " mentions an instance, in which
a partridge, on the point of hatching, was taken, together with
her eggs, and carried in a hat to some distance ; she continued
to sit, and brought out her young in confinement. Several
parallel cases are related, and some not very dissimilar have
come under my own observation. As soon as the young are ex-
cluded, the male bird joins the covey, and displays equal anxiety
with the female for their support and defence. There can be
few persons conversant with country affairs, who have not wit-
nessed the confusion produced in a brood of young partridges,
by any sudden alarm ; or who have not admired the stratagems
to which the parent birds have recourse in order to deceive, and
draw off the intruder. Their parental instinct, indeed, is not
always confined to mere devices for engaging attention ; but
THE PARTRIDGE. 469
where there exists a probability of success, they will fight obsti-
nately for the preservation of their young, as appears from many
instances already narrated by different writers, and to which the
following may be added, for the truth of which I can vouch.
A person engaged in a field, not far from my residence, had his
attention arrested by some objects on the ground, which, upon
approaching, he found it to be two partridges, a male and female,
engaged in battle with a carrion-crow ; so successful and so ab-
sorbed were they in the issue of the contest, that they actually
held the crow, till it was seized, and taken from them by the
spectator of the scene. Upon search, the young birds (very
lately hatched,) were found concealed amongst the grass. It
would appear, therefore, that the crow, a mortal enemy to all
kinds of young game, in attempting to carry off one of these,
had been attacked by the parent birds, and with the above
singular success."
R. W. Jones, Esqr. of Woodball, a few years ago, killed a
partridge, which had a horn growing from its head of the follow-
ing dimensions : one inch and a half in height, three quarters of
an inch in width, and a quarter of an inch in thickness, a little
curved backwards, and somewhat resembling the end of a sheep's
horn.
The wild nature of the partridge renders it extremely difficult
to tame ; and of the many attempts which have been made to
domesticate it, almost all have failed. Among the few instances
of this bird remaining tame, was that of one reared by the Rev.
Mr Bird. Long after reaching maturity, it attended the parlour
at meal times, and received food from any hand that presented it.
It was frequently in the habit of stretching itself before the fire,
and enjoying the warmth. This bird ultimately fell a prey to a
cat.
It is not generally known that the crescent or horse-shoe (as it
is called) on the breast of a partridge, is a much less peculiar
characteristic of the male than it is said to be. Persons who
get their living by preserving birds, not unfrequently, on dissec-
tion, ascertain this mark on the hen ; and old hen birds becom-
ing barren, obtain (as in the pheasant) the plumage of the male.
In regard to size, a cock partridge from a rich inclosed corn
country has been known to weigh sixteen ounces, but commonly
they do not weigh so much ; and on poor half-cultivated hills on
2a
170 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
the edges of high moors, nine or ten ounces would weigh down
a bird. The red-legged partridge is now not uncommon on
many manors in the West of England, also in Suffolk and
Norfolk. It certainly is a species of great beauty, and by some
persons is preferred for the table to the common partridge.
On the farm of Walkingshaw estate, in 1829, a partridge
chose to make its nest within two yards of the kitchen door,
where she sat over thirteen eggs with parental solicitude, and
hatched them all in safety. She was not the least alarmed by
people constantly passing her nest, but would sit perfectly uncon-
cerned, while several individuals were looking at her.
There was in May 1826, on the farm of Mr Pothecary, Bo-
veridge, Dorset, a turkey and a partridge, which were both de-
positing their eggs in the same nest : the former had eight eggs,
and the latter seven.
The mode of taking the Virginian partridge, as practised in the
Middle States of America, is curious, an account of which we
shall give in the words of the celebrated naturalist Atnlubon.
A number of persons on horseback, provided with a net, set
out in search of partridges, riding along the fences or briar
thickets, which the birds are known to frequent. One or two
of the party whistle in imitation of the call note, and as par-
tridges are plentiful, the call is soon answered by a covey, when
the sportsmen immediately proceed to ascertain their position and
number, seldom considering it worth while to set the net, when
there are only a few birds. They approach in a careless manner,
talking and laughing as if merely passing by. When the birds are
discovered, one of the party gallops offin acircuitous manner,gets
in advance of the rest by a hundred yards or more, according to
the situation of the birds, and their disposition to run, while the
rest of the sportsmen move about on their horses, talking to each
other, but at the same time watching every motion of the par-
tridges. The person in advance being provided with the net,
dismounts, and at once falls to placing it, so that his companions
can easily drive the partridges into it. No sooner is the ma-
chine ready, than the net-bearer remounts, and rejoins the party.
The sportsmen separate to a short distance, and follow the par-
tridges, talking and whistling, clapping their hands, or knocking
upon the fence-rails. The birds move with great gentleness,
following each other, and are kept in the right direction by the
THE PARTRIDGE. 471
sportsmen. The leading bird approaches and enters the mouth
of the net, the others follow in succession, when the net-bearer
leaps from his horse, runs up and secures the entrance, and soon
dispatches the birds. In this manner, fifteen or twenty par-
tridges are caught at one driving, and sometimes many hundreds
in the course of a day. Most netters give liberty to a pair out
of each flock, that the breed may be continued.
On the farm of Lion Hall, in Essex, belonging to Colonel
Hawker, in the year 1788, a partridge formed her nest and
batched sixteen eggs, on the top of a pollard oak-tree. What
renders this circumstance the more remarkable is, that the tree
had fastened to it, the bars of a stile, where there was a foot-
path ; and the passengers in going over, discovered and disturbed
her before she sat close. When the brood was hatched, they
scrambled down the short rough boughs which grew out all
around from the trunk of the tree, and reached the ground in
safety.
In the year 1798,. the following occurrence took place at East
Dean in Sussex, which will tend to prove that partridges have no
power of migration. A covey of sixteen partridges being dis-
turbed by some men at plough, directed their flight across
the cliff to the sea, over which they continued their course about
three hundred yards. Either intimidated or otherwise affected
by that element, the whole were observed to drop into the water :
twelve of them were soon afterwards floated to the shore by the
tide, where they were picked up by a boy, who carried them to
Eastbourn, and sold them.
The following curious fact is frem Bell's Weekly Messenger,
to which it was communicated by a highly respectable gentle-
man of Blandford, and we give it in the words of the writer :
" James Cox, Mr Grosvenor's under keeper, on his road to
speak to me, on Friday the 15th June 1804, heard an old par-
tridge, as if in great distress, beyond the hedge in a field of oats,
arid judging that some enemy was among her young, he leaped
over to examine into the matter; but seeing nothing, and still
finding the old bird running round him, In the same continued
distress, he looked more minutely among the corn; and, at last,
found a large snake in the midst of the infant brood. Willing to
see if any mischief had been done, he immediately cut open the
snake's belly, when two young partridges ran from their horrid
2 ii 2
472 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
prison, andjoined their distressed mothers, apparently very well,
and two others were found in the same rapacious maw, quite
dead. Strange as this may appear, it is not more curious than
really true."
THE QUAIL.
THE Common Quail is to be met with in most parts of Eu-
rope, and is migratory at fixed periods. It is much smaller than
the partridge. The head is black, with a margin of chestnut-
brown : over each eye there is a streak of white ; the back is
barred with light yellow. Like the partridge, its flight is attend-
ed with a loud whirring sound. On their periodical flights be-
tween Europe and Africa, the quails touch at the islands of the
Archipelago, and elsewhere, and prodigious numbers of them are
killed. They are very pugnacious birds, and were trained of
old, in the manner of our game cocks by the Greeks arid Ro-
mans.
BIRDS OF THE PIE KIND.
THE class of birds we are now entering upon, is perhaps less
in favour with man than any other that could be mentioned,
but as some recompense, at least as respects the present work,
its members furnish us with more varied instances of sagacity,
than are to be found among the rest of the winged tribes. We
therefore proceed, without further general introduction, to place
such anecdotes of them before the reader, as we have been able
to collect.
THE RAVEN.
THE Raven is the largest bird of its genus ; the male and fe-
male are alike in their plumage. The male weighs about two
pounds seven ounces, and the female from four to five ounces
more ; the length is nearly two feet, the bill is black, strong and
thick, two inches and three quarters in length ; the nostrils are
covered with bristles, which reach more than half way down the
bill ; the irides are dusky ; and the whole plumage black, the
upper parts reflecting a strong blue iridescence ; the under parts
dull and dusky : the tail consists of twelve feathers, somewhat
rounded ; about the throat the feathers are long, loose, and sharp
pointed.
When brought up young, the Raven becomes very familiar
and, in a domestic state, he possesses many qualities that render
him highly amusing. Busy, inquisitive, and impudent, he goes
every where, affronts and drives off the dogs, plays his tricks on
the poultry, and is particularly assiduous in cultivating the friend-
ship of the cook-maid, who is generally his favourite in the
family. But with the amusing qualities, he has too frequently
2 ii 3
474 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
the vices and defects of a favourite. He is by nature a glutton,
and a thief by habit. He does not confine himself to petty
plunder on the pantry or the larder; he aims at more magnifi-
cent depredations at spoils that he can neither exhibit nor
enjoy, but which, like a miser, he rests satisfied with having the
satisfaction of sometimes visiting and contemplating. To all
kinds of metals he is particularly attached.
This bird is very hardy, crafty, and wary. He is easily domesti-
cated, and is very mischievous, readily catching up any thing
glittering and hiding it. There is a well-authenticated fact of
a gentleman's butler having missed a great many silver spoons
and other articles, without being able to detect the thief for
some time; at last he observed a tame raven with one in his
mouth, and watched him to his hiding-place, where he found
more than a dozen.
The raven generally makes choice of the largest trees to build
in, or of precipitous and inaccessible rocks. The nest is formed
of sticks and lined with wool, hair, and various other substances ;
it is commonly placed in the fork of the large branches of trees,
or in a deep crevice of a rock j and if ivy is abundant on a cliff
there it is most likely to fix its abode. The female lays five or
six eggs of a bluish-green colour, blotched arid spotted with
brown and ash-colour, somewhat larger than that of a crow ;
they weigh from six to seven drachms. It is no unusual cir-
cumstance for these birds to build their nest contiguous to a
rookery, and by their continual depredations on the nests of that
republic, completely to drive the members away. The raven is
one of the earliest breeders of all British birds ; commencing its
nest frequently in the middle of February.
On some of our most precipitous and rocky coasts, the raven
sometimes chooses a place for its nidification. During this
period they are extremely bold, and will not permit even the
falcon to approach their nest. The male and female pair for
life, and drive their young from their haunt as soon as they are
able to provide for themselves. Instances have occurred where
the raven has been found quite white, and sometimes pied.
The sable plumage and harsh croaking voice of these birds,
added to their habits and supposed longevity, have furnished
the poets of all ages with numerous similitudes. Shakspeare
has made the Moor of Venice say
THE RAVEN. 475
" It comes o'er my memory,
As does the Haven o'er the infested house,
Budiug to all "
Again in the Tempest, Caliban utters the following maledic-
tion :
" As wicked dew, as e'er my mother brush'd,
With Raven's feather, from unwholesome fen,
Drop on you both."
Lady Macbeth hearing of Duncan's approach, against whose
life she had conspired, says,
" The Raven himself is hoarse,
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements."
Selby says, " Ravens fly at a considerable height in fine wea-
ther, and perform various rapid evolutions. While thus engaged
they utter a peculiar and quickly-repeated note, unlike their
usual coarse and disagreeable croak."
Although ravens are very destructive to poultry and even
young lambs, yet in many parts of the country a popular respect
is paid to them, as having been the birds which fed the Prophet
Elijah in the wilderness. This prepossession is of very ancient
date, for so far back as the Roman Empire, it was thought an
ominous bird, and the most profound veneration was paid to it
by that people.
We extract the following Sonnet to a Raven, from the Ed-
inburgh Literary Journal :
With short deop cry, and quickly moving wing,
There passest thou impatient to forsake
This peopled plain, for the wild heights which make
An upper world of solitude, and bring
The clouds of heav'n between thee and the vale.
Where hast thou been, old haunter of the dead ?
Perhaps some scene of coming doom was spread
To thy seer-gifted eye. Or on the gale
The breath of dissolution floated by
Whisp'ring of ghastly form laid far away
From the domains of human mansionry,
In grim repose, where the snow whirl'd like spray
Among its rocks. Oh ! horrid sight to see,
The features of the dead glare up at thee.
476 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
We are informed by Pliny, that a tame raven which had been
kept in the Temple of Castor, paid frequent visits to a tailor in
the neighbourhood. This man was much pleased with its visits
and taught the bird various tricks ; and to pronounce the names
of the emperor Tiberius, and those of the whole members of the
royal family. Its fame reached the remotest corners of Rome,
and from the number who came to see this prodigy, the tailor
became rich. An envious neighbour killed the raven, and
blasted the tailor's future hopes of fortune. The Romans were
incensed at this wanton cruelty, punished the offender, and gave
to the bird all the honours of a magnificent interment.
Of the perseverance of the Raven in the act of incubation,
the following illustration is given in White's Natural History
of Selborne.
" In the centre of a grove near Selborne, there stood an oak,
which though shapely and tall on the whole, bulged out into a
large excrescence near the middle of the stem. On the tree a pair
of ravens had fixed their residence for such a series of years, that
the oak was distinguished by the name of the " raven tree."
Many were the attempts of the neighbouring youths to get at
this eyry; the difficulty whetted their inclinations, and each
was ambitious of surmounting the arduous task ; but, when they
arrived at the swelling, it jutted out so much in their way, and
was so far beyond their grasp, that the boldest lads were deterred,
and acknowledged the undertaking to be too hazardous. Thus
the ravens continued to build nest after nest, in perfect security,
till the fatal day arrived on which the wood was to be levelled.
This was the month of February, when these birds usually sit.
The saw was applied to the trunk, the wedges were inserted in the
opening, the woods echoed to the heavy blows of the beetle or
mallet, the tree nodded to its fall ; but the dam persisted to sit.
At last, when it gave way, the bird was flung from her nest ;
and though her maternal affection deserved a better fate, was
whipped down by the twigs, which brought her dead to the
ground.''
In October, 1822, there was in the possession of Mr James
Weymess, the gamekeeper at Riddleham Hope, the seat of
Charles John Clavering, Esq., a young raven, fifteen months
old, which was taken from the nest when very young, and brought
up by the keeper with the dogs. It was so completely domes-
THE RAVEN. 477
ticated that it would go out with the keeper and the dogs, and
when it took its flight further than usual, at the sound of the
whistle it would return and perch upon a tree or a wall, and
watch all their movements. It was no uncommon thing for it
to go to the moors with him, and to return a distance of 10 or
12 miles. It would even enter a village with the keeper, par-
take of the same refreshment, and never leave him until he re-
turned home a circumstance perhaps never yet recorded in the
annals of natural history.
In the year 1766, the especial interposition of Divine Provi-
dence was manifested, in a most extraordinary manner, to a
poor labourer, at Sunderland. This man being employed in
hedging, near to an old stone quarry, went to eat his dinner,
in a deep excavation, in order to be sheltered from the weather,
which was stormy ; and as he went along, pulled off his hedging
gloves, and threw them down at some distance from each
other. While at his repast, he observed a raven pick up one of
them, with which it flew away ; and very soon afterwards, re-
turned, and carried off the other. The man being greatly
surprised, rose to see if he could trace where the bird had
gone with his gloves. He scarcely had cleared the quarry,
before he saw large fragments fall down into the very place where
he had been seated ; and where, if he had continued a minute
longer, he must inevitably have been crushed to pieces.
A gentlemen who resided near the New Forest, Hampshire,
had a tame Raven, which used frequently to hop about the verge
of the forest, and chatter to every one it met. One day, a per-
son travelling through the forest to Winchester, was much
surprised at hearing the following exclamation : " Fair play,
gentlemen! fair play! for God's sake, gentlemen, fair play!"
The traveller looking round, to discover from whence the voice
came, to his great astonishment, beheld no human being near.
But hearing the cry of fair play again repeated, he thought it must
proceed from some fellow-creature in distress. He immediately
rushed into that part of the forest from whence the cries came,
where, to his unspeakable astonishment, the first objects he be-
held, were two ravens combating a third with great fury, while
the sufferer, which proved to be the tame one aforesaid, kept
loudly vociferating " fair play ;" which so diverted the traveller,
that he instantly rescued the oppressed bird, by driving away
478 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
his adversaries ; and was highly pleased with his morning's ad-
venture.
A gentleman in Perthshire, brought up, and kept a tame
raven in his stables, which proved of great use in destroying
rats i and this he performed with a degree of cunning and
adroitness which could scarcely be exceeded by human intelli-
gence. The time he fixed on for his work of destruction, was
generally in the forenoon, when the servants were out airing the
horses. On such occasions Jacob, (this was the raven's name)
took care to provide himself with a bone, on which there was
some meat ; and this he placed opposite the rats' holes, in front
of the crib ; and then perched himself above, watching with a
steady and keen look the spot where the bone was laid. This
bait seldom failed to attract the scent of the rats when all was
quiet, and no sooner did they make their appearance, than he
darted down on them, and seldom missed his aim ; and having
seized them, they were despatched in an instant. And what
was singular, be did not eat them when at first secured, for he
generally carried them to the sole of a window, returning to
the sport, in which he seemed to take great interest. And he has
been known to kidnap half a dozen in a forenoon. When his
sport was interrupted by the return of the horses, he carried off
his booty, one by one to a neighbouring tree, where there was
an old crow's nest, in which he deposited the spoil, and fed on
them at his leisure. It was curious, that he never attempted to
meddle with the young poultry, for, on the contrary, the poultry
yard was a favourite resort of his ; although he was frequently
roughly handled by a cock.
In the Highlands, and especially the Hebrides, the raven is
of very common occurrence. It there builds its nest in inacces-
sible rocks early in March, and protects it against all intruders
with great courage. If an eagle happens to come in sight, the
raven is sure to be after him ; and, although it does not actually
pounce upon its formidable antagonist, it so harasses him by at-
tempts to peck at him, that the latter, less agile and courageous,
is glad to get out of the way as fast as possible. For this reason,
ravens are never destroyed on sheep farms, as they are sure to
keep off all the eagles from their neighbourhood. At the same
time, they never molest the rock pigeons and cormorants that
nestle in the same rocks. The food of the raven is carrion of
THE CARRION CROW. 479
all kinds, shell-fish, insects, grubs, and grain. In autumn they
sometimes do considerable damage to the barley. It is truly sur-
prising to see with what rapidity ravens congregate from all parts
of a district when a carcase occurs. In a district there may per-,
haps be a family half a mile from the spot, another half a mile
farther off, and so on. A few minutes perhaps after the sheep
has fallen, or the fish has been cast ashore, a solitary raven makes
his appearance. In a few minutes more another comes, another
and another; and if the carcase be that of a large animal, scores
of them may be seen about it. When a whale or grampus is cast
ashore, hundreds of ravens collect from all quarters, and on such
occasions visitants arrive that have probably travelled a hundred
miles. When a raven falls upon a dead animal, the first thing
he does is to light near it, and inspect it curiously, first turning
one side of his head to it and then the other. He then hops a
little nearer, stops and looks at it ; then a little nearer ; and at
length mounts upon it. He then picks out the eyes. The next
part that he falls to, if it be a quadruped, is what anatomists
call the perineum. He then bores into the abdomen, and drags
out the intestines. In the meantime he has got helpers in
plenty, and the flesh quickly disappears. About a whale they
remain for many weeks, and the last putrid morsel seems as sa-
voury as the first, for all is picked to the bare bones.
M. Montbeillard states that ravens are much attached to the
place of their nativity ; and that when a pair choose a spot for
their nest, they make it their ordinary residence, and do not
easily forsake it. Unlike the carrion crow, they do not retire
at night to the woods, but find beneath the shelving projections
of their own mountains, a screen from the wintry winds. Thither
they retire in parties and sleep on the bushes of the rocks,
making their nests in the adjoining crevices, or in the holes of
walls, on the tops of deserted towers, or high in large straggling
trees.
THE CARRION CROW.
THE Carrion Crow is very like the raven in form and habits,
but much smaller. The bill is more curved than in the rook,
480 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
and its voice is hoarser. This species seldom associate in flocks ;
but for the most part remain in pairs. They feed upon what-
ever comes in their way. Montagu saw one pursue a pigeon )
on which it pounced like a hawk, and another that knocked a
pigeon dead from a barn-roof.
In the year 1816, a Scotch newspaper states that a carrion
crow, perceiving a brood of young chickens, fourteen in number,
under the care of a parent hen, picked up one of them ; but a
young lady seeing what had happened, suddenly pulled up the
window, and calling out loudly, the plunderer dropt his prey.
In the course of the day, however, the audacious and calculating
robber, accompanied by thirteen others, came to the place where
the chickens were, and each seizing one, got clearly off with the
whole brood at once.
THE BOOK.
THIS well known bird is generally somewhat larger than the
carrion crow, and greatly different in habits. " The hardy rook
is probably not found in such numbers as formerly, its haunts
having been destroyed or disturbed by the felling of trees, in
consequence of the increased value of timber, and the changes
in our manners and ideas. Hooks love to build near the habita-
tion of man ; but their delight, the long avenue, which enables
them to caw as it were in perspective from end to end, is no
longer the fashion ; and the poor birds have been dispersed to
settle on single distant trees, or in the copse, and are captured
and persecuted.
" Old-fashioned halls, dull haunts, and croaking rooks, a mo-
dern Zephalinda would scarcely find now to anticipate with dread.
In many countries very few rookeries remain, where once they
were considered as a necessary appendage, and regularly pointed
out the abbey, the hall, the court-house and the grange."*
Some years ago there was a tame crow about the manse of
Hoy in Orkney, which became so familiar, as to visit all the
apartments of the house, whenever doors or windows were left
open. Crows, as is well known, are greatly addicted to pilfer.
.Journal of a Naturalist. Third Edit. p. 194. Lond. 1830.
THE ROOK. 481
ing, and our hero, not to be unlike his neighbours, perpetrated
several achievements of this kind, of which the following is one
of the more remarkable. One day about noon, a pack of cards
was left on a table in the dining-room. The minister, who hap-
pened to go out with a friend, on his return wished to lay up the
cards, but could not find them in any part of the house. Some
time after, one of the family looking out of the window, which
had been left open, saw all the cards arranged, face upward, on
a garden wall which extended in a right line from the window.
The mysterious disappearance of the cards was soon explained.
The crow, strolling into the room, and seeing the unseemly sight
of cards on a minister's table, bad resolved to remove them ;
and to give as much publicity as possible to the affair, laid them
out one by one on the top of a wall. But little perhaps did he
imagine that his exploit would one day shine in the annals of
science, affording testimony to the sagacity of the crows of Ork-
ney, and the inorthodoxy of its ministers.
Rooks, undoubtedly, have a language of their own, which is
well understood by the whole community. They are well known
to place one of their fellows as a sentinel to watch the move-
ments of any enemy, and warn the colony. When this sentinel
utters a peculiar note, they all take flight in an opposite direc-
tion to that from which the danger is apprehended. In the
words of the poet
Their danger well the wary plunderers know,
And place a watch on some conspicuous bough.
There is a trait in the character of the rook, which is supposed
to be peculiar to it, which is highly to its credit. Should any
of their companions be wounded or killed by a gun, instead of
being frightened away by the report, they show the greatest
anxiety and sympathy for him, uttering cries of sorrow, and
plainly manifest a strong desire to render him assistance by
hovering over him, or sometimes making a dart into the air close
up to him, apparently to try and find out the reason why he did
not follow them
While circling round and round,
They call their lifeless tenant from the ground.
If he is wounded and can flutter along the ground, the rooks ap-
pear to animate him to make fresh exertions by incessant cries,
flying a little distance before him and calling en him to follow
2s
482 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
them. Mr Jesse says, " I bave seen one of my labourers pick up
a wounded rook which he had shot at for the purpose of putting
him upon a scare-crow in a field of wheat, and while the poor
wounded bird was fluttering in his hand, I have observed one of
his companions make a wheel round in the air, and suddenly dart
past him, so as almost to touch him, perhaps with a last hope,
that he might still afford assistance to his unfortunate mate or
companion. Even when the dead bird has been hung in terrorum,
to a stake in the field, he has been visited by some of his for-
mer friends, but as soon as they found that the case was hopeless,
they have generally abandoned that field altogether."
Rooks are not easily induced to forsake the trees on which
they have been bred, and which they frequently revisit after the
breeding season is over. This is shown in Hampton Court
Park, where there is an extensive rookery amongst the fine lime
trees, and where a barbarous and unnecessary custom prevails of
shooting the young rooks. As many as a hundred dozen of them
have been killed in one season, and yet the rooks do not build in
the avenue close by, in Bushy Park, which they never frequent,
notwithstanding the trees are equally high and no less secure.
Rooks have a naturally sociable disposition, and are frequently
found in company with the jackdaw and the starling. Even
the sparrow has been known to build its nest under the protec-
tion of the crow.
It has been estimated that during the last five years the num-
ber of rooks' nests in Hampton Court Park, has been about
seven hundred and fifty. We shall suppose that there are a
pair of old birds and three young ones to each nest, so that the
total number will be three thousand seven hundred and fifty.
It is remarkable that they will not permit any of their colony
to construct nests, apart from the usual line of trees, in which
they have been accustomed to build. In the spring of 1832, a
pair of rooks made their nest out of the ordinary line, they were
permitted to go on with their labours till the nest was nearly
completed, when at least fifty of their neighbours beset the di-
verging pair, and demolished their nest in a few minutes.
When young rooks are so fledged that they are fit to leave
the nest, it is very amusing to watch the solicitude of their
parents, in teaching them to fly. It is, however, some time
before the young are induced to leave the spray, and during the
THE ROOK. 483
time they attach themselves to the vicinity of their nests, they
are termed in Scotland branchers. By the persuasion of the
parent-birds, the young are first induced to hop after them from
one branch to another, while the old ones keep flying around>
or advancing a little way before, and keep crying on the young
to follow. These short flights are incessantly repeated, till they
have acquired sufficient strength and confidence to launch forth
on the elastic atmosphere.
Rooks sometimes make choice of very odd places, on which
to build, and departing from the ordinary social habits of the
species, a solitary pair breaks off from the colony.
We are informed by Dr Mitchell, that, a few years ago, a pair
of crows built their nest between the wings of the Dragon of
Bow church, London. They continued to resort to it yearly
for incubation, until the steeple required repair, when they de-
sisted from building, after their nest had been thrown down by
the workmen.
The same gentleman observed either that pair or another
build their nest in the spring of 1832, at the top of a large plane-
tree in Wood street, close to Cheapside.
A pair of rooks from some distant place, attempted to effect
a lodgement in a rookery near Newcastle, which they were
driven from by the old community as intruders. They now
made up their mind to take refuge in the spire of the old Ex-
change, and although they were subject to assaults from the
other rooks, yet they contrived to secure their nest at the top of
the vane : and there brought up a brood of young, undisturbed
by the din of the city. The nest was subject to being turned
round as often as the wind changed ; but so securely was it fixed,
that no breeze could blow it down. Every year afterwards,
they regularly resorted to their old habitation, repaired their
nest, and reared their young. In the year 1793, however, they
were dislodged, as the spire was then taken down. To com-
memorate this singular occurrence, a small engraving the size of
a watch paper, was executed, and extensively sold : copies of
which are still in the hands of the curious.
A gentleman in the country had a number of very high trees
round his garden ; and in the spring of 1791, a pair of rooks
fixed on one of them, as a proper place for their nest. This
gentleman was in the habit of rising early, and often witnessed
484 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
amusing combats between the crows and a cat, who ascended
and attempted to destroy their brood. One morning an obsti-
nate conflict took place, but the cat was forced to quit the field,
and took shelter under a hedge, apparently with the design of
watching a favourable opportunity to renew the assault. The
crows watching her motions, continued to make a threatening
noise over her head, but knowing that it was unsafe to offer bat-
tle on the ground, one of them lifted a stone from the garden,
and perched with it on a tree in the hedge, beneath which gri-
malkin lay in ambush. At length puss crept along the bottom
of the hedge, but the rook kept exactly above her, on one of the
projecting branches, and when she left her hiding place, the rook
hovered over her in the air, and let the stone drop on her
back.
An instance of sagacity in the crow, which is similar to the
above, is told by Dr Darwin. He had a friend on the Northern
coast of Ireland, who noticed above a hundred crows at once,
feeding on muscles. The plan they took to break them, was
each to lift one in their bills, and ascend about thirty or forty
yards in the air, and from thence let the muscles drop upon
stones ; and thus they secured the animal inhabitants.
During the war between Augustus Caesar and Mark An-
tony, when the world looked with anxiety which way fortune
would turn herself, an indigent man in Rome, in order to be
prepared to take advantage of which ever way she might in-
cline, determined on making a bold hit for his own advancement,
had recourse to the following ingenious expedient. He applied
himself to the training of two crows with such diligence, that
he brought them the length of pronouncing distinctly, the one
a salutation to Caesar, and the other to Antony. When Au-
gustus returned conqueror, the man went out to meet him, with
one of the crows perched on his hand, which every little while
exclaimed, Salve, Caesar, Victor, Imperator/* Augustus,
greatly struck, and delighted with so novel a circumstance, pur-
chased the bird of the man for a sum which immediately raised
him to opulence.
The following singular example of affecting sagacity and social
feeling, by which rooks are characterised, is mentioned by Dr
* Hail, Ciesar, Conqueror, and Emperor.
THE ROOK. 486
Percival, in his "dissertations." " A large colony of rooks had
subsisted many years in a grove on the banks of the river Irwell,
near Manchester. One serene evening I placed myself within
view of it, and marked with attention the various labours, pas-
times, and evolutions, of this crowded society. The idle mem-
bers amused themselves with chasing each other through endless
mazes, and in their flight they made the air sound with an in-
finitude of discordant noises. In the midst of these playful
exertions, it unfortunately happened that one rook, by a sudden
turn, struck his beak against the wing of another. The suffer-
er instantly fell into the river. A general cry of distress ensued.
The birds hovered with every expression of anxiety over their
distressed companion. Animated by their sympathy, and per-
haps by the language of animals, known to themselves, he sprang
into the air, and by one strong effort reached the point of a rock
which projected into the river : the joy became loud and univer-
sal ; but alas, it was soon changed into notes of lamentation,
for the poor wounded bird, in attempting to fly towards his nest,
dropped again into the river and was drowned, amid the moans
of his whole fraternity."
" The crow is easily raised and domesticated ; and it is only
when thus rendered unsuspicious of, and placed on terms of famili-
arity with man, that the true traits of his genius and native dis-
position fully develope themselves. In this state, he soon learns
to distitiguish all the members of the family ; flies towards the
gate, screaming at the approach of a stranger ; learns to open
the door by alighting on the latch ; attends regularly at the
stated hours of dinner and breakfast, which he appears punctu-
ally to recollect ; is extremely noisy and loquacious ; imitates
the sounds of various words pretty distinctly ; is a great thief
and hoarder of curiosities, hiding in holes, corners and crevices,
every loose article he can carry off, particularly small pieces of
metal, corn, bread and food of all kinds ; is fond of the society of
his master, and will know him after a long absence, of which the
following is a remarkable instance, and may be relied on as a fact :
a very worthy gentleman who was (1811) living in the Gennesee
country, but who, at the time alluded to, resided in the Delaware,
a few miles below Easton, had raised a crow, with whose tricks
and society he used frequently to amuse himself. This crow
lived long in the family ; but at length disappeared, having, af
2s3
486 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
was then supposed, been shot by some vagrant gunner, or de-
stroyed by accident. About eleven months after this, as the
gentleman, one morning, in company with several others, was
standing on the river's bank, a number of crows happening to
pass by, one of them left the flock, and flying directly towards
the company, alighted on the gentleman's shoulder, and began
to gabble away with great volubility, as one long absent friend
naturally enough does on meeting with another. On recovering
from his surprise, the gentleman instantly recognized his old ac-
quaintance, and endeavoured, by several civil but sly manoeuvres,
to lay hold of him, but the crow not altogether relishing so much
familiarity, having now had a taste of the sweets of liberty, cau-
tiously eluded all his attempts, and suddenly glancing his eye on
his distant companions, mounted in the air after them, soon
overtook, and mingled with them, and was never afterwards seen
to return.
The following notice of the rook from the " Magazine of Na-
tural History," proves the rook to be a predatory animal, at least
on some occasions. " As I was passing through Chandos
Street, Cavendish Square, London," says the narrator, " soon
after six o'clock this morning (31st May 1830,) my attention
was attracted by a rook flying low, near the walls of some out-
buildings, in which were many holes occupied by sparrows' nests.
He directed his flight to one of these holes, into which he
thrust himself as far as possible. It was evident that he was
attempting to reach something with his bill ; but, apparently,
he did not succeed, for he shortly withdrew himself from this
hole, and flew to another, into which he intruded himself in the
same manner. From this second hole he retired almost imme-
diately, bearing in his beak one of the callow brood. He flew
with his spoil to a high chimney at the corner house, followed
for a short distance by ten or twelve sparrows clamouring loudly
at such an atrocious robbery ; and one sparrow, probably the
parent, ventured to pursue even to the chimney-top, as if deter-
mined to assail the fell destroyer ; but both the rook and the
sparrow quickly disappeared behind the chimney-pot, and pre-
vented any further observation."
487
THE HOODED CIIOW.
THESE birds, which are known also by the name of the Royston
croiv, are very common in the Highlands of Scotland, where they
are indigenous. In England they are migratory, arriving in Oc-
tober, and departing about the beginning of Spring. In Scotland
they build chiefly on precipices by the sea-shore. Though it is
exceedingly difficult to shoot them, they are continually skulking
in the neighbourhood of human dwellings, where they make free
with the food laid down for poultry and dogs. They have great
assurance, so to speak, and very little courage. They care little
for the face of man, if he does not seem to be in quest of them ;
but if he manifests the slightest hostile intention, they are off
instantly. Their sight is very keen, as is exemplified by this
fact among others, that if they be within gun-shot of a house,
and any person stand, even in the middle of a room, and raise his
arm in an aiming attitude, the crows are scared away. They
venture sometimes to build their nests by the sides of well-fre-
quented roads ; but are very apt to forsake them, if they happen
to attract the attention of passers by.
Their ordinary food is shell fish, and substances cast ashore
by the tide. They are, however, like all the crow kind, change-
able in their eating, and nothing seems to come amiss to them
when pressed by hunger.
" I have," says Selby, " repeatedly observed one of these birds
soar up to a considerable height in the air, with a cockle or muscle
in its bill, and then drop it upon the rock, in order to obtain the
included fish. Dr Fleming, in his Philosophy of Zoology,'
considers instinct, in this degree, as bordering closely upon
intelligence ; as implying a notion of power, and also of cause
and effect." The hooded crow is about the size of the rook,
but handsomer and more sprightly ; and can at once be dis-
tinguished by the greyish, hoar-frost looking cape, or hood with
which the shoulders of the former are covered. Its flight also
is habitually more agile than that of the rook.
To the list of crows may be added those described by Wilson,
in his American Ornithology, viz. the Fish crow and Clark's
crow. We might have previously stated, that where trees are
awanting, the rook will betake itself to the ground, or to rocks
488 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
and ruins. In fact, most birds are able to adapt themselves to
circumstances in building their nests.
- THE JACKDAW.
These birds prefer making their nests in ruined edifices, and
certainly their shrill tones and congregated flights add a solem-
nity to such scenes. Painters have taken fine advantage of this
association. When we see the daws clustering on wing, above
some ancient and dilapidated edifice, its desertion strikes us at
once and more deeply. Let us, however, exchange reflection for
anecdote.
A Jack-daw belonging to the son of the ostler of the Bush at
Staines, was constantly fed and taken care of by him, till he be-
came quite his " familiar friend," so much so, indeed, that the
circumstance created wonder in the vicinity. So assured was
the Steed-br usher, of the faith and devotion of his feathered
acquaintance, that on one particular occasion, as he was
setting off from Staines to Hounslovv on horseback, he made
a wager of two bowls of punch, that the bird would obey the
call of his master, and follow his route. He mounted, and ex-
claiming, " Come, Jack, I'm going," put his horse in motion. In
a short time the bird's wings were extended, and he attended the
progress and return of his feeder, leaving not the shadow of a
plea, for the non-payment of the bet.
At the village of Gilmerton, near Edinburgh, many years ago,
I lived with a friend for a few days. Mr William Wright, a
publican in the village, had a tame Jackdaw. On one occa-
sion, half a glass of whisky was left on the kitchen table,
when Jackie flew up, and began to drink the spirits, which
seemed to please his palate so much, that he drank an
unusual quantity. In a few minutes, symptoms of intoxica-
tion began to appear ; first by the drooping of his wings, and his
eyes becoming half closed. He then staggered in his walk,
which had the most ludicrous effect imaginable. He moved to-
wards the edge of the table, apparently with the intention of
flying down to the ground : but he seemed either to have lost
the power of motion in his wings, or he was afraid to trust him
THE JACKDAW. 489
self in the air, in such a state, as he was at the time. He stood,
seemingly meditating what he should do, all the while hanging
like a drunk man, about to lose his balance : till at last his eyes
fairly closed, and he fell on his back, with his legs in the air,
exhibiting every sign of death. I attempted to put some water
down his throat, but he had lost all sensibility, and he could not
swallow it. He was now rolled into a piece of flannel, and put
into a box and placed on the shelf of a locked closet. All the
family, with whom he was a great pet, never expected to see him
on his legs again. Next morning about 6 o'clock, I opened the
closet door, expecting to find poor Jackie defunct, but he had
extricated himself from the flannel, and as soon as the door was
opened, he flew out, and made his way as quickly as possible to
the back court, where there was a bascn.shaped stone, for the
fowls drinking out of ; from which he drank copiously, and this
he repeated several times during the day, and was nothing the
worse for his getting drunk. But he never again would taste
whisky.
The jackdaw is a bird of great intelligence ; is easily domes-
ticated, and becomes very familiar. We had a pair in Fife,
which flew all over our grounds, and even to the villages around,
yet never strayed. They slept in a box at a back window of
the house. They entered the house on all occasions, and even
allowed themselves to be handled. They caught in their bill,
with great adroitness, pieces of bread which were thrown to
them, they followed the different members of our family through
all the walks of the garden and shrubbery, arid would perch on
a tree near the different seats, and chatter, while any person
whom they were following rested. One of them pronounced
several words very distinctly, such as wee kaeis, (little kae, the
Scottish provincial name,) and come here. They were much
addicted to stealing, and carried off to their box every thing they
could get hold of. Besides this, they were very mischievous ;
they would attend the gardener at his work, and as soon as he
removed to another part of the garden, they pulled up by the
roots every thing he had planted ; such as young cabbages, or
leeks, flower roots, &c. They had particular pleasure in turning
over the leaves of a book, or pulling the whole thread off a
bobbin.
What is very remarkable is, that although Jackdaws, which
490 ANECDOTES OP BIRDS.
were not domesticated, built in the chimneys of the house, in
which no fires were used, yet these tame ones never joined them,
nor were they ever known to quarrel.
The following is from Mr Rennie's work on the Architecture
of Birds : A singular instance of burrowing, apparently similar to
that of the American Ovyl, has been recorded by White, of the
jackdaw, from the information of a gentleman at Chichester.
" In a warren joining to his outlet, many daws build every year
in the rabbit-burrows under ground. The way he and his
brothers used to take their nests, while they were boys, was by
listening at the mouths of the holes ; and if they heard the young
ones cry, they twisted the nest out with a forked stick. I
should never have suspected the daws of building in holes on
the flat ground. Another very unlikely spot is made use of by
daws as a place to breed in, and that is Stonehenge. These
birds deposit their nests in the interstices between the upright
and the impost stones of that amazing work of antiquity ; which
circumstance alone speaks the prodigious height of the upright
stories, that they should be tall enough to secure those nests from
the annoyance of shepherd boys, who are always idling round
that place." We are informed by a gentleman who has visited
Stonehenge frequently, and at different seasons, that his expe-
rience does not confirm White's statement. He never saw a
jackdaw near these extraordinary ruins. Sonnini thinks that
jackdaws prefer a church to nestle in before any other building
of similar height and construction. This is evidently a mere
fancy, which the playful humour of our poet Cowper has turned
to account.
" A great frequenter of the churrh,
Where, Bishop-like, he finds a perch,
And dormitory too."
THE CORNISH CHOUGH.
The chough is a scarce species in Britain. It is found among
the precipices of the western shores of Scotland, and among
the Hebrides. In general appearance, it resembles the crow,
but is somewhat less.
THE CORNISH CHOUGH. 491
" It is," says Selby, " a bird of a lively gait, and of a restless
and crafty disposition, and, like many of the crow genus, its at-
tention is particularly caught by glittering objects. Its natural
food consists principally of insects, even the smallest of which
it is enabled to reach in the crevices of rocks, and the joints of
walls, by the aid of its slender and sharp-pointed bill. It also
eats grain and berries. It has been remarked that the chough
will not alight upon the turf, if it can possibly avoid it, always
preferring gravel, stones, or walls. It is easily domesticated,
when begun with at an early period." The chough is met with
on the rocky shores of Cornwall, from which place it takes its
particular appellative with us. It is also found in Wales, but
is much more abundant on the continent.
THE MAGPIE AND ITS CONGENERS.
THIS division of the crow tribe is composed of birds, which,
with a very different plumage from those we have been describ-
ing, possess nearly the same moral and intellectual characteristics,
but in a slight degree, proportioned to their inferior size.
THE MAGPIE.
" The tall tangled hedgerow, the fir grove, or the old well-
wooded inclosure, constitutes the delight of the magpie, as there
alone its large and dark nest has any chance of escaping observa-
tion. We here annually deprive it of these asylums, and it
leaves us ; but it does not seem to be a bird that increases much
any where. As it generally lays eight or ten eggs, and is a very
wary and cunning creature, avoiding all appearance of danger,
it might be supposed that it would yearly become more numer-
ous. Upon particular occasions, we see a few of them collect ;
but the general spread is diminished, and as population advances,
the few that escape will retire from the haunts and persecutions
of man. These birds will occasionally plunder the nests of some
few others ; and we find in early spring the eggs of our out-lay-
ing domestic fowls frequently dropped about, robbed of their
contents. That the pie is a party concerned in these thefts we
cannot deny, but to the superior audacity of the crow we attri-
bute our principal injury. However the magpie may feed on
the eggs of others, it is particularly careful to guard its own
nest from similar injuries, by covering it with an impenetrable
canopy of thorns, and is our only bird that uses such a precau-
tion, securing it from all common depredation, though not from
the hand of the bird-nesting boy. When a hatch is effected, the
number of young demand a larger quantity of food than is easily
THE MAGPIE. 493
obtained, and whole broods of our ducklings, whenever they
stray from the yard, are conveyed to the nest. But still the
" maggot" is not an unuseful bird, as it frees our pastures of in-
credible numbers of grubs and slugs, which lodge themselves
under the crusts formed by the dung of cattle. These birds,
with their strong beaks, turn over, and catch the lurking animals
beneath, and then break them to search for more ; by which
means, during winter, they will spread the entire droppings in
the fields ; and by spring I have had, especially under the hedges,
all this labour saved to me by these assiduous animals."*
We have the following authentic story, in Lady Morgan's
Italy. " A noble lady of Florence, resided in a house which
stands still opposite the lofty Doric column which was raised to
commemorate the defeat of Pietro Strozzi, and the taking of
Sienna, by the tyrannic conqueror of both. Cosmo, the First,
lost a valuable pearl necklace, and one of her waiting-women,
(a very young girl) was accused of the theft. Having solemnly
denied the fact, she was put to the torture, which was then a
plaisir at Florence. Unable to support its terrible infliction,
she acknowledged that " she was guilty," and, without further
trial, was hung. Shortly after, Florence was visited by a tre-
mendous storm ; a thunder-bolt fell on the figure of Justice, and
split the scales, one of which fell to the earth, and with it fell
the ruins of a magpie's nest, containing the pearl necklace.
Those scales are still the haunts of birds, and I never saw them
hovering round them, without thinking cf those ' good old
times,' when innocent women could be first tortured, and then
hung on suspicion."
We are informed by Plutarch of a magpie, belonging to a
barber at Rome, which could imitate every word it heard ut-
tered. It happened one day, that some trumpets were sounded
before the shop door, and for some days afterwards, the magpie
was quite mute, and appeared pensive and melancholy. This
change in its manners, greatly surprised all who knew it, and it was
supposed that the sound of the trumpets had so completely stun-
ned the poor bird, that it was deprived of both voice and hear-
ing. It soon appeared, however, that this was not the case, for
Plutarch says, the bird had been all the while occupied in pro-
* Journal of a Naturalist. By Mr Knapp.
494 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
found meditation, studying how to imitate the sound of the
trumpets, which had made a deep impression on him ; and at
last, to the astonishment of all its friends, it broke its long si-
lence, by a very perfect imitation of the nourish of the trumpets
it had heard ; observing with great accuracy, all the repetitions,
stops, and changes. But this turned out an unfavourable lesson,
for the magpie forgot every thing else, and never afterwards at-
tempted another imitation, but that of the trumpets.
Sir William Jardine mentions a pair of magpies of a cream-
colour, which were hatched at a farm steading in Eskdale,
Dumfriesshire.
" On the road," says the Reverend John Hall, " between Hunt-
ly and Portsoy, I observed two magpies hopping round a goose-
berry bush, in a small garden near a poor-looking house, in a
peculiar manner, and flying out and into the bush. I stepped
aside to see what they were doing, and found, from the poor man
and his wife, that these magpies, several succeeding years, had
built their nest and brought up their young in this bush, and
that the foxes, cats, hawks, &c. might not interrupt them, they
had barricaded not only their nest, but had encircled the bush
with briars and thorns, in a formidable manner, nay, so com-
pletely, that it would have cost even a fox, cunning as he is,
some days' labour to get into the nest.
" The materials in the inside of the nest were soft, warm, and
comfortable, but all on the outside so rough, so strong, and firm-
ly entwined with the bush, that without a hedge-knife, hatch-
bill, or something of the kind, even a man could not, without
much pain and trouble, get at their young, for from the outside
to the inside of the nest extended as long as my arm.
" They fed the young brood with frogs, mice, worms, or any-
thing living, within their power to subdue. It once happened
that one of the magpies having seized a rat, which it was not
able to kill, one of the young ones came out of the nest to its
mother and the rat, while they were fighting on the outside of
the bush, and assisted her to kill it, which they were not able to
accomplish, till the father, arriving with a dead mouse, also lent
his aid.
" These magpies had been faithful to one another for several
summers, and drove off their young as well as every one else
that attempted to take possession of their nest. This they
THE JAV. 4.95
carefully repaired and fortified in the Spring, with strong rough
prickly sticks that they sometimes brought by uniting their force,
one at each end, pulling it along when they were not able to lift
it from the ground."*
This beautiful bird is indigenous to Britain. It frequents
wooded districts, where acorns, beech-mast, and occasionally
garden fruits constitute its food. Its voice is very disagreeable,
and as it is a shy bird, this is seldom atoned for by a sight of
its brilliant plumage. The following passage from Mr Knapp's
admirable Journal of a Naturalist introduces the Jay, in that
self-denying character which many birds exhibit when tending
their young,
" The common jay affords a good example," says Mr Knapp,
" of this temporary departure from general character. This
bird is always extremely timid, when its own interest or safety
is solely concerned ; but no sooner does its hungry brood cla-
mour for supply, than it loses all this wary character, and be-
comes a bold and impudent thief. At this period it will visit
our gardens, which it rarely approaches at other times, plunder
them of every raspberry, cherry, or bean, that it can obtain, ami
will not cease from rapine as long as any of the brood or the
crop remains. We see all the nestlings approach, and, settling
near some meditated scene of plunder, quietly await a summons
to commence. A parent bird from some tree, surveys the
ground, then descends upon the cherry, or into the rows, imme-
diately announces a discovery, by a low but particular call, and
all the family flock into the banquet, which having finished by
repeated visits, the old birds return to the woods, with all their
chattering children, and become the same wild, cautious crea-
tures they were before. Some of our birds separate from their
woods as soon as they are able to provide for themselves; but
the jay and its family associate during all the autumn and winter
months, taking great delight in each other's company, and only
Travels in Scotland.
2x2
41)0 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
separate to become founders of new establishments. We see
them in winter under the shelter of tall hedges, or on the sunny
sides of woods and copses, seeking amid the dry leaves for
acorns, or the crab, to pick out the seeds, or for the worms and
grubs hidden under cowdung; feeding in perfect silence, yet so
timid and watchful, that they seldom permit the sportsman to
approach them. When disturbed, they take shelter in the depth
of the thicket, calling to each other with a harsh and loud voice,
that resounds through the covert. The Welsh call this creature
' screch y coed,' the screamer of the wood." Selby pronounces
the jay " one of the handsomest of our indigenous birds," and
Knapp is of a contrary opinion as we shall see by resuming his
remarks. " The jay is a very heavy, inelegant bird. Its general
plumage is sober and plain, though its fine browns harmoniously
blend with each other : but the beautiful blue-barred feathers,
that form the greater coverts of the wings, distinguish it from
every other bird, and in the days when feather-work was in fa-
vour with our fair countrywomen, were in such request, that
every gamekeeper, and schoolboy brother with his Christmas
gun, persecuted the poor jay through all his retirements, to ob-
tain his wings."
" Although the usual notes of this bird are harsh and grating
to the ear, yet, we are told by Montagu, that it is capable of
uttering a pleasant though low sort of song in the spring time,
introducing at intervals the bleating of a lamb, mewing of a cat,
the note of a hawk, the hooting of an owl, and even the neigh-
ing of a horse, and these imitations given with such exactness as
to deceive many who have heard them. The jay is frequently
tamed, not only on account of the beauty of its plumage, but
for t'ue facility with which it learns to articulate words, and to
imitate a variety of sounds. Bewick mentions one that could
perform the noise made by the action of a saw, and another that
:if. been taught to hound a cur dog, on the approach of cattle. ''*
There are several varieties of this species, such as the red-
billed jay of China, and the blue-jay of America: the latter is
minutely described by Wilson, whose account we have already
inserted in the notes to Goldsmith.
* Solby's Illustration of British Ornithology. Part first, p. 80.
407
THE TOUCAN.
This bird, so remarkable for the large dimensions of its bill,
is a native of South America. " The Toucan," says Mr Rennie,
" is omnivorous, feeding (like the magpie) on young birds and
eggs, and on fruits. For the former purpose the bill is admir-
ably adapted, enabling it to delve into the deep and narrow nests
of the South American birds, while the delicacy of the nerves
enables it, like the snipe, to search out its prey. The bill is
equally well fitted for feeding on soft tropical fruits. A living
specimen of this bird, kept for seven years in the possession of
Mr Vigors, afforded full opportunity of ascertaining the correct-
ness of these statements."*
The monkeys and the toucan are perpetually at war with each
other. They often assail him in his nest, that they may dis-
lodge him for the sake of the contents. They do not pretend
to make capture of an old bird, being too well acquainted with
the formidable power of its bill. These rencontres are very
amusing to a spectator, exhibiting as they do, cunnhig and arti-
fice opposed to honest courage and indomitable strength. Cases
occur, however, in which the monkey's ingenuity enables him to
gain his point, and laugh in his own way at his dupe.
* The Architecture of Birds, p. 133.
2T3
THE WOODPECKER, AND ITS CONGENERS.
THE GREEN WOODPECKER.
THIS bird inhabits the woods of England and Scotland which
echo from time to time with its far-heard cry. It feeds
principally on the insects to be found in the bark of trees,
or in the dry wood of such as are decayed. This mode of life it
is well adapted for, by the strength of its bill and the length
and slenderness of its tongue with which it extracts the
insects from their holes. By means of the peculiar formation
of its claws it is enabled to run up a tree with great rapidity.
Its cry when long continued is supposed to foretell rain, on
which account, it has in some places obtained the name of the
Rain bird. The Spotted Woodpecker is not so numerous as the
former species. They inhabit the same localities and are very
similar in their habits. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is rarer
still, and not widely diffused. Its habits resemble those of its
congeners.
Audubon says, the Ivory Billed Woodpecker " nestles earlier
in the spring than any other species of its tribe. I have observed
it boring a hole for that purpose in the beginning of March.
The hole is, I believe, always made in the trunk of a live tree,
generally an ash or a hag-berry, and is at a great height. The
birds pay great regard to the particular situation of the tree, and
the inclination of its trunk; first, because they prefer retirement,
and again, because they are anxious to secure the aperture against
the access of water during beating rains. To prevent such a
calamity the hole is generally dug immediately under the junc-
tion of a large branch with the trunk. It is first bored horizon-
tally for a few inches, then directly downwards, and not in a
spiral manner as some people have imagined. According to cir-
THE WRYNECK. 499
cu instances, this cavity is more or less deep, being sometimes
more than ten inches, whilst at other times it reaches three feet
downwards into, the core of the tree. I have been led to think
that these differences result from the more or less immediate'
necessity under which the female may be in depositing her eggs,
and again have thought that the older the woodpecker is, the
deeper does it make its hole. The average diameter of the dif-
ferent nests which I have examined was about seven inches
within, although the entrance, which is perfectly round, is only
just large enough to admit the bird."
" With the exception of the mocking-bird," says Audubon," I
know no species so gay and frolicsome, as the Red-headed Wood-
pecker. Indeed, their whole life is one of pleasure. They find
a superabundance of food everywhere, as well as the best facili-
ties for raising their broods. The little labour which they per-
form is a source of enjoyment, for it is undertaken either with
an assurance of procuring the nicest dainties, or for the purpose
of excavating a hole for the reception of themselves, their eggs,
or their families. They do not seem to be much afraid of men,
although they have scarcely a more dangerous enemy. When
alighted on a fence-stake by the road, or in a field, and one ap-
proaches them, they gradually move sideways out of sight, peep-
ing now and then to discover your intention ; and when you are
quite close and opposite, lie still until you are past, when they
hop to the top of the stake, and rattle upon it with their bill, as
if to congratulate themselves on the success of their cunning.
Should you approach within arm's length, which may frequently
be done, the woodpecker flies to the next stake or the second
from you, bends his head to pop, and rattles again, as if to pro-
voke you to a continuance of what seems to him excellent sport.
He alights on the roof of the house, hops along it, beats the
shingles, utters a cry. and dives into your garden to pick the
finest strawberries he can discover. ''
THE WRYNECK.
This genus consist of three species, and forms a connecting
link between the cuckoo and woodpeckers. It has been termed
500 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
the snake-bird from its habit of hissing when its nest is intruded
upon. Its plumage is very fine, and it would make a very re-
spectable appearance in our woods, but for the ludicrous twist
which it so often gives to its neck. It feeds for the most part
on ants and their larvae. The author of the Ornithological Dic-
tionary, captured a female wryneck which he kept for some
time and had thus an opportunity of observing its habits. He
put a quantity of earth into the cage, in which he kept it, con-
taining ants and their eggs. These it came at very dexterously
with its long tongue, which retained them on its surface by
means of the glutinous substance with which it is naturally pro-
vided. The body remains motionless when it eats, but the head
is turned quickly from side to side.
" The wryneck visits us annually, but in very uncertain num-
bers, and from some unknown cause or local changes, in yearly
diminishing quantities. In one short season after its arrival we
hear its singular monotonous tone at intervals through half the
day. This ceases, and we think no more about it, as it con-
tinues perfectly mute ; not a twit or a chirrup escapes to remind
us of its presence during all the remainder of its sojourn with us,
except the maternal note or hush of danger, which is a faint, low,
protracted hissing, as the female sits clinging by the side or on
the stump of a tree. Shy and unusually timid, as if all its life
were spent in the deepest retirement away from man, it remains
through the day on some ditch bank, or basks with seeming en-
joyment, in any sunny hour, on the ant hills nearest to its retreat ;
and these it depopulates for food. When disturbed it escapes
by a flight precipitate and awkward, hides itself from our sight,
and, were not its haunts and habits known, we should never
conjecture that this bustling fugitive was our long-forgotten
spring visitant the wryneck. The winter or spring of 1818 was,
from some unknown cause, singularly unfavourable for this bird.
It generally arrives before the middle of April ; and its vernal
note, so unlike that of any of its companions, announces its pre-
sence throughout all the mild mornings of this month, and part
of the following ; but during the spring of that year it was per-
fectly silent, or absent from us."*
* Journal of a Naturalist, 3d. edit. p. 191.
501
THE NUTHATCH.
There is but one species of this bird in Europe. It is only
partially distributed in England but remains all the year
through. It is distinguished from the woodpeckers by its power
of running downwards along the trunk of a tree, as well as up-
wards, which last feat is all that the woodpeckers can perform.
It is not migratory in any climate.
" I had never seen the little bird," says a correspondent in
Loudon's Magazine of Natural History, " called the nuthatch,
until one day when I was expecting the transit of some wood-
pigeons under a birch tree, with my gun in my hand, I observed
a little ash-coloured bird squat himself on one of the large lateral
trunks over my head, and after some observations, began to tap
loudly, or rather solidly upon the wood, and to proceed round
and round the branch, it being clearly the same thing to him
whether his nadir or zenith were uppermost. I shot, and the
bird fell ; there was a lofty hedge between us, and when I got
over, he had removed himself. It was some time before I se-
cured him ; and I mention this, because the manner in which
he eluded me was characteristic of his cunning. He concealed
himself in holes at the bottom of a ditch, so long as he heard
the noise of motion ; and when all was still he would scud out
and attempt to escape. A wing was broken, and I at length
got hold of him. He proved small but very fierce, and his bite
would have made a child cry out. The elbow joint of his wing
being thoroughly shattered, and finding that he had no other
wound, I cut off the dangline; limb, and put him into a large
cage with a common lark. The wound did not in the least di-
minish his activity, nor yet his pugnacity, for he instantly began
to investigate all means of escape, he tried the bores, then tap-
ped the wood-work of the cage, and produced a knocking sound
which made the room re-echo ; but after finding his efforts vain
he then turned upon the lark, ran under him with his gaping
beak to bite, and effectually alarmed his far more gentle and ele-
gant antagonist. Compelled to separate them, the nuthatch
for this bird I discovered him to be, by turning over the leaves
of an Ornithologia was put into a smaller cage of plain oak-
wood and wire. Here he remained all night; arid the next
502 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
morning his knocking, or tapping with his beak, was the first
sound I heard, though sleeping in an apartment divided from the
other by a landing place. He had food given to him, minced
chicken and bread crumbs, and water. He ate and drank with
a most perfect impudence, and the moment he had satisfied
himself, turned again to his work of battering the frame of his
cage, the sound from which, both in loudness and prolongation
of noise, is only to be compared to the efforts of a fashionable
footman, upon a fashionable door, in a fashionable square. He
had a particular fancy for the extremities of the corner pillars of
the cage ; on these he spent his most elaborate taps, and, at this
moment, though he only occupied the cage a day, the wood is
pierced and worn like a piece of old, worm-eaten timber. He
probably had an idea, that if these main-beams could once be
penetrated, the rest of the superstructure would fall, and free
him. Against the doorway he had also a particular spite, and
once succeeded in opening it ; and, when, to interpose a further
obstacle, it was tied in a double knot with a string, the perpetual
application of his beak quickly unloosed it. In ordinary cages,
a circular hole is left in the wire for the bird to insert his head
to drink from a glass ; to this hole the nuthatch constantly re-
paired, not for the purpose of drinking, but to try to push out
more than his head , but in vain, for he is a thick bird, and
rather heavily built, but the instant he found the hole too small,
he would withdraw his head, and begin to dig and hammer at
the circle, where it is rooted in the wood, with his pick-axe of a
beak, evidently with a design to enlarge the orifice. His labour
was incessant, and he ate as largely as he worked ; and, I fear,
it was the united efforts of both that killed him. His hammer-
ing was peculiarly laborious ; for he did not peck as other birds
do, but, grasping his hold with his immense feet, he turned upon
them as upon a pivot, and struck with the whole weight of his
body ; thus assuming the appearance, with his entire form, of
the head of a hammer ; or, as I have sometimes seen birds, in
mechanical clocks, made to strike the hour by swinging on a
wheel. We were in hopes that when the sun went down, he
would cease from his labours, and rest ; but no ; at the interval
of every ten minutes, up to nine or ten in the night, he resumed
his knocking, and strongly reminded us of the coffin-maker's
nightly and dreary occupation. It was said by one of us, ' he is
THE NUTHATCH. 503
nailing his own coffin ;' and so it proved. An awful fluttering
in the cage, now covered with a handkerchief, announced that
something was wrong ; and we found him at the bottom of his
prison, with his feathers ruffled, and nearly all turned back. He
was taken out and for some time he lingered away in convulsions,
and occasional brightenings up. At length he drew his last
gasp ; and will it be believed, that tears were shed on his demise ?
The fact is, the apparent intelligence of his character, the spe-
culation in his eye, the assiduity of his labour, and his most
extraordinary fearlessness and familiarity, though coupled with
fierceness, gave us a consideration for him that may appear
ridiculous to those who have never so nearly observed the ways
of an animal as to feel interested in bis fate. With us it was
different."
Mr White in his Natural History of Selborne, says, that
the knocking of the nuthatch can be heard at the distance of a
furlong, and that he frequently placed nuts in the joints of a
gate for this bird, which were quickly penetrated by its beak, and
the kernel extracted.
THE BIRD OF PARADISE.
This beautiful bird is distinguished from all others, by the two
middle feathers of the tail, which are little more than a filament,
except at the point near the root. The head is small, and cover-
ed with brilliant tints, the neck is of a fawn colour ; and the
body is brown, tinged with gold. Its name is said to have
arisen from its being observed coming far out to sea, as if to
welcome the mariner to his haven, and assure him of favourable
weather. It has been superstitiously supposed never to alight
at all, and that its sustenance was the dew of Heaven. The
following stanzas from the City of the Plague, are probably
founded on this fable.
" Tis said there is a wondroas bird
That ne'er alights to fold her wings,
But far up in the sky is heard
The music which the_creature sings.
504 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
" On plumes unwearied, soft and bright
She floateth still in hymning mirth,
For ever in her native light
Unstained by any touch of earth."
The bird of Paradise is an inhabitant of some of the Asiatic
islands, among whose stately forests, " it sports unharm'd its
harmless life away."
THE CUCKOO AND ITS VARIETIES.
THE cuckoo visits us in April, and leaves us by the beginning
of July. The delightful associations connected with that "sun-
ny visit," are well expressed in these anonymous verses :
" When Spring with her girdle of roses comrs forth,
Like a fair blushing bride from the clime of the north,
How man's heart bounds with gladness his gay bosom through,
At her charms, and the song of her merry cuckoo ;
Cuckoo, and cuckoo, and cuckoo !
We have gazed on bright forms, such as angels above
Might leave heaven, and come down on this dull earth to love ;
But no face is like nature's to man's longing view,
When she laughs out in Spring with her joyous cuckoo ;
Cuckoo, and cuckoo, and cuckoo :
We have felt, who has not ? as we clasp'd the fair hand,
How the pulse bounds to bliss at the dear one's command ;
But are those warm pulsations more thrilling or uew
Than sweet Spring when she dances, and warbles cuckoo ?
Cuckoo, and cuckoo, and cuckoo !
Though we've look'd in their eyes, until feeling arose,
And the white of the cheek took the red of the rose,
Who would say that those eyes were of tenderer blue
Than Spring's heav'u when she comes with her merry cuckoo ?
Cuckoo, and cuckoo, and cuckoo !
Who could swear, I would not, that their voices are clear
As nature's sweet speech at the spring of the year ?
This we know, if far softer, their tongues are less true
Than hers is when she spe;iks by her herald cuckoo ;
Cuckoo, and cuckoo, and cuckoo !
We have drank of the wine cup, who has not ? in mirth,
And believ'd nothing like it is found upon earth,
But that draught would be bitter and dark, if ye knew
The rich cup which she send* by her Hebe cuckoo ;
Cuckoo, nnd cuckoo, end cuckoo !
2u
506 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
We have read the rare books of the wise ones of old,
And perchance touch'd their wand that turns all things to gold ;
But their tomes and their spells are as old things to new,
When fair nature's are shown by her envoy cuckoo ;
Cuckoo, and cuckoo, and cuckoo !
Woman's love's not like hers ; rosy wine makes us gay,
But like beauty, it leads the pure bosom astray ;
Fly them both, tear your volumes, your spells break in two,
And woo nature, and sing with her shouting cuckoo,
Cuckoo, and cuckoo, and cuckoo '."
There is much variety of opinion among naturalists, respecting
the incubation of the cuckoo. Mr Hoy, of Stoke Nayland, Suf-
folk, made some interesting observations on that subject, in 1832.
We give the following account by him, from Loudon's Maga-
zine of Natural History. " A pair of wagtails (motacilla alba),
fixed their nest early in April, among the ivy which covers one
side of my house, and reared and took off their young. A few
days after the young birds had left the nest, I observed the old
birds apparently collecting materials for building, and was much
amused at seeing the young running after the parent birds, with
imploring looks arid gestures, demanding food ; but the old birds
with roots, or pieces of grass in their bills, seemed quite heed-
less of them, and intent on their new habitation. Their mo-
tions were narrowly watched by a female cuckoo, which I saw
frequently near the place ; but the wagtails had placed their
second nest within a yard of the door, and so well concealed
among some luxuriant ivy, that the cuckoo being often frighten-
ed away, was not able to discover the nest. The intruder being
thus thwarted in its design, the birds hatched their second brood,
which was accidently destroyed a few days after. In about ten
days, they actually commenced a third nest, within a few feet of
the situation of the second, in safety. I have repeatedly taken
the cuckoo's eggs from the wagtail's nest in this locality ; it has
a decided preference to it. I do not recollect finding it in any
other, excepting, in two instances, once in the hedge-warbler's,
and anothertime in the redstart's nest In this vicinity, whether
the wagtail selects the hole in a pollard tree, a cleft in a wall, or
a projecting ledge of a bridge, it does not often escape the pry-
ing eye of the cuckoo, as, in all these situations, I have frequently
found either eggs or young. The cuckoo appears to possess the
THE CL'CKOO. 507
power of retaining its eggs for some time after it is ready for ex-
trusion. On one occasion, I had observed a cuckoo during
several days, anxiously watching a pair of wagtails building; I
saw the cuckoo fly from the nest two or three times before it
was half completed ; and at last, the labour of the wagtails not
going on, I imagine, so rapidly as might be wished, the cuckoo
deposited its egg before the lining of the nest was finished. The
egg, contrary to my expectation, was not thrown out ; and on
the following day, the wagtail commenced laying, and, as usual,
the intruder's egg was hatched at the same time as the rest, and
soon had the whole nest to itself. I once observed a cuckoo
enter a wagtail's nest, which I had noticed before to contain one
egg ; in a few minutes the cuckoo crept from the hole, and was
flying away with something in its beak, which proved to be the
egg of the wagtail, which it dropt on my firing a gun at it. On
examining the nest, the cuckoo had only made an exchange,
leaving its own egg for the one taken. In May, 1829, I found
two cuckoos' eggs in the same nest, and depended on witnes-
sing a desperate struggle between the parties, but my hopes
were frustrated by some person destroying it."
The egg of the cuckoo is less than that of the hedge-sparrow ;
thus proving the fitness of all natural bodies to the ends for
which they were intended. Were we unacquainted with the
fact, that the cuckoos do not, like other birds, incubate their own
eggs, we would marvel at their great disproportion, compared
with the size of the bird. There is no doubt some wise end to
be fulfilled in this singular economy in the habits of cuckoos,
which has yet eluded human scrutiny.
The disappearance of the foster-nestlings from the nest in
which a cuckoo is hatched, says Mr Rennie in his " Architec-
ture of Birds," is satisfactorily accounted for by the observations
of the late Dr Jenner, to whom the world was indebted for the
inestimable discovery of vaccination. " On the 18th of June,
1787," says he, " I examined the nest of a hedge-sparrow ( 'Ac-
centor modularisj, which then contained a cuckoo and three
hedge-sparrows' eggs. On inspecting it the day following, the
bird had hatched ; but the nest then contained only a young
cuckoo and one hedge-sparrow. The nest was placed so near
the extremity of a hedge, that I could distinctly see what was
going forward in it ; and, to my great astonishment, I saw the
2 i; 2
508 AXECDOTES OF BfllDS.
young cuckoo, though so lately hatched, in the act of turning
out the young hedge-sparrow. The mode of accomplishing this
was very curious , the little animal, with the assistance of its
rump and wings, contrived to get the bird upon its back, and
making a lodgment for its burthen by elevating its elbows, clam-
bered backwards with it up the side of the nest till it reached
the top, where, resting for a moment, it threw off its load with
a jerk, and quite disengaged it from the nest. It remained in
this situation for a short time, feeling about with the extremi-
ties of its wings, as if to be convinced whether the business was
properly executed, and then dropped into the nest again. With
these, the extremities of its wings, I have often seen it examine,
as it were, an egg and nestling before it began its operations ;
and the nice sensibilities which these parts seem to possess,
seemed sufficiently to compensate the want of sight, which as
yet it was destitute of. I afterwards put in an egg, and this, by
a similar process, was conveyed to the edge of the nest and
thrown out. These experiments J have since repeated several
times, in different nests, and have always found the young
cuckoo disposed to act in the same manner. In climbing up the
nest, it sometimes drops its burthen, and thus is foiled in its
endeavours ; but after a little respite the work is resumed, and
goes on almost incessantly till it is effected. The singularity of
its shape is well adapted to these purposes ; for, different from
other newly-hatched birds, its back, from the shoulders down-
wards, is very broad, with a considerable depression in the mid-
dle. This depression seems formed by nature for the design of
giving a more secure lodgment to the egg of the hedge-sparrow,
or its young one, when the young cuckoo is employed in remov-
ing either of them from the nest. When it is about twelve
days old this cavity is quite filled up, and then the back assumes
the shape of nestling birds in general." " It sometimes hap-
pens (which disproves Pliny's statement) that two cuckoos'
eggs are deposited in the same nest, and then the young produced
from one of them must inevitably perish. Two cuckoos and
one hedge-sparrow were hatched in the same nest, and one
hedge-sparrow's egg remained unhatched. In a few hours after-
wards a contest began between the cuckoos for the possession
of the nest, which continued undetermined till the next afternoon,
when one of them, which was somewhat superior in size, turned
THE CUCKOO. 509
out the other, together with the young hedge-sparrow and the
unhatcbed egg. The combatants alternately appeared to have
the advantage, as each carried the other several times to the top
of the nest, and then sunk down again, oppressed by the weight
of the burthen ; till at length, after various efforts, the strongest
prevailed, and was afterwards brought up by the hedge-spar-
row."
" Here," then, resumes Mr Rennie, "we have the high authority
of one of the most celebrated scientific men of his day for these
very remarkable circumstances, which clearly explain the origin
of the mistakes of Aristotle and Pliny, as well as of many
modern writers, who, having ascertained the disappearance of the
eggs and young of the cuckoo's foster-parents, conceived (plau-
sibly enough, though erroneously) that they were devoured by
the young cuckoo. We have another authority for the facts
above stated, no less high upon such a subject than the pre-
ceding :
" I was so far fortunate," says Colonel Montagu, " as to have
ocular proof of the fact related by Dr Jenner, of a young cuckoo
turning out of a hedge-sparrow's nest a young swallow I had
put in, for the purpose of experiment. I first saw it, when a
few days old, in the hedge-sparrow's nest in a garden close to a
cottage, the owner of which assured me the hedge-sparrow had
four eggs when the cuckoo dropped in a fifth ; that on the
morning the young cuckoo was hatched two young hedge-spar-
rows were also excluded, and that, on his return from work in
the evening, nothing was left in the nest but the cuckoo. At
five or six days old I took it to my house, where I frequently
saw it throw out the young swallow for four or five days after.
This singular action was performed by insinuating itself under
the swallow and with its rump forcing it out of the nest with a
sort of jerk. Sometimes, indeed, it failed, after much struggle,
by reason of the strength of the swallow, which was nearly full
feathered ; but after a small respite from the seeming fatigue, it
renewed its efforts, and seemed continually restless till it suc-
ceeded. At the end of the fifth day this disposition ceased, and
it suffered the swallow to remain unmolested."
.. " On the 30th of June," says Blackwall, " I took a young
cuckoo that was hatched in a titlark's nest on the 28th : seven
days after the old birds had quitted that neighbourhood ; and
2 u 3
510 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS,
this nestling, while in my possession, turned both young birds
and eggs out of its nest, in which I had placed them for the
purpose, and gave me an opportunity of contemplating at leisure
the whole process of this astonishing proceeding, so minutely
and accurately described by Dr Jenner. I observed that this
bird, though so young, threw itself backwards with considerable
force when anything touched it unexpectedly."
" M. Montbeillard," adds Mr Rennie, " following the ancients
it would appear, tells us that, as the male cuckoo instinctively
devours the eggs of birds, the female must be careful to conceal
hers, and therefore she must not return to the spot where she
has deposited one, lest the male discover it ; and must choose
the most concealed foster-nest, and the most remote from his
usual haunts. It is also on the same account, he thinks, that if
she has two eggs (six is the usual number), she must intrust
them to different nurses. But this evidently proves too much ;
for if the female can discover a nest to leave her egg in it, may
not the male make the same discovery after the egg is laid ?
Besides, so far from choosing the most concealed nests, or the
most remote from the haunts of the male, the hedge-sparrow's
is the one most commonly selected, and this is perhaps the least
concealed of any of the small birds. Dr Jenner tells us, he has
known as many as four of these nests in one paddock, each con-
taining a cuckoo's egg at the same time, and in the very hedges,
no doubt, where the male supplied himself with a daily breakfast
of caterpillars, which is his natural food, and not eggs. Indeed,
we much question whether either sex of the cuckoo sucks eggs
at all. Even M. Montbeillard himself takes some pains to
prove that the female does not devour the eggs of the dupe-dam.
Amongst others, he particularizes five eggs of a titmouse
(Parusj, with one of the cuckoo ; five eggs of the redbreast,
with one of the cuckoo ; four eggs of the nightingale, with one
of the cuckoo; and two eggs of the titmouse under a young
cuckoo, but which were not hatched."
A person named Moore, residing at Goring near Worthing,
had in his possession in the year 1828, a cuckoo which was
taken from its nest the preceding year. It poured forth its well
known call at the usual season, and is a rare, and perhaps soli-
tary instance of a cuckoo surviving in this country after the usual
period at which these birds migrate.
THE CUCKOO. 511
" During the summer of 1830," says a correspondent to Mr
London's Magazine of Natural History, " the days were wet
and chilly, and the nights clear and calm ; so that the night was,
in fact, more pleasant than the day : so much so, that I fre-
quently walked out after supper, and as frequently heard both
the cuckoo and the nightingale from ten till eleven o'clock ;
but on two succeeding evenings, the 4th and 5th of June, the
moon being about full, and shining with unclouded majesty, I
heard, about the witching hour of night, both the cuckoo and
the nightingale ; and on the 9th, as I was returning from a party
with a friend, a little after midnight, we were highly gratified in
hearing a trio, with all the native melody of the grove, performed
by the cuckoo, the nightingale, and the sedge warbler."
The continental naturalists have raised a controversy re-
specting the species of the common cuckoo, which is found to
vary considerably in the colour of its plumage, one being thence
called the red and another the grey cuckoo ; the former supposed
to be the Cuculus hepiiticus of Latham, and the latter the C.
canorus of Linnaeus. M. Payrandeau, however, states distinctly,
on the authority of a series of specimens, as well as of repeated
dissection, that both the male and female young of the Cuculus
canorus, before the first moult, have the same colour ; that, after
the first moult the males have a deep olive ash colour, and the
red spots have begun to disappear ; in the females, on the con-
trary, the red spots become brighter and larger: that, at the
third moult, the red spots on the male disappear altogether,
while in the female they continue to the most advanced age,
when it puts on the plumage of an old male, of which change
M. Payrandeau possesses a specimen of a bird undergoing this
change. M. Temminck, again, whose authority is very high,
regards the red cuckoo as the young of the grey cuckoo, of one
year old ; but Vieillot, the father of the French ornithologists,
as well as Meyer, Jules, Delamothe, and Baillon of Abbeville,
agree with M. Payrandeau.
THE PARROT AND ITS CONGENERS.
THE parrot tribe are interesting on account of the facility with
which they may be taught a correct imitation of the human voice.
Some anecdotes of these birds might lead to the supposition,
that they understand the meaning of the words they utter ; but
candour compels us to declare our suspicion, that all such anec-
dotes are calumnious, or at least, overcharged accounts of very
curious coincidences: The poor parrots are, for aught we have
experienced to the contrary, as innocent of meaning in their
curses as in their blessings. It is very common to hear the
same bird uttering indiscriminately, the elegances of a drawing,
room and the coarsenesses of a ship-board education. It is rather
curious, by the way, that the great author whose arrangements
we follow in the present work, should have been satirically com-
pared to the bird of which we are speaking. Garrick, in allusion
to the striking contrast between the writings, and the conver-
sation of Goldsmith, says that he we quote from memory,
is one,
" Who wrote like an angel, and talk'd like poor Pol!."
We shall present the reader with such anecdotes of the parrot
tribe, as we have been able to supply, not limiting ourselves to
those which illustrate a particular theory, but affording him
materials for forming an unbiassed opinion.
In October, 1822, the following announcement appeared in
the London papers. " A few days ago, died, in Half Moon
Street, Piccadilly, the celebrated parrot of Colonel O'Kelly.
This singular bird sang a number of songs in perfect time and
tune. She could express her wants articulately, and give her
orders in a manner nearly approaching to rationality. Her age
was not known ; it was, however, more than thirty years, for
previous to that period, Colonel O'Kelly bought her at Bris-
THE PAdllOT. 513
tol for one hundred guineas. The Colonel was repeatedly of-
fered five hundred guineas a year for the bird, by persons who
wished to make a public exhibition of her ; but this, out of ten-
derness to the favourite, he constantly refused." This bird
could not only repeat a great many sentences, but also an-
swer a number of questions put to her. When she sung, she
beat time with all the regularity of a scientific performer ; and
she seemed so much alive to musical melody, that if she mistook
a note by accident, she would again revert to the bar, where
she had committed the error, still, however, waiting time, and
finishing her song with much accuracy.
Locke, in his " Essay on the Human Understanding," quotes
the following anecdote of a conversing parrot from the " Re-
mains of what passed in Christendom from 1G72 to 1679," in such
a way as to lead us to suppose that, however incredible the story,
yet he believed it. When Prince Maurice was governor of Bra-
zil, he was informed of an old parrot, that was much spoken of, in
consequence of being able to converse like a rational creature ; at
least, it could answer the questions that were put to it. It was
at a distance from the seat of government, but having heard so
much of its merits, the curiosity of the Viceroy became roused,
and he directed that it should be sent for, that he might in per-
son examine into the fact. When it was first introduced into
the room where the prince sat, with several Dutch gentlemen,
it immediately exclaimed in the Brazilian language, " What a
company of white men are here!" Pointing to the prince, they
asked, " Who is that man ?" the parrot answered, " Some gene-
ral or other." When the attendants carried it up to him, he
asked through the medium of an interpreter (as he was ignorant
of its language), " Whence do you come ?" the parrot answer-
ed, " From Marignan." The prince asked, " To whom do
you belong ?" It answered, " To a Portugueze." He asked
again, " What do you do here ?" It answered, " I look after
chickens." The prince laughing, exclaimed, " You look after
chickens ?'' The parrot in answer said, " Yes, I ; and I know
well enough how to doit ;" clucking at the same time, in imita-
tion of the notes of a hen when calling together her young.
The author of the memoirs in which the account is contained,
says, that he had it directly from Prince Maurice, who observed,
that although the parrot spoke in a language he did not under-
51 i ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
stand, yet he could not be deceived, for he had in the room, both
a Dutchman, who spoke Brazilian, and a Brazilian who spoke
Dutch ; and that he asked them separately and privately, and
both agreed exactly in their account of the parrot's discourse.
M. Bonnet, in the " Contemplations de la Nature," gives the
following interesting account of two birds of this tribe. " A
solitary gentleman, whose principal delight had been in observ-
ing the unsophisticated conduct of animals, and contrasting it
with the corrupt manners of man, which differ so widely from
those of nature, gives the following account of the affection of
two birds. They were of that kind of paroquet, called Guinea
sparrows, and kept in a square cage, such as is usually appropri-
ated to that species of bird. The cup which contained their
food, was placed in the bottom of the cage. The male was al-
most continually seated on the same perch with the female.
They sat close together, and viewed each other from time to
time with evident tenderness. If they separated, it was but for a
few moments, for they hastened to return and resume their situa-
tion. They commonly took their food together, and then retired
to the highest perch of the cage. They often appeared to en-
gage in a kind of conversation, which they continued for some
time, and seemed to answer each other, varying their sounds, and
elevating and lowering their voices. Sometimes they seemed to
quarrel, but those emotions were but of a momentary duration,
and succeeded by additional tenderness. This happy pair thus
passed four years in a climate greatly different from that in which
they had before lived. At the end of that period, the female
fell into a state of languor, which had all the appearance of old
age. Her legs swelled and grew knotty. It was no longer
possible that she could move to take her food, but the male,
ever attentive and alert in whatever concerned her, brought it
in his bill, and emptied it into hers. He was in this manner
her vigilant purveyor, during the space of four months. The
infirmities of his dear companion increased daily. She became
unable to sit upon the perch ; she remained, therefore, crouch-
ed at the bottom of the cage, and from time to time made
a few ineffectual efforts to regain the lowest perch. The male,
who ever remained attentive and close by her, seconded these
her feeble efforts with all his power. Sometimes he seized
with his beak the upper part of her wing, by way of drawing her
THE PARROT. 515
to him ; sometimes he took her by the bill and endeavoured to
raise her up, repeating these efforts many times. His motions,
his gestures, his countenance, his continual solicitude, every
thing in this interesting bird, expressed an ardent desire to aid
the weakness of his mate, and to alleviate her sufferings. But
the scene became still more interesting, when the female was
on the point of expiring, The unhappy male went round and
round the dying female without ceasing. He redoubled his as-
siduities and tender cares. He tried to open her bill, with a de-
sign to give her nourishment : His emotion increased from in-
stant to instant. He paced and repaced the cage with the
greatest agitation, and, at intervals, uttered the most plaintive
cries. At other times he fixed his eyes upon the female, and
preserved the most sorrowful silence. It was impossible to
mistake these expressions of his grief or despair, the most insen-
sible of mankind would have been moved. His faithful con-
sort at last expired. From that moment he himself languished,
and survived her but a few months."
Leo, son of the Emperor Basilius Macedo, was accused by
Theodorus Sandabarenus, a Monk, of having a design upon the
life of his father, and was thereupon cast into prison, from which
he was freed through the instrumentality of a parrot. The
Emperor, upon a certain occasion, entertained some of the
greatest nobles of his court. They were all seated, when a
parrot which was hung up in the hall (in a mournful tone) cried
out, " Alas ! alas ! poor Prince Leo." It is very probable,
that he had frequently heard courtiers passing, bewailing the
Prince's hard fortune in those terms. He frequently repeated
these words, which at last so affected the courtiers that they
could not eat. The Emperor observed it, and entreated them
to make a hearty repast ; when one of them with tears in his eyes,
said, " How should we eat, Sire, when we are thus reproached
by this bird of our want of duty to your family ? The brute
animal is mindful of its Lord ; and we that have reason, have
neglected to supplicate your Majesty in behalf of the prince,
whom we all believe to be innocent, and to suffer under ca-
lumny." The Emperor, moved by these words, commanded
them to fetch Leo out of prison, admitted him to his presence,
and restored him first tt> his favour, and then to his former
dignities.
516 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
We are told by Comte de Buffon, that his sister had a parrot
which would frequently speak to himself, and seemed to fancy
that some one addressed him. He often asked for his paw,
and answered by holding it up. Though he liked to hear the
voice of children, he seemed to have an antipathy to them, and
bit them till he drew blood. He had also his objects of attach-
ment, and though his choice was not very nice, it was constant.
He was excessively fond of the cook-maid ; followed her every
where, sought for her when absent, and seldom missed finding
her. If she had been some time out of his sight, the bird climb-
ed with his bill and claws to her shoulders, and lavished on her
his caresses. His fondness had all the marks of close and warm
friendship. The girl happened to have a sore finger, which was
tedious in healing, and so painful as to make her scream.
While she uttered her moans, the parrot never left her chamber.
The first thing he did every day, was to pay her a visit ; and
this tender condolence lasted the whole time of her confinement,
when he returned to his former calm and settled attachment.
Yet all this strong predilection for the girl, would seem to have
been more directed to her office in the kitchen, than to her per-
son ; for when another cook-maid succeeded her, the parrot
showed the same degree of fondness to the new comer, the very
first day.
Parrots have been known not only to imitate discourse, but
also to mimic gestures and actions. Scaliger saw one that per-
formed the dance of the Savoyards, at the same time that it re-
peated their song. It was fond of hearing a person sing ; and
when it saw any one dance, he would try to imitate them, but
with a very awkward grace.
Willoughby mentions a parrot, which, when a person said to
it, " Laugh, Poll, laugh," it laughed accordingly, and immedi-
ately after screamed out, " What a fool ; to make me laugh."
A parrot which had grown old with its master, shared with
him the infirmities of age. Being accustomed to hear scarcely
anything but the words, " I am sick :" When a person asked it,
" How do you do ?" " I am sick," it replied with a doleful tone,
stretching itself along ; " I am sick."
A gentleman who resided at Gosport in Hampshire, and had
frequent business across the water to Portsmouth, was astonish-
ed one day on going to the beach to look for a boat, and finding
THE PAKHOT. 17
none, to hear the words distinctly repeated, "Over, master?
Going over ?" (which is the manner that watermen are in the
habit of accosting people when they are waiting for passengers.)
The cry still assailing his ears, he looked earnestly around him,
to discover from whence the voice came ; when, to his great
surprise, he beheld the parrot in a cage, suspended from a pub-
lic-house window on the beach, vociferating the boatman's ex-
pressions.
Buffon says, " I have seen a parrot very ridiculously em-
ployed, belonging to a distiller who had suffered pretty severely
in his circumstances from an informer that lived opposite him.
This bird was taught to pronounce the ninth commandment,
" Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour,"
with a very clear, loud, articulate voice. The bird was gener-
ally placed in a cage over against the informer's house, and
delighted the whole neighbourhood with its persevering exhorta-
tions."
Dr Thornton had a blue macaw, which attracted great atten-
tion at the time. This extraordinary bird was in servitude at
Mr Brook's menagerie, in Hay market. Like others of his
species, he was chained by the leg, and fed upon scalded bread.
Here he learned to imitate the cackling of fowls, the barking of
dogs ; to mimic his exhibitors, and other human sounds.
Dr Thornton bought him for fifteen guineas, to grace his
museum, or botanical exhibition. When in a confined room in
Bond-street, he made those screaming noises so offensive in his
tribe, he seemed sulky and unhappy ; but being brought to
the doctor's house, (his botanical exhibition having closed,) the
doctor, from motives of humanity, as well as for experiment,
took away the chain that confined him to his perch. His feet
were so cramped, and the muscles so much weakened from long
disuse, that he could not walk. He tottered at every step,
and appeared, in a few minutes only, greatly fatigued. His li-
berated feet, however, soon acquired uncommon agility ; his
plumage grew more resplendent, and he became completely hap-
py. No longer he indulged in screams of discontent, and all
his gestures denoted gratitude. His food was now changed,
and he breakfasted with the family, having toast and butter;
and dined upon potatoes, hard dumplings with fruit occasionally
after dinner. Like other parrots, he never drank. His smell
2x
518 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
was uncommonly quick. He was quite acquainted with the
time of meals, which he marked by a continued agitation of the
wings, running up and down the pole, and uttering a pleasing
note of request.
When he received his food he half opened his wings, and con-
tracted the pupils of his eyes, and uttered a pleasing note of
thankfulness. If he got any food of which he was not very
fond, he took it in his left foot, and having eaten a little, threw
the rest down ; but if the food were nice and abundant, he care-
fully conveyed it to his tin reservoir, and left for another
repast that which he could not consume in the meantime. He
soon forgot his barbarous sounds, and imitated words ; and for
hours together amused himself in saying " Poll," " Macaw,"
" Turn him out," " Pretty fellow," " Saucy fellow,"
" what's o'clock," laughing, and calling out the names of the
doctor's children. If any were hurt, he gave the first alarm ;
nor did he desist until they were attended to. The doctor's son
observing the sagacity of this bird, undertook to instruct him.
He taught him at word of command, to descend from his perch,
and stand upon his finger ; then by another order, he turned
himself downwards, and hung upon the fore-finger by one foot,
although the body was swung about with much violence. Being
next asked how a person should be served ? the spectator wait-
ed for an answer, but the bird said nothing, and seizing his
master's finger, suspended himself by his bill, like one hanging.
At the desire of his master he extended his wings to show their
beauty. He would then fan the spectators with his wings ;
he was next put on the ground, and then walked as readily
backwards as forwards, with his two toes in front, and two be-
hind. He would then clamber like a sailor up the mizen, and
with his two open mandibles embraced his perch, which was
nearly two inches in thickness. Placed there, he was asked
if a certain gentleman were to come near him, how he should be
served. He shook his head several times, raised his wings,
erected his feathers and opened his mouth, laid hold of a finger,
seemingly in earnest, and kept biting it, as though he would
have taken it off, opposing every resistance ; and when he liber-
ated the finger, uttered a scream. He was then asked how he
would serve his master? when he would gently bite his finger,
caressed it with his beak, and tongue, and held his head down,
THE PARROT. 519
as expecting it to be scratched. Nor is this all : a nut being
given to him, while on the lower part of his stand, he mounted
the upright stick, and the nut disappeared without the spectator
being able to tell how. At the word of command he presented
it to the company, held it in his paw, and then cracked it. He
had been taught to conceal the nut under his tongue, in the hol-
low of the under mandible. When a peach-stone was given to
him, he found out its natural division, and after repeated efforts,
he contrived to open it and eat the kernel. When any nuts
were presented to him, he became all agitated ; and he had so
much sagacity, that, without cracking, when he took up a bad
nut, he very indignantly threw it on the ground. He was re-
markably fond of music ; and with motions of his feet along the
perch, movements of his wings, and his head moving backwards
and forwards, he danced to all lively tunes, and kept exact time.
If any person sung or played in wrong measure he quickly de-
sisted.
He was very friendly to strangers, and put on a terrific ap-
pearance towards children, for fear of injury from them, and was
very jealous of infants. In rainy weather the blue feathers
looked green ; and also in clear weather when there were va-
pours in the sky ; hence he was an admirable weather gage.
What proved a peculiar sagacity in his imitations, was, that these
he effected sometimes without his voice : for example, there
was a scissors-grinder, who came into the street where the bird
was kept, every Friday. All parrots have a file in the inside of
the upper mandible, with which they grind down the under bill,
and in this they are employed for an hour every evening. This
sound people usually mistake for snoring. This scraping was
attempted, but the nice ear marked the difference, and he had
recourse to his claws, which he struck against the perch, armed
with tin, and observing the time of the turning of the wheel, he
effected a most exact imitation, which he repeated every Friday.
Sometimes the child's pap would be taken to the window, and
beaten with the spoon : this he would immediately imitate,
by striking his broad bill against the sides of his perch.
The light of candles would awaken him, and he would then
dance and discriminate persons ; but on being presented with
sugar, or any food, he often missed it. He frequently on such
occasions became anxious to be held upon the hands, to flutter
2x2
520 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
his wings ; but he never seemed to have any inclination to fly,
and appeared perfectly happy in the partial liberty which he
enjoyed.
The following curious instance of limited loquacity occurred
with a brace of parrots in London. A tradesman who had a
shop in the Old Bailey, opposite the prison, kept two parrots,
for the inconvenience of his neighbours, a green disturber and a
gray. The green parrot was taught to speak when there was a
knock at the street door the gray put in his word whenever
the bell was rung ; but they only knew two short phrases of
English a-piece, though they pronounced these very distinctly.
The house in which these " Thebans " lived, had a projecting
old-fashioned front, so that the first floor could not be seen from
the pavement on the same side of the way ; and one day when
they were left at home by themselves, hanging out of a window,
some one knocked at the street door. " Who's there ?" said
the green parrot in the exercise of his office. " The man
with the leather !'' was the reply ; to which the bird answered
with his farther store of language, which was " Oh, ho !" The
door not being opened immediately as he expected, the stranger
knocked a second time. " Who's there ?" said the green parrot
again. " D n you who's there," said the man with the leather,
" why don't you come down ?" to which the parrot again made
the same answer, " Oh ho !" This response so enraged the visitor,
that he dropped the knocker, and rung furiously at the house
bell ; but this proceeding brought the gray parrot, who called
out in a new voice, " Go to the gate." " To the gate ?" mut-
tered the appellant, who saw no such convenience, and moreover
imagined that the servants were bantering him. "What gate ?"
cried he, getting out into the kennel, that he might have the
advantage of seeing his interlocutor. " New-gate," responded
the gray parrot just at the moment when his species was dis-
covered.
A friend of ours in Great King street Edinburgh, has a parrot,
which keeps excellent time to a piano-forte, while the lady of
the house is playing : this it does by a kind of chicking sound,
and by a strange kind of note at other times.
Some years since, a parrot in Boston, America, that had been
taught to whistle in the manner of calling a dog, was sitting in
his Ciige at the door of a shop. As he was exercising himself
THE PAUROT. 521
in this kind of whistle, a large dog happened to be passing the
spot ; the animal imagining that he heard the call of his master
turned suddenly about and ran towards the cage of the parrot.
At this critical moment, the bird exclaimed vehemently, " Get
out, you brute." The astonished dog hastily retreated, leaving
the parrot to enjoy the joke.
A pretty complete list of the parrot tribe will be found in the
notes to Goldsmith. The common division is into maccaws,
parrots, lories, (which are white), and parakeets. The first
species are the largest ; the last the smallest.
THE PIGEON, AND ITS CONGENERS.
THE pigeon tribe are remarkable for the swiftness of their
flight, and the length of time during which it can be sustained.
They are strictly monogamous, and lay only two eggs, " which
are incubated alternately by both sexes. The young, when first
excluded, are partially covered with down, remain in the nest
until they are able to fly, and are fed by the parent-birds, who
disgorge into their mouths the food that has undergone a semi-
digestive process in the crop or craw." They feed on grain and
seeds, and sometimes, though very seldom, on fruits, among
which they prefer cherries.
THE STOCK-DOVE.
Goldsmith has stated that this species is the original of our
tame pigeons, but those are now ascertained to be derived from
the rock-dove. The two have indeed, been generally confound-
ed by naturalists. The stock-dove builds its nest in excavat-
ed trees, and has been known to breed eight or nine times in
the year, so that the produce of a single pair amounts to an
immense number. It is indigenous to England, but confined
to certain parts, and is not to be met with in Scotland. It is
very abundant in the interior forests of southern Europe ; is
migratory in Germany and France, and occurs also in Africa.
Its colour is on the head and throat, a deep bluish gray ; the
feathers are shorter and stifferthan those of the rock-dove. The
lower parts of the neck and breast are a pale lavender purple ;
the belly and back are bluish-gray.
The Rock Dove. This species nearly resembles the preced-
THE FIG EON. 523
ing in form and size, but is a degree more slender. The pre-
vailing colours of each are nearly alike. The former differs in
the colour of the rump, which is bluish gray, and in the rock-
dove, for the most part white. The great distinction is that
the latter builds in cliffs by the sea-side, and the former, as be-
fore stated, on trees, and in the interior of the country. This
species is the parent-stock of our domestic pigeons, and there
is certainly some analogy between the dove-cot and the cliff,
which the locality of the stock-dove does not suggest.
The Turtle Dove. This bird is common in Europe, but vis-
its England only during the summer, when from the closest
woods it pours its melancholy note. Its general colour is blu-
ish-gray.
THE RING-DOVE.
This bird, also known by the names of wood-pigeon, and
cushat, exceeds in size all the other European species. It is
indigenous to Britain, and builds in wooded districts. " Many
attempts," says Mr Selby, "have been made to domesticate
this species, but without success ; for although they may be
rendered very tame when in confinement, they will not breed
either by themselves, or with the common pigeon , and, upon
being set at liberty, immediately betake themselves to their na-
tural haunts, and return no more." The following passage
gives strong authority for the ring-dove's capability of domesti-
cation. " Salerne says that the poulterers of Orleans buy, in
the season of nests, a considerable number of ring-pigeons, as
well as turtle-doves and rock-pigeons, which are found nestling
in churches, towers, the walls of old castles, and rocks. They
are considered to be deserters from dove-cots. Buffon thinks
this proves that the ring-doves, like other pigeons and turtles,
can be reared in domestication, and that these may have given
origin to the largest and most beautiful of the dovecot pigeons."*
On this subject, the following passage occurs in Mr White's
" Natural History of Selborne." " I had a relation," he says,
* The Architecture of Birds, p. 161.
524 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
" in this neighbourhood who made it a practice, for a time,
whenever he could procure the eggs of a ring-dove, to place them
under a pair of doves that were sitting in his own pigeon-house ;
hoping thereby, if he could bring about a coalition to enlarge his
breed, and teach his own doves to beat out into the woods, and
to support themselves by mast. The plan was plausible, but
something always interrupted the success ; for though the birds
were usually hatched and sometimes grew to half their size, yet
none ever arrived at maturity. I myself have seen these found-
lings in their nest, displaying a strange ferocity of nature, so
as scarcely to bear to be looked at, and snapping with their
bills by way of menace. In short they always died, perhaps for
want of proper sustenance ; but the owner thought that by their
fierce and wild demeanour they frighted their foster-mothers, and
so were starved." Upon the whole it seems likely that this fine
species of pigeon is destined to baffle all attempts at its domes-
tication. We have known many cases of fair trial, and they,
without exception, lead to this conclusion. The general colour
of the ring-dove is a bluish-gray.
THE TAME PIGEON, OR HOUSE DOVE.
The many varieties of the domestic pigeon, render it almost
impossible to enumerate them. We shall first introduce some
anecdotes of the most celebrated of these, viz. the carrier, and
afterwards of the others, generally, or particularly, as the case
may be.
The speed of the Carrier pigeon is almost incredible. The
moment they are let loose, they wing their way to a great
height in the clouds, and then pursue a perfectly direct course,
to the place of their destination : and never descend till they
have reached it.
This pigeon has long been employed in transporting letters
from one part to another. The first mention of them being so
employed, is by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, who informs us
that Taurosthenes gave notice to his father at ^Egina, that he
had been victor at the Olympic Games, by means of a pigeon
THE PIGEON 523
stained with purple, which conveyed to him the intelligence on
the evening of the same day.
According to Pliny, carrier pigeons were used by Mark An-
tony, during the siege of Modena, to correspond with the be-
sieged.
When the French and Venetians invested the city of Ptole-
mais, in Syria, and the besieged were about to surrender ;
they observed a pigeon flying over them, and conjecturing it was
charged with letters to the garrison, the whole army simul-
taneously shouted most vehemently, which so stunned the poor
aerial post, that it fell to the ground, and being taken up, they
discovered a letter under its wing from the Sultan, assuring
them, " that within three days he would be with them, followed
by an army sufficient to put to flight their besiegers." They
substituted for this letter another, to this effect, " that the Sul-
tan being hard pressed at home, was unable to send the garrison
succour, and that they must consequently look to their own
safety the best way they could." With this letter the pigeon,
who had now recovered, was let away, bearing these melancholy
tidings : on receiving which they immediately surrendered.
On the third day the Sultan arrived with his promised force of
a very powerful army, and was much mortified to find the gar-
rison in the hands of the Christians.
In the year 1675, carrier pigeons were more successfully em-
ployed at the siege of Leyden. That garrison was induced to
stand out, from information which was conveyed to it by these
birds. They made such an obstinate resistance, that the
enemy at length withdrew. The Prince of Orange, on the
siege being raised, decreed that these pigeons should be main-
tained at the public expense, in consequence of the signal ser-
vice they had rendered the city, and that when they died, they
should be embalmed, and preserved as a perpetual mark of
gratitude.
The employment of carrier pigeons is still very common in
the East, more particularly in Egypt, Syria and Arabia. A
basket full of them is generally sent from the grand seraglio,
where they are bred, to every Bashaw, and should any insurrec-
tion, or other cause require immediate intelligence, they are
through the means of these extraordinary messengers, enabled
to give the most speedy intelligence of the event.
526 ANECDOTES OF BIUDS.
There is an annual competition of a society of pigeon fanciers
held at Antwerp, this animal being much propagated throughout
Flanders.
The use of this bird was successfully cultivated to a con-
siderable extent in the United States, about ten years ago, by a
gang of lottery-gamblers. These carried intelligence from New
York to Philadelphia, or vice versa, on important tickets being
drawn, so that great fraud by that means was practised.
The carrier pigeon is only used in Britain, by the gentlemen of
the fancy, who inherit the art of training them, and apply-
ing their services to particular uses, from the celebrated heroes,
who fell at Tyburn, and similar noted places.
A courier takes a whole day in proceeding from Alexandria
to Aleppo, which distance is daily performed by carrier pigeons,
with despatches from the consul in four hours.
Attachment to the place of their nativity, and especially to the
place where they have brought up their young, makes these ani-
mals so useful to mankind. When a young pigeon is first train-
ed, it is taken about a mile from home, in a basket, and there
let loose; which is doubled every time till twenty or thirty
miles, arid after this, it may be taken to the most distant part
of a country, from whence it will return home with certainty.
On the 8th of September 1827, was caught a carrier pigeon,
near the Isle of France, in the Indian ocean, with the following
inscription tied to its tail :
" I've seen the Betsey far at sea,
And where you soon may find it;
Whatever name your ship may be,
Please write her name behind it.
Brig Betsey, Captain Robert Smith, at sea, latitude 34. 13
South, longitude 51. 8 West, from Buenos Ayres bound to
London. This is to ascertain the distance, and courses this
bird may fly, from this until it may be caught ; and you will
oblige me by inserting it in any of the public papers. George
Lord."
The bird was caught in the American Ship Flora, from Cal-
cutta, bound to Philadelphia, and arrived at Liverpool froir
Philadelphia.
THE PIGEON. 527
A carrier pigeon was killed on its passage from Scandaroon
to Aleppo. The letter conveyed by it, instead of reaching the
person for whom it was intended, fell into the hands of a Euro-
pean merchant of a different nation. It contained information
of the excessive price of gall-nuts, the most valuable article of
commerce procured from Aleppo. The merchant who had thus
obtained the notice, immediately bought up all the gall-nuts he
could find, and by this means acquired at once a considerable
fortune. The pigeons have been known to perform the journey
in two hours and a half, the distance between the two places
being about seventy miles. Since the above occurrence, the
practice of using carrier pigeons has been discontinued, in these
places.
In the year 1819, at the annual competition at Antwerp, one
of thirty-two pigeons belonging to that city which had been con-
veyed to London, and there set at liberty, made the transit
back in six hours ! The distance in a straight line is one hun-
dred and eighty miles.
In July 1829, some extraordinary bets were taken, regarding
the speed of the carrier pigeon ; of which the following were the
results, which are striking manifestations of the great velocity
with which this bird flies.
The steam boat from Rotterdam, on the 7th August 1829,
has brought the result of the Maestricht wagers, the principal of
which has been lost, though only by a few minutes, as one of
the pigeons did arrive in six hours and a quarter from the time
of leaving England, and this in spite of a continued heavy rain,
which fell during the whole time. The minor wagers have been
won, the second pigeon arriving in seven hours, the third in
seven hours and ten minutes, the fourth in seven hours and a
half; and in four days, more than twenty of the pigeons had
reached Maestricht. The experiment is an exceedingly interest-
ing one, as illustrating the instincts of this remarkable bird, and
a repetition of it is, it is said, shortly to take place. The first
pigeon must have travelled, assuming that it took a straight line,
at the rate of forty-five miles an hour.
In October, 1803, Mr Nimmo, of George-street, Manchester,
sent down to Salisbury a pigeon from his dove-cote, to be des-
patched with a billet round its neck, the next day, at twelve
o'clock precisely, in order to ascertain what dependance could
5s8 ANECDOTES OF lilHDS.
be placed on pigeons, in case of extraordinary expedition being
necessary. The bird arrived with the billet round its neck, seven
minutes past three in the afternoon a distance of eighty-three
miles in three hours and seven minutes.
An Innkeeper at Cheltenham, had a pigeon, which arrived
at the age of twelve years, when his partner, who had a numer-
ous offspring by him, deserted her mate. He seemed deeply
affected by her inconstancy, but made no new alliance. Two
years he remained widowed and forsaken, when at last his faith-
less partner returned, and wished to share his domicile. She
tried every scheme to gain admittance, and to restore affection
in her mate without effect, and when she became unsufferably
importunate, he pecked her severely, and drove her off: but in
the course of the night she contrived to effect a lodgement. By
dawn of day the male bird seemed so far reconciled as to allow
her a share of his abode. But her repentance was of short
duration, for she died soon afterwards. The old pigeon seemed
sensible that by her dissolution he was placed more in a state
of liberty, than when she had voluntarily deserted him : he im-
mediately took wing, and returned in a few hours afterwards
with a new partner.
" An odd thing," says Mrs Piozzi, in her observations in a
Journey through Italy, " of which I was this morning witness,
has called my thoughts away to a curious train of reflections upon
the animal race, and how far they may be made companionable
and intelligent. The famous Bertoni, so well known in Lon-
don by his long residence among us, and from the undisputed
merit of his compositions, now inhabits his native city, and be-
ing fond of dumb creatures, took for his companion a pigeon ;
one of the few animals which can live at Venice, where scarcely
any quadrupeds can be admitted, or would exist with any degree
of comfort to themselves.
"This creature has, however, by keeping his master company,
obtained so perfect an ear and taste for music, that no one who
sees his behaviour can doubt for a moment of the pleasure he
takes in hearing Mr Bertoni play and sing ; for as soon as he
sits down to the instrument Columbo begins shaking his wings,
perches on the piano-forte, arid expresses the most indubitable
emotions of delight. If, however, he or any one else strikes a
note false, or makes any kind of discord upon the keys, the
nir, PIGKON. 529
pigeon never fails to show evident tokens of anger and distress ;
and if teazed too long, grows quite enraged ; pecking the offen-
der's legs and fingers in such a manner, as to leave no doubt of
the sincerity of his resentment. Signora Cecilia Guiliani, a
scholar of Bertoni's, who has received some overtures from
London theatre lately, will, if she ever arrives there, bear testi-
mony of the truth of an assertion very difficult to believe, and
to which I should hardly myself give credit, were I not a wit-
ness to it every morning that I choose to call and confirm my
own belief. A friend present protested he should be afraid to
touch the harpsichord before so nice a critic, and although we
all laughed at the assertion, Bertoni declared he never knew the
bird's judgment fail ; and that he often kept him out of the room
for fear of his affronting or tormenting those who came to take
musical instructions.
"With regard to other actions of life, I saw nothing particular in
the pigeon, but his lameness and strong attachment to his mas-
ter ; for though not unwinged, and only clipped a very little, he
never seeks to range away from the house, or quit his muster's
service, any more than the dove of Anacreon.
While his better lot bestows
Sweet repast, and soft repose ;
And, when feast and frolic tire,
Drops asleep upon the lyre."
Mr John Lockman relates a similar story of the effect of
music upon a pigeon, in some reflections concerning operas, &c.
prefixed to his musical drama of Rosalinda. Being at the house
of Mr Lee, a gentleman who lived in Cheshire, and whose
daughter was a fine performer on the harpsichord, he observed
a pigeon, which, whenever the young lady played the song of
" Sperisi," in Haull's opera of Ametus, (and this song only)
would descend from an adjacent dove-house, to the room window
where she sat, and listen to it apparently with the most pleasing
emotions, and when the song was finished, it always returned
immediately to the dove- house.
" This puts me in mind," says Mr Jesse, " of a circumstance
which lately happened at Chalk Farm, near Hampton. A man,
set to watch a field of pease which had been much preyed upon
by pigeons, shot an old cock pigeon who had long been an inha-
2, Y
0-30 ANECDOTES OF BI11DS.
bitarit of the farm. His mate, around whom he had for many
a year cooed, and nourished from his own crop, and assisted in
rearing numerous young ones, immediately settled on the ground
by his side, and showed her grief in the most expressive manner.
The labourer took up the dead bird, and tied it to a short stake,
thinking that it would frighten away the depredators. In this
situation, however, his partner did not forsake him, but continued,
day after day, walking slowly round the stick. The kind-
hearted wife of the bailiff of the farm at last heard of the cir-
cumstance, and immediately went to afford what relief she could
to the poor bird. She told me, that on arriving at the spot, she
found the hen bird much exhausted, and that she made a circular
beaten track round the dead pigeon, making now and then a
little spring towards him. On the removal of the dead bird the
hen returned to the dove-cot,
Like to a pair of loving turtle doves,
That could not live asunder day or night."
SHAKSPEAR:
BIRDS OF THE SPARROW KIND.
WE are now come to an extensive class of birds, among which
are comprehended those which by their melody enhance the
charms of nature in the season of flowers and sunshine, and stir
the heart of man with gratitude to that Providence whose
praises they seem to utter, as they rejoice in the renewed beauty
of the earth. The reader will no doubt expect us to be very
interesting in this department of our anecdotes, and we are al-
most sure he will not be disappointed. We venture to take it
for granted that he has hitherto found our manner and matter
rather agreeable than otherwise. On the strength of this sup-
position we cheerfully resume our pen, after a short rest.
The present class of birds is separated into two divisions.
The first consists of those which have the bill slender, some-
what bent at the point, and notched towards the extremity.
They are also, for the most part, distinguished by having the
outer and middle toes in contact as far as the first joint.
The second division consists of those which have the bill more
or less conical, and the toes distinct. We shall speak of each,
in the order prescribed by Goldsmith.
THE THIIUSH AND ITS CONGENERS.
Goldsmith is very succinct under this head, and when we
consider, well as he writes on every occasion, how much more
impressive he is when guided by personal observation, we re-
gret that he has not said more about the blackbird, for example,
and that he has passed the song-thrush almost without mention.
These are well known birds it is true but so are crows, and
we all recollect in how novel a way he describes a rookery
which he could see from his chamber-windows in the temple.
2 Y 2
532 ANECDOTES OF UI11DS,
THE SONG THUUSH.
This is the sweet bird whose cream- white neck and mottled
breast we have often caught a difficult glimpse of through the
summer foliage, as he poured forth delicious music. " Where a
thrush is,' 1 says the author of the Isle of Palms, " we defy you
to anticipate his song in the morning. He is indeed an early
riser. By the way, chanticleer is far from being so. You hear
him crowing away from shortly after midnight, and, in your
simplicity, may suppose him to be up, and strutting about the
premises. Far from it; he is at that very moment perched in
his polygamy, between two of his fattest wives. The sultan will
perhaps not stir a foot for several hours to come ; while all the
time the thrush, having long ago rubbed his eyes, is on his top-
most twig, broad awake, and charming the ear of dawn with his
beautiful vociferation. During mid-day he disappears and is
mute ; but again, at dewy even, as at dewy morn, he pours his
pipe like a prodigal, nor ceases sometimes when night has
brought the moon and stars."
A writer in the Magazine of Natural History, tells us that at
Whitley, a small village near his residence in England, is a de-
serted house, and near it a shed where the gardener of the place
showed him a thrush's nest on a cross-beam near the wall. The
young ones were out, when a person stole in and carried them
jff. This is a curious fact, seeing that the usual and appropriate
haunts of the thrush were close at hand. There is no accounting
for such a departure from natural habit.
The following affecting instance of devoted friendship on the
part of a thrush, is recorded by Mr Knapp in his Journal of a
Naturalist. We quote also the excellent reflections which he
has subjoined. ' We observed this summer," says Mr Knapp,
" two common thrushes frequenting the shrubs on the green in
our garden. From the slenderness of their forms, and the
freshness of their plumage, we pronounced them to be birds of
the preceding summer. There was an association and friend-
ship between them, that called our attention to their actions ;
one of them seemed ailing, or feeble from some bodily accident ;
for though it hopped about, yet it appeared unable to obtain
sufficiency of food : its companion, an active sprightly bird,
THE SONG THRUSH. 533
would frequently bring it worms, or bruised snails, when they
mutually partook of the banquet ; and the ailing bird would wait
patiently, understand the actions, expect the assistance of the
other, and advance from his asylum upon its approach. This
procedure was continued for some days, but after a time we
missed the fostered bird, which probably died, or by reason of
its weakness met with some fatal accident. We have many re-
lations of the natural affection of animals ; and whoever has at-
tended to the actions of the various creatures we are accustomed
to domesticate about us, can probably add many other instances
from their own observation. Actions, which are in any way
analogous to the above, when they are performed by mankind,
arise most commonly from duty, affection, pity, interest, pride ;
but we are not generally disposed to allow the inferior orders of
creation the possession of any of these feelings, except perhaps
the last : yet when we have so many instances of attachment
existing between creatures similar and dissimilar in their natures,
which are obvious to all, and where no interest can possibly
arise as a motive ; when we mark the varieties of disposition
which they manifest under uniform treatment, their various
aptitudes and comprehensions, sensibility or inattention to
sounds, &c., it seems but reasonable to consider them as gifted
with latent passions ; though being devoid of mind to stimulate
or call them into action by any principle of volition or virtue,
how excited to performance we know no more than we do the
motives of their bodily actions ! The kindnesses and attentions
which the maternal creature manifests in rearing its young, and
the assistance occasionally afforded by the paternal animal dur-
ing the same period, appear to be a natural inherent principle,
universally diffused throughout creation ; but when we see a
sick or maimed animal supplied and attended by another which
we suppose gifted with none of the stimuli to exertion that ac-
tuate our conduct, we endow them by this denial with motives
with which we ourselves are unacquainted; and at last we can
only relate the fact, without defining the cause."*
A pair of thrushes hatched their young so late as the 15th of
September 1828, in the court of the Royal Military asylum,
Chelsea. It is remarkable that they chose for their nestling
* Journal of a Naturalist, third edit. ]>. 203.
534 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
place one of the lower boughs of an elm, immediately over the
gymnastic exercise ground, and in the midst of the noise and
violent action of hundreds of boys, besides the frequent rolling
of drums and all other military music daily. The young flew,
being protected, while in the nest, by a special order of the com-
mandant.
THE MISSEL THRUSH.
The missel thrush is the largest of the sparrow- kind. It is
indigenous to Britain, and resembles the common thrush in ap-
pearance but is less widely diffused, and rare even in the local-
ities which it frequents. Its song, though inferior to that of
the preceding, bears a considerable resemblance to it. Even as
early as Christmas the missel thrush has been heard to sing.
It is possessed of great courage, and will stoutly defend its nest
against the smaller birds of prey. Authorities differ regarding
its vocal powers, as the following extract shows.
" The approach of a sleety snow-storm," says Mr Knapp,
" is always announced to us by the loud untuneful voice of the
missel thrush as it takes its stand on some tall tree, like an en-
chanter calling up the gale. It seems to have no song, no voice,
but this harsh predictive note ; and it in a great measure ceases
with the storms of spring. We hear it occasionally in autumn,
but its voice is not then prognostic of any change of weather.
The missel thrush is a wild and wary bird, keeping generally in
open fields and commons, heaths, and unfrequented places,
feeding upon worms and insects. In severe weather it ap-
proaches our plantations and shrubberies, to feed on the berry of
the misseltoe, the ivy, or the scarlet fruit of the holly or the yew ;
and should the redwing or the fieldfare presume to partake of
these with it, we are sure to hear its voice in clattering and con-
tention with the intruders, until it drives them from the place,
though it watches and attends, notwithstanding, to its own safety.
In April it begins to prepare its nest This is large and so
openly placed, as would, if built in the copse, infallibly expose
it to the plunder of the magpie and the crow, which at this sea-
son prey upon the eggs of every nest they can find. To avoid
THE BLACKBIRD. 535
tliis evil it resorts to our gardens and our orchards seeking pro-
tection from man, near whose haunts those rapacious plunderers
are careful of approaching : yet they will at times attempt to
seize upon its eggs even there, when the thrush attacks them .
and drives them away with a hawk-like fury; and the noisy
warfare of the contending parties occasionally draws our atten-
tion to them. The call of the young birds to their parents for
food is unusually disagreeable, and reminds us of the croak of a
frog. The brood being reared, it becomes again a shy creature,
abandons our homesteads, and returns to its solitudes and
heaths."*
We have just seen a letter by the Reverend Mr Bree of
Allesley Rectory, to the Editor of the Magazine of Natural
History, part of which we shall quote, as coming in appropri-
ate connection with the foregoing extract. " The bird," says
Mr Bree, " is undoubtedly to be classed among the number of
our songsters, and when he sings best, he is far from a con-
temptible musician. Its ordinary song is frequently to be heard
in the winter, and early in spring. I am surprised, therefore,
to find the excellent author of The Journal of a Naturalist, stat-
ing that ' it seems to have no song, no voice, but a harsh predic-
tive note.' Bewick says that it ' begins to sing early, often on
the turn of the year, in blowing stormy weather ; whence, in
some places, it is called the storm cock. Besides its ordinary
song, the bird occasionally favours us with another and far super-
ior performance, as I ascertained in the following manner :
Some years ago, in the spring, my attention was arrested day
after day by the song of a bird near my residence, which I sup-
posed to be that of a blackbird, as it more nearly resembled the
note of that bird than any other. Wishing to ascertain whether
this was the case, I resolved, if possible, to get a sight of the
bird itself; which, to my surprise, turned out to be, not the
blackbird, as I had supposed, but the missel thrush."
THE BLACKBIRD.
With a melancholy pleasure, we write the name of this <lc-
* Journal of a Naturalist, p. 249.
63G ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
lightful vocalist. Years pass away and lead into forgetful ness
many of our joys and sorrows, and will ultimately cause them
all to be forgotten. Meanwhile we shall not easily lose the
remembrance of "the time, the clime, the spot," where first we
beard the blackbirds song " There he flits along'' again we
quote the minstrel of the Palms, " upon a strong wing, with
his yellow bill visible in distance, and disappears in the silent
wood. Not long silent. It is a spring-day in our imagination,
his clay-wall nest holds his mate at the foot of the silver-fir,
and he is now perched upon its pinnacle. That thrilling hymn
will go vibrating down the stem till it reaches her brooding
breast. The whole vernal air is filled with the murmur and the
glitter of insects, but the blackbird's song is over all other
symptoms of love and life, and seems to call upon the leaves to
unfold into beauty. It is on that one tree-top, conspicuous
among many thousands on the fine breast of wood, where, here
and there, the pine mingles not unmeetly with the prevailing
oak, that the forest minstrel sits in his inspiration."
Mr Bouchier, communicates the following curious particulars,
through the medium of the Magazine of Natural History, for
September 1831. " Within half a mile of my residence," Wold
Rectory, near Northampton, " there is a blackbird which crows
constantly, and as accurately as the common cock, and nearly as
loud ; as it may, on a still day, be heard at the distance of
several hundred yards. When first told of the circumstance, I
conjectured that it must have been the work of a cock pheasant,
concealed in a neighbouring brake ; but, on the assurance that it
was nothing more or less than a common blackbird, I determined
to ascertain the fact with my own eyes and ears ; and this day
I had the gratification of getting close to it, seated on the top
bough of an ash tree, and pursuing with unceasing zeal its un-
usual note. The resemblance to the crow of the domestic cock
is so perfect, that more than one in the distance were answering
it. It occasionally indulged in its usual song ; but only for a
second or two ; resuming its more favourite note ; and once or
twice it commenced with crowing, and broke off in the middle
into its natural whistle. In what way this bird has acquired its
present propensity I am unable to say, except that as its usual
haunt is near a mill where poultry are kept, it may have learned
the note from the common fowl.''
THE FIELDFARE. 537
THE REDWING.
This bird is a periodical visitant with us, and arrives upon our.
shores sometime during the month of October. They go about
in flocks, keeping the open fields, or the woods, according as the
weather is mild or cold. Their favourite food is insects and
worms but they feed also upon the fruits of the white thorn,
and wild rose. The name of this species has been given on ac-
count of the deep red of the under wing-coverts. The upper part
of the body is brown the belly pure white. Vast numbers are
shot during a snowy season.
THE FIELDFARE.
The Fieldfare is like the former, a periodical visitant, coming
later and remaining longer. " When the fieldfare first arrives,
its flesh is dark, thin, and scurfy ; but, having fed a little time
in the hedges, its rump and side veins are covered with fat.
Perfectly gregarious as the fieldfare is, yet we observe every
year, in some tall hedge-row, or little quiet pasture, two or three
of them, that have withdrawn from the main flocks, and there
associate with the blackbird and the thrush. They do not ap-
pear to be wounded birds, which from necessity have sought
concealment and quiet, but to have retired from inclination ;
and I have reason to apprehend that these retreats are occasion-
ally made for the purpose of forming nests, though they are af-
terwards abandoned without incubation."* These stragglers
collect in the month of April, and follow the regular migrants.
The fieldfare, like the redwing, is sought after by the sportsman
in severe weather, and great numbers destroyed. Its colour is
deep brown on the upper part of the back ; the tail is black -, the
breast yellow ; middle of the belly and chin white.
Journal of a N:itunlist, p. 26).
538 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
THE RING OUZEL.
This bird is migratory but, unlike the preceding, it visits us
in spring, betaking itself to the wildest mountain-districts. Its
song resembles that of the missel thrush, and it sings from the
top of some rock or stone. It is a shy bird but will resolutely
defend its young. Colour on the upper parts black-grey, the
same on the under with the exception of a white crescent on
the breast, which, in a front view seems to encircle the neck,
and hence, no doubt, the name of this bird.
THE WATER OUZEL.
This bird, termed also the European dipper, and provincially,
the water-piet, &c. is a native of Great Britain. It may be of-
ten seen on the brink of an unfrequented stream, or on a stone
in the middle, and it vanishes with an arrow-like dip, and silent
as a shadow into the water, as soon as it is disturbed, or observes
its prey. In such situations Mr Selby describes it, with the
graphic elegance which distinguishes his admirable writings. " I
have repeatedly seen them dive below the surface, and remain
submerged for a considerable time, occupied in pursuing the fry
(or young fish), or in search of the larvae of aquatic insects. At
other times they walk slowly into the water from the shallow
part of a pool, till it becomes of sufficient depth for diving , but
I have not been able, even from close observation, to certify the
fact repeated by some naturalists, of their walking with apparent
ease at the bottom ; and which error of opinion might arise from
the manner of their occasionally entering the water as above
stated. On the contrary the same exertion seems to be used by
them as by other diving birds, an idea entertained also by Mon-
tagu. I have had an opportunity of bestowing attention
on the manners of these birds, a pair having, for some
years, built in a mass of rock rising from a rivulet at a very short
distance from my residence. They are very early breeders, and
their first family is, in general, fully fledged in the beginning of
May. The young quit the nest before they are able to fly to
THE WATER-OUZEL. 539
any considerable distance : indeed, upon being disturbed, although
but half fledged, they immediately leave it, diving with great
ease the moment they reach the water, which the parent birds
contrive shall be effected with expedition, as they most commonly
build their large mossy nest in such part of the rock as directly
overhangs the stream."* The ring-ouzel is a bird of song, and
begins early in spring. General colour on the upper part, black ;
throat and upper part of the breast, white.
The dipper is a bird of considerable musical powers. It be-
gins to pour forth its strong, distinct, arid varied notes in the
beginning of spring, and is the earliest warbler of the remote
situations where it usually localizes. Montagu says, " this bird
is amongst the few, that sing so early in the spring as the months
of January and February. In hard frost, on the llth of the
latter month, when the thermometer in the morning had been
at twenty-six degrees, we heard this bird sing incessantly in a
strong and elegant manner, and with much variation in notes,
many of which were peculiar to itself, intermixed with a little
of the piping of the wood-lark. At the time it was singing,
the day was bright, but freezing in the shade ; the sun had con-
siderably passed the meridian, and was obscured from the bird
by the lofty surrounding hills. The dipper devours a consider-
able quantity of fish's spawn, especially the large ova of the
salmon."
" We found a nest of this bird," says Colonel Montagu, "in
a steep bank, projecting over a rivulet, clothed with moss. The
nest was so well adapted to the surrounding materials, that
nothing but the old bird flying in with a fish in its bill, would
have led to a discovery. The young were nearly full-feathered,
but incapable of flight; and the moment the nest was disturbed,
they fluttered out, and dropped into the water, and to our aston-
ishment, instantly vanished ; but in a little time, made their
appearance at some distance down the stream ; and it was with
difficulty that two of the five were taken, as they dived on being
approached."
* Selby's British Ornithology. Part first, p. 162.
>4)0 ANECDOTK3 OF IiKU)S.
THE STARLING.
Recent writers on ornithology place the starling in the class
of omnivorous birds, but as our arrangement is already prescrib-
ed by Goldsmith, we must introduce it here. One of its fa-
vourite haunts is the ruined castle, which it inhabits in common
with the swallow and daw. It also, like the thrush and black-
bird, makes its abode occasionally in our groves and gardens.
It has no song of its own ; but may be taught, when in confine-
ment, to whistle tunes with great accuracy. Mr Knapp has
furnished us with a very complete account of this bird, which
we shall do ourselves the pleasure of extracting. " The starling
breeds with us, as in most villages in England. Towards au-
tumn the broods unite, and form large flocks ; but, those pro-
digious flights with which, in some particular years, we are
visited, especially in parts of those districts formerly called the
' fen counties,' are probably an accumulation from foreign
countries. We have seldom more than a pair or two, which
nestle under the tiling of an old house, in the tower of the
church, the deserted hole of the woodpecker, or some such '
inaccessible place. The flights probably migrate to this country
alone, as few birds could travel long, and continue such a rapid
motion as the starling. The Royston crow, the only migrating
bird with which it forms an intimate association, is infinitely too
heavy of wing to have journeyed with the stare. The delight of
these birds in society is a predominant character ; and to feed,
they will associate with the rook, the pigeon, or the daw ; arid
sometimes, but not cordially, with the fieldfare : but they chiefly
roost with their own families, preferring some reedy, marshy
situation. These social birds are rarely seen alone ; and should
any accident separate an individual from the companions of its
flight, it will sit disconsolate on an eminence, piping and plain-
ing, till some one of its congeners join it. Even in small par-
ties they keep continually calling and inviting associates to them,
with a fine clear note, that, in particular states of the air, may
be beard at a considerable distance. This love of society seems
to be innate ; for I remember one poor bird, that bad escaped
from domestication, in which it had entirely lost, or probably
never knew, the language or manners of its race, and acquired
THE STARLING. 54-1
only the name of its mistress ; disliked and avoided by its con-
geners, it would sit by the hour together, sunning on some tall
elm, calling in a most plantive strain, Nanny, Nanny : but no
Nanny came ; and our poor solitary either pined itself to death,
or was killed, as its note ceased. They vastly delight, in a
bright autumnal morning, to sit basking and preening themselves
on the summit of a tree, chattering altogether in a low song-like
note. There is something singularly curious and mysterious in
the conduct of these birds previously to their nightly retirement,
by the variety and intricacy of the evolutions they execute at
that time. They will form themselves, perhaps, into a triangle,
then shoot into a long, pear-shaped figure, expand like a sheet,
wheel into a ball, as Pliny observes, each individual striving to
get into the centre, &c., with a promptitude more like parade
movements than the actions of birds. As the breeding season
advances, these prodigious flights divide, and finally separate in-
to pairs, and form their summer settlements ; but probably the
vast body of them leaves the kingdom. Travellers tell us, that
starlings abound in Persia and the regions of Caucasus.
" No birds, except sparrows, congregate more densely than
stares. They seem continually to be running into clusters, if
ever so little scattered ; and the stopping of one, to peck at a
worm, immediately sets all its companions hastening to partake.
This habit in the winter season brings on them death, and pro-
tracted sufferings, as every village popper notices these flocks,
and fires at the poor starlings. Their flesh is bitter and rank,
and thus useless when obtained ; but the thickness of the flights,
the possibility of killing numbers, and manifesting his skill, en-
courages the trial The flight of these birds, whether from feed-
ing to roost, or on their return to feed, is so rapid, that none
with any impediment can keep company; and in consequence
we see many, which have received slight wing or body wounds,
lingering about the pastures long into spring, and pining after
companions they cannot associate with.
In the autumn of 1814, we saw a flight of starlings in the
King's County, Ireland, which literally darkened the air, and
must have consisted of at least a hundred thousand ; they were
flying over the immense marshy plain near Banacher. Mr John-
ston of Wetherby, attributes the appearances called fairy
rings to the droppings of starlings on the turf, which, when in
512 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
large flights, frequently alight on the ground in circles, and some-
times are known to sit a considerable time in these annular con-
gregations.
These birds are very assiduous in their attentions to their
young, and in continual progress to collect worms and insects
for them.*
This concludes our list of the larger kinds of British birds, of
the thrush species. A full description of the foreign species
will be found in the notes to Goldsmith.
We shall here introduce some birds belonging to the second or
conical billed division ; viz. the common sparrow, the greenfinch,
the gross-beak, &c. leaving the more eminent song birds of this
class till we come to speak of the canary, which follows the
nightingale and others of the first division, according to the ar-
rangement of Goldsmith.
THE SPARROW.
The finch, or sparrow tribe have been but imperfectly describ-
ed by naturalists ; their want of song and sober attire, seem to
have been the cause of their having been treated with that ne-
glect which has ever attended them. They are very inoffen-
sive in their habits, and feed principally upon grain, and also on
caterpillars. It has been calculated that during the time of their
incubation, they destroy an average of three thousand and sixty
caterpillars in a week. So that the total damage they commit on
cornfields, is more than compensated, by the destruction of
those voracious caterpillars which lay waste our fruit, and grubs
which undermine and feed on the roots of grain and vegetables.
It is on account of this quantity of food being required by their
young, which no doubt impels them instinctively, to make their
nests so thick and feathery, so as to keep the brood warm in their
absence.
On Thursday, the 20th December, 1827, four sparrow's eggs
were taken from a nest in a thatched house, Canal Street, Pais-
ley. The stormy weather which prevailed at that season of the
* Journal of a Naturalist, p. 194.
THE SPAUROW. 54o
year, rendered it necessary to repair the roof of this house, and
the thatcher, when ascending his ladder, observed a sparrow fly
from a hole in the eave, which led him to examine the aperture,
and he found in it a warm nest, containing the eggs.
Not the least remarkable feature in the history of the spar-
row, is its almost universal diffusion, for, wherever man has
fixed his abode the house-sparrow is certain to be found, and
apparently of the very same species, and differing but little in
size from those inhabiting Europe. Most birds are peculiar
to different latitudes, but this genus has an unlimited geographi-
cal range.
One of the most interesting of the genus is the song sparrow
of America ; so well described by our countryman Wilson.
" So nearly do many species of our sparrows approximate," says
he, " to each other in plumage, and so imperfectly have they been
taken notice of, that it is absolutely impossible to say, with
certainty, whether the present species has been described or not.
And yet, of all our sparrows, this is the most numerous, the
most generally diffused over the United States, and by far the
earliest, sweetest, and most lasting songster. It may be said to
be partially migratory, many passing to the south in the month
of November; and many of them still remaining with us, in low,
close sheltered meadows and swamps, during the whole of win-
ter. It is the first singing bird in Spring, taking precedence
even of the pewee and bluebird. Its song continues occasion-
ally during the whole summer and fall, and is sometimes heard
even in the depth of winter. The notes, or chant, are short,
but sweet, resembling the beginning of a canary's song, and
frequently repeated, generally from the branches of a bush or
small tree, where it sits chanting for an hour together."
The song sparrow builds in the ground, under a tuft of grass,
and what is singular, the same bird often fixes his nest in a ce-
dar tree five or six feet from the ground.
Wilson says that the Chipping sparrow builds " in the branches
of the trees with which our streets and gardens are ornamented,
and gleans up crumbs from our yards, and even our doors,
to feed his more advanced young with. I have known one of
these birds attend regularly every day, during a whole summer,
while the family were at dinner, under a piazza, fronting the gar-
den, and pick up the crumbs that were thrown to him. This
4 ANECDOTES
sociable habit, which continues chiefly during the summer, is a
singular characteristic. Towards the end of the summer, he
takes to the fields and hedges until the weather becomes severe
with snow, when he departs for the south."
The sparrow often takes possession of holes, which have been
dug out with no small trouble by the bank swallow. White
says, " this most usually happens when the swallows breed near
hedges and enclosures." Colonel Montague says, " that though
sparrows delight to frequent such places, they rarely nestle in
their vicinity, unless houses be near, and not even then in any
number. In a colony of bank swallows, for instance, near Charl-
ton, in Kent, consisting of more than a hundred pairs, not more
than two or three pairs of sparrows have settled ; 1 say ' set-
tled,' because they appear to live on terms of good neighbourhood
with the original colonists, as I have watched them for hours,
passing and repassing without the least indication of hostility,
which amongst birds soon shows itself in tones of insult and de-
fiance, and by incessant skirmishing and bickerings. How dif-
ferently these same bank swallows treated a poor cuckoo, I had
an opportunity of witnessing, while observing their good fellow-
ship with the sparrows. The cuckoo was flying quietly along,
certainly meditating no harm against the swallows, and not even
poaching on their domain by hawking for flies, in as much as he
prefers a breakfast of caterpillars, which the swallows never
touch ; nevertheless, the instant he appeared, the tocsin was
sounded, and every swallow in the colony darted out of their
holes to pounce upon the intruder^ whom they beat most un-
mercifully with bill and wing, till they drove him from their
boundaries. The sparrows, meanwhile, sat on the mouths of
their holes with the utmost nonchalance as spectators, alto-
gether unconcerned in the affray."
The following fact goes far towards proving that instinct differs
chiefly in degree from reason. A few years since, a pair of
sparrows, which had built in the thatch roof of a house at Poole,
were observed to continue their visits to the nest long after the
time when the young birds take flight. This unusual circum-
stance continued throughout the year, and in the winter, a
gentleman who had all along observed them, determined on in-
vestigating the cause. He therefore mounted a ladder, and
found one of the young ones detained a prisoner, by means of
THE SPAKROW. 51-J
a piece of string, or worsted which formed part of the nest, hav-
ing become accidentally twisted round its leg. Being thus in-
capacitated from procuring its own sustenance, it had been fed
by the continued exertions of its parents.
Some years ago, a brood of young white sparrows, four in num-
ber, were observed scarcely fledged in Bothwell parish, Lanark-
shire. Some boys on making the discovery, immediately gave
chase to the callow brood. In the eagerness of pursuit, three of
this unfortunate family were killed, the remaining one was caught
and sent to a gentleman in the Trongate of Glasgow, where it
died shortly afterwards. It was not fit for preservation, its plu-
mage being but little advanced. Thus did the beauty of this
family cause its ruin.
A turn-up between a cock-sparrow and a mouse, took place
some time ago, at Tattersall's, in London, that highly-famed
sporting establishment. A sparrow, who was in the daily habit
of picking up the crumbs of bread which were thrown out from
one of the rooms (and which, it appeared, he viewed as his ex-
clusive right,) was suddenly interrupted in his pursuit by a little
hungry mouse, who had been some time without food, attacked
the sparrow, seized upon the crumbs of bread, and endeavoured
to run off with his prize. The sparrow immediately showed
jiyht, and nobbed the mouse so successfully with his beak, that
he bolted, and made for a hole in the wall, to escape from the
fury of his antagonist ; but the hole being too small, the poor
mouse stuck fast for a little time, when the sparrow punished
him severely. Five and six, to four on the feathers, was offer-
ed by those who witnessed this singular milling match. The
mouse in his own defence was compelled to return to the charge ;
and was again so milled, that he ran a little way up the wall, but
falling down from weakness, the sparrow once more had the best
of him. Two to one was offered by the surrounding spectators,
(who were now so much interested upon the event, that Ran-
dall and Martin could not, for the instant, have proved more at-
tractive to their feeling,) that the gay bird won it. Mousey,
who was not destitute of pluck, determining to have another shy
for the crumb, made a desperate effort to carry it off; but the
little cock bird served him out so hard, and fast, that mousey
left the ground with the speed of a Gustavus, and got out of the
clutches of his opponent, by falling down an area. The sparrow
2 z3
516 ANECDOTES OF BIllDS.
followed the mouse till he lost sight of him, cocking his little
ogles down the area after his adversary, and strutting with all
the pride of a first-rate miller, as if chaffing to himself, " I've
given it you, my mousey, for your temerity ;" then returning to
the spot, he finished the crumbs at his ease and leisure, amidst
the laughter of the surrounding spectators.
The cock sparrow is well known to be a very game bird ; in-
deed both these little creatures seemed as if they were inspired
by the sporting ardour which breathes through every department
of the splendid establishment where the set-to took place.
About ten years ago, when walking along Drummond Place,
Edinburgh, two cock sparrows had quarrelled, and fought most
determinedly on the roof of a house ; one of them fell from the
ledge, and the other taking advantage of this, flew on the top of
him and bore him down to the flags, where they screamed and
fought like two game cocks. So intent were they on their bat-
tle, that I approached, and seized them both before they were
aware of it, and after carrying them for a little way, I set them
both at liberty at the same instant, when they again commenced
hostilities, and fought their battle out in the enclosure amongst
the trees ; one Of them fled, and was hotly pursued by the
other.
The late Mrs O'Brian, of Manor Place, Chelsea, was ex-
tremely fond of birds, of which she kept a considerable number
in cages, for her amusement. Among others, she had a canary,
who was a particular favourite ; but the loudness of his note
often obliged her to put him outside of the window, among some
trees which were trimmed up in front of the house. One
morning during breakfast, when the cage was thus placed, a
sparrow was observed to fly round and round it, to stand upon
the top, and to twitter to the bird within, between whom and
itself a species of reciprocal conversation at length began to en-
sue. After a few moments he flew away, but returned in a
short time, bearing a worm in his bill, which he dropped into the
cage, and again flew away. Similar presents were received day
after day, at the same time, by the canary from his generous
friend the sparrow, with whom he at length become so intimate,
that he very often received the food thus brought, into his own
bill, from that of the sparrow. An affair so curious and interest-
ing, had often many spectators ; and some of the neighbours to
TIJE SPARROW. 647
try the extent of the sparrow's benevolence, also bung tbeir birds
out at the window, when curious to relate, they found them also
fed; but the first and longest visit was always paid by the spar-
row to his earliest acquaintance.
Notwithstanding the sociable disposition manifested by this
sparrow towards his feathered companions, he was excessively
shy with regard to man, for they were obliged to observe his
motions at a distance, as the instant he noticed them, he flew
away. These visits were continued till the commencement of
winter, and he then withdrew, never to appear again.
We are told by a contributor to the Magazine of Natural
History, that in November, 1829, a gentleman noticed a fight
between a rat and a hedge-sparrow. The sparrow acted on the
offensive as well as the defensive, by striking at the rat on the
head, with its beak. On hearing the gentleman approach, the
sparrow flew away, and the rat disappeared among the bushes.
What could have been the cause of this fight ? It was too late
in the season for the sparrow to have young or eggs to defend.
It evidently could not be in self-defence, for she could havo
flown away as well at first as at last.
The author of the novel of " Newton Forster" says, that he
always considered a London cock-sparrow the most impudent
of animals, till he became acquainted with midshipmen, who he
thinks take the pas in this respect. Sparrows which have not
had the benefit of a London education, are very well provided
with modest assurance, as a visit to the next poultry-yard may
convince us. There the sparrow disputes possession of what-
ever food is laid down for the domestic fowls. Neither the bold
eye of chanticleer, nor the garrulous strut of the turkey, prevent
him from taking what he can get. If either of these potentates
makes a peck at him, he merely skips out of the reach a little,
and as little as possible, and then resumes the feast. This
proves him to have no respect for the presence of his superiors.
They may frown as they please for aught he cares, if he can but
keep out of their reach, which he manages easily to do.
We have already alluded to the wide diffusion of the sparrow-
tribe, and subjoin the following somewhat affecting illustration.
An old man belonging to the neighbourhood of Glasgow, who
was a soldier in his youth, mentions, that he became first recon-
ciled to a foreign country, by observing a sparrow hopping about
548 ANECDOTES OK BIRDS.
just as he had seen them do at home. " Are you here too,
freen ?" said he to the sparrow. He does not add that it re-
turned a verbal answer to his exclamatory question, but he
could not help fancying that it looked assent, as if it under-
stood he was an exile, and wished him to take a lesson of resig-
nation to circumstances.
THE GHEENFINCH.
This is an indigenous species, and abounds throughout Britain.
Though its natural notes are few, and such as do not entitle it
to be classed among song-birds, it may be taught to imitate theit
notes, and becomes very soon reconciled to confinement. " In
Spring," says Montbeillard, " it makes its nest in trees or bush-
es. It is larger, and almost as neatly formed as that of the
chaffinch, consisting of dry herbs and moss, lined with hair,
wool, and feathers ; sometimes it places it in the chinks of the
branches, which it even widens with its bill : it also constructs
near the spot a little magazine for provisions." * The green-
finch is much attached to its young, as is strikingly illustrated
by the following anecdote. A gentleman residing in a village
near Edinburgh, procured a nest of young greenfinches for a
friend who was stocking an aviary. He placed them in a cage
at a window looking into a crowded street. They had not re-
mained there many minutes, when the parent birds found them
out, and the window being raised, came in and fed them. This
they continued to do, till the young ones could feed themselves.
The nest was brought from a wood, about a quarter of a mile
distant from the village. The name of this bird indicates its
general colour.
THE CROSSBILL.
The crossbill is only an occasional visitant of Britain. Great
* Oiseaux. Art Lc Verdier.
THE GllOSSBEAIC. 549
numbers sometimes arrive, and disperse themselves over woods
and plantations where the fir-tree abounds. " Crossbills," says
a writer in the Magazine of Natural History, " on their arrival
in this country, seem to apprehend little danger from man, and
will suffer themselves to be approached very near, without mani-
festing the least alarm. In the month of August, 1810, a small
flock of these birds frequented the plantations in Crumpsall, and
on one occasion, I fired three shots in quick succession, and
killed an individual each time, in a small spruce fir, without ap-
pearing to disturb their companions which were feeding on the
same tree, nor did they ultimately take flight, till I shook the
fir violently for the purpose of dislodging the birds I had shot,
from the branches on which they had fallen. The high con-
dition of these birds, proved that their disregard of man and fire-
arms, was not occasioned by hunger."
" The manners of these birds," says Mr Selby, " are interest-
ing when in a state of confinement (to which they become
speedily accustomed), as they strongly resemble the parrot tribe
in climbing along the wires of the cage in any direction, by
means of their bill and claws. The call-notes of the crossbill
are a kind of twitter, which it constantly repeats when feeding ;
and a louder one uttered when on wing, not unlike that of the
greenfinch, but rather shriller. According to Willoughby, and
the older authors, it also possesses a pleasant song, only heard
during the winter months, or season of incubation.'*
This bird derives its name from the peculiar formation of the
bill, the upper and lower mandibles of which are hooked at the
end, and cross each other, one pointing down, the other up.
General colour, a tile-red, intermixed with yellowish grey.
THE GROSSBEAK.
Of this bird there are several varieties. The pine grossbeak
rarely visits our island, and is only to be met with in the pine
woods and plantations of the north of Scotland. They inhabit
similar localities in Europe, Asia, and North America. One
species, which, from its mode of building, has obtained the name
of the Sociable Grossbeak, is thus mentioned in Vaillant's
550 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
travels. I observed on the way a tree with an enormous nest
of those birds to which I have given the appellation of repub-
licans ; and, as soon as I arrived at my camp, I despatched a few
men, with a waggon, to bring it to me, that I might open the
hive, and examine its structure in its minutest parts. When it
arrived, I cut it to pieces with a hatchet, and saw that the chief
portion of the structure consisted of a mass of JBoshman's grass,
without any mixture, but so compact and firmly basketted to-
gether as to be impenetrable to the rain. This is the commence-
ment of the structure ; and each bird builds its particular nest
under this canopy. But the nests are formed only beneath the
eaves of the canopy, the upper surface remaining void, without,
however, being useless ; for, as it has a projecting rim, and is a
little inclined, it serves to let the rain-water run off, and pre-
serves each little dwelling from the rain. Figure to yourself a
huge irregular sloping roof, and all the eaves of which are com-
pletely covered with nests, crowded one against another, and
you will have a tolerably accurate idea of these singular edi-
fices.
Each individual nest is three or four inches in diameter,
which is sufficient for the bird. But as they are all in contact
with one another, around the eaves, they appear to the eye to
form but one building, and are distinguishable from each other
only by a little external aperture, which serves as an entrance to
the nest ; and even this is sometimes common to three different
nests, one of which is situated at the bottom, and the other two
at the sides. According to Paterson, the number of cells in-
creasing in proportion to the increase of inhabitants, the old
ones become 'streets of communication, formed by line and
level.' No doubt, as the republic increases, the cells must be
multiplied also. But it is easy to imagine that, as the augmen-
tation can take place only at the surface, the new buildings will
necessarily cover the old ones, which must therefore be aban-
doned.
Should these even, contrary to all probability, be able to sub-
sist, it may be presumed that the depth of their situation, by
preventing any circulation and renewal of the air, would render
them so extremely hot as to be uninhabitable. But while they
thus become useless, they would remain what they were before,
real nests, and change neither into streets nor sleeping-rooms.
THE YELLOW HAMMER. 551
The large nest that I examined was one of the most consider-
able I hsid anywhere seen in the course of my journey, and con-
tained three hundred and twenty inhabited cells, which, suppos-
ing a male and female to each, would form a society of six hun-
dred and forty individuals. Such a calculation, however, would
not be exact. I have spoken above of birds among which one
male is in common to several females, because the females are
much more numerous than the males. The same is the case
with many other species, both in the environs of the Cape and
in the colony ; but it is particularly so among the republicans.
Whenever I have fired at a flock of these birds, I have always
shot four times as many females as males.
THE CHAFFINCH.
This species is common throughout the country, and is now
ascertained to be migratory, though it was formerly described by
naturalists as a permanent resident with us. The following
anecdote of the chaffinch, from the Buckinghamshire Herald,
forms the subject of one of Cowper's poems.
Glasgow, May 23d, 1793. In a block, or pulley, near the
head of the mast of a gabert now lying at the Broomielaw, there
is a chaffinch's nest and four eggs. The nest was built while
the vessel lay at Greenock, and was followed hither by both
birds. Though the block is occasionally lowered for the inspec-
tion of the curious, the birds have not forsaken the nest. The
cock, however, visits the nest but seldom, while the hen never
leaves it but when she descends to the hulk for food.
Colour on the head and neck, deep greyish blue. Back
chestnut-brown, rump deep yellow. The chaffinch is met with
in most parts of Europe.
THE YELLOW HAMMER.
Mr Selby attributes the small estimation in which this bird is
held, to the prevalence of the species. He does not seem to be
aware of the vulgar notion, that the yellow hammer has three
drops of the devil's blood in its head, and that the Scottish pea-
562 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
santry suppose its song to be, Deil, deil, deil take thee ! Though
every school-boy hates this bird as much as he loves the red-
breast, yet he is afraid to harm it, lest its formidable relative
should interfere in its behalf, or be afterwards revenged. The
yellow-hammer is, however, as harmless as it is beautiful, and
we have few native birds that can compare with it in plumage.
We have not a single anecdote of it to tell, and shall therefore
conclude by extracting the following pretty account of its nesti
from Grahame's Birds of Scotland.
" Up from the ford, a little bank there was
With alder-copse and willow overgrown,
Now worn away by mining winter floods ;
There, at a bramble root, sunk in the grass,
The hidden prize of withered field straws formed,
Well lined with many a coil of hair and moss,
And in it laid five red-veined eggs, 1 found."
The Bunting. The common bunting bears a strong resem-
blance to the lark. Its notes are, however, very harsh and loud,
the bird generally perched on the top of a hedge while it utters
them. The varieties of the bunting are described in the notes
to Goldsmith.
The Siskin. This bird visits us only in winter. It may lie
easily tamed, and taught a variety of tricks. Yellow and green
are the prevailing tints of the siskin.
The Wheat-Ear. This species is migratory, coming earlier
and retiring later than most others. " Upon its first arrival, and
previous to its equatorial migration, it is extremely fat, and of
high flavour ; is then esteemed as a great delicacy, and considered
little inferior to the ortolan. It is of course in great demand,
and vast numbers are annually caught upon the downs. The
mode of entrapping them is simple, but singular ; and is effected
by placing two turfs on edge, with a small horse-hair noose fixed
to a stick at each opening. The bird, attempting to enter in
search of food, or to escape from apprehended danger, is almost
certain of being caught by one of the nooses. Pennant says,
that as many as 184-0 dozen of these birds have been taken in
one year, about Eastbourne in Sussex."* Colour of the upper
parts bluish-grey, wings brownish-black, belly and vent white,
* Selby'a Ornithology. Part first, p. 200.
THE NIGHTINGALE
AND OTHER SOFT-BILLED BIRDS.
IN delicacy and richnes of note, this class of small birds excels
the hard -billed species. An ambitious vehemence of utterance
characterises some of the latter, and they seem to challenge our
approbation ; the former move us by a power of which they
themselves appear to be unconscious.
THE NIGHTINGALE.
This bird has been so often described, that little new remains
for us to tell about it. Its outward appearance is as plain as its
song is splendid in compass and variety. The nightingale is
only known in Europe, and it haunts the closest woods, where
it is often heard and seldom seen. Owing to the shortness of
its wings, we cannot help doubting the correctness of those
writers who assign it a wider range than we have done. The
following very original Ode to a Nightingale, by John Keats,
will please most readers.
My heart aches, and a drwosy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
One minute past, and Lethe- wards had sunk :
'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,
But being too happy in thine happiness,
That them, light- winged Dryad of the trees,
In gome melodious plot
Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated ease.
O, for a draught of vintage ! that hath been
Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth,
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
3 A
551 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
Dauce, and Provencal song, and sunburnt mirth !
for a beaker full of the warm South,
Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
With headed bubbles winking at the brim,
And purple -stained mouth,
That I might drink, and leave the world unseen
And with thee fade away into the forest dim :
Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget
What thou among the leaves hast never known,
The weariness, the fever, and the fret,
Here, where men sit and hear each other groan ;
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs.
Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies,
Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
And leaden-eyed despairs,
Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,
Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow.
Away ! away! for I will fly to thee,
Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,
But on the viewless wings of Poesy,
Though the dull brain perplexes and retards.
Already with thee ! tender is the night,
And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,
Cluster'd around by all her starry Fays j
But here there is no light,
Save what from heaven is with breezes blown
Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways.
1 cannot see what flowers are at my feet,
Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs ;
But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet
Wherewith the seasonable month endows
The grass, the thicket and the fruit-tree wild ;
White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine ;
Fast-fading violets covered up in leaves ;
And mid- May's eldest child,
The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,
The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.
Darkling I listen; and, for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call'd him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath ;
Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad
In such an ecstacy !
Still would'st thou sing, and I have ears in vain
To thy high requiem become a sod.
THE REDBUEAST. 555
Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird !
No hungry generations tread thee down ;
The voice I hear this passing night, was heard
In ancient days by emperor and clown :
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path
Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,
She stood in tears amid the alien corn ;
The same that oft-times hath
Charm 'd magic casements, opening on the foam
Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.
Forlorn ! the very word is like a bell
To toll me back from thee to my sole self!
Adieu .' the fancy cannot cheat so well
As she is famed to do, deceiving elf.
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades
Past the near meadows, over the still stream,
Up the hill-side ; and no w.'tis buried deep
In the next valley-glades :
\V,is it a vision, or a waking dream ?
Fled is that music : Do I wake or sleep ?
The nightingale is on the head and back, of a tawny colour ;
whitish on the breast and belly, and has a bright full eye.
THE REDBREAST.
This favourite ot man has a sweet melancholy song ; which,
however, if naturalists say true, is prompted by a pugnacious
spirit, like the crowing of the domestic cock. Both sexes sing.
The following interesting particulars respecting the redbreast,
are contained in a letter of Von Osdat to the Editor of the
Magazine of Natural History.
This bird is plentiful all over Europe, and was considered as
a bird of passage, but, as finely expressed by Buffon, the depar-
ture in the autumn, "not being proclaimed among the red-
breasts, as among other birds at that season, collected into flocks,
many stay behind ; and these are either the young and inexpe-
rienced, or some which can derive support from the slender re-
sources of the winter." Whatever may be the case in France,
the red-breast is well known, not to be migratory in this coun-
try : for here we find them in all situations very abundant, and
even plentiful in large towns. " The redbreast, 1 ' says Dr Flem-
3 A 2
556 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
ing, in a letter to Colonel Montagu, " is only occasionally ob-
served in Zetland after gales of wind."
The redbreast sings throughout the winter, except during se-
vere storms.
Many naturalists state that the redbreast invariably retires to
the deep recesses of woods and other solitary places to incubate ;
but recent observation proves this not to be strictly correct. We
have often, in our boyhood, found their nests in many of the
hedges around, and even within the gardens of Edinburgh ; and
at the present time, robins will build common enough, in the
meadows where there are people continually passing. At our
residence in Fife, there was a robin's nest in a honey suckle
bush which grew over our milk-house and larder, close behind
the house, and which was passed at all times of the day ; and so
imperfectly was it covered, that we could see the female's head
while sitting on her nest. The observant Grahame, whose pic-
tures are ever true to nature, thus writes on this subject,
High is his perch, but humble is his home,
And well concealed, sometimes within the sound'
Of hcartsome millclack, where the spacious door
White dusted, tells him plenty reigns around ;
Close at the root of briar-bush that o'erhangs
The narrow stream, with sheetings bedded white,
He fixes his abode and lives at will.
Oft near some single cottage he prefers
To rear his little home ; there, pert and spruce,
He shares the refuse of the good wife's churn,
Nor seldom does he neighbour the low roof
Where tiny elves are taught." *
His spring and summer habits, when he leaves the household
gods for the haunts of the hamadryads, are quite as interesting
to the naturalist who strolls the h'elds as his winter ones, when
we watch him skipping about the door, or fluttering on the
ledges of our frosted windows ; indeed, I would say more so ;
for, when sunshine and love call him to the grove, we see him
all animation and song, his scarlet stomacher more bright, and
his form more graceful ; busily preparing for the great work of
increasing his kind. In the winter, I conceive his habits to be
unnatural, if I may be allowed the expression : we then see him
* Birds of Scotland, page 29.
THE REDBHKAST. 557
a bird of sorrow, obliged, from scarcity of food, to leave his
sylvan recesses and frequent the haunts of man. Brooding on a
solitary post in the snow, he looks unhappy, and his slender pipe
and chirp seem the wailing of his starved, forlorn, and half-do-
mesticated state.
In the spring-time he is a constant companion of the gardener,
arid seldom have I witnessed him with more delight than when
engaged in this healthy and rational recreation. Perched on the
bough of a neighbouring apple tree, his prominent black eye
keenly bent on the earth as it is turned up with the spade, and
his head twisted aside, he watches the writhings of some poor
worm or insect larva disturbed from its place of repose ; brisk-
ly pouncing on it, he regains another situation, to wait and anti-
cipate a fresh supply.
When the brood of the robin first leaves the nest, the young
ornithologist will be very apt, from their mottled breasts and
great difference of plumage from the old ones, to imagine them
another species of bird ; particularly the young of the redstart
(Motacilla Phcenicurus,) but from which they may be readily
distinguished by the peculiar horizontal movement in the tail of
the latter. This difference of plumage, by the by, in old and
young birds of the same species, has often misled even the ex-
perienced naturalist, and has rendered rather incorrect some of
the genera of our British birds. The young of the robin, too,
are perhaps the silliest and most stupid of all young birds ; easily
falling a prey to the cat, weasel, &c. ; and though numbers are
produced at every incubation, of which there are sometimes two,
or even more, during the breeding season, they are comparative-
ly scarce, from the above cause.
Few observers of nature, I suppose, can have passed unheeded
the sweetness and peculiarity of the song of the robin, and its
various indications with regard to atmospheric changes : the
mellow liquid notes of spring and summer, the melancholy sweet
pipings of autumn, and the jerking chirps of winter. In spring,
when about to change his winter song for the vernal, he for a
short time warbles in so unusual a strain as at first to startle and
puzzle even those ears most experienced in the notes of birds.
He may be considered as part of the naturalist's barometer. On
a summer evening, though the weather be in an unsettled and
rainy state, he sometimes takes his stand
3 A 3
558 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
" On the topmost twig that looks up to the aky,"
or on the " house top," singing cheerfully and sweetly. When
this is observed, it is an unerring promise of succeeding fine days.
Sometimes, though the atmosphere be dry and warm, he may be
seen melancholy, chirping and brooding in a bush, or low in a
hedge : this promises the reverse of his merry lay and exalted
station.
During the last winter I availed myself of the ingenious con-
trivance suggested by Mr Dovaston, in a note to the preface of
the first volume of Bewick's Birds. By placing what he there
facetiously calls an ornithdtrophe 1 , well supplied with bones and
other food, before my sitting-room window, I have been enabled
to scrape acquaintance with some of the more scarce birds, as
well as with my old familiar, the robin. In the early part of
the winter, my ornithotrophe was frequented by two or three
robins, who seemed to agree tolerably well, yet not without oc-
casional bickerings ; but as the frost became more intense, and
the ground covered with snow, my visiters increased greatly in
number. Now ensued a perpetual scene of warfare ; not, as
would be imagined, for the food, as there was plenty, and room
enough, but, oh! it must be confessed, sheer jealousy.
I must not, however, take leave of my amusing friend by re-
lating a fault, without some attempt to justify him. By my
last observation on his habits, I am confirmed in the opinion
advanced by an ingenious friend, that each bird of this species
has a regular beat of his own, to which he thinks himself justly
entitled, and the pugnacity which he exerts is to expel some
daring intruder's raid on his own personal property.
The redbreast is strongly attached to its offspring, and it is
with difficulty it can be driven from its nest : an excellent ex-
ample of this is related by Mr Jesse : " A gentleman in my
neighbourhood," says he, " had directed one of his waggons to be
packed with sundry hampers and boxes, intending to send it to
Worthing, where he was going himself. For some time, his go-
ing was delayed, and he therefore directed that the waggon should
be placed in a shed in his yard, packed as it was, till it should
be convenient for him to send it off. While it was in the shed,
a pair of robins built their nest among some straw in the waggon,
and had hatched their young, just before it was sent away. One
THE REDBREAST. 559
of the old birds, instead of being frightened away by the motion
of the waggon, only left its nest from time to time for the pur-
pose of flying to the nearest hedge for food for its young ; and
thus, alternately affording warmth and nourishment to them, it '
arrived at Worthing. The affection of this bird having been ob-
served by the waggoner, he took care in unloading, not to disturb
the robin's nest, and my readers, I am sure, will be glad to hear,
that the robin and its young ones returned in safety to Walton
Heath, being the place from whence they had set out. The dis-
tance the waggon went in going and returning, could not have
been less than one hundred miles."
In the Carlisle Journal, an extraordinary instance of reason is
mentioned, as having been manifested by a robin at Mary-port.
A poor redbreast attempted to fly over the river Ellen, but
through great weakness, fell into the water. Its help mate,
another redbreast, seeing its distressed situation, came to its
assistance, and seizing it by the tuft of feathers on its head, ac-
tually bore it safe to land.
One morning in the autumn of 1774, M. Goetz, of Quedlin-
burg, found a robin -redbreast in his dining-room. The bird
immediately followed him into a warm apartment, and greedily
ate the food that was placed before him. As soon as he had
satisfied his hunger, he went to bathe himself in one of the cups
that stood upon the breakfast table. M. Goetz gave him water,
he bathed himself in it, and remained throughout the winter very
cheerful. At the return of spring, M. Goetz wished to set him
at liberty, and opened all the windows to let him out, but he
showed no inclination to leave the house, so that at last it was
necessary to drive him away.
In the beginning of the next autumn, M. Goetz was informed
that a bird was flying against his windows, but he did not think
the circumstance worth attending to. One of the servants go -
ing in the evening into the cellar, a bird flew to the candle, and
easily suffered himself to be taken. He was, brought to M.
Goetz who found him to be a redbreast. When he was let
loose, it seemed remarkable that after flying about the room for
a while, he seated himself in the same place where the red-
breast that had been an inmate of the house the preceding win-
ter, had been used to sit. This might have been chance, but the
next day, M. Goetz paid more attention to the actions of the
560 , ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
bird. As soon as he awoke in the morning, he went to the place
where the cup of victuals had usually been set for the former
bird, and the same cup was now placed there for him. After
he had ate his meal, the bathing cup was placed in its usual
situation, and the bird was immediately in it. In short, his
whole conduct was exactly similar to that of the former bird,
iu so much that there remained no doubt that this was the same
which had been in the house the preceding season.
A precisely similar occurrence took place in Edinburgh many
years ago. During a severe storm, a robin came to the window
of the room where my father usually sat, and perceiving the little
warbler, he opened the window to lay down some crumbs for
him. And instead of flying away as he expected it would do,
on opening the window, it hopped into the room, and picked
from the floor the crumbs which were thrown to it. My fa-
ther being extremely attached to animals, took great pleasure in
rendering this bird as tame as possible ; which he effected so
completely, that it would pick small pieces of raw flesh and
worms from his hand ; and sat on the table where he wrote,
and occasionally on the fender before the fire, when the day was
very cold. But when any stranger entered the room, it flew to
the top of a door where it perched during the night. The
window was frequently opened to give the room air, but
the robin never attempted to fly away. When the spring ad-
vanced, and the weather became fine, the robin at length flew
away one morning, but in the afternoon, about sunset it again
made its appearance at the window, and solicited an entrance,
by its usual wild and beautiful strains. It was accordingly ad-
mitted, and was always allowed to go out whenever it seemed
inclined, and continued to return every afternoon ; till at the sea-
son of incubation it took its departure.
Next fall of the year, the robin again returned to the window,
and although the weather was by no means stormy, he entered
the room as soon as the window was opened, and evinced the
same familiarity which he had shown on the preceding winter,
and conducted himself in every respect the same : and again de-
parted to the woods in summer. He returned in the same man-
ner a third winter, and when summer again came he was let out,
and went off never again to return ; which cost my father much
concern. What is remarkable, is that he should have found his
THE REDBREAST. 561
way to a particular window in the midst of a great city. Thom-
son, the poet of nature, thus delightfully describes the annual
visits of the robin.
The red-breast, sacred to tlie household gods,
Wisely regardful of the embroiling sky,
In joyless field?, and thorny thickets, leaves
His shivering- mate, and pays to trusted man
His annual vi>it. Half afraid he first
Auai .st the window beats ; then brisk alights
On the warm hearth, then hopping o'er the floor,
Eyes all the smiling family askance,
And pecks, and starts, and wonders where he is ;
Till more familiar grown, the table-crumbs
Attract his slender feet.
Mrs Prowse, who lives at Mount Edgecomb-lodge, left a
basket of live cockles outside of the door, and on her return,
found a robin, which had flown into the basket, vainly endeavour-
ing to escape from one of the shell fish which had caught the
bird by the foot, and preserved its hold with such tenacity, as to
deprive the little flutterer of two claws before he could be ex-
tricated.
His present majesty, when residing at Bushy Park, had a part
of the foremast of the Victory, against which Lord Nelson was
standing when he received the fatal wound, deposited in a small
temple on the grounds of Bushy House, from which it was af-
terwards removed, and placed at the upper end of the dining
room, with a bust of Lord Nelson upon it. A large shot had
passed completely through this part of the mast, and while it
was in the temple, a pair of robins had built -their nest in the
shot hole, and reared a brood of young ones. It was impossible
to witness this little occurrence, without reflecting on the scene
of blood, and strife of war, which had occurred to produce so
snug and peaceable a retreat for a nest of harmless robins.
A female redbreast, last season, built her nest and hatched her
eggs in an old lamp, at the distance of about three yards from
the kitchen fire, in the house of Mr John Burner, gate keeper
to Lord Viscount Mandeville, Tandrogee ; and, notwithstanding
the house was frequently crowded with people, the little song-
ster fearlessly went on with its work, and brought out its young,
which, as soon as they were fledged, flew down to the floor of
562 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
the kitchen, and hopped about as familiarly as chickens. It is
proper to remark, that this robin has been in the habit of fre-
quenting Mr Burner's house, previous to the time of building ;
and had become familiar and considerably domesticated. Colour
on the upper parts brown ; neck and breast deep reddish
orange.
THE SKY-LAKK.
This bird is common throughout Britain, preferring grassy
and open lands. Its song is sweet and varied, and sustained
without intermission while it remains on the wing. Its ascent
is generally spiral, and it is often invisibly high. Sometimes it
descends obliquely, and sometimes lets itself fall, as it were,
perpendicularly down.
" Up springs the lark,
Shrill voic'd and loud, the messenger of morn ;
Ere yet the shadows fly, he, mounted sings
Amid the dawning clouds, and from their haunts
Calls up the tuneful nations."*
In connection with these lines, we introduce another fine pas-
sage by the author of the Isle of Palms. " Higher, and higher
than ever rose the tower of Belus, soars and sings the lark, the
lyrical poet of the sky. Listen, listen ! and the more remote
the bird, the louder is his hymn in heaven. He seems, in his
loftiness, to have left the earth for ever, and to have forgotten
his lowly nest. The primroses and the daisies, and all the sweet
hill-flowers, must be unremembered in the lofty region of light.
But just as the lark is lost he and his song together both are
again seen and heard wavering down the sky, and in a little while
he is walking contented along the furrows of the braided com,
or on the clover lea, that has not felt the plough- share for half a
century."
The following interesting particulars are communicated by
Mr J. Main in the Magazine of Natural History. His joyous
matins and heavenward flight have been aptly compared to
Thomson's Seasons.
THE SKY-LARK. 563
hymns and acts of adoration and praise. No bird sings with
more method : there is an overture performed vivace crescendo,
while the singer ascends ; when at the full height, the song be-
comes moderate, and distinctly divided into short passages, each
repeated three or four times over, like a fantasia, in the same
key and time. It' there be any wind, he rises perpendicularly by
bounds, and afterwards poises himself with breast opposed to it.
If calm, he ascends in spiral circles ; in horizontal circles during
the principal part of his song, and zigzagly downwards during
the performance of the finale. Sometimes, after descending
about half way, he ceases to sing, and drops with the velocity of
an arrow to the ground. Those acquainted with the song of
the sky-lark can tell without looking at them whether the birds
be ascending or stationary in the air, or on their descent ; so
different is the style of the song in each case. In the first, there
is an expression of ardent impatience ; in the second, an andante
composure, in which rests of a bar at a time frequently occur ;
and in the last, a graduated sinking of the strains, often touching
the subdominant before the final close. The time and number
of the notes often correspond with the vibrations of the wings ;
and though they sometimes sing while on the ground, as they
are seen to do in cages, their whole frame seems to be agitated
by their musical efforts.
This is one of the earliest spring birds of song, and continues
its warblings for the whole summer months, but becomes quite
mute in winter; and is one of the few birds which chant on the
wing; it sings with greatest energy in the morning and has
been the theme of poets in all ages, and is, perhaps, more listened
to during its aerial flights than almost any other bird. Milton
says of it :
To hear the lark begin his flight,
And singing startle the dull night,
From his watch-to w'r in the skie*,
Till the dapple dawn doth rUe ;
Then to come in spite of sorrow,
And at thy window bid good- morrow.*
Instead of retiring to the impenetrable recesses of the woods
* Milton's L' Allegro.
564 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
during the time of incubation, like many other birds of song, the
lark appears in the broad face of day, in the open fields.
The lark makes its nest on the ground, between two clods of
earth, or scrapes a hollow cavity in the soil, and there deposits
four dirty-white eggs, which are blotched and spotted with brown.
It commences the business of incubation early in May, and if
its first nests are destroyed, will lay so late as September. Mr
Jesse asserts that when the lark is disturbed while incubating,
it will remove its eggs from its nest to a place of greater
security ; '' and this transposition," says he, " I have observed to
be effected in a very short space of time. When one of my
mowers first told me that he had observed the fact, I was some-
what disinclined to credit it ; but I have since ascertained it be-
yond a doubt, and now mention it as another strong proof of
that order in the economy of Nature, by means of which this
affectionate bird is enabled to secure its forthcoming offspring.
I call it affectionate, because few birds show a stronger attach-
ment to their young." He adds, " since this was written, I have
had a further opportunity of observing the fact respecting the
larks removing their eggs ; and a friend informed me that, when
he was recently in Scotland, a shepherd mentioned having wit-
nessed the same circumstance." Grahame thus beautifully ex-
presses himself on the building of the lark :
" The daisied lea he loves, where tufts of grass
Luxuriant crown the ridge ; there with his mate,
He forms his lowly house of withered herbs,
And coarsest speargrass ; next the inner work,
With finer and still finer lays,
Rounding it curious with his speckled breast."*
This bird sits only fifteen days, and usually produces two
broods in the year. As soon as the young have escaped from
the shell, the attachment of the parent bird seems to increase,
she flutters over their heads, directs all their motions, and is ever
ready to screen them from danger. This instinctive warmth of
attachment often discovers itself, even before she is capable of
becoming a mother ; which might be supposed to precede in the
order of nature, the maternal solicitude, as thus finely exempli-
fied by Buffon. " A young hen bird," says he, " was brought to
Birds of Scotland, p. 3.
THE SKY-LA11K. 565
me in the month of May, which was not able to feed without
assistance. I caused her to be educated, and she was hardly
fledged, when I received from another place a nest of three or
four unfledged sky-larks. She took a strong liking to these
new-comers, which were scarcely younger than herself: she
tended them night and day, cherished them beneath her wings,
and fed them with her bill. Nothing could interrupt her tender
offices. Jf the young ones were torn from her, she flew to them
as soon as she was liberated, and would not think of effecting
her own escape, which she might have done a hundred times.
Her affection grew upon her ; she neglected food and drink ;
she now required the same support as her adopted offspring, and
expired at last consumed with maternal anxiety. None of the
young ones survived her. They died one after another ; so es-
sential were her cares, which were equally tender and judi-
cious."
The common food of the young sky-larks is worms and in-
sects ; but after they are mature they subsist chiefly on seeds,
herbage, and most other vegetable substances.
They are easily tamed, and will become so familiar as to eat
off the table, and even alight on the hand ; but they cannot cling
by the toes, on account of the form of the hinder claw, which is
long and straight, and provided with a very long and sharp
clavv.
No bird is more generally diffused throughout Europe, than,
the sky-lark. They assemble in flocks, grow fat, and are caught
in vast numbers by bird-catchers. As many as four thousand
dozen have been taken in the neighbourhood of Dunstable, be-
tween September and February ; but this holds no proportion
to what are sometimes caught in different parts of Germany,
where there is an excise duty upon them. Keysler says, that
the duty alone produced about nine hundred pounds sterling
every year in the city of Leipsic, the larks of which are famous
all over Germany, as being of a most delicate flavour. But it is
not only at Leipsic that they are taken in such vast numbers, as
they are also very abundant in the country about Naumburg
Merseburg, Halle and other parts.
Those that are caught in the day-time are taken in clap-nets
of fifteen yards in length, and two and a half in breadth ; and
are enticed by means of bits of mirror fixed in a piece of wood,
SB
5G6 ANECDOTES O/ BIRDS.
arid placed in the middle of the nets. These are put into a
quick whirling motion, by a string which the larker commands ;
he also makes use of a decoy bird. This kind of net is used
only till the fourteenth of November ; for the larks will not
frolic in the air, and of course cannot be inveigled in this man-
ner, except in fine sunny weather. When the atmosphere grows
gloomy, the larker changes his engine ; and makes one of a
trammel-net, twenty-seven, or twenty-eight feet long, and five
broad ; which is put into two poles, eighteen feet long, and car-
ried by men, who pass over the fields, and quarter the ground
in the manner of a setting-dog. When they hear or feel that
a lark has hit the net, they drop it down, and thus the birds are
taken.
It may be questioned whether the human mind could have
shown more sagacity than is exhibited in the following case of
instinct. A gentleman was travelling on horseback a short time
since, in the west of Norfolk, when a lark dropt on the pummel
of his saddle, and spreading its wings in a submissive manner,
cowered to him. He stopped his horse, and sat for some time
in astonishment, looking at the bird, which he supposed to be
wounded, but on endeavouring to take it, the lark crept round
him, and placed itself behind ; turning himself on the saddle,
to observe it, the poor animal dropt between the legs of the
horse and remained immoveable. It then struck him that the
poor thing was pursued, and as the last resource, hazarded its
safety with him. The gentleman looked up, and discovered
a hawk hovering directly over them ; the poor bird again mounted
the saddle, under the eye of its protector ; and the disappointed
hawk shifting his station, the little fugitive watching his oppor-
tunity darted over the hedge, and was hid in an instant
In October 1825, a gentleman in Salisbury had a common
sky-lark, which he had kept for some time, and in its autumnal
moult of that year, on the plumage being renewed, it was of a
deep black. A white lark was shot in the neighbourhood of
Kingston Rectory, near Canterbury, in October, 1828.
The following appeared in Bell's Weekly Messenger of the
day. On Wednesday, the 6th of October, 1805, as a gentleman
was sitting on the rocks at the end of Collercot's sands, near
Tynemouth, Northumberland, dressing himself after bathing,
he perceived a hawk in the air, in close pursuit of, and nearly
THE SKY LARK. 567
within reach of a lark. To save the little fugitive, he shouted
and clapped his hands, when immediately the lark descended, and
alighted on his knee, nor did it offer to leave him, when taken
into the hand, but seemed confident of that protection, which it
found. The hawk sailed about for some time. The gentleman,
after taking the lark nearly to Tynemouth, restored it to its for-
mer liberty.
The lark roosts and nestles on the ground, most commonly
among standing grass or corn, in open fields, or on downs cover-
ed with low bushes. Hence they evade the search of the nest-
seeking boy, and also of the more fell destroyers, polecats, stoats,
and weasels, that seek their prey in hedges. They are conse-
quently numerous ; and, congregating in winter in great flocks,
are easily caught by the fowlers' snares, who send them to poul-
terers for supplying the tables of the epicure : cruel return for
their summer harmony !
The lark is found in the whole of Europe within the temper-
ate zone and in parts of Asia and Northern Africa. General
colour, yellowish brown.
The Wood-Lark. This bird is somewhat scarce, and is lim-
ited in its distribution in Britain to the south and west of Eng-
land. Like the preceding it is a sweet songster, generally sing-
ing on the wing, and sometimes for a whole hour without cessa-
tion. Occasionally it sings perched upon a decayed tree ; but
naver on the ground. In colour it resembles the sky-lark. The
other varieties are described in the notes to Goldsmith. They
all differ from other small birds, in the greater length of the
heel.
The Grasshopper Lark. White says, " Nothing can be more
amu ing than the whisper of this little bird, which seems to be
close by, though at a hundred yards' distance ; and, when close
at your ear, is scarcely louder than when a great way off. Had
I not been a little acquainted with insects, and known that the
grasshopper kind is not yet hatched, I should have hardly be-
lieved, but that it had been a locusta whispering in the bushes.
The country people laugh when you tell them that it is the note
of a bird. It is a most artful creature, skulking in the thickest
part of a bush, and will sing at a yard's distance provided it be
concealed. I was obliged to get a person to go on the oth.T
side of the hedge where it haunted ; and then it would run,
5G8 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
creeping like a mouse before us for an hundred yards together,
through the bottom of the thorns, yet it would not come into
fair sight ; but in the morning early, and when undisturbed, it
sings on the top of a twig, gaping, and shivering with its wings.
The Black-cap. This bird is found in all parts of Britain,
where it arrives towards the end of April. It is very shy, and
chooses its haunts in the thickest woods and groves. The song
of the black-cap is remarkably fine, and generally poured forth
from the top of a tree. Colour of the head, black ; upper and
under parts grey.
THE BLUE TITMOUSE.
The length of this bird is about four inches and a half ; and
its weight about three drachms. The bill is dusky, irides dark
hazel ; forehead and cheeks white ; that on the former inclines
backwards, and forms a line round the crown of the head, which
is of a fine blue ; behind the circle of white is another of a deep
blue, surrounding the head entirely, arid gaining the base of the
under mandible, where it is nearly black ; from the bill through
the eye is a small black line ; the back is of a yellowish green ;
wings and tail blue ; breast and belly yellow ; legs lead colour.
This bird would be much admired for its beauty, if it were
less common. In winter it frequents houses for the sake of
plunder ; will devour flesh greedily, whether fresh or putrid ;
and indeed is an omnivorous bird. It is a constant attendant
where horse-flesh is kept for hounds, as well as the farm-yard,
being partial to oats, which it plucks out, and retiring to a
neighbouring bush, fixes the grain between its claws, and ham-
mers it with its bill, to break the husk. In the summer, insects
are its chief food, in search of which, it plucks off a number of
young buds from fruit and other trees. The nest is always
made in some hole, either of a tree or wall, composed of moss,
and lined with feathers and hair. The female is tenaceous of
her nest, and will often suffer herself to be taken, rather than
quit it, and will frequently return again after being taken out.
Upon such an occasion it menaces the invader in a singular
manner, erecting all its feathers, and hissing like a snake, or ut-
THE WHEN.
569
tering a noise like the spitting of a cat, and if handled, bites
severely.
The common Tomtit has a great propensity to destroy bees ;
as authenticated in the Magazine of Natural History ; which it
effects by rapping with its bill at the entrance of the hive, and
killing the insects as they come out. It is asserted that a whole
hive was destroyed in this manner by this tiny depredator.
THE WREN.
The common wren is indigenous in Britain, and to be met
with in all parts of it. We are told by a clever writer, that this
little bird is familiar without impudence, busy and bustling in
action, and extremely gallant in manners ; so much so, indeed,
that every mild and sunny day in winter reminds him of la jour
de noces, (day of nuptials,) and excites him to pour forth his gay
and lively songs. This, he adds, though short, is full of variety
and sprightliness : it is a burst of joy, rapturous and loud; be-
ginning high, and graduated down to rather more than an octave
below, and repeated at intervals of about a minute or two. The
wren has a curious note of fear, resembling the winding up of a
clock ; arid his birring note of rebuke over the prowling cat, or
prying owl, is most provokingly teasing.
A family in Newcastle had a wren which used to utter its
peculiar note of terror when the cat approached its cage. The
cat was a great favourite, and its master, instead of parting with
it, had recourse to an ingenious experiment. He brought it
several times a-day into the same apartment with the wren, and
as soon as the latter began to scream, the man cuffed the cat's
ears. This had the desired effect. In a short time the cat
wou'd run from the chiding of the wren with the utmost preci-
pitation, regarding it, evidently, as the signal for its own punish,
ment. The wren at last ceased to be afraid, and the cat and
it became very good friends. Our informant adds that the wren
began to know it had the power of terrifying the cat in its turn,
but was willing to receive it into favour.
" The name of Troylodyta" says Professor Rennie, " applied
to the wren by the older naturalists, and still continued by modern
SB 3
570 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
systematists, is derived from an ancient race of people inhabiting
Ethiopia, who dug hollow caves for their habitations ; but
though the term might apply well to the kingfisher, the bank
swallow, or other mining birds, it is but little appropriate to the
wren, which neither digs nor inhabits caverns, and might as well
be applied, as it is in Ainsworth's Dictionary, to the hedge-
sparrow. It is indeed very usual for the wren to build under
the brow of a river's bank, where the turf overhangs from being
undermined by the stream ; but the bird seems equally partial
to the shelter afforded by ivy on trees or walls, though it will
often build under the fork of a bare overhanging bough, and I
have now before me one built in the small upper spray of a haw-
thorn, though it will be found, perhaps more commonly still,
sheltered under the projecting side of a haystack, or the over-
hanging thatch of a cottage eave."
In the instance of the redbreast, the hedge sparrow, arid the
wren, one can scarcely imagine how any of the species survive
the winter, were it no more than the difficulty of procuring food.
Selby, indeed, has noticed wrens perish in severe winters,
particularly when accompanied by falls of snow. He says,
" under these circumstances they retire for shelter into holes of
walls, and the eaves of corn and hay stacks ; and I have fre-
quently found the bodies of several together in old nests, which
they had entered for additional warmth and protection during
severe storms."
Mr Allan Cunningham informed professor Rennie, that he
once found several wrens in the hole of an old wall, rolled up
into a sort of ball, for the purpose, no doubt, of keeping one
another warm during the night.
This pretty little bird, like the redbreast, frequently approach-
es the habitations of man, and enlivens the rustic garden with
its song the greater part of the year. It begins to make its nest
early in the spring, but frequently deserts it before it is lined,
and searches for a more secure place.
A pair of wrens built their nest in a box, so situated that
the family on the grounds had an opportunity of observing
the mother's care in instructing her young ones to sing.
She seated herself on one side of the opening of the box, facing
her young, and commenced by singing over all her notes very
slow and distinctly. One of the little ones then attempted to
THE HOUSE WHEN. 571
imitate her. After chirping rather inbarmoniously a few notes,
its pipe failed, and it went off the tune. The mother immedi-
ately took up the tune where the young one had failed, and dis-
tinctly finished the remaining part. The young one made a
second attempt, commencing where it had left off, and continu-
ing for a few notes tolerably distinct, when it again lost the
notes ; the mother began again where it ceased, and went
through with the air. The young one again resumed the tune
and completed it. When this was done, the mother again sung
over the whole of her song with great precision ; and then an-
other of the young attempted to follow it, who likewise was in-
capable of going through with the tune, but the parent treated
it as she had done the first bird ; and so on with the third and
fourth. It sometimes happened that the little one would lose
the tune, even three or four times in making the attempt ; in
which case the mother uniformly commenced where it had ceas-
ed, and always sung to the end of the tune ; and when each had
completed the trial, she always sung over the whole song.
Sometimes two of them commenced the strain together, in
which case, she pursued the same conduct towards them, as she
had done when one sung. This was repeated at intervals every
day, while they remained in their nest. General colour, a pale
chestnut brown.
THE HOUSE WEEN.
Audubon says, " From whence the house wren comes, or to
what parts it retires during winter, it is more than I have been
able to ascertain. Although it is extremely abundant in the
States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland,
from the middle of April until the beginning of October, I
have never been able to trace its motions, nor do I know any
naturalist in our own country, or indeed any other who has been
more fortunate.
" Its flight is short, generally low, and performed by a constant
tremor of the wings without any jerks of either the body or tail,
although the latter is generally seen erect, unless when the bird
is singing, when it is always depressed. When passing from one
572 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
place to another, during the love-season, or whilst its mate is
sitting, this sweet little bird flutters still more slowly through
the air, singing all the while. It is sprightly, active, vigilant, and
courageous. It delights in being near and about gardens, orch-
ards, and habitations of man, and is frequently found in abun-
dance in the very centre of our eastern cities, where many little
boxes are put up against the walls of houses, or the trunks of
trees, for its accommodation, as is also done in the country. In
these it nestles and rears its young. It is seldom, however, at a
loss for a breeding place, it being satisfied with any crevice, or
hole in the walls, the sill of a window, the eaves, the stable,
the barn, or the upper side of a piece of timber under the roof
of a piazza. Now and then, its nest may be seen in the hollow
branch of an apple tree. I knew of one in the packet of an
old broken down carriage, and many in such as an old hat.
" The familiarity of the house wren is extremely pleasing. In
Pennsylvania a pair of these birds had formed a nest, and the
female was sitting in a hole of the wall, within a few inches of
my (literally so-called) drawing-room. The male was continu-
ally singing within a few feet of my wife and myself, whilst I
was engaged in portraying birds of other species. When the
window was open, its company was extremely agreeable, as was
its little song, which continually reminded us of its happy life.
It would now and then dive into the garden at the foot of the
window, procure food for its mate, return and creep into the
hole where it had its nest, and be off again in a moment. Hav-
ing procured some flies and spiders, I now and then threw some
of them towards him, when he would seize them with great ala-
crity, eat some himself, and carry the rest to his mate. In this
manner, it became daily more acquainted with us, entered the
i oom, and once or twice sung whilst there.
" Wilson says, in the month of June a mower hung up his coat,
under a shed, near the barn ; two or three days elapsed before
he had occasion to put it on again ; thrusting his arm up the
sleeve, he found it completely filled with some rubbish, as he
expressed it, and on extracting the whole mass, found it to be
the nest of a wren completely finished, and lined with a large
quantity of feathers. In his retreat, be was followed by the lit-
tle forlorn proprietors, who scolded him with great vehemence,
for thus ruining the whole economy of their household affairs.
THE HOUSE WREN. 573
The twigs with which the outward parts of the nest are con-
structed are short and crooked, that they may the better hook in
with one another, and the hole or entrance is so much shut up,
to prevent the intrusion of snakes, or cats, that it appears almost
impossible the body of the bird could be admitted ; within this
is a layer of fine dried stalks of grass, and lastly feathers. The
eggs are six or seven, and sometimes nine ; of a purplish flesh
colour, innumerable grains of a pale tint being thickly sprinkled
over the whole egg. They generally raise two broods in a sea-
son ; the first about the beginning of June, the second in July.
This little bird has a strong antipathy to cats ; for having
frequent occasion to glean among the currant bushes, and other
shrubbery in the garden, these lurking enemies of the feathered
race often prove fatal to him. A box fixed up in the window of
the room where I slept, was taken possession of by a pair of
wrens. Already the nest was built, and two eggs laid, when
one day the window being open, as well as the room door, the
female wren, venturing too far into the room to reconnoitre, was
sprung upon by grimalkin, who had planted herself there for the
purpose ; and, before relief could be given, was destroyed. Cu-
rious to see how the survivor would demean himself, I watched
him carefully for several days. At first he sung with great vi-
vacity for an hour or so, but, becoming uneasy, went oft' for half
an hour ; on his return he chanted again as before, went to the
top of the house, stable, and weeping willow, that she might
hear him ; but seeing no appearance of her, he returned onee
more, visited the nest, ventured cautiously into the window,
gazed about with suspicious looks, his voice sinking to a low
melancholy note, as he stretched his little neck about in every
direction. Returning to the box he seemed for some minutes
at a loss what to do, and soon after went off, as I thought,
altogether, for I saw him no more that day. Towards the af-
ternoon of the second day, he again made his appearance, accom-
panied by a new female who seemed exceedingly timorous and
shy, and who, after great hesitation, entered the box ; at this
moment the little widower or bridegroom seemed as if he would
warble out his very life with ecstaey of joy. After remaining
about half a minute in, they both flew off", but returned in a few
minutes, and instantly began to carry out the eggs, and feathers,
and some of the sticks, supplying the place of the latter with
574 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
materials of the same sort ; and ultimately succeeded in raising
a brood of seven young, all of which escaped in safety."
Mr Simpson mentions, that, during his residence at Welton,
North America, he one morning heard a loud noise from a pair
of martins that were flying from tree to tree, near bis dwelling.
They made several attempts to get into a box, fixed against the
house, which they had before occupied as a breeding place ; but
they always appeared to fly from it again with the utmost dread,
at the same time repeating their usual loud cries. Curiosity led
the gentleman to watch their motions. After some time, a small
wren came from the box, and perched on a tree near- it, when
her shrill notes seemed to amaze her antagonists. Having re-
mained a short time she flew away, when the martins took an
opportunity of returning to the box, but their stay was of short
duration ; for their diminutive adversary returned, and made them
retreat with the greatest precipitation. They continued manceu-
vering in this way the whole day ; but the following morning,
on the wren quitting the box, the martins immediately returned,
took possession of their mansion, broke up their own nest, went
to work afresh with much diligence and ingenuity, and soon
barricaded their door. The wren returned, but could not now
re-enter. She made some bold efforts to storm the nest, but
was unsuccessful. The martins abstained from food for nearly
two days, persevering during the whole time in defending the
entrance ; and the wren, after many bold but fruitless attempts
to force the works, raised the siege, quitted her intentions, and
left the martins in quiet possession of their dwelling.
THE GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN.
This is the smallest of the British birds, and is found every
where throughout the kingdom. Its song is weak and intermit-
tent, yet sweet as that which fancy attributes to the fairy on a
moonlight hill. Jt is inaudible at a small distance, unless in
calm weather. On the 24th and 25th of October, 1822, says
Mr Selby, after a very severe gale, with thick fog, from the
North East, (but veering, towards its conclusion, to the east and
south of east,) thousands of these birds were seen to arrive
THE GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN. 575
upon the sea-shore and sand-banks of the Northumbrian coast ;
many of them so fatigued by the length of their flight, or perhaps
by the unfavourable shift of wind, as to be unable to rise again
from the ground, and great numbers were in consequence caught
or destroyed. This flight must have been immensely numerous,
as its extent was traced through the whole length of the coasts
of Northumberland and Durham. There appears little doubt
of this having been a migration from the more northern provin-
ces of Europe, (probably furnished by the pine forests ot Nor-
way, Sweden, &c.,) from the circumstance of its arrival being
simultaneous with that of large nights of the woodcock, field-
fare, and redwing. Although I had never before witnessed the
actual arrival of the gold-crested regulus, I had long felt con-
vinced, from the great and sudden increase of the species, dur-
ing the autumnal and hyemal months that our indigenous birds
must be augmented by a body of strangers making these shores
their winter's resort. A more extraordinary circumstance in
the economy of this bird took place during the same winter, viz.
the total disappearance of the whole tribe, natives as well as
strangers, throughout Scotland and the north of England. This
happened towards the conclusion of the month of January 1823,
and a few days previous to the long- continued snow-storm so
severely felt throughout the northern counties of England, and
along the eastern parts of Scotland. The range and point of
this migration are unascertained, but it must probably have been
a distant one, from the fact of not a single pair having returned
to breed, or pass the succeeding summer, in the situations they
had been known always to frequent. Nor was one of the spe-
cies to be seen till the following October, or about the usual time,
as I have above stated, for our receiving an annual accession of
strangers to our own indigenous birds. * The golden-crested
wren is hardy enough for our usual winters, and its favourite
haunts are woods where the fir-tree abounds. It is so very
tame as to remain stationary, when closely approached by man,
and may be caught by striking the branch upon which it is
perched. It then falls down, and generally dead with alarm.
Thus, though unsuspicious, it is timid. Persons who wish them
for stuffing, recommend this plan as preferable to employing a
gun, their skins being tender and are frequently too much lace-
* Selby's Ornitholog-jr.
576 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
rated by the shot. Colour, on the crown of the head, whose
feathers are soft and elongated, orange and yellow. Prevailing
colour of the body, yellow of different shades.
The Willow- Wren. The willow or yellow wren, is a peri-
odical visitant of Britain, and arrives in April. It has been
confounded with the wood-wren, and lesser petty chaps, but it
arrives sooner than the former ; and its yellow legs sufficiently
distinguish it from the latter, whose legs are dark-brown. Yel-
low is its prevailing colour, as its name implies.
The Wood-Wren. This bird resembles the former species,
both in appearance and habits, and was long deemed identical
with it.
The White-Ear, the stone-chat, and the whin-chat all
agree in their food, habits, and localities. They are all common
to the old continent, and inhabit moorlands and other wastes.
We shall now speak of the Wagtail genus, and first of
The Pied Wagtail. This bird frequents the vicinity of
streams, and is partial to smooth shaven meadows, where it pur-
sues by running, and short quick flights, the insects upon which
it feeds. It is very tame, and even when intentionally disturbed,
will remove only to a short distance, continuing, as it retreats, to
pick up its prey. During the pairing season it warbles a plea-
sant song, and may be often seen perched on the cottage-roof, or
the wall of the farm-yard. It feeds also on the larvae of in-
sects, and on worms. Its colours are black and white, varying,
however, in diffusion, at different seasons. The pied wagtail re-
mains throughout the year in the south of England ; in the
north, including Scotland, it is migratory, retiring in October,
and reappearing in February or March.
The Grey Wagtail. This is a handsomer bird than the for-
mer, and resembles it in its habits and localities. It may be
often seen wading in shallows, in pursuit of aquatic insects,
and seems, as it jerks about, to be merely amusing itself. It is
a winter visitant in England, and a summer one in the northern
parts of the kingdom.
The Yellow Wagtail This is not so plentiful a species as
the two preceding. It comes to Britain in spring ; goes to the
southern parts in August, and migrates in September, for warmer
climates. In habits it resembles its congeners. These are the
birds of the wagtail kind, which visit this kingdom. We shall
THE PIPITS. 577
now mention the Pipits, a class of birds which naturalists have
but lately separated from that of the Larks proper. They dif-
fer from the latter in the conical form of the head, and in their
habits also. Those common to Britain, are the Rock or Shore
Pipit, the Meadow Pipit or Tit, and the Tree Pipit.
The Rock or Shore Pipit. This bird frequents rocky and
precipitous shores, where it braves the severest storms of win-
ter, or sings to the summer waves. It was long unknown to
ornithologists, owing, as Mr Selby supposes, to its peculiar lo-
calities. General colour, green above, and pale yellow on the
under parts.
The Meadow Pipit or Tit. This bird is now ascertained to
be the same with the pipit lark. It remains in Britain during
the whole year, and frequents alike the loftiest and the lowest
localities. The cuckoo sometimes honours the nest of the
Meadow Tit with her egg. The general colour may be infer-
red from the provincial name Grey Cheeper.
The Tree Pipit. This is a larger bird than the preceding,
but resembles it so much in plumage, as to be readily mistaken
for it. It is migratory, and while in this kingdom, frequents
the borders of woods surrounded by cultivation. According to
Montagu, when this bird descends from its soar, it perches on
a tree previous to alighting on the ground ; and on rising from
the ground, makes the bough of a tree its stage, previous to a
high flight.
S C
THE CANARY AND OTHER HARD-BILLED
SONG BIRDS.
BIRDS of this class are esteemed for the beauty of their plu-
mage, their powers of song, and their susceptibility of being
taught. In the last respect, they perhaps excel the soft-billed
songsters, as they are certainly inferior to them in natural deli-
cacy of modulation.
THE CANARY.
This bird is a native of the Canary islands ; where his plumage
is said to be of a dusky gray colour, and his voice more power-
ful than when in a domestic state. If he could still farther
diminish its strength, he would be less offensive when caged in a
small apartment. As it is, the shakes of his boisterous song,
come ringing through the bead of the unwilling listener with
such searching keenness, that he feels as if it, and not the cage,
enclosed the bird. The sound is very pleasant, however, when
mellowed by distance, and the bird may be taught to imitate the
nightingale and other songsters. It becomes remarkably tame
and familiar when kindly treated, and often exhibits great sa-
gacity.
There are two distinct varieties of canaries, the plain and the
variegated; these two are more esteemed by amateurs, than any
of the other numerous intermediate varieties, all of which have
sprung from these two. The first property of these birds con-
sists in the plumage being of a deep yellow over every part of
the body, except the tail and wings, and possessing the utmost
regularity, without any black feathers, as, by the smallest speck
it loses the property of a show bird. The second property con.
THE CANARY. 579
eists in the feathers of the wing and tail being of a deep black
up to the quill, as a single white feather in the wing destroys its
value in the estimation of the curious breeder. It is, however,
frequently the case, that the finest coloured birds have one or
two feathers marked, which lowers their value, although they
may still be matched to breed with.
Buffon beautifully describes the canary . he says, " that if the
nightingale is the chauntress of the woods, the canary is the mu-
sician of the chamber ; the first owes all to nature, the second
something to art. With less strength of organ, less compass of
voice, and less variety of note, the canary has a better ear,
greater facility of imitation, and a more retentive memory; and
as the difference of genius, especially among the lower animals,
depends in a great measure on the perfection of their senses, the
canary, whose organ of hearing is more susceptible of receiving
foreign impressions, becomes more social, tame, and familiar ; is
capable of gratitude and even attachment ; its caresses are en-
dearing, its little humours innocent, and its anger neither hurts
nor offends. Its education is easy ; we hear it with pleasure,
because we are able to instruct it. It leaves the melody of its
own natural note, to listen to the melody of our voices and in
struments. It applauds, it accompanies us, and repays the plea-
sure it receives with interest ; while the nightingale, more proud
of its talent, seems desirous of preserving it in all its purity, at
least it appears to attach very little value to ours, and it is with
great difficulty it can be taught any of our airs. The canary can
speak arid whistle ; the nightingale despises our words, as well
as our airs, and never fails to return to its own wild-wood notes.
Its pipe is a master piece of nature, which human art can nei-
ther alter nor improve ; while that of the canary is a model of
more pliant materials, which we can mould at pleasure ; and
therefore it contributes in a much greater degree to the comforts
of society. It sings at all seasons, cheers us in the dullest
weather, and adds to our happiness, by amusing the young, and
delighting the recluse, charming the tediousness of the cloister,
and gladdening the soul of the innocent and captive."
No bird becomes more tame and free than the canary. We
lately had one, which we allowed to fly about our room, and he
became so familiar, that he would sit close to us on the table/
and fight with our finger if held out to him. If he happened to
3c2
580 ANECDOTES OF DIRDS.
be in his cage, and we called out Dickie to him, he would im-
mediately appear at the door of the cage, and look down upon
us, and if we repeated the call, he flew down to the back of our
chair, or on the table, and chattered to us as if conversing. He
would perch on our finger and fight with us, and even alighted
on our head. In short, nothing could exceed bis familiarity. He
was one of the handsomest birds we have ever seen, and his
colour of the most beautiful golden yellow, little inferior in depth
of shade to the oriole. But alas ! like most other pets, he
caused us much sorrow, for being one day put out at the window,
so that he might enjoy the cheering rays of the sun, the door of
his cage was unfortunately left open, and he flew away, never
more to be seen by us. He had before been frequently at large
out of doors, but he was so tame, that he always returned to
his cage when held out to him.
Mr Patrick Syme had a canary that used to nibble at his
cage till he opened it, and then escaping from its prison house,
it would fly to the mantlepiece, where it would place itself on a
china ornament, flutter, as if in the act of washing, and continued
to do so till the water was brought The same bird was so do-
cile, as to come when called to the hand, and hide trifling articles
in the corner of the cage, stopping and looking round as if for
encouragement and applause. But one of his favourite amuse-
ments was to perch upon the branch of a small myrtle in a win-
dow where the cage frequently hung ; and he even became so
bold, as to dart upon the ephemeral insects that rose from a
stream close by, and which seemed to afford him a delicious
banquet. Poor Dickie was, however, doomed to suffer for this
indulgence, and one morning was found dead in his cage, hav-
ing been killed by a young pointer, a privileged vagrant like
himself.
Frequent attempts to naturalize the canary have been made
in this country, but these have all proved abortive. They seem
quite unable to stand the severity of our winters out of doors.
Mr Syme mentions having seen a pair of these birds flying about
at liberty, on the precipitous bank at St Bernard's well, near
Edinburgh.
The nest of a goldfinch, containing six young ones, was taken
from a tree near Inverness, and the parent birds were immedi-
ately afterwards secured. They were all placed in one end of
THE CANARY. 581
a large breeding cage, which was divided by a row of wires only.
The other end was occupied by a pair of canaries with their
young. The old goldfinches seemed to have little regard for
their young, and had nearly starved them by want of attention.
The cock canary, attracted by the cries of the hungry brood,
forced his way through two of the wires which were more open
than the rest, and commenced feeding them, and continued to do
so until the old goldfinches took the task upon themselves, and
rendered his benevolent solicitude no longer necessary.
Lord Kaims relates a circumstance of a canary, which, in sing-
ing to his mate hatching her eggs, fell dead. The female quitted
her nest, and finding him dead, rejected all food and died by his
side.
At a public exhibition of birds, some years ago, a canary had
been taught to act the part of a deserter, and flew away, pursued
by two others, who appeared to apprehend him. A lighted
candle being presented to one of them, he fired a small cannon,
and the little deserter fell on one side, as if killed by the shot.
Another bird then appeared with a small wheel-barrow, for the
purpose of carrying oflf the dead, but as soon as the barrow came
near, the little deserter started to his feet.
In April, 1829, a widow lady of Glasgow had in her posses-
sion a beautiful mule-bird, betwixt the canary and goldfinch,
which was in the highest health and spirits and plumage. He
sung with as much vigour as he did fourteen years before, being
at that time fifteen years of age.
A canary belonging to a family in Glasgow, will, when its
washing-dish has been upset, or withheld by mistake, seize its
waterglass by the stalk, and shake out the contents over its head
and body, till the feathers get sufficiently wetted.
The following is a singular instance of constitutional peculi-
arity. " On observing," says Dr Darwin, "a canary bird at the
house of a gentleman near Sutbury, in Derbyshire, I was told
it always fainted away when its cage was cleaned ; and I desired
to see the experiment. The cage being taken from the ceiling,
and the bottom drawn out, the bird began to tremble, and turned
quite white about the root of the bill ; he then opened his mouth
as if for breath, and respired quick ; stood up straighter on his
perch, hung his wing, spread his tail, closed his eyes, and appeared
2c3
582 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
quite stiff for half an hour, till at length, with trembling and
deep respirations, he came gradually to himself."
THE GOLDFINCH.
This beautiful bird has a sweeter natural song than the pre-
ceding. It is very docile, and capable of strong attachment to
its owner. Mr Selby is, we think, wrong in saying that the
goldfinch is not common in mountainous localities. In the
west Highlands of Scotland, they are, at all events, caught in im-
mense numbers during a snowy winter, and we have repeatedly
seen them offered for sale at the lairds' houses, often so many in
a cage, that they seemed in danger of smothering one another.
A penny; or two pence at most, was charged for each.
It was very early in the spring of 1827, says a contributor to
the Magazine of Natural History, that a bird had been lost from
a cage, which was still hanging up with the door open, in the
passage entrance to the back court of a gentleman's house in
Exmouth, when a goldfinch was one morning found feeding in
it, and the door was closed upon it ; but, on inspection, as it ap-
peared to be a female, it was very shortly after restored to
liberty. In the space, however, of about two hours it returned,
and entered the cage, when it was again shut in, and again
liberated ; and these visits were repeated daily for a consider-
able time. She was then missing for some few days, but then
returned, accompanied by a male bird ; she entered the cage,
and fed as usual ; but her companion, after perching on the ouu
side of the cage, retired to a neighbouring tree until she joined
him. They then quitted and were no more thought of; but at
the end of about seven or eight weeks, she again made her ap-
pearance, and accompanied not by her former companion, but
by four young ones, when she again entered the cage and fed as
usual; but as she could not induce her brood, (for such they
were presumed to be) to follow her example, she finally went
off with them, and has not since that time made her appear-
ance.
The species is subject to considerable variety of colours and
TH BULLFINCH. 683
when exclusively fed on hemp-seed, will lose its red and yellow
for a black plumage.
THE BULLFINCH.
This bird has been said erroneously to have no native song.
It is so low, however, as to be audible only when he is close at
hand. He is capable of learning a tune with ease and correct-
ness, and may be taught to perform a variety of tricks. His ap-
pearance is as sedate as his habits are solitary.
A farmer in the parish of Mearns had a bullfinch which he
taught to whistle some plaintive old Scottish airs. He reluc-
tantly parted with the bird for a sum of money, which his narrow
circumstances at the time compelled him to accept of ; but in-
wardly resolved, if fortune should favour him, to buy it back,
cost what it would. At the end of half a year or so, a relation
died leaving him a considerable legacy. Away he went the
very day after he got intelligence of this pleasant event
(his relation had been a miser, and they had never held much
intercourse with each other) and asked the person who had
purchased the bullfinch, if he would sell it again, telling him to
name his own price. The man would not hear of parting with
the bird. The farmer begged just to have a sight of it and he
would be satisfied. This was readily agreed to ; so, as soon as
he entered the room where the bullfinch was kept, he began to
whistle one of the fine old tunes which he had formerly taught
it. The bullfinch remained in a listening attitude, for a minute
or two, then it grew restless, as if struggling with some dim re-
collection, then it moved joyously to the side of the cage, and
all at once it seemed to identify its old master, who had no
sooner ceased, than it took up the tune, and warbled it with the
tremulous pathos which marked the manner of its teacher. The
effect was irresistible, the poor farmer burst into tears, and the
matter ended by his receiving the bullfinch in a present ; but re-
port says, to his credit, that he insisted on making a present of
money in return.
This bird, like the preceding, sometimes grows black when in
confinement ; a change attributed to the same cause, viz., too
584 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
great use of hemp-seed. It has been met with, more or less
white, in a wild state.
THE COMMON OR BHOWN LINNET.
This bird, which is termed also the Rose Linnet, and Gray
Linnet, has a very sweet, though short song. It is beautifully
described by an author .whom we have already several times
quoted, and whose style our readers will readily recognise.
" Me thinks," says he, " we hear the ' song o' the grey lintie,'
perhaps the darling bird of Scotland. None other is more ten-
derly sung of in our old ballads. When the simple and fervent
love poets of our pastoral times, first applied to the maiden the
words, ' my bonny burdie,' they must have been thinking of the
grey lintie, its plumage ungaudy and soberly pure, its shape
elegant, yet unobtrusive, and its song various without any ef-
fort, now rich, gay, sprightly, but never rude or riotous, now
tender, almost mournful, but never gloomy or desponding. So,
too, are all its habits endearing and delightful. It is social, yet
not averse to solitude, singing often in groups, and as often by
itself in the furze-brake, or on the briary knoll. You often find
the lintie's nest in the most solitary places, in some small self-
sown clump of trees by the brink of a wild hill-stream, or on the
tangled edge of a forest ; and just as often you find it in the
hedge row of the cottage garden, or in a bower within, or even
in an old gooseberry bush that has grown into a sort of tree."
The common linnet is plentiful throughout Britain. Owing to
the change of colour which it undergoes at different ages and
seasons, it has been mentioned both as linnet and greater red-
pole, by many authors, and among the rest Bewick. Montague
first assigned the cause of the mistake, and his statement has
been confirmed by Mr Selby, whose words we shall here quote.
If Mr Bewick's observations on the plumage of the linnet were
made upon caged birds, I am not surprised at his assertion of its
always retaining the same appearance, for I have repeatedly veri-
fied the fact of its never acquiring under confinement, those
brilliant tints which distinguish it at a particular period of the
year, when in a state of liberty. I will adduce one instance
THE MOUNTAIN FINCH. 585
strikingly to the point in question. For some particular pur-
pose of observation, a linnet was shot more than two years ago,
towards the close of summer, when the plumage showed its most
perfect nuptial tint ; and happening to be only winged, it was
put into a cage, where it soon became familiarized to its situation,
and still continues. About the usual time, in the autumn of
that year, it moulted, and acquired the winter-dress of the com-
mon linnet, which it has retained ever since, without displaying,
at the accustomed season, any of the brilliant red that adorned it
in the wild state. *
This linnet can be taught to repeat several words with won-
derful distinctness, and acquires with facility, tunes, and the
notes of other birds.
The Mountain Finch or Brambling. This bird ought to have
been mentioned among the tuneless finches ; but the extreme
handsomeness of his appearance may well entitle him to rank
above most of them, so that there is nothing very incongruous in
introducing him here, though he is no singer : he belongs more-
over to the genus we have been describing. The brambling is
a native of the north of Europe, and inhabits the wildest and
highest localities. It comes to this kingdom only in winter,
varying in numbers according to the state of the weather. Co-
lour on the upper parts black, the feathers fringed with yellow ;
under parts reddish-brown upon the neck and breast, and
yellowish-white upon the belly, rump, and under tail coverts.
Coverts of the secondary quills black, tipped with reddish-orange.
Greater quills, with a white spot at the base, and the margins of
the outer webs primrose yellow, &c.
Selby's Ornithology.
THE SWALLOW AND ITS CONGENERS.
How these birds dispose of themselves in winter, has long
been, and still continues to be, a question among naturalists. We
shall postpone the examination of this point till we have de-
scribed the known habits of the different species.
THE HOUSE SWALLOW.
The house-swallow or martin is generally diffused throughout
Britain, and is always to be met with near human dwellings,
where its confidence in human protection, for the most part meets
with a suitable return. " I never knew," says Wilson, " but one
man who disliked the martins, and would not permit them to
settle about his house : this was a penurious close-fisted German,
who hated them because, as he said, ' they eat his peas.' I told
him he certainly must be mistaken, as I never knew an instance
of martins eating peas ; but he replied with coolness, that he
had many times seen them himself blaying near the hive, and go-
ing schnip schnap,' by which I understood that it was his bees
that were the sufferers ; and the charge could not be denied."
At Greenhill, the seat of Alexander Govan, Esq., in the par-
ish of Shotts, several martins' nests were blown down during a
severe gale. The birds which had escaped the calamity, assisted
the sufferers to rebuild their nests, which were thus ready for
occupation in at least one tenth of the time which would other-
wise have been required.
The following delightful lines to a swallow, are the produc-
THE SWALLOW: 587
tion of Mr Thomas Aird, (a well known writer in Blackwood's
Magazine), and first appeared in the " Republic of Letters.
" The swallow is a bonnie bird, comes twitt'ring o'er the sea,
And gladly is her carol heard for the sunny days to be ;
She shares not with us wint'ry glooms, but yet, no faithless thing,
She hunts the summer o'er the earth with little wearied wing.
The lambs like snow all nibbling 1 go upon the ferny hills,
The gladsome voice of gushing streams the leafy forest fills,
Then welcome, little swallow, by our morning lattice heard,
Because Uiou cora'st when nature bids bright days be thy reward.
Thine be sweet mornings with the bee that's out for honey dew,
And glowing be the noontide for the grasshopper and you :
And mellow shine o'er day's decline, the sun to light thee homo,
What can molest thy airy nest ? sleep till the day-spring come.
The river blue that rushes through the valley hears thee sing,
It murmurs much beneath the touch of thy light dipping wing;
The thunder-cloud above us bow'd in deeper gloom is seen,
When quick relieved it glances to thy bosom's silvery sheen.
The silent power that brought thee back, with leading-strings of love
To haunts where first the summer sun fell on thee from above,
Shall bind thee more to come aye to the music of our leaves,
For here thy young, where thou hast sprung, shall glad thee in our eves.
Oil '. all thy life's one pleasant hymn to God who sits on high,
And gives to thee o'er land and sea the sunshine of his sky ;
And aye the summer shall come round because it is his word,
And aye will welcome back again its little travelling bird."
" I remember no bird," says Mr Knapp, " that seems to suffer
so frequently from the peculiar structure of its nest, and, by reason
of our common observance of its sufferings, obtains more of our
pity than the house martin. The rook will at times have its
nest torn from its airy site or have its eggs shaken from it by
the gales of spring ; but the poor martin, which places its earthly
shed beneath the eave of the barn, the roof of the house, or the
corner of the window, is more generally injured. July and
August are the months in which these birds usually bring out
their young ; but one rainy day at this period, attended with
wind, will often moisten the earth that composes the nest, the
cement then fails, and all the unfledged young ones are dashed
upon the ground ; and there are some places to which these
588 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
poor birds are unfortunately partial, though their nests are an-
nually washed down."*
The martin makes its appearance with us in the month of
April, and takes its final departure in November. General
colour black on the upper, and white on the under parts. Legs
and toes clothed with soft white feathers.
A gentleman residing at Lynn Regis, mentions in the Maga-
zine of Natural History, that as he was walking in a clear after-
noon in May, 1830, through a secluded village lane, he observed
a stoat (Mustela erminea) issue from a hedge, and place itself
in the path a few yards before him. Presently a martin which
was wheeling about the place, got sight of the little animal
pounced upon it, and forced it to return to its hiding place. In
a minute the stoat reappeared, and the same result followed, as
it did twice afterwards. At length tired of the annoyance, the
stoat made a final retreat and was seen no more. The stoat
was out of time, if not out of place, being a night prowler, and
perhaps felt conscious of this; for otherwise it would have
made small scruple of encountering a dozen such opponents.
The writer does not attempt to account for the conduct of the
swallow. We can scarcely suppose it meant to revenge a for-
mer injury. The unusual appearance of such an animal as the
stoat might excite the bird's curiosity, or its anger perhaps, as
the appearance of an owl under such circumstances would have
done.
At Strathendry Bleachfield, in Fifeshire, some years ago, a
sparrow had taken possession of an old swallow's nest, and had
laid some eggs in it early in the spring before the arrival of these
birds ; who, it is well known, always return to their old abode,
after having migrated for the winter. At the usual season the
owner of this nest made her appearance, and naturally claimed
possession. The swallow, however, no doubt knowing that
" possession is nine points of the law," refused to abandon a
domicile which appeared so comfortable : a small battle ensued,
in which the female swallow was joined by her mate, and after-
wards by several others of their species. All the efforts of the
assembled assailants were however ineffectual, and the usurper
boldly maintained her place. Finding themselves completely
Journal of a Naturalist
THE SWALLOW. 589
foiled in their object, it would appear that they had held a coun-
cil of war to consult on ulterior measures ; and the resolution
they came to, proves that the higher sentiments of right and
justice had been called into action. Since the old sparrow could
not be dispossessed of the nest, the next question appears to have
been how she could be punished for her unlawful usurpation of
a property unquestionably the legitimate right of its original con-
structor. The council were unanimous in their opinion, that
nothing short of the death of the intruder could adequately atone
for this attempt at maintaining illegitimate possession of her
neighbour's property. Having thus resolved, they proceeded to
put in execution their sentence in the following remarkable man-
ner. They all quitted the scene of contest, and after a short
interval returned with a reinforcement of numbers, each bearing a
beakful of clay, and without offering the sparrow any molestation
they instantly set to work, and built up the entrance into the
nest, enclosing the sparrow within the clay tenement, and leav-
ing her to perish in the garrison she had so gallantly defended.
This extraordinary circumstance was witnessed by Mr Gavin
Inglis of Strathendry Bleachfield, on the banks of the Leven.
A precisely similar circumstance took place with swallows, at
Portobello, near Edinburgh, about thirty-five years ago ; the
conflict and other circumstances were witnessed by the late Mr
Jamieson of Portobello, the scene of warfare having taken place
in the corner of one of his windows.
In June 1816 a party of young gentlemen repaired to the banks
of the Leven, in quest of Duck-shooting, but in which they were
disappointed, and having no other amusement, fired at some
swallows, which were skimming the smooth surface of the water
at Strathendry Bleachfield, and among others killed both the
parents of a nest situated in the corner of one of the windows
of Mr Iriglis's house, thus depriving a brood of five helpless
birds of their natural protectors and providers. Conceiving the
young ones would naturally perish, Mr Inglis resolved to take
them into his house, and try to bring them up, under the care of
his family, who had "undertaken to catch flies for them, and be-
ing all young were delighted at the prospect of watching th
progress of the callow brood. This humane interposition, how-
ever, was found unnecessary ; as the news of the bereavement
had spread over the whole neighbouring colony, and a number of
3D
590 -ANECDOTES OP BIRDS.
swallows had congregated at the nest of tlie orphans. The state
of the nest and the young were carefully examined by these
thoughtful birds, and arrangements were immediately made for
the protection and support of these helpless little animals. A
supply of food was brought them, before the night set in, and
next morning, the same care was bestowed on them, which was
continued with such punctuality, that the young orphans were
among the first of the season to fly from their nest.
A gentleman of Brenchley having shot a hen swallow, which
was skimming the air along with her mate, the enraged partner
immediately flew at the sportsman, and, as if to revenge the death
of his partner, struck him in the face with its wing, and continu-
ed to fly round him, screaming with rage. Whenever this gen-
tleman walked out, he was generally met by this swallow, who
never failed to assail him. It was curious, however, that on
Sundays it did not recognise him, as he was differently dressed.
In one corner of the piazza of a house, a swallow had erected
her nest, while a wren occupied a box, which was purposely
hung in the centre. They were both much domesticated-
The wren became unsettled in its habits, and formed a design
of dislodging the swallow, and having made an attack, actually
succeeded in driving her away. Mr St. John, narrator of the
story, says, " Impudence gets the better of modesty ; and
this exploit was no sooner performed than the wren removed
every part of the materials to her own box, with the most
admirable dexterity. The signs of triumph appeared very
visible; it fluttered with its wings with uncommon velocity, and
an universal joy was perceivable in all its movements. The
peaceable swallow, like the passive Quaker, meekly sat at a small
distance, and never offered the least opposition. But no sooner
was the plunder carried away, than the injured bird went to work
with unabated ardour, and in a few days the depredations were
repaired."
A swallow's nest built in the west corner of a window facing
the north, was so much softened by the rain beating against it,
that it was rendered unfit to support the superincumbent load of five
pretty full grown swallows. During a storm the nest fell into
the lower corner of the window leaving the young brood exposed
to all the fury of the blast. To save the little creatures from an
untimely death, the owner of the house benevolently caused a
THE CHIMNEY-SWALLOW. OUl
covering to be thrown over them, till the severity of the storm
was past. No sooner had it subsided than the sages of the co-
lony assembled, fluttering round the window, and hovering over
the temporary covering of the fallen nest. As soon as this care-
ful anxiety was observed, the covering was removed, and the
utmost joy evinced by the group, on finding the young ones alive
and unhurt. After feeding them the members of this assembled
community arranged themselves into working order. Each divi- ;
sion taking its appropriate station, commenced instantly to work, :
and before night-fall, they had jointly completed an arched
canopy over the young brood in the corner where they lay, and
securely covered them against a succeeding blast. Calculating the
time occupied by them in performing this piece of architecture,
it appeared evident that the young must have perished from cold
and hunger before any single pair could have executed half the
job.
In the summer of 1831, some boys, through wanton mischief,
had thrown a stone at a swallow's nest in the corner of a window
at Musselburgh ; and having struck it, the whole fabric, with a
half fledged brood, fell on the window sole. The possessor of
the house, being a lover of nature, had encouraged the swallows
which bred in his window, and felt deeply affected at the mis-
fortune which had befallen their yet helpless offspring. He
determined on assisting the parents in this trying exigency;
and having driven a nail into the side of the window as high as
possible, he suspended thereto a bird-cage, in which he deposited
the helpless brood of young swallows. The parent birds imme-
diately resumed feeding the young ones, and continued to do so
till they were perfectly fledged. They had no fear of the inmates
of the house, who very often stood close to the window to
watch their motions.
THE CHIMNEY-SWALLOW.
This bird generally makes its nest in chimneys, and hence its
specific name, which is, however, more applicable to it in England
than in Scotland. In the latter country, according to Mr Ren me,
it prefers barns and outhouses. Bewick relates the following
.
592 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
case of its selecting the inside of a dwelling house. At Camer.
ton Hall, near Bath, a pair built their nest on the upper part of
the frame of an old picture over the chimney, coming into the
room through a broken pane in one of the windows. They came
three years successively, and in all probability would have con-
tinued to do so if the room had not been put in repair, which
prevented their access to it.
In 1829, says Mr Rennie, we observed about a dozen of these
nests, suspended from the rafters of a large coach-house at the
village of Hockheim, on the Maine. Mr White remarks, that
he has known a swallow build down the shaft of an old well,
through which chalk had been formerly drawn up for the pur-
pose of manure. To us this is not at all remarkable j for we
have seen them very commonly build in the shafts of coal-pits,
such as at Sorn, in Ayreshire ; Quarreltown, Renfrewshire ;
and Musselburgh, near Edinburgh. What was more singular,
they did not seem deterred by the continual passing and repass-
ing of the workmen, who consider it unlucky to injure the birds ;
and though they might, for the most part, find a sufficient num-
ber of old abandoned shafts, they do not appear to have any pe-
culiar preference for these.*
It makes its appearance in this country a few days earlier
than the preceding species, and leaves it about the same time.
Colour, on the forehead and throat, deep orange brown. Upper
parts black, and under-parts reddish-brown. Tail and wings
longer than those of the preceding. The tail is also more deep-
ly forked. Its flight is more rapid, and attended with more
"sudden evolutions."
THE SWIFT.
This bird, termed also the black martin, makes its nest in
uninhabited buildings, and what is fabled of the bird of paradise
holds true with regard to it ; it never alights upon the ground,
the shortness of its legs and the length of its wings being such
that it could not rise again. It can easily, however, cling to
* Architecture of Birds.
THE CAPE SWALLOW. 593
the perpendicular faces of walls and rocks, by means of its
claws, and can swim away with ase from their brink. The
swift visits this country towards the end of May, or the begin-
ning of June, and departs in August, fully a month earlier
than the swallows. It is now generally regarded by naturalists
as a distinct genus, though it resembles the swallows in its habits.
Like them it lives on insects, and constructs its nest of soft
materials cemented together. We shall here mention one of its
distinctive peculiarities, viz. that its four toes all point forwards.
Colour on the throat dingy grey, and elsewhere greenish-black.
THE CAPE SWALLOW.
My late excellent friend, Captain Carmichael, celebrated for
bis acute and minute observations on the natural history of
various countries, in which he served, relates the following fact
respecting the Cape swallow. The swallows of all countries,
like those which are bred here, are migratory. Those of the
Cape return to it in the month of September, and quit it again
in March or April. Captain Carmichael happening to be sta-
tioned for some time afthe eastern extremity of the colony, a
pair of Cape swallows (the Hirundo Capensis,) soon after their
arrival, built their nest on the outside of the house where he
lodged, fixing it against the angle formed by the wall, with the
board which supported the eaves. The whole of this nest was
covered in, and it was furnished with a long neck or passage,
through which the birds entered and came out. It resembled the
longitudinal section of a Florence oil flask. This nest having fallen
down after the young birds had quitted it, the same pair, as he was
inclined to believe, built again on the old foundation, in the
month of February following, but he remarked,, on this occasion,
an improvement in the construction of it, which can hardly be
referred to the influence of mere instinct. In building the first,
the birds were contented with a single opening, but this one
was furnished with an opening in both sides; and on watching
their motions, he observed that they invariably entered at one
side, and went out at the other. One object obtained by this
improvement, was saving themselves the trouble of turning in
594 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
the nest and thus avoiding any derangement of its interior econo-
my. But the chief object appeared to be, to facilitate their escape
from, the attacks of serpents, which harbour in the roofs of
thatched houses, or crawl up along the walls, and not unfre-
quently devour both the mother and her young.
THE SAND MARTIN.
This bird frequents only such parts of the country as have
precipitous sandy banks, either along rivers or elsewhere. It is
not abundant, excepting in the Orkney Islands, and there it is
said to be more so than any of its congeners. It visits Britain
at the end of March, somewhat earlier than the other species to
which it is similar in manners. The nest is made at the end of
a hole mined horizontally to a considerable depth in the sand.
The sand martin is the smallest of the genus that visits this
country. Colour on the upper parts, dark-brown ; under parts
white.
THE CLIFF SWALLOW.
Mr Rennie quotes a passage respecting this bird, from Bon-
aparte's American Ornithology, which we shall give, together
with Mr R's introductory description. It is strikingly charac-
terised by having an even and not a forked tail, like its congen-
ers. Instead of a white rump, also, like our window-swallow,
it has an iron-brown one, and the same colour, but of a darker
shade, under the chin, where our chimney-swallow is red. The
upper part of the body, however, has the same glossy violet
black, and the wings the same deep brown as the former. " This
active little bird," says Bonaparte, " is, like its congeners, al-
most continually on the wing, and feeds on flies and other insects
while performing its aerial evolutions. Its note is different
from that of other swallows, and may be well imitated by rub-
bing a moistened cork around the neck of a bottle. The species
arrive in the west, from the south, early in April, and immedi-
THE ESCULENT SWALLOW. 595
ately begin to construct their symmetrical nests, which are
perfected by their united and industrious efforts. At the dawn
of day they commence their labours by collecting the necessary
mud from the borders of the rivers and ponds adjacent, and they
persevere in their work until near mid-day, when they relinquish
it for some hours, and amuse themselves by sporting in the air,
pursuing insects, &c. As soon as the nest acquires the requisite
firmness, it is completed, and the female begins to deposit her
eggs, four in number, which are white, spotted with dusky
brown. The nests are extremely friable, and will readily crum-
ble to pieces ; they are assembled in communities. In unsettled
countries, these birds select a sheltered situation, under a pro-
jecting ledge of rock ; but in civilized districts, they have already
evinced a predilection for the abodes of man, by building against
the wails of houses, immediately under the eaves of the roof,
though they have not in the least changed their style of architec-
ture. A nest from the latter situation is now before me ; it is
hemispherical, five inches wide at its truncated place of attach-
ment to the wall, from which it projects six inches, and consists
exclusively of a mixture of sand and clay, lined on the insidt
with straw and dried grass, negligently disposed for the reception
of the eggs. The whole external surface is roughened by the
projection of the various little pellets of earth which compose
the substance. The entrance is near the top, rounded, project-
ing, and turning downwards, so that the nest may be compared
to a chemist's retort, flattened on the side applied to the wall,
and with the principal part of the neck broken off. So great is
the industry of these interesting little architects, that this massive
and commodious structure is sometimes completed in the course
of three days."*
THE ESCULENT SWALLOW.
This bird, locally termed the salangane, is found on the coast
of China. Its nest is esteemed a great luxury by the eastern
epicures. Various opinions are entertained as to the nature
Architecture of Birds.
596 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
of the substance composing this nest, which will be found enu-
merated in the notes to Goldsmith. The following interesting
description is given by Sir G. Staunton, in his account of Lord
Macartney's embassy to China. " In the Cass," says he, " a
small island near Sumatra, we found two caverns running hori-
zontally into the side of the rock, and in these were a number of
those birds' nests so much prized by the -Chinese epicures.
They seemed to be composed of fine filaments, cemented to-
gether by a transparent viscous matter, not unlike what is left
by the foam of the sea upon stones alternately covered by th<
tide, or those gelatinous animal substances found floating on
every coast. The nests adhere to each other and to the sides of
the cavern, mostly in horizontal rows, without any break or in-
terruption, and at different depths from fifty to rive hundred
feet. The birds that build these nests are small grey swallows,
with bellies of a dirty white. They were flying about in con-
siderable numbers, but were so small, and their flight was so
quick, that they escaped the shot fired at them. The same sort
of nests are said to be also found in deep caverns at the foot of
the highest mountains in the middle of Java, at a distance from
the sea; from which source it is thought that the birds derive
no materials, either for their food, or the construction of their
ne&ts, as it does not appear probable they should fly in search of
either over the intermediate mountains, which are very high, or
against the boisterous winds prevailing thereabouts. They feed
on insects, which they find hovering over stagnated pools be-
tween the mountains, and for the catching of which their wide
opening beaks are particularly adapted. They prepare their
nests from the best remnants of their food. Their greatest ene-
my is the kite, who often intercepts them in their passage to
and from the caverns, which are generally surrounded with rocks
of grey limestone or white marble. The colour and value of the
nests depend on the quantity and quality of the insects caught,
and perhaps also on the situation where they are built. Their
value is chiefly ascertained by the uniform fineness and delicacy
of their texture, those that are white and transparent being most
esteemed, and fetching often in China their weight in silver.
" These nests are a considerable object of traffic among the
Javanese, many of whom are employed in it from their infancy.
The birds, after having spent nearly two months in preparing
THE ESCULENT SWALLOW. 597
their nests, lay each two eggs, which are hatched in about fifteen
days. When the young birds become fledged it is thought the
proper time to seize upon their nests, which is done regularly
three times a-year, and is effected by means of ladders of bam-
boo and reeds, by which the people descend into the caverns ;
but when these are very deep, rope-ladders are preferred.
This operation is attended with much danger, and several perish
in the attempt. The inhabitants of the mountains generally
employed in this business begin always by sacrificing a buffalo,
which custom is observed by the Javanese on the eve of every
extraordinary enterprise. They also pronounce some prayers,
anoint themselves with sweet-scented oil, and smoke the en-
trance of the cavern with gumbenjatnin. Near some of the
caverns a tutelar goddess is worshipped, whose priest burns in-
cense, and lays his projecting hands on every person preparing
to descend. A flambeau is carefully prepared at the same time,
with a gum which exudes from a tree growing in the vicinity,
and which is not easily extinguished by fixed air or subterrane-
ous vapours."
The subject of the migration of the swallow tribe forms an in-
teresting inquiry. We are sufficiently acquainted with the fact,
although, as yet we do not precisely know where they go during
our winter. But there cannot be a doubt, that it is to some
more southern clime, where the insect tribe abound, when those
of our country are in a torpid sleep.
The preparations for their migration are marked by some in-
teresting circumstances. After they have reared their second
brood, which is generally about the middle of September, their
whole time is devoted to training their young, for the arduous
task of their ultimate long and fatiguing flight. On the ap-
proach of cold weather, they regularly assemble in multitudes
from all quarters, in one general convention, on the roof of some
high building or large tree, (the latter being their favourite
place). While the congregation are there seated, one of them,
who appears commander- in-chief, keeps on the wing, flying
round in all directions ; at last he darts upwards with great
swiftness, uttering a sharp and loudly repeated call, which seems
the word of command, for instantly the whole community are
on the wing, and mounting upwards in a most beautiful spiral
track, till they are lost in the blue ether. After remaining
598 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
out of sight for about a quarter of an hour, they return to the
place where they were seated in dozens. They practice this
manoeuvre, twice or thrice in an evening, for a week or eight
days, when at length they take their final departure for the
season.
Mr Rae Wilson mentions in his Travels in Egypt, that the
swallow migrates to Africa and Asia. " I had," says he, " the
fullest proof in the immense bodies of these birds, which I per-
ceived pushing their way in the direction of Egypt from Europe,
during the month of November."
It is not at all improbable that swallows propagate, in the
countries to which they migrate as well as here ; being stimulated
by the heat of these countries, and by abundance of food.
There are a few solitary instances of the swallow remaining
in this country in a state of torpidity during the winter, but their
general hybernation is quite inconsistent with all our experience.
Prince Charles Lucian Bonaparte, in a letter to the secretary of
the Linnean Society, dated from on board the Delaware, near
Gibraltar, March 20, 1828, says, " A few days ago, being five
hundred miles from the coasts of Portugal, four hundred from
those of Africa, we were agreeably surprised by the appearance
of a few swallows. This, however extraordinary, might have
been explained by an easterly gale, which might have cut off
the swallows migrating from the Maine to Madeira, only two
hundred miles distant from us ; but what was my surprise in
observing several small warblers hopping about the deck and
rigging. These poor little strangers were soon caught and
brought to me."
From the most authentic information which we have been en-
abled to collect, the swallow is migratory in all countries. It
has been satisfactorily proved that they leave even the most
extreme southern parts of Europe, as the kingdom of Naples,
Sicily, the Morea, &c., and migrate to Africa and Asia.
Dr Richardson remarked that " in the fur countries, where
the habitations of man are few and far between, the barn-swallow
inhabits caves, particularly in the limestone rocks ; and it fre-
quents the out-houses of all the trading ports. When Fort
Franklin was erected on the shores of the great Bear Lake, in
the autumn of 1825, we found many of the nests in the ruins
of a house that had been abandoned for more than ten years."
THE EUROPEAN GOATSUCKER. 599
In that far northern latitude they arrive about the 15th of May,
and take their departure early in August. They were noticed
in latitude sixty-seven and a half degrees, the most northerly
post in America.
THE EUROPEAN GOATSUCKER.
This bird visits Britain between May and June, and departs
generally in September. It goes in search of its prey, which
consists of insects, after sunset, on which account it has been
termed the night swallow. The name of fern owl is also applied
to it, from its frequenting ferny slopes. " The country people,"
says Mr White in his Miscellaneous Observations, " have a no-
tion that the fern-owl, or churn-owl, or eve-jar, which they also
call a puckeridge, is very injurious to weaning calves, by in-
flicting as it strikes at them, a fatal distemper, known to cow-
leeches by the name of puckeridge. Thus does this harmless,
ill-fated bird, fall under a double imputation, which it by no
means deserves, in Italy, of sucking the teats of goats, whence
it is called caprimulyus, (goatsucker,) and with us, of communi-
cating a deadly disorder to cattle. The least observation and at-
tention would convince men that these birds neither injure the
goat-herd nor the grazier, but are perfectly harmless, and sub-
sist alone, being night-birds, on night insects. Those that we
have opened, have always had their craws stuffed with large
night-moths and their eggs, and pieces of chaffers, nor does it
any wise appear how they can, weak and unarmed as they seem,
inflict any harm upon kine, unless they possess the powers of
animal magnetism, and can affect them by fluttering over them.
A fern-owl, this evening, (August 27,) showed off in a very un-
usual and entertaining manner, by hawking round the circum-
ference of my great spreading oak, for twenty times following,
keeping most close to the grass, but occasionally glancing up
amongst the boughs of the tree. This amusing bird was then
in pursuit of a brood of some particular phaleena belonging to the
oak, and exhibited on the occasion a command of wing supe-
rior, I think, to the swallow itself. When a person approaches
the haunts of fern-owls in an evening, they continue flying round
600 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
the head of the obtruder, and ,by striking their wings together
above their backs, in the manner that pigeons called twisters are
known to do, make a smart snap. Perhaps at that time they
are jealous for their young, and their noise and jesture are in-
tended by way of menace. Fern-owls have attachment to oaks,
no doubt on account of food. These peculiar birds can only
be watched and observed for two hours in the twenty-four, and
then in a dubious twilight, an hour after sunset, and an hour be-
fore sunrise." The Goatsucker chatters as it flies, and utters
a jarring note when perched. General colour, ash-grey, spotted
and streaked with yellowish-brown.
THE HUMMING BIRD AND ITS VARIETIES.
LATE researches in Natural History have brought to light
many new species of these gorgeous little birds, whose geogra-
phical range is chiefly confined to the tropical regions of South
America.
It is now satisfactorily ascertained that all the tribe are Insec-
tivorous, and do not subsist entirely upon the nectar of flowers
as has been long asserted by naturalists. The manner in which
some of them procure their prey as noticed by Mr Bullock is
curious. The following is his account. "The house I re-
sided in at Xalappa for several weeks, on my return to Vera
Cruz, was only one story high, enclosing, like most of the Span-
ish houses, a small garden in the centre, the roof projecting six
or seven feet from the walls, covering a walk all round, and
leaving a small space only between the tiles and the trees which
grew in the centre. From the edges of these tiles to the bran-
ches of the trees in the garden, the spiders had spread their in-
numerable webs so closely and compactly, that they resembled a
net. I have frequently watched, with much amusemerif, the
cautious peregrinations of the humming-bird, who, advancing
beneath the web, entered the various labyrinths and cells in search
of entangled flies ; but, as the larger spiders did not tamely sur-
render their booty, the invader was often compelled to retreat.
Being within a few feet, I could observe all their evolutions
with great precision. The active little bird generally passed
once or twice round the court, as if to reconnoitre his ground,
and commenced his attack by going carefully under the nests of
the wily insect, and seizing by surprise the smallest entangled
flies, or those that were most feeble. In ascending the angular
3 E
602 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
traps of the spider, great care and skill was required ; sometimes
he had scarcely room for his little wings to perform their office,
and the least deviation would have entangled him in the com-
plex machinery of the web, and involved him in ruin. It was
only the works of the smallest spider that he durst attack, as
the largest rose to the defence of their citadels, when the be-
sieger would shoot off like a sunbeam, and could only be traced
by the luminous glow of his refulgent colours. The bird gener-
ally spent about ten minutes in this predatory excursion ; and
then alighted on the branch of an ovocata, to rest and refresh
himself."
THE RUBY THROATED HUMMING-BIRD.
This beautiful little bird is a native of North America, and is
migratory, making its appearance in Georgia and the neighbour-
ing States, about the 23d of March, being two weeks earlier than
it does in the county of Zurke, sixty miles higher up the coun-
try, towards the interior ; and at least five weeks sooner than it
reaches this part of Pennsylvania. As it passes on to the
northward as far as the interior of Canada, where it is seen in
great numbers, the wonder is created how so feebly constructed
and delicate a little creature can make its way over such exten-
sive regions of lakes and forests, amongst so many enemies, all
its superiors in strength and magnitude. But its very minute-
ness, the rapidity of its flight, which almost eludes the eye, and
that admirable instinct, reason, or whatever else it may be called,
and its daring courage, are its guides and protectors. In these
we may also perceive the reason, why an all-wise providence,
has made this little hero an exception to a rule which prevails
almost universally through nature, viz. that the smallest species
of a tribe are the most prolific. The eagle lays one, sometimes
two eggs ; the crow, five ; the titmouse, seven or eight ; the
small European wren, fifteen; the humming-bird two: and
yet this latter is greatly more abundant in America than the
wren in Europe.
In Pennsylvania the humming-bird usually arrives about the
25th of April; and about the 10th of May begins to build its
THE RUBY THROATED HUMMING-BIRD. G03
nest. This is generally fixed on the upper side of a horizontal
branch, not among the twigs, but on the body of the branch it-
self. Yet I have known instances where it was attached by the
side to an old moss-grown trunk ; and others where it was fas-
tened on a strong rank stalk, or weed in the garden ; but these
cases are rare. In the woods it very often chooses a white oak
sapling to build on, and in the orchard or garden, selects a pear
tree for fliat purpose. The branch is seldom more than ten feet
from the ground. The nest is about an inch in diameter, and
as much in depth. A very complete one is now lying before
me, and the materials of which it is composed, are as follows :
The outward coat is formed of small pieces of a species of blu-
ish grey lichen, that vegetates on old trees and fences, thickly
glued on with the saliva of the bird, giving firmness and consis-
tency to the whole, as well as keeping out moisture.
Within this are thick, matted layers of the fine wings of certain
flying seeds, closely laid together ; and lastly, the downy sub-
stance from the great mullein, and from the stalks of the com-
mon fern, lines the whole. The base of the nest is continued
round the stem of the branch, to which it closely adheres ; and
when viewed from below, appears a mere mossy knot, or acci-
dental protuberance. The eggs are two, pure white, and of
equal thickness at both ends. On a person's approaching their
nest, the little proprietors dart around with a humming noise,
passing frequently within a few inches of one's head ; and, should
the young be newly hatched, the female will resume her place
on the nest even while you stand within a yard or two of the
spot. Wilson cannot state the precise period of their incubation j
but supposes, from having found nests with their eggs so late as
the 12th of July, that they occasionally raise two broods.
" The humming-bird," continues Wilson, " is extremely fond
of tubular flowers, and I have often stopped with pleasure, to
observe his manoeuvres among the blossoms of the trumpet
flower. When arrived before a thicket of these that are full
blown, he poises or suspends himself on wing, for the space of
two or three seconds, so steadily that his wings become invisible,
or only like a mist ; and you can plainly distinguish the pupil of
his eye looking round with great quickness and circumspection ;
the glossy golden green of his back, and the fire of his throat,
dazzling iji the sun, form altogether a most interesting appear-
3 E 2
604 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
aiice. When he alights, which is frequently, he always prefers
the small dead twigs of a tree, or bush, where he dresses and
arranges his plumage with great dexterity. His only note is a
single chirp, not louder than that of a small cricket or grasshop-
per, generally uttered while passing from flower to flower, or
while engaged in fights with his fellows; for, when two males
meet at the same bush, or flower, a battle instantly takes place ;
and the combatants ascend in the air, chirping, darting, and cir-
cling around each other, till the eye is no longer able to follow
them. The conqueror, however, generally returns to the place
to reap the fruits of his victory. I have seen him attack, and
for a few moments tease the king-bird ; and have also seen him,
in his turn, assaulted by the humble-bee, which he soon put to
flight. He is one of those few birds that are universally beloved ;
and amidst the sweet dewy serenity of a summer's morning, his
appearance among the arbours of honey-suckles and beds of
flowers is truly interesting.
When morning dawns, and the blest sun again
Lifts his red glories from the eastern main,
Then through our woodbines, wet with glittering dews,
The flower-fed humming bird his round pursues j
Kips with inserted tube, the honey'd blooms,
And chirps his gratitude as round he roams :
While richest roses, though in crimson drest,
Shrink from the splendour of his gorgeous breast ;
What heav'nly tints in mingling radiance fly.
Each rapid movement gives a different dye ;
Like scales of burnish'd gold that dazzling show,
Now sink to shade now like a furnace glow."
Many have been the attempts to raise this bird from the nest,
but although in some instances these attempts have been so far
successful, the birds thus raised seldom survive for any length of
time.
" Mr Coffer, of Fairfax County, Virginia," says Wilson, "a
gentleman who has paid great attention to the manners and pe-
culiarities of our native birds, told me, that he had raised, and
kept two, for some months, in a cage, supplying them with
honey dissolved in water, on which they readily fed. As the
sweetness of the liquid frequently brought small flies and gnats
about the cage and cup, the birds amused themselves by snap-
ping at them on the wing, and swallowing them with eagerness,
THE KUBY THROATED HUMMING-BIRD. 605
so that these insects formed no inconsiderable part of their food.
Mr Charles Wilson Peale, proprietor of the museum, tells me,
that he had two young humming-birds, which he raised from the
nest They used to fly about the room ; and would frequently
perch on Mrs Peale's shoulder to be fed. When the sun shone
strongly into the chamber, he has observed them darting after the
motes that floated in the light, as fly-catchers would after flies.
In the summer of 1803, a nest of young humming-birds was
brought to me, that were nearly fit to fly. One of them actually
flew out by the window the same evening, and, falling against
a wall, was killed. The other refused food, and the next morn-
ing I could but just perceive that it had life. A lady in the
house undertook to be its nurse, placed it in her bosom, and, as
it began to revive, dissolved a little sugar in her mouth, into
which she thrust its bill, and it sucked with great avidity. In
this manner it was brought up until fit for the cage. I kept it
upwards of three months, supplied it with loaf sugar dissolved
in water, which it preferred to honey and, water, gave it fresh
flowers every morning sprinkled with the liquid, and surrounded
the space in which I kept it with gauze, that it might not injure
itself. It appeared gay, active, and full of spirits, hovering from
flower to flower as if in its native wilds, and always expressed
by its motions and chirping, great pleasure at seeing fresh flowers
introduced to its cage. Numbers of people visited it from curi-
osity : and I took every precaution to preserve it, if possible,
through the winter. Unfortunately, however, by some means
it got at large, and flying about the room, so injured itself that it
soon after died."
There is only one instance on record, of a humming-bird
reaching this country alive, and this was of the species called
the Mango humming-bird, and is mentioned by that excellent
ornithologist Latham, " A young gentleman," says he, " a few
days before he sailed from Jamaica for England, met with a
female humming-bird sitting on the nest and eggs, and cutting
off the twig, he brought altogether on board. The bird became
sufficiently tame to suffer herself to be fed on honey and water
during the passage, and hatched two young ones. The mother,
however, did not long survive, but the young were brought to
England, and continued for sometime in the possession of Lady
Hammond. The little creatures readily took honey from the
3E3
606 ANECDOTES OF BlftDS.
lips of Lady Hammond, and though the one did not live long,
the other survived for at least two months from the time of
their arrival."
The courage and jealousy manifested by the small species of
humming-bird called the Mexican Star, is truly wonderful, and
greatly exceeds that of the ruby-throated humming-bird. " When
attending their young," says he, " they attack any bird indiscri-
minately that approaches the nest. Their motions when under
the influence of anger or fear, are very violent, and their flights
rapid as an arrow. The eye cannot follow them, but the shrill
piercing shriek which they utter on the wing may be heard when
the bird is invisible, and often leads to their destruction, by prepar-
ing one for their approach. They attack the eyes of the larger birds,
and their sharp needle-like bill is a truly formidable weapon in
this kind of warfare. Nothing can exceed their fierceness when
one of their own species invades their territory during the breed-
ing season ; under the influence of jealousy they become perfect
furies ; their throats swell ; their crests, tails, arid wings expand ;
they fight in the air, uttering a shrill noise, till one falls exhausted
to the ground." The following observations are from Loudon's
Magazine : " White, in his Natural History of Selborne, says,
' In the season of nidification the wildest birds are comparative-
ly tame :' this observation applies to the humming-bird. I re-
member a pair of these beautiful little creatures busily building
a nest in the branch of an orange tree, which was close to the
outer side of the open piazza of a house in Spanish Town,
Jamaica ; in this apartment, situated on the north side of the
house, the family breakfasted and lunched. I spent three days
there ; and while making my meals, had at least an equal treat,
in seeing these smallest of the feathered tribes gaily and actively
employed in their building process. I have now in my posses-
sion the nest of a bee-humming-bird, which I removed from the
end of a branch of a mango-tree,* which was not a foot above
my head, and close to the door of a dwelling-house. I cannot
quit this article without speaking of the delight that was afforded
me, in Jamaica, by seeing humming-birds feeding on honey in
the florets of the great aloe (Agaae Americana.) On the side of a
hill upon Button's estate (the property of Henry Dawkins, Esq.)
Mangifora Indica.
THE RUBY THROATED HUMMING BIRD. 607
were a considerable number of aloe plants, of which about a
dozen were in full blossom. They were spread over a space of
about twenty yards square. The spikes, bearing bunches of
flowers in a thyrsus, were from twelve to fifteen feet high ; on
each spike were many hundred of flowers of a bright yellow
colour, each floret of a tubular shape, and containing a good
sized drop of honey. Such an assemblage of floral splendour
was in itself most magnificent and striking ; but it may be ima-
gined how much the interest caused by this beautiful exhibition
was increased by vast numbers of humming-birds of various
species, fluttering at the opening of the flowers, and dipping
their bills tirst into one floret, and then into another, the sun, as
usual, shining bright upon their bright and varied and beautiful
plumage. The long-tailed or Paradise humming-bird was par-
ticularly striking, its long feathers waving as it darted from one
flower to another."
Waterton thus beautifully describes the humming-bird. " The
humming-bird, though least in size, yet, from its glittering
mantle, is entitled to the first place in the list of the birds of the
new world. It may be truly called the bird of Paradise ; and,
had it existed in the old world, it would have claimed the title,
instead of the bird which has now the honour to bear it. See it
darting through the air almost as quick as thought ! Now, it is
within a yard of your face ! in an instant gone ! now, it flutters
from flower to flower, to sip the silver dew : it is now a ruby,
now a topaz, now an emerald, now all burnished gold ! It would
be arrogant to describe this winged gem of nature, after
Bufibn's elegant description of it. Cayenne and Demerara pro-
duce the same humming-birds. Perhaps you would wish to know
something of their haunts. Chiefly in the months of July and
August, the tree called bois immortel, very common in Deme-
rara, bears abundance of red blossoms, which stay on the tree
for some weeks ; then it is that most of the different species of
humming-birds are very plentiful. The wild sage (salvia splen-
dens,) is also their favourite shrub, and they buzz like bees
round the blossom of the Wallabar tree. Indeed, there is scarce
a flower in the interior or on the sea-coast, but what receives
frequent visits from one or other of the species. On entering
the forests on the rising land in the interior, the blue and green,
the smallest brown no bigger than the humble bee with two
608 AN-ECDOTES OF BIRDS.
long feathers in the tail, and the little forked-tail purple
throated humming-birds glitter before you in ever-changing at-
titudes. One species alone, never shows his beauty to the sun ;
and were it not for his lovely shining colours, you might almost
be tempted to class him with the goat-sucker, on account of
his habits. He is the largest of all the humming-birds, and is
all red and changing gold-green, except the head, which is black.
He has two long feathers in the tail, which cross each other ; and
these have gained him the name of Karabimite, or Ara-hum-
ming-bird, from the Indians. You never find him on the sea-
coast, or where the river is salt, or in the heart of the forest,
unless fresh water be there. He keeps close by the side of the
wooded fresh water rivers, and dark and lonely creeks. He
leaves his retreat before sunrise, to feed on the insects over
the water ; he returns to it as soon as the sun's rays cause a
glare of light, is sedentary all day long, and comes out again for
a short time after sunset. He builds his nest on a twig over
the water, in some unfrequented creek ; it looks like tanned
cow-leather. As you advance towards the mountains of Deme-
rara, other species of humming-birds present themselves before
you. It seems to be an erroneous opinion, that the humming-
bird lives entirely on honey-dew. Almost every flower of the
tropical climate contains insects of one kind or another ; now
the humming-bird is most busy about the flowers an hour or two
after sunrise, and after a shower of rain; and it is just at this
time that the insects come out to the edge of the flower, in
order that the sun's rays may dry the nocturnal dew and rain
which they have received. On opening the stomach of the
humming-birds, dead insects are almost always found there. '
BIRDS OF THE CRANE KIND.
HAVING said more or less about almost every bird peculiar
to terra fama, we must now betake ourselves to the water.
Some of our readers may start at this announcement, from a
supposition that we mean to commit suicide, while the truth is,
we are speaking figuratively, and intend to live as long as we
can, for their benefit and our own. Our anecdotes of song-
birds and their congeners were few but select. We could
have given twice the number, had we chosen to mingle
falsehood with truth, or trifles with things important. As a
certain author says, " We eschewed the one, and steadily held by
the other, whereat some may laugh, and welcome, seeing they
do so to their own hurt, and not our dishonour." We must now
betake ourselves to the water, that is, as our title shows, give
an account of birds of the crane kind, which hold a middle
place between those that belong exclusively to the land, and
those that swim. The present class frequent waters in search
of food, and have received the appropriate name of waders.
THE CRANE.
Of this bird there are several varieties, such as the crowned
crane, the gigantic crane, the hooping crane, and others. They
are alike in habits, and differ but slightly in appearance.
Cranes fly high, and arrange themselves in the form of a tri-
angle, the better to cleave the air. When the wind freshens,
and threatens to break their ranks, they collect their force into
a circle, and adopt the same arrangement when the eagle
610 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
attacks them. They always fly during the night, on which oc-
casions the leader frequently calls, in order to rally his forces,
and point out the track ; and the cry is repeated by the flock,
each answering to give notice that it follows and keeps its
rank.
Part loosely wing the region : part more wise,
In common, rang'd in figure, wedge their way,
Intelligent of seasons ; and set forth
Their airy caravan, high over seas
Flying, and over lands with mutual wing,
Easing their night, so steers the prudent crane,
Her annual voyage, borne on winds : the air
Floats as they pass, fann'd with unnumber'd plumes.
In the menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, was a
crane, which MODS. Valentin had brought from Senegal. The
bird was attended by that merchant, during the voyage, with the
most assiduous care ; but upon landing in France, it was sold,
or given to the Museum of Natural History. Several months
after its introduction, Valentin arriving at Paris, went to the
menagerie, and walked up to the cage in which the bird was con-
fined. The crane instantly recognized him ; and when Valen-
tin went into its cage, it lavished upon him every mark of af-
fectionate attachment.
A gentleman residing in England, had for some years been
possessed of two brown cranes ; one of them at length died, and
the survivor became disconsolate. He was apparently following
his companion, when his master introduced a large mirror into the
aviary. The bird no sooner beheld his reflected image, than he
fancied she for whom he mourned had returned to him ; he
placed himself close to the mirror, plumed his feathers, and
showed every sign of happiness. The scheme answered com-
pletely, the crane recovered his health and spirits, passed almost
all his time before the looking-glass, and lived many years after,
at length dying from an accidental injury.
THE WHITE 8TOUK.
Eellonius informs us, that storks visit Egypt in such abun-
THE WHITE STORK. 611
dance, that the fields and meadows are white with them. Yet
the Egyptians are not displeased with the sight ; as frogs are
generated in such numbers there, that did not the storks devour
them, they would over-run every thing. Besides, they also
catch and eat serpents. Between Belba and Gaza, the fields of
Palestine are often rendered desert, on account of the abundance
of mice and rats -, and, were they not destroyed, the inhabitants
would have no harvest.
The general disposition of the stork is mild and placid. It
is an animal easily tamed ; and may be trained to reside in gar-
dens, which it will clear of insects and reptiles. It has a grave
air, and a mournful visage ; yet, when roused by example, it
shows a certain degree of gayety, for it joins in the frolics of
children, hopping about and playing with them : " I saw in a
garden," says Dr Harmann, " where the children were playing
at hide and seek, a tame stork join the party, run its turn when
touched ; and distinguish the child whose turn it was to pursue
the rest, so well, as, along with the others to be on its guard."
The following lines well describe the ordinary habits of this bird
before migration.
" Where the Rhine loses its majestic force
In Belgian plains, won from the raging deep
By diligence amazing, and the strong
Unconquerable hand of Liberty,
The stork assembly meets ; fur many a day,
Consulting deep and various, ere they take
Their arduous voyage through the liquid sky.
And now their route design'd, their leaders chose,
Their tribes adjusted, clean'd their vigorous wing ;
And many a circle, many a short essay,
Wheel'd round and round, in congregations full
The figur'd flight ascends ; and, riding high
The aerial billows, mixes with the clouds."
At Smyrna, storks have become very familiar, and build their
nests on the tops of houses, and other elevated situations. The
inhabitants take particular delight in amusing themselves at the
expense of the life of the poor hen birds. This is by taking
away some of the stork's eggs from their nests, and replacing
them by those of the common domestic fowl. When the young
are hatched, the sagacious male bird discovers the difference of
G1'2 ANECDOTES OF BIHD3.
these from their own brood, and set up a hideous screaming,
which excites the attention of the neighbouring storks, which tly
to his nest. Seeing the cause of their neighbour's uneasiness,
they simultaneously commence pecking the hen, and soon de-
prive her of life, supposing these spurious young ones to be the
produce of her conjugal infidelity. The male bird in the mean-
time appears melancholy, and bemoans her loss, though he seems
to conceive she justly merited her fate, for bringing disgrace upon
her family.
From the following remarkable fact, it seems evident that
storks are capable of communicating their ideas to each other.
A tame stork had taken up his abode for some years in the college
yard at Zabingen. Upon a neighbouring house was a nest, in
which the storks that annually resorted to the place used to hatch
their eggs. One day in autumn, a young collegian fired a shot
at this nest. Probably the stork that was sitting on the nest was
wounded by the shot, for after that time he did not fly out of it
for several weeks. However, at the usual time, he took his de-
parture with the rest of the storks. In the ensuing spring, a
stork appeared upon the roof of the college, who by clapping his
wings, seemed to invite the tame stork to come to him. The
latter, however, could not accept the invitation, as his wings
were clipped. After some days, the wild stork canrw down him-
self into the yard. The tame one went to meet him, clapping
his wings as if to bid him welcome, but was immediately attack-
ed by the other with great fury. The persons present protected
him indeed ; but the wild stork often afterwards repeated his
attempts upon him ; and incommoded him throughout the whole
of the summer. The next spring, instead of a single stork, four
of them came at once into the yard, and attacked the tame one.
As he was unable of himself to contend with such a number of ad-
versaries, the cocks, hens, geese, ducks, in short, all the poultry in
the yard came to his assistance, and rescued him from his enemies.
The people of the house now paid greater attention than before
to this stork, and prevented his being further molested during
that year. But in the beginning of the third spring, upwards of
twenty storks rushed at once into the yard with the utmost fury,
and killed the tame stork before either man or beast could afford
him assistance. Thus the animosity of these twenty storks
seemed to originate from that of the four which had made their
THE HERON. 613
appearance the preceding year, and they seemed to have been in-
stigated by the one that first attacked the tame stork. It can-
not indeed be positively asserted, that it was the wounded stork
that made the first attack upon the tame one in the ensuing
year, but so much at least appears certain, that the enemies who
attacked him in three successive years, must have communicated
their hostile designs to each other.
The above is not the only instance of storks resenting inju-
ries, as will be seen by the following anecdote, which is much of
a piece with the foregoing.
A farmer near Hamburgh, having caught a wild stork, brought
it to his farm yard, where he had a tame one, to which he ex-
pected it would form an excellent companion, but the tame one
being jealous of a rival, fell upon the wild one, and beat him so
unmercifully, that he was compelled to evacuate the premises.
About four months afterwards, however, he returned to the
poultry yard, accompanied by three other storks, who alighted
and commenced a furious assault upon the tame stork, and kill,
ed him.
THE HERON.
Mr Rennie says that the heronries recorded to be existing at
present in this country, are at Penhurst Place, Kent ; at Hut-
ton, the seat of Mr Bethel, near Beverly, in Yorkshire ; at
Pixton, the seat of Lord Caernarvon ; in Gobay Park, on the
road to Penrith, near a rocky pass called Yew Crag, on the
north side of the romantic lake of Ulswater ; Cressie Hall,
six miles from Spalding, in Lincolnshire ; at Downington-in
-Holland, in the same county; at Brackley woods near Bristol ;
at Brownsea Island, near Poole, in Dorsetshire ; and at
Windsor, and a small one in the parish of Craigie, near Kilmar-
nock, in Ayrshire.
" I went lately to see a fine heronry at Sir Henry Fletcher's
park, Walton-on-Thames," says Mr Jesse. " The nests aro
built on the top of some of the finest fir trees in the kingdom,
and appear somewhat larger than those of the rooks, These birds
must go an amazing distance to provide for their young as I
3r
G14 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
have been assured that the bones of sea- fish have been found
under their nests.
" A young bird from this heronry, having fallen out of the nest,
was taken away in the evening by a gentleman, who carried it
to his house at some miles distance, and turned it into a walled
garden that night, the next morning one of the old birds was
seen to feed it, and continued to do so till the young one made
its escape. This bird must have gone over a very considerable
space of ground in search of the young heron.
" A large assembly of herons takes place at certain times of the
year in Richmond Park, where I have counted from fifty to sixty
at a time. Sometimes they may be seen on the tops of trees,
and at others on the ground at a distance from the ponds, ap-
pearing perfectly motionless till they are disturbed. This as-
semblage is very curious. The nearest heronry from Rich-
mond Park is the one near Walton-on- Thames, and the other
in Windsor Great Park, both of which would scarcely furnish
the number above mentioned. There seems to be no reason
why they should congregate and remain for so long a time in the
listless manner in which I have seen them ; nor can one give a
probable reason, why the birds from two heronries should meet
at the same time in a place so far distant from their usual haunts.
It is seldom that one sees more than two or three herons to-
gether in the same place, and this only when they are watching
their prey.
" Belon mentions it as one of the extraordinary feats per-
formed by the divine king, Francis the First, that he formed
two artificial heronries at Fontainebleau, ' the very elements
themselves,' says he, ' obeying the commands of this divine
king (whom God absolve !) for to force nature is a work par-
taking of divinity.' In order to enhance the merits of these
French heronries, he undertakes to assert, that they were un-
known to the ancients, because they are not mentioned in any of
their writings ; and for the same reason he concludes there are
none in Britain. Before Beloe's time, on the contrary, and
before the " divine '' constructor of heronries in France was
born, there were express laws enacted in England for the pro-
tection of herons, it being a fine of ten shillings to take the
young out of the nest, and six shillings and eight-pence for a
person without his own grounds, killing a heron, except by
THE HKRON. 615
hawking, or by the long-bow ; while in subsequent enactments,
the latter penalty was increased to twenty shillings, or three
months imprisonment. At present, however, in consequence of
the discontinuance of hawking, little attention is paid to the
protection of heronries, though, I believe, none of the old statutes
respecting them have been repealed. Not to know a hawk from
a heronshaw, (the former name of the heron) was an old adage,
which arose when the diversion of heron-hawking was in high
fashion : it has since been corrupted into the absurd vulgar
proverb, " not to know a hawk from a hand-saw."
" The times at which the heron resorts to the water to fish,
are those at which the fish come to the shores and shallows to
feed upon insects, and when, as they are themselves plashing
and dimpling the water, they are the least apt to be disturbed
by the motions of the heron. The bird alights in a quiet way,
then wades into the water to its depth, folds its long neck par-
tially over its back, and forward again, and with watchful eye,
awaits till a fish comes within the range of its beak. Instan-
taneously it darts, and the prey is secured. That it should fish
only in the absence of the sun is also a wonderful instinct.
Every one who is an angler, or is otherwise acquainted with the
habits of fish in their native element, knows how acute their
vision is, and how much they dislike shadows in motion, or even
at rest projected from the bank. It is not necessary that the
shadow should be produced by the bright sun ; full daylight will
do it ; and we have seen a successful fly-fishing instantly sus-
pended, and kept so for a considerable time, by the accidental
passage of a person along the opposite bank of the stream ; nay,
we once had our sport interrupted by a cow coming to drink ;
so alarmed are fish, especially the trout and salmon tribe, at the
motion of small shadows upon the water. There is one instance
in which we have observed herons feeding indiscriminately in
sun and shade ; and that is, when a river is flooded to a great
extent, and the flood has passed off, leaving the fish in small
pools over the meadows. How the herons find out these oc-
casions it is difficult to say ; but we have seen several pairs come
after a flood to a river which they never visited upon any other
occasion, and within many miles of which a heronry, or even the
nest of a single pair, was never observed."*
British Naturalist, page 106.
GIG ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
Mr J. C. Hurst, in the Magazine of Natural History, gives
the following interesting fact. " A heron was run down and
captured by a boy in Bexley marshes, which contained in his
stomach a very large-sized mature, male water-rat. It had been
lately swallowed, occupying even to distension with portions
of partially digested fish the ventriculus of the heron. The
only injury apparent to the animal was, a puncture made by the
beak of the bird in the frontal part of the skull, by which life
was destroyed. On referring to the only works I have in my
possession on ornithology, I find no mention of so large a crea-
ture as the rat constituting the food of the Ardea genus. I
think it appears evident (as the bird was in good condition, and
other food in the stomach), that, although the winter has been
severe, yet necessity did not enforce such means to satisfy its
hunger. The size of the oesophagus would also elicit a contra-
diction to its capability of such distension, if the proofs were
not positive. No evident cause of its easy capture existed, but
the probable one of repletion."*
The power of the heron was lately manifested in a remarka-
ble manner. A gentleman belonging to the parish of Bothwell,
being on a shooting excursion, accompanied by a small spaniel,
observed a heron wading a little above a waterfall. He fired
wounded it and sent his dog into the stream to bring it to land.
As soon as the dog had come within its reach, the heron drew
back its head, and then with all its force, struck him in the
ribs with its bill. The gentleman again fired, and killed the
heron ; but it had well revenged itself: the dog and it floated
dead together, down the foaming waterfall.
When the heron has bad nearly enough of food, (for there is
no record of its having had quite enough,) it will play with the
unlucky fish, which it captures, as a cat does with a mouse. It
is very provoking when one has neither dog, boat, nor gun, to
see the grey rascal at this amusement among the reeds by the
lake side, where the marsh would sink under our weight Be-
fore him lies, perhaps a fine trout, at which he looks with
dreamy delight, notwithstanding the incredible number already
buried in that paunch of his, and when it makes a vain attempt
to regain the water, of which it has yet a tempting feel, but
* September, 1830.
THE HERON. 617
cannot taste, he darts his ugly bill into its side, and ends of
course, by swallowing it right down. How provoking to a hun-
gry shepherd among the hills, to whose wife and family and self
it would have made a plentiful, at least a most acceptable
dinner.
Instances are on record of herons and rooks building their nests
contiguous to each other, and living on better terms, upon the
whole, than many neighbours of whom more might be expected.
" There were," says Dr Heysham, of Carlisle, " two groves ad-
joining the park :* one of which, for many years, had been resort-
ed to by a number of herons, which there built and bred ; the
other was one of the largest rookeries in the country. The two
tribes lived together for a long time without any disputes. At
length the trees occupied by the herons, consisting of some
very fine old oaks, were cut down in the spring of 1775, and the
young had perished by the fall of the timber. The parent birds
immediately set about preparing new habitations in order to
breed again ; but as the trees in the neighbourhood of their old
nests were only of a late growth, and not sufficiently high to se-
cure them from the depredations of boys, they determined to ef-
fect a settlement in the rookery. The rooks made an obstinate
resistance; but, after a very violent contest, in the course of
which many of the rooks, and some of their antagonists, lost
their lives, the herons at last succeeded in their attempt, built
their nests, and brought out their young.
" The next season the same contest took place, which termi-
nated like the former, by the victory of the herons. Since that
time peace seems to have been agreed upon between them ; the
rooks have relinquished possession of that part of the grove
which the herons occupy ; the herons confine themselves to those
trees they first seized upon, and the two species live together in
as much harmony as they did before their quarrel."
The picture which Wilson has drawn of the breeding-places
of some of the American herons is worth quoting. The great
heron, for example, builds a spacious platform of sticks, covered
with small twigs, on the top of a tall cedar, a community of ten
or fifteen pairs usually building in company. ' Many of their
breeding-places,' says Wilson, ' occur in both Carolinas, chiefly
* At Dallam Tower, in Westmoreland.
ANKCDOTKS Of BIRDS.
in the vicinity of the sea. In the lower parts of New Jersey
they have also their favourite places for building arid reaiing
their young. These are generally in the gloomy solitudes of the
tallest cedar swamps, where, if unmolested, they continue annu-
ally to breed for many years. These swamps are from half a
mile to a mile in breadth, and sometimes five or six in length,
and appear as if they occupied the former channel of some
choked- up river, stream, lake, or arm of the sea. The appear-
ance they present to a stranger is singular : a front of tall and
perfectly straight trunks, rising to the height of fifty or sixty feet
without a limb, and crowded in every direction, their tops so
closely woven together as to shut out the day, spreading the
gloom of a perpetual twilight below. On a nearer approach
they are found to rise out of the water, which, from the im-
pregnation of the fallen leaves and roots of the cedars, is of the
colour of brandy. Amidst this bottom of congregated springs,
the ruins of the former forest lie piled in every state of confu-
sion. The roots, prostrate logs, and in many places the water,
are covered with green mantling moss ; while an undergrowth
of laurel, fifteen or twenty feet high, intersects every opening so
completely as to render a passage through laborious and harass-
ing beyond description : at every step you either sink to the
knees, clamber over fallen timber, squeeze yourself through be-
tween the stubborn laurels, or plunge to the middle in ponds
made by the uprooting of large trees, and which the moss con-
cealed from observation. In calm weather the silence of death
reigns in these dreary regions ; a few interrupted rays of light
shoot across the gloom ; and, unless for the occasional hollow
screams of the herons, and the melancholy chirping of one or
two species of small birds, all is silence, solitude, and desolation.
When a breeze rises, at first it sighs mournfully through the
tops; but, as the gale increases, the tall, mast-like cedars wave
like fishing -poles, and rubbing against each other, produce a va-
riety of singular noises, that with the help of a little imagina^
tion, resemble shrieks, groans, or the growling of beasts of
prey.'
" Wilson gives a similarly interesting account of the breeding-
places of the night heron or Qua bird, which has been occa-
sionally seen in Britain as a straggler. ' The night heron,' he
tells us 'arrives in Pennsylvania early in April, and immedi-
THE HERON. C19
ately takes possession of his former breeding-place, which is
usually the most solitary and deeply-shaded part of a cedar
swamp. Groves of swamp oak, in retired and inundated places,
are also sometimes chosen ; and the males not unfrequently
select tall woods on the banks of a river to roost in during the
day. These last regularly direct their course, about the begin-
ning of evening twilight, towards the marshes, uttering in a
hoarse and hollow tone the sound qua. At this hour also all
the nurseries in the swamps are emptied of their inhabitants,
who disperse about the marshes, and along the ditches and river
shore, in quest of food. Some of these breeding-places have
been occupied, every spring and summer for time immemorial,
by from eighty to one hundred pair of qua birds. In places
where the cedars have been cut down for sale, the birds have
merely removed to another quarter of the swamp ; but when
personally attacked, long teazed, and plundered, they have been
known to remove from an ancient breeding-place, in a body, no
one knew where. Such was the case with one on the Delaware,
near Thomson's Point, ten or twelve miles below Philadelphia;
which, having been repeatedly attacked and plundered by a body
of crows, after many severe encounters, the herons finally aban-
doned the place. Several of these breeding-places occur among
the red cedars on the sea-beach of Cape May, intermixed with
those of the little white heron, green bittern, and blue heron.
The nests are built entirely of sticks, in considerable quantities,
with frequently three or four nests on the same tree. The eggs
are generally four in number, measuring two inches and a quar-
ter in length, by one and three quarters in thickness, and of a
very pale light blue colour. The ground or marsh below is be-
spattered with their excrements, lying all around like white*
wash, with feathers, broken egg-shells, old nests, and frequently
small fish, which they have dropped by accident and neglected
to pick up. On entering the swamp in the neighbourhood of
one of these breeding-places, the noise of the old and the young
would almost induce one to suppose that two or three hundred
Indians were choking or throttling each other. The instant an
intruder is discovered, the whole rise in the air in silence, and
remove to the tops of the trees in another part of the woods ;
while parties of from eight to ten make occasional circuits over
the spot to see what is going on. When the young are able
<3"20 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
they climb to the highest part of the trees ; but knowing their
inability, do not attempt to fly. Though it is probable that these
nocturnal birds do not see well during the day, yet their faculty
of hearing must be exquisite, as it is almost impossible, with all
the precautions one can use, to penetrate near their residence
without being discovered. Several species of hawks hover around,
making an occasional swoop among the young ; and the bald
eagle himself has been seen reconnoitering near the spot, pro-
bably with the same design.'
" We shall only take notice of one other species of these
social birds, the little white heron (Ardea candidissima), which,
during summer, is particularly fond of salt marshes, where its
white plumage renders it very conspicuous, either while wading
or when on the wing. On the 19th of May,' says Wilson, < I
visited an extensive breeding- place of the little white heron,
among the red cedars of Sommers's beach, on the coast of Cape
May. The situation was very sequestered, bounded on the
land side by a fresh-water marsh or pond, and sheltered from
the Atlantic by ranges of sand-hills. The cedars, though not
high, were so closely crowded together as to render it difficult to
penetrate through them. Some trees contained three, others
four nests, built wholly of sticks. The birds rose in vast num-
bers, but without clamour, alighting on the tops of the trees
around, and watching the result in silent anxiety. Among them
were numbers of the night heron, and two or three of the pur-
ple-headed (N. cxrulea). Great quantities of egg-shells lay
scattered under the trees, occasioned by the depredations of the
crows, who were continually hovering about the place.' "
The following interesting account of heron-hunting with fal-
cons, is from the Magazine of Natural History, and though it
might have been more appropriately introduced, perhaps, when
we were speaking of birds of prey, it is too good, we think, to
be omitted, and it incidentally illustrates the character of the
species under consideration.
" In June, 1825," says the writer, " happening to be in Nor-
folk, I became an eye-witness to that most ancient and now very
rare sport of falconry ; and I now relate what I actually saw,
and which was to me most novel and entertaining. The place
* Wilson, apud Ronnie.
THE HEROST. 621
fixed upon for the sport was in the intermediate country between
the fens and the heronry, and in the afternoon of the day, with
the wind blowing towards the heronry. There were four couple
of casts of the female Peregrine falcon carried by a man to
the ground, upon an oblong kind of frame padded with leather,
on which the falcons perched, and were fastened to the perch by
a thong of leather. Each bird had a small bell on one leg, and
a leather hood, with an oblong piece of scarlet cloth stitched
into it over each eye, surmounted by a plume of various-
coloured feathers on the top of the hood. The man walked in
the centre of the frame, with a strap from each side over each
shoulder ; and when he arrived at the spot fixed upon for the
sport, he set down the frame upon its legs, and took off all the
falcons, and tethered them to the ground in a convenient shady
place. There were four men who had the immediate care of
the falcons (seemingly Dutch or Germans,) each having a bag,
somewhat like a woman's pocket, tied to his waist, containing a
live pigeon, called a lure, to which was fastened a long string ;
there were also some gentlemen attached to the sport, who like
wise carried their bags and lures.
" After waiting awhile, some herons passed, but at too great
a distance ; at length one appeared to be coming within reach,
and preparations were made to attack him. Each falconer was
furnished with a brown leather glove on the right hand (I sup-
pose, to prevent the talons of the bird from scratching it), on
which the falcon perched ; and there was a small bit of leather
attached to the leg of the bird, and which was held by the fal-
coner between the thumb and finger. Each of the men thus
equipped, with a falcon on one fist, and the bag with the lure
tied to the waist, and mounted on horseback, proceeded slowly in
a direction towards where the heron was seen approaching. As
soon as the heron was nearly opposite, and at what I conceived
a great height in the air, the falconers slipped the hoods from off
the heads of the falcons, and held each bird on the fist by the
bit of leather till the falcons caught sight of the heron, and then
a most gallant scene ensued. The instant they were liberated,
they made straight for their prey, though at a considerable dis-
tance ahead. As they were dashing away towards the heron, a
crow happened to cross ; and one of them instantly darted at him,
but he struck into a plantation and saved himself: the falcon
622 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
dashed in after him, but did not take him. The other falcon
soon overtook the heron (which immediately disgorged its bal-
last of two or three fishes) ; and after flying round in circles for
some time, at length soared above him, and then struck him on
the back ; and they both came tumbling down together, from
an exceeding great height, to the ground. The other falcon,
having lost some time with the crow, was flying very swiftly to
assist his comrade, and had just come up at the time the falcon
and heron were falling. At this instant, a rook happened to fly
across ; the disappointed falcon struck at him, and they both
fell together within twenty yards of the other falcon and the
heron. When on the ground, each falcon began to pull to
pieces its victim ; but, as soon as the falconers rode up, the lures
were thrown out, and the falcons suffered to make a meal (hav-
ing previously been kept fasting) upon the pigeon, which was
laid on the carcass of the heron ; and, after they were satisfied,
were again hooded and put up for that day.
" The next cast consisted of two younger birds ; and when let
loose at another heron, they flew up to it very well. But the
heron was an old one, and supposed to have been caught before ;
for the moment he was aware of his enemies below, he began to
soar into the air, and set up a loud croak : and these, not so ex-
perienced as the first two falcons, would not attack him, but
soared about and left him. Upon this, one of the falconers set
up a peculiar call, to which, no doubt, the birds were trained j
when one of them, from a very great elevation in the air, imme-
diately closed his wings, darted down to the man who called
him, and was taken in hand. This was a very extraordinary
manoeuvre, and an instance of tractable sagacity. The other
falcon did not come to the call, but sailed about in the air. At
length a heron crossed, and the falcon attacked it, but again left
it. A third heron also came in his way : this he also fell to
work with, and, after a short struggle, brought him to the ground
in the same style as the first. This last heron had his wing
broken, and the falconer killed him ; but the first was taken
alive, and was afterwards turned out before a single falcon, which
struck him down in a minute. I understood, that, when a heron
had once been taken by a falcon, he never made any more sport.
It was the case with this one ; for, the moment he saw his ene-
my coming towards him, he lost all his powers, and made a
THE BITTERN. 623
ridiculous awkward defence on the ground ; where the falcon
would soon have despatched him, if the falconer and his lure had
not been near at hand.
" This sport was to me an extraordinary treat, from its novelty
and the excitement which it caused; but there were circum-
stances attending it which would have made the farmers stare
and swear in some counties, for the horsemen rode through fields
of standing corn with as little ceremony as the titheman, but
with much more celerity : and the sport was more dangerous
than fox-hunting ; for the eye, being constantly aloft to view the
aerial diversion, the chasms and sinuosities of mother earth were
not so observable as when the object of pursuit lay more at
right angles with the vision of the pursuer."
THE BITTERN, OR MIRE-DRUM.
This bird is more plentiful in Scotland than in England, and
inhabits marshy tracts. His remarkable note has been spoken
of by many a poet. Thomson, believing erroneously, that the
sound was made while the bird plunged its bill in the mud, says,
" So that scarce
The bittern knows his time with bill engulplit,
To shake the sounding marsh."
And Southey says,
" At evening o'er the swampy plain
The bittern's boom came far."
It is with much difficulty that this bird can be roused from his
lurking place ; but when he takes wing, his flight is rapid, high,
and spiral, as the poet last quoted observes,
" Swift as the bittern soars on spiral wings."
Sir Walter Scott also, beautifully alludes to this bird
" And the lark's shrill pipe shall come
In the morning, from the fallow,
And the bittern beat his drum
In the ev'ning, from the hollow."
When the bittern is attacked by a bird of prey, it defends it-
G24 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
self with great courage, and generally beats off such assailants ;
neither does it betray any symptoms of fear, when wounded by
the sportsman, but eyes him with a keen and undaunted look,
and when driven to extremity, will attack him with the utmost
vigour ; wounding his legs, or aiming at his eyes with its sharp
and piercing bill,
Mr Markvvick once shot a bittern in frosty weather ; it fell on
the ice, which was just strong enough to support the dogs, and
they immediately rushed forward to attack it ; but being only
wounded, it defended itself so vigorously, that the dogs were
compelled to leave it, till it was fired at a second time and killed.
The bittern is still valued on account of its fine flavour, and is
usually sold in the London market at half-a guinea. It was
formerly held in much estimation at the tables of the great.
The cry of the bittern is often heard at twilight in the moun-
tain hollows of Scotland, and has a dreary effect. The follow,
ing sonnet refers to it in these localities.
" Now while night's dancing lamps the waste illume,
And a rich silence bindeth earth and sky,
I hear thy deep and long-repeated cry
Break through the dimness, with a sudden boom,
From some reed-circled lonely pool, whereon
None gazeth save the pale -eyed stars and thee,
What time thou sitt'st in moveless reverie
When all the voices of the day are gone.
Rest thee once more, unmindful of the tread
Of one who loves like thee this silent scene
For its wide silence ! seek thine ancient bed,
There come no saddening dreams of what hath been.
Thou'rt on the wing, and chilly-finger'd fear
Holds my best reason as if ill were near."
THE AMERICAN BITTERN.
The following remarkable account is given of this bird, in
Loudon's Magazine of Natural History, vol. ii. page 64. Al-
though almost improbable, the testimony of one so respectable
as Mr F. Peale induces us to believe it.
" I was much interested with an account I heard the other day
of a bird, a species of heron, I believe it is called by Wilson
THE RED FLAMINGO. 625
in bis Ornithology, the Great American Bittern ; but what is
very extraordinary, he omits to mention a most interesting and
remarkable circumstance attending it, which is, that it has the
power of emitting a light from its breast, equal to the light
of a common torch, which illuminates the water, so as to en-
able it to discover its prey.
" As this circumstance is not mentioned by any of the natural-
ists that I have ever read I had a difficulty in believing the
fact, and took some trouble to ascertain the truth, which has
been confirmed to me by several gentlemen of undoubted vera-
city, and especially by Mr Franklin Peale, the proprietor of the
Philadelphia Museum."
THE SPOONBILL.
The white spoonbill visits this country, though very rarely.
The roseate spoonbill is peculiar to America. They are easily
tamed, and are found of service in warm countries where ser-
pents and other reptiles infest the neighbourhood and even the
dwellings of man. These the spoonbill devours in great quan-
tities.
THE RED FLAMINGO.
This remarkable bird is common in North America. It ia
beautifully alluded to by Campbell in his Gertrude of Wyo-
ming.
" Then where of Indian hills the daylight takes
His leave, how might you the flamingo see
Disporting: like a meteor on the lakes."
It prefers a warm climate, and in the old continent is not
often met with beyond forty degrees North or South; every
where on the African coast, and adjacent isles, quite to the
Cape of Good Hope, now and then on the coasts of Spain,
Italy, and those of France, lying in theMediterranean sea, also
in various parts of Africa.
8 a
626 ANECDOTES OP BIRDS.
During the French revolutionary war, when the English were
expected to make a descent upon St Domingo, a Negro having
perceived, at the distance of some miles, in the direction of the
sea, a long file of flamingoes, ranked up and preening their
wings, forthwith magnified them into an army of English
soldiers ; their long necks were mistaken for shouldered mus-
kets, and their scarlet plumage had suggested the idea of a mili-
tary costume. The poor fellow accordingly started off to Gon-
aives, running through the streets, and vociferating that the
English were come. Upon this alarm the commandant of the
garrison instantly sounded the tocsin, doubled the guards, and
sent out a body of men to reconnoitre the invaders ; but he soon
found, by means of his glass, that it was only a troop of red fla-
mingoes, and the corps of observation marched back to the gar-
rison, rejoicing at their bloodless expedition.* The flamingo
is web-footed, but does not swim.
THE AVOSET.
This bird breeds in the fens of Lincolnshire, and in Romney
marsh in Kent. It is found in Britain at all seasons. In win-
ter it frequents the sea shore. It is widely diffused on the con-
tinent, inhabiting Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Siberia and the
Caspian sea, and more plentifully on the salt lakes in the de-
serts of Tartary. In winter, they assemble in small flocks of
six or seven, and frequent our shores, more especially at the
mouths of large rivers. In these situations, they seek for worms
and marine insects, scoop them out of the mud or sand with
much dexterity, for which their bent up bills seem peculiarly
adapted. The avoset lays two white eggs tinged with green,
and marked with large black spots ; they are about the size of
those of a pigeon. It is said to be much attached to its young,
and when disturbed during incubation, it will fly round in re-
peated circles, uttering a sharp note that resembles the word
wit, twice repeated. Although this bird is web-footed, it has
* Architecture of Birds.
THE AVOSET. 627
never been known to swim. Montague says, " We remember
one of this species being wounded in the wing, and floating with
the tide for near a mile, when it was taken up alive without
ever attempting to swim ; so that the palmated feet seem only
intended to support it on the mud."
SMALL BIRDS OF THE CRANE KIND.
THE CURLEW.
" THE curlew in his natural state," says Professor Rennie,
" is so remarkably shy, that he is with difficulty approached ; but,
like other birds wholly dependent for their daily subsistence,
soon becomes docile One that was shot in the wing, was turn-
ed amongst some aquatic birds, and was at first so extremely
shy, that he was obliged to be crammed with meat for a day or
two, when he began to eat worms ; but as this was precarious
food, he was tempted to eat bread and milk like the ruffs. To
induce this substitution, worms were put into a mess of bread
and milk, and it was curious to observe bow cautiously he avoid-
ed the mixture, by carrying every worm to the pond, and well
washing it, previously to swallowing. In the course of a few
days, this new diet did not appear unpalatable to him, and in little
more than a week, he became partial to it, and from being ex-
ceedingly poor and emaciated, got plump and in high health.
" In the course of a month or six weeks, this bird became ex-
ceedingly tame, and would follow a person across the menagerie
for a bit of bread, or a small fish, of which he was remarkably
fond. But he became almost omnivorous ; fish, water-lizards,
small frogs, insects of every kind that were not too large to
swallow, and (in defect of other food) barley with the ducks was
not rejected."
The curlew frequents wild swampy uplands, where its melan-
choly note is heard, generally at a distance. Its flight is grace-
ful, and long sustained ; for its wings are very expansive in pro-
portion to the size of the body. It often flies in circles, and when
THE WOODCOCK. 629
not disturbed, will continue for a considerable time to describe
nearly the same circumference, so that the sportsman may judge
pretty accurately, by observing the bird, under what tree or
thicket he should keep watch to bring it down. This bird is
known in Scotland by the name of the whanp. Colour on the
upper parts, black mingled with ash, and shining blue ; under
parts white. The bill is very long, and much arched.
THE WOODCOCK.
The woodcock measures fourteen inches in length, and twenty-
six in breadth, and generally weighs about twelve ounces. The
shape of the head is remarkable, being rather triangular than
round, with the eyes placed near the top, and the ears very much
forward, nearly in a line with the corners of the mouth. The
upper mandible, which measures about three inches, is furrowed
nearly along its whole length, and at the tip, it projects beyond
and hangs over the under one, ending in a kind of knob, which,
like those of others of the same genus, is susceptible of the finest
feeling, and calculated by that means, aided, perhaps, by an acute
sense of smell, to find the small worms in the soft moist grounds,
from whence it extracts them with its sharp-pointed tongue.
Montague says, " A woodcock, in a menagerie, very soon dis-
covered and drew forth every worm in the ground, which was
dug up to enable it to be done ; and worms put into a large gar-
den pot, covered with earth five or six inches deep, are always
cleared by the next morning, without one being left."
The woodcock is very widely distributed. It is found in all
parts of the old continent from North to South. In some places
it is said to remain the whole year, only changing its haunts,
from one locality to another during the breeding season, from
the plains to the mountains.
The woodcock is one of those migratory birds which do not
habitually breed in Britain. Their time of arrival here is from
the end of October till the beginning of December, depending
much upon the state of the season ; and they usually leave us
about the end of April. There are, however, various well au-
thenticated instances of woodcocks breeding in this country. In
3o3
630 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
the year 1795, the Rev. Mr Wheatear, of Hastings, found a nest,
with four eggs, in a wood near Battle, in Sussex. In 1802, Mr
Foljamb possessed a specimen of a half fledged bird, taken in
Broads-worth wood, near Doncaster ; and in 1805, a brood of
four was hatched in a wood at Shucocks, near Worksop. The
nest from which these last were taken, consisted of moss, bent,
and dry leaves. On the 19th May, 1828, James Smith, keeper
to John Chetwood, Esq. of Ansley, near Nuneaton, shot two
young woodcocks in a wood called More Park, in that neigh-
bourhood ; and on the following day, an old bird was shot by
Smith, at the same spot. John Wigson, woodman to William
Dilke, Esq. discovered a woodcock sitting on four eggs, in
Regton wood, near Coventry, in the beginning of May 1829.
From some cause, however, the nest was deserted, and several
of the eggs destroyed. On breaking one that remained, it was
found to be nearly ready to hatch j a fact proving that the old
birds had commenced the business of nidification about the be-
ginning of April, which is earlier than many individuals of this
species leave Britain, in general, for northern latitudes ; thus
affording pretty strong evidence in favour of woodcocks pairing
before their departure. On the 15th April, 1828, a nest with
four eggs in it was found at Chicksand wood, near Sheffield.
On the 8th August, of the same year, a woodcock was shot in
Florida demesne, county of Down, Ireland, which must have
remained through the summer : and at this moment, the 15th
of April, 1833, there is in a plantation at Dumphail, belonging
to C. L. Gumming Bruce, Esq. a woodcock's nest, with four
eggs in it. The nest is built upon the ground, in an open part
of the wood, and the eggs are similar in colour to that of the
partridge, but larger in size, with some biggish brown spots
at the larger ends.
Woodcocks, like many other migratory birds, return year af-
ter year to their former haunts. The following well-attested
circumstance is related by Bewick on the authority of Sir John
Trevelyan, Bart, of Wallington and Nettlecombe. " In the
winter of 1797, the gamekeeper of E. M. Pleydell, Esq. of
Watcombe, in Dorsetshire, brought him a woodcock, alive and
unhurt, which he had caught in a net set for rabbits. Mr Pley-
dell scratched his name upon a bit of thin brass, bent it round
the woodcock's leg, and set the bird at liberty. In December,
THE WOODCOCK. 631
the next year, Mr Pieydell shot this bird, with the brass about
its leg, in the same wood where it had been first caught."
White says, " I used to observe when I was a sportsman, that
there were times in which woodcocks were so sluggish and
sleepy, that they would drop again when flushed, just before the
spaniels, nay, just at the muzzle of a gun that had been fired at
them." There can be little doubt but this was occasioned by
excessive fatigue after their long journey, over the ocean.
A white woodcock was seen three successive winters in Pen-
rice wood, near Penrice castle, in Glamorganshire. It was re-
peatedly flushed and shot at during that time, in the very same
place where it was first discovered. At last it was found dead,
with several others which had perished by the severity of the
weather, in the winter of 1793. This fact was also communi-
cated to Bewick by Sir John Trevelyan, Cart, on the authority
of the Rev. Dr Hunt, and proves not only the existence of
white woodcocks, but also, that they return to their former
haunts year after year.
The inhabitants of Sweden have acquired a great likinj to the
eggs of wild fowl, and among others to those of the woodcock ;
and they encourage the peasantry to find out their nests, and rob
them of their eggs. Those of the woodcock are considered a
great delicacy, and consequently are taken in great numbers, and
brought to the market at Stockholm. They never eat the birds
themselves, esteeming their flesh unwholesome, from the circum-
stance of their having no crops.
Wood-cocks are remarkably tame during incubation. A per-
son who discovered one of their nests often stood over the
female bird while sitting, and even stroked it with his hand.
This seemed to give it no alarm, as it continued to sit, hatched
the young ones, and, in due season, disappeared with them.
A single woodcock was observed to remain in a coppice, be-
longing to a gentleman in Dorsetshire, through the summer.
The place, from its shady and moist situation, was well suited
to the bird ; yet, gradually, from some disease, no doubt, it lost
all its feathers, and being unable fora time to fly, was often
caught. In the autumn it recovered its feathers and its strength,
and flew away.
Woodcocks are frequently seen at sea in their migrations. A
learned writer informs us, on the authority of Mr Thomas
C32 ANECDOTES OF BIROS.
Travers, of Cornwall, that the mariners of a ship which was
farther from land than any birds are usually noticed, discovered
a bird hovering over them. When they first saw it, it seemed
among the clouds : however, it gradually descended, took several
circuits round the vessel, and at length alighted on the deck,
and turned out to be a wood-cock, which probably had been se-
parated from its fellows in its journey northward. It was so
exhausted, that it allowed itself to be laid hold of by one of the
sailors.
BRITISH SNIPES.
Of this interesting tribe five distinct species have been ascer-
tained to inhabit the British Islands ; viz. The Solitary Snipe,
the Common Snipe, or heather bleater, the Jack Snipe, or
Jud-cock, the Brown Snipe, and Sabine's Snipe.
There is a peculiarity in the beak of all the species of this
genus, which should be particularly remarked. If the upper
mandible be macerated in water for a few days, the skin or cuti-
cle may be readily peeled off, and the bones thus laid bare ex-
Libit numerous elongated hexagonal cells, which afford at the
same time protection and space for the expansion of minute
portions of nerves supplied to them by two branches of the fifth
pair, and the end of the bill becomes, in consequence of this
provision, a delicate organ of touch to assist these birds when
boring for their food in soft ground. This enlarged extremity
of the beak, which it will be recollected is a generic distinction,
possesses such a degree of sensibility as to enable these birds to
detect their prey the instant it comes in contact with it, although
placed beyond the reach of sight. It is well known that these
birds feed on the margins of lakes and ditches, pushing their
bills into the thin mud, by repeated thrusts, quite up to the eyes,
and take worms and grubs, at a great depth under the surface of
the mud, in the same manner as ducks.
At pages 316 and 347 of volume third of Goldsmith, we have
noticed the common and jack snipes.
The Solitary snipe. This bird has sixteen tail feathers, the
five outermost white, barred with black ; the abdomen, sides and
B1UTISH SMIl'ES. 633
tliighs, are barred with triangular black markings. Its length
from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, is eleven inches
and a half, and the length from the tip of the bill to the end of
the toes, fourteen inches and a half: the length of the bill, in
general, is from two inches and three eighths to two inches and a
half. Extent of wings nineteen inches j weight of the bird,
from seven to seven ounces and a half.
The Brown snipe. This bird was first known as a British
species, in the month of October, 1801, when a specimen was
killed in Devonshire. The length of the bill is two inches
and a half; the whole length of the bird eleven inches, and
its weight only three ounces and a quarter. The head, neck,
breast, and wing coverts, are ash-coloured brown, without spots,
with a streak of the same colour from the base of the beak
to the eye ; above the eyes, the throat, belly, and thighs, is
pure white ; the flanks white, varied with light brown ; the
back and scapulars light brown, each feather having a darker
brown edge ; the rump with the upper and under tail coverts,
white marked across with black bars, the tail feathers also cross-
ed with narrow black and white bars alternately.
This bird seems identical with the American species, which
is figured in Wilson's American Ornithology, under the name of
the red-breasted snipe, and appears to be very common on.
the American continent, while it is so rare in Europe, that
Temminck in the second edition of his Manual of Ornithology,
says, "that he is only acquainted with two instances of this spe-
cies having been killed there ; once in England, and once in
Sweden ;*' and another instance may be mentioned, of a very fine
specimen in its summer plumage, having been recently killed
near Yarmouth, for which two guineas were immediately given
by a collector in that neighbourhood.
It is inconceivable how a bird, with such short wings as the
snipe, could have migrated across the mighty expanse of the At-
lantic ocean, as there cannot be a doubt but these birds have
winged their way from the new world.
Sabine's Snipe. The first record of this bird appeared in the
fourteenth volume of the Linncan transactions. The length of
the bill in this species is nine inches and eight-tenths of an inch.
The general colour of the plumage is dark brown, spotted and
barred with lighter chestnut-browi. The first of this species,
634 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
which appears not to have been previously known to ornitholo-
gists, was shot in August, 1822, in the Queen's County, Ireland.
A second was shot on the banks of the Medway, near Roches-
ter, in October, 1824. A third specimen has lately been mount-
ed by a London bird-preserver ; and during the winter of 1829,
a fourth was shot, by a nobleman upon his own estate in
Hampshire.
In severe frosts, snipes driven by the extremity of the weather
resort to sheltered springs, unfrozen boggy places, or any open
water. Here they are often found in large nights, and so sub-
dued by cold or hunger, that they will sit till nearly trodden up-
on before they will take flight.
During the breeding season these birds play over the moors,
piping and humming in a pleasing and singular manner ; they
always hum as they are descending. Montagu says that "in
the breeding season the snipe changes its note entirely from that
it makes in winter. The male will keep on the wing for an
hour together, mounting like a lark, uttering a shrill piping noise ;
it then descends with great velocity, making a bleating sound,
not unlike an old goat, which is repeated alternately round the
spot possessed by the female especially while she is sitting on
her nest."
In the summer time snipes disperse to different parts, and at
this season they are found even amongst the highest mountains,
as well as on the lowest and most extensive moors. They are
migratory ; a considerable portion of them leaving Great Britain
in the spring of the year, and returning in the autumn. Many,
however, remain with us the whole year.
Young snipes are able to run off almost immediately after
they are freed from the shell ; but they are attended by the pa-
rent birds until their bills have acquired sufficient firmness to
enable them to provide for themselves.
The Rev. Mr Daniel states, " that about thirty years ago,
snipes were so abundant in the fens of Cambridgeshire, that as
ma?iy were taken in Milton Fen, by means of a lark-net, in one
night, and by a single man, as could be contained in a small
hamper.
Mr Tunstall mentions, that " a very curious pied snipe was
shot at Battley meadow, near Oxford, on the eighth of September)
1789, by a Mr Court: its throat, breast, back, and wings, were
THE RUFF. 635
beautifully covered or streaked with white, and on its forehead
was a star of the natural colour; it had also a ring round the
neck and the tail, with the tops of the wings of the same
colour."
The Godwit. This bird frequents the sea-shore ; but as it is
very timid, and weak-sighted, it keeps concealed during the glare
of day, and is seldom seen except at evening or early dawn.
They go in large flocks, and are continually changing their quar-
ters, it being no uncommon thing for them to evacuate within
four and twenty hours, the place which they had apparently fixed
on for a lengthened sojourn ; and this, too, after a long flight.
Their migrations are performed during twilight or moonlight.
The flesh of the godwit is considered a great delicacy.
The Green Shank, the redshank, the spotted redshank, re-
semble the other birds of the crane kind, in haunts and habits.
A full description of their relative size and appearance will be
found in the notes to Goldsmith.
This bird is considered to be migratory ; and is very local as
a British species, its range being chiefly confined to the fens of
Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire,
and the Isle of Ely.
The summer and winter plumage of the ruff are very differ-
ent : the female bird is considerably less than the male.
The long feathers on the neck and sides of the head in the
male, that constitute the ruff and auricles, are of short duration,
being scarcely completed in the month of May, and beginning
to fall at the latter end of June. The change of these singular
parts is accompanied by a complete change of plumage j the
stronger colours, such as purple, chestnut, and some others
vanish at the same time, so that in their winter dress they be-
come nearly of one colour ; but it has been observed, that those
who had the ruff more or less white, retained that colour about
the neck after the summer or autumn moulting was over.
The females, which are called Reeves, begin to lay about the
first or second week in May ; and their nests have been found
with young ones as early as the third week in June.
G36 THE RUFF.
Ruffs are considered a great delicacy, and are caught in nets,
by fowlers, who make a trade of selling them for about ten shil-
lings per dozen, to persons who feed and dispose of them again
at from thirty shillings to two guineas per dozen.
Mr Towns, the noted feeder at Spalding, is descended from a
family who have continued this occupation since the time of
George the Second ; that is, for about one hundred years. When
the Marquis of Townsend was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, he
solicited Towns to take some ruffs to that country, and he ac-
cordingly set off with twenty-seven dozen of these birds, from
Lincolnshire. On his way to Holyhead he left seven dozen at
Chatsworth, the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and continuing
his route, arrived safely in Dublin with seventeen dozen live
birds, having only lost three dozen in this long journey; which
is the more remarkable, as they were much confined and crowded,
being hung in baskets, slung across the backs of two horses.
It is a strong proof of the hardy constitution of these birds,
that so many of them survived so long and distressing a journey,
and that so soon after they were captured; and necessarily fed
upon food to which they were unaccustomed. But it would
appear, that considerable care and experience is required in the
fattening of them, for, out of the seventeen dozen delivered at
Dublin Castle, not more than two dozen survived, so as to be
served up at table.
The Sanderling. This bird inhabits the sea-shores of Europe,
Asia, and North America. From these localities they seldom
stray from choice, so that when seen inland, it may be generally
inferred that they have been driven thither by stress of weather.
The Dunlin. This bird is diffused all over the north of
Europe. It is about the size of a snipe, but has a much shorter
bill.
The Knot, the Purre, and the Stint resemble their congeners in
almost every respect. It will be observed that Goldsmith has
contented himself with a general description of the smaller birds
of the crane kind, and we shall only be particular about the more
remarkable of them.
THE LAPWINO. G37
THE LAPWING.
Few birds are more interesting in their habits than the lap-
wing. Its loud, unremitting, yet not unmusical whoop, is
familiar to every Scottish child. Lively and frolicsome, it is one
of the greatest ornaments of our bogs, and affords one of the
strongest instances of maternal instinct that nature has furnished.
Who, that has chased its glossy crest over the heathy hillocks
where it delights to scoop its artless nest, has not marvelled at
the ingenious devices it resorted to, to lure him from the sacred
spot where its eggs or young were deposited ?
With the same intent the lesser birds of our climate seem to
fly after a hawk, cuckoo, or owl, and scream to prevent their
companions from being surprised by those enemies. The lap-
wing, when her unfledged offspring run about the marshes where
they are hatched, not only gives the note of alarm, at the ap-
proach of men and dogs, that the young may conceal themselves ;
but, flying and screaming near the intruders, she appears more
solicitous and impatient as they go farther away from the place
of concealment, so that she may effectually mislead them, and
generally succeeds in her design. This stratagem is more like
a dictate of reason than of instinct.
" Hence, round the head
Of wandering swains, the white-wing'd plover wheels
Her sounding flight; and then directly on,
In long excursions, skim* the level lawn
To tempt them from her nest."
Two lapwings were given to a clergyman, who put them into
his garden. One soon died, but the other continued to pick up
such food as the place afforded, till the winter deprived it of its
usual supply. Necessity soon compelled it to draw nearer the
house ; and it gradually became familiarized to the occasional
interruptions from the family. At length, one of the servants,
when she had occasion to go into the back kitchen with a light,
observed that the lapwing always uttered his cry of "pee-wit,"
to obtain admittance. He soon grew more familiar: as the
winter advanced, he approached as far as the kitchen, but with
much caution, as that part of the house was generally occupied
by a dog and cat ; their friendship, however, the lapwing at
3n
G38 THE LONG-LEGGED OR STILT PLOVER.
length conciliated so entirely, that it was his regular custom to
resort to the fireside when it grew dark, and spend the evening
and night with his two associates, sitting close by them, and
partaking of the comforts of warmth. As soon as spring ap-
peared, he discontinued his visits to the house, and betook him-
self to the garden ; but on the return of winter, he had recourse
to his old shelter and friends, who received him very cordially.
Security at length became productive of insolence : what at first
he obtained with caution, was afterwards taken without reserve.
He frequently amused himself with washing in the bowl which
was set for the dog to drink out of; and while thus employed
he showed marks of the greatest indignation, if either of his
companions presumed to interrupt him. He died in the asylum
he had thus chosen, being choked with something which he
picked up from the floor.
These birds manifest somewhat resembling human attachment
to particular spots. One park we know, which they will not
desert, although the plough has passed over it, and potato crops
have flourished dry, where of old the rush and cannach waved
over the plashy ground. Does the lapwing remember like man,
the home of early days, and love it in spite of time and change ?
The general colour of the lapwing is green above, and white on
the under parts. The head of the male is surmounted by a long
crest, which leans backward?.
THE LONG-LEGGED OR STILT PLOVER.
Mr White gives the following interesting account of these
curious animals. " In the last week of April, 1779, five of these
most rare birds were shot upon the verge of Frencham-pond,
a large lake belonging to the Bishop of Winchester, and lying
between Woolmer forest and the town of Farnham, in the
county of Surrey. The pond-keeper says, there were three
brace in the flock, but that after he had satisfied his curiosity,
he suffered the sixth bird to remain unmolested.
" One of these specimens I procured ; and found the length of
the legs to be so extraordinary, that, at first sight, one might
have supposed the shanks had been fastened on, to impose on
THE LONG LEGGED OR STILT PLOVEB. 639
the credulity of the beholder; they were legs in caricatura; and
had we seen such proportions in a Chinese or Japan screen, we
should have made large allowance for the fancy of the draughts-
man.
" These birds are of the plover family, and might, with pro-
priety, be called the stilt plover. My specimen, when drawn and
stuffed with pepper, weighed only four ounces and a quarter,
though the naked part of the thigh measured three inches and a
half. Hence we may safely assert, that these birds exhibit,
weight for inches, the greatest length of legs of any known bird.
The flamingo, for instance, is one of the most long-legged birds,
and yet it bears no proportion to the himantopus, or long-legged
plover ; for a cock flamingo weighs, at an average, about four"
pounds avoirdupois ; and his legs and thighs measure usually
about twenty inches. But four pounds are fifteen times and a
fraction more than four ounces and a quarter; and if four ounces
and a quarter have eight inches of legs, four pounds must have
one hundred and twenty inches and a fraction of legs, or some-
what more than ten feet ; such a monstrous proportion as the
world never saw ! If we try the experiment in still larger birds,
the disparity would increase. It must be matter of great
curiosity to see the stilt plover move, to observe how it can
wield such a length of lever with such feeble muscles as the
thighs seem to be furnished with. At best, one should expect
it to be but a bad walker ; but what adds to the wonder is, that
it has no back toe. Now, without this steady prop to support
its steps, it must, theoretically, be liable to perpetual vacillations,
and seldom able to preserve the true centre of gravity." To this
last observation we would answer, that nature is ever careful
to provide every animal with an equivalent, for what may ap-
pear an imperfection to short-sighted man.
The long-legged plovers are a widely diffused species, being
common in the south of Europe, in Egypt, on the shores of
the Caspian sea, in the southern deserts of Independent Tar-
tary, and in Madras in India.
The Golden Plover. This species is very plentiful and very
widely diffused. They frequent sea-shores and the mouths of
rivers, congregating in such numbers as soon to exhaust the food
to be found in any one place. They are therefore compelled to
shift their quarters very often. Their food consists of insects
3 n 2
610 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
and worms. The latter, it is said, they will cause to come above
ground, by striking with their feet. The worms are supposed
to mistake the noise thus produced, for the approach of their
dreaded enemy the mole.
The Doterel. This bird is partially diffused over Britain. It
is a very stupid little animal, a circumstance much in favour of
those who hunt it for the table, of which it forms an esteemed
luxury.
The Turnstone. The name of this bird arises from its man-
ner of seeking the insects which constitute its food. This it
does by overturning the stones under which they lurk.
The Whimbrel. This bird is like the curlew in form, plumage,
and habits, but is about a half less.
We shall now notice two birds the water-hen and the coot,
which though formed like the crane tribe, approximate in their
habits to the water-fowl properly so called. Their feet are not
completely webbed ; but the toes have a membranous fringe,
which enables these birds to swim.
THE WATER-HEN.
This bird frequents the sedgy margins of ponds and rivulets,
and never strays far from its original locality. It is very timid,
and runs with great velocity through the mazes of the herbage.
The nest-seeking boy has many a tantalizing chace after the
water-hen, which, as it never flies but when pressed to the ut-
most extremity, seems always within his reach, and always eludes
him, either by running or diving ; keeping all the while, perhaps,
within the circuit of a few yards. That so timid a bird should
prefer taking up its abode in the neighbourhood of man, is not a
little singular. The apparent inconsistency ceases, however,
when we consider its means of escaping him, and the protection
from other enemies, which it derives from his vicinity.
THE COOT.
This bird is larger than the preceding, but they are similar in
THE COOT. 611
form and habits. It is found chiefly in lakes, among the reeds
of which it builds its floating nest. Though a timid bird like
the water-hen, it will not readily forsake its chosen haunt. We
have known half a dozen sportsmen employed successfully for a
whole day in shooting the coots upon one lake, and that too,
not of great extent. A short cessation sufficed after a volley
to allow the birds which had taken wing to return and submit to
the chance of perishing like their companions. When the sport
ceased, the survivors resumed their old occupations of paddling
about and dipping for food, just as if nothing had happened.
Many of these birds may be seen disporting on the romantic
lake of Duddingston, in the vicinity of Edinburgh.
The Grebe is mentioned by Goldsmith in connection with the
two preceding, which it resembles in the form of its toes.
These, like the toes of the coot, have a scolloped fringe. Its
legs are short and placed .far bark like those of the penguin
tribe, being adapted rather for swimming than walking. On
this account and the shortness of its wings, the grebe almost
never leaves the water. Like the web-footed class, its prey con-
sists of fish. We shall add the two following to this intermedi-
ate list.
The Water-rail. This bird inhabits watery places in Europe
and Asia, where it hides itself among the sedges, running and
swimming with great celerity, but flying heavily, and with its
legs hanging down. Colour, on the wings, grey spotted with
brown ; flanks spotted with white ; bill, orange beneath.
The Land-rail. This bird is best known by its provincial
name corn-crake, which is very appropriate, as most Scots
names are. The corn-crake is very seldom seen, though every
body is acquainted with its cry, Those who wish to shoot or
trap it, make use of two bones, one notched after the manner of
a saw, and one smooth which is drawn smartly along the teeth
of the other, and produces the crick crick of the bird so accurate-
ly, that it will come to the spot from whence the sound issues.
The person is concealed among bushes, or long grass. This bird
resembles the partridge in colour, has much longer legs, and a
smaller body.
WATER-FOWL.
WE are now come to the last and not the least interesting di-
vision of the bird tribes. Our scene will shift in rapid tran-
sition from one shore of ocean to another. Sometimes it will
be laid where ' first the sun gilds Indian mountains,' and anon
' where his setting beam flames on the Atlantic isles.' Our
object shall be, as heretofore, to lay such anecdotes before the
reader as will afford entertainment, while at the same time they
serve to illustrate the important principle, that nature has made
nottung in vain.
THE PELICAN.
This remarkable bird is found in almost every part of the
globe. Its habits and appearance have been often described,
and are so well known, that little remains to be added. In the
account of the Tower Menagerie, published in 1829, we find
the following interesting and novel particulars respecting a
pelican kept in the Tower of London.
The female is now sitting upon three eggs, and has built her-
self a very perfect nest for the purpose. Should these be
brought to maturity, as there is every reason to expect, they will
probably be the first that were ever hatched in England. She
never quits her charge ; but is fed by the male, who crams his
pouch with double his usual allowance, and then proceeds to
shovel her fair share into his partner's throat. It is in this man-
ner also that the young are fed, the old bird pressing his full
THE WANDERING ALBATROSS. 643
pouch against his chest, and contriving thus to disgorge a portion
of its contents ; an action which has no doubt given rise to the
fabulous notion of the pelican's feeding its young with its own
blood. In fact, the appearance of the bird wBen in this attitude,
with the bloody spot on the end of its bill, closely pressed
against the delicate plumage of its breast, may readily account
for the prevalence of such an idea in the minds of superficial ob-
servers. The first traces of this fable are to be found in the
writings of some of the early fathers of the church, and it was
eagerly adopted by the heralds of later days, whose unbounded
credulity was ever on the watch for the marvellous, in natural
history more especially.
THE WANDERING ALBATROSS.
This gigantic bird is the largest of the gull tribe ; and inha-
bits most seas.
Many of the Indians set a high value on the feathers of the
albatross, which they use for arrows, as they last much longer
than those of other birds. The natives of the South sea islands
watch at the rainy season the arrival of the man-of-war birds,
as they are called, and, when they observe them, they launch
from their canoes into the water, a light float of wood baited
with a small fish. When one of the birds approaches it, a man
stands ready with a pole, about eighteen feet in length ; and on
its pouncing, he strikes at it, and seldom fails of bringing it
down. If, however, he misses his aim, he must wait for some
other bird, for that one will no more be tempted to approach.
The male birds are reckoned the most valuable, and sometimes
even a large hog is given in exchange for one of them.
The inhabitants of Kamtschatka make buoys to their nets,
of the intestines of the man-of-war birds, which they blow up
like bladders. They also make tobacco pipes and needle cases
of the bones of the wings ; and use them for heckling the grass,
which serves them instead of flax. The flesh is very hard and
dry, and has a fishy taste.
C14 ANECDOTES OF BIROS.
THE CORMORANT.
This bird is extremely voracious, and will eat till it is so
gorged, as to become quite stupid ; at which times it is easy to
take it in a net, or even to throw a noose over its head. In
1 798, a cormorant was seized whilst perched on the top of a
rock, just behind the town of Caernarvon; and in the year 1793,
one was observed sitting on the vane of St Martin's steeple,
Ludgate Hill, London, and was shot in the presence of a great
number of people.
It is curious to observe with what dexterity cormorants,' and
indeed all other birds which prey upon fishes, turn them before
swallowing them. If the tail of the fish is presented to the
bird, it invariably turns round the head, so that it may swallow
it first, knowing well that otherwise the fins and spines would
wound its mouth. We have Jiad frequent opportunities of wit-
nessing this, at the beautiful little villa of Patrick Neill, Esq.
Canon Mills, Edinburgh. Being deeply devoted to the study
of nature, he has always a great number of birds and other ani-
mals as much at freedom as possible, within the walls of his
garden. We remember some years ago, that we went to see his
collection with a friend, when a servant showed us the manner
in which the cormorant and solan goose fed. She threw a had-
dock into a little pool of water, and a scramble immediately en-
sued between them. The solan goose got first hold of the had-
dock, and had nearly half swallowed it, when the cormorant
seized it by the tail, and by means of the crooked point of his
bill, fairly pulled it up the goose's throat, and putting it into the
water, with the quickness of lightning, turned it, and swallowed
it in an instant.
A cormorant, kept by Colonel Montagu, was extremely docile.
It was taken by surprise under the banks of a rivulet running
into the British channel, by a Newfoundland dog, and not being
in its accustomed plumage, was reported to him as a curious and
unknown species. It reached him after having been conveyed
for twenty-four hours by coach. Every sort of food at hand
was offered to it, but it rejected all. It would not even take
raw flesh, so that they were compelled to cram it, to keep it
alive ; nor did it offer any violence with its powerful bill during
THE COHMOKANT. 645
this operation. The Colonel having retired to the library, after
seeing the bird fed, was surprised in a few minutes to see it
walk boldly into the room, unceremoniously place itself by him
at the side of the fire, and begin to dress its feathers. This
practice it continued till removed to an aquatic menagerie.
Whenever it saw the water it became restless, and on being set
at liberty, plunged into it, and incessantly dived for a consider-
able time in search of fish. After this, it seemed to be con-
vinced that there were none to be found there, as it was not ..
noticed to dive again for three days. " If by accident a large
fish sticks in its gullet," says Professor Rennie, " it has the
power of inflating that part to the utmost, and while in that
state, the head and neck are shaken violently, in order to promote
its passage. This is a property we never observed in any other
bird, but it is probably common to the rest of the tribe, or such
as are destitute of nasal apertures. That all birds have a com-
munication between their lungs and the cavity of their body
surrounding the viscera, more or less, is well known ; but as
there is no passage into the oesophagus, but by the mouth, to
effect this inflation, a violent compression of the body become*
necessary at the same time the bill is closed, and the air is forced
back into the mouth and pressed into the gullet. It is observ-
able, that in the act of fishing, this bird always carries its head
under water, in order that it may discover its prey at a greater
distance, and with more certainty than could be effected by
keeping its eyes above the surface, which is agitated by the air,
and rendered unfit for visual purposes. If the fish is of the
flat kind, it will turn it in the bill, so as to reverse its position,
and by this means such could only be got within the bill : if it
succeeds in capturing an eel, which is its favourite food, in an
unfavourable position for gorging, it will throw up the fish to a
distance, dexterously catching it in a more favourable one as it
descends. In thus turning the fish, the dilatable skin under the
kill is of great use, but is by no means deserving the name of a
pouch, riot being capable of more distension than any other part
of the oesophagus, nor can it be used as a reservoir for provision,
either for its own use, or for the use of its young, as asserted by
some authors. Another action which seems peculiar to this
bird and its congeners, is violently beating the waters with its
wings, without moving from the spot, followed by a shake of the
6it> ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
wbole body, ruffling all its feathers, at the same time covering
itself with water. This singular action it will repeat tsventy
times, with small intervals of rest, when it will retire to an ele-
vated place on shore, and spread and flap its wings till they are
dry."
It is no uncommon thing to see twenty of these birds together
on the rocks of the sea-coast, with extended wings, drying them-
selves in the wind. In this position they remain sometimes
nearly an hour, without once closing their wings, and as soon as
these are sufficiently dry to enable the feathers to absorb the oil,
they press this substance from the receptacle on the rump, and
dress the feathers with it. It is only in one particular state
that the oily matter can be spread on them ; that is, when they
are somewhat damp ; and the instinct of the birds teaches them
the proper moment.
Informer times cormorants were trained in Britain for catching
fish. It appears that Charles the First had an officer in his
household, entitled Master of the Corvorants, which name the
bird still bears in many parts of this country.
THE GANNET, OR SOLAN GOOSE.
The Gannet is somewhat more than three feet in length, and
weighs about seven pounds. The biK is six inches long ; straight
almost to the point, where it is a little bent ; its edges are irregu-
larly serrated, for the better securing of its prey ; and about an
inch from the base of the upper mandible there is a sharp pro-
cess pointing forward. The bill differs from that of most birds,
in being without nostrils, and in having on each side of the
upper mandible towards the base a dentation that divides the
margin, and thus admits of a considerable motion. The general
colour is dirty white, with a tinge of ash-colpur. Surrounding
each eye there is a naked skin of a fine blue colour : from the
corner of the mouth a narrow slip of naked black skin extends
to the hind part of the head. The neck is long ; the body flat
and very full of feathers. On the crown of the head, and the
back part of the neck, is a small buff-coloured space. The
quill feathers and some other parts of the wings, are black ; as
THE GANNET, OR SOLAN GOOSE. 6-17
are also the legs, except a fine pea-green stripe in their front.
The tail is wedge-shaped, and consists of twelve sharp pointed
feathers. Bill bluish-grey, legs singularly marked, of a dusky
colour, with the front bluish yellow, which divides the feet and
forms a line of the same colour ; along the ridge of the two for-
ward toes the uniting membrane is unusually strong, and nearly
as transparent as glass.
The gannet at certain times rises with difficulty from the wa-
ter, at which times they may be easily run down by a boat.
Montagu says, when surprised they defend themselves obstin-
ately and powerfully, striking with their bills, and pinching very
severely. It would seem from the accounts of the fishermen,
that the gannet cannot rise from the water, but against the wind,
and when this advantage is taken of them they are easily cap.
tured. When the stomach of the gannet is replete with fish,
and his plumage saturated with water, occasioned by the con-
cussion on the surface, by his rapid descent upon his prey, his
only alternative is swimming, for he cannot dive, by reason of
his body being so much specifically lighter than the water.
A gannet brought to Colonel Montagu alive, on the 20th of
March, 1807, took no kind of food for seven days ; it was then
crammed with both fish and flesh, and soon after began to de-
vour all white fish greedily, but did not choose to pick up even
a plaise when the back was uppermost.
It was remarked, that when the bill was held so as to close
the mandibles for a considerable time, respiration became labo-
rious, there being no nostrils. When the bird was placed on
the water of a pond, nothing could induce him to attempt to
dive j and from the manner of his putting the bill, and some-
times the whole head under water, as if searching for fish, it ap-
pears that their prey is frequently taken in that manner. It is
probable that more fish are caught in their congregated migra-
tions, when the shoals are near the surface, than by their descent
upon the wing ; for the herrings, pilchards, mackarel, and other
gregarious fishes, cannot at that time avoid their enemy, who is
floating in the midst of profusion. In the act of respiration,
there appears to be always some air propelled between the skin
and the body of this bird, as a visible expansion and contraction
is observed about the breast ; and this singular conformation
makes the bird so buoyant, that it floats high in the water, and
G18 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
not sunk beneath its surface, as observed in the cormorant and
shag. The legs are not placed so far behind as in such of the
feathered tribe as procure their subsistence by immersion. The
gannet, consequently, has the centre of gravity placed more
forward ; and when standing, the body is nearly horizontal like
a goose and not erect like a cormorant.
It is well known that many birds regurgitate with much ease
and facility ; and that instinct points out to them the necessity
of preparing the food intended for the nourishment of their
young, in the receptacle usually termed the craw ; in this man-
ner the gannet, having none, can easily disgorge the contents of
its stomach to satisfy its young.
By comparative anatomy it has been clearly demonstrated,
that birds in general are provided with air vessels in different
parts of the body, and that many of their bones are not desti-
tute of this contrivance, admirably fitted for increasing their
lightness and consequent buoyancy, as well as progressive mo-
tion through that element in which they are intended principally
to move. Mr John Hunter, (in the Transactions of the Royal
Society) proves, that the air-cells, in the parts already mentioned,
have a free communication with the lungs, by means of openings
on their surface, through which the air passes readily into them :
and it clearly appears there is no diaphragm that confines the
air to the regions or cavity of the breast, but that the whole of
the abdomen is equally inflated by inspiration through the
lungs.
Thus far have the scientific researches of that anatomist con-
tributed to our knowledge on this subject. No one appears to
have noticed the phenomena attendant on the construction of
the gannet, or to what farther extent this' circulation of aerial
fluid is carried in some particular species of birds. We cannot,
however, withhold our highest admiration, when we contemplate
the advantages of such a structure in conducing to the comforts,
and perhaps to the very existence of such animals.
The gannet is capable of containing about three full inspira-
tions of the human lungs, divided into nearly three equal por-
tions, the cellular parts under the skin on each side, holding nearly
as much as the cavity of the body. Now, as a full or extraor-
dinary inspiration of the human lungs has been considered to
occupy a space of about sixty cubic inches, so the gannet is ca-
THE GANNET, OR SOLAN GOOSE. 649
pable of containing not less than one hundred and eighty cubic
inches of air at one time, subject to the will of the bird under
certain impressions.
The nest of the gannet consists of grass, sea-plants, or any
refuse fitted for the purpose that they find floating on the water.
The young, during the first year, differ greatly from the old ones ;
being of a dusky hue and speckled with numerous triangular
white spots. While the female is employed in incubation, the
male supplies her with food.
Mr Pennant says, that the natives of St Kilda hold these
birds in much estimation, arid often undergo the greatest risks
to obtain them. Where it is possible, they climb up the rocks
which they frequent, and in doing this they pass along paths so
narrow and difficult, as in appearance to allow them rarely room
to cling, and that too at an amazing height over a raging sea.
Where this cannot be done, the fowler is lowered by a rope from
the top ; and to take the young ones, oftentimes stations himself
on the most dangerous ledges. Unterrified, however, he ran-
sacks all the nests within his reach ; and then by means of a pole
or rope, moves off" to other places to do the same.
When the gannets pass from place to place, they unite in small
flocks of from five to fifteen ; and except in very fine weather,
fly low, near the shore, but never pass over it ; doubling the
capes and projecting parts, and keeping nearly at an equal dis-
tance from the land.
This interesting bird comes to the Bass rock in March, and
.ifter breeding there, goes off in September. They neither come
nor go away all at one time. It is commonly reported of this
bird, that it cannot fly out of sight of the sea ; and the report,
says Dr Walker, may be thus accounted for. The keeper of the
Bass informed us, that it is scarcely practicable for them to raise
themselves off plain ground : which it is easy to imagine must
be the case, because of the shortness and particular position of
their legs, and the very extraordinary length of their wings.
They therefore industriously avoid the land ; but when they
happen to rest on it, which is never the case but when they are
forced by a storm, their visible inability in taking wing has been
ascribed by the vulgar to their being out of sight of their native
element. So says the reverend and learned doctor, and his
theory may be so far right ; but what is said of the solan goose
650 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
may be said of twenty others sea-birds. Who ever saw an auk,
a puffin, or a Greenland dove out of sight of land ? These birds
and the solan goose keep to the sea, because their food lies ex
clusively in it. The latter hardly ever flies across an isthmus,
however narrow it may be, because he is always intent on catch-
ing fishes, and keeps his eye continually on the water. As to
its inability to rise from the ground, it is not greater than that
of many other sea-birds ; and it will at once be perceived that
it can rise easier from a solid surface than from a fluid one. Yet
the solan goose has every day to rise a hundred times from the
water, into which it has plunged in pursuit of its prey. This it
indeed does with much apparent difficulty, proceeding at first at
an angle of about two degrees or less, so that from the place
where it commences its first attempt to that where it gets
disengaged from the water, it leaves a line of foam several feet
in length.
THE SKUA GULL.
The bill of all the gulls is strong, straight, and slightly hooked
at the point. On the under part of the lower mandible there is
an angular prominence. The nostrils are oblong and narrow,
placed in the middle of the bill ; and the tongue is somewhat
cloven ; the legs are short and naked above the knees ; and the
back toe is small.
The skua gull is nearly two feet in length, and weighs about
three pounds. Its bill is two inches and a quarter long, hooked
at the end and very sharp ; and the upper mandible is covered
more than half way down, with a black cere or skin, as in the
hawk kind. The feathers of the upper parts of the body are of
a deep brown, but below they are somewhat of a rust colour.
The talons are black, strong, and crooked.
The skua gull inhabits Norway, the Faroe islands, and other
parts of the north of Europe. It is the most formidable bird of
the tribe, its prey being not only fish, but what is wonderful in
a web-footed bird all the lesser sorts of water-fowl. Mr
Schroter, a surgeon of the Faroe islands, says they feed even on
di:cks, poultry, and young lambs.
THE SKUA GULL. C51
This gull has the fierceness of the eagle in defending its off-
spring. When the inhabitants of those islands visit the nest, it
attacks them with such force, that, if they hold a knife perpen-
dicularly over their heads, the gull will sometimes transfix itself
upon it, in descending to take revenge on the plunderers. The
Rev Mr Lowe, minister of Birsa, in Orkney, informs us, that
on his approaching the habitations of these birds, they assailed
him, and the company along with him, in the most violent man-
ner ; and intimidated a bold dog in such a way as to drive him
from the protection of his master. The natives are often very
rudely treated by them, while they are attending their cattle on
the hills ; and they are frequently obliged to guard their heads
by holding up their sticks, on which in the manner mentioned
above, the birds often kill themselves.
In Foula, the skua gulls are privileged, being said to defend
the flocks from the attacks of the eagle, which they beat off and
pursue with great fury j so that even that rapacious bird seldom
ventures to approach the places which they inhabit. The natives
of Foula, on this account, impose a fine upon any person who
destroys one of these useful defenders : and deny that they ever
injure their flocks or poultry, imagining them to live only on the
dung of the arctic gull and other larger birds.
This fierce species is met with by navigators in the high lati-
tudes of both hemispheres, where they are much more common
than in the Warm or temperate parts of the globe. In Captain
Cook's voyages round the world, they are often mentioned ; and,
from their being numerous about the Falkland islands, the sea-
men call them Port-Egmont hens.
THE ARCTIC GULL.
The length of this species is twenty-one inches ; the bill is
dusky, about an inch and a half long, pretty much hooked at the
end, but the straight part is covered with a sort of cere. The
nostrils are narrow, and placed near the end of the bill. In the
male the crown of the head is black : the back, wings, and tail
dusky, the whole under part of thu body white. The female is
entirely brown ; but of a much paler colour below than above :
652 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
the feathers in the middle of the tail only two inches longer
than the others.
This bird pursues other gulls for the purpose of robbing them
of their prey. It is pretty common in the northern parts of
Europe, Asia, and America. Numbers of them frequent the
Hebrides in the breeding season, which is from May till August.
The female makes her nest of moss on the dry grassy tufts in
6oggy places, and lays two eggs of an ash colour, spotted with
black.
Mr Drosier, in his ornithological visit to Orkney, says, " the
traveller is often amused by the strenuous and hawk like actions
of the Arctic gulls, that sometimes pitch sans ceremonie upon a
wandering kittiwake, with such rapacious ferocity, that both fall
entangled into the very surface of the water ; when the kittiwake,
for the purpose of disengaging himself from his adversary, alights
for a moment on the billows, and, lightly gliding over the tops
of the rolling sea, with that buoyant elegance so peculiar to the
gull tribe, he is safe. At such times the Arctic gull wheels a
short flight in an opposite direction, as if intending to leave his
intimidated victim, which the kittiwake perceiving, he thinks a
fair opportunity is afforded for making his escape ; but no sooner
does he trust himself once more upon his wing than the aquatic
falcon, suddenly returning, skims the surface of the billows
with the rapidity of an arrow, and quickly coming up with the
kittiwake, generally forces him to disgorge his half-digested fish,
which the plunderer catches for himself ere it reaches the water."
THE COMMON GULL.
The common gull generally measures between sixteen and
seventeen inches in length, thirty-six and sometimes more in
breadth, and weighs about one pound. The bill is pale yellow,
tinged with green, and an inch and three quarters long ; irides
hazel ; edges of the eyelids red : the upper part of the head and
cheeks, and the back part of the neck are streaked with dusky
spots : the back scapulars and wings are of a fine pale bluish
gray; the throat, rump, and all the under parts pure white ; the
first two quills are black, with a pretty large spot of white at
THE COMMON GULL. U'53
their tips, the next four are tipped with black, and the second-
aries largely with white ; the legs are greenish or dirty white.
This species breeds on rocky cliffs ; and lays two eggs nearly
the size of that of a hen, of an olive-brown colour, marked with
dark reddish blotches, or irregular spots. Some persons who
live near the coast eat this bird, as well as various other species
of gulls, which they describe as good food when they have under-
gone a certain sweetening process before cooking, such as bury-
ing them in fresh mould for a day, or washing them in vinegar.
Mr Scott, of Benholm, near Montrose, many years ago caught
a sea-gull, whose wings he cut, and put it into a walled garden,
for the purpose of destroying slugs, of which these birds are very
fond. It throve remarkably well in this situation, and remained
about the place for several years. The servants were .much at-
tached to this animal, and it became so familiar, that it came at
their call to the kitchen door to be fed : and answered to the
name of Willie. At length it became so domesticated, that no
pains were taken to keep its wings cut ; and having at last ac-
quired their full plume, it flew away and joined the other gulls
on the beach ; and occasionally paid a visit to its old quarters.
At the time the gulls annually leave that part of the coast,
Willie also took his departure along with them, to the no small
regret of the family, who were much attached to him. Next
season, however, Willie again made his appearance, and visited
the delighted family of Mr Scott with his wonted familiarity.
They took care to feed him well, to induce him if possible to
become a permanent resident. But all would not do, for he
annually left Benholm. This practice he regularly continued,
for the extraordinary length of forty years, without intermission,
and seemed to have much pleasure in this friendly intercourse.
While he remained on that part of the coast, he usually paid
daily visits to his friends at Benholm, answered to his name,
and even fed out of their hands.
One year the gulls appeared on the coast, at their ordinary
time, but Willie did not, as was usual, pay his respects imme-
diately on reaching that neighbourhood, from which they con-
cluded that their favourite visitant was numbered with the dead,
which caused them much sorrow. About ten days after, during
breakfast, a servant entered the room exclaiming that Willie had
returned. The overjoyed family, one and all of them ran out to
654 ANECDOTES OF BIUOS.
welcome Willie ; an abundant supply of food was set before him,
and he partook of it with his former frankness, and was as tame
as a domestic fowl. In about two years afterwards, this bird
disappeared for ever. The above fact is confirmatory of the
great age which the gull has been said to attain.
The common sea gull is very voracious : two of these birds,
which run in the grounds of our friend General Ramsay, at
Canterbury, devoured in one day fourteen mice and two rats ; and
one of them lately swallowed a very large rat, whole. The bird
made several efforts to gorge the animal, and at length succeeded,
to the astonishment of the by-standers; the tail was visible
for several minutes.
THE BLACK HEADED GULL.
This pretty looking bird measures fifteen inches in length,
and thirty-six in breadth, and weighs about ten ounces. The
bead is black, but in some individuals inclining to a mouse-
coloured brown ; the back and wings are of a delicate pale lead,
or ash-colour; the neck, tail, and all the under parts pure white.
The black headed gulls breed on the marshy edges of rivers,
lakes, and fens, in the interior parts of the country. The female
makes her nest among the reeds and bushes, of heath and dried
grass, and lays three or four eggs Of an olive-brown colour,
blotched all over with spots and streaks of dull rusty red. As
soon as the young ones are able to accompany them, they all re-
tire from those places, and return to the sea.
In former times these birds were looked upon as valuable
property, by the owners of several fens and marshes in this
country, who every autumn caused the little islets, in these
wastes, to be cleared of the reeds and rushes, in order properly
to prepare the spots for the reception of the old birds in the
spring, to which places at that season they regularly returned in
great flocks to breed. The young ones were then highly
esteemed as excellent eating, and were caught in great numbers
before they were able to fly. Six, or even seven men, equipped
for this business, waded through the pools, and with long staves
drove them to the land, against nets placed upon the shore of
THE STORMY PETREL. 655
those hafts, where they were easily caught by the hand, and put
into pens ready prepared for their reception. The gentry assem-
bled from all parts to see the sport. Dr Plot, in his Natural
History of Staffordshire, published in 1686, says, that in the
manner above described, as many have been caught in one morn-
ing as produced the sum of twelve pounds ten shillings ; and at
that time they sold for five shillings a dozen. He states, that in
the several drifts on the few days of this sport, they have been
taken in some years in such abundance, that their value, accord-
ing to the above rate, was from thirty to sixty pounds, a great
sum in those days. These are the sea-gulls of which we read
as being so plentifully provided at the great feasts of the
ancient nobility and bishops of this realm. Although the flesh
of these birds is not now esteemed as a dainty, and they are sel-
dom sought after as an article of food, yet in the breeding season,
when accommodation and protection are afforded them, they still
regularly resort to the same old haunts, which have been occu-
pied by their kind for a long time past.
Dr Plot describes them as coming annually " to certain pools
on the estate of the right worshipful Sir Charles Skrymsher,
knight, to build and breed, and to no other estate but that of
this family, in or near the county, to which they have belonged
beyond the memory of man, and never moved from it, though
they have changed their station often." What the Doctor relates
of the attachment of these birds to the head of that family, of
their removal to another spot immediately on his death, and of
their returning again with the same predilection to his heir, is
curious enough, although bordering very much upon the marvel-
lous. Willoughby gives very nearly the same account, and com-
putes the sale of the birds at twenty- five pounds per annum.
THE STORMY PETREL.
This bird is of a black colour; its legs are long, and its body
about the size of that of a swallow. It is particularly described
in the notes to Goldsmith, so that we shall content ourselves
with quoting Mr Drosier's interesting account of the mode of
capturing it, as performed under his cwn eye, in one of the
islands of the Hebrides.
65G ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
" As the stormy petrel," says he, " is scarcely ever to be seen
near the land, except in very boisterous weather, one of the na-
tives (of Foula), for a trifling remuneration, agreed to traverse
the face of a rock, and take me some from out its fissures. Ac-
cordingly, accoutred with a rope of hemp and hogs'- bristles
coiled over his shoulders, he proceeded to the cliff. Having
made one end fast by means of a stake, he threw the coil over
the face of the rock, and gradually lowered himself down, but
with the utmost caution and circumspection, carefully pressing
his foot hard upon the narrow ridges before he at all loosened
his firm grasp of the rope, which he never altogether abandoned.
J had previously thrown myself upon my chest, to enable me to
have a better view of him, by looking over the cliff; and, cer-
tainly, to see the dexterity and bravery with which he threw
himself from one aperture to another, was truly grand. The
tumbling roar of the Atlantic was foaming many hundreds of
feet beneath, and dashing its curling cream-like surge against
the dark base of the cliff, in sheets of the most beautiful white ;
while the herring and black-backed gulls, alternately sweeping
past him so as to be almost in reach of his arm, threw a wildness
into the scene, by the discordant scream of the former, and the
laughing, oft-repeated bark of the latter. This, however, he
appeared entirely to disregard ; and continuing his search, re-
turned in about half an hour, with seven or eight of the stormy
petrels, tied up in an old stocking, and a pair of the Manks puf-
fins, together with their eggs. The birds, he told me, he had no
difficulty in capturing. The eggs of the stormy petrel are sur-
prisingly large, considering the diminutive size of the bird, being
as large as those of the thrush. The female lays two eggs, of a
dirty or dingy white, encircled at the larger end by a ring of fine
rust-coloured freckles. The birds merely collect a few pieces
of dried grass, with a feather or two, barely sufficient to prevent
the eggs from rolling or moving on the rock."
THE BLUE PETUEL.
This bird is double the size of the preceding. It is found in
New Zealand. These, along with all the species, have the
THE BLUE PETREL. 657
singular faculty of spurting a quantity of oily stuff through
their nostrils, upon those who attack their nests or otherwise an-
noy them ; and fowlers, who clamber up rocks for this purposCj
if not on their guard, are often in this manner suddenly blinded
by the birds, and losing their balance, are precipitated down
the cliffs.
THE PENGUIN KIND.
THE GREAT AUK.
" This species," says Montagu, " appears to have become ex-
tremely rare on the north coast of Britain. The natives in the
Orkneys informed Mr Bullock, in his tour through these islands,
that one male only had made his appearance for a long time,
which had regularly visited Papa Westra for several years. The
female, (which the natives call the queen of the auks) was kill-
ed just before Mr Bullock's arrival. The king or male, Mr
Bullock had the pleasure of chasing for several hours, in a six-
oared boat, but without being able to kill him ; for though he
frequently got near the bird, he was so expert in his natural ele-
ment, that it appeared impossible to shoot him. The rapidity
with which he pursues his course under water, was almost in-
credible. This bird is said to breed on St Kilda, the wester-
most of the Hebrides. One of these rare birds was taken in a
fresh water pond two miles from the Thames, on the estate of
Sir William Clayton, in Buckinghamshire. When fed in confine-
ment, it holds up its head, expressing its anxiety by shaking the
head and neck, and uttering a gurgling noise." It dives under
water, even when a long cord is attached to its foot, with in-
credible swiftness.
THE PUFFIN.
This bird generally builds in the burrows of rabbits ; Mr
THE I'UFHN. 659
Pennant asserts that puffins have a very great affection for their
young, so much so, that when " laid hold of by the wings," (while
protecting their young,) " they will give themselves the most
cruel bites on any part of their body that they can reach, as if
actuated by despair, and when released, instead of flying away,
they will often hurry again into their burrows." Mr Bingley
says, " When I was in Wales in 1801, I took several of them out
of the holes that had young ones in them, for the purpose of
ascertaining this fact. They bit me with great violence, but
none of them seized on any part of their own body ; a few on
being released, ran into the burrows, but not always into those
from whence I had taken them. If it was more easy for them
to escape into the air, they did so ; but if not, they ran down
the slope of the hill in which their burrows were formed, and
flew away. The noise they make when with their young, is a
singular kind of humming, much resembling that produced by
the large wheels used for the spinning of worsted. On being
seized, they emitted a noise with greater violence ; and from its
being interrupted by their struggling to escape, it sounded not
much unlike the efforts of a dumb man to speak."
" In the breeding season," says Mr Rennie, " numerous troops
of them visit several places on our coasts, particularly the small
island of Priestholm, near Anglesey, which might well be called
puffin land, as the whole surface appears literally covered with
them. Soon after their arrival in May, they prepare for breed-
ing, and it is said, the male, contrary to the usual economy of
birds, undertakes the hardest part of the labour. He begins by
scraping up a hole in the sand riot far from the shore ; and after
having got some depth he throws himself on his back, and with
his powerful bill as a digger and his broad feet to remove the
rubbish, he excavates a burrow with several windings and turn-
ings, from eight to ten feet deep. He prefers, where he can
find a stone, to dig under it, in order that his retreat may be
more securely fortified. Whilst thus employed, the birds are
so intent upon their work that they are easily caught by the
hand.
" This bird, like others which burrow in similar localities, is
accused of dispossessing the rabbits, the legitimate proprietors of
the soil, and even of killing and devouring their young. But it
would require more authentic testimony than we have yet met
660 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
with to convince us of this alleged robbery ; the only apparent
evidence being, that they are found burrowing along with rabbits
in similar holes.
" We very commonly find, in the same sand-bank, numerous
perforations crowded into a small place, the work of various
species of solitary bees, side by side and intermingled with those
of sand-wasps ; but no naturalist who has accurately observed
the proceedings of these insects would conclude that they were
mutual robbers, merely because he observed them going in and
out of contiguous holes.
" In some instances, we are certain that the puffin must form its
own burrows. ' In one part of the island' ( Akaroe), says Pro-
fessor Hooker, ' where there is a considerable quantity of rich
loose mould, the puffins breed in vast numbers, forming holes
three or four feet below the surface, resembling rabbit-burrows,
at the bottom of which they lay a single white egg, about the
size of that of a lapwing, upon the bare earth. Our people dug
out about twenty of these birds, which they afterwards assured
me made an excellent sea-pie. 1 He elsewhere tells us that Ice-
land contains no indigenous quadrupeds, and he does not enu-
merate rabbits among the animals introduced. The climate
indeed would probably be too cold for them.
" If the puffin, however, is really a robber of rabbit-burrows, It
is too formidably armed to allow of retaliation with impunity,
and few birds or beasts venture to attack it in its retreat. Some-
times, however, as Jacobson tells us, the raven makes bold to
offer battle ; but as soon as he approaches, the puffin catches
him under the throat with her beak and sticks her claws into
his breast till he screams out with pain and tries to get away ;
but the puffin keeps fast hold of him and tumbles him about till
both frequently fall into the sea, where the raven is drowned
and the puffin returns in triumph to her nest. But should the
raven at the first onset get hold of the puffin's neck, he generally
comes off victorious, kills the mother, and feasts on her eggs or
her young."
THE GUILLEMOT.
This bird is as large as a tame duck. They owe their secu-
THE GUILLEMOT. 061
rity, such as it is, to the precipitous localities which they fre-
quent ; for they are amiably unsuspicious, so much so as to have
no wile in reserve, even when driven to extremity by an
enemy.
The following graphic arid amusing account of the localities,
habits, and appearances of the sea-fowl on the 'Kmst of Gamrie.
Aberdeenshire, is from the Magazine of Natural History, and
may be introduced here as an appropriate recapitulation, be-
sides, as furnishing us with additional facts, not only regarding
several of the species we have been describing, but some
others.
The sea coast along the parish of Gamrie in Aberdeenshire,
is one of the boldest and most interesting to be found in the
kingdom : and to the mineralogist, in particular, it affords ex-
amples of the leading truths of his science in the most diversi-
fied manner, and on the most gigantic scale. The rocks, which
at intervals arise in rugged majesty along the shore, are of great
height, and of a most formidable appearance, and stand perpen-
dicularly from the ocean as striking monuments of those tremen-
dous convulsions which at different times have agitated the world
which forms our present abode. Nor is their interest confined
merely to the student of mineralogy ; for to the ornithologist,
likewise, they are attractive in no ordinary degree. They are
annually resorted to by immense numbers of those birds which
are properly denominated sea-fowl ; and it is remarkable that the
various tribes of which the general body is composed are most
punctual with regard to the particular period at which they re-
spectively and yearly return from the cold regions of the north,
for the important and pleasing purposes of incubation. The va-
rieties which appear in greatest numbers are .the Kittiwake,
(provincially Kitty ;) the Razor-bill Auk, (provincially Coulter),
the Guillemot, (provincially Queet), and, lastly, the Puffin,
(provincially Tammy none).* To a stranger who visits, for the
first time, the scene of their vernal abode, the spectacle present-
ed is striking and interesting in no ordinary degree. On the
various portions of the immense rocks, which rise in sublime
magnificence before him, sit thousands and tens of thousands of
* The provincial names here given are those used by the inhabitants of
the coast in question.
3 K
G62 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
the birds to which we are now directing our attention. And it
is curious to observe the regularity with which the different spe-
cies attach themselves to the places most suited to their various
wants and capacities. The kittiwakes and guillemots inhabit
the firmest and most precipitous of the rocks, on the ledges of
which they form their nests. These ledges, when viewed from
below, appear to the spectator as scarcely presenting an inch's
breadth of surface, and yet the birds contrive to form their nests,
which, in case of the kittiwake, is done with grass, and to hatch
their young in this seemingly impracticable situation ; although
it sometimes indeed happens, that, on being suddenly startled,
their eggs tumble down into the sea. Although associated to-
gether, however, no actual intermixture takes place between the
two species ; for they have each their own particular ledges on
which they sit, drawn up like regiments of soldiers, in the most im-
perturbable manner, and if startled by a more than ordinary alarm
from their nests, they nevertheless return after a single evolution
of the air, to the important duties from which they had been with
difficulty aroused. The two species are easily distinguishable.
The kittiwake is at once conspicuous by its snow-white head
and breast, its yellowish bill, and its pearly blue mantle ; while
the guillemot is recognised by its upright figure, the legs being
placed very far back, as is the case with most sea fowl, and by
the great portion of brownish sleek black with which its plu-
mage is diversified. The peculiar nature, indeed, of the configu-
ration of this latter bird, by which, when sitting or attempting
to walk, its whole leg appears as if it were its foot, has given
rise to the popular but erroneous idea that it hatches its eggs
by means of covering it with the part of its body in question.
On a promontory immediately adjoining, and composed of softer
materials, are assembled the puffins, or, in the language of this
part of the country, the Tammy nories, who laying their eggs
in holes burrowed in the earth, cannot, of course, take up their
abode on the hard ledges occupied by the birds whose position
we have already described. In the same manner the Razor-
bills, although occasionally associating with the guillemot, occu-
py, in general, a separate and somewhat soft and perforated part
of those enormous precipices, which, in the busy season of
spring, teem with life in all directions. These birds (the razor-
bills) very much resemble the guillemots in appearance, espe-
THE GUILLEMOT. 68.3
cially when seen at a distance on wing. They may, however,
on a nearer approach, be distinguished from the latter by the
broad form of their bills, and by the superior length of their
wings, which are, moreover, marked by a conspicuous streak of
white along their outward extremity.
Some of this enormous body of sea fowl (probably males) are
constantly in motion, either gracefully and lightly swimming
about in detached groups on the sea, or, by their circular evolu-
tions in the air, indicating to the yet distant visitor the particu-
lar rock where he may hope to encounter them in congregated
thousands. And on a fine day, and under the mild influence of
a vernal and unclouded sun, the scene is particularly beautiful.
The ocean lies tranquil, and stretched out before the spectator
like an immense sheet of glass, smiling in its soft and azure
beauty, while over its surface the kittiwake, the guillemot, the
razor-bill, and the puffin, conspicuous by the brilliant orange and
scarlet of its bill and legs, are beheld wheeling with rapid wing
in endless and varying directions. On firing a gun, the effect
is even startling. The air is immediately darkened with the
multitudes which are aroused by the report ; the ear is stunned
by the varied and discordant sounds which arise ; the piercing
note of the kittiwake (from which its name has been derived) ;
the shrill cry of the tammy norie ; and the hoarse burst of the
guillemot, resembling, as it were, the laugh of some demon, in
mockery of the intrusion of man amid these majestic scenes of
nature ; all these combined, and mingled occasionally with the
harsh scream of the cormorant, are heard high above the roar of
the ocean which breaks at the foot of these tremendous and gi-
gantic precipices.
It is a remark which cannot be too frequently nor forcibly re->
peated, that, in natural history especially, it is of the utmost
importance to judge from actual observation and experience, and
riot implicitly to rely on the descriptions and speculations of
writers who are often obliged to describe productions of nature
which they have never had an opportunity of beholding, and with
regard to which they have not unfrequently relied on informa-
tion at best but vague and unsatisfactory. This is particularly
the case with BufFon. There is no author more likely, from
the insiduous and specious graces of his eloquence, to captivate
arid influence the youthful mind ; and yet, in those branches of
3K.2
664 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
natural history to which my own observation extends, I have
often, with regard to a correct statement of facts, found him
egregiously deficient. And the truth of this remark I am in no
case able to substantiate more fully, than with respect to the
varieties of sea fowl at present under consideration. I find from
his writings, then, that he represents the razor-bill auk as utter-
ly incapable of flight, and the puffin as enabled with the utmost
difficulty to transport itself from one place to another, by raising,
as it were, with its almost useless wings, the surface of the sea ;
and, in like manner, the guillemot is described as being scarcely
able to fly above the surface of the sea, and, in order to reach its
nest, as being obliged to flutter, or rather to leap, from cliff to
cliff, resting a moment at each throw. These errors I do not
find corrected, except in the case of the puffin, by Bewick, and
other subsequent and popular naturalists, who must, I should
think, have known better, and which ought to have been at pains
to rectify the blunders of an author so captivating and universal-
ly read as Buffon. Now, I have myself been repeatedly a wit-
ness, at one of their greatest breeding stations, of the powers of
flight possessed by those birds who have thus been confidently
represented as being incapable of flight at all. The fact is, that,
while on the wing, they fly with singular rapidity and vigour,
and often at a very considerable elevation ; nor have I been able
to discover any of that difficulty in reaching their nests, which,
in the case of the guillemot, is described as being so painfully
great.
BIRDS OF THE GOOSE KIND.
THE HOOPING SWAN.
THIS bird inhabits the northern regions ; and seldom appears
in Britain but in very hard winters, when sometimes flocks of
five or six make their appearance. Martin states, that in the
month of October, swans come in great numbers to Ligney, one
of the Western Islands, and continue there till March, when they
return northward to breed.
In Iceland, these birds are an object of chase. In the month
of August they lose their feathers to such a degree, as not to be
able to fly. The natives, at that season, resort in great numbers
to the places where they most abound ; accompanied by dogs, and
mounted on active and strong horses, trained to the sport, and
capable of passing nimbly over the boggy soil and marshes.
The swan will run as fast as a tolerably fleet horse. The great-
er number are caught by the dogs ; which are taught to seize
them by the neck, a mode of attack that causes them to lose
their balance, and become an easy prey.
Notwithstanding the size of these birds, they are so exceeding-
ly swift of wing, when in full feather, as to be more difficult to
shoot, than almost any others; it being frequently necessary to
aim ten or twelve feet before their bills. This, however, is
only when flying before the wind in a brisk gale ; at which time
they seldom proceed at the rate of less than a hundred miles
in an hour; but when flying across the wind or against it, they
are not able to make any great progress.
3K.3
666 ANECDOTES OF DIRDS.
THE TRUMPETER SWAN.
This is a new species, and the most common of the tribe,
in the fur countries of North America. It breeds as far
north as latitude 61 but principally within the arctic circle, and
in its migrations generally precedes the goose a few days. It is
from this species, that the bulk of the swan's skins imported by
the Hudson's Bay Company are derived.
Lawson observes that there are two sorts of swans in Carolina
the larger of which is called, from its note, the trumpeter ; and
Hearne adds, " I have heard them in serene evenings after sun-
set, making a noise not very unlike that of a French-horn, but
entirely divested of every note that constituted melody, and have
often been sorry that it did not forebode their death."
This bird is white, the forehead alone being tinged with red-
dish-orange ; the bill, cere, and legs are entirely black.
THE TAME SWAN.
At Abbotsbury in Dorsetshire, there was formerly a noble
swannery, the property of the Earl of Ilchester, where six or
seven hundred were kept : but from the mansion being almost
deserted by the family, this collection has of late years been
much diminished. The royalty belonged anciently to the abbot,
and previously to the dissolution of the monasteries the swans
frequently amounted to more than double this number.
The following circumstance proves the great strength of the
swan's bill. As a gentleman was walking about four o'clock on
Sunday afternoon, the 21st October, 1827, in the Regent's park,
his attention was attracted by an unusual noise on the water, which
he soon ascertained to arise from a furious attack made by two
white swans on the solitary black one. The allied couple pur-
sued with the greatest ferocity, the unfortunate black swan, and
one of them : ucceeded in getting the neck of his enemy between
its bill, and shaking it violently. The poor black swan with dif-
ficulty extricated himself from the murderous grasp, hurried on
shore, tottered a few paces from the water's edge, and fell.
THE TAME GOOSE. 667
His death appeared to be attended with great agony. He
stretched his neck in the air, fluttered his wings, and attempted
to rise from the ground. At length, after about five minutes of
suffering, he made a last effort to rise, and fell with outstretched
neck and wings. One of the keepers came up at the moment,
and found the poor bird dead. It is remarkable that his foes
never left the water in pursuit, but continued sailing up and
down, to the spot whereon their victim fell, with every feather
on end, and apparently proud of their conquest.
The swan makes its nest in the grass among reeds ; and in
February begins to lay, depositing an egg every other day, till
there are six or eight. These occupy six weeks in hatching.
Dr Latham says, he knew two females that for three or four
years successively, agreed to associate, and hud each a brood
yearly, bringing up together about eleven young ones : they sat
by turns, and never quarrelled. When in danger, the old swans
carry off their offspring on their backs.
A female swan, while in the act of sitting, observed a fox
swimming towards her from the opposite shore : She instantly
darted into the water, and having kept him at bay for a consider-
able time with her wings, at last succeeded in drowning him ;
after which, in the sight of several persons, she returned in tri-
umph. This circumstance took place at Pensy, in Bucking-
hamshire.
The Black swan. This bird, no longer a rarity, is described
in the notes to Goldsmith.
THE TAME GOOSE.
In modern times it is not more on account of its excellence
as an article of food than of its feathers, down and quills, that
this bird is so much esteemed and bred. The quill feathers,
were formerly much used for feathering arrows.
" An English archer bent his bo\v,
Made of a trusty tree,
An arrow of a cloth-yard long
Uuto the head drew he.
6t)8 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
Against Sir Hugh Montgomery
So right his shaft he act,
The Gray Goose wing that was thereon
In his heart's blood was wet"
It is universally believed, that the goose lives to a great age,
and particular instances are recorded by ornithologists which
confirm the fact ; some are mentioned which have been kept
seventy years ; and Willoughby notices one which lived eighty
years ; and in an account of one which lately died at Paisley, it
will be seen that it reached nearly the age of one hundred years.
They are, however, seldom permitted to live out their natural
life, being sold with the younger ones before they approach that
period. The old ones are called cagmags, and are bought only
by novices in market making.
In some countries domestic geese require much less care and
attendance than those of this country. . The author just men-
tioned, informs us, that among the villages of the Cossacks,
subject to Russia, on the river Don, the geese leave their homes,
in March or April, as soon as the ice breaks up, and the pairs
joining each other, take flight in a body to the remote northern
lakes, where they breed and constantly reside during the summer;
and on the beginning of winter, the parent birds, with their multi-
plied young progeny, all return and divide themselves, every
flock alighting at the door of the respective place to which it
belongs.
The goose is no where kept in such vast quantities as in the
fens of Lincolnshire ; several persons there having as many as a
thousand breeders. They are bred for the sake of their quills
and feathers, rather than as food. They are stripped while alive,
once in the year for their quills, and no less than five times for
their feathers. The first plucking commences about Lady- day,
for both ; and the other four between Lady-day and Michaelmas.
It is said, that in general the birds do not suffer very much from
this operation ; except cold weather sets in, which then kills
great numbers of them. The old geese submit quietly to the
operation ; but the young ones are very noisy and unruly. Mr
Pennant says, he once saw this operation performed, and ob-
served that even goslins of only six weeks old were not spared
for their tails were plucked, as he was told, to inure them ear-
ly to the custom. The possessors, except in this cruel practice,
THE TAME GOOSE. 669
treat their birds with great kindness, lodging them very often,
even in the same room with themselves.
These geese breed in general only once a-year, but if well
kept they sometimes hatch twice 'in a season. During their
sitting each bird has a place allotted to it, in rows of wicker-pens
placed one above another ; and the gozzard or goose-herd, who
has the care of them, drives the whole flock to water twice a-day,
and, bringing them back to their habitation, places every bird
(without missing one) in its own nest.
It is scarcely credible what numbers of geese are driven from
the distant counties to London for sale ; frequently two to three
thousand in a drove ; and, in the year 1783, one drove passed
through Chelmsford, in its way from Suffolk to London, that
contained above nine thousand. In ancient times they were
driven much in the same way, from the interior of Gaul to
Rome.
A remarkable instance of fecundity in a goose, is recorded in
the Annals of Sporting. In 1827, Mr Thomas Hutchinson,
stone merchant at New Barn, Edinfi eld, near Bury, had a goose
which laid eggs three several times during that year, viz. in
March, twelve eggs ; in June, eight ; and began to lay again on
the 19th September.
A farmer living at Quarry-Honse, near Counden, had a goose
in 1827, that hatched a brood of goslings in May, and was sit-
ting her second set of seven eggs, early in November ; but what
may be considered somewhat remarkable is, that one of the first
brood laid two eggs early in November, which were placed under
the mother, while the young goose continued to lay.
However simple in appearance, or awkward in gesture the
goose may be, it is not without many marks of sentiment and
understanding. The courage with which it protects its young
and defends it against the ravenous birds, and certain instances
of attachment and even of gratitude which have been observed
in it, render our general contempt of the goose ill-founded. This
is strongly confirmed by an instance of warm affection, which
was communicated to BufTon by a man of veracity and informa-
tion. The following are nearly the words of the narrator :
" There were two ganders, a gray and a white one, (the latter
named Jacquol,) with three females. The males were perpetu-
ally contending for the company of these dames. When one or
670 ANECDOTES OF BIKUS.
the other prevailed, it assumed the direction of them, and hin-
dered its rival from approaching. He who was the master
during the night, would not yield the next morning ; and the
two gallants fought so furiously, that it was necessary to be
speedy in parting them. It happened one day that being drawn
to the bottom of the garden by their cries, I found them with
their necks entwined, striking their wings with rapidity and as-
tonishing force : the three females turned round, as wishing to
separate them, but without effect : at last the white gander was
worsted, overthrown and maltreated by the other. I parted
them ; happily for the white one, as he would otherwise have
lost his life. Then the conqueror began screaming and gabbling,
and clapping his wings ; and ran to join his mistresses, giving
each of them a noisy salute, to which the three dames replied,
ranging themselves at the same time round him. Meanwhile
poor Jacquot was in a pitiable condition ; and, retiring, sadly
vented at a distance his doleful cries. It was several days before
he recovered from his dejection ; during which time I bad
sometimes occasion to pass through the court where he strayed.
I saw him always thrust out of society, and whenever I passed,
he came gabbling to me. One day he approached so near, and
showed so much friendship, that I could not help caressing him,
by stroking with my hand his back and neck, to which he seem-
ed so sensible, as to follow me into the entrance of the court.
Next day, as I again passed, he ran to me, and I gave him the
same caresses ; with which alone he was not satisfied, but seemed
by his gestures, to desire, that I should introduce him to his mates.
I accordingly led him to their quarters, and, upon his arrival, he
began his vociferations, and directly addressed the three dames,
who failed not to answer him. Immediately his late victor
sprung upon Jacquot. I left them for a moment ; the gray one
was always the stronger. I took part with my Jacquot, who
was under; I set him over his rival ; he was thrown ; I set him
up again. In this way they fought eleven minutes ; and by the
assistance which I gave him, he at last obtained the advantage,
and got possession of the three dames. When my friend Jacquot
saw himself master, he would not venture to leave his females,
and therefore no longer came to me when I passed : he only
gave me at a distance many tokens of friendship, shouting and
clapping his wings ; but would not quit his companions, lest,
THE TAME GOOSE. 671
perhaps his rival should take possession. Things went on in
this way till the breeding season, and he never gabbled to me
but at a distance. When his females, however, began to sit, he
left them, and redoubled his friendship for me. One day, hav-
ing followed me as far as the ice-house at the top of the park,
the spot where I must necessarily part with him in pursuing my
path to a wood at half a league distance, I shut him in the park.
He no sooner saw himself separated from me, than he vented
strange cries. However, I went on my road ; and had advanced
about a third of the distance, when the noise of a heavy flight
made me turn my head ; I saw my Jacquot only four paces
from me. He followed me all the way, partly on foot, partly on
wing ; getting before me and stopping at the cross paths to see
which way I should take. Our journey lasted from ten o'clock
in the morning till eight in the evening ; and my companion fol-
lowed me through all the windings of the wood, without seem-
ing to be tired. After this, he attended me every where, so as
to become troublesome ; for I was not able to go to any place
without his tracing my steps, so that one day he came to find me
in the church. Another time, as he was passing by the rector's
window, he heard me talking in the room ; and as he found the
door open, he entered, climbed up stairs ; arid marching in, gave
a loud exclamation of joy, to the no small affright of the family.
I am sorry, in relating such interesting traits of my good and
faithful friend Jacquot, when I reflect that it was myself that
first dissolved the pleasing connection ; but it was necessary for
me to separate him from me by force. Poor Jacquot found
himself as free in the best apartments as in his own : and after
several accidents of this kind, he was shut up, and I saw him no
more. His inquietude lasted about a year, and he died from
vexation. He was become as dry as a bit of wood, I am told ;
for I would not see him ; and his death was concealed from me
for more than two months after the event. Were I to recount
all the friendly incidents between me and poor Jacquot, I should
not for several days have done writing. He died in the third
year of our friendship, aged seven years and two months."
The goose has for many ages been celebrated on account of
its vigilance. The story of their saving Rome by the alarm
they gave, when the Gauls were attempting the Capitol, is well
known, and was probably the first time of their watchfulness be-
672 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
ing recorded ; and on that account, they were afterwards held in
the highest estimation by the Roman people. It is certain that
nothing can stir in the night, nor the least or most distant noise
be made, without the geese being roused, and immediately be-
ginning to hold a cackling converse ; and on the nearer ap-
proach of apprehended danger, they set up their more shrill and
clamorous cries. It is on account of this property that they are
esteemed by many persons as the most vigilant of all sentinels,
when placed in particular situations.
An old goose that had been for a fortnight hatching in a far-
mer's kitchen, was perceived on a sudden to be taken violently
ill. She soon after left the nest, and repaired to an out-house
where there was a young goose of the first year, which she
brought with her into the kitchen. The young one immediately
scrambled into the old one's nest, sat, hatched, and afterwards
brought up the brood. The old goose, as soon as the young
one had taken her place, sat down by the side of the nest, and
shortly after died. As the young goose had never been in the
habit of entering the kitchen before, " I know of no way of ac-
counting for this fact," says Mr Brew, of Ennis, the narrator,
" than by supposing that the old one had some way of communicat-
ing her thoughts and anxieties, which the other was perfectly able
to understand. A sister of mine who witnessed the transaction
gave me the information in the evening of the very day it hap-
pened."
We are informed, in Loudon's Magazine of Natural History,
that in the year 1828, thirty domestic geese deserted the pond of
a lady in Aberdeenshire, without any cause being known for
this uncommon occurrence. A gentleman happened to see
them in their flight seaward ; and they were never afterwards
heard of.
" Who of our good townsmen," says the editor of that particu-
larly well conducted paper the Paisley Advertiser ! ! " has not seen,
or at least heard of the loyal goose of Paisley the chivalrous
and warlike goose of the years 1819 and 1820? In these years
during the radical turmoils in this neighbourhood, this strange
and venerable bird attracted universal attention by its devoted
affection to the soldiery, and its aptitude and vigilance in walk-
ing sentry before the jail. Of its previous history we know
little, save that he had been an inmate of the Saracen's Head
THE TAME GOOSE- 673
inn for upwards of' twenty years before ; and had, till the year
1819, comported itself like a grave and well ordered member of
its own species. In a heavy speat, (flood) one winter twenty
years ago, it had come floating down the Cart floundering in the
rush of waters, and cackling lustily in the storm. Whence it
came, or where, and when born, remains matter of mystery and
conjecture to this day. (1st Sept. 1827.) Certain it is, the ad-
venturous voyager was stranded at the foot of the Dyers Wynd,
and being there seized by some of the minor authorities of the
town, as a waiff or a wreck, was forthwith lodged in the town's
inn, as a victim to be immolated at the next Christmas, or first
civic feast. But age secured it from the vulgar indignity of be-
ing eaten. The cook declared it was too old by half a-century,
and that nothing but an ostrich-stomach could digest its iron
frame ; and after her judgment had been confirmed by other
authorities skilled in gastronomic science, it was dismissed, and
allowed the full and uncontrolled walk of the stable-yard. Here
it vegetated till 1819, being handed over to each successive host
of the Saracen's head, to the next tenant, as a part and portion
of the premises. In the eventful years 1819 and 1820, it gave
its first indications of attachment to a military life. The sight
of a red coat and musket were attractions it could not resist*
and the roll of the drum or bugle call was sure to find a willing
listner in this plumaged hero. Every day, for many months in
these years, it was seen parading, slowly and stately, with mea-
sured waddle before the jail, following closely the heels of the
sentinel, stopping when he stopped, and pacing when he paced.
Night and day, this loyal bird was found at its post. When it
slept, none could tell its vigils were unremitting and often
have we seen the soldier share his brown loaf with this new
brother in arms. Thus did it continue in the faithful and constant
discharge of its military duties so long as a red coat and musket
gleamed before the jail. From these singular habits, it became as
well known to our townsmen as their cross steeple, and often
formed the topic of their conversation. It was reverenced as if it
had been one of the sacred brood which preserved the capitol.
When sentinels were discontinued, the goose still paced over its old
haunt, in sullen majesty, dreaming of other and more turbulent
days, and glorying in the recollection of how itself had stood, in
the front of danger, unappalled and firm in its unshaken loyalty
674 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
to the Crown and constitution. At length it forsook this sta-
tion, finding its services there no longer useful, and speedily as-
sociated itself to the serjeant or corporal of each succeeding
recruiting party that came to town. At the heels of some Ser-
jeant, who, morning and evening, wore out his shoes on the flags
for lack of other employment, the goose was found acting as
orderly, keeping behind him at the distance, as nearly as one
could guess, of ' three paces and a stride.' When one sergeant
left the town, the goose soon ingratiated itself with his successors :
and when knots of these gentlemen assembled on the street, the
goose was ever found in dignified silence, thrusting his neck be-
tween their legs, and with elevated crest, listening to their coun-
cils of war, and stories of battles won in distant lands. Besides
this, it paid stated visits to sundry individuals whom it had
favoured with its friendship. It could not chat ; but it bade
them good morning with a most affectionate gabble. When
soldiers had to be billeted, by a species of prescience almost un-
accountable, it waddled with friendly eagerness to the door of
the Chamberlain's office, and there walked to and fro till the
billets were distributed. To horse and foot to regular and
volunteer corps it was alike kind and attentive. Whoever wore
graciously his majesty's uniform was sure to be recognised by this
singular bird. Many a time have we seen a military officer, if he
chanced to walk near the cross, start, when he found the goose dog-
ging him as diligently as if it were his shadow. To men in au-
thority he showed a becoming deference, and even condescended,
occasionally to pick up a slight acquaintance with the subordinate
officers of justice, choosing, however, those most remarkable for
their size as especial favourites. For the last year, it was evi-
dent to the eyes of all, that our feathered eccentric was fast
sinking under age, and its accompanying infirmities. It had become
almost blind, and very lame. Its drumsticks were overgrown
with knotty excrescences, and many of its toes had been broken
off by its previous campaigning, while the lustre of its once
snowy plumage was irretrievably gone. Yet to the last it con-
tinued to hirple over its wonted haunts, and to visit its early
friends. When age-worn nature refused longer to obey the im-
pulses of its heroic, spirit, it shook off the burden of a life no
more of use, in the fulness of its age, with a feeble sibilation,
and a slight flutter of its wings, on Tuesday morning last, (the
THE TAME GOOSE. 675
28th August, 1827,) in the stable yard of the Saracen's head
inn. Many who, like the writer, have under the weight of a
musket, been amused by observing the habits of this bird, and
found it his sole companion in the dreary watch at night, will
regret its death, and sympathize in the feeling, under which this
slight piece of animal biography has been penned. The death
of this feathered Nestor, it is not abusing the term to say, has
created a general sensation in the town, nay, even general regret.
Its age has been variously computed, but most are of opinion,
that at the time of its death, it must have been within a few
years of a hundred."
" It is not uncommon for domestic geese to take flights to a
considerable distance. Some time ago, my father had a large
flock, which fed on high ground not visible from the house.
They were lessened, as occasion required, to about six ; these
were piloted home every night for some weeks ; and very fre-
quently, on seeing the house from the top of the hill, they would
take wing and fly homewards, making a circuit of about a mile.
On one occasion they were nearly alighting at a pond of water
at the next farm-house, instead of a similar one near home ; they
soon, however, discovered their mistake, and raised themselves
in the air to nearly as great a height as before, alighted at their
own water, and were at it long before their driver, notwithstand-
ing that the latter mostly ran in a direct line. This is the more
singular because these geese were considered heavy and fat,
and nearly ready for making into good old-fashioned goose-
pie."*
" On visiting a friend at Titten-hanger green the other day,"
says a correspondent in the Natural History Magazine, " I was
again surprised at seeing a flock of fifteen or twenty geese get
up and fly tolerably well for nearly four hundred yards, pass a
hedge, and alight on the borders of a pond."
Cuvier published a brief description of a bird produced be-
tween a swan and a goose, which in fact amounts to its being a
perfect goose, in every thing but size, like its mother, which it
greatly exceeds.
" The following story, the truth of which we can vouch for,"
says the Editor of the Dumfries Courier, " is not only curious
* London's Mag of Nat Hist. vol. ii. p. (55.
676 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
in itself, but evinces pretty forcibly, that whimsicality and ec-
centricity are not confined to the human species. Mr Whigham,
of Allanton, has a very large gander, which was hatched five or
six years ago, which had scarcely attained the months of majori.
ty, when he contracted a dislike to his own species. Whether
this arose from disappointed love, or a disposition naturally goose-
anthropical, might puzzle the deepest naturalist to determine ;
but certain it is, that he feels so little pleasure in the society
who have feathers on their backs, that the race would speedily be-
come extinct, were all ganders as ungallant as himself. Jn 1823,
there were two pretty bay colts grazing in a field adjoining to
Allanton, and to these he in time attached himself so cordially,
that he became their companion night and day. From this, or
some other circumstance, he retains a strong partiality to bays
and browns, and will not associate with a black horse. The
colts alluded to, were succeeded by others ; and the gander,
though he seemed sensible of, and sorry for the change, speedily
ingratiated himself with his new friends. These he attends in
the paddock during the day, follows them home at night when
the weather is cold, and if accidentally shut out of the stable,
patiently bivouacs behind the door, and is always ready to clap
his wings, and go afield early in the morning. When in the park,
his sole occupation seems to be to stand near the head of one of
the colts, carefully watching all its motions, and accommodating
his position to that of his friend, by waddling when he walks,
and flying when he runs. Young horses, when disturbed, very
easily break into a gallop, and as the gander manages to keep so
near the colt, that he may be seen flying vigorously alongside of
him, it is certainly strange that it never occurred to him to take
a ride. If the mouth of the other, while collecting provender,
should come too near his feet, he stretches forth his neck, ele-
vates his wings, hisses gently, and by other motions, admonishes
the intruder to keep at a proper distance. Though geese graze
as well as kine, the bird in question is rarely seen nibbling a
pile of grass, and his chief dependence, we believe, is placed on
the stray pickles of corn he caters in the stable. On one occa-
sion, the young horses at Allanton were removed to a field at
some distance, and then the poor gander had to dree a very drea-
ry period of widowhood. If he could have spoken or sung, his
ditty would have been, ' I wander dowie a' mv lane ;' but when
THE CANADA GOOSE. 677
the colts returned, that is the bay ones, he was seen hurrying to
meet them, half running half flying, and cackling forth his con-
gratulations, to the very topmost note of the gamut of joy. In
April last, 1827, we happened to be at Allanton, and, as a
matter of course, visited the biped of whose eccentric habits we
had heard so much. A new scene then presented itself. In the
course of the day, r score or two of capital Highland bullocks
had been let into the field, and these the gander seemed to look on
with a very jaundiced eye. By mere accident, one of them ap
preached too near the favourite colt, an intrusion which was re-
sented by a fierce and rather laughable onset. The bill of the
bird was darted at the hard head of the enemy, and the latter,
though furnished with a notable pair of horns, started back as
quickly as if an adder had stung him. Again, however, he ad-
vanced to the charge, was again assaulted, and again retreated ;
until his brethren, perceiving what was going forward, joined in
the melee, and very nearly hemmed the gander in. Our first
impression was, that the biped would be tossed and gored till
not a pinion stuck together, but in this we were mistaken.
Each of the bullocks was assailed in turn, to its no small amaze..
ment, if not dismay, but the assailant, maugre his great courage,
appeared to be placed in a sad quandary, and did all he could to
rescue the colt from such unsuitable company, by biting his
heels, and nibbling at his head. The docile animal, at length,
good-naturedly yielded to his wishes, and the horned belligerents,
on their part, ratified the armistice, by offering no farther mo-
lestation."
THE CANADA GOOSE.
At East Barnet in Hertfordshire, some years ago, a gentleman
had a Canadian goose, which attached itself in the most affec-
tionate manner to the house-dog, but never attempted to enter
his kennel, except in rainy weather. Whenever the dog barked,
the goose set up a loud cackling, and ran at the person she sup-
posed the dog barked at, and would bite at his heels. She was
exceedingly anxious to be on the most familiar terms with her
canine friend, and sometimes attempted to eat along with him,
3L2
678 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
which, however, he would not suffer, nor indeed did he
manifest the same friendship towards the goose, which it did to-
wards him, treating it rather with indifference. This creature
would never go to roost with the others at night, unless driven
by main force ; and when in the morning they were turned into
the field, she refused to go thither, and bent her course towards
the yard gate, where she sat all day watching the dog. The
proprietor at length finding it in vain to attempt keeping these
animals apart, gave orders that the goose should be no longer
interfered with, but left entirely to the freedom of her own
will. Being thus left at liberty to pursue her own inclinations,
she ran about the yard with him all night, and when the dog
went to the village, she never failed to accompany him, and
contrived to keep pace with his more rapid movements, by the
assistance of her wings, and in this way betwixt running and fly-
ing, accompanied him all over the parish. This extraordinary
affection is supposed to have originated in the dog having
rescued her from a fox, in the very moment of distress. It con-
tinued for two years, and 4 only terminated with the death of the
goose.
When the dog was ill, the goose never quitted him day or
night, not even to feed. She seemed quite aware of his sick-
ness, and it was apprehended she would have been starved to
death, had not a pan of corn been placed every day close to the
kennel. During his illness, the goose always sat in the kennel,
and would not suffer any one to approach it, but the person who
brought the dog's or her own food. The dog at length died, and
the end of this faithful bird was melancholy ; for she still kept
possession of the kennel ; and a new house dog being introduc-
ed, which much resembled the former, both in size and colour,
the poor goose was in consequence unhappily deceived, and en-
tering the kennel as usual, the new inhabitant seized her by the
throat and killed her.
CAPE GEESE.
The Cape geese, which are kept in Windsor Great- Park ponds,
nsed to breed on the island in one of these. In consequence,
CHINA GOOSE. 679
however, of their eggs having been frequently destroyed
by rats, they took to building in some large oak pollards near the
water, from whence they conveyed their young in safety. It is
difficult to say in what way those birds remove their young from
these elevated situations. Some of the Park keepers say that
the geese take them under their wings, and thus descend the
tree, but we think it more probable that they carry them one by
one in their bills.
CHINA GOOSE.
IH the Supplement to Montagu's Ornithological Dictionary, the
following singular circumstance is related. A pointer-dog had
killed a male China goose. The dog was most severely punish-
ed for the misdemeanour, and had the dead bird tied to his neck.
The solitary female became extremely distressed for the loss of
her partner and only companion ; and, probably having been at-
tracted to the dog's kennel by the sight of her dead mate, she
seemed determined to persecute the dog by her constant attend-
ance and continual vociferations j but after a little time, a
strict friendship took place between these incongruous animals ;
they fed out of the same trough, lived under the same roof, and
in the same straw bed kept each other warm, and when the dog
was taken to the field, the lamentations of the goose were inces-
sant.
EGYPTIAN GEESE. On the second week of September, 1832,
Mr Greenhow, surgeon of North Shields, mentions that a flock
of Egyptian geese was seen beside the Tweed, at Carham, two
of which, while nibbling grass on the margin of the river, were
shot by Ralph Stepbenson, a gamekeeper of that neighbour-
hood.
THE DUCK, AND ITS VARIETIES.
THE TAME UUClC.
THIS valuable species owes its origin to the Mallard or wild
duck, but has long been reclaimed from a state of nature. Many
of them have nearly the same plumage as the wild ones ; others
vary greatly from them both in plumage and size. They are to
be found of all colours ; but the drakes still retain the unvarying
marks of their wild original, in the curled feathers of the tail.
In a wild state they pair and are monogamous, but become poly-
gamous when tame.
Buffon says, " man made a double conquest when he subdued
the inhabitants at once of the air and the water. Free in both
those elements, equally fitted to roam in regions of the atmo-
sphere, to glide through "the ocean, or plunge under its billows,
the aquatic birds seemed destined by nature to live for ever re-
mote from society and from the limits of our dominion. Eggs
taken from the reeds and rushes amidst the water, and set under
an adopted mother, first produced in our farm-yards wild, shy,
fugitive birds, perpetually roving and unsettled, and impatient
to regain the abodes of liberty. These, however, after they had
bred and reared their own young in the domestic asylum, be-
came attached to the spot ; and their descendants, in process of
time, grew more and more gentle and tractable, till at last they
appear to have nearly relinquished and forgotten the prerogatives
of the savage state, although they still retain a strong propensity
to roam abroad, in search, no doubt, of the larger pools, marshy
THE TAME DUCK. O8i
places, and bogs, which it is natural to suppose they prefer
to the beaten, hard, pebbly-covered surface surrounding the
scantily watered hamlet : and indeed it is well known to every ob-
serving good housewife, that when they are long confined to such
dry places, they degenerate both in strength and beauty, and lose
much of the fine flavour of those which are reared in spots more
congenial to their nature. That these and such like watery pla-
ces, which their health requires for them to wash, dive, feed, rest,
and sport in, are not better tenanted by these useful and pretty
birds, is much to be regretted, and marks strongly a falling off,
a want of industry in those females to whose lot it falls, and
whose duty it is to contribute their quota of attention to those
lesser but essential branches of rural economy."
When ducks, with other kinds of fowl, are busily employed
in picking up the waste about the barn door, they greatly enliven
the rural scene, as depicted by our poet Allan Ramsay.
" A snug thack house, before the door a green,
Hens on the middings, ducks in dubs are seen :
On this side stands a barn, on that a byre ;
A peat-stack joins, and forms a rural square."
" We have been assured," says Montagu, " by a person of un-
doubted veracity, that a half domesticated duck made a nest in
Rumford Tower, hatched her young, and brought them in safety
to a piece of water at a considerable distance. Others have
been known to breed on trees ; and we recollect the nest of this
bird being found in the head of an old pollard willow impending
over the water, from whence the young might readily drop un-
hurt into their natural element." Mr Tunstall, says Professor
Rennie, mentions one at Etchingham, in Sussex, which was
found sitting upon nine eggs, on an oak twenty five feet from the
ground. Daniel, in his rural sports, mentions an instance of
one taking possession of the nest of a hawk in a large oak.
Mr Andrew Shortrede informs us, that he remembers on his
father's farm of Monklaw, near Jedburgh, a duck, which in the
spring laid black eggs. As the season advanced, the blackness
gradually went off, till, at the end of Autumn, the eggs were whiter
than those of an ordinary duck. This duck was rather beyond
the usual size.
682 ANECDOTES Of BIRDS.
On the same farm there was another duck, which laid two
eggs a day. This fact was proved by locking the bird up, when
one egg was found early in the morning, and another in the even-
ing. This remarkable duck was killed by a servant ignorant of
its virtues.
The following curious fact is related by Professor Scarpa.
A duck accustomed to feed out of its owner's hand, was once
offered some perfumed bread, which it at first refused to take.
After several attempts, however, it at length complied ; took
the bread in its bill, and, carrying it to a neighbouring pond,
moved it in various directions, as if to wash away the disagree-
able taste and smell, and then swallowed it.
Mr Saul says, " I have now a fine duck, which was hatched
under a hen in the spring of 1828, there being seven young ones
produced at the time. When these ducks were about ten days
old, five of them were taken away from beneath the hen by the
rats during the night time, the rats sucking them to death, and
leaving the body perfect. My duck, which escaped this danger,
now alarms all the other ducks and fowls, in a most extraordi-
nary manner, as soon as the rats appear in the building in which
they are confined, whether it be in the night or in the morning.
I was awoke by this duck last spring, about midnight ; and, as
I apprehended the rats were making an attack, I got up imme-
diately, went to the building and found the ducks uninjured. I
then returned to bed again, supposing the rats had retreated.
To my surprise next morning, I found that ten young ducks had
been taken from beneath a hen, and sucked to death at a very
short distance from where the duck was sitting. On this ac-
count I got a young rat-dog, and kept it in the building ; and,
when the rats approach, the duck will actually rouse the dog
from sleep, and as soon as the dog starts up, the duck becomes
settled again."
That the duck is capable of performing long migrations, and
over a considerable extent of ocean, is proved by the following
singular fact, which is mentioned in the Natural History of Sel-
borne, by Mr White. " As some people, (says he,) were shoot-
ing in the parish of Trotton, in the county of Sussex, they kill-
ed a duck in that dreadful winter of 1708-9, with a silver collar
about its neck, on which were engraven the arms of the King
of Denmark. This anecdote the Rector of Trotton at that time
THE MALLARD. 683
has often told to a near relation of mine ; and, to the best of my
remembrance, the collar was in the possession of the rector."
In the neighbourhood of Northam, Herts, there is a domestic
duck, which flies with the same power, and at the same height as
a crow ; or rather I should say, in the same way as if it were
wild. I saw her crossing the road yesterday, and for some time
was lost in wonder what strange bird it could be. The people
of the village, however, soon answered my inquiry, and assured
me that this duck would often make the circuit of a mile. The
weakness of flight in domesticated birds is, no doubt, occa-
sioned by the little or no use that is made of their wings. It
would be curious to ascertain what first taught this duck to
know that he could lly whenever he chose.*
The Mallard. This bird, the original stock of our domestic
duck, is very well known, and frequents fresh water lakes. It
is rarely seen in salt water. A particular description of this
and the other species of wild ducks is given in the notes to
Goldsmith. We shall briefly mention them here.
In June 1822, at Yarmouth, a rat was discovered in the crop
of a wild duck, in a perfect state, and measured, from the tip of
the nose to the end of the tail, fourteen inches, girth six inches,
and weighed seven ounces and a half,
Mr Jesse mentions an instance of a wild duck, which had its
nest in a poplar tree, which overhangs a piece of water in Staf-
fordshire, from whence she contrived to convey her young in
safety.
The Velvet duck. This bird is found in Europe and South
America. The bill of the male is gibbous or convex at the base,
a peculiarity which is awanting in the female.
The Scaup duck, is found in Europe, Northern Asia, and
America, and is migratory in winter.
The Shieldrake, inhabits northern countries as far as Ice-
land. It exerts ingenuity similar to that of the partridge and
lapwing, when its young are in danger.
The Long-tailed duck. The tail of this species is long and
terminates in a point. They are found in Europe, Asia, and
America.
The Golden Eye. This bird is most abundant in Italy, and
London's Mag. Nat. Hist i. p. 377.
684 ANECDOTES OF BIRDS.
though its plumage is very beautiful its flesh is rank and disa-
greeable.
The Eider duck. This bird is a summer visitant in Europe
and America. It is much esteemed for its down, which is so
fine and at the same time so elastic as to be capable of wonder-
ful extremes of diminution and extension. One poet, and only
one, we believe, has availed himself of it. He speaks of
" Turf that is soft as the eider-bird's wing."
It would be difficult to point out a more luxurious simile. This
bird is about twice the size of the common duck.
The method employed to decoy wild ducks, by means of tame
ones, into snares set for them, is amusingly described by Gold-
smith, and exhibits the capabilities of these birds in a striking
point of view.
THE KING-FISHER.
OF this genus there are many species but we shall confine
our account to the common king fisher, which is indigenous in
Britain. Though the superstitions regarding this bird have
ceased to influence the belief of any one yet they still remain
as delightful fancies. The Romans had their halcedonia, hal-
cyon days, or days of calm, so called in allusion to the mild and
clear weather which was supposed to -prevail during the time
when this bird was hatching. The king-fisher is still contem-
plated as the associate of cloudless sunshine, and is often alluded
to by our poets. The following stanza occurs in one of Shen-
stone's effusions : we repeat it from early recollection.
"Why o'er the verdant banks of Ouse
Does yonder halcyon speed so fast ?
'Tis all because she would not lose
Her fav'rite calm which will not last."
The prevailing colours of the king-fisher are brilliant blue and
green. In size it is very little larger than the lark. ' It in-
habits the banks of clear rivers and brooks, preferring those that
flow with an easy current, and whose beds are margined with
willows, alders, or close bushes. It is usually seen perched on
THE KING-FISHER. 685
a small bough overhanging the stream, from whence it darts
upon the small fish and aquatic insects, that form its food.
Sometimes it will hover suspended (in the manner of the kes-
trel and some other hawks) over the water, and precipitate itself
upon its prey, when risen to the surface. Upon making a cap-
ture, it conveys the object to land, and, after beating it to death
upon a stone, or on the ground, swallows it whole. The bones
and other indigestible parts are afterwards ejected in small pel-
lets, by the mouth. Its flight is very rapid, and sustained by a
quickly repeated motion of the wings, and is always in a straight
and horizontal direction, near the surface of the water. These
birds breed in the banks of the streams they haunt, either dig-
ging a hole themselves, or taking possession of that of a water-
rat, which they afterwards enlarge, to suit their convenience.
The bearing of the hole is always diagonally upwards, and it
pierces two or three feet into the bank. The nest is composed
of the above-mentioned pellets offish-bones, ejected into a small
cavity at the farther end of this retreat, and upon which the
eggs are laid, to the number of six or seven, of a transparent
pinkish-white. Montagu remarks, that the hole in which they
breed is not fouled by the castings of the old birds, but becomes
so by the droppings of the brood, which, being of a watery nature,
cannot be carried away by the parents, as is usual with most
small birds. Instinct has therefore taught them to make the
hole in a sloping direction, in order to carry away the offensive
matter, which may frequently be seen issuing from the entrance
of this passage to the nest.
The young, when nearly fledged, are very voracious, and often
reveal their habitation by their continued cry.
Attempts have been sometimes made to rear the king-fisher
in a state of confinement, but without success ; as it will not
live without a full supply of fresh fish, which it is difficult to
procure at all seasons. Worms have been tried as a substitute,
but without answering the intended purpose."*
The common king-fisher is the only species of an extensive
genus that is found in Europe, throughout which it is generally
dispersed ; and it differs in no respect from the same bird in
Asia and Africa, as I have had an opportunity of examining
specimens from both Continents.
* Selby's Illustrations of Ornithology.
3M
OF
CETACEOUS ANIMALS IN GENERAL.
THIS globe presents itself to us under two important aspects,
as land, surrounded by an ethereal atmosphere, and as water,
consisting of a medium of great density. Oxygen, that vital air
by means of which, through the renovation of the deteriorated
venous blood, the life of animals is sustained, may, however,
be extracted from both the atmosphere and the water ; and na-
ture has accordingly endowed her creatures with respiratory
organs peculiarly adapted to each state of existence* The ani-
mals with a backbone, which exist on the earth's surface,
breathe by means of lungs, inspiring and expiring the circum-
ambient air; while fishes destined to live exclusively in the
ocean, are provided with a comparatively external mechanism,
namely, the branchiae, or gills, over which the surrounding fluid
flows, to impart its oxygen 9. the blood. And some remarkable
reptiles, as the profeus*a*nd siren, created with a capacity for
living in either of these media, are possessed of both those
organs by which the terrestrial and aquatic tribes respire.
It would be impossible for any animated being to contain in
the ordinary bulk of a respiratory organ, that surface which
would be requisite to extract from water a quantity of oxygen
sufficient to maintain the temperature possessed by warm-blooded
animals : lungs in which over a large surface, and at intervals,
the oxygeniferous medium can be diffused, are indispensable
to these classes. But the function of respiration by lungs is im-
practicable to animals which are constantly submersed ; whence
fishes respire by gills and are cold-blooded animals.
Having become acquainted with these facts, it cannot fail to
Of CETACEOUS ANIMALS. 687
strike the observer with surprise, when he discovers in the ocean
a large tribe of warm-blooded animals, which suckle their young,
analogous to fishes in their external form, with the fin and the
naked skin, divested of all appearance of hair, and pursuing a
similar mode of life. And wonder will increase, when ex-
amination proves, that they aie nothing else than terrestrial
mammalia, or animals which suckle their young, whose external
organs are concealed under the external figure of a fish. Specu-
lation immediately suggests the fact, that fishes existed prior to
the creation of mammalia, and that the Omnipotent has passed
by gradations from one series of organization to another ; that
the type or model on which all animals with a spine are formed,
is essentially the same; that those internal differences which
were necessary to the terrestrial mammalia, were first attempted
in the inhabitants of the ocean. The Cetacea, of which the
whale serves as an example, respire by means of lungs, inces-
santly by rising to the surface for atmospheric air: they are
viviparous, and suckle their young ; and the sexes associate in
the manner of terrestrial animals. The bones, which represent
those of the anterior limbs of quadrupeds, are concealed under
thick tendinous envelopes in the form of pectoral fins ; those
representing the hind limbs are displaced by the cartilages of a
horizontal tail fin in which respect they differ from fishes, for
in them it is always vertical and the pelvis is in a rudimentary
state.
With gills pulmonic breathes the enormous whale,
And spouts aquatic columns to the gale ;
Sports on the shining wave at noontide hours,
And shifting rainbows crest the rising showers. DARWIN.
Some striking peculiarities present themselves in the general
organization of the cetacea. Constantly immersed in the water,
with the exception of a small portion of the body, it became
necessary to the act of respiration, that the nostrils should have
a direction differing from terrestrial mammalia ; and we find in
the cetacea, apertures which have been named Spiracles, placed
on the summit of the head, in a perpendicular direction, by which
are performed the functions of respiration, and the ejection of
the water which passes into the mouth during the act of feeding.
The enormous size of the cetacea is perhaps one of the most
3M2
688 OF CETACEOUS ANIMALS.
amazing facts in their history; varying in deyelopement from
the most colossal proportions to the ordinary size of other beings,
they are in their extreme bulk the largest of known animals.
Indeed it is natural, says Lesson, that these giants of the ani-
mal kingdom, occupying the immense deserts of the sea, should
bear relation to the vast surface which they have to animate.
Thus the extensive wastes of Africa are the habitations of the
largest quadrupeds, such as the elephant, the rhinoceros, and the
giraffe.
The habits of the cetacea vary in the different groups. The
whales are large and harmless, but move in their native element
with amazing power ; the cachalots are fierce and courageous ;
the dolphins warlike arid voracious. The developement of the
brain bears an interesting relation to the manners of the animal ;
of little magnitude in any of the cetacea, in proportion to the
bulk of the body, it assumes its maximum in dolphins, and their
possession of superior intelligence is attested by all who have
studied their habits.
Till the time of Bloch, whales and their congeners were
always associated with fishes, and it was not till the first edition
of the animal kingdom by Cuvier, that a true arrangement of
cetaceous animals was formed. These he divided into the her-
bivorous cetacea, and the cetacea proper, which feed on fish. The
whole animals forming the class, however, are remarkable for the
strong typical similarity that exists amongst the different species
of which it is composed.
THE GREAT WHALE.
Captain Scoresby says, "the food of the whale is generally
supposed to consist of different kinds of sepiae medusae, or the
cliolimacina of Linnseus; but I have great reason to believe,
that it is chiefly, if not altogether, of the squillas or shrimp tribe ;
for, on examining the stomach of one of large size, nothing else
was found in it ; they were about half an inch long, semi-trans-
parent, and of a pale red colour. I also found a great quantity
in the mouth of another having been apparently vomited by it.
When the whale feeds, it ssvims with considerable velocity under
THE GREAT WHALE. 689
water with its mouth wide open. The water enters by the fore-
part, but is poured out again at the sides, and the food is entan-
gled and sifted as it were by the whalebone, which does not
allow any thing to escape."
The vast size of these animals is thus described by the poet :
Nature's strange work, vast whales of differing- form,
Toss up the troubled floods and are themselves a storm.
Uncouth the sight, when they in dreadful play
Discharge their nostrils, and refund a sea ;
Or angry lash the foam with hideous sound,
And scatter all the watery dust around.
Fearless the fierce destructive monsters roll,
Ingulph the fish, and drive the flying shoal.
In deepest seas these living isles appear,
And deepest seas can scarce their pressure bear :
Their bulk would more than fill the shelvy strait,
And fathom'd depths would yield beneath their weight.
To the Greenlanders, as well as the natives of more southern
climates, the whale is an animal of essential importance ; and
these people spend much time in fishing for it. When they set
out on their whale-catching expeditions, they dress themselves in
their best apparel, fancying that if they are not cleanly and neatly
clad, the whale, who detests a slovenly and dirty garb, would im-
mediately avoid them. In this manner, about fifty persons, men
and women, set out together in one of their large boats. The
women carry along with them their needles, and other imple-
ments to mend their husbands' clothes, in case they should be
torn, and to repair the boat, if it happen to receive any damage.
When the men discover a whale, they strike it with their har-
poons, to which are fastened lines or straps two or three fathoms
long, made of seal-skin, having at the end a bag of a whole seal-
skin, blown up. The huge animal, by means of the inflated bag,
is in some degree compelled to keep near the surface of the
water. When he is fatigued and rises, the men attack him with
their spears till he is killed. They now put on their spring
jackets, (made all in one piece of a dressed seal's skin,) with their
boots, gloves, and caps, which are laced so tightly to each other,
that no water can penetrate them. In this garb they plunge into
the sea, and begin to slice off the fat all round the animal's body,
even from those parts that are under water ; for, their jackets
being full of air, the men do not sink, and they have the art of
3>i3
690 OF CETACEOUS ANIMALS.
keeping themselves upright in the sea. They have sometimes
been known so daring as, while the whale was still alive, to
mount on his back and kill him from thence.
On the 18th September, 1827, a shoal of whales appearing in
the offing, near Fittel-head, in Shetland, the fishermen immedi-
ately collected with their boats, and succeeded in driving twenty-
seven of them on the shore, in Quendal-bay. One of them
measured by the light-keepers of Sumburgh-head, was found to
be seventy-four feet in length, and seventeen feet between the
forks, or tips of the tail.
According to the calculations of Lacepede, the whale swims
at the rate of thirty-three feet in a second, and it is computed,
that it might circumnavigate the globe in the direction of the
equator, in forty-seven days, even allowing it to rest by night
during that time.
Goldsmith has stated the size of the whale to be from sixty to
seventy feet ; which would appear to be the utmost size they grow
to ; as the intelligent and scientific Scoresby says, " it is said
that the whale was formerly much larger than it is at present,
being sometimes one hundred to one hundred and twenty feet
long ; but the accuracy of this statement is to be questioned,
for the largest I ever heard of being caught, did not exceed
seventy feet in length ; and this was reckoned a very uncommon
individual. Of three hundred and twenty-two which I have
seen taken, no one, I believe, exceeded sixty feet in length, al-
though many of them were full grown ; and the longest I ever
measured, was fifty-eight feet from one extremity to the other,
being one of the largest to appearance which I ever saw. I
'therefore conceive, that sixty feet may be considered as the size
of the largest animals of this species, and sixty-five feet in length
as a magnitude which very rarely occurs." We are, however,
informed by Sir Charles Giesecke, that in the spring of 1813,
a whale was killed at Godhava, of the length of sixty-seven feet.
Captain Scoresby, in his remarks on the size of the Greenland
whale, makes the following interesting observations. " Such,"
says he, "is the avidity with which the human mind receives
communications of the marvellous, and such the interest attached
to those researches which describe any remote or extraordinary
production of nature, that the judgment of the traveller receives
a bias, which, in all cases of doubt, induces him to fix upon that
THE GREAT WHALE. 691
extreme point in his opinion, which is calculated to afford the
greatest surprise and interest. Hence, if he perceives an animal
remarkable for its minuteness, he is inclined to compare it with
something still more minute if remarkable for its bigness, with
something fully larger. If the animal inhabits an element which
he cannot examine, or is seen under any circumstances which
prevent the possibility of his determining its dimensions, his
decision will certainly be in that extreme which excites the most
interest. Thus, when a whale has first been seen by any voy-
ager, within a sufficiently short distance, we find it generally
compared to ' a mountain,' a ' floating island,' or at least to the
size of a ship."
"The blubber of a sucker, when very young, frequently contains
little or no oil, but only a kind of milky fluid j in which case,
when the animal is deprived of life, the body sinks to the bot-
tom, as also does the blubber when separated from it ; while the
body and blubber of larger individuals always swim.
" The flesh of the young whale is of a fine red colour ; that of
the old approaches to black, is coarse like that of a bull, and
is said to be dry and lean when boiled, because there is little fat
admixed with the flesh."
There are annually from three hundred to three hundred and
fifty ships of different nations employed in the whale fishery.
These ships in the course of two months, sometimes kill from
eighteen hundred to two thousand whales.
The British fishery has yielded a produce and value much
exceeding that of the Dutch, during the period of its greatest
prosperity. In the five years, ending with 1818, there were
imported into England and Scotland 68,940 tuns of oil, and
3,4-20 tons of whalebone; which, valuing the oil at 36 10*.
and the bone at 90, with 10,000 in skins, raised the entire
produce to 2,834,110 sterling, or 566,822 per annum. The
fishery of 1814, a year peculiarly fortunate, produced 1,437
whales from Greenland, yielding 12,132 tuns of oil, which,
even at the lower rate of 32, including the whalebone and
bounty, and added to the produce from Davis' Strait, formed al-
together a value of above 700,000.
In the year 1829, the total number of British ships employed
in the whale fishery amounted to 89 ; the number of fish caught
that season, were 871, which yielded 10,672 tuns of oil, and
692 OF CETACEOUS ANIMALS.
607 tons, 10 hundred weights of whalebone ; producing the es-
timated value of 266,800 for the oil at 25 per tun, and
109,350 for the whalebone, at 180 per ton, making a total
sum of 376,150 sterling.
In the Commercial tables presented to the House of Com-
mons in 1830, the entire proceeds of that year are stated at
428,591 6*. 6d.; but this, of course, includes also the southern
fishery. Of this amount there were exported to foreign coun-
tries, oil to the value of 73,749 10s. 6d. and whalebone
amounting to 40,666 15s. 6d.; making in all, 114,416 6s.
It may be mentioned, that this trade is now carried on entirely
without legislative encouragement, the bounty having ceased to
be granted since the year 1824.
Between the year 1669 and 1778, both inclusive, being a
period of 107 years, the Dutch sent to Greenland 14,167 ships,
of which 561, or about four in the hundred, were lost ; they
took during this period the surprising number of 57,590 whales,
yielding 3,105,596 quardeelen of oil, and 63,179,860 pounds of
whalebone, which yielded a value of 18,631,292 sterling. The
expense of fitting out the ships amounted to 11,879,619; value
of ships lost, ,470,422 ; after paying the expenses of preparing
oil, bone, &c. the total profit was 3,714,142.
THE SMALL HEADED NARWAL.
In 1808, a small headed narwal was found close by the shore
at the entrance of the Sound of Freesdale, in Zetland, on the
morning of the 27th September ; which was seen and accurately
described by the Rev. Dr Fleming, well known as a zealous
and expert naturalist, to whose account we are indebted for the
following particulars :
This animal measured only twelve feet from the snout to the
notch which divides the tail. It was much smaller, therefore,
than those which have been found in other seas. A narwal of
the same species, we are informed by Lacepede, was found
near Boston, at the village of Frieston, in Lincolnshire, in
the month of February, 1800, which measured about twenty-
six feet in length ; and another of the same kind, described by
THE SMALL HEADED NARWAL. 693
Tulpius, was about twenty-two feet long, from which it would
appear that the one found in Zetland was not full grown.
Lacepede says the head occupies only a tenth part of the
length of the body ; the forehead rises suddenly from the snout,
and then proceeds nearly in a horizontal direction for a few
inches, when it becomes slightly elevated. Over this elevation,
in the fore part of which the blow-hole is situated, the forehead
is rounded, and, when viewed from before, resembles a bull.
In that described by Dr Fleming, behind the elevation of the
head there is a slight depression, which serves to point out the
line of separation between the head and the body. The back
swells gradually to within a few inches beyond the pectoral
fins; where it was the thickest ; from this elevation a ridge
proceeded to within a few inches of the division of the tail ;
over the beginning of this ridge, the body was four feet four
inches in circumference. The animal is thickest in the middle,
continuing nearly of the same thickness towards the head, but
becoming acuminated towards the tail.
The mouth is small, pointed before, and the upper lip extended
a little way beyond the under. The extent of the opening of the
mouth is small, being little more than five inches in depth.
The eye, about an inch in diameter, is situated behind the
opening of the mouth. It has two wedge-shaped pectoral fins,
situated in the fore-part of the body towards the under side :
these are thirty inches distant from the snout, fifteen inches long,
five broad at the base, and six inches broad towards the middle.
The tail is horizontal as in other cetaceous animals. It has one
tooth projecting from the left side of the upper jaw, twenty-seven
inches long, besides twelve inches inserted in the socket, making
its whole length thirty-nine inches, being little more than a fifth
of the animal's length. The colour is dusky black on the upper
parts of the body, variegated with still darker spots not very ap-
parent ; the skin is smooth and glossy.
The narwal which was discovered at Frieston, "when found/'
says Sir Joseph Banks, " had buried the whole of its body in
the mud, of which the beach there is composed, and seemed
safely and securely waiting the return of the tide. A fisherman
going to his boat, saw the horn, which was covered up, and by
trying to pull it out of the mud, raised the animal, who stirred
himself hastily to secure his horn from the attack."
694 OF CETACEOUS ANIMALS.
Some authors say, that these animals obtained the name of
Narh-wal, or whale which feeds on dead bodies, from their hav-
ing been believed to subsist on such dead and putrid animals as
are found floating in the water.
We have seen the posts of a bed made of the horns of these
animals, and with fancifully festooned curtains, which had an
elegant and novel effect.
The detached weapons of narwals are deposited in many
cabinets, as the horns of that generally esteemed fabulous qua-
druped, the unicorn. These have occasionally been found broken
short off, and deeply buried in the keels and bottoms of vessels ;
and even in the bodies of some of the largest whales, against which
either accident or design may have led the narwals to plunge.
The narwals do not appear to have any organs of voice. In
their general disposition and manners, they are stated to be mild
and peaceable ; and to be formidable only when compelled to
defend themselves from the attack of their enemies. Their
principal food consists of small fish and marine mollusca, such
as the actiniae and cuttle-fish : the horny mandibles or jaws of
the latter have sometimes been found in their stomachs in im-
mense quantity. They usually swim in troops ; and are found
in most parts of the northern ocean.
An individual of this species, nearly eighteen feet in length,
was cast ashore and taken alive not far from Boston, about the
end of last century.
OF THE CACHALOT TRIBE IN GENERAL.
The interior organization of the cachalots is somewhat dif-
ferent from that of the whales, and requires a nourishment more
substantial than small fish and marine mollusca. These animals
consequently attack and devour several of the larger kinds of
fish, and occasionally even porpoises, dolphins, and young
whales, which they are enabled to seize and tear to pieces
by means of their teeth. They are not contented, like the
whales, with merely exerting their strength in self-defence ; but
will themselves provoke a combat with the larger inhabitants of
the deep, and will attack and destroy them with the utmost
THE GREAT-HEADED CACHALOT. 695
vigour arid address. Their ferocity and their muscular powers
are such, that all the species are considered by the fishermen
as extremely dangerous, and one or two of them in particular,
they are very cautious to avoid. It is said that some of them,
when they are attacked, will throw themselves on their back,
and in that position will defend themselves with their mouth.
The upper jaw of the cachalotg is broad, and entirely desti-
tute of teeth, or with teeth so short, as to be nearly concealed in
the gum. The under jaw is narrow and provided with some-
what large, conical teeth, which fit into sockets in the upper
jaw. The spiracles or breathing holes of the head, have only a
single opening. The bodies of these animals are entirely desti-
tute of hair, and their skin is very smooth arid soft.
The length of the blunt-headed cachalot, when full grown,
is about seventy feet, and its girth about fifty. When viewed
from above, it appears like an immense animated mass, truncated
in front, so that the muzzle terminates in a somewhat squared,
and almost perpendicular extremity. The head constitutes
nearly one- third of the whole body, the mouth is situated at
the upper part, so as to have somewhat the appearance of a lid or
cover of an enormous box turned upside down. The eyes are
placed above the corners of the mouth ; and are so minute as
to be scarcely perceptible. The pectoral fins are each about
three feet in length. On the posterior part of the back there is
a longitudinal and callous protuberance, or spurious fin. The
tail is very small and slender, each of the lobes being hollowed
somewhat like the blade of a scythe. The skin is smooth,
oily, and almost as soft to the touch as silk. Its usual colour
is black.
THE GBEAT-HEADED CACHALOT.
On Tuesday the 16th September 1827, as some of the fisher-
men, on the banks of the Lower Shannon, Ireland, at the Clare
side, about four miles below Carrigahoult, were pushing from
the shore in their boats for the purpose of laying down spillers,
in the usual way, they observed several swells in the water,
on venturing to approach what so forcibly caught their attention,
696 OF CETACEOUS ANIMALS.
several huge substances seemed floating along, scarcely appear-
ing above the surface. The boatmen finding themselves in
imminent danger, rowed with all their strength to get out-
side, in which they luckily succeeded. By this time it was
evident that the motion of the waters proceeded from some sea
monsters of enormous size, seemingly in pursuit of herrings, or
other small fish, and a heavy fog which prevailed in the morn-
ing, strengthened the supposition that they, altogether, had
missed their reckoning. Be this as it may, in the trap of a re-
ceding tide the fishermen resolved to net their visiters. This
determined on, the wise men of the squadron put their heads
together, when the artillery of the quarry, the boatmen having
no other weapons on board, was instantly resorted to, the
charge was awfully perilous, the brave fishermen, however,
persevered until their prizes were stoned into Rea- Hill-bay,
when the tide being rapidly on the ebb, soon left them high and
dry on the sand banks. The boats having landed their crews,
these fishermen beheld with joy that they had secured four
small whales of a species unknown to them, but evidently
the great-headed cachalot, represented at plate 25, fig. 3 of
Goldsmith. They had no dorsal fin, and were without teeth,
their places being supplied with a demi-osseous substance ; the
lower jaw was much smaller than the upper, which is quite the
reverse in the grampus; they had two pectoral and two ab-
dominal fins ; the snout proceeded abruptly from the head not
unlike the dolphin. The colour, the back, and chest being of a
uniform polished lead colour : they had each one spiracle, or
breathing hole, on the back not far behind the eye, through
which they discharged enormous quantities of water at intervals,
causing the appearance of a marine jet-d'eau ascending to a vast
height in the air. The maxillary bone of the largest measured
about three feet and a half, the animals themselves being from
twenty-seven to thirty feet in length, and the circumference
about fifteen feet, and the height when lying more than five feet,
each being in size equal to six large cows.
THE DOLPHIN.
The body of the dolphin is oblong and roundish, and the snout
THE DOLPHIN. 697
narrow and sharp-pointed, with a broad transverse band, or pro-
jection of the skin, on its upper part. It is a longer and more
slender animal than the porpoise, measuring nine or ten feet in
length, and about two in diameter. The body is black above
and white below. The mouth is very wide, reaching almost to
the breast, and is provided with forty teeth ; twenty-one in the
upper, and nineteen in the under jaw: when the mouth is shut
the teeth lock into each other.
The dolphin swims in troops, and its motions in the water
are performed with such wonderful rapidity, that the French
sailors call it lafl&che de la mer, or the sea arrow. We are in-
formed by Rondelet, that persons who tormented themselves
to do what was considered impossible, were often proverbially
compared to those who would hold a dolphin by the tail. St
Pierre, in his voyage to the Isle of France, assures us that he
saw a dolphin swim with apparent ease, round the vessel in
which he was sailing, though it was going at the rate of about
six miles an hour. A shoal of dolphins followed the ships of
Sir Richard Hawkins upwards of a thousand leagues. They
were known to be the same from the wounds they occasionally
received from the sailors. They are greedy of almost any
kind of scraps that are thrown over board, and consequently are
often to be caught by means of large iron hooks, baited with
pieces of fish and garbage. The progressive motion of the
dolphin in the water has a striking resemblance to the undulat-
ing motion of a ship under sail ; and it has been remarked,
that when their regular course has not by any accident been
changed, it is usual for them to swim against the wind.
The bounding and gamboling of dolphins has attracted the
attention of writers and poets in all ages ; and is described as
being extremely beautiful.
" What pleasing wonders charm the sailors' sight,
When calms the dolphin to their sports invite ?
As jovial swains in tuneful measure tread,
And leave their rounding pressures on the mead ;
So they in circling dance, with wanton ease,
Pursue each other round the furrow'd seas,
With rapid force the curling streams divide,
Add to the waves, aud drive the slow-paced tide."
The ancients believed that dolphins attended all cases of ship-
wreck, and transported the mariners in safety to the shore.
SN
G98 OF CETACEOC3 ANIMALS.
Pircetes having made captive Arion the poet, at length deter-
mined on throwing him overboard, and it is said that he escaped
in safety to the shore on the back of a dolphin.
" But past belief, a dolphin's arched back
Preserved Arion from his destined wrack ;
Secure he sits, and with harmonious strains
Requites the bearer for his friendly pains."
In consequence of these and other imaginary qualities, this
animal was consecrated to the gods, and much celebrated for
its love of the human race, and was honoured with the title of
the Sacred Fish. It is thus spoken of by the poet :
" Kind, gen'rous dolphins love the rocky shore,
Where broken waves with fruitless anger roar.
But though to sounding shores they curious come,
Yet dolphins count the boundless sea their home.
Nay, should these favourites forsake the main,
Neptune would grieve his melancholy reign.
The calmest, stillest seas, when left by them,
Would awful frown, and all nnjoyous seem.
But when the darling frisks his wanton play,
The waters smile, and every wave looks gay."
It matters little, nor can it now be accounted for, why this
animal had acquired so much celebrity; but this we know, it
has formed a fine poetical allusion in all ages, and has afforded
much scope to the painter, in allegorical and imaginary pieces,
where Neptune and Venus with their attendant tribes have
been introduced.
THE BELUGA.
The colour of the beluga is cream white. This colour depends
on a white rete mucosum, in many places about half an inch
thick, which is covered with a thin transparent cuticle. It
is destitute of a dorsal fin ; the opening of its mouth is small,
and with nine obtusely pointed teeth on each side in both jaws.
This animal measures from twelve to eighteen feet ; it is a native
of high northern latitudes ; it abounds in the seas near Disco
Island in Greenland, and is not uncommon off Spitsbergen, in
THE BELUGA, 699
latitude 77. Scoresby never observed it lower than Jan Mayen's
Land, and seldom saw it among the ice, but it seemed to frequent
places where the water was clearest and smoothest. Thirty or
forty belugas are often observed in a herd together. They are
very seldom pursued by the whale fishers, because they find it .
difficult to strike them, on account of the great rapidity of their
motions, and besides to our adventurers they are of little value
when killed.
Sir Charles Giesecke says, that belugas come in herds to the
coast of West Greenland every year, about the end of Novem-
ber, their arrival being hastened by the prevalence of storms from
the South-west. It is, next to the seal, the most useful animal
to the Greenlanders. The flesh is said to be somewhat similar
to that of beef, though oily, and the skin is also eaten, either
raw, dried, or boiled ; that by this skin, we however presume,
is probably meant the thick white substance analogous to a rete
ntucosum, above mentioned. Crantz evidently uses the term in
this sense, when he says, the white wrinkled skin is the thick-
ness of a finger.'
The belugas are said not to be shy, but may be seen often
tumbling themselves round near the boats of the Greenlanders.
They are, however, so rapid in their motions, that they have
been described as darting along with the velocity of an arrow.
These animals may occasionally stray to the southward in
pursuit of fish, or be impelled far in that direction, by long con-
tinued easterly winds. When they happen to get entangled
among the drift-ice, if the wind prevail in one direction for seve-
ral days, a straggler may be led so far from his haunts, as to be
unable to rejoin his party. An instance of this kind occurred
in the Frith of Forth, in the spring of 1815 : when a beluga was
noticed to pass and repass the harbour of Alloa, for about three
months ; and although many attempts were made to kill it, they
all proved abortive, until it had extended its -excursions up the
intricately winding river Forth, as far as Stirling, where it was
killed on the 6th of June. This animal was purchased by Mr
Bald, engineer, and sent to Leith by the Alloa packet, for the
inspection of the Professor of Natural History at PJdinburgh.
Mr Bald noticed that the beluga generally passed upwards
when the tide was flowing, and returned down the Frith with
the ebb ; this sometimes happened every day, and sometimes
SN 2
700 OF CETACEOUS ANIMALS.
once in the two or three days : it came frequently to the surface,
and was well known for three months, by the name of the white
whale. It was supposed to run up the river in pursuit of sal-
mon, and was at length killed by the salmon-fishers, near the
Abbey of Cambuskenneth.
The animal had been attacked both by fire-arms and spears.
A musket ball had entered the lungs, and was found lodged in
them by Dr Barclay, in the course of dissecting ; and several
gashes made with a pointed weapon, appeared in different parts
of the body. Several healed wounds, the scars of which were
quite distinguishable, indicated that this individual had probably
been struggling among drift-ice. In some places, the cuticle
and rete mucosum remained in a divided state, while the true
skin had healed.
The late Colonel Imrie, mentioned having seen two young
belugas, which were cast upon the beach of the Pentland Frith,
some miles east of Thurso, in August 1793. The length of the
one from the front of the forehead to the tip of the tail, was
seven feet ; and of the other, seven feet and a half. They were
both males. " The principal colour of their skin/' says he,
" was white, but that was mottled with a brownish gray colour."
Other naturalists who have seen the young animals, describe
them as blackish, mottled dusky, or pearl-gray, becoming white
as they advance to maturity.
The specimen which was captured in the Forth, was in shape
highly symmetrical, and at once suggested the idea of perfect
adaptation to rapid progressive motion in the water. It resem-
bled generally a double cone, one end of which was considerably
shorter than the other. The head was small and lengthened, but
over the forehead, as in the narwal and porpoise, was a thick
round cushion of flesh and fat : the body continued to swell us
far as the pectoral fins : and from this point gradually diminished
to the setting on .f the tail or organ of motion. On the middle
of the back, as in other whales, there was a longitudinal ridge,
partly bony, partly soft ; its extreme length was thirteen feet
four inches. The ordinary length of a full grown beluga is
from eighteen to twenty feet.
The sailors on the Arctic expedition, under the command of
Captain Parry, were astonished and amused with a species of
music produced by the beluga, which received the name of
THE CA'ING WHALE. 701
Whale Song ; and is thus described by Mr Fisher, " Whilst we
were pursuing them to-day," says he, " I noticed a circumstance
that appeared to me rather extraordinary at the time, and which
I have not indeed been able to account for yet to my satisfaction.
The thing alluded to is a sort of whistling noise that these fish
made when under the surface of the water ; it was very audible,
and the only sound I could compare it to, was that produced by
passing a wet finger round the edge, or rim of a glass tumbler.
It was most distinctly heard when they were coming towards
the surface of the water, that is, about half a minute before they
appeared ; and immediately when they got their heads above
water, the noise ceased. The men were so highly amused by
it, that they repeatedly desired one another to pull smoothly, in
order to get near the place where the fish were supposed to be,
for the purpose of hearing what they called a whale song."
THE CA'JNG WHALE.
THIS animal is the Dolphinus deductor, which is figured in
Scoreby's work on the arctic regions. The following description
of the capture of a shoal of them, is from the pen of Dr Hib-
bert :
" I had landed at Mr Leisk's of Burra Voe, in Yell, when a
fishing boat arrived with the intelligence, that a drove of ca'ing
whales had entered Yell Sound. Females and boys, on hearing
the news, issued from the cottages in every direction, making
the hills reverberate with joyful acclamations of the event. The
fishermen armed themselves with a rude sort of harpoon, formed
from long iron-pointed spits ; they hurried to the strand, launch-
ed their boats, and, at the same time stored the bottom of them
with loose stones. Thus was a large fleet of yawls soon col-
lected from various points of the coast, which proceeded towards
the entrance of the Sound. Some slight irregular ripples among
the waves, showed the place where a shoal of whales were ad-
vancing. They might be seen sporting on the surface of the
ocean, for at least a quarter of an hour, disappearing and rising
again to blow. The main object was to drive them upon the
sandy shore of Hamna Voe, and it was soon evident, that with
3 N3
702 OF CETACEOUS ANIMALS.
their enemy in their rear, they were taking this direction. Most
of the boats were ranged in a semicircular form, being at the
distance of about fifty yards from the animals. A few skiffs,
however, acted as a force of reserve, keeping at some little dis-
tance from the main body, so that they might be in readiness to
intercept the whales, should they change their course. The
sable herd appeared to follow certain leaders ; who, it was soon
feared, were inclined to take any other route than that which led
to the shallows on which they might ground. Immediately the
detached crews rowed with all their might, in order to drive
back the fugitives, and, by means of loud cries, and large stones
thrown into the water, at last succeeded in causing them to
resume their previous course. In this temporary diversion
from the shore, the van of the boats were thrown into con-
fusion ; and it was a highly interesting scene, to witness the
dexterity with which the Shetlanders handled their oars, and
took up a new semicircular position in rear of the whales. Again
the cetacea hesitated to proceed into the inlet, and again a re-
serve of boats intercepted them in their attempt to escape, while
a fresh line of attack was assumed by the main body of the pur-
suers. It was thus that the whales were at length compelled to
enter the harbour of Hamna Voe. Then did the air resound
with the shouts that were set up by the boatmen, while stones
were flung at the terrified animals, in order to force them upon
the sandy shore of a small creek ; but before this object could
be effected, the whales turned several times, and were as often
driven back. None of them, however, were yet struck with the
harpoon ; for if they were to feel themselves wounded in deep
water, they would at all hazards betake themselves to the open
sea. The leaders of the drove soon began to ground, emitting
at the same time a faint murmuring cry, as if for relief; the
sand at the outlet of the bay was disturbed, and the water was
losing its transparency. The shoal of whales which followed
increased, as they struck the shore, owing to the muddiness of
the bay ; they madly rolled about, irresolute from the want of
leaders, uncertain of their course, and so greatly intimidated by
the shouts of the boatmen, and the stones that were thrown into
the water, as to be easily prevented from regaining the ocean.
Crowds of natives of each sex, and of all ages, were anxiously
collected on the banks of the Voe, hailing with loud acclama-
THE CA'JNG WHALE. 703
tions the approach of their visitants from the northern seas ;
and then began the work of death. Two men, armed with
sharp iron spits, rushed breast-high into the water, and seizing
each a fin of the nearest whale, bore him unresistingly along to
the shallowest part of the shore. One of the deadly foes of
this meekest of the inhabitants of the sea deliberately lifted up
a flh, and beneath it plunged into the body of the animal the
harpoon that he grasped, so as to reach the large vessels of the
heart. A long state of insensibility followed, succeeded by the
most dreadful convulsions ; the victim lashed the water with his
tail, and deluged the land for a considerable distance ; another
deathlike pause ensued ; throws still fainter and fainter were
repeated with shorter intermissions, until at length he lay mo-
tionless on the strand. The butchers afterwards set off in a dif-
ferent direction, being joined by other persons assuming the
same functions. Female whales, appearing by their hasty and
uncertain course, to have been wrested from their progeny, and
sucklings no less anxiously in quest of those from whose breasts
they had received their nutriment, were by the reckless steel of
the harpooner, severally arrested in their pursuit. Numerous
whales which had received their death-wound soon lined the bay,
while others at a greater distance were rolling about among the
muddy and crimsoned waves, doubtful whither to flee, and ap-
pearing like oxen to wait the return of their slaughterer. Wanton
boys and females, in their anxiety to take a share of the mas-
sacre, might be observed to rankle with new tortures the gaping
wound that had been made, while, in their blood-thirsty exulta-
tion, they appeared to surpass those whose more immediate duty
it was to expedite the direful business. At length the sun set
upon a bay that seemed one sheet of blood : not a whale was
allowed to escape : and the strand was strewed over with car-
cases of all sizes, measuring from six to twenty feet, and amount-
ing to not fewer that eighty in number. Several of the natives
then went to their homes in order to obtain a short repose ; but
as the twilight in this northern latitude was so bright as to give
little or no token of the sun's departure, many were unremit-
tingly intent upon securing the profit of their labour, by separat-
ing the blubber, which was of the thickness of three or four
inches. It was supposed, that the least of these whales would
yield about a barrel of oil ; and it was loosely computed, that
701 OF CETACEOUS ANIMALS.
they were on an average worth 2 to 3 sterling a piece, the
value of the largest being as much as 6."
THE GRAMPUS.
The length of the Grampus is from twenty to twenty- five
feet. In its general form and colour it much resembles the rest
of its tribe, the snout is blunt and short, and the body and tail
elongated. The back fin of this animal sometimes measures six
feet in length.
The grampus is a great enemy to different spec'es of
whales; they assemble in large herds, and assail the larger
whales like as many bull-dogs, and tear at them till they give
vent to their sufferings by loud and frequent bellowings ; nor do
they quit their victims in many cases till they kill and devour
them. It is said they also attack seals, which they surprise
while asleep on the rocks, from which situation they dislodge
them with their fins, and precipitate them into the water.
It is very seldom that the grampus can be taken alive, from
its vast agility. They seldom remain more than a moment
above the surface of the water ; and it is only when they im-
petuously pursue their prey to shallow waters that they are
taken. When thus stranded they flounder about at a great rate,
and are either killed when observed, or sometimes make their
escape upon the reflux of the tide. But it not unfrequently
happens that they thus run themselves ashore during full tide,
in which case they must either be taken or die.
In one of the poems of Waller, a story (founded on fact) is
recorded of the parental affection of these animals. A grampus
and her cub had got into an arm of the sea, where, by the desertion
of the tide, they were inclosed on every side. The men on
shore saw their situation, and ran down upon them with such
weapons as they could at the moment collect. The poor ani-
mals were soon wounded in several places, so that all the imme-
diately surrounding water was stained with their blood. They
made many efforts to escape ; and the old one, by superior
strength forced itself over the shallow, into a deep of the ocean-
But though in safety herself, she would not leave her young
THE 1'ORPOISE. 705
one in the hands of assassins. She therefore again rushed in ;
and seemed resolved since she could not prevent, at least to
share the fate of her offspring. The story concludes with
poetical justice; for the tide coming in conveyed them both off
in triumph.
THE PORPOISE.
The general form of the porpoise much resembles that of the
dolphin ; it is, however, somewhat less in size, and has a snout
both much broader and shorter. It measures generally from six
to seven feet in length ; thick in the fore parts, and gradually
tapering towards the tail. The colour is either bluish-black or
a very dark brown above, and nearly white beneath.
Although this animal has the same natural affections for its
young, and leads nearly the same kind of life as the dolphin,
yet it is improperly held by mankind in a different kind of esti-
mation. The dolphin has been consecrated to the gods, while
the porpoise has in almost all languages obtained the degrading
name of sea-hog. This arises from the fame attached to the
former by the vivid imaginings of the Grecian poets, while the
latter has acquired its appellation from sailors and fishermen, as
the ancients knew little, if any thing, about the porpoise.
Porpoises are seldom seen, except in troops of from six to
thirty. Indeed, they sometimes congregate in much larger num-
bers. On one occasion we saw a vast flock of them, from the
windows of our apartments in Holy Island Castle, coast of
Northumberland. There must have been many hundreds in this
Hock, as they occupied a line of not less than a mile in length :
and took a southern direction, seemingly in eager pursuit of
fish. The great size of the caudal fin of the porpoise, and the
strong muscles of their tail, contribute to render them very at-
tive in the water ; along the surface of which, like dolphins, they
sometimes move with surprising rapidity. They frequently
gambol about on the water with great vivacity ; their appearance
is believed by the seamen to prognosticate approaching storms ;
and, on that account, they are held by them in great detestation.
During the most tempestuous weather they are able to surmount
706 OF CETACEOUS ANIMALS.
the waves, and to pass along the agitated surface of the ocean,
fearless of danger and secure from injury.
All kinds offish constitute their prey, but especially such as
congregate in large shoals, such as cod, herrings, haddock, and
mackerel.
Porpoises are very numerous in the river St Laurence, in
Canada, where they generally frequent shoal-water, in search of
prej. The natives adopt the following method of catching
them. When the fishing season arrives, the people collect toge-
gether a great number of sallow twigs, or slender branches of
other trees, and stick them pretty firmly into the sand banks of
the river, which at low water are left dry ; this is done on the
side towards the river, forming a long line of twigs at moderate
distances, which at the upper end is connected with the shore,
an opening being left at the lower end that they may enter. As
the tide rises, it covers the twigs, so as to keep them out of
sight ; the porpoise in quest of his prey, gets within the line,
where he continues his chase, till he finds by the ebbing of the
tide, that it is time to retire into the deeper water. He now
makes towards the river ; but the twigs being then in part above
water, and all agitated by the current, he no sooner sees them
shaking about, than he takes fright, and retreats backwards as
far as he can from this disagreeable rampart. The tide still con-
tinuing to ebb, he returns time after time ; but, never being able
to overcome his dread of these terrific twigs, he rolls about until
he is deserted entirely by the water ; when those who placed the
snare rush out in numbers, properly armed, and while in this de-
fenceless state, they overpower him with ease. In this man-
ner, more than a hundred of these huge creatures (one of which
will yield a hogshead of oil,) have been killed at one tide.
The porpoise was once considered as a sumptuous article of
food, and is said to have been occasionally introduced at the
tables of the old English nobility. It was eaten with a sauce
composed of sugar, vinegar, and crumbs of fine bread. It is,
however, now generally neglected, even by the sailors.
In America, the skin of this animal is tanned and dressed with
care. At first it is extremely tender, and nearly an inch thick,
but is shaved down till it becomes somewhat transparent. It is
made into waistcoats and breeches by the inhabitants, and is said
also to make excellent covering for carriages.
OF FISHES IN GENERAL.
" See through the air, the ocean, and the earth,
All matter quick, and bursting 1 into birth ;
Above how high progressive life may go,
Around how wide, how deep extend below!
Vast chain of being-, which from God began,
Natures ethereal, human, angel, man,
Beast, bird, fish, insect, what no eye can see,
No glass can reach ; from infinite to Thee,
From Thee to nothing!"
IT is believed that at great depths in the ocean animal life
ceases to exist, and that fishes are not to be found where the
water is excessively deep. It has been satisfactorily proved that
fishes have certain limits in high stations. Raymond ascertained
that the only fishes which occur in the waters of the Pyrenees,
at the height of from one thousand to eleven hundred and sixty-
two toises, are three species of trout. Higher up, all fishes
disappear. The water salamander also ceases to live at the
height of twelve hundred and ninety-two toises ; probably be-
cause the higher lakes are generally half the year covered with
ice. But cold is not the sole cause, as Humboldt says, that in
the equatorial regions v>f America, where the freezing point of
water begins fifteen hundred toises higher than in the Pyrenees,
the fishes disappear earlier in the lakes and rivers. No trouts
occur in the Andes. Under the equator, from eighteen hun-
dred to nineteen hundred toises, where most of the lakes scarce-
ly freeze any time during the year, fishes are no longer met
with, with the exception of the remarkable Peinelodes Cyclopum,
which are thrown out in thousands with the clay-mud, projected
from fissures of the rocks at the height of 2500 toises. But these
fishes live in the subterranean lakes.
The side fins of fish seem to be chiefly used to poise them ;
708 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
as they turn upon their backs immediately when killed ; the air
bladder assists them perhaps to rise or descend, by its possessing
the power to condense the air in it by muscular contraction ;
and it is possible, that at great depths in the ocean the air in
this receptacle may by the great pressure of the incumbent water
become condensed into so small a space, as to cease to be useful
to the animal.
The progressive motion of fish beneath the water is produced
principally by the undulation of their tails. One oblique plane
of a part of the tail on the right side of the fish strikes the water
at the same time that another oblique plane strikes it on the left
side, hence, in respect to moving to the right or left, these per-
cussions of the water counteract each other, but they coincide
in respect to the progression of the fish; this power seems bet-
ter applied to push forwards a body in water, than the oars of
boats, as the particles of water recede from the stroke of the
oar, whence the comparative power acquired is but as the dif-
ference of velocity between the striking oar and the receding
water. So a ship moves swifter with an oblique wind, than
with a wind of the same velocity straight behind it; and the
common windmill sail placed obliquely to the wind, is more
powerful than one which directly recedes from it.
OF THE SHARK TRIBE.
" In ocean's pearly haunts, the waves beneath,
Sits the grim monarch of insatiate death ;
The shark, rapacious with descending blow,
Darts on the scaly brood, that swims below." DABWIX.
ALL this rapacious tribe arc marine, and more species and
greater numbers of each prevail in warm than in temperate
climates. They are solitary for the most part, and often wander
at vast distances from their native haunts, and deal destruction
on every thing that comes within their reach. Sharks have been
known to follow vessels for several hundred leagues, for the pur-
pose of securing the carcasses and filth that are thrown over-
board. They grow to a vast size, and not unfrequently weigh
four thousand pounds. Some of the species are, however,
gregarious, and live on molluscous animals of different
kinds. All the species are viviparous ; their young, when first
protruded, being enclosed alive in a square pellucid horny case,
terminated at the four corners by very long slim filaments, which
are generally found twisted round coralines, sea-weed, and other
fixed substances.
The flesh of all the tribe is tough, coarse, arid smells so rank,
that even when young it is hardly eatable. The bodies emit a
strong phosphorescent light in the dark. The skin is rough, and
in general use for polishing ivory, wood, and other substances ;
thongs and carriage traces have also occasionally been made of it.
The liver of the shark generally yields a considerable quantity
of oil, which is, however, of a very rancid and offensive smell.
There are upwards of thirty species, eleven of which inhabit the
British seas.
3o
710 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
The shark has three rows of sharp teeth within each other,
which he can bend downwards internally to admit larger prey,
and raise to prevent its return ; his snout hangs so far over his
mouth, that he is necessitated to turn upon his back before
he can seize his prey. The body is in general compressed,
long in proportion to the thickness, and tapers towards the tail.
The head is obtuse, and on the side of the neck, there are from
four to seven breathing apertures. The mouth is situated in
the under part of the head.
Mr De Borda discovered the fossil tooth of a shark at Dax
in France, which was examined by Count Lacepede, and found
to measure three inches and three lines in length from the base,
arid three inches in breadth. A comparison of this tooth, with
others belonging to the common shark, led this distinguished
naturalist to conclude, that, in the former world, previous to the
era of the deluge, there must have existed sharks seventy-nine
feet in length. Fougas St Fond adopted these measurements
of Lacepede in the determination of the probable length of a
shark, a tooth of which in a fossil state was brought to him from
the quarries of Montrouge, in the environs of Paris, and he con-
cluded, that the animal to which the tooth belonged must have
been about fifty feet in length, at the least.
THE WHITE SHARK.
This formidable animal is the dread of mankind in the seas
where it prevails. There is no safety in bathing where this
monster abounds.
" Increasing still the terrors of the storms,
His jaws horrific arm'd with threefold fate,
Here dwells the direful shark. Lured by the scent
Of streaming crowds, of rank disease, and death,
Behold .' he rushing cuts the briny flood,
Swift as the gale can bear the ship along,
And from the partners of that cruel trade
Which spoils unhappy Guinea of her sous,
Demands his share of prey, demands themselves :
The stormy fates descend, one death involves
Tyrants and slaves ; when straight their mingled limbs
Crashing at once, he dyes the purple seas
With gore, and riots in the vengeful meal."
THE WHITE SHARK. 711
The late Sir Brooke Watson was at one time swimming at a
little distance from a ship, when he observed a shark approach-
ing towards him. Struck with terror at its appearance, he im-
mediately cried out for assistance ; and a rope was instantly
thrown out for him, and even while the men were in the act of
pulling him up the ship's side, the shark darted after him, and
at a single snap deprived him of his leg.
In the South American pearl fisheries, every diver defends
himself against these animals, by carrying with him into the
water a sharp knife, which he sticks into the belly of the fish
if attacked by it; and it is said generally to retreat if it receives
a wound from the diver. While the divers are employed at the
bottom of the ocean, the officers of the vessels generally keep a
sharp look out for the approach of sharks, and when one is ob-
served, the ropes attached to the negroes are shaken to put them
on their guard. It sometimes occurs that those on deck plunge
into the water at the approach of a shark, with knives in their
hands to defend their comrades, which, however, is sometimes
of no avail.
In the West Indies, the negroes have frequently the hardi-
hood to engage the shark in single combat, by diving beneath
him, and in ascending stab him before he sees where they are.
In these combats they frequently conquer this formidable
creature ; and thus through courage and tactics, overcome the
great strength and ferocity of the shark.
Daily accustomed to see sharks, the natives of the South- Sea
islands are not afraid of them, and may be seen enjoying the
luxury of bathing even while these frightful animals are
within their reach. Captain Portlock says, " I have seen five or
six large sharks swimming about the ship when there have been
upwards of a hundred Indians in the water, both men and women ;
they seemed quite indifferent respecting them, and the sharks
never offered to make an attack on any of the men, and yet at the
same time would seize our bait greedily ; whence it is manifest
that they derive their confidence of safety from their experience,
that they are able to repel the attacks of those devouring
monsters."
It is singular that the shark will not prey upon birds :
although they will take a bait of any kind of flesh thrown over-
board to them.
3o2
712 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
It is related in the ' History of Barbadoes,' that in the reign
of Queen Anne, an English vessel having arrived at that
country, some of the men were one day bathing, when a large
shark sprung among them. A person on board perceiving the
approach of the shark gave the alarm, when they all immediately
swam to the ship, into which they all ascended in safety, except
one, which the shark got hold of and snapt his body in two.
A comrade and attached friend of the unfortunate man, when
he beheld the lifeless trunk of his friend, was roused by a sud-
den impulse of revenge ; and while the shark was seen swim-
ming about amongst the blood-stained water in search of the
remainder of his prey, the resolute youth plunged into the
water, determined that he should compel the shark to disgorge
the half of his victim, or be himself buried in the same grave.
He had supplied himself with a long and sharp-pointed knife,
and the rapacious animal no sooner beheld him in the water,
than it made a desperate plunge at him ; but the youth dexterous-
ly avoided the bite of the shark by diving under him, and seizing
him somewhere below the pectoral fins, stabbed him several
times in the belly. During this desperate adventure, the shark
writhing with pain, and streaming with blood, plunged in all
directions in order to disengage himself from his enemy. The
crews of the surrounding vessels saw that the fate of this despe-
rate conflict was decided ; but they were ignorant which of the
two had been slain, until at length, the shark, weakened by loss
of blood, made towards the shore, and the young man still held
fast by him, and forcing the animal on the beach, and ripping
up his stomach, obtained the half of his friend, and buried it and
the trunk in the same grave.
It is said that an Indian on the coast of California, on
plunging into the sea, was seized by a shark, but by a desperate
effort got quit of the monster's jaws, and, to show his fearless-
ness, threw blood and water at the animal. But the fish made
another dash at him, and dragged him to the bottom in a mo-
ment, although surrounded by his companions, who were unable
to render him any assistance, and he was never more seen.
In the Edinburgh Observer newspaper, the following singular
account is given of the destruction of a shark. The narrator,
while his schooner lay becalmed in a gulf of the West Indies,
was informed that a large shark was swimming alongside. 1
THE WHITE SHARK. 71S
looked over the bulwarks (he says) and there was the watchful
monster winding lazily backward and forward like a long meteor,
sometimes rising till its nose disturbed the surface, and a gush-
ing sound, like a deep breath, rose through the breaker, at others
resting motionless on the water as if listening to the sound of
our voices, and thirsting for our blood. As we were watching
the motions of the monster Prince, the cook, a little lively
negro, suggested the possibility of destroying it. Andersen
uttered an incredulous " humph," and I laughed outright, and
asked Prince if he meant to engage him in single combat with
his bush knife as the old Jamaica negro did the famous Port
Royal Tom.* Prince laughed, and shook his head " No, no,
skipper, me give um a hot bellyful make a brick hot in de
stove and give um for nyam" (eat.) I consented, and Prince
forthwith commenced his culinary operations. They were sim-
ply to heat a fire-brick in the stove wrap it hastily up in some
old greasy cloths, as a sort of disguise, and then to heave it over-
board. This was the work of a few minutes, and the effect was
triumphant. The monster followed his hissing prey we saw it
dart after the brick like a flash of lightning, and gorge it instanter.
Prince whooped and laughed with exultation, and hurrying up
to the surly Spaniards, who took no sort of interest in the cir-
cumstance, congratulated them with a kind of sarcastic raillery
on the prospect of " fresh fish for supper." The shark rose to
the surface almost immediately, and his uneasy movements
soon betrayed the success of our manoeuvre. His agonies be-
came terrible. The waters appeared as if disturbed by a violent
squall, and the spray was driven over the tafferell, where we were
standing while the gleaming body of the fish repeatedly burst
through the dark waves, as if writhing with fierce and terrible
convulsions. Sometimes also we thought we heard a shrill,
bellowing cry, as if indicative of anguish and rage, rising through
the gurgling of the waters. His fury, however, was soon ex-
hausted. In a short time the sounds broke away into distance,
and the agitation of the sea subsided. The shark had given
himself up to the tides, as if unable to struggle against the ap-
proach of death, and they were carrying his swollen body unre-
sistingly to the beach.
* Port Royal Tom was a large shark which long haunted the port of
Jamaica, and was known to the natives by that cognomen.
3o3
714 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
THE BASKING SHARK.
THE body of this species is slender, measuring from three
to twelve yards in length. It is of a deep lead colour above,
and white beneath. The upper jaw is blunt at the end, and
projecting considerably beyond the lower one. The mouth is
situated below, and the teeth are small ; the front ones much
bent, and those behind are conical and sharp-pointed. There
are five breathing apertures on each side of the neck j it has two
dorsal, two pectoral, two ventral fins, and a small anal one.
This shark derives its name from the propensity it has of
floating on the surface of the water, apparently basking itself in
the sunbeams. It has not the ferocious disposition of its con-
gener the white shark ; and is of so gentle a disposition that it
is said to allow mankind to approach, and even pat it while
thus enjoying itself on the surface of the water.
The basking shark is not uncommon on the British coasts in
summer, but does not visit us annually ; paying visits in shoals
at intervals of some years. They make their appearance about
the Hebrides, and Frith of Clyde, about mid-summer, in small
flocks of seven or eight, and sometimes only in pairs. They
usually continue in our seas till the latter end of July, when
they disappear.
These animals seem to live entirely on marine plants and
some species of medusae. They swim with great deliberation
and so near the surface that their upper fins appear above the
water. Sometimes they may be seen disporting about among
the waves, and leaping several feet above the surface of the
water.
This fish is eagerly sought after on account of the quantity of
oil which it produces, and which is of an excellent quality.
The natives of the northern parts of the kingdom are very
dexterous in taking these sharks. They, to be sure, are rather
an easy conquest, for they do not accelerate their motion till
the boat comes almost in contact with them, when the har-
pooner strikes the weapon into their body, as near the gills as
possible. As soon as they feel themselves wounded, they plunge
headlong to the bottom of the sea, and frequently coil the rope
round their bodies in agony, attempting to disengage themselves
ri-IE COMMON DOG FISH. 715
from the fatal instrument by rolling on the ground. Discover-
ing that these efforts are fruitless, they swim off with such
amazing rapidity, that one instance has occurred of a basking
shark towing to some distance a vessel of seventy tons burthen
against a fresh gale. They sometimes run off with two hundred
fathoms of line and two harpoons in their body ; and will em-
ploy the men from twelve to twenty-four hours before they are
subdued.
When they are killed, the fishermen haul them ashore ; or, if
at a distance from land, to the side of the vessel, where they
cut them up and take out the liver ; which is of immense size,
and weighs often nearly a thousand pounds. From this a great
quantity of oil is extracted, and the quantity produced even by
a single liver has been sold for twenty pounds sterling : it in
general yields eight barrels or upwards. The liver is the only
useful part of the fish.
THE COMMON DOG FISH.
THERE is perhaps no species of fish more voracious than this
animal, and they are altogether fearless of the human race.
They have been known to follow vessels with much eagerness,
seizing with avidity every thing eatable that was thrown over-
board, and instances have been known of their seizing fisher-
men and others while bathing in the sea. However, their
small size unfits them from being formidable as enemies; hence
they are seldom able to resist powerful enemies by open force,
and in their combats they often have recourse to stratagem.
They conceal themselves in the mud, lying in ambush like the
rays, until a favourable opportunity offers itself, when they make
the attack. The usual food of the dog-fish is fish and other
marine animals, of which they destroy immense numbers, hav-
ing most gluttonous appetites. They are very troublesome to
fishermen, frequently destroying their crab and lobster baits ;
and they are very often caught on the fishing lines.
On the coasts about Scarborough, where cod and haddocks
are in great abundance, the fishermen say that vast numbers of
these are destroyed by dog-fish, and that the latter make a line
or semicircle so as to encompass a shoal of cod or haddocks, and
716 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
preserve this line for a considerable space of time, preying on
their prisoners whenever they are hungry.
The dog-fish is an inhabitant of almost all climates, both hot
and cold. It is found on the coasts of Britain, Norway, ex-
tending to the Cape of Good Hope, the Canary islands, and
the coasts of America, and of those countries which lie imme-
diately under the equinoxial line.
The flesh of this species is hard, dry, and of a very disagree-
able flavour, somewhat like musk. That well known article in
commerce called shagreen is manufactured from their skins.
The dried skin is also used by cabinet makers and turners for
polishing wood and ivory, and even sometimes iron. When
the fishermen of Newhaven and the Fife coast, fall in acciden-
tally with shoals of these fish, they make oil from their livers
for domestic purposes.
The dog-fish frequently approach very near the shore to
prey upon young coal-fish, called podlies in Scotland, and we
have occasionally taken them with a line at Newhaven harbour,
while fishing for podlies.
OF THE RAY TRIBE IN GENERAL.
THE bodies of all this tribe are broad, thin, and flat, the
mouth is situated beneath, and the eyes on the upper surface of
the head. The breathing apertures are five on each side, situat-
ed a little below the mouth. The head in general is small and
pointed, and not distant from the body.
Rays arid their congeners are entirely oceanic fish, and from
being destitute of an air bladder to buoy them up, their chief
residence is at the bottom of the ocean. They are viviparous,
and seldom produce more than one at a time ; which, as in the
sharks, is inclosed in a four-cornered bag or shell, ending in
slender points ; but which are not filamentary like those of
sharks. The liver of the ray tribe is large, and frequently pro-
duces a great quantity of oil.
In a fresh state most of this tribe have a strong and unplea-
sant smell, but nearly the whole of them are eatable. The
skate is considered by far the best food of the different species
of this genus ; the thornback being next to it in quality, but
greatly inferior in point of flavour and richness, except when very
young, in which case it is more palatable.
From the anatomical examination of a colossal species of this
genus by Professor Mitchell, called by him the Vampyrus, it
appears that their great power of progression is owing to their
cartilaginous formation. He describes this species as having a
scapula, humerus, ulna, carpus, and an uncommon number of
phalanges of the before mentioned cartilaginous structure. AH
these limbs or joints were articulated with each other; but the
articulations, like those of the human sternum, had very little
motion. From this articulated but fixed extremity, pro-
718 ANECDOTES OF FISHE8.
ceeded obliquely backwards seventy-seven rows of cartilage
of different lengths, but of almost the same parallelism, and
not at all radiated. They were all articulated, and the joints
were very numerous. In the longest row they amounted to
twenty-seven, and in the shorter ones proportionally fewer;
Jbe cartilages, with their articulations, were so alternated and
diversified, that they, with the yielding and bending quality of
the cartilage, were susceptible of all manner of flexion, and en-
abled the fish to assume all the attitudes requisite for its life and
habits. In one of the pectoral fins, or what is equivalent to
wings, the number of joints amounted to six hundred and twenty-
three ; from which some judgment may be formed of the vast
variety of motions these organs are capable of performing, and
bow admirably they are adapted to connect strength with speed.
We can hence understand why they fly so swiftly and powerfully
through the water ; why they can raise a spray, or foam, around
them when they flap their fins on the surface ; and how they are
able, huge as they are, to gambol with agility, and even to leap
out of the water for a considerable distance. The length of
the animal which Professor Mitchell dissected, was ten feet
nine inches from the margin of the head to the root of the tail,
the breadth from one extremity of the pectoral fin to the other,
measuring along the line of the belly, was sixteen feet.
THE BANKSIAN HAY.
SIR JOSEPH BANKS informs us that the Raia Banksiana,
which he found in the West Indian seas, is sometimes so large
that it requires seven train of oxen to drag it along the ground.
A species of ray, probably nearly allied to the Banksiana, w?'
killed on the coast of America in 1823, the capture of which is
thus described by Mr Mitchell of New York, in a letter to the
president of the New York Lyceum of Natural History.
" On the 9th day of September, 1823, returned from a cruise
off Delaware bay in the fishing smack Una. She had sailed
about three weeks before from New York, for the express pur-
pose of catching an enormous fish, which had been reported to
frequent the ocean a few leagues beyond Cape Henlopen. The
THE BANK8IAN RAY. 719
adventurers in this bold enterprise have been successful. The
creature is one of the huge individuals of the family of Raia, or
perhaps may be erected, from its novelty and peculiarity, into a
new genus, between the Squalus and the Accipenser. Its strength
was such, that after the body had been penetrated by two strong
and well formed gigs of the best tempered iron, the shank of one
of them was broken off, and the other singularly bent. The
boat containing the fishermen was connected, after the deadly
instrument had taken hold, with the wounded inhabitant of the
deep by a strong warp or line. The celerity with which the
fish swam could only be compared to that of the harpooue?t
whale, dragging the boat after it'with such speed, as to cause a
wave to rise on each side of the furrow in which he moved,
several feet higher than the boat itself. The weight of the fish
after death was such, that three pair of oxen, one horse and
twenty-two men, all pulling together, with the surge of the
Atlantic wave to help, could not convey it far to the dry beach.
It was estimated from this (a probable estimate) to equal four
tons and a half, or perhaps five tons. The size was enormous ;
for the distance from the extremity of one wing or pectoral fin
to the other, expanded like the wing of an eagle, measures
eighteen feet ; over the extremity of the back, and on the right
iHne of the belly, sixteen feet j the distance from the snout to
the end of the tail, fourteen feet; length of the tail, four
feet ; width of the mouth, two feet nine inches. The oper-
ation of combat and killing lasted nine hours. The achievement
was witnessed by crowds of citizens on the shores of New Jer-
sey and Delaware, and by the persons on board the flotilla of
vessels in the bay and offing. During the scuffle, the wings,
side-flaps, or vast alated fins of the monster lashed the sea with
such vehemence, that the spray rose to the height of thirty-feet,
and rained around to the distance of fifty feet."
In the month of February, 182i, the following interesting
account of the capture of the SEA DEVIL, was communicated to
Professor Jameson by Lieutenant Lamont of the 91st regiment,
then stationed at Port- Royal, Jamaica, and affords a striking
proof of the amazing strength of these colossal animals.
" The first appearance of an animal of this species, since I
have been here, (about eighteen months,) was about two months
ago, when I was called out to the beach by some of the inhabi-
720 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
tants, whom I found, on going there, to be assembled in great
numbers, to see what they called the Sea Devil. I confess my
curiosity was not less excited than theirs, when I saw floating
close to the surface of the water, about twenty yards from me, a
large mass of living substance of a dark colour, but of the shape
and size of which I could not, at the time, form any proper
idea, it being so very different from what I had ever before seen
or heard of, farther than that I supposed it to have been many
times the size of what I now believe it was. No time was lost
in setting out in pursuit of him, with harpoons, &c. ; and it was
not long before be was come up with, and struck with one of
the harpoons, when he made off with great velocity, towing the
boat after him. As he seemed to incline chiefly to the surface
of the water, six or seven more harpoons were (with the assis.
tance of several canoes that had come up) successively plunged
into him, and all the boats made fast to each other, which he
was obliged to pull after him, with several people in each. Such,
however, was the great strength of the animal, that, after being
fast in the manner I have described, for upwards of four hours,
and taking the boats out to sea attached to him to a distance of
about ten miles from the harbour, and having been pierced with so
many wounds, he was still able to defy every effort to bring him in.
It had now got late, and was dark, and an attempt was made to
force him up near enough to get another large harpoon into him,
this was no sooner done, than he darted off; and by an almost un-
accountable and seemingly convulsive effort, in a moment broke
loose from all fetters, carrying away with him eight or ten har-
poons and pikes, and leaving every one staring at his neighbour
in speechless astonishment, confounded at the power of the
animal which could thus snatch himself from them at a time
when they conceived him almost completely in their power.
" Since then some of these animals have occasionally been
heard of at a distance from the harbour ; and, a few days ago,
in coming over from Port Augusta with another gentleman, we
fell in with one of them, which allowed us to get so near him,
that it was determined to set out the next morning to look for
him. We did so ; and took with us several large harpoons,
muskets, pikes, &c., determined, if it were possible, to bring
him in. He was descried about eight o'clock near Greenwich,
towards the top of the harbour, as usual floating near the sur-
THE BANKSIAN RAY. 7'21
face, and moving slowly about. Having allowed the boat to get
very close to him, he was struck with a harpoon, which was
thrown at him in a most dexterous manner by Lieutenant St
John, of the royal artillery. He immediately set out towards
the mouth of the harbour, towing the boat after him with such
velocity, that it could not be overtaken by any of the others.
After going on this way for near an hour he turned back, which
enabled the other boats to lay hold ; and four of them were tied,
one after the other, to the one in which he was harpooned, with
four or five people in each of them. By this means we hoped to
tire him out the sooner. In about an hour and a half after he
was first struck, a favourable opportunity offering, a large five-
pointed harpoon, made fast to a very heavy staff, was thrown at
him with such an elevation, that it should fall upon him with the
whole weight of the weapon this having been as well directed
as the first, was lodged nearly in the middle of his back. The
struggle he made at this time to get away was truly tremen-
dous, plunging in the midst of the boats, darting from the
bottom to the surface alternately, dashing the water and foam
on every side of him, and rolling round and round to extricate
himself from the pole. This might be considered as having
given him the coup de grace, although, at short intervals after-
wards, he was struck with two more harpoons, and several mus-
ket balls were fired into him. Still he was able to set out again,
taking the four boats after him, which he carried along with the
greatest ease. Having gone in this way for some time he came
to a stop, and laid himself to the bottom, when, with all the lines
that were attached to him, it was quite impossible to move him.
All expedients were nearly beginning to fail, when it was pro-
posed to slacken the lines, which being done had the desired
effect, and he again set out. Having thus got him from the
ground, inch by inch was gained upon him, till he was got near
the surface, when he was struck with two large pikes. He now
got rather faint ; and the boats closing on him on every side, the
combat became general with pikes, muskets, and every weapon
we had. In fact, to such a pitch were all excited on the occa-
sion, that, had a cool spectator seen the affray, ' he would un-
doubtedly have imagined that it was his sable majesty himself
that we had got amongst us. He was now towed ashore, being
about five hours since he was first struck. This it required all
3r
722 ANECDOTES OF FISH IS.
the boats to do, and then but very slowly. His appearance now
showed the extraordinary tenacity of life of which this animal
must be possessed, as his whole body was literally a heap of
wounds, many of which were through and through, and he was
not yet quite dead. This circumstance, with his great strength,
is the cause of the name which has been given him by the fisher-
men here, as they have never been able to succeed in taking
one of them, and were firmly of opinion it was impossible to
do so.
" On measurement, it was found to be in length and breadth
much the same, about fifteen feet, and in depth from three to
four feet. It had the appearance of having no head, as there
was no prominence at its mouth ; on the contrary, its exterior
margin formed, as it were, the segment of a circle, with its arc
towards the animal's body, and opening into a large cavity of
about two feet and a half in width, without teeth, into which a
man went with so much ease, that I do not exaggerate when I
say, that another might have done so at the same time. On
each side of the mouth projected a mass of cartilaginous substance
like horns, about a foot and a half long, and capable of meeting'
before the mouth. These feelers moved about a great deal in
swimming, and are probably of use in feeding. On looking on
this animal as it lay on the ground with its back upwards, it
might be said to be nearly equal in dimensions on every side,
with the exception of the two lateral extremities, extending to a
point about four feet from the body, and a tail about five feet
long, four and a half inches diameter at the root, and tapering to
a point. Above the root of the tail was the dorsal fin, and on
each side of itaflat and flabby substance close to the body, of the
appearance of fins. There were no other distinct fins, and its sole
propellinj power seemed to be its two lateral extremities, which
became very flat and thin towards the point. As it shows these
much in swimming, it gives a spectator an extraordinary idea of
its size, as, to him imperfectly seen, the conclusion naturally is,
if the breadth is so great, how much greater must the length be.
This animal was a female, and was viviparous. On opening it,
a young one, about twenty pounds weight, was taken out, per-
fectly formed, and which had been preserved. Wishing to know
what it fed upon, I saw the stomach opened, which was round,
about eight inches in diameter, and quite empty. It was closely
THE TORPEDO. 723
studded over with circular spots of a muscular substance. Un-
der the stomach was a long bag, with transverse muscular layers
from end to end, and which contained nothing but some slime
and gravel. This muscular appearance of the digestive organs
would lead one to suppose that it fed upon other fish, as is the
general opinion here, though its having no teeth does not support
that idea. Its weight was so great that it was impossible to as-
certain it at the time ; but some idea may be formed of it when
I assure you that it was with difficulty that forty men, with two
lines attached to it, could drag it along the ground. Its bones
were soft, and, with the exception of the jaw-bones, could be cut
with a knife. One ridge of bone ran from the mouth to the
middle of the back, where it was met by another running trans-
versely, from the extremities of which there were two larger ones
converging towards the tail."
THE TORPEDO.
THE torpedo sometimes reaches the weight of seventy or
eighty pounds. It is nearly of a circular form, four inches thick
in the middle, and attenuating to extreme thinness in the edges.
The skin is smooth, of a dusky brown colour above, and white
underneath. The ventral fins form on each side, at the end of
the body, nearly a quarter of a circle. The tail is short, and
the two dorsal fins are placed near its origin. The mouth is
small, and, as in the other species, there are on each side below
it five breathing apertures. The most extraordinary part of
this animal is its electrical apparatus, which consists of a series
of tubes situated on each side of the head and thorax, and
which, on being touched, conveys a shock resembling that of a
galvanic pile.
This species is found in almost all the European seas, and is
occasionally to be met with on the British coasts. The poet
Oppian has described the properties of this fish, but has assumed
a license, more poetical than true, that of ascribing to it the
power of being able to benumb fishermen through the entire
length of their line and rod ; the description is as follows :
The hook'd Torpedo ne'er forgets his art,
liut sunn as struck hepins tu piny Irs part;
721 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
And to the line applies his magic sides :
Without delay the subtile power glides
Along the pliant rod and slender hairs,
Then to the fisher's hand as swift repairs ;
Amaz'd he stands, his arms of sense bereft,
Down drops the idle rod, his prey is left :
Not less benumb'd than had he felt the whole
Of frost's severest rage, beneath the Arctic pole.
THE FIRE- FLARE.
THE sting ray or fire- flare is nearly round ; its body is smooth,
and its nose sharp-pointed ; the mouth is small, and furnished
with blunt or granulated teeth ; the upper parts are of a dingy
yellow, but somewhat lead coloured towards the middle j the
tail tapers to a slender point, and is furnished on each side with
a sharp, brown, and serrated spine.
With this spine it is probable that the animal not only wounds
its enemies, but those animals likewise which are destined for
its food.
The Fire-flare's tail the venoin'd shaft contains,
Nor time nor waste the poisonous treasure drains ;
Murd'rous alike they ravish all the sea,
First give the mortal wound, then seize the prey.
We are but yet acquainted with seven species of electrical
fishes, namely, five species of torpedos, and the Tetraodon elec-
tricus, and Gymnotus electricus.
THE LAMPREY AND ITS CONGENERS.
LAMPREYS have mucous and slippery bodies. Three of the
species exclusively inhabit fresh waters, and one only the Pe-
tromyzon Marinus of Linnceus inhabits the sea, ascending
fresh waters to deposit its spawn. They are all highly esteemed
as food ; they are very tenacious of life ; the head will adhere
firmly to stones, after half of the body has been cut off. Their
principal food consists of worms, insects, small fish, and aquatic
plants.
The firmness of their adhesion arises from their drawing up
the middle of their circular mouth, and thus exhausting the air
from under it. The edges of the mouth are thus pressed closely
down to the object by the weight of the super-incumbent at-
mosphere.
Although the lamprey is possessed of this formidable mouth,
and feeds on animal substances, yet it is never known to attack
the larger species of fish, to which it might prove a troublesome
assailant from this sucking faculty. The teeth of the lamprey
are not fixed in their bony jaws, and are consequently incapable
of offensive operations against larger fish. It usually weighs
from four to five pounds.
3 p. 3
OF STURGEONS IN GENERAL.
ALL the species of sturgeon inhabit the sea ; and are found
in the vicinity of both the American and European continents.
They are all large animals, and seldom grow to less than four
feet in length ; are generally reckoned delicious food, and are a
valuable article of commerce to different northern nations. They
feed upon small fish, marine worms, and molluscous animals.
Their gills are cartilaginous.
THE COMMON STUBGEON.
EARLY in spring sturgeons leave the deep parts of the ocean,
and go to water rivers for the purpose of spawning : the Ameri-
can rivers abound with them from May to July. In these situa-
tions they are frequently known to leap to the height of several
yards out of the water, in an erect position, falling on the surface
again on their sides with such noise, as to be heard in still even-
ings at a great distance. It not unfrequently happens that they
fall into the canoes of the Indians and sink them ; on which
account it is often dangerous to pass the places which are much
frequented by them, as many instances have been known of per-
sons losing their lives by this means. The Indians sometimes
take advantage of this propensity for leaping, and catch them in
large boats as they descend.
They are so abundant in some of the rivers of Virginia, that
three hundred have been taken in a day by means of a long pole
THE COMMON STURGEON. 727
with a hook attached to it. This is put down to the bottom,
and when a fish is felt by rubbing it against them, it is imme-
diately drawn up. Another method is to use torches of the
wood of the white pine, and the fish being attracted by the glare
of light, become motionless, and are easily killed with harpoons.
Sturgeons which having been wounded by the spears, arid not
taken at the time, have afterwards died, and are often found
dead on the shores.
Fishing for sturgeons during the day is frequently practised
by the Indians in the lakes. Two men go together in a canoe ;
one of whom sits at the stern to work it forward, while the
other sits at the head with a pointed spear, from twelve to four-
teen feet long, fixed to a long cord that is fastened to one of the
cross timbers of the canoe. As soon as a sturgeon is observed
within reach, the spear is struck into the tenderest part of the
body, which, if it penetrates, the fish swims off with great velo-
city, dragging the canoe after it. But if struck in a vital part,
the fish seldom is able to proceed more than a few hundred
yards before he dies ; when the line is drawn up and the fish
taken.
Sturgeons sometimes ascend the rivers of Britain, but very
rarely. Not long ago one was taken in the river Esk, and, in
announcing the fact, some of the newspapers committed a divert-
ing typographical blunder : " Yesterday, a fine fat Surgeon was
taken in the river Esk. He weighed 460 pounds, and was
immediately cut up, salted, and pickled for the Edinburgh
market."
The fecundity of the sturgeon is very great. We are informed
by Catesby that the females frequently contain a bushel of spawn
each ; and Leewenhock counted the roe of one of them which
contained 150,000 eggs.
OF SPINOUS FISHES.
THE SWOKD FISH.
This fish has his name from his long snout resembling the
Made of a sword. He sometimes weighs above 100 pounds, and
is 15 feet in length. He often attacks the whale, and buries
his weapon in its side. Sometimes two join against the whale,
in which case the latter is generally killed.
Scoresby mentions a curious circumstance of a vessel arriving
at Liverpool, with the sword of this fish stuck fast in its hull.
He says, " a vessel which arrived at Liverpool about a year ago,
(1819, the Kitty, Captain Hodson) from a voyage to the coast
of Africa, after being put into the grooving-dock for the purpose
of receiving some repairs, was found to be perforated through the
bow by a hard bony substance. This substance, probably a part
of the rostrum of a xiphias or sword-fish, had penetrated through
a solid part of the vessel, where the thickness in timber and
planks was twelve inches of sound oak. The shattered end of
the bone was visible on the outside, and the smaller extremity
appeared within the ceiling. The latter part being observed by
a carpenter, who mistook it for a trenail, he struck at it a blow
with a mallet, by which a portion of the tip was broken off.
Finding it to be something curious, he pointed it out to Messrs
J. and R. Fisher, shipbuilders, the owners of the vessel, who
caused it to be taken out. The position of the bone was at the
distance of four feet horizontally from the stern, and two feet
below the surface of the water when the vessel was afloat.
Hence, it appeared, that when the ship had been in rapid pro-
gress through the water, she had been met with and struck by a
sword-fish advancing in an opposite direction, by the shock of
which, or by the action of the water forced past the body of the
animal by the vessel's progress, the snout had been broken off
and detached. The blow, though it must have been singularly
THE SWORD FISH. 7ZJ
forcible, was not observed by any person in the ship. Had the
bone been withdrawn the vessel would probably have foundered.
The substances through which it had penetrated were a sheet of
copper, an oak plank two and a half inches in thickness, a solid
oak timber of seven and a half inches, and another plank also .
of two inches. The bony substance is fifteen and a half inches
in length, two and a half inches greatest diameter, and weighs
one pound two ounces. It is nearly cylindrical at the point,
but considerably compressed towards the root. Most of the
surface is rough, the colour gray, the fracture splintery. The
roughness, which extends all round the bone to the distance of
five or six inches from the point, and indeed all over it, except-
ing a part of the surface, consists of minute tubercles or
denticles, imbedded in a substance having the appearance of an
incrustation of the thickness of a shilling. Some of these tuber-
cles are wanting, but their cavities remain visible. Whether
these tubercles are natural to the substance on which they are
found, or whether they are the incrustation of a species of ser-
tularia, I had not an opportunity of determining. That part of
the surface which is free from any denticles appears of a fibrous
bony texture. The broken extremity is hard, white, and splin-
tery in the fracture. In the interior of the bone are four angu-
lar perforations, running longitudinally almost as far as the
very tip ; they are from one fourth to one fifth of an inch in their
largest diameter."
This fish is sometimes cast ashore on our coasts. The fol-
lowing is an account by Mr Edward Milligan, of one thrown
ashore in Scotland, in 1821 :
" The present summer has been remarkable for the number
of large and strange fishes which have been thrown upon our
coasts, particularly those washed by the Irish sea. Perhaps the
most remarkable of these is the sword-fish, the xiphias gladius
of Linnaeus, which was thrown on the coast of Sirkbean, a
small maritime tract situated immediately behind that formi-
dable barrier of shallows and sandbanks which protect the
western alluvial borders of the Solway Frith from the incur-
sions of its ancient possessor, the ocean. This fish measured
ten feet in length, and four feet and a half round the thicker
part of the body. The sword, or rostrum, which is the most
interesting part of this animal, measured three feet three inches
730 ANECDOTES OK FISHES.
in length ; and different from tbose specimens commonly ex-
hibited or described, resembles in a remarkable manner the com-
mon diamond sword worn by Serjeants of infantry, only its pro-
portions at the root are more uniform, the whole figure being
that of an acute isosceles triangle, whose vertical angle is 4 42' ;
for its greater section is nearly a rhomboid, whose respective
sides are 17, 5.33: which last number in its transverse dimen-
sion or breadth at the same place is 1.10th of an inch. His
thickness was 3.1 inches; its greatest breadth 3.3 inches; and
its weight 25 ounces, or 1 Ib. 9 oz. avoirdupois.
" The part where the rostrum had been attached to the frontal
bone is somewhat softer than the rest, though approaching
more nearly to the colour and surface of bone. Internally,
however, the appearance is splintery, with parallel fibres, and
colour much resembling hiccory. Towards the apex, it becomes
more and more solid, and its edges are almost perfectly trans-
parent, and might pass for a deposition of calcareous-spar.
They are, indeed, easily scratched with a knife, and yield a
white streak, but do not effervesce with acids. The point,
which does not exceed one-twentieth of an inch in -breadth, is
likewise, though less perfectly, transparent. It is penetrated
for at least eighteen inches of its length by four canals. These
are half an inch wide at their commencement, and gradually dis-
appear in solid bone. Their use is probably to receive nerves
for the purpose of sensation, as the whole bone seems possessed
of a strong vibratory power, and when the nasal end of it is
held close to the ear, the slightest touch on the other extremity
is instantly perceived. The stethescope of M. Laennec rather
diminishes than increases this interesting effect. Whoever con-
siders the dimensions and exquisite mechanical aptitude of this
dreadful weapon, more especially when sped with the almost
electrical velocity of a fish ten- feet long, and nearly half a ton
weight, will have little difficulty in conceiving the effect de-
acribed by Mr Scoresby. The rostrum there described could
only have been twenty-eight inches in length, or almost one
half less than the one we are now describing; yet the fish had
driven it through the bow of a vessel, where the thickness in
timber and planks was twelve inches of solid oak, besides a
sheath of copper. The violence of the shock, however, seems
to have broken off the rostrum close to the os frontis. It is
TIIK GUDGEON.
731
very thin there, not one thirtieth of an inch, and though Galileo
has shown that matter disposed as here in a hollow cylindrical
form is stronger than when solid, this only obtains in the case
of pressure exerted at a distance from the point of resistance ;
for it must be proportionally weaker, in the event of a shock or
oscillation, which, in the instance supposed, would undoubtedly
be tremendous. However, the rostrum described by Scoresby
was cylindrical ; that above described is flat, but sloping from a
regular angle of one hundred and forty-one degrees in its mid-
dle to a moderately blunt edge on each side. This bevelment
is most remarkable on the upper surface, while the lower is
marked by two corresponding lines, not sharp but rounded. A
small suture may be observed on both surfaces, continued from
the frontal bone to within six inches of the point, and dividing
the rostrum into two equal parts." We have been thus particu-
lar in giving all that is known respecting one of the most formi-
dable of natural weapons.
A specimen of the common sword-fish was found on a sand-
bank in the Tay, in the end of August 1824, and sent to the Rev.
Dr Fleming of Flisk. It was upwards of six feet in length, ex-
clusive of the sword, which was two feet and a half.
THE GUDGEON.
This fish is excellent food, being of a fine flavour, and easily
digested. In many of the Continental rivers this fish abounds,
and is taken in great numbers in the months of September and
October, and affords a plentiful supply to the markets. They
are taken both with nets and lines.
The gudgeon feeds on aquatic plants, worms, the larvae of
water insects, and voraciously devours the spawn of fish. They
swim in small shoals, and inhabit parts of rivers where the
water runs smooth, or in gentle streams, over a gravelly bottom ;
and in still water they are to be found amongst aquatic plants,
in which situations they are caught by a barrel or basket,
which is open at both ends, being plunged into the river and
then taken by the hands. Another method is to cut two pieces
of the white thorn, and fixing them at right angles, attach them
732 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
to a piece of packthread, (having previously put on them a
worm,) and fasten the other end to a stick, which they hang over
the stream. In a stream within five or six miles of Norwich,
they are fished for in this manner; and the poor people some-
times make as many as a hundred of these fishing sticks, and
seldom fail to come off with a plentiful supply.
The gudgeon breeds twice or thrice a year; it is a finely
shaped animal, of a silvery hue, the body and tail beautifully
spotted with black.
OF THE MACKEREL TRIBE.
ALMOST all the species of mackerel associate in large shoals.
Some of them are migratory, and make long excursions at cer-
tain seasons of the year. The whole tribe are considered de-
licious food, and are consequently in great request.
THE COMMON MACKEREL.
The mackerel is a very beautiful fish when fresh taken out of
the water, but soon loses its vivid tints by exposure to the
atmosphere ; is more liable to rapid decomposition than almost
any other species of fish ; and from the peculiar tenderness of its
flesh cannot easily be transported to a distance without the dan-
ger of rendering them unfit for use.
Mackerel fishing is considered by some a very pleasant amuse-
ment ; and it has this attraction, that where an extensive shoal
is met with they are an easy capture and may be taken by a bit
of red cloth as a bait, or even one of their own tails ; and if
there is any ruffle on the surface of the water they take with
much avidity. It is necessary that the boat should be in motion
in order to drag the bait along near the surface of the water. In
some parts of the west coast of England, mackerel fishing is car-
ried on to a great extent, so much so that a capital of nearly
200,000 pounds is employed in the speculation. The fisher-
men go out several leagues from the shore, and stretch their nets,
which are sometimes several miles in extent, across the tide dur-
ing the night. The meshes of their nets are sufficiently large
So.
734 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
to admit of the heads of the tolerably large fish, and running
against them their heads go through the meshes and are taken by
the gills. During one night's fishing a single boat has been
known to bring on shore a cargo of seventy pounds value.
Another mode of catching mackerel is practised in the west of
England, with what is termed a ground sieve. A roll of rope
about two hundred fathoms in length, with the net fastened to
the end, is tied at the other to a post or rock on the shore.
The boat is then rowed to the extremity of this coil, when a pole
fixed there, heavily loaded at the bottom, is thrown overboard.
The rowers from thence make as nearly as possible a semicircle,
while two men continue to put the net into the water, in a regu-
lar manner. When they reach the other end of the net, where
there is another loaded pole, they throw that overboard. Ano-
ther coil of rope, similar to the first, is by degrees thrown into
the water, as the boatmen make for the shore. The boat's crew
now land, and, with the assistance of persons stationed there,
haul in each end of the net till they come to the two poles.
The boat is then pushed off towards the centre of the net, in
order to prevent the more vigorous fish from leaping over the
corks. By these means, three or four mackerel are often taken
at a haul.
Cavier is made from the roes of mackerel in the Mediterranean.
The first operation is to remove the blood and slime by wash-
ing them with vinegar : they are then spread out in the open
air, for a short time, to dry, and afterwards salted and hung
up in a net,to drain any moisture from them, which may remain.
After which they are placed on a kind of sieve, until thoroughly
dry and fit for use. Pickling of mackerel is much practised on
the Continent, and used to be frequently done also in Cornwall.
It was from this fish that the celebrated pickle of the Romans,
called garum, was made. -
The mackerel is one of the most voracious of all fishes ; and
when they get among a shoal of herrings, they make such havock
as frequently to drive it off the coast. Pontoppidan informs us
that a sailor, belonging to a ship lying in a harbour of Norway,
went into the water to wash himself, when he was suddenly
missed by his companions. In the course of a few minutes,
however, he was seen on the surface with vast numbers of
mackerels fastened to him. The people went to his assistance
THE COMMON MACKEREL. 735
in a boat, and tore the fishes from him ; but it was too late, for
he very shortly afterwards expired from the effects of the man-
ner in which he was torn and from the loss of blood.
The mackerel is a very prolific fish; the females deposit their
spawn among the rocks near the shore, about the month of June.
Their eyes are covered with a white film in the spring, which
grows in the winter, and is cast in the beginning of summer. In
this state they are said to be nearly blind.
Mackerels die almost as soon as they are taken out of the
water, and for a short time afterwards exhibit a phosphorescent
light.
OF THE CILETODON TRIBE.
THIS genus consists of numerous species, but one of them
only has been well described. The head and mouth of this
genus are small, and they have the power of protruding and con-
tracting the lips so as to convert it into a circular orifice. The
teeth are for the most part bristle-shaped, flexible and moveable,
closely set and extremely numerous ; there are from three to six
fangs in the gill-membrane : the body is broad, compressed and
scaly; the dorsal and anal fins being generally terminated by
prickles.
THE BEAKED CH-ffiTODON.
This fish is of a whitish or very pale brown colour, having
generally four or five blackish bands running across the body,
which is of an ovate and compressed shape : it has a lengthened
cylindrical snout ; with very large dorsal and anal fins, and on
the former there is a large eye-like spot ; it is six inches in
length. The flesh is white and has an agreeable taste
The beaked cbsetodon has also been termed the shooting-fish,
and inhabits the shores and mouths of the Oriental rivers, of
the islands as well as the main land.
The principal food of this species is flies and other insects,
that hover over the waters which it inhabits ; and the mode in
which it takes its prey is strikingly curious. When it notices a
fly at a distance on any plant in the shallow water, it approaches
very closely, and with the greatest caution, coming as much as
THE BEAKED CHvETODON. 737
possible perpendicularly under the object : then placing its body
in an oblique position, with the mouth near the surface, it
remains immoveable for a moment ; and having fixed its
eyes directly on the insect, it shoots at it a drop of water from
its tubular snout, but without showing its mouth above the sur-
face, from whence only the drop seems to rise. This is done
with so much adroitness, that although at the distance of four,
live, or even six feet, it seldom fails to bring the insect into the
water. Although this operation has been very closely watched
by the most attentive observers, yet none of them have been able
to detect the mouth above the surface of the water ; and yet the
fish has been seen to eject several drops of water, the one after
the other, without quitting the place, or the slightest motion of
its body been observable.
M. Hommel, governor of the hospital at Batavia, had heard of
the remarkable manner this fish had of taking its prey, and de-
termined on having ocular demonstration of the fact. He re-
quested that a large tub might be filled with sea-water, and had
some cbsetodons caught and put into it, taking care to have the
water changed every other day, that it might be perfectly fresh,
so as not to impair the faculties of the fishes. When they had
been fairly reconciled to their confinement, he then tried the
experiment of presenting them with an insect. He fastened
a slender stick with a fly attached to the end of it, and so placed
that the fish might strike it, and had the gratification of proving
what he at first disbelieved ; as every day these fish exercised
their skill in shooting at insects, and that with surprising force,
and so well directed that they seldom missed their aim.
OF THE PERCH TRIBE.
THERE are nearly sixty species of perches, five of which are
natives of the British rivers and lakes, and these are subject to
considerable variety. The ancients were only acquainted with
three different species of this genus. Perches are remarkable
for their voracity, and their great muscular power, and are pos-
sessed of much bodily activity. If caution is not used when they
are taken in the hand, they inflict considerable wounds by erect-
ing the spines of their first dorsal fin, and force them into the
hand of the unwary with considerable power.
The whole of this genus have jaws of unequal length, and are
furnished with sharp-pointed curved teeth. There are seven rays
in the gill-membrane; the cover consisting of three plates, the
uppermost of which is serrated. The scales covering the body
are hard and rough.
THE COMMON PERCH.
The perch is one of the most voracious of all fresh water
fishes, so much so, that they even attack and devour each other,
and this is the more remarkable as they associate in large shoals,
and other animals which are gregarious never devour their own
species.
This fish grows very slowly and seldom attains any great size.
The largest which we have heard of being taken in this country,
was caught in the serpentine river, Hyde Park, and weighed
nine pounds. Their ordinary weight is from half a pound to
two pounds.
A curious variety of the perch inhabits the lakes at Loch-
THE COMMON PEBCH.
739
maben, Dumfriesshire, It grows to a considerable size, some
having been taken nearly two feet long.
The perch frequents clear swift running rivers, whose bottoms
are pebbly or gravelly, and also those which have a sandy or
clayey soil. They also inhabit lakes, and will thrive very well
In ponds, where they generally shelter among reeds or under deep
banks, or beneath the roots of trees.
This fish is very tenacious of life, and has been known to sur-
vive a journey of sixty miles packed in straw.
Perch and pike are known to be frequent inhabitants of the
same rivers, lakes, or ponds. The perch bids defiance to this
powerful and voracious enemy, by erecting its spines, and no
fish will venture to prey upon it, in consequence of its formidable
mean of defence. Fishers, however, use young perch in pike
fishing, after having cut off the spines.
From its great voracity, the perch is an easy caught fish, as it
will take almost any kind of bait. Perch fishing continues from
April to January ; the best hours are from sunrise till ten
o'clock, and from two o'clock till sunset. They can, however,
sometimes be taken during the whole day. They have so little
timidity about them, that we have known them to approach close
to our limbs while standing in the water fishing for them. But
should a fish escape which has been hooked, he will make a
rapid retreat followed by the whole shoal. The perch is said to
be very abstemious during winter ; and one thing is certain that
he is more difficult to take in cold weather. We have, however,
frequently taken perch in the middle of winter, when the sun
shone clear, and the air was not too cold.
This fish is exceedingly prolific ; a single female has been
known to spawn 280,000 ova, betwixt the months of February
and May.
The Romans considered this fish as a great luxury, and perch
in consequence kept in all their lakes and ponds. When pretty
large the flesh of perch is very firm, and of a pleasant flavour.
In Monmouthshire there is a variety of the perch with a kind
of haunch on its back ; those at Lochmaben have a tendency to
this form. In the pool in which they are found in Wales, the
ordinary kind is also common ; this variety does not appear to
be accidental, as it is also found in some of the Alpine lakes of
Sweden.
OF SURMULLETS IN GENERAL.
THE head of the fishes composing this genus is compressed,
slanting, and covered with scales : the eyes are approximate, ob-
long, and vertical ; both jaws and palate are furnished with teeth ;
and the gill-membrane has three rays ; the body is round, long
and covered with large scales, which are so slightly attached that
they easily drop off.
Surmullets were held in high estimation both by the Greeks
and Romans, and could only be bought by the rich and
luxurious. Pliny only mentions two species of these fish,
one of which he says feeds on living animals, and the other
on marine plants, but a physiological examination of the sur-
mullets leads us to the conclusion that his latter assertion is er-
roneous. The British seas produce two species, and it is known
that they subsist on other fish, as well as testaceous and crusta-
ceous animals. They all inhabit the ocean.
From the earliest times the Greeks have been much ac-
customed to the use of fish as food, and they continue their
predilection for it to the present day. In the Gulph of Patrasso,
they practise a singular mode -of taking fish by diving. The
diver being provided with a rope made of a species of long
grass, which floats near the surface, has only to move his canoe
where he perceives there is a rocky bottom ; this done he throws
a rope out so as to form a tolerably large circle ; and such is the
timid nature of the fish, that, instead of rushing out, it never at-
tempts to pass this imaginary barrier, which acts as a talisman,
but instantly descends, and endeavours to conceal itself under
the rocks. Having waited a few moments till the charm has
taken effect, the diver plunges downwards, and not unfrequent-
ly returns with four or five fish, weighing from two to six
pounds each. As they seldom find more than the heads con-
THE RED SURMULLET. 741
cealed, there is the less difficulty in bringing forth their rich
prizes ; and when the harvest is good, the divers are so dexterous
that they have a method of securing three or four fish under
each arm, beside what they can take in their hands.
THE RED SURMULLET.
The head ot the red surmullet is large, broad, and compressed
at the sides, with two cirri, or beards, near the extremity of the
under jaw. They are in general eight or nine inches long ;
the body is thick in front, compressed, and covered with large
scales ; the back and sides are red, the belly of a silvery metallic
hue, and the fins yellow.
This fish forms a delicious food, and is at the same time very
beautiful in appearance. In the glory of the Roman empire
the surmullet sold at an enormous price. We are told by Pliny
that a Roman consul on one occasion paid a sum nearly equal
to sixty-five pounds sterling for a single fish ; and Suetonius
tells us that one of the emperors purchased three for 30,000
sesterces, or about two hundred and forty-two pounds sterling,
such was the height of absurdity to which that people went in
the luxuries of the table, previous to the dissolution of the em-
pire.
The red surmullet is common both in the Bosphorus and
Black sea, and consequently the markets at Constantinople are
plentifully supplied with them. In the Crimea this fish is
called the sultan fish, in consequence of the esteem they are
held in by the people of that country.
The red surmullet is a very voracious fish, preying on almost
every living animal which it has the power of conquering. It
frequents the sea coast in extensive shoals. The flesh is white,
firm, highly flavoured, and is said to be of very easy digestion.
The head and liver were the parts most esteemed by the
ancients.
OF GURNARDS IN GENERAL.
THIS tribe is called the Grondius or Grumblers, from a sin-
gular kind of noise they make when taken out of the water, by
expelling their internal air by compression ; in Scotland they
are termed the crooner.
The head in the gurnards is large, and covered with strong
bony plates ; the eyes are large, round, and vertical, appearing
too big for the size of the fish ; the mouth is large, and the
palate and jaws provided with sharp teeth. There are seven
rays in the gill-membrane ; the back is furnished with a longi-
tudinal, spinous groove on both sides : there are slender articu-
lated appendages on each side of the pectoral fins.
THE RED GURNARD.
THIS species is, in general, about eighteen inches in length,
and sometimes grows so large as two feet ; the extremity of the
head in front is provided with three short spines on each side
the forehead and gill covers are silvery, and the latter covered
with fine radiations ; and at the end of each there is a long sharp
and strong spine, and another beneath these immediately above
the pectoral fins ; the body is covered with small scales ; the
upper parts being of a deep red, spotted with white and yellow,
and sometimes with black ; the lower parts are of a fine silvery
metallic hue. The lateral line is composed of large rough scales,
silvery in the middle, and white at the edges.
The gray gurnard approach the shore in large shoals in the
THE RKD GURNARD. 743
months of May and June, for the purpose of depositing their
spawn in the shallows. They occasionally visit the British
coasts. Their chief residence is in the depths of the ocean,
where they have a plentiful supply of food, such as crabs, lob-
sters, and testaceous shell fish.
The flesh of this fish is white, firm, and good, although not
remarkable for its fine flavour. This is a beautiful fish while in
the water, its colours being brilliant, and in beautiful modifica-
tions, more especially while under the glare of sunshine, in which
case they are subject to great variation, from every different
motion.
OF THE DOREE TRIBE IN GENERAL.
THE seas of Europe and America afford about eight specks
of Dorees ; one species only inhabits fresh water, and is found
in the rivers of India ; it is said to spout water on insects in the
same manner as the beaked chaetodon.
THE JOHN DOREE.
THIS species inhabits the British channel, the Mediterranean,
and Atlantic ocean. It is a voracious species, preying on small
fish, which it pursues with great keenness ; and it will indiscri-
minately seize any kind of bait. The doree is provided with
numerous strong teeth, and a longitudinal row of stiff spines
reach along each side of the dorsal fins, and likewise from the
mouth all the way to the second anal fin. These are for the
purpose of protecting it from its enemies of the deep.
The John Doree was well-known to the ancients, and is
particularly mentioned in the writings of both Pliny and Ovid.
Many persons suppose that it was from the mouth of this fish
that the apostle Peter received the command of our Saviour to
take the tribute-money ; this is imagined to be indicated by the
black finger-like mark on each side of the head. On the coasts
of France on the Mediterranean, it is called le poisson de Saint
Pierre ; and on the coasts of Italy, Pesce San Piedro ; and the
Germans call it St Peter-fisch. It is the haddock which the
people of Britain suppose to be the fish of St Peter.
When taken alive out of the water the John Doree com-
presses the internal organs so rapidly, that the air in its passage
through the gills produces a kind of noise, something like that
of the gurnards.
OF STICKLEBACKS.
THERE are many species of this genus ; these are dispersed
over various parts of the world, some of them inhabiting fresh
water, such as inland lakes, rivers, and ditches, and others are
entirely confined to the ocean.
The head of the sticklebacks is somewhat oblong and smooth,
having the jaws provided with small teeth ; the gill-membrane
has either three, six, or seven rays ; the body is keel-shaped to-
wards the tail, and covered with bony plates ; the back is armed
with several sharp spines, which are situated betwixt the dorsal
fin and the head.
THE THREE-SPINED STICKLEBACK.
THIS species is very common in our rivers, and seldom ex-
ceeds two inches in length ; the back is provided with three
sharp spines, which serve as their weapons of defence and of-
fence, and they are always erected when in dread of an enemy,
or when about to attack another fish. This fish is olive green
above, and silvery white beneath ; the lower jaw and belly are
crimson in some individuals.
Although this fish is of diminutive size, yet its voracity is
surprising ; and it proves exceedingly destructive to the spawn
of all fresh-water fishes. Mr Anderon of Norwich kept a
three-spined stickleback in a glass, which he fed upon young
dace ; and in the space of five hours one day, it devoured
seventy-four young dace, of about an inch and a half in length,
and of the thickness of a horse-hair, and he has no doubt but
it would have taken as large a meal every day had he offered
it. Ho put it into a glass jar of water with sand at the
bottom so that he might watch its habits and make some ex-
3 a
716 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
periments on it. It refused to eat for some days ; but by giving
it fresh water and seeing it frequently, it at last was prevailed on
to take some small worms, which he put into the jar, and at
length became so tame as to take them from his hand. It soon
grew so bold as to set up its spines in anger when worms were
offered to it after it was satiated with eating, and if he put his
fingers into the water it would strike at them with great force
with its spines.
He tried some other fish in the same jar with it, and such was
its audacity that it would attack them even although ten times
larger than itself, and would not suffer them to live in the jar.
One day a small fish was put into the jar, which it immediately
attacked and put to flight, and tore off part of its tail with its
teeth, and had it not been removed the stickleback would have
soon destroyed it.
The quantity of food required by these animals is so great that
they are frequently obliged to emigrate to fresh quarters in search of
a more abundant supply, especially when they become-numerous.
It has been remarked that vast shoals of the three-spined
stickleback visit the river Welland, near Spalding, in Lincoln-
shire, once every seven or eight years; and such is their num-
ber, that during their progress up the river, they extend nearly
entirely across it. It has been supposed that these are the sur-
plus population of the fens which have been last propagated,
and which are forced to migrate in quest of food. The farmers
use these shoals for manuring the land in the neighbourhood of
the river; and some notion may be had of their vast number,
when it is stated that a man employed in catching them has
earned four shillings a day for his labour, after disposing of
them at a halfpenny a bushel. f
Nothing can surpass their energy in removing from one place
to another, and hardly any obstacle is sufficient to impede their
progress, as they have been known to spring over a space of
eighteen inches in perpendicular height above the surface of the
water, and in an oblique direction have been known to spring
upwards of two feet.
This species spawns in the months of April and June, and
they deposit their ova on the aquatic plants. They seldom live
longer than three years.
Mr John Ramage of Aberdeen relates the following interest-
THE T11KEE-SPINKD STICKLEBACK. 747
ing circumstance : " When taking a walk in tbe evening with
some of my children, they observed in a small rivulet, south side
of king's college, Old Aberdeen, a shoal of sticklebacks in the
water, which attracted their attention. I immediately put down
my hand and caught one of them, which was skimming near the
surface, apparently as active and lively as the others, with this
difference only, that it was much distended, and appeared full of
roe. One of my children, to whom I had given the stickleback,
after keeping it in his hand for a few minutes, told me that its
{gut was coming out ; and upon looking at it, I found about half
an inch of a white substance protruding itself. At first I sus-
pected that the child had squeezed it, and that it was part of
the roe that appeared ; but, upon examining it more minutely,
I found the substance to be alive and in motion ; and to my
astonishment, in the course of half a minute, a leech, fully as
large as the stickleback, had disengaged itself, and was crawling
about on my hand. The stickleback died almost immediately
after giving birth to this strange offspring, and the leech survived
it only about twelve hours. Its appearance and motions corres-
ponded in every respect with those of the common leech, except
that the colour was entirely white.
" Upon examining the stickleback minutely, it seemed to me
that the leech was lodged in the small gut, and most probably had
been swallowed by the stickleback for food, when of a small
size, and had grown to its present dimensions in the stickleback's
belly, after having been swallowed."
On the above curious circumstance, Mr John Stark makes
the following observations: " Upon this detail, it may be re-
maiked lhat the circumstance of a stickleback swallowing a
leech is no uncommon one, for young leeches seem to be the
favourite food of the three-spined stickleback. My boys had
several sticklebacks alive for some months during the last sum-
mer ; and fed them at first with earth-worms, maggots, and
occasionally the small house-fly, which however did not seem to
be relished. Afterwards, at my suggestion, young leeches were
brought from the ditch in which the sticklebacks were caught,
as being more likely with the larvae of aquatic insects, to form
part of their natural supply of food which was submitted to their
choice. These were found to be preferred to all other aliment,
and for a month at least they had scarcely any other food. The
2 n2
748 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
species of leeches procured were the horse leech, common leech,
and the flattened leech. To ascertain what size of leech would
be swallowed, a male stickleback, of about an inch and three
quarters in length was selected and put in a large tumbler on a
mantle-piece, where its mode of attacking and devouring its
prey formed a source of amusement to the children for weeks.
" On putting the leeches into the water, the stickleback darted
round the tumbler with lively motions till it found a leech de-
tached, and in a proper situation for being seized. When the
leech was very small, say about half an inch in length, it was
often swallowed at once before it reached the bottom of the
vessel, but when a larger one, about an inch, or an inch and a
half in length in its expanded srate, was put in, and had fastened
itself by its mouth to the glass, the efforts of the stickleback to
seize and tear it from its hold, were incessant, and never failed
to succeed. It darted at the loose extremity, or, when both
ends were fastened, at the curve in its middle, seized it in its
mouth, rose to near the surface, and after a hearty shake (such
as a dog would give a rat) let it drop. The leech, who
evidently wished to avoid its enemy upon its release again,
attached itself by its mouth to the glass j but again and again
the attack was repeated, till the poor leech became exhausted,
and ceased to attempt holding itself by its disc. The stickleback
then seized it by the head in a proper position for swallowing,
and after a few gulps the leech disappeared. The flattened
leech (Hirudo complanata,) being of an oval form, and having a
hard skin, was not attacked, unless when very young, and
scarcely two or three lines in length ; and leeches of the
other species when pretty well grown, or larger than himself
when expanded, were killed in the manner above mentioned,
but not swallowed.
" In one of his attempts to seize a leech, the stickleback having
got it by the tail, the animal curled back and fixed its disc upon
his snout. The efforts of the stickleback to rid himself of this
encumbrance were amusing. He let go his hold of the leech,
which then hung over his mouth, and darting at the bottom and
sides of the glass with all his strength, endeavoured to rub off
this tantalizing morsel. This lasted for nearly a minute, when
at last he got rid of the leech by rubbing his back upon the
bottom of the vessel. The leech perfectly aware of the com-
THE THUEE-SPINED STICKLEBACK. 749
pany he was in, no sooner loosed his hold, than he attempted to
wriggle away from his devourer; but before he had reached
mid-way up the tumbler, the stickleback had turned and finished
the contest by swallowing him up.
" This voracious little fish not only preys upon the young of
the leech, but sometimes devours the fry of its own species. In
two or three instances, when leeches had not been procured,
a young stickleback, about half an inch long, was dropped into
the glass, and instantly swallowed. On other occasions, when
some of a larger size were put in along with him, he contented
himself with killing them. Perhaps the spines of these larger
fish, which are erected when in danger, and upon the death of
the animal, were too strong for the texture of his throat. In
ponds and ditches where sticklebacks occur, the young fry will
ahvays be found to seek protection in the shallowest parts of the
water from the attacks of their full-grown enemies. One
stickleback, at another time, when two minnows, much larger
than himself, had been put in to keep him company, attacked
them with fury. They fled from his bite in evident dismay ;
and one of them finding no other means of escape, fairly leaped
out of the vessel. Even a female of his own species was no
better treated by this ungallant tyrant, who allowed no stranger
to enter his domain with impunity.
" The young of the leech being thus, it is conceived, a frequent
food of the stickleback, it is not marvellous that such a little
devourer should occasionally gorge himself by swallowing a leech
of large dimensions for the capacity of the stomach. That this
was the case of the stickleback mentioned by Mr Ramage,
seems evident from the situation in which it was found near
the surface of the water, and the facility with which it was
caught." But to have lived any length of time in the intestines
of the stickleback, as Mr Ramage supposes, we conceive to be
impossible.
When sticklebacks are put into a tub and kept in a state
of captivity for a day or two, they swim about in a shoal appa-
rently exploring their new habitation. Suddenly one will take
possession of the tub, or, as it will sometimes happen, the bot-
tom, and will instantly commence an attack upon his com-
panions ; and if any of them ventures to oppose his sway, a
regular and most furious battle ensues : they swim round and
2 R.3
750 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
round each other with the greatest rapidity, biting and endeavour-
ing to pierce each other with their lateral spines, which on these
occasions are projected. Battles of this kind have been seen to
last for several minutes before either would give way; and,
when one does submit, imagination can hardly conceive the
vindictive fury of the conqueror, who, in the most persevering
and unrelenting way chases his rival from one point of the tub
to another, until fairly exhausted by fatigue. From this period
an interesting change takes place in the conqueror, who, from
being a speckled and greenish-looking fish, assumes the most
beautiful colours ; the belly and lower jaws becoming a deep
crimson, and the back sometimes a cream colour, but generally
a fine green, and the whole appearance full of animation and
spirit. It has occasionally been observed, that three or four
parts of a tub have been taken possession of by as many other
little tyrants, who guard their territories with the strictest vigi-
lance, and even the slightest invasion brings on invariably a
battle. As may be expected, they usually fight best on their
own ground, and the invader is generally repelled ; but, when
the contrary occurs, the victor adds the defeated party's pos-
session to his own. A strange alteration takes place, almost
immediately, in the defeated party; his gallant bearing forsakes
him ; his gay colours fade away ; he becomes again speckled
and ugly ; and he hides his disgrace among his peaceable com-
panions, who occupy together that part of the tub which their
tyrants have not taken possession of ; he is, moreover, for some
time the constant object of his conqueror's persecution.
These are the habits of the male fish alone : the females are
quite pacific ; appear fat, as if full of spawn ; never assume the
brilliant colours of the male, by whom they are never molested.
The bite of these little furies is so severe, that when inflicted
on the tail, it seldom fails to produce mortification, and conse
quently death. They also use their lateral spines with such
fatal effect, that, incredible as it may appear, they have been
seen in a battle absolutely to rip their opponent quite open> so
that he sunk to the bottom and died.
There is a curious fact in the history of these little creatures which
deserves notice. Previous to death, they reassume all their bril-
liant colours, which they may have lost from defeat, but they
are not so clear and distinct as when in the height of their power.
OF THE MULLET GENUS.
THE fishes of this genus have membranaceous lips, with the
lower one carinated inwards. They are destitute of teeth on
the jaws, but are provided with them on the palate and tongue.
Above the angle of the mouth, it is furnished with a hard cal-
losity. On the gill-membrane there are seven incurvated rays ;
the gill-covers are smooth and rounded.
THE WHITE MULLET.
This fish is highly esteemed as an article of food ; and in
August it is considered in the highest condition. A species of
cavia is made from the roes of the mullet, which goes by the
name of Botargue, and is made in the following manner : When
the fish is opened, the roes are removed into a dry pickle of salt,
in which they are allowed to remain five hours, and are then
taken out, pressed between two boards, and the water com-
pletely squeezed out ; they are then washed in a weak brine
afterwards dried in the sun, and are generally fit for use in ten
or fifteen days.
White mullets are plentifully diffused over the shores of al-
most all seas, and pass into rivers at the spawning season, in
May, June, and July. They are known to thrive well, even in
fresh water lakes with a sandy bottom, where they have no com-
munication with the sea.
White mullets are gregarious, and swim in great shoals, keep-
752 . ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
ing near the surface ot the water ; and their presence is known
by a peculiar ripple, and a blue appearance, which they give to
the water. They are said to be very cunning, and to spring over
the net, which is set to take them. One shows the example,
and all the rest follow, in the same manner as a flock of sheep
will do. This was well known to the ancients, and is thus no-
ticed by Oppian,
The mullet, when encircling seines enclose,
The fatal threads and treach'rous bosom knows :
Instant he rallies all his vigorous powers,
And faithful aid of every nerve implores :
O'er battlements of cork up-darted flies
And finds from air th' escape that sea denies.
On the continent, the fishermen have a method of preventing
the escape of the mullet by using a double net, so formed, that
the second division shall entrap the fugitives.
OF EELS IN GENERAL.
EELS in many respects bear a strong resemblance to serpents,
both in habits and external form, having long and slender bodies.
They are covered with a smooth and slippery skin, and in ge-
neral are unprovided with scales ; but when they have them,
they are set distant from each other. All eels live on animal
substances, and are capable of migrating from one stream or lake
to another, even over the land.
The fishes of this genus have a small head, and their nos-
trils are of a tubular shape; the gill-membranes are furnished
with twelve rays ; the body is of a cylindrical shape, very smooth
and slippery ; there is no separation between their tail, back,
and anal fins, all being united in one continuous fin ; the spiracle
is always situated either behind the head, or at the back of the
pectoral fins.
THE COMMON EEL.
The natural history of the eel is involved in very great ob-
scurity, although, perhaps, few fishes are better known to man.
kind, as it generally abounds in all fresh waters, and also in the
ocean.
Isaac Walton, the father of angling literature, says, " Those
that deny them to breed as other fish do, ask, if any man ever
saw an eel have a spawn or melt ?"
It would appear, that the common eel forms a connecting link
754 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
between serpents and fish, possessing not only the shape of the
former, but also many of their habits. The eel is frequently
known to quit the water, and to wander in the evening or night,
over meadows, some say, in search of snails or other food, but
we would rather suppose it to be, either in search of its way to
the ocean, or for the purpose of finding more convenient places
for breeding. We have frequently known them to inhabit ponds,
which had no running water communicating with them, and we
are assured by Mr Jesse, that they have been found in ponds in
Richmond Park, which had been previously cleaned out and
mudded, and into which no water could run, except from the
springs which supplied them.
This wandering propensity in the eel has been long known,
and has been noticed by the ancient writers, among whom we
may mention Oppian, who says,
. " The wandering; eel,
" Oft to the neighbouring beach will silent steal."
Mr Jesse says, " I have been informed, upon the authority of
a nobleman well-known for his attachment to field sports, that,
if an eel is found on land, its head is invariably turned towards
the sea, for which it is always observed to make in the most di-
rect line possible. If this information is correct (and there
seems to be no reason to doubt it), it shows that the eel, like
the swallow, is possessed of a strong migratory instinct. May we
not suppose that the swallow, like the eel, performs its migra-
tions in the same undeviating course ?"
It is mentioned by Mr Arderon in the Philosophical Transac-
tions, that as he was inspecting the flood-gates belonging to the
Norwich water-works, he observed a great number of eels slid-
ing up them, and also ascending the adjacent parts, to the height
of five or six feet above the surface of the water. They got up
with the utmost facility, although many of the posts were per-
fectly smooth, and quite dry. Their heads and half of their
bodies were first thrust out of the water, which they pressed
against the wood-work for some time ; this, Mr Arderon sup-
poses, was till the viscid substance which is exuded from their
bodies became sufficiently thick and adhesible by exposure to
the air, to support the weight of their bodies j they then com-
mence ascending directly upwards, and with as much apparent
THE COMMON EEL. TOO
ease, as if they had been sliding on level ground. It seems,
however, very probable, that they are assisted in their ascent by
their small scales, which, like those of serpents, must facilitate
their progressive motion.
It is certainly extraordinary the length of time which an eel
will exist out of that element in which it spends nearly the
whole of its existence. The following remarkable instance is
recorded in the Annals of Sporting, vol. xii. p. 281. " In a
gentleman's warehouse in the Murraygate, Dundee, a porter in
pulling out some heads from a mat of Riga flax, discovered in
the heart of one of them an animal which he thought was a
serpent. It turned out to be an eel, of fifteen or eighteen inches
in length. It showed symptoms of life, and on being put into
a tub of water, became in a short time as lively, and continued
so, as if it had never been ovit of its natural element. This
shows how tenacious of life the eel must be, as the vessel by
which the flax came has been a month from Riga, and it is un-
certain how long it may have been among the flax before it was
shipped. There appears to be no damage or wet in the mat from
which it was taken."
The eel is known to be very voracious, and is verified by a
circumstance which has been well-authenticated ; namely, that
as some men were cleaning a pond near Bootle, a large eel was
caught, and on opening which, two rats were found in its sto-
mach. When kept in ponds, they have been known to destroy
young ducks. Sir John Hawkins had a canal near his house
at Twickenham, from whence he missed many of his young
ducks, and, on draining, in order to clean it, great numbers of large
eels were discovered in the mud. In the stomach of several of
them were found undigested heads, and parts of the bodies of
the ducklings. In still and deep waters eela grow to an im-
mense size, sometimes to the weight of fifteen or sixteen pounds.
One taken near Petersborough, in the year 1667, measured a
yard and three quarters in length.
Mr Bingley mentions, that he saw exposed for sale at Ret-
ford, Nottinghamshire, a quantity of eels that would have filled
a couple of wheelbarrows, the whole of which had been taken
out of the body of a dead horse thrown into a ditch in one of
the adjacent villages.
Dr Anderson givi's the following account in the Bee of the
750 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
migration of young eels ; he says, " Having occasion to be
once on a visit at a friend's house, on Dee side, in Aberdeen-
shire, I often delighted to walk on the banks of the river. I one
day observed something like a black string moving along the
edge of the river in shoal water. Upon closer inspection, I
discovered that this was a shoal of young eels, so closely joined
together, as to appear, on a superficial view, one continued body,
moving briskly up against the stream. To avoid the retardment
they experienced from the force of the current, they kept close
along the water's edge the whole of the way, following the
windings and sinuosities of the river. While they were embayed
and in still water, the shoal dilated in breadth, so as to be some-
times nearly a foot broad ; but when they turned a cape, where
the current was strong, they were forced to occupy less space,
and press close to the shore, struggling very hard till they passed
it. This shoal continued to move on night and day, without in-
terruption for several weeks. Their progress might be at the
rate of about a mile an hour. It was easy to catch the animals,
though they were very active and nimble. They were eels per-
fectly formed in every respect, but not exceeding two inches in
length. I conceive that the shoal did not contain, on an aver-
age, less than from twelve to twenty in breadth ; so that the
number which passed on the whole, during their progress, must
have been very great. Whence they came, or whither they went,
I know not. The place where I remarked them at was six miles
from the sea, and I am told that the same phenomenon takes
place every year about the same season."
" Eels migrate from the salt water of different sizes," says
Sir Humphrey Davy, " but I believe never when they are a foot
long, and the great mass of them are only from two and a half
to four inches. They feed, grow, and fatten in fresh water.
In small rivers, they are seldom very large ; but, in large deep
lakes, they become as thick as a man's arm, or even leg ; and
all those of a considerable size attempt to return to the sea in
October or November, probably when they experience the cold
of the first autumnal rains. Those that are not of the largest
size, pass the winter in the deepest part of the mud of rivers
and lakes, and do not seem to eat much, and remain, I believe,
almost torpid. Their increase is certainly not known in any
given time, but must depend upon the quantity of tkeir food ;
THF/ COMMON EEL. 757
but it is probable that they do not become of the largest size
from the smallest, in one or even two seasons."
Mr Jesse, in his interesting gleanings, says, " An annual mi-
gration of young eels takes place in the river Thames in the
month of May, and they have generally made their appearance
at Kingston, in their way upwards, about the second week in
that month; and accident has so determined it, that, for several
years together, it was remarked, that the 10th of May was the
day of what the fishermen call eel-fair ; but they have been
more irregular in their proceedings since the interruption of the
lock at Teddington. These young eels are about two inches in
length, and they make their approach in one regular and unde-
viating column of about five inches in breadth, and as thick to-
gether as it is possible for them to be. As the procession
generally lasts tsvo or three days, arid as they appear to move at
the rate of nearly two miles and a half an hour, some idea
may be formed of their enormous number.
" The line of march is almost universally confined to one
bank of the river, and not on both sides at the same time , but,
from some instinctive or capricious impulse, they will cross
the river and change the side without any apparent reason for
doing so. When the column arrives at the entrance of a tributary
stream, which empties itself into the river, a certain portion of
the column will continue to progress up the tributary stream,
and the main phalanx either cross the river to the opposite bank,
or will, after a stiff struggle to oppose the force of the tributary
branch in its emptying process, cross the mouth of the estuary,
and regain its original line of inarch on the same side of the
river. In consequence of the young eels dispersing them-
selves from time to time, as occasion offers, in the manner above
described, the shoal must imperceptibly lessen until the whole
have disposed of themselves in different places. I have not' yet
been able to ascertain at what distance from Kingston the shoal
has been seen."
There can be little doubt that the eel is viviparous. In an
interesting article in the New Monthly Magazine for 1814, this
is clearly proved. Mr Chetwynd mentions, that even so late
as the month of May, he found live eels in the bodies of large
ones ; and Mr Taylor says, that he cut open numbers of eels,
and found within many of them a small white substance, cu-
3s
768 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
riously knotted together, and which, upon close examination,
when separated, he found to be young eels capable of moving,
and that they were no thicker than a very fine thread : He put
them into the water, and they commenced swimming about.
In winter eels retreat deep into the muddy bottoms of ponds
and rivers, and have been found in these situations knotted to-
gether in large masses.
Respecting the migration of eels, Sir Humphrey Davy says,
in his " Salmonia," " There are two migrations of eels, one
from and the other to the sea ; the first in spring and summer,
and the second in autumn, or early in winter. The first of very
small eels, which are sometimes not more than two and
a half inches long; the second of large eels, which sometimes
are three or four feet long, and weigh from fifteen to
twenty pounds. There is great reason to believe, that all eels
found in fresh water are the results of the first migration ; they
appear in millions in April and May, and sometimes continue
to rise as late as July and the beginning of August. I remem-
ber this was the case in Ireland in 1823. It had been a cold
backward summer, and when I was at Ballyshannon, about the
end of Jujy, the mouth of the river, which had been in flood
all this month, under the falls, was blackened by millions of lit-
tle eels, about as long as the finger, which were constantly urg-
ing their way up the moist rocks by the side of the fall. Thou-
sands died, but their bodies remaining moist, served as a ladder
for others to make their way ; and I saw them ascending even
perpendicular stones, making their road through wet moss, or
adhering to some eels that died in the attempt. Such is the
energy of these little animals, that they continue to find their
way in immense numbers to Lough Erne. The same thing
happened at the fall of the Boun, and Lough Neah is thus
peopled with them ; even the mighty fall of Schaffhauseri does
not prevent them from making their way to the lake of Con-
stance, where I have seen many very large eels."
Sir Humphrey Davy continues, " that there are eels in the
lake of Neufchatel, which communicates by a stream with the
Rhine, but there are none in the Leman Lake, because the
Rhone makes a subterraneous fall below Geneva ; and though
small eels can pass the moss, or mount the rocks, they cannot
penetrate limestone, or move against a rapid descending cur-
THK COMMON EEL. 759
rent of water, passing, as it were, through a pipe. Again, no
eels mount the Danube from the Black Sea, and there are none
found in the great extent of lakes, swamps, and rivers, commu-
nicating with the Danube, though some of these lakes and
morasses are wonderfully filled with them, and though they are
found abundantly in the same countries, in lakes and rivers con-
nected with the ocean and the Mediterranean, yet when brought
into confined water in the Danube, they fatten and thrive there.
As to the instinct which leads young eels to seek fresh water, it
is difficult to reason ; probably they prefer warmth, and, swim-
ming at the surface in the early summer, find the lighter water
warmer, and likewise containing more insects, and so pursue
the courses of the fresh waters, as the waters from the land, at
this season, become warmer than those of the sea. Mr
Couch says, that the little eels, according to his observations,
are produced within reach of the tide, and climb round falls to
reach fresh water from the sea. I have sometimes seen them
in spring swimming in immense shoals in the Atlantic, in Mount
Bay, making their way to the mouths of small brooks or rivers.
When the cold water from the autumnal floods begin to swell
the rivers, this fish tries to return to the sea ; but numbers of
smaller ones hide themselves during the winter in the mud, and
many of them form, as it were, masses together."
"As very large eels, after having migrated, never return to the
river again, they must (for it cannot be supposed that they all
die immediately in the sea) remain in salt water ; and there is
great probability that they are then confounded with the conger,
which is found of different colours and sizes, from the smallest
to the largest, from a few ounces to one hundred pounds in
weight. Both the conger and the common eel have fringes
along the air bladder, which are probably the ovaries ; and Sir
E. Home thinks them hermophradite, and that the vessels for
the melt and ovae are close to the kidneys. If viviparous, and
the fringes contain the ova, one mother must produce ten thou-
sands, the ova being remarkably small ; but it appears more pro-
bable that they are oviparous, and that they deposit their ova
in parts of the sea near deep basins, which remain warm in win-
ter. From the time (April) that small eels begin to migrate,
it is probable that they are generated in winter, and the pregnant
eels ought to bo looked for in November, December, and Ja-
3s2
760 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
iniary. I opened one in December, in which the fringes were
abundant, but I did not examine them under the microscope or
chemically."
Mr Couch, in the Magazine of Natural History, makes the
following observations on the propagation of the eel. He
says, " ] have no doubt that the pearly white substance,
which lies along the course of the spine of this fish (the
situation of the roe in most fishes), is the roe. Contrary
to what is found in most species of fish, this roe contains
a large quantity of fine oil, so free from fishy flavour, as
to be commonly employed (at least that found in the conger) in
crusts and other culinary uses in Cornwall. In the fish, its use
seems to be to protect the delicate sexual organs from cold ; for
these organs are most developed in the coldest season of the
year ; and the whole constitution of the eel is remarkably sus-
ceptible of cold : it feels every change of temperature. The
eels which were the subjects of my observations and experi-
ments, were procured from the outer pier at Polperro, in the
month of February ; and, though the season was so cold that a
sheet of ice was left on the beach when the tide receded, they
seemed to have lost nothing of their activity. Placing a por-
tion of this roe in the field of a powerful microscope, I found it
consisting of globular grains, some far exceeding others in size ;
from which J conclude, that some are approaching to maturity,
and that they are excluded in succession, considerable time
elapsing between the expulsion of the first and the last. It is
impossible to imagine that these could ever have been hatched
within the body, and still less without the circumstance having
long since been ascertained. The small size of the external ori-
fice is a farther proof of the same thing. To remove all doubt
of this pearly substance being the roe, I burnt a portion of it
in the flame of a candle, subjecting it at the same time to the
judgment of one well acquainted with the smell of burnt roe of
fish, which is sufficiently distinguished from every other smell.
The individual was not acquainted with the intention of my in-
quiry, but the decision that it was the roe of fish was without
hesitation. It is probable, that the roe of the eel is rendered
prolific previously to its exclusion ; for Rondelstein says, that
he has seen eels cling together like dew worms ; it seems likely,
also, that the grains are not deposited or covered, but rather
THE COMMON EEL. 761
left to float at random, as is certainly the case with many fishes.
It seems difficult, on any other supposition, to account for the
young eels coming to life at the distance of two or three leagues
from land. Notwithstanding the distance," they soon find their
way to the mouths of rivers. Young eels begin to appear in
March, the earliest I have noticed being on the third of that .
month, in 1828; and, in 1830, after minute search, the first I
could find was on the 24th. At this season, some are usually
found so transparent, that every internal action and organ may
be examined. In making observations on eels, I have found
much difficulty in keeping the fish in confinement : they made
their escape from a vessel where the water was four inches be-
low the brim. One was taken in the street on its way to the
stream, others I never recovered ; very small ones escaped with
no greater difficulty than the larger. In all cases, the escape
was at night, I believe, by placing the tail over the edge of the
vessel."
The problem of the generation of eels, is one of the most
difficult, at the same time, one of the most curious in natural
history. This subject occupied the attention of Aristotle, and
has since, at different periods, been investigated by naturalists
of distinguished talent, and still the question is undecided.
There are several species of eels in Britain ; the silver and
black eel, of each of which there are two varieties, differing in
the size and shape of the head.
It is mentioned by Dr Mitchell, that eels came up to the river
Fleet, and even as high as Fleet-market ; as also up to Walbrook,
as far as the water rises with the tide. He also says, on open-
ing the water-plugs in the streets, that six or eight eels of enor-
mous size and great activity will sometimes come up ; and
that they get into the small lead pipes which conduct the water
from the main pipes to the houses, and have frequently been
known to block them up. To prevent a recurrence of this an-
noyance, a grating is now placed at the entrance of the main
pipes to prevent eels from entering them from the reservoir.
3s3
762 ANECDOTES OF FJSHES.
THE CONGEH EEL.
The chief difference of the conger from the common eel, is
in having the lower jaw shorter than the upper ; the lateral
line is whitish, and with a row of spots j it is also darker in the
colour of its body ; the edges of the dorsal and anal fins are
black : the eyes are also larger in proportion to the size of the
head ; the irides are of a bright silvery appearance. In its in-
ternal conformation,, however, there is a manifest difference, in
having thirty more vertebrae than the common eel.
It is said, that the conger eel grows to the amazing size of ten
feet in length, and from fourteen to sixteen inches in circum-
ference. The conger eel has been known to fight most des-
perately when taken by fishermen ; it has frequently been
known to twine itself round their legs, and to inflict se-
vere wounds before it could be subdued. Bingley says, "a
conger, six feet in length, was caught in the Wash at Yarmouth,
in April 1808 ; but not until after a severe contest with the
man who had seized it. The animal is stated to have risen half
erect, and to have actually knocked him down before he could
secure it. This conger weighed only about sixty pounds, while
some of the larger exceed even a hundred weight."
During winter, the conger conceals itself deep in mud, and
continues in that situation as long as the cold weather lasts.
This eel is found on many of the British coasts, as well as
those of Ireland. They are said to be abundant at Mount's
Bay in Cornwall, where they are taken and dried, and upwards
of ten tons have been exported from thence in a single season
to Spain and Portugal, where they are held in high estimation.
The fish of this eel is white, and reckoned by some persons
good eating; but it is certainly too rank and greasy to be relish-
ed by a British palate.
Congers are fished for with very strong lines of five hundred
feet in length : these are baited with many hooks, and sunk to
a depth in the ocean.
In a young state congers are liable to attacks from a number
of enemies, particutorly from different species of rays, and other
fish that swim near the bottom of the ocean, where they usually
THE ELECTRICAL GYMNOTUS. 763
resort : the cat fish proves very destructive to them, as they
are a favourite food of that voracious fish.
The voracity of the conger is very great. They frequently
conceal themselves in mud at the outlet of rivers, and seize all
fishes, which are either running up, or going sea-ways. They
coil themselves round the larger fishes, in the manner of serpents,,
and destroy them with their teeth.
THE ELECTRICAL GYMNOTUS.
The head of the gymnotus is provided with lateral operculse,
having two tentacula on the upper lip ; and the gill. membrane
furnished with five rays; the body is considerably compressed,
arid a fin extends from about six inches from the head along the
whole abdominal region to the point of the tail.
The general appearance of this fish is like that of an eel, and
measures from three to four feet in length, and ten or twelve
inches in circumference. The head is flat, and the mouth with-
out teeth. This remarkable fish is peculiar to the rocky parts
of rivers in South America, and lives at a great distance from
the sea. We have the following most interesting and satisfac-
tory account of this fish from the pen of Baron Humboldt,
which we shall give at length, as containing a more detailed de-
scription of the singular phenomena of electrical fishes than any
other with which we are acquainted ; he says, " they inhabit the
Rio Colorado, the Guarapiche, and several little streams that
cross the missions of the Cbayma Indians. They abound
also in the large rivers of America, the Oroonoko, the Amazon,
and the Meta ; but the strength of the current, and the depth
of the water, prevent their being caught by the Indians. They
see the fish less frequently than they feel electrical shocks from
them when swimming or bathing in the rivers. In the Llanos,
particularly in the environs of Calabozo, between the farms of
Moriechal, and the missions de arriba and de abaro, the basins
of stagnant water, and the confluents of the Oroonoko, are
filled with electrical eels. We at first wished to make our ex-
periments in the house we inhabited at Calabozo ; but the
dread of the electrical shocks of the gymnoti is so exaggerated
7C4 ANECDOTES Of FISHES.
among the vulgar, that during three days we could not obtain one,
though they are easily caught, and though we had promised the
Indians two piasters for every strong and vigorous fish.
" Impatient of waiting, and having obtained very uncertain re-
sults from an electrical eel that had been brought to us alive,
but much enfeebled, we repaired to the Cano de Bera, to make
our experiments in the open air, on the borders of the water it-
self. We set off on the 19th of March for the village of Rastro
de Abaxo, thence we were conducted to a stream, which, in the
time of drought, forms a basin of muddy water, surrounded by
line trees. To catch the gymnoti with nets is very difficult on
account of the extreme agility of the fish, which bury them-
selves in the mud like serpents. We would not employ the
tarlasco, that is to say, the roots of Piscidea erithryna and
Jacquinia armillaris, which, when thrown into the pool, intoxi-
cate or benumb these animals. These means would have en-
feebled the gymnoti ; the Indians therefore told us, that they
would " fish with horses." We found it difficult to form an idea
of this extraordinary manner of fishing ; but we soon saw our
guides return from the Savannah, which they had been scouring
for wild horses and mules. They brought about thirty with
them, which they forced to enter the pool.
" The extraordinary noise caused by the horses' hoofs makes
the fish issue from the mud, and excites them to combat. These
yellowish and livid eels resemble large aquatic serpents, swim
on the surface of the water, and crowd under the bellies of the
horses and mules. A contest between animals of so different
an organization furnishes a very striking spectacle. The Indians,
provided with harpoons and long slender reeds, surround the
pool closely ; and some climb upon the trees, the branches of
which extend horizontally over the surface of the water. By
their wild cries, and the length of their reeds, they prevent the
horses from running away and reaching the bank of the pool.
The eels, stunned by the noise, defend themselves by the re-
peated discharge of their electric batteries. During a long time
they seem to prove victorious. Several horses sink beneath the
violence of the invisible strokes which they receive from all
sides, in organs the most essential to life ; and stunned by the
force and frequency of the shocks, disappear under the water.
Others, panting, with their mane standing erect, and wild looks,
THE ELECTRICAL GYMNOTUS. 7Gj
expressing anguish, raise themselves and endeavour to flee from
the storms by which they are overtaken. They are driven back by
the Indians into the middle of the water ; but a small number
succeeds in eluding the active vigilance of the fishermen. These
regain the shore, stumbling at every step, and stretch themselves
on the sand, exhausted with fatigue, and their limbs benumbed
by the electric shock of the gymnoti.
" In less than five minutes two horses were drowned. The
eel, being five feet long, and pressing itself against the belly of
the horses, makes a discharge along the whole extent of its elec-
tric organs. It attacks at once the heart, the intestines, and the
plexus caliacus of the abdominal nerves. It is natural, that the
effect felt by the horses should be more powerful than that pro-
duced upon men by the touch of the same fish at any one of his
extremities. The horses are probably not killed, but only
stunned. They are drowned from the impossibility of rising
from amid the prolonged struggle between the other horses and
the eels.
" We had little doubt, that the fishing would terminate by kill-
ing successively all the animals engaged ; but by degrees the im-
petuosity of this unequal combat diminished, and the wearied
gymnoti dispersed. They require a long rest, and abundant
nourishment, to repair what they have lost of galvanic force.
The mules and horses appear less frightened ; their manes are
no longer bristled, and their eyes express less dread. The
Indians assured us, that when the horses are made to run two
days successively into the same pool, none are killed the second
day. The gymnoti approach timidly the edge of the marsh,
when they are taken by means of small harpoons fastened to
long cords. When the cords are very dry, the Indians feel no
sbock in raising the fish into the air. In a few minutes we ob-
served five eels, the greater part of which were but slightly
wounded. Some were taken by the same means towards the
evening.
" The temperature of the water in which the gymnoti habitually
live is about 86 degrees of Fahrenheit. Their electric force, it is
said, diminishes in colder waters. The gymnotus is the largest of
electrical fishes. I measured some that were from four feet to
five feet three inches long ; and the Indians assert, that they
have seen them still larger. We found that a fish of three feet
766 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
ten inches long weighed twelve pounds. The transverse diameter
of the body was three inches five lines. The gymnoti of Cano
de Bera are of a fine olive-green colour. The under part of the
head is yellow, mingled with red. Two rows of small yellow
spots are placed symmetrically along the back, from the head to
the end of the tail. Every spot contains an excretory aperture.
In consequence the skin of the animal is constantly covered with
a mucous matter, which, as Volta has proved, conducts electricity
twenty or thirty times better than pure water. It is somewhat
remarkable, that no electrical fish yet discovered in the different
parts of the world, is covered with scales.
" It would be rashness to expose ourselves to the first shocks
of a very large and strongly irritated gymnotus. If by chance
you receive a stroke before the fish is wounded, or wearied by
a long pursuit, the pain and numbness are so violent, that it is
impossible to describe the nature of the feeling they excite.
I do not remember having ever received from the discharge
of a large Leyden jar, a more dreadful shock than that which I ex-
perienced by imprudently placing both my feet on a gymnotus
just taken out of the water. I was affected the rest of the day
with a violent pain in the knees, and in almost every joint. To
be aware of the difference, which is sufficiently striking, that
exists between the sensation produced by the pile of Volta and
an electrical fish, the latter should be touched when they are in
a state of extreme weakness. The gymnoti and the torpedoes
then cause a twitching, which is propagated from the part that
rests on the electric organs, as far as the elbow. We seem to
feel at every stroke an internal vibration, that lasts two or three
seconds, and is followed by a painful numbness.
" Gymnoti are neither charged conductors, nor batteries, nor
electromotive apparatuses, the shock of which is received every
time they are touched with one band, or when both hands are
applied to form a conducting circle between two heterogeneous
poles. The electrification of the fish depends entirely on its
will; whether because it does not keep its electric organs al-
ways charged, or by the secretion of some fluid, or by any other
means alike mysterious to us, it be capable of directing the
action of its organs to an external object. We often tried,
both insulated and unisolated, to touch the fish, without feeling
the least shock. When M. Bonpland held it by the head, or by
THE ELECTRICAL GYMNOTUS. 767
the middle of the body, while I held it by the tail, and standing
on the moist ground, did not take each other's hand, one of us
received shocks which the other did not feel. It depends up-
on the gymnotus to act towards the point where it finds itself
the most strongly irritated. The discharge is then made at one
point only, and not at the neighbouring points. If two persons
touch the belly of the fish with their fingers, at an inch distance,
and press it simultaneously, sometimes one, sometimes the other,
will feel the shock. In the same manner, when one insulated
person holds the tail, and another pinches the gills, or pectoral
fin, it is often the first only by whom the shock is received. It
did not appear to us, that these differences could be attributed to
the dryness or dampness of our hands, or to their unequal con-
ducting power. The gymnotus seemed to direct its strokes
sometimes from the whole surface of its body, sometimes from
one point only.
" Nothing proves more strongly the faculty which the gymnotus
possesses, of darting and directing its stroke according to its
will, than the observations made at Philadelphia, and recently at
Stockholm, on gymnoti, rendered extremely tame. When they
had been made to fast a long time, they killed from a far distance,
small fishes put into a tub. They acted at a distance ; that is
to say, their electrical stroke passed through a very thick stratum
of water. We need not be surprised, that what was observed
in Sweden, on a single gymnotus only, we could not see on a
great number of individuals in their native country. The elec-
tric action of animals being a vital action, and subject to their
will, it does not depend solely on their state of health and vigour.
A gymnotus that has made the voyage from Surinam to Phila-
delphia and Stockholm, accustoms itself to the imprisonment
to which it is reduced ; it resumes by degrees the same habits
in the tub which it had in the rivers and pools. An electrical
eel was brought to me at Calabozo, taken in a net, and conse-
quently having no wound. It ate meat ; and terribly frightened
the little tortoises and frogs, which, not knowing the danger,
placed themselves with confidence on its back. The frogs did
not receive the stroke till the moment when they touched the
body of the gymnotus. When they recovered they leaped out
of the tub; and when replaced near the fish, they were
frightened at its sight only. We then observed nothing that
768 AxrcuoTES OF FISHES.
indicated an action at a distance; but our gymnotus, recently
taken, was not yet sufficently tamed to attack and devour frogs.
On approaching the finger, or metallic points, within the distance
of half a line from the electric organs, no shock was felt. Per-
haps the animal did not perceive the neighbourhood of this
foreign body; or", if it did, we must suppose that the timidity it
felt in the commencement of its captivity, prevented it from
darting forth its energetic strokes, except when strongly irritated
by an immediate contact. The gymnotus being immersed in
water, I approached my hand, both armed and unarmed with a
metal, within the distance of a few lines from the electric organs ;
yet the strata of water transmitted no shock, while M. Bonpland
irritated the animal strongly by an immediate contact, and re.
ceived some very violent shocks. If I had plunged the most
electroscopes we know, prepared frogs, into contiguous strata of
water, they would no doubt have felt contractions at the mo-
ment when the gymnotus seemed to direct its stroke elsewhere.
" The electrical organ of the gymnoti acts only under the in-
fluence of the brain and the heart. On cutting a very vigorous
fish through the middle of the body, the fore part alone gave the
shocks. The shocks are equally strong, in whatever part of the
body the fish is touched ; it is most disposed, however, to dart
them forth when the pectoral fin, the electrical organ, the lips,
the eyes, or the gills are pinched. Sometimes the animal
struggles violently with a person holding it by the tail, without
communicating the least shock. Nor did I feel any when I
made a slight incision near the pectoral fin of the fish, and gal-
ranized the wound by the simple contact of two pieces of zinc
and silver. The gymnotus beat itself convulsively, and raised
its head out of the water, as if terrified by a sensation altogether
new ; but I felt no vibration in the hands which held the two
metals. The most violent muscular movements are not always
accompanied by electric discharges.
" The action of the fish on the organs of the man is transmitted
and intercepted by the same bodies that transmit and intercept
the electrical current of a conductor charged by a Leyden vial,
or Volta's pile.
" In wounded gymnoti, which give feeble but very equal
shocks, these shocks appeared to us constantly stronger, on
touching the body of the fish with a hand armed with metal,
THE ELECTRICAL GYMNOTUS. 769
than with the naked hand. They are stronger also, when, in-
stead of touching the fish with one hand, naked, or armed with
metal, we press it at once with both hands, either naked or
armed. These differences I repeat, become sensible only when
you have gymnoti enough at your disposal, to be able to choose
the weakest ; and the extreme equality of the electric discharges
admits of distinguishing between the sensations felt alternately
by the hand naked or armed with a metal, by one or both hands
naked, and by one or both hands armed with metal. It is also
in the case only of small shocks, weak and uniform, that the
shocks are more sensible on touching the gymnotus with one
hand (without forming a chain) with zinc than with copper or
iron.
" Resinous substances, glass, very dry wood, horn, and even
bones, which are generally believed to be good conductors, pre-
vent the action of the gymnoti from being transmitted to man.
I was surprised at not feeling the least shock 011 pressing wet
sticks of sealing-wax against the organs of the fish ; while the
same animal gave me the most violent strokes, when excited by
means of a metallic rod. M. Bonpland received shocks when
carrying a gymnotus on two cords of the fibres of the palm-tree,
which appeared to us extremely dry. A strong discharge makes
its way through very imperfect conductors. Perhaps also the
obstacle which the conducting are presents, renders the dis-
charge more painful. I touched the gymnotus with a wet pot
of brown clay without effect; yet I received violent shocks when
I carried the gymnotus in the same pot, because the contact was
greater.
" When two persons insulated or not insulated, hold each
other's hands, and one of these persons only touch the fish with the
hand, either naked or armed with metal," the shock is most com-
monly felt by both at once. It happens, however, also, that, in
the most painful shocks, the person who comes into immediate
contact with the fish alone feels the shock. When the gymnotus
is exhausted, or in a very weak state of excitability, and will no
longer emit strokes on being irritated with one hand; the shocks
are felt, in a very vivid manner, on forming the chain, and em-
ploying both bands. Even then, however, the electric shock
takes place only at the will of the animal. Two persons, one of
whom holds the tail, and the other the head, cannot, by joining
BT
770 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
bands and forming a chain, force the gymnotus to dart his
stroke.
" In employing very delicate electrometers in a thousand ways,
insulating them on a plate of glass, and receiving very strong
shocks, which passed through the electrometer, I could never
discover any phenomenon of attraction or repulsion. The same
observation was made by Mr Fahlberg at Stockholm. This
philosopher, however, has seen an electric spark, as Walsh and
Ingenhouze had done before him at London, by placing the
gymnotus in the air, and interrupting the conducting chain by
two gold leaves pasted on glass, and a line distant from each
other. No person, on the contrary, has ever perceived a spark
issue from the body of the fish itself."
On the 28th August, 1821, a ludicrous, though a painful
scene to one of the chief actors, took place at the Jardin des
Plantes, Paris. A gymnotus ekctricus,. or electrical eel, had
arrived, alive, and in good health, from Surinam. The Savons
and naturalists were all in motion, and hastened to the Garden
of Plants to see with their own eyes, and touch with their own
hands, this living electrical machine. The greater number were
satisfied with a single touch and consequent shock j but one un-
fortunate doctor, either urged by a greater zeal for science, or
governed by a more unsatiable curiosity, resolved to try the ut-
most extent of the animal's powers, and seized it with both his
hands, but had quickly reason to repent his temerity, for he
immediately felt a rapidly repeated series of the most violent and
successively increasing shocks, which forced him to caper about
in the most extraordinary manner, and to utter the most piercing
screams, from the agony that he felr. He then fell into convul-
sions, in consequence of which his muscles became so contracted,
or, from some strange property in the fish, it became impossi-
ble to detach the animal from his grasp. In this situation he
remained a considerable time, and would, in all probability, have
expired under the agony of his sensations, if some one of the
persons present had not suggested the plunging of his hands in
water, when the gymnotus immediately dropped off. The doc-
tor took dangerously ill, and continued so for a considerable
length of time, but it was long before he finally recovered from
the effects bis health bad sustained by this adventure.
771
OF THE COD TRIBE.
THIS tribe is very numerous, and inhabit the depths of the
ocean only. They associate in vast shoals, and feed on the
smaller fishes, worms, and shell-fish, &c. The flesh of nearly
the whole congenerous species is white, firm, and very palatable
eating. Contrary to what the vulgar imagine, as food they are
very nutricious.
THE COD-FISH.
This species repairs to the polar seas to spawn. It is by no
means a widely diffused fish, being seldom taken north of Ice-
land, nor farther south than the sand banks off the Straits of
Gibraltar. The former place was the chief fishery for cod, till
after the discovery of Newfoundland. In the reign of James the
First of England, at least one hundred and fifty English vessels
were employed in the Iceland fishery ; and it is not less than
four hundred years since that country was first visited as a fish-
ing station, which is now entirely forsaken, as Newfoundland is
considered so much preferable ; this vast bank extends five hun-
dred miles in length, and nearly three hundred in breadth, covered
by water averaging from fifteen to sixty fathoms. The vessels
employed in this fishery are from one hundred to two hundred
tons burthen, and take in a season about thirty or forty thousand
cod each, and give employment to nearly fifteen thousand men.
On the British coasts cod are taken by means of nets, and
also by lines. The cod spawns in January, and is astonishingly
prolific, for Leeuvvenhoek counted nine millions of eggs in the
roe of a moderate-sized fish. So prolific are they, that they
seem to increase, notwithstanding the immense numbers that
772 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
are eaten by mankind, and the multitudes of them destroyed by
fishes of prey.
The cod frequently grows to a large size ; one taken off
Scarborough in 1775 weighed seventy-eight pounds, and mea-
sured five feet eight inches in length, and five feet in girth.
The cod feeds principally on the smaller species of fishes,
sand worms, and shell fish, both testaceous and crustaceous. We
once killed one, which we discovered in a large pool left by the
tide, at Killough, County of Down, Ireland, in the stomach of
which we found upwards of fifty small crabs, and other testaceous
and crustaceous animals. The stomach was crammed to its
utmost extent, which probably rendered the fish unfit for active
motion.
THE HADDOCK.
This fish is migratory, and arrives in our seas about the mid-
dle of winter. An immense shoal of these has been known to
reach from Flamborough Head to Tynemouth, an extent of
nearly fifty miles. Upon this occasion three boatmen, frequently,
in the course of a day, took two boat-loads, or about two tons a
day, without the trouble of going more than a mile from the
harbour of Scarborough. A curious instance of the disappear-
ance of haddocks from the coast of Northumberland, Durham,
and Yorkshire, in the years 1790, 1791, and 1792, is mentioned
in a letter to the secretary of the royal society.
From time immemorial prodigious quantities of haddocks
were caught in the above mentioned coasts, during three months
of every year. But in these three years very few haddocks were
to be met with, and those of a remarkably large size. Various
speculations were afloat at the time to account for this unusual
occurrence ; one of which was, that the shoal of haddocks had met
with beds of copperas at the bottom of the sea, and another, that
the usual gales of wind had not taken place, which were neces-
sary to drive the fish off the Dogger-bank.
It was affirmed by several masters of vessels belonging
to North Shields and Sunderland, that after doubling the
North Cape, and near Fisher's island, they fell in with immense
quantities of haddocks lying on the surface of the ocean. Most
THE WHITING. 773
of these fish were dead, and some in a weak and feeble state,
and unable to sink in the water. They found them for a space
of between twenty arid thirty leagues in length, and from three
to five leagues in breadth. Some of these fish were eaten with-
out any person receiving the least injury from them. They were
stated to be lying so thick together, that, within the compass of.
twelve or fifteen yards, a boat load of from three to five tons
might have been taken up. On opening some of them the sound
was found to be much inflated, to which cause the great mortal-
ity amongst those fish was ascribed, but what occasioned this
inflation is riot known.
Otho Fabricius says, that in Greenland haddocks remain near
the bottom of the water during the day, but approach the surface
in the evening. The female spawns in February, at which time
they approach the shore in shoals, and deposit their eggs upon
sea weeds. The spot is afterwards visited by the males, in or-
der to render the spawn productive.
THE WHITING.
The flesh of the whiting is considered very delicate eating, and
of easy digestion, from which circumstance has arisen an adage,
that " the whiting is never heavier in the stomach, than it is
when suspended to the waist."
Shoals of whitings sometimes approach the coasts of Britain
of such extent, that they have been known to reach from three
to four miles in length, and one mile in breadth.
The whiting resides near the bottom of the ocean, feeding on
young fish, crabs, lobsters, molluscae, and worms. They are
said to pursue the shoals of herrings with great eagerness, and
are occasionally taken in great numbers in the herring nets.
The ling measures from three to four feet ; the body is glen-
der, olive green above and white in the lower parts. The head
Sir 3
774 ANliCDOTES Of FISHES.
is furnished with a single cirrus or beard ; and the lower jaw is
somewhat shorter than the upper one. It has two dorsal fins,
the lower one extending nearly to the tail ; these are edged with
white, and the ventral fins are all white ; the tail fin has a mar-
ginal fillet of white, and a transverse bar of black near its end.
This is esteemed an excellent fish for the table, and consi-
derably finer in flavour than cod. The tongue is thought a deli-
cacy, and is eaten both salted and fresh. They are in season
from February until about the end of May.
In a salted state the ling forms an important article of com-
merce. From the coasts of Norway there are exported about a
million pounds weight annually.
THE HAKE.
The hake is from two to three feet in length ; the back is ash
coloured, and the belly of a dingy white ; the mouth is very
wide, provided with long and sharp teeth, and is destitute of
any cirri, with the lower jaw projecting beyond the upper one ;
it has two dorsal fins, the second extending nearly to the taiL
This fish is so far inferior to most others, that it is but rarely
eaten in Britain; but on various parts of the continent it is
much esteemed. In most of the British and Irish coasts the
hake is very abundant, especially in the channel, in vast shoals
reaching nearly in a continuous line, from the west coast of
Devonshire to Penzance in Cornwall. They are taken and dried
in the same manner as cod, and ako pickled, for the purpose of
being exported to Spain, Portugal, and the Italian States.
The hake is a very voracious fish, and keenly follows shoals
of herrings and mackerel, and is said even to devour its own
species.
The different species of sea-fish have been successfully kept
in ponds, which have a communication with the sea. The fol-
lowing notices regarding the habits of fishes so kept, are by that
excellent naturalist, Patrick Neill, Esq. of Canon Mills :
" 1. Cod They were lively, and caught greedily at shell-
fish which were thrown into the pond. They kept chiefly,
however, in the deep water, and, after approaching with a circu-
THE HAKE. 775
lar s\veep, and making a snatch at the prey, descended out of
sight to devour it.
" 2. Haddock. These, contrary to expectations, were found
to be the tamest fishes in the pond. At ebb tide they came
to the inner margin, and ate limpets from the hand of a little
boy, the son of a keeper. They appeared white and rather'
sickly.
" 3. Coalfish. Some of these were of a large size, exceeding
in dimensions the largest cod in the pond. They were bold and
familiar, floating about slowly and majestically, till some food
was thrown to them ; this they seized voraciously, whether it
consisted of sell-fish or ship biscuit. They also would occasion-
ally approach the margin, and take their food from the keeppr's
hand.
"4. Whiting. These were scarce in the pond, and rather
shy.
" 5. Pollack. This was pretty common and has been found
to answer well as a pond fish.
" 6. Salmon. This was the wildest and quickest in its motions
of all the inhabitants. When a muscle or limpet freed from the
shell, was throvvn on the surface of the water, the salmon very
often darted forward and took the prey from all competitors,
disappearing with a sudden jerk and turn of the body.
" 7. Flat fish or Flounders of two sorts were also in the pond,
but they naturally kept at the bottom, and were not seen.
" The food given to the fishes consisted chiefly of sand-eels
arid of shell-fish, particularly limpets and muscles. In the her-
ring fishing season, herrings were cut in pieces for the purpose.
" It is remarkable that all kinds of sea-fish above enumerated
seemed to agree very well together. No fighting had ever been
observed by the keeper, and seldom any chasing of one species
by another. None of the fish ever bred."
Dr Fleming states, that when a salt-water fish is put into
fresh water, its motions speedily become irregular, its respiration
appears to be affected, and unless released it soon dies, and that
the same consequence will follow when a fresh- water fish is sud-
denly immersed in salt-water.
But this is well known not to be the case with all fish. A
cod has been known, not only to live, but to thrive well in
fresh water, if properly fed.
776
OF FLAT FISH IN GENERAL.
IN this genus are comprehended the turbot, plaise, fluke,
flounder, holibut, sole, &c. These species are usually confined
to the muddy or sandy banks of the sea, and lie concealed, all
but the head under the surface, by which they elude their ene-
mies, and are enabled to dart upon their prey, by whom they
are unseen. The fishes of this genus are destitute of an air
bladder, and consequently are unable to rise high in the water.
When they do ascend, they use their pectoral tins, in the same
manner as birds do in passing through the air.
Some of this tribe grow to a very large size, such as the holi-
but and turbot. Differently from most other fishes, they all
have the eyes situated on one side of the head ; and in some
species the head is sinistral, while it is dextral in others. The
backs of all the species are of a dark ash-colour, or drab, speckled
and clouded, in various manners, and their under side of a
pure pearly white. They appear to be aware of the fitness of
the colour of their backs for concealment, and when in appre-
hension of danger,, they lie flat and motionless on the surface,
and generally elude their pursuers.
The Greenlanders make use of the membrane of the stomach
of the holibut as a substitute for glass to their windows.
777
OF THE SUCKING-FISH TRIBE.
THE head of the fishes of this tribe is naked, flat, and oily,
surrounded by a narrow margin, and having several grooves on
its upper surface. The gill-membrane is furnished with ten
rays ; and the body is destitute of scales. There are but three
species of this genus, and these inhabit the Pacific ocean, arid
Mediterranean.
THE REMORA.
From the earliest times, wonderful and fabulous powers have
been attributed to this fish, and has afforded ample scope for the
fancies of the poet in all ages, and also the narrative of the cre-
dulous traveller.
The remora inhabits almost all seas, and is frequently found
firmly adhering to the sides of fishes of the larger kinds, with
such pertinacity, that it is hardly possible to remove it. They
are great enemies to sharks, and five or six remoras have been
found attached to the body of a single shark. Such is their
adhesive power, St Pierre informs us, that they will adhere
so strongly even to glass, that it is hardly possible to remove
them.
It is said, that in former times the natives of the islands of
Cuba and Jamaica, used to employ this species in catching
other fish. They were tamed and kept for the purpose. They
took them out to sea, secured by a long and slender line of con-
siderable length to their canoes, and as soon as the remora saw
a fish pass, or even at a distance, it darted off with the utmost
778 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
velocity, and soon came up with and fastened on it. The fish
although fixed on by the remora, pursued their course until over-
come by exhaustion. The course of the fish was marked by a
buoy, which the fisher drew to the shore, the remora all the
while firmly adhering, and was then removed with considerable
difficulty.
We are informed by Oviedo, that the remora has been known
to take a large turtle in this way. The flesh of the remora is
said to taste like fried artichokes, and to be rather palatable
than otherwise.
779
THE SALMON AND ITS CONGENERS.
THE members of this tribe are found to frequent the purer
rivers of the northern seas, where there is little or no mud, and
where they are rather rapid in their course than otherwise, and
of a gravelly or stony bottom. Salmon and some others spend
half their existence in the sea, resorting to rivers during the
spawning season, which they deposit in beds of gravel. After
this process is over they return to the sea. The whole tribe
form luxuriant and nutricious food.
THE SALMON.
The natural history of this well-known fish is still involved
in much obscurity. It is now pretty well ascertained that the
salmon grows with much more rapidity than was before believed,
and that the grilse, or young salmon, of from two and a half to
three pounds weight have been sent to the London markets in
the month of May, the spawn from which they come having
only been deposited in the preceding October or November,
and the ova taking three months of the time to quicken. It
has also been ascertained, by experiment, that a grilse which
weighed six pounds in February, after spawning, has, on its re-
turn from the sea in September, weighed thirteen pounds ; and
a salmon-fry of April, will in June weigh four pounds, and in
August six.
Fish, more especially salmon, are much attached to particular
localities. A gentleman, who has been long accustomed to
angle on the Thames, has been in the habit of marking different
780 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
fish caught in particular spots, and has carried them tip for seve-
ral miles in the well of his boat, and thrown them into the
water; and he has taken them a second and even a third time
in the places where he originally caught them.
Mr Alexander Fraser, who has written on the Natural History
of the salmon, says, that little reliance can be placed on the
alleged variety of appearance in salmon found in different rivers.
The best authority, he conceives, is some mark actually made
on the body of the fish, which proves also its extraordinary
rapidity of growth. In February 1829, he marked several grilse
of five and six pounds weight after spawning, by cutting off the
fin immediately above the tail. On the first of September fol-
lowing, he caught one of them, which then weighed thirteen
pounds. On the 10th of the same month, he caught another of
thirteen pounds weight; both were in fine condition, and charged
with spawn. These had returned near to the spot where he had
marked them. He mentions an instance in which Mr Mackenzie
of Ardross, tied wire round the tails of some breeders, which
were returning to the sea in March, 1824, and in March, 1825,
he caught one of the fish thus marked, doubled in size, and the
wire nearly out of sight.
Mr Mackenzie, tacksman of the river Ewe, in Ross-shire,
some years ago marked a number of grilses, by cutting off a
small portion of the tail, or of the fin above it. Near the end
of the same fishing season some of these fish returned to the
river, and were caught, being then large salmon, double the
size and weight than when marked about three months before.
Mr Alexander Morrison, in May, 1794, caught five smelts, or
salmon fry, in the river JBerridale, in Caithness. In about six or
seven weeks thereafter, he caught two of these, which had become
grilses, weighing about three pounds and a half each. In April
following be took another of these, and it had become a salmon
of between seven and eight pounds weight.
Salmon fry have been caught in the rivers Eden and Spey
marked by boring holes in their tails, these have descended to
the sea, and returning three months afterwards weighed three
pounds each. These facts not only prove the rapid growth of
the salmon, but also that they invariably return to their native
rivers from the sea.
Mr Schonberg made some curious experiments on the spawn
THE SMELT. 781
or eggs of salmon. Pulsation was visible the day after they
were brought from the river. The animal moved itself now and
then with alternate contraction and dilatation. The spawn
kept generally a fixed point of gravity, viz. with the eyes side-
ways. On the fifth day the head was protruded through the ,
shell of the egg. In ten days the length of one was eleven lines
from the head to the tail.
An experiment made by Mr Nicholas Mills, mentioned in
Brewster's Journal, proves that salmon will not grow to any
great size if kept in a fish pond. He caught some salmon fry
while retreating to the sea, and put them in a small pond, which
was supplied by a running stream. They measured four inches
from the snout to the point of the tail. About twelve months
afterwards the pond was overflowed, when some of these were
left dry on its margin, and only measured eight inches in length,
and having the shape and appearance of a lean salmon. He most
erroneously concludes, that in ponds they might attain their full
size ; but from the little progress they had made in their growth,
we think a conclusive argument against his opinion being well
founded,, and we are borne out in this from what we have above
stated respecting the rapidity with which that fish grows.
THE SMELT.
This is an elegant little fish, and not unfrequent in the Scot-
tish rivers. It is plentiful in the river Forth, where it is taken
by means of poke nets. The smell of this species is very pe-
culiar, being not unlike that of newly cut cucumbers.
Smelts are in perfection in the months of December and
May. They live principally in the sea, and only ascend rivers
for the purpose of spawning. Half a pound is the largest size
that this fish has been known to grow to, and its length never
exceeds thirteen inches. The roe of a smelt was counted by
Mr Clark, and was found to contain 38,278 eggs.
-82
OF THE PIKE AND ITS CONGENERS.
THIS genus consists of numerous species, four of which in-
habit our seas and rivers. Their heads are all flattened, the
under jaw projecting considerably beyond the upper one. The
body is long, slender, and compressed at the sides, and pro-
tected by hard scales. The dorsal fin is situated low in the
back, near the tail, and usually opposite the arial fin. They are
all most voracious and predatory animals, but, in this respect
the common pike exceeds all the others. They are strong fishes,
and swim with great rapidity ; and from their power they seldom
fall a prey to other fish ; and increase quickly to a great size.
THE COMMON PIKE.
The rapacity of this fish is notorious. Jesse says, " out of eight
hundred gudgeons, which were brought to me by a Thames
fisherman, and which I saw counted into the reservoir, some
few of which, however died, there were scarcely any to be seen at
the end of three weeks, though I should mention that three
large barbel, and six good sized perch probably partook of them.
Indeed, the appetite of one of my pike was almost insatiable.
One morning I threw to him one after the other, five roach,
each about four inches in length. He swallowed four of them,
and kept the fifth in his mouth for about a quarter of an hour,
when it also disappeared."
The pike is an animal of extraordinary boldness. A few years
ago, the head keeper of Richmond park was washing his hands
at the side of a boat, in the great pond of that park, when a
THE COMMON PIKE. 783
pike made a dart at one of his hands, which he suddenly with-
drew, otherwise he would have received a severe snap.
Pike-fishing forms an amusing sport, for if a large one is
hooked he will run about in excellent style. They will take
almost any kind of bait ; we have found an imitation of a bird
made of red and yellow broad cloth, eagerly dashed at by pikes.
The tackle requires to be of great strength, otherwise it will
soon be bitten through by the numerous strong and sharp teeth
of the animal. Indeed, small wire is generally used attached to
the hooks, extending about a foot beyond it, to prevent the pike
from cutting it. Tackle have been carried away by a pike, and
in a few minutes afterwards have struck at and been caught by
another line, with part of the tackle hanging out of their mouth.
An instance is mentioned of one being taken with a strong piece
of twisted wire projecting from its side, and yet in excellent
condition, and on opening the fish, a double eel hook was found
attached to the wire and much corroded. In Salmonia, we are
informed that a pike took a bait with a set of hooks in his
mouth, which he had just before broken from a line. This
great tenacity of life may account for the circumstance of few
pike being found dead after they have broken away with the
gorge-hook in them.
We are informed by Baulkar, that his father caught a pike, an
ell long, and which weighed thirty-five pounds. It was sent
alive to Lord Cholmondeley, who directed that it might be put
into a canal in his garden, which contained a great quantity of
fish. Twelve months afterwards the water was drawn off, and it
was discovered that the pike had eaten all the fish but a single
carp, that weighed between nine and ten pounds, and even this
had been bitten in several places. The canal was filled with water,
and well stocked with fish of different kinds, and the pike again
put in, all of which he despatched in less than a year. He was
noticed frequently to draw ducks under the water. Crows were
shot and thrown in, which he would take in presence of those
standing by the banks of the canal. After this he was ordered
to be fed on garbage from the slaughter-house, but he died from
the want of food, the keeper having neglected to feed him.
The digestion of the pike is so rapid, that in a few hours, riot
a single bone of a roach which has been swallowed can be dis-
covered. This fact may account for the practice which, has been
3 u 2
781 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
noticed of the pike holding a small fish in his mouth until diges-
tion has somewhat diminished the contents of his already gorged
stomach.
Where food is abundant pike grow with considerable rapidity.
Three were taken out of the pond of Sir J. Clark Jervoice,
two of which weighed thirty-six pounds each, and the other
thirty-five pounds. The pond was fished every year, and allow-
ing that store pike of six or seven pounds weight were left in it,
the growth of the above pikes must have been at the rate of at
least four pounds a year.
Mr Jesse says, " fish appear also to be capable of entertaining
affection for each other. I once caught a female pike during
the spawning season, and nothing could drive the male away from
the spot at which the female disappeared, whom he had followed
to the very edge of the water. A person who had kept two
small fish together in a glass, gave one of them away ; the other
refused to eat, and showed evident symptoms of unhappiness
till his companion was restored to him."
The pike is well known to be a long-lived animal, and Gesner
goes so far as to mention an instance of one whose age was
ascertained to be two hundred and sixty-seven years.
The common pike inhabits most lakes and rivers in Europe,
also the northern parts of Persia, extending its range as far as
Lapland. In Persia, it is said, they have been found nearly
eight feet in length, but we should think this rather a stretch of
imagination.
The pike spawns in March or April. When in high season,
the colours of the fish are very vivid; being of a fine green,
spotted with yellow, and the gills of a lively red. When out ot
season, it becomes of a greyish colour, and the yellow spots
very pale. The pike is esteemed good eating.
In the year 1497, a pike was caught in standing water, at
Heilbronn on the Nekar, which had a copper ring round its
head; the ring bore the following inscription in Greek: " I
am the first fish that was launched into this pond, and was
thrown in by Frederick the Second, emperor of the Romans, on
the fifth of October, 1230." It appeared, therefore, that the
pike was two hundred and fifty-seven years old when thus
caught; it weighed three hundred and fifty pounds; and an
THE COMMON PIKE. 785
exact representation of it exists to this day upon one of the
gates of Heilbronn.
In 1826, there was in a pond belonging to a gentleman at
Ely, Cambridgeshire, a large pike, weighing 7 or 8 pounds, per-
fectly tame and quite blind, in which state it had been 7 or 8
years. He had become quite familiar with his owner, who
frequently indulged him with a meal on the smaller fry: A
fish was put on a string, fastened to a pole, and after a stamp on
the brink of the water, Jack regularly made his appearance on
the surface, received his dole, and disappeared. He was in
general healthy, but in the spring of the year his body was rather
annoyed by animalcule, with which the water was infested.
A gentleman now residing at Weybridge, in Surrey, was one
day walking by the side of the river Wey, near that town, he
saw a large pike in a shallow creek. He immediately pulled off
his coat, tucked up his sleeves, and went into the water, to in-
tercept its return to the river, and to try to get his hands under
it, and throw it on the bank. The pike tinding himself thus
hemmed in, seized one of the arms of the gentleman, and lace-
rated it so much that the mark is still quite visible.
In Lord Gower's canal at Trentham, a pike seized the head
of a swan as he was feeding under water, and gorged so much of
it that both died.
Walton tells us, " I have been assured by my friend Mr Sea-
grove, who keeps tame otters, that he has known a pike in ex-
treme hunger, fight with one of his otters for a carp that the
otter had caught, and was then bringing out of the water."
In December, 1765, a pike of twenty-eight pounds weight
was caught in the river Ouse, in the stomach of which a watch
with a black ribbon and seals were found. It was afterwards
discovered that these were the property of a gentleman's servant
who had been drowned in the river about a month before.
Gesner mentions, that a mule while drinking in the Rhone,
was seized by the lips by a pike, who dragged the voracious
animal out of the water. He mentions that many instances have
occurred of their biting the legs of persons while washing in
that river.
786
THE HERRING AND ITS CONGENERS.
ALL these fish inhabit the depths of the ocean, feeding on
various kinds of molluscous animals. Almost all the species
are gregarious and migratory; and all are esteemed excellent
food. The herring, shad, and anchovy were well known to the
ancients, and in great repute among them.
Their general characters are, having compressed bodies, and
covered with slightly attached scales ; their bellies extremely
sharp, sometimes forming a serrated ridge j the gill-membrane
having eight rays; the jaws unequal, the upper one being pro-
vided with serrated mystaces, or connecting bones, and the tail
forked.
THE HERRlNfi.
" The migrant herring steers her myriad bands
From seas of ice to visit warmer strands j
Unfathomed depths and cliraes unknown explores,
And covers with her spawn unmeasured shores.
All these, increasing by successive birth
Would each o'erpeople ocean, air, and earth." DARWIN.
It has long been a prevailing opinion that herrings principally
inhabit the Polar seas, but this is now considered by some dis-
tinguished naturalists to be an erroneous opinion.
The young herrings do not follow the old ones in their first
migrations, as they are to be found in all the American bays till
the autumn, when they disappear.
Such is the fecundity of the herring, that it has been calculated
the offspring of a single one, if unmolested and undiminished
THE PILCHARD. 787
by other fishes, for the space of twenty years, would exhibit a
bulk of ten times the size of the earth. But creative wisdom
has ordained, that these prolific animals should have a multitude
of enemies to keep their increase in check, and maintain a balance
of nature.
About fifty years ago, the shoals of herrings came into Loch
Urn in such amazing quantities, that from the narrows to the
head, about two miles, it was quite full. So many of them
were forced ashore by the pressure, that the beach for four miles
round the head was covered with them, from six to eighteen
inches deep ; and the ground under water, as far as could be
seen, when the tide was out too, equally so. Indeed, so dense
and forcible was the shoal, as to carry before it every other kind
of fish ; even ground-fish, skate, flounders, and plaise, were
driven on shore with the force of the herrings, and perished
there.
It is a curious fact, that herrings die the moment they are
taken out of the water ; whence originated the adage, which is
much used, as dead as a herring. They cannot be too soon used
after they are out of the water, when taken in the summer
season.
THE PILCHARD.
The body of this fish is more round and thick than that of the
herring ; the snout is somewhat cocked up, and shorter in pro-
portion than that of the herring; and the under jaw is also
shorter ; the back is more elevated, and the belly not so acute ;
the scales adhere more closely than the herring, and are consider-
ably smaller; the dorsal fin of the pilchard is placed considerably
farther back than that of the herring.
Pilchards appear in vast shoals about the middle of July off
the Cornwall coasts, where they continue till the latter end of
October, and retire to some undisturbed deep to pass the winter.
It is a singular fact, that about fifty years ago, the time that
these fish migrated from our coasts was about Christmas ; and
how this should be, is not easily accounted for.
788 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
THE SPBAT.
These fish inhabit the Mediterranean, the North Sea, and the
Baltic, and are taken in immense numbers. They enter the
Thames about the beginning of November, and leave it early in
March. At Gravesend and Yarmouth they are cured in the
same manner as red herrings. They are sometimes pickled, and
are considered little inferior in flavour to anchovies; but the
bones do not dissolve like those of that fish.
The shad frequents the Rhine in March, and the Thames in
April, May, and June, and the Nile in December and January.
After they have been for sometime in fresh water they fatten,
and improve wonderfully in their flavour, although at best they
are but an indifferent fish.
THE ANCHOVY.
These fishes enter most of the European rivers betwixt the
months of December and March ; and the British coasts in June
and July.
Anchovies are fished for at night; the fishermen light up a fire
on the shore, the glare of which attracts the fish.
The ancient Greeks and Romans prepared from anchovies, a
liquid, which they called garum ; and this was highly esteemed
by the epicures of the times. At the present time they are
pickled, and in much use as a fish sauce.
789
OF FLYING-FISH IN GENERAL.
ONLY three species of flying-fish are known ; these chiefly
inhabit the tropical seas, although occasionally found in tempe-
rate regions. About twenty years ago, one of the common
species was caught on the Welsh coast.
The head is covered with scales, and the mouth unprovided
with teeth ; the belly is angular, and the pectoral fins are nearly
as long as the body ; and are used as a substitute for wings.
THE COMMOM FLYING-FISH.
This species has a considerable resemblance to the herring,
only that the back is flat, whereas in the herring it is consider-
ably arched ; it is covered with large silvery scales; the pectoral
fins are long, which are used as wings, the dorsal fin is small
and situated near the tail, which is forked ; the eyes are so
large and prominent, that they can see behind them as well as
before. They are natives of the European and American seas.
700
THE CARP AND ITS CONGENERS.
ALMOST all this tribe inhabit fresh waters, feeding on worms,
insects, small fish, and aquatic plants. The species are very
numerous, and are found only in the northern European coun-
tries, and consequently were unknown to the ancient Greeks
and Romans. They all thrive well in artificial canals or fish
ponds.
THE COMMON CARP.
Carp will breed freely in some ponds, and not in others ; those
of Busby Park have a sandy bottom, with a fine stream of
water running through them, and yet carp do not produce plenti-
fully in them. They succeed better in some stagnant ponds of
Sussex where the bottoms are muddy, and in some of these
breed in great quantities.
This fish is considered one of the best for stocking ponds on
account of its rapid growth and vast increase. Mr Clark found
a roe of a carp to contain 203,109 eggs. It is only surprising
how little attention is paid to the propagation of this excellent
and prolific fish. A good sized pond stocked with these would
prove as profitable to its owner as a garden. Jovius mentions
some which were caught in the Lago di Coma, that weighed
two hundred pounds each. They have been caught in the
Dneister five feet in length.
Carp become very tame, will approach the banks of a pond
to be fed, and will even take food from the hand. Smith, in
describing the seat of the Prince of Conde at Chantilly, says,
" The most pleasing things about it were the immense shoals of
large carp, silvered over with age, like silver fish, perfectly tame ;
THE DACE. 791
so that when any passengers approached their watery habitation,
they used to come to the shore in such numbers as to heave each
other out of the water, begging for bread, of which a quantity
was always kept at hand in purpose to feed them. They would
even allow themselves to be handled."
The carp is very tenacious of life, and will live a long time
out of the water. An experiment has been made by placing a
carp in a net, well wrapped up in wet moss, (the mouth only
remaining out,) and then hanging it up in a cellar, or some cool
place. The fish was frequently fed with bread and milk, and
often plunged into the water. With this treatment they have
been known to live a fortnight, and even to become fat. and to
have been of finer flavour than one fresh caught from a pond.
Carp are said to live a great age; Gesner mentions one which
was known to be one hundred years old ; and in the pond of the
garden of Emanuel college, Cambridge, there was an instance of
one attaining more than seventy years. This fish was intro-
duced into Britain upwards of three hundred years ago ; they
are natives of the slow rivers and stagnant waters of southern
Europe and Persia.
THE DACE.
Angling for dace is a source of considerable amusement.
The season in which this fish takes best is in winter, but from
February to April is the fittest time. They are gregarious,
and in warm weather may be seen playing near the surface of
the water. Their chief retreats are under shaded banks, or
aquatic plants. They are taken by baits of worms, maggots,
and flesh-flies.
The dace never grows to a large size, seldom exceeding a
pound weight, or a pound and a half at most. They spawn in
March, and are very prolific. The flesh of the dace is not con-
sidered very good, being bony and insipid in taste.
792 ANECDOTES OF FISHES.
THE EOACH.
The roach is a beautiful fish in the water, or when immediate-
ly taken out of it, but the flesh is not esteemed good eating, the
bones being large. It is in season from Michaelmas to March.
When kept in ponds the flesh of this fish is never good, and it
appears to require free scope in a river to give it flavour.
This is considered a very silly fish, from which it has acquired
the name of river sheep in England. The roach frequents deep,
still rivers, where they may be seen in large shoals, as they are
gregarious. In warm summer weather they are found lying at
the bottom of streams, or under the banks among weeds, par-
ticularly such as are shaded by trees or shrubs. They leave
these situations on the approach of winter, and resort to deep
and still pools.
THE GOLD FISH.
This beautiful fish was first introduced into England about
the year 1691. It is a native of China, where they are very
common in ponds. They are, however, very delicate ; and un-
able to stand the powerful rays of the sun ; on which account,
in each of the ponds where they are kept, earthenware basins,
with holes in them, are placed upside down, so that the fishes
may retire under them for shade. In China these fish are
taught to rise to the surface of the water to be fed, at the sound
of a bell. In very cold weather they are frequently taken into
the house to prevent them from being frozen up.
The gold fish is very prolific, and when their fry is first pro-
duced is perfectly black, but they afterwards change to white,
and to gold colour.
There are several varieties of this beautiful fish, some of
them appearing all speckled over with golden dust, others are
pure silvery white, some are spotted with red and white ; and a
fourth variety is black and white spotted.
We have seen immense numbers of all these varieties, and
many of them of a large size in the ponds at the Royal gardens
THE GOLD FISH. 793
of the Thuilleries at Paris. They are perfectly tame, and follow
individuals round the ponds in hopes of being fed.
" In China, gold fish are fed with balls of paste, and the yolks
of eggs boiled very hard. In England, many persons are of
opinion that they need no aliment. It is true that they will sul>-
sist for a long time without any other food than what they can
collect from water frequently changed; yet they must draw some
support from animalcules and other nourishment supplied by
the water." They however thrive best with proper feeding,
such as small aquatic insects, worms, &c.
Gold fish do not breed in close confinement, and do best in a
pond where a stream of water passes through it, and where some
places are very deep, with proper shelter for retiring to during
the noonday sun.
CRUSTACEOUS ANIMALS IN GENERAL.
CRUSTACEOUS animals possess the two following characters
peculiar to themselves. They respire by means of branchiae,
or by branchial laminae, generally annexed to their feet, or to
their jaws. They have a distinct heart, which is furnished
with circulating vessels ; they have from five to seven pairs of
feet ; in many instances the head is not distinct from the trunk,
and provided with two or four antennae ; and two moveable
compound eyes frequently placed on a peduncle, which are
moveable in any direction, and consist of a multitude of lenses
like the eyes of insects.
The Crustacea are for the most part predatory animals, subsist-
ing on dead or decomposed animal matter ; they have extremely
voracious appetites. The greater number of them inhabit the
sea, living in deep water, and in situations suited to their
particular habits ; others are found in fresh waters ; while a
third kind inhabit the land. Some of them have fin-like feet,
and swim on their aide or back, and the greater part of the
others walk sideways or backwards. Some of them run with
considerable rapidity; and some climb trees. Most of them
form excellent food, and are eagerly sought after for this pur-
pose. They have all of them a remarkable physiological quality,
that of being able to reproduce a lost limb, and they change
their shell or covering annually.
The females carry the ova under their tails, which, for that
purpose, in many of the species, is much broader than that of
the males.
795
THE LOBSTER.
" In shelly armour wrapt, the lobsters seek
Safe shelter in some bay, or winding creek ;
To rocky chasms the dusky natives cleave,
Tenacious hold, nor will the dwelling leave.
Nought like their home the constant lobsters prize,
And foreign shores and seas unknown despise.
Though cruel hand the banish'd wretch expel,
And force the captive from his native cell,
He wilt, if freed, return with anxious care,
Find the known rock, and to his home repair ;
No novel customs learns in different seas,
But wonted food and home-taught manners please."
In the lobster is a very large membrane, which is a powerful
assistant both in swimming and leaping. It consists of six con-
vex segments, placed over each other like the tiles of a house,
and terminated by five laminae or thin plates. The segments
are united by loose membranes, which admit of considerable
motion ; at the angle of these segments, there are hard fine-like
processes, bordered with a fine hairy fringe. These fins are
moved backward and forward, and a little outward and inward,
by means of small muscles, continued within each articulation.
By means of these the animals have their progressive motion at
different depths in the water.
For the most part crabs are provided with eight legs, a few,
however, have six or ten ; besides these they have two large
claws which serve the purpose of hands.
It is well known that when a crab or lobster is boiled, its
shell assumes a fine red colour, the nature and cause of which
have hitherto been unknown. At the desire of M. Latreille,
a series of experiments upon it was undertaken by J. L. Las-
saigne. The shell of the crab having been carefully freed from
all fleshy matter, was plunged in pure alcohol of the tempera-
ture of 59 degrees of Fahrenheit. It assumed a scarlet colour,
which was instantly communicated to the alcohol. The alcoholic
solution of the colouring matter was then decanted, and new
doses of alcohol added, till it ceased to be coloured. The shells
thus exhausted lost their property of becoming red in boiling
water. From the spontaneous evaporation of the different
alcoholic solutions, a red and apparently fatty matter was ob-
tained. This matter has no smell, or sensible taste.
3x2
796 tUtUSTACEOUS ANIMALS.
Lobsters are very prolific. Dr Easter counted the eggs
under the tail of a female, and found that they amounted to
12,441, and there were besides many in the body yet unpro-
truded. The lobster deposits her eggs in the sand, where they
are soon hatched.
THE COMMON OR BLACK CLAWED CRAB.
This animal is too well known to require any description.
It is said that if any of the limbs of the crab are broken be-
twixt the joints, that the animal will apply one of the pincers of
the great toes, and remove the broken member at the first joint
above the fracture.
The power which these animals have of grasping with their
great toes is truly wonderful ; and instances have been known
of their maintaining their hold with such pertinacity, that it has
become necessary to break off the great toe before they would
quit their hold. We remember to have read in a newspaper of
a person having gone a crab-hunting upon a rocky coast, and
having thrust his arm its full length into the crevice of a rock in
search of them, was laid hold of by one of his fingers by a crab
who held him in that situation until the influx of the tide
drowned him.
About the middle of April, 1833, as a lady in the neighbour-
hood of Arbroath was in the act of dressing a crab, she found
in its stomach a half guinea of the reign of George the Third,
worn very thin, but some of the letters were so entire as to
enable the reign to be traced.
In Kotzebue's Voyage of Discovery it is mentioned, that on
the 6th December, 1815, Captain Kotzebue observed on the
surface of the sea, near the island of St Catharine, a serpentine
streak, about two fathoms broad, of a dark brown colour, which
extended as far as the eye could reach. Upon examination it
was found to be occasioned by an innumerable quantity of small
crabs, and the seeds of a marine plant.
THE HERMIT CRAB.
This animal was termed the hermit crab by the ancient
writers, and has been very well described by Aristotle ; the
moderns call it the soldier crab, from the idea of its dwelling in
a tent, as it is parasitic, inhabiting empty turbinated shells, from
the small shore nerite to the large whelk. But it is not a land
species as Goldsmith supposes.
The size of the hermit crab is usually about four inches. It
has no shell behind the claws, the legs and body only being
provided with a shell, the whole hinder parts being covered
by a rough skin, and terminating in a point.
The hermit crab has been well described by Oppian, whose
lines are thus rendered into English verse,
" The hermit-fish, nnarm'd by nature, left
Helpless, and weak, grow strong by harmless theft.
Fearful they stroll, and look with panting wish
Fi>r the cast crust of some new-cover'd fish ;
Of such as empty lie, and deck the shore,
Whose first, and rightful owners are no more.
They make glad seizure of the vacant room,
And count the borrow'd shell their native home :
Screw their soft limbs to fit the winding case,
And boldly herd with the crustaceous race ;
Careless they enter the first empty cell ;
Oft find the plaited whelk's indented shell ;
And oft the deep dy'd purple forc'd by death
To stranger fish the painted home bequeath.
The whelk's etch'd coat is most with pleasure worn,
Wide in extent, and yet but slightly borne.
But when they growing more than fill the place,
And find themselves hard-pinch'd in scanty space,
Cnmpell'd they quit the roof they lov'd before.
And busy search around the pebbly shore,
Till a commodious roomy seat be found,
Such as the larger shell-fish living own'd.
Oft cruel wars contending hermits wage,
And long for the disputed shell engage,
The strongest here the doubtful prize possess,
Power gives the right, and all the claim profess."
3x3
798
THE TORTOISE AND ITS CONGENERS.
All the animals of this tribe are oviparous, and on their ex-
clusion from the egg, are provided with two shells, one on their
back, and another covering their abdominal region ; with an
opening at each end for the protrusion of their head, feet, and tail :
all of which they can withdraw within their shell ; which they
generally do during their torpid state, or while asleep. When
inclined to walk or swim, they extend their head and feet from
under their armour. These parts, as well as the tail, are covered
by a strong flexible skin, which is fixed within to the edges of
the shells.
All those parts representing the ribs and other bones, except
the vertebrae of the neck and tail alone, are immoveable.
The lungs are of considerable extent, and occupy the same
cavity within the other Viscera. The thorax being immoveable
in the greater number of species, it is by the action of the
mouth that the tortoise respires. Keeping the jaw shut, it
alternately lowers and raises the hyoid bone. The first move-
ment allows the air to enter the nostrils, and the tongue after-
wards closing the interior opening, the second movement forces
the air to penetrate into the lungs.
The whole tribe are very tenacious of life, and have been
known to move without their head for many weeks. They re-
quire but little food, and are able to pass months, and even
years without eating.
Mr John Murray, author of " Experimental Researches,"
gives us the following interesting observations on the torpidity
of the tortoise :
THE TORTOISE. 799
" The tortoise may be occasionally met with in gardens in this
country. The geometrical tortoise I have certainly seen ; but
the occurrence is rare. One of these tortoises (the common,)
laid three eggs in a garden at Montrose one of these I for-
warded to Professor Jameson, of Edinburgh. The size to which '
the creature occasionally attains is quite monstrous. I remember
some years ago, to have seen one, then semi-torpid, exhibited
near Exeter- Change, London, which weighed several hundred
weight. Its shell was proportionably thick, and its other dimen-
sions bore a corresponding ratio. It was stated to be about
eight hundred years old."
Dr Davy took the temperature of the geometrical tortoise at
Cape Town, in the month of May, the air being at sixty de-
grees, when he found the animal to be sixty-two degrees, five
seconds. At Columbo, in Ceylon, on the 3d of March, he
found the temperature to be eighty-seven degrees, while the air
was eighty degrees.
Dr Borlace mentions a turtle that was taken on the coast
of Cornwall, which measured six feet nine inches from the tip
of the nose to the end of the shell, ten feet four inches from the
extremities of the fore-fins extended, and was adjudged to weigh
800 pounds. The fine specimen which was exhibited in the
Leverian Museum, was of similar weight, and was taken on the
coast of Dorsetshire.
An ordinary turtle affords about eight pounds of tortoise-
shell, and a large one from fifteen to twenty pounds. The
shell is of little value, when the animal itself is less than one
hundred and fifty pounds.
Tortoise-shell is formed into ornamental articles by first
steeping it in boiling water, till it has acquired a proper softness,
and immediately afterwards committing it to the pressure of a
strong metallic mould of the form required ; and where it is ne-
cessary to join the pieces so as to form a large extent, the edges
of the pieces are first scraped or thinned, and being laid over
each other during their heated state, are subjected to a strong
pressure, by which means they are effectually joined or aggluti-
nated. These are the methods also, by which the various orna-
ments of gold, silver, &c. are fixed to the tortoise-shell.
The Greeks and Romans were particularly partial to this
800 CRUSTACEOUS ANIMALS.
ornamental article, with which it was customary to decorate
the doors and pillars of their houses, their beds, &c.
It is said that tortoise-shell is not capable of being melted.
Yet M. de Lacepede affirms that it may be fused to a certain
degree.
A singular circumstance occurred at Ludlow, with a tortoise,
the property of Mr Jones, which was put in a convenient place
to spend the whiter. It was soon attacked by rats, which ate
away its eyes, tongue, and all the under part of its throat, toge-
ther with the windpipe. In that mutilated state it is supposed
it had continued about three weeks prior to its being discovered.
The most remarkable circumstance attending this is, that the
animal did not exhibit the least signs of decomposition, nor was
animation perceptible. It is, however, quite evident that it was
alive, otherwise putridity would have ensued.
During the cybernation of animals, a temporary stagnation or
suspension of active life ensues : their temperature becomes
diminished, and the circulation of the blood slower ; respiration
less frequent, and sometimes entirely suspended : and the irrita-
bility and sensibility of the muscular and nervous powers are
greatly diminished. Heat and air are the only agencies which
rouse them from their death-like lethargy. Judging from the
circumstance of toads, lizards and bats, being found alive in solid
rocks, and in the centre of trees, this torpidity may endure for
the lapse of ages, without the extinction of life.
Dr Bright says that land-tortoises are eaten in Hungary.
" In the evening," says he, " I was taken to see an object of
curiosity, the garden kept for the rearing and preservation of
land- tortoises. The testudo orbicularis, is the species most
common about the lake, and the river Szala, which falls into it.
Tortoises, likewise, occur in great numbers in various parts of
Hungary, more particularly about Fiixes Gyarmath, and the
mouths of the river Theiss ; and being deemed a delicacy for the
table, are caught and kept in preserves. That of Keszthely
encloses about an acre of land, intersected by trenches and ponds,
in which the animals feed and enjoy themselves. "
801
OF
TESTACEOUS SHELL FISH IN GENERAL.
IN tracing the natural history of this numerous and diversi-
fied class of animals, we find that they naturally arrange them-
selves under two distinct divisions from their physical confor-
mation, namely, those having a head, and those without any
visible head while their covering or shells are in like manner
chemically separated into two natural divisions, viz. those
called porcellaneous shells, which are of an extremely compact
texture, and have a fine enamelled surface, and those which for
the most part are beautifully variegated.
From the best experiments which have been made, it seems
clearly proved that the shells of testaceous animals are formed
by the secretion of a peculiar fluid from certain pores on the
surface of the bodies of the animals, which hardens, and becomes
solid. Some shells are viviparous, as is the case with the
greater number of bivalves, and a few of the univalves, but the
greater proportion of the latter, are oviparous. From the
various experiments made by Reaumur, he concludes that the
shell is the last formed, that is, after the animal. If the eggs
of testaceous animals are opened, the exterior parts of the em-
bryo are found already developed, without the least appearance
of shell. At what time the shell is really formed, we will
not pretend to determine ; but it is a known fact, that the
animal is furnished with it when it emerges from the egg.
In those bivalves which are viviparous, the shell of the young
animal is formed, and has acquired a hard consistency, before it
leaves the parent shell; we have particularly observed this in
the Tellina cornea, a small shell found in fresh waters, some-
what shaped like a cockle, but without ribs. We have found,
802 OF TESTACEOUS SHELL FISH.
on dissecting the animal, not fewer than eight young ones fully
formed, with a shell on each.
In the spring of 1830, we had several minute shells of a
closely allied species to the above the Pisidium obtusale, which
we kept in a tumbler for the purpose of investigating the form
of the animal, and to ascertain if possible whether or not it was
viviparous, which was denied to be the case by Pfeiffer, a
celebrated German naturalist. On the 6th of February, we
changed the water in the glass, and rendered it tepid, in order
to induce the animals to protrude themselves. While in the act
of watching them, we found that the favourable temperature
brought on parturition ; and we witnessed several of the ani-
mals produce their young in a perfect state. This operation was
performed by the valves of the shells being opened, and then
suddenly brought together with a kind of jerk, when the foetus
was ejected from between them to a little distance from the
parent shells.
The greater number of animals inhabiting shells never change
their covering, but add to it periodically step by step, as they
increase in size, till they arrive at a state of full maturity, when
they complete their covering.
There are two different ways in which a body may increase
in volume. First, the particles of which it is composed pass
through the body by means of circulation, and undergo certain
chemical changes, which prepare them to form a part of that
body. Or, secondly, the particles of which a body is composed
may unite with it by juxta-position, without having been pre-
viously circulated or prepared within that body. It is in the
manner first described, or what is termed intus-susception, or
circulation through the body itself, that the growth of vegetables
and animals is accomplished,, and by the second mode, that an
increase in the bulk of shells is produced : the first is the law of
increase in organized bodies, and the latter that of inorganic
matter.
The spines and other irregular protuberances, with which
some shells are furnished, such as the Murex haustellum, and
Ramosus, with many others, are produced by particular organs
adapted to that purpose ; and are always formed by the suc-
cessive enlargement of the shell, and uniformly on the margin
of the outer lip ; the lengthened spines are produced by fringed
OF TESTACEOUS SHELL FISH. 803
appendages, or cylindrical organs; they are all hollow and
tubular, and are closed at their outer edges. The beak of the
Murex and Buccinum is in like manner formed by a long cylin-
drical organ, which is supposed to be a feeler, is capable of ex-
tension and contraction, and is used occasionally by the animal to
attach itself to solid bodies, as is the case with spines. In
bivalve shells, which present a grooved and ribbed appearance,
the whole anterior surface of the animal is grooved and chan-
nelled in the same manner, and from this the shell derives its
structure. Those spines and knobs which rise immediately
from the varices or longitudinal ribs, are produced by particular
organs which surround the extremity of the neck, and stretch
out from every part of its circumference.
But one of the most difficult things to account for in the for-
mation of shells, is the ribs of the great ribbed cockle (Cardium
costatum) ; the ribs of this species are very high and keel-shaped,
while at the same time they are hollow. This shell is about
four inches long, and of nearly the same breadth, furnished with
eighteen high, sharp-edged ribs, grooved or hollow in the inside,
from the apex to the base. The only way in which we can
account for the formation of these hollow triangular ribs is to
suppose that the margin of the anterior part of the body is in
contact with the recent shell, the tips or elevations are formed,
and are then open at the internal surface of the shell, but the
posterior part of the body being hard and smooth, never comes in
contact with the excavated parts of the ribs. On the contrary,
as the testaceous matter is excerted from that part of the body,
it is deposited in that part of the internal surface of the shell
which it touches, stretching across the deep grooves, and forms
the third and interior part of the triangular ribs.
There is no problem in natural history more difficult to ex-
plain in a satisfactory manner than the colouring of shells. We
shall state what appears to us most satisfactory on this head ;
at the same time we confess there are still many important
points which to us are inexplicable.
Land shells, particularly those of theHelix nemoralis, or com-
mon girdled snail, are subject to infinite variety of colour. The
ground colours are either white, citron, yellow, flesh colour, olive,
and are indeed subject to endless modifications of these with dif-
ferent other colours. Sometimes they have bands from one to six
801 OF TESTACEOUS SHELL FISH.
in number, running spirally from the apex of the shell, gradually
increasing in breadth as they descend towards the margin or
lip. These bands are either dark umber brown, orange co-
loured brown, or chestnut brown ; and some varieties are with-
out bands.
As \ve formerly observed, according to Reaumur's ideas, the
shelly matter is secreted from organs on the surface of the
animal's body. But in certain places of the surface, the parti-
cles which produce different colours are separated, no doubt,
from particular organs suited to the purpose. We cannot sup-
pose, that the difference of the nature or figure of the particles
can produce any particular figure, as we are not aware that co-
lours are subject to assume particular forms. From the expe-
riments of Reaumur, it appears almost certain, that the colour-
ing matter proceeds from the glandular structure of the neck,
and can be distinctly traced in the Helix nemoralis. Its body is
whitish, excepting towards the neck, where the white inclines
to yellow, citron, or flesh-colour, and where besides, there is
a number of black or brown spots, equal in number to those on
the shell, and arranged in the same direction and order. The
existence, therefore, of these excretory organs can no longer be
doubted, and as the stripes or other markings on shells enlarge
as the shell increases in size, this must proceed from the en-
largement of these organs with the growth of the animal. On
this principle may be accounted for all the variety of configura-
tion in the colours of shells, by supposing organs of all these
different forms to be placed on the neck of the animal ; accord-
ing to this theory, all the inner surface of the shell, even those
which are coloured in the inside, must be white, or, at least,
partaking of the colour secreted by the vessels of the body,
with the exception of the parts which can be reached by the
neck of the animal when it returns within its shell.
In that beautiful division of shells termed Porcellaneous, a
different process is necessary for the formation of colour and
markings ; and the animals inhabiting them are accordingly fur-
nished with a membrane perfectly different in its construction
from those of the animals of other shells. In this department
the colouring matter is deposited in two different ways, and at
different periods. In the formation of the shell itself, the
ground colour is produced from the external glands, in the man-
OF TESTACEOUS SHELL FISH. 805
ncr in which the shells of the Helix nemoralis, and indeed all
other testaceous shells, is produced, as above described. On the
external surface of this, another layer is formed generally darker
than that below, which, in its turn, obscures in a great measure
the second coating. This finishing is said to be performed by
two soft membranaceous wings, which, being protruded from
each side of the opening of the shell, cover its whole surface.
The longitudinal line, which is to be seen in various cowries, is
supposed to be formed by the junction of the two wings where
a smaller quantity of colouring matter has been deposited ; but
what is most difficult to account for, is the formation of the se-
cond or middle layer ; for if we begin by examining a young
shell of the Cypraea Exanthema, we shall find that the inside is
a dark purple, and the outside is covered with transverse, alter-
nate, interrupted bands of brown and lead-colour, with irregular
white spots and eyes. The young of the Cypraea tigris is bluish-
white in the inside ; the outside is brown, with two or three
paler bands. The young of the Cyproea Arabica is bluish-white
on the inside, with a deep purplish outside, and two or three
paler bands of brown. Now, if the centre coats of these shells
are formed by the wings of the animal, it must either have the
power of excreting at pleasure different colours from the glan-
dular surface of these wings, or the glands must not only be
changed in form, but also in arrangement, at different periods of
the growth of the shell. And it is difficult to suppose, that a
total change of the power of the wings can be effected ; because
such a change would be necessary whenever a new shell is form-
ed, as it is pretty evident that all the Cypraea at least change
their shells at different periods, or, in short, when the shell is
too small to contain the animal.
However satisfactory the experiments of Reaumur may ap-
pear, we are of opinion that the animals inhabiting shells have
the power of arranging the colours at will. In some species of
bivalves, as in the Ostrea and Spondylus genera, the valves on
which the shell rests while at the bottom of the ocean, are often
colourless, or at least much paler than the upper valve ; and it
will be observed, that those shells which bury themselves in
the sand, or in rocks, are totally colourless, or of a dingy
white.
It appears, from every observation which has been made,
3Y
806 OF TESTACEOUS SHELL FISH.
that the pearls found in different species of shells, are formed
by the same secretion which produces the shell itself, and this
is rendered very probable by all shells composed of mother-of-
pearl occasionally producing pearls. Two different opinions
have been entertained with regard to the cause of the produc-
tion of pearls. The one, that they are merely morbid concre-
tions ; and the other, that they are owing to wounds, or some
other external injury, or from worms making perforations in
the shells. It is not improbable, that they are formed in both
ways.
Various methods have been adopted to produce pearls by ar-
tificial means. In China, and many other parts of the East, the
shells of the pearl mussel (Meleagrina Margaritifera), are per-
forated by means of a drill and a piece of brass wire intro-
duced, rivetted on the outside like a nail ; the shell is then
placed in the sea, and almost invariably a large pearl is found
formed on the wire inside the shell. Another mode is adopted,
which sometimes proves successful. The shell is opened
with great care, to avoid injuring the animal, and a small por-
tion of the internal surface of the shell is scraped off; in its
place is inserted a small spherical piece of mother-of-pearl,
about the size of a small partridge shot. On this the animal
forms a pearl, which serves as a nucleus. This is a Findland
experiment. Either in the museum of Hunter, or in that of
the Duchess of Portland, was to be seen a pearl shell, said to
be from China, containing a string of pearls, apparently pro-
duced in the manner referred to, which is that of introducing
iron wires at given distances through the shell of the animal,
so as to irritate its flesh, without entering deep enough to
kill it.
A correspondent in the Philosophical Journal says : " Pearls,
in general, take the colour of the shell in which they are
formed, being nothing else than the substance of the shell dis-
posed in concentric layers, and tending more or less to a sphe-
rical form. From the great number of small pearls, which I
have frequently collected from the small sea mussel (Mytilus
Edulis), I find there is no part of the flesh of the animal in
which pearls do not occur. The assertion made by Linnaeus
that the Chinese have a mode of producing by art real pearls in
the living shell-fish, seemed to me so feasible, that I was led
OF UNIVALVE SHELLS. 807
to attempt a similar experiment, which I tried upon the large
mussel of our ponds (Anadonta Cygnea), being the only con-
venient shell-fish which I could command in the central parts of
England. I procured, therefore, the largest of these, from four
to six inches long ; but although the vigour of the animal pro-
mised me success, several of them died. I shall only relate .
what happened to the surviving ones. I drilled several holes
in the most convex part of those shells, and introduced brass
wires of a line in diameter. These wires bad a sharp point,
and were fixed in the shell in the way of cramps ; some
were disposed in straight lines, and others in such artificial
forms as to show plainly, that the pearls so produced, if the
experiment should succeed, were the work of design, and not
the unmolested operation of nature. One of these which, I
believe, is still preserved in the anatomical school at Oxford,
is an indisputable proof of this, the points forming W. C. the
initial letters of my 'name."
In the British museum, there is, or was a famous pink pearl,
of a respectable size, and of an oval form : I, myself, have a
small black pearl perfectly round and opaque, of which I do
not know the history. The pink pearl of the British museum
was probably produced by one of the large West India conchs.
OF UNIVALVE SHELLS.
IT is from the Buccinum Lapillus, a native of Britain, and
the Murex Trunculus, an inhabitant of the Mediterranean and
Red Sea, and several other univalve shells, that the purple dye
of the ancients, known by the name of Tyrean purple, was ex-
tracted. The animal of the lanthena Communis, also exudes
a purple fluid, which stains the hands of those who touch it.
M. de Martens states, that the annual export of snails (He-
lix Pomatia) from Ulm by the Danube, for the purpose of
being used as food in the season of lent by the convents of
Austria, amounted formerly to ten millions of these animals.
They were fattened in the gardens in the neighbourhood. This
species of snail is not the only one which has been used as
food; for, before the revolution in France, they exported* large
3Y2
8')B OF UNIVALVE SHELLS.
quantities of the Helix Aspersa, (the common large snail which
inhabits gardens,) from the coasts of Aunis and Saintonge, in
barrels for the Antilles. This species of commerce is now
much diminished, though they are still sometimes sent to the
Antilles and Senegal.
The consumption of snails is still very considerable in the
departments of Charente, Inferieure, and Gironde. The con-
sumption in the Isle de Rhe, is estimated in value at 25,000
francs ; and at Marseilles, the commerce in these animals is
considerable. The species eaten, are Helix Rhodostoma,
Aspersa, and Vermiculata. In Spain, Italy, Turkey, and the
Levant, the use of snails as food is common. It is only in
Britain that the Roman conquerors have failed to leave a taste
for a luxury which was so much used by the higher classes in
ancient Rome, though it would be very desirable for the sake
of the produce of our gardens, that some of the leaders of
fashion in eating would, by introducing them at table, take the
most effectual method of keeping our native species within due
bounds.
The Helix Pomatia is the largest land-shell of Great Britain.
It is not, however, an aboriginal, but was first introduced into
the south of England by the Romans ; and afterwards from
Italy, about the middle of the sixteenth century, by Mr Howard
of Albany, and turned out in Surrey, where it has increased
very much, and is now the most common species in that and the
neighbouring counties.
Snails are possessed of considerable reproductive powers.
Spallanzani found, that the whole head might be cut off, arid
that in a certain time another would be formed. They are be-
sides extremely tenacious of life.
We find the following singular account of the tenacity of life
in the snail, in the Annual Register, by Mr Rowe : " I was at
Mr Haddock's," says he, " at Wortham, in Kent, and was mak-
ing a little shell-work tower, to stand on a cabinet in a long
gallery. After having repaired two small amber temples to grace
the corners, I was desirous of having some ornament for the
front ; and sea shells running short before I had finished, I re-
collected having seen some pretty large snails on the chalk
hills there, and we all went out one evening to pick up some.
On our return I procured a large China basin, and putting a
OF UNIVALVE SHELLS. 809
handful or two of them into it, filled it up with boiling water.
I poured off the first water, and filled the bowl again. I then
carried it into a summer-house in the garden, where I loved to
work early in the morning before my friends were stirring.
Next morning, how great was my surprise on entering the sum-
mer-house, to find the poor snails crawling about, some on the
edge of the basin, some tumbling over, some on the table, and
one or two actually eating paste that was to stick them on ! I
picked up every snail carefully, carried them into a field beyond
the garden, where I make no doubt but they perfectly recovered
their scalding."
Mr Woodward, of Diana Square, Norwich, says, " As I was
sitting in my room, on the first floor, about nine in the evening,
on the 4>th October 1828, I was surprised with what I supposed
to be the notes of a bird, under or upon the sill of the window.
My impression was, that they somewhat resembled the notes
of the wild duck in its nocturnal flight, and, at times, the twitter
of a red-breast in quick succession. To be satisfied on the sub-
ject, I carefully removed the shutter, and, to my surprise,
found it was a garden snail (Helix Aspersa), which, in drawing
itself along the glass, had produced sounds similar to those
elicited from the musical glasses."
The Fusus Antiquus is the largest spiral shell which in-
habits the British seas, sometimes measuring nearly eight
inches in length. In many places it is used by the poor as an
article of food, and it is an excellent feast for cod and other
fish. It lives in very deep water, and can only be got by the
dredge ; it is sometimes found adhering to fishermen's lines.
We have a curious account of the mode in which fishermen
procure this shell in Argyleshire, in the 8th vol. of the Statis-
tical Account of Scotland. It is detailed in the following
words : " At the beginning of the fishing, a dog is killed and
singed, and the flesh, after rotting a little, is cut into small pieces
and put into creels or baskets, made of hazel rods, for the pur-
pose. These creels are sunk by means of stories thrown into
them. The flesh of the dog, in its putrid state, is said to at-
tract the whelk, which crawls up round the sides of the baskets,
and getting in at the top, cannot get out again, owing to the
shape of it, which is something like that of a wire mouse-trap.
After the first day's fishing, the heads and cuticles of the cod,
OlO OF UNIVALVE SHELLS.
with seal and dog fish, are put into the creels, which are visited
every day, the whelks taken out and fresh bait of the same kind
put in, there being no more occasion for dog's flesh." .
The Murex Tritonis, or Triton's trumpet, is a large shell,
often measuring sixteen inches in length and eight in breadth.
It is used by the Africans, and many of the Eastern nations, as
a bugle horn, and by the natives of New Zealand as a musical
instrument. Two or three of the upper volutions are ground
off, and from the number of its turnings which still remain, a
considerable variety of notes can be produced. It is said, that
several of the African tribes are very dexterous in the use of
this as a musical instrument, and its sound can be heard at a
great distance.
Perhaps, not the least striking feature in the history of Con-
chology, is the singular folly and extravagance of mankind in
the high price which has been paid for rare and beautiful shells.
One of the cones, called the Cedo Nulli, is so much esteemed,
and still so rare, that it has brought one hundred guineas ; and
even now sells sometimes for fifty. Till within these few years,
the many-stringed harp-shell sold at from twenty-five to thirty
pounds ; and the Cypraea Aurora, a native of the South seas,
particularly in the vicinity of New Zealand, cannot be had for
less than fifty pounds. The precious Turbo, or Wentletrap,
(Scalaria Preciosa), was at one time of very great value. It is
a conical shell, with eight rounded detached whirls, connected
together by longitudinal ribs, of which eight are on the body
whirl ; the aperture or mouth is margined, and the whole shell
of a milky-white colour* Its usual length is from an inch
and a half to two inches. In the museum of Mr Bullock,
London, there was a specimen, the largest known, which was
brought home by Mr Webber from Amboyna, and was valued
at 200 guineas at one time ; and so much did Mr Webber
esteem this specimen, that on one occasion he refused the
sum of 500, offered for it by the earl of Bute. We saw
this specimen sold at Bullock's sale, and it was bought by the
niece of Mr Webber for 37 10s, being far beyond its value
at the time. Specimens of nearly two inches in length can now
be purchased for 1.
But, perhaps, the most interesting of the univalve shells, is
the Paper Nautilus (Argonauta Argo), which we have pretty
OF BIV'AME SHEELSi 811
fully noticed in the first volume of Goldsmith ; and to which
has been ascribed the first hints for the art of navigation ; as al-
luded to by Pope, who says,
Learn of the little Nautilus to sail,
Spread the thin oar, and catch the driving gale.
This animal was well known to the ancients.
In some places where the sea is not agitated by winds, great
numbers of these singular creatures may occasionally be seen
sailing and sporting about.
Two feet they upward raise, and steady keep 5
These are the masts and rigging of the ship.
A membrane stretched between supplies the sail,
Bends from the masts, and swells before the gale.
The other two lung paddling- o'er each side,
And serve for oars to row, and helm to guide.
'Tis thus they sail, pleas'd with the wanton gurne,
The fish, the sailor, and the ship the same.
But when the swimmers dread some danger near
The sportive pleasure yields to stronger fear :
No more they wanton drive before the blasts,
But strike the sails, and bring down all the masts.
The rolling waves their sinking shells o'erfiow,
And dash them down again to sands below.
Le Vaillant observed several of these on the sea near the Cape
of Good Hope ; and, as he was desirous of obtaining perfect
specimens of the shells, he sent some of his people into the
water to catch them ; but, when the men had got their hands
within a certain distance, they always instantly sank, and, with
all the art that could be employed, they were not able to lay
hold of a single one. The instinct of the animal showed itself
superior to all their subtilty; and when their disappointed
master called them away from their attempts, they expressed
themselves not a little chagrined at being outwitted by a shell-
fish. The Argonautas inhabit the Mediterranean, the coast of
Africa, and the Indian ocean.
OF BIVALVE SHELLS.
COCKLES inhabit almost all sandy shores. Most of them
are found immersed in the sand, at the depth of a few inches-.
812 OF BIVALVE SHELLS.
All the locomotive powers of these well known animals are
concentrated in the triangular yellow foot, which is so con-
spicuous when we open the shells. This foot is not only
capable of great inflation, but also of seizing with its point the
glutinous matter which proceeds from it, drawing this into
threads, and thereby in some measure securing the animals
within the sand.
At the inlets of bays the cockles most abound, and also near
the mouths of rivers. They are usually found immersed at the
depth of two or three inches in the sand, the place of each
being marked by a small circular depressed spot.
In some places they are so abundant that by the assistance of
a spade a basket may be filled with them in a few minutes ; in
which cases they are souced in the water for the purpose of
washing away the sand by which they are surrounded.
The GREAT SCALLOP has the power of progressive motion
upon the land, and likewise of swimming on the surface of the
water. When this animal happens to be deserted by the tide,
it opens its shell to the full extent, then shuts it with a sudden
jerk, often rising five or six inches from the ground. In this
manner it tumbles forward until it regains the water.
When the sea is calm, troops of little fleets of scallops, it is said,
are sometimes to be observed swimming on the surface. They
elevate one valve above the surface of the water, which is used
as a kind of sail, while they float on the other which remains
on the surface.
The COMMON SCALLOP forms a delicious food when pickled,
and is even more delicate than our oyster which has been
cooked.
The JACOBEAN SCALLOP is the one formerly worn by pil-
grims on the front of their hats, to denote that they had crossed
the sea, and is thus alluded to in Parnel's Hermit.
" And fixed the scallop on his hat before."
Lord Byron, in the conclusion of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage,
also alludes to it,
" Not in vain
I've worn the sandall'd shoon and scallop'd shell."
The GIANT CHAMA is the largest of testaceous animals, is
OF MULTIVALVE SHELLS. 813
of groat weight, arid varies considerably in size. Linnaeus in-
forms us of one which weighed 532 Swedish pounds, (which
is equal to 498 English;) he adds, that the animal has been
known to furnish 120 men with a meal, and that if it shuts its
valves suddenly it can snap a cable asunder. In the library of
Sir Joseph Banks, there is a manuscript account of the dimen-
sions of a specimen at Arno's vale, Ireland, which was brought
from Tappanooly in Sumatra, one valve of which weighed 285
Ibs. and the other 222 Ibs. being a total of 507 Ibs. The
largest valve measured 4 feet 6 inches in length, 2 feet 5
inches in breadth, and one foot in depth. A very large speci-
men is used at the church of St Sulpice in Paris, as a baptismal
font. It was presented to Francis the First by the Venetians.
The colour of the shell is yellowish white. Large pearls have
been occasionally found in this shell ; and one exhibited at Sir
Joseph Banks' in June 1811, was valued at between two and
three hundred pounds sterling.
OF MULTIVALVE SHELLS.
One of the most remarkable of the multivalve tribe is the 1
Teredo navalis, or ship-worm. While the snail ranges the
garden and the field, and marks its progress with the de-
struction of some of the fairest of the vegetable tribes ; the
ship-worm is justly the dread of the mariner. Secure as it were
in its insignificance, it humbles the glory and pride of man ;
and labouring in secret, demolishes the noblest efforts of his
ingenuity.
The shell of the ship-worm has two principal hemispherical
valves, truncated and open at the end, and two smaller lanceolate
accessary remote valves. The hinge is provided with a long in-
curvated tooth in each valve. The tube in which the animal re-
sides is testaceous, and of a somewhat cylindrical form. When
full grown it is from six to seven inches in length, of a grayish
white colour, and about the thickness of a swan quill.
This animal, which is supposed to have been first introduced
into our seas from India, has become most destructive to the
bottoms of vessels : so much so, that all the ships of the
814 OF MULTIVALVE SHELLS.
British navy are covered in the bottom with sheet copper, to
prevent their being perforated by the teredo. It is not more
than seventy years since they were first introduced, and Ply-
mouth dock yard is literally infested with them ; so that piles
which have not been in the water more than four or five years,
though of solid oak, are rendered nearly useless by their ravages.
In the year 1730, the inhabitants of the United Provinces
were under serious alarm concerning these worms, which had
made dreadful depredations in the piles that support the banks
of many parts of their coasts. One of the persons who had
the care of the coasts at that time, observed to his astonishment,
that some of the timbers were, in the course only of a few
months, made so full of holes, that they could be beaten to
pieces with the least force.
Although when the mud was scraped oft', the perforations did
not appear much larger than to admit of a pin's head, yet the
piles, on being split lengthways, were found full of large
passages, or hollow, cylindrical ducts, each of which contained
a worm, enclosed in its testaceous tube which it exactly filled.
We have in our possession a piece of oak, which was part of
the bottom of a vessel that was in the Indian seas for twelve
months, and is so completely destroyed by the perforations of
these destructive creatures, that it is a wonder it did not
founder at sea.
The most efficacious method which has hitherto been dis-
covered, to preserve timber from the ravages of these worms, is
that which is now adopted at the dock at Plymouth, to cover
all the parts which are under water, with short broad- headed
nails. These soon cover the whole surface with a strong coat-
ing of rust, which is found to be altogether impenetrable to the
animals.
815
OF THE FROG TRIBE.
THE animals which compose this tribe are very generally dis-
persed over the globe. Their food is insects and worms ; the
whole of them catching their prey by means of their tongue,
which is inserted into the front of the mouth, and, when the
animal is at rest, lies with its point towards the throat. The
moment the animal observes an insect within its reach, it sud-
denly throws out its tongue, and the little victim is secured on
its glutinous extremity..
At the sitting of the Academy of Sciences of the 13th
February 1826, M. Dutrochet read a memoir on the egg and
tadpole of Batracian reptiles. Spallanzani had conjectured
that the egg of the Batracian was nothing but the tadpole
itself in a spherical form. This opinion was first doubted by
M. Dutrochet; but future examination discovered to him,
that, among this class of reptiles, the foetus exists prior to
its fecundation, which, as it is well known, does not occur
till the extrusion of the egg ; and that this foetus is a kind of
polypus a simple globular sac, which, containing the emul-
sive matter for the nutrition of the tadpole, lengthens gra-
dually into a plaited tube, with numerous convolutions. M.
Dutrochet had formerly remarked in his examination of insects,
that the larvae of the bee and wasp might also be found in the
egg before fecundation in a similar state.
This tribe is divided into three sections ; namely, Frogs,
Hylae, and Toads. Frogs have smooth bodies, legs somewhat
long, and discharge their eggs in a mass. They leap with great
agility; and their hind legs are, in general, equal in length to
the head and body.
Hyla. or Tree Frogs have their hinder legs very long, and
81C OF THE FROG TIUEE.
the toes unconnected. They are generally smaller than com-
mon frogs, and more elegant in their proportions. Their toes
are furnished with little viscid pellets, by means of which they
are enabled to attach themselves even to the under surfaces of
polished bodies. They are extremely nimble, leap with great
force, and are able to pursue insects, on which they feed, with
great agility, even on the branches arid leaves of trees.
Toads have their bodies puffed up and covered with, warts.
They have short legs, and can scarcely be said to leap. They
avoid the light, and seldom leave their retreats in search of
prey but during the night. These animals discharge their eggs
in a long necklace like string.
During the night, the banks of the Congo, in the neighbour-
hood of Embomma, are perfectly alive with numberless frogs,
and other noisy reptiles which keep up an incessant croaking
till morning. These are of the species called the Bull frog.
The following paragraph is extracted from a late number of
the Belfast Chronicle : " As two gentlemen were sitting con-
versing on a causey pillar, near Bushmills, they were very much
surprised by an unusually heavy shower of frogs, half formed,
falling in all directions; some of which were preserved in
spirits of wine, and are now exhibiting to the curious by the
two resident apothecaries at Bushmills. "
Mr Loudon, editor of the Magazine of Natural History,
says, " When at Rouen, in September 1828, I was assured by an
English family, resident there, that during a very heavy thun-
der shower, accompanied by violent wind, and almost midnight
darkness, an innumerable multitude of young frogs fell on, and
around the house. The roof, the window-sills, and the gravel
walks, were covered with them. They were very small but per-
fectly formed; all dead; and the next day being excessively
hot, they were dried up to so many points, or pills, about the
size of the heads of pins. The most obvious way of accounting
for this phenomenon, is by supposing the water and frogs of
some adjacent ponds to have been taken up by wind in a sort of
whirl, or tornado."
We have records of this kind in all ages. A shower of
young herrings fell in Kinross-shire, about ten years ago, many of
which were picked up in the fields around Loch-Leven, by per-
sons with whom we are acquainted. The reason why frogs go
OF THE FROG TRIBE. 817
abroad during showers, is thus accounted for by Dr Townson,
founded on certain experiments which he instituted regarding
them. He says " that frogs take in their supply of liquid
through the skin alone, all the aqueous fluids which they imbibe
being absorbed by the skin, and all they reject being transpired
through it. One frog, in an hour and a half absorbed nearly its
own weight of water."
In the Journal de Moselle, it is said, that the city of Metz
has been lately afflicted by one among the seven plagues of
Egypt, namely, frogs ; certain streets were filled with these
animals, and no one was able to conjecture from whence they
came, until it was explained by a dealer in frogs applying to the
tribunals for the recovery of his property. He had shut up
about six thousand frogs, in a particular place belonging to the
fish market, where they were discovered by some children, who
took part away to sell, and on leaving the troughs in the fish-
market, forgot to close them. Profiting by the opening thus
left, the frogs began to spread themselves in various parts, and
even got into some of the neighbouring houses, whose inhabi-
tants found much difficulty in ejecting their unwelcome in-
truders.
A butcher in Glasgow found an ordinary sized living frog in
the stomach of a cow, which he had just killed. When laid
down, it was full of spirit, and leapt about the slaughter-house,
to the astonishment of a considerable crowd. The cow was
killed between three and four o'clock in the afternoon ; and sup-
posing she had swallowed the frog when drinking, it must have
remained a considerable time alive in her stomach, as the cow
had got neither meat nor drink, since before six o'clock in the
morning.
" At Schwetzingen in Germany," says Mr Loudon, " in the
post-house, we witnessed for the first time, what we have since
seen frequently, an amusing application of zoological knowledge,
for the purpose of prognosticating the weather. Two frogs, of
the species Rana arborea, are kept in a crystal jar, about eighteen
inches high, and six inches in diameter, with a depth of three or
four inches of water at the bottom, and a small ladder reaching
to the top of the jar. On the approach of dry weather, the
frogs mount up the ladder; but, when moisture is expected,
they descend into the water. These animals are of a bright
3z
8!8 OF THE FllOG TRIBE.
green, and in their wild state here, climb the trees in search of
insects, and make a peculiar singing noise before rain. In the
jar they get no other food than now and then a fly, one of which,
we were assured, would serve a frog a week, though it will eat
from six to twelve in a day, if it can get them. In catching the
flies put alive into the jar, the frogs display great adroitness."
It is amusing to see a frog when he first notices his prey ;
he very much resembles a pointer-dog setting his game. He
makes a dead set at the creature, oftentimes too (if the rela-
tive positions of the two animals require it), with a slight bend, or
inclination, more or less, of the fore part of the body, to one
side, just as we often see a pointer turn suddenly, when the
game is on one side of him, and he has approached very near
before he has perceived it. After a pause of some seconds or
more, the frog makes a dart at the worm, endeavouring to seize
it with his mouth ; in this attempt he frequently fails more
than once ; and generally waits for a short interval, acting the
pointer, as it were, between each attack. Having succeeded at
last in getting the worm into his mouth, if it be a large one, he
is unable to swallow it immediately and all at once ; and the
portion of the worm which yet remains unswallowed, and ex-
tended out of the mouth of its destroyer, of course writhes about
and struggles with a tortuous motion. With much, but some-
what grotesque dexterity, the frog then employs his two fore-
feet, shoving and bandying the worm, first with one and then
with the other, in order to keep it as nearly as may be in the
centre of his mouth, till the whole is swallowed.
Mr Jesse says, " I may mention a curious observation made
in regard to some frogs that had fallen down a small area,
which gave light to one of the windows of my house. The
top of the area being on a level with the ground, was covered
with some iron bars, through which the frogs fell. During
dry and warm weather, when they could not absorb much mois-
ture, I observed them to appear almost torpid ; but when it
rained they became impatient of their confinement, and endea-
voured to make their escape, which they did in the following
manner. The wall of the area was about five feet in height,
and plastered and whitewashed, as smooth as the ceiling of a
room. Upon this surface the frogs soon found that their claws
would render them little or no assistance ; they therefore con-
THE TOAD. 819
tracted their large feet, so as to make a hollow in the centre,
and by means of the moisture which they had imbibed in conse-
quence of the rain, they contrived to produce a vacuum, so that
by the pressure of the air on the extended feet, (in the same
way that we see boys take up a stone by means of a piece of
wet leather fastened to a string) they ascended the wall and
made their escape. This happened constantly in the course of
three years."
THE TOAD.
The common food of the toad is small worms, and insects of
every description , but its favourite nutriment consists of Apis
Mellificas, the earth bee and common wasp. When a toad
strikes at any of these insects, however, deglutition does not
immediately take place, as in other cases, but the mandibles re-
main closely compressed for a few seconds, in which time the
bee, or wasp is killed, and all danger of being stung avoided.
The mandibles are provided with two protuberances, which
appear to be destined for this office. Although capable of sus-
taining long abstinence, the toad is a voracious feeder, when op-
portunity offers. To a middle sized one nine wasps have been
given, the one immediately after the other; the tenth it refused,
but in the afternoon of the same day it took eight more. To see
the toad display its full energy of character, it is necessary to dis-
cover it in its place of retirement for the day, and, if possible,
unperceived, to drop an insect within its sight ; it immediately
arouses from its apparent torpor, its beautiful eyes sparkle, it
moves with alacrity to its prey, and assumes a degree of anima-
tion incompatible with its general sluggish appearance. When
arrived at a proper distance, it makes a full stop, and, in the
attitude of a pointer, motionless, eyes its destined victim for a
few seconds, when it darts out its tongue upon it, and lodges it
in its throat with a velocity which the eye can scarcely follow.
It sometimes happens to make an ineffectual stroke, and stuns
the insect without gorging it, but never makes a second stroke till
the insect resumes motion. It uniformly refuses to feed on dead
insects, however recent. For several years a toad took up its
3z3
820
abode, during the summer season, under an inverted garden-
pot in Mr Fothergill's garden, which had a part of its rim broken
out, making its appearance in the latter end of May, and re
treating about the middle of September. This toad, there is
reason to believe, distinguished the persons in Mr Fothergill's
family, who daily fed it, from strangers, as it would permit
them to pat and stroke it. To try the indiscriminating appetite
of these animals, Mr Fothergill has dropped before a full
grown toad, a young one of its own species, about three -fourths
of an inch long, and the instant it began to move off, it was
eagerly struck at, and swallowed : but on Mr Fothergill re-
peating the experiment, he found that more will refuse than
devour the young of their own species. When living minnows
(Cyprinus Phoxinus) were dropped before a toad, they were
struck at and swallowed in the same manner. These experi-
ments were made on toads at full liberty, and met with acci-
dentally. Toads generally return to their winter quarters
about the time that swallows disappear. They have been seen
burrowing in the ground backwards, by the alternate motion of
their hind legs.
Not the least wonderful part of the history of the toad, is the
circumstance of its being frequently found alive in the heart of
solid rocks, and internal cavities of trees. In 1777, Herrisant
made some interesting experiments on this subject, as did also Dr
Edwards in 1817, which are detailed in the 4th volume of Gold-
smith. Professor Buckland has more lately experimented on
this curious subject. Two blocks of stone were taken, one of
porous oolite limestone, and one of a compact silicious sandstone ;
twelve cells, five inches wide, and six inches deep were cut in
the sandstone, and twelve others five inches wide, and twelve
inches deep in limestone. In November 1825, one toad was
placed in each of the twenty-four cells, its weight being pre-
viously ascertained with care. A glass plate was placed over
each cell as a cover, with a circular slate above to protect it ;
and the two blocks of stone, with the immured toads, were
buried in Dr Buckland's garden under three feet of earth. They
were uncovered after the lapse of a year, in December, 182G.
All the toads in the small cells of compact sandstone were dead,
and their bodies so much decayed as to prove that they had
been dead for some months. The greater number of the toads
THE TOAU. 821
in the larger cells of porous limestone were alive ; but they
were all a good deal emaciated, except two, which had increased
in weight, the one from one thousand one hundred and eighty-
five grains, to one thousand two hundred and sixty-five, the
other from nine hundred and eighty-eight to one thousand
one hundred and sixteen. With regard to these two, Dr
Buckland thinks they had both been nourished by insects,
which they got into the one cell through a crack found in
the glass cover, and into the other probably by some small
aperture in the luting which was not carefully examined. No
insects were found in either cell, but an assemblage of insects
was found on the outside of another glass, and a number within
one of the cells whose cover was cracked, and where the animal
was dead. Of the emaciated toads, one had diminished in
weight from nine hundred and thirty-six to six hundred and
fifty-two. " The results of the experiments," says Dr Buckland,
" amount to this : all the toads, both large and small, enclosed
in the stone, and the small toads enclosed in the limestone also,
were dead at the end of thirteen months. Before the expira-
tion of the second year, all the large ones also were dead.
These were examined several times during the second year,
through the glass covers of the cells, but without removing
them to admit air. They appeared always awake, with their
eyes open, and never in a state of torpor, their meagerness in-
creasing at each interval, until at length they were found dead.
Those which had gained an increase of weight at the end of the
first year, and were then carefully closed up again, were ema
ciated and dead before the expiration of the second year." Four
toads enclosed in cavities cut in the trunk of an apple tree, and
closed up by plugs so tightly as to exclude insects, and " appa-
rently air," were found dead at the end of a year. The phe-
nomena, then, of live toads enclosed in/ocks, Dr Buckland ex-
plains in this way : the young toad, as soon as it leaves its tad-
pole state, 'and emerges from the water, seeks shelter in holes
and crevices of rocks and trees. One may thus enter a small
opening in a rock, and when there find food, by catching the in-
sects which seek shelter in the same retreat ; and its increase
of size may prevent it from getting out again by the same
opening. It is probable that there are some small apertures in
all the stones in which toads are found, though they escape the
3 z 3
822 OF TriE FHOG TRIBE.
notice of the workmen, who have no motive to induce them to
make a narrow examination. In other cases, there may have
been an opening which had been closed up, after the animal was
immured, by stalactitic incrustation. Deprived of food and air,
it might fall into that state of torpor, or suspended animation,
to which certain animals are subject in winter; but how
long it might continue in this state is uncertain.
The Rev. George Foung, in his " Geological Survey of the
Yorkshire coasts," second edition, 1828, mentions seventl
recent instances of living toads having been found within solid
blocks of sandstone. "We are the more particular in recording
these facts," he observes, " because some modern philosophers
have attempted to explode such accounts as wholly fabulous."
Mr Jesse informs us, that he knew a gentleman who put a
toad into a small flower-pot, and secured it, so that no insect
could penetrate it, and then buried it so deep in his garden that
it was secured against the influence of frost. At the end of
twenty years he took it up and found the toad increased in bulk
and health !
We find it mentioned in the 13th Number of the Edinburgh
Philosophical Journal, that " a specimen of a toad, which was
taken alive from the centre of a solid mass of solid stone, has
been sent to the college museum of Edinburgh, by Lord
Duncan."
" I remember,' 1 says Mr Jesse, " some years ago getting up
into a mulberry-tree, and finding in the fork of the two main
branches, a large toad almost embedded in the bark of the tree,
which had grown over it so much that he was quite unable to ex-
tricate himself, and would probably in time be completely covered
over with the bark. Indeed, as the tree increased in size, there
seems to be no reason why the toad should not in process of time
become embedded in the tree itself, as was the case with the
end of an oak rail that had been inserted into an elm-tree,
which stood close to a public foot path. This, being broken off
and grown over, was, on the tree being felled, and sawn in two,
found nearly in the centre of it. The two circumstances
together may explain the curious fact of toads having been
found alive in the middle of trees, by showing that the bark
having once covered them, the process of growth in the tree
would annually convey the toad more nearly to the centre of it^
THE TOAD. 823
as happened with the piece of oak-rail ; and by showing that
toads and other amphibia, can exist on the absorption of fluids
by the skin alone." Which opinion seems to be supported by
the experiments performed on frogs.
It is mentioned in the Transactions of the Academy of
Sciences at Paris, that a live toad was found in the centre of an
elm-tree, and another in an oak. Both trees were quite sound
and in a healthy condition. To these facts we may add an-
other. It is related by our friend Sir Thomas Dick Lander,
who is a close observer of nature, that on his estate of Foun-
tain-hall, East Lothian, a. large toad was found in the heart of
a smooth, straight Beech tree, at the height of 30 feet from the
ground. It was contained in a circular hole. In the Annual Re-
gister, there is a well authenticated account of a toad being
found in the middle of a large and hard stone, having no visible
aperture by which it could get there. Mr Jesse was informed
by the respectable proprietor of a coal mine in Staffordshire, that
while his men were working into a stratum of thick coal at a very
considerable depth, they found three live ells in a small deposit of
water in the centre of a block of coal. They died as soon as
they were taken out of it. " Another case," says he, " was men-
tioned to me by an eminent physician. A wet spot had always
been observed on a free-stone mantle-piece, which afterwards
cracked at that place, and upon its being taken down, a toad
was found in it dead ; but its death was probably owing to the
want of that moisture which it had been enabled to imbibe when
the stone was in the quarry, and which gradually lessened by the
action of the fire, as from the moisture which appeared on that
part of the mantle-piece, some time after it was put up, there
seems but little reason to doubt that the toad was alive at that
time."
A gentleman who resides at Keswick, Cumberland, one
evening in the latter end of July, observed a rustling among the
strawberries in his garden, and on examining what it was,
found that a toad had just seized a field-mouse, which had got
on the toad's back, scratching and biting to get released, but in
vain. The toad kept bis hold, and as the strength of the mouse
failed, he gradually drew the unfortunate litUe animal into his
raeutb, and gorged him.
82 i
LIZARDS AND THEIR CONGENERS.
THIS tribe of animals has been found in very different situa-
tions by different naturalists. The arrangement which has
more recently been adopted is that of Brogniart. It was fol-
lowed by Cuvier in his Animal Kingdom : it succeeds the birds.
Brogniart, in his classification of reptiles, derived his orders
from the difference of physical construction, in the principal
organs, such as those of respiration and generation ; and combined
these characters with others which had the next importance to
the animal functions, such as the organs of touch., of digestion
and of locomotion.
The larger species of the lizard tribe are inhabitants of the
warmer countries of the globe. The larger kinds prey upon
animals, and the smaller species upon insects.
THE CROCODILE.
This animal is found on the banks of the Nile, Niger, arid
Ganges. As he lives chiefly at the bottom of the rivers
which he frequents, he has the power of opening the upper jaw
as well as the under one ; and thus with greater facility catches
the fish or water-fowl which swim over him.
Park says, " Crocodiles are very numerous in the river Congo,
and the natives say voracious ; but they do not seem to dread
them ; on the contrary, I have observed people bathing where
crocodiles were swimming a short time before. They may be
>5 4 THE CROCODILE. 825
seen every hour of the day, sunning themselves upon the sand-
banks. They appear, however, to be of the smaller species,
and not so numerous as at Old Calabar, where they continually
float past the shipping like large grey pieces of timber, and are
there so bold that they frequently seize people in the small
canoes. In Old Calabar river, I once observed a crocodile
swimming with a large cat-fish in its mouth to the opposite
shore. It held the fish by the head, whilst the body was
thrown into a perpendicular position. I watched it with the
spy-glass until it had dragged the fish upon the mud bank, and
commenced its meal. A party armed with muskets was then
despatched from the ship to kill it, but on the approach of the
boat it retreated to the water with the fish in its mouth. From
this I am induced to think that the crocodile cannot devour its
prey in the water."
In crossing the Ba-Woolima, Mr Park's attendant, Isaaco, met
with a strange and nearly fatal adventure. In attempting to
drive six asses across the river, just as he had reached the mid-
dle, a crocodile rose close to him, and instantly seizing him by
the left thigh, pulled him under water. With wonderful pre-
sence of mind, he felt the head of the animal and thrust his
finger into its eye. This forced it to quit its hold ; but it soon
however returned to the charge, arid seizing him by the other
thigh, again pulled him under water. Isaaco had recourse to the
same expedient, and thrust bis fingers a second time into its
eyes with such force, that it again quitted him, rose to the sur-
face, floundered about as if stupid, and then swam down the
stream. Isaaco in the meantime reached the bank of the river
bleeding very much ; the wound in his left thigh being four
inches long, that on the right somewhat less, but very deep,
besides several single teeth marks on his back. In six days,
however, he recovered, so as to be able to travel.
In the sitting of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, of the
6th February 1826, M. Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, presented from
M. Caillaud, a mummy crocodile, seven feet, one inch in
length, in a state of perfect preservation. He had formerly
maintained, in opposition to the opinion of Cuvier, that there
were two species of Egyptian crocodile one, a sacred animal
mild and of smaller size, the other the well-known crocodile
of the Nile; while Baron Cuvier was rather inclined to suppose
826 or LIZARDS AND THEIR CONGENERS.
that the second species was the crocodile of St Domingo. The
inspection of this mummy seems to have decided the question.
This second species differs from the other chiefly in the struc-
ture of the head, the jaws being more lengthened, and indicating
a creature of less strength. It was known among the ancients
by the name of Suchus. A live individual of this species was
exhibited at Paris in 1823.
At Chantilly, in France, there was in the year 1828, a croco-
dile, so perfectly tame and well-disposed, that he was caressed
with impunity by the keeper, who endeavoured, although not
always with success, to induce visitors to follow his example.
He never attempted to bite any one, but seemed pleased by
being fondled.
THE ALLIGATOR.
The alligator is similar in habits and appearance to the croco-
dile. It is found only in America, and is most abundant in the
tropical regions. In the height of the dry season in those
torrid regions all animated nature pants with consuming thirst.
A party of the wood cutters, English and Irish, went on one oc-
casion to hunt in the neighbourhood of a lake called Pies Pond
in Beef Island, one of the smaller islands of the Bay of Cam-
peachy. To this pond the wild cattle repaired in herds to drink,
and here the hunters lay in wait for them. The chase had been
prosecuted with great success for a week, when an Irishman of
the party going into the water during the day, stumbled upon
an alligator, which seized him by the knee. His cries alarmed
his companions, who fearing he had been seized by the Span-
iards, to whom the island belonged, instead of affording assis-
tance, fled from the huts which they had erected. The Irish-
man seeing no appearance of help, with happy presence of
mind (a quality which the natives of that country possess in an
eminent degree) quietly waited till the alligator loosened his
teeth to take a new and surer hold ; and when it did so,
snatched away his knee, interposing the but-end of his gun in
its stead, which the animal seized so firmly that it was jerked
out of the man's hand and carried off. He then crawled up a
THE ALLIGATOR. 827
neighbouring tree, again shouting after his comrades who now
found courage to return. His gun was found next day dragged
ten or twelve paces from the place where it had been seized by
the alligator.
Mr Jesse says, " the most singular instance of attachment
between two animals, whose nature and habits were most op-
posite, was related to me by a person on whose veracity I can
place the greatest reliance. Before he took up his abode at
Hampden-court, he had resided for nine years in the American
States, where he superintended the execution of some extensive
works for the American government. One of these works con-
sisted in the erection of a beacon in a swamp in one of the
rivers, where he caught a young alligator. This animal he made
so perfectly tame, that it followed him about the house like a
dog, scrambling up the stairs after him, and showing much affec-
tion and docility. Its great favourite, however, was a cat, and
the friendship was mutual. When the cat was reposing herself
before the fire, (this was at New York) the alligator would lay
himself down, place his head upon the cat, and in this attitude
go to sleep. If the cat was absent, the alligator was restless ;
but he always appeared happy when the cat was near him. The
only instance in which he showed any ferocity was in attacking
a fox, which was tied up in the yard. Probably, however, the
fox resented some playful advances, which the other had made,
and thus called forth the anger of the alligator. In attacking
fhe fox he did not make use of his mouth, but beat him with so
much severity with his tail, that had not the chain which con-
fined the fox broken, he would probably have killed him. The
alligator was fed on raw flesh, and sometimes with milk, for
which he showed great fondness. In cold weather he was shut
up in a box, with wool in it ; but having been forgotten one
frosty night, he was found dead in the morning." This is not
the only instance of amphibious animals becoming tame by gentle
treatment.
For an account of the manner of catchi.ig alligators, with
animadversions on Mr VVaterton's adventures among them, the
reader is referred to the Notes upon Goldsmith.
828 OF LIZARDS AND THEIR CONGENERS.
THE AQUATIC SALAMANDER.
The propagation of this species is a curious subject of in-
vestigation, and considerable light has been thrown on it by Dr
Rusconi. He noticed that one of his salamanders approached
towards the leaf of a plant, and directed its snout to it, as if
wishing to smell it. He then saw the animal move gently on
the leaf, in the direction of its breadth, and resting upon it,
push back the hind-limbs, so as to fold backward and enclose
between its feet the leaf on which it rested. It remained in
this position about a minute, and then withdrew, leaving the
leaf doubled in such a way that its apex was turned back in the
petiole. Scarcely had three minutes elapsed before it approach-
ed towards another leaf, and performed the same operation.
These leaves were unable to redress themselves, because their
two surfaces were held together by a kind of glue, with which
the envelope of each egg is covered. The eggs of salamanders do
not escape from the animal like strings of beads, as some na-
turalists have asserted nor do they fall to the bottom of the
water, as Spallanzani with so much confidence maintained.
Rusconi discovered in one leaf a young salamander already
evolved, and which exhibited signs of life by moving and
changing its position.
The little animal, which is opaque, and formed apparently of
a soft and homogeneous substance, while yet retained in its
envelope, becomes gradually transparent almost as soon as he
has escaped from it, so that, if the naturalist has been able to
see through the transparent walls of the envelope, the deve.
lopement of the exterior parts only, he now sees the formation,
both of the external and internal parts together. He discovers
the heart of the animal, and follows its contractions and dilata-
tions : he perceives the stomach, and recognises its form an d
position: his eye is able to distinguish the intestinal canal,
which at first extends in a straight line from one extremity of
the abdomen to the other, afterwards assumes serpentine con-
volutions, and ends by a formation of many of these : next he
sees the liver, whose developement accompanies that of the
stomach and intestines, to which it is subservient ; and, lastly,
he sees the lungs take their form and place, always filled with air,
THE AQUATIC SALAMANDER. 829
and so transparent that one might believe the animal has, on the
two sides of the trunk, t\vo bubbles of air, which gradually
dilate and elongate from before, backward.
When the organs of digestion have acquired the size necessary
for the exercise of their functions, the curious spectator per-
ceives in the little salamander, whose life hitherto has been
purely organic or vegetative, the life of relation, or the animal
life, to begin. At this epoch, the movements of the young
animal are no longer automatic, or the result simply of its in-
ternal organization, but they are also the consequence of sen.
sations which the surrounding objects cause it to. experience.
In truth it now avoids and removes from those objects from
which it dreads inconvenience or pain, and approaches those
from which it hopes to receive advantage and pleasure. We
see it, at this period, watch the minuter insects which it per-
ceives swimming in the water, direct its little snout towards
them, pursue them with address, and dart upon them with sur-
prising agility. When it is keenly pressed by hunger, it even
attacks its comrades, and seeks its nourishment by devouring
their gills and tail.
Recently, as David Virtue, mason, Auchtertool, a village
about four miles from Kirkcaldy, in Scotland, was dressing a
heavy barley millstone from a large block, after cutting away a
part, he found a lizard of this species embedded in the stone.
It was about an inch and a quarter long, of a brownish yellow
colour, and had a round head with bright sparkling projecting
eyes. When first exposed it was apparently dead ; but after being
about five minutes exposed to the air, it showed signs of life.
It soon became lively, and ran about with much celerity ; and
about half an hour after the discovery, was brushed off the stone,
and killed. When found, it was coiled up in a round cavity of its
owq form, being an exact impression of the animal. There
were about fourteen feet of earth above the rock, and the block
in which the lizard was found was seven or eight feet in the
rock; so that the whole depth of the animal from the surface
was twenty one or twenty two feet. The stone had no fissure,
was quite hard, and one of the best which is got from the
quarry of Cullaloe ; the stone is reckoned one of the hardest in
Scotland.
4A
8">0 OK LIZAUD3 ANl> Tlllllll CONGKNKll.
THE PROTEUS AXGUINU?.
This animal has much excited the curiosity of zoologists, and
many points in its natural history and anatomy still remain
undecided. It appears that the first knowledge of this ani-
mal was communicated to the public by Dr Laurente, in 1768.
Cuvier first discovered the female, and established on a solid
foundation that the proteus was not a larva, as many had sup-
posed, but a perfect animal ; an opinion now generally followed,
and confirmed by the recent observations of Rudolphi.
The proteus anguinus lives and multiplies in the water of
certain subterranean caverns of Carniola. The province in
which these caverns occur is divided by a chain of mountains of
secondary or transition limestone, on which rest many hills of
posterior formation. Both in the mountains and hills are
many caverns, and subterraneous passages stretching in various
directions, and lying in different places. These caverns com-
municate with one another, so that the water first collected in
those at a higher level, falls down and circulates through sub-
terraneous channels, till it settles in the lower caverns, some of
which are of vast size and depth. Two of the most remarkable
of these caverns are situated near Adelsberg, a village lying
midway between Triest and Lubiona. One of them, called
the cavern of Adelsberg, is close to the village, and the other,
named the cavern of Maddlena, is only a few miles distant. It
is in this last that the peasants go to fish for the protei. On
the 2d of August 1816, Signior Configliachi, and Dr Rusconi,
attended by three peasants furnished with torches, and with a
small net in the shape of a bag, fixed to the end of a staff, pre-
pared to enter this cavern. At 5 o'clock A. M. the tempera-
ture of the external air at the mouth of the cavern was 48
Fahrenheit. As they descended, they passed through specious
apartments, some of them clothed with stalactites and calc-
spar, which reflected with great brilliancy tbe light of the
torches, and exhibited a magnificent appearance. Others ap-
peared like pits of mud, which rendered the walking very incon-
venient. At length they reached a stagnant pond, about 30
feet broad, and at a depth below the surface of about 170
fathoms. In this pond they saw one proteus, but did not sue-
THE PROTEUS ANGUINUS. 831
ceed in taking him ; from the water being turbid, and in too
great quantity, in consequence of heavy rains the day before,
they were obliged to reascend, after having been two hours in
the cavern without taking a single proteus. The temperature
of the water in this pond was 55, and that of the air of the
cavern was stationary at 45 &, while the thermometer, left in
the free air at the mouth of the cavern, had risen from 48 to
59. The specific gravity of the water in the pond was to that
of distilled water, at the same temperature as 108 5' to 100.
These animals are found in other pits in Carniola and elsewhere.
We have given a figure of this remarkable reptile, plate 65,
figure 9. Vol. IV. The eyes of the animal are situated, and
we might say buried between the anterior extremity of the
masseter muscles, which go to be inserted in the lower jaw, and
the posterior extremity of the canal of the nostrils. They are
inconceivably small, and are placed not in the orbit formed by
the bone, but in a web or tissue, consisting of venous and nervous
ramifications.
Confijjliachi and Rusconi had no opportunity of becoming
acquainted with these extraordinary animals in their native
caverns ; but they give a very interesting and detailed account
ot the habits of several which they kept in vessels within
doors for more than two years. It has not yet been ascer-
tained by these eminent naturalists to what age or size the
proteus arrives. None of those kept by them exceeded twelve
'nches in length, and the smallest they have heard of was only
four. It is, however, probable that 14 inches is their full size.
Schreibers had one in 1801, which measured 13 inches. The
Archduke John of Austria, kept in a subterranean grotto, con-
tructed for the purpose, several of these animals, one of which
lived eight years, and acquired a size greater than ordinary.
When viewed alive and in water, the body of the proteus
appears at first of a cylindrical form, but when more attentively
surveyed, it is seen to be somewhat flattened on the sides, espe-
cially towards the tail, which, beyond the lower limbs, is reduced
at length to the shape of a spatula. The back and head of the
animal are of a whitish-red colour, which, on the sides of the
tail, inclines to violet. The belly, on the contrary, is white,
though even there in the region of the liver, it has a bluish cast,
like that of the human veins, seen through a very fine and deli-
4. A 2
832 OF L1ZAUDS AND TI1EIK. CONGENEK3.
cate skin. From whitish-red, the skin passes by degrees to
violet; so that to preserve the natural colour, it is necessary to
keep the animal always in obscurity.
The skin of this reptile, like that of eels, is every where
besmeared with a violet viscid mucus ; and when viewed with a
lens, it is observed to be studded with minute reddish spots, and
with innumerable pores. By reason of this mucosity, the pro-
teus easily slides out of the hand, and while alive, is with diffi-
culty fixed down to any substance for the purpose of dissection.
The mouth differs from that of other reptiles. The upper
lip after covering the teeth is continued a little downward over
the under one in front ; and, on the other hand, the under lip
is continued upward over the upper one on the sides of the
mouth.
When a proteus that has been kept some time in darkness is
observed with caution, he is always found to be resting quietly
at the bottom of the vessel. But if the vessel be quickly un-
covered, he suddenly begins to move, is much agitated, and
seeks always that part of the vessel which is darkest. If now
that part of the vessel be exposed to the light, the animal
again begins to move, and soon his gills assume a redder tint,
and the rest of the body also becomes of a redder hue. In fact,
the light gives pain, and the animal exerts itself to avoid it. His
disposition to avoid light is the more remarkable, as the eyes of
this animal are incredibly small, and so buried beneath the skin,
that a person even apprized of their situation, must use great
diligence to discover them.
This reptile feeds on worms, small bivales, and snails. In
this he resembles the salamander, but he bears fasting much
better, being able to live two years and even more without
aliment. When taken from his natural habitation and exposed
to the vicissitudes of the season, like other perfect reptiles he
hides himself during the winter, is inert, and refuses food,
The proteus does not live long, if he is taken out of the
water. When he becomes dry, he dies more or less quickly,
according as the season is more or less warm, being less able to
sustain life under such circumstances than fishes. But if the
proteus die more speedily when out of water ; in water, on the
contrary, he lives better than fishes, since, ccsteris paribus, he
has not such frequent need of a renewal of the water as fishes
THE PROTEUS ANGUINUS. 833
have. When placed in a small vessel, at the temperature of
65 5', the proteus, like fishes, rises at times to the surface to
take in air by the mouth. The necessity of inspiring air from
time to time, is more or less urgent, according as the water is
more or less impure ; and it has a more direct relation to the
temperature than to the quantity of water.
Configliachi and Rusconi enclosed a proteus in a box per-
forated with holes, which was then sunk in a large lake, and
kept for three months and a half beneath the surface. At the
end of this time, on examining the box, the animal was found
extremely lively, which clearly showed, that submersion in
water for a long period had in no way injured its vital economy.
The temperature of the water for a long time varied little from
66 degrees. For four months together two proti have been kept
in a small vessel of water of the temperature of from 43 to 45
5', and have lived very well, although the water had not been once
changed.
With regard to the faculties of sense, those of hearing and
seeing appear to be very weak ; but those of touch and of
smell, particularly the latter, exquisitely acute. When some
small fishes were put into the vessel containing a proteus, it
was amusing to see the animal direct his snout towards his
prey, though he could not possibly see it, and afterwards seize
it with the greatest celerity when a fish passed near him. But
it may be asked, if the sense of sight be so weak, why is it that
this animal so anxiously avoids the light? It is probable that
the constant desire of obscurity arises from the painful action of
light, not on the eye but on the skin. From the experiments,
however, of Rudolphi, it appears that this animal may, in time,
be brought to bear the presence of light.
Rusconi is of opinion, that the proteus is a perfect reptile,
differing from all other reptiles, in not having, like them, a
simple respiration, but resembling fishes, in respiring by means
of branchi or gills.
THE SIRENA LACERTINA.
This reptile occupies the same class and order as the Pro-
teus Anguinus, and forms another genus, consisting of one spe-
4- A3
834 THE CHAMELEON.
cies only. It is said like the proteus to retain through its whole
life, three gills on each side of the neck, and to possess at the
same time lungs internally.
THE CHAMELEON.
In the " Oriental Memoirs," Mr Forbes mentions, that when
he was at Dazagen in Corean, he kept a chameleon for several
weeks. This animal was singularly affected by every thing
black. The skirting board of the room was black, and the crea-
ture most carefully avoided it, but if he accidentally came near
it, or if a black hat were placed in his way, he shrunk, and
became black as jet. It was quite evident by the care he took
to avoid these objects, which occasioned this change, that the
effort was painful to him ; the colour seemed to operate like a
poison. The buffalo and bull seem to have a similar antipa-
thy towards scarlet.
S35
OF SERPENTS IN GENERAL.
SERPENTS, or what are now termed Ophidian reptiles, have
no feet ; and consequently form that division to which the
name of reptiles is more properly applied.
Baron Cuvier has made three families of this order. The
first he terms Anguines ; their tongues are cleft at the tip and
short; the eye is provided with three eyelids. The second
family embraces all those genera which are destitute of a breast
bone, or shoulder bones, whose ribs surround a great part
of the circumference of the trunk, and having the vertebra
attached to one another by a concave and convex surface.
They are destitute of the third eyelid and tympanum. Al-
though provided with a large head, the cranium forms but a
small portion of it. Their eyes are fixed, and they have no ex-
ternal ear. They have short nostrils but little developed, and
usually situated at the extremity or sides of the muzzle.
The tongue is soft, moist, long, and forked, and is subject to
considerable variety of form. Their sense of touch is much
blunte 1 in consequence of the scaly epidermis with which
their bodies are covered, and which they change annually. The
third family comprehends the serpents which are naked.
The whole tribe are provided with conical and curved teeth,
more calculated for securing their prey than for the mastication
of their food. Some of the genera have pervious fangs in the
upper jaw, which, pressing on a gland, forces the included poison
into the wounds they inflict.
The serpe-nts on the Coromandel coast are of various kinds.
Dr Russel, in his History of Indian Serpents, describes forty-
three species, and gives an anatomical account of the apparatus
for instilling the poison, &c. The poisonous serpents are dis-
tinguished from the rest by their fangs or canine teeth, and by
830 SERPENTS IN GENERAL.
possessing two rows of small teeth in the upper jaw ; whereas
the innoxious kinds are destitute of the former, and have three
rows of small teeth or holders. Of the forty-three described by
Dr R., not more than seven are furnished with poisonous organs;
nor does the venom of any appear to be nearly so active as that
of the rattlesnake. The artificial insertion of poison is much
less dangerous, than when the wound is inflicted by the serpent
itself. The most celebrated remedy in India, for the bite of a
serpent, is the Tanjore pill. The principal active ingredient is
white arsenic, of which each pill of six grains contains about
three-fourths of a grain; but Dr R. found the action of the
medicine was so very equivocal, as to destroy all confidence in
it ; the same may be said of the actual cautery, and of alkaline
and acid caustics. In some cases the Tanjore pill, Madeira
wine, and Eau de luce, have been administered separately, or
united with seemingly good effect. Venomous serpents, when
made to bite each other, produce no further effect than that of a
simple incision. Mr Edwards, in his History of Jamaica, says,
"It is singular, but true, that all the serpents in the West Indies
are not venomous, while those that lie under the equator are
mortal."
Sir Thomas Brisbane Macdougal mentions, that the rapidity
of the effects of the poison of some of the New Holland snakes
is very extraordinary. One which he kept at home bit two of
his pointers, one of which died in three minutes, and the other
in about thirty minutes. Sir Thomas observes that the poison
of these reptiles can be compared in its effects only to the prussic
acid.
The following curious circumstance is stated in the New
South Wales Gazette to have lately occurred there : The ser-
vant of a gentleman in the interior, while at his labour on the
estate, was unfortunately bitten in one of the fingers by a snake.
Having a knife, or an ax at hand, without hesitation he lopped
off the infected joint, and went home to his master who dressed
the wound. No alarming symptoms followed, and there the
affair apparently ended. In the course of two or three days,
however, the poor man indulged his curiosity by visiting the
stump on which he had left the amputated joint. He took it
tip, examined, and placed it to his nostrils ; upon which he was
immediately seized with delirium, and very soon after died.
SERPENTS IN GENERAL. 837
On proceeding in company with a friend, (says an American
Traveller,) along the bank of the Hudson river, our attention
was arrested by a number of small birds of different species,
flying across the road and back again, and wheeling in manifold
gyrations, and much chirping, yet making no progress from the
particular place over which they fluttered. We were not left
long in doubt as to the cause, when we observed a black snake,
of considerable size, partly coiled, and partly erect from the
ground, with the appearance of great animation, his eyes bril-
liant, and his tongue rapidly and incessantly brandished from
side to side. This reptile was evidently the cause of the wild
motions of the birds, for they ceased their evolutions as soon as
the snake, alarmed by the approach of the carriage, retired into
the bushes. The birds however alighted on the neighbouring
branches, probably awaiting the re-appearance of their enemy.
Our engagements did not permit us to wait to see the issue of
this ; but it was, in all probability, similar to that before des-
cribed by Mr Nash the destruction of some of the birds.
Mr Howison, in his " Sketches of Upper Canada," gives
some curious particulars of the perfume and fascination of these
reptiles. He says, " In Upper Canada, it is almost universally
believed that snakes possess the power of fascination, which has
so often been denied them by naturalists. Many people have
had the fact demonstrated to them by being witnesses of it, and
this was the case with me. One summer day, when strolling
through the woods, I came to the edge of a small pond of
water, on the surface of which floated a frog in a state of mo-
tionless repose, as if basking in the sun. I carelessly touched
his back with a stick, but contrary to my expectation, he did
not move; and on viewing him more closely, I perceived that
he gasped in a convulsive manner, and was affected with a tre-
mour in his hind-legs. I soon discovered a black snake coiled
up, lying near the edge of the pond, and holding the frog in
thraldom by the magic of his eyes. Whenever he moved his
head to one side or the other, his destined victim followed it, as
if under the influence of magnetic attraction ; sometimes, how-
ever, recoiling feebly, but soon springing forward again, as if it
felt 'a strong desire with loathing mixed!' The snake lay
with his mouth half open, and never for a moment allowed his
eyes to wander from his prey, otherwise the charm would hava
So3 SERPENTS IN GENERAL.
been instantaneously dissolve I. But I determined to effect this,
and threw a large chip of wood. It fell between the two ani-
malsthe snake started back, while the frog darted under
water, and concealed itself among the mud."
A Pennsylvanian paper, called " The Reading Eagle,'' for
1820, gives the following singular incident Mr Daniel Stro-
hecker, near Orvvigsburgh, Berks, Pennsylvania, had a daughter
three years of age, who, for a number of successive days was re-
marked to leave home with a piece of bread in her hand, and
go to a considerable distance. The mother's attention was at-
tracted by the circumstance, who desired Mr Strohecker to fol-
low the infant, and observe what she did with it. On coming
up to her, he found she was busy feeding several snakes, called
bastard-rattlesnakes. He immediately took the infant away,
and proceeded to his house for his gun, and on returning killed
two of them at a shot, and another a few days afterwards. The
child called these reptiles, in the same mariner as chickens are
called ; and when her father told her she would certainly be bitten
by them if she attempted it again, she innocently replied, " No,
father, they won't bite me ; they only eat the bread I give them."
In America, music is well known to have great power over
rattlesnakes, and to produce a kind of intoxicating effect; as
during the time a tune is played on an instrument, they will lie
as if dead.
In Hindostan, a species of dancing snakes are carried about
in baskets through the streets of cities ; and the possessors pro-
cure a livelihood by exhibiting them. These men play simple
tunes on the flute, which appears so much to delight the snakes,
that they keep moving their heads to the cadence, with a
graceful motion, erecting about half the length of their body
from the ground, and also following the music with gentle
curves, like the undulations of a swan's neck. Forbes, in his
" Oriental Memoirs," says, " It is a well attested fact, that
when a house is infested with these snakes, and some other of
the coluber genus which destroys poultry and small domestic
animals, as also by the larger serpents of the boa tribe, the musi-
cians are sent for, who, by playing on a flageolet, find out their
hiding places, and charm them to destruction : for no sooner do
the snakes hear the music, than they come softly from their re-
treat, and are easily taken."
SKRPENTS IN' GENERAL. 839
The attachments formed by animals from living together,
have produced several remarkable facts. Feeling has been
evinced by those reckoned most insensible, and even the strong-
est laws of nature have been set aside. The cobra di capello
and the canary bird, who for several years inhabited the same
cage at Mr Cross's, Exeter Change, were strong instances of
the latter. They lived in perfect harmony, the canary frequently
descending to the bottom of the cage and pecking around the
snake, who never attempted to touch it.
Dr Mitchell of New York has recorded the curious fact of
three double-headed serpents being found among a brood of
young ones amounting to one hundred and twenty. Aristotle,
2Elian, Aldrovandus, Licetus, Lanzoni, and many other au-
thors, mention instances of serpents with double heads, so
that it may be considered as a kind of structure not very un-
common in this tribe of animals. Redi, the celebrated ana-
tomist, kept a two-headed snake for a considerable time, and
afterwards dissected it. He found that it had two hearts, two
tracheas, and two lungs : the two stomachs united into a com-
mon alimentary canal; and the liver and gall bladder were
double. He further remarks, that the one head died seven
hours later than the other. Very lately, Dr Corradori at Ruta
in Tuscany, informs us, that he saw a snake with two heads ;
and adds, it sometimes happened that the heads differed as to
the use of their faculties; thus the one head would eat while
the other was asleep.
Pontoppidan describes a monstrous sea snake, said to appear
occasionally on the coast of Norway; and relations of a similar
description are to be met with in the writings of other authors.
In the year 1806, the remains of a remarkable animal, answer-
ing in some degree to the description of Pontoppidan, was cast
ashore on one of the Orkney Islands, and has been described by
the late Dr Barklay in the first volume of the Wernerian Me-
moirs. There is also in the memoirs, an interesting notice of
an animal supposed to be of this tribe, by the Rev. Mr
Maclean of Small Isles, which was observed near the Island of
Eigg, one of the Hebrides ; and we have the following
observations in the second volume of Kotzebue's voyage, of a
sea monster said to resemble a serpent. " M. KriukofFs des-
cription of a sea animal that pursued him in at Beering's Island,
840 ANECDOTES OK SERPENTS.
where he had gone for the purpose of hunting, is very remark-
able : several Aleutians affirm they have often seen this animal.
It is of the shape of the red serpent, and is immensely long; the
head resembles that of a sea-lion, and two disproportionately
largo eyes, give it a frightful appearance. It was fortunate for
us, says M. Kriukoff, that we were so near the land, or else
the monster might have destroyed us : it stretched its head far
above the water, looked about for its prey, and vanished. The
head soon appeared again, and that considerably nearer : we
rowed with all our might, and were very happy to have reached
the shore in safety. If a sea-serpent has been really seen on
the coast of North America, it may have been one of this
frightful species."
Sea snakes are very frequent in the torrid zones and off the
coasts of India, at the distance of twenty or thirty leagues from
land; they are never seen alive on earth, but are frequently cast
by surges dead on the shore. M. D'Obsonville says, they are
from three to four feat long, and reputed to be very venemous.
M. Bougonville informs us of a sailor, who, on hauling a seine
on the coast of New Ireland, was bit by one, and instantly af-
fected with most violent pains all over his body ; but at last, by
the assistance of Venice treacle with flower de luce water, he
fell into a greit perspiration, and was quite cured.
THE ADDER.
We are t ;1 1 by Mr Murray, in the " Magazine of Natural
History," that a curious instance was communicated to him
of an adder having seizei the artificial fly of an individual who
was fishing in one of the lakes of Scotland, on the verge of the
estuary of a river. The adder was finally drowned, by being
dragged into the current against the stream.
The Rev. Mr White says, " On the 4th of August 1775, we
surprised a large viper, which seemed very heavy and bloated,
as it lay in the grass, basking in th-e sun. When we came to
cut it up, we found that the abdomen was crowded with young,
fifteen in number ; the shortest of which measured full seven
inches, and were about the size of common earth-worms. This
THE RATTLESNAKE. 841
little fry issued into the world with the true viper spirit about
them, showing great alertness as soon as disengaged from the belly
of the dam : they twisted and wriggled about, and set themselves
up, and gaped very wide, when touched with a stick, showing
manifest tokens of menace and defiance, though as yet they
had no manner of fangs that we could find, even with the help .
of our glasses.
" To a thinking mind, nothing is more wonderful than that
early instinct which impresses young animals with the notion of
the situation of their natural weapons, and of using them pro-
perly in their own defence, even before those weapons subsist
or are formed. Thus a young cock will spur at his adversary
before his spurs are grown ; and a calf or lamb will push with
their heads before their horns are sprouted. In the same man-
ner did these young adders attempt to bite before their fangs
were in being. The dam, however, was furnished with very
formidable ones, which we lifted up, (for they fold down when
not used,) and cut them off with the point of our scissors.
There was little room to suppose that this brood bad ever
been in the open air before, and that they were taken in for re-
fuge, at the mouth of the dam, when she perceived that danger
was approaching ; because then, probably, we should have found
them elsewhere, in the neck, and not in the abdomen."
An adder with two distinct heads, which lived three days,
taken with five others from the body of an old one, found in a
ditch at Drumlarig, Dumfriesshire, is now in the museum of
Mr Thomas Grierson, Baitford, near Thornhill.
THE RATTLESNAKE.
M. Nalos, a Frenchman, while in North Carolina, attempted
to procure some rattlesnakes for the purpose of making up a
collection. But some of the observations and experiments he
made, induced him to believe in the possibility of taming this
poisonous reptile. He made a trial, and completely succeeded.
By what process he performed this was not known. He pro-
bably availed himself of the power which a control over the
appetite of the animal gave him ; he spoke much himself of the
4 B
842 ANECDOTES OF SFRPKNTS.
charms of music ; while influenced by hunger, and irritated by the
application of hot iron, the creatures were soothed by a slow
and plaintive strain.
Two rattlesnakes were in the possession of M. Nalos. The
male was four feet eight inches long, and had eight rattles to his
tail, thus proving him to have been nine years old. This snake
had been in his possession for four years. The female was
much smaller, had five rattles only, and had been in his pos-
session for two years and nine months. So great was their do-
cility, that he would take them up, after speaking some idle jar-
gon to them, and stroking down their backs, as if they were
ropes, he would make them crawl upon his breast and face, ca-
ress and kiss him, coil round his neck, and while one of them
was thus hanging round him, he would take up the other and
exhibit it. The perfect harmlessness of the reptiles, and even
their attachment to their keeper, was really astonishing.
Mr Howison says, " It is asserted by some, that snakes occa-
sionally exert their power of fascination upon human beings, and I
see no reason to doubt the truth of this. An old Dutch woman,
who lives at the Twelve Mile Creeks in the Niagara district, some-
times gives a minute account of the manner in which she was
charmed by a serpent ; and a farmer told me, that a similar circum-
stance occurred to his daughter. It was on a warm summer day
that she was sent to spread out wet clothes upon some shrubbery
near the house. Her mother conceived that she remained longer
than was necessary, and seeing her standing unoccupied at some
distance, she called to her several times, but no answer was re-
turned. On approaching, she found her daughter pale, motion-
less, and fixed in an erect posture. The perspiration rolled
down her brow, and her hands were clenched convulsively. A
large rattlesnake lay on a log opposite the girl, waving his head
from side to side, and kept his eyes stedfastly fastened upon
her. The mother instantly struck the snake with a stick, and
the moment he made off the girl recovered herself and burst
into tears, but was for some time so weak and agitated that she
could not walk home."
Dt Barton of Pennsylvania has published a memoir on the
fascination of the rattlesnake, in which he explodes the singular
power attributed to this reptile. Some have said the idea took
its rise among the Indians, (though this is doubted,) for at pre-
THE RATTLESNAKE. 843
sent they are not satisfied on this head. The opinion, therefore,
is not universal among them. The Southern Indians of Ame-
rica hold this snake in high veneration, and even the Delaware
Indians had the same notion. Some say that the appearance of
fascination is entirely limited to birds that build low, and that the
cries of these little creatures to preserve their young is natural,
and not owing to the fascination of the snake. The rattlesnake too
is not like the black snake, which climbs the trees. When these
species begin to glide up the branches, the parent bird is actu-
ated by her instinctive attachment to her young, and exposes
herself to danger to preserve them, and has been known to com-
pel the serpent to leave the tree. When the nestlings first be-
gin to fly, they are not wholly left without the parent's care.
In these first attempts they sometimes fall, and then, if the snake
is on the ground, they are seized ; in this situation, the old bird
will dart upon the serpent. Mr Bittenhouse made this obser-
vation. He saw the Swamp-blackbird perched on the back of
a large black snake, and pecking it with his bill, at the very time
the serpent was in the act of swallowing a young bird. After
the snake was killed, the old bird flew away. He says, the cry
and actions of the bird were similar to those which are said to
be under the power of fascination. The black snake will attack
the nest of a Baltimore bird. These are hanging nests at the
extremity of a branch. One of these species of reptiles has
been seen to hang above the nest, and by twisting its tail round
one part of the tree, to dart its stretched out head into the nest,
and so glut its appetite on the young nestlings. When the
female bird attacks the snake while it is feeding on the young
ones, it is safe, but when it has done, the old one often falls a
victim to its fury.
Mr Thomas Blair says, " In Canada I heard many wonder-
ful stones of snakes charming their prey, particularly birds ; but
I confess I am myself somewhat sceptical on this head. The
following, which exactly agreed with my own opinion on the
subject, was related to me by a very respectable farmer, who
had previously been a true believer in their fascinating qualities.
He was walking in a field near his house, when he perceived a
bird fluttering above the stump of a tree, uttering an uncommon
cry, and by degrees getting near to the ground. The farmer's
attention being drawn by the uncommon cries and motions of
4u2
814 ANECDOTES OF SKKPENTS.
the bird, he walked slowly towards it, but it seemed to take no
notice of him, and continued still getting closer to the ground.
The farmer at last observed that the bird's attention was direct-
ed towards a large snake, resting against a stump nearly erect,
with its head close to a small hole. The bird (probably en-
couraged by the presence of the farmer) struck at the snake
with his wings, which caused him immediately to drop. On
examination, it was found that the bird's nest was within the
tree with five unfledged young ones, which the snake had been
exerting his ingenuity to procure a part of for his dinner."
Mr Pierce had a living rattlesnake in his possession for two
months, and every day watched his manners. He immediately
killed bir.ls and most small animals, when put into his cage,
but did not eat them. He permitted a toad, however, to remain
weeks with him unmolested, and allowed it to leap upon his body,
and sit upon his head. When he opened his mouth, his fangs
were not visible unless he was provoked ; at other times, they
were covered with a membrane like a scabbard, only they were
drawn back, so that the sheathing membrane formed only a
slight protuberance on each side of the upper jaw. If irritated,
he flattened his head,, threw it back, opened his mouth wide,
and instantly the fatal fangs were shot out of their sheaths like
a spring dagger, and he darted upon his object. " After his
death," says Mr Pierce, " I examined the fangs ; they are sharp
like a sickle ; a duct led from the reservoir of poison at the
bottom of the tooth quite through its whole length, and termi-
nated just by the point, which was exceedingly sharp. Thus,
the fang is darted out at the will of the animal, it makes the
puncture at the instant, and simultaneously the poison flows
through the duct, and is deposited in the very bottom of the
wound. As this rarely fails to touch a blood-vessel, the venom
is thus instantly issued into the system, and without delay,
commences the march of death through every vein and artery."
The same author gives, in the American Journal of Science,
the following interesting particulars of the rattlesnake. A
young man having met with a large and voracious rattle-
snake, instead of killing it with his large cart-whip, as he
could easily have done, amused himself by provoking it, and
gently plying his whip round its body. The irritated rep-
tile made repeated and vigorous leaps towards the young man,
THE BOA COXST1UCTOU. 845
coming nearer to him at every effort ; and being teazed more
and more with the whip, at last threw himself into the air with
such energy, that when he descended he seemed scarcely to
touch the ground, but instantly rebounding, executed a succession
of leaps so rapid, and so great, that there was not the slight-
est intermission, and he appeared to fly. The young man be-
took himself to rapid flight, but this dreadful pursuer gained
rapidly upon him, till approaching a fence, he perceived he could
not pass it before the fangs of the snake would be hooked in his
flesh. As his only resource he turned, and by a fortunate throw
of his lash, by which he wound it round the snake's body, he
arrested his progress and killed him.
THE BOA CONSTRICTOR.
THE following interesting notices of the Great Boa, are from
Abel's journey in China : " Captain Ross, while in his ship off
the island of Celebes, was visited by a canoe from the shore,
containing two Malays and the mangled body of a man, the
bones of which were mostly broken ; the arms especially being
dreadfully crushed. The eyes appeared to be starting from the
head, in consequence of its having been dreadfully compressed.
On inquiring the cause of these appearances, the Malays in-
formed Captain Ross, that having landed to fish along shore,
they had left the canoe in charge of the poor man whose body
he now saw ; that they had told him to be on his guard against
the large snakes which are often seen on the skirts of the wood
near the sea ; but they had not left him long before they were
alarmed by his cries, and on hastening to his assistance, found
him enveloped in the folds of a large serpent ; that he was dead
before they could destroy the snake, which did riot quit its hold
on their approach. They then produced the head of the snake,
which Captain Ross examined. It was very small when con-
sidered in relation to the extraordinary power of the animal, and
its capability of swallowing; for it would doubtless have gorged
the body of the man, unless prevented by the appearance of his
companions. It did not measure more than eight inches in its
4*8
816 rtNKCDOTES OF SERPENTS.
greatest diameter. The man had evidently been seized by one
of the wrists, as it bore the impressions of the snake's teeth.
" That the size of the head of a snake bears no proportion to
the magnitude of an animal which it is capable of swallowing,
will be evident from an account that I shall now give of a spe-
cimen, whose head measured, in its greatest longitudinal dia-
meter, five inches, and its greatest transverse diameter, four
inches and a half. The internal widths between the two por-
tions of the lower jaw, within which its prey must have passed
to its stomach, was rather more than an inch and a half. This
animal measured eighteen feet in length, and eighteen inches in
its largest circumference.
" This snake, although permitted, when I saw him at Batavia,
to leave his cage and go into an open space, was seldom dispos-
ed to avail himself of this liberty, and it was often necessary to
drag him out, and to irritate him repeatedly, before he could be
induced to move. He would then stretch himself to his great-
est extent, and without throwing his body into any curve, glide
so closely, slowly, and silently along the ground, and so exactly
harmonized in colour with the soil over which he was passing,
that unless watched, he might easily have been overlooked.
Whilst at full length, he might be approached with safety, as he
had not then the power of darting ; but when he reared himself
on his folds, and put his head into a vibratory motion, he had
the greatest command of his powers, and exhibited the most
threatening aspect. This attitude he usually assumed after he
had been some time from his cage, and all who were near him
involuntarily drew back. A live duck being brought to him,
he felt it for a moment with his forked tongue, and then seizing
it by the breast, endeavoured to wend its folds about his body,
which being too small to suffer from their compression, he
threw the weight of one of its folds upon its neck and strangled
it. When it was dead, he gradually withdrew himself, and tak-
ing its head foremost into his mouth, sucked it down his throat.
But a duck was only a mouthful to him, a goat being his usual
meal. On board the Caesar he swallowed two which were given
him in his cage, at the interval of a month from each other.
As soon as the goat was within his reach, he raised his head
above his coils, and having contemplated his prey a few seconds,
felt it with his tongue. The goat did not appear to be much
THE BOA CONSTaiCTOR. 847
alarmed, as he examined the snake closely, smelling him over
with great deliberation. The snake having withdrawn his head
a short distance, made a sudden dart at the throat of the goat,
which received him on its horns, and obliged him for an instant
to retreat. He then made a second dart, and seizing the goat
by the leg, pulled it violently down, and wound his folds with '
momentary rapidity about his body, squeezing at the same time
with all the force he could bring to bear. But even in this in-
stance, the animal was too small to suffer their whole compres-
sing effects, and he was obliged to destroy the goat much in the
same manner as he had the duck, by throwing the weight of bis
body on its neck. The goat was eight minutes dying, but was
so entirely overwhelmed by the power of the snake, that it could
not even struggle.
" The snake did not attempt to change his posture for some
minutes after the goat was dead. At length, however, he gra-
dually slackened his folds, and then disengaged them, one by
one, with great caution and slowness, as if to ascertain whether
the goat retained any power of motion, and having disentangled
himself, prepared to swallow it by placing himself opposite its
head, and feeling it with his mouth. While doing this, saliva
flowed abundantly over his jaws, but he made no attempt to
besmear his prey. In a few minutes he took its nose into his
mouth and endeavoured to draw the head after it, but this ap-
peared to be no easy task. The dilatation of his throat seemed
to begin with difficulty, as he was at least one-third of the time
consumed in gorging the goat, in getting down the head and
horns. These diverged at a considerable angle, and were four
inches in length. Having conquered them, he grappled with
the shoulders, which he was some time in mastering, but readily
overcame the rest of the body. In drawing the goat into his
swallow, he appeared to work himself into it, opening his mouth
as wide as possible arid forcing it onwards. Whatever pro-
gress he thus made was preserved by strong recurved teeth, which
permitted the animal to pass down his throat, but prevented its
regurgitation without his will. The act of swallowing was also
much aided, I suspect, by the pressure of the air on the goat's
body, as a deep inspiration accompanied every successive at-
tempt to draw it down his throat. He was two hours and five
minutes in gorging the whole animal.
818 ANECDOTES OF SERPENTS.
" The appearance of the snake when in the act of swallowing
the shoulders of the goat was very hideous. He seemed to suf-
fer strangulation. His cheeks immensely dilated, appeared to
be bursting, and his windpipe projected three inches beyond his
jaws. The horns of the goat, which had advanced only a few
inches down his swallow, protruded so much, that I expect-
ed them every moment to penetrate through the intervening
membrane of the scales, which they separated from each other.
After the goat was down he scarcely moved from the posture
he was in during his last act of deglutition, but fell into a semi-
torpid state, from which no irritation could rouse him for several
days. At this time he measured three feet in his greatest cir-
cumference, having doubled his ordinary diameter. The goat's
body underwent no visible diminution of bulk or consistence
from the snake's folds, but seemed to pass down his throat in an
entire state."
Captain Heyland, who was the former possessor of this snake,
gave the following description of it : " The animal was brought
to me early in January, and did not from that time taste food
till the July following. During this period he generally drank
a quart of water daily. The man who brought him stated, that
he bad been seen to eat a hog -deer the day before he had been
taken. He was allowed to be at liberty in the grounds about
my house. One evening early in July, hearing a noise, I went
out, and discovered that the snake had left his harbour, under
the boards of a stable where he generally lay; and having entered
a small shed in which some fowls were roosted, contrived to
sweep eleven from the perch, which he afterwards destroyed by
pressing them between his folds. Then taking them one by one,
head foremost into his mouth, swallowed the whole down in
twenty minutes. The largest animal that he ate while in my
possession was a calf, which he killed and gorged in two hours
and twenty minutes. He never attacked dogs, cats, or pigs.
(Jf these last, indeed, he seemed to be in dread, for, whenever
one was presented to him, he retired to a corner, and coiled him-
self up, with his head undermost. If fed with animals not
larger than a duck, he ate readily every day ; but after the meal
of a goat, refused food for a month."
Mr Abel says, " In the different accounts given by authors of
the destruction of large animals by serpents, much discrepancy
THE BOA CONSTRICTOtt. S-i'J
of statement exists respecting the breaking of their bones.
Whilst some have declared, that their cracking has been heard
at a considerable distance, others have produced instances of
the bodies of large animals in which no ' ossifraction' had taken
place, having been found in the stomachs of serpents. The
bones of the animals swallowed by Captain Heyland's snake,
were not fractured as far as ' a looker-on could discover,' and
although many bye-standers conceived that they heard the break-
ing of the bones of the goat which lie swallowed on board the
Caesar, I am disposed to attribute much to the force of imagi-
nation. I listened attentively, and heard only the snapping of
his scales as they slipped over each other during his manifold
movements."
Some years ago a most singular circumstance occurred on the
Island of St Vincent, in the Charaib country. Some negroes
who were working near Sandy Bay, discovered an immense
serpent, hitherto wholly unknown as existing in any of these
islands ; and which, after attacking the man by whom it was
first discovered, and alarming several others who had gone in
search of it, was finally killed by one of the party, who shot it
through the head with a musket which he had .charged with
three bullets. This animal turned out to be the Boa, so com-
mon in the neighbouring continent, and measured thirteen feet
from the head to where a kind of tail appeared, which was be-
tween fourteen and fifteen inches ; the circumference of the
body was nearly three feet. When first discovered it lay in a
kind of coil, but on being roused raised its body erect. How
the animal came there is not easy to imagine, unless it swam
thither from the main land. Serpents are known to be expert
swimmers.
Park, in his Letters, says, " Once when lying in the river
and hearing an unusual noise overhead, I hastened upon deck.
The natives, of whom a number were on board, were calling out
Bomma ! Bomma ! Those on shore were running from the
lunding-place in the greatest terror. The cause of this alarm
explained itself. A large snake was floating close past the ves-
sel. It was a boa constrictor. I immediately manned the yawl,
and went in pursuit, foolishly thinking, that if I could but fix a
harpoon into it, the force of the current would prevent it board-
ing the boat. Imagining it to be asleep, I approached slowly, to
850 ANECDOTES OF SEBPENI8.
have an opportunity of striking it to the best advantage, but
soon discovered that it was dead. I hooked it with the har-
poon and drew it alongside ; but when on deck, the stench was
so intolerable, that we were obliged to throw it overboard. It
was quite flaccid j and, although the entrails were out, the dia-
meter of the body in that state was nine inches. The extremi-
ties had been cut off, and only fourteen feet of the trunk left,
but as this part tapered nothing at either end, we may reason-
ably conclude, that the whole body was at least three times that
length. Here then is a snake fifty feet long, and almost a foot
in diameter ! Its probable dimensions need not surprise us,
there are so many well-authenticated accounts of the enormous
size to which these reptiles attain. The natives spoke of this
as a very small one. The skin was a quarter of an inch thick,
and had beneath it a deep layer of fat. It was covered with
large serrated black and dusky-coloured spots across the back.
The belly was white. The autumnal conflagrations frequently
prove destructive to the boa constrictor, especially when gorged
with its prey; and it is only then that the natives dare attack it
with any hope of success. At other times it will make a whole
village fly before it. Its name in the Loango tongue is Bomma,
whence Embomma."
A correspondent of Sir David Brewster's from Assam, says,
" I have now (Gth July, 1825,) hatched a brood of young boas
from the eggs, which I have already mentioned to you as having
been got at Bishnath. There are twenty-eight of them here,
(at Govvahatty;) and about twenty more at the snake-catcher's
house. They are about 18 inches in length, and sufficiently
lively ; but I fear it will be very troublesome to bring them up,
as they require to be crammed with fish or other food ; an ope-
ration which no one but a snake-catcher, who has got over the
vulgar prejudices against being bitten by such snakes as they are,
would like to perform. There are also here some very fine
hooded snakes, resembling the Cobra di Capello, but longer
than any of that species that I have before met with, being ten
or twelve feet in length.
" It is here considered to be a very uncommon thing to find the
eggs of the boa, as none of the snake-catchers have ever seen
them before. They were soft, and indented by pressing against
each other. Their size is about that of a goose's egg, and they
THE BLACK SNAKE. 8jl
resembled in appearance the Fu sgi, called stools. Ac the end
there was a sort of tag, as if the egg had been attached to some-
thing. Qn the fourteenth day after birth they cast their first
skins. They increase considerably in size, but the snake-
catchers are of opinion, that they will take many years to ac-
quire their full growth."
The author of that beautiful work, " the Tower Menagerie,"
says, " Happily the appetite of these gigantic snakes bears no
proportion to their means of gratifying it, as a full meal is uni-
formly succeeded by a state of torpor, which frequently lasts for
a month or six weeks, or, during the cold season, even for a
longer period. Those in the Tower which are kept in a state
of artificial warmth, usually feed every five or six weeks, arid a
fowl or a rabbit usually suffices for a meal.
" These are held by the keeper within view of the serpent, to
ascertain whether he is inclined to take his prey or not. About
three years ago, (1826,) Mr Cops, while thus engaged in offer-
ing a fowl to one of the boas, had nearly met with a serious
accident ; the snake, which was almost blind from the approach-
ing change of its skin, missing the fowl, and seizing upon the
keeper's thumb instead, around which and its own head it in.
stantaneously threw two coils, and then, as if surprised at the
unexpected resistance, cast an additional fold round the neck,
and fixed itself by its tail to one of the posts of its cage, in such
a manner as nearly to throttle him. His own exertions, how-
ever, aided by those of the under keepers, at length disengaged
him from his perilous situation ; but so determined was the
attack of the snake, that it could not be compelled to relinquish
its hold until two of its teeth had been broken off and left in the
thumb."
THE BLACK SNAKE.
It is said that the speed of the black snake is so great, that
it sometimes equals a horse. These snakes are very amusing, in
the various evolutions which they perform. They sometimes
climb trees in quest of tree-frogs ; or glide along the ground in
search of other prey. Sometimes they assume a half erect
852 ANECDOTES OF SERPENTS.
posture, on which occasions their head appears to great advant-
age ; and their eyes assuming a fiery brightness, enables them
to fascinate birds, and the smaller quadrupeds, in the same man-
ner with the rattle-snake.
The black snake is a bold animal, and will even attack a man,
but an active defence with a stick may generally drive it off.
If a person runs from this snake it is sure to pursue, and will
generally overtake the individual, and twist itself round his
legs in such a manner as to throw him down. It will then bite
him several times in the legs, and afterwards escape.
From the letters of an American farmer the following inte-
resting account of a battle between this and another species is
extracted.
" One of my constant walks when I am at leisure (says this
writer,) is in my low lands, where I have the pleasure of seeing
my cattle, horses, and colts. Exuberant grass replenishes all
my fields, the best representative of our wealth. In the middle
of that tract I have cut a ditch, eight feet wide. On each side
of this I carefully sow every year some grains of hemp, the
plants from which rise to the height of fifteen feet, so strong
and full of limbs as to resemble young trees. These produce
natural arbours, rendered still more compact by the assistance
of an annual creeping plant which we call a vine, that never fails
to entwine itself among the branches, and always produces a
very desirable shade. As I was one day sitting, solitary and
pensive, in this primitive arbour, my attention was engaged by a
strange sort of rustling noise, at some paces distance. I looked
all around without distinguishing any thing, until I climbed up
one of my great hemp-stalks ; when, to my astonishment, I
beheld two snakes of considerable length, the one pursuing the
other with great celerity through a hemp stubble field. The
aggressor was of the black kind, six feet long ; the fugitive was
a water-snake, nearly of equal dimensions. They soon met, and
in the fury of their first encounter, appeared in an instant firmly
twisted together ; and whilst their united tails beat the ground,
they mutually tried with open jaws to lacerate each other.
What a fell aspect did they present. Their heads were com-
pressed to a very small size ; their eyes flashed fire ; and after
this conflict had lasted about five minutes, the second found
means to disengage itself from the first, and hurried towards the
THE BI.xVCK SNAKE. 853
ditch. Its antagonist instantly assumed a new posture, and
half creeping, half erect, with a majestic mien, overtook and at-
tacked the other again, which placed itself in a similar attitude,
and prepared to resist. The scene was uncommon and beauti-
ful, for thus opposed they fought with their jaws, biting each
other with the utmost rage ; but, notwithstanding this appear-
ance of mutual courage and fury, the water-snake still seemed
desirous of retreating towards the ditch, its natural element.
This was no sooner perceived by the keen-eyed black one, than
twisting its tail twice round a stalk of hemp and seizing its adver-
sary by the throat, not by means of its jaws, but by twisting its own
neck twice round that of the water- snake, he pulled it back from
the ditch. To prevent a defeat, the latter took hold likewise of
a stalk on the bank, arid by the acquisition of that point of re-
sistance, became a match for his fierce antagonist. Strange was
this to behold; two great snakes strongly adhering to the ground,
mutually fastened together by means of the writhings which
lashed them to each other, and stretched at their full length,
they pulled, but pulled in vain ; and, in the moments of greatest
exertion, that part of their bodies which was entwined seemed
extremely small, while the rest appeared inflated, and now and
then convulsed with strong undulations, rapidly following each
other. Their eyes appeared to fire, and ready to start out of
their heads. At one time the conflict seemed decided; the
water-snake bent itself into great folds, and by that operation
rendered the other more than commonly outstretched ; the next
minute the new struggles of the black one gained an unexpected
superiority, it acquired two great folds likewise, which neces-
sarily extended the body of its adversary, in proportion as it had
contracted its own. Those efforts were alternate, victory seemed
doubtful, inclining sometimes to one side, arid sometimes to
the other, until at last the stalk to which the black snake was
fastened, suddenly gave way, and, in consequence of this acci-
dent, they both plunged into the ditch. The water did not ex-
tinguish their vindictive rage, for their agitations I could still
trace, though I could not distinguish their attacks. They soon
reappeared on the surface, twisted together as in their first
outset ; but the black snake seemed to retain its wonted superi-
ority, for its head was exactly fixed above that of the other,
which it incessantly pressed down under the water, until it was
4c
851 ANECDOTES Of SERPENTS.
stifled and sunk. The victor no sooner perceived its enemy
incapable of farther resistance, than abandoning it to the current,
it returned to the shore and disappeared."
In the Scots Magazine for 1768, we find the following highly
interesting, though perhaps somewhat overcharged account of an
ANACONDA, or species of boa constrictor. The account is given
in a letter from an English gentleman, many years resident in
the island of Ceylon :
' Some years since," says the writer, " the commands of my
directors carrying me to Ceylon, to transact an affair of no little
consequence, I had an apartment prepared me on the skirts of
the principal town, facing the woods. At some distance from
my window there was a rising ground, on which stood three or
four very large palm-trees, that afforded me every morning, as I
lay in bed, a delightful prospect. One morning as I was look-
ing at these, I saw, as I thought, a large arm of one of them in
strange commotions, bending arid twisting about, though there
was no wind, and often striking one end to the earth, then rais-
ing it again, and losing it among the leaves. I was gazing at
this with great amazement, when a Ceylonese coming in, I beg-
ged him to look and wonder with me. He looked, and he was
much more amazed and terrified than I ; in short, a paleness
overspread his whole face, and he seemed almost sinking to the
earth with terror. Pie conjured me to bar up all my doors j then
told me, that what appeared an arm of the tree to me, was in
reality a serpent of that monstrous size, diverting itself there
with its various commotions, and now and then darting down to
the earth for prey. I soon found out the truth of what he told
me ; and looking more nearly, saw it seize a small animal before
me, and take it up into the tree. Inquiring after this miracle,
the Ceylonese told me, that the wonder was, only that the crea-
ture was so near us, for it was a serpent but too well known in
the island; but that it usually kept in the inland parts and woods,
where it often dropped down from the covert of a large tree, and
devoured a traveller alive. A relation so strange as this could
never have gained credit with me, but that I plainly saw before
my eyes a creature from it size capable of doing more than was
related.
" The monster continued diverting itself, till we assembled a
body of twelve of us to go on horseback, well armed to destroy
THE ANACONDA. 855
him. We rode up toward the place in a body ; but not to ex-
pose ourselves to unnecessary dangers, we surrounded the ground,
and rode behind a close thicket, from whence we might unseen
level our fire-arms at him. It was by this time the heat of the
day, and when we arrived there, we found him so much larger
than we had conceived, that we all wished ourselves safe at home'-
again ; and it was a long time before any body dared h're a gun.
We had now time to observe the creature ; and, believe me, all
the descriptions of monsters of this kind hitherto given, are tri-
fles to the truth of what we saw in him. The Ceylonese all
, agreed he was much larger than any they had ever seen j and
such a mixture of horror and beauty together, no eye but that
which saw it can conceive. The creature was more than as thick
as a slender man's waist, yet seemed far from fat, and very long
in proportion to its thickness, often hanging himself by the tail
from the highest boughs of the tree. He was most surprisingly
agile and nimble, and was now diverting himself in the heat of
the day, with a thousand gambols round the branches of the tree,
and sometimes would come down, and twist his tail round the
bottom of the trunk, throwing himself to his whole length all
round it.
" In the midst of one of these gambols, we were surprised to
see him get up in haste to the tree ; but the cause soon appear-
ed; a small animal of the fox kind, but not like our English
foxes, coming immediately after ; the serpent had seen him com-
ing, and took this way to be prepared for him. He darted down
upon the unwary creature from the tree, and sucked him in a
few minutes, then licked his chaps with a broad double tongue
of a blackish colour, and laid himself at his ease at length upon
the ground, but with his tail still twisted round the tree.
" In this posture I had leisure, with horror, yet with admira-
tion, to behold him. He was covered all over with scales like
those of a crocodile, all ridged up in the middle ; his head was
green, with a vast black spot in the middle ; and yellow streaks
round the jaws ; he had a yellow circle like a golden collar round
his neck, and behind that another great spot of black. His sides
were of a dusky olive colour, and his back more beautiful than
can be well imagined : there ran down the middle of it, a broad
chain of black, curled and waved at the edge ; round this there
ran all the way a narrow one of flesh colour, and on the outside
8JG ANECDOTES OF SEttPENTS.
of that, a very broad one of a bright yellow, not strait like a ri-
band, but waved and curled in various inflections, and spotted
all over at small distances with great round and long blotches of
a perfect blood colour ; his head was very flat, but extremely
broad ; and his eyes monstrously large, and very bright and ter-
rible. These were his colours as he lay still; but when he
moved about in the sun, he was a thousand times more beautiful,
the colours, according to the several shades of light, presenting
the eye with a vast variety of mixtures, and in many places look-
ing like our changeable colours in silks.
"We now all aimed our pieces at him as he lay, and fired at
his head all at the same instant ; but whether he accidentally
moved just at that time, or our fears made us take bad sight, or
whatever else might be the cause, we either missed him, or never
hurt him. In short, he took no notice of it ; and, after a coun-
cil of war, we all agreed to make no further attempt upon him
at that time, but to go home, and return with a stronger party
the next day.
" The Ceylonese seemed to know the creature well ; they
call it ANACONDA, and talked of eating its flesh when they caught
it, as they had no small hopes of this ; for, they say, when one
of these creatures chooses a tree for his dwelling, he seldom
quits it for a long time. I detained my company of Ceylonese
to dine with me, and the afternoon was spent in relating the
amazing things which one or other of the company had seen of
this sort of monsters ; in short, they told a thousand things that
far outwent my credulity ; but I am to inform you, that what
we saw the following day, as much exceeded all they had told
me, as what they told seemed to exceed truth and probability.
" It seems, the constant custom of this creature is, to lay
wait for its prey, by hiding in the boughs of large trees, whence it
unsuspectedly drops upon the wretched creature, which is seized
before it sees its enemy. But the instance we saw of this, I
must relate to you at large.
" The next morning, we assembled to the number of more
than a hundred at the old thicket, where we had the pleasure, if
I dare call it so, to find our enemy still at his old post. He
seemed very fierce, and very hungry this morning, and we soon
saw the amazing effects of it. There are great plenty of tigers,
you must know, in this country : one of these, of a monstrous
THE ANACONDA* 857
size, not lower than a common heifer, as he went along, came at
length under our serpent's tree. In a moment we heard a dread-
ful rustling in the tree, and, swift as thought, the serpent drop-
ped upon him, seizing him across the back, a little below the
shoulders, with his horrible mouth, and taking in a piece of the
back bigger than a man's head. The creature roared with agony,
and, to our unspeakable terror, was running with his enemy
towards us. His course, however, was soon stopped ; for the
nimble adversary, winding his body three or four times round
the body of his prey, girt him so violently, that he fell down in
agony. The moment the serpent had fixed his folds, he let go
the back of the creature, and raising and twining round his head,
opened its horrid mouth to its full extent, and seized the whole
face of the tiger in it, biting and grinding him in a most horrid
manner, and at once choking him and tearing him to pieces.
The tiger reared up again on this, and words are too poor to
paint his seeming agony : he writhed and tossed about, but all
in vain ; the enemy, wherever he went, was with him ; and his
hollow roaring from within the destroyer's mouth was dreadful
beyond expression. I was for firing upon the creature in this
state, but they all declared against it : they told me, they knew
his customs so well, that they were now very sure of him with-
out any trouble or hazard, if they let him alone ; but that if they
disturbed him in this condition, he would be so outrageous, that
several of our lives would assuredly pay the forfeit. They seem-
ed to know so well what they were about, that I readily ac-
quiesced. Several of us spent the whole day in observing this
strange sight ; and surely the agonies of the tiger were beyond all
that can be conceived, and his death more horrid than a thousand
other deaths, with all their tortures put together. The tiger
was a very strong and fierce creature, and, though unable to hurt
or get rid of its cruel enemy, yet gave him a world of trouble :
a hundred times would he rear up, and run a little way, but soon
fell down again, partly oppressed by the weight, and partly by
the folds and wreathed twists of the serpent round his body :
but though he fell, he was far from being conquered, or at all
manageable. After some hours, he seemed much spent, and luy
as if dead ; and the serpent, who had many times violently girted
himself round him, attempting to break his bones, but in vain,
now let go his hold ; twisting his tail only round the tiger's neck,
4c3
8,53 ANECDOTES OF SERPENTS.
who was now in no condition either to resist or escape, he made
towards the tree, dragging, with some pains, the victim after him.
Now appeared the double use of the tree to the creature. Na-
ture, it seems, informs this animal, that though it can conquer
such larga creatures as these, it can hy no means devour them
as they are, since their bodies are too thick for his swallow, and
he must therefore break their bones, and reduce them to a soft
mass, before he can manage them. This he usually does, as we
saw him attempt it on the tiger, by girting his body very firmly
and hard round them, by this means crushing them to pieces ;
but when this method will not take place, he has recourse to the
tree, as we now had opportunity to observe. He dragged the
tiger, by degrees, after him to the tree; and the creature being
now almost dead, and unable to stand, he seized him lightly a
second time by the back, and set him on his legs against the
trunk of the tree; then immediately winding his body round
both the tiger and the tree several times, he girted both with all
his violence, till the ribs and other bones began to give way ;
and, by repeated attempts of this kind, he broke all the ribs al-
most one by one, this creature's bones being prodigiously tough,
and each giving a loud crack when it burst. When he had man-
aged all the ribs thus, he next attempted the legs, and broke
them severally in the same manner, and each in four or five
different places. This took up many hours, and the poor crea-
ture all this while was living, and, at every loud crack of the
bones, gave a howl, though not loud, yet piteous enough to pierce
the cruelest heart, and make even man forget his natural hatred
to its species, and pity its misery. After the legs, the snake
attacked the skull in the same manner ; but this proved so diffi-
cult a task, that the monster, tired with his fatigue, and seeing
his prey in no condition of escaping, left him for the night at
the foot of the tree, and retired into it himself to rest.
" This gave us occasion of going home : and I must assure
you, I could not sleep for the poor tiger, who was naturally so
strong and vigorous, that we left him still alive, though broken
and mangled in this miserable manner.
" In the morning I returned with several others to the thicket ;
but as we rode up we saw a strange change in the face of things ;
the body of the tiger, which was now no longer to be known as
such, but looked like a red lump of shapeless matter, was drag-
Tilt: ANACONDA. 8j9
ged to some distance from the tree, and shone all over as if
covered with glue or jelly. When we arrived, we saw very
plainly the meaning of all this, for the snake was yet busied
about it. He had laid its legs one by one close to the body, and
\vas now placing the head straight before, and licking the body,
f which now had no remaining shape of one, its bones being all
broken,) and covering it with its slaver, which was what gave it
that shining look, coating it over like a jeHy, and rendering it fit
for swallowing. A great deal of time was employed in this, but
at length the serpent, having prepared it to his mind, drew him-
self up before it, and seized the head, just as the rattle-snakes by
some accounts do a rat, and began to suck that, and afterwards
the body, down into his throat. This was the work of so much
time, that I left him struggling at the shoulders when I went
home to dinner, and by the accounts of those who staid to watch
him, it was night before he got the whole in.
" The morning following we all assembled for the last time,
and the very women and children followed, and assured us, that,
as the prey was gorged, there was then no danger. I could by
no means conceive the meaning of this, till I came to the place ;
but then I found it very true : the serpent had so loaded his
belly, that he could neither fight nor run away. He attempted,
on our approach, to climb the tree ; but in vain ; and was soon
knocked on the head with clubs. We measured him, and his
length was thirty-three feet four inches. He was soon cut up ;
and, I assure you, afforded a flesh whiter than veal, and, as they
said that ate of it, finer tasted than any flesh whatever."
SCO
ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
IT has long been observed, that those races of animals which
Jive in societies, and unite their efforts for the attainment of one
common end, exhibit a great superiority of intellectual faculties
over those who lead a life of solitude and seclusion. The obser-
vation applies equally to the small, as to the larger animals ;
although among the insect tribes, the distinction is most strongly
marked. The history of those that are solitary, as of the myr-
tnelion, or the spider, is limited to a single generation, and is
memorable only by the display of some particular talent or arti.
fice in the mode of catching their prey, or procuring a sheltered
habitation for themselves and their progeny. But the history of
those gregarious insects, which live together in large swarms,
composing, as it were, so many distinct republics, embraces con-
siderations of much higher interest. The bond of society by
which they are united, implies a community of wants, a sympa-
thy of desires, and a mutual intelligence of designs, by which the
sphere of their sagacity and industry is enlarged a subordination
of rank, and division of labour, are introduced and which ulti-
mately lead to enterprizes and exertions of stupendous magni-
tude.
Under the term instinct, which has often been mistaken for
the name of a distinct and definite principle, have been included
a number of facts relating to the actions of animals, which we
are unable to explain by any of the known principles of volun-
tary action. Facts of this description are more abundantly met
with among the insect tribes, than in any other part of the crea-
tion. This, probably, arises from the imperfect knowledge we
possess of their history ; and we may reasonably expect, that a
more enlarged acquaintance with the habits and manners of this
portion of the animal kingdom, will enable us to explain many
of those actions, which are now said to be instinctive, upon some
principle of known operation.
8(51
THE SPIDER.
In the commotions which took place in Holland, when the
Stadtholder was reinstated by the arms of Prussia, M. Quatre-
mere D'Isjonval, a Frenchman, was arrested and imprisoned at
Utrecht, where he spent upwards of seven years, deprived of his
liberty. To amuse himself during this long confinement, he
courted the acquaintance of spiders, studied their constitution
and temperament ; and after a long series of accurate observa-
tion, he made the important discovery that they were the most
weather-wise of all creatures. Their presentiment of approach-
ing changes is incomparably more refined than the variations in-
dicated by the best barometers and hygrometers. A weather-
glass points out only the probable state of the weather for the
next day ; but with respect to a permanent or long continued
state of the atmosphere, this instrument cannot be relied upon.
Spiders, however, have not only an obvious sensation of the
approaching changes of the weather, similar to that manifested
by a barometer, but they also indicate, with the greatest exact-
ness, the more remote changes for a considerable length of time ;
nay, they foretell with precision, for a period of ten days or a
fortnight, those states of the atmosphere which are of a settled
nature. Of this M. D'Isjonval was enabled, in the end to
furnish a most striking proof.
On Wednesday, the 10th of January, 1795, the wind changed
to the northward ; on Thursday it began to freeze, and the frost
: ncreased to such a degree, that the French were enabled to
enter Utrecht, and to release their imprisoned countryman, M.
D'Isjonval ; but on the 20th of January, an unexpected thaw
threatened to frustrate the designs of the invaders, who had ad-
vanced with all their heavy artillery, accompanied by an army of
one hundred thousand men, to pass the icy bridges, which nature
had apparently constructed for facilitating their hostile opera-
tions. The French generals were rilled with apprehension,
and began to think of the necessity of retreating, when M.
D'Isjonval having consulted his meteorological assistants the
spiders went and told his countrymen, that they had no cause
for the least alarm, for that in a day or two the frost would re-
turn with greater intensity than had been known in Holland for
862 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
ages. The prediction was fully verified. The very next day
the frost recommenced with almost unequalled seventy ; and
Holland, no longer able to avail itself of its pent-up floods, be-
come an easy conquest to the revolutionizing republicans.
The manner in which spiders carry on their operations, con-
formably to the impending changes of the atmosphere, is simply
this : if the weather is likely to become rainy, windy, or in other
respects disagreeable, they fix the terminating filaments, on
which the whole web is suspended, unusually short; and in this
state they await the influence of a temperature which is remark-
ably variable. On the contrary, if the terminating filaments are
made uncommonly long, we may in proportion to their lengths
conclude that the weather will be severe, and continue so at
least for ten or twelve days. But if the spiders be totally indo-
lent, rain generally succeeds ; though, on the other hand, their
inactivity during rain is the most certain proof that it will ba
only of short duration, and followed with fair, and very constant
weather. According to further observations, the spiders regu-
larly make some alterations in their webs or nets every twenty-
four hours; if these changes take place between the hours of six
and seven in the evening, they indicate a clear and pleasant
night.
In the year 1714, M. Bon communicated to the Society of
Sciences at Montpelier, a discovery which he had made respect-
ing the webs of spiders, the fibres of which formed a silk which
was superior in fineness to that of the silk-worm. The Duke
de Noailles, he added, had ordered a pair of stockings to be
spun of the spider's silk, which was presented to the Duchess of
Burgundy, and acknowledged by her and the whole court, to be
of extraordinary fineness, and surpassing in beauty, stockings
spun of silk-worms' fibres. This discovery excited great inte-
rest at the time, and M. de Reaumur was directed by the so-
ciety to make the necessary experiments ; which, however,
terminated unfavourably to the cultivation of this species of
manufacture, on account of the difficulty of breeding the spiders,
and the great number required to produce any quantity of silk.
M. de Reaumur says, that two hundred and eighty-eight spiders
would only furnish as much silk as one silk- worm; and that it
would take six hundred and sixty-three thousand, five hundred
and fifty-two to produce a pound of silk. For these reasons,
THE LOCUST. 863
therefore, the scheme, which was one of much ingenuity, was
abandoned.
To put the ingenuity of the spider to the test, a gentleman
frequently placed one on a small upright stick, and surrounded
the base with water. After having recormoitered and disco-
vered that the ordinary means of escape were cut off, it ascended
the stick, and standing nearly on its head, ejected its web, which
the wind soon carried to some contiguous object. Along this
the sagacious insect effected its escape, not however until it had
ascertained, by several exertions of its whole strength, that its
web was securely attached to the other end.
In January, 1777, died John Ross, LL.D. professor of
languages in the King's university of Aberdeen. His death
was occasioned by swallowing a spider in a glass of claret.
Upon dissection, his stomach was found to be much ulcerated,
and distended beyond the usual size.
It is curious to observe the motions of a spider, when he has
taken a wasp in his toils. He seems to be perfectly aware that
the wasp has the power of annoying him with its sting, and he
carefully avoids coming in contact with it, but winds thread
round and round it till the wasp can neither escape nor do him
any injury. The wasp soon dies for want of food, when the
spider feeds upon him.
THE LOCUST.
In July, 1827, the Russian general, Cobley, had a grand
battue after the locusts, from his estate of Coblewka, along the
borders of the sea of Oschakoff. The locusts were marching
in twenty-four columns, and were destroying all the crops.
General Cobley collected all the peasants on his estate, and
from all the neighbouring country, amounting to five hundred
persons. They were armed with pitch-forks, spades, drums and
bells, and thus equipped, they commenced their march against
the locusts. They soon compelled them to retreat, and pursued
them incessantly towards the sea, where they were forced to
jump into the water, and drown themselves. Three days after-
wards, the sea-shore was covered with the dead locusts, cast up
CGI ANECDOTES Of INSECTS.
by the waves ; the air was infected by a fetid exhalation, and
great numbers of poisoned fish were cast up by the waves on the
strand. Jt is probable that the fish had fed on the locusts.
During eight days fishing was forbidden. These facts were
authenticated by an official report addressed to the quarantine
office, at Odessa, by the Chief of the Cossacks, employed to
guard the coast.
THE PUNCTURED MOTH.
The larvae of the moth (Tinea punctata,) have been directed
by M. Habenstreet, of Munich, so as to work on a paper model
suspended from the ceiling of a room. To this model he can
give any form and dimensions, and he has thus been enabled to
obtain square shawls, an air balloon four feet high, and a wo-
man's complete robe, with the sleeves, but without seams. One
or two larvae can weave a square inch of cloth. A great num-
ber are, of course, employed, and their motions are interdicted
from the parts of the model not to be covered, by oiling them.
The cloth exceeds in fineness the lightest gauze, and has been
worn as a court dress by the Queen of Bavaria. We have no
doubt but the same object might be effected by directing the
labours of the larvae of various British moths and butterflies, or
perhaps spiders.
A hive contains three kinds of bees. 1. A single ' queen-
bee,' distinguished by the great length of her body, and the pro-
portional shortness of her wings. 2. ' Working-bees, female
non-breeders,' or, as they were formerly called, ' neuters,' to
the amount of many thousands : these are the smallest sized
bees in the hive, and are armed with a sting. 3. ' Drones' or
' males,' to the number perhaps of 1500 or 2000 : these are
larger than the workers, and of a darker colour ; they make a
greater noise in flying, and have no sting. The whole labour of
THE BEE. 8G5
the community is performed by the workers : they elaborate
the wax, and construct the cells ; they collect the honey, and
feed the brood. The drones, numerous as they are, serve no
other purpose than to insure the impregnation of the few young
queens that may be produced in the course of the season ; and
they are regularly massacred by the workers in the beginning of
autumn.
It is the office of the queen-bee to lay the eggs. These re-
main about three days in the cells before they are hatched. A
small white ' worm' then makes its appearance, (called indiffer-
ently ' worm, larva, maggot or grub ;') this larva is fed with
honey for some days, and then changes into a ' nymph or pupa.'
After passing a certain period in this state, it comes forth a per-
fect winged insect.
The impregnation of the queen-bee was long a subject in-
volved in the most profound obscurity. That the drones were
males was evident ; but the most careful observation had never
been able to detect any thing like sexual intercourse between
them and the queen bees. Schirach (a German naturalist, well
known for his discoveries concerning bees) boldly denied that
such intercourse was necessary to her impregnation ; and in
this he was stoutly supported by our countryman Bonner.
Swammerdam, again, remarking that the drones, at certain sea-
sons, when collected in clusters, exhaled a strong odour, broached
an opinion that this odour, proceeding from whole clusters of
drones, was a kind of aura seminalis, which produced fecunda-
tion by penetrating the body of the female. There are generally
from 1500 to 2000 males in a hive, while there are only two or
three queens to be impregnated in a season ; arid Swammerdam
seemed to have found, in his hypothesis, an easy explanation of
this enormous disproportion in the numbers of the sexes.
Reaumur, however, combated this fanciful doctrine ; and Huber
has confuted it by direct experiment. He confined all the drones
of a hive in a tin case, perforated with minute holes, sufficient
to allow any emanation to escape. This tin case was placed in
a well inhabited hive, where there was a young queen, who
could not fail to be subjected to the odour ; but she remained
barren. Maraldi was the first to suggest another hypothesis,
which apparently possessed a greater degree of probability; he
imagined that the eggs were fecimdified by the drones, after
8C6 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
being deposited in the cells, in a way analogous to the fecunda-
tion of the spawn of fishes by the milters. Mr Debraw of
Cambridge, (in Phil. Trans. 1777,) strenuously supported this
doctrine, and gave it a certain degree of plausibility, by refer-
ring to numerous experiments : he even affirmed, that the milt-
like fluid of the drones might be seen in the cells. The suppo-
sition that the drones performed this important office, satisfac-
torily accounted for the prodigious numbers of them found in a
hive. But Mr Debraw does not seem to have attended to this
circumstance, that great numbers of eggs are laid by the queen
between the months of September and April, which prove fer-
tile, although in that season there exist no males to supply the
milt-like liquor. M. Huber was of opinion, that the appearance
of a fluid had been merely an optical illusion, arising from the
reflexion of the light at the bottom of the cell. He made the
direct experiment of rigidly excluding every male from a hive,
and yet found that eggs laid by the queen in this interval were
as fertile as when the males were admitted. M. Hattorf en-
deavoured to show that the queen is impregnated by herself.
This was also M. Schirach's opinion ; and it seems to have
been that of Mr Bonner. It is an opinion, however, that re-
quires no refutation. The cautious Huber, remarking how much
confusion had arisen from making experiments with queens
taken indiscriminately from the hive, (the source of the error
just mentioned,) thenceforward selected those which were
decidedly in a virgin state, and with whose history he was ac-
quainted from the moment they had left the cell. From many
experiments made in the course of the years 1787 and 1768, he
found, that the young queens are never impregnated as long as
they remain in the interior of the hive : if confined within its
walls, they continue barren, though amidst a seraglio of males.
To receive the approaches of the male, the queen soars high in
the air, choosing that time of day when the heat has induced
the drones to issue from the hive ; and love is now ascertained
to be the motive of the only distant journey which a young
queen ever makes. From this excursion she returns in the
space of about half an hour, with the most evident marks of
fecundation ; for, far from being satisfied with the prolific aura
of Swammerdam, she actually carries away with her the ipsa
verenda of the poor drone, who never lives to see his offspring,
THE BEE. 867
but falls a sacrifice to the momentary bliss of bis aerial amour.
The most complete proof of these facts was made by a number
of experiments.
Jn the natural order of things, or when impregnation is not
retarded, the queen begins to lay the eggs of workers forty-six
hours after her intercourse with the male, and she continues for
the subsequent eleven months to lay these alone; and it is only
after this period, that a considerable and uninterrupted laying of
the eggs of drones commences. When, on the contrary, impreg-
nation is retarded after the twentieth day, the queen begins, from
the forty-sixth hour, to lay the eggs of drones ; and she lays no
other kind during her whole life.
The working bees had for ages been considered as entirely
destitute of sex ; and hence, in the writings of many authors
they are denominated ' neuters.' From the experiments of
Scliirach and of Huber, it seems now to be clearly ascertained
that the workers are really of the female sex ; but that the organs
of generation are small and imperfect, being capable, however,
of development, if the larvae be fed with royal jelly.
Schirach discovered, that when bees are by any accident de-
prived of their queen, they have the power of selecting one or
two grubs of workers, and of converting them into queens ; and
that they accomplish this, by greatly enlarging the cells of those
selected larvae, by supplying them more copiously with food, and
with food of a more pungent sort than is given to the common
larvae. " All my researches," says Huber, " establish the reality
of the discovery. During ten years that I have studied bees, I
have repeated M. Schirach's experiment so often, and with such
uniform success, that I can no longer have the least doubt on
the subject." The same testimony is given by Mr Bonner,
who declares, that " having repeated the experiment again and
again, he can aifirm it with the utmost confidence and cer-
tainty."* M. Schirach's discovery may now therefore be con-
sidered as established beyond controversy.
M. Huber gives the following curious account of the man-
ner in which bees proceed in forming capacious cells for the
workers' grubs destined to royalty.
" Bees soon become sensible of having lost their queen, and
' Bouner on dees, p. (iO.
4 u 2
868 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
in a few hours commence the labour necessary to repair their
loss. First, they select the young common worms, which the
requisite treatment is to convert into queens, and immediately
begin with enlarging the cells where they are deposited. Their
mode of proceeding is curious ; and the better to illustrate it, 1
shall describe the labour bestowed on a single cell, which will
apply to all the rest containing worms destined for queens.
Having chosen a worm, they sacrifice three of the contiguous
cells ; next they supply it with food, and raise a cylindrical
enclosure around, by which the cell becomes a perfect tube,
with a rhomboidal bottom ; for the parts forming the bottom are
left untouched. If the bees damaged it, they would lay open
three corresponding cells on the opposite surface of the comb,
and consequently destroy their worms, which would be an un.
necessary sacrifice, and nature has opposed it. Therefore, leav-
ing the bottom rhomboidal, they are satisfied with raising a
cylindrical tube around the worm, which, like the other cells in
the comb, is horizontal. But this habitation remains suitable to
the worm called to the royal state, only during the first three
days of its existence ; another situation is requisite for the
other two days it is a worm. Then, which is so small a portion
of its life, it must inhabit a cell nearly of a pyramidal figure,
and hanging perpendicularly. The workers therefore gnaw
away the cells surrounding the cylindrical tube, mercilessly sacri-
fice their worms, and use the wax in constructing a new pyra-
midal tube, which they solder at right angles to the first, and
work it downwards. The diameter of this pyramid decreases
insensibly from the base, which is very wide, to the point. In
proportion as the worm grows, the bees labour in extending the
cell, and bring food, which they place before its mouth, and
around its body, forming a kind of cord around it. The worm,
which can move only in a spiral direction, turns incessantly to
take the food before its head : it insensibly descends, and at
length arrives at the orifice of the cell. Now is the time of
transformation to a nymph. As any further care is unnecessary,
the bees close the cell with a peculiar substance appropriated
for it, and there the worm undergoes both its metamorphoses.'
M. Huber confirms the discovery of M. Riems, concerning
the existence, occasionally, of common working bees that are
capable of laying eggs. Eggs were observed to increase in
THE BEE. 869
number daily in a hive in which there were no queens of the
usual appearance ; but small queens considerably resemble
workers, and to discriminate them required minute inspection.
" My assistant," says M. Huber, " then offered to perform an
operation that required both courage and patience, and which J
could not resolve to suggest, though the same expedient had
occurred to myself. He proposed to examine each bee in the
hive separately, to discover whether some small queen had not
insinuated herself among them, and escaped our first researches.
It was necessary, therefore, to seize the whole bees, notwith-
standing their irritation, and to examine their specific character
with the utmost care. This my assistant undertook, and exe-
cuted with great address. Eleven days were employed in it ;
and, during all that time, he scarcely allowed himself any relaxa-
tion, but what the relief of his eyes required. He took every
bee in his hand ; he attentively examined the trunk, the hind
limbs, and the sting ; and he found that there was not one with-
out the characteristics of the common bee, that is, the little
basket on the hind legs, the long trunk, and the straight sting."
They afterwards seized a fertile worker in the very act of
laying ; and they thus describe her appearance, " she presented
ail the external characteristics of common bees ; the only differ-
ence we could recognise, and that was a very slight one, con-
sisted in the belly seeming less, and more slender than that of
workers. On dissection, her ovaries were found more fragile,
smaller, and composed of fewer oviducts than the ovaries of
queens. We counted eleven eggs of sensible size, some of
which appeared ripe for laying. This ovary was double, like
that of queens." How or when these fertile workers are im-
pregnated is quite unknown.
Fertile workers resemble queens whose impregnation has
been retarded, in this, that they lay the eggs of drones only,
never those of workers; and also in this, that they sometimes
place their eggs in royal cells. It is remarkable, however, that
in the case of queens, whose impregnation has been retarded,
laying their eggs in royal cells, the bees build them up, and
brood over them until the last metamorphosis of the included
drones ; but that when eggs are deposited in royal cells by fer-
tile workers, the bees, although at first they pay due attention to
the larvae, never fail to destroy them in the course of a few days.
4 i) 3
870 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
M. Huber observes, that fertile workers appear in those
hives only that have lost the queen, and where of course a
quantity of royal jelly is prepared for feeding the larvae intended
to replace her. He suspects that the bees, either by accident
or by a particular instinct, the principle of which is unknown,
drop some particles of royal jelly into cells contiguous to those
containing the worms destined for queens. The larvae of workers
that thus casually receive portions of this active aliment, are
affected by it, and their ovaries acquire a certain degree of ex-
pansion : from the want of full feeding, and owing to the
smallness of their cells, this expansion is only partial, and such
fertile workers remain of the ordinary size of working bees, and
lay only a few eggs. The royal jelly, when pure, may be known
by its pungent taste ; but when mixed with other substances, it
is not easily distinguished. M. Huber repeatedly tried to feed
some of the larvae of workers in other parts of the hive, with the
royal jelly, in order to observe the consequences ; but he found
this to be a vain attempt, the bees immediately destroying such
worms, and themselves devouring the food. It has not there-
fore been directly ascertained, that all fertile workers proceed
from larva? that have received portions of the royal food ; but
M. Huber observed, that they were uniformly such as had
passed the vermicular state, in cells contiguous to the royal ones.
" The bees, (he remarks,) in their course thither, will pass in
numbers over them, stop, and drop some portion of the jelly
destined for the royal larvae." This reasoning, though not con-
clusive, is plausible. The result is so uniform, that M. Huber
says he can, whenever he pleases, produce fertile workers in his
hives. They are probably, he adds, always produced, in greater
or less numbers, whenever the bees have to create to themselves
a new queen ; and the reason that they are so seldom seen, pro-
bably is, that the queen bees attack and destroy them without
mercy whenever they perceive them.
When a supernumerary queen is produced in a hive, or is
introduced into it in the course of experiment, either she or the
rightful owner soon perishes. The German naturalists, Schirach
and Riems, imagined that the working-bees assailed the stranger,
and stung her to death. Reaumur considered it as more pro-
bable, that the sceptre was made to depend on the issue of a
single combat between the claimants ; and this conjecture is
THE BEE. 871
verified by the observations of Huber. The same hostility to-
wards rivals, and destructive vengeance against royal cells, ani-
mates all queens, whether they be virgins, or in a state of im-
pregnation, or the mothers of numerous broods. The working-
bees, it may here be remarked, remain quiet spectators of the
destruction, by the first hatched queens, of the remaining royal
cells j they approach only to share in the plunder presented by
their havoc-making mistress, greedily devouring any food
found at the bottom of the ceils, and even sucking the fluid
from the abdomen of the nymphs before they toss out the
carcasses.
The following fact, connected with the subject, is one of
the most curious perhaps in the whole history of this wonderful
insect. Whenever the workers perceive that there are two rival
queens in the hive, numbers of them crowd around each : they
seem to be perfectly aware of the approaching deadly conflict,
and willing to prompt their amazonian chieftains to the battle ;
for, as often as the queens show a disinclination to fight, or
seem inclined to recede from each other, or to fly off, the bees
immediately surround and detain them ; but when either com-
batant shows a disposition to approach her antagonist, all the
bees forming the clusters, instantly give way to allow her full
liberty for the attack. It seems strange that those beas who in
general show so much anxiety about the safety of their queen,
should, in particular circumstances, oppose her preparations to
avoid impending danger, should seem to promote the battle,
and to excite the fury of the combatants.
When a queen is removed from a hive, the bees do not im-
mediately perceive it ; they continue their labours ; watch over
the young, and perform all their ordinary occupations. But, in
a few hours, agitation ensues; all appears a scene of tumult in
the hive. A singular humming is heard j the bees desert their
young ; and rush over the surface of the combs with a delirious
impetuosity. They have now evidently discovered that their
sovereign is gone ; and the rapidity with which the bad news
now spreads through the hive, to the opposite side of the combs,
is very remarkable. On replacing the queen in the hive, tran-
quillity is almost instantly restored. The bees, it is worthy of
notice, recognise the individual person of their own queen. If
another be palmed upon them, they seize and surround her, so
8/2 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
that she is either suffocated or perishes by hunger; for it is very
remarkable, that the workers are never known to attack a queen
bee with their stings. If, however, more than eighteen hours
have elapsed before the stranger queen be introduced, she has
some chance to escape: The bees do at first seize and confine
her ; but less rigidly ; and they soon begin to disperse, and at
length leave her to reign over a hive in which she was at first
treated as a prisoner. If twenty-four hours have elapsed, the
stranger will be well received from the first, and at once admitted
to the sovereignty of the hive. In short, it appears that the
bees when deprived of their queen, are thrown into great agita-
tion ; that they wait about twenty hours, apparently in hopes of
her return ; but that after this interregnum, the agitation ceases ;
and they set about supplying her loss by beginning to construct
royal cells. It is when they are in this temper, and not sooner,
that a stranger queen will be graciously received : and upon her
being presented to them, the royal cells, in whatever state of
forwardness they may happen to be, are instantly abandoned,
and the larvae destroyed.
It is well known, that after the season of swarming, a general
massacre of the drones is commenced. Several authors assert
in their writings, that the workers do not sting the drones to
death, but merely harass them till they be banished from the hive
and perish. M. Huber contrived a glass table, on which he
placed several hives, and he was thus able to see distinctly what
passed in the bottom of the hive, which is generally dark and
concealed : he witnessed a real and furious massacre of the
males, the workers thrusting their stings so deep into the bodies
of the defenceless drones, that they were obliged to turn on them-
selves as on a pivot, before they could extricate them. The
work of death commenced in all the hives much about the same
time. It is not, however, by a blind or indiscriminating in-
stinct that the workers are impelled thus to sacrifice the males ;
but if a hive be deprived of its queen, no massacre of the males
takes place in it, while the hottest persecution rages in all the
surrounding hives. In this case, the males are allowed to sur-
vive over winter. The drones are also suffered to exist in hives
that possess fertile workers, but no proper queen ; and, what is
remarkable, they are likewise spared in hives governed by a
queen, whose impregnation has been retarded. Here then, we
THE BEE. 873
perceive a counter instinct opposed to that which would have
impelled them to the usual massacre.
Regarding the hatching of the queen bee, when the pupa is
about to. change into the perfect insect, the bees render the
cover of the cell thinner by gnawing away part of the wax;
and with so much nicety do they perform this operation, that
the cover at last becomes pellucid, owing to its extreme thinness.
This must not only facilitate the exit of the fly, but, M. Huber
remarks, it may possibly be useful in permitting the evaporation
of the superabundant fluids of the nymph. After the trans-
formation is complete, the young queens would, in common
course, immediately emerge from their cells as workers and
drones do ; but the bees always keep them prisoners for some
days in their cells, supplying them in the mean time with honey
for food ; a small hole being made in the door of each cell,
through which the confined bee extends its proboscis to receive
it. The royal prisoners continually utter a kind of song, the
modulations of which are said to vary. The final cause of this
temporary imprisonment, it is suggested, may possibly be, that
they may be able to take flight at the instant they are liberated.
When a young queen does at last get out, she meets with rather
an awkward reception ; she is pulled, bit, and chased, as often as
she happens to approach the other royal cells in the hive. The
purpose of nature here seems to be, that she should be impelled
to go off with a swarm as soon as possible. A curious fact was
observed on these occasions : when the queen found herself
much harassed, she had only to utter a peculiar noise, (the com-
manding voice, we may presume, of sovereignty,) and all the
bees were instantaneously constrained to submission and obedi-
ence. This is indeed one of the most marked instances in
which the queen exerts her sovereign power.
A swarm is always led off by a single queen, either the sove-
reign of the parent hive, or one recently brought into existence.
If, at the return of spring, we examine a hive well peopled, and
governed by a fertile queen, we shall see her lay a prodigious
number of male eggs in the course of May, and the workers
will choose that moment for constructing several royal cells.
This laying of male eggs in May, M. Huber calls the ' great
laying ;' and he remarks, that no queen ever has a great laying
till she be eleven months old. It is only after finishing this
871 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
laying, that she is able to undertake the journey implied in lead-
ing a swarm ; for, previously to this, ' latum trahit alvum,
which unfits her for flying. There appears to be a secret re-
lation between the production of male eggs and the construction
of royal cells. The great laying commonly lasts thirty days :
and regularly on the twentieth or twenty-first, several royal cells
are founded.
When the larvae hatched from the eggs laid by the queen in
the royal cells are ready to transform to nymphs, this queen
leaves the hive, conducting a swarm along with her; and the
first swarm that proceeds from the hive is uniformly conducted
by the old queen. M. Huber remarks, that it was necessary
that instinct should impel the old queen to lead forth the first
swarm ; for that she being the strongest, would never have
failed to have overthrown the younger competitors for the
throne. An old queen never quits a hive at the head of a swarm,
till she have finished her laying of male eggs ; but this is of im-
portance, not merely that she may be lighter and fitter for flight,
but that she may be ready to begin with the laying of workers'
eggs in her new habitation, workers being the bees first needed
in order to secure the continuance and prosperity of the newly
founded commonwealth.
After the old queen has conducted the first swarm from the
hive, the remaining bees take particular care of the royal cells,
and prevent the young queens successively hatched, from leav-
ing them, unless at an interval of several days between each.
A swarm is never seen, unless in a fine day, or, to speak
more correctly, at a time of the day when the sun shines,
and the air is calm. Sometimes we have observed all the pre-
cursors of swarming, disorder and agitation ; but a cloud
passed before the sun, and tranquillity was restored ; the bees
thought no more of swarming. An hour afterwards, the sun
having again appeared, the tumult was renewed ; it rapidly aug-
mented ; and the swarm departed. A certain degree of tumult
commences as soon as the young queens are hatched, and begin
to traverse the hive : the agitation soon pervades the whole bees ;
and such a ferment then rages, that M. Huber has often ob-
served the thermometer in the hive rise suddenly from about
92 to above 104 : this suffocating heat he considers as one of
the means employed by nature for urging the bees to go off in
THE BEK. 875
swarms. In warm weather, one strong liive has been known to
send off four swarms in eighteen days.
The young queens conducting swarms from their native hive,
are still in a virgin state. The day after being settled in their
new abode, they generally set out in quest of the males, and
this is usually the fifth day of their existence as queens. Old
queens conducting the first swarms require no renewal of their
intercourse with the male, a single interview being sufficient to
fecundate all the eggs that a queen will lay for at least two years.
We shall conclude our observations on bees by a few miscel-
laneous anecdotes regarding them.
In October, 1818, Mr M'Lauren, brewer, Newton Stewart,
Wigtonshire, removed a very fine watch-dog from his usual
kennel to a situation in the garden, with a viesv of protecting
his fruit from the attempts of juvenile depredators. Unfor-
tunately, however, the poor dog was chained very near a bees'
scape, the enraged and multitudinous population of which, not
relishing the presence of such a neighbour, sallied out en masse,
and in a mere twinkling literally transferred the seat of the hive
from the cone of straw to the mastiffs body. It was in vain
that the generous animal attempted to defend himself from such
ferocious and unwonted foes ; every time he opened his mouth,
the bees descended his throat in hundreds, leaving their stings
in the passage, and like certain patriots of the biped race, heed-
lessly sacrificing their own lives to the supposed good of the re-
public. The dreadful yells of the mastiff, at length attracted
the notice of the brewer and his neighbours ; but their assis-
tance came too late, as the poor animal was so dreadfully stung
that he died in a few hours.
Some years ago, Mr Rogers of Abbots, Ripton, having occa-
sion to call on Mr Shelton, of Park-house, in the same parish,
hung the rein of his horse over a gate, close to which stood
a row of bee hives; being much teazed by the flies, he became
restless, and twisting about overturned one of the hives, when
the swarm settled upon his head. On seeing this, Mr Shelton
slipped off the bridle, in hopes that when at liberty, the exas-
perated insects would soon cease to torture the poor animal ;
but unfortunately, in dashing off, he overturned about a dozen
more hives, the consequence of which was, that he was literally
covered with bees which stung him to that degree, that in his
876 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
agony he rushed into a pond, where after rolling once or twice
over, he crawled out, and expired on the bank.
A lady in the neighbourhood of Cupar in Fife, who has long
taken a particular interest in the management of bees, obser-
ving that in the apiary, where the hives were placed very near
to each other, there was a considerable risk, that the bees
might mistake their respective habitations, had recourse to flags
of different coloured paper, which she placed somewhat taste-
fully over the entrance of each hive, that the bees on their re-
turn from rural excursions, might easily ^perceive and recognise
their different flags. This method she naturally inferred would
prevent all accidental mistakes, and if any of the bees in future
entered their neighbour's hive, they would deserve no mercy to
be shown to them. Instead, however, of producing harmony,
and preventing mistakes as was expected, this arrangement bad
quite a contrary effect, and during the display of these stand-
ards, nothing but war, devastation, and death prevailed.
Some time ago, a singular and interesting exhibition of
the wonderful extinctive principle of the bee occurred in the
neighbourhood of Portsmouth. It appears that a swarm of
these sagacious insects, the property of a person living at Pest-
house (about half a mile from Portsmouth) directed their
course in search of food towards the stocks of hives belonging
to Mr Rattu, an eminent gardener and florist, residing at Fret-
ton, about half a mile from Pest-house. It is supposed that
they were invited thither by the luxuriance and rich abundance
of delicious sweets that the plantations of Mr Rattu so tempt-
ingly afforded ; especially by the production of a bed of mig-
nonette sown near the apiary of the occupier of the premises. It
appears that a squadron or detachment of these intruders from
Pest-house first made their appearance in the more reflorescent
dominions of their neighbours ; which intrusion was justly re-
sented on their part by strong and vigorous opposition, and
many of the depredators were killed and wounded. Those who
escaped to tell the tale of this disastrous invasion, hastened
back to their own community ; and, according to the well known
vengeful disposition of the bee, the whole body at Pest-house
was speedily put in motion, and a war of extermination declared
against the innocent opposers of the late invaders. It seems that
the enemy's entire force did not move towards the inhabitants at
X THE BEE. 877
Freton at the same time, but went over in detached bodies, and
arrived at different intervals, until a mass was formed, near the
mouth of the hives, of the size of a hat, consisting in numbers of
about seven or eight thousand bees ! Thus congregated, they were
at liberty to commit their unlawful ravages upon the rightful
property of others with impunity, which could not be borne
with, and thereby a combat was provokingly induced. A
spirited resistance having been determined on, a battle ensued,
which for fourteen successive days, was obstinately support-
ed ; the enemy retiring every evening, and returning to renew
the attack in the morning. The Pest-house invaders were
constantly observed towards the close of the day to direct
their flight, en masse, over the parsonage house at King-
ston. The result of this conflict proved destructive to the
innocent defenders at Freton, several thousands of them being
killed, and their homes during the fortnight of voracious con-
tention plundered of about two hundred weight of honey,
squadrons of the depredators being constantly employed, on
the several days, in carrying off the blood-stained spoils. Mr
Rattu was, during the time, frequently occupied near to the
apiary in defending his property, by a piece of wood in the
shape of a battledore, and, as he experienced no difficulty in
distinguishing his own bees from that of the Pest-house, he by
this means destroyed many of the latter, as they individually
came within his reach. These were black bees, not very com-
mon in this island ; those of Mr Rattu's were brindled with
yellow stripes ; and he observed that they were very weak. It
is known that bees in attacking one another do not always use
the sting, but employ their pincers, on any occasion of defence,
and offence. The sting is formed by two piercers, is barbed,
and has serrated edges ; and therefore, when they employ this
instrument, in the infliction of a wound, they are not able to
disengage it, but in the effort to escape after having stung an
animal, the whole sting and part of the intestines are separated
from the body, and thus the insect proves the cause of its own
destruction.
In the year 1766, Mr Wildman of Plymouth, who became
famous on account of his command over bees, visited London.
He paid his respects to Dr Templeton, secretary to the Society
of Arts, in his bee dress. He went in a chair with his head
4i
878 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
and face covered with bees, and a most venerable beard of them
hanging from his chin. The ladies and gentlemen, who were
assembled to witness this novel spectacle, were soon convinced
that they need be under no apprehension of injury from these
insects, and therefore went close to Mr Wildman, and conversed
with him. After remaining some time he ordered the bees to
retire to their hive, and they instantly obeyed.
In August 1831, as the Honiton packet was leaving a port in
Wales, on her voyage to Lyme, the master perceived a swarm
of bees settle on a rock which the rising tide would soon have
covered. He sent a boat with a tub, which was sugared for
the purpose, which attracted the bees, and brought them aboard.
They took readily to their new habitation, and on removing
them to a hive at Lyme Cobb, it was perceived that they had
commenced a comb. During the voyage, they flew ashore for
honey, and followed the vessel again, which was at times sail-
ing with a strong breeze.
On Wednesday the 24th June, 1829, while Mr Farquharson,
at Bankend. and his daughter, a young woman about 16 years
of age, were standing at a short distance from a bee-hive, they
were suddenly surrounded by thousands of the little insects-
the hive having just thrown off a swarm. Instead, however, of
flying to a bush or tree for shelter, as expected, they alighted on
the young woman's head. Fortunately she had courige and pre-
sence of mind equal to the occasion ; for, instead ot running away,
or attempting to remove or annoy them, as most persons would
have done in the same situation, she remained quietly where she
was till the whole swarm alighted upon her. Some idea may
be formed of the firmness and resolution evinced under such
trying circumstances, when it is stated that she had neither cap
nor bonnet on, and that the swarm was so large that it com.
pletely covered her face, breast, and shoulders so that she
could neither see nor speak. In this situation she remained
till her father brought a hive, when the bees moved into it in
the usual way, without her receiving so much injury as a single
sting. It is well known that bees, when swarming, are so
inoffensive that nothing but violence will induce them to use
their stings ; when provoked and irritated, however, they be-
come desperate ; and, in the present instance, had the young
woman attempted to extricate herself, or used the least violence,
THE BEE. 879
tbe consequences must have been dreadful very likely fatal.
She knew this, and acted accordingly affording an admirable
lesson to all who may be placed in the same predicament.
" A large brown slug," says Mr Jesse, " made its way into a
glass hive, where the operations of the bee could be distinctly
seen. Having killed the slug, and rinding that they were unable
to get it out of the hive, they covered it over with the thick
resinous substance called propolis, and thus prevented its becom-
ing a nuisance to the colony. Into the same hive one of the
common garden snails (Helix hortensis) gained admittance.
Instead of embedding it in propolis, the bees contented them-
selves with fixing it to the bottom of the hive by plastering the
edge with that substance.
" I have now in my possession a regular fortification made of
propolis, whicb one of my stocks of bees placed at the en-
trance of their hive, to enable them the better to protect them-
selves from the attacks of wasps. By means of (his fortification,
a few bees could effectually guard the entrance by lessening the
space of admission, which I had neglected to do for them.
" Bees show great ingenuity in obviating the inconvenience
they experience from the slipperiness of glass, and certainly be-
yond what we can conceive that mere instinct would enable
them to do. I am in the habit of putting small glass globes on
the top of my straw hives, for the purpose of having them
filled with honey ; and I have invariably found that before the
bees commence the construction of combs, they place a great
number of spots of wax at regular distances from each other,
which serve as so many foot stools on the slippery glass, each bee
resting on one of these with its middle pair of legs, while the
fore-claws were hooked with the hind ones of the next above,
thus forming a ladder by means of which the workers were
enabled to reach the top, and begin to make their combs there.
I was glad to find this circumstance recorded by Dr Bevau's
very agreeable work on the honey-bee, in which another very
striking illustration of the reasoning powers of bees is mention-
ed. Dr Bevau says that a friend of his, on inspecting his bee-
comb, perceived that a centre comb, burdened with honey, had
separated from its attachments, and was leaning against another
comb, so as to prevent the passage of the bees between them.
This accident excited great activity in the colony, but of what
880 ' ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
nature could not be ascertained at the time. At the end of a
week, the weather being cold and the bees clustered together,
it was observed through the window of the box that they had
constructed two horizontal pillars between the combs alluded to,
and had removed so much of the honey and wax from the top
of each, as to allow the passage of a bee ; in about ten days
more there was an uninterrupted thoroughfare, the detached
comb at its upper part had been secured by a strong barrier,
and fastened to the window with the spare wax. This being
accomplished, the bees had removed the horizontal pillars first
constructed, as being of no further use. Huber relates an
anecdote something similar."
" Ants present us with many striking analogies with bees ; as
in them we may in each species distinguish three modifications
of sex, namely, the mates, the females, and the neuters or labour-
ers ; the latter being, in respect to sex, in the same condition as
the working bees, that is, they are females in whom the genera-
tive organs are not developed, and who of course are barren.
In each hive of bees, however, there is but one queen ; whereas
a great number of queens, or female ants, are met with, living
in the utmost harmony, in the same nest. It appears, that any
of the larvae of the labouring class of bees may be raised to the
rank of queen, that is, may acquire a development of organs, by
a particular mode of feeding. Whether the same circumstance
obtains, with respect to the female ant, has not yet been ascer-
tained. The various toils which contribute to the welfare of
the republic are confided, in both communities, to the labourers,
who act as the architects of the city, as the soldiers of the gar-
rison, and as the nurses and guardians of the rising generation ;
while the other classes have no other duties to perform than
those of furnishing recruits to the colony.
" The different species of ants, like the nations of our own
species, are distinguished from each other by great diversities of
manners. This is strikingly shown in the variety of modes in
which they construct their habitations. Some employ merely
THE ANT. 881
earth as the material ; some collect for the same purpose frag-
ments of leaves, of bark, or of straw; others use nothing but
finely pulverised portions of decayed wood. The solid substance
of trees is excavated by another species into numerous apart-
ments, having regular communications with one another. Va-
rious other modifications may be observed in the architecture of
the different species. The most perfect specimens of workman-
ship are generally exhibited by the smaller ants. The brown
ant (fourmi brunej is particularly remarkable among the masonic
tribes. Their nests are formed of parallel or concentric stories,
each four or five lines in height ; the partitions being about half
a line in thickness, and built of such fine materials, that the in-
terior appears perfectly smooth. On examining each of these
stories, we discover chambers of different sizes, having long gal-
leries of communication. The ceilings of the larger spaces are
supported by small pillars, sometimes by slender walls, and in
other cases by arches. Some cells have but a single entrance ;
others have passages, which open from the story underneath.
In other parts, still larger central spaces, or halls are met with,
in which a great number of passages terminate, like the streets
and avenues to a market place. The whole nest often contains
twenty of these stories, above the level of the ground, and at
least as many below it The surface of the nest is covered
with a thicker wall, and has several doors admitting, in the
day time, free ingress and egress. This species of ant is un-
able to bear much heat. During the day, therefore, and par-
ticularly when the sun shines, their doors are closed ; and they
either keep at home, or venture out only through the subter-
raneous passages. When the dew has given freshness to the
nest, and softened the earthy materials on its surface, they
begin to make their appearance above ground. On the first
shower of rain that occurs, the whole swarm are apprized of it,
and immediately resume their architectural labours. While
some are engaged in removing the earth below, others are
employed in building an additional story on the top ; the
masons making use of the materials furnished by the miners.
The plan of the cells and partitions is first traced in relief on
the walls, which are seen gradually to arise, leaving empty
spaces between them. The beginnings of pillars indicate the
situation of the future halls ; and the rising partitions show
882 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
the form of the intended passages. Upon the plan thus traced
they continue building, till they have arrived at .a sufficient
elevation. Masses of moistened earth are then applied at right
angles to the tops of the walls, on each side, and continued in a
horizontal direction till they meet in the middle. The ceilings
of the larger chambers are completed in the same manner ; the
workers beginning from the angles of the walls, and from the
tops of the pillars which have been raised in the centre. The
largest of these chambers, which might be compared to the
town hall, and is frequently more than two inches in diameter,
is completed with apparently as much ease as the rest. This
busy crowd of masons arriving in every direction, laden with
materials for the building, hastening to avail themselves of the
rain to carry on their work, and yet observing the most per-
fect order in their operations, must present the most interesting
and amusing spectacle. They raise a single story in about seven
or eight hours, forming a general roof as a covering to the
whole j and they go on, adding other stories, so long as the rain
affords them the facility of moulding the materials. When the
rain ceases, and is succeeded by a drying wind, before they have
completed their work, the earth ceasing to adhere together, and
crumbling into powder, frustrates all their labours ; as soon as
they find this to be the case, they, with one accord, set about
destroying the cells which they had begun, but had not been
able to cover in, and distribute the materials over the upper
story of what they had completed. Under these circumstances
Mr Huber succeeded in getting them to resume their task by
means of an artificial shower.
In tracing the designs of the cells and galleries, each ant
appears to follow its own fancy. A want of accordance must
therefore frequently take place at the point where their works
join : but they never appear to be embarrassed by any difficul-
ties of this kind. An instance is related, in which two opposite
walls were made of such different elevations, that the ceiling
of the one, if continued, would not have reached above half
way of the height of the other. An experienced ant arriving
at the spot seemed struck with the defect, and immediately
destroyed the lower ceiling, built up the wall to the proper
height, and formed a new ceiling with the materials of the
former.
THE ANT. 883
Nature, in providing the male and female ants with wings,
must evidently have designed them for migration to distant
abodes, where they might become the founders of new colonies.
Arrived at the period of maturity, and furnished with perfect
instruments of flight, they wait only till the warmth of the at-
mosphere is sufficiently genial ; and do not quit their nests till
the temperature has risen to above 67 of Fahrenheit. Busy
swarms of these winged insects are then seen to issue from the
nest, and to cover the neighbouring plants, expanding their
wings, which reflect the sun's rays in a thousand brilliant co-
lours. They are escorted in all their steps by the labourers,
who appear to watch them with peculiar solicitude, frequently
offering them food, and caressing them with their antennae. At
length they leave their attendants, and commence their flight,
few being destined ever to return to the spot which gave them
birth. The act of fecundation is generally performed during
their flight. The males having fulfilled the purposes of nature,
are now useless members of the society ; it does not, however,
appear that they are ever massacred by the labourers, as is the
case with drones : but they are left to perish for want of suste-
nance ; being unprovided with the means of procuring it for
themselves, and being separated from those by whose bounty
they had hitherto been fed. The females, when impregnated,
seek proper habitations, where, as will afterwards appear, they
lay the foundations of new republics.
All the impregnated females, however, are not lost, in this
way, to the parent state : many are detained by the labourers
before they can take their flight, and a few are impregnated
in the nest itself. The labourers are every where lying in
wait for them, and forcibly seize them wherever they are to
be found ; they immediately deprive them of their wings, and
drag them to the nest. Here they are kept close prisoners for
several days: their keepers watching them with the greatest
assiduity, but carefully supplying them with nourishment, and
conveying them to situations where the temperature is the most
grateful.
The fecundated females that escape detention, and quit for
ever after the paternal roof, no sooner alight upon a spot where
any loose earth is to be met with, than they set about forming a
habitation. The first step they take is to cut off their own
884 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
wings, for which they have no longer any use :* and it is ex-
tremely curious, that they never perform this operation till they
find a situation that promises to afford them an asylum. Hav-
ing now no labourers to work for them, they perform all the
household duties themselves. Like the mothers of other ani-
mals, they are indefatigable in their attention to their offspring.
Thus the same individual, which, when surrounded at home by
those who minister to all her wants, and relieve her from exer-
tion, would have reposed in indolence, and been quite careless
of her young, acquires new powers from necessity, and fulfils
the intention of nature in the formation of new republics. It
is impossible to produce a more striking example of variation
in the character of animals produced by a change of external
circumstances.
Regarding the way in which ants procure the means
of subsistence, much error long prevailed. The collections
of larvse were long mistaken for magazines of corn and other
food, which it was supposed the ants deposited in granaries,
as provisions for winter consumption. But the truth is,
that they are almost wholly carnivorous, and corn is certainly
not an article on which they feed ; they are total strangers
to the art of hoarding, and none of their cells are con-
structed with this view. The ants, whose occupations con-
fine them at home, depend for their food on the labourers,
who forage for the whole society, and bring to the nest small in-
sects, or portions of any animal substance that may fall in their
way. When the game is too bulky to be easily transported,
they fill themselves with nourishment, the greater part of which
they disgorge on their return, for the benefit of those that are
hungry. This nutritious fluid they retain unchanged for a con-
siderable time, when prevented from imparting it to their com-
panions.
The food which they appear to relish above all others, is an
exudation from the bodies of several species of aphis, insects
which abound on the plants in the vicinity of ant hills. This
species of honey is absorbed with great avidity by the ants, and
apparently without the least detriment to the insect that yields it
* Linnaeus had observed that the females, after impregnation, lost their
wings, and did nut return to the nest.
THE ANT. 885
This fact had already been noticed by Boissier de Sauvages ;
but several very interesting particulars, as to the mode in which
this excretion is procured, have been brought to light by M.
Huber. He informs us, that the liquor is voluntarily given
out by the aphis, when solicited to do so by the ant, who, for
that purpose, strikes it gently, but repeatedly, with its antennae,
using the same motions as it does when caressing its young.
He is led to believe from observation, that the aphis retains
this liquor for a longer time when the ants are not at hand to
receive it. A single aphis is sufficient to supply in this way
many ants with a plentiful meal. Even those among them
who had acquired wings, and could therefore have easily escap-
ed from the ants, if they had been so disposed, yielded this honey
as freely as the others, and with as little appearance of fear or
constraint.
Most insects become torpid when their temperature is much
reduced. When it approaches the freezing point, they fall into
a deep lethargy, and in that state require no food. Ants pre-
sent a remarkable exception to this rule ; for they are not be-
numbed till the thermometer has sunk to 27 Q of Fahrenheit, or
five degrees below the freezing point. They therefore have
need of a supply of provisions during the greatest part of toe
winter; although it is true that they are satisfied with much
less than in summer. Their principal resource, however, under
these circumstances, is still the same, namely, the honey of the
aphis ; which natural secretion appears to be expressly designed
for the subsistence of ants. What confirms this view of the in-
tentions of nature is, that the aphis becomes torpid at precisely
the same temperature as the ant ; a coincidence which it is
hardly possible to attribute to mere chance. The winter haunts
of the aphis, which are chiefly the roots of trees and shrubs,
are well known to their pursuers ; and when the cold is not
excessive, they regularly go out to seek their accustomed sup-
ply from these insects. Some species of ants have even suf-
ficient foresight to obviate the necessity of these journeys ;
they bring these animals to their own nests, where they lodge
them near the vegetables on which they feed ; while the do-
mestic ants prevent them from stirring out, guarding them with
great care, and defending them with as much zeal as they do
their own young.
886 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
But their sagacity goes even much further. They col-
lect the eggs of the aphis, they superintend their hatching,
continually moistening them with their tongue, and pre-
serving them till the proper season for their exclusion, arid
in a word, bestow on them all the attention which they
give to the eggs of their own species. When disturbed by an
intruder, they carry off these eggs in great haste to a place of
safety. Different species of aphis are to be found in the same
nest : several kinds of gall insects and also of kermes serve the
same purposes to the ants as the aphis, affording them in like
manner juices possessed of nutritious qualities. All these live
in perfect harmony with their masters, who so far from offering
them any molestation, defend them with courage against the
ants of other societies who might attempt to purloin them.
That the ants have some notion of property in these insects,
would appear from their occasionally having establishments for
these aphises at a distance from their city, in fortified buildings
which they construct for this purpose alone, in places where
they are secure from invasion. Here the aphises are confined
as cows in a dairy, to supply the wants of the metropolis.
Huber has been at great pains to ascertain by what means
these insects are enabled to co-operate in the execution of these
and other designs; a co-operation which is inexplicable except
on the supposition that they possess a species of language, by
which the intentions of individuals are imparted to one another,
and to the community at large. It does not appear that ants
are capable of emitting sounds so as to communicate at a dis-
tance. The sense of touch is with them the principal medium
of conveying impressions to one another. Some of these im-
pressions are communicated by the one striking its head against
the corslet of the other; others by bringing their mandibles in
contact. The former is the signal of danger ; which is spread
with astonishing quickness through the whole society. During
the night as well as at other times, sentinels are stationed on
the outside of their habitations, who, on the approach of danger,
suddenly descend into the midst of the tribe, and spread the
alarm on every side : the whole are soon apprized of the dan-
ger ; and while the greater number rush forward to repel it,
with every expression of displeasure and of rage, the rest, who
are attending the eggs and larvre, hasten with their charge to
THE ANT. 887
places of greater security. The males and females, on the other
hand, on being warned of the approaching combat, in which
they feel themselves incapable of bearing any active part, fly
for shelter to the most retired places in the vicinity.
The chief instruments by which other ideas are conveyed,
appear to be the antennae, which for that purpose are brought
into contact, in various ways, with different parts of the body of
the ant addressed.
Smith, in his " New Voyages to Guinea," says, " If the ants
have not a language, (as many people believe they have,) yet they
certainly have some method or other, whereby they easily make
themselves to be understood, as I have often experienced in the
following manner. When I have seen two or three straggling
ants upon the hunt, I have killed a cockroach, arid thrown
it down before them. As soon as they have found what
it was, they have sent one away for help, while the others have
stayed and watched the dead body, till he returned at the head
of a large posse ; and if they have not been able to carry off the
cockroach, another has been detached and sent away, who has soon
returned with a fresh supply, sufficient to carry off their prey."
In the " Transactions of the French Academy," an account
is given of a solitary ant, that was taken from an ant-hill, and
thrown upon a heap of corn. It seemed attentively to survey
this treasure, and then hastened back to its former abode,
where it communicated intelligence of the land of plenty, for an
immense host of its brethren quickly made their appearance, and
commenced carrying off the corn.
Bonnet had imagined, that in their journeys ants directed their
course chiefly by the scent remaining in the track which they
had before passed. But it appears that they have various other
means of finding their way ; and must depend principally on the
senses of sight and of touch, aided by the memory of local cir-
cumstances. If they should meet with annoyance in their nest,
or, from any other cause, find it inconvenient to remain, they
endeavour to find some other spot to which they may remove ;
and, for this purpose, the labourers scatter themselves abroad,
and reconnoitre in every direction. The ant who has the good
fortune to discover a convenient situation, returns immediately
home, and by certain gestures acquaints her comrades with her
success, and points out the direction of the place she has chosen.
888 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
The migrations of the fallow ants (fourmis fauves) are conducted
in a very singular manner. The guide carries another ant in
her mouth, to the place to which she intends the colony to re-
move. Both then return, and each taking up another ant, bring
them in a similar manner to the new settlement. These, when
instructed in the way, return and fetch others ; and this process
is continued by all the guides, their numbers increasing in rapid
progression till the whole has been transported to the new place
of abode.
It is impossible to contemplate the actions of such minute
beings, in whom not only all the parental affections subsist in
as full force as in the larger animals, but the social sympathies
also prevail in a much more extraordinary degree, without feel-
ings of wonder and admiration. The zeal with which the bee
will devote its life to the service of the community of which it
forms a part, has long been known ; but the ant is not inferior
to the bee either in courage or patriotism ; and, moreover, bears
testimony, by unequivocal actions, of a degree of tenderness and
affection which we can hardly bring ourselves to conceive could
animate a being of a condition so apparently inferior. Latreille,
in the course of his experiments, had deprived some ants of
their antennae ; their distress was no doubt perceived and shared
by their companions, who caused a transparent liquor, which
probably possessed some healing properties, to flow from their
own mouths, and with this they anointed the wounds of the suf-
ferers. Many traits of their fondness and tender care of their
females were witnessed by Huber ; they give the most remark-
able proof of the permanence of their affection, when any of the
impregnated females happen to die ; in which case, five or six
of her attendants remain with her for many days, licking and
caressing the body without intermission, as if they hoped to re-
call her to life by their caresses.
We are informed by D'Azara, that during the inundations of
the fiat districts in South America, when the large ant hills,
which are about three feet in height, are completely immersed in
water, the ants by an ingenious contrivance, prevent their being
carried away by the flood. They collect themselves into a com-
pact mass, and keep a firm hold of each other, after having first
attached one end of their body to some neighbouring plant, or
other fixed point, leaving the other extremity free, so that they
THE ANT. 889
float on the surface of the water during the continuance of the
flood, which usually lasts some days.
Mr Huber, in his " Natural History," gives the following
singular instance of the memory of ants. He says, " I took in
the month of April, an ant hill from the woods, for the purpose
of populating my large glazed apparatus ; but having more ants
than I had occasion for, I gave liberty to a number in the gar-
den of the house where I lived. The latter fixed their abode at
the root of a chestnut tree. The former became the subject of
some private observations. I noticed them four months without
allowing them to quit my study ; at this time wishing them
nearer to a state of nature, I carried the hive into the garden,
and placed it ten or fifteen paces from the natural ant hill. The
prisoners profiting by my negligence of not renewing the water
which blockaded the passage, escaped, and ran about the environs
of their abode. The ants established near the chestnut tree, met,
and recognised their former companions, commenced mutually
caressing each other with their antennae, took them up by their
mandibles, and led them to their own nests. They afterwards
came in a crowd to the artificial ant hill to seek the fugitives,
and even ventured to reach the bell glass, where they effected
among the inhabitants a complete desertion, by carrying away
successively all the ants they found there. In a few days the
hive was completely depopulated. These ants had been apart
for four months, and had no possible means of communication."
When large ants attack small ones they generally do it by
surprise, but when the small ones are aware of an approaching
assault, they guard against it, by intimating the attacks of their
enemies to their companions, who never fail to arrive in crowds
to their assistance. Mr Huber says, " I have witnessed a battle
between the herculean and sanguine species of ants. The lat-
ter are only about half the size of their adversaries, but they had
the advantage of them in point of number, and only, however,
acted on the defensive. The earth, strewed with the dead bodies
of their compatriots, bore witness that they had suffered the
greatest carnage ; they, therefore, took the prudent part of fixing
their habitations elsewhere, and with great activity transported
to a distance of fifty feet from the spot, their companions and
tlie several objects that interested them. Small detachments of
the workers were posted at little distances from the nest, ap-
4 f
890 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
parently placed there to cover the march of the recruits, and to
preserve the city itself from any sudden attack. They struck
against each other when they met, and had always their mandi-
bles separated in the attitude of defiance. As soon as the
herculean ants approached their camp, the sentinels in front
assailed them with fury; they fought at first with single com-
bat. The sanguine ant threw himself on the herculean ant, fas-
tened on its head, and inundated it with venom. It sometimes
quitted its antagonist with great quickness ; more frequently,
however, the herculean ant held between its feet its audacious
enemy, the two champions then rolled themselves up in the
dust, and struggled violently. The advantage was at first in
favour of the largest ant ; but his adversary was soon assisted
by those of its own party, who collected round the herculean
ant, and inflicted several deep wounds with their mandibles.
The herculean ant yielded to numbers ; and it either perished
the victim of its temerity, or was conducted a prisoner to the
enemy's camp."
Such are the combats between ants of different size ; but if
we wish to behold regular armies wage war in all its forms, we
must visit those forests in which the fallow ants establish their
dominion over every insect in their territory. " It is in these
forests," continues Huber, " I have witnessed the inhabitants of
two large ant hills engaged in spirited combat. They were com-
posed of ants of the same species, alike in their extent and po-
pulation, and were situated about a hundred paces distant from
each other. Two empires could not possess a greater number
of combatants.
" This prodigious crowd of insects covered the ground lying
between two ant hills, and occupied a space of two feet in
breadth. Both armies met at half way from their respective
habitations, and there the battle commenced. Thousands of
ants took their station upon the highest ground, and fought in
pairs, keeping firm hold of their antagonists ; a considerable
number were engaged in the attack, and others leading away
prisoners. The latter made several ineffectual attempts to es-
cape, as if aware that, upon their arrival, they would experience
a cruel death. The scene of warfare occupied a space of about
three feet square. Those ants composing groups and chains,
took hold of each other's legs and pincers, and dragged their an-
THE ANT. 891
tagonists to the ground. These groups formed successively.
The fight usually commenced by two ants, who seized each
other by the mandibles. They were frequently so closely
wedged together, that they fell upon their sides, and fought a
long time in that situation in the dust, until a third came to de-
cide the contest. It more commonly happened that both ants
received assistance at the same time, when the whole four made
ineffectual attempts to gain the battle. Ants of both parties
joined them, and it was in this way they formed chains of six,
eight, or ten ants, all firmly locked together; the equilibrium
was only broken when several warriors from the same republic
advanced at the same time, who compelled those that were en-
chained to let go their hold, when the single combats again took
place.
" On the approach of night, each party returned gradually to
the city, which served it for an asylum. The ants, which were
either killed or led away into captivity, not being replaced by
others, the number of combatants diminished until their force
was exhausted.
" The ants returned to the field of battle before dawn. The
groups again formed ; the carnage recommenced with greater
fury than on the preceding evening, and the scene of combat
occupied a space of six feet in length, by two feet in breadth.
Success was for a long time doubtful; and about mid-day the
contending armies had removed to the distance of a dozen feet
from one of their cities. The ants fought so desperately, that
nothing could withdraw them from their enterprise ; they seemed
absorbed in one single object, that of finding an enemy to con-
tend with.
" These wars afford a surprising illustration of the instinct, or
more properly the force of reason, in those minute animals. The
ants know well their own party, even in the midst of the heat
of battle ; in which situations mankind have been known to err.
In the extreme height of their fury the ants sometimes attack
their comrades ; but on recognising them they immediately re-
lax their hold, and caress each other.
" These governments are regulated with astonishing order ; for
the common operations of the two colonies thus at war were
not suspended. The paths which led to a distance in the forest,
were as much crowded as in time of peace, and all around the
4 i J
892 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
ant hill order and tranquillity prevailed, with the exception only
of that side on which the battle was raging. A crowd of these
insects were constantly to be seen setting off for the scene of
action, while others were returning with their prisoners. This
war terminated without any disastrous results to the two repub-
lics ; long continued rains shortened its duration, and the war-
riors ceased to frequent the road which led to the camp of the
enemy."
M. Homberg informs us, that in Surinam there is a species
of ant, called by the natives the visiting ant. These animals
march in large troops, with the same regularity and precision as
a regularly constituted army. They are welcome visitors to the
natives, on account of their power of exterminating rats, mice,
and other noxious animals with which that country abounds.
No sooner do they appear, than all the coffers, chests of drawers,
and locked up places in the house are thrown open for them,
when they immediately commence their work of destruction of
animal life, as if commissioned by nature for that purpose. The
only regret of the natives is, that they pay their visits so seldom,
as they usually re-appear but once in three or four years. The
climate of Surinam seems so peculiarly adapted for the increase
of these prolific pests, rats and mice, that the interval in which
the ants are absent, is sufficient for these vermin to become again
almost innumerable.
We are told by Baron Humboldt that ants abound to such a
degree near Valencia, that their excavations resemble subter-
raneous canals, which are filled with water in the time of the
rains, and become very dangerous to the buildings.
AL Malouet mentions in his account of his travels through
the forests of Guyana, his arriving at a savannah, extending in a
level plain beyond the visible horizon, and in which he beheld
a structure that appeared to have been raised by human industry.
M. de Prefontaine, who accompanied him in the expedition, in-
formed him that it was an ant hill, which they could not ap-
proach without danger of being devoured. They passed some
of the paths frequented by the labourers, which belonged to a
very large species of black ants. The nest they had constructed,
which had the form of a truncated pyramid, appeared to be from
fifteen to twenty feet in height, on a base of thirty or forty feet.
He was told that when the new settlers, in their attempts to
THE ANT. 893
clear the country, happened to meet with any of these fortresses,
they were obliged to abandon the spot, unless they could muster
sufficient forces to lay regular siege to the enemy. This they
did by digging a circular trench all round the nest, and filling it
with a large quantity of dried wood, to the whole of which they
set fire at the same time, by lighting it in different parts all round
the circumference. While the entrenchments are blazing, the
edifice may be destroyed by firing at it with cannon ; and the
ants being by this means dispersed, have no avenue for escape,
except through the flames, in which they perish. The narrations
of Mr Smeathman, relative to the white ant of Africa, are also
calculated to raise our ideas of the magnitude of these republics
of insects, which must surpass the largest empire in the numbers
of their population.
The superiority of the faculties of ants has been traced to
the strength of the social disposition which unites them. We
might perhaps venture a step farther, and point out several cir-
cumstances in their physical condition, as the probable origin of
this disposition to associate together. These are to be found,
first in the delicacy of their perceptions, in which they appear to
excel most insects. They are extremely sensible to variations
of temperature, and generally averse to moisture. In the first
stages of their existence, they are formed so as not to be capa-
ble of resisting the ordinary action of the air, and being totally
helpless, would speedily perish, if left to themselves ; and we
have seen what assiduous and persevering care is required dur-
ing the whole period of the hatching of the eggs, and the pro-
gress of the larva to maturity. All these circumstances place
the young for a much longer time in a state of dependence upon
their natural protectors, than in the case of most other insects ;
and in all these circumstances they agree with the bee and the
wasp, which are alike gregarious. We recognise in our own
species the foundation that is laid for the ties of society, by the
helpless condition of the infant, which continues for so long a
period to be dependent on others ; and can we refuse to admit
the operation of a similar principle in other departments of the
animal creation, which are obedient to the laws which the same
Providence has ordained for the good of all ?
4F3
THE BEETLE.
THERE are various kinds of beetles, all of which have two
wings enveloped in cases, in order to preserve them when the
insect burrows in the ground. The Stag Beetle has two horns
projecting from its head, which pinch very severely. They are
sometimes very beautiful, resembling coral. The Elephant
Beetle is so called from its proboscis, which is an inch and a
quarter long, and terminates in two horns. Its body is four inches
long, and is covered by a very hard shell. It is found in South
America.
The following account of the labours of the Burying Beetle
is given by M. Gleditsch, a foreign naturalist. He had " often
remarked that dead moles, when laid upon the ground, especially
if upon loose earth, were almost sure to disappear in the course
of two or three days, often of twelve hours. To ascertain the
cause, he placed a mole upon one of the beds in his garden.
It had vanished by the third morning ; and, on digging where it
had been laid, he found it buried to the depth of three inches,
and under it four beetles, which seemed to have been the agents
in this singular inhumation. Not perceiving any thing particular
in the mole, he buried it again ; and on examining it at the end
of six days, he found it swarming with maggots, apparently the
issue of the beetles, which M. Gleditsch now naturally con-
cluded had buried the carcass for the food of their future young.
To determine these points more clearly, he put four of these in-
sects into a glass vessel, half filled with earth and properly se-
cured, and, upon the surface of the earth, two frogs. In less
TUB BEETLE. 895
than twelve hours one of the frogs was interred by two of the
beetles ; the other two ran about the whole day, as if busied in
measuring the dimensions of the remaining corpse, which on
the third day was also found buried. He then introduced a
dead linnet. A pair of the beetles were soon engaged upon the
bird. They began their operations by pushing out the earth
from under the body, so as to form a cavity for its reception ;
and it was curious to see the efforts which the beetles made, by
dragging at the feathers of the bird from below, to pull it into
its grave. The male, having driven the female away, continued
the work alone for five hours. He lifted up the bird, changed
its place, turned it and arranged it in the grave, and from time
to time came out of the bole, mounted upon it, and trod it un-
der foot, and then retired below and pulled it down. At length,
apparently wearied with this uninterrupted labour, it came forth
and leaned its head upon the earth beside the bird without the
smallest motion, as if to rest itself, for a full hour, when it
again crept under the earth. The next day, in the morning, the
bird was an inch and a half under ground, and the trench re-
mained open the whole day, the corpse seeming as if laid out
upon a bier, surrounded with a rampart of mould. In the even-
ing it had sunk half an inch lower, and in another day the work
was completed and the bird covered. M. Gleditsch continued
to add other small dead animals, which were all sooner or
later buried; and the result of his experiment was, that in fifty
days four beetles had interred, in the very small space of earth
allotted to them, twelve carcasses : viz. four frogs, three small
birds, two fishes, one mole, and two grasshoppers, besides the
entrails of a fish, and two morsels of the lungs of an ox. In
another experiment, a single beetle buried a mole forty times its
own bulk and weight in two days."
The Dorr Clock, or Dung Beetle, uses different materials
for burying along with its eggs. " It digs," to use the words
of Kirby and Spence, "a deep cylindrical hole, and carrying
down a mass of the dung to the bottom, in it deposites its eggs.
And many of the species of the genus Ateuchus roll together
wet dung into round pellets, deposit an egg in the midst of
each, and when dry push them backwards, by their hind feet, to
holes of the surprising depth of three feet, which they have
previously dug for their reception, and which are often several
896 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
yards distant. The attention of these insects to their eggs is so
remarkable, that it was observed in the earliest ages, and is
mentioned by ancient writers, but with the addition of many
fables, as that they were all of the male sex ; that they became
young again every year ; and that they rolled the pellets con-
taining their eggs from sunrise to sunset every day, for twenty-
eight days without intermission."
" We frequently notice in our evening walks," says Mr Knapp,
" the murmuring passage, and are often stricken by the heedless
flight, of the great dorr-beetle ( Geotrupes Stercorarius), clocks,
as the boys call them. But this evening my attention was called
to them in particular, by the constant passing of such a number
as to constitute something like a little stream ; and I was led
to search into the object of their direct flight, as in general it is
irregular and seemingly inquisitive. I soon found that they
dropped on some recent nuisance : but what powers of percep-
tion must these creatures possess, drawn from all distances and
directions by the very little fetor which, in such a calm evening,
could be diffused around, and by what inconceivable means
could odours reach this beetle in such a manner as to rouse so
inert an insect into action ! But it is appointed one of the great
scavengers of the earth, and marvellously endowed with powers
of sensation, and means of effecting this purpose of its being.
Exquisitely fabricated as it is to receive impressions, yet pro-
bably it is not more highly gifted than the other innumerable
creatures that wing their way around us, or creep about our
paths, though by this one perceptible faculty, thus ' dimly seen/
it excites our wonder and surprise. How wondrous then the
whole !
" The perfect cleanliness of these creatures is a very notable
circumstance, when we consider that nearly their whole lives
are passed in burrowing in the earth, and removing nuisances ;
yet such is the admirable polish of their coating and limbs, that
we very seldom find any soil adhering to them. The meloe, and
some of the scarabsei, upon first emerging from their winter's
retreat, are commonly found with earth clinging to them ; but
the removal of this is one of the first operations of the crea-
ture ; and all the beetle race, the chief occupation of which is
crawling about the soil, and such dirty employs, are notwith-
standing remarkable for the glossiness of their covering, and
THE BEETLE. 897
freedom from defilements of any kind. But purity of vesture
seems to be a principal precept of nature, arid observable
throughout creation. Fishes, from the nature of the element
in which they reside, can contract but little impurity. Birds are
unceasingly attentive to neatness and lustration of their plumage.
All the slug race, though covered with slimy matter calculated
to collect extraneous things, and reptiles, are perfectly free from
soil. The fur and hair of beasts, in a state of liberty and health,
is never filthy, or sullied with dirt. Some birds roll themselves
in dust, and, occasionally, particular beasts cover themselves
with mire; but this is not from any liking or inclination for
such things, but to free themselves from annoyances, or to pre-
vent the bites of insects. Whether birds in preening, and beasts
in dressing themselves, be directed by any instinctive faculty, we
know not ; but they evidently derive pleasure from the opera-
tion, and thus this feeling of enjoyment, even if the sole motive,
becomes to them an essential source of comfort and of health."
On the cleanliness of animals, Mr Rennie in the ' Journal of
the Royal Institution,' has furnished some interesting facts.
The grub of the glow-worm, we learn, is provided with a
" caudal instrument, consisting of rays in a circle, which can be
drawn in similarly to the horns of a snail. These rays are
united by a soft moist membrane. It is furnished, moreover, in
the interior, with a sort of pocket, of a funnel shape, formed by
the converging rays, into which was collected whatever dust or
impurities were detached from the body, till it could hold no
more, when, by a vermicular movement of the rays, the accumu-
lated pellet was extruded, and placed with great care in some
place where it might be out of the way of again soiling the glossy
skin of the insect. This skin, if I may so call it, was of a soft,
leathery appearance, exhibiting, when magnified, a minute deli-
cate dotting, similar to shagreen ; but to the naked eye this was
not apparent." The above singular instrument also assists the
animal to walk, and particularly to maintain a position against
gravity, which its feet are ill calculated to effect. Mr Rennie
has established this grub to be a carnivorous feeder ; whereas
De Geer, Dumeril, and Latreille, either thought its food to be
vegetables, or only supposed it to be carnivorous. Mr Rennie,
however, saw the grub in question thrust its head into a snail,
half to the bottom of the shell, which it did not quit till it had
898 ANECDOTES OF INSECTS.
devoured the inhabitant. The grub cannot devour one of its
victims without being soiled with slime ; and accordingly after
every repast, it went carefully over its head, neck, and sides,
with its cleaning instrument, to free them from slime.
A second instance of this remarkable provision occurs in the
fern-owl, or night-jar, popularly called the goat-sucker, from an
erroneous notion that it sucks goats. The bird alluded to has
the middle claw cut into serratures, like a saw, or a short-toothed
comb. Wilson, the celebrated American ornithologist, describes
another the whip-poor-will : he says, " the inner edge of the
'middle claw is pectinated, and, from the circumstance of its
being frequently found with small portions of down adhering to
the teeth, is probably employed as a comb, to rid the plumage
of its head of vermin, this being the principal, and almost the
only part so infested in all birds."
Mr Rennie also quotes another American bird similarly pro-
vided, and mentions the herons, which have the same advantage.
Passing over these, we find more familiar illustrations in the
cat and the house-tly, both of whom may frequently be seen
cleaning themselves with the utmost care. " The chief instru-
ment employed by the cat is her tongue; but when she wishes
to trim the parts of her fur which she cannot reach with this,
she moistens, with saliva^ the soft spongy cushions of her feet,
and therewith brushes her head, ears, and face, occasionally ex-
tending one or more claws to comb straight any matted hair that
the foot cushion cannot bring smooth, in the same way as she
uses her long tusks in the part within her reach. The chief
and most efficient cleaning instrument of the cat, however, is her
tongue, which is constructed somewhat after the manner of a
currycomb, or rather of a woolcard, being beset with numerous
horny points, bent downwards and backwards, and which serve
several important purposes, such as lapping milk, and filing
minute portions of meat from bones. But what falls chiefly to
be noticed here, is its important use in keeping the fur smooth
and clean ; and cats are by no means sparing in their labour to
effect this. The female cat is still more particular with her
kittens than herself, and always employs a considerable portion
of her time in licking their fur smooth.
" It requires the employment of a microscope of considerable
power, to observe the very beautiful structure of the foot of the
THE BEETLE. 899
two-winged flies (muscidcE,) which still more closely resembles
a currycomb than the tongue of the cat does. This structure
was first minutely investigated by Sir Everard Home and Mr
Bauer, in order to explain how these insects can walk upon a
perpendicular glass, and can even support themselves against
gravity. Of the structure of the foot of flies, considered as an
instrument for cleaning, I have not hitherto met with any de-
scription in books of natural history, though most people may
have remarked flies to be ever and anon brushing their feet upon
one another, to rub off the dust, and equally assiduous in clean-
ing their eyes, head, and corslet with their fore legs, while they
brush their wings with their hind legs. In the common blow-
fly (Musca carnaria) there are two rounded combs, the inner
surface of which is covered with down, to serve the double pur-
pose of a fine brush, and to assist in forming a vacuum when the
creature walks on a glass, or on the ceiling of a room. In some
species of another family ( TipulidcR,) there are three such
combs on each foot. It may be remarked, that the insects in
question are pretty thickly covered with hair, and the serratures
of the combs are employed to free these from entanglement
and from dust. Even the hairs on the legs themselves are used
in a similar way ; for it may be remarked, that flies not only
brush with the extremities of their feet, where the curious curry-
combs are situated, but frequently employ a great portion of their
legs in the same way, particularly for brushing one another."
The Rose or Green Chafer, which is one of our prettiest na-
tive beetles, is one of the burrowers, and for the purpose of
depositing her eggs, digs, about the middle of June, into soft
light ground. When she is seen at this operation, with her
broad and delicate wings folded up in their shining green cases,
speckled with white, it could hardly be imagined that she had
but just descended from the air, or dropped down from some
neighbouring rose.
The proceedings of the Tumble-Dung Beetle of America,
are thus described by Catesby, in his ' Carolina.' " I have,"
says he, " attentively admired their industry, and mutual assist-
ing of each other in rolling their globular balls from the place
where they made them to that of their interment, which is
usually the distance of some yards, more or less. This they
perform breech foremost, by raising their hind parts, and forcing
900 ANECDOTKS OF INSECTS.
along the ball with their hind feet. Two or three of them are
sometimes engaged in trundling one ball, which, from meeting
with impediments on account of the unevenness of the ground,
is sometimes deserted by them. It is, however, attempted by
others with success, unless it happens to roll into some deep
hollow or chink, where they are constrained to leave it ; but
they continue their work by rolling off the next ball that comes
in their way. None of them seem to know their own balls, but
an equal care for the whole appears to affect all the community.
They form these pellets while the dung remains moist, and leave
them to harden in the sun before they attempt to roll them. In
their moving of them from place to place, both they and the
balls may frequently be seen tumbling about over the little emi-
nences that are in their way. They are not, however, easily
discouraged ; and, by repeating their attempts, usually surmount
the difficulties."
He further informs us, that they "find out their subsistence
by the excellency of their noses, which direct them in their flight
to newly-fallen dung, on which they immediately go to work,
tempering it with a proper mixture of earth. So intent are they
always upon their employment, that, though handled or other-
wise interrupted, they are not to be deterred, but immediately
on being freed, persist in their work without any apprehension
of danger. They are said to be so exceedingly strong and ac-
tive as to move about, with the greatest ease, things that are
many times their own weight. Dr Brichell was supping one
evening in a planter's house of North Carolina, when two of
them were conveyed, without his knowledge, under the candle-
stick. A few blows were struck on the table, and to his great
surprise, the candlesticks began to move about, apparently with-
out any agency ; and his surprise was not much lessened when,
on taking one of them up, he discovered that it was only a chafer
that moved."
The following fine serio-comic Address to a Beetle lately ap-
peared in a popular periodical:
Poor hobbling beetle, needst not haste ;
Should traveller traveller t'.ius alarm
Pursue thy journey through the waste,
Not foot of mine shall work thee harm.
THE BEETLE.
Who knows what errand grave tliou hast ;
" Small family" that have not dined ?
Lodged under pebble, there they fast,
Till head of house have raised the wind.
Man's bread lies 'raong the feet of men ;
For cark and moil sufficient cause !
Who cannot sow would reap ; and then
In Beetlcdora are no poor laws.
And if thy wife and thou agree
But ill, as like when short of victual,
I swear, the public sympathy
Thy fortune meriteth, poor beetle.
Alas, and I should do thee skaith,
To realms of night with heeltap send '.
Wlio judg'd thee worthy pains of death ?
On earth, save me, without a friend !
Pass on, poor beetle, venerable
Art thou, were wonders ne'er so rife ;
Thou hast what Bel to Tower of Babel
Not gave: the chief of wonders LIFE.
Also of " ancitnt family,"
Though small in size, of feature drk !
What Debrett's peer surpassetli thee ?
Thy ancestor was in Noah's ark.
THE COOOOY, QUEEN BEETLE.
This astonishing insect is about one inch and a quarter in
length, and carries by her side, just about her waist, two bril-
liant lamps, which she lights up at pleasure with the solar phos-
phorus furnished her by nature. These little lamps do not
flash and glimmer like that of the h're-fly, but give as steady a
light as that produced by a gas burner, exhibiting two perfect
spheres, as large as a minute pearl. These are so powerful,
that they will afford a person light enough to read print by
them. On carrying this insect into a dark closet in the day
time, no light is emitted at first, but she quickly illuminates her
lamps, and immediately extinguishes them on being again
brought into the light. But language cannot sufficiently express
the beauty and sublimity of these lucid orbs in miniature, with
which nature has endowed the queen of the insect kingdom.
4G
CONCLUDING REMARKS ON INSECTS.
THAT insects possess sensibility cannot be doubted, though
the position of the poet,
1 E'en the poor beetle that we tread upon,
In mortal sufferance feels a pang as great
As when a giant dies,"
is so far from being correct, that there is good reason to believe
their general sensibility to be very small. Many of them will
walk about with apparent indifference after most of the entrails
have been plucked from the body, or after having had a pin
stuck through the breast; a humble bee will suck honey with
greediness when cut in two; and if a wasp be treated in the
same manner, the head will bite .and the body sting for some
time after their separation. This blunted sensibility seems to
be owing to the imperfect organization of their nervous system,
which consists chiefly of a nervous cord full of knots running
through the body, and communicating by minute fibres with the
organs of the senses. But several of the external senses, espe-
cially the sight and smell, are very acute in insects j and as they
are very nice in the selection of their food, it is probable that
their taste is not inferior in delicacy to the two senses first
mentioned.
The chief organs of feeling appear to be the antennae and the
palpi, and probably the minute articulation of the former is in-
tended the better to fit them for this important office.
With respect to the sense of taste it is not easy in insects to
assign its particular seat, though in those which have a soft and
flexible tongue or trunk there can be little doubt that this is the
principal organ.
The acuteness in the smell of insects is proved by numerous
circumstances. They discern their food at a distance ; they
CONCLUDING HEMAiiKS ON INSKCTS.
discover the neighbourhood of their mates even when inclosed
in boxes ; and the common flesh-fly lays her eggs on plants
whose odour resembles that of corrupted flesh. But it is not
so easy to ascertain the organs which are subservient to {his
sense. It is natural to suppose that they are situated some-
where about the orifice of the respiratory organs, and some have
believed the mouths of the air tubes, or perhaps their internal
membranes are the immediate olfactory organs. Others have
imagined that this sense resides in the antennas, but the struc-
ture of these renders the supposition highly improbable.
As to hearing, many circumstances lead us to conclude
that insects are susceptible of impressions from sound ; but
whether these impressions are received by any peculiar auditory
organ, or are merely a kind of feeling from the vibrations
of the air on the surface of the body, it is not easy to
determine. But as those insects called death-watches, are
evidently attracted to each other in consequence of the noise
they make in beating, and as bees are directed to particular
spots, and invited to certain motions and actions by peculiar
notes uttered within the hive, it is most probable that they have
at least particular nerves for receiving these impressions. In
the crustaceous insects, organs which are supposed to be those
of hearing, have been demonstrated by Cuvier. They are
situated on each side at the root of the feelers, and consist of a
small bony tube, the outer orifice of which is covered by a firm
membrane, while its internal cavity is lined with a thinner mem-
brane, on which are expanded nervous filaments proceeding
from the same branch which supplies the antennae. This cir-
cumstance has induced some to suppose that the antennae are
subservient to hearing.
For vision, insects display an admirable structure, as most
of them have either several eyes, or eyes which are composed of
an amazing number of lenses. Many insects have two kinds
of eyes, simple for close vision, and compound for beholding
distant objects. Nothing can be more curious than the struc-
ture of these compound eyes when examined by means of a
microscope. The surface exhibits an innumerable multitude of
six sided facets, appearing to form as many distinct corneas, and
the back of these is covered with a dark mucous substance or
pigment. Behind this are numerous white bodies equal in
4o 2
901 CONCLUDING RKMAUKS ON INSECTS.
numbers to that of the facets of a six sided prismatic form, arid
these are covered by a coloured membrane on which the optic
nerve seems to be expanded. The simple eyes are found in
most of the apterous insects, as also in the larvas of many wing-
ed insects ; and when these undergo the last stage of their meta-
morphosis and acquire wings, they gain at the same time their
compound eyes.
What are commonly called the internal senses must be very
imperfectly enjoyed by insects. That they possess the faculty
of memory, or at least of reminiscence, cannot be doubted, as
they readily return to the place of their abode, and recognise the
very opening which leads to the interior of their dwelling.
They even seem to possess a degree of judgment, for some of
those which make excavations in the ground %r the purpose of
burying their prey mark the situation of the place by sticking
near it a green leaf. This observation leads to a consideration
of the instincts of insects, a most copious subject, which here
can only be slightly touched on.
These instincts, which often eclipse the boasted reason of
man, are displayed on occasions and in circumstances almost in-
conceivable ; as in the erection of habitations to defend the in-
sects against the injuries of the weather, and to contain food for
themselves and their offspring ; in the selection of food proper
for their nourishment in the different stages of their existence;
the artifices and contrivances by which many of them obtain
that food which nature has not lavishly thrown in their way,
and the patience, perseverance, and industry, which they
exert in accomplishing their views. Who can contemplate
without admiration the architectural labours of the bee, the
wasp, the ant, the white ant, &c. the prudence and foresight
exhibited by the butterfly, the gall insect, the nut -weevil, the gad-
fly, the ichneumon, in providing a nest for their future progeny
that may supply them at once with food and shelter? Who
but must admire, among such diminutive beings, the patient
watchfulness of the ant lion while waiting the approach of his
prey, his ferocity in springing on it, and the caution with which
he removes the remains of his repast ? Other instances of this
innate reason occur in the admirable economy with which the
societies of insects are conducted ; the precautions which they
take to guard against the incursions of their enemies ; the ad-
CONCLUDING REMARKS ON INSKCTS. 905
dress with which they avoid their attacks, the courage with
which many of them face their opponents, though often far
superior to them in size and strength ; and, lastly, in the care
and affection they exhibit towards their young, and the provision
they make for a future progeny, which, in many cases, they are
not destined to behold.
Sleep appears to be enjoyed by insects as well as by the su-
perior classes of animated nature, though it is not easy to deter-
mine the manner in which many of them take this necessary re-
pose.
In one of Sir John Hill's voluminous folios on Natural His-
tory, occurs a passage regarding the enjoyments of insects, which
can scarcely be read without the most lively interest, and with
which we shall conclude the present section of our work. It
paints the tiny creatures in the most brilliant and life-enjoying
light ; and we are happy in being thus enabled to take leave of
them under so many agreeable impressions.
" The fragrance of a carnation," he says, " led me to enjoy it
frequently and near. While inhaling the powerful sweet, I heard
an extremely soft, but agreeable murmuring sound. It was easy
to know that some animal, within the covert, must be the musi-
cian, and that the little noise must come from some little body
suited to produce it. I am furnished with apparatuses of a
thousand kinds for close observation. I instantly distended the
lower part of the flower, and, placing it in a full light, could dis-
cover troops of little insects frisking and capering with wild
jollity among the narrow pedestals that supported its leaves, and
the little threads that occupied its centre. I was not cruel
enough to pull out any one of them ; but adapting a microscope
to take in, at one view, the whole base of the flower, I gave my-
self an oppertunity of contemplating what they were about, and
this for many days together, without giving them the least dis-
turbance.
' Under the microscope, the base of the flower extended itself
to a vast plain ; the slender stems of the leaves became trunks
of so many stately cedars ; the threads in the middle seemed
columns of massy structure, supporting at the top their several
ornaments ; and the narrow spaces between were enlarged into
walks, parterres, and terraces.
" On the polished bottom of these, brighter than Parian niar-
<t G 3
906 CONCLUDING REMARKS ON IN'SECfS.
ble, walked in pairs, alone, or in larger companies, the winged
inhabitants : these from little dusky flies, for such only the
naked eye would have shown them, were raised to glorious glit-
tering animals, stained with living purple, and with a glossy
gold that would have made all the labours of the loom contempti-
ble in the comparison.
" I could, at leisure, as they walked together, admire their
elegant limbs, their velvet shoulders, and their silken wings ;
their backs vying with the empyrean in its hue ; and their eyes
each formed of a thousand others, out-glittering the little planes
on a brilliant. I could observe them here singling out their
favourite females, courting them with the music of their buz-
zing wings, with little songs formed for their little organs, lead-
ing them from walk to walk among the perfumed shades, and
pointing out to their taste the drop of liquid nectar just burst-
ing from some vein within the living trunk : here were the per-
fumed groves, the more than myrtle shades of the poet's fancy,
realized ; here the happy lovers spent their days in joyful dalli-
ance ; in the triumph of their little hearts, skipped after one
another from stem to stem among the painted trees ; or winged
their short flight to the close shadow of some broader leaf, to
revel undisturbed in the heights of all felicity.
" Nature, the God of nature, has proportioned the period of
existence of every creature to the means of its support. Dura-
tion, perhaps, is as much a comparative quality as magnitude ;
and these atoms of being, as they appear to us, may have organs
that lengthen minutes, to their perception, into years. In a
flower destined to remain but a few days, length of life, accord-
ing to our ideas, could not be given to its inhabitants ; but it
may be according to theirs. I saw in the course of observation
of this new world, several succeeding generations of the crea-
tures it was peopled with : they passed, under my eye, through
the several successive states of the egg and the reptile form in a
few hours. After these, they burst forth at an instant into full
growth and perfection in their wing-form. In this they enjoyed
their span of being, as much as we do years feasted, sported,
revelled in delights ; fed on the living fragrance that poured it-
self out at a thousand openings at once before them ; enjoyed
their loves, laid the foundation for their succeeding progeny, and
after a life thus happily filled up, sunk in an easy dissolution.
CONCLUDING REMARKS ON INSECTS. 907
With what joy in their pleasures did I attend the first and the
succeeding broods through the full period of their joyful lives !
With what enthusiastic transport did I address to each of these
yet happy creatures Anacreon's gratulation to the Cicada :
Blissful insect ! what can be,
In happiness, compared to tliee ?
Fed with nourishment divine,
The dewy morning's sweetest wine.
Nature waits upon thee still.
And thy fragrant cup does fill.
All the fields that thou dost see,
All the plants belong to thee ;
Al! that summer hours produce,
Fertile made with ripening juice.
Man for thee does sow and plough,
Farmpr he, and landlord thou.
Thee the hinds with gladness hear,
Prophet of the ripen 'd year !
To thee alone, of all the earth,
Lift- is no longer than thy mirth.
Happy creature ! happy thou
Dost neither age, nor winter know ;
Hut when thou'st drank, and danced, and sung
Thy fill, the flowery leaves among,
Sated with the glorious feast,
Thou retir'st to endless rest
" While the pure contemplative mind thus almost envies
what the rude observer would treat unfeelingly, it naturally
shrinks into itself on the thought that there may be, in the im-
mense chain of beings, many, though as invisible to us as we to
the inhabitants of this little flower whose organs are not made
for comprehending objects larger than a mite, or more distant
than a straw's breadth to whom we may appear as much be-
low regard as these to us.
" With what derision should we treat those little reasoners,
could we hear them arguing for the unlimited duration of the
carnation, destined for the extent of their knowledge, as well as
their action ! And yet among ourselves, there are reasoners
who argue, on no better foundation, that the earth which we
inhabit is eternal."
WORMS.
WORMS form a class by themselves. They are distinguished
from the caterpillar and maggot in undergoing no change, and
crawling by means of the annular construction of their bodies.
They are usually divided into five orders, viz. Tape-worms
Thread-worms The Fury Hair-worms and Earth-worms.
The Common Tape-Worm. The head of this animal is fur-
nished with a mouth, and with an apparatus for giving it a fixed
situation. The body is composed of a great number of distinct
pieces articulated together, each joint having an organ, by means
of which it attaches itself to the inner coat of the intestine;
and as these joints are sometimes exceedingly numerous, so ot
course will be the different points of attachment. The joints
nearest the head are always small, and they become gradually
enlarged as they are further removed from it, except towards the
tail, where a few of the last joints become again diminished.
The body is terminated by a small semicircular joint, which has
no opening. The external parts are clothed with a fine mem-
brane-like cuticle, immediately under which is a thin layer of
fibres, lying parallel to each other, and running in the direction
of the length of the animal's body. In this direction all its
motions are performed ; from whence we may conclude that
these fibres perform the office of muscles.
The food of tape-worms, requiring probably very little
change before it becomes a part of their body, is taken in at the
mouth, and, being thrown into the alimentary canal, is made to
THE THREAD-WORM. 909
visit, in a general way, every part. The central structure of the
vessels placed in each joint seems calculated to absorb tbt
, fluid from the alimentary canal, for the purpose of sustaining
'and repairing the immediately adjacent parts: but there is in
their bodies much cellular substance, into which no vessels
enter. Such parts of the bodies of these animals are possibly
nourished by transudation of the alimentary fluid into their
cells; or this may be effected by the capillary attraction of their
, fibres. As they have no excretory ducts, the decayed parts ol
their bodies are most probably dissolved into a fluid which tran-
sudes through the skin like perspiration, and with this view the
skin is extremely porous. The length of the common tape-
worm is generally from three to thirty feet ; but it has been
known to reach sixty feet, and to be composed of several hun-
dred joints.
When these worms produce a diseased state of body, those
remedies (as drastic purges) are supposed to be the most ef-
fectual, that operate partly by irritating the external surface of
their bodies, so as to make them quit their hold, and partly by
violent contractions in the intestines, which may sometimes di-
vide their bodies, or even destroy them by bruising. Electrical
shocks, passed frequently through the abdomen, it is supposed
might be beneficial, as the lower orders of animals are in ge-
neral easily destroyed by electrical shocks.
In injecting these tape-worms with coloured size in order to
preserve them, three feet in length from the head downwards
has been filled by a single push with a small syringe ; but the
injection would not pass from below upward beyond the joint,
owing, as it is supposed, to a valvular apparatus situated in the
lateral canals immediately below the places where the cross
canals are sent off".
The Thread-Worms These troublesome animals are found
in the bodies of some species of quadrupeds, birds, and insects.
Most of the species perforate the skin, immediately under which
they lodge themselves ; a few, however, have been discovered
in the intestines. None of them have yet been found to infest
the bodies of reptiles or fish. . Their body is round, thread-
shaped, and very smooth. The mouth is dilated, and has a
roundish concave lip.
The Indian Thread-Worm, or Guinea-Worm, is found both
910 ANECDOTES OF WORMS.
in the East and West Indies. It enters the naked feet of the
slaves, and occasions very troublesome itchings and sometimes
excites even fever and inflammation. It particularly attacks the
muscles of the arms and legs, from whence it is only to be ex-
tracted by means of a piece of silk or thread tied round its
head. But the greatest caution is necessary in this simple ope-
ration, lest the animal, by being strained too much, should
break ; for, if any part remains under the skin, it grows with
redoubled vigour, and becomes a cruel, and sometimes a fatal
enemy.
Dampier tells us that these worms are no thicker than a large
brown thread, but, as he had been informed, five or six yards
long. " If they break in drawing out, that part which remains
in the flesh will putrefy, be very painful, and endanger the pa-
tient's life, or at least the use of the limb ; and I have known
some that have been scarified and cut strangely to take out the
worm." He was unfortunate enough to have one of these crea-
tures in his own ankle. " I was (he says) in great torments
before it came out : my leg and ankle swelled, and looked very
red and angry, and I kept a plaster to bring it to a head.
At last, drawing off my plaster, out came about three inches
of the worm, and my pain abated presently. Till then I was
ignorant of my malady, and the gentlewoman at whose house I
was took it for a nerve ; but I knew enough what it was, and
presently rolled it up on a small stick. After that I opened the
place every morning and evening, and strained it out gently
about two inches at a time, not without some pain, till at length
I had got out about two feet." He afterwards had it entirely
destroyed by one of the negroes, who applied to it a kind of
rough powder, not unlike tobacco leaves dried and crumbled
very small.
M. D'Obsonville received in his right leg the germ of one of
these worms. He observed that its head was of a chesnut co-
lour, and that to the naked eye it appeared to terminate in a
small black point. On pressing it a little with a pin, and exa-
mining it with a common magnifying glass, he fancied he per-
ceived something like a little trunk or tongue, capable of being
pushed out or contracted. The body was not thicker than a
strong thread; but, when the animal was extracted, it was found
to be of the length of two or three ells. It appeared to be
THK ruav. 911
brined of a series of small rings, united to each other by an ex-
ceedingly fine membrane, and a single intestine extended through
the body. It was extracted in the usual way; and the reason
he gives for the injury done by breaking these animals is, that
they are full of a whitish acrimonious lymph, which imme-
diately excites inflammation, and not unfrequently produces af-
terward an abscess or gangrene. The worm in his leg was twice
broken, and twice occasionad an abscess. At last, at his own
request, the part afl'ected was rubbed with a preparation of mer-
cury; and in eight or ten days the effect surpassed his hopes, for
not only the body of the insect came away in suppuration, but
the wound also, which was then more than three inches long,
and considerably inflamed, was in this time almost entirely
healed.
The Fury. The body of the Furia is linear, and of equal thick-
ness throughout. It has on each side a single row of close-
pressed reflected prickles. Of this tribe only one species, the
Furia infernalis, has been hitherto discovered. In Finland,
Bothnia, and the northern provinces of Sweden, the people
were often seized with an acute pain, confined to a mere point,
in the face, or other exposed part of the body, which aftersvards
increased to a most excruciating degree, and sometimes, even
within a few hours after its commencement, proved fatai. This
disorder was more particularly observed in Finland, especially
about marshy places, and always in autumn. At length it was
discovered that the pain instantly succeeded something that
dropped out of the air, and almost in a moment penetrated
and buried itself in the flesh. On more accurate attention, the
furia was detected as the cause. It is about half an inch in
length, and of a carnation colour, often black at the apex. It
creeps up the stalks of sedge-grass, and shrubs in the marshes,
whence it is often carried off by the wind ; and if the naked
parts of the skin of any person happen to be directly in its
course, it immediately adheres and buries itself within. The
first sensation is said to be like that arising from the prick of
a needle ; this is succeeded by a violent itching of the part, soon
after acute pain, a red spot and gangrene, at last an inflamma-
tory fever, accompanied with swoonings. In the course of two
days, at the farthest, death follows, unless the worm be extract-
ed immediately; which is very difficult to be done. The Fin-
912 ANECDOTES OF WORMS.
landers say, however, that a poultice of curds, or cheese, will
allay the pain, and entice the animal out. Perhaps the most
effectual method is carefully to dissect between the muscles
where it had entered, and thus extract it with the knife.
Linnaeus, as he was once collecting insects, was stung hy the
furia in so dreadful a manner, that there was great doubt whether
he would recover.
The Hair-Worms. These animals are inhabitants chiefly of
stagnant waters. Their bodies are round, thread-shaped, equal
throughout, and smooth.
The common hair-worm is about the thickness of a horse's
hair, and when full grown, is ten or twelve inches in length. Its
skin is somewhat glossy, and of a pale yellowish white, except
the head and tail, which are black. It is common in our fresh
waters, and particularly in such where the bottom is composed
of soft clay, through which it passes as a fish does through
water. Its popular name arose from the idea that it was pro-
duced from the hair of horses and other animals that were acci-
dentally dropped into the water ; an idea that is even yet pre-
valent among uneducated people. Its Linnsean name of Gor-
dius, originated in the habit that it has of twisting itself into
such peculiar contortions as to resemble a complicated gordian
knot. In this state it often continues for a considerable time,
and then, slowly disengaging itself, extends its body to the full
length. Sometimes it moves in the water with a tolerably quick
undulating motion, like that of a leech ; and at other times its
motions are the most slow and languid imaginable. When the
water in which it swims happens to be dried up, it soon loses
every appearance of life ; the slender body shrivels, and it may
be kept in this state for a great length of time. But whenever
it is put into water its body soon re-assumes its former appear-
ance ; in less than half an hour it begins to move, and in a few
minutes more it is as brisk and active as ever it was. The Abbe
Fontana kept a hair-worm in a drawer for three years, at the
expiration of which it was perfectly dry and hard, and exhibited
no signs of life ; but, on putting it into water, it very soon re-
covered its former vigour. When kept in a vessel of water, it will
sometimes appear motionless, and as if dead, for several hours,
and afterward will resume its former vigour, and seem as healthy
as before. It is a very remarkable circumstance that its bite,
THE EAKTH-WOKM. 913
which it sometimes inflicts on being taken out of the water, has
been known to produce the complaint called a whitlow. This
is mentioned by Linmeus as a popular opinion in Sweden, and
it has since his time been confirmed by various other per-
sons. This Gordius is sometimes found in the earth as
well as in water, and particularly in gardens of a clayey soil,
after rain.
The Earth- Worms The earth-worms have a round annu-
lated body, with generally an elevated fleshy belt near the
head. Most of the species are rough, with minute concealed
prickles placed longitudinally, and have in the body a lateral
aperture or pore.
The Dew-Worm is a species of earth-worm, and though in
appearance a small and despicable link in the chain of nature,
yet, if lost, might make a lamentable chasm. For, to say no-
thing of half the birds and some quadrupeds that are supported
by worms, they seem to be the great promoters of vegetation,
which would proceed but ill without them, by boring, perfor-
ating, and loosening the soil, and rendering it pervious to
rains and the fibres of plants, by drawing straws and stalks
of leaves and twigs into it : and, most of all, by throwing up
such infinite numbers of lumps called worm-casts, which form
a fine manure for grain and grass. Worms probably provide
new soil for hills and slopes where the rain washes the earth
away; and they effect slopes, probably to avoid being flooded.
Gardeners arid farmers express their detestation of worms ;
the former, because they render their walks unsightly, and
make them much work ; and the latter, because they think
worms eat their green corn. But these men would find that
the earth without worms would soon become cold, hard-bound,
and void of fermentation ; and consequently sterile : and be-
sides, in favour of worms, it should be hinted that green corn,
plants, and flowers, are not so much injured by them as by
many species of insects in their larva or grub state ; and by
unnoticed myriads of those small shell-less snails, called slugs,
which silently and imperceptibly make amazing havoc in the
field and garden. Lands that are subject to frequent inunda-
tions are always poor : one great reason of this may probably
be, because all the worms are drowned.
The dew-worm is without bones, without brain, eyes, and
4H
914 ANECDOTES OF WORMS.
feet. It has a number of breathing-holes along its back, ad-
joining to each ring. Near its head is placed the heart, which
may be observed to beat with a very distinct motion. The body
is formed of small rings furnished with a set of muscles that
act in a spiral direction, and which enable it in the most
complete manner possible to penetrate into or creep upon the
earth. The motion of these creatures may be explained by
a wire wound on a cylinder; where, when one end is drawn
on and held fast, the other, upon being loosed, will imme-
diately follow. These muscles enable them with great strength
to dilate or contract their bodies. The annuli or rings are
also each armed with small, stiff, and sharp beards, or prickles,
which they have the power of opening or closing to their
body. And under the skin is secreted a slimy matter, which
they emit at the perforations between the annuli to lubricate
the body, and facilitate their passage into the ground. By all
which means they are enabled with great ease to perforate the
earth; which, had their bodies been otherwise constructed, they
could not so well have done.
Dew-worms make their casts principally about the months
of March or April, in mild weather. In rainy nights they
travel about, as appears from their sinuous tracks, on a soft
muddy soil, perhaps in search of food. When they appear at
night on the turf, although they considerably extend their
bodies, they do not quite leave their holes, but keep their tails
firmly fixed, so that, on the least alarm, they can precipitately
retire under the earth. Whatever food falls within their reach,
when thus extended, such as blades of grass, or fallen leaves,
they seem content with it.
Helpless as they may seem, these creatures are very vigilant
in avoiding such animals as prey upon them. The mole, in
particular, they avoid, by darting to the surface of the earth
the instant they feel the ground move. Fishermen, who are
acquainted with this circumstance, can take them in great
numbers, by moving the earth in places where they expect to
find them, with a dung fork. When, however, they are
wanted for fishing, they are perhaps most easily caught by the
light of a lantern in the night, after heavy showers, on grass
walks and sheep pastures, where the herbage is short. In
winter these worms retire very deep into the earth, to secure
THE EAUTH WORM. 915
themselves from being frozen. They do not become torpid
during this season, for in the intervals of mild weather they are
often observed to throw up their casts, as usual at other times
of the year.
916
ZOOPHYTES.
THOUGH Zoophytes belong to the Linnean order of verities or
worms, we limit the term here to its most popular acceptation,
namely, to those creatures which seem to form a connecting
link between animal and vegetable life to polypes, or simple
radiated water animals, either free or attached to a stem, in-
cluding among others the numerous corals, corallines, madre-
pores, millepores, and sponges.
The Coral is a marine zoophyte, that becomes, after removal
from the water, as hard as a stone, of a fine red colour, and will
take a good polish. It is used by gem sculptors for small orna-
ments. Throughout the whole Pacific ocean, the greater part
of the islands and the reefs by which the shores are surrounded,
appear to owe their existence to the labours of this little ani-
mal; and it is truly astonishing to reflect upon the immense
fabrics that are reared in the midst of the fathomless ocean by a
creature so apparently insignificant. The coast of New Hol-
land is girt round on the eastern part with reefs and islands of
coral, rising like a wall from depths in which no bottom can be
found. In the West Indies, and all over the Atlantic, though
large masses and fragments of the coralline are met with, it is
remarkable that no island of this substance has yet been dis-
covered. Coral islands are usually covered with a luxuriant
vegetation as soon as they emerge from the surface, whereas
those which owe their origin to subterraneous fire, are often
centuries before they acquire any verdure.
SJ'ONGES 917
Sponges consist of an entirely ramified mass of capillary
tubes, supposed by many to be the production of a species of
worms which are often found straying about their cavities.
This idea is now, however, nearly exploded. Others have ima-
gined them mere vegetables. But that they are possessed of a
living principle seems evident from the circumstance of their
alternately contracting and dilating their pores, and shrinking
in some degree from the touch whenever examined in their na-
tive waters. From their structure they are capable of absorb-
ing nutriment from the fluid in which they are by nature im-
mersed. They are the most torpid of all the zoophytes. The
species differ very greatly from each other both in shape and
structure. Some are composed of reticulated fibres or masses
of small spines ; some, as the Common or Officinal Sponge,
are of no regular shape; others are cup-shaped, others tubu-
lar, &c.
The Officinal Sponge is elastic, and very full of holes : it
grows into irregular lobes of a woolly consistence, and gene-
rally adheres, by a very broad base, to the rocks. It is chiefly
found about the islands in the Mediterranean sea, where it
forms a considerable article of commerce. A variety of small
marine animals pierce and gnaw into its irregular winding ca-
vities. These appear on the outside, by large holes, raised
liigher than the rest. When it is cut perpendicularly, the in-
terior parts are seen to consist of small tubes, which divide into
branches as they appear on the surface. These tubes, which
are composed of reticulated fibres, extend themselves every
way, by this means increasing tne surface of the sponge, and
ending at the outside in an infinite number of small circu-
lar holes, which are the proper mouths of the animal. Each
of these holes is surrounded by a few erect pointed fibres,
that appear as if woven in the form of little spines. These
tubes, with their ramifications, in the living state of the
sponge, are clothed with a gelatinous substance, properly
called the flesh of the animal. When the sponge is first ta-
ken it has a strong fishy smell, and the fishermen take great
care to wash it perfectly clean, in order to prevent its growing
putrid.
Polypes are gelatinous animals, consisting of a long tubu-
lar body, fixed at the base, arid surrounded at the mouth
4 H 3
918 THE GREEN POLYPE.
by arms or teritacula. They are chiefly inhabitants of fresh
waters, and are among the most wonderful productions of na-
ture. The particulars of their life, their mode of propagation,
and powers of reproduction, after being cut to pieces, are truly
astonishing to a reflecting mind. Long after experiments had
been made did scepticism involve the philosophic world ; and
the history of the animals did not obtain complete credit till
these had not only been often repeated, but varied in every
possible manner : they at length, however, incontestably proved
the truth of the surprising and apparently impossible proper
ties.
See with new life the wond'rous worm abound,
Rich from its loss, and fruitful from its wound !
The Green Polype, a species that .will fully illustrate the na-
ture of the whole tribe, is found in clear waters, and may ge-
nerally be seen in great plenty in small ditches and trenches of
fields, especially in the months of April and May. It affixes
itself to the under parts of leaves, and to the stalks of such
vegetables as happen to grow immersed in the same water.
The animal consists of a long tubular body, the head of which
is furnished with eight, and sometimes ten long arms, or tenta-
cula, that surround the mouth. It is capable of contracting its
body in a very sudden manner when disturbed, so as to appear
only like a roundish green spot ; and when the danger is over,
it again extends itself as before.
It is of an extremely predacious nature, and feeds on the
various species of small worms, and other water animals that
happen to approach. When any animal of this kind passes near
the Polype, it suddenly catches it with its arms, and dragging
it to its mouth, swallows it by degrees, much in the same man-
ner as a snake swallows a frog. Two of them may sometimes
be seen in the act of seizing the same worm at different ends,
and dragging it in opposite directions with great force. It often
happens that, while one is swallowing its respective end, the
other is also employed in the same manner; and thus they con-
tinue swallowing each his part, until their mouths meet toge-
ther : they then rest each for some time in this situation, till
the worm breaks between them, and each goes off with his
share. But it often happens that a seemingly more dangerous
THE GREEN POLYPE. 919
combat ensues, when the mouths of both are thus joined toge-
ther upon one common prey : the largest Polype then gapes
arid swallows his antagonist ; but, what is most wonderful, the
animal thus swallowed seems to be rather a gainer by the mis-
fortune. After it has lain in the conqueror's body for about an
hour it issues unhurt, and often in possession of the prey that .
had been the original cause of contention. The remains of the
animals on which the Polype feeds are evacuated at the mouth,
the only opening in the body. It is capable of swallowing a
worm of thrice its own size: this circumstance, though it may
appear incredible, is easily understood, when we consider that
the body of the Polype is extremely extensile, and is dilated on
such occasions to a surprising degree.
This species are multiplied for the most part by vegetation,
one or two, or even more young ones, emerging gradually from
the sides of the parent animal ; and these young are frequently
again prolific before they drop off: so that it is no uncommon
thing to see two or three generations at once on the same
Polype.
But the most astonishing particular respecting this animal is,
that if the Polype be cut in pieces it is not destroyed, but is
multiplied by dissection : it is literally
Rich from its loss, and fruitful from its wound.
It may be cut in every direction that fancy may suggest, and
even into very minute divisions, and not only the parent stock
will remain uninjured, but every section will become a perfect
animal. Even when turned inside-out it suffers no material in-
jury ; for, in this state, it will soon begin to take food, and to
perform all its other natural functions.
Leuwenhoek was the first who discovered this animal, toward
the end of the seventeenth century ; but M. Trembley, of Ge-
neva, made, in the year 1740, the first experiments that proved
decisively its properties. In the course of his experiments, he
found that different portions of one Polype could be ingrafted
on another. Two transverse sections brought into contact will
quickly unite, and form one animal, though each section belong
to a different species. The head of one species may be ingraft-
ed on the body of another. When one Polype is introduced by
920 THE GREEN POLYPE.
the tail into another's body, the two heads unite, and form one
individual. Pursuing these strange operations, M. Trembley
gave scope to his fancy, and, by repeatedly splitting the head
and part of the body, formed hydras more complicated than
ever struck the imagination of the most romantic fabulists.
These creatures continue active during the greater part of
the year, and it is only when the cold is most intense that they
feel the general torpor of nature. All their faculties are then
for two or three months suspended ; but if they abstain at one
time, they have ample amends in their voracity at another ; and,
like all those animals that become torpid in winter, the meal of
one day suffices for several months.
ANIMALCULE.
THE Animalcule or Infusoria constitute the last of the Lin-
naean order of worms. They are very simple in their form, and
generally invisible without a magnifying power. They are
chiefly found in infusions of animal and vegetable substances.
The different kinds of animalcula; are very numerous. We can
only notice two of the more curious genera ; namely, Vorticella,
and Vibrio.
The Vorticella, or wheel animals, are remarkable in their
structure, their habits, and production. In general form they
bear a great affinity to the Polypes, having a contractile naked
body, furnished with rotatory organs round the mouth ; and
indeed many microscopical writers have denominated them
Cluster-polypes. They are very small, and generally found in
clear stagnant waters during the summer months, attached to
the stalks of the lesser water plants, where they feed on ani-
malcules still smaller than themselves. Many of the species
are found in groups, sometimes formed by the mere approxima-
tion of several individuals, and at other times by the ramified or
aggregate manner in which they grow. Their various motions,
like those of the Polypes, are generally exerted o.nly for the
purpose of obtaining prey, the rotatory motion of their tentacula
causing an eddy in the water around each individual sufficient to
attract into its vortex such animalcules as happen to swim near :
these the little creature seizes by suddenly contracting its ten-
tacula and inclosing them in the midst. The stems of several
of the species, into which they occasionally withdraw themselves
are somewhat rigid or scaly. The young are carried in oval in-
teguments on the outside of the lower part of these ; and, when
922 ANIMALCULE.
ready to come forth, the parents aid their extrusion, where such
is necessary, by writhing their bodies, or striking the little
vesicle. As soon as the young one is liberated from its prison
it fixes itself> and commences the necessary operations to procure
its food.
The animals of the genus Vibrio are very simple, round and
elongated worms, nearly all invisible to the naked eye. The
species best known is the Eel Vibrio, which is found in sour
paste, and in most sediments from an infusion of grain. Its
body is pellucid, and tapers toward both ends. The general
resemblance that it bears to an Eel has almost universally led
microscopical writers to distinguish it by that title, though its
most gigantic individuals are seldom a tenth of an inch in
length. When paste becomes sour, if examined with a glass it
will be seen to contain multitudes of these animalcules, moving
about with great strength and rapidity in every direction. And
animals very similar in appearance are also frequently to be
observed in vinegar. They are viviparous, and produce, at in-
tervals, a numerous progeny. If one of them be cut through
the middle, several young ones coiled up and inclosed each in a
membrane, will be seen to issue from the wound. Upwards of
a hundred young have been remarked to proceed from a single
parent ; which readily accounts for their sudden and prodigious
increase. The Proteus Vibrio is a species that has its name
from its very singular power of assuming different shapes, so as
sometimes with difficulty to be distinguished for the same
animal. When water, in which any vegetable has been infused,
or in which any animal substance is preserved, has stood undis-
turbed for some days, a slimy substance will be found on the
sides of the vessel, some of which, if viewed in a microscope,
will be found to contain, among several other animalcules, the
Proteus. It is pellucid and gelatinous, and swims about, most
commonly, with a long neck and bulbous body, with great
vivacity. Sometimes it makes a stop for a minute or two, and
stretches itself out apparently in search of prey. When alarmed
it immediately draws in its neck, becomes more opaque, and
moves very sluggishly. It will then, perhaps, instead of its
former long neck, push out a kind of wheel machinery, the mo-
tions of which draw a current of water, and, along with this,
probably its prey. Withdrawing this it will sometimes remain
ANIMALCULE. 923
almost motionless for some seconds, as if weary; then protruding
its long neck, will often resume its former agility, or instead,
adopt in succession a multitude of different appearances. The
eyes of this creature have not hitherto been discovered ; it
however swims with great rapidity among the multitudes of
animalcules that inhabit the same water, without striking against
them.
THE END.
GLASGOW:
rl'LLAKTON S: to., I-R1KTERS, VIU.AFlFl.tl.
047981 6