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 NATURAL HISTORY 
 
 or 
 THE GLOBE, OF MAN, AND OF QUADRUPEDS 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 WRITINGS OF BUFFON, CIJV1ER, LACEPEDE. 

 
 BUFFON'S 
 
 a. 
 
 tgl NATURAL HISTORY ! 
 
 yivfl 
 
 OK 
 
 MAN, THE GLOBE, 
 
 AND OF 
 
 QUADRUPEDS 
 
 N E \V V O R K : 
 L E A V I T T & ALLEN
 
 B U F F O N ' S 
 
 ^ 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY 
 
 or 
 
 MAN, THE GLOBE, 
 
 WITH ADDITlOxNS HRO.VI CUVIER, LACEPEDE. AND 
 OTHER EMINENT NATURALISTS. 
 
 VOL II. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH 150 ENGRAVINOS. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 PUBLISHED BY LEAVITT & ALLEN, 
 
 No. 879 BROADWAY. 
 1857.
 
 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Of carnivorous Animals continued The Brown Bear 
 The White Bear The American Black Bear 
 The Grizzly Bear The Thibet Bear The Bornean 
 Bear The Large-lipped Bear The Beaver The 
 Racoon The Brown Coati The Agouti. 
 
 THE BEAR. 
 
 THERE is no animal more generally known than ihe 
 Bear, and yet there is none concerning which more 
 differences and contradictions have been found among 
 the writers of natural history. These uncertainties 
 have arisen from their not distinguishing properly the 
 different species. The land Bear must be distinguished 
 from the sea Bear, which is commonly known by the 
 name of the white or Greenland Bear ; and the land 
 Bears must again be divided into two species, the brown 
 and the black. There are also white land Bears found 
 in Tartary, Russia, &c. which, though they resemble 
 the sea Bear in colour, differ from it, however, in every 
 other particular. It is not the rigour of the climate 
 that makes them white in winter, like the hares and 
 ermines ; they are brought forth white, and remain so 
 all tfteir lives. There are also found Bears whose 
 skins are a mixture of brown and black,, which denotes 
 an intermediate species between the white land Bear 
 and the brown black Bear. 
 
 THE BROWN BEAR 
 
 WE meet with the Brown Bear very frequently, and 
 with the black Bear very rarely, on the Alps. In the 
 forests of the northern countries of Europe and Ame- 
 rica, on the contrary, the black Bear is very common. 
 VOL. II. 1*
 
 6 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The latter is both fierce and carnivorous ; the former 
 is only fierce, and constantly refuses to eat flesh. 
 
 The Bear is not only a savage, but a solitary animal; 
 he takes refuge in the most unfrequented parts, and the 
 most dangerous precipices of uninhabited mountains. 
 He chooses his den in the most gloomy parts of the 
 forest, in some cavern that has been hollowed by time, 
 or in the hollow of some old enormous tree. Thither 
 he retires alone, and passes a part of the winter without 
 provisions, or without ever stirring abroad. He is not, 
 however, entirely deprived of sensation, like the dor- 
 mouse or the marmot, but seems rather to subsist upon 
 the exuberance of his former flesh, and only feels the 
 calls of appetite when the fat he had acquired in sum- 
 mer begins to be considerably wasted. 
 
 When this happens, which we are told it generally 
 does at the expiration of forty or fifty days, the male 
 forsakes his den ; but the female remains confined for 
 four months : by which time she has brought forth her 
 young. That the latter should not only be able to 
 subsist, but even to nurse their offspring, without 
 receiving themselves any food for such a length of 
 time, is highly improbable. When with young, how- 
 ever, it is allowed that they are exceedingly fat, as 
 also that, being covered with a very thick coat, sleep- 
 ing the greatest part of their time, and giving them- 
 selves no exercise or motion, they must necessarily 
 lose very little by perspiration. 
 
 Though the males of the brown species devour their 
 new-born little ones, when they find an opportunity 
 for it, yet the females seem, on the contrary, to love 
 them with a ferocious distraction. When once they 
 have brought forth, their fury is more violent, as well 
 as more dangerous, than that of the males. Before the 
 young leave the womb, their formation is perfect : and 
 if either the foetus of the Bear, or the Bear when newly 
 born, appears at the first glance unformed, it is merely 
 because there is a want of proportion in the body and 
 members even of the grown bear, and because, which 
 is well known to be the case in all animals, the foetus, 
 or the new-born animal, is always more disproportioned 
 than the grown animal. 
 
 The voice of the Bear is a kind of growl, a harsh 
 murmur, which, when enraged especially, is heightened
 
 THE BEAR 
 
 b) a clashing of the teeth. Highly susceptible of 
 anger, that anger is always furious, and often capri- 
 cious. However mild he may appear before his mas- 
 ter, .and even obedient when tamed, he ought still to 
 be distrusted, still treated with circumspection ; nor, 
 on any account, must he be struck on the tip of the 
 nose, or touched on the parts of generation. 
 
 This animal is capable of some degree of instruction. 
 There are few who have not seen him stand on his 
 hind legs, or with these dance in rude and awkward 
 measure to tunes either sung or played on an instru- 
 ment. But, even in thus tutoring him, it is necessary 
 in order to succeed, that the animal should be taken 
 young, and held in constraint ever after. The Bear 
 which has passed his youth, is not to be tamed, nor 
 even held in awe, and shows himself, if not actively 
 intrepid, at least fearless of danger. 
 
 The wild Bear turns not from his path, nor offers to 
 shun the sight of man ; and yet, it is said, by a certain 
 whistle he may be surprised, and so far charmed as to 
 stop, and stand upon his hind feet. This is the time 
 to shoot, or by one method or other to destroy him ; 
 lor, when only wounded in an attack, he darts with 
 fury at his foe, and, clasping him with his fore paws, 
 is sure to stifle or strangle him, unless immediate 
 assistance be giv*n. 
 
 The Bear enjoys the senses of seeing, hearing, and 
 feeling, m great perfection; and yet, compared with 
 the size of his body, his eye is very small ; his ears are 
 also short ; his skin is coarse ; and his hair very thick 
 His smell is exquisite more so, perhaps, than that of 
 any other animal, the internal surface of his nose beinir 
 very extensive, and excellently calculated to receive 
 the impression of smells. He strikes with his paws as 
 a man strikes with his fists ; but in whatever particu- 
 ars he may bear a rude kind of resemblance to the 
 human species, he is only rendered the more deformed 
 by them ; nor do they give him the smallest superiority 
 over other animals. ! 
 
 In no part of the world, perhaps, are Bears more 
 numerous than at Kamstchatka, and no where are they 
 so gentle. They rove about the plains in large droves, 
 yet they never disturb the women and girls, who gather 
 roots and herb?, or turf for fuel, in the- very midst 01
 
 g NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 them; nay, they will even eat out of thiir hands. 
 Their mildness, however, does not preserve them from 
 being persecuted by mankind. For this ingratitude 
 tnanhas, indeed, some excuse, in the great utility of 
 the spoils of the Bear. The Kamstchadale would rind 
 it much more diflicult to subsist, did not the Bear sup- 
 ply him with many necessary articles. Beds, cover- 
 lets, caps, gloves, shoe-soles, and collars for sledge 
 dogs, are made of the skin ; the fat is savoury and 
 nutritious as food, and when melted is used as oil ; the 
 flesh is highly esteemed; the shoulder blades are 
 converted into sickles for cutting grass ; the intestines, 
 when prepared, are worn by the women as masks, to 
 protect the face from the sun, and are also converted 
 into excellent panes for windows ; and the heads and 
 haunches are hung on trees, around the dwellings, as 
 ornaments, or as trophies. To the Bear the Kamstcha- 
 dale is likewise indebted for his scanty knowledge of 
 physic and surgery, which he acquires by noticing 
 what herbs the animal applies to his wounds, or eats 
 when he is labouring under disease ; and to the Bear, 
 too, he owes all his ideas of dancing, his Bear dance, 
 as he calls it, being nothing more than a close imitation 
 of his shaggy quadruped instructers. 
 
 THE WHITE, OR POLAR BEAR. 
 
 UNLIKE his Kamstchatkan brother, the Polar Bear 
 is distinguished by his tremendous ferocity. In size, 
 too, it far surpasses him, as it sometimes reaches the 
 length of twelve feet. Its head and neck are more 
 lengthened, and the body is longer in proportion to its 
 bulk. In the Polar seas it may literally be said to 
 swarm. There, it is seen not only on the land and 
 fixed ice, but on floating ice several leagues out at sea. 
 In the latter manner White Bears are sometimes con- 
 veyed to Iceland, where they are so much dreaded by 
 the inhabitants that a crusade is immediately com- 
 menced against them. At sea, the food of this animal 
 is fish, seals, and the carcasses of whales ; on land, it 
 preys upon deer and other animals, and will eat various 
 kinds of berries. In winter, it beds itself deeply under 
 the snow or eminences of ice, and awaits, in a torpid 
 state, the return of the siu>. ft suffers exceedingly 
 when exposed to great heat
 
 THE BEiR. V 
 
 Ol the ferocity of the Polar Bear, Barents, gives a 
 striking proof. In Nova Zembla they attacked his 
 sailors, carried them offin their mouths with the utmost 
 facility, and devoured them in sight of their comrades. 
 A few years ago some sailors in a boat fired at and 
 wounded one. In spite of his receiving another shot, 
 he swarn after the boat, and endeavoured to climb into 
 it. One of his feet was cut off with a hatchet, but he 
 still pursued the aggressors to the ship. Numerous 
 additional wounds did not check his fury ; mutilated as 
 he was, he ascended the ship's side, drove the sailors 
 into the shrouds, and was following them thither, when 
 a mortal shot stretched him dead on the deck. 
 
 But even this formidable animal is not without its 
 good qualities. It is a faithful mate and an affectionate 
 parent. Hearne tells us that, at certain seasons of the 
 year, the males are so much attached to their mates, 
 that he has often seen one of them, on a female being 
 killed, come and put his paws over her, and rather 
 suffer himself to be shot than abandon her. 
 
 "While the Carcase frigate, which went out some 
 years ago to make discoveries towards the North Pole, 
 was locked in the ice, early one morning the man at 
 the masthead 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 ot 
 a walrus that the crew had killed a few days before , 
 which had been set on fire, and 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 of the flames part of the flesh of the walrus 
 that remained unconsumed, and ate it voraciously. 
 The crew from the ship threw upon the ice great lumps 
 of the flesh of the sea horse, which they had still 
 remaining. These the old Bear fetched away singly, 
 laid every lump before her Cubs as she brought it, and 
 dividing it, gave to each a share, reserving but a small 
 portion to herself. As she was fetching away the last 
 piece, the sailors levelled their muskets at the Cubs, 
 and shot them both dead ; and in her retreat they 
 wounded the dam, but not mortally. It would have 
 drawn tears of pity from any but unfeeling minds, to
 
 TO NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 have marked the affectionate concern expressed by this 
 poor beast in the last moments of her expiring young 
 ones. Though she was herself dreadfully wounded, 
 and could but just crawl to the place where they lay, 
 she carried the lump of flesh she had fetched away, as 
 she had done others before, tore it in pieces, and laid 
 it before them ; and when she saw that they refused to 
 eat, she laid her paws first upon one, and then upon 
 ihe other, and endeavoured to raise them up ; all this 
 while it was pitiful to hear her moan. When she found 
 she could not stir them, she went off, and when she 
 had got to some distance, she looked back and moaned. 
 Finding this to no purpose, 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 
 her, she returned to them again ; and, with signs of 
 inexpressible fondness, went round, pawing them and 
 moaning. Finding at last that they were cold and 
 lifeless, she raised her head towards the ship, and 
 uttered a growl of despair, which the murderers re- 
 turned with a volley of musket balls. She fell between 
 her Cubs, and died licking their wounds." 
 
 Mr. Scoresby mentions a singular circumstance with 
 respect to a part of this animal. " The liver, I may 
 observe, as a curious fact (says he), is hurtful, and even 
 deleterious ; while the flesh and liver of the seal, on 
 which it chiefly feeds, are nourishing and palatable. 
 Sailors who have inadvertently eaten the liver of Bears, 
 have almost always been sick after it; some have ac- 
 tually died; and the effect on others has been to cause 
 the skin to peel off their bodies. This is, perhaps, 
 almost the only instance known of any part of the flesh 
 of a quadruped proving unwholesome." 
 
 THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR. 
 
 THIS animal is found, in considerable numbers, in the 
 northern districts of America. In size and form he 
 approaches nearest to the Brown Bear ; but his colour 
 is a uniform shining jet black, except on the muzzle, 
 where it is fawn coloured; on the lips and sides of the 
 mouth it is almost gray. The hair, except on the
 
 THE BEAR. it 
 
 muzzle, is long and straight, and is less shaggy than in 
 most other species. The forehead has a slight eleva- 
 tion, and the muzzle is elongated, and somewhat flat- 
 tened above. The young ones, however, are first of a 
 bright ash colour, which gradually changes into a deep 
 brown, and ends by becoming a deep black. 
 
 The American Black Bear lives a solitary life in 
 forests and uncultivated deserts, and subsists on fruits, 
 and on the young shoots and roots of vegetables. Of 
 honey he is exceedingly fond, and, as he is a most 
 expert' climber, he scales the loftiest trees in search of 
 it. Fish, too, he delights in, and is often found in 
 quest of it on the borders of lakes and on the seashore. 
 When these resources fail, he will attack small quad- 
 rupeds, and even animals of some magnitude. As, 
 indeed, is usual in such cases, the love of flesh in him 
 grows with the use of it. 
 
 As the fur is of some value, the Indians are assiduous 
 in the chase of the creature which produces it. "About 
 the end of December, from the abundance of fruits 
 they find in Louisiana and the neighbouring countries, 
 the bears become so fat and lazy that they can scarcely 
 run. At this time they are hunted by the American 
 Indians. The nature of the chase is generally this : 
 the Bear chiefly adopts for his retreat the hollow trunk 
 of an old cypress tree, which he climbs, and then de- 
 scends into the cavity from above. The hunter whose 
 business it is to watch him into this retreat, climbs a 
 neighbouring tree, and seats himself opposite to the 
 hole. In one hand he holds his gun, and in the other 
 a torch, which he darts into the cavity. Frantic with 
 rage and terror, the Bear makes a spring from his 
 station ; but the hunter seizes the instant of his appear- 
 ance, and shoots him. 
 
 "The pursuit of these animals is a matter of the first 
 importance to some of the Indian tribes, and is never 
 undertaken without much ceremony. A principal war- 
 rior gives a general invitation to all the hunters. This 
 is follow ed by a strict fast of eight days, in which they 
 totally ebstain from food ; but during which the day is 
 passed .n continual song. This is done to invoke the 
 spirits of the woods to direct the hunters to the places 
 where there are abundance of Bears. They even cut 
 the flesh n diver? parts of their bodies, to render the
 
 12 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 spirits more propitious. They also address themselvi s 
 to the manes of the beasts slain in the preceding chases, 
 and implore these to direct them in their dreams to an 
 abundance of game. The chief of the hunt now gives 
 a great feast, at which no one dares to appear without 
 first bathing. At this entertainment, contrary to their 
 usual custom, they eat with great moderation. The 
 master of the feast touches nothing ; but is employed 
 in relating to the guests ancient tales of feats in former 
 chases ; and fresh invocations to the manes of the de- 
 ceased Bears conclude the whole. 
 
 *' Then they sally forth, equipped as if for war, and 
 painted black ; and they proceed on their way in a 
 direct line, not allowing rivers, marshes, or any other 
 impediment to stop their course, and driving before 
 them all the beasts they find. When they arrive at 
 the hunting ground, they surround as large a space as 
 they can ; and then contract their circle, searching at 
 the same time every hollow tree, and every place 
 capable of being the retreat of a Bear ; and they con- 
 tinue the same practice till the chase is expired. 
 
 " As soon as a Bear is killed, a hunter puts into his 
 mouth a lighted pipe of tobacco, and blowing into it, 
 fills the throat with the smoke, conjuring the spirit of 
 the animal not to resent what they are about to do to 
 its body, or to render their future chases unsuccessful 
 As the beast makes no reply, they cut out the string 
 of the tongue, and throw it into the fire. If it crackle 
 and shrivel up (which it is almost sure to do), they 
 accept this as a good omen ; if not, they consider that 
 the spirit of the beast is not appeased, and that the 
 chase of the next year will be unfortunate." 
 
 In the Tower menagerie there is a very tame and 
 playful American Bear, which was presented to it in 
 1824. He was originally in the same den with the 
 hyaena, and, except at feeding times, was on good 
 terms with his companion. A piece of meat, however, 
 would occasionally produce a temporary dissension 
 between them; in which the hyaena, though the small- 
 est of the two, had usually the upper hand. On scuh 
 occasions, the defeated Bear would moan most pite- 
 ously, in a tone somewhat like a sheep bleating, while 
 the hyaena devoured the remainder of his dinner.
 
 THE BEAR. J3 
 
 THE GRIZZLY BEAR. 
 
 LIKE the American black Bear, this animal inhabit* 
 the northern part of America; but, unlike him, he is, 
 perhaps the most formidable of all Bears in magnitude 
 and ferocity. He averages twice the bulk of the black 
 Bear, to which, however, he bears some resemblance 
 in his slightly elevated forehead, and narrow, flattened 
 elongated muzzle. His canine teeth are of great size 
 and power. The feet are enormously large ; the 
 breadth of the fore-foot exceeding nine inches, and the 
 length of the hind-foot exclusive of the talons, being 
 eleven inches and three quarters, and its breadth seven 
 inches. The talons sometimes measure more than six 
 inches. He is, accordingly, admirably adapted for 
 digging up the ground, but is unable to climb trees, in 
 which latter respect he differs wholly from every other 
 species. The colour of his hair varies to almost an 
 indefinite extent, between all the intermediate shades 
 of a light gray and a black brown ; the latter tinge, 
 however, being that which predominates. It is always 
 in some degree grizzled, by intermixture of grayish 
 hairs, only the brown hairs being tipped with gray. 
 The hair itself is, in general, longer, finer, and more 
 exuberant than that of the black Bear. 
 
 The neighbourhood of the rocky mountains is one 
 of the principal haunts of this animal. There, amidst 
 wooded plains, and tangled copses of bough and under- 
 wood, he reigns as much the monarch as the lion is of 
 the sandy wastes of Africa. Even the bison cannot 
 withstand his attack. Such is his muscular strength 
 that he will drag the ponderous carcass of the animal 
 to a convenint spot, where he digs a pit for its recep- 
 tion. The Indians regard him with the utmost terror. 
 His extreme tenacity of life renders him still more 
 dangerous ; for he can endure repeated wounds which 
 would be instantaneously mortal to other beasts, and, 
 in that state, cau rapidly pursue his enemy. So that 
 the hunter who fails to shoot him through the brain, is 
 placed in a most perilous situation. 
 
 A grizzly Bear has now been for seventeen years 
 an inhabitant of the Tower Menagerie, and is known 
 by the name of Old Martin. He s >ems to have Ion* 
 VOL II,?
 
 14 NATUBAL HISTORY. 
 
 none of his original ferocity, and manifests no attach- 
 ment to his keepers. 
 
 THE THIBET BEAR. 
 
 THE epithet prefixed to the name of this animal suf- 
 ficiently indicates the country to which the creature be- 
 longs. The species, however, unless Cuvier and others 
 are in error, is also to be found in Sumatra. It is par- 
 ticularly distinguished from the Malay and the large- 
 lipped Bears by the thickness of its neck, and the 
 flatness of its head. It has a compact body and heavy 
 limbs, and its claws are little more than half as long as 
 those of the other Indian Bears. The ears are very 
 large. The muzzle is moderately thick, and somewhat 
 lengthened ; the upper part black, with a slightly red- 
 dish tint on the sides, the edges of the lips flesh co- 
 loured, and the hair smooth. From the back part of 
 <he head, however, the hair becomes shaggy. A uni- 
 form jet black is its invariable colour, except on the 
 lower lip, which is white ; and so also is a patch on the 
 front of the neck, shaped like the letter Y, the oblique 
 lines of which pass in front of the shoulders, while the 
 lower line occupies the middle of the chest. 
 
 THE BORNEAN BEAR. 
 
 IN one point this native of Borneo differs strikingly 
 from the other Bears its head, instead of being flat- 
 tened, is nearly hemispherical above, rising in a strong 
 arch immediately behind its obtuse and gradually at- 
 tenuated nose. Its mouth is very expansible, and has 
 a long, narrow, extensile tongue, which the owner can 
 protrude nearly a foot, and then curve spirally inwards ; 
 a process which it frequently performs. The claws are 
 very long, firmly arched, tapering gradually to the 
 point, and well calculated for digging the earth. Its 
 short, glistening fur, rather rigid, yet soft to the touch, 
 is a fine jet black on the body, head, and extremities. 
 The muzzle is of a yellowish brown, and the anterior 
 part of the neck has a large broad patch of a more 
 bright and nearly orange tint, and an irregular quadran- 
 gular form, deeply notched above. 
 
 " It arrived in this country (says the author of ' Tin
 
 THE BEAR. 15 
 
 Tower Menagerie,') about four years ago, and formed 
 until lately one of the most attractive and interesting 
 spectacles among the animals confined in the menage- 
 rie. It was brought from Borneo when very young, 
 and during its passage was the constant associate of a 
 monkey and several other young animals. It was thus 
 domesticated in early life, and its manners in confine- 
 ment greatly resembled those of the Malayan Bear 
 observed by Sir Stamford Raffles, to which it was pro- 
 bably not inferior in sagacity or intellect. It could rest 
 entirely on its posterior feet, and could even raise itself 
 without difficulty to a nearly erect posture ; but was more 
 generally seen in a sitting attitude at the door of its 
 apartment, eagerly surveying the visiters and attracting 
 their attention by the uncouthness of its form, and the 
 singularity of its motions. When a morsel of bread or 
 cake was held at a small distance beyond its reach, it 
 would expand the lateral aperture of its nostrils and 
 thrust forward its upper lip as a proboscis in a most 
 ludicrous manner, at the same time making use of its 
 paws to seize the object. After obtaining it and filling 
 its mouth, it would place the remainder with great 
 calmness on its posterior feet, and bring it in succes 
 sive portions to its mouth. When craving for food, 
 and also while consuming it, it emitted a coarse, but 
 not unpleasant, whining sound, accompanied by a low 
 grunting noise ; but if teased at this time, it would sud- 
 denly raise its voice to a harsh grating tone. It was 
 excessively voracious, and appeared disposed to eat 
 almost without cessation; a propensity which finally 
 cost it its life, having overgorged itself at breakfast one 
 morning in the course of last summer, during the hot 
 weather, iind dying within ten minutes afterwards. 
 This was a severe loss to Mr. Cops, (the keeper) who 
 prized it highly, and to whom, in return, it was greatly 
 attached. On seeing its keeper it would often place 
 itself in a variety of attitudes, to court his attention and 
 caresses, extending its nose and anterior feet, or, sud- 
 denly turning round, exposing its back and waiting for 
 several minutes in this posture with its head placed on 
 the ground. It delighted in being patted and rubbed, 
 even by strangers ; but violently resented abuse and ill 
 treatment. Its principal food was bread,"
 
 ] KATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 THE LARGE-LIPPED BEAR. 
 
 THIS animal, which was first brought from India 
 about forty years ago, was at first misnamed the Five- 
 fingered, or Ursine Sloth. It has, however, nothing in 
 common with the family of the sloths ; but is a genuine 
 Bear. This curious quadruped is said to have been 
 brought from the interior part of Bengal, where it bur- 
 rows in the ground. It is covered with black, shaggy 
 hair, which on the back is twelve inches long, where it 
 divides and forms a kind of bunch. The hair on its 
 head is short, and the snout is of a yellowish white. 
 The tail is so short as to be scarcely visible. Its lips 
 are thin and very long, and furnished with muscles, by 
 which it can protrude them in a most singular manner, 
 Its legs and feet resemble those of the common Bear, 
 and on each foot it has five long, crooked, white claws, 
 which it uses either together or separately, like fingers 
 to break its food, and convey it to the mouth. It has 
 no cutting teeth, but two very strong canine teeth, and 
 six grinders in each jaw. 
 
 It is a gentle but sluggish animal, and feeds on bread, 
 fruit, nuts, honey, or fat, but refuses roots, and the lean 
 and muscular parts of flesh. In general its motions 
 are slow and languid ; but when disturbed or irritated, 
 it appears rather lively, and utters a kind of short, ab- 
 rupt roar. 
 
 THE BEAVER. 
 
 IN all countries, as man is civilized and improved, 
 the lower ranks of animals are depressed and degraded. 
 Either reduced to servitude, or treated as rebels, all 
 their societies are dissolved, and all their united talents 
 rendered ineffectual. Their feeble arts quickly disap- 
 pear ; and nothing remains but their solitary instincts, 
 or those foreign habitudes which they receive from 
 human education. 
 
 The Beaver seems to be now the only remaining 
 monument of that kind of intelligence in brutes, which, 
 though infinitely inferior, as to its principle, to that 01 
 man, supposes, however, cei tain common projects, 
 certain relative ends in view, projects which, having 
 for their basis society, in like manner, suppose some
 
 THE BEATER. 17 
 
 particular method of understanding one another, and 
 of acting in concert. 
 
 It is allowed, that the Beaver, far from having an ab 
 solute superiority over the other animals, seems, on the 
 contrary, to be inferior to some of them as to its qua- 
 lities merely as an individual ; and this fact is confirmed 
 by observing a young Beaver, which was sent to Paris 
 from Canada in the beginning of the year 1758. It is 
 an animal tolerably mild, tranquil, and familiar, though 
 rather, it would seem, gloomy and melancholy. If we 
 consider this animal, therefore, in its dispersed and 
 solitary state, we shall find, that, as to internal quali- 
 ties, it is not superior to other animals ; that it has not 
 more ingenuity than the dog, more sense than the ele- 
 phant, or more cunning than the fox. It is rather re- 
 markable for the singularities of its internal qualities. 
 Of quadrupeds, the Beaver alone has a flat oval tail, 
 covered with scales, which serves as a rudder to direct 
 its motions in the water. It is the only quadruped that 
 has membranes between the toes on the hind feet, and 
 at the same time none on the fore ones, which it uses 
 as hands in carrying food to the mouth. It is the only 
 one which, while it resembles a terrestrial animal in 
 its foreparts, seems to approach the nature of an aqua- 
 tic being in its hind ones. 
 
 The Beavers begin to assemble in the month of June 
 or July, in order to form a society, which is to continue 
 for the greatest part of the year. They arrive in num- 
 bers from every side, and presently form a company of 
 two or three hundred. The place of meeting is com- 
 monly the place where they fix their abode ; and this 
 is always by the side of some lake or river. If it be a 
 lake in which the waters are always upon a level, they 
 dispense with building a dam ; but if it be a running 
 stream, which is subject to floods and falls, they then 
 set about building a dam, or pier, that crosses the river, 
 so as to form a dead water in that part which lies above 
 and below. This dam, or pier, is often four score or a 
 hundred feet long, and ten or twelve feet thick at the base. 
 If we compare the greatness of the work with the pow- 
 er of the architect*, it will appear enormous ; but the 
 solidity with which it is built is still more astonishing 
 
 * The largest Beavers weigh from fifty to sixty pounds, and, in length, ar 
 W more than three feet fr>m the tip of the snont to the insertion of he tU
 
 19 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 than its size. The part of the river over which this 
 darn is usually built is where it is most shallow, and 
 where some great tree is found growing by the side of 
 the stream. This they pitch upon as proper for making 
 the principal part in their building ; and, though it is 
 often thicker than a man's body, they yet instantly set 
 about cutting it down. For this operation they have 
 no other instrument but their four incisive teeth, which 
 soon lay it level, and that also on the side they wish it 
 to fall, which is always across the stream. They then 
 set about cutting the top branches, to make it lie close 
 and even, and serve as the principal beam of their fabric. 
 
 These operations are performed in common. At one 
 time a number of Beavers are employed together at the 
 foot of the tree in gnawing it down ; and, when this 
 part of their labour is accomplished, it becomes the 
 business of others to sever the branches, while a third 
 party are engaged along the borders of the river, or 
 lake, in cutting other trees, which, though smaller than 
 the first tree, are yet as thick as the leg, if not the 
 thigh, of a common sized man. These they carry with 
 them by land to the brink of the river, and then by 
 water to the place allotted for their building ; where, 
 sharpening them at one end, and forming them into 
 stakes, they fix them in the ground, at a small distance 
 from each other, and fill up the vacant spaces with pli- 
 ant branches. While some are thus employed in fixing 
 the stakes, others go in search of clay, which they pre- 
 pare for their purpose with their tails and their feet, 
 and with which, brought home in large quantities, they 
 render their structure still more compact. 
 
 This structure is so ingeniously contrived, that it has 
 not only all the extent, and all the solidity, which are 
 requisite, but also a form the most proper for confining 
 the water, and, when it has passed its bounds, for 
 maintaining its weight, or baffling its attacks. At the 
 top of their dike or mole, that is, at the part where it 
 is least thick, they form two or threo openings. These 
 they occasionally enlarge or contract, as the river occa- 
 sionally rises or falls ; and when, from inundations 
 either too powerful or too sudden, their works have 
 been damaged, they are, with the utmost diligence and 
 application, on the retreat of the waters, immediately 
 repaired.
 
 THE BEAVER. 19 
 
 After this display of their labours to accomplish a 
 public work, it would be superfluous to add to it a de- 
 scription of their private constructions, were it not that, 
 in history, an account should be given of every fact, 
 and that, in this first grand work of the Beaver, the 
 intention uniformly is, that the little habitation of each 
 family should be rendered more commodious. 
 
 This habitation is always furnished with two passages, 
 one for the purpose of a land, and the other of a water 
 excursion. In shape it is almost always either oval or 
 round ; sometimes it is from four to five feet in diame- 
 ter, and sometimes it consists of two, and even three 
 stories, while the walls are always two feet thick. 
 When it happens to consist of but one story, the walls 
 are but a few feet high, over which there is a kind of 
 vault, that terminates the edifice, and serves as a co- 
 vering for it. It is constructed with such solidity as to 
 be impenetrable to the heaviest rains, to defy the most 
 impetuous winds, and is plastered with such neatness, 
 both outwardly and inwardly, that one might actually 
 suppose it to be the work of man. These animals, 
 nevertheless, use no instrument for the preparation of 
 their mortar, but their feet, or for the application of it. 
 but their tails. They chiefly use such materials as are 
 not easily dissolved by water. Their wooden work con- 
 sists of such trees as grow on the banks of rivers, as 
 these are most easily cut down, stripped of their bark, 
 and carried ; and all these operations they perform be- 
 fore they relinquish a tree which they have once at- 
 tacked. They cut it at the distance of a foot or a foot 
 and a half from the ground. They sit as they work ; 
 and, besides the advantage of this convenient posture, 
 they have the pleasure of continually gnawing fresh 
 bark and soft wood, both which they prefer to mos* 
 other kinds of aliment. Averse to dry wood, they al- 
 ways provide an ample store of these for their subsist- 
 ence during the winter.* It is near their habitations 
 that they establish their magazines ; and to each hut 
 or cabin there is one allotted, of a size proportioned to 
 the number of its inhabitants, to which they have all a 
 common right; nor do they offer to plunder their 
 neighbours. 
 
 ' The space allotted for the provision of eight or ten Beavers occiipitt from- 
 Wer .ty-five to thi ty feet squire, and from eight to ten feet dp.
 
 20 NATURAL H.nfORY. 
 
 Hamlets, so to express them, have been seen, com- 
 posed of twenty and even twenty-five dwellings. Such 
 large settlements, however, are rare. In general, they 
 do not contain more than ten or a dozen families, each 
 of which has its own separate district, magazine, and 
 habitation ; nor will it allow any strangers to settle 
 within its enclosure. The smallest dwellings contain 
 two, four, and six ; the largest, eighteen, twenty, and 
 it is even said thirty beavers ; and it seldom or never 
 happens that the number of males and females is not 
 upon a par. Moderately speaking, therefore, their 
 society may be said to consist frequently of one hun- 
 dred and fifty or two hundred workmen, who, having 
 first exerted their united industry and diligence in 
 rearing a grand public work, afterwards form them- 
 selves into different bodies, in order to construct pri- 
 vate habitations. 
 
 However numerous the republic of Beavers may be, 
 peace and good order are uniformly maintained in it. 
 A common series of toil has strengthened they- union ; 
 the conveniences which they have procured for each 
 other, and the abundance of provisions which, after 
 having amassed, they continue to consume together, 
 render them happy within themselves ; and, having 
 moderate appetites, entertaining even an aversion to 
 blood and carnage, they have not the smallest propen- 
 sity to hostility or rapine, but actually enjoy all the 
 blessings which man is only born to desire. Friends to 
 each other, if threatened by any enemies from abroad 
 they know how to avoid them ; and for this purpose, 
 on the first alarm, they give notice of their mutual 
 danger, by striking the water with their tails, which 
 sends forth a sound that is heard in their most distant 
 dwellings. On this occasion, each Beaver, as he thinks 
 most expedient, plunges into the water, or conceals 
 himself within the walls of his own habitation, which 
 is in no danger but from the fire of the angry heavens, 
 or from the weapons of man, and which no animal 
 dares attempt to open or to overturn. 
 
 These asylums are not only secure, but also very 
 neat and commodious. The floor is covered with ver- 
 dure, young and tender branches of trees serving them 
 for a carpet, on which they never permit any of their 
 excrements to be left. The window which fronts the
 
 THE BAVR. 21 
 
 water serves them for a balcony, from which they 
 enjoy the fresh air, and bathe themselves the greatest 
 part of the day. In the water they remain in an up- 
 right posture, the head and fore parts only being visi- 
 ble. This element is, indeed, so necessary to them, 
 or rather gives them so much pleasure, that they seem 
 unable, as it were, to live without frequent immersions 
 in it. Sometimes they go to a considerable distance 
 under the ice ; and then they are easily taken, by 
 attacking the dwelling on one hand, and laying in 
 wait for them, at the same time, at a hole which is 
 purposely formed a little way off in the ice, and to 
 which they are obliged to come for breath. 
 
 The habit which this animal has, of continually 
 keeping the tail and all the hind parts of the body in 
 the water, seems to have changed the nature of its 
 flesh. That of the fore parts, till we come to the reins, 
 is of the same quality, taste, and consistency as the 
 flesh of land animals ; that of the tail, and of the hind 
 legs and thighs, has the smell, the savour, and all the 
 qualities of fish. As for the tail, in particular, it is 
 even an extremity, an actual portion, of a fish fixed to 
 the body of a quadruped. In length it generally mea- 
 sures a foot, in thickness an inch, and in breadth five 
 or six inches. It is entirely covered over with scales, 
 and has a skin altogether the same as that of a large 
 fish. 
 
 The females are said to go four months with young. 
 They bring forth about the close of winter, and their 
 number generally consists of two or three at a time. 
 Nearly at this period the males leave them, and go 
 forth into the fields, where they enjoy all the sweets of 
 the spring. In this season they pay occasional visits 
 to their habitation, but never reside in it. There, how- 
 ever, the females remain employed in suckling, tend- 
 ing, and rearing their little ones, who are in a condition 
 to follow them at the expiration of a few weeks. They 
 then, in their turn, go abroad, where they feed on fish, 
 or on the bark of young trees, and pass the whole of 
 their time upon the water, or among the woods. 
 
 Winter is the season which is principally allotted for 
 hunting them, as it is then only that their fur is in per- 
 fection ; and when, after thsir fabrics are demolished, 
 a great numbej happen t3 be taken, their society if
 
 g> NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 never restored ; the few that have escaped captivit) ->i 
 death, disperse themselves, and become houseless wan- 
 derers ; or concealed in some hole under ground, and 
 reduced to the condition of other animals, they lead a 
 timid life, no longer employ, themselves but to satisfy 
 their immediate and most urgent wants, no longer re- 
 tain those faculties and qualities which they eminently 
 possess in a state of society. 
 
 We meet with Beavers in America from the thir- 
 tieth degree of north latitude to the sixtieth, and even 
 beyond it. In the northern parts they are very com 
 mon; and the farther south we proceed, their numbe- 
 is still found to decrease. The same observation holds 
 with respect to the Old Continent : we never find them 
 numerous but in the more northern countries ; and in 
 
 France, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Egypt, they are ex- 
 ceedingly rare. They formerly inhabited both Eng- 
 land and Wales, but have long been extinct in both. 
 
 Giraldus Cambrensis states them to have frequented 
 the river Tievi, in Cardiganshire. They must, how- 
 ever, have been uncommon, as in the tenth century, 
 the Welsh laws valued a Beaver skin at the enormous 
 sum of a hundred and twenty pence. The ancients 
 knew them : and by the religion of the Magi it was for- 
 bidden to kill them. 
 
 Several authors have said, that the Beaver, being an 
 aquatic animal, could not live solely on land. This 
 opinion, however, is erroneous; for the Beaver which 
 was mentioned in a preceding paragraph, having been 
 taken when quite young in Canada, and always reared 
 in the house, did not know the water when he wa 
 brought to it, was afraid of it, and refused to go into it. 
 Even when first plunged into a basin, there was a 
 necessity for keeping him in it by force. A few 
 minutes after, nevertheless, he became so well recon- 
 ciled to it, that he no longer showed an aversion to his 
 new situation ; and, when afterwards left to his liberty. 
 he frequently returned to it of himself, and w r ould even 
 roll about in the dirt, and upon the wet pavement. 
 One day he made his escape, and descended by a cellar 
 staircase into the quarries under the Royal Garden. 
 There he swam to a considerable distance on the stag- 
 nated waters which are at the bottom of those quar- 
 ries ; yet no sooner did he see the light of the torcnes
 
 THE BEAVER. !W 
 
 which were ordered down for the purpose oi finding 
 him, than he returned, and allowed himself to be taken 
 without making the smallest resistance. 
 
 He is an animal familiar without being fawning; and 
 when he sees people at table, he is sure to ask for 
 something to eat. This he does by a little plaintive 
 cry, and by a few gestures of his fore-paws. When 
 he has obtained a morsel, he carries it away, and con- 
 ceals himself, in order to eat it at his ease. In several 
 instances he has been cempletely domesticated, and 
 become as docile as a dog. When he sleeps, which 
 he does very often, he lies upon his belly. No food 
 comes amiss to him, meat excepted ; and this he con- 
 stantly refuses, either raw or boiled. He gnaws every 
 thing he comes near; and it was found necessary to 
 line with tin the tun in which he was brought over. 
 
 Independently of the fur, which is indeed the most 
 valuable article furnished by the Beaver, this animal 
 furnishes a substance that has been considerably used 
 in medicine. This substance, which is known by the 
 name of castor, is contained in two bladders.* The 
 savages, it is said, obtain an oil from the tail of the Bea- 
 ver, which they employ as a topical remedy for different 
 complaints. The flesh of this animal, though fat and 
 delicate, is yet bitter, and disagreeable to the palate. 
 
 There are two kinds of hair on the skin of the Bea- 
 ver ; that next the skin is short, and as fine as down ; 
 the upper coat is scantier, thicker, and longer. The 
 Jowny hair is manufactured into hats, stockings, caps, 
 and other articles. The skin is so considerable an 
 article of traffic, that the species which produces it 
 will, perhaps, at length, be exterminated. At one sale, 
 the Hudson's Bay Company sold about fifty-four thou- 
 sand ; and, in 1798, a hundred and six thousand were 
 exported to Europe and China from Canada alone. 
 
 The senses of the Beaver are very acute ; and so 
 Delicate is its smell, that it will suffer no filth, no bad 
 stench, to remain near it. When kept too long in 
 confinement, and under a necessity of voiding its ex- 
 erement, it drops them near the threshold of its prison, 
 and, when the door is opened, is sure to push them out. 
 
 * It is pretended that the Beavers extract the liquid which is contained in 
 these bladders, by pressing them with the foot ; and that it gives them nn appe- 
 tite when they are averse to food. The truth, however, seems to be, that th 
 Wiii.ial uses this li t .*d in order to grease its tail.
 
 34 JfATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 THE RACOON 
 
 Is an animal of about the same size as a small badger; 
 its oody is short and bulky ; its fur is fine, long, thick, 
 blackish at the surface, and gray towards the bottom ; 
 its head like that of a fox, but its ears are round and 
 shorter ; its eyes are large, of a yellowish green, and 
 over them there is a black and transverse stripe ; its 
 snout is sharp ; its tail is thick, but tapering towards a 
 point, and marked alternately from one end to the other 
 with black and white and brownish rings, and is at 
 least as long as the body ; its fore legs are much 
 shorter than the hind ones, and both are armed with 
 five strong., sharp claws. 
 
 This animal, while eating, usually supports itself on 
 its hind legs, and uses its paws to hold its food, and it 
 can open an oyster with the utmost dexterity. If water 
 be near, it in general dips its food into it. By its 
 pointed claws it is enabled to climb trees with great 
 facility. It runs up the trunk with the same swiftness 
 that it moves over the plain, and frolics about to the 
 extremity of the branches with great security and ease : 
 on the ground, indeed, it rather bounds than runs, aifll 
 its motions, though singularly oblique, are yet always 
 quick and expeditious. 
 
 The Racoon is a native of ftorth America and the 
 West Indies, nor has it ever yet been found in any 
 part of the Old Continent. 
 
 He may be tamed without difficulty, and is then very 
 good-natured and sportive, but is as mischievous as a 
 monkey, and seldom remains at rest. Of ill treatment 
 he is extremely sensible, and rifever forgives those 
 from whom he has received it. He has also an antipa- 
 thy to sharp and harsh sounds, such as the bark of a 
 dog and the cry of a child. His fur is used by the 
 hatters, his skin is converted into gloves and upper 
 leather for shoes, and his flesh is considered as a deli- 
 cacy by the negroes. 
 
 THE BROWN COATI. 
 
 THIS animal, of which we are now about to treat, 
 many authors have called coati-mondi. It is very dif- 
 ferent from the anima. described in the preceding arti-
 
 THE AGOUTI. 35 
 
 cle. It is of a smaller size than the racoon ; its body 
 and neck, its head and nose, are of a more lengthened 
 form ; its upper jaw is an inch, or an inch and a half, 
 longer than the lower one ; and its snout, which is 
 moveable in every direction, turns up at the point. 
 The eyes of the Coati are also smaller than the eyes 
 of the racoon, and are surrounded by three white 
 spots ; its hair is longer and coarser, its legs are 
 shorter, and its feet longer ; but, like the racoon, its 
 tail is diversified with rings, alternately black and ful 
 vous ; and to all its feet there are five claws. 
 
 This animal has a practice of eating its own tail, 
 which, when not mutilated, is longer than its body, and 
 which it generally rears aloft, and can move v/ith oase 
 in any direction. 
 
 From this circumstance one general inference may 
 be drawn; namely, that in those parts which are elon- 
 gated to a great degree, and of which the extremities 
 are consequently very remote from the seat of the 
 senses, from the centre of feeling, that feeling must be 
 weak, and the more so, the greater the distance and 
 the smaller the part. 
 
 As for the Coati in other respects, it is an animal of 
 prey, which subsists on flesh and blood, which, like the 
 fox, destroys small animals and poultry, hunts for the 
 nests of little birds, and devours their eggs ; and it is 
 probably from this conformity of disposition, that some 
 authors have considered the Coati as a species of small 
 fox. It inhabits the woods of South America. In 
 pursuit of its prey, it climbs trees with much agility. 
 When tamed, which it easily is, it is fond of being 
 caressed, but does not become much attached to its 
 owner. 
 
 THE AUGOUTI. 
 
 THIS animal is about the size of a hare, and has been 
 considered, erroneously, as a kind of rabbit, or large 
 rat, by the generality of nomenclators. As it has the 
 hair of a hog, so also it has the voracious appetite of 
 that animal. It eats indiscriminately of all things ; and 
 when satiated, it hides the remainder, like the dog or 
 the fox, for a future occasion. 
 
 It does not, like the rabbit, dig a hole in the ground 
 but burrows in the holes of tr*es. Its ordinary food 
 VOL. II. 3
 
 ^6 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 consists of the roots of the country, potatoes, yam* 
 and such fruits as fall from the trees in autumn. I 
 uses its fore paws like the squirrel, to carry its food to 
 its mouth ; and as its hind fetft are longer than the fore 
 ones, it runs very swiftly upon plain ground, or up a 
 hill, but upon a descent it is in danger of falling. Its 
 eight is excellent; its hearing equals that of any other 
 animal ; and whenever it is whistled to, it stops to 
 hearken. The flesh is dressed like that of a sucking 
 pig, and of such as are well fed, is tolerable food, 
 though it has always a peculiar taste, and is rather 
 rough. 
 
 It is hunted by dogs ; and whenever it goes into a 
 sugar-ground, where the canes cover the place, it is 
 easily overtaken ; for it is embarrassed every step it 
 takes, so that a man may easily come up with it, and 
 kill it without any other assistance than a stick. When 
 in the open country, it usually runs with great swift- 
 ness before the dogs until it gains its retreat, within 
 which it continues to hide, and nothing but filling the 
 hole with smoke can force it out. For this purpose 
 the hunter burns faggots or straw at the entrance, and 
 conducts the smoke in such a manner that it fills the 
 whole cavity. While this is doing, the poor little ani- 
 mal seems sensible of its danger, begs for quarter with 
 a most plaintive cry, but seldom quits its hole till the 
 utmost extremity. 
 
 The Agouti seems to be a native of the south parts 
 of America ; nor k at all known in the Old Continent. 
 It is, however, very common in "Brazil, Guiana, St 
 Domingo, and all the islands around. To the cold and 
 temperate reg j >ns of America this animal is aii uite* 
 stranger.
 
 THE LION. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Of Carnivorous Animals continued The Lion The 
 Bengal Lion The Lioness and her Cubs The 
 Cape Lion The Puma, or American Lion The 
 Tiger The Leopard The Jaguar The Panther 
 The Chetah The Lynx The Caracal The 
 Striped Hyaena The Spotted Hyana The Civet 
 and Zibet The Javanese Civet The Genet The 
 Paradoxorus The Prehensile Paradoxorus The 
 Ond<r*ra, and Desman. 
 
 THE LION. 
 
 IT has been remarked, that in all hot climates, the 
 terrestrial animals are larger and stronger than in cold 
 or temperate ono*. They are also bolder and more 
 ferocious, all their natural qualities seeming to partake 
 of the ardour of the climates in wkich they live. The 
 Lion, born beneath the burning sun of Africa, or of 
 India, is above all others the fiercest and most terrible. 
 Our wolves, our other carnivorous animals, far from 
 being his rivals, are hardly worthy to be his providers. 
 The Lions of America (if, indeed, they deserve to be 
 called Lions) are, like the climate in which they are 
 produced, infinitely milder than those of Africa ; and, 
 what plainly proves that the degree of fierceness in, 
 this animal depends on the degree of heat, is, that, even 
 in the same country, those which inhabit the high 
 mountains, where the air is more temperate, are differ- 
 ent in disposition from those that dwell in the plains, 
 where the heat is excessive. 
 
 As the Lion has no enemy but man, and his species 
 is now probably reduced to the fiftieth part of what it 
 formerly was, it follows, that the human race, instead 
 of having suffered a considerable diminution since the 
 time of the Romans, is, on the contrary, more nume- 
 rous and niore generally diffused. This superiority in 
 the numbers, and the arts of the human species, while 
 it suffices to conquer the Lion, serves also to enervate 
 and to discourage him ; for he is brave only in propor- 
 tion to the success of his former encounters. Accus- 
 tomed to measure his strength with every animal he
 
 28 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 meets, the habit of conquering renders him iutrepid 
 and terrible. Having never experienced the dangerous 
 arts and combinations of man, these animals have no 
 apprehensions from his power. They boldly face him. 
 and seem to brave the force of his arms. They are 
 not daunted even with the opposition of numbers : a 
 single Lion of the desert often attacks an entire cara- 
 van ; and, after an obstinate combat, when he finds 
 himself overpowered, instead of flying, he continues to 
 combat, retreating, and still facing the enemy till he 
 dies. On the contrary, the Lions which inhabit the 
 peopled countries of Morocco, or India, having become 
 acquainted with man, and experienced the superiority 
 of his arms, have lost all their courage, so as to be 
 scared away with a shout; and seldom attack any but 
 the unresisting flocks or herds, which even women and 
 children are sufficient to protect. 
 
 The outward form of the Lion seems to speak the 
 superiority of his internal qualities. His figure is 
 striking, his look confident and bold, his gait proud, 
 and his voice terrible. His stature is not overgrown, 
 like that of the elephant, or the rhinoceros ; nor is the 
 shape clumsy, like that of the hippopotamus, or the 
 ox. He is in every respect compact and well propor- 
 tioned, a perfect model of strength joined with agility. 
 
 His force and ftiuscular power he manifests out- 
 wardly by his prodigious leaps and bounds ; by the 
 strong and quick agitation of h's tail, which alone is 
 sufficient to throw a man on the ground ; by the faci- 
 lity with which he moves the skin of his face, and par- 
 ticularly that of his forehead, which adds greatly to his 
 physiognomy, or rather to the expression of fury in 
 his countenance ; and lastly, by the facility he has ol 
 shaking his mane, which is not only bristled up, but 
 moved and agitated on all sides when he is enraged. 
 
 The largest Lions are about eight or nine feel in 
 length, from the snout to the insertion of the tail, 
 which is of itself four feet long; and these large Lions 
 are about four or five feet in height. Those of the 
 small size are about five feet and a half in length, and 
 three and a half in height. In all her dimensions, the 
 Lioness is about one fourth less than the Lion. 
 
 The Lion is furnished with a mane, which becomes 
 longer in p-oportion as he advances in age. Thr
 
 Lioness, however, is without this appendage at every 
 age. The American animal, which the natives of Peru 
 call PUMA, and to which the Europeans have given the 
 denomination of Lion, has no mane ; it is also much 
 smaller, weaker, and more cowardly than the real 
 Lion. In truth, it is more than doubtful whether these 
 animals are at all of the same species. 
 
 Both the ancients and the moderns allow that the 
 Lion, when newly born, is in size hardly superior to a 
 weasel; in other words, that he is not more than six 
 or seven inches long ; and if so, some years at least 
 must necessarily elapse before he can increase to eight 
 or nine feet. They likewise mention, that he is not 
 in a condition to walk till two months after he is 
 brought forth ; but, without giving entire credit to 
 these assertions, we may, with great appearance of 
 truth, conclude that the Lion, from the largeness of his 
 size, is at least three or four years in growing, and 
 that, consequently, he must live seven times three or 
 four years, that is, about twenty-five years. 
 
 It is usually supposed that the Lion is not possessed 
 of the sense of smelling in such perfection as most 
 other animals of prey. It is also remarked, that too 
 strong a light incommodes him ; that he seldom goes 
 abroad in the middle of the day ; that he commits all 
 his ravages in the night ; and that when he sees a fire 
 kindled near a herd or flock, he will not venture near 
 it; that though his sight is bad, it is not, however, so 
 faulty as his smell ; and that, unlike the dog or the 
 wolf, he rather hunts by the former than by the latter. 
 
 The Lion, when hungry, boldly attacks all animals 
 that come in his way; but, as he is very formidable, and 
 as they all seek to avoid him, he is often obliged to 
 hide, in order to take them by surprise. For this pur- 
 pose he crouches upon his belly, in some thicket, or 
 among the long grass, which is found in many parts of 
 the forest. In this retreat he continues, with patient 
 expectation, until his prey comes within a proper dis- 
 tance ; and he then springs after it with such force, 
 that he often seizes it at the first bound. If he misses 
 the effort, a-nd in two or three reiterated springs can- 
 not seize his prey, he continues motionless for a time, 
 seems to be very sensible of his disappointment, and 
 waits for a more favourable opportunity. He devours 
 3*
 
 30 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 a great deal at a time, and generally fills himseli for 
 two or three days to come. His teeth are so strong 
 that he very easily breaks the bones, and swallows 
 them with the rest of the body. It is reported that he 
 sustains hunger a very long time ; but thirst he cannot 
 support in an equal degree, his temperament being 
 extremely hot. He drinks as often as he meets with 
 water, lapping like a dog. He generally requires 
 about fifteen pounds of raw flesh in a day ; and seldom 
 devours the bodies of animals when they begin to 
 putrefy ; but he chooses rather to hunt for fresh spoil 
 than return to that which he had half devoured before. 
 While young and active, the Lion subsists on what he 
 can obtain by the chase, and seldom quits his native 
 deserts and forests ; but when he becomes old, heavy, 
 and less qualified for exercise, he approaches the habi- 
 tations of man, to whom, and to domestic animals, he 
 then becomes a more dangerous enemy. It is observed, 
 however, that when he sees men and animals together, 
 it is always on the latter, never on the former, that he 
 vents his fury ; unless indeed he should be struck, and 
 then, at no loss to know whence the blow came, he 
 instantly deserts his prey, in order to obtain revenge for 
 the injury. The flesh of the camel he is said to prefer 
 to that of any other animal. He is likewise exceed- 
 ingly fond of that of young elephants, which, from 
 their inability to resist him till they have received the 
 assistance of their tusks, he easily despatches, when 
 unprotected by the dam ; nor are there any animals 
 able to oppose the Lion, but the elephant, the rhino 
 ceros, the tiger, and the hippopotamus. 
 
 However terrible this animal may be, it is not un- 
 common, with dogs of a large size, and well supported 
 with a proper number of men on horseback, to chase 
 him, dislodge him, and force him to retire. But for 
 this enterprise it is necessary that the dogs and even 
 the horses, should be previously disciplined ; since 
 almost all animals tremble and fly at the very smell of 
 the Lion. 
 
 Though the skin of the Lion is firm and compact, it 
 is not, however, proof against a musket ball, nor even 
 a javelin ; but he is seldom known to be despatched 
 with one blow. Like the wolf, he is frequently taken 
 by stratagem ; anc 1 for this purpose a deep hole is dug
 
 THE LION. 3) 
 
 In. the earth, over which, when slightly covered with 
 earth and sticks, some living animal is fastened as 3 
 bait. When thus entrapped, all his fury subsides ; 
 and if advantage is taken of the first moments of his 
 surprise, or his disgrace, he may easily be chained, 
 muzzled, and conducted to a place of security. 
 
 The flesh of the Lion is of a strong and disagreeable 
 flavour ; yet the Negroes and the Indians do not dis- 
 like it, and it frequently forms a part of their food. 
 
 The good qualities, and particularly the courage and 
 magnanimity, of the Lion have been the theme of 
 panegyric to Buffon, and other writers on natural his- 
 tory. Later naturalists, however, are disposed to esti- 
 mate his merits at a much lower rate. " At the time 
 when men first adopted the Lion as the emblem of 
 courage (says that intelligent traveller, Mr. Burchell) 
 it would seem that they regarded great size an 1 strength 
 as indicating it ; but they were greatly mistaken in 
 the character they have given to this indolent, skulking 
 animal, and have overlooked a much better example 
 of courage, and of other virtues also, in the bold and 
 faithful dog." Mr. Barrow also brands him with the 
 character of cowardly and treacherous. 
 
 " His forbearance and generosity (says Mr. Bennett,) 
 if the facts be carefully investigated, will be found to 
 resolve themselves into no more than this : that in his 
 wild state he destroys only to satiate his hunger or 
 revenge, and never, like the ' gaunt wolves ' and ' sul- 
 len tigers,' of whom the poet has composed his train, 
 in the wantonness of his power and the malignity of 
 his disposition ; and that, when tamed, his hunger 
 being satisfied, and his feelings being free from irrita- 
 tion, he suffers smaller animals to remain in his den 
 uninjured, is familiar with, and sometimes fond of, the 
 keeper, by whom he is attended and fed, and will even, 
 when under complete control, submit to the caresses 
 of strangers. 
 
 " But even this limited degree of amiability, which, 
 in an animal of less formidable powers, would be con- 
 sidered as indicating no peculiar mildness of temper, is 
 modified by the calls of hunger, by the feelings of 
 revenge, which he frequently cherishes for a consider- 
 able length of time, and by various other circum- 
 ttancea, which render it dangerous to approach him
 
 32 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 unguardedly, even in his tamest and most domesticated 
 state, without previously ascertaining his immediate 
 slate of mind. On such occasions, no keeper possessed 
 of common prudence would be rash enough to venture 
 on confronting him : he knows too well that it is no 
 boy's play to 
 
 seek the Lion in his den, 
 
 And fright him there, and make him tremble there 
 
 for in this state of irritation, from whatever cause it 
 may have arisen, he gives free scope to his natural 
 ferocity, unrestrained by that control to which at 
 other times he submits with meek and unresisting 
 patience." 
 
 It appears, however, to be a well-authenticated fact, 
 that neither the Lion nor the tiger can bear the steady 
 gaze of the human eye, but are completely cowed by 
 it. A writer in the South African Journal says, "The 
 Bechuano chief, old Peyshow (now in Cape Town) 
 conversing with me a few days ago, said that the Lion 
 very seldom attacks man if unprovoked ; but will fre- 
 quently approach within a few paces, and survey him 
 steadily; and sometimes he will attempt to get behind 
 him, as if he could not stand his look, but was yet de- 
 sirous of springing upon him unawares. If a person 
 in such circumstances attempts either to fight or fly, 
 he incurs the most imminent peril, but if he have suf- 
 ficient presence of mind coolly to confront him, with- 
 out appearance of either terror or aggression, the ani 
 mal will, in almost every instance, after a little space, 
 retire. The overmastering effect of the human eye 
 upon the Lion has been frequently mentioned, though 
 much doubted by travellers; but, from my own inqui- 
 ries among the *Lion hunters, I am perfectly satisfied 
 of the fact ; and an anecdote related to me a few days 
 ago, by Major Macintosh, proves that this fascinating 
 effect is not restricted to the Lion. An officer in India, 
 well known to my informant, having chanced to ram- 
 ble into a jungle, suddenly encountered a royal tiger. 
 The rencontre appeared equally unexpected on both 
 sides, and both parties made a lead halt, earnestly 
 gazing on each other. The gentleman had no fire 
 arms, and was aware that a sword would be no effect- 
 ive defence in a struggle for life with such an antago-
 
 THE BENGAL LION. 
 
 nist! But he had heard that even the Bengal tiger 
 might be sometimes checked by looking him firmly in 
 the face. He did so : in a few minutes, the tiger, 
 which appeared prepared to make his final spring, grew 
 disturbed slunk aside and attempted to creep round 
 upon him behind. The officer turned constantly upon the 
 tiger, which still continued to shrink from his glance ; 
 but darting into the thicket, and again issuing forth 
 at a different quarter, it persevered for above half an 
 hour in this attempt to catch him by surprise ; till at 
 last it fairly yielded the contest, and left the gentle- 
 man to pursue his pleasure walk. The direction he 
 now took, as may be easily believed, was straight to 
 the tents, at double quick time." 
 
 It will now be proper to give some description of the 
 two species of Lions, the Asiatic and the African. 
 
 THE BENGAL LION. 
 
 THE uniformity of his colour is one characteristic 
 which distinguishes the Lion from his congeners of the 
 feline race. Except in his young state, when there is 
 an appearance of stripes, he is of a pale tawny above, 
 which becomes somewhat lighter beneath. A second 
 mark is, the long and flowing mane of the full grown 
 male, which, commencing nearly at the root of his 
 nose, extends backwards over his shoulders, and grace- 
 fully undulates on each side of his face and neck. A 
 third is, a long and blackish tuft of hairs which termi- 
 nates his tail. In size, the Asiatic Lion rarely equals 
 the Southern African. He is of a more uniform and 
 pale yellow, and has a peculiar appendage in the long 
 hairs which begin beneath the neck, and occupy the 
 whole of the middle line of the body below. 
 
 The animal described above is called "the Old Lion." 
 This denomination, however, is given only to distin- 
 guish him from the Cape Lion, which has been for a 
 shorter period in the Tower. George was his original 
 name. 
 
 George and his female companion were taken in 
 Bengal, in 1823, by General Watson. The general 
 while out one morning on horseback, with a double 
 barreled rifle, was suddenly surprised by a large male 
 Lion, which bounded out upon him from a thick Jung'?
 
 34 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 He fired, and it fell dead almost close to his feet. A 
 female then darted out upon him. He wounded her, 
 and she fled into the thicket. Suspecting that her den 
 was close at hand, he followed, soon tracked her to it, 
 and completed her destruction. "In the den were 
 found a beautiful pair of cubs, male and female, sup- 
 posed to be then not more than three days old. These 
 the general brought away with him, and succeeded, by 
 the assistance of a goat, who was prevailed upon to act 
 in the capacity of foster-mother to the royal pair, in 
 rearing them until they attained sufficient age and 
 strength to enable them to bear the voyage to England. 
 On their arrival in this country, in September, 1823, 
 he presented them to his majesty, who commanded 
 them to be placed in the tower. The male of this pair 
 is the subject of the present, the female that of the suc- 
 ceeding article." 
 
 George is fed once in twenty-four hours; and his 
 meal is generally eight pounds of beef, exclusive of 
 bone. This he seizes greedily, tears instantly to pieces 
 with his claws, and ravenously devours; unlike Lions 
 in a state of nature, who, after having slain their vic- 
 tim, are said to pause over it for a considerable time 
 before they satisfy their appetite. 
 
 The Lioness has no mane, is of smaller size than 
 the Lion, more slenderly and delicately made and more 
 graceful and agile in her movements. The head of the 
 Lion is almost uniformly elevated ; that of the Lioness 
 is almost uniformly carriedon a level with the line of 
 her back, which gives her a sullen and downcast look. 
 
 For a considerable time after her arrival in England, 
 the Lioness, as well as the Lion, was exceedingly tame 
 and docile, and was often allowed to roam at large 
 about the open yard. They were both, however, at 
 length put under more restraint, in the fear that they 
 might eventually do mischief. But even long after 
 this, "her disposition was far from exciting any parti- 
 cular fear in the minds of her keepers. As an instance 
 of this, we may mention that when, on one occasion 
 about a year and a half ago, she had been suffered 
 through inadvertence to leave her den, and when she 
 was by no means in good temper, George Willoughby, 
 the under keeper, had the boldness, alone, and armed 
 only with a broom, to venture upon the task of driving
 
 TIJE CAPK I.ION. 35 
 
 her back into her place of confinement, which he finally 
 accomplished, not however, without strong symptoms 
 of resistance on her part, as she actually made three 
 springs upon him, all of which he was fortunate enough 
 to avoid." 
 
 Since, however, she gave birth to her Cubs, her tem- 
 per is totally changed. She is violent beyond mea- 
 sure, suspects every one who approaches her den of an 
 intention to rob her of her cherished offspring, and, as 
 Mr. Bennett eloquently expresses it, " exhibits the 
 truly beautiful but appalling picture of maternal ten- 
 derness combined with savage ferocity, each in their 
 utmost intensity of force and colouring." 
 
 The Cubs, of which there are three, two male and 
 one female, were whelped on the 20th of October, 1827, 
 the day of the battle of Navarino. They are the finest 
 that were ever brea in England, and, at present, are in 
 the best condition. They have all the playfulness of 
 kittens, and their dam is unremittingly assiduous in 
 licking their fur and keeping them in a state of clean- 
 liness. 
 
 THE CAPE LION. 
 
 OF the Cape Lion, there are two varieties, which, 
 from the tint of tl eir coats, and particularly of their 
 manes, are designa\ed by the settlers as the Pale and 
 the Black Lion. The latter of these is the larger and 
 more ferocious of the two, and occasionally is found of 
 the enormous length of eight feet from the tip of the 
 nose to the origin of the tail. The tail is usually about 
 half the length of the body. The pale variety is the 
 more common. In the Tower there are specimens of 
 both species. 
 
 The colonists at the Cape bear the Lion a deadly 
 hatred for the mischief which he does to them, parti- 
 cularly in the destruction of their horses, for the flesh 
 of which he seems to have an especial liking. Being 
 excellent marksmen, they will almost attack him sin- 
 gly ; but the more common mode of attacking him is 
 by hunting parties. 
 
 The hunting of an African Lion is described with 
 infinite spirit by Mr. Pringle, who was a settler on the 
 eastern frontief of the Cape Colony- ?' One night (sayi
 
 30 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 he) a Lion, that had previously purloined a few sheej, 
 out of my kraal, came down and killed my riding horse 
 about a hundred yards from the door of my cabin. 
 Knowing that the Lion, when he does not carry off his 
 prey, usually conceals himself in the vicinity and is 
 very apt to be dangerous by prowling about the place 
 in search of more game, I resolved to have him de- 
 stroyed or dislodged without delay. I therefore sent a 
 messenger round the location, to invite all who were 
 willing to assist in the enterprise, to repair to the place 
 of rendezvous as speedily as possible. In an hour every 
 man of the party (with the exception of two pluckless 
 fellows who were kept at home by the women) appear- 
 ed ready mounted and armed. We were also rein- 
 forced by about a dozen of the ' Bastuard' or Mulatto 
 Hottentots, who resided at that time upon our territory 
 as tenants or herdsmen, an active and enterprising, 
 though rather an unsteady, race of men. Our friends 
 the Tarkaboors, many of whom are excellent Lion 
 hunters, were all too far distant to assist us, our near- 
 est neighbours residing at least twenty miles from the 
 location. We were, therefore, on account of our own 
 inexperience, obliged to make our Hottentots the lead- 
 ers of the chase. 
 
 " The first point was to track the Lion to his covert. 
 This was effected by a few of the ] lottentots on foot. 
 Commencing from the spot where the horse was killed, 
 they followed the spoor* through grass, gravel, and 
 brushwood, with astonishing ease and dexterity, where 
 an inexperienced eye could discern neither footprint 
 nor mark of any kind, until at length we fairly track- 
 ed him into a large bosch, or straggling thicket of brush- 
 wood and evergreens, about a mile distant. 
 
 " The next object was to drive him out of this re- 
 treat, in order to attack him in close phalanx, and with 
 more safety and effect. The approved mode in such 
 cases is to torment him with dogs till he abandons his 
 covert, and stands at bay in the open plain. The whole 
 band of hunters then march forward together, and fire 
 deliberately one by one. If he does not speedily fall, 
 but grows angry and turns upon his enemies, they must 
 then stand close in a circle, and turn their horses rear 
 outward ; some holding them fast by the bridles, while 
 
 * The Hottentot name for a footmnrk.
 
 T.HE LION. 37 
 
 the others kneel to take a steady aim at the Lion as he 
 approaches, sometimes up to the very horses' heels, 
 couching every now and then as if to measure the dis- 
 tance and strength of his enemies. This is the moment 
 to shoot him fairly in the forehead, or some other mor- 
 tal part. If they continue to wound him ineffectually 
 till he waxes furious and desperate, or if the horses, 
 startled by his terrific roar, grow frantic with terror, and 
 burst loose, the business becomes rather serious, and 
 may end in mischief; especially if all the party are not 
 men of courage, coolness, and experience. The frontier 
 Boors are, however, generally such excellent marks- 
 men, and withal so cool and deliberate, that they sel- 
 dom fail to shoot him dead as soon as they get within 
 a fair distance. 
 
 " In the present instance, we did not manage matters 
 quite so scientifically. The Bastuards, after recounting 
 .to us all these and other sage laws of Lion hunting, 
 were themselves the first to depart from them. Find- 
 ing that the few indifferent hounds which we had made 
 little impression on the enemy, they divided themselves 
 into two or three parties, and rode round the jungle, 
 firing into the spot where the dogs were barking round 
 him, but without effect. At length, after some hours 
 spent in thus beating about the bush, the Scottish blood 
 of some of my countrymen began to get impatient ; and 
 three of them announced their determination to march 
 in and beard the Lion in his den, provided three of the 
 Bastuards (who were superior marksmen) would sup- 
 port them, and follow up their fire, should the enemy 
 venture to give battle. Accordingly, in they went (in 
 spite of the warnings of some more prudent men among 
 us,) to within fifteen or twenty paces of the spot where 
 the animal lay concealed. He was couched among the 
 roots of a large evergreen bush, with a small space of 
 open ground on one side of it ; and they fancied, on ap- 
 proaching, that they saw him distinctly lying glaring at 
 them from beneath the foliage. Charging theBastuarda 
 to stand firm and level fair should they miss, the Scot- 
 tish champions let fly together, and struck, not the Lion, 
 as it afterwards proved, but a great block of red stone, 
 beyond which he was actually lying. Whether any of 
 the shot grazed him is uncertain, but, with no other 
 warning than a f 1 rious growl, forth he bohd from th 
 VOL. II 1
 
 38 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 I 
 
 bush Tho pusillanimous Bastuards, in place of now 
 pouring in their volley upon him, instantly turned and 
 fled helter-skelter, leaving him to do his pleasure upon 
 the defenceless Scots ; who, with empty guns, were 
 tumbling over each other, in their hurry to escape 11,^ 
 clutch of the rampant savage. In a twinkling he was 
 upon them, and with one stroke of his paw dashed the 
 nearest to the ground. The scene was terrific ! There 
 stood the Lion with his paw upon his prostrate foe, 
 looking round in conscious power and pride upon the 
 bands of his assailants, and with a port the most noble 
 and imposing that can be conceived. It was the most 
 magnificent thing I ever witnessed. The danger of 
 our friends, however, rendered it at the moment too 
 terrible to enjoy either the grand or the ludicrous part 
 of the picture. We expected every instant to see one 
 or more of them torn in pieces ; nor, though the rest 
 of the party were standing within fifty paces with their 
 guns cocked and levelled, durst we fire for their assist- 
 ance. One was lying under the Lion's paw, and the 
 others scrambling towards us in such a way as to inter- 
 cept our aim at him. All this passed far more rapidly 
 than I have described it. But luckily the Lion, after 
 steadily surveying us for a few seconds, seemed willing 
 to be quits with us on fair terms ; and with a fortunate 
 forbearance (for which he met but an ungrateful recom- 
 pense,) turned calmly away, and driving the snarling 
 dogs like rats from among his heels, bounded over the 
 adjoining thicket like a cat over a footstool, clearing 
 brakes and bushes twelve or fifteen feet high, as rea- 
 dily as if they had been tufts of grass, and, abandoning 
 the jungle, retreated towards the mountains. 
 
 " After ascertaining the state of our rescued comrade 
 (who fortunately had sustained no other injury than a 
 slight scratch en the back, and a severe bruise in the 
 ribs, from the force with which the animal had dashed 
 him to the ground,) we renewed the chase with Hot- 
 tentots and hounds in full cry. In a short time we 
 again came up with the enemy, and found him standing 
 at bay under an old mimosa tree, by the side of a 
 mountain stream which we had distinguished by the 
 name of Douglas Water. The dogs were barking 
 round, but afraid to approach him, for he was now 
 beginning to growl fiercely, and to brandiah his tail iH
 
 THE LION. 2i> 
 
 a manner that showed he was meditating mischvef. The 
 Hottentots, by taking a circuit between him and the 
 mountain, crossed the stream, and took a position on 
 the top of a precipice overlooking the spot where he 
 stood. Another party of us occupied a position on the 
 other side of the glen ; and placing the poor fellow 
 thus between two fires, which confused his attention 
 and prevented his retreat, we kept battering away at 
 him till he fell, unable again to grapple with us pierced 
 with many wounds. 
 
 " He proved to be a full grown Lion of the yellow 
 variety, about five or six years of age. He measurei 
 nearly twelve feet from the nose to the^ip of the tail. 
 His fore-leg below the knee was so thick that I could 
 not span it with both hands ; and his neck, breast, and 
 limbs appeared, when the skin was taken off, a complete 
 congeries of sinews." 
 
 The African Lion, however, is often doomed to a 
 more ignoble death. He is dull of hearing, diflicult 
 to be awaked, and when suddenly awaked, has no pre- 
 sence of mind. Of these circumstances the Bushmen 
 of Africa avail themselves to accomplish his destruc- 
 tion. " The wolf and the tiger (says Dr. Philip) gene- 
 rally retire to the caverns and the ravines of the moun- 
 tains, but the Lion is most usually found in the open 
 plain, and in the neighbourhood of the flocks of Ante- 
 lopes, which invariably geek the open country, and 
 which manifest a kind of instinctive aversion to places 
 in which their powerful adversary may spring upon 
 them suddenly and unexpectedly. It has been remark- 
 ed of the Lion, by the Bushmen, that he generally kills 
 and devours his prey in the morning at sunrise, or sun- 
 set. On this account, when they intend to kill Lions, 
 they generally notice where the spring-bucks are graz- 
 ing at the rising of the sun ; and by observing, at the 
 same time, if they appear frightened and run off, they 
 conclude that they have been attacked by the Lion. 
 Marking accurately 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 
 H thus struck, he springs from his lair, and bounds off
 
 40 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 as helpless as the stricken deer. The work is done ; 
 the arrow of death has pierced his heart, without even 
 breaking the slumbers of the Lioness which may have 
 been lying beside him; and the Bushman knows where, 
 in the course of a few hours, or even in less time, be 
 will find him dead, or in the agonies of death." 
 
 THE PUMA. 
 
 THE Puma, Couguar, or American Lion, is from four 
 to five feet long, but more commonly of the former 
 size, and has a tail of half that length, which has not, 
 like that of ike Lion, a terminating brush of hair ; 
 neither has the Puma a mane. Indeed, his name of 
 Lion could only have been given to him by careless or 
 unscientific observers, as his uniform sameness of 
 colour is the sole point of resemblance which he has 
 to the king of beasts. He has a small rounded head, 
 a broad and rather obtuse muzzle, and a body which, 
 in proportion, is slenderer and less elevated than that 
 of his more dignified namesake. " The upper parts of 
 his body," says Mr. Bennett, "are of a bright silvery 
 fawn, the tawny hairs being terminated by whitish tips: 
 beneath and on the inside of the limbs he is nearly 
 white, and more completely so on the throat, chin, and 
 upper lip. The head has an irregular mixture of black 
 and gray ; the outside of the ears, especially at the 
 base, the sides of the muzzle from which the whiskers 
 take their origin, and the extremity of the tail, are 
 black." The fur of the Cubs has spots of a darker 
 hue, which are visible only in certain lights, and dis- 
 appear when the animal is full grown. Both the sexes 
 are of the same colour. 
 
 The Puma was once spread over the whole wide 
 extent of the new world, from Canada to Patagonia. 
 The progress of civilization has, however, circum- 
 scribed his range, and has rooted him out in many 
 places. Notwithstanding his size and strength, he is 
 cowardly ; and, like almost all cowards, he is sanguin- 
 ary. If he find a flock of sheep unprotected, he will 
 destroy the whole, merely that he may enjoy the luxury 
 of sucking their blood. As he possesses much timidity 
 and little swiftness, and freouents the open plains, he
 
 THE TIGER. 41 
 
 generally falls a victim when the hunter pursues him 
 with the unerring lasso. 
 
 In seizing its prey, the Puma crawls softly on his 
 belly through the shrubs and bushes, conceals itself in 
 ditches, or assumes a fawning appearance. As soon, 
 however, as it can reach its victim, it leaps on its back 
 by one bound, and soon rends it to pieces. Molina 
 tells us that, in Chili, where the husbandmen tether 
 their horses in the fields by pairs, the Puma kills and 
 drags one away, and compels the other to follow by 
 occasionally striking it with his paw. All animals are 
 not thus easily vanquished. Asses defend themselves 
 with their heels, and are 'often victorious ; and cows 
 form themselves into a circle round their calves, turn 
 their horns towards the assailant, and not unfrequently 
 destroy him. Even a woman or a child can put him 
 to flight. When hunted with dogs, however, and cut 
 off from his retreat to a rock or a tree, he places him- 
 self under the trunk of a large tree, and fights 
 furiously. 
 
 The Puma is easily tamed, and in captivity becomes 
 tractable, and even attached. It loves to be noticed 
 and caressed, expresses its pleasure by purring, will 
 follow its owner about like a dog, and has been known 
 to suffer children to ride upon its back. 
 
 THE TIGER. 
 
 IN the class of carnivorous animals the lion is the 
 foremost. Immediately after him follows the Tiger ; 
 which, while he possesses all the bad qualities of the 
 former, seems to be a stranger to his good ones. To 
 pride, to courage, to strength, the Lion adds greatness, 
 and sometimes, perhaps, clemency; while the Tiger, 
 without provocation, is fierce ; without necessity, is 
 cruel. Thus it is throughout all the classes of Nature, 
 in which the superiority of rank proceeds from the 
 superiority of strength. The first class, sole masters 
 of all, are less tyrannical than the inferior classes, 
 which, denied so full an exertion of authority, abuse 
 the powers intrusted to them. 
 
 More, therefore than even the lion, the Tiger is an 
 object of terror. He is the scourge of x every country 
 which he inhabits Of the appearance of man, and o'f 
 4*
 
 4fc NA1URAL HISTORY. 
 
 &11 his hostile weapons, he is fearless ; wild animals as 
 well as tame ones fall sacrifices before him; the younc 
 elephant and rhinoceros he sometimes attacks ; and 
 sometimes, with an increased audacity, he braves the 
 lion himself. 
 
 The form of the body usually corresponds with the 
 nature, the disposition of the animal. The Tiger, with 
 a body too long, with limbs too short, with a head un- 
 covered, and with eyes ghastly and haggard, has no 
 characteristics but those of the basest and most insa- 
 tiable cruelty. For instinct he has nothing but a uni- 
 form rage, a blind fury ; s-o blind indeed, so undistin- 
 guished, that he frequently devours his own progeny, 
 and, if she offers to defend them, tears in pieces the 
 dam herself. 
 
 Happy is it for the rest of nature that this animal ia 
 not common, and that the species is chiefly confined to 
 the warmest provinces of the East. The Tiger is 
 found in Malabar, in Siam, in Bengal, and in all the 
 countries which are inhabited by the elephant and the 
 rhinoceros. 
 
 When he has killed a large animal, such as a horse 
 or a buffalo, he does not choose to devour it on the 
 spot, fearing to be disturbed ; and in order to feast at 
 his ease, he carries off his prey to the forest, dragging 
 it along with such ease that the swiftness of his motion 
 seems scarcely retarded by the enormous load he 
 sustains. 
 
 To give a still more complete idea of the strength 
 of this terrible creature, we shall quote a passage from 
 Father Tachard, who was an eye-witness of a combat 
 of one Tiger against two, and even three, elephants at 
 Siam. For this purpose, the king ordered a lofty pali- 
 sade to be built of bamboo cane, about a hundred feet 
 square ; and in the midst of this were three elephants 
 appointed for combating the Tiger. Their heads and 
 part of their trunks were covered with a kind of armour 
 like a mask, which defended that part from the assaults 
 of the fierce animal with which they were to engage. 
 As soon, says this author, as we were arrived at the 
 place, a Tiger was brought forth from his den, of a 
 size much larger than we had ever seen before. He 
 was not at first let loose, but held with cords, so that 
 one of the eleohants approaching gave him three 01
 
 THK TJGKR. 43 
 
 four blowd with his trunk on the back, with such force 
 that the Tiger was for some time stunned, and lay with 
 out motion, as if he had been dead. As soon, however, 
 as he was let loose, and at full liberty, although the 
 first blows had greatly abated his fury, he made at the 
 elephant with a loud shriek, and aimed at seizing his 
 trunk. But the elephant, wrinkling it up with great 
 dexterity, received the Tiger on his great teeth, and 
 tossed him up into the air. This so discouraged the 
 furious animal, that he no more ventured to approach 
 the elephant, but made several circuits round the pali- 
 sade, often attempting to fly at the spectators. Shortly 
 after, a second, and then a third elephant were sent 
 against him, and they continued to strike him so terri- 
 bly with their trunks, that he once more lay for dead ; 
 and they would certainly have killed him, had not a 
 stop been put to the combat. 
 
 The Tiger, of which Father Gouie has communicated 
 to the Academy of Sciences an anatomical descrip- 
 tion, composed by the Jesuit Fathers at China, seems 
 to belong to the true species, as does also that which 
 the Portuguese have distinguished by the name of 
 Royal Tiger. Dellon expressly says, in his Travels, 
 that there is no country of India in which Tigers so 
 much abound as Malabar; that there the species are 
 numerous, but that the largest of all is that which the 
 Portuguese call the Royal Tiger, which is very rare, 
 and is as large as a horse. 
 
 The species of the Tiger has always been much 
 rarer, and much less generally diffused, than that of the 
 lion. Like the lioness, nevertheless, the Tigress pro- 
 duces four or five young ones at a birth. From her 
 nature she is fierce at all times ; but when surrounded 
 with her infant progeny, and in the smallest danger of 
 losing them, her rage, her fury, becomes extravagant. 
 To oppose the daring invaders of her den, she braves 
 every danger. On such occasions, she pursues the 
 spoiler with an enmity the most inveterate ; and he, 
 contented to lose a part in order to save a part, is fre- 
 quentlv obliged to drop one of her cubs. With this 
 she immediately returns to her den, and again pursues 
 him : he then drops another ; and, by the time she has 
 returned with that, he generally escapes with the 
 remainder. Should her young be torn from her
 
 44 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 entirely, with hideous cries she expresses her agony, 
 her despair, and follows the captor to the very town, 
 or ship, in which he may have taken refuge, and dares 
 him, as it were, to come forth. 
 
 The skins of these animals are much esteemed all 
 over the East, particularly in China ; the Mandarines 
 cover their seats of justice in the public places with 
 them, and convert them into coverings for cushions in 
 winter. The Indians eat the flesh of the Tiger, and 
 find it neither disagreeable nor unwholesome. 
 
 Such is the character which Buffon and many other 
 naturalists have given to the Tiger, and it certainly is 
 not calculated to prejudice us in his favour. More 
 recent writers have, however, and apparently with jus- 
 tice, endeavoured to remove a part of the odium which 
 has been thrown upon him. Mr. Bennett, the scientific 
 and acute author of the description of the animals in 
 the Tower Menagerie and the Zoological Gardens, has 
 laboured with much eloquence to raise the Tiger in the 
 scale of estimation. " Closely allied to the lion (says 
 he,) whom he resembles in power, in external form, in 
 internal structure, in zoological character, in his prowl- 
 ing habits, and in his sanguinary propensities, the Tiger 
 is at once distinguished from that king of beasts, and 
 from every other of their common genus, by the pecu- 
 liar marking of his coat. On a ground which exhibits 
 in different individuals various shades of yellow, he is 
 elegantly striped by a series of transverse black bands 
 or bars, which occupy the sides of his head, neck, and 
 body, and are continued upon his tail in the form of 
 rings, the last of the series uniformly occupying the 
 extremity of that organ, and giving to it a black tip of 
 greater or less extent. The under parts of his body 
 and the inner sides of his legs are almost entirely 
 white ; he has no mane, and his whole frame, though 
 less elevated than that of the lion, is of a slenderer and 
 more graceful make. His head is also shorter, and 
 more rounded. 
 
 " Almost in the same degree that the lion has been 
 exaUed and magnified, at the expense of his fellow 
 brutes, has the Tiger been degraded and depressed 
 below his natural level. While the one has been held 
 up to admiration, as the type and standard of heroic 
 perfection, the otssr has, with equal capriciousnesa
 
 THB TIGER. 45 
 
 and disregard of the close and intimate relationship sub 
 sisting between them, been looked upon by mankind in 
 general with those feelings of unmingled horror and 
 detestation which his character for untameable ferocity 
 and insatiable thirst of blood was so well calculated to 
 inspire. It requires, howevei, but little consideration 
 to te?ach us that the broad distinction, which has been 
 drawn, cannot by possibility exist ; and the recorded 
 observations of naturalists ami travellers, both at home 
 and abroad, will be 'found amply sufficient to prove 
 that the difference in their characters and habits, on 
 which so much stress has been laid, is in reality as 
 slight and unessential as that which exists in their cor- 
 poreal structure. 
 
 " Unquestionably the Tiger has not the majesty of 
 the lion ; for he is destitute of the mane, in which that 
 majesty chiefly resides. Neither has he the same calm 
 and dignified air of imperturbable gravity, which is at 
 once so striking and so prepossessing in the aspect of 
 the lion. Rut, on the other hand, it will readily be 
 granted, that in the superior lightness of his frame, 
 which allows his natural agility its free ancjl unrestricted 
 scope, and in the graceful ease and spirited activity of 
 his motions, to say nothing of the beauty, the regu- 
 larity, and the vividness of his colouring, he far excels 
 his competitor, whose giant bulk and comparative hea- 
 viness of person, added to the dull uniformity of his 
 colour, detract in no small degree from the impression 
 produced by his noble and majestic bearing. 
 
 " In comparing the moral qualities of these two for- 
 midable animals, we shall also find that the shades of 
 difference, for at most they are but shades, which dis- 
 tinguish them, are, like their external characteristics, 
 pretty equally balanced in favour of each. In all the 
 leading features of their character, the habits of both 
 are essentially the same. The Tiger, equally with the 
 lion, and in common indeed with the whole of the group 
 to which he belongs, reposes indolently in the security 
 of his den, until fhe calls ol appetite stimulate him to 
 look abroad for food. He then chooses a convenient 
 ambush, in which to lie concealed from observation, 
 generally amid the underwood of the forest, but some- 
 times even on the branches of a tree, which he climbs 
 with all the agility of a cat. In this secret covert he
 
 46 NATURAL HISTORY 
 
 awaits with patient watchfulness the approach of his 
 prey, upon which he darts forth with an irresistible 
 bound, and bears it off in triumph to his den. Unlike 
 the lion, however, if his first attack proves unsuccess- 
 ful, and he misses his aim, he does not usually slink 
 sullenly back into his retreat, but pursues his victim 
 with a speed and activity which is seldom baffled even 
 by the fleetest animals. 
 
 " It is only when this close and covert mode of attack 
 has failed of procuring him the necessary supply, that, 
 urged by those inward cravings, which are the ruling 
 impulse of all his actions, he prowls abroad under the 
 veil of night, and ventures to approach the dwellings 
 of man, of whom he does not appear to feel that 
 instinctive awe which the lion has been known so fre- 
 quently to evince. But even on such occasions, and 
 although impelled by the strong stimulus of famine, he 
 is in general far from unmindful of his own security ; 
 but creeps slowly along his silent path with all the 
 stealthy caution so characteristic of the feline tribe. 
 Occasionally, however, when the pangs of hunger have 
 become intolerable, and can no longer be controlled 
 even by the overpowering sway of instinct, he will 
 boldly advance upon man himself in the open face of 
 day, and brave every danger in the pursuit of that 
 object which, to the exclusion of every ether senti- 
 ment, appears under such circumstances wholly to 
 engross his faculties. 
 
 " It is evident then that in the general outline of his 
 habits, and even in most of the separate traits by which 
 his character is marked, he differs but little from the 
 lion. His courage, if brute force stimulated by sensual 
 appetite can deserve that honourable name, is at least 
 equal ; and as for magnanimity and generosity, the idea 
 of attributing such noble qualities to either is in itself 
 BO absurd, and is so fully refuted by every particular 
 of their authentic history, that it would be perfectly 
 ridiculous to attempt a comparison where no materials 
 for comparison exist." " Endowed with a degree of 
 force, which the lion and the elephant alone can equal, 
 he carries off a buffalo in his tremendous jaws, almost 
 without relaxing from his usual speed. With a single 
 stroke of his claws he rips open the body of the largest 
 animals ; and is said to suck their blood with insatia-
 
 THE TIGER. 4? 
 
 ble avidity. Of the correctness of the latter states ent, 
 at least in its full extent, there is however strong rea- 
 son to doubt. The Tiger does not, according to the 
 most credible accounts, exhibit this propensity to 
 drinking the blood of his victims in any greater degree 
 than the rest of his carnivorous and blood-thirsty 
 companions. In this, as in other instances, fear ha's 
 drawn largely on credulity, and the simple and suffi- 
 ciently disgusting fact has been amplified and exagge- 
 rated with all the refinements upon horror which the 
 terrified imagination could suggest. 
 
 " In making these observations it is far from our 
 intention to become the apologists of this ferocious 
 beast: our object is simply to place him in the rank 
 which he deserves to hold, on a level with those ani- 
 mals with whom Nature has decreed that he should be 
 associated no less in character than in form. In his 
 wild and. unrestricted state, he is unquestionably one 
 of the most terrible of the living scourges, to whose 
 fatal ravages the lower animals, and even man himself, 
 are exposed. But in captivity, and especially if domes- 
 ticated while young, his temper is equally pliant, his 
 disposition equally docile, and his manners and charac- 
 ter equally susceptible of amelioration, with those of 
 any other animal of his class. All the stories that have 
 been so frequently reiterated, until they have at length 
 passed current without examination as accredited 
 truths, of his intractable disposition and insensibility 
 to the kind treatment of his keepers, towards whom it 
 is alleged that he never exhibits the slightest feelings 
 of gratitude, have been proved by repeated experience 
 to be utterly false and groundless. He is tamed with 
 as much facility, and as completely, as the lion; and 
 soon becomes familiarized with those who feed him. 
 whom he learns to distinguish Vom others, and by 
 whom he is fond of being noticed and caressed. Like 
 the cat, which he resembles so closely in all his actions, 
 he arches his broad and powerful back beneath the 
 hand that caresses him ; he licks his fur and smooths 
 himself with his paws ; and purrs in the same mild and 
 expressive manner when he is particularly pleased. 
 He remains perfectly quiet and undisturbed, unless 
 when hungry or irritated, and passes the greatest part 
 of his time in listless repose. His roar is nearly simi
 
 48 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Jar to that of the lion, and, like his, is by no means 
 to be regarded as a symptom of anger, which he 
 announces by a short and shrill cry, approaching to a 
 scream." 
 
 That the Tiger is not irreclaimably ferocious, and 
 that he is capable not merely of a capricious and tran- 
 sient liking, but of an enduring attachment, the follow- 
 ing story affords an extraordinary and convincing proof. 
 " A beautiful young Tiger, brought in the Pitt East 
 Indiaman from China, in the year 1790, was so far 
 domesticated as to admit of every kind of familiarity 
 from the people on board the ship. It seemed to be 
 quite harmless, and was as playful as a kitten. It fre- 
 quently slept with the sailors in their hammocks ; and 
 would suffer two or three of them to repose their heads 
 on its back as upon a pillow, while it lay stretched out 
 upon the deck. In return for this indulgence, it would, 
 however, now and then steal their meat. Having one 
 day stolen a piece of beef from the carpenter, he fol- 
 lowed the animal, took the meat out of its mouth, and 
 beat it severely for the theft : which punishment it suf 
 fered with all the patience of a dog. It would fre 
 quently run out on the bowsprit ; climb about the ship 
 like a cat ; and perform many other tricks, with an 
 agility that was truly astonishing. There was a dog 
 on board, with which it would frequently play in the 
 most diverting manner imaginable. This animal was 
 taken on board the ship when it was only a month or 
 six weeks old, and arrived in England before it had 
 quite completed its first year. On its arrival it was 
 presented to the king, and was afterwards deposited in 
 the Tower of London. It even there continued to be 
 perfectly good natured, and was in no instance known 
 to be guilty of any savage or mischievous tricks. 
 
 " In the year 1801, one day after this tiger had been 
 fed, his keeper put into the den to him, a small, rough 
 black terrier puppy, a female. The beast suffered it 
 to remaiv uninjured, and soon afterwards became so 
 much attached to it, as to be restless and unhappy 
 whenever the animal was taken away to be fed. On its 
 return the Tiger invariably expressed the greatest symp- 
 toms of delight, always welcoming its arrival by gentry 
 licking over every part of its body. In one or two 
 instances, the terrier was left in the den, by mistake
 
 THE TIGER. 49 
 
 during the time the Tiger had his food. The dog 
 sometimes ventured to eat with him, but the Tiger 
 generally appeared dissatisfied with this liberty. After 
 a residence with he Tiger of several months, the ter 
 riev was removed to make way for a little female Dutch 
 mastiff. It was, however, thought advisable, before 
 the terrier was taken away, to shut up the mastiff' for 
 three or four days among the straw of the Tiger's bed, 
 to take off, if possible, any smell that might be offen- 
 sive to the animal. The exchange was made soon after 
 the animals had been fed ; the Tiger seemed perfectly 
 satisfied with his new companion, and immediately 
 began to lick it, as he had before done the terrier. 
 The dog seemed at first in considerable alarm with so 
 formidable an inmate, but in the course of the day he 
 became perfectly reconciled to his situation. This 
 diminutive creature the Tiger would suffer to play with 
 him, with the greatest good nature. I have myself, 
 says Mr. Bingley, seen it bark at him, and bite him by 
 the foot and mouth, without his expressing the least 
 displeasure. When the dog in its frolic, seized his 
 foot, he merely lifted it up out of its mouth, and seemed 
 otherwise heedless of its attacks. 
 
 " Strange dogs were several times put into the Tiger's 
 den after his feeding, and he in no instance attempted 
 to injure them. Mr. Cross, the present keeper of Exe- 
 ter 'Change, and who formerly had the care of the ani- 
 mals in the Tower, informed me that he could himself 
 have ventured in safety into the den. The ship car- 
 penter, who came over with the Tiger, came to the 
 Tower to see him. The animal, though they had been 
 separated more than two years, instantly recognised a 
 former acquaintance, rubbed himself backward and for- 
 ward against the grating of his den, and appeared 
 highly delighted. Notwithstanding the urgent request 
 that he would not expose himself to so much danger, 
 the man begged to be let into the den, and with so 
 much entreaty, that he was at last suffered to enter. 
 The emotions of the animal seemed roused in the most 
 grateful manner. He rubbed himself against him, licked 
 his hands, fawned upon him like a cat, and in no respect 
 attempted to injure him. The man remained there two 
 or three hours ; and he at last began to fancy there 
 would be some difficulty in getting out alone. Such 
 VOL. II. 5
 
 50 NATURAL BISTORT. 
 
 was the affection of the animal towards his former 
 friend, and so close did he keep to his person, as to 
 render his escape by no means so easy as he had e.v- 
 pected. With some care, however, he got the Tiger 
 beyond the partition of the two dens, and the keeper 
 watching his opportunity, closed the slide, and sepa 
 rated them." 
 
 THE JAOTTAR, 
 
 WHICH is sometimes called the American Tiger, is 
 one of the most formidable animals of the New World. 
 He is to be found in the southern division of America, 
 from Paraguay to Guiana ; but he does not appear to 
 inhabit to the northward of the isthmus of Darien. 
 Even in the south the race is gradually growing more 
 rare, in consequence of the double temptation to destroy 
 him, which is offered by the desire of getting rid of a 
 beast so destructive to the flocks, and by the high price 
 which is obtained for his skin. 
 
 More robust and more clumsy than. the leopard, he 
 is aho m ich supeiior in si?e, an he often meisurts 
 four or five feet from the nose to the root of the tail. 
 His head is larger and rounder than the leopard's, his 
 limbs are shorter, and his tail is of such a length as 
 only to allow the tip to trail on the ground when the ani- 
 mal stands erect. Above the line of the eyes, the profile 
 is also more prominent. " These differences of form 
 (says Mr. Bennett) are accompanied by differences in 
 colour and markings equally decisive. The general 
 appearance is at the first glance the same in both ; but 
 the open roses of the leopard are scarcely more than 
 half the size of those of the Jaguar, and they all enclose 
 a space of one uniform colour, in which, unless in some 
 rare and accidental instances, no central spots exist, 
 while in the latter animal most of those which are 
 arranged along the upper surface near the middle line 
 of the back are distinguished by one or two small black 
 spots enclosed within their circuit. The middle line 
 itself is occupied in the leopard by open roses inter- 
 mixed with a few black spots of small size and roundish 
 form ; that of the Jaguar, on the contrary, is marked 
 by one or two regular longitudinal lines of broad elon- 
 gated deep black patches, sometimes extf nding several
 
 THE JAGUAR. 61 
 
 inches in length, and. occasionally forming tn almost 
 continuous band from between the shoulders lo the tail. 
 The black rings towards the tip of the latter are also 
 more completely circular than in the leopard." 
 
 The Jaguar is a solitary animal, residing in forests, 
 especially near large rivers. He is an excellent swim- 
 mer. D'Azara tells us, partly from personal observa- 
 tion, that, after a Jaguar had destroyed a horse, he 
 dragged the b >dy sixty paces, and then swam with it 
 over a broad < nd deep river. He is equally expert at 
 climbing. " I have seen (says M. Sonini) in the forests 
 of Guiana, the prints left by the claws of the Jaguar 
 on the smooth bark of a tree from forty to fifty feet in 
 height, measuring about a foot and a half in circum- 
 ference, and clothed with branches near its summit 
 alone. It was easy to follow with the eye the efforts 
 which the animal had made to reach the branches : 
 although his talons had been thrust deeply into the 
 body of the tree, he had met with several slips, but he 
 had always recovered his ground, and, attracted no 
 doubt by some favourite object of prey, had at length 
 succeeded in gaining the very top." 
 
 The Jaguar lies in ambush for his prey, on which he 
 pounces suddenly, and his great muscular strength 
 enables him instantly to bear it to the ground. Man 
 he does not often attack, and never but by stealth. 
 While M. Sonini was travelling in Guiana, his party 
 was closely dogged for three nights by one of these 
 animals, which eluded all their attempts to shoot it, 
 and would, doubtless, have carried off any individual 
 who might have unguardedly exposed himself. 
 
 Ferocious as he is in his wild state, the Jaguar, 
 when captive, becomes tame and even mild, and is 
 particularly fond of licking the hands of those with 
 whom he is familiar. 
 
 The taking of the Jaguar forms a portion of the war- 
 like features distinguishing the Indians of South Ame- 
 rica, particularly the Laneros, or men of the plains. 
 One inducement a Laneros has in pursuing the Jaguar 
 is the honour of the feat for the value of its skin and 
 the little depredations it commits on the flocks, would 
 never, I apprehend (says a late traveller in South 
 America) induce him to risk a single combat with such 
 fierce animals ; but there is a stronger stimulus, viz-
 
 62 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 that killing seven Jaguars, or six tigers, will give him 
 the title of guapo, or warrior, and the privilege 01 
 choosing the fattest virgin for his companion in the 
 tribe ; for with them the iady who is most en bon point 
 is most beautiful. This alone is a sufficient inducement ; 
 and they endeavour to complete their task as early as 
 the age of seventeen. At the approach of the breed- 
 ing season, they watch with great assiduity the battles 
 that take place between the male and the female, as 
 this is a sure indication of her littering, not wishing 
 to have the male know where she deposits the Cubs, 
 as some naturalists assert that he eats them ; others 
 that he hugs them to death. However this be, she 
 never suffers him to approach the jungle, if I may 
 be allowed to call it so, until they are able to run after 
 her. During this period he awaits her with the most 
 tender solicitude, and even brings her a portion of his 
 prey. He is seen hovering instinctively about the place 
 where she is couched at noontide. When the Laneros 
 perceives this, he envelopes himself in a Jaguar's skin, 
 and approaches him, taking good care to have the wind 
 in his favour, as the Jaguar's keen scent would soon 
 discover the imposition. Even this sagacity and instinct 
 they think they have got over, by burning plantain 
 leaves so as to take away for hours any scent which 
 the human body has; though this is probably a mere 
 fancy. As soon as the Laneros perceives the Jaguar, he 
 runs from him on all fours, and endeavours to mimic the 
 whining cry of the beast, which by some is said to be 
 like a cat, or like hogs crouching in a sty; the latter 
 is what I would compare them to, as I have seen them 
 mustering by night previous to hunting. As soon as 
 the male perceives him, he bounds towards him ; when 
 the Laneros dexterously throws the noose (the lasso) 
 over him, and soon strangles him. Sometimes he 
 wounds him with his lance, and then a sanguinary con- 
 flict takes place. As the Laneros has his left arm well 
 bound round with tanned horse-skin, impervious to the 
 Jaguar's tusks, he presents his left hand ; as soon as 
 the Jaguar seizes it, he is stabbed with a long knife, 
 which seldom misses the heart, as the principal excel- 
 lence of a guapo is killing the beast with as few stabs 
 as possible. As soon as he dispatches the male, the 
 female becomes an easy prey. Sometimes the Laneros,
 
 THE LEOPARD. 53 
 
 when their numbers are complete, will, to show their 
 dexterity and address, decoy the Jaguar into a defile, 
 when the man uncovers and shows himself; the Jaguar 
 endeavours to retreat, but is prevented by other Indians, 
 who scare him with firebrands, for they can produce 
 fire by rubbing two piece* of wood together, as quick 
 as if with tinder. In this manner they worry him with 
 dogs, while they keep him at bay until the women 
 arrive to witness their cruelty. As the Jaguar gets 
 frantic he endeavours to bite at every thing near him ; 
 as often as the creature opens his mouth he is sure to 
 have a burning torch rammed into his throat, until mad- 
 ness exhausts him, and he is no longer able to close 
 his jaws; then the women and boys descend from their 
 high positions, chop oif his paws, hammer out his teeth, 
 and often skin him alive, while the boys are smeared 
 with the blood, in order to make them good warriors, 
 and the mothers take delight in seeing the animosity 
 they have to the creature, even when no longer able 
 to do any injury. As to the female Jaguar, they have 
 only to come near her couching place to provoke a 
 quarrel, as she will often attack them before they are 
 within two hundred yards of it: in her they sometimes 
 find a more formidable enemy than in the male, al- 
 though much inferior in point of size and strength, but 
 more subtle and crafty: their bite is difficult to heal, 
 and the Laneros think a wound from a Jaguar a great 
 disgrace ; so much so that a young aspirant for the 
 title of guapo, who had the misfortune of being wound- 
 ed in a rencontre, was so much ashamed of acknow- 
 ledging it, that he suffered a mortification sooner than 
 expose the wound, although he was well aware the 
 women possessed a salve that would cure him. 
 
 THE LEOPARD, 
 
 THIS formidable and sanguinary animal is found 
 nearly throughout tlie whole of Africa, and in eastern 
 and southern Asia. He usually measures about three 
 feet in length, exclusive of the tail, but sometimes 
 reaches four feet. His appearance indicates his natu- 
 ral disposition. He has a restless eye and a sinister 
 countenance, and all his motions are hasty and abrupt. 
 In rapidity, agilitr, and precision of motion he is unri- 
 5*
 
 64 NATURAL H.4TKY. 
 
 railed by auy other animal ; an advantage which he 
 owes to the strength of his muscles, the suppleness of 
 his joints, the extreme pliability of his spine, the great- 
 er lateral compression of his body, and the slender 
 proportions of his limbs. His prey, on which he darts 
 from his hiding-place, and even pursues up the trees, 
 consists of antelopes, monkeys, and the smaller quad- 
 rupeds. Usually, he shuns man, but, when closely 
 pressed, he turns upon the hunter, and hunger will 
 drive him to attack, though by stealth, the human race. 
 
 "Even among the cats (says Mr. Bennett) he is 
 remarkable for extreme sleekness and excessive agility. 
 He is well distinguished from all the other species by 
 the vividness of his colouring and the beauty of his 
 markings. These consist of numerous rows of large 
 rose-like spots passing along his sides, each formed of 
 the confluence of several smaller black spots into an 
 irregular circle enclosing a fawn-coloured centre, upon 
 a general ground colour of light yellow. On his head, 
 neck, and limbs, and the central line of his back, the 
 spots run into one another so completely as to form 
 full patches of smaller size than the open roses, and 
 without central yellow. The under parts of his body, 
 as is usual in most quadrupeds, become gradually of a 
 lighter hue, the throat, chest, and abdomen, being of a 
 pure and delicate white. His tail is equal in length to 
 the entire body excluding the head ; and is marked by 
 a continuation of the open roses of the sides, which 
 become towards its extremity separated in such a man- 
 ner as to surround the upper surface with partial rings 
 of black alternating with white. The whiskers 'are 
 long and white, and implanted in a series of black lines 
 which traverse his lips." 
 
 In captivity the Leopard has been sometimes brought 
 to a considerable degree of tameness. It is not, how- 
 ever, very safe to trust them ; for their original nature 
 is now and then unexpectedly displayed. The female 
 Leopard in the Tower is extremely tame, suffers her- 
 self to be patted by the keeper, and licks his hands. 
 She has a curious propensity to destroy such articles 
 of dress as she can seize ; and has torn to pieces hun- 
 dreds of parasols, umbrellas, muffs, and hats, which the 
 owners unwarily suffered to come within reach of her 
 sudden and agile spring.
 
 THE PANTHER. 65 
 
 THE PANTHER 
 
 RESEMBLES the tiger in its habits, and the leopard in 
 ts skin. Like the tiger it has an insatiable thirst of 
 blood, and an untameable ferocity ; like the leopard 
 its skin is spotted, but is less beautiful than the skin of 
 that animal. It seems, in truth, only a large variety 
 of the leopard. The Panther is usually more than six 
 feet long, independent of the tail, which is about three 
 feet in length. In Africa, one was killed by Major 
 Denham, which was more than eight feet in length. 
 His hair is short, sleek, and mossy, and his colour is, 
 in general, of a bright tawny yellow, elegantly marked 
 with black spots, disposed in circles of four or five 
 each, with a single spot in the centre : his chest and 
 belly are white. He has short and pointed ears, fierce 
 and restless eyes, a strong harsh cry, and a savage 
 sspect. So rapid are his movements that few animals 
 can escape him, and such is his agility that he climbs 
 trees in pursuit of his prey, and is sure of seizing his 
 victim. The flesh of animals is said to be his favourite 
 food, but when pressed by hunger he makes his attacks 
 without discrimination. 
 
 In the time of the Romans, Panthers appear to have 
 been very numerous, and at present the species is said 
 to extend from Barbary to the remotest parts of Guinea. 
 
 It must be observed, that it is very doubtful whether 
 the Panther has ever yet been represented in any 
 drawing. Temminck is of opinion that all the nomi- 
 nal representations of Panthers are really those of 
 leopards. 
 
 The following narrative of an encounter with a Pan- 
 ther, which is copied from the Library of Entertaining 
 Knowledge, will abundantly prove the formidable 
 nature of the Panther, even when the animal is not of 
 its largest size. 
 
 " I was at Jaffna, at the northern extremity of the 
 island of Ceylon, in the beginning of the year 1819 
 (says the writer,) when, one morning, my servant 
 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
 
 ~66 JfATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Poligar dog, which I should designate as \ sort of wiry- 
 haired greyhound, without scent. I kept them to hum 
 jackals ; but tigers are very different things : by the 
 \ray, there are no real tigers in Ceylon ; but leopards 
 and Panthers are always called so, and by ourselves as 
 well as by the natives. This turned out to be a Pan- 
 ther. My gun chanced not to be put together; and 
 while my servants were doing 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 remark- 
 ably blunt hog-spears. They insisted upon setting off 
 without waiting 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, as 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 jjet 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 no\r 
 quite ready to attack, and my gun came a minute after- 
 wards. 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 wor- 
 rying it an easy operation, as the huts there are 
 covered with cocoa-nut leaves. One of the artillery- 
 men 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, leaving less than three inches 
 on the musket; the rest remained in the animal, but 
 was invisible to us: the shot j robablv went through 
 hb cheek, fo~ it certainly did m t seriously injure him.
 
 THE CIIKTAH. 67 
 
 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 about to 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 the man : for the moment there 
 was a pause, when his comrade attacked the beast 
 exactly in the same manner as the gallant fellow him- 
 self 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 gentlemen with the 
 hog-spears advanced, and fixed him, while some 
 natives finished him, by beating him on the head with 
 hedge-stakes. The brave artillery-man 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 scarcely 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 dis- 
 tance 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 
 mrgnitude." 
 
 THE CHETAH. 
 
 THIS animal, which is called the Youze in Persia, 
 the Chetah in India, and to which Pennant gave the 
 name of the Hunting Leopard, is a native of Africa 
 and Southern Asia. With the distinguishing charac- 
 teristics of the cat species, it combines somewhat of 
 the dog. Unlike those of the cat, its claws are only 
 slightly retractile. In size he is intermediate between 
 the leopard and the hound, but has a slenderer body, 
 more elevation in his legs, and a less flat fore-part of 
 the head thar the former, while he wants the graceful
 
 58 NATVRAL HISTORY. 
 
 and lengthened form of head and body by which the 
 latter is distinguished. His fur is not sleek, but has a 
 peculiar crispness. Above- the ground colour is a 
 bright yellowish fawn ; beneath, it is a pure white ; the 
 back and sides are covered with innumerable spots, 
 close to each other, from half an inch to an inch in 
 diameter. The spots are larger, but less closely set, 
 on the back than on the head, sides, and limbs. On 
 the chest and under part of the body they are wanting. 
 The tail is marked with interrupted rings of them, till 
 near the extremity, which is surrounded by three or 
 four complete rings. Along the back of the neck and 
 the anterior part of the spine, is a mane, consisting of 
 longer, crisper, and more upright hairs. 
 
 In the east he is used in hunting by the higher 
 classes. Hiding himself as much as possible, he 
 approaches the object, and when he has come suffi- 
 ciently near to the object, he makes five or six enor- 
 mous bounds, with incredible velocity, darts on his 
 victim, and instantly strangles him. In his domes- 
 ticated state, the Chetah is one of the most playful and 
 fond of animals He has not the slightest appearanct 
 of the caprice and mischievousness of the cat. 
 
 THE LYNX 
 
 Is an animal more commonly found in cold than in 
 temperate climates ; and is at least very rare in hot 
 ones. Bory St. Vincent, however, assures us that he 
 shot several in Spain. It is abundant in the northern 
 parts of Europe, Asia, and America. The Lynx of the 
 Greeks and Romans was not the animal which now 
 bears that name, but the caracal. 
 
 The Lynx, of which the ancients have said, that the 
 sight was so sharp as to penetrate opaque bodies, and 
 of which the urine was made to possess the marvellous 
 property of hardening into a solid substance, a precious 
 stone called lapis lyncurius, is an animal which never 
 existed, any more than all the properties attributed to 
 it, but in fable. To the present Lynx, or to the cara- 
 cal, this imaginary one has no affinity, but in name. 
 We must not, therefore, as the generality of naturalists 
 have hitherto done, attribute to the former, which is a 
 rsal being, the prop< ties of this imaginary one, the
 
 THE LYNX. 59 
 
 existence of vvhich Pliny himself does not seem dis 
 posed to believe, since he speaks of it only as an extra- 
 ordinary beast, and classes it with the sphynx, the 
 pegasus, and other prodigies, or monsters, the produce 
 of ^Ethiopia, 
 
 Our Lynx possesses not the wonderful quality of 
 seeing through walls ; but it has bright eyes, a mild 
 aspect, and, upon the whole, an agreeable and lively 
 appearance. Such, however, is its native ferocity, that 
 it is said to be incapable of being subdued. Its urine 
 produces not precious stones, but like the cat, an ani- 
 mal which it nearly resembles, and of which it retains 
 the manners, and even the cleanliness, it covers it over 
 with earth. 
 
 The most beautiful skins of the Lynx are brought 
 from Siberia, as belonging to the lupus-cervarius ; 
 and from Canada, as belonging to the felis-cervarius ; 
 because being, like all other animals of the New Con- 
 tinent, smaller than those of the Old World, in Europe 
 they are compared to a wolf in size, and in Canada to 
 a \\ild cat. 
 
 The Lynx has short legs, and is generally about the 
 size of the fox. The ears are erect, and are tipped 
 with a long pencil of black hair. The fur, which is 
 long and thick, is of a pale gray colour, with a reddish 
 tinge, and obscurely marked with small dusky spots 
 on the upper parts of the body. The under parts are 
 white. The skin of the male is more beautifully marked 
 than that of the female. It does not walk or run like 
 the wolf in a progressive motion, but leaps and bounds 
 like the cat. It gains its whole subsistence by devour- 
 ing other animals ; and these it will follow to the very 
 tops of trees. Neither can the wild cat, the martin, 
 the ermine, nor the squirrel, escape its pursuit. It also 
 seizes birds, lies in wait for the stag, the roebuck, and 
 the hare, and with one bound often seizes them by the 
 throat. When in possession of its prey, it first sucks 
 the blood of the animal, and then lays open his head, 
 in order to devour the brains. This done, it generally 
 abandons the victim of its fury, goes in search of fresh 
 prey, and is seldom known to return to the former; a 
 circumstance which has given rise to the vulgar remark, 
 that of all animals the Lynx has the shortest memory. 
 The 'skin of this animal changes its colour according
 
 flO NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 to the season and the climate. In winter it is in every 
 respect better than it is in summer ; and its flesh, like 
 the flesh of all beasts of prey, is not proper to eat. 
 
 THE CARACAL, OR SIYA-GUSH. 
 
 THOUGH the Caracal resembles the lynx in size, in 
 the formation of the body, and the aspect of the head ; 
 and, though like that animal, it seems to have the pecu- 
 liar, and almost singular characteristic of a stripe ol 
 black hair at the extremity of the ears; I do not scru- 
 ple, nevertheless, from their disagreement in other 
 respects, to treat of them as animals of different spe- 
 cies. 
 
 The Caracal is not spotted like the lynx ; it has hair 
 rougher and shorter, its tail is larger, and of a uniform 
 colour ; its snout is more elongated ; in appearance it 
 is less mild, and in disposition it is fiercer. The lynx 
 is an inhabitant of the cold, or at most of the tempe- 
 rate regions ; the Caracal is only found in the hot coun- 
 tries ; and it is as much from their difference in dispo- 
 sition and climate that I have judged them to be of two 
 different species, as from the inspection and compari- 
 son of the animals themselves. 
 
 The Caracal, which is the lynx of the ancients, is 
 common in Barbary, in Arabia, and in the southern 
 half of Asia, and in all those countries which are inha- 
 bited by the lion, the panther, and the leopard ; like 
 them it depends on prey for its subsistence ; but, unlike 
 them, from its inferior size, its inferior strength, to 
 procure that prey it has much difficulty. Hardly, 
 indeed, has it aught to subsist on but what the more 
 potent carnivorous anima's are disposed to leave for it. 
 It follows the lion, who, when the immediate cravings 
 of his appetite are gratified, is of a disposition altoge- 
 ther un hostile. From the refuse of what this noble 
 animal has devoured, the Caracal frequently enjoys a 
 comfortable meal. When, however, he is left to his 
 own powers for support, he attacks hares, rabbits, and 
 birds ; of the latter he is exceedingly fond, and will 
 pursue them with astonishing swiftness to the tops of 
 the tallest trees. 
 
 The Caracal is somewhat larger than a fox, and 
 much fiercer and stronger. It has been know;* jo
 
 PUMA. P. 40. 
 
 CARACAL. P. 60.
 
 THE HYJENA. 01 
 
 attack, tear in pieces, and destroy in a few minutes, a 
 large dog, who, fighting for his life, defended himself 
 with all his strength. It is very difficult to tame this 
 animal ; yet if taken when very young, and afterwards 
 reared with care, some affirm that it may be trained to 
 the chase, to which it is by nature inclined, and in 
 which it is sure to succeed, provided it is not let loose 
 but against such animals as are its inferiors, and unable 
 to resist it. Should it be a service of danger, with 
 every expression of reluctance it declines it. It is 
 stated that in India they make use of this animal to 
 lake hares, rabbits, and even large birds, ail of which 
 it surprises, and seizes with singular address and faci- 
 lity. It is, however, doubtful whether the Caracal is 
 ever thus employed. In captivity it is extremely sulky, 
 and growls fiercely whenever it is notifpd. 
 
 THE STRIPED HYAENA. 
 
 So striking, and even so singular are the characte- 
 ristics of the Hya?na, that it is hardly possible to be 
 deceived by them. It is, perhaps, the only quadruped 
 which has but four toes to either the fore or hind feet ; 
 like the badger it has an aperture under the tail, which 
 does not penetrate into the interior parts of the body ; 
 its ears are long, straight, and nearly bare ; its head is 
 more square and shorter than that of the wolf; its legs, 
 the hind ones especially, are longer ; its eyes are 
 placed like those of the dog ; the hair and mane are of 
 a brownish gray, with transverse dark brown or black- 
 ish bands on the body, which stripes become oblique 
 on the flanks and the legs. The coat is of two sorts; 
 fur or wool, in small quantity, and long, stiff, and silkv 
 hair. Its height varies from nineteen to twenty-five 
 inches, and its usual length, from the muzzle to the 
 tail, is three feet three inches. 
 
 The Striped Hyaena is a native of Barbary, Egypt, 
 Abyssinia, Nubia, Syria, Persia, and the East Indies. 
 It generally resides in the caverns of mountains, in the 
 clefts of rocks, or in dens, which it has formed for 
 itself under the earth. It lives by depredation, like the 
 wolf; but it is a stronger animal, and seemingly more 
 daring. It sometimes attacks man, carries off cattle, 
 follows the flocks breaks oper the heep-cotes by 
 VOL. II. 6
 
 02 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 night, and lavages with a voracity insatiable. By nighl 
 also its eyes shine ; and it is maintained that it sees 
 better than in the day. If we may credit all the natu- 
 ralists who have treated of this animal, its cry is very 
 peculiar, beginning with something like the moaning 
 of a human being, and ending in a sound which resem- 
 bles the sobs or retchings of a man in a violent fit of 
 vomiting; but, according to Kaempfer, who was an ear- 
 witness of the fact, it sounds like the lowing of a calf. 
 When at a loss for other prey, it scrapes up the earth 
 with its feet, and devours the carcasses both of animals 
 and men, which, in the countries that it inhabits, are 
 interred promiscuously in the fields. 
 
 Of few animals, have so many absurd stories been 
 told as of that we are now treating of. The ancients 
 have gravely written, that the Hyaena could become 
 male and female alternately. It plainly appears, how- 
 ever, that the circumstance which gave rise to this 
 fable, is, the opening in the form of a cleft, which both 
 the male and the female have independently of the parts 
 destined for the purposes of generation. It has, more- 
 over been aflirmed, that the neck co:isistrd of but one 
 jointless bone, which bone was of great efficacy in 
 magical invocations ; that this creature could imitate 
 the human voice ; that it remembered the names of the 
 shepherds, called to them, charmed them, rendered them 
 motionless ; that, at the same time, it gave chase to the 
 shepherdesses; caused them to forget their flocks, to 
 be distracted with love, &,c. All these things might 
 surely happen without the intervention of a Hyaena ; 
 and I conclude this article, in order to avoid the 
 reproach which is due to Pliny, of seeming to take a 
 pleasure in compiling and publishing fables. 
 
 THE SPOTTED HY.ENA. 
 
 THIS animal is a native of Southern Africa, and 
 abounds in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good 
 Hope, where it is called the Tiger Wolf. It is some- 
 what inferior in size to the striped Hyama, but, in its 
 wild state has the same manners and propensities. Its 
 short muzzle is less abruptly truncated, and its ears, 
 short and broad in form, are of u nearly quadrilateral 
 figure. The general colour of the hide is a dirty yel-
 
 THE CIVET. 03 
 
 Jo w, or yellowish brown, and the nrhole body is covered 
 with spots of a blackish brown, excepting the under 
 part of the belly and of the breast, the inner surface of 
 the limbs and the head. The muzzle is black, and the 
 tail covered with long bushy hair of a blackish brown. 
 Like the striped Hyaena, the spotted species has jaws 
 of enormous strength, with which it easily breaks to 
 pieces the hardest bones. 
 
 It is a common but erroneous idea, that the Hyaena 
 is wholly savage and untameable. Both species have 
 been tamed, and instances are recorded of individuals 
 having manifested all the attachment of a dog. The 
 Striped Hyaena has recently been domesticated in the 
 Cape territory, and is considered one of the best hunt- 
 ers after game, and as faithful and diligent as any of 
 the common domestic dogs. The truth is, that the 
 Hyaena has a very natural aversion to close confine- 
 ment, and when exhibited, as he generally is, in a nar- 
 row cage, he is miserable, and consequently irritable. 
 In a man, similarly situated, the expression of anger 
 would be praised as a generous hatred of slavery. 
 
 The Hyaena was undoubtedly once an inhabitant not 
 only of the European continent, but also of the British 
 islands. His bones have been found in various parts 
 of England and Wales, and particularly in a cave at 
 Kirby Moorside, in Yorkshire. That cave, which was 
 evidently the abode of numerous Hyaenas, likewise con- 
 tains bones of the elephant, the rhinoceros, the hippo- 
 potamus, the horse, the ox, the bear, various kinds of 
 deer, the fox, the water-rat, and several birds. 
 
 THE CIVET. 
 
 THE generality of naturalists have been of opinion, 
 that there is only one species of animals that furnish 
 the perfume known by the name of civet. Two animals 
 that furnish it, however, are easily distinguishable. < 
 
 To the first of these animals I have appropriated its 
 original name of Civet ; and to the second, for the sake 
 of distinction, I have given that of zibet. 
 
 The latter animal differs from the Civet, in having a 
 body longer and less thick, a snout flatter, more slen- 
 der and somewhat concave at the upper part ; its hair 
 is much shorter and softer ; it nas no mane, no black
 
 64 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 under the eyes, or upon the cheeks. All these charac- 
 teristics are peculiar to, and very remarkable in, the 
 Civet. Some travellers had already suspected that 
 there were two species of Civets ; but no person had 
 distinguished them with sufficient accuracy to describe 
 them. 
 
 These animals have been called Musk Cats, or 
 Civet Cats; yet they are not of the cat species; which, 
 however, they resemble in some' zoological points, and 
 in their activity, and their predatory, sanguinary, and 
 nocturnal habits. They somewhat resemble the fox, 
 especially in the head. Their coat is diversified with 
 stripes and spots; a circumstance which has occasioned 
 them to be mistaken for small panthers, by persons who 
 had only seen them at a distance. In every other res- 
 pect, however, they differ from the panther. 
 
 The Civet is from two to three feet in length, stands 
 from ten to twelve inches high, and has a tail half the 
 length of its body. The hair is long, and the ground 
 colour of it is a brownish gray, interspersed with nu- 
 merous transverse interrupted bands or irregular spots 
 of black. Along the centre of the back, from between 
 the shoulders to the end of the tail, is a kind of mane, 
 which can be erected or depressed as the animal pleases, 
 and which is formed of black hairs, longer than those 
 of the body. The sides of the neck and the upper lip 
 are nearly white. The legs and the greater part of the 
 tail are perfectly black ; there is a large black patch 
 round each eye, which passes thence to the corner of 
 the mouth; and two or three bands of the same colour 
 stretch obliquely from the base of the ears towards the 
 shoulder and neck, the latter of which is marked with 
 a black patch. 
 
 The perfume of the Civet is very strong, and that of 
 the zibet is so to an excess. This humour is found in 
 the opening which each of these animals has in the 
 neighbourhood of the genitals ; and though the odour 
 is so strong, it is yet agreeable, even when it issues 
 from the body of the animal. The perfume of the Civet 
 we must not confound with musk, which is a sanguin- 
 eous humour obtained from an animal altogether diffei- 
 ent from either the Civet or the zibet. 
 
 The Civets, though natives of the hottest climates of 
 Africa and of Asia, are yet capable of living in temper
 
 THE CIVET. DO 
 
 ate, and even in cold countries, provided they are 
 carefully defended from the injuries of the air, and pro- 
 vided with delicate and esculent food. In Holland, 
 where no small emolument is derived from their per- 
 fume, they are frequently reared. The perfume of 
 Amsterdam is esteemed preferable to that which is 
 brought from the Levant, or the Indies, which is gene- 
 rally less genuine. That which is imported from Gui- 
 nea would be the best of any, were it not that the 
 Negroes, as well as the Indians and the people of the 
 Levant, adulterate it with mixtures of laudanum, storax, 
 and other balsamic and odorous drugs. 
 
 Those who breed these animals for the sake of their 
 perfume, put them into a long and narrow sort of box, 
 in which they cannot turn. This box the person who 
 is employed to collect the perfume opens behind, fjr 
 this purpose twice or thrice a week ; and dragging the 
 animal which is confined in it backward by the tail, he 
 keeps it in this position by a bar before. This done, 
 he takes out the civet with a small spoon, carefully 
 scraping with it, all the while, the interior coats of the 
 pouch. The perfume thus obtained is put into a ves- 
 sel ; and every care is taken to keep it closely shut. 
 
 The quantity which a single animal will afford de 
 pends greatly upon its appetite, and the quality of its 
 nourishment. It yields more in proportion as it is more 
 delicately and abundantly fed. Raw flesh hashed small, 
 eggs, rice, small animals, birds, young fowls, and par- 
 ticularly fish, are the food in which the Civet most 
 delights. 
 
 As to the rest, the Civet is a wild, fierce animal, and, 
 though sometimes tamed, is yet never thoroughly fami- 
 liar. Its teeth are strong and sharp ; but its claws are 
 feeble and blunt. It is light and active, and lives by 
 prey, pursuing birds, and other small animals, which it 
 is able to overcome. It generally attacks at night, and 
 by surprise. They are sometimes seen stealing into 
 yards and outhouses, like the fox, in order to carry off 
 poultry. Their eyes shine in the night ; and it is very 
 probable that they see better by night than by flay. 
 When they fail of animal food, they are found to subsist 
 upon roots and fruits. They very seldom drink ; nor 
 do they ever inhabit humid ground ; but in burning 
 ands, and in am mountains, they cheerfully remain. 
 6*
 
 XATtHAL HIbTOhY. 
 
 THE JAVANESE CIVET 
 
 
 
 DiFFEUii considerably from the common Civet. The 
 body narrow, compressed, and higher behind than 
 before, is from fifteen to eighteen inches long. The 
 back is strongly arched. The muzzle is narrow and 
 tapering ; the ears short and rounded ; the profile forms 
 a perfectly straight line ; the tail, tapering gradually to 
 the tip, is as long as the body, and is marked with 
 eight or nine broad black rings, which alternate with 
 as many of a grayish hue. A much lighter gray than 
 that of the Civet composes the ground colour ; there is 
 a broad longitudinal dorsal line of black, and on each 
 side two or three narrower black lines, consisting of 
 confluent spots. Over the rest of the body these spots 
 are thickly but rather irregularly scattered, so as to 
 constitute a series of flexuous dotted lines. The side 
 of the neck above is occupied by a deep longitudi- 
 nal black line, and below, there is a second, which is 
 more obliquely placed. The head is grayish, and has 
 no spots ; and the legs are externally black. 
 
 The specimens which are in the Tower deposit large 
 quantities of civet. They are fed on a mixture of ani 
 mal and vegetable food, and are extremely spiteful and 
 savage. 
 
 THE GENET 
 
 Is an animal smaller than the civet. It has a long 
 body, short legs, a sharp snout, and a slender head. 
 Its fur, which is exceedingly smooth and soft, is of an 
 ash colour, glossy, and marked with black stripes, 
 which are separate upon the sides, but which unite 
 upon the back. It has also upon the neck a kind of 
 mane, or longish hair, which forms a black streak from 
 the head to the tail, which last is as long as the body, 
 and is marked with seven or eight rings, from the 
 insertion to the tip, which are alternately black and 
 white. 
 
 The Genet has under the tail, and in the very same 
 place with the civets, an opening, or pouch, in which 
 is separated a kind of perfume resembling civet, but 
 less strong, and apt sooner to evaporate It is an ani-
 
 THE VARADOXUKU? 0? 
 
 final somewhat larger than the martin which it strongly 
 resembles, not only in the form of the body, but also 
 in disposition and habit, and from which it seems 
 chiefly to differ in being more easily tamed. It is a 
 native of Spain, Africa, and the south of Asia. 
 
 THE PARADOXURUS 
 
 APPROACHES closely to the genets and civets in its 
 general form and habits ; so closely, indeed, that Buf- 
 fon has classed it with the former, under the name of 
 Genette of France. In its teeth, toes, and nails, and 
 ihe retractile power of the latter, it is nearly similar 
 to them ; but it is a plantigrade animal, has no secre- 
 tory pouch, and the tail, which is as long as the body, 
 and is flattened above and below, has one great singu- 
 larity ; namely, that the animal is able to roll it up 
 into a spire, commencing from above downwards, even 
 to the very base. 
 
 The Paradoxurus Typus is a native of the East 
 Indies and the Oriental Archipelago. Marsden calls 
 it the Musang, and the Javanese give it the name of 
 Luwach. Its length, including the tail, is about three 
 feet. Grayish black, with a tinge of yellow, is its 
 general colour. It has a broad dorsal black line, and 
 two or three narrower indistinct black lines on the 
 sides. The under jaws, the legs, and the major part 
 of the tail are also black. Under and above each eye 
 is a white spot. 
 
 Little is known of its habits in a state of liberty. 
 As a captive it is sullen, irascible, and unsusceptible 
 of affection. 
 
 THE PREHENSILE PARADOXURUS. 
 
 THIS animal, a native of Bengal, has its fur of a 
 greenish yellow. The dorsal line, the end of the tail, 
 and the paws are black. Near the back there are two 
 lines of lengthened black spots, and on each side many 
 small orbicular spots. 
 
 THE ONDATRA. 
 
 THE ONDATRA, and the DESMAN, are two animals 
 which must not be confounded, though they have both
 
 66 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 been denominated Musk Rats, and though they have 
 a few common characteristics. 
 
 The ONDATRA, or MUSK RAT of Canada, differs from 
 the desman, in having its toes all separated from each 
 other, in having eyes very conspicuous, and a snout 
 very short; whereas of the DESMAN, or MUSK RAT of 
 Muscovy, the toes of the hind feet are united by a 
 membrane. The tail of both is flat ; and not only in 
 this circumstance, but in a number of essential charac- 
 teristics, they differ from the pilori, or musk rat of the 
 Antilles. 
 
 The Ondatra is of the size of a small rabbit, and of 
 the form of a rat. Its head is short, and similar to that 
 of the water rat ; its hair is soft and glossy, with a 
 very thick down underneath, nearly like that of the 
 beaver ; its tail is long, and though of a different form, 
 being flattened laterally, it is covered nevertheless with 
 little scales, in the same manner as those of other rats. 
 
 Its ears are very short, but not uncovered, like those 
 of the domestic rat ; being furnished with hair, both 
 outwardly and inwardly. 
 
 The striking singularities which have been remarked 
 in the Ondatra, are, first, the force and great expansion 
 of the muscles of the skin, which enables the animal, 
 by contracting its skin, to compress its body, and 
 reduce it to a smaller size ; secondly, the suppleness 
 of the false ribs, which permits a contraction of the 
 body so considerable, that the musk rat is known to 
 obtain an easy entrance into holes too narrow for the 
 admission of animals much smaller than itself; thirdly, 
 the manner in which the female voids her urine, the 
 urethra not terminating as in other quadrupeds, but at 
 a hairy eminence situated over the os pubis ; fourthly, 
 the testes, which, as in other rats, are situated on each 
 side of the anus, become prodigiously large while the 
 ardour lasts for continuing the species ; and lastly, we 
 learn, that the vessels which contain the musk or per- 
 fume of this animal, under the form of a milky humour, 
 and which adjoin to the parts of generation, undergo 
 the same changes ; that, during the rutting season, they 
 enlarge and swell to a very great degree ; that then 
 the perfume is exceedingly strong, and sensibly to be 
 distinguished at a considerable distance ; but that, at 
 the expiration of this period, they become wrinkled,
 
 THE ONDATRA 09 
 
 they decay, and are at length totally effaced. The 
 change in the bags which contain the perfume is effected 
 more quickly, as well as more completely, than that 
 of the parts of generation. They are common to both 
 sexes, and contain a very copious milky substance, 
 while the animals are actually in heat. 
 
 As the Ondatra belongs to the same country as the 
 beaver ; as, like that animal, it is fond of water ; and 
 as, though smaller, it has yet nearly the same figure, 
 the same colour, the same kind of hair, they have been 
 often compared with each other. 
 
 In disposition and instinct, also, these animals bear 
 a considerable resemblance to each other. Like the 
 beavers, the Ondatras live in society during the win- 
 er. They form little dwellings, about two feet and a 
 lalf, and sometimes more, in diameter ; and in these 
 here is often found an association of several families. 
 To such habitations they do not resort in order to sleep 
 for five or six months, like the marmots ; their only 
 object is, to obtain from them a shelter from the incle- 
 mency of the weather. They are of a round form, and 
 are covered with a kind of dome about a foot thick 
 The materials of which they are composed are rushes 
 and certain herbs interwoven together, and consoli- 
 dated with some clay, which they previously prepare 
 for that purpose with their feet. 
 
 These animals breed once a year, and generally 
 produce five or six at a time. So strong are their fore 
 teeth, and so excellently calculated for gnawing, that 
 when one of them is shut up in a box, it presently 
 makes a hole to escape through, let the wood be ever 
 so hard. 
 
 These animals are little inclined to ferocity, and, 
 when taken young, are easily tamed. In the very early 
 period of life they are also, which might not be 
 expected, exceedingly handsome ; for then the long 
 and almost uncovered tail, which renders their figure 
 very disagreeable afterwards, is very short. They play 
 with all the innocence and sprightliness of young cats ; 
 they never bite, and with ease might be reared, were 
 it not for the circumstance of their noxious smell
 
 70 KATUR 41 HISTORT. 
 
 THE DESMAN. 
 
 THIS animal, a native of Lapland and Russia, is 
 about the size of a common rat : it has a long and slen 
 der nose ; no external ears ; and very small eyes : the 
 tail is compressed sideways, and its hind feet are 
 webbed: it is of a dusky colour; the belly is a light 
 ash. It frequents the banks of rivers, where it feeds 
 on small fishes ; and, in its turn, is often devoured by 
 pikes and other fish, to which it communicates so pow- 
 erful a musky flavour as renders them exceedingly 
 unpleasant to the taste. A kind of musk, much resem- 
 bling the genuine sort, is extracted from its tail. The 
 skin of the Desman is frequently laid among clothes 
 to preserve them from moths. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Of the Peccary, or Mexican Hog Of the Ternate Bat 
 The Spectre The Flying Squirrel The Hooded 
 Squirrel The Squirrel Petaurus The Gray Squir- 
 rel The Ground Squirrel The Palm Squirrel, and 
 those of Barbary, $c. The Ant-eaters The Short 
 and Long-tailed Manis The Armadillo The Spot- 
 ted Cavy The Opossum The MarmoseThe Cayo- 
 polin The Flying Opossum. 
 
 THE PECCARY, OR MEXICAN HOG. 
 
 AMONG the animals of the New World, we meet with 
 few species more numerous or more remarkable than 
 that of the Peccary, or Mexican Hog. At the first 
 glance, this animal resembles our wild boar, or rather 
 the hog of Siam, which, like our domestic hog, as we 
 have already observed, is nothing more than a variety 
 of the wild boar, or wild hog ; and for this reason it 
 has been called the boar or hog of America. The 
 Peccary, however, is of a distinct species, and differs 
 from the hog in a number of characteristics, both
 
 THE PECCARY. 71 
 
 external and internal. Its head is shorter and broader; 
 it has only four incisor teeth in the upper jaw, instead 
 of six ; it has only three instead of six toes on the hind 
 feet; its legs are slenderer; in the stomach and intes- 
 tines there is a difference of conformation ; the tail is 
 extremely short, remarkably flat, and completely pen- 
 dulous ; and its bristles are much stronger than those 
 of the wild boar : and, lastly, it has, upon that part of 
 the back which borders upon the buttocks, an opening 
 from which there is discharged an ichorous humour 
 of a very disagreeable smell. The Peccary is the only 
 animal which has an opening in this region of the 
 body. In the civets, the badger, and the genet, the 
 reservoir for the perfume is situated beneath the parts 
 of generation ; and in the musk animals we find it under 
 the belly. 
 
 The Peccary may be rendered a domestic animal, 
 like the hog, and has pretty nearly the same habits 
 and natural inclinations. It feeds upon the same ali- 
 ments ; and its flesh, though more dry and lean than 
 that of a hog, is not unpalatable. The female, how- 
 ever, breeds only once a year, and has but two young 
 ones at a birth. 
 
 These animals are extremely numerous in all the 
 parts of South America. There are two species : the 
 Collared Peccary, and the White-lipped Peccary. The 
 former is not a migratory animal, but usually lives in 
 the forest where it was produced, and is generally met 
 with in pairs or in small families. It is the smallest of 
 the two species, seldom measuring three feet in length, 
 or weighing more than fifty pounds. Its general colour 
 is a yellowish gray, with the exception of the legs, 
 which are nearly black ; and it has a somewhat erec- 
 tile mane on the back of the neck, composed of a ro\r 
 of long black bristles. 
 
 The White-lipped Peccary is much larger than the 
 other species, as it not unfrequently reaches a length 
 of three feet and a half, and a weight of a hundred 
 pounds. It is thicker and stouter in its proportions, 
 has a longer and thicker mane, and has 'ess of the 
 grayish tinge. "Unlike 'the former species, the White- 
 lipped Peccaries," says the author of The Gardens and 
 Menagerie of the Zoological Society, " congregate in 
 numerous bands, sometimes amounting, it is said, to
 
 72 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 more than a thousand individuals of all ages. Thus 
 united, they frequently traverse extensive districts, the 
 
 H'hole troop occupying an extent of a league in length, 
 and directed in their march, if the accounts of the 
 natives are to be credited, by a leader, who takes his 
 station at the head of the foremost rank. Should they 
 be impeded in their progress by a river, the chief stops 
 for a moment, and then plu iges boldly into the stream, 
 and is followed by all the rest of the troop. The 
 breadth of the river or the rapidity of the current 
 appear to be but trifling obstacles in their way, and to 
 be overcome with the greatest facility. On reaching 
 the opposite bank they proceed directly on their course, 
 and continue their march even through the plantations 
 which, unfortunately for the owners, may happen to lie 
 in their way ; and which they sometimes completely 
 devastate by rooting in the ground for their favourite 
 food, or devouring such fruits as they find there. It 
 they meet with any thing unusual on their way, they 
 make a terrific clattering with their teeth, and stop and 
 examine the object of their alarm. When they have 
 ascertained that there is no danger, they continue their 
 
 oute without further delay; but if a huntsman should 
 venture to attack them when they are thus assembled 
 in large numbers, he is sure to be surrounded by mul- 
 titudes and torn to pieces by their tusks, if he is so 
 unwise as to neglect his only chance of escape, which 
 consists in climbing a tree, and thus getling fairly out 
 of their reach. The smaller bands are by no means 
 equally courageous, and always take to flight at the first 
 attack. 
 
 " M. Sonnini relates that he was often, in the course 
 of his travels in Guiana, surrounded by a troop of Pec- 
 caries infuriated with the havoc made by the muskets 
 of himself and his companions. Mounted upon a tree, 
 he was enabled to observe their motions, and to notice 
 the manner in which they encouraged, by their grunts 
 and by the rubbing of their snouts together, those 
 among them who were injured by the shots which 
 were poured on them from above. With erected bris- 
 tles, and eyes sparkling with rage, they still maintained 
 their ground ; and it was sometimes only after two or 
 three hours' incessant firing that they were at last com- 
 pelled to quit the field of battle, and to leave the bodies
 
 THE PECCARY. 73 
 
 of the dead to the mercy of the conquerors. These 
 days of victory over the Peccaries, he adds, are always 
 days of abundance for the traveller in those immense 
 forests, who has no other resource except the chase. 
 An enormous gridiron is immediately constructed with 
 sticks fixed in the earth, and three feet in height, over 
 which a quantity of small branches are placed in a 
 transverse direction. On these the Peccaries are depo- 
 sited, after being cut in pieces, and are cooked by a 
 slow fire, which is kept up during the whole night." 
 
 In its native country, the Peccary is rather fond of the 
 mountainous parts, than of the low and level grounds ; 
 it seems to delight neither in the marshes nor the mud, 
 like our hogs ; it keeps among the woods, where it 
 subsists upon wild fruits, roots, and vegetables ; it is 
 also an unceasing enemy to the lizard, the toad, and all 
 the serpent kinds with which the uncultivated forests 
 of the New Continent abound. As soon as it perceives 
 a serpent or a viper, it at once seizes it with its fore 
 hoofs and teeth, skins it in an instant, and devours the 
 flesh. They commit great havoc among the sugar- 
 canes, maize, manihot, and potato crops. 
 
 The young ones follow the dam, and do not separate 
 from her till they have come to perfection. If taken 
 at first, they are very easily tamed, and soon lose all 
 their natural ferocity ; they, however, never display 
 any remarkable signs of docility. They only continue 
 to do no mischief; and they may be permitted to run 
 tame, without apprehending any dangerous conse- 
 quences. They seldom stray far from home ; they 
 return of themselves to the sty, and do not quarrel 
 among each other, except when they happen to be fed 
 in common. When enraged, they draw their breath 
 with great force, and their bristles point upward ; nor, 
 on such occasions, can these be said so much to resem- 
 ble the bristles of the wild boar as the sharp armoufr 
 of the hedgehog. 
 
 VOL. II 7.
 
 74 NATURAL HISTORY, 
 
 THE ROUSSETTE, GREAT TERNATE BAT, OR 
 
 VAMPYRE BAT ;* 
 
 THE ROTJGETTE, OR LESSER TERNATE BAT? AND THE 
 SPECTRE BAT. 
 
 THE Roussette and the Rougette seem to form two 
 distinct species, which, however, are so full of resem- 
 blances to each other, that they ought not to be pre- 
 sented asunder. The latter differs from the former 
 solely in the size of the body and the colours of the 
 hair. The Roussette, whose hair :s of a reddish brown, 
 is in length nine inches from the tip of the nose to the 
 insertion of the tail ; and in breadth three or even four 
 feet, when the membranes, which serve it for wings, are 
 fully extended. The Rougette, whose hair is of a 
 reddish ash-colour, is hardly more than five inches 
 and a half in length, and two feet in breadth ; and its 
 neck is half encircled with a stripe of hair of a lively 
 red, intermixed with orange-colour, of which we per- 
 ceive no vestige on the neck of the Roussette. They 
 both belong nearly to the same hot climates of the Old 
 Continent. We meet with them in Madagascar, in the 
 island of Bourbon, in Ternate, in the Philippine and 
 other islands of the Indian Archipelago, where, indeed, 
 they seem to be more common than in the neighbour- 
 ing continents. 
 
 The smell of these creatures is ranker than that of a 
 fox, yet the Indians consider them as delicious food, 
 and the French who reside in the Isle of Bourbon even 
 boil them in their soup to give it a relish ! The hair of 
 the Vampyre Bat, interwoven with threads of cyperus 
 squamosus, is used by the natives of New Caledonia 
 for making ropes and the tassels of their clubs. 
 
 In the hotter countries of the New World, and in 
 some of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, we likewise 
 meet with another flying quadruped, of which we know 
 not the American name, but to which I will affix the 
 denomination of Spectre, because it sucks the blood of 
 men, and of animals, while they are asleep, withoul 
 causing even sufficient pain to awake them This 
 
 The name of Vampyre Bat was ateojpTen to the Spectre Bat by Buffon, but 
 
 appropriated to the Roussette. 
 .1. trieir habi 
 
 , 
 now appropriated to the Roussette. The two species do not differ materially
 
 THE ROUSSETTE THE ROUGETTE, ETC. 75 
 
 American animal is of a species different from those 
 of the Roussette and the Rougette, which are both to 
 be found solely in Africa, and in the southern parts of 
 Asia. 
 
 The Spectre is smaller than the Rougette, which is 
 itself smaller than the Roussette. The former, when 
 it flies, seems to be of the size of the pigeon ; the 
 second, of the size of a raven ; and the third, of the size 
 of a large hen. Of both the Roussette and the Rou- 
 gette the head is tolerably well shaped ; the ears are 
 short, and the nose is very round, and nearly in form 
 like that of a dog. Of the Spectre, on the contrary, 
 the nose is more elongated ; the aspect is as hideous as 
 that of the ugliest Bats ; the head is unshapely, and 
 the ears large, very open, and very straight ; its nose 
 is disfigxired ; its nostrils resemble a funnel, and have 
 a membrane at the top, which rises up in the form of 
 a sharp horn, or cock's comb, and greatly heightens 
 the deformity of its face. 
 
 There is no doubt, therefore, but that the species of 
 the Spectre is different from those of the Roussette 
 and the Rougette. It is an animal not less mischievous 
 than it is deformed ; it is the pest of man, the torment 
 and destruction of animals. In confirmation of this 
 truth, a more authentic testimony cannot be produced 
 than that of M. de la Condamine. " The Bats," says 
 he, " which suck the blood of horses, of mules, and 
 even of men, when they do not guard against it by 
 sleeping under the shelter of a pavilion, are a scourge 
 common to most of the hot countries of America. Of 
 these there are some of a monstrous size. At Borja, 
 and several other places, they have entirely destroyed 
 the large cattle which the missionaries had brought 
 thither, and which had begun to multiply." 
 
 The Roussette and Rougette are larger, stronger, 
 and perhaps yet more mischievous than the Spectre ; 
 but it is by open force, and in the day as well as in the 
 night, that they commit hostilities. Fowls and small 
 animals are the objects of their destructive fury ; they 
 even attack men, and bite their faces most cruelly. 
 
 All these Bats are animals carnivorous, voracious, 
 and possessed of an appetite for every thing that 
 offers. In a dearth of flesh or fish, they feed on vege- 
 tables and fruits of every kind. As thev are fond of
 
 76 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the juice of the palm tree, so it is easy to take them 
 by placing in the neighbourhood of their retreat a few 
 vessels filled with palm-tree water, or any other fer- 
 mented liquor, with which they intoxicate themselves. 
 They fasten to, and suspend themselves from, trees 
 with their claws. They are usually seen in troops, 
 and more so by night than by day ; places which are 
 much frequented they shun ; and their favourite resi- 
 dence is in the deserted parts of islands. 
 
 I have frequently thought it worth while to examine 
 how it is possible that these animals should suck the 
 blood of a person asleep, without causing, at the same 
 time, a pain so sensible as to awake him. Were they 
 to cut the flesh with their teeth or with their claws, the 
 pain of the bite would effectually rouse any of the 
 human species, however soundly asleep. With their 
 tongue only, then, it is possible for them to make 
 such minute apertures in the skin, as to imbibe the 
 blood through them, and to open the veins without 
 causing an acute pain. 
 
 The tongue of the Spectre I have not had an' oppor- 
 tunity to observe; but that of several Roussettes, which 
 Mr. Daubenton has attentively examined, seems to 
 indicate the possibility of the fact. It is sharp, and 
 full of prickles directed backward; and it appears that 
 these prickles, or points, from their exceeding minute- 
 ness, may be insinuated into the pores of the skin, may 
 enlarge them, and may penetrate them so deep, as to 
 command a flow of the blood by the continued suction 
 of the tongue. But we can only conjecture upon a fact 
 of which all the circumstances are imperfectly known 
 to us, and of which some are perhaps exaggerated, or 
 erroneously related, by the writers who have transmit- 
 ted them to us. 
 
 Captain Stedman, while sleeping in the open air in 
 Surinam, was attacked by one of the Spectre Bats. 
 On awaking, about four o'clock in the morning, he was 
 extremely alarmed to find himself weltering in con- 
 gealed blood, and without feeling any pain. Having 
 started up, he ran to the surgeon, with a firebrand in 
 his hand, and all over besmeared with gore. The 
 cause of his alarm was, however, soon explained. 
 After he had applied some tobacco ashes to the wound, 
 and had washed the gore from himself and his ham-
 
 77 
 
 mock, he examined the place where he had lain, and 
 observed several small heaps of congealed blood upon 
 the ground ; on examining which, the surgeon judged 
 that he had lost at least twelve or fourteen ounces. 
 Captain Stedman says, that these animals, knowing by 
 instinct that the person they intend tc- Attack is in a 
 sound slumber, they generally alight near the feet, 
 where, while the creature continues fanning with his 
 enormous wings, which keeps the person cool, he bites 
 a piece out of the tip of the great toe, so very small 
 that the head of a pin could scarcely be received into 
 the wound, which is consequently not painful. Yet, 
 through this orifice, he sucks the blood until he is 
 obliged to disgorge. He then begins again, and thus 
 continues sucking and disgorging till he is scarcely 
 able to fly ; and the sufferer has often been known to 
 sleep from time into eternity. The Spectre Bats gene- 
 rally bite in the ear, but always in places where the 
 blood will flow spontaneously. 
 
 THE FLYING SQUIRREL 
 
 Is more common in America than in Europe, where 
 he is seldom seen, except in Russia, Norway, and Lap- 
 land. The American species uses the same food, and 
 forms the same hoards, as the common Squirrel ; but 
 the Norwegian feeds principally on the tender branches 
 of the beech and pine trees. The latter species differs 
 from the former principally in having its tail full of 
 hair, rounded at the end, and its body being a fine gray 
 on the upper part, and white on the lower ; while the 
 American has a tail tapering to a point, and is of a 
 cinereous brown on the back, and white tinged with 
 yellow on the belly. This little animal dwells upon 
 trees, like the Squirrel ; he goes from branch to 
 branch ; and when he leaps upon another tree, his 
 skin, which hangs loose on both sides of his body, is 
 stretched forward by his fore legs, and backward by 
 the hind legs, and increases the surface of his body 
 without adding to its weight, and consequently retards 
 his fall ; so that this animal reaches, in one leap, a 
 great distance. This motion is not like the flight of 
 a bird, neither like the fluttering of a bat; both which 
 motions are performed by striking the air with repeated 
 vibrations. It is one single leap, caused by the first 
 7*
 
 79 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 impulse, the motion of which is jnly prolonged, and 
 lasts longer, as the body of the animal, presenting to 
 the air greater surface, finds a greater resistance, and 
 falls more slowly. 
 
 The Flying Squirrel is easily tamed ; but it often 
 flies ; and he must be kept in a cage, or secured with 
 a small chain. He feeds upon bread, fruit, seeds ; he is 
 remarkably fond of the buds and shoots of the birch 
 and pine trees. He does not seek after nuts and al- 
 monds like the Squirrel. He makes a bed of leaves, in 
 which he buries himself, and upon which he lies in the 
 daytime, and leaves it in the night, or when pressed by- 
 hunger. As he has little agility, he becomes easily the 
 prey of martins, and other animals which climb up the 
 trees ; so that the species is not greatly multiplied, 
 although they have commonly three or four young at 
 a time. 
 
 In Virginia there is another of this species, called 
 the HOODED SQUIRREL ; the lateral membrane begins 
 at the chin and ears, where it forms a kind of hood, and 
 extends, like that of the former, from the fore to the 
 hind legs : its body is of a reddish colour above, and 
 of a yellowish ash beneath. It is a species, as yet, but 
 little known. 
 
 THE SQUIRREL PETAURUS. 
 
 THIS animal which is of the Petaurus genus, is an 
 inhabitant of New South Wales, and is said to be abun- 
 dant at the foot of the Blue Mountains. It was first 
 known in England under the name of the Norfolk 
 Island Flying Squirrel. It is nearly of the size of the 
 common Squirrel, with a tail somewhat longer than its 
 body. Above, its colour is of a delicate gray, rather 
 darker on the head ; and beneath, it is white. Along 
 the back, from the point of the nose towards the tail, 
 there is a black line, and a similar line bounds the late- 
 ral folds of the skin, in front and on the sides. Its fur 
 is of the softest and most beautiful nature. Like most 
 of the New Holland animals, it has an abdominal pouch. 
 During the day it nestles in hollow trees, but as the 
 night advances it grows lively, and by means of its 
 lateral expansions springs from bough to bough, half 
 leaping and half flying. Leaves and insects are its food. 
 There seems reason to believe that, in its flight-like
 
 THE 3QVIRREL. 79 
 
 leaps as they have been aptly called, the animal has 
 the power of changing its course. One of them, on 
 board ship, sprung from the mast-head at the moment 
 when the vessel gave a heavy lurch to the side oppo- 
 site to that in which the Petaurus had directed its leap ; 
 yet the animal reached the deck in safety ; which it 
 would not have accomplished had it not been able to 
 alter its original direction. 
 
 THE GRAY SQUIRREL 
 
 Is found in the northern part of both continents. He 
 is in shape like a common squirrel ; the outward dif- 
 ference consists in his size ; he is larger than Squirrels 
 generally are ; the colour of his hair is not red, but 
 light, or deep gray ; and his ears are not so hairy tow- 
 ards the extremity, as those of our Squirrels. Many 
 authors think the species is different in Europe and 
 America ; that the Gray Squirrels of Europe are of the 
 common kind, and that they change their colour, ac- 
 cording to the season, in the northern climates. With- 
 out denying absolutely this assertion, which does not 
 seem sufficiently proved, we look upon the Gray Squir- 
 rel of Europe and America as the same animal, and as 
 a distinct species, separated from that of common Squir- 
 rels, who are found in the northern parts of both con- 
 tinents, being of the same size and of the same colour; 
 that is of a red, more or less bright, according to the 
 temperature of the country. 
 
 The Gray Squirrel migrates to immense distances. 
 It crosses rivers on a piece of pine bark, and uses us 
 tail as a sail ; but the little navigators are often wreck- 
 ed on these voyages. Its colour is a pale gray, except 
 under the body, and the inside of the limbs, which 
 are white. In Sweden and other cold countries, it 
 :,nanges its colour in the winter. It makes its nest in 
 lollow trees with moss, straw, wool, fcc. For its win- 
 er sustenance it lays up stores of provision in holes 
 ,nade in the ground, and in amassing these it commits 
 great havoc in the plantations, particularly among those 
 of maize. These hoards are often destroyed by swine. 
 It is disliked by the sportsman as much as by the farm- 
 er, in consequence of its making a chattering noise 
 on his approach, by which the alarm is given to the
 
 80 NATURAL H1STORV. 
 
 game. Its fur is very valuable, and is imported undei 
 the name of petit-gris. 
 
 THE GROUND SQUIRREL. 
 
 THE Ground or Stri-ped Squirrel is very numerous in 
 the forests of North America and northern Asia. It 
 burrows in the ground, and makes two entrances to its 
 habitation ; that if one should be stopped up, it may 
 have access by the other. In autumn, however, when 
 the ground is covered with leaves, and it is warmly 
 pursued, it has often some difficulty in discovering the 
 entrance to its haunt, and it then displays striking signs 
 of consternation. It is only on such occasions that it will 
 take refuge in trees. Its hole is forr.-ed with great skill, 
 having several branches from the principal passage, each 
 of which is terminated by a store-house, in which its 
 winter food, is deposited : in one is contained acorns, in 
 another nuts, in a third maize, and in a fourth chestnuts, 
 which are its favourite food, and of which it some 
 times collects not less than two hats full. In Siberia, 
 ten or fifteen pounds weight of the kernels of the stone 
 pine have been taken out of one of these hoards. 
 
 During harvest they fill their mouths so full with 
 corn, that their cheeks are quite distended ; and in this 
 manner carry it to their concealed store. They give 
 great preference to certain kinds of food ; and if, after 
 filling their mouths with rye, they chance to meet with 
 wheat, they discharge the one, that they may secure 
 the other. These animals seldom stir out during the 
 winter, nor so long as their provisions last : when 
 those fail, they sometimes work their way into places 
 where apples are laid up, or into barns where maize is 
 stored, and make great havoc. 
 
 This animal is marked with a stripe of black, which 
 runs along the ridge of the back ; and on each side a 
 yellow stripe, bordered with black : its head, body, 
 and tail, are of a reddish brown ; breast and belly 
 white ; its nose and feet of a pale red colour : its eyes 
 full and lively. It is very wild, bites severely, and is 
 tamed with difficulty. Its skin is of but trifling value* 
 and is chiefly sold to the Chinese.
 
 TiiK SQUIRREL 81 
 
 THE PALM SQUIRREL, AND THOSE OF BARBARY AND 
 SWITZERLAND. 
 
 THE Palm Squirrel, which is a native of the south- 
 eastern portion of Asia and its neighbouring islands, 
 is as large as a rat, or a small squirrel ; he lives upon 
 the Palm trees, from which he takes his name : some 
 call him the Palmist Rat, and others the Palm-tree 
 Squirrel ; we shall call him Palmist. His head is very 
 near of the same form as that of the short-tailed field 
 mouse, and covered with rough hair; his long tail does 
 not lie on the ground, like that of the rat : he carries 
 it erect vertically, without however laying it on his 
 body, as the Squirrel ; it is covered with hair longer 
 than that of his body, but much shorter than the hair 
 of the Squirrel's tail : his back is variegated with white 
 and brown stripes, which distinguish the Palmist from 
 all other animals, except the Squirrel of Barbary and 
 Switzerland. 
 
 The name of this animal is derived from their being 
 often seen on palm trees ; those trees being always 
 found near human habitations in the East. He is a 
 familiar creature, and will enter the houses, and pick 
 up the crumbs that drop from the table. In the 
 orchards, however, he commits woful havoc. His abode 
 is in the roofs of houses and the cavities of old walls. 
 The species is common in India. 
 
 As for the Squirrel of Barbary, as he is of the same 
 size, and very near the same form as the Palmist, one 
 should be inclined to think, that they are both of the 
 same species, with some variety; yet there is still rea- 
 son to believe them different animals. The Squirrel 
 of Barbary has the head and forehead more crooked, 
 the ears longer, the tail more bushy than the Palmist ; 
 he is more like a rat than a Squirrel. The Squirrel of 
 Barbary has four white stripes, and the Palmist has no 
 more than three : the white stripe is on the Palmist's 
 backbone ; on the contrary, that of the Squirrel of 
 Barbary on the same part of his body is brown and red. 
 These animals, indeed, have very nearly the same 
 habits, and are of the same nature as the common 
 Squirrel. They are both of an elegant form ; their 
 coat with white stripes is more valuable than that of
 
 82 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the Squirrel; their shape is shorter, their body lighter, 
 and their motions quicker. The Palmist, and the 
 Squirrel of Barbary, dwell on trees like the common 
 Squirrel ; but the Swiss Squirrel lives upon earth, 
 and, like the field mouse, forms a retreat that the water 
 cannot penetrate ; he is also less docile and less gentle 
 than the two others : he bites without mercy (except 
 he is lately tamed :) he is more like a rat, or a field 
 mouse, than a Squirrel, by instinct and nature. 
 
 THE TAMANOIR, THE TAMANDUA, AND THE FOUR- 
 MILLIKR, OR ANT-EATER. 
 
 SOUTH America produces three species of animals, 
 with a long snout, a small mouth, and no teeth ; their 
 tongues, of a round form, are remarkably long ; with 
 which they catch the ants, which are their principal 
 food. On coming to an ant hill, the animal 'scratches 
 it up with his claws, and then protrudes his slender 
 tongue, which has the appearance of an exceedingly 
 long earthworm. It is covered with a viscous saliva. 
 To this the ants adhere, and, by retracting it, he swal- 
 lows thousands of them. He also tears up the nests 
 of wood-lice, and often climbs the trees in pursuit of 
 them, and of the wild bees and their honey. The first 
 of these Ant-eaters is that which the Brazilians call 
 Tamandua Guacu, or Great Tamandua, to whom the 
 French settled in America have given the name of 
 Tamanoir. The English call it the Great Ant-eater. 
 This animal is about four feet in length from the 
 extremity of the snout to the origin of the tail ; his 
 head is fourteen or fifteen inches long, his snout 
 stretches out to a great length ; his tail, two feet and 
 a half long, is covered with rough hair, which is more 
 than a foot in ength ; his neck is short ; his head nar 
 row ; his eyes black and small ; his ears round ; his 
 tongue thin, more than two feet long, which he folds 
 again in his mouth, after he draws it entirely out. His 
 legs are but one foot high ; the fore-legs are a little 
 higher and more slender than those behind ; he has 
 round feet; the fore feet are armed with four claws, 
 the two middle ones are the longest ; those behind 
 have five claws. The ha r of his head and body is 
 black and white ; this animal turns his tail up on his
 
 THE AST-EATERS. 83 
 
 back, and covers with ft his whole body, when he is 
 inclined to sleep, or wants to shelter himself from the 
 rain or the heat of the sun. The long hair of his tail 
 and oi his body is not round in all its extent ; it is flat 
 towards the end, and feels like dry grass. He waves 
 his tail frequently and hastily when he is irritated, but 
 it. hangs down when he is composed, and he sweeps 
 the way with it as he goes. The Tamanoir walks 
 siowly ; a man can easily overtake him in running: his 
 feet seem less calculated to walk than to climb, and to 
 fasten round bodies; and he holds so fast a branch or 
 stick, that it is not possible to snatch either from him. 
 
 The second of these animals is that which the Ame- 
 ricans call Tamandua. He is much smaller than the 
 Tamanoir ; he is not above eighteen inches from the 
 extremities of the snout to the rump : his head is five 
 inches long, his snout crooked, and underneath flat 
 and long ; lie has a tail ten inches long, without hair at 
 the enJ ; his ears are erect, and about an inch in 
 length ; his tongue is round, eight inches long, and 
 placed in a sort of gutter or hollow canal within the 
 losver jaw; his legs are not above four inches in 
 height, his feet are of the same form, and have the 
 same number of claws as the Tamanoir. He climbs 
 up and holds fast a branch, or a stick, like the Tama- 
 noir, and his march is equally slow. He does not cover 
 himself with his tail, which cannot shelter him, being 
 almost bare ; the hair of the fore part is shorter than 
 that of the Tamanoir ; when he sleeps he hides his 
 head under his neck and his fore legs. 
 
 The third of these animals is that which the natu- 
 ralists of Guiana call Watirivvaou ; and the French 
 Fourmillier, or Ant-eater. He is still much smaller 
 than the Tamandufc, being not above six or seven 
 inches in length from the extremity of the snout to the 
 tail ; his head is two inches long ; the snout is not 
 near so long as that of the Tamanoir, or the Taman- 
 dua ; his tail is seven inches in length, is bent under- 
 neath, and bare at the end : his tongue is narrow, long, 
 and flat; his neck is almost bare; the head is large 
 in proportion to the body; his eyes placed low, at a 
 little distance from the corners of the mouth ; his ears 
 are smali, and hidden by the hair ; his legs are but 
 three inches in height; the fore feet bava no more
 
 4 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 than two claws, the outward is much lunger than tha 
 inward one ; the hind feet have four claws ; the hah 
 of the body is about nine inches long ; he feels smooth, 
 his colour is shining, diversified with red and yellow : 
 his feet are not made to walk, but to climb up, and to 
 take hold of branches of trees, on which he hangs him- 
 self by the extremity of his tail. 
 
 These three animals, so different in size and propor- 
 tions of the body, have, nevertheless, many things in 
 common, as to conformation and their natural instinct. 
 All three feed upon ants, and suck honey and other 
 liquid and viscous substances ; they gather quickly 
 crumbs of bread and small pieces of meat ; they are 
 tamed and domesticated easily ; they can subsist a 
 long while without food ; they do not swallow all the 
 liquor which they keep in their mouth, one part of it 
 issues out of their nostrils ; they commonly sleep in 
 the day time, and change their station in the night; 
 they go so slowly, that a man may overtake them easily 
 whilst running in open ground. The savages eat their 
 flesh, which has, however, an unsavoury taste. 
 
 The Tamanoir looks at a distance like a great fox, 
 and for that reason some travellers call him the Ame- 
 rican fox : he is strong enough to defend himself 
 against a large dog, and even a jaguar; when he is 
 attacked he fights standing on his hind legs, like the 
 bear, and makes use of his fore claws, which are mur- 
 dering weapons, for his protection ; afterwards he lies 
 on his back to use his hind legs, and in this situation 
 he is almost invincible ; he fights with obstinacy till the 
 last extremity, and even after he has put his adversary 
 to death, he keeps hold of him a long while. He is 
 covered with long bushy hair, and a very thick skin ; 
 besides, his flesh is remarkably hard, and he seldom 
 loses his life in these engagements. 
 
 The Tamanoir, the Tamandua, and the Fourmillier, 
 are natives of the hottest climates only of America ; 
 they are found in Brazil, in Guiana, and in the coun* 
 try of the Amazons, <kc. They do not breed in Canada, 
 nor in the other frozen regions of the New World, and 
 do not belong consequently to the Ancient Continent
 
 THE PANGOLIN ANft PHATA.OIN. 96 
 
 THE PANGOLIN AND PHATAG1N ; OR, THE SHORT AND 
 LONO-1 AILED MANIS. 
 
 THESE animals are commonly known under the name 
 of scaly lizards ; but we reject this denomination ; 1st, 
 because it is a compound ; 2dly, because it is ambigu- 
 ous, and applied to both species ; 3dly, because it is 
 wrongly imagined ; these animals being not only of 
 another kind, but even of another class than the 
 lizards, which are oviparous reptiles, while the Pango- 
 lin and the Phatagin are viviparous quadrupeds. 
 
 All the lizards are wholly covered, even under the 
 belly, with a sleek speckled skin, resembling scales, 
 but the Pangolin and the Phatagin have no scales 
 under their throat, on the breast, or the belly ; the 
 Phatagin, like the other quadrupeds, has hair on all 
 these under parts of the body ; the Pangolin has 
 nothing but a smooth skin without hair. The scales 
 with which all the other parts of the body of these two 
 animals are clothed and covered, do not stick to the 
 skin ; they are only fixed and inherent to it under- 
 neath ; they are moveable like the prickles of the por- 
 cupine. These scales are so large, so hard, and so 
 sharp, that they frighten and discourage all animals of 
 prey ; on collision they will strike fire like flint : it is 
 an offensive armour which wounds while it resists. 
 
 The most cruel and the most voracious animals, such 
 as the tiger and the panther, make but useless efforts 
 to devour these armed animals ; they tread upon them, 
 roll them, but when they attempt to seize them, they 
 are grievously wounded; they can neither terrify them 
 by violence, nor bruise, nor smother them with their 
 weight. 
 
 When the Pangolin and the Phatagin contract them- 
 selves, they do not take, as the hedgehog, a globular 
 and uniform figure, they form an oblong coat of armour : 
 but their thick and long tail remains outward, and 
 encircles their bodies ; this exterior part, by which it 
 seems these animals might otherwise be seized, car- 
 ries its own defence ; it is covered with scales equally 
 hard and sharp with those with which the body is 
 clothed, and as it is convex above, and flat below, in 
 the form of half a pyramid; the sides are covered with 
 VOL. II. 8
 
 SO NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 square scales iblded in a right angle, as thick and as 
 sharp as the others, so that the tail seems to be stili 
 more strongly armed than the body, the under parts of 
 which are unprovided with scales. 
 
 The Pangolin, or Short-tailed Manis, is larger than 
 the Phatagin, or long-tailed kind ; his fore feet are 
 covered with scales, but the Phatagin's feet and part of 
 his fore legs have none, being only clothed with hair. 
 The Pangolin has also larger scales, thicker, more 
 convex, and not so close as those of the Phatagin, 
 which are armed with three sharp points ; on the con- 
 trary, the scales of the Pangolin are without points, 
 and uniformly sharp. The Phatagin is hairy upon the 
 belly ; and the Pangolin has no hair on that part of his 
 body, but between those scales which cover his back 
 some thick and long hair issues like the bristles of a 
 hog, which are not found on the back of the Phatagin. 
 
 The Pangolin is from six to eight feet in length, 
 including his tail ; the tail is very near as long as the 
 body, though it appears shorter when young ; the 
 scales are not then so large nor so thick, and of a pale 
 colour, which is deeper when the animal is adult ; they 
 acquire such a hardness, that they resist a musket ball. 
 Like the ant-eaters, the Pangolin and the Phatagin 
 live chiefly upon ants; they have also a very long 
 tongue, a narrow mouth, and without apparent teeth ; 
 their body and their tail are also very long, and the 
 claws of their feet very near of the same length and 
 the same form, but equal in number. Like the ant- 
 eater the Pangolin is also toothless, and has a long 
 cylindrical tongue, which it uses in the same manner as 
 that animal to procure the insects on which it sub- 
 sists. When the Pangolin approaches an ant-hill, it 
 lies down near it, concealing as much as possible the 
 place of its retreat, and stretching out its long tongue 
 among the ants, keeping it for some time immovable. 
 These little creatures, allured by its shining appear- 
 ance, and the unctuous .substance with which it is 
 smeared, instantly gather upon it in great numbers ; 
 and when the Pangolin supposes that it has a sufficiency, 
 it quickly withdraws the tongue, and swallows them at 
 once. This operation it repeats till it be satisfied, or 
 till the ants, grown more cautious, will be no longer 
 fclluret: o their destruction. The ant-eaters are founc
 
 THE ARMAD LLO. 87 
 
 in America ; the Pangolin and the Phatagin in the East 
 Indies, and in Africa, where the Negroes call them 
 quogelo : they eat their flesh, which they reckon a 
 delicate, wholesome food ; they also use their scales 
 for different purposes. Their mode of killing it is by 
 beating it with clubs. The Pangolin and the Phatagin 
 have nothing forbidding but their figure ; they are gen- 
 tle, harmless, and innocent ; they feed upon insects 
 only; they never run fast, and can only escape the 
 pursuit of men by hiding themselves in hollow rocks, 
 or in holes which they dig for themselves ; they are two 
 extraordinary species, not numerous, nor very useful : 
 their odd form seems to place them as an intermediate 
 class betwixt the quadrupeds and the reptiles. 
 
 THE ARMADILLO. 
 
 WHEN a quadruped is mentioned,* the very name 
 carries the idea of an animal covered with hair ; and 
 yet nature, as if willing to deviate from this character- 
 istic uniformity, very frequently astonishes us by un 
 common productions. The quadruped animals, which 
 we look upon as the first class of living nature, and 
 who are, next to man, the most remarkable beings of 
 this world, are not superior in every thing, nor sepa- 
 rated by constant attributes. The first of these charac- 
 ters, which constitutes their name, and which consists 
 in having four feet, is common to lizards, frogs, &c. 
 which, however, differ from the quadrupeds in many 
 other respects, so as to make a separate class from 
 them. The second general property, to produce young 
 alive, is not peculiar to quadrupeds, since it is common 
 with whales and other fishes of that class. And the 
 third attribute, that of being covered with hair, exists 
 not in several species, which cannot be excluded from 
 the class of the quadrupeds, since, this characteristic 
 excepted, they agree with them in all other respects. 
 
 THE SIX-BANDED ARMADILLO. 
 
 UNDER the general name of Armadillo, we may 
 reckon several species which seem to us really dis- 
 tinct ; in all of them the animal is protected by a crust 
 resembling bone ; it covers the head the neck, the back.
 
 88 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the flanks, the buttocks, and the tail to the very ex- 
 tremity. This crust is covered outwardly by a thin 
 skin, sleek and transparent : the only parts that are 
 not sheltered by this buckler, are the throat, the breast, 
 and the belly, which presents a white grainy skin, like 
 that of a plucked fowl ; and, in considering these parts 
 with attention, you will perceive the appearance of 
 scales which are of the same substance as the crust. 
 This crust is, however, not of one piece, like that of 
 the turtle ; it consists of several parts, joined to each 
 other by as many membranes, which put this armour 
 in motion. The number of these natural bands does 
 not depend on the age of the animal ; for the young 
 Armadillo and the adults have in the same species the 
 same number. Father d'Abbeville has distinguished 
 six species of the Armadillo, but the principal differ- 
 ence between them consists in the number of bands or 
 divisions in the^wmour of the different species. The 
 Six-banded Armadillo differs from its fellows in being 
 also of a smaller size, not larger than that of a young 
 pig, and in its tail being shorter. 
 
 The Armadilloes in general are innocent, harmless 
 animals ; if they can penetrate into gardens, they will 
 eat melons, potatoes, pulse, and roots. Though used 
 originally to the hot climates of America, they live in 
 temperate regions : I saw formerly one in Languedoc, 
 which was fed at home, and went every where without 
 doing any damage or mischief; they walk quickly, but 
 they can neither leap, run, nor climb up trees ; so they 
 cannot escape by flight : they have then no other re- 
 source but to hide themselves in their holes, or if they 
 are at too great a distance from their subterraneous 
 habitations, they contrive to dig one before they are 
 overcome ; for the mole is not more expert in digging 
 the ground. They are sometimes caught before they 
 are out of sight, and they make then such a resistance, 
 that the tail is broken without bringing out the body : 
 in order to take them without mutilation, the burrow 
 must be opened, they are then caught without making 
 any resistance: when they find themselves in the hand 
 of their pursuers, they roll themselves up into a ball, 
 and are placed near the fire, to force them to stretch 
 out their coat of mail ; which hard as it is, as soon 
 a* it is touched by the finger, the animal receives so
 
 THE ARMADILLO. 89 
 
 quick an impression, that he contracts instantaneously. 
 When they are in deep burrows, the method of forcing 
 them out is to smoke them, or to let water run down 
 the hole: the former process, however, is not always 
 successful, as while his pursuer digs the animal digs 
 also, and so effectually closes up the hole, by throwing 
 up the earth backwards, that the smoke is excluded. 
 Some pretend they remain under ground above three 
 months without ventunng out ; it is true, that they 
 remain in their holes in the day-time, and never go 
 out but in the night to seek for their subsistence. The 
 Armadillo is hunted with small dogs, who soon over- 
 take him ; but he stops before they have reached him, 
 and contracts himself; in this condition he is taken 
 and carried off. If he rinds himself on the brink of a 
 precipice, he escapes the dogs and the hunters, by 
 rolling himself up, and letting himself fall down like a 
 ball, without injury or prejudice to his scales. 
 
 The Armadillo, says Mr. Waterton, is very common 
 in these (the South American) forests ; he burrows in 
 the sand hills like a rabbit. As it often takes a con- 
 siderable time to dig him out of his hole, it would be 
 a long and laborious business to attack each hole indis- 
 criminately without knowing whether the animal were 
 there or not. To prevent disappointment, the Indians 
 carefully mine the mouth of the hole, and put a short 
 stick down it. Now if, on introducing the stick, a 
 number of moscheto^s come out, the Indians know to 
 a certainty that the Armadillo is in it ; whenever there 
 are no moschetoes in the hole, there is no Armadillo. 
 
 These animals are fat, and very prolific ; the female 
 brings forth, as it is reported, four young ones every 
 month, which makes their species very numerous. 
 They are good to eat, and are easily taken with snares 
 laid for them on the banks of rivers, and in the marshy 
 grounds, which they inhabit in preference. It is, pre- 
 tended, that they are not afraid of the bite of the 
 rattlesnake ; it is likewise pretended, that they live 
 in peace with these reptiles, which are often found in 
 their holes. The savages apply their scales to different 
 purposes, and make of them baskets, boxes, and other 
 small vessels light and solid. The Armadillo is only 
 found in South America. 
 
 8*
 
 90 
 
 THE PACA, OR SPOTTED CAW, 
 
 Is an animal of the New World, who digs a burrow 
 like a rabbit, to which he has been compared, though 
 there is scarcely any likeness between these two ani- 
 mals ; he is much larger than the rabbit, and even than 
 the hare; he has a round head, and the snout short; 
 he is fat and bulky, and by the form of his body, he is 
 more like a pig, as well as by grunting, waddling, and 
 the manner of eating ; for he does not use, as the rabbit 
 does, his fore feet to carry food to his month ; but 
 grubs up the earth like the hog, to find his subsistence. 
 The colour of the back is dark brown, or liver-coloured ; 
 but is lighter on the sides, which are beautifully marked 
 with lines of white spots, running in parallel directions 
 from its throat to its rump ; those on the upper part 
 of the body are perfectly distinct ; the belly is white. 
 Its head is large ; its ears short and naked ; its eyes 
 full, and placed high in its head, near the ears ; it has 
 two strong yellow cutting teeth in each jaw ; its mouth 
 is small ; its upper lip divided ; and it has long whiskers 
 on its lips, and on each side of its head, under the ears. 
 Its legs are short, with four toes on the fore, and three 
 on the hind foot ; and it has no tail. 
 
 These animals inhabit the banks of rivers, and are 
 found in damp and hot places of South America : the 
 flesh is very good to eat, and excessively fat, their skin 
 also is eaten as that of a pig ; the natives of Brazil 
 consider the flesh to be a great delicacy ; a perpetual 
 war is therefore carried on against these animals. 
 Hunters find it very difficult to take them alive ; and 
 when they are surprised in their burrows, which have 
 two openings, they defend themselves, and bite with 
 great rage and inveteracy. When pursued, they take 
 to the water, and escape by diving. If attacked by 
 dogs, it defends itself vigorously. Their skin, though 
 covered with short and rough hair, is valuable, beeause 
 it is spotted on the sides. These animals bring forth 
 young in abundance : men, and animals of prey, destroy 
 a great quantity of them, and yet the species is still 
 numerous. They are peculiar to South America, and 
 re found nowhere in the Old Continent.
 
 THE OPOSSUM. 01 
 
 THE OPOSSUM 
 
 Is an animal of America, which is easily distin- 
 guished from all others b/ two singular characters : 
 the first is, that the female has under the belly a large 
 cavity, where she receives and suckles her young ; the 
 second is, that the male and the female have no claws 
 on the great toe of the hind feet, which are separated 
 from the others, as the thumb in the hand of a man, 
 whilst the toes are armed with crooked claws, as in 
 the feet of other quadrupeds. 
 
 The Opossum is not found in the northern parts of 
 the New World; but he does not constantly dwell in 
 the hottest climates. He is found not only in Brazil, 
 Guiana, and Mexico, but also in Florida, Virginia, and 
 other temperate regions of this continent. It produces 
 often, and a great number of young each time. Most 
 authors say, four or five young ; others, six or seven. 
 Marcgrave affirms, that he has seen six young living 
 in the bag of the female ; they were about two inches 
 in length, they were already very nimble, they went in 
 and out of the bag many times in a day : they are still 
 smaller when they are just brought forth. Some 
 travellers say, that they are not larger than flies when 
 they go out of the uterus into the bag, and stick to tho 
 paps : this fact is not so much exaggerated as some 
 people may imagine, for we have seen ourselves in an 
 animal, whose species is like that of the Opossum, 
 young ones sticking to the paps not larger than a bean. 
 
 The young Opossums stick to the paps of the mother 
 till they have acquired strength enough, and a sufficient 
 growth to move easily. This fact is not doubtful, nor 
 even particular in this species only. Some authors 
 pretend, that they stick to the paps for several weeks ; 
 others say, that they remain in the bag only the first 
 month after they go out of the womb. One may open 
 with facility this bag, observe, count, and even feel the 
 young without disturbing them ; they will not leave 
 the pap, which they hold with their mouth, until they 
 are strong enough to walk; then they let themselves 
 fall into the bag, and go out, and seek for their subsist- 
 ence 5 they go in again to sleep, to suckle, and to hide 
 themselves when they are terrified, when the nother
 
 92 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 flies, and carries in it the young : her belly does not 
 seem bigger when she breeds than common, for in the 
 time of the true gestation, it is scarcely perceivable 
 that she is with young. 
 
 From the mere inspection of the form of the feet of 
 this animal, it is easy to judge that he walks awkwardly, 
 and seldom runs : a man can overtake him without 
 hastening his steps. He climbs up trees with great 
 facility, hides himself in the leaves to catch birds, or 
 hangs himself by the tail, the extremity of which is 
 muscular, and flexible as the hand, so that he may 
 squeeze, and even incurvate all the bodies he seizes 
 upon : he sometimes remains a long while in this situa- 
 tion, without motion ; his body hangs with his head 
 downward, when he silently waits for his prey ; at 
 other times, he balances himself to jump from one tree to 
 another like the monkeys with like muscular and flexi- 
 ble tails, which he resembles also in the conformation 
 of the feet. Though he is voracious and even greedy of 
 olood, which he sucks with avidity, he feeds also upon 
 reptiles, insects, sugarcanes, potatoes, roots, and even 
 leaves and bark of trees. He may be fed as a domestic 
 animal ; he is neither wild nor ferocious ; he is easily 
 tamed, but he creates disgust by his bad smell, stronger 
 and more offensive than that of the fox ; his figure is 
 also forbidding ; for, independently of his ears, which 
 resemble those of an owl, of his tail, which resembles 
 that of a serpent, and of his mouth, which is cleft to 
 the very eyes, his body appears always very dirty, 
 because his hair is neither smooth nor curled, but tar- 
 nished, as if covered with dirt. The bad smell of this 
 animal resides in the skin, for his flesh is eatable. The 
 savages hunt this animal and feed on his flesh heartily. 
 It is so tenacious of life, that, in North Carolina, it has 
 given rise to an adage, that " if a cat has nine lives, 
 an Opossum has nineteen." 
 
 The latest and fullest account of the manners and 
 habits of the Opossum tribe is given by Dr. Goodman, 
 an American naturalist. " The Opossum (says he) is 
 very remarkable from other peculiarities, beside those 
 which relate to the continuation of its kind. In the 
 first place, it has a very large number of teeth (no less 
 than fifty), and its hind feet are actually rendered hands, 
 by short, fleshy, and opposable thumbs, wh.ih, together
 
 .-*- THE OPOSSUM. 93 
 
 with the prominences in the palms of these posterior 
 hands, enable the animal to take firm hold of objects 
 which no one would think could be thus grasped. An 
 Opossum can cling by these feet hands to a smooth silk 
 handkerchief, or a silk dress, with great security, and 
 climb up by the same. In like manner he can ascend 
 by a skain of silk, or even a few threads. The slightest 
 projection or doubling, of any material, affords him a 
 certain mean of climbing to any desired height. An- 
 other curious and amusing peculiarity is his prehensile 
 tail ; bysimply curving this at the extremity, the Opos- 
 sum sustains his weight, and depends from a limb of a 
 tree, or other projecting body, and hanging in full 
 security, gathers fruit, or seizes any prey within his 
 reach ; to regain his position on the limb, it is only 
 necessary to make a little stronger effort with the tail, 
 and throw his body upward at the same time. 
 
 " In speaking of the more-obvious peculiarities of 
 the Opossum, we may advert to the thinness and 
 membranous character of the external ears, which may 
 remind us in some degree of what has been heretofore 
 said relative to the perfection of the sense of touch 
 possessed by the bat, in consequence of the delicacy 
 of the extended integument forming the ears and wings. 
 The extremity of the nose of our animal is also covered 
 by a soft, moist, and delicate integument, which is, no 
 doubt, very sensitive. On the sides of the nose, or 
 rather on the upper lip, there are numerous long 
 and strong divergent whiskers, or bristles, projecting 
 to the distance of nearly three inches ; over each eye 
 there are two long black bristles, rather softer than 
 the others, somewhat crisped, or undulated, and slightly 
 decurved ; while, on the posterior part of the cheek 
 and about an inch below and in front of the ear, there 
 is a bunch of long, straight bristles (very similar to 
 those of a hog), six or eight in number, projecting 
 laterally, so as to farm a right angle with the head. 
 When the elongated conical form of the Opossum's 
 head is recollected, together with its nocturnal habits, 
 we cannot avoid remarking, that all these arrangements 
 appear to have immediate reference to the safety of 
 the animal, furnishing the means of directing its course, 
 and warning it of the presence of bodies which other- 
 wise might not be discovered until too ate.
 
 94 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 "The mouth of the Opossum is very wide when 
 open, yet the animal does not drink by lapping, but by 
 suction. The wideness of the mouth is rendered very 
 remarkable when the female is approached, while in 
 company with her young. She then silently drops 
 the lower jaw to the greatest distance it is capable of 
 moving, retracts the angles of the lips, and shows the 
 whole of her teeth, which thus present a formidable 
 array. She then utters a muttering kind of snarl, but 
 does not snap, until the hand, or other object, be 
 brought very close. If this be a stick, or any hard 
 or insensible body, she seldom closes her mouth on it 
 after the first or second time, but maintains the same 
 gaping and snarling appearance, even when it is thrust 
 into her mouth, At the same time, the young, if they 
 have attained any size, either exhibit their signs of 
 defiance, take refuge in the pouch of the mother, or, 
 clinging to various parts of her body, hide their faces 
 amidst her long hair. 
 
 " The general colour of the Opossum is a whitish 
 gray. From the top of the head along the back and 
 upper part of the sides, the gray is darkest, and this 
 colour is produced by the intermixture of coarse white 
 hairs, upwards of three inches long, with a shorter, 
 closer, and softer hair, which is white at base, and black 
 for about half an inch at tip. The whole pelage (fur) 
 is of a woolly softness, and the long white hairs diverg- 
 ing considerably, allow the back parts to be seen, so 
 as to give the general gray colour already mentioned. 
 On the face the wool is short, and of a smoky white 
 colour ; that on the belly is of the same character, but 
 is longer on the fore and hind legs; the colour is nearly 
 black from the body to the digits, which are naked be- 
 neath. The tail is thick and black, for upwards of 
 three inches at base, and is covered by small hexagonal 
 scales, having short rigid hairs interspersed through- 
 out its length, which are but slightly perceptible at a 
 little distance. The Opossum is generally killed for 
 the sake of its flesh and fat. Its wool is of considera- 
 ble length and fineness during the winter season, and 
 we should suppose, that in manufactures it would be 
 equal to the sheep's wool which is wrought into coarse 
 hats. 
 
 "The Opossum is a nocturnal and timid animal, de-
 
 THE OPOSSUM. 05 
 
 pending for his safety more on cunning than strength. 
 His motions arf slow, and his walk, when on the ground, 
 entirely plantigrade, which gives an appearance of 
 clumsiness to his movements. When on the branches 
 of trees, he moves with much greater ease, and with 
 perfect security from sudden gusts of wind; even were 
 his weight sufficient to break the limb on which he rests, 
 there is no danger of his falling to the earth, unless 
 when on the lowest branch, as he can certainly catch, 
 and securely cling, to the smallest intervening twigs, 
 either with the hands or the extremity of the tail. This 
 organ is always employed by the animal while on the 
 smaller branches of trees, as if to guard against such 
 an occurrence, and it is very useful in aiding the Opos- 
 sum to collect his food, by enabling him to suspend 
 himself from a branch above, while rifling a bird's nest 
 of its eggs, or gathering fruits. 
 
 "The food of the Opossum varies very much, accord- 
 ing to circumstances. It preys upon birds, various small 
 quadrupeds, eggs, and, no doubt, occasionally upon in- 
 sects. The poultry yards are sometimes visited, and 
 much havoc committed by the Opossum, as, like the wea- 
 sel, this animal is fonder of cutting the throats and 
 sucking the blood of a number of individuals, than of 
 satisfying his hunger by eating the flesh of one. Among 
 the wild fruits, the persimmon (Diospyros Virginiand) 
 is a great favourite, and it is generally after this fruit is 
 in perfection that the Opossum is killed by the country 
 people for the market. At that season it is very fat, 
 and but little difference is to be perceived between this 
 fat and that of a young pig. The flavour of the flesh 
 is compared to that of a roasting pig; we have in seve- 
 ral instances seen it refused by dogs and cats, although 
 the Opossum was in fine order, and but recently killed 
 This may have been owing to some accidental circum 
 stance, but it was uniformly rejected by these animals 
 usually not very nice when raw flesh is offered. 
 
 " The hunting of the Opossum is a favourite sporl 
 with the country people, who frequently go out with 
 their dogs at night, after the autumnal frosts have 
 begun, and the persimmon fruit is in its most delicious 
 state. The Opossum, as soon as he discovers the 
 approach of his enemies, lies perfectly close to the 
 branch, or places himself snugly in the angle where
 
 NATU? *.!, HISTORY. 
 
 two limbs separate from each other. The dogs, how 
 ever, soon announce the fact of his presence, by their 
 baying, and the hunter, ascending the tree, discovers 
 the branch upon which the animal is sealed, and begins 
 to shake it with great violence, to alarm, and cause 
 him to relax his hold. This is soon effected, and the 
 Opossum, attempting to escape to another limb, is pur- 
 sued immediately, and the shaking is renewed with 
 greater violence, until at length the terrified quadruped 
 allows himself to drop to the ground, where hunters, 
 or dogs, are prepared to despatch him. 
 
 " Should the hunter, as frequently happens, be unac- 
 companied by dogs when the Opossum falls to the 
 ground, it does not immediately make its escape, but 
 steals slowly and quietly to a little distance, and then 
 gathering itself into as small a compass as possible, 
 remains as still as if dead. Should there be any quan- 
 tity of grass or underwood near the tree, this apparently 
 simple artifice is frequently sufficient to secure the ani- 
 mal's escape, as it is difficult by moonlight, or in the 
 shadow of the tree, to distinguish it; and if the hunter 
 has not carefully observed the spot where it fell, his 
 labour is often in vain. This circumstance, however, 
 is generally attended to, and the Opossum derives bul 
 little benefit from his instinctive artifice. 
 
 "After remaining in this apparently lifeless condition 
 for a considerable time, or so long as any noise indica- 
 tive of danger can be heard, the Opossum slowly 
 unfolds himself, and creeping as closely as possible 
 upon the ground, would fain sneak off unperceived. 
 Upon a shout, or outcry, in any tone, from his perse- 
 cutor, he immediately renews his deathlike attitude 
 and stillness. If then approached, moved, or handled, 
 he is still seemingly dead, and might deceive any oae 
 not accustomed to his actions. This feigning is repeated 
 as frequently as opportunity is allowed him of attempt- 
 ing to escape, and is known so well to the country 
 folks, as to have long since passed into a proverb: ' He 
 is playing possum^ is applied with great readiness by 
 them to any one who is thought to act deceitfully, or 
 wishes to appear what he is not. 
 
 " The usual haunts of the Opossum are thick forests, 
 and their dens are generally in hollows of decayed 
 trees, where they pass the day asleep, and sally forth,
 
 THE OPOSSUM. 97 
 
 mostly after nightfall, to seek food. They are occa- 
 sionally seen out during daylight, especially when they 
 have young ones of considerable size, too large to be 
 carried in the maternal pouch. The female then offers 
 a very singular appearance, as she toils along with 
 twelve or sixteen cubs, nearly of the size of rats, each 
 with a turn of his tail around the root of the mother's, 
 and clinging on her back and sides with paws, hands, 
 and mouth. This circumstance was thought distinc- 
 tive of another species, hence called dorsigera, but is 
 equally true of the common or Virginian Opossum. It 
 is exceedingly curious and interesting to see the young, 
 when the mother is at rest, take refuge in the pouch, 
 whence one or two of them may be seen peeping out, 
 with an air of great comfort and satisfaction. The 
 mother in this condition, or at any time in defence of 
 her young, will make battle, biting with much keen- 
 ness and severity, for which her long canine teeth are 
 well suited. 
 
 " If taken young, the Opossum is generally tamed, 
 and becomes very fond of human society, in a great 
 degree relinquishes its nocturnal habits, and grows 
 troublesome from its familiarity. We have had one 
 thus tamed, which would follow the inmates of the 
 house with great assiduity, and complain with a whin- 
 ing noise when left alone. As it grew older it became 
 mischievous, from its restless curiosity, and there 
 seemed to be no possibility of devising any contrivance 
 effectually to secure it. The same circumstance is fre- 
 quently remarked by persons who have attempted to 
 detain them in captivity ; and of the instances which 
 have come to our knowledge, where even a great num- 
 ber were apparently well secured, they have all in a 
 short time enlarged themselves, and been no more 
 heard of. In some such instances these animals have 
 escaped in the city, and for a long time have taken up 
 their quarters in cellars, where their presence has never 
 been suspected, as during the day they remained con- 
 cealed. In this way it is very probable that many art 
 still living in the city of Philadelphia, obtaining a plen 
 tiful food by their nightly labours." 
 
 VOL. II.
 
 98 NATIRAL HISTORY. 
 
 THE HARMOSE, OR MURINE OPOSSUM 
 
 RESEMBLES in most respects the latter species ; they 
 are natives of the same climate, in the same continent, 
 and are very much alike by the form of the body, the 
 conformation of the feet, and the tail, a part of which 
 is covered with scales, the upper part only being hairy 
 But the Marmose is smaller than the common Opossum, 
 his snout is still sharper ; the female has no bag under 
 the belly, she has only two loose skins near the thighs, 
 between which the young place themselves to stick to 
 the paps. When the young are brought forth, they are 
 not so large as small beans; they then stick to the paps. 
 The brood of the Marmose is very numerous ; we have 
 seen ten small Marmoses, each sticking to a pap, and 
 the mother had still four more paps. It is probable that 
 these animals bring forth a few days after the concep- 
 tion. The young are then foetuses only, which are not 
 come to the fourth part of their growth. 
 
 THE CAYOPHLLIN, Or MEXICAN OPOSSUM, 
 
 SAYS Fernandez, is a small animal, a little larger than 
 a rat, very much resembling the Opossum in the snout, 
 the ears, and the tail, which is thicker and stronger 
 than that of a rat; he makes use of it as we do our 
 hands; he has thin transparent ears; the belly, the legs 
 and feet white. The young, wheji they are frightened 
 embrace the mother, who lifts them up on the trees. 
 This species has been found on the mountains of New 
 Spain. 
 
 THE FLYING OPOSSUM. 
 
 THIS animal is found in New South Wales : its head 
 is like a squirrel's, with ears large and erect, but the 
 fur is more delicate, and of a beautiful dark glossy co- 
 lour, mixed with gray, the under parts white; on each 
 hip is a tan coloured spot. The sailing membrane re- 
 sembles the flying squirrel's, but is broader in propor- 
 tion ; on the fore legs it has five toes, with a claw on 
 each ; on the hind ones, four toes, and a long thumb, 
 which enables the animal to use it as a hand ; it is re- 
 markable, that the three out claws sf the hind feet are 
 not separated like the others.
 
 THE ELEFHANT. 90 
 
 CHAPTER XVi. 
 
 Of the Elephant The Rhinoceros The Camel and 
 Dromedary The Buffalo, the Urus, the Bison, the 
 Arn.ee, and the Zebu. 
 
 THE ELEPHANT. 
 
 THE human race excepted, the Elephant is the most 
 respectable of animals. In size he surpasses all other 
 terrestrial creatures, and in understanding he is inferior 
 only to man. Of all the brute creation, the Elephant, 
 the dog, the ape, and the beaver, are most admirable 
 for their sagacity ; but the genius of the dog is only 
 borrowed, being instructed by man in almost every 
 thing he knows ; the monkey has only the appearance 
 of wisdom, and the beaver is only sensible with regard 
 to himself, and those of his species. The Elephant is 
 superior to them all three ; he unites all their most 
 eminent qualities. The hand is the principal organ of 
 the monkey's dexterity ; the Elephant with his trunk, 
 which serves him instead of arms and hands, with 
 which he can lift up, and seize the smallest, as well as 
 the largest objects, carry them to his mouth, place them 
 on his back, hold them, or throw them far off*, has the 
 same dexterity as the monkey, and at the same time 
 the tractableness of the dog; he is like him susceptible 
 of gratitude, capable of a strong attachment ; he uses 
 himself to man without reluctance, and submits to him, 
 not so much by force, as by good treatment ; he serves 
 him with zeal, intelligence and fidelity; in fine, the 
 Elephant, like the beaver, loves the society of his 
 equals, and makes them understand him. They are 
 often seen to assemble together, disperse, act in con- 
 cert, and if they do not erect buildings, and do not work 
 in common, it is perhaps, for want of room only, and 
 tranquillity; for men have very anciently multiplied 
 in all the regions inhabited by the Elephant ; he con- 
 sequently lives in fear and anxiety, and is nowhere a 
 peaceful possessor of a space large and secure enough 
 to establish his habitation on a settled spot. Every 
 being in nature has his real price, and relative value ;
 
 100 NATURAL HI&TORY. 
 
 to judge of both in the Elephant, we must allow him 
 at least the judgment of the beaver, the dexterity of 
 the monkey, the sentiment of the dog, and to add to 
 these qualifications, the peculiar advantages of strength, 
 size, and longevity. We must not forget his arms, or 
 his defence, with which he can pierce through and 
 conquer the lion. We must observe, that he shakes 
 the ground at every step ; that with his trunk he roots 
 up trees ; that with the strength of his body he makes 
 a breach in a wall ; that being terrible by his force, 
 he is invincible by the resistance only of his enormous 
 mass, and by the thickness of the leather which covers 
 it; that he can carry on his back a tower armed in 
 war, with a number of men ; that he alone moves 
 machines, and carries burthens, which six horses 
 cannot move. To this prodigious strength he joins 
 courage, prudence, coolness, and an exact obedience : 
 he preserves moderation even in his most violent pas- 
 sion ; he is more constant than impetuous in love ; in 
 anger he does not forget his friends ; he never attacks 
 any but those who have given him offence ; he remem- 
 bers favours as long as injuries : having no taste for 
 flesh, and feeding chiefly upon vegetables, he is not 
 naturally an enemy to other animals ; he is beloved 
 by them all, since all of them respect him, and have 
 no cause to fear him. For these reasons, men have 
 had at all times a veneration for this great, this first 
 of animals. The ancients considered the Elephant as 
 a prodigy, a miracle of nature ; they have much exag- 
 gerated his natural faculties ; they attribute to him, 
 without hesitation, not only intellectual qualities, but 
 moral virtues. 
 
 In a wild state, the Elephant is neither bloody nor 
 ferocious; his manners are social; he seldom wanders 
 alone ; he commonly walks in company, the oldest 
 leads the herd, the next in age drives them, and forms 
 the rear ; the young and the weak are in the middle. 
 The females carry their young, and hold them close 
 with their trunks. They only observe this order, 
 however, in perilous marches, when they go to feed 
 on cultivated lands ; they walk or travel with less 
 precaution in forests and solitary places, but still 
 keeping at such a moderate distance from each other, 
 8 to be able to give mutua assistance, and seasonable
 
 THE ELEPHANT. 101 
 
 warnings of Janger. Some, however, straggle, and 
 remain behind the others ; none but these are attacked 
 by hunters, for a small army would be requisite to 
 assail the whole herd, and they could not conquer 
 without a great loss of men; it is even dangerous to 
 do them the least injury, they go straight to the of- 
 fender, and, notwithstanding the weight of their body, 
 they walk so fast that they easily overtake the lighest 
 man in running ; they pierce him through with their 
 tusks, or seize him with their trunks, throw him against 
 a stone, and tread him under their feet; but it is only 
 when they have been provoked, that they become so 
 furious and so implacable. It is said, that when they 
 have been once attacked by men, or have fallen into 
 a snare, they never forget it, and seek for revenge on 
 all occasions. As they have an exquisite sense of 
 smelling, perhaps more perfect than any other animal, 
 owing to the large extent of their nose, they smell a 
 man at a great distance, and could easily follow him 
 by the track. These animals are fond of the banks of 
 rivers, deep valleys, shady places, and marshy grounds ; 
 they cannot subsist a long while without water, and 
 they make it thick and muddy before they drink ; they 
 often fill their trunks with it, either to convey it to their 
 mouth, or only to cool their nose, and to amuse them- 
 selves in sprinkling it around them ; they cannot sup- 
 port cold, and suffer equally from excessive heat, for, 
 to avoid the burning rays of the sun, they penetrate 
 into the thickest forests ; they also bathe often in the 
 water; the enormous size of their body is rather an 
 advantage to them in swimming, and they do not swim 
 so deep in the water as other animals ; besides, the 
 length of their trunk, which they erect, and through 
 which they breathe, takes from them all fear of being 
 drowned. 
 
 Their common food is roots, herbs, leaves, and 
 young branches ; they also eat fruit and corn, bu 
 they have a dislike to flesh and fish. When one of 
 them finds abundant pasture, he calls the others, and 
 invites them to come and feed with him. As they want 
 a great quantity of fodder, they often change their 
 place, and when they find cultivated lands, they make 
 a prodigious waste ; their bodies being of an enor- 
 mous weight they destroy ten times more with their 
 9*
 
 102 NATURAL HISTOKV. 
 
 feet, than they consume for their food, which may be 
 reckoned at the rate of one hundred and fifty pounds 
 of grass daily. As they never feed but in great num- 
 bers, they waste a large territory in about an hour's 
 time ; for this reason the Indians and the Negroes take 
 great pains to prevent their visits, and to drive them 
 away, by making a great noise, and great fires ; not- 
 withstanding these precautions, however, the Elephants 
 often take possession of them, drive away the cattle 
 and men, and sometimes pull down their cottages. It 
 is difficult to frighten them, as they are little susceptible 
 of fear; nothing can stop them but fireworks, and 
 crackers thrown amongst them, the sudden effect of 
 which, often repeated, forces them sometimes to turn 
 back. It is very difficult to part them, for they com- 
 monly attack their enemies all together, proceed un- 
 concerned, or turn back. 
 
 The female Elephant goes two years with young ; 
 when she is in that condition the male never conjoins 
 \vith her. They only bring forth a young one, which 
 has teeth as soon as brought forth ; he is then larger 
 than a boar ; yet his tusks are not visible, they appear 
 soon after, and at six months old are some inches in 
 length ; at that age, the Elephant is larger than an ox, 
 and the tusks continue to increase till he is advanced 
 in years. 
 
 It is very easy to tame the Elephant. As he is 
 the strongest and most rational of animals, he is more 
 serviceable than any of them ; but he was formerly 
 supposed to feel his servile condition, and never to 
 couple in a domestic state. This, however, has been 
 found to be an erroneous opinion. 
 
 There is, therefore, no domestic Elephant but has 
 been wild before ; and the manner of taking, taming, 
 and bringing them into submission, deserves particular 
 attention. In the middle of forests, and in the vicinity 
 of the places which they frequent, a large space is 
 chosen, and encircled with palisadoes ; the strongest 
 trees of the forest serve instead of stakes, to which 
 cross pieces of timber are fastened, which support the 
 other stakes ; a man may easily pass through this 
 palisado ; there is another great opening, through 
 which the Elephant may go in, with a trap hanging 
 over it, or a gate, which is shut behind him : to bring
 
 THE ELEPHANT, 103 
 
 him to that enclosure, he must be enticed by a tame 
 female ready to take the male ; and when her leader 
 thinks she is near enough to be heard, he obliges her to 
 indicate by her cries the condition she is in ; the wild 
 male answers immediately, and begins his march to join 
 her ; she repeats her call now and then, and arrives first 
 to the first enclosure, where the male, following her 
 track, enters through the sa me gate. As soon as he per- 
 ceives himself shut up, his ardour vanishes, and when he 
 discovers the hunters, he becomes furious ; they throw 
 at him ropes with a running knot to stop him ; they 
 fetter his legs and his trunk, they bring two or three 
 tame Elephants, led by dexterous men, and try to tie 
 them with the wild Elephant, and at last, by dint of 
 dexterity, strength, terror, and caresses, they succeed 
 in taming him in a few days. 
 
 The Elephant, once tamed, becomes the most tracta- 
 ble and the most submissive of all animals ; he con- 
 ceives an affection for his leader, he caresses him, and 
 seems to guess whatever can please him : in a little 
 time he understands the signs, and even the expression 
 of sounds ; he distinguishes the tone of command, ^hat 
 of anger or good nature, and acts accordingly : he 
 never mistakes the words of his master ; he receives 
 his orders with attention, executes them with prudence 
 and eagerness, without precipitation ; for his motions 
 are always measured, and his character seems to par- 
 ticipate of the gravity of his body ; he is easily taught 
 to bend the knee to assist those who will ride on his 
 back ; he caresses his friends with his trunk, and 
 salutes with it the persons he is directed to take notice 
 of: he makes use of it to lift burdens, and helps to 
 load himself; he has no aversion to being clothed, and 
 seems to delight in a golden harness or magnificent 
 trappings ; he is easily put to the traces of carts, and 
 draws ships upon occasion : he draws evenly, without 
 stopping, or any marks of dislike, provided he is not 
 insulted by unreasonable correction, and provided his 
 driver seems to be thankful for the spontaneous exer- 
 tion of his strength. His leader is mounted on his 
 neck, and makes use of an iron rod crooked at the end 
 with which he strikes him gently on the head to make 
 him turn or increase his pace ; but often a word is suf- 
 liitieat, especially if .ie has had tine to make himself
 
 104 
 
 NATURAL HI^TORT. 
 
 well acquainted with his leader^ and has a confidence 
 in him ; his attachment is sometimes so strong and so 
 lasting, and his affection so great, that commonly he 
 refuses to serve under any other person, and he is 
 known to have died of grief for having in anger killed 
 his governor. 
 
 The species f the Elephant is numerous, though 
 they bring forth but one young once in two or ihree 
 years ; the shorter the life of animals is, the more they 
 multiply: in the Elephant, the length of his life com- 
 pensates the small number; and if it is true, as has 
 been affirmed, that he lives two hundred years, and 
 that he begets when he is one hundred and twenty 
 years old, each couple brings forth forty young in that 
 space of time; besides, having nothing to fear from 
 other animals, and little even from men, who take them 
 with great difficulty, the species has not decreased, 
 and is generally dispersed in all the southern parts of 
 Africa and Asia. 
 
 From time immemorial the Indians made use of Ele 
 phants in war. Amongst those nations unacquainted 
 with the European military discipline, they were the 
 best troop of their armies ; and as long as battles 
 were decided by mere weapons, they commonly van- 
 quished : yet we see in history, that the Greeks and 
 Romans used themselves soon to those monsters of 
 war ; they opened their ranks to let them go through ; 
 they did not attempt to wound them, but threw all 
 their darts against their leaders, who were forced to 
 surrender, and to calm the Elephants when separated 
 from their troops ; and now that fire is become the 
 element of war, and the principal instrument of death, 
 the Elephants, who are afraid of the noise and the fire 
 of the artillery, would be rather an incumbrance in 
 battle and more dangerous than useful. 
 
 In those regions, however, where our cannons and 
 murdering arts are yet scarcely known, they fight still 
 with Elephants. At Cochin, and in the other parts of 
 Malabar, they do not make use of horses, and all those 
 who do not fight on foot are mounted upon Elephants 
 In Tonquin, Siam, and Pegu, the king, and all the 
 grandees, ne r er ride but upon Elephants : on festival 
 days they ai 3 preceded and followed by a great num- 
 ber of these animals richly caparisoned, and covered
 
 THE ELEPHANT 105 
 
 with the richest stuffs. On comparing the relations of 
 travellers and historians, il appears that the Elephant* 
 are more numerous in Africa than in Asia ; they are 
 there also less mistrustful, not so wild, and, as if the} 
 knew the unskilfulness and the little power of the men 
 with whom they have to deal in this part of the world, 
 come every day without fear to their habitations. 
 
 In general, the Elephants of Asia are of a larger size, 
 and superior in strength to those o. Africa ; in par 
 ticular, those of Ceylon, who exceed in courage and 
 sagacity all those of Asia : probably they owe these 
 qualifications to their education, more improved in 
 Ceylon than any where else. They differ also in other 
 particulars, so as to constitute them a different species. 
 " His head (says Mr. Bennett) is more oblong, and his 
 forehead presents in the centre a deep concavity be- 
 tween two lateral and rounded elevations ; that of the 
 African being round and convex in all its parts. The 
 teeth of the former are composed of transverse vertical 
 laminae of equal breadth, while those of the latter form 
 rhojnboidal or lozenge-shaped divisions. The ears of 
 the Asiatic are also smaller, and descend no lower than 
 his neck, and he exhibits four distinct toes on his hind 
 feet ; the African, on the contrary, is furnished with 
 ears of much greater size, descending to his legs, and 
 no more than three toes are visible on his posterior 
 extremities." 
 
 The Elephants of the Indies easily carry burdens of 
 three or four thousand weight ; the smallest, that is, 
 those of Africa, lift up freely with their trunks burdens 
 of two hundred pounds weight, and place them on their 
 shoulders ; they take in this trunk a great quantity of 
 water, which they throw out around them at seven or 
 eight feet distance ; they can carry burdens of more 
 than a thousand weight upon their tusks ; with their 
 trunk they break branches of trees, and with their tusks 
 they root out the trees. One may judge of their strength 
 by their agility, considering at the same time the bulk 
 of their body; they .walk as fast as a small horse on 
 the trot, and when they run, they can keep up with a 
 horse on full gallop, which seldom happens in their 
 wild state, except when they are provoked by anger, or 
 frightened. The tame Elephants travel easily, and with- 
 out fatigue fifteen or tventy leagues a day ; and when
 
 106 NATURAL HISTORY, 
 
 they are hurried, they may travel thirty-five or fort/ 
 leagues. They are heard at a great distance, and may 
 be followed very near on the track, for the traces which 
 they leave on the ground are not equivocal ; and on the 
 ground where the steps of their feet are marked, they 
 are fifteen or -eighteen inches in diameter. 
 
 When the Elephant is taken care of, he lives a long 
 while even in captivity. Some authors have written, 
 that he lives four or five hundred years; others, two 
 or three hundred ; and the most credible, one hundred 
 and twenty, thirty, and even one hundred and fifty 
 years. Whatever care, however, is taken of the Ele- 
 phant, he does not live long in temperate countries, 
 and still less in cold climate's. The Elephant which 
 the king of Portugal sent to Louis XIV. in 1668, and 
 which was then but four years old, died in his seven- 
 teenth, in January, 1681, and lived only thirteen years 
 in the menagerie of Versailles, where he was treated 
 with care and tenderness, and fed with profusion : he 
 had every day four pounds of bread, twelve pints ol 
 wine, two buckets of porridge, with four or five pounds 
 of bread, two buckets of rice boiled in water, without 
 reckoning what was given to him by visitors ; he had, 
 besides, every day cme sheaf of corn to amuse himself; 
 for, after he had eaten the corn ears, he made a kind 
 of whip of straw, and used it to drive away the flies ; 
 he delighted in breaking the straw in small bits, which 
 he did with great dexterity with his trunk ; and, as 
 he was led to walk daily, he plucked the grass and 
 ate it. 
 
 The common colour of the Elephant is ash-gray, or 
 blackish. The white are extremely scarce; some have 
 been seen at different times in the Indies, where also 
 some are found of a reddish colour. 
 
 The Elephant has very small eyes, comparatively 
 with his enormous size, but they are sensible and 
 lively: and what distinguishes them from all other ani- 
 mals is their pathetic, sentimental expression. He 
 seems to reflect, to think, and to deliberate ; and never 
 acts till he has examined and observed several times, 
 without passion or precipitation, the signs which he is 
 to obey. Dogs, the eyes of which have much expres- 
 sion, are animals too lively to distinguish their succes- 
 (ive sensations ; but as the Elephant is naturally grave
 
 THE ELEPHANT. 107 
 
 nd sedate, one may read in his eyes the order and 
 outward appearance of his interior affections. 
 
 He has a quicj^ hearing, and this organ is outwardly 
 like that of smelling, more marked in the Elephant than 
 in any other animal; his ears are very large, even in 
 proportion to his body; they are flat, and close to the 
 head, like those of a man ; they commonly hang down, 
 but he raises them up, and moves them with great 
 facility; he makes use of them to wipe his eyes, and 
 to cover them against the inconveniency of dust and 
 flies. He delights in the sound" of instruments, and 
 seems to like music ; he soon learns to beat time, and 
 to move accordingly : he seems animated by the beat ot 
 the drum and the sound of trumpets ; he has an exqui- 
 site smell, and is passionately fond of perfumes of all 
 sorts, and of fragrant flowers; he selects them one after 
 another, and makes nosegays, which he smells with 
 eagerness, and then carries them to his mouth as if he 
 intended to taste them. 
 
 His sense of feeling centres in his trunk ; but it is 
 as deli.'ate and a? distinct in that sort of hand as in that 
 of man: this trunk, composed of membranes, nerves, 
 and muscles, is, at the same time, a member capable 
 of motion, and an organ of sense : the animal can not 
 only move and bend it, but he can shorten, lengthen, 
 and turn it all ways. The extremity of this trunk ter* 
 initiates by an edge, which projects above like a fin- 
 ger ; it is with this sort of finger that the Elephant does 
 whatever we do with ours ; he picks up from the 
 ground the smallest pieces of money; he gathers nuts 
 and flowers, choosing them one after another ; he unties 
 knots, opens and shuts doors, turning the keys, and 
 bolts them ; he learns to draw regular characters with 
 an instrument as small as a pen. 
 
 Although the Elephant has a more retentive memory, 
 and more intelligence than any other animal, he has 
 the brain smaller than most of them : he is at the same 
 time, a miracle of intelligence and a monster of mat- 
 ter; his body is very thick, without any suppleness; 
 the neck is short and very stiff; the head small and 
 deformed ; the ears of an excessive diameter ; and the 
 nose is of a still more disproportionate length ; the 
 eyes are too small, as well as the mouth ; his legs are 
 like massive pillars, straight and stiff; the feet BO
 
 108 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Short and so small, that he .seems to have none ; the 
 skin is hard, thick, and callous. All these peculiarities 
 are remarkable, as all of them are exhibited in large ; 
 and they are more disagreeable to the eye, as most of 
 their deformities have no other example in the crea- 
 tion; no other animal having either the head, the feet, 
 the nose, the ears, or the tusks, made or placed like 
 those of the Elephant. 
 
 The Elephant is yet singular in the conformation of 
 the feet and the texture of the skin. He is not clothed 
 with hair like other quadrupeds ; his skin is bare ; some 
 bristles issue out of the chops ; they are very thin on 
 the body, and thicker on the eyelids, on the back part 
 of the head, within the ears, the thighs, and the legs. 
 The epidermis, or outside skin, hard and callous, has 
 two sorts of wrinkles, some hollow, other's prominent 
 In man, and other animals, the epidermis sticks every 
 where close to the skin. In the Elephant, it is only 
 fastened by some points, like two quilted stuffs one 
 above the other. This epidermis is naturally dry, and 
 soon acquires three or four lines of thickness, by the 
 crusts which are generated one above the other drying 
 up. It is this thickness of the epidermis which pro- 
 duces the elephantiasis, or dry leprosy, to which man, 
 whose skin is bare, like that of the Elephant, is some- 
 times subject. This distemper is very common to 
 Elephants ; and, to prevent it, the Indians take care to 
 rub them often with oil, and to preserve the skin sup- 
 ple by frequent bathing. It is rather tender where it 
 is not callous ; and the Elephant is so fearful of the 
 sting of the flies, that he not only employs his natural 
 motions, but even the resources of his intelligence, to 
 get rid of them ; he makes use of his tail, of his ears, 
 of his trunk, to strike them ; he contracts his skin wher- 
 ever he can, and squeezes them to death betwixt his 
 wringles. His skin is cleaned by rubbing it with pumice 
 stone*, and afterwards pouring on it perfumed oil and 
 colours. The conformation of the feet and legs is also 
 singular, and different in the Elephant from that of 
 other animals ; the fore-legs stem to be higher than 
 those behind, yet the hind-legs are the longest ; they 
 are not bent like the hind-legs of a horse or an ox, the 
 thighs of which seem to be of the same piece with tfie 
 buttocks: theii knee is very near the belly, and the
 
 THE ELEPHANT. 109 
 
 foot so < 'Ugh and so long, that it seems to make a great 
 part of the leg. In the Elephant, on the contrary, this 
 part is very short, and touches the ground"; he has the 
 knee, like man, in the middle of the leg, not near the 
 belly. This foot, so short and so small, is divided into 
 five toes, which are all covered with a skin, none ap- 
 pearing outwardly ; one sees only a sort of claws, the 
 cnmber of which varies, though that of the toes is con- 
 stant ; for he has always five to each foot, and com- 
 monly also five claws ; but sometimes he has no more 
 than four, or even three ; and, in this case, they do not 
 correspond exactly with the extremity of the fingers. 
 
 The ears of the Elephant are very long ; his tail is 
 not longer than the ear ; it is commonly near three feet 
 in length ; it is rather thin, sharp, and garnished at the 
 extremity with a tuft of large, black, shining, and solid 
 bristles which are as large and as strong as wire; and a 
 man cannot break them with his hands, as they are 
 elastic and pliant. This tuft of hair is an ornament 
 which the Negro women are particularly fond of; and 
 they attribute to it some particular virtue, according to 
 their superstitious notions ; an Elephant's tail is some- 
 times sold for two or three slaves ; and the Negroes 
 often hazard their lives to cut and snatch it from the 
 living animal. 
 
 The largest Elephants of the Indies, and the eastern 
 coast of Africa, are fourteen feet high ; the smallest, 
 which are found in Senegal, and in the other western 
 parts of Africa, are not above ten or eleven feet ; and 
 those which have been brought young into Europe, 
 were not so high. That at the menagerie at Versailles, 
 which came from Congo, was but seven feet and a half 
 high in his seventeenth year. During thirteen years 
 that he lived in France, he did not grow above a foot; 
 so that at the age of four, when he was sent, he was 
 only six feet and a half high. 
 
 In order to give a complete idea of the nature and 
 intelligence of this singular animal, we shall insert here 
 some particulars communicated by the Marquis of 
 Montrnirail. The Indians make use of the Elephant 
 to carry artillery over mountains ; and it is then, that 
 he gives the greatest proofs of his intelligence. He 
 acts in the following manner : When tho oxen yoked 
 two and two, endeavour to draw up the mountain the 
 Vt. II. 10
 
 1 10 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 piece of artillery, the Elephant pushes the breech of 
 the gun with his forehead ; and at every effort that he 
 makes, he supports the carriage with his knee, which 
 he places near the wheel; and it seems as if he under- 
 stood what was said to him. When his leader employs 
 him in some hard labour, he explains what is his work, 
 and the reasons which ought to engage him to obey 
 If the Elephant shows an aversion to comply, the cor- 
 nac (so his leader is called) promises to give him ar- 
 rack, or something he likes ; then the animal agrees to 
 every thing proposed ; but it is dangerous to forfeit his 
 word ; more than one cornac has been the victim of 
 his deception. An instance of this happened in the 
 Deccan, which deserves to be recorded ; and, however 
 incredible it may appear, it is exactly true. An Ele- 
 phant had been revenged of his cornac by killing him. 
 His wife, witness^of this catastrophe, took her two chil- 
 dren and threw them to the feet of the animal, still 
 furious; telling him, Since tkou hast killed my husband, 
 take also my life, and that of my children. The Ele- 
 phant stopped short, grew calm, and, as if he had been 
 moved with regret and compassion, took with his trunk 
 the largest of the two children, placed it on his neck, 
 adopted him for his cornac, and would have no other 
 leader. 
 
 If the Elephant is vindictive, he is no less grateful. 
 A soldier of Pondicherry, who commonly carried to 
 one of these animals a certain measure of arrack every 
 time that he received his pay, having one day drank 
 more than common, and seeing himself pursued by the 
 guard, who threatened to conduct him to prison, took 
 refuge under the Elephant, and slept there. It was in 
 vain that the guard attempted to draw him out from 
 this asylum ; the Elephant defended him with his trunk. 
 The next day the soldier, become sober, was struck 
 with terror to lie under an animal of this enormous 
 bulk. The Elephant, who, no doubt, perceived his con- 
 sternation, caressed him with his trunk, to remove 
 his fears, and made him understand that he might de- 
 part freely. 
 
 The Elephant falls sometimes into a sort of frenzy, 
 which deprives him of his tractableness, and makes 
 him extremely formidable. This commonly happens 
 t the season when the male is desirous of the female
 
 THE ELKPHANT. Ill 
 
 Ho is commonly killed on the first symptoms of mad* 
 ness, for fear of mischief.* Sometimes he is tied with 
 heavy chains, in hopes that he will come to himself; 
 but when he is in his natural state, the most acute 
 pains cannot engage him to do any harm to persons 
 who have not offended him. An Elephant, furious 
 with the wounds which he had received in battle at 
 Hambour, ran through the fields, and cried out in a 
 most hideous manner. A soldier, who, notwithstand- 
 ing the warning of his companions, could not fly, 
 perhaps because he was wounded, remained in his 
 way ; the Elephant was afraid to trample him under 
 his feet, took him with his trunk, placed him gently 
 on one side of the road, and continued his march. 
 The gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences have also 
 communicated to us some facts which they have learned 
 from those who governed the Elephant at the mena- 
 gerie of Versailles ; and these facts seem to deserve a 
 place. " The Elephant seemed to discern when any 
 person made a fool of him ; and he remembered the 
 affront to be revenged of it the first opportunity. 
 Having been balked by a man, who feigned to throw 
 something into his mouth, he struck him with his trunk, 
 and broke two of his ribs; afterwards he trampled him 
 under his feet, and broke one of his legs ; and having 
 kneeled down, he tried to thrust his tusks into the 
 man's belly, which, however, went into the ground on 
 both sides of the thigh, which was not wounded. He 
 bruised another man, by squeezing him against the 
 wall, for a similar mockery. A painter was desirous 
 to draw him in an extraordinary attitude, which was, 
 to keep his trunk erect, and the mouth open. The 
 servant of the painter, to make him remain in that 
 attitude, threw fruits into his mouth ; but afterwards 
 he deceived him, which provoked his indignation ; 
 and, as if he had known that the cause of this decep- 
 tion was the painter's desire of having him drawn, he 
 was revenged on the master, by throwing with his 
 trunk a great quantity of water, which spoiled the 
 paper intended for his design." 
 
 He made less use of his strength than of his dex- 
 
 * Two instances have happened, within a few years, one at Geneva, and one 
 at Exeter Changs, in which it became necessary to destroy the unfortunat* 
 animal
 
 112 NATURAL HISTORY 
 
 terity, which was such, that he untied, with great 
 facility, a double leather string which fastened his leg, 
 with his mouth untying it from the buckle's long, and 
 after this buckle had a small string twisted around it, 
 with divers knots, he untied them all without breaking 
 any thing. One night, that he had thus disentangled 
 himself from his leather strings, he broke open, so 
 dexterously, the door of his lodge, that his governor 
 was not waked by the noise. He went thence into 
 divers yards of the menagerie, breaking open the doors 
 that were shut, and pulling down the stone work, when 
 the passage was too narrow for him ; and thus he went 
 into the lodges of other animals, terrifying them to 
 such a degree, that they ran away to hide themselves 
 in the most remote part of the park. In fine, to omit 
 nothing of what may contribute to make all the natural 
 faculties of this animal perfectly known, as well as his 
 acquired knowledge, we shall add some facts, extracted 
 from the most credible authors. 
 
 Of five Elephants (says Tavernier), which hunters 
 had taken, three escaped, although their bodies and 
 their legs were fastened with chains and ropes. These 
 men told us a very surprising circumstance, if we can 
 believe it, which is, that when once these Elephants 
 have been caught, and eluded the snares of their ad- 
 versaries, if they are compelled to go into the woods, 
 they are mistrustful, and break with their trunk a large 
 branch, with which they sound the ground before they 
 put their foot upon it, to discover if there are any holes 
 on their passage, not to be caught a second time ; 
 which made the hunters, who related this singularity, 
 despair of catching again the three Elephants who 
 had escaped. We saw the other two which they had 
 caught; each of them was betwixt two tame Elephants; 
 and around the wild Elephants were six men, holding 
 spears. They spoke to these animals in presenting 
 them something to eat, and telling them, in their lan- 
 guage, Take this, and eat it. They had small bundles 
 of hay, bits of black sugar, or rice boiled in water, with 
 pepper. When the wild Elephant refused to do what 
 he was ordered, the men commanded the tame Ele 
 phar.ts to beat him, which they did immediately ; one 
 striking his forehead with his ; and when he seemed 
 to aiir, at revenge against his aggressor another struck
 
 CAMEL. P. 118.
 
 TUB RHINOCEROS. 113 
 
 him ; so that the poor wild Elephant peroen fd he ha* 
 nothir.g to do, but to obey. 
 
 I have observed several times (says Edward Terry), 
 that the Elephant does many things which are rather 
 an indication of human reasoning, than a simple, natu- 
 ral instinct. He does whatever his master commar da 
 him. If he orders him to frighten any person, he ad- 
 vances towards him with the same fury as if he would 
 tear him to pieces ; and when he comes near him, he 
 stops short, without doing him any harm. If the mas- 
 ter wishes to affront another, he speaks to the Elephant, 
 who takes with his trunk dirty water, and throws it at 
 his face. The Mogul has Elephants for the execution 
 of criminals condemned to death. If their leader bids 
 them to dispatch these wretches soon, they tear them 
 to pieces in a moment with their feet : on the contrary, 
 if he commands them to make these criminals languish, 
 they break their bones one after another, and make 
 them suffer torments as cruel as those of the wheel. 
 
 THE RHINOCEROS. 
 
 AFTER the elephant the Rhinoceros is the most 
 powerful of all quadrupeds. He is at least twelve feet 
 in length, from the extremity of the snout to the tail ; 
 six or seven feet in height ; and the circumference of 
 his body is very near equal to his length ; he is there- 
 fore like the elephant in bulk ; and if he appears much 
 smaller, it is because his legs are much shorter in pro- 
 portion to those of the elephant ; but he differs widely 
 from that sagacious animal, in his natural faculties, and 
 his intelligence ; having received from Nature merely 
 what she grants in common to all animals ; deprived 
 of all feeling in the skin, having no organ answering 
 the purpose of hands, nor distinct for the sense of 
 feeling, he has nothing instead of a trunk, but a move- 
 able upper lip, in which centres all his dexterity. He 
 is superior to other animals only in strength, size, and 
 the offensive weapon which he carries upon his nose, 
 and which is peculiar to him. This weapon is a very 
 hard horn, solid throughout, and placed more advan 
 ageously than the horns of ruminating animals ; these 
 only protect the superior parts of the head and neck, 
 whilst the horn of the Rhinoceros defends all the 
 10*
 
 I!4 NATURAL HIS1 KY. 
 
 ext.rior parts of the snout, and preserves the muzzle*, 
 the mouth, and the face from insult ; so that the tiger 
 attacks more readily the elephant, in seizing his trunk, 
 than the Rhinoceros, which he cannot attack in front, 
 without running the danger of being killed ; for the 
 body and limbs are covered with an impenetrable skin 
 and this animal fears neither the claws of the tiger noi 
 the lion, nor even the fire and weapons of the hunts- 
 man; his skin is a dark leather, of the same colour, 
 but thicker and harder than that of the elephant ; he 
 does not feel the sting of flies ; he cannot contract his 
 skin ; it is only folded by large wrinkles on the neck, 
 the shoulders, and the buttocks, to facilitate the motions 
 of the legs, which are massive, and terminate in large 
 feet, armed with three great claws. The skin of the 
 two-horned Rhinoceros is much more easily penetrable 
 than that of the single-horned. He has the head larger in 
 proportion than the elephant; but the eye still smaller, 
 which he never opens entirely, and they are so situated 
 that the animal can see only what is in a direct line 
 before him. The upper jaw projects above the lower; 
 and the upper lip has a motion, and may be lengthened 
 six or seven inches ; it is terminated by a sharp edge, 
 which enables this animal, with more facility than other 
 quadrupeds, to gather branches and grass, and divide 
 them into handfuls, as the elephant does with his trunk. 
 This muscular and flexible lip is a sort of trunk very 
 incomplete, but which is equally calculated for strength 
 and dexterity. Instead of those long ivory teeth which 
 form the tusks of the elephant, the Rhinoceros has his 
 powerful horn, and two strong incisive teeth in each 
 jaw. These incisive teeta, which the elephant has 
 not, are placed at a great distance from each other in 
 the jaws of the Rhinoceros. He has, besides these, 
 twenty-four smaller teeth, six on each side of each jaw. 
 His ears are always erect ; they are, for the form, like 
 those of a hog, only they are larger in proportion to 
 his body ; they are the only hairy parts of it. The 
 end of the tail is, like that of the elephant, furnished 
 with a tuft of large bristles, very hard and very solid. 
 Huge and seemingly unwieldy as the Rhinoceros is 
 he has the power of running with very great swiftness 
 The Rhinoceros which arrived in London in 1739 
 had b ?n sent from Bengal. Although he was young
 
 TH RHINOCEROS. ll5 
 
 (being but \vo years old), the expenses of his food, 
 and his voyage, amounted to near one thousand pounds 
 sterling ; he was fed with rice, sugar, and hay. They 
 gave him daily seven pounds of rice, mixed with three 
 pounds of sugar; which they divided into three parts. 
 He had also a great quantity of hay and green grass, 
 to which he gave the preference. His drink was 
 nothing but water, of which he drank a great quantity 
 at once. He was of a quiet disposition, and let his 
 manager touch him on all the parts of his body. He 
 grew unruly when he was struck, or was hungry ; and 
 in both cases he could not be appeased without giving 
 him something to eat. When he was angry, he leaped 
 forward with impetuosity to a great height, beating 
 furiously the walls with his head ; which he did with 
 a prodigious quickness, notwithstanding his heavy 
 appearance. 
 
 This Rhinoceros, when he was two years old, was 
 not much higher than a young cow who has not yet 
 borne young ; but his body was very long, and very 
 thick. The tongue of this young Rhinoceros was soft, 
 like that of a calf; his eyes had no vivacity; they are 
 like those of a hog in form, and were placed very low ; 
 that is, nearer the opening of the nostrils. 
 
 Mr. Parsons says, that he has observed a very par- 
 ticular quality in this animal ; he hearkened with a sort 
 of continual attention to any noise ; so that, if he was 
 even sleepy, employed in eating, or in satisfying other 
 urgent wants, he started instantly, raised up his head, 
 and gave attention till the noise had ceased. 
 
 It is certain that some Rhinoceroses have but one 
 *horn on the nose, and others two. In the two-horned 
 Rhinoceros one of the horns is smaller than the other, 
 and is situated above it. When the animal is quiescent 
 these horns are loose, but they become fixed when it 
 is irritated. There are single horns of three feet and 
 a half, and perhaps of more than four feet in length, 
 by six or seven inches in diameter at the basis ; there 
 are also double horns which are but two feet in length. 
 Commonly, these horns are brown, or olive colour; 
 yet some are gray, and even white. They have only 
 a small conce -ity, in form of a cup, at their basis, by 
 which they ar; fastened to the skin of the nose ; the 
 remaining part of the horn is solid, and very hard. It
 
 116 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 is with this weapon that the Rhinoceros is aid to attack, 
 and sometimes to wound mortally, the largest ele 
 phants, whose long legs give to the Rhinoceros, who 
 has them much shorter, an opportunity of striking them 
 with his horn under the belly, where the skin is ten- 
 der, and more penetrable ; but when he misses the first 
 blow, the elephant throws him on the ground, and kills 
 him. 
 
 The horn of the Rhinoce os is more valued by the 
 Indians than the ivory of the elephant ; not so mucli on 
 account of the matter, of which they make several works 
 with the chisel, but for its substance, to which they 
 attribute divers virtues, and medicinal properties. The 
 white ones, as the most rare, are also those which they 
 value most. Cups made of this horn are used to drink 
 out of by many of the Indian princes, under the erro- 
 neous idea that when any poisonous fluid is put into 
 them, the liquor will ferment, and run over the top. 
 
 The Rhinoceros, without being ferocious or carni 
 vorous, or even very wild, is nevertheless untameable. 
 He is of the nature of a hog, blunt and grunting, with- 
 out intellect, without sentiment, and without tractable- 
 ness. These animals are also, like the hog, very much 
 inclined to wallow in the mire ; they like damp and 
 marshy places, and seldom leave the banks of rivers. 
 They are found in Asia and Africa, in Bengal, Siam, 
 Laos, in the Mogul dominions, in Sumatra, in Java, in 
 Abyssinia, and about the Cape of Good Hope. But, 
 in general, the species is not so numerous, or so uni- 
 versally spread, as that of the elephant. The female 
 brings forth but one young, and at a great distance of 
 time. In the first month the Rhinoceros is not much 
 bigger than a large dog ; he has not, when first brought 
 forth, the horn on the nose, although the rudiment of 
 it is seen in the foetus. When he is two years old, this 
 horn is only an inch long ; and in his sixth year, it is 
 about ten inches; and as some of these horns have been 
 seen very near four feet long, it seems they grow till 
 his middle age, and perhaps during the whole life of 
 the animal, which must be long, since the Rhinoceros 
 described by Mr. Parsons was not come to half his 
 growth when .ie was two years old ; which makes it 
 probable, tha this animal lives, like a mar, seventy or 
 eighty years
 
 THE RHINOCEROS. 117 
 
 Without being iceful, as the elephant, the Rhinoce- 
 ros is very hurtful, by the prodigious devastation which 
 he makes in the fields. The skin is the most valuable 
 thing of this animal. His flesh is excellent, according 
 to the taste of Indians and Negroes. Kolben says, he 
 kas often eaten it with great pleasure. His skin makes 
 the best and hardest leather in the world ; and not only 
 his horn, but all the other parts of his body, and even 
 his blood, his urine, and his excrements, are esteemed 
 as antidotes against poison, or a remedy against seve- 
 ral diseases ; probably, however, all those virtues are 
 imaginary. 
 
 The Rhinoceros feeds upon herbs, thistles, prickles, 
 shrubs, and he prefers this wild food to the sweet pas- 
 ture of the verdant meadows ; he is very fond of sugar- 
 canes, and eats all sorts of corn. Having no taste 
 whatever for flesh, he does not molest small animals, 
 neither fears the large ones, living in peace with them 
 all, even with the tiger, who often accompanies him, 
 without daring to attack him : I doubt, therefore, whe- 
 ther the battles betwixt the elephant and the Rhinoce- 
 ros have any foundation ; they must, however, seldom 
 happen, since there is no motive for war on either side ; 
 and, besides, no sort of antipathy has been observed 
 between these animals. Some have even been seen in 
 captivity, living quietly together, without giving offence 
 or provocation to each other. 
 
 The Rhinoceroses do not herd together, nor march 
 in troops, like the elephant ; they are wilder, and more 
 solitary, and perhaps more difficult to be hunted and 
 subdued ; they never attack men unless provoked ; but 
 then they become furious, and are very formidable : the 
 steel of Damascus, the scimitars of Japan, cannot make 
 an incision in his skin ; the darts and lances cannot 
 pierce him through : his skin even resists the balls of 
 the musket ; those of lead become flat upon his leather, 
 and the iron ingots cannot penetrate through it : the 
 only places absolutely penetrable in this body armed 
 with a cuirass, are the belly, the eyes, and round the 
 ears ; so that huntsmen, instead of attacking this ani- 
 mal standing, follow him at a distance by his track, and 
 wait to approach him at the time that he sleeps or rests 
 himself. There is in the King of France's cabinet a 
 fcetus of a Rh'noceros, which was sent from the island
 
 118 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 of Java, and extracted from the body of the mother. 
 It was said, in a memorial which accompanied this 
 present, that twenty-eight huntsmen had assembled to 
 attack this Rhinoceros ; they had followed her far off 
 for some days, one or two men walking now and then 
 before, to reconnoitre the position of the animal. By 
 these means they surprised her when she was asleep, 
 and came so near in silence, that they discharged, all 
 at once, their twenty-eight guns into the lower parts 
 of her belly. 
 
 We have seen, that this animal has a good ear; it is 
 also affirmed, that he has the sense of smelling in per- 
 fection ; but it is pretended, he has not a good eye, 
 and sees only before him : that his eyes are so small, 
 and placed so low, and so obliquely, they have so lit- 
 tle vivacity and motion, that this fact needs no other 
 confirmation. His voice, when he is calm, resembles 
 the grunting of a hog ; and when he is angry, his sharp 
 cries are heard at a great distance. Though he lives 
 uponregetables, he does not ruminate ; thus, it is pro- 
 bable, that, like the elephant, he has but one stomach, 
 and very large bowels, which supply the office of the 
 paunch. His consumption, though very great, is not 
 comparable to that of the elephant ; and it appears, by 
 the thickness of his skin, that he loses less than the 
 elephant by his perspiration. 
 
 THE CAMEL AND THE DROMEDARY. 
 
 THESE two names do not include two different species, 
 but only indicate two distinct breeds, subsisting from 
 time immemorial, in the Camel species. The principal, 
 and, as may be said, the only perceptible character by 
 which they differ, consists in the Camel's bearing two 
 bunches, or protuberances, and the Dromedary only 
 one. The latter is also much less, and not so strong 
 as the Camel; but both of them herd and procreate 
 together; and the production from this cross breed is 
 more vigorous, and of greater value, than the others. 
 
 This mongrel issue from the Dromedary and the 
 Camel forms a secondary breed, which also mix and 
 multiply with the first ; so thai in this species, as well 
 as in that of other domestic animals, there are to be 
 found a great variety, according to the difference of the
 
 THE CAMEL 119 
 
 climates they are produced in. Aristoite has judi- 
 ciously marked the two principal breeds ; the first 
 (which has two bunches,) under the name of the BAO 
 TRIAN CAMEL ; and the second, under that of the ARA- 
 BIAN CAMEL ; the first are called TURKMAN, and the 
 others ARABIAN CAMELS. This division still subsists, 
 with this difference only, that it appears, since the 
 discovery of tljose parts of Africa and Asia which were 
 unknown to the ancients, that the Dromedary is, with- 
 out comparison, more numerous and more universal 
 than the Camel ; the last being seldom to be found in 
 any other place than in Turkey, and in some other 
 parts of the Levant ; while the Dromedary, more com- 
 mon than any other beast of his size, is to be found in 
 all the northern parts of Africa, in Egypt, in Persia, in 
 South Tartary, and in all the northern parts of India. 
 
 The Dromedary, therefore, occupies an immense tract 
 of land, while the Camel is confined to a small spot of 
 ground; the first inhabits hot and parched regions; the 
 second a more moist and temperate soil. The Camel 
 appears to be a native of Arabia ; for it is not only the 
 country where there is the greatest number, but it is 
 also best accommodated to their nature. Arabia is 
 the dryest country in the world ; and the Camel is the 
 least thirsty of all animals, and can pass seven days 
 without any drink. The land is almost in every part 
 dry and sandy : the feet of the Camel are formed to 
 travel in sand ; while on the contrary, he cannot sup- 
 port himself in moist and slippery ground. Herbage and 
 pasture are wanting to this country, as is the ox, whose 
 place is supplied by the Camel. 
 
 The Arabs regard the Camel as a present from hea- 
 ven, a sacred animal, without whose aid they could 
 neither subsist, trade, nor travel. It has been emphati- 
 cally called the ship of the desert. Its milk is their 
 common nourishment ; they likewise eat its flesh, es- 
 pecially that of the young ones, which they reckon 
 rery good. The hair of these animals, which is fine 
 and soft, is renewed every year, and serves them to 
 make stuffs for their clothing and their furniture. Bless- 
 ed with their Camels, they not only want for nothing, 
 but they even fear nothing. With them they can, in a 
 single day. place a tract of desert, of fifty miles, be- 
 tween them and their enemies, and all the armies in the
 
 120 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 world would perish in the pursuit of a tro*p of Arabs 
 Let any one figure to himself a country without ver- 
 dure, and without water, a burning sun, a sky always 
 clear, plains covered with sand, and mountains still 
 more parched, over which the eye extends, and the sight 
 is lost, without being stopped by a single living object; 
 a dead earth, flayed (if I may be allowed the expression) 
 by the winds, which presents nothing but bones of dead 
 bodies, flints scattered here and there, rocks standing 
 upright or overthrown ; a desert entirely naked, where 
 the traveller never drew his breath under the friendly 
 shade ; where he has nothing to accompany him, and 
 where nothing reminds him of living nature ; an abso- 
 lute void a thousand times more frightful than that ot 
 the forest, whose verdure, in some measure, diminishes 
 the horrors of solitude ; an immensity which he in vain 
 attempts to overrun; for hunger, thirst, and burning 
 heat, press on him every weary moment that remains 
 between despair and death. 
 
 Nevertheless, the Arab has found means to surmount 
 these difficulties, and even to appropriate to himself 
 these gaps of Nature ; they serve him for an asylum ; 
 they secure his repose, and maintain him in his inde- 
 pendence. But why does not man know how to make 
 use of them without abuse? This same Arab, free, in- 
 dependent, tranquil, and even rich, instead of respect- 
 ing those deserts as the ramparts of his liberty, soils 
 them with guilt : he traverses over them to the neigh- 
 bouring nations, and robs them of their slaves and gold 
 he makes use of them to exercise his robberies, which, 
 unfortunately he enjoys more than his liberty ; for his 
 enterprises are almost always successful : notwith- 
 standing the caution of his neighbours, and the supe- 
 riority of their forces, he escapes their pursuit, and, 
 unpunished, bears away all that he has plundered 
 them of. 
 
 An Arab wno destines himself to this business of 
 land piracy, early hardens himself to the fatigue of 
 travelling : he accustoms himself to pass many days 
 without sleep ; to suffer hunger, thirst, and heat ; at 
 the same time he instructs his Camels, he brings them 
 up, and exercises them in the same method. A few 
 days after they are born, he bends their legs under 
 their bellies, and constrains them to remain on the
 
 THE CAMEL. 121 
 
 earth, and loads them, in this situation, with a weight 
 as heavy as they usually carry, which he only relieves 
 them from to give them a heavier. Instead of suffering 
 them to feed every hour, and drink even when they 
 are thirsty, he regulates their repasts, and, by degrees, 
 increases them to greater distances between each meal, 
 diminishing also, at the same time, the quantity of their 
 food. When they are a little stronger, he exercises 
 them to the course ; he excites them by the example 
 of horses, and endeavours to render them also as swift, 
 and more robust ; at length, when he is assured of the 
 strength and swiftness of his Camels, and that they 
 can endure hunger and thirst, he then loads them with 
 whatever is necessary for his and their subsistence. 
 He departs with them, arrives unexpectedly at the 
 borders of the desert, stops the first passenger he sees, 
 pillages the straggling habitations, and loads his Camels 
 with his booty. If he is pursued he is obliged to ex- 
 pedite his retreat; and then he displays all his own 
 and his animals' talents. Mounted on one of his 
 swiftest Camels, he conducts the troop, makes them 
 travel day and night, almost without stopping either to 
 eat or drink. In this manner he easily passes over 
 three hundred miles in eight days ; and, during all 
 that time of fatigue and travel, he never unloads his 
 Camels, and only allows them an hour of repose,' and a 
 ball of paste each day. They often run in this manner 
 for eight or nine days without meeting with any water, 
 during which time they never drink ; and when by chance 
 they find a pool at some distance from their route; they 
 smell the water at more than half a mile before they 
 come to it. Thirst now makes them redouble their 
 pace ; and then they drink enough for all the time 
 past, and for as long to come; for often they are many- 
 weeks in travelling ; and their time of abstinence en- 
 dures as long as they are upon their journey. 
 
 In Turkey, Persia, Egypt, Arabia, Barbary, &c. 
 they use no other carriage for their merchandise than 
 Camels, which is, of all their conveyances, the most 
 ready, and the cheapest. Merchants, and other travel- 
 lers, assemble themselves in caravans, to avoid the 
 insults and piracies of the Arabs. These caravans are 
 often very numerous, and often composed of more 
 Camels than men. Every one of these Camels is 
 VOL. II. 11
 
 123 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 loaded according to his strength ; and he is so sensible 
 of it himself, that when a heavier load than usual is 
 put upon him, he refuses it, by constantly remaining 
 in his resting posture, till he is lightened of some of 
 his burden. 
 
 Large and strong Camels generally carry a thousand, 
 and even twelve hundred weight; the smaller only six 
 or seven hundred. In these commercial journeys, they 
 do not travel quick ; and, as the route is often seven 
 or eight hundred miles, they regulate their stages ; 
 they only walk, and go every day ten or twelve miles : 
 they are disburthened every evening, and are suffered 
 to feed at liberty. If they are in a part of the country 
 where there is pasture, they eat enough in one hour 
 to serve them twenty-four, and to ruminate on during 
 the whole night ; bat they seldom meet with pastures, 
 and this delicate food is not necessary for them : they 
 even seem to prefer wormwood, thistles, nettles, furze, 
 and other thorny vegetables, to the milder herbs ; and 
 so long as they can find plants to brouse on, they very 
 easily live without any drink. 
 
 This facility with which they abstain so long from 
 drinking, is not pure habit, but rather an effect of their 
 formation. Independent of the four stomachs which 
 are commonly found in ruminating animals, the Camel 
 is possessed of a fifth bag, which serves him as a re- 
 servoir to retain the water. This fifth stomach is 
 peculiar to the Camel. It is of so vast a capacity, as 
 to contain a great quantity of liquor, where it remains 
 without corruption, or without the other aliments being 
 able to mix with it. When the animal is pressed with 
 thirst, or has occasion to dilute the dry food, and to 
 macerate it for rumination, he causes a part of this 
 water to reascend into the stomach, and even to the 
 throat, by a simple contraction of the muscles. 
 
 This animal bears about him all the marks of slavery 
 and pain ; below the -breast, upon the sternum, is a 
 thick and large callosity, as tough as horn ; the like 
 substance appears upon the joints of the legs; and 
 although these callosities are to be met with in every 
 animal, yet they plainly prove that they are not natu- 
 ral," but produced by an excessive constraint, and pain, 
 as appears from their being often found filled with pus. 
 It is therefore evident, that this deformity proceeds
 
 THE CAMEL. 123 
 
 from the custom to wnich these animals are Lonstrained, 
 of forcing them, when quite young, to lie upon their 
 stomach with their legs bent under them, and in that 
 cramped posture to bear not only the weight of their 
 body, but also the burdens with which they are laden. 
 These poor animals must suffer a great deal, as they 
 make lamentable cries, especially when they are over- 
 loaded ; and, notwithstanding they are continually 
 abused, they have as much spirit as docility. At the 
 lirst sign they bend their legs under their bodies, and 
 kneeling upon the ground, they are unloaded, without 
 the trouble of lifting up the load to a great height, 
 which must happen, Avere they to stand upright. As 
 soon as they are loaded, they raise themselves up again 
 without any assistance or support; and the conductor, 
 mounted on one of them, precedes the whole troop, 
 who follow him in the same pace as he leads. They 
 have neither need of whip or spur to excite them : but, 
 when they begin to be fatigued, their conductors sup- 
 port their spirits, or rather charm their weariness, by 
 a song, or the sound of some instrument. When they 
 want to prolong the route, or double the day's journey, 
 they give them an hour's rest; after which, renewing 
 their song, they again proceed on their Avay for many 
 hours more ; and the singing continues until the time 
 that they stop. Then the Camels again kneel down 
 on the earth, to be relieved from the burden, by the 
 cords being untied, and the bales rolled down on each 
 side. They remain in this cramped posture, with their 
 belly couched upon the earth, and sleep in the midst 
 of their baggage, which is tied on again the next morn- 
 x ing with as much readiness and facility as it was untied 
 befor^ they went to rest. These are, however, not 
 their only inconveniences : they are prepared for all- 
 these evils by one still greater ; by mutilating them 
 by castration while young. They leave but one male 
 for eight or ten females ; and all the labouring Camels 
 are commonly gelt : they are weaker, without doubt, 
 than those which are not castrated ; but they are more 
 tractable than the others, who are not only indocile, 
 but almost furious, in the rutting time, which remains 
 forty days, and which happens every spring of the 
 year. The female goes with young exactly a year, 
 and, like all other large animals, oroduces but one at
 
 134 NATURAL U1STOKV. 
 
 a birth. They have great plenty ol milk, which is 
 thick, and nourishing even for the human species, if 
 it is mixed with more than an equal quantity of water. 
 The females seldom do any labour while they are with 
 young, but are suffered to bring forth at liberty. The 
 profit which arises from their produce, and from their 
 milk, perhaps surpasses that which is got from their 
 labour ; nevertheless, in some places, a great part of 
 the females undergo castration, as well as the males, 
 in order to render them more fit for labour. In gene- 
 ral, the fatter the Camels are, the more capable they 
 are of enduring great fatigues. Their hunches appear 
 to be formed only from the superabundance of nourish- 
 ment; for, in long journeys, where they are obliged 
 to stint them in their food, and where they suffer both 
 hunger and thirst, these hunches gradually diminish, 
 and are reduced almost even ; and the eminences are 
 only discovered by the height of the hair, which is 
 always much longer upon these parts than upon any 
 other part of the back. 
 
 The young Camel sucks its mother a year : and 
 when they want to bring him up so as to make him 
 strong and robust, they leave him at liberty to suck or 
 graze for a longer time, nor begin to load him, or put 
 him to labour, till he has attained the age of four years. 
 The Camel commonly lives forty or fifty years. 
 
 The Camel is not only of greater value than the ele- 
 phant, but perhaps not of less than the horse, the ass, 
 and the ox, all united together. He alone carries as 
 much as two mules ; he not only also, eats less, but 
 likewise feeds on herbs as coarse as the ass. The 
 female furnishes milk a longer time than the cow f the 
 flesh of young Camels is good and wholesome, like 
 veal ; their hair i* finer, and more sought after than 
 the finest wool ; there is not a part of them, even to 
 their excrements, from which some profit is not drawn; 
 for sal ammoniack is made from their urine ; their 
 dung, when dried and powdered, serves them for litter, 
 as it does for horses, with whom they often travel into 
 countries where neither straw nor hay is known. In 
 fine, a kind of turf is also made of this dung, which 
 burns freely, and gives a flame as clear, and almost as 
 lively, as that of dry wood ; even this is another great 
 use, especially in deserts, where not a tree is to be
 
 THE BUFFALO, 125 
 
 seen, and where, from the deficiency of combustible 
 matters, fire is almost as scarce as water. 
 
 THE BUFFALO, 1HE AUROCHS, THE BISON, AND THE 
 ZEBU. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the Buffalo is, at this present time, com- 
 mon in Greece, and tame in Italy, it was neither known 
 by the Greeks nor Romans ; for it never had a name 
 in the language of these people. The word buffalo 
 even indicates a strange origin, not to be derived either 
 from the Greek or Latin tongues. In effect, this ani- 
 mal is originally a native of the hottest countries of 
 Africa and India, and was not transported and natu- 
 ralized in Italy till towards the seventh century. It is 
 true, the ancients have spoken of an animal, as of a 
 different species from the ox, under the name of buba- 
 lus ; and Aristotle has mentioned the wild ox of 
 Pfeonia, which he has called bonasus. Both the an- 
 cients and moderns, however, have multiplied the spe- 
 cies unnecessarily; and from attentive observation, 
 I am clearly of opinion, that there are but two species 
 which are essentially different, viz. the ox and the 
 Buffalo. 
 
 We may observe, throughout the different regions of 
 the world, the breed of oxen differing from each other 
 in all external appearances, according to the nature of 
 the climate, or other circumstances ; but the most re- 
 markable difference is that which divides them into 
 two classes, viz. the Aurochs, or ox without a hunch 
 on its back, and the Bison, or hunched ox. From in- 
 dubitable facts, however, we have the utmost reason 
 to conclude, that these are no other than varieties of the 
 same species. The hunch, the length and quality of 
 the hair, and the form of the horns, are the sole cha- 
 racters by which the Bison is distinguished from the 
 Aurochs; but the hunched oxen couple and produce 
 with our oxen ; and we likewise know, that the length 
 and quality of the hair, in all animals, depends on the 
 nature of the climate ; and we have remarked, that, in 
 oxen, goats, and sheep, the form of the horns is various 
 and fluctuating. These differences, therefore, do not 
 suffice to establish two distinct species ; and since our 
 tame ox of Europe couples with the hunched ox of 
 11*
 
 126 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 India, we have the greatest reason to think that it 
 would also couple with the Bison, or hunched ox of 
 Europe. Notwithstanding this, however, we are not 
 to be surprised, that t'ie two kinds have not melted or 
 coalesced into a mongrel breed, since many circum- 
 stances may have occurred to keep them asunder ; and, 
 in fact, we actually find that these kinds have subsisted 
 till this present time, either in a free and wild, or in 
 a tame state ; and are scattered, or rather have been 
 transported into all the climates of the earth. All the 
 tame oxen without hunches have proceeded from the 
 Aurochs, and all with hunches are issues of the Bison. 
 In order to give a just idea of the varieties, we shall 
 make a short enumeration of these animals, such as 
 they are found actually to be in the different parts of 
 the earth. 
 
 To begin with the north of Europe, the few oxen 
 and cows which subsist in Iceland are without horns, 
 although they are of the same kind as our oxen. The 
 size of these animals is rather relative to the plenty 
 and quality of pasture, than to the nature of the cli- 
 mate. The Dutch haVe often brought lean cows from 
 Denmark, which fatten prodigiously in their meadows, 
 and which give plenty of milk. These Danish cows 
 are longer than ours. The oxen and cows of Ukraine, 
 where there is excellent pasture, are said to be the 
 largest in Europe ; they are also of the same kind as 
 our oxen. 
 
 The breed of Aurochs, or ox without a hunch, in- 
 habits the cold and temperate zones. It is not very 
 much dispersed towards the southern countries ; on the 
 contrary, the breed of the Bison, or hunched ox, fills 
 all the southern provinces, at this present time. In the 
 whole continent of India ; the islands of the South 
 Seas; in all Africa, from Mount Atlas to the Cape of 
 Good Hope we find, I may say, nothing but hunched 
 oxen ; and it even appears, that this breed, which has 
 prevailed in all the hot countries, has many advantages 
 over the others. These hunched oxen, like the Bison, 
 of which they are the issue, have the hair much softer 
 and more glossy than our oxen, who, like the Aurochs, 
 are furnished but with little hair, which is of a harsh 
 nature. These hunched oxen are also swifter, and 
 more proper to sMpply the place of a horse ; at the
 
 THE BUFFALO, ETC. 127 
 
 same time, that they have a less brutal nature, and are 
 not so clumsy and stupid as our oxen, they are more 
 tractable, and sensible which way you would lead them. 
 The regard the Indians have for these animals is so great, 
 as to have almost degenerated into superstition. The 
 ox, as the most useful animal, has appeared to them the 
 most worthy of being revered ; for this purpose, they 
 have made an idol of the object of their veneration, a 
 kind of beneficent and powerful divinity ; for we are 
 desirous of rendering all we respect, great and capable 
 of doing much good, or much harm. 
 
 These hunched oxen, perhaps, vary again more than 
 ours, in the colours of the hair, and the figure of the 
 horns. The handsomest are all white, like the oxen 
 of Lombardy ; there are also some that are without 
 horns; there are others who have them much elevated, 
 and others so bent down, that they are almost pendent; 
 it even appears, that we must divide this first kind of 
 BISONS, or hunched oxen, into two secondary kinds , 
 the one very large, and the other very small ; and this 
 last is that of the ZEBU ; both have soft hair, and a 
 hunch on the back. This hunch does not depend on 
 the conformation of the spine, nor on the bones of 
 the shoulder ; it is nothing but an excrescence, a kind 
 of wen, a piece of tender flesh, as good to eat as the 
 tongue of an ox. The wens of some oxen weigh about 
 forty or fifty pounds ; others have them much smaller ; 
 some of these oxen have also prodigious horns for their 
 size : there is one in the French King's cabinet, which 
 is three feet and a half in length, and seven inches in 
 diameter at the base. Many travellers affirm, they 
 have seen them of a capacity sufficient to contain fif- 
 teen, and even twenty pints of water. 
 
 Thus all the southern parts of Africa and Asia are 
 inhabited with hunched oxen, or Bisons, among which 
 a great variety is to be met with in respect to size, 
 colour, shape of the horns, &c. On the contrary, all 
 the northern countries of these two parts of the world, 
 and Europe entirely, comprehending even the adja- 
 cent islands, to the Azores, are only inhabited by oxen 
 without a hunch, who derive their origin from the 
 Aurochs. The Bison, or wild hunched ox, is stronger, 
 and much larger than the tame ox of India ; it is also 
 omeiimes smaller ; but that depends only on the quan-
 
 128 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 tity of food. At Malabar, at Abyssinia, at Madagas- 
 car, where the meadows are naturally spacious and fer- 
 tile, the Bisons are all of prodigious size. In Africa 
 and Arabia Petraea, where the land is dry, the Zebus, 
 or Bisons, are of the smallest stature. 
 
 Every part of South America is inhabited by oxen 
 without hunches, which the Spaniards, and other Euro- 
 peans, have successfully transported. These oxen are 
 multiplied, and are only become smaller in these coun- 
 tries. In all the northern parts, as far as Florida, 
 Louisiana, and even as far as Mexico, the Bisons, or 
 hunched oxen, are to be found in great numbers. 
 These Bisons, which formerly inhabited the woods of 
 Germany, Scotland, and other of our northern coun- 
 tries, have probably passed from one continent to the 
 other, and are become, like other animals, smaller in 
 this new world ; and as they are habituated to climates 
 more or less cold, they have preserved their coat More 
 or less warm ; their hair is longer and thicker ; the 
 beard is longer at Hudson's Bay than at Mexico ; and, 
 in general, this hair is softer than the finest wool. 
 
 Thus the wild and the tame ox, the European, the 
 Asian, the American, and the African ox, the bonasus, 
 the Aurochs, the Bison, and the Zebu, are all animals 
 of one and the same species, who, according to the cli- 
 mates, food, and different usage they have met with, 
 have undergone all the variations we have before 
 explained. The ox, as the most useful animal, is also 
 the most universally dispersed. He appears ancient 
 in every climate, tame among civilized nations, and 
 wild in desert or unpolished countries ; he supports 
 himself by his own strength when in a state of nature, 
 and has never lost the qualities which are useful to the 
 service of man. The young wild calves which are 
 taken from their mothers in India and Africa, have, in 
 a short time, become as ractable as those which are 
 the issue of the tame kind ; and this natural confor- 
 mity is another striking proof f f the identity of the 
 species. 
 
 If it be asked, which of the two kinds, the Aurochs 
 or the Bison, claims the first place ? It appears to me, 
 that a satisfactory answer may be urawn from the facts 
 we have just laid down. The hunch or wen of the 
 Bison is probably no other than an accidental charac
 
 THE BUFFALO, ETC. 129 
 
 ter, whicli is defaced and lost in the mixture of the two 
 kinds. The Auroch, or ox without a hunch, then, is 
 the most powerful and predominant of the two ; for, if 
 it was the contrary, the hunch, instead of disappearing, 
 would extend and remain upon every one of this mixed 
 breed. What confirms and proves still more the iden- 
 tity of the species of Bison and Aurochs, is, that the 
 Bisons, or hunch-backed oxen, in the north of Ame- 
 rica, have so strong a smell, that they have been called 
 Musk Oxen by the greatest number of travellers ; and, 
 at the same time, we find, by the accounts of obser- 
 ving people, that the Aurochs, or wild ox of Prussia 
 and Livonia, has the smell of musk, like the Bison ot 
 America. 
 
 There remain, therefore, but two species, the BUF- 
 FALO and the Ox, out of all the names placed at the 
 head of this section; to each of which the ancient and 
 modern naturalists have given a separate and distinct 
 species. These two animals, although greatly resem 
 bling each other, both tame, and often living under the 
 same roof, and fed in the same meadows, yet, when 
 brought together, and even excited by their keepers, 
 have ever refused to unite and couple together; their 
 nature is more distant than that of the ass is from the 
 horse ; there even appears to be a strong antipathy 
 between them ; for it is affirmed, that cows will not 
 suckle the young Buffaloes; and the female Buffalo 
 refuses the same kindness to the other's calves. The 
 Buffalo is of a more obstinate nature, and less tractable 
 than the Ox ; he obeys with great reluctance, and his 
 temper is more coarse and brutal ; like the hog, he is 
 one of the filthiest of the tame animals, as he shows 
 by his unwillingness to be cleaned and dressed ; his 
 figure is very clumsy, and forbidding; his looks stu- 
 pidly wild ; he carries his tail in an ignoble manner, 
 and his head in a very bad posture, almost always 
 inclined towards the ground ; his voice is a hideous bel- 
 lowing, with a tone much stronger and more hoarse than 
 that of the bull ; his legs are thin, his tail bare, and 
 his physiognomy dark, like his hair and skin. He dif 
 fers externally from the ox, chiefly in the colour of his 
 hide ; and this is easily perceived under the hair, with 
 which he is but sparingly furnished ; his body is like- 
 wise thicker and shorter than that of the ox ; his legs
 
 130 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 are longer, and proportionably much less ; the horna 
 not so round, black, and partly compressed, ,vith a lull 
 of hair frizzled over his forehead ; his hide is likewise 
 thicker and harder than that of the ox; his flesh is 
 black and hard, and not only disagreeable to the taste, 
 but to the smell ; the milk of the female is not so good 
 as that of the cow ; nevertheless, she yields a greater 
 quantity. In hot countries, almost all the cheese is 
 made of Buffaloes' milk. The flesh of the young Buf- 
 faloes, though killed during the suckling time, is not 
 good. The hide alone is of more value than all the 
 rest of the beast, whose tongue is the only part that is 
 fit to eat. This hide is firm, light, and almost impene- 
 trable. As these animals, in general, are larger and 
 stronger than the oxen, they are very serviceable in the 
 plough ; they draw well, but do not carry burdens ; 
 they are led by the means of a ring passed through 
 their nose. Two Buffaloes harnessed, or rather chained, 
 to a wagon, will draw as much as four stro/ig horses. 
 As they carry their tails and their heads naturally 
 downwards, they employ the whole force of their body 
 in drawing; and this heavy mass greatly surpasses 
 that of a horse or a labouring ox. 
 
 The form and thickness of the Buffalo alone are suf- 
 ficient to indicate that he is a native of the hottest coun- 
 tries. The largest quadrupeds belong to the torrid 
 zone in the Old Continent; and the Buffalo, for his size 
 and thickness, ought to be classed with the elephant, 
 the rhinoceros, and the hippopotamus. The camel is 
 more elevated, but slenderer, and is also an inhabitant 
 of the southern countries of Africa and Asia : never- 
 theless, the Buffaloes live and multiply in Italy, in 
 France, and in other temperate provinces. Those that 
 are in the French king's menagerie have brought forth 
 two or three times. The female has but one at a time, 
 and goes about twelve months ; which is another proof 
 of the difference between this species and that of the 
 cow, which only goes nine months. It appears also that 
 these animals are gentler and less brutal in their native 
 country ; and the hotter the climate is, the more trac- 
 table is their nature. In Egypt they are more so than 
 in Italy; and in India they are more so than in Egypt. 
 These of Italy have also more hair than those of Egypt, 
 and those of Egypt more than those of India. Then
 
 THE BISON. 131 
 
 coat is never entirely covered, because they are natives 
 of hot countries; and, in general, large animals of this 
 climate, have either no hair, or else very little. 
 
 There are a great number of wild Buffaloes in the 
 countries of Africa and India, which are watered with 
 many rivers, and furnished with large meadows. These 
 wild Buffaloes go in droves, and make great havoc in 
 cultivated lands ; but they never attack the human spe- 
 cies, and will not run at them, unless they are wounded, 
 when they are very dangerous;" for they make directly 
 at their enemy, throw him down, and trample him to 
 death under their feet; nevertheless, they are greatly 
 terrified at the sight of fire, and are displeased at a red 
 colour. 
 
 The Buffalo, like all other animals of southern cli- 
 mates, is fond of bathing, and even of remaining in the 
 water; he swims very well, and boldly traverses the 
 most rapid floods. As his legs are longer than those 
 of the ox, he runs also quicker upon land. The Ne- 
 groes in Guinea, and the Indians in Malabar, where 
 the wild Buffaloes are very numerous, often hunt them. 
 They neither pursue them nor attack them openly, but, 
 climbing up the trees, or hiding .fiemselves in the 
 woods, they wait for them and kill them, the Buffaloes 
 not being able, without much trouble, to penetrate these 
 forests, on account of the thickness of their bodies, 
 and the impediment of their horns, which are apt to 
 entangle in the branches of the trees. These people 
 are fond of the flesh of the Buffalo, and gain great pro- 
 fit by vending their hides and their horns, which are 
 harder and better than those of the ox. The animal 
 that is called in Congo empacapa, or pacapa, though 
 very ill described by travellers, seems to me to be the 
 Buffalo ; as that which they have spoken of, under the 
 name of empabunga, or impaiunca, in the same coun- 
 try, may possibly be the bubalus. 
 
 THE BISON. 
 
 THIS formidable animal is, as M. Buffon states, a va- 
 riety of the ox tribe. It inhabits both parts of the Ame- 
 rican continent; and in North America immense herds 
 are frequently seen. The foreparts of the body are 
 very thick and strong ; the hinder are comparative!}
 
 132 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 slender ; the body is covered in many parts with long 
 shaggy hair; the horns are short, rounded, and point- 
 ing outwards ; and on l\.e shoulders is a high protube- 
 rance, which is the distinctive mark of the Bison. This 
 hunch is considered as a great delicacy by the Indians. 
 These animals are so ferocious, that they cannot be 
 safely pursued, except in forests, where there are trees 
 large enough to conceal the hunters : they are, there- 
 fore, generally taken in pitfalls covered with boughs of 
 trees and grass, where they are easily overcome and 
 slain. They commonly range in droves, feeding in the 
 open savannahs morning and evening ; and reposing 
 during the sultry part of the day on the shady banks 
 of rivulets or streams of water. Sometimes they leave 
 so deep an impression of their feet on the moist sand, 
 as to be thus traced and shot by the Indians ; but on 
 these occasions, the utmost precaution is requisite ; 
 since their sense of smelling is extremely acute, and 
 when slightly wounded, they become perfectly infuri- 
 ate, and certain death awaits the assailant. Yet, not- 
 withstanding their wildness in a state of nature, there 
 is reason to believe that they might be domesticated 
 without much difficulty, and their immense strength 
 would render them a valuable acquisition to mankind. 
 The experiment has been tried in America, and it has 
 fully succeeded. There is something affecting in the 
 fondness of the young Bison for its dam. If the mo- 
 ther be killed, the calf, instead of attempting to escape, 
 follows the hunter who is carrying away the remains 
 of its parent, and manifests strong signs of sorrow. 
 
 THE ARXEE. 
 
 THIS animal, which is an inhabitant of various parts 
 of India north of Bengal, far exceeds in size any of the 
 cattle tribe that has hitherto been discovered ; it be- 
 ing from twelve to fifteen feet in height. The horns, 
 which are full two feet in length, are erect and semi- 
 lunar, flattened, and annularly wrinkled, with smooth, 
 round, approaching points. The Arnee is seldom seen 
 within the European settlements, but a very young one 
 was picked up alive in the Ganges, some years ago, 
 which was as big as an immensely large bullock, and 
 weighed nearly three quarters of a ton. A British officer
 
 KUIOPKAN BISON, ATTACKED BY WOLVES* P. 126.
 
 SHEEP. 133 
 
 who found one in the woods in the country above Ben- 
 gal, describes it as a bold and daring animal, and its 
 form as seeming to partake of the horse, the Bull, and 
 the deer. Some of the native princes are said to keep 
 Arnees for parade, under the name of fighting bullocks. 
 
 THE ZEBU 
 
 THE ZEBU, or Barbary Cow, :s somewhat like the 
 bison, having a hump on its shoulders, from twenty to 
 forty pounds in weight. They are often saddled like 
 horses, and are also used in drawing chariots, carts, 
 <fcc. Instead of a bit, a ring or small cord is passed 
 through the cartilage of the nostrils, which is tied to a 
 larger cord, and serves as a bridle. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Of the Moufflon, and other Sheep The Axis The Ta- 
 pir Th e Zebra The Zebra of the Plains The 
 Hippopotamus The Elk, and Rain-deer The Ma- 
 layan Rusa Deer. 
 
 THE MOUFFLON, OR ARGALI, AND OTHER SHEEP. 
 
 THE breed of Sheep, though perhaps originally all 
 of the same species, yet are found to be very different 
 in different countries. Our domestic Sheep is only to 
 be met with in Europe, and some of the most tempe- 
 rate provinces of Asia, and if transported into Guinea, 
 loses its wool, and is covered with hair. It increases 
 there but little, and its flesh has no longer the same 
 taste : it cannot also subsist in cold countries. 
 
 In Iceland, a breed of Sheep is to be found, who 
 have many horns, short tails, harsh and thick wool, 
 under which, as in almost every animal in the north 
 is a second lining, of a softer, finer, and thicker wool. 
 These animals a e sometimes wintered in stables, but 
 are generally left to provide for themselves in the open 
 plains. Caves are their retreats in storm' weather 
 VOL. II. 12
 
 134 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 but when they cann it reach such places of shelter, 
 and are involved in falls of snow, they place their heads 
 near each other, with their muzzles downward towards 
 the ground. In this situation they will remain for 
 several days, and hunger will sometimes compel them 
 to gnaw each other's wool. They yield from two to six 
 quarts of milk a day. Their wool is not shorn, but 
 loosens of itself about the end of May, and is then strip- 
 ped off at once like a skin. 
 
 In warm climates, some are covered with wool, 
 others with hair, and a third kind with hair mixed 
 with wool. The first kind of Sheep of those countries 
 is that commonly called the Barbary or Arabian Sheep, 
 which entirely resembles the tame kind, excepting in 
 the tail, which is very much loaded with fat, is often 
 more than a foot broad, and weighs upwards of twenty 
 pounds. As for external appearance, this Sheep has 
 nothing remarkable but the tail, which he carries as if 
 a pillow was fastened to his hinder parts. Among this 
 kind of broad-tailed Sheep, there are some whose tails 
 are so long and heavy, that the shepherds are obliged 
 to fasten a small board with wheels, in order to sup- 
 port them as they walk along. This tail, which is a 
 substance between marrow and fat, is considered as a 
 great delicacy. In the Levant, these Sheep are clothed 
 with a very fine wool. In the hotter countries, as 
 Madagascar and India, they are clothed with hair. The 
 superabundance of fat, which in our Sheep fixes upon 
 the reins, in these Sheep descends under the vertebrae 
 of the tail ; the other parts of the body are less charged 
 with it than in our fat Sheep. This variety is to be 
 attributed to the climate, the food, and the care of man- 
 kind ; for these broad, or long-tailed Sheep, are tame, 
 like those of our country ; and they even demand much 
 more care and management. This breed is much more 
 dispersed than ours ; they are commonly met with in 
 Tartary, Thibet, Turkey, Persia, Syria, Egypt, Bar- 
 oary, Ethiopia, and Madagascar; and even as far as the 
 Cape of Good Hope. In Thibet, their fleeces, which 
 are very fine, are manufactured into shawls. 
 
 THE STREPSICEROS. 
 
 IN the islands of the Archipelago, and chufly in the 
 island oi Candia, there is a breed of Sheep of which
 
 SHEEP. 135 
 
 Bcllon has given the figure and description, under the 
 name of Strepsiceros. This Sheep is of the make of 
 our common Sheep : it is, like that, clothed with wool, 
 and only differs from it by the horns, which are larger 
 and rise upwards, but are twisted into spirals. The 
 distance between the horns of the Ewe enlarges to- 
 wards their tops ; those of the Ram are parallel. 
 This animal, which is commonly called the Wallachian 
 Sheep, is frequent in Austria and Hungary, where its 
 name is Zackl. 
 
 THE AFRICAN SHEEP. 
 
 IN the hottest countries of Africa and India, there is 
 a breed of large Sheep, which has rough hair, short 
 horns, hanging ears, and a kind of tuft under the tail. 
 Leo Africanus, and Marmol, call it adamain ; and it is 
 known to the naturalists by the names of the Senegal 
 Ram, the Guinea Ram, and the Angola Sheep, &c. 
 He is tame like ours, and, like him, subject to variety. 
 These, though different in themselves by particular 
 characters, resemble each other so much in other re- 
 spects, that we can scarcely doubt but they are of the 
 same kind. 
 
 A specimen of the male African Sheep is now in the 
 Tower menagerie, to which it was presented about 
 six years ago by Lord Liverpool. In temper it is 
 extremely mild ; but it is an uncouth looking creature. 
 It is high on the legs, narrow in the loins, and its coat 
 is rough and shaggy. Its horns are remarkably small, 
 and within their curve the ears are enclosed. When- 
 ever the ears escape from this seeming confinement, 
 the animal exhibits much uneasiness ; and, difficult as 
 it is for him to replace them, he never rests till it is 
 accomplished. On his back and sides he is nearly 
 black ; the shoulders are of a reddish brown ; the pos- 
 terior part of the body, the haunches, the hind legs, 
 the tail, the nose, and also the ears, which are rathei 
 large, are white. There is likewise a white spot ovei 
 each eye. 
 
 In considering, therefore, according to the difference 
 of climate, the Sheep which are purely tame, we find. 
 
 1 The Sheep of the north, who have many horns 
 nd whose wool is rough and verj" thick ; and tht
 
 136 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Sheep of the island of Gothland, Muscovy, and many 
 other parts of the north of Europe, whose wool is thick, 
 and who appear to be of the same breed. 
 
 2. Our Sheep, whose wool is very good and fine ill 
 the mild climates of Spain and Persia, but in hot 
 countries changes to a rough hair. We have already 
 observed, this conformity in this influence of the cli- 
 mates of Spain and Khorasan, a province of Persia, on 
 the hair of cats, rabbits, hares, <fec. It acts in the same 
 manner upon the wool of Sheep, which is very fine in 
 Spain, and still finer in this part of Persia. 
 
 3. The broad-tailed Sheep, whose wool is also very 
 fine in temperate countries, such as Persia, Syria, and 
 Egypt ; but which, in hot countries, changes into a 
 hair more or less rough. 
 
 4. The Sheep strepsiceros, or Cretan Sheep, who 
 resemble ours both in wool and make, excepting the 
 horns, which are straight and furrowed. 
 
 5. The adimain, or the great Sheep of Senegal and 
 India, which in no part is covered with wool, but, on 
 the contrary, is clothed with hair, which is longer or 
 shorter, rougher or smoother, according to the heat 
 of the climate. All these Sheep are only varieties of 
 one and the same species, and certainly would unite 
 one with the other, since the goat, whose species is 
 farther distant, procreates with our Sheep, as we are 
 assured from experience. But none of these tame 
 Sheep have the characters of an original species. 
 
 THE MOUFFLON. 
 
 IN Kamtschatka, in the mountains of Greece, in the 
 islands of Cyprus, Sardinia, Corsica, and the deserts 
 of Tartary, the animal which we call the moufflon, or 
 argali, is still to be found. It appears to us to be the 
 primitive stock of all Sheep. He lives in a state of 
 nature, and subsists and multiplies without the help 
 of man; he resembles the several kinds of tame Sheep 
 more than any other animal ; he is livelier, stronger, 
 and swifter than they are ; his head, forehead, eyes, 
 and face are like the Ram's ; he resembles him also 
 in the form of the horns, and in the whole habit of 
 body. In short, he procreates with the tame Sheep, 
 which alone is sufficient to demonstrate that he is of
 
 THE AXIS. 13? 
 
 the same species, and the primitive stock of the dif- 
 ferent breeds. 
 
 The only disagreement betwixt the Moufflon and 
 our Sheep, is, that the first is covered with hair instead 
 of wool ; but we have observed that, even in tame 
 Sheep, the wool is not an essential character, but a 
 production of a temperate climate. Hence, it is not 
 astonishing that the original, or primitive and wild 
 Sheep, who has endured cold and heat, lived and in- 
 creased, without shelter, in the woods, is not covered 
 with wool, which he would soon be deprived of among 
 the thickets and thorny bushes. Besides, when a he- 
 goat is coupled with a tame Sheep, the production is a 
 kind of wild Moufflon, a Lamb covered with hair, and 
 not a barren mule, but a mongrel, which returns to the 
 original species, and which appears to indicate that 
 our goats and tame Sheep have something common to 
 them both in their origin. 
 
 The general colour of the Moufflon is brown, ap- 
 proaching to that of the red deer : but the inside of 
 the thighs, and the belly, are of a white, tinctured with 
 yellow. On the neck are two pendant hairy dewlaps. 
 The horns of the old Rams frequently grow to such a 
 size as to weigh sixteen or eighteen pounds each. The 
 Moufflon is a fleet, active, and acute smelling animal, 
 and cannot be taken, or even shot, without extreme 
 difficulty. Its flesh, however, is held in such estima- 
 tion by the natives of Kamtschatka, that, to procure it, 
 there is no toil or danger which they will not cheer' 
 fully encounter. 
 
 THE AXIS. 
 
 THIS animal being only known by the vague names 
 of the Hind of Sardinia, and the Deer of the Ganges, 
 we have thought it necessary to preserve the name 
 which Belon has given to him, and which he borrowed 
 from Pliny. The Axis is of the small number of ru- 
 minating animals who wear horns, like the stag. He 
 has the shape and swiftness of the fallow-deer; but 
 what distinguishes him from the stag and fallow-deer 
 5s, that his body is marked with white spots, elegantly 
 disposed, and separated one from another, and that he 
 is a native of hot countries (Hindostan,and p ti :ulavly 
 12"
 
 129 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 Bengal); while the stag and the deer have their coat 
 of a uniform colour, and are to be met with in greater 
 numbers, in cold countries and temperate regions, than 
 in hot climates. 
 
 The gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences have 
 only given him the name of the Sardinian Hind, be- 
 cause, very probably, they received that name from 
 the royal menagerie ; but there is nothing indicated 
 of this animal's being a native of Sardinia ; no author 
 has ever mentioned, that he exists in that island like a 
 wild animal; but, on the contrary, we see, by examin- 
 ing authors, that he is found in the hottest countries 
 of Asia. 
 
 We have already remarked, that there is no species 
 which approaches so near to another, as that of the 
 deer to the stag: nevertheless, the Axis appears to be 
 an intermediate mixture between the two. He resem- 
 bles the deer in the size of his body, the length of his 
 tail, and his coat, which is the same during his whole 
 life : he only essentially differs from that animal in his 
 horns, which nearly resemble those of the stag. The 
 Axis, therefore, may possibly be only a variety de- 
 pending on the climate, and not a different species 
 from the deer; for, although he is a native of the 
 hottest countries of Asia, he supports, and easily mul- 
 tiplies in, that of Europe. There are many herds of 
 them in the menagerie of Versailles ; but it has never 
 yet been observed, that they mix either with the detr 
 or with the stags ; and this is the cause of our pre 
 suming, that it was not a variety of one or the other, 
 but a particular and mediate species between the two. 
 It is a very mild and timid animal. 
 
 THE TAPIR, OR THE ANTA, 
 
 Is, with the exception of the horse, the largest ani- 
 mal in America, where living nature seems to be less- 
 ened, or rather has not had time to arrive at its greatest 
 dimensions. The animals also of South America, which 
 alone properly and originally belong to this New Con- 
 tinent, are almost all without defence, without horns, 
 and without tails ; their bodies and their limbs are un- 
 proportioned ; and some, as the sluggish and crawling 
 animals, <fcc. are of so misrable a nature, that they
 
 THE TAPIR. 139 
 
 scarcely have the faculties of moving or of eating ; 
 they drag on a languishing life in the solitude of a 
 desert, and cannot subsist in the inhabited world, 
 where man and powerful animals would have soon 
 destroyed them. 
 
 The Tapir is of the size of a small cow, or zebu, but 
 without horns, and with a short naked tail ; the legs 
 are short and thick, and the feet have small black 
 hoofs. The body is thick and clumsy, and the back 
 somewhat arched, and the hair is of a dusky or brown- 
 ish colour. On the short thick neck is a kind of bristly 
 mane, which, near the head, is an inch and a half in 
 length. His head is of a tolerable size, with roundish 
 erect ears, and small eyes, and the muzzle terminates 
 iu a kind of proboscis, which can be extended or con- 
 tracted at the will of the animal. The latter it uses 
 in feeding, to grasp its food and convey it to the mouth, 
 in thr, same way that the rhinoceros applies its upper 
 lip ; and in this are also contained the organs of smell. 
 He has ten incisive teeth, and ten grinders, in each 
 jaw; a character which separates him entirely from 
 the ox, and other ruminating animals. His skin is so 
 thick and hard as to be almost impenetrable to a bul- 
 let ; for which reason the Indians make shields of it. 
 
 The Tapir seldom stirs out but in the night, and 
 delights in the water, where he oftener .lives than 
 upon land. He is chiefly to be found in marshes, and 
 seldom goes far from the borders of rivers or lakes. 
 He swims and dives with singular facility. When he 
 is threatened, pursued, or wounded, he plunges into 
 the water, and remains there till he has got to a great 
 distance before he reappears. These customs, which 
 he has in common with the hippopotamus, have made 
 some naturalists imagine him to be of the same species; 
 but he differs as much from him in nature, as he is dis- 
 tant from him in climate. To be assured of this, there 
 needs no more than to compare the description we 
 have now recited, with that of the hippopotamus 
 Although the Tapir inhabits the water, he does not 
 feed upon fish ; and, although his mouth is armed with 
 twenty sharp and incisive teeth, he is not carnivorous: 
 he lives upon sugarcanes, grasses, the leaves of shrubs, 
 and various kinds of fruit; and does not make use of 
 what Nature has armed him with aga ; nst other animals
 
 140 NATUKAL HISTORY. 
 
 He is of a mild and timid nature, and flies from every 
 attack or danger: when, however, he is cut off from 
 retreat, he makes a vigorous defence against dogs and 
 men. Its usual attitude is that of sitting on its rump 
 like a dog ; and its voice is a kind of whistle. The 
 flesh is wholesome food. It may be tamed, and is then 
 very gentle and docile. This animal is commonly 
 found in Brazil, Paraguay, Guiana, and in all the ex- 
 tent of South America, frcm the extremity of Chili to 
 New Spain. 
 
 A species of Tapir, which has recently been dis- 
 covered, is very common in the island of Sumatra and 
 the forests of Malacca. Its body is of a dirty white, 
 while the head, legs, and tail are of a deep black. 
 This species has no mane, and its proboscis is from 
 seven to eight inches long. 
 
 Among the numerous fossil remains of a former 
 world are found fragments of Tapirs of enormous size. 
 One of these extinct species, the Gigantic Tapir, must 
 have been more than equal to the elephant in magnitude. 
 
 THE ZEBRA 
 
 Is, perhaps, the handsomest and most elegantly 
 clothed of all quadrupeds. He has the shape and 
 graces of the horse, the swiftness of the stag, and a 
 striped robe of black and white alternately disposed 
 with so much regularity and symmetry, that it seems 
 as if Nature had made use of the rule and compass to 
 paint it. These alternate bands of black and white 
 are so much the more singular, as they are straight, 
 parallel, and very exactly divided, like a striped stuff'; 
 and as they, in other parts, extend themselves not only 
 over the body, but over the head, the thighs, the legs, 
 and even the ears and the tail ; so that, at a distance, 
 this animal appears as if he was surrounded with little 
 fillets, which some person had disposed, in a regular 
 manner, over every part of the body. In the females, 
 these bands are alternately black and white ; in the 
 male, they are brown and yellow, but always of a lively 
 and brilliant mixture, upon a short, fine, and thick hair; 
 the lustre of which still more increases the beauty of 
 the colours. The Zebra is, in general, less than the 
 horse, and larger than the ass ; and, although it hag

 
 THE ZEBRA. 141 
 
 often been compared to those two animals, and called 
 the Wild Horse, and the Striped Ass, it is a copy 
 neither of the one nor the other, and might rather be 
 called their model, if all was not equally original in 
 Nature, and if every species had not an equal right to 
 creation. 
 
 The Zebra is not the animal the ancients have indi- 
 cated under the name onagra. There exists in the 
 Levant, the eastern parts of Asia, and in the northern 
 parts of Africa, a beautiful race of asses, who like the 
 finest horses, are natives of Arabia. This race differs 
 from the common, by the size of the body, the slender- 
 ness of the legs, and the lustre of the hair ; they are 
 of a uniform, but commonly of a fine mouse colour, 
 with a black cross upon the back and the shoulders ; 
 and sometimes they are of a bright gray colour, with a 
 flaxen cross. The Zebra is also of a different climate 
 from the onagra, and is only to be met with in the 
 most eastern and the most southern parts of Africa, 
 from Ethiopia to the Cape of Good Hope, and thence 
 to Congo; it exists neither in Europe, Asia, nor 
 America, nor even in all the northern parts of Africa : 
 those which some travellers tell us they have seen at 
 the Brazils have been transported thither from Africa ; 
 those which others are recounted to have seen in Per- 
 sia, and in Turkey, have been brought from Ethiopia ; 
 and, in short, those that we have seen in Europe are 
 almost all from the Cape of Good Hope. This point 
 of Africa is their true climate, their native country, 
 and where the Dutch have employed all their care to 
 subject them and to render them tame, without having 
 been hitherto able to succeed. That which we have 
 seen, and which has served for the subject of our de- 
 scription, was very wild whe,n he arrived at the royal 
 menagerie in France ; and he was never entirely tamed : 
 nevertheless, he has been broken for the saddle ; but 
 there are precautions necessary : two men held the 
 bridle, while a third was upon him. His mouth is very 
 hard ; his ears so sensible, that he winces whenever 
 any person goes to touch them. He was restive, like a 
 vicious horse, and obstinate as a mule ; but, perhaps, 
 the wild horse and the onagra are not less intractable ; 
 arid there is reason to believe, that if the Zebra was 
 accustomed to obedience and tameness from his earliest
 
 112 NATURAL HISTORY 
 
 years he would become as mild as the assund the horse, 
 and might be substituted in their room. 
 
 The Zebra is chiefly found in the southern parts of 
 Africa ; often seen near the Cape of Good Hope ; and 
 a penalty of fifty rix-dollars is inflicted on any person 
 who shoots one of them. Such of them as are caught 
 alive are presented to the governor. Several have 
 been brought to England, but, except in one instance, 
 they have all displayed great wildness, and even fero- 
 city. The exception was in that which was burnt some 
 years ago at Exeter 'Change. It would allow young 
 children to be put upon its back, and was once ridden 
 from the Lyceum to Pimlico ; but it was bred and 
 reared in Portugal, from parents half reclaimed. In 
 several other cases, Zebras have attempted to injure 
 spectators, and have not even spared their keepers. 
 The voice of this creature is thought to have a distant 
 resemblance to the sound of a post horn. 
 
 THE ZEBRA OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 THE Zebra which we have just described is confined 
 to the mountains ; the subject of the present article 
 inhabits the flat parts near the Cape. Till very recently, 
 the difference between them was not accurately under- 
 stood. " The ground colour of its whole body (says 
 Mr. Bennett) is white, interrupted by a regular series 
 of broad black stripes extending from the back across 
 the sides, with narrower and fainter ones intervening 
 between each. Over the haunches and shoulders these 
 stripes form a kind of bifurcation, between the divi- 
 sions of which there are a few transverse lines of the 
 same colour ; but these suddenly and abruptly cease, 
 and are not continued on the legs, which are perfectly 
 white. Along the back there is a narrow longitudinal 
 line, bordered on each side with white. The mane is 
 throughout broadly and deeply tipped with black, and 
 is marked by a continuation of the transverse bands of 
 the neck. The lines of the face are narrow and beau- 
 tifully regular; from the centre of the forehead they 
 radiate downwards over the eyes ; along the front of 
 the muzzle they are longitudinal, the outer ones having 
 a curve outwards ; and on the sides they form broader 
 transverse bands. From the confluence of these bands
 
 THE ZEBRA. 143 
 
 on the extremity of the muzzle, the nose, and the lower 
 lip, those parts become of a nearly uniform blackish 
 brown. The tail is white : there is no 'ongitudinal 
 ventral line : and a large black patch occupies the pos- 
 terior part of the ear, near the tip. The hoofs are 
 moderately large, deep in front, shallow behind, and 
 much expanded at their margin." 
 
 The subject of the present article, which has now 
 been about two years in the Menagerie, will suffer a 
 boy to ride her about the yard, and is frequently allowed 
 to run loose through the Tower, with a man by her side, 
 whom she does not attempt to quit, except to run to 
 the Canteen, where she is occasionally indulged with a 
 draught of ale, of which she is particularly fond. 
 
 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
 
 ALTHOUGH this animal has been celebrated from the 
 earliest ages, it was, notwithstanding, but imperfectly 
 known to the ancients. It was only towards the six- 
 teenth century that we had some precise indications on 
 the subject. 
 
 In comparing the descriptions which we have obser- 
 ved in different travellers, the Hippopotamus appears 
 to be an animal whose body is longer and thicker than 
 that of the rhinoceros ; but his fore-legs are much 
 shorter. His head is short, and thick in proportion to 
 the body. He has no horns, neither on the nose, like 
 the rhinoceros, nor on the head, like ruminating ani- 
 mals. His cry, when hurt, approaches as near to the 
 neighing of the horse, as the bellowing of the buffalo ; 
 but his usual voice resembles the neighing of a horse, 
 from which, however, he differs in every other respect ; 
 and this fact, we may presume, has been the sole rea- 
 son for giving him the name of Hippopotamus, or River 
 Horse ; as the howling of the lynx, which resembles 
 that of the wolf, has occasioned him to be called the' 
 stag-like wolf. The incisive teeth of the Hippopota- 
 mus, and especially the two canine teeth of the lower 
 jaw, are very long, very strong, and of so hard a sub- 
 stance, that they strike fire with a piece of iron. This 
 is probably what has given rise to the fable of the 
 ancients, who have reported that the Hippopotamus 
 romited fire. These canine teeth of this animal are
 
 144 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 of white, so clear and so hard, that they are t referable 
 to ivory for making artificial teeth. The incisive teeth 
 of the Hippopotamus, especially those of the lower jaw, 
 re very long, cylindrical, and furrowed. The canine 
 (eeth, which are also very long, are crooked, prisma- 
 tic, and sharp, like the tusks of a boar. The mola- 
 res are square, or rather longer on one side than the 
 other nearly like the grinders of a man, and so thick, 
 that a single one weighs more than three pounds. The 
 largest of the incisive, or the canine teeth, are twelve, 
 and even sixteen inches in length, and sometimes 
 weigh twelve or thirteen pounds each. The skin is in 
 some parts two inches thick ; and the Africans cut it 
 into whip thongs, which, in consequence of their soft- 
 ness and pliability, they prefer to those procured from 
 the rhinoceros hide. 
 
 The male Hippopotamus is about six feet nine inches 
 long, from the extremity of the muzzle to the begin- 
 ning of the tail ; fifteen feet in circumference, si;cl six 
 feet and a half in height. His legs are about two feet 
 ten inches long ; the length of the head, three feet and 
 a half, and eight feet and a half in circumference ; and 
 the width of the mouth, two feet four inches. It, how- 
 ever, sometimes acquires much greater magnitude. In 
 the south of Africa, M. le Vaillant killed one which 
 measured ten feet seven inches in length, and about 
 nine feet in circumference. 
 
 Thus powerfully armed, with a prodigious strength 
 of body, he might render himself formidable to every 
 animal ; but he is naturally gentle, and appears never 
 to be the aggressor, except when annoyed or wounded. 
 It has been erroneously stated, that he commonly 
 moves slowly on the land, but, on the contrary, when 
 he has been injured, he has been known to pursue per- 
 sons for several hours, who escaped with great diffi- 
 culty. He swims quicker than he runs, pursues the 
 fish, and makes them his prey. Three or four of them 
 are often seen at the bottom of a river, near some cata- 
 ract, forming a kind of line, and seizing upon such fish 
 as are forced down by the violence of the stream 
 He delights much in the water, and stays there as wil 
 lingly as upon land ; notwithstanding which, he has no 
 membranes between his toes, like the beaver and otter 
 and it is plain, that the great ease with which he swims
 
 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 146 
 
 is only owing to the great capacity of his body, which 
 only makes bulk for bulk, and is nea~ly of an equal 
 weight with the water. Besides, he remains a long 
 time under water, and walks at the bottom as well as 
 he does in the open air. When he quits it to graze up- 
 on land, he eats sugarcanes, rushes, millet, rice, roots, 
 &c. of which he consumes and destroys a great quan- 
 tity, and does much injury to cultivated lands; but, as 
 he is more timid upon earth than in the water, he is 
 very easily driven away; and, as his legs are short, he 
 cannot save himself well by flight, if he is far from any 
 water. His resource when he finds himself in danger, 
 is.jto plunge himself into the water, and go a great dis- 
 tance before he reappears. He commonly retreats 
 from his pursuers; but if he is wounded, he becomes 
 irritated, and immediately facing about with great fury^ 
 rushes against the boats, seizes them with his teeth, 
 often tears pieces out of them, and sometimes sinks 
 them under water. " I have seen," says a traveller, 
 " a Hippopotamus open his mouth, fix one tooth on 
 the side of a boat, and another to the second plank 
 under the keel ; that is, four feet distant from each 
 other, pierce the side through and through, and in this 
 manner sink the boat to the bottom. I have seen ano- 
 ther, lying by the side of the seashore, upon which the 
 waves had driven a shallop heavily laden, which re- 
 mained upon his back dry, and which was again washed 
 back by another wave, without the animal appearing 
 to have received the least injury. When the Negroes 
 go a fishing in their canoes, and meet with a Hippopo- 
 tamus, they throw fish to him; and then he passes on, 
 without disturbing their fishery any more. He injures 
 most when he can rest himself against the earth ; but, 
 when he floats in the water, he can only bite. Once, 
 when our shallop was near shore, I saw one of them 
 get underneath it, lift it above water upon his back, 
 and overset it with six men who were in it ; but fortu* 
 nately they received no hurt." 
 
 " We dare not," says another traveller, " irritate the 
 Hippopotamus in the water, since an adventure hap^ 
 pened, which was near proving fatal to three men. 
 They were going in a small canoe, to kill one in a river 
 where there was about eight or ten feet water. Af- 
 ter they had discovered him walking at the bottom> 
 VOL. II. 13
 
 146 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 according to iis custom, they wounded him \\ lib a long 
 lance, which so greatly enraged him, that he rose im- 
 mediately to the surface of the water, regarded them 
 with a terrible look, opened his mouth, and, at one 
 bite, took a great piece out of the side of the canoe, 
 and had very nearly overturned it; but he replunged, 
 almost directly, to the bottom of the water." 
 
 These animals are only numerous in some parts ol 
 the world : it even appears, that the species is con- 
 fined to particular climates, and seldom to be met with 
 but in the rivers of Africa. Dutch travellers say that 
 they bear three or four young ones ; but this appears 
 very suspicious ; as the Hippopotamus is of an enor- 
 mous bulk, he is in the class of the elephant, the rhi- 
 noceros, the whale, and all other great animals, who 
 bring forth but one ; and this analogy appears more 
 certain than all the testimonies that they have exhibit- 
 ed. The female brings forth her young upon land, and 
 the calf, at the instant when it comes into the world, 
 will fly to the water for shelter if pursued ; a circum- 
 stance which Thunburg notices as a remarkable in- 
 st&nce of pure ir stinct. 
 
 THE ELK AND THE RAIN-DEER. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the Elk and the Rain-deer are two ani- 
 mals of a different species, we have thought proper to 
 unite them, because it is scarcely possible to write the 
 history of the one, without borrowing a great deal from 
 the other. 
 
 It appears by positive testimonies, that the Rain-deer 
 formerly existed in France, at least in the high moun- 
 tains, such as the Pyrenean, and, since that time, has 
 been destroyed like the stags, who were heretofore 
 common in that country.* It is certain that the Rain- 
 deer is now actually to be found only in the most 
 northern countries ; we also know, that the climate of 
 France was formerly much more damp and cold, occa- 
 sioned by the number of woods and morasses, which 
 are no longer to be seen. Gaul, under the same lati- 
 
 *This assertion has recently been discovered to be incorrect It is founded on 
 a misprint in a Treatise on Hunting, by Gaston de Foil. The printed copies say 
 itiatthe writer had seen the Rain-deer in " JWaurienneand Pueudere," that is, 
 in Savoy and Beam; but the MS., which M. Cuvier has since consulted, say* 
 ' Nourvegueand Xuedene," which means Norway and Sweden.
 
 ELK, OR MOOSE. p. 14(.J
 
 THE ELK AND THE RAIN-DEER. 147 
 
 tude as Canada, was., two thousand years ago, what 
 Canada is at this present time ; that is, a climate cold 
 enough for those ani.Tials to live in. 
 
 The Elk and the Rain-deer, then, are only founu in 
 the northern countries ; the Elk on this, and the Rain- 
 deer on the other side of the polar circle in Europe 
 and in Asia. We find them in America in the highest 
 latitudes, because the cold is greater there than in Eu- 
 rope. The Rain-deer can bear even the most exces- 
 sive cold. He is found in Spitsbergen ; he is common 
 in Greenland, and in the most northern parts of Lap- 
 land : thus also, in the most northern parts of Asia, 
 the Elk does not approach so near the pole; he inha- 
 bits Norway, Sweden, Poland, Russia, and all the pro- 
 vinces of Siberia and Tartary, with the north of Chi- 
 na. We again find him by the name of original, and 
 the Rain-deer under that of caribou in Canada, and in 
 all the northern parts of America. 
 
 We may form a sufficiently just idea of the Elk and 
 the Rain-deer, by comparing them with the stag. The 
 Elk is larger, stronger, and stands more erect upon 
 his legs ; his neck is shorter, his hair longer, and his 
 antlers wider and heavier than those of the stag; the 
 Rain-deer is shorter and more squat ; his legs are 
 shorter and thicker, and his feet wider; the hair very 
 thickly furnished, and his antlers much longer, and di- 
 vided into a greater number of branches, with flat ter- 
 minations ; while those of the Elk are only (if the ex- 
 pression is allowed) cut or broached at the edges ; both 
 have long hair under the neck, and both have short 
 tails, and ears much longer than the stag ; they do not 
 leap or bound like the roe-bucks ; but their pace is a 
 kind of trot, so easy and quick, that they go over 
 almost as much ground, in the same time as the stags 
 do, without being so much fatigued ; for they can trot 
 in this manner for a day or two. The Rain-deer lives 
 upon the mountains ; the stag only dwells in low lands 
 and damp forests ; both go in herds, like the stags, and 
 both can be easily tamed, but the Rain-deer with great- 
 er ease than the Elk ; the last, like the stag, has not 
 lost his liberty, while the Rain-deer is become do- 
 mestic among the enlightened part of mankind. The 
 Laplanders have no other beast. In this icy climate, 
 which oily receiv*?8 the oblique rays of the sun, where
 
 148 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 there is a season of night as well as day, where the 
 snow covers the earth from the beginning of autumn 
 to the end of spring, and where the verdure of the 
 summer consists in the bramble, juniper, and moss, 
 could man form any idea but of famine ? The horse, 
 the ox, the sheep, all our useful animals, find no sub- 
 sistence there, nor can resist the rigour of the cold : 
 he has been obliged to search among the inhabitants of 
 the forest, for the least wild and most profitable ani- 
 mals. The Laplanders have done what we ourselves 
 should do, if we were to lose our cattle : we should 
 then be obliged to tame the stags and the roe-bucks of 
 the forests, to supply their place ; and I am persuaded 
 we should gain our point, and we should presently learn 
 to draw as much utility from them as the Laplanders 
 do from the Rain-deer. We ought to be sensible, by 
 this example, how far Nature has extended her libe- 
 rality towards us. We do not make use of all the 
 riches which she offers us : the fund is much more im- 
 mense than we imagine. She has bestowed on us the 
 horse, the ox, the sheep, and all our other domestic ani- 
 mals, to serve us, to feed us, and to clothe us ; and she 
 has, besides, species in reserve, which would be able 
 to supply this defect, and which would only require 
 us to subject them, and to make them useful to our 
 wants. Man does not sufficiently know what Nature 
 can do, nor what can be done with her. Instead of 
 seeking for what he does not know, he likes better to 
 abuse her in what he does know. 
 
 In comparing the advantages which the Laplanders 
 derive from the tame Rain-deer, with those which we 
 derive from our domestic animals, we shall see that 
 this animal is worth two or three of them : he is used, 
 as horses are, to draw sledges and other carriages; 
 he travels with great speed and swiftness ; he easily 
 goes a hundred miles a day, and runs with as much 
 certainty upon frozen snow as upon the mossy down. 
 The female affords milk more substantial, and more 
 nourishing than that of the cow ; the flesh is very 
 good to eat; his coat makes an excellent fur; and his 
 dressed hide becomes a very supple and very durable 
 leather. Spoons are also made of his bones, bowstrings 
 and thread of his tendons, and glue is manufactured 
 from his horns. Thus th ? Rain-deer alone affords
 
 THE ELK AND THE RAIN-DEER. 149 
 
 all that we derive from the horse, the ox, and the 
 sheep. 
 
 With from three to five hundred Deer, a Laplander 
 can live iia tolerable comfort ; with two hundred he 
 may, by management, contrive to get on ; but with a 
 hundred his subsistence is precarious ; and with only 
 fifty, he must be content to be the partner, or rather 
 servant, of some more fortunate individual. 
 
 The antlers of the Rain-deer are larger, more ex- 
 tended, and divided into a greater number of branches 
 than those of the stag. His food, in the winter season, 
 is a white moss (the lichen rangeferinus), which he 
 finds under the snow, and which he ploughs up with 
 his horns, or digs up with his feet. When the snow 
 is too deep for them to obtain this article, they resort 
 to another lichen that hangs on pine trees ; and in 
 severe seasons the boors often cut down some thou- 
 sands of these trees to furnish subsistence to their 
 herds. 
 
 In summer, he lives upon the buds and leaves of 
 trees, rather than herbs, which his forward-spreading 
 antlers will not permit him to brouse on with facility. 
 He runs upon the snow, and sinks but little, on account 
 of his broad feet. These animals are mild ; and they 
 bring them up in herds, which turns out greatly to the 
 profit of their keepers. The richest Laplanders have 
 herds of four or five hundred head of Rain-deer, and 
 the poor have ten or twelve. They lead them to pas- 
 ture, and relead them to the stable, or shut them up 
 in parks during the night, to shelter them from the 
 outrages of the wolves. If they attempt to change 
 their climate, they die in a short time. Formerly 
 Steno, prince of Sweden, sent six to Frederick, duke 
 of Holstein ; and, of later date, in 1533, Gustavus, 
 king of Sweden, had ten brought over to Prussia, both 
 males and females: al perished, without producing any 
 young, either in a domestic or in a free state. Many 
 fruitless attempts have been made to introduce them 
 into England. There is, however, at present in the 
 Zoological Gardens one specimen, which was placed 
 there in 1828, and appears to be still in a thriving 
 condition. 
 
 There are both wild and tame Rain-deer in Lapland. 
 In the time the heat is upon thr tame females, they 
 13*
 
 150 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 sometimes let them loose, to seek the wild males; 
 and, as these wild males are more robust, and stronger 
 than the tame, the issues of this mixture are preferred 
 for harness. These Rain-deer are not so gentle as the 
 others ; for they not only sometimes refuse to obey 
 those who guide them, but they often turn furiously 
 upon them, and attack them with their feet, so that 
 there is no other resource than to cover themselveg 
 from their rage by the sledge, until the fury of the 
 beast is subsided. This sledge is so light, that they 
 can easily manage it, and cover themselves with it. 
 The bottom of it is lined with the skins of young 
 Rain-deers ; the hairy side is turned against the snow, 
 so that the sledge glides easily forwards, and recoils 
 less on the mountains. The harness of the Rain-deer 
 is only a thong of the hide, with the hairs remaining 
 on it, round the neck, whence it descends towards the 
 breast, passes under the belly, between the legs, and 
 is fastened to a hole which is in the forepart of the 
 sledge. The Laplander has- only a single cord by 
 which to guide the animal, and which he throws in- 
 differently upon the back of the beast, sometimes on 
 one side, and sometimes on the other, according as he 
 would direct him to the right or to the left. They can 
 travel ten miles an hour; and it is not uncommon for 
 them to make journeys of a hundred and fifty miles in 
 nineteen hours ; at their utmost speed, and for a short 
 time, they can accomplish nearly twenty miles within 
 the hour ; but the quicker the method of travelling is, 
 the more it is inconvenient ; a person must be well 
 accustomed to it and travel often, to be able to direct 
 the sledge, and prevent it from turning over. They 
 can draw three hundred pounds, but the Laplanders 
 usually limit the burthen to two hundred and forty 
 pounds. 
 
 The Rain-deers have outwardly many things in com- 
 mon with the stags ; and the formation of the interior 
 parts is the same. The Rain-deer sheds his antlers 
 every year like the stag, and, like him, is very good 
 venison. The females, both of the one and the other 
 species, go eight months with young, and produce but 
 one at a birth. The young Rain-deer follows his 
 mother during the first two or three years, and does 
 not attain his grow.h till about the age of four or five.
 
 THE ELK AND THE RAIN-DEER. 151 
 
 It is at this age that they begin to dress and exercise 
 them for labour. 
 
 The Rain-deers are all very spirited, and very dif- 
 ficult to manage; they therefore make use only of 
 those which are castrated, among vvhic^ they choose 
 the liveliest and the swiftest to draw their sledges, and 
 the more heavy to travel with their provision and bag- 
 gage at a slower pace. These animals are troubled 
 with an insect, called the gad-fly, during the summer 
 season, which, burrowing under their skins the pre- 
 ceding summer, deposit their eggs ; so that the skin 
 of the Rain-deer is often so filled with small holes, 
 that an incurable disorder is brought on. So formi- 
 dable are the attacks of these insects, that in June, 
 July, and August, the Laplander is compelled to mi- 
 grate with his Deer from the forests to the mountains ; 
 without which precaution he would run the risk of 
 losing the major part of his herd. 
 
 The herds of 'this species require a great deal of 
 care. The Rain-deer are subject to elope, and volun- 
 tarily renew their natural liberty : they must be closely 
 attended, and narrowly watched ; they cannot lead 
 them to pasture but in open places ; and, in case the 
 herd are numerous, they have need of many persons 
 to guard them, to recall them, and to run after them if 
 they stray. They are all marked, that they may be 
 known again; for it often happens that they stray in 
 the woods, or mix among another herd. In short, the 
 Laplanders are continually occupied in the care of 
 their Rain-deer, which constitute all their wealth. 
 
 The Rain-deer is the only animal of this species the 
 female of which has horns like the male ; and the only 
 one also which sheds his horns, and renews them again, 
 notwithstanding his castration ; for, in stags, fallow- 
 deer, and roe-bucks, who have undergone this opera- 
 tion, the head of the animal remains always ia the 
 same state in which it was the moment it was castrated. 
 
 Another singularity which we must not omit, and 
 which is common to the Rain-deer and the Elk, is, 
 that when these animals run, or quicken their pace, 
 their hoofs, at every step, .make a crackling nois>e, as 
 if all the joints of their legs were disjointing. It is 
 this noise, or perhaps the scent, which informs the 
 wolves of their approach, who run out to meet and
 
 152 XATITKAL HISTORY 
 
 seize them; and, if the wolves are many ,n number. 
 they very often conquer. The Rain-dee: is able to 
 defend himself against a single wolf, not, as may be 
 imagined, with his horns (for they are rather of a'dis- 
 service to him than of use), but with his fore feet, which 
 are very strong, and with which he strikes with such 
 force, as to stun the wolf, or drive him away ; aftei 
 which he flies with such speed, as to be no longer in 
 any danger of being overtaken : but he finds a more 
 dangerous, though a less frequent and less numerous 
 enemy than the wolf, in the rosomack, or glutton. 
 
 The Elk and the Rain-deer are both among the num- 
 ber of ruminating animals. 
 
 A tame Rain-deer lives only to the age of fifteen or 
 sixteen years ; but it is to be presumed, that the life of 
 the wild Rain-deer is of much longer duration. This 
 animal, being four years before he arrives at his full 
 growth, must live twenty-eight or thirty years, when 
 he is in his natural state. The Laplanders hunt the 
 wild Rain-deers by different methods, according to the 
 difference of seasons. In rutting time, they make use 
 of a tame female to attract them. They kill them by 
 the musket, or with the bow and arrow, and draw the 
 bow with such strength, that notwithstanding the 
 thickness of the hair, and the firmness of the hide, 
 they very often kill one of these beasts with a single 
 arrow. 
 
 The mode in which the Dog-rib Indians kill the 
 Rain-deer is curious. 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 hori- 
 zontal 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 sud- 
 denly, after the manner of a deer, and always taking 
 care to lift their right or left foot simultaneously. If 
 any of the herd leave off feeding to gaze upon this
 
 THE ELK AND THE RAIN-DEER. 153 
 
 extraordinary phenomenon, it instantly stops, and the 
 head begins to play its part by licking its shoulders, 
 and performing 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 for- 
 ward his comrade's gun, the head is dropped, and they 
 both fire nearly at the same instant. The deer scam- 
 per 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 gazer with a second fatal 
 discharge. The consternation of the deer increases ; 
 they run to and fro in the utmost confusion, and some- 
 times a great part of the herd is destroyed within the 
 space of a few hundred yards. 
 
 In general, the ELK is much larger and a much 
 stronger animal than the Stag and the Rain-deer. It 
 is usually larger, both in height and bulk than the 
 horse. His hair is so rough, and his hide so hard, that 
 a musket ball cannot penetrate it. His legs are very 
 firm, with so much motion and strength, especially in 
 the fore feet, that he can kill a man by one single stroke 
 of his foot ; nevertheless, he is hunted nearly as we 
 hunt the stag ; that is, with men and dogs. It is 
 affirmed, that, when he is touched with the lance, or 
 pursued, it happens that he often falls down all at once, 
 without either being pulled down or wounded. From 
 this circumstance, some have presumed he was subject 
 to the epilepsy ; and on this presumption, which is not 
 well founded (since fear alone might be able to produce 
 the same effect,) this absurd consequence has been 
 drawn, that his hoof is a remedy for the epilepsy, and 
 even preserves persons from it. His pace, when dis- 
 turbed, is a rapid kind of trot. In walking he lifts his 
 feet very high, and can, without difficulty, step over a 
 gate that is five feet high. 
 
 As there are very few people in the northern parts 
 of America, all animals, and particularly Elks, are in 
 greater numbers than in the north of Europe. The? 
 savages are not ignorant of the art of hunting and 
 taking them ; they follow them by the track of their 
 feet, very often for many days together, and by con- 
 stancy and dexterity, they often gain tl. *ir end Their
 
 154 NATUltAL HISTORY 
 
 method of hunting them in winter is partici larly sin- 
 gular : " They make use of rackets, or snow-shoes,' 
 says Denys, " by means of which they walk upon the 
 snow without sinking in. The Orignal does not cover 
 a deal of ground, because of his sinking in the snow, 
 which greatly fatigues him ; he eats nothing but the 
 young shoots of the trees during the whole year; there- 
 fore, where the savages find the trees eaten, they pre- 
 sently meet with the beasts, which they approach very 
 easily. They throw a dart at them, which is a large 
 club, at the end of which is fastened a large pointed 
 bone, which pierces like a sword. If there are many 
 Orignals in one troop, they drive them away ; for then, 
 the Orignals, placing themselves in a rank, describe a 
 large circle of a mile and a half, or two miles, and 
 sometimes more. They harden the snow so much with 
 their feet in turning round, that they no longer sink in. 
 The savages in America wait for their passing them, 
 and then throw their darts, and kill them." 
 
 None of the deer tribe are so easily tamed as thi# 
 animal, which is naturally gentle ; and when he is once 
 domesticated he manifests great affection for his mas- 
 ter. In the state of New-York, a successful attempt 
 has been made to employ Elks in the labours of agri- 
 culture. The Indians believe that there exists a gigan- 
 tic Elk, which can walk without difficulty in eight feet 
 of snow, is invulnerable to all weapons, and has an arm 
 growing out of its shoulder, which it uses as we do 
 ours. They consider him as the king of the Elks, and 
 imagine that he is attended by numerous courtiers. 
 With them the Elk is also an animal of good omen, 
 and to dream of him often is looked upon as an indi- 
 cation of long life. 
 
 THE MALAYAN RUSA DEER. 
 
 THIS animal, to which his keepers give the name of 
 the Samboo Deer, is a native of India and of the Indian 
 islands. " He is (says Mr. Bennett) dark cinereous 
 brown above, nearly black on the throat and breast, 
 and light fawn, intermixed with dirty white, on the 
 inside of the limbs. His eyes are surrounded by a fawn 
 coloured disc, and patches of the same colour occupy 
 the fore knees, and a space above each of thfc hoofs in
 
 THE MALAYAN Rt iA DEER. 155 
 
 front. His nose, which is black, is envelopes in an 
 extensive muzzle ; his ears are nearly naked on the 
 inside, and marked by a patch of dirty white at the base 
 externally ; and his mane, which spreads downwards 
 over the neck and throat, is remarkably thick and 
 heavy. His tail is black above, and light fawn be- 
 neath ; and a disc of the latter colour occupies the pos- 
 terior part of the buttocks, having on each side a black- 
 ish line which separates it from the lighter tinge of the 
 inside of the thighs. His horns, when properly grown, 
 consist of a broad burr, from which the pointed basal 
 antler rises almost perpendicularly to the extent of 
 nine or ten inches ; of a stem, which is first directed 
 outwards, and then forms a bold curve inwards ; and 
 of a snag, or second antler of smaller size, arising from 
 the stem near its extremity on the posterior and inter- 
 nal side, and forming with it a terminal fork, the 
 branch, however, being shorter than the stem, and not 
 exceeding five or six inches in length. The entire 
 length of the horns is about two, (uet ; they are of a 
 dark colour, very strong, and deeply furrowed through- 
 cut. 
 
 " The foregoing description of the horns, it should 
 be observed, is taken from those of the year before 
 last, which were of the genuine or normal form. 
 Those of the last year, were, from some cause or other, 
 remarkably different, that of the right side exhibit- 
 ing a singular monstrosity in the production of addi- 
 tional branches of irregular form. Whether this was 
 the effect of disease, or of advancing age, or whether 
 it arose solely from some accidental and temporary 
 cause, will probably be determined by the growth of 
 the present year, which is not yet sufficiently advanced 
 to enable us to ascertain the probable form." 
 
 When first brought to England, the individual ranged 
 at liberty, with another of the same species, in the 
 great park at Windsor. So violent, however, were 
 their quarrels, that it was found necessary to separate 
 them, and this was consigned to the Tower. He is 
 HOW exceedingly tame.
 
 156 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Of the Ilex, the Chamois, and other Goats The 
 Saiga The Antelope, or Gazelle Of the Bezoar 
 Stone Of the Bubalus, or Stag-like Antelope The 
 Condoma, or Striped Antelope The Guib, or Har- 
 nessed Antelope The Grimm The Indian Ante- 
 lope The Chevrotins The Mazame, and Temema- 
 zame The Coudous The Gnu The Nyl-ghau 
 The Musk The Production of that Perfume. 
 
 THE IBEX, THE CHAMOIS, AND OTHER GOATS. 
 
 ALTHOUGH it appears that the Greeks were acquaint- 
 ed with the Ibex and the Chamois, yet they have not 
 described them by any particular denomination, nor 
 even by characters sufficiently exact for them to be 
 distinguished : they have only indicated them under 
 the general name of Wild Goats.* They probably 
 presumed, that these animals were of the same species 
 as the domestic Goats, as they have not given them 
 proper names, as they have done to every other dill'er- 
 ent species of animals ; on the contrary, all our mo- 
 dern naturalists have regarded the Ibex and the Chamois 
 as two real and distinct species, and both of them dif- 
 ferent from that of our Goats. 
 
 The male Ibex differs from the Chamois, by the 
 length, the thickness, arid the form of the horns ; it is 
 also much more bulky, vigorous, and strong. The 
 female Ibex has horns different from the male ; they 
 are also much smaller, and nearly resembling those of 
 the Chamois. In other respects, these two animals 
 have the same customs, the same manners, and the 
 same country ; only the Ibex, as he is endowed with 
 more agility, and is stronger than the Chamois, climbs 
 to the summit of the highest mountains ; while the 
 Chamois only lives in the second stage ; but neither 
 the one nor the other is to be found in the plains ; both 
 make their way on the snow ; both ascend precipices 
 by bounding from rock to rock ; both are covered with 
 
 Later naturalists have formed the antelopes into a separate genus, interme- 
 diate between the goats and the deer. The Chamois is the Antilope Rupif.auni 
 of Linnaaus and Pallns. The Ibex is a goat, the Capra Ibex of Linneeua.
 
 IBEX HUNTERS. P. 158.
 
 THE IBEX, THE CHAMOIS, ETC. 157 
 
 a firm and a solid skin, and clothed, in winter, with a 
 double fir, with very rough hair outwardly, and a finer 
 and thicker hair underneath ; both of them have a 
 black stripe on the back, and both likewise have the 
 tail nearly of the same size. The number of exterior 
 resemblances is so great, in comparison with the dif- 
 ferences, and the conformity of the exterior parts is so 
 complete, that if we reason in consequence of these 
 accounts, we might be led to believe, that these two 
 animals are not really of a different species, but that 
 they are simply only constant varieties of one and the 
 same species. The Ibex, as well as the Chamois, 
 when taken young and brought up with domestic Goats, 
 are easily tamed ; and, accustomed to domesticity, im- 
 bibe the same manners, herd together, return to the 
 stable, and probably procreate together. I avow, 
 however, that this fact, the most important of all, and 
 which alone would decide the question, is not known 
 to us. 
 
 Let us, nevertheless, take a view of the opposite 
 reasons. The species of the Ibex and the Chamois 
 both subsist in a state of nature, and both are con- 
 stantly distinct. The Chamois sometimes comes, of 
 his own accord, and joins the stock of our domestic 
 sheep. The Ibex never joins them, at least not before it 
 is tamed. The Ibex and the he Goat have a very long 
 beard, and the Chamois has none at all ; the male and 
 female Chamois have very small horns ; those of the 
 male Ibex are so thick and long, that they would 
 scarcely be imagined to belong to an animal of its size. 
 The horns of the male Ibex are not very different from 
 those of the Goat ; as the female, however, approaches 
 our Goat and even the Chamois in the size and 
 smallness of the horns, may we not conclude, that 
 these animals, the Chamois and the domestic Goat, 
 are, in fact, but one and the same species, in which 
 the nature of the females, is invariable and alike, while 
 the males are subject to varieties, which render them 
 different one from the other ? 
 
 The Ibex, or wild Goat, entirely and exactly resem- 
 bles the domestic Goat, in the conformation, the organ- 
 ization, and the natural and physical habits ; it only 
 varies by two slight differences ; the one externally, 
 and the other infernally. The horns of the Ibex are 
 
 VoL.II 14.
 
 156 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 longer than those of the he Goat ; they have two lon- 
 gitudinal ridges ; those of the Goat have but one ; they 
 have also thick knots, or transverse tubercles, which 
 mark the number of years of their growth, while those 
 of the Goats are only marked with transverse strokes. 
 The Ibex runs as fast as the stag, and leaps lighter 
 than the roebuck. All Goats are liable to vertigoes, 
 which are common to them with the Ibex and the Cha- 
 mois, as well as the inclination to climb up rocks ; and 
 still another custom, which is that of continually lick- 
 ing the stones, especially those which are strongly im- 
 pregnated with saltpetre, or common salt. In the Alps 
 there are rocks which have been hollowed by the 
 tongue of the Chamois. These are commonly soft and 
 calcinable stones, in which, as is well known, there is 
 always a certain quantity of nitre. These natural 
 agreements, these conformable customs, among other 
 circumstances, appear to me to be sufficient indexes of 
 the identity of species in these animals. 
 
 The Ibex and the Chamois, one of which I look upon 
 as the male, and the other as the female stock of the 
 Goat species, are only found, like the moufflon, which 
 is the source of the sheep species, in deserts, and upon 
 the most craggy places of the highest mountains : the 
 Alps, the Pyrenees, the mountains of Greece, and those 
 of the islands of the Archipelago, are almost the only 
 places where the Ibex and the Chamois are to be found. 
 But, although both these animals dislike heat, and only 
 inhabit the region of snow and ice, yet they have also 
 an aversion to excessive cold. In the summer, they 
 choose the north of the mountains ; in winter, they 
 descend into the valleys ; neither the one nor the other 
 can support themselves on their legs upon the ice, 
 when it is smooth ; but, if there be the least inequali- 
 ties on its surface, they bound along with security. 
 
 The chase of these animals is very troublesome, and 
 dogs are entirely useless in it ; it is likewise very dan- 
 gerous to men ; for sometimes the animal, finding itself 
 hard pushed, turns and strikes the hunter, and precipi- 
 tates him from the rock, unless he has time to lie down, 
 and let the creature bound over him. If the pursuit 
 be continued, this animal will throw himself down the 
 steepest declivities, and fall upon his horns in such a 
 manner as to escape unhurt.
 
 THE CHAMOIS. 159 
 
 M. Perond, surveyor of the crysval mines in the 
 Alps, having brought over a living Chamois, has given 
 us the following information on the natural habits of 
 this animal : " The Chamois is a wild animal, but 
 easily tamed, and very docile. It is about the size of 
 a domestic goat, and resembles one in many respects. 
 It is most agreeably lively, and active beyond expres- 
 sion. Its hair is short, like that of the doe ; in spring 
 it is of an ash colour, and in winter of a blackish 
 brown. The large males keep themselves apart from 
 the rest, except in their rutting time. The time of 
 their coupling is from the beginning of October to the 
 end of November ; and they bring forth in April and 
 March. The young follows the dam for about five 
 months, and sometimes longer, if the hunters, or the 
 wolves, do not separate them. It is asserted that they 
 live between twenty and thirty years. The flesh of 
 the Chamois is good to eat ; and some of the fattest 
 afford ten or twelve pounds of suet, which far surpasses 
 that of the goat in solidity and goodness. 
 
 The cry of the Chamois is not distinctly known ; 
 if it has any, it is but faint, and resembling that of a 
 hoarse goat ; it is by this cry it calls its young ; but, 
 when they are frightened, or are in danger of any 
 enemy, or some other object not perfectly known to 
 them, they warn the rest of the flock by a kind of hiss- 
 ing noise. It is observable, that the Chamois has a 
 very penetrating eye, and its hearing and smell are not 
 less distinguishing. When it finds an enemy near, it 
 stops for a moment, and then in an instant flies off with 
 the utmost speed. When the wind is in its favour, it 
 can smell a human creature for more than half a mile 
 distance. When this happens, therefore, and it cannot 
 see its enemy, but only discovers his approach by the 
 scent, it begins the hissing noise with such force, that 
 the rocks and the forests reecho with the sound. This 
 hissing continues as long as the breath will permit. In 
 the beginning it is very shrill, and deeper towards the 
 close. This animal then rests a moment, after this 
 alarm, to inspect farther into its danger : and, having 
 confirmed the reality of its suspicion, it commences to 
 hiss by intervals, till it has spread the alarm to a great 
 distance. During this time, it is in the most violent 
 agitation, strikes the ground forcibly with its fora foot,
 
 160 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 and sometimes with both; it bounds from rc<k to rock, 
 it turns, and looks round ; it turns to the edge of the 
 precipice, and when it has obtained a sight of the 
 enemy, flies from it-with all its speed. The hissing of 
 the male is much more acute than that of the female; 
 it is performed through the nostrils, and is, properly, 
 no more than a very strong breath, forced through the 
 nostrils by fixing the tongue to the palate, keeping the 
 teeth nearly shut, the lips open, and a little lengthened. 
 Their agility is wonderful, as they will throw them- 
 selves down, across a rock, which is nearly perpendi- 
 cular, and twenty or thirty feet in height, without a 
 single prop to support their feet. Their motion has, 
 indeed, rather the appearance of flying than of leap- 
 ing. The Chamois feeds upon the best herbage, and 
 chooses the most delicate parts of plants, flowers, and 
 the most tender buds. It is not less delicate with 
 regard to several aromatic herbs, which grow upon the 
 sides of the Alps. It drinks but very little, while it 
 feeds upon the succulent herbage, and ruminates, like 
 the goat, in the intervals of feeding. Its head is crowned 
 with two small horns, of about half a foot long, of a 
 beautiful black, and rising from the forehead, almost 
 betwixt the eyes. These horns are often made use of 
 for the heads of canes. The hides of these animals 
 are very strong and supple, and good warm waistcoats 
 and gloves are made of them. 
 
 The hunting of the Chamois is very laborious, and 
 extremely difficult and perilous. It is thus admirably 
 described by Saussure : ' The Chamois hunter sets 
 out upon his expedition of fatigue and danger generally 
 in the night. His object is to find himself at the break 
 of day in the most elevated pastures, where the Cha- 
 mois comes to feed before the flocks shall have arrived 
 there. The Chamois feeds only at morning and eve- 
 ning. When the hunter has nearly reached the spot 
 where he expects to find his prey, he reconnoitres 
 with a telescope. If he finds not the Chamois, he 
 mounts still higher; but if he discovers him, he endea- 
 vours to climb above him and to get nearer, by passing 
 round some ravine, or gliding behind some eminence 
 or rock. When he is near enough to distinguish the 
 horns of the animal (which are small, round, pointed, 
 and bent backward like a hook), he rests his rifle upon
 
 THE CHAMOIS. 161 
 
 ft rock, and takes aim with great coolness. He rarely 
 misses. This rifle is often double-barrelled. If the 
 Chamois falls, the hunter runs to his prey maktf! 
 sure of him by cutting the hamstrings and applies 
 himself to consider by what way he may best regain 
 his village. If the route is very difficult, he contents 
 himself with skinning the Chamois ; but if the way is 
 at all practicable with a load, he throws the animal 
 over his shoulder, and bears it home to his family, 
 undaunted by the distance he has to go, and the pre- 
 cipices he has to cross. 
 
 " But when, as is more frequently the case, the 
 vigilant animal perceives the hunter, he flies with 
 the greatest swiftness into the glaciers, leaping with 
 incredible speed over the frozen snows and pointed 
 rocks. It is particularly difficult to approach the Cha- 
 mois when there are many together. The sentinel, 
 who is placed on the point of some rock which com- 
 mands all the avenues of their pasturage, makes the 
 sharp hissing sound already mentioned, at the sound 
 of which all the rest run towards him, to judge for 
 themselves of the nature of the. danger. If they dis- 
 cover a beast of prey or a hunter, the most experienced 
 puts himself at their head ; and they bound along, one 
 after the other, into the most inaccessible places. 
 
 " It is then that the labours of the hunter commence ; 
 for then, carried away by the excitement, he knows no 
 danger. He crosses the snows, without thinking of the 
 abysses which they may cover; he plunges into the 
 most dangerous passes of the mountains ; he climbs 
 up, he leaps from rock to rock, without considering 
 how he can return. The night often finds him in the 
 heat of the pursuit; but he does not give it up for this 
 obstacle. He considers that the Chamois will stop 
 during the darkness, as well as himself, and that on 
 the morrow he may again reach them. He passes 
 then the night not at the foot of a tree, nor in a cave 
 covered with verdure, as does the hunter of the plain 
 but upon a naked rock, or upon a heap of rough stones, 
 without any sort of shelter. He is alone, without fire, 
 without light ; but he takes from his bag a bit of cheese 
 and some of the barley bread, which is his ordinary 
 food bread so hard that he is obliged to break it be- 
 tween two stones, or to cleave it wit i the axe which 
 14*
 
 162 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 he always carries with him to cut steps which shall 
 serve for his ladder up the rocks of ice. His frugal 
 meal being soon ended, he puts a stone under his head, 
 and is presently asleep, dreaming of the way the Cha- 
 mois has taken. He is awakened by the freshness of 
 the morning air ; he rises, pierced through with cold ; 
 he measures with his eye the precipices he must yet 
 climb to reach the Chamois ; he drinks a little brandy 
 
 fof which he always carries a small provision), throws 
 lis bag across his shoulder, and again rushes forward 
 to encounter new dangers. Thest daring and perse- 
 vering hunters often remain whole days in the dreariest 
 solitudes of the glaciers of Chamouni ; and, during this 
 time, their families, and, above all, their unhappy wives, 
 feel the keenest alarm for their safety. 
 
 " And yet, with the full knowledge of the dangers to 
 be encountered, the chase of the Chamois is the object 
 of an insurmountable passion. Saussure knew a hand- 
 some young man, of the district of Chamouni, who was 
 about to be married; and the adventurous hunter thus 
 addressed the naturalist: 'My grandfather was killed 
 in the chase of the Chamois ; my father was killed also ; 
 and I am so certain that I shall be killed myself, that I 
 call this bag, which I always carry hunting, my winding- 
 sheet. I am sure that I shall have no other; and yet, 
 if you were to offer to make my fortune upon the con- 
 dition that I should renounce the chase of the Chamois, 
 I should refuse your kindness.' Saussure adds, that 
 he went several journeys in the Alps with this young 
 man ; that he possessed astonishing skill and strength ; 
 but that his temerity was greater than either; and that, 
 two years afterwards, he met the fate which he had 
 anticipated, by his foot failing on the brink of a pre- 
 cipice to which he had leaped. 
 
 " The very few individuals of those who grow old 
 in this trade, bear on their countenances the traces of 
 the life which they have led. They have a wild, and 
 somewhat haggard and desperate air, by which they 
 rnay be recognised in the midst of a crowd. Many 
 of the superstitious peasants believe that they are 
 sorcerers ; that they have commerce with the evil 
 spirit; and that it is he that throws them over the 
 precipices." 

 
 THE SAIGA THE GAZELLE. 163 
 
 THERE is a sort of wild goat found in Hungary, in 
 Tartary, and in South Siberia, which the Russians 
 call Seigak, or Saiga. It bears a resemblance to the 
 domestic goat, in the shape of its body, and in its hair ; 
 but, by the shape of the horns, and the defect of the 
 beard, it approaches nearer the gazelle, and appears 
 k) be a mixture of these two animals. 
 
 The Saiga, by its natural habits, resembles more the 
 gazelle than the ibex and the chamois ; for it does not 
 delight in mountainous countries, but lives upon the 
 hills and on the plains. It is very agile, very swift, 
 and its flesh is much better eating than that of the ibex, 
 or any other wild or tame goat. 
 
 This animal, which was imperfectly known to M. 
 Buffon, is the Scythian Antelope of Pennant, the 
 Antilope Saiga of Linnaeus. It is of a gray yellowish 
 colour, and about the size of a fallow-deer. Numbers 
 of them are to be found in the dreary and extensive 
 deserts about Mount Caucasus, the Caspian Sea, and in 
 Siberia In autumn they collect together, and migrate 
 towards the south ; in spring they separate, and return 
 to the north. Being exceedingly fond of salt, they con- 
 fine themselves chiefly to such countries as have salt 
 springs. Like the chamois, one of their herd acts as 
 sentinel when the flock rests, and when he is tired he 
 is relieved by another. 
 
 THE GAZELLE, OR ANTELOPE. 
 
 THERE have been thirteen species, or, at least, thir- 
 teen very distinct varieties, noted of these animals.* 
 In this uncertainty, in knowing whether they are only 
 varieties, or in fact really different species, we have 
 thought proper to put them all together, assigning to 
 each of them a particular name. The first is the com- 
 mon Gazelle, found in Syria, in Mesopotamia, and in 
 all the other provinces of the Levant, as well as in 
 Barbary and in all the northern parts of Africa. The 
 horns of this animal are about a foot long, entirely 
 annulated at the base, which lessen into half rings 
 
 * The number of species of this genus is now increased to fifty-two
 
 164 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 towards the extremity; they are not only surrounded 
 with these rings, but also longitudinally furrowed by 
 small streaks. The Gazelles in general, and this 
 tribe in particular, greatly resemble the roebuck, in 
 the proportions of the body, its natural functions, its 
 swiftness, and the brightness and beauty of its eyes. 
 These resemblances would tempt us to think that, as 
 the roebuck does not exist where the Gazelle does, 
 the latter was only a degeneration of the first; or, 
 that the roebuck is only a Gazelle, whose nature fo 
 altered by the influence of the climate, and by the 
 effect of the different food, did not the Gazelle differ 
 from the roebuck in the nature and fashion of its horns ; 
 those of the roebuck, which may be said to be solid, 
 fall off, and are renewed every year, like those of the 
 stag ; on the contrary, the horns of the Gazelle are 
 hollow and permanent, like those of the goat: the 
 roebuck has also no gall-bladder, which is to be found 
 in the Gazelle, as well as in the goat : on the other 
 hand, the Gazelles have, in common with the roebuck, 
 deep pits under the eyes, and resemble it still more in 
 the colour and quality of the hair in the bunches upon 
 their legs, which only differ in being upon the fore legs 
 of the Gazelle, and upon the hinder legs of the roebuck. 
 The Gazelles, therefore, seem to be of a middle nature 
 between the two animals ; but when we consider that 
 the roebuck is an animal which is to be found in both 
 continents, and that the goats, on the contrary, as well 
 as the Gazelles, do not exist in the New World, we 
 shall easily perceive that these two species, the goat 
 and the Gazelle, are more nearly related to each other 
 than they are to the roebuck. 
 
 The second Gazelle is an animal found in Senegal, 
 and is called the Kevel. It is something less than the 
 former, and nearly of the size of a small roebuck ; 
 it differs xlso in its eyes, which are much larger ; 
 and its horns, instead of being round, are flatted 
 on the sides, as well in the male as in the female ; 
 in other*respects, the Kevel entirely resembles the 
 Gazelle. 
 
 The third animal is called the Corin, the name it 
 bears in Senegal. It greatly resembles the Gazelle and 
 the Kevel, but is still less than either ; its horns also 
 are much smaller and smoother than those of the othet
 
 THE GAZELLE. 165 
 
 two ; and the annular prominences belonging to this 
 kind are scarcely discernible. 
 
 In the Royal Cabinet of France, there are skins of 
 these three different Gazelles ; besides which, is a horn 
 which bears a great resemblance to those of the Ga- 
 zelle and Kevel, and only differs from them in being 
 much thicker. Its thickness and length seem to indi- 
 cate a much larger animal than the common Gazelle ; 
 and it appears to us to belong to a Gazelle which the 
 Turks call Tzeran, and the Persians Atur. This ani- 
 mal, according to Olearius, in some measure resem- 
 bles our deer, except that it is rather of a red colour 
 than brown ; the horns likewise are without antlers, 
 and rest upon the back, <fcc. Mr. Gmelin, who de- 
 scribes it under the name of Doheren, says it resem- 
 bles the roebuck, with this exception, that the horns 
 are, like those of the ibex, hollow, and, like them 
 never fall off. 
 
 To the four first species or tribes. of Gazelles, must 
 be added two other animals, which resemble them in 
 many things. The first is called kola at Senega], 
 where the French have styled it the great brown cow. 
 The second, which we call the kob, is also an animal 
 of Senegal, which the French have denominated the 
 small brown cow. The horns of the kob greatly 
 resemble those of the Gazelle and the kevel : bnt the 
 shape of the head is different ; the muzzle is much 
 longer, and there are no pits nor depressions under the 
 eyes. 
 
 The seventh animal of this kind is a Gazelle which 
 is found in the Levant, but more commonly in Egypt 
 and in Arabia. It is called, from its Arabian name, 
 Algazelle ; it is shaped pretty much like the other 
 Gazelles, and is nearly of the size of a deer ; but its 
 horns are long, small, and but little rounded till towards 
 the extremity, when they turn short with a sharp 
 flexure ; they are black, and almost smooth, and the 
 annular prominences scarcely observable, except 
 towards the base, where they are a little more visible. 
 They are about three feet in length, while those of the 
 Gazelle are commonly but one foot, those of the kevel 
 fourteen and fifteen inches, and those of the corin 
 (which nevertheless, resembles this the most) only six 
 or seven inches.
 
 166 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The eighth animal is that which is vulgarly called 
 the Bezoar Gazelle, but by the eastern nations Pasan, 
 which name we retain. This Gazelle is of the size of 
 our domestic he-goat ; and it has the hair, shape, and 
 agility of the stag. In most respects, these two spe- 
 cies, the Algazelle and the Pasan, appear to us to 
 have a great affinity. They are also natives of the 
 same climate, and found in the Levant, in Egypt, in 
 Barbary, in Arabia, and Persia ; but there is this dif- 
 ference : the Algazelle feeds upon the plains, and the 
 Pasan is only found in the mountains. The flesh of both 
 is very good food. 
 
 The ninth Gazelle is an animal which is called Nan- 
 guer at Senegal. It is three feet and a half long, two 
 feet and a half high ; it is of the colour of the roebuck, 
 fallow upon the upper part of the body, white under 
 the belly and upon the hinder parts, with a spot of the 
 same colour on the neck. Its horns are prominent, 
 like those of the^ther Gazelles, and are about six or 
 seven inches in length : they are black and round; but 
 what is very particular in them is, that near the points 
 they are crooked forwards, nearly as those of the cha- 
 mois are bent backwards. These Nanguers are very 
 beautiful animals, and very easy to tame. 
 
 The tenth Gazelle is a very common animal in Bar- 
 bary and in Mauritania, and so well known to the Eng- 
 lish that they have given it the name of the Antelope. 
 This animal is of the size of a roebuck, and greatly 
 resembles the common Gazelle and the kevel, yet dif- 
 fers from them in many particulars, so as to be looked 
 upon as an animal of a different species. This Ante- 
 lope has deeper eye-pits than the common Gazelle ; its 
 horns are about fourteen inches long, almost touching 
 each other at the bottom, spreading as they rise, so as, 
 at their tips, to be sixteen inches asunder. They have 
 the annular prominences of the Gazelle and the kevel, 
 but not so distinguishable as in those. But what serve? 
 particularly to distinguish this Antelope is, the double 
 flexure, very uniform and remarkable, so that the two 
 horns make a tolerable representation of an antique 
 lyre. 
 
 In reviewing all the animals of this class, we find 
 there are about twelve species, or distinct varieties, in 
 the Gazelles ; and, after having carefully compared
 
 THE GAZELLE. 167 
 
 them we suppose, first, that the common Gazelle, the 
 Kevel, and the Corin, are only three varieties of one 
 species ; secondly, that the Tzeiran, the Koba, anu the 
 Kob, are all three varieties of another species: thirdly, 
 we presume, that the Algazelle, and the Pasan, are 
 only two varieties of the same species ; and we ima- 
 gine that the name Bezoar Gazelle, which has been 
 given to the Pasan, is no distinctive character ; for we 
 think ourselves able to prove, that the Oriental bezoar 
 does not come from the Pasan alone, but from all the 
 Gazelles and goats which live in the mountains of Asia; 
 fourthly, it appears, that the Nanguers, whose horns 
 are crooked forwards, and who, together, compose two 
 or three particular varieties, have been indicated by 
 the ancients under the name of the Dama; and, fifthly, 
 that the Antelopes, which are about three or four in 
 number, and which differ from all others, by the double 
 flexure of their horns, have also been known to the 
 ancients by the names of Strepsiceros and Addax. 
 
 The Gazelles are hunted not only with dogs, assisted 
 by the falcon, but also, in some countries, with the 
 ounce. This fine animal, tamed for the purpose, gene- 
 rally goes with the hunter; and when the prey is near, 
 they unchain it, and show it the Gazelles. It imme- 
 diately exerts all its arts and fierceness in the pur- 
 suit, not, as might be supposed, by running after them, 
 but by turning and winding about with the utmost cun- 
 ning till it is near its prey, when it bounds all at once 
 upon the Gazelle, strangles it instantaneously, and 
 sucks its blood. If it misses its aim, which often hap- 
 pens, it rests in the place, nor attempts to pursue them 
 any further ; perhaps from the instinct that, as they 
 can run much swifter, and a longer time, the chase 
 would be useless. The master, then draws near the 
 ounce, coaxing it, and flinging it some pieces of fles v ~ 
 until he is near enough to chain and bring it back to 
 its former station. 
 
 In some places they take the wild Gazelles by the 
 neans of a tame one, to the horns of which they fasten 
 a snare made of cord. When a herd of Gazelles is 
 found, the tame one is sent among the rest ; it no sooner 
 approaches than the males of the wild herd advance to 
 oppose him, and, in butting with their horns, are en 
 tangled in the noose In this struggle, they both com-
 
 168 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 monly fall to the ground, when the hunter coming up 
 kills the one, and disengages the other. 
 
 The Antelopes, especially the largest sort, are much 
 more common in Africa than in India; they are stronger 
 and fiercer than the other Gazelles, from which they 
 are easily distinguishable by the double flexure of their 
 horns ; they have also no black or brown streaks on 
 their sides. The middling sized Antelope is about the 
 size and colour of the deer; their horns are very black, 
 their body very white, and their fore legs shorter than 
 the hinder ones. They are well made, and only sleep 
 in dry and clean places ; they are likewise very swift, 
 very watchful, and very apprehensive of danger ; so 
 that, in open places, when they see a man, a dog, or 
 any other enemy, they fly, with all their swiftness, till 
 they are out of danger. But, notwithstanding this 
 natural timidity, they have a kind of courage, if they 
 are surprised, when they turn short round, and face 
 the enemy that attacks them with great firmness. 
 
 Such is the brightness and beauty of the eyes of the 
 Antelope, that they furnish similes to the poet; and to 
 call a woman " gazelle-eyed," is to pay her one of the 
 highest compliments. 
 
 The Bezoar Stone is the production not only of 
 Gazelles, but of wild and domestic goats, and even 
 sheep. Probably the formation of this stone depends 
 more on the temperature of the climate, and the 
 quality of the food, than on the nature or species of 
 the animal. Some authors have asserted, that the true 
 occidental bezoar, i. e. that which possesses most vir- 
 tue, is the production of monkeys, and not of Gazelles, 
 goats, or sheep. But this opinion is not founded on a 
 proper basis ; for we have seen many of these concre- 
 tions, to which the name of monkey bezoar has been 
 given, quite different from the oriental bezoar^ which 
 is certainly produced by a ruminating animal, and 
 which is easily distinguishable from all other bezoars, 
 by its shape, substance, and colour, which is generally 
 of an olive brown without and within; while the occi- 
 dental bezoar is of a pale yellow ; the substance of the 
 first is also softer and finer ; that of the last harder and 
 drier. The oriental bezoar has been prodigiously in 
 vogue, and a great consumption has been made of it 
 in the last century ; and since it has been made use of
 
 THE BEZOAR STONB. 169 
 
 in Europe and in Asia, for all cases in which our pre- 
 sent physicians give cordial medicines and other anti- 
 dotes, may we not presume, by the great quantities 
 which formerly have been, and by what at present is 
 consumed, that this stone is produced not from a single 
 species of animal, but from many ; and that it is equally 
 the production of Gazelles, goats, and sheep, who can- 
 not produce it but in certain climates of the Levant 
 and Indies. 
 
 This stone is formed, as is well known, by concen- 
 trical layers, and often contains some foreign matter, 
 even from the circumference to the very centre. We 
 have inquired into the nature of this matter, which 
 serves as a nucleus to the oriental bezoar, from which 
 a judgment may be formed of the kind of animal that 
 has swallowed them. This nucleus is of various kinds, 
 sometimes pieces of flint, tamarinds, grains of cassia, 
 pieces of straw, and the young buds of trees in particu- 
 lar; therefore, from the above facts, we can attribute 
 this production only to those animals which brouse up- 
 on shrubs and leaves. 
 
 Garcius ab Horte says, that in Khorasan, and in Per- 
 sia, there is a kind of goats called pasans, and that it 
 is in their stomachs that the bezoar is formed ; for, in 
 the great number of goats that are killed for the sub- 
 sistence of the troops, the stones are eagerly sought 
 after, in the stomachs of these animals, and very com- 
 monly found there. 
 
 With respect to the occidental bezoar, we can affirm, 
 that they proceed neither from goats nor Gazelles, 
 nor even any animal of that kind, in all the extent of 
 the New World. Instead of Gazelles, we only meet 
 with roebucks in the woods of America ; instead of 
 wild goats and sheep, animals of a quite different na- 
 ture are seen on the mountains of Peru and Chili, viz. 
 the llamas and the pacos. 
 
 Mr. Daubenton, who has more narrowly inspected 
 into the nature of bezoar stones than any other per- 
 son, thinks that they are composed of a matter similar 
 to that which fastens itself to the teeth of ruminating 
 animals, in form of a shining tartareous matter 
 
 The chamois, and perhaps the ibex of the Alps, the 
 goats of Guinea, and many other animals of America, 
 afford bezoar ; and if we comprehend, under this name, 
 VOL. II. 15
 
 i70 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 all concretions of this nature which are met with in 
 different animals, we may be assured that most quadru- 
 peds, excepting carnivorous ones, produce bezoar, 
 which is even to be found in crocodiles and alligators. 
 
 To form, therefore, a clear idea of these concretions, 
 it will be necessary to divide them into many classes, 
 and fix them to the animals which produced them, 
 observing, at the same time, the climate and the food 
 which mostly assisted this kind of production. 
 
 First, then, the stones which are found in the bladder, 
 and in the reins of men, and other animals, must be 
 held distinct from the bezoar class, and described by 
 the name of calculi, their substance being quite different 
 from that of the bezoar; they are easily known by their 
 weight, their urinous smell, and their composition, 
 which is not regular, nor formed with concentrical 
 layers, like that of the bezoar. 
 
 2. The concretions that are often found in the gall- 
 bladder, and in the liver of the human species, and of 
 the brute creation, must not be regarded as bezoar 
 stones, they being easily distinguishable from them, by 
 their lightness, their colour, and their inflammability; 
 and, besides, they are not formed by layers encircled 
 round, or nucleuses, like the bezoar. 
 
 3. The balls that are often found in. the stomach of 
 animals, and especially in those that ruminate, are not 
 true bezoars. These balls, which" are called egagro- 
 piles, are composed internally of the hair the animal 
 has licked off and swallowed, or from the hard roots 
 which he has fed upon, and which he could not digest ; 
 their external part is incrusted with a viscous sub- 
 stance, something similar to that of the bezoar. The 
 cgagropiles, therefore, have nothing in them, except 
 this external layer, of the bezoar ; and a single in- 
 spection is sufficient to distinguish the one from the 
 other. 
 
 4. Egagropiles are often found in the animals of 
 temperate climates, but scarcely ever any bezoar. Ani- 
 mals of hotter countries, on the contrary, only produce 
 bezoar : the elephant, the rhinoceros, the goats, the 
 Gazelles of Asia and Africa, the llama of Peru, and 
 others, produce, instead of egagropiles, solid bezoar, 
 whose substance and size vary relatively according to 
 the differerice of the animals and the climates.
 
 THE BUBALUS. 171 
 
 5. The bezoar to which the greatest virtues and 
 properties have been attributed is the oriental bezoar, 
 which, as we have said, proceeds from the goats, 
 Gazelles, and sheep, which feed on the mountains of 
 Asia. The bezoar of an inferior quality, and which is 
 called occidental, is produced from llamas and pacos, 
 which are to be found in the mountains of South 
 America. In short, the goats and Gazelles of Africa 
 also produce bezoar, but not of so good a quality as 
 those of Asia. * 
 
 From all these circumstances, we may conclude 
 that, in general, the bezoar is only a residue of the 
 vegetable nutriment, which is not to be found in car- 
 nivorous animals, and which is only produced in those 
 who feed on plants ; that in the mountains of Southern 
 Asia the herbage being stronger than in the other parts 
 of the world, the bezoar which is made from the residue 
 of that food has also more virtues than any other ; that 
 in America, where the heat is less, the grass of the 
 mountains being weaker, the bezoars produced there 
 are inferior to the first ; and in Europe, where the 
 grass is still weaker, and in all the valleys of both 
 continents, no bezoar is produced, but only egagropiles, 
 which contain nothing but hair or roots, and very hard 
 filaments, which the animal was unable to digest. 
 
 THE BUBALUS, OR STAG-LIKE ANTELOPE, 
 
 RESEMBLES the stag, the gazelle, and the ox, in 
 many very remarkable respects ; the stag, in the size 
 and shape of its body and legs, in particular ; but its 
 horns are permanent, and made nearly like those of the 
 largest gazelles ; which animal it also resembles in its 
 natural habits ; its head, however, is much longer 
 than the gazelle's, and even than the stag's ; and it 
 resembles the ox, by the length of the muzzle, and 
 the disposition of the bones of the head. 
 
 The horns of the Bubalus are crooked backwards, 
 and twisted like a corkscrew. The shoulders are 
 elevated, so that they form a sort of hunch upon the 
 withers. The tail is almost a foot long, and furnished 
 with a quantity of hair at its extremity. 
 
 The hair of the Bubalus is like that of the elk, fine 
 towards the rv>t thick in the middle and extremity
 
 172 NATURAL HISTORY- 
 
 This character is particular to these iwi animals ; for 
 the hair of almost every quadruped is thicker at the 
 root than at the middle and point. The hair is nearly 
 of the same colour as the elk, though much shorter, 
 thinner, and softer; and these alone are the resem- 
 blances between the Bubalus and the elk. 
 
 The Bubalus is common in Barbary, and in all the 
 northern parts of Africa. It is nearly of the same 
 nature as the antelope, and has, like that, short hair, 
 and a black hide, and flesh which makes very good 
 food. 
 
 THE CONDOMA, OR STRIPED ANTELOPE. 
 
 THE Marquis de Marigny had in his cabinet the 
 head of an animal, which, at first sight, I supposed to 
 have belonged to a great bubalus. It is like those of 
 our largest stags ; but the horns, instead of being solid 
 like those of the stag, are large and hollow, with a 
 ridge like those of the goat kind, and with varied 
 flexures like those of the antelope. In examining the 
 royal cabinet for what might be there relative to this 
 animal, two horns were found which belonged to it; 
 the first, without any mark or name, came from his 
 majesty's wardrobe; the second was given, in 1760, 
 by M. Bauchis, commissary of the marines, with the 
 name of the Condoma of the Cape of Good Hope 
 affixed to it. 
 
 In looking over the works of travellers, for those 
 marks which might have an affinity with the remark- 
 able size of the horns of this animal, we can find none 
 which have a nearer relation to it than those of the 
 animal indicated by Kolben, by the name of the wild 
 goat of the Cape of Good Hope : " This goat," he 
 says, " to which the Hottentots have not as yet 
 given a name, and which I call the wild goat, is very 
 remarkable in many respects. It is about the size of 
 a large stag; its head is very handsome, ornamented 
 with two crooked and pointed horns, about three feet 
 long, and, at their extremities, about three feet asunder. 
 All along the back there runs a white list, which ends 
 at the insertion of the tail ; another of the same colour 
 crosses this at the bottom of the neck, which it entirely 
 surrounds. There are two more running round the
 
 THE OU1B THE GRIMM. 173 
 
 body, one behind the fore legs, and one parallel to it, 
 before the other. The colour of the rest of the body 
 is grayish, except the belly, which is white. It has 
 also a long, gray beard ; and its legs, though long, are 
 well proportioned." 
 
 THE GUIS, OR HARNESSED ANTELOPE, 
 
 Is common in Senegal It resembles the gazelles, 
 especially the nanguer, by the size and shape of its 
 body, by the fineness of its legs, by the shape of its 
 head and vauj.de, by the eyes, by the ears and length 
 of its tail, and by the defect of a beard ; but every 
 gazelle, especially the nanguer, has the belly white, 
 while the breast and belly of the Guib is of a deep 
 brown. It also differs from the gazelles by the horns, 
 which are smooth, and not marked with annular pro- 
 minences. They are also a little compressed; and the 
 Guib, in these particulars, is more like the goat than 
 the gazelle ; nevertheless, it is neither the one nor the 
 other, but of a particular kind, which seems to be 
 intermediate between the gazelle and the goat. It is 
 also remarkable for white lists on a brown ground, 
 which are disposed along the animal's body, as if it 
 were covered with a harness. It feeds in company ; 
 and they are found in numerous herds in the plains of 
 Podor. 
 
 THE GRIMM. 
 
 THIS animal is only known to naturalists by the name 
 of the Wild Goat of Grimmius ; and, as we are not 
 acquainted with the name it bears in its own country, 
 we cannot do better than adopt this precarious de- 
 nomination. There are two characters which are 
 sufficient to distinguish it. The first is a very deep 
 cavity under each eye ; the second is a tuft of hair, 
 standing upright on the top of the head. It resembles 
 both the goat and the gazelle, not only in the shape of 
 its body, but even in its horns, which are annulated 
 towards the base, and have longitudinal streaks, like 
 those of the gazelles ; at the same time, they are very 
 short, and bend backwards in a horizontal direction. 
 Its hair is generally of a ye owish fawn colour, gray
 
 174 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 along the back, the muzzle black, a id the limbs gray. 
 There is some reason to think, that the male Grimm 
 alone is furnished with horns. It is a native of Guinea. 
 
 TIiE INDIAN ANTELOPE. 
 
 " THE Indian Antelope (says Mr. Bennett,) of which 
 the specimen in the Tower constitutes a remarkable 
 and highly interesting variety, is not only one of the 
 most beautiful, but also the most celebrated species of 
 the group. It occupies the place of Capricorn in the 
 Indian zodiac, and is consecrated to ;^e service of 
 Chandra, or the Moon. In size and form it closely 
 resembles the gazelle of the Arabs, the well known 
 emblem of maiden beauty, typified, 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 our 
 antelope is, however, essentially distinguished by seve- 
 ral striking characters. Its horns, which are peculiar 
 to the male, are spirally twisted, and form, when fi'lly 
 grown, three complete turns; they are closely approxi- 
 mated to each other at the base, but diverge consider- 
 ably as they proceed upwards. They occasionally 
 attain 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 occur- 
 ring with sufficient regularity to allow of their being 
 described as characteristic of the species. But for 
 these shades 'of colour, or for any other, we shall look 
 in vain in the animal of the Tower Menagerie, which, 
 in consequence of a particular conformation, not uufre-
 
 THE INDIAN ANTELOPE. 17& 
 
 queiit in s ; ~ne species of animals, and occasionally met 
 with in the human race, is perfectly and purely white." 
 It is, in fact, an Albino a circumstance which, in all 
 cases, is attributable to the absence of the reta muco- 
 ium from the skin. 
 
 " The present species of Antelope isr'spread over the 
 whole of the peninsula of Hindostan and a part of Per- 
 sia, but it is questionable whether it has been found in 
 Africa, as is commonly asserted." 
 
 THE CHEVROTINS. 
 
 WE have given the name of Chevrotin (tragulus) to 
 those small animals of the hotter countries of Africa 
 and Asia, which almost every traveller has mentioned, 
 by the denomination of Small Stags, or Little Hinds : 
 in fact, the Chevrotin is a miniature resemblance of 
 the slag, by the shape of the muzzle, the delicacy of its 
 body, the shortness of its tail, and the shape of its legs; 
 but it differs greatly from it in the size, the largest 
 Chevrotins being never found longer than the hare. 
 In other respects, the horns of those which have any, 
 are hollow, annulated, and nearly resembling the 
 gazelles. Their foot is cloven, and is also more of the 
 gazelle than of the stag kind. They differ from the 
 gazelle and the stag, by not having any depressions or 
 hollows under their eyes, and in that respect approach 
 nearer the goat kind ; but, in reality, they are neither 
 stag, gazelle, nor goat, and constitute one or more dis- 
 tinct species. Seba gives the figures and the descrip- 
 tions of five Chevrotins : the first, the small red Gui- 
 nea Hind, without horns ; the second, the Fawn, or 
 email African Stag; the third, the small young Stag 
 of Guinea; the fourth, the small red and white spotted 
 Hind of Surinam; the fifth, the red haired African 
 Stag. Of these five Chevrotins mentioned by Seba, 
 the first, second, and third, are evidently the same ani- 
 mal ; the fifth, which is larger than the three first, and 
 whose hair is redder, much longer, and of a deeper 
 brown, seems to be only a variety of this species ; the 
 fourth, which the author indicates as an animal of Suri- 
 nam, is probably but a second variety of this species ; 
 which is only found in Africa, and in the southern parts 
 af Asia.
 
 176 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 These animals are of an elegant make, and finely 
 proportioned for their size. But, though they leap and 
 bound with prodigious swiftness, yet, apparently, they 
 cannot continue it for a long time ; for the Indiana 
 often hunt them down ; and the Negroes likewise pur- 
 sue them, and knock them down with their sticks. 
 They are greatly hunted after, as their flesh is excel- 
 lent food. They can only live in excessively hot cli- 
 mates ; and they are so exceedingly delicate, that it is 
 with the greatest trouble they are transported into 
 Europe alive, where they perish in a short time. They 
 are easily tamed, very familiar, and beautiful. The 
 Chevrotin is, without doubt, the least of all cloven- 
 footed animals. According to this character, they 
 should not bring forth many young ; but, if we reason 
 from their small size, we should imagine they brought 
 forth several at a time. They are exceedingly nume- 
 rous in the Indies, Java, Ceylon, Senegal, Congo, and 
 in every other country that is excessively hot, and are 
 not to be found in America, nor in any of the tempe- 
 rate climates of the Old Continent. 
 
 MAZAME, 
 
 IN the Mexican language, was the name of the stag, 
 or rather of the whole race of stags, deer, and roe- 
 bucks. Travellers distinguish two kinds of Mazames, 
 both common to Mexico and New Spain ; the first and 
 largest, to which they give the simple name of Ma- 
 zame, has horns like that of the roebuck of Europe, 
 about six or seven inches in length, and of a dark hue, 
 with the extremities pointed and bent back ; it is less 
 than a goat ; its fur is generally of a pale reddish 
 brown above ; on the chest and inner part of the 
 limbs it is of a yellowish white ; its tail is thick and 
 short. The second, called Tememazame, is less than 
 the former, is handsomely shaped ; its ears are long, 
 narrow, and rounded at the end ; the tail is pretty 
 long; the fur is fawn coloured above, and white be- 
 neath, with a spot of white on the chest, and another 
 round the mouth. The horns are about six inches long, 
 black, and a little bent at the point.
 
 THE COUDOUS. 177 
 
 THE COUDOUS. 
 
 OF all animals, those that chew the cud are the 
 most numerous, and most varied. In the very great 
 quantity of horns collected together in the royal cabi- 
 net, or dispersed in private collections, there stil] 
 remains one without label, without name, absolutely 
 unknown, and of which we have no other indexes than 
 those which we can draw from the subject itself. This 
 horn is large, almost straight, and very thick and 
 black. It is not solid like that of the stag, but resem- 
 bles that of the ox. After seeking a number of differ- 
 ent cabinets, we at last found, in that of Mr. Dupleix, 
 a head adorned with two horns, resembling this we 
 mention : this was labelled with these words The 
 horns of an animal nearly like a horse, of a grayish 
 colour, with a mane before its head : it is called, at Pon- 
 dicherry, COESDOES, which should be pronounced COU- 
 DOUS. 
 
 The Coudous may possibly be of the buffalo species ; 
 and the travellers in Africa, where the buffalo is as 
 common as in Asia, more precisely mention a kind of 
 buffalo, called pacasse, at Congo, which, by the indexes, 
 seems to us to be the Coudous. " In the route from 
 Louanda to the kingdom of Congo, we perceived," say 
 they, " two Pacasses, which are animals greatly 
 resembling buffaloes, and which roar like lions. The 
 male and female always go together. They are white, 
 spotted with red and black. Their ears are about half 
 an ell long ; and their horns are short. They neither 
 fly at the sight of the human species, nor do them any 
 injury, but only look at them as they pass by." 
 
 It appears probable that M. Buffon is in error, both 
 as to the native place of this animal and its belonging 
 to the buffalo class. The Coudous is, most probably, 
 the Antilope Oreas of Pallas, the Canna or Gann of 
 the Hottentots, and inhabits the mountains of the Cape 
 of Good Hope. This animal is of the size of a horse, 
 has a long head, and its fur is of a fawn colour border- 
 ing on red above, white beneath, and ash coloured on 
 the head and neck.
 
 178 NATURAL HISTOR*. 
 
 THE genus of antelope is almost infinitely extended, 
 and probably embraces some animals not yet de- 
 scribed. To this genus may perhaps be referred thtt 
 singular quadruped, which the Hottentots, from its 
 voice, distinguish by the name of Gnu. It is described 
 by travellers as resembling in form the horse, the ox, 
 and the stag. It is about the size of a small horse, 
 that is, about four or five feet in height, and between 
 five and six in length. The colour of the body, which 
 is said to be finely proportioned, is a dark brown. Its 
 limbs are slender. Its neck is longer than that of the 
 ox, but neither so long nor so slender as that of the 
 horse. Like the horse it is adorned with a mane, 
 which is stiff and erect. Its horns are singularly curved, 
 being somewhat of the shape of the Greek letter upsilon. 
 Its head, however, resembles most that of the ox spe- 
 cies. Besides the mane, it has also on the chin and 
 breast a shaggy stiff hair, which is black, while thr 
 colour of the mane and tail is gray. It is a native o 
 the southern parts of Africa, where it exists in a gre 
 garious state, and in very large herds. It is a lively, 
 capricious animal. 
 
 The Gnu is thus described by Mr. Pringle, \vho had 
 abundant opportunities of studying its habits at the 
 Cape of Good Hope, and whose talents and observant 
 spirit particularly qualify him to investigate and to 
 communicate the result of his investigation. " The 
 curious animal called Gnu by the Hottentots, and 
 Wilde Beest (i. e. Wild Ox) by the Dutch colonists, 
 was an inhabitant of the mountains adjoining the Scot- 
 tish settlement at Bavian's river, and I had therefore 
 opportunities of very frequently seeing it both singly 
 and in small herds. Though usually, and perhaps cor- 
 rectly, by naturalists ranked among the antelope race, 
 it appears to form evidently one of those intermediate 
 links which connect, as it were, the various tribes of 
 animals in a harmonious system in the beautiful ar- 
 rangement of nature. As the hycena dcg, or ' wilde 
 hond' of South Africa, connects the dog and wolf tribe 
 with that of the hyaena, in like manner does the Gnu 
 form a graceful link between the buffalo and the ante- 
 lope. Possessing the distinct features which, accord-
 
 THE GNU. 1*79 
 
 ing to nituralists, are peculiar to the latter tribe, the 
 Gnu exhibits at the same time in his general aspect, 
 figure, motions, and even the texture of his flesh, qua- 
 lities which partake very strongly of the bovine cha- 
 racter. Among other peculiarities, I observed, that, 
 like the buffalo or the ox, he is strangely affected by 
 the sight of scarlet ; and it was one of our amuse- 
 nents when approaching these animals to hoist a red 
 Handkerchief on a pole, and to observe them caper 
 about, lashing their flanks with their long tails, and 
 tearing up the ground with their hoofs, as if they were 
 violently excited, and ready to rush down upon us; 
 and then all at once, when we were about to fire upon 
 them, to see them bound away, and again go prancing 
 round us at a safer distance. When wounded, they are 
 reported to be sometimes rather dangerous to the 
 huntsman ; but though we shot several at different 
 times, I never witnessed any instance of this. On one 
 occasion, a young one, apparently only a week or two 
 old, whose mother had been shot, followed the hunts- 
 man home, and I attempted to rear it on cow's milk. 
 In a few days it appeared quite as tame as a common 
 calf, and seemed to be thriving; but afterwards, from 
 some unknown cause, it sickened and died. I heard, 
 however, of more than one instance in that part of the 
 colony, where the Gnu, thus caught young, had been 
 reared with the domestic cattle, and had become so 
 tame as to go regularly out- to pasture with the herds, 
 without exhibiting any inclination to resume its natu- 
 ral freedom ; but in consequence of a tendency which 
 the farmers say they evinced to catch, and to commu- 
 nicate to the cattle, a dangerous infection, the practice 
 of raising them as curiosities has been abandoned. I 
 know not if this imputation be correct, but it is true 
 that infectious disorders do occasionally prevail to a 
 most destructive extent among the wild as well as the 
 domesticated animals in South Africa, and especially 
 umong the tribes of larger antelopes. 
 
 " There is another species of Gnu found farther to 
 the northward of which I saw a single specimen in the 
 colony, which, in the shape of the horns, and some 
 other particulars, still more resembles the ox. This 
 species has been described b' r Burchell, under the 
 name of antilope taurina."
 
 180 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 THE NYL GHAU. 
 
 PENNANT gives to this animal the name of the white- 
 footed antelope. Its Persian name Nyl Ghau signifies 
 a blue cow or bull ; and, in fact, the creature seems to 
 join something of the bull species with something of 
 the antelope or deer. It is rather more than four feet 
 high at the shoulder. The male is of a dark gray 
 colour, with short horns; the female is of a pale brown, 
 without horns. The mode in which these animals fight 
 is curious. While still at a distance from each other, 
 they prepare for the attack by falling on their fore 
 knees, and when they come within a few yards they 
 make a spring, and dart against each other. The force 
 with which they spring in this manner is very great. 
 In its wild state the Nyl Ghau is said to be exceedingly 
 vicious ; but when domesticated, it becomes tame and 
 even affectionate. It is a native of the interior parts of 
 India, and in several parts of that country is considered 
 as royal game, to be hunted only by princes. 
 
 THE MUSK ANIMAL, OR THIBETIAN MUSK. 
 
 To finish a complete history of goats, and other 
 animals of this genus, there is only one remaining to be 
 described, which is as famous as it is unknown. The 
 animal we mean is that which produces the musk, 
 which all modern naturalists, and the greatest part of 
 travellers through Asia, have spoken of, some by the 
 name of the stag, roe-buck, and musk goat ; others 
 have considered it as a large chevrotin ; and truly it 
 seems to be of an ambiguous nature, participating of 
 all the above animals, although, at the same time we 
 can assert, that its species is different from all others. 
 It is a native of the highest and rudest mountains of 
 Thibet, and some other parts of Asia, about the size of 
 a small roe-buck, or gazelle ; but its head is without 
 horns ; and by this character it resembles the memina, 
 or chevrotin of India. It has two great canine teeth 
 or tusks in the upper jaw, by which it approaches the 
 chevrotin ; but, what distinguishes it from all other 
 animals, is a kind of bag, about two or three inches hi 
 diameter, which grows near the navel, and into whjeF}
 
 THE MUSK ANIMAL. 181 
 
 a liqi >: filtrates, which differs from the civet by its 
 srnell 2vid consistence. Neither the Greeks nor Ro- 
 mans have made any mention of the Musk Animal ; 
 and Grew is the only person who has made an exact 
 description of it from its skin. The description given 
 by that author is as follows: 
 
 The Musk Stag is about three feet six inches in 
 length, from the head to the tail ; and the head is 
 about half a foot long ; the neck, seven or eight 
 inches ; the fore part of the head, three inches broad, 
 and like that of a greyhound ; the ears are erect, like 
 those of a rabbit, and about three inches long; the 
 tail is not above two inches ; the fore legs are about 
 thirteen or fourteen inches high ; it is cloven-footed, 
 armed behind and before with two horny substances, 
 but none on the hind feet. 
 
 The bladder or bag which contains the musk is about 
 three inches long, two broad, and stands out from the 
 belly about an inch and a half. The animal has twenty- 
 six teeth. There is also a tusk, or canine tooth, about 
 two inches and a half long, on each side in the upper 
 jaw, which terminates in the form of a hook. It has 
 no horns. It appears, further, that the hair of this 
 animal is long and rough, the muzzle pointed, the 
 tusks somewhat like those of the hog. By these marks 
 it approaches the boar kind, and perhaps still more that 
 of the babiroussa, which the naturalists have deno- 
 minated the Indian boar. The American hog also, 
 which we call pecari, has a bag or cavity on its back, 
 containing plenty of a very odoriferous humour. In 
 general, those animals which produce odoriferous 
 liquors, as the badger, the caster, the pecari, the 
 ondatra, the desman, the civet, the zibet, are not of 
 the stag or goat kind. Thus we n^ight be tempted to 
 think, that the Musk Animal is nearer the hog species 
 than that of the goat. 
 
 In respect to the matter of musk itself, its essence, 
 that is, its pure substance, is perhaps as little known 
 as the nature of the animal which produces it. All 
 travellers agree, that the musk is always mixed and 
 adulterated with blood, or some other drugs, by those 
 who sell it. The Chinese not only increase the quan- 
 tity by this mixture, but they endeavour likewise to 
 increase the weight by incorporating with it lead very 
 VOL. II. 16
 
 182 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 finely ground. The purest musk, and that which is 
 the most sought after, even by the Chinese themselves, 
 is that which the animal deposits upon trees or stones, 
 against which it rubs itself when the quantity renders 
 it uneasy. The musk which is brought over in the 
 bag is very seldom so good, because it is not yet ripe, 
 or because it is only in their rutting season that it 
 acquires all its strength and all its smell ; and it is at 
 this time the animal endeavours to disburthen itself 
 of this pure matter, which then causes such violent 
 itchings and irritations. A single grain of musk is 
 sufficient to perfume a great quantity of other matter ; 
 and the odour expands itself to a very great distance. 
 The smallest particle is sufficient to perfume a con- 
 siderable space ; and the perfume is so permanent, 
 that, at the end of several years, it does not seem to 
 have lost much of its power. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 Of the Babiroussa, or Indian Hog The Cabiat 
 The Porcupine The Couando The Urson TJie 
 Asiatic Hedgehogs The Camelopard The Llama 
 andPaco The Vicuna The Sloth The Surikat 
 The Tarsier The Phalanger The Coquallin 
 The Hamster The Bobak The Jerboa The Ich- 
 neumon The Gray Ichneumon The Fossan The 
 Vansire The Maki or Macauco The White-headed 
 Mongoos The Bengal Lor is The Javelin Bat. 
 
 THE BABIROUSSA, OR INDIAN HOG. 
 
 ALL naturalists have regarded this animal as a kind 
 of hog, though it has neither the head, shape, bristles 
 nor tail of a hog. Its legs are longer and its muzzle 
 shorter. It is covered with soft and short hair like 
 wool ; and its tail, which tapers to a fine point, is ter- 
 minated by a tuft of the same ; its body is likewise not 
 so thick and clumsy as that of the hog ; its ears are 
 short and pointed ; its sVin is black, and furrowed
 
 THE BAB1ROUSSA. 183 
 
 | 
 
 with wrinkles i nd creases ; but the most remarkable 
 character, and what distinguishes it from all other 
 animals, are four enormous tusks, or canine teeth ; the_ 
 teeth, the two shortest of which shoot out of the lower 
 jaw, like those of the boar ; the two others, which 
 come from the upper jaw, pierce the cheeks, or rather 
 the upper part of the lips, and rise crooked almost to 
 the eyes. These tusks are of a very beautiful ivory, 
 much smoother and finer, but not so hard as that of 
 the elephant. 
 
 These quadruple and enormous tusks give these 
 animals a very formidable appearance ; they are, how- 
 ever, less dangerous than our wild boars. They go, 
 like them, in herds ; they have a very strong smell, 
 by which they are easily discovered, and hunted with 
 good success. They grunt terribly, defend themselves, 
 and wound their enemy with their under tusks :oi 
 the upper are rather of disservice than of use to them 
 Although wild and ferocious as the boar, they are 
 tamed with great ease ; but their flesh, which is very 
 good food, putrefies in a very short time. As their 
 hair is fine, and their skin delicate, it is soon penetrated 
 by the teeth of the dogs, who hunt them in preference 
 to wild boars, and sooner accomplish their purpose. 
 The Babiroussa strikes its upper tusks into the branches 
 of trees, to rest its head, or to sleep standing. This 
 habit it has in common with the elephant, who, in 
 order to sleep in an erect posture, supports his head 
 by fixing the end of his tusks in the holes which he 
 makes in his lodging. 
 
 The Babiroussa differs still more from the wild boar 
 by its natural appetites. It feeds upon grass and leaves 
 of trees, and does not endeavour to enter gardens, to 
 feed on beans, peas, and other vegetables ; while the 
 wild boar, who lives in the same country, feeds upon 
 wild fruits, roots, and often on the depredations it makes 
 in gardens. These animals, who go alike in herds, 
 never mix : the wild boars keep on one side, and the 
 Babiroussas on the other ; these walk quicker; and 
 have a very fine smell. They often fix themselves 
 against a tree, to keep off the hunters and their dogs. 
 When they are pursued for a long time, they make 
 towards the sea, and, swimming with great dexterity, 
 very often escape thsir pursuit; for they swim for a
 
 184 NATUKAL HISTORY. 
 
 very long time, and often to very great distances and 
 from one island to another. 
 
 The Babiroussa is found not only in the island of 
 Bourou, near Ambf yna, but also in many parts of 
 Southern Asia and Africa. We have not had it in our 
 power to convince ourselves, that the female had not 
 the two tusks which are so remarkable in the male ; 
 but most authors, who have spoken of this animal, 
 seem to agree in this circumstance.* 
 
 THE CABIA1 
 
 THIS American animal, which is also called the Ca- 
 pibara, has never yet made its appearance in England. 
 It is not a hog, as naturalists and travellers pretend ; 
 it even resembles it only by trifling marks, and differs 
 from it by striking characters. The largest Cabiai, is 
 scarcely the size of a hog of eighteen months' growth, 
 the head is longer ; the eyes are larger ; the snout, 
 instead of being rounded, as in the hog, is split like 
 that of a rabbit or hare, and furnished with thick, 
 strong whiskers ; the mouth is not so wide ; the num- 
 ber and form of the teeth are different ; for it is with- 
 out tusks : like the peccary, it wants a tail, and, unlike 
 to all others of this kind, is in a manner web-footed, 
 and thus easily fitted for swimming and living in water, 
 The hoofs before are divided into four parts, and 
 those behind into three ; between the divisions, there 
 is a prolongation of the skin ; so that the feet, when 
 opened in swimming, can beat a great surface of water. 
 
 This animal, thus made for the water, swims there 
 like an otter, seeks the same prey, and seizes the fish 
 with its feet and teeth, and carries them to the edge of 
 the lake to devour them, with the greatest ease. It 
 lives also upon fruits, corn, and sugarcanes. As its 
 legs are broad and flat, it often sits upright upon its 
 hind legs. Its cry resembles more the braying of an 
 ass than the grunting of a hog. Its colour is a deep 
 reddish brown above, and fawn beneath. It seldom 
 stirs out but at night, and almost always in company, 
 without going far from the sides of the water in which 
 
 'Lesson, the latest naturalist who has mentioned the Babiroussa, and who ec 
 trained many of them in Java, states that the female hu only two tusks, and J 
 ulso mash smaller than the mate.
 
 THE CABI..1 THE PORCUPINE. Wo 
 
 it preys. It can find no safety in flight ; and, in order 
 to escape its enemies which pursue it, it plunges into 
 the water, remains at the bottom a long time, and rises 
 at such a distance, that the hunters lose all hopes of 
 seeing it again. It is fat ; and the flesh is tender, but, 
 like that of the otter, rather of a fishy taste ; the head, 
 however, is not bad ; and this agrees with what is said 
 of the beaver, whoss exterior parts have a taste like 
 fish. 
 
 The Cabiai is quiet and gentle: it is neither quarrel- 
 some nor ferocious with other animals. It is easily 
 tamed, comes at call, and willingly follows the hand 
 that feeds it. We do not know the time of their bring- 
 ing forth their young, their growth, and consequently 
 the length of the life of this animal. They are very 
 common in Guiana, as well as in Brazil, in Amazonia, 
 and in all the lower countries of South America. 
 
 THE PORCUPINE. 
 
 THE name of this animal leads us into an error, and 
 induces many to imagine, that it is only a hog covered 
 with quills, when, in fact, it only resembles that ani- 
 mal by its grunting. In every other respect, it differs 
 from the hog as much as any other animal, as well in 
 outward appearance as in the interior conformation. 
 Instead of a long head and ears, armed with tusks, and 
 terminated with a snout ; instead of a cloven foot, fur- 
 nished with hoofs, like the hog, the Porcupine has a 
 short head, like that of the beaver, with two large 
 incisive teeth in the fore part of each jaw ; no tusks, 
 or canine teeth : the muzzle is divided like that of the 
 hare ; the ears are round and flat, and the feet armed 
 *ith nails ; instead of a large stomach with an appen- 
 dage in form of a caul, the Porcupine has only a single 
 stomach, with the large coecum gut; the parts of 
 generation are not apparent externally, as in the male 
 hog ; its testes, and the other parts of generation, are 
 likewise concealed in the body. By all these marks, 
 as well as by its short tail, its long whiskers, and its 
 divided lip, it partakes more of the hare, or beaver 
 kind, than that of the hog. The hedgehog, indeed, 
 who is, like the Porcupine, covered with prickles, is 
 somewhat resembling the hog; for it has a long 
 16*
 
 IStf NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 muzzle, terminated by a kind of snout; but all these 
 resemblances being very distant, it seems that the Por- 
 cupine is a peculiar and different species from that of 
 the hedgehog, the beaver, the hare, or any other ani- 
 mal with which it may be compared 
 
 It is generally about two feet in length, from the 
 head to the extremity of the tail. The body is cover- 
 ed with spines, from ten to fourteen inches long, re- 
 sembling the barrel 01' a goosequill in thickness, but 
 tapering at both ends, and variegated with black and 
 white rings. In their usual state, they 4 * incline back- 
 ward, like the bristles of a hog, but when the animal 
 is irritated, they rise and stand upright. 
 
 Travellers and naturalists have almost unanimously 
 declared, that this animal has the faculty of discharging 
 its quills, and wounding its foes at an immense distance ; 
 that these quills have the extraordinary and particular 
 property of penetrating farther into the flesh, of their 
 own accord, as soon as ever the point has made an 
 entrance through the skin. These stories, however, 
 are all purely imaginary, and without the smallest 
 foundation or reason. The error seems to have arisen 
 either from this animal raising its prickles upright, 
 when he is irritated ; and, as there are some of them 
 which are only inserted into the skin by a small pellicle, 
 they easily fall off; or from his sometimes shaking 
 off his quills to a considerable distance when he is 
 shedding them. We have seen many Porcupines, 
 but have never observed them dart any of their quills 
 from them, although they were violently agitated. 
 We cannot, then, avoid being greatly astonished, that 
 the greatest authors, both modern and ancient, as well 
 as the most sensible travellers, have joined in believing 
 a circumstance so entirely false. In justice, however, 
 to Dr. Shaw, we must except him from the number of 
 these credulous travellers : " Of all the number of 
 Porcupines," says he, " which I have seen in Africa, 
 I have never yet met with one which darts its quills, 
 however strongly it was irritated. Their common 
 method of defence is to lie on one side, and when the 
 enemy approaches very near, to rise suddenly, and 
 wound him with the points of the other." It appears, 
 however, that there is a pernicious quality in the
 
 THE COUANDA. 187 
 
 quills; which renders it difficult to cure the wounds 
 inflicted by them. 
 
 The Porcupine, although a native of the hottest 
 climates of Africa and India, lives and multiplies in 
 colder countries, such as Persia, Spain, and Italy. 
 Agricola says, that the species were not transported 
 into Europe before the last century. They are found 
 in Spain, but more commonly in Italy, especially on 
 the Apennine mountains, and in the environs of Rome. 
 
 In its wild state, the Porcupine is a perfectly in- 
 offensive animal. It never attacks, and will elude an 
 aggressor when it can ; but if compelled to defend 
 itself, it forces even the lion to retire. In its domestic 
 state, it is neither furious nor vicious ; it is only 
 anxious for its liberty ; and, with the assistance of its 
 fore teeth, which are sharp and strong, like those of 
 the beaver, it easily cuts through a wooden prison. It 
 is also known, that it feeds willingly on fruits, chest- 
 nuts, and crumbs of bread ; that, in its wild state, it 
 lives upon roots and wild grain ; that, when it can 
 enter a garden, it makes great havoc, eating the herbs, 
 roots, fruit, &c. It becomes fat, like most other 
 animals, towards the end of summer ; and its flesh, 
 although insipid, is tolerable eating. 
 
 When the form, substance, and organization of the 
 prickles of the Porcupine are considered, they are 
 found to be true quills, to which only feathers are 
 wanting to make them exactly resemble those of birds. 
 They strike together with a noise as the animal walks; 
 and it easily erects them in the same manner as the 
 peacock spreads the feathers of its tail. The Indians 
 use them to adorn many articles of dress and furniture, 
 ar.d dye them of various colours. 
 
 THE COUANDO, OR BRAZILIAN PORCUPINE. 
 
 THE Porcupine, as has been observed, is a native of 
 the hot countries of the Old World ; but, not having 
 been found in the New, travellers have not hesitated 
 to give its name to animals which seemed to resemble 
 it, and particularly to that of which we are about to 
 take notice. On the other hand, the Couando of 
 America has been transported to the East Indies; and 
 Pison, who probably, was not acquainted with the
 
 188 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 porcupine, has engraved in Bontius the Covando of 
 America, under the name and description of the true 
 porcupine. The Couando, however, is not a porcupine, 
 it being much less ; its head and muzzle is shorter ; it 
 has no tuft on its head, nor slit in the upper lip ; its 
 quills are somewhat shorter, and much finer ; its tail 
 is long, and that of the porcupine is very short ; it is 
 carnivorous, rather than frugivorous, and endeavours 
 to surprise birds, small animals, and poultry, while the 
 porcupine only feeds upon herbs, greens, fruits, &c. 
 It sleeps all the day, like the hedgehog, and only stirs 
 out in the night ; it climbs up trees, and hangs in the 
 branches by its tail, which the porcupine cannot do. 
 All travellers agree that its flesh is very good eating. 
 It is easily tamed, and commonly lives in high places. 
 These animals are found over all America, from Brazil 
 and Guiana to Louisiana and the southern parts of 
 Canada : while the porcupine is only to be found in 
 the hottest parts of the Old Continent. 
 
 In transferring the name of porcupine to the Couando, 
 they have supposed and transmitted to him the same 
 faculties, especially that of lancing his quills. Ray is 
 the only person who has denied these circumstances, 
 although they evidently appear at first view to be 
 absurd. 
 
 THE URSON, OR CANADA PORCUPINE. 
 
 THIS animal, placed by nature in the desert part of 
 North America, to the east of Hudson's Bay, exists 
 independent of, and far distant from, man. The Urson 
 might be called the spiny beaver, it being of the same 
 M/e, the same country, and the same form of body ; 
 it has, like that, two long, strong, and sharp incisive 
 teeth at the end of each jaw ; its prickles are short, 
 and almost covered with hair ; for the Urson, like the 
 beaver, has a double coat ; the first consists of long 
 and soft hair, and the second, of a down, or felt, which 
 is still softer or smoother. In the young Ursons the 
 prickles are proportionably larger, more apparent, and 
 the hair shorter and scarcer than in the adults 
 
 This animal dislikes water, and is fearful of wetting 
 himself. He makes his habitation under the roots of 
 great hollow trees, sleeps very much, and chiefly feeds
 
 THE TANREC AND TENDRAC. 189 
 
 upon the bark of juniper. In winter, the snow serves 
 him for drink ; in summer, he laps water like a dog. 
 The savages eat his flesh, and strip the bristles off 
 the hide, which they make use of instead of pins and 
 needles. Many of the trading Americans also depend 
 upon them for food at certain seasons of the year. 
 
 THE TANREC, AND TENDRAC, OR ASIATIC HEDGEHOGS, 
 
 ARE two small animals of the East Indies, and Mada- 
 gascar, which a little resemble our hedgehog, but are 
 sufficiently different to constitute a different species 
 What strongly proves this is, their not rolling them- 
 selves up in the shape of a ball, like the hedgehog ; 
 and wuere the Tanrecs are found, as at Madagascar, 
 hedgehogs are also found of the same species as ours. 
 
 There appear to be Tanrecs of the two species, or 
 perhaps of two different breeds. The first, which is 
 nearly as large as our hedgehog, has its muzzle pro- 
 portionably longer ; and its ears are more apparent, 
 and less furnished with prickles, than those of the 
 second, to which we have given the name of Tendrac, 
 to distinguish it from the first. The Tendrac is not 
 larger than a rat ; its muzzle and its ears are shorter 
 than those of the Tanrec ; which last is covered with 
 shorter prickles, as numerous as those of the hedge- 
 hog ; whereas the Tendrac has them only on the head, 
 neck, and shoulders, the rest of the body being covered 
 with a coarse hair resembling the bristles of a hog. 
 
 These little animals, whose legs are small, move but 
 slowly ; they grunt like a hog, and wallow like it, in 
 mire ; they are chiefly in creeks and harbours of salt 
 water ; they multiply in great numbers, and make 
 themselves holes in the ground, and sleep for several 
 months. During this torpid state, their hair falls off, 
 which is renewed upon their revival. They are usually 
 very fat; and although their flesh be insipid, soft, and 
 spongy, yet the Indians find it to their taste, and con- 
 sider it as a very great delicacy. 
 
 THE CAMELOPARD, OR GIRAFFE, 
 
 Is one of the tallest most beautiful, and most harm 
 less animals in nature. The enormous disproportion
 
 190 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 of its legs (the fore legs being as long again as ihe 
 hinder ones*) is a great obstacle to the use of its 
 strength; its motion is waddling and stiff; in can nei- 
 ther fly from its enemies in its free state, nor serve its 
 master in a domestic one. The species is not very 
 numerous, and has always been confined to the deserts 
 of Ethiopia, and some other provinces of Africa and 
 India. As these countries were unknown to the 
 Greeks, Aristotle makes no mention of this animal ; 
 but Pliny speaks of it, and Oppian describes it in a 
 manner that is far from equivocal. " The Camelo- 
 pard," says this author, " has some resemblance to the 
 camel : its head and ears are small, its feet broad, and 
 its legs long ; but the height of the last is very une 
 qual, the fore legs being much longer than the hinder, 
 which are very short; so that, when the animal appears 
 standing and at rest, it has somewhat the appearance 
 of a dog sitting. There are two prominences upon the 
 head, just between the ears : they resemble two small 
 and straight horns. Its mouth is like the stag's; its 
 teeth small and white ; its eyes full of fire ; its tail 
 short, and furnished with black hair at its end." 
 
 " There is," says Strabo, " a large beast in Ethiopia, 
 called Camelopardalis ; although it bears no resem- 
 blance to the panther, for its skin is not spotted in the 
 same manner : the spots of the panther are orbicular, 
 and those of this animal are long, and nearly resem- 
 bling those of the fawn or young stag." Gillius's 
 description seems still better. " I have seen," says 
 he, " three Camelopards at Cairo. On their heads are 
 two horns, six inches lng; and, in the middle of their 
 forehead, a tubercle rises to about the height of two 
 inches, which appears like a third horn. This animal 
 is sixteen feet high when he holds his head erect. Its 
 neck alone is seven feet ; and it is twenty feet long, 
 fiom the tip of the nose to the end of the tail. Its fore 
 and hind legs are nearly of an equal height ; but the 
 thighs before are so long in comparison to those 
 behind, that its back seems to slope like the roof of a 
 house. Its whole body is sprinkled with large brown 
 spots, which are nearly of the same form. Its feet are 
 cloven like those of the ox." 
 
 ' This is erroneous, as will be seen from Le faillant's description, wh'eh w 
 hy added to this article.
 
 THE CAMELOI'ARD. 191 
 
 In inspecting he accounts travellers have jiven of 
 ihe Camelopard, I find a tolerable agreement between 
 them. They all agree, that it can reach with its hed 
 to the height of sixteen or seventeen feet, when stand 
 ing erect ; and that the fore legs are as high again as 
 the hinder ones ; so that it seems as if it were seated 
 upon its crupper. They all likewise agree, that it 
 cannot run very swift, on account of this disproportion; 
 that it is very gentle, and that by this quality, and even 
 by the shape of the body, it partakes more of the shape 
 and nature of the camel than of any other animal ; that 
 it is among the number of ruminating animals, and, 
 like them, is deficient of the incisive teeth in its upper 
 jaw. By the testimonies of some, we find that the 
 Camelopard is to be met with in the southern parts of 
 Africa, as wftll as in those of Asia. 
 
 It is very clear, from what we have mentioned, that 
 the Camelopard is a very different species from every 
 other animal ; but if we referred it to any, it would be 
 the camel rather than the stag. 
 
 We are ignorant of the substance of the horns of 
 the Camelopard ; and in thai part it may resemble the 
 stag more than the ox, though possibly they may be 
 neither solid, like those of the first, nor hollow, like 
 those of the ox, goat, <fcc. Who knows but they may 
 be composed of united hairs, or of a substance and 
 texture entirely peculiar to themselves ? The horns 
 of the Camelopard are surrounded with large, coarse 
 hair, and not covered with a down or velvet, like those 
 of the stag. The tubercle in the middle of the head 
 seems to form a third horn : the two others, which 
 are not pointed, but have mossy knobs at their ends, 
 are perhaps only tubercles somewhat resembling the 
 former. Travellers inform us, that the female Came- 
 lopards have horns like the males, with this difference 
 only, that they are smaller. If this animal, therefore, 
 was really of the stag kind, the analogy would be 
 violated here likewise ; for* of all such animals, there 
 is only the female rain-deer that has horns. 
 
 Since the period when Buffbn wrote, the Giraffe 
 has become much better known. Several have been 
 brought to Europe. One of them was sent as a present 
 to his majesty by the Pacha of Egypt, and arrived in 
 this country in 1827. It died recently There is still
 
 192 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 one existing in the Ja.din des Plantes, at Paris. M. le 
 Vaillant, the first naturalist who had an opportunity of 
 closely examining the Giraffe, gives a full and accurate 
 description of it in his Travels. "The Giraffe chews 
 the cud, as all horned animals with cloven feet do 
 Like them, too, it crops the grass ; though seldom, 
 because pasture is scarce in the country which it 
 inhabits. Its ordinary food is the leaf of a sort of 
 mimosa, called by the natives kaneap, and by the 
 planters kamel doom. The tree being peculiar to the 
 canton, and growing only there, this may be the reason 
 why it takes up its abode in it, and why it is not seen 
 in those regions of the south of Africa where the tree 
 does not grow. This, however, is but a vague con- 
 jecture, and which the reports of the ancients seem to 
 contradict. 
 
 "Its head is unquestionably the most beautiful part 
 of its body. Its mouth is small ; its eyes large and 
 animated. Between the eyes, and above the nose, it 
 has a very distinct and prominent tubercle. This is 
 not a fleshy excrescence, but an enlargement of the 
 bony part, the same as the two little bosses, or protu- 
 berances, with which its occiput is armed, and which 
 rise as large as a lien's egg, one on each side of the 
 mane, at its commencement. Its tongue is rough and 
 terminates in a point. Each jaw has six grinders on 
 each side, but the lower jaw only has eight cutting teeth 
 in front, while the upper jaw has none. 
 
 " The hoof is cloven, has no heel, and much resem- 
 bles that of the ox. It maybe observed, however, at 
 the first sight, that the hoof of the fore foot is larger 
 than that of the hind foot. The leg is very slender ; 
 but the knee is swelled like that of the stumbling 
 horse, because the animal kneels down to sleep. It 
 has also a large callosity in the middle of the sternum, 
 owing to its usually reposing on it. 
 
 "If I had never killed a Giraffe, I should have 
 thought, with many other naturalists, that its hind legs 
 were much shorter than the fore ones. This is a mis- 
 take : they bear the same proportion to each other, as is 
 usual in quadrupeds. I say the same proportion as is 
 usual, because in this respect, there are variations, even 
 in animals of the same species. Every one knows, for 
 instance, that mares are lower before than stallions
 
 THE CAMEI.EOPARD. 193 
 
 What deceives us in the Giraffe, and occasions this ap- 
 parent difference between the legs, is the height of the 
 withers, which may exceed that of the crupper from 
 sixteen to twenty inches, according to the age of 
 the animal ; and which, when it is seen at a distance in 
 motion, gives the appearance of much greater length 
 to the fore legs. 
 
 " If the Giraffe stand still, and you view it in the 
 front, the effect is very different. As the fore part of 
 its body is much larger than the hind part, it completely 
 conceals the latter ; so that the animal resembles the 
 standing trunk of a deep tree. 
 
 " Its gait, when it walks, is neither awkward nor 
 unpleasing ; but it is ridiculous enough, when it trots ; 
 for you would then take it for a limping beast, seeing 
 its head, perched at the extremity of a long neck which 
 never bends, swaying backwards and forwards, the 
 neck and head playing in one piece between the shoul- 
 ders as on an axis. However, as the length of the 
 neck exceeds that of the legs at least four inches, it is 
 evident that the length of the head too taken into the 
 account, it can feed without difficulty, and of course is 
 not obliged either to kneel down or to straddle with its 
 feet, as some authors have asserted.* 
 
 " Its mode of defence, like that of the horse and 
 other solidungulous animals, consists in kicking with 
 the heels. But its hind parts are so light, and its jerks 
 so rapid, that the eye cannot follow them. They are 
 even sufficient to defend it against the lion, though 
 they are unable to protect it from the impetuous attack 
 of the tiger. 
 
 " Its horns are never employed in fight. I did 
 not perceive it use them against my dogs ; and these 
 weak and useless weapons would seem but an error of 
 Nature, if Nature could ever commit error, or fail in 
 her designs. 
 
 " In their youth, the male and female Giraffes re- 
 semble each other in their exterior. A knot of long 
 hair then terminates their obtuse horns ; this peculiar- 
 ity the female preserves for some time, but at the age 
 of three years the male loses it. At first, the hide is 
 
 'It is, besides, unnecessary for the animal to kneel, as it feeds principally on 
 the boughs of a species of acacia, which it draws down to its mouth with its long 
 and flexible tongue. 
 
 VOL. II. 17
 
 194 XATUKAL HISTORY. 
 
 of a light red, but it deepens in colour is the animal 
 advances in age, and at length, it is of & yellow brown 
 in the female, and of a brown bordering on black in 
 the male. The male may, even at a distance, be dis- 
 tinguished from the female by this difference of colour. 
 As to the arrangement and form of the spots, the skin 
 varies in both sexes. The female does not stand so 
 high as the male, and the frontal prominence is less 
 marked. She has four teats ; and, according to the 
 account given by the natives, she has one young one at 
 a birth, with which she goes twelve months. 
 
 THE LLAMA. 
 
 IT is very singular that, although the Llama and the 
 Paco are domesticated in Peru, Mexico, and Chili, as 
 the horse is in Europe, or the camel in Arabia, we 
 scarcely know any thing of them. Peru, according to 
 Gregory de Bolivar, is the true and native country of 
 the Llamas ; they are conducted into other provinces, 
 as New Spain, <fcc. but this is rather for curiosity than 
 utility ; but in Peru, from Potosi to Caracas, these ani- 
 mals are in great numbers, and make the chief riches 
 of the Indians and Spaniards, who rear them. Their 
 flesh is excellent food ; their hair, or rather wool, may 
 be spun into beautiful clothing; and they are capable 
 of carrying heavy loads in the most rugged and dan- 
 gerous ways ; the strongest of them will travel with 
 two hundred or two hundred and fifty pounds weight 
 on their backs ; their pace is but slow, and their jour- 
 ney is seldom above fifteen miles a day ; but then they 
 are sure, and descend precipices, and find footing 
 among the most craggy rocks, where even men can 
 scarcely accompany them ; they commonly travel for 
 five days together, when they are obliged to rest, 
 which they do, of their own accord, for two or three 
 days. They are chiefly employed in carrying the riches 
 of the mines of Potosi. Bolivar affirms that, in his 
 time, above three hundrel thousand of these animals 
 were in actual employ. 
 
 The growth of the Llama is very quick ; and its 
 life is but of short duration. This animal couples so 
 early as at three years of age, and remains strong and 
 vigorous till twelve ; after which it begins to decline,
 
 THE LLAMA. 
 
 195 
 
 *no oecomes entirely useless at fifteen. Their nature 
 appears modelled on that of the Americans. They 
 are gentle and phlegmatic, and do every thing with 
 the greatest leisure and caution. When they stop on 
 their journeys, they bend their knees very cautiously, 
 in order to lower their bodies without disordering their 
 load. As soon as they hear their driver whistle, they 
 rise up again with the same precaution, and proceed 
 on their journey; they feed as they go along, on the 
 grass they meet with in their way, but never eat in 
 the night, making use of that time tD ruminate. The 
 Llama sleeps, like the camel, with its feet folded under 
 its belly, and ruminates in that posture. When over- 
 loaded or fatigued, it falls on its belly, and will noi 
 rise, though its driver strike it with his utmost force. 
 The Llama is about four feet high ; its body, com 
 prehending the neck and head, is five or six feet long ; 
 its neck alone is near three feet. The head is small 
 and well proportioned, the eyes large, the nose some- 
 what long, the lips thick, the upper divided, and the 
 lower a little depending : it wants the incisive and 
 canine teeth in the upper jaw. The ears are four inches 
 long, and move with great agility. The tail is seldom 
 above eight inches long, small, straight, and a little 
 turned up at the end. It is cloven-footed, like the ox; 
 but the hoof has a kind of spear-like appendage behind, 
 which assists the animal to move and support itself 
 over precipices and rugged ways. The back is clothed 
 with a short wool, as is the crupper and tail ; but it is 
 very long on the belly and sides. These animals dif- 
 fer in colour ; some are white, others black, but most 
 of them brown. 
 
 These useful, and even necessary animals, are 
 attended with no expense to their masters ; for, as they 
 are cloven-footed, they do not require to be shod, nor 
 do they require to be housed, as their wool supplies 
 them with a warm covering. Satisfied with a small 
 portion of vegetables and grass, they want neither 
 com nor hay to subsist them ; they are still more 
 moderate in what they drink, as their mouths are con- 
 tinually moistened with saliva, which they have in a 
 greater quantity than any other animal. The native* 
 hunt the Guanacos, or wild Llam-a, for the sake of its 
 fleece. The dogs have much trouble to follow them;<
 
 196 NATURAL HISTORT. 
 
 and, if they do not come up with them before they gain 
 the rocks, both the hunters and dogs are obliged to 
 desist in their pursuit. 
 
 The Pacos are a subordinate kind to the Llamas, 
 much in the same proportion as the ass is to the horse; 
 they are smaller, and not so serviceable ; but their 
 fleece is more useful : their wool is fine and long, and 
 is a sort of merchandize, as valuable as silk. The natu- 
 ral colour of the Pacos is that of a dried rose-leaf, 
 which is so fixed that it undergoes no alteration under 
 the hands of the manufacturers. They not only make 
 good gloves and stockings of this wool, but also form 
 it into quilts and carpets, which bring a higher price, 
 and exceed those of the Levant. 
 
 The Pacos also resemble the Llamas in their form, 
 excepting that their legs are shorter, and their muzzle 
 thicker and closer. They inhabit and climb over the 
 highest parts of the mountains. The snow and ice 
 seem rather agreeable than inconvenient to them. 
 When wild, they keep together in flocks, and run very 
 swift ; and, as soon as they perceive a stranger, they 
 take flight, driving their young before them. The 
 ancient monarchs of Peru rigorously prohibited the 
 hunting of them, as they multiply but slowly ; but, 
 since the arrival of the Spaniards in these parts, their 
 number is greatly decreased, so that at present there 
 are very few remaining. The flesh of these animals 
 is not so good as that of the Guanacos ; and they are 
 only sought after for their fleece, and the bezoar they 
 produce. The method of taking them proves their 
 extreme timidity, or rather their weakness. The hunt- 
 ers having driven the flock into a narrow passage, 
 across which they have stretched a rope about four feet 
 from the ground, with a number of pieces of linen or 
 cloth hanging on it, the animals are so intimidated at 
 these rags agitated by the wind, that they stop, and, 
 crowding together in a heap, the hunters kill great 
 numbers of them with the greatest ease ; but if there 
 are any Guanacos among the flock, which are less 
 timid than the Pacos, they leap over the rope with 
 great agility. The example is immediately followed 
 by the whole flock, and they escape the stratagem of 
 their pursuers. 
 
 With respect to the domestic Pacos, they are used
 
 THE LLAMA. 197 
 
 to carry burdens, like the Llamas ; but, being smaller 
 and weaker, they carry much less weight. They are 
 likewise of a more stubborn nature ; and, when once 
 they rest with their load, they will suffer themselves to 
 be cut to pieces sooner than rise. The Indians have 
 never made use of the milk of these animals, as they 
 have scarcely enough to supply their own young. 
 The great profit derived from their wool has induced 
 the Spaniards to endeavour to naturalize them in Eu- 
 rope : they have transported them into Spain, in hopes 
 to raise the breed in that country; but, the climate not 
 agreeing with their nature, not one of them lived. We 
 are, nevertheless, persuaded that these animals, which 
 are more valuable than the Llamas, might thrive upon 
 our mountains, especially upon the Pyrenean. Those 
 who brought them into Spain did not consider that they 
 can exist, even in Peru, only in the cold regions ; that 
 is, on the top of the highest mountains ; that they are 
 never to be found in the valleys, and die if brought 
 into hot countries ; that consequently, in order to pre- 
 serve them, they should be landed, not in Spain, but 
 in Scotland, and even in Norway, and with greater cer- 
 tainty at the foot of the Pyrenean, Alpine, or other 
 mountains, where they might climb and attain to the 
 region that most agrees with their nature. 
 
 The Llama is in general a timid and docile animal. 
 If teased or ill treated, however, they become spiteful. 
 Their mode of manifesting their anger is singular ; it 
 consists in darting their saliva in considerable quantity 
 upon the person who offends them. They will cover 
 with it a surface of three or four yards in extent. 
 
 The Vicuna, the wool of which is very valuable, 
 is smaller than the Llama ; its limbs are more neatly 
 formed, and it has no protuberance on the breast. It 
 is of a reddish brown on the upper part of the body, 
 and whitish on the lower. 
 
 " The Llamas (says the author of The Menageries) 
 form a secondary group of camels, offering to the eye 
 of the naturalist very small enatomical differences of 
 construction from that of the camel, properly so called. 
 The foot of the Llama is not, like that of the camel, 
 covered with an elastic sole, which joins the two toes. 
 From the absence of this entire sole, the species of 
 South America is enabled to climb the precipices of 
 17*
 
 1S)S NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the Andes, which are its native region, the toes having 
 strong nails, each of which has a thick cushion, or pad, 
 below. The Llama also wants the second canine tooth 
 in the lower jaw ; but this difference is not, by some, 
 considered such as to require a separation of the 
 genus for deer, of various species, have the same 
 deviation from the general type. Again, the absence 
 of the hump in the Llama species is not an anatomical 
 difference which constitutes a character,; for, as the 
 skeleton of the Bactrian camel with two humps does not 
 differ from that of the Arabian with one, so does the 
 bones of the arrangement of the Llama agree precisely 
 with the conformation of the camel. The zebu is an 
 ox, although he has a hump. The ears of the Llama 
 are longer, and the tail is shorter, than those of the 
 camel. The similarities which determine the genus to 
 which the camels and the Llamas belong, are prin- 
 cipally these : 1. Each species has very remarkable 
 peculiarities connected with the economy of their re- 
 production, in which they differ from all other animals. 
 2. The camel and the Llama differ also from every 
 other species of the class of ruminating animals, in the 
 want of horns, and in having two large incisive teeth 
 on each side of the upper jaw. 3. The stomachs of 
 the camel and the Llama are, in some degree, similarly 
 constructed. Father Feuillee has described the sto- 
 mach of the Llama ; and maintains that it has not only 
 a large reservoir for carrying water, but that, like the 
 stomach of the camel, it has the same machinery for 
 allowing the separation of solid from liquid aliment. 
 Sir Everard Home, however, describes this portion of 
 the Llama's stomach as only partially resembling that 
 of the camel. He says, " the stomach has a portion 
 of it, as it were, intended to resemble the reservoirs 
 for water in the camel ; but these have no depth, are 
 only superficial cells, and have no muscular apparatus 
 to close their mouths; and allow the solid food to pass 
 into the fourth cavity, or truly digesting stomach, 
 without going into these cells." But that the Llama 
 has an internal mechanism for retaining water, or 
 secreting a liquid substance, is certain ; for, on the 
 summit of the Andes, they are far above any lakes ; 
 and it has been observed that, in a state of domestica- 
 tion, they never exhibit a desire to drink whilst tiv'f
 
 THE SLOTH. 199 
 
 can obtain green pasture. 4. The Llama, according 
 to Molina (Storia Nat. del Chili], has a conformation 
 resembling the camel's hump, being provided with an 
 excess of nutritive matter, which lies in a thick bed of 
 fat under the skin, and is absorbed as a compensation 
 for an occasional want of food. These remarkable 
 similarities certainly warrant naturalists in classing the 
 camel and the Llama in the same genus, although they 
 differ both in size and form. They are each evidently 
 fitted by nature for the endurance of great hardships 
 and privations the one amidst the sands of the desert, 
 under a burning sun the other on the wastes of some 
 of the loftiest mountains of the world, with a region of 
 perpetual snow above them. The slight variations in 
 their conformation, such as that of the foot, are modi- 
 fications of nature which fit them for their respective 
 localities. A habitation among the rocks would be 
 mechanically impossible for the camel ; whilst the 
 burning plains would be as little suited to the Llama. 
 But each is adapted to exist in a very arid and sterile 
 region ; and their habits are created by their peculiar 
 organization." 
 
 THE UNAII AND THE AI. 
 
 THESE two animals have the epithet of Sloth given 
 to them both by most authors, on account of theii 
 slowness, and the difficulty with which they walk. 
 The Unau, or two-toed Sloth, has no tail, and only 
 two nails on the fore feet. The Ai, or three-toed 
 Sloth, has a short tail, and three nails on every foot. 
 The nose of the Unau is likewise much longer, the 
 forehead higher, and the ears longer than those of the 
 Ai. It differs also in the hair. As for its interior, its 
 visceia are both formed and situated differently ; but 
 the most distinctive, and, at the same time, the most 
 singular character, is, that the Unau has forty-six ribs, 
 while the Ai has but twenty-eight. This alone sup- 
 poses two species, quite distinct one from the other ; 
 and these forty-six ribs, in an animal whose body is so 
 short, is a kind of excess or error in nature ; for, even 
 in the largest animals, and those whose bodies are 
 relatively longer than they are thick, not one of them 
 IB found to have so many. The elephant has only forty
 
 960 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the dog twenty-six, and the human species twenty-four, 
 &.C. This difference in the construction of the Unau 
 and the Ai supposes a greater distance between these 
 two kinds than there is between that of the cat and the 
 dog, which have the same number of ribs ; for the 
 external differences are nothing in comparison with 
 the internal ones, which are the causes of the others. 
 These animals have neither incisive nor canirfe teeth ; 
 their eyes are dull and heavy; their mouths wide and 
 thick ; their fur coarse and staring, and like dried 
 grass ; their thighs seem almost disjointed from the 
 haunch ; their legs very short, and badly shaped ; they 
 have no soles to the feet, nor toes separately moveable, 
 but only two or three claws excessively long, and 
 crooked downwards and backwards. Unfurnished 
 with teeth, they cannot seize any prey, nor feed upon 
 flesh, nor even upon vegetable food. Reduced to live 
 on leaves and wild fruits, they take up a long time iu 
 crawling to a tree, and are still longer in climbing up 
 to the branches. During this slow and painful labour, 
 which- sometimes lasts many days, they are obliged 
 to support the most pressing hunger; and when, at 
 length, one of them has accomplished its end, it fastens 
 itself to the tree, crawls from branch to branch, and, 
 by degrees strips the whole tree of its foliage. In this 
 manner it remains several weeks, without moistening 
 its dry food with any liquid ; .and when it has consumed 
 the store, and the tree is entirely naked, yet unable to 
 descend, it continues on till hunger presses, and that 
 becoming more powerful than the fear of danger or 
 death, it drops, like a shapeless, heavy mass, to the 
 ground, without being capable of exerting any effort to 
 break the violence of its fall. 
 
 On the ground, these animals are exposed to all their 
 enemies ; and, as their flesh is not absolutely bad, they 
 are killed by men and beasts of prey. They seem to 
 multiply but little ; or, if they produce very often, it 
 is only a small number, as they are furnished but with 
 two teats. Every thing concurs, therefore, to their 
 destruction, and the species supports itself with great 
 difficulty. It is true that, although they are slow, 
 heavy, and almost incapable of motion, yet they are 
 hardy, strong, and can abstain a long time from food : 
 covered also with a thick and coarse fur, and unabl*
 
 THE SLOTH. 201 
 
 ecarcely to move, they waste but little, and fatten by- 
 rest, however poor and dry their food is. Although 
 they have neither horns on their heads, nor hoofs to 
 their feet, nor incisive teeth in the lower jaw, they 
 are, notwithstanding, among the number of ruminating 
 animals, and have, like them, four stomachs ; so that 
 they consequently, can compensate for the quality of 
 their food by the quantity they take at a time ; and 
 what is still more singular is, that, instead of having, 
 like other ruminating animals, very long intestines, 
 theirs are very short, like those of the carnivorous 
 kind. 
 
 Both these animals belong to the southern parts of 
 the New Continent, and are never to be met with in 
 the Old. The Unau, as well as the Ai, is to be met 
 with in the deserts of America, from Brazil to Mexico ; 
 but they have never inhabited the northern countries. 
 They cannot endure cold nor rain ; the change from 
 wet to dry spoils their fur, which then resembles badly 
 dressed hemp, rather than wool or hair. 
 
 Such is the description given of the Sloth, by Buffon 
 and other naturalists; and, judging of it from such a 
 representation, it is not wonderful that the animal has 
 become proverbial as one of the most sluggish and 
 wretched of the whole brute creation. It happens, 
 however, that this description of its habits and suffer- 
 ings is sadly at variance with truth. Mr. Waterton, 
 who. in his numerous and protracted journeys through 
 the woods of South America, had abundant opportuni- 
 ties of studying the natural history of the Sloth, has 
 shown the incorrectness of preceding writers upon this 
 subject. 
 
 " Let us turn our attention (says he) to the Sloth, 
 whose haunts have hitherto been so little known, and 
 probably little looked into. Those who have written 
 on this singular animal have remarked that he is in a 
 perpetual state of pain ; that he is proverbially slow 
 in his movements ; that he is a prisoner in space ; and 
 that,- as soon as he has consumed all the leaves of the 
 tree upon which he has mounted, he rolls himself up 
 in the form of a ball, and then falls to the ground. 
 This is not the case. 
 
 " If the naturalists who have written the history ot 
 the Sloth had gone into the wilds, in orde r to examine
 
 202 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 his haunts and economy, they would not have drawn 
 the foregoing conclusions ; they would have learned 
 that, though all other quadrupeds may be described 
 while resting on the ground, the Sloth is an exception 
 to this rule, and that his history must be written while 
 he is in the tree. 
 
 " This singular animal is destined by nature to be 
 produced, to live, and to die, in the trees; and, to do 
 justice to him, naturalists must examine him in his 
 upper element. He is a scarce and solitary animal, 
 and, being good food, he is never allowed to escape. 
 He inhabits remote and gloomy forests, where snakes 
 take up their abode, and where cruelly stinging ants 
 and scorpions, and swamps, and innumerable thorny 
 shrubs and bushes, obstruct the steps of civilized man. 
 Were you to draw your own conclusions from the 
 descriptions which have been given of the Sloth, you 
 would probably suspect that no naturalist had actually 
 gone into the wilds with the fixed determination to find 
 him out and examine his haunts, and see whether Na- 
 ture has committed any blunder in the formation of 
 this extraordinary creature, which appears to us so 
 forlorn and miserable, so ill put together, and so totally 
 unfit to enjoy the blessings which have been so boun- 
 tifully given to the rest of animated nature ; for, as it 
 has formerly been remarked, he has no soles to his 
 feet, and he is evidently ill at ease when he tries to 
 move 6n the ground ; and it is then that he looks up in 
 your face with a countenance that says, ' Have pity on 
 me, for I am in pain and sorrow.' 
 
 " It mostly happens that Indians and Negroes are 
 the people who catch the Sloth, and bring it to the 
 white man. Hence it may be conjectured that the 
 erroneous accounts we have hitherto had of the Sloth 
 have not been penned down with the slightest inten- 
 tion to mislead the reader, or give him an exaggera ed 
 history, but that these errors have naturally arisen by 
 examining the Sloth in those places where Nature 
 never intended that he should be exhibited. 
 
 " However, we are now in his own domain. Man 
 but little frequents these thick and noble forests, which 
 extend far and wide on every side of us. This, then, 
 is the proper place to go in quest of the Sloth. We 
 will first tak" a near view of h ; "n By obtaining a
 
 THE SLOTH. 
 
 203 
 
 knowledge of his anatomy, we shall be enabled to 
 account for his movements hereafter, when we see him 
 in his proper haunts. His fore legs, or, more correctly 
 speaking, his arms, are apparently much too long, 
 while his hind legs are very short, and look as if 
 they could be bent almost to the shape of a corkscrew. 
 Both the fore and hind legs, by their form, and by the 
 manner in which they are joined to the body, are quite 
 incapacitated from acting in a perpendicular direction, 
 or in supporting it on the earth, as the bodies of other 
 quadrupeds are supported, by their legs. Hence, when 
 you place him on the floor, his belly touches the 
 ground. Now, granted, that he supported himself on 
 his legs like other animals, nevertheless he would be 
 in pain, for he has no soles to his feet, and his claws 
 are very sharp and long, and curved ; so that, were 
 his body supported by his feet, it would be by their 
 extremities; just as your body would be were you to 
 throw yourself on all fours, and try to support it on 
 the ends of your toes and fingers a trying position. 
 Were the floor of glass, or of a polished surface, the 
 Sloth would actually be quite stationary ; but as the 
 ground is generally rough, with little protuberances 
 upon it, such as stones, or roots of grass, <fec., this just 
 suits the Sloth, and he moves his fore legs in all direc- 
 tions, in order to find something to lay hold .of; and when 
 he has succeeded, he pulls himself forward, and is thus 
 enabled to travel onwards, but, at the same time, in so 
 tardy a manner as to acquire him the name of Sloth. 
 
 " Indeed, his looks and his gestures evidently betray 
 his uncomfortable situation ; and, as a sigh every now 
 and then escapes him, we may be entitled to conclude 
 that he is actually in pain. 
 
 " Some years ago I kept a Sloth in my room for 
 several months. I often took him out of the house, 
 and placed him upon the ground, in order to have an 
 opportunity of observing his motions. If the ground 
 were rough, he would pull himself forwards by means 
 of his fore legs, at a pretty good pace, and he invaria- 
 bly suaped his course towards the nearest tree. But 
 if 1 put him upon a smooth and well trodden part of 
 the road, he appeared to be in trouble and distress: 
 his favourite abode was the back of a chair ; and, after 
 getting all his legs in a line upon the topmost part of
 
 204 NATURAL HISTORIC. 
 
 it, he would hang there for hours together, and often, 
 with a low and inward cry, would seem to invite me to 
 take notice of him. 
 
 " The Sloth, in its wild state, spends its whole life 
 in the trees, and nev <r leaves them but through force 
 or accident. An all-ruling Providence has ordained 
 man to tread on the surface of the earth, the eagle 
 to soar in the expanse of the skies, and the monkey and 
 squirrel to inhabit the trees : still these may change 
 their relative situations without feeling much incon- 
 venience ; but the Sloth is doomed to spend his whole 
 life in the trees ; and, what is more extraordinary, not 
 upon the branches, like the squirrel and the monkey, 
 but under them. He moves suspended from the branch, 
 he rests suspended from it, and he sleeps suspended 
 from it. To enable him to do this, he must have a 
 very different formation from that of any other known 
 quadruped. 
 
 " Hence, his seemingly bungled conformation is at 
 once accounted for ; and, in lieu of the Sloth leading 
 a painful life, and entailing a melancholy and misera- 
 ble existence on its progeny, it is but fair to surmise 
 that it enjoys life just as much as any other animal, and 
 that his extraordinary formation and singular habits are 
 but further proofs to engage us to admire the wonder- 
 '"ul works of Omnipotence. 
 
 " It must be observed, that the Sloth does not hang 
 head downwards like the vampyre. When asleep, he 
 supports himself on a branch parallel to the earth. 
 He first seizes the branch with one arm, and then with 
 the other ; and, after that, brings up both his legs, ono 
 by one, to the same branch ; so that all four are in a 
 line ; he seems perfectly at rest in this position. Now, 
 had he a tail, he would be at a loss to know what to 
 do with it in this position : were he to draw it up with 
 his legs, it would interfere with them; and were he to 
 let it hang down, it would become the sport of the 
 winds. Thus his deficiency of tail is a benefit to him ; 
 it is merely an apology for a tail, scarcely exceeding 
 an inch and a half in length. 
 
 " I observed when he was climbing, he never used 
 his arms both together, but first one and then the other, 
 and so on alternately. There is a singularity in his 
 hair, differen from that of all other animals, and I b-
 
 THE SLOTH. 205 
 
 Jieve, hitherto unnoticed by naturalists ; his hair is 
 thick and coarse at the extremity, and gradually tapers 
 to the root, where it becomes fine as the finest spider's 
 web. His fur has so much the hue of the moss which 
 grows on the branches of the tiees, that it is very dif- 
 ficult to make him out when he is at rest. 
 
 " The male, of the three-toed Sloth, has a longitu- 
 dinal bar of very fine black hair on hip back, rather 
 lower than the shoulder-blades , on each side of this 
 black hair their is a space of yellow hair, equally fine ; 
 it has the appearance of being } .essed into the body, 
 and looks exactly as if it had been singed. If we ex- 
 amine the anatomy of his fore legs, we shall immedi- 
 ately perceive by their firm and muscular texture, how 
 very capable they are of supporting the pendent weight 
 of his body, both in climbing and at rest ; and, instead 
 of pronouncing them a bungled composition, as a cele- 
 brated naturalist has done, we shall consider them as 
 remarkably well calculated to perform their ordinary 
 functions. 
 
 " As the Sloth is an inhabitant of forests within the 
 tropics, where the trees touch each other in the great- 
 est profusion, there seems to be no reason why he 
 should confine himself to one tree alone for food, and 
 entirely strip it of its leaves. During the many years 
 I have ranged the forests, I have never seen a tree in 
 such a state of nudity ; indeed I would hazard a con- 
 jecture, that by the time the animal has finished the last 
 of the old leaves, there would be a new crop on the part 
 of the tree he had stripped first, ready for him to be- 
 gin again, so quick is the process of vegetation in these 
 countries. 
 
 "There is a saying among the Indians, that when 
 the wind blows, the Sloth begins to travel. In calm 
 weather he remains tranquil, probably not liking to 
 cling to the brittle extremity of the branches, lest they 
 should break with him in passing from one tree to 
 another ; but as soon as the wind rises, the branches 
 of the neighbouring trees become interwoven, and then 
 the Sloth seizes hold of them, and pursues his journey 
 in safety. There is seldom an entire day of calm 
 in these forests. The trade wind generally sets in 
 about ten o'clock in the morning, and thus the Sloth 
 may set on' after breakfast, and get a considerable way 
 VOL. II. 18
 
 206 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 before dinner. He travels at a good round pace ; and 
 were you to see him pass from tree to tree, as I have 
 done, you would never think of calling him a Sloth. 
 
 " Thus it would appear that the different histories 
 we have of this quadruped are erroneous on two ac- 
 counts : first that the writers of them, deterred by di - 
 ficulties and local annoyances, have not paid sufficient 
 attention to him in his native haunts ; and, secondly, 
 they have described him in a situation in which he was 
 never intended by nature to cut a figure, I mean on the 
 ground. The Sloth is as much at a loss to proceed on 
 his journey upon a smooth and level floor, as a man 
 would be who had to walk a mile in stilts upon a 
 line of feather-beds. 
 
 " v One day, as we were crossing the Essequibo, I saw 
 a large two-toed Sloth on the ground upon the bank ; 
 how he got there nobody could tell : the Indian said he 
 had never surprised a Sloth in such a situation before ; 
 he would hardly have come there to drink, for both 
 above and below the place, the branches of the trees 
 touched the water, and afforded him an easy and safe 
 access to it. Be this as it may, though the trees were 
 not above twenty yards from him, he could not make 
 his way through the sand time enough to escape before 
 we landed. As soon as we got up to him, he threw 
 himself on his back, and defended himself in gallant 
 style with his fore legs. ' Come, poor fellow,' said I to 
 him, ' if thou hast got into a hobble to day, thou shalt 
 not suffer for it : I'll take no advantage of thee in 
 misfortune ; the forest is large enough both for thee 
 and me to rove in : go thy ways up above, and enjoy 
 thyself in these endless wilds ; it is more than probable 
 thou wilt never have another interview with man. So, 
 fare the well.' On saying this. J took up a large stick 
 which was lying there, held it for him to hook on, and 
 then conveyed him to a high and stately mora. He 
 ascended with wonderful rapidity, and in about a 
 minute he was almost at the top of the tree. He now 
 went off in a side direction, and caught hold of the 
 branch of a neighbouring tree ; he then proceeded 
 towards the heart of the forest ; I stood looking on, 
 lost in amazement at his singular mode of progress. 
 I followed him with my eye till the intervening 
 branches closed in betwixt us ; and then I lost sight
 
 THE SURIKAT THE TAR9IER. 207 
 
 or ever of the two-toed Sloth. I was going to add, 
 that I never saw a Sloth take to his heels in such 
 earnest , but the expression will not do, for the Sloth 
 has no heels." 
 
 THE SURIKAT. 
 
 THIS animal is a native of the Cape of Good Hope 
 and of Java. It is very lively and subtle ; it some- 
 times walks on its hinder legs, and often sits upright 
 on them, with its fore paws hanging down by the side 
 of the body. Its head is then erect, and moves upon 
 the neck as on a pivot. It is not so large as a rabbit, 
 and nearly resembles the marmose in size ; its tail is 
 somewhat longer, and its snout is more prominent and 
 raised. It is more like the coati than any other animal. 
 Its character likewise is nearly original, since it neither 
 belongs to the coati nor the hyaena. These two are the 
 only animals which have four toes to every foot. 
 
 This animal eats raw meat with eagerness, and par- 
 ticularly poultry and mice. It is a great enemy to the 
 cockroach. It is fond of fish, and still more of eggs. 
 It will eat neither fruit nor bread. It makes use of its 
 fore feet, like the squirrel, to carry its food to its mouth ; 
 it laps its drink like a dog, and will not touch water, 
 unless it is lukewarm. Of one in the French king's 
 collection, its common drink was its own urine, although 
 of a very strong smell. It did not chew its food, but 
 often scratched the brick or plastered walls with its 
 nails. It was so well tamed, that it answered to its 
 name when called ; it went about the house like a cat, 
 and had two voices; one like the barking of a young 
 dog, when it was left long alone, or heard an unusual 
 noise; on the contrary, when it was caressed, or when 
 it showed some token of pleasure, it made a noise as 
 strong as that of a rattle briskly turned. It was a 
 female animal, and only lived one winter, notwith- 
 standing all the care that was taken to feed and keep 
 it warm. 
 
 THE TARSIER 
 
 Is an animal remarkable for the length of its hind 
 legs, which are longer than the rest of its whole body
 
 208 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The bones of the feet, and especially those which 
 compose the upper part of the tarsus, are of an extra- 
 ordinary size ; and it is from this very character we 
 have taken its name. It has five toes to every foot- 
 it has, as I may say, four hands ; for the toes are very 
 long, and sufficiently divided: the largest of those 
 behind, or the thumb, is terminated by a flat claw ; and, 
 although the claws of the other toes are pointed, they 
 are, at the same time, so short and so small, that they 
 do not prevent the animal from using its fore feet like 
 hands. The jerboa, on the contrary, has only four 
 toes, and four long and crooked claws, on its fore feet: 
 and, instead of a thumb, it has only a tubercle without 
 any claw : but, what removes it farther from our Tar- 
 sier, is, that it has only three fingers, or three great 
 claws, on the hind feet. The Tarsier is found in some 
 remote islands of India; particularly in Amboyna. One 
 species is a native of Madagascar. 
 
 THE PHALANGER. 
 
 THESE animals, which have been sent to us by the 
 name of Surinam Rats, have much less affinity with 
 rats, than with the animals of the same climate of 
 which we have given the history, under the names of 
 the marmose and cayopollin. As it has never been 
 named by any artist or traveller, we have denominated 
 it from its character, which is totally different from 
 that of any other animal, and have called it Phalanger 
 from its phalanges being singularly formed, and be- 
 cause its two fore toes are conjoined in such a manner 
 that this double toe appears like a hoof, separated only 
 near the claws; the thumb is separated from the fingers, 
 and has no claw at its extremity. 
 
 These animals vary in the colour of the hair ; some 
 species are about the size of a small rabbit, or a very 
 large rat, and are remarkable for the excessive length 
 of their tail, snout, and the form of their teeth, which 
 alone is sufficient to distinguish the Phalanger from 
 the marmose, the surikat, the rat, and every other 
 species of animals to which it may be supposed to 
 relate. The Fox Phalanger, to which White gives the 
 name of the Vulpine Opossum, is more than three feet 
 and a half in length. The Dwarf Phalanger, on the
 
 THE COtlUALLI.N* HAMSTER RAT. SOU 
 
 contrary, which is found on an island near Van Die 
 man's Land, is not larger than a mouse. 
 
 THE COQUALLIN. 
 
 THIS animal was sent from America, by the name 
 of the Orange-coloured Squirrel. It is, however, not 
 a squirrel, although sufficiently resembling it by the 
 shape of the tail ; for it not only differs by many ex- 
 ternal characters, but also by its nature and manners. 
 
 The Coquallin is much larger than the squirrel ; it 
 is a beautiful animal, and very remarkable for its colour, 
 its belly being of a fine yellow, and its head, as well 
 as body, varied with white, black, brown, and orange; 
 it covers its back with its tail, like the squirrel, but 
 has not, like that animal, small brushes of hair at the 
 tips of the ears : it never climbs up any trees, but 
 dwells in the hollows, and under the roots of trees, 
 like the garden squirrel. In such places, it builds its 
 nest, and rears up its young ; it likewise stores its lit- 
 tle habitation with corn and fruit, to feed on during 
 the winter ; it is a jealous and cunning animal, and so 
 exceedingly wild, that it is impossible to be tamed. 
 
 The Coquallin is only found in the southern parts of 
 America ; the white and orange coloured squirrels of 
 the East Indies are much smaller, and their colours 
 uniform. These are true squirrels, which climb up 
 trees, and produce their young on them; while the 
 Coquallin, and the American suisse, burrow under 
 ground, like rabbits, and have no other affinity with 
 the squirrel, than a resemblance in the external form. 
 M. Frederic Cuvier considers it as nothing more than 
 a variety of the sciurus capistratus. 
 
 THE HAMSTER RAT. 
 
 THIS animal, which is also called the German Mar- 
 mot, is about the size of the brown rat, but much 
 thicker. Its colour is reddish brown above, and black 
 beneath ; there are three large oval white spots on each 
 side of the body. The ears are somewhat large. But 
 the pef nliarity which distinguishes it is, that there are 
 two pouches or receptacles for food on each side of its 
 mouth. These are not visible externally when empty: 
 18*
 
 *210 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 but, when distended, they resemble a pair 31' tumid 
 bladders, with a smooth, veiny surface, which the fur 
 of the cheeks conceals. The pouches of one which Dr. 
 Russel dissected, were found stuffed with French 
 beans, arranged lengthwise, in such compact and accu- 
 rate order, that it was exceedingly difficult to conceive 
 how they had been so placed. When loosely laid on 
 a table, they formed a heap thrice the bulk of the ani- 
 mal's body. Austria, Silesia, and some parts of Gei- 
 many, are their native places. 
 
 The Hamster is one of the most famous and most 
 pernicious rats that exist. We have fed one of these 
 animals for many months, says Buffon, and afterwards 
 had it dissected, and observed, that the Hamster resem- 
 bled more the water rat, than any other animal ; it 
 resembled it also in the smallness of its eyes, and the 
 fineness of its hair ; but its tail is not so long as that of 
 a water rat; but, on the contrary, it is much shorter 
 than that of the short-tailed mouse. All these animals 
 live under the earth, and seem to be animated with the 
 same instinct ; they have nearly the same habits, and 
 particularly that of collecting corn, &,c., and making 
 great magazines in their holes. 
 
 The habitations of the Hamsters are different, 
 according to their sex and age, and also to the quality 
 of the land they inhabit. That of the male Hamster is 
 an oblique passage, and at the entrance is a portion of 
 earth thrown up. At a distance from the entrance, 
 there is a single hole, which descends in a perpendicu- 
 lar manner to the chambers or cavities of the habitation. 
 There is no hillock of earth near that hole ; which makes 
 us presume, that the oblique entrance is made hollow 
 from the outside, and that the perpendicular hole, by 
 which they come out, is worked withinside, from the 
 bottom to the top. 
 
 The habitation of the female has also an oblique 
 passage, with two or three, and even eight perpendi- 
 cular holes, by which the young ones may come in 
 and go out. The male and the female have each their 
 separate abode : that of the female is deeper than that 
 of the male. 
 
 The perpendicular hole is the common passage foi 
 coming in and going out. By the obl'que road, they 
 throw out the earth they scrafch up. This passage
 
 THE HAMSTER RAT. 211 
 
 Isc 1 as i gentle declivity into some of the cavities, 
 and anotl.er more steep into others which serve for a 
 free circulation of the air in this subterraneous habita- 
 tion. The cavity where the female breeds her young 
 contains no provision, but only a nest formed of straw 
 or grass. The depth of the cavity is very different. 
 The young Hamster, of a year old, makes its burrow 
 only a foot deep, while the old animal often hollows it 
 to the depth of four or five feet. All the cavities com- 
 municate together in one habitation, which is about 
 eight or ten feet in diameter. 
 
 These animals store their magazines with dry clover, 
 corn, and other grain ; beans and peas they likewise 
 provide themselves with ; all these they are particu- 
 larly careful to separate from the husk, which, with 
 every other matter they do not make use of, they carry 
 out of their habitation by this oblique passage. 
 
 The Hamster commonly gets in its winter provisions 
 at the latter end of August. Its stores are not meant 
 for a winter supply, it being torpid at that season, but 
 for the preceding and following period. When it has 
 filled its magazines, it covers them over, and shuts the 
 avenues to them carefully with earth. This precau- 
 tion renders the discovery of these animals very diffi- 
 cult. The heaps of earth which they throw up before 
 the oblique passage, are the only marks to trace their 
 habitations. The most usual method of taking them, is 
 by digging them out of their holes, which is attended 
 with much trouble, on account of the depth and extent 
 of their burrows ; however, a man versed in this busi- 
 ness, commonly effects his purpose with good success. 
 In autumn, he seldom fails of finding two good bushels 
 of corn in. each of their habitations; and he draws 
 great profit from the skins of the animals. The Ham- 
 sters bring forth their young two or three times in a 
 year, and seldom less than five or six each time. Some 
 years there are great numbers of them to be seen, and 
 in others, scarcely any to be met with. They multi- 
 ply in great numbers when the seasons are wet, which 
 causes a great scarcity of grain, by the devastation 
 these animals make. 
 
 The tack of the Hamster is commonly brown, and 
 the belly black ; however, there are some of a gray 
 Colour ; and this difference may proceed from their
 
 812 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 age. Besides these, there are some often met with 
 which are entirely black. 
 
 The Hamster begins to burrow at the age of six 
 weeks, or two months ; it never procreates, however, 
 in the first year of its growth. There are numbers 
 produced in one year, insomuch, that, in some parts 
 of Germany, from their occasioning a dearth of corn, 
 a reward is fixed on their heads. Jn one year, about 
 eleven thousand skins, in another, fifty-four thousand, 
 and in a third year eighty thousand, were produced at 
 the Town Hall of Gotha, as vouchers to enable the 
 bearers to receive the reward. They are -likewise in 
 such great numbers, that their fur is sold exceedingly 
 cheap. 
 
 The polecat is a great enemy to the Hamsters, 
 which he destroys in a great numbers ; he not only pur- 
 sues them on land, but follows them into their burrows, 
 and feeds on them there. 
 
 The Hamster itself is one of the most inveterate 
 enemies of its own kind. His life (says a recent 
 naturalist) is divided between eating and fighting. He 
 seems to have no other passion than that of rage ; 
 which induces him to attack every animal that comes 
 in his way, without in the least attending to the strength 
 of the enemy. Ignorant of the art of saving himself 
 by flight, rather than yield he will allow himself to be 
 beaten in pieces with a stick. If he seizes a man's 
 hand he must be killed before he will quit his hold. The 
 magnitude of the horse terrifies him as little as the 
 address of the dog, which last is fond of hunting him. 
 When the Hamster perceives a dog at distance, he be- 
 gins by emptying his cheek-pouches, if they happen 
 to be filled with grain ; he then blows them up so pro- 
 digiously, that the size of his head and neck greatly 
 exceeds that of the rest of the body. He raises him- 
 self on his hind legs, and thus darts upon the enemy. 
 If he catches hold, he never quits his foe but with the 
 loss of life. This ferocious disposition prevents the 
 Hamster from being at peace with any animal what- 
 ever. He even makes war against his own species. 
 When two Hamsters meet, they never fail to attack 
 each other, and the stronger always devours the 
 weaker. A combat between a male and female com 
 monb r lasts longer than that between two males. Thej
 
 THE BOBAC, AND OTHER MARMOTS. 213 
 
 begin by pursuing and biting each other ; then each 
 of them retires aside, as if to take breath. After a 
 short interval they renew the combat, and continue to 
 fight till one of them falls. 
 
 THE BOBAC, AND OTHER MARMOTS. 
 
 THE name of the Strasbourg Marmot has been 
 affixed to the hamster, and that of the Poland Marmot 
 to the Bobac ; but it is certain, that the hamster is not 
 a Marmot ; and it is also probable that the Bobac is 
 one, as it only differs from the Marmot of the Alps, 
 by the colour of its fur, which is not quite so gray. 
 There is a great claw, or toe, to the fore feet of the 
 hamster, while the Marmot has only four toes to each 
 foot ; but in other respects it perfectly resembles it. 
 It is the same with respect to the Canadian Marmot, or 
 Monax, which some travellers have termed the Whis- 
 tler. It only seems to differ from the Marmot by the 
 tail, which is thicker of hair. 
 
 The Bobac constructs burrows obliquely in the 
 ground, of the depth of two, three, or four yards, and 
 consisting of several galleries. Where the soil is hard 
 or rocky, thirty or forty animals work in concert. 
 Towards the approach of winter, they fill their bur- 
 rows with the finest hay. They are good natured and 
 timid, but when driven to defend themselves they bite 
 severely. It is easy to tame them. 
 
 The Canadian Monax, the Poland Bobac, and the 
 Alpine Marmots, are, indeed, probably all the same 
 kind of animal, under different denominations. As this 
 species prefers the coldest and highest mountains in 
 Poland, Russia, and other parts of the north of Europe, 
 no wonder it is found in Canada, where it is only some- 
 what less than in Europe. 
 
 The Siberian animal also called by the Russians 
 Jevras Chka, is a kind of Marmot, still less than the 
 Canadian Monax. 
 
 JERBOA, 
 
 Is a generical name, which we make use of in this 
 place, to denote those remarkable animals whose legs 
 are extremely disproportionate. In many particulars,
 
 214 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 both o: habit and conformation, the Jerboa bears a 
 striking resemblance to the kanguroo tribe, though, 
 according to the Linnaean system, it does not class 
 with it. Like the kanguroo, it has long hind leg?, 
 which it uses in leaping. It seldom goes on all fours ; 
 and its fore legs, which are very short, are almost 
 wholly employed in holding its food, and in making 
 its burrows. There are four distinct species or varie- 
 ties of this kind. First, the Tarsier, of which we 
 have already spoken, and which is certainly a particu- 
 lar species, as its toes are made like those of the mon- 
 key, having five on each foot. Secondly, the Jerboa, 
 whose feet are like the fissipedes, with four claws on 
 those before, and three on those behind. Thirdly, the 
 Alagtata, whose feet are formed like those of the Jer- 
 boa, with this difference, that they have five toes on 
 the fore, and three on the hinder feet, with a spur or a 
 kind of thumb, or a fourth toe, much shorter than the 
 other. Fourthly, the Daman Israel, or Lamb of Is- 
 rael, which has four toes to the fore feet, and five to 
 the hinder, which may possibly be the same animal 
 which Linnaeus has described by the name of Mus 
 Longipes. 
 
 The head of the . erboa is sloped somewhat in the 
 manner of a rabbit ; but the eyes are larger, and the 
 ears shorter, though elevated and open, with respect 
 to its size ; its nose and hair are of a flesh colour, its 
 mouth short and thick, the orifice of the mouth very 
 narrow, the upper jaw, very full, the lower narrow anc 
 short, the teeth like those of the rabbit ; the mus- 
 taches are composed of long black and white hairs ; 
 the fore feet are very short, and never touch the 
 ground ; they are furnished with four claws, which are 
 only used as hands to carry the food to the animal's 
 mouth; the hind feet have but three claws, the middle 
 one longer than the other two ; the tail is three times 
 as large as its body, and is covered with short stubborn 
 hair, of the same colour as that on the back, but tufted 
 at the end with longer and softer hair ; the legs, nose, 
 and eyes are bare, and of a flesh colour ; the upper 
 part of the head and back are covered with an ash- 
 coloured hair ; the sides, throat, and belly are whitish ; 
 and below the loins, and near the tail, there is a large, 
 black, transversal band, in form of a crescent.- While
 
 THE ICHNEUMON. 216 
 
 leaping, the Jerboa stretches out its tail, but while 
 standing or walking, it carries it in the form of an S, 
 the lower part touching the ground. 
 
 These little animals commonly conceal their hands, 
 or fore feet, with their hair ; so that they are said by 
 some to have only hinder feet. When they move from 
 one place to another, they do not walk, that is, advance 
 one foot before the other, but jump, or bound, about 
 four or five feet at a time : this they do with the 
 greatest ease and swiftness, holding themselves erect, 
 after the manner of birds when they hop on the ground. 
 Instead, however, of proceeding straight forward, it 
 jumps first to one side, and then to the other. Such is 
 its agility, that even a greyhound can scarcely kill it. 
 They rest themselves in a kneeling posture, and only 
 sleep in the day. In the night time, they seek for their 
 food like hares, and, like them, feed on grass, corn, and 
 other grain. They are of a gentle nature, but not to 
 be tamed beyond a certain limit. They burrow like 
 rabbits, and in much less time. The excavations which 
 it forms are many yards long, oblique, and winding, 
 but not more than half a yard from the surface of the 
 ground. It is fond of warmth, making its nest of the 
 finest and most delicate herbage ; and seems sensible 
 of the approach of bad weather by wrapping itself up 
 close in hay, with its head between its thighs. I 
 sleeps during winter, without nutriment. The Jerboa 
 breeds several times in the summer, and usually brings 
 forth seven or eight young ones at a litter. The flesh 
 is reckoned one of the greatest of delicacies by the 
 Arabs. They are found in Syria, Phoenicia, Bar- 
 bary, <fec. 
 
 THE ICHNEUMON. 
 
 FROM the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, the 
 Ichneumon is from twenty-four to forty-two inches in 
 length ; nearly half of which is occupied by the tail. 
 At the base, the tail is very thick ; it tapers gradually 
 towards the point, which is slightly tufted. The eyes 
 are of a bright red ; the ears almost naked, small and 
 rounded : the nose is long and slender. The legs are 
 short. The hair is hard and coarse, and of a paie 
 reddish gray, each hair being mottled with brown 01 
 mouse colour*
 
 216 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 This animal is domestic in Egypt, like our cat; and, 
 like that, is serviceable in destroying rats and mice : 
 but its inclination for prey and its instinct are much 
 stronger and more extensive than the cat's ; for it hunts 
 alike birds, quadrupeds, serpents, lizards, and insects, 
 it attacks every living creature in general, and feeds 
 entirely on animal flesh ; its courage is equal to the 
 sharpness of its appetite ; it is neither frightened at 
 the anger of the dog, nor the malice of the cat, nor 
 even dreads the bite of the serpent : it pursues them 
 with eagerness, and seizes on them, however venomous 
 they may be. As soon as it begins to feel the impres- 
 sions of their venom, it immediately goes in search of 
 antidotes, and particularly a root that the Indians call 
 by its name, and which, they say, is one of the most 
 powerful remedies in nature against the bite of the 
 viper. It sucks the eggs of the crocodile, as well as 
 those of fowls and birds ; it also kills and feeds on 
 young crocodiles, when they are scarcely come out of 
 their shell ; and, as fable commonly accompanies truth, 
 it has been currently reported, that, by virtue of this 
 antipathy, the Ichneumon enters the body of the 
 crocodile, when it is asleep, and never quits it till he 
 has devoured its entrails. It was formerly deified by 
 the Egyptians, for its serviceable qualities. 
 
 Naturalists have supposed many kinds of Ichneu- 
 mons, because there are some larger than others, and 
 of a different coloured hair; but, if we consider, that, 
 being frequently reared in houses, they have, like 
 other domestic animals, undergone varieties, we shall 
 readily perceive, that this diversity of colour, and this 
 difference of size, only indicate simple varieties, not 
 sufficient to constitute a separate species. It also 
 appears that the Ichneumons in Egypt, which may be 
 said to be domestic, are longer than those in India 
 which are in a wild state. 
 
 The ffehneumon lives very willingly by the sides of 
 rivers, inundations, and other waters, and is reported 
 to swim and dive occasionally, like an otter, and to 
 remain for a considerable time beneath the liquid 
 element. It quits its habitation to seek its prey near 
 habitable places. It sometimes carries its head erect, 
 foreshortens its body, and raises itself upon its hind 
 egs ; at other times it creeps and lengthens itself like
 
 THE ICHNEUMON THE VANSIRE. 217 
 
 a serpent ; it often sits upon its hind feet, and often 
 springs upon its prey; its eyes are lively, and full of 
 fire ; its aspect is beautiful, the body very active, the 
 legs short, the tail thick and very long, and the hair 
 rough and bristly. Both male and female have a re- 
 markable orifice, independent of the natural passages. 
 It is a kind of pocket, into which an odoriferous liquor 
 filters. They pretend, that it opens this bag, or pocket, 
 to refresh itself when too hot. Its noise is very sharp, 
 and its mouth narrow, which prevents it from seizing 
 and biting any thing very large ; but this defect is 
 amply supplied by its agility, courage, and by its 
 power; it very easily strangles a cat, although much 
 larger and stronger than itself; it often fights with 
 dogs ; and, of whatever size they are, it commonly gets 
 the better of them. It may easily be domesticated, 
 and is then more tame, obedient, and affectionate than 
 a cat. 
 
 THE GRAY ICHNEUMON, 
 
 WHICH is the Nems of Buffbn, is a native of India, 
 though he erroneously assigns Africa as the country 
 to which it belongs. It is of a pale gray, the hairs 
 being for the major part of a dirty yellowish white, 
 relieved by narrow rings of brown towards their 
 extremities. The head and limbs are of a darker hue 
 than the other parts. A specimen of this animal is now 
 in the menagerie of the Tower. It possesses all the 
 characteristic spirit and activity of the genus to which 
 it belongs. On one occasion a dozen full grown rats 
 were let loose in a room sixteen feet square, all of 
 which this individual killed in little more than a minute 
 
 THE VANSIRE. 
 
 THOSE who have spoken of this animal have taken 
 it for the ferret, which indeed it resembles in many 
 respects, though it differs from it by characters strong 
 enough to make it a distinct species. It is nowarranged 
 among the ichneumons. The Vansire has twelve teeth, 
 or grinders, in its upper jaw, while the ferret has only 
 eight. The Vansire also differs in the colour of its 
 hair from all ferrets; although like every other nnimaJ 
 VOL. II. 19
 
 218 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 which man is careful in rearing and increasing, those 
 creatures vary much, both male and female. It is 
 found at the Mauritius, and at Madagascar, by the 
 natives of which latter island it is called Vohang-shira. 
 The animal called by some the Weasel of Java, and 
 by others the Ferret of Java, is a kindred species to 
 the Vansire. 
 
 THE FOSSAN 
 
 Is called by some travellers the Genet of Madagas- 
 car ; but it is, in general, much smaller than the genet ; 
 and what proves it not to be of that kind, is, that it has 
 no odoriferous bag, the essential attribute belonging to 
 that animal. It has a slender body, covered with hair 
 of an ash colour, mixed with tawny. The sides of the 
 face are black; at the hind part of the head are four 
 black lines, extending from thence towards the shoul- 
 ders ; the tail is long, and annulated with black. Its 
 manners are much like those of our polecat; and, 
 when the male Fossan is in heat, it emits a very strong 
 smell like musk. It eats both flesh and fruit, but prefers 
 the last, particularly bananas. It is a very wild animal, 
 and very difficult to be tamed. The eye of the Fossan 
 represents a black globe, very large in comparison 
 with the size of its head, which gives this animal a 
 mischievous look. It is a native of Madagascar, 
 Guinea, Cochinchina, and the Philippine Isles. It is 
 called the Berba in Guinea. 
 
 THE MAKl. 
 
 THIS name of Maki has been given to many differ- 
 ent kinds of animals. The first class is the Mocock, 
 or Macauco; the second is the Mongoos, commonly 
 called the Brown Maki and the third kind is the 
 Vari, called by some the Pied Maki. They all have 
 a considerable analogy with the monkey tribe, though 
 they differ from it in some essential particulars. Like 
 the monkeys, they belong to the quadrumana. 
 
 The Macauco (which is the ring-tailed lemur of 
 Shaw) is a beautiful animal, remarkable for the large 
 ness of its eyes, and the length of the hinder legs, 
 which by far exceed those before 5 by its beautiful ant
 
 THE MAKI. 219 
 
 long tail, which is continually elevated and in motion, 
 and upon which are upwards of thirty rings, alternately 
 black an.1 white, all very distinct and separate one 
 from the other. It is gentle ; and, although it greatly 
 resembles the monkey in many particulars, it is not 
 so malicious in its nature. It is a gregarious animal, 
 commonly found in company in its natural state; in 
 Madagascar, thirty or forty are seen herding together. 
 It sleeps in a sitting posture, with its snout resting 
 /:r upon its breast; its body is no thicker than that of a 
 cat; but is longer; and it appears larger, as the legs 
 of the animal are very long. The hair is soft, and 
 stands upright. 
 
 The Mongoos is less than the Macauco ; but its hair 
 is, like that, of a short and silken nature ; but a little 
 curled ; the nose is also thicker, and much resembling 
 that of the Vari. We had a Mongoos in our possession 
 for several years; its coat was of a brown colour, the 
 eyes yellow, the nose black, and the ears short. It 
 had a custom of playing with and biting its tail, and 
 had, by this method, lessened it by four or five of the 
 last vertebrae. Whenever it got loose! it visited the 
 shops in the neighbourhood, and would make free 
 with fruit, sugar, sweetmeats, <fcc. to obtain which it 
 would ope^i the boxes. At such times, it was difficult 
 to retake it ; and it would bite those that attempted it, 
 even its keeper. 
 
 The Vari (wTiich is the lemur macaco of Linnaeus) 
 is much larger, stronger, and wilder than the Macauco, 
 and is said to be even exceedingly savage and mis- 
 chievous in its free state. Travellers tell us, that these 
 animals are as furious as tigers, and very difficult to be 
 tamed ; and that its voice is so very loud, that, when 
 there are only two together in the woods, it might be 
 imagined that the noise they made proceeded from a 
 hundred. Others, however, with more appearance of 
 truth, describe it as of a mild and indolent disposition. 
 Its hair, in general, is much longer than that of the 
 Macauco : and it has a kind of ruff round the neck, 
 consisting of very long hair. In other respects its hair 
 is black and white, and, although very long, stands 
 nearly upright ; its snout is thicker and longer than 
 that of the Macauco ; its ears much shorter, and edged 
 with long hair ; and its eyes are of so deep an orange
 
 220 NATURAL HISTORY'. 
 
 colour, that, if not minutely inspected, they appear to 
 be red. 
 
 The Macauco, the Mongoos, and the Vari, are all 
 of the same country. They seem to be confined to 
 Madagascar and the neighbouring islands. 
 
 THE WHITE HEADED MONGOOS. 
 
 OF this variety of the Mongoos there are now a male 
 and female in the Tower Menagerie. " It is charac-^ 
 terized (says Mr. Bennett) by the clear fulvous brown 
 colour of the upper surface of the body and outer side 
 of the limbs, gradually becoming lighter on the under 
 and inner surfaces, and deepening in its shade towards 
 the tail, the greater part of which is nearly black. 
 The muzzle and the hands are bluish black. The male 
 has the whole of the forehead, the sides of the cheeks, 
 and the under part of the lower lip covered with a 
 white fur, which in the female is of a blackish gray, 
 and much less developed ; her general colour is also 
 of a lighter tinge. This remarkable difference would 
 lead us to question the specific identity of the two ani- 
 mals, were we not assured by M. F. Cuvier, that he 
 had verified the fact by what is usually regarded as an 
 unequivocal test. Mr. M'Leay has, however, thrown 
 considerable doubt upon the accuracy of the inference 
 thus attempted to be drawn, by exhibiting to the Lin- 
 naean Society a female, in whom the white fur of the 
 head was as distinctly developed as in her male com- 
 panion. The whole of the species of this group 
 require, in fact, an accurate revision." 
 
 The manners and habits of the Mongoos tribe are 
 thus described by the same accurate and entertaining 
 writer : " The whole of the genus are natives of Ma- 
 dagascar and of two or three of the smaller islands in 
 its immediate vicinity. They appear to occupy in that 
 remarkable and very imperfectly known country the 
 place of the monkeys, none of which have yet been 
 detected within its precincts. They are said to live 
 in numerous troops, upon the trees, and to feed upon 
 fruits and insects ; but their habits in a state of nature 
 have not yet been observed with sufficient accuracy to 
 enable us to form any clear idea of their mode of 
 existence. In captivity, they are particularly tame,
 
 THE BENGAL LORIS. 221 
 
 and good tempered, fond of being noticed, delighting 
 in motion, and climbing and leaping with surprising 
 agility. They are, however, in oume degree noctur- 
 nal ; and when undisturbed pass a considerable portion 
 of the day in sleep. If alone, thiy roll themselves up 
 in the form of a ball, and wind their long tail in a very 
 curious manner round their body, apparently for the 
 purpose of keeping themselves warm ; for they are 
 naturally chilly, and delight in basking in the rays of 
 the sun, or in creeping as close as possible to the fire. 
 When two of them are confined together, they inter- 
 lace their limbs and tails after a singular fashion, and 
 placing their heads in such a position as that eaih may, 
 if disturbed, see what is going on behind the other's 
 back, fall comfortably asleep." 
 
 THE BENGAL LORIS, OR SLOW LEMUR. 
 
 THE Lemurs are closely allied to the monkeys, by 
 their habits and their hand-like paws. It is in the 
 shape of the head, which has some resemblance to that 
 of the dog, and in the great length of their hind legs, that 
 they chiefly differ from ^them. So long are the hind 
 legs, that, when the animals walk on all fours, their 
 shoulders are much less elevated than their haunches. 
 In climbing trees, this is of great advantage to them. 
 Many of them are exceedingly active, and leap from 
 branch to branch with a rapidity which almost baffles 
 the eye to follow. 
 
 Not so, however, the Bengal Loris, which is so 
 sluggish in its motions, that some have been erro- 
 neously induced to consider it as a sloth. It is about 
 the size of a small cat, and has a flattish face, a nose 
 rather sharp, and extremely prominent eyes ; it is of 
 a pale brown or mouse colour ; round the eyes is a cir- 
 cle of dark brown, and along the middle of the back 
 runs a stripe of the same colour. During the greatest 
 part of the day it sleeps, or at least lies without mo- 
 tion. 
 
 One of these animals is described by the late Sir 
 William Jones, in the fourth volume of the Asiatic 
 Researches. " In his manners (says he) he was for 
 the most part gentle, except in the cold season, when 
 hi temper seems wholly changed ; and h ! s Creatoi 
 19*
 
 222 NATCRAL HISTORY. 
 
 who made him so sensible of cold, to which he must 
 often have been exposed even in his native forests, 
 gave him, probably for that reason, his thick fur: 
 which we rarely see on animals in these tropical cli- 
 mates. To me, who not only constantly fed him, but 
 bathed him twice a week in water accommodated to 
 the seasons, and whom he clearly distinguished from 
 others, he was at all times grateful ; but when I dis- 
 turbed him in winter he was usually indignant, and 
 seemed to reproach me with the uneasiness which he 
 felt, though no possible precautions had been omitted 
 to keep him in a proper degree of warmth. At all 
 times he was pleased at being stroked on the head and 
 throat, and he frequently suffered me to touch his 
 extremely sharp teeth : but his temper was always 
 quick ; and when he was unseasonably disturbed, he 
 expressed a little resentment, by an obscure murmur, 
 like that of a squirrel; or a greater degree of displea- 
 sure by a peevish cry, especially in winter, when he 
 was often as fierce, on being much importuned, as any 
 beast of the woods. 
 
 " From half an hour after sunrise to half an hour 
 before sunset, he slept without intermission, rolled up 
 like a hedgehog; and, as soon as he awoke, he began 
 to prepare himself for the labours of his approaching 
 day, licking and dressing himself like a cat ; an opera- 
 tion which the flexibility of his neck and limbs enabled 
 him to perform very completely : he was then ready 
 for a slight breakfast, after which he commonly took 
 a short nap ; but when the sun was quite set, he reco- 
 vered all his vivacity. 
 
 " His ordinary food was the sweet fruit of this coun- 
 try; plantains always, and mangoes during the season; 
 but he refused peaches, and was not fond of mulber- 
 ries, or even of guiavas ; milk he lapped eagerly, but 
 was content with plain water. In genera] he was not 
 voracious, but he never appeared satisfied with grass- 
 hoppers ; and passed the whole night, while the hot 
 season lasted, in prowling for them. When a grass- 
 hopper, or any insect, alighted within his reach, his 
 eyes, which he fixed on his prey, glowed with uncom- 
 mon fire ; and, having drawn himself back, to spring 
 on it with greater force, he seized the prey with both 
 his fore paws, but held it in one of them while he
 
 THE BENGAL LORIS JAVELIN BAT. 
 
 devoured it. For other purposes, and sometimes even 
 for that of holding his food, he used all his paws indif- 
 ferently as hands, and frequently grasped with one of 
 them the higher parts of his ample cage, while his three 
 others were severally engaged at the bottom of it ; but 
 the posture of which he seemed fondest was to cling 
 with all four of them to the wires, his body being 
 inverted. In the evening, he usually stood erect for 
 many minutes, playing on the wires with his fingers, 
 and rapidly moving his body from side to side, as if 
 he had found the utility of exercise in his unnatural 
 state of confinement. 
 
 " A little before daybreak, when my early hours 
 gave me frequent opportunities of observing him, he 
 seemed to solicit my attention ; and if I presented my 
 finger to him, he licked or nibbled it with great gen- 
 tleness, but eagerly took fruit when I offered it; though 
 he seldom ate much at his morning repast : when the 
 day brought back his night, his eyes lost their lustie 
 and strength, and he composed himself for a slumber 
 of ten or eleven hours. 
 
 " My little friend was, on the whole, very engaging ; 
 and when he was found lifeless, in the same posture 
 in which he would naturally have slept, I consoled 
 myself with believing that he died without much pain, 
 and lived with as much pleasure as he could have en- 
 joyed in a state of captivity." 
 
 THE JAVELIN BAT. 
 
 THE animal in question we have denominated the 
 Javelin Bat, from a sort of comb, or membrane, on its 
 nose, which perfectly resembles the head of a lance. 
 Although this character alone is nearly sufficient to 
 distinguish it from all other animals, yet we can add 
 gome others, as its having scarcely any tail, and its 
 hair and size being nearly like the common bat, with 
 this difference, that instead of having six incisive teeth 
 in the lower jaw, it has only four. This kind of Bat 
 is very common in America, and never found in 
 Europe. 
 
 There is another Bat in Senegal, which has also a 
 membrane upon its nose, not in the form of a horse- 
 shoe, as in one species we have observed, or the heao
 
 224 NATURAL HISTORT 
 
 of a javelin, as in this, but in the shape of an oval 
 leaf. These three Bats, being of different climates, 
 are not simple varieties, but distinct and separate spe- 
 cies. 
 
 Bats, which have, in other respects, great affinity 
 with birds, by their power of flying, and by the 
 strength of the pectoral muscles, seem to resemble 
 them still more in these membranes, or combs, which 
 they have on their face ; for most birds have also 
 combs, or membranes, about their beak, or head, 
 which seem, in every respect, as superfluous as those 
 of the Bat kind. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Of the ServalThe Ocelot The Margay The Jackal 
 and the Adil The Isatis The Glutton the Stink- 
 ing Polecats The Pekan and the Vison The Sa- 
 ble The Lemming The Canadian Otter The 
 Seal The Common Seal The Ursine Seal The 
 Bottlenose Seal The Sea Lion The Walrus, or 
 Morse The Manati The Whale-tailed Morse 
 The Round-tailed Manati The Sea Ape Manati. 
 
 THE SERVAL. 
 
 THIS animal has been kept alive several years in the 
 royal menagerie of France, by the name of the Tiger 
 Cat ; and we should have still remained ignorant of its 
 true name, if M. de Montmirail had not discovered it 
 in the account of an Italian voyage, which he has 
 translated : " The Maraputia, which the Portuguese 
 in India call Serval" says Vincent Maria, " is a wild 
 and ferocious animal, much larger than the wild cat, 
 and something less than the civet, which it differs from 
 by its head being rounder and thicker in proportion to 
 its body, and its face sinking in about the middle of it. 
 It resembles the panther in the colour of the hair, which 
 is brown upon the head, back, and sides, and white 
 upon the belly , also in the spots, which are distinct
 
 THE SERVAL THE OCELOT. 225 
 
 equally distributed, and less than those of the panther ; 
 its eyes are brilliant ; its whiskers are composed of 
 long and stiff bristles ; its tail is short ; its feet large, 
 and armed with long and hooked claws. It lives 
 ameng the mountains of India, and is very seldom seen 
 on the ground ; it remains almost continually upon 
 high trees, where it catches birds, on which it feeds. 
 It leaps also as nimbly as a monkey, and goes from one 
 tree to another with such great address and agility, 
 that it passes over a great space in a short time, and, 
 we may say, only appears and disappears. It is fero- 
 cious in its nature, but flies at the sight of man." 
 
 Neither captivity, nor good or bad treatment, will 
 tame or soften the ferocity of this animal. It seems to 
 be the same creature as the tiger cat of Senegal and 
 the Cape of Good Hope, which, according to the testi- 
 mony of travellers, resembles our cat in its shape and 
 size. " This animal," they say, " is four times as 
 large as a cat, of a voracious nature, and feeds like the 
 monkey, the rat," <fcc. 
 
 THE OCELOT. 
 
 IN describing the Ocelot, serious mistakes have been 
 committed by Buffon and other naturalists. It is to Mr. 
 Bennett that we are indebted for the latest and most 
 accurate description of this animal. Nearly equal in 
 size to the lynx of Europe (says he), but shorter in its 
 proportions and more graceful in its form, it holds, as 
 it were, a middle station between the leopard and the 
 domestic cat. Its body, when full grown, is nearly 
 three feet in length, and its tail rather more than one ; 
 while its medium height may be reckoned at about 
 eighteen inches. The ground colour of its fur is gray, 
 mingled with a slight tinge of fawn, and on this it is 
 elegantly marked with numerous longitudinal bands, 
 the dorsal one being continuous and entirely black, and 
 the lateral, to the number of six or seven on each side, 
 consisting for the most part of a series of elongated 
 spots with black margins, sometimes completely dis- 
 tinct, and sometimes running together. The centre of 
 each of these spots offers a deeper tinge of fawn than 
 the ground colour external to them ; and this deeper 
 tinge is also conspicuous on the upper part of the head
 
 26 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 and neck, and on the outside of the limbs, all of which 
 parts are irregularly marked with full black lines and 
 spots of various sizes. From the top of the head, be- 
 tween the ears, there pass backwards, towards the shoul- 
 ders, two, or more frequently four, uninterrupted di- 
 verging bands, which are full black anteriorly, but gene- 
 rally bifurcate posteriorly, and enclose a narrow fawn 
 coloured space within a black margin ; between these 
 there is a single longitudinal somewhat interrupted nar- 
 row black line, occupying the centre of the neck above. 
 The ears are short and rounded, and externally mar- 
 gined with black, surrounding a large central whitish 
 spot. The under parts of the body are whitish, spot- 
 ted with black, and the tail, which is of the same ground 
 colour with the body, is also covered with blackish 
 spots. The tail of the specimen in the Tower does not 
 exceed six or seven inches, but, as it ends abruptly, it 
 has, in all probability, been shortened by some accident. 
 The animal in the Tower was sent from Trinidad, 
 under the name of the Peruvian Tiger. It is exten- 
 sively spread over the American continent, being 
 found in the widely separated regions of Mexico and 
 Paraguay, where it abides in the depths of the forests 
 during the day, and giving chase at night to birds and 
 small quadrupeds. As it is an active climber, it follows 
 the birds even to their nests. " It is easily tamed (says 
 Mr. Bennet) but seldom loses all trace of its natural 
 ferocity. D'Azara, however, speaks of one which was 
 so completely domiciliated as to be left at perfect 
 liberty ; it was strongly attached to its master, and 
 never attempted to make its escape. The specimen in 
 the Tower, which is a male, is perfectly good tempered, 
 exceedingly fond of play, and has, in fact, much of 
 the character and manners of the domestic cat. Its 
 food consists principally of rabbits and of birds, the 
 latter of which it plucks with the greatest dexterity, 
 and always commences its meal with their heads, of 
 which it appears to be particularly f >nd. It does not 
 eat with the same ravenous avidity w rich chaiacterizes 
 nearly all the animals of ita tribe." 
 
 THE MARGAY 
 
 Is much smaller than the ocelot. It resembles the 
 wild cat in the size and shape of its body ; its head
 
 THE JACKAL AND THE ADIL. 22? 
 
 only is more square, its snout longer, its ears rounder, 
 and its tail longer ; its hair also is shorter, and it has 
 black streaks and spots on a brown ground. Its skin 
 is fawn-coloured above, and whitish beneath, with 
 longish spots of dark brown, disposed in fine lines, 
 straight on the back, and oblique on the flanks. The 
 shoulders are spotted with a deep reddish brown, and 
 bordered with a black brown. The tail is irregularly 
 annulated. It was sent us from Cayenne, by the name 
 of the tiger-cat; and, in fact, it partakes of the nature 
 of the cat and the jaguar. According to Fernandez, 
 when this animal has arrived at its full growth, it is 
 not quite so large as the civet; and, according to 
 Marcgrave, whose comparison is juster, it is about the 
 size of a wild cat, which it also resembles in its natural 
 habits, living only upon fowls, and other small game; 
 but it is very difficult to be tamed, and never loses its 
 natural ferocity ; it varies greatly in its colour, though 
 commonly it is such as we have here described it. 
 This animal is very common in Brazil and Guiana. 
 
 THE JACKAL AND THE ADIL. 
 
 WE are not certain that these two names denote two 
 animals of different species. We only know that the 
 Jackal is a larger animal, which is more ferocious and 
 difficult to be tamed than the Adil. As both the Jackal 
 and the Adil, however, are natives of the same coun- 
 tries ; as the species has not been altered by a long 
 domesticity ; and as there is a considerable difference 
 in the size, and even in the nature of these animals ; 
 we shall look on them as two distinct species. 
 
 " In size (says Mr. Bennett) he is about equal to the 
 common fox, but he differs from that equally trouble- 
 some animal in the form of the pupils of his eyes, 
 which correspond with those of the dog and of the 
 wolf; in the comparative shortness of his legs and 
 muzzle; in his less tufted and bushy tail; and in the 
 peculiar marking of his coat. The colouring of his 
 back and sides consists of a mixture of gray and black, 
 which is abruptly and strikingly distinguished from the 
 deei and uniform tawny of his shoulders, haunches, 
 and legs : his head is nearly of the same mixed shade 
 with the upper surface of his body as is also the
 
 228 NATURAL HlMTOnlT. 
 
 greater part of his tail, which latter, however, become* 
 black towards its extremity ; his neck and throat are 
 whitish, and the under surface of his body is distin- 
 guished by a paler hue." The yellow which is about 
 him is the reason why many authors have called the 
 Jackal, the golden wolf. 
 
 As the species of the wolf approaches that of the 
 dog, so the Jackal finds a place between them both. 
 The Jackal, or Adil, as Belon says, is a beast between 
 the wolf and the dog. To the ferocity of the wolf, it 
 joins, in fact, a little of the familiarity of the dog. Its 
 voice is a kind of a howl, mixed with barking and 
 groaning ; it is more noisy than the dog, and more 
 voracious than the wolf; it never stirs out alone, but 
 always in packs, of twenty, thirty, or forty ; they col- 
 lect together every day, to go in search of their prey ; 
 they make themselves formidable to the most powerful 
 animals, by their number ; they attack every kind of 
 beasts or birds, almost in the presence of the human 
 species ; they abruptly enter stables, sheepfolds, and 
 other places, without any sign of fear ; and when they 
 cannot meet with any other thing, they will devour 
 boots, shoes, harnesses, &c. and what leather they have 
 not time to consume, they take away with them. When 
 they cannot meet with any live prey, they dig up the 
 dead carcasses of men and animals. The natives are 
 obliged to cover the graves of the dead with large 
 thorns, and other things, to prevent them from scratch- 
 ing and digging up the dead bodies. The dead are 
 buried very deep in the earth ; for it is not a little 
 trouble that discourages them. Numbers of them work 
 together, and accompany their labour with a doleful 
 cry ; and, when they are once accustomed to feed on 
 dead bodies, they run from country to country, follow 
 armies, and keep close to the caravans. This animal 
 may be styled the crow of quadrupeds ; for they will 
 eat the most putrid or infectious flesh : their appetite 
 is so constant and so vehement, that the driest leather 
 is savoury to them; and skin, flesh, fat, excrement, or 
 the most putrefied animal, is alike to their taste. 
 
 THE ISATIS. 
 
 THIS animal, which is a species of fox (canis corsac), 
 IB very commonly seen in the northern countries, jjnd.
 
 ilTE ISATIS THE GLUTTON. 229 
 
 but r irely fiind on this side sixty-nine degrees latitude ; 
 it is nearly two feet in length ; it perfectly resembles 
 the fox, in the form of its body, and the length of the 
 tail ; but its head is like that of a dog ; its hair is softer 
 than that of the common fox ; its head is short in pro- 
 portion to its body; it is broad towards tl. neck, and 
 terminates in a sharp-pointed snout. Its ears are almost 
 round. There are five toes and five claws to the fore 
 feet, and only four toes and four claws to the hinder 
 ones. The hair on every part of the body is about the 
 length of two inches, smooth and soft as wool. The 
 tail is black at the end, and so long that it touches the 
 ground. 
 
 The voice of the Isatis partakes of the barking of 
 the dog and the yelping of the fox. Those who deal 
 in furs distinguish two animals of this kind, the one 
 white, and the other ash-coloured : the last are the 
 most valuable. 
 
 The Isatis lives upon rats, hares, and birds, which it 
 catches with as much subtlety as the fox. It plunges 
 in the water, and traverses the lakes, in search of 
 water-fowls and their eggs. The only enemy it has in 
 the desert and cold countries, which it inhabits, is the 
 glutton. 
 
 THE GLUTTON. 
 
 EXCLUSIVE of the tail, which measures about a foot, 
 the length of the Glutton is three feet. The top of the 
 head, the whole of the back, the muzzle, and the feet, 
 are of a blackish brown colour. The tail is of the 
 colour of the body, and the sides are dusky. The body 
 is thick, and its legs short. It is nearly of the size of 
 a ram, but as thick again ; its head is short, its eyes 
 small, its teeth very strong ; its fur is exceedingly 
 beautiful, and much valued. It is common in Lapland, 
 and all the neighbouring countries of the Northern 
 Sea, as well in Europe and America as in Asia. It is 
 called Carcajou in Canada, and the northernmost parts 
 of America. 
 
 The legs of the Glutton are not formed for running 
 
 its pace is very slow ; but its cunning supplies this 
 
 deficiency ; it waits the arrival of its prey in ambush ; 
 
 and, in order to se z it with greater security, it climbs 
 
 VOL. II. 20
 
 230 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 up a tree, carrying with it a quantity of a kind of most 
 to which the deer are partial. This it throws down to 
 the deer, and if one of them stops, the Glutton darts 
 down, and fastens itself so strongly with its claws and 
 teeth, that all the efforts of the animal cannot remove 
 it. The poor animal in vain flies with its utmost 
 speed ; in vain it rubs itself against trees and other 
 objects ; all is useless : fastened on its back or loins, 
 the Glutton still persists in tormenting it, by digging 
 into its flesh and sucking its blood, till the animal, 
 fainting with loss of blood, falls; then the Glutton 
 devours it by piecemeal, with the utmost avidity and 
 obstinate cruelty. It is inconceivable, what a length 
 of time together the Glutton will eat, and what a quan- 
 tity of flesh it will devour at one single meal." 
 
 From this quality, the Glutton has obtained the name 
 of the Quadruped Vulture. It is more insatiable, and 
 commits greater depredations than the wolf; it would 
 destroy every animal, if it had sufficient agility ; but 
 the only animal it is capable of taking on foot is the 
 beaver, which it easily destroys : it even often attacks 
 that animal in its hole, and devours both it and its 
 young, if they do not get to the water in time ; for 
 then the beaver escapes its enemy by swimming, and 
 the Glutton stops its pursuit to feed upon the fish. 
 When it is deprived of any living food, it goes in search 
 of carcasses, scratches open graves, and devours the 
 flesh of dead bodies to the very bone. 
 
 Although this animal is subtle, and uses every art to 
 conquer other animals, it seems to have not the least 
 instinct for its own preservation. It suffers the human 
 species to approach it without the least appearance o 
 fear. This indifference, which seems to show its imbe- 
 cility, is occasioned, perhaps, by a different cause; it 
 is certain that the Glutton is not a stupid animal, since 
 it readily finds means to satisfy its perpetual and 
 almost immediate appetite ; it does not want for cou- 
 rage, since it attacks every animal indifferently that 
 comes in its way, and does not fly at the sight of man, 
 nor even show the least mark of spontaneous fear. 
 When attacked, it resists stoutly, and is able to break 
 a trap in pieces, or tear the stock from a gun. If, 
 therefore, it is deficient in a proper care for its own 
 safety, it does not arise from an indifference for it
 
 THE QLUTTON THE PO1 ECAT3. 231 
 
 preservation, but only from its habit of security, as it 
 is a native of almost every desert country, where it 
 seldom meets with any of the human species. 
 
 As the isatis is not so strong, but much swifter than 
 the Glutton, it serves as a purveyor to the latter, which 
 follows it in its pursuit of animals, and often deprives 
 it of it? prey before it has devoured it, or, at least, 
 partakes of it; for, the moment the Glutton approaches, 
 the isatis, to avoid destruction itself, leaves what re- 
 mains, for the Glutton to feed on. Both these animals 
 burrow in the ground ; but in every other habit they 
 are different. The isatis often goes in flocks, while 
 the Glutton moves alone, or sometimes with its female : 
 they are often found together in their burrows. The 
 fiercest dogs are fearful of attacking the Glutton, 
 which defends itself with its teeth and feet, and often 
 mortally wounds them. 
 
 The flesh of the Glutton, like that of every other 
 voracious animal, is very bad food. It is only hunted 
 after for its skin, which makes an exceedingly good 
 and beautiful fur, not inferior to the sable and black 
 fox. It is also said that, when properly chosen and 
 well dressed, it has a more excellent gloss than any 
 other skin, and even has the beauty of a rich damask. 
 The Kamtschadales esteem it so highly, that they say 
 the heavenly beings wear garments of no other fur. 
 The women ornament their hair with its white paws. 
 
 THE STINKING POLECATS 
 
 ARE found in every part of South America. They 
 may be divided into four species ; the Squash, the 
 Conepate, the SJcink, and the ZoriUe. 
 
 The first of these animals is about sixteen inches 
 long: its legs are short, its snout pointed, its ears 
 small, its hair of a deep brown, and its claws black and 
 sharp. It chiefly dwells in the hollow and clefts ol 
 rocks, where it brings forth its young. It preys upon 
 small animals, birds, <fcc. ; and when it can steal into 
 a farm yard, it kills the poultry, but eats only their 
 brains. When it is pursued or offended, it calls up all 
 its diabolical scents to its defence, and sends forth 
 s-uch a horrid stench, that it is dangerous for men or 
 dogs to approach it. I'a urine is apparently infected
 
 232 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 with this nauseous vapour, which, however, we must 
 observe, does not seem habitual to it. 
 
 Among the four kinds of Stinkards we have above 
 indicated, the two last belong to the hottest countries 
 of South America, and may possibly be no more than 
 two varieties, and not two different species. The two 
 first are varieties of New Spain, Louisiana, Carolina, 
 and other temperate climates, and seem to be two dis- 
 tinct and different species from the others ; but particu- 
 larly the Squash, which has a particular character, of 
 having only four claws on the fore feet, whereas all 
 the rest have five ; but, in every other respect, these 
 animals have nearly the same figure, the game instinct, 
 the same offensive scent, and only differ, as I may say, 
 by the colour and length of the hair. The Squash, as 
 has been observed, is of a pretty uniform brown 
 colour, and its tail is not tufted like the rest. The 
 Conepate has five white stripes on a black ground, 
 running longitudinally from the head to the tail. The 
 Skink is white on the back, and black on the side, but 
 quite black on the head, excepting a white streak, 
 which runs from the nape of the neck to the forehead. 
 Its tail is tufted, and clothed with very long white 
 hairs, mixed with some of a black colour. 
 
 The Zorille, which is also called Mauripita, is still 
 smaller, and has a most beautiful tail, furnished with 
 as great abundance of hair as the Skink, from which 
 it differs by the disposition of the spots on its coat, 
 the white streaks running longitudinally from the head 
 to the middle of the back, on a black ground ; besides 
 which, there are other kinds of streaks, which pass 
 transversely over the loins, the crupper, and the inser- 
 tion of the tail, one half of which is black and the 
 other white ; whereas in the Skink they are all of the 
 same colour. 
 
 Kalm, speaking of this animal, says, " One of them 
 came near the farm where I lived. It was in winter 
 time, and during the night, and the dogs that were upon 
 the watch pursued it for some time, until it discharged 
 its urine against them. Although I was in my bed a 
 good way off, I thought I should have been suffocated, 
 and the cows and oxen themselves, by their lowings, 
 showed how much they were affected by the stench. 
 About the en 1 of the same year, another of those ani-
 
 THE PEKAN AND THE VISON THK SABLE. 223 
 
 mals crept into our cellar, but did not exhale the small, 
 est scent, because it was not disturbed. A foolish 
 woman, however, Avho perceived it in the night by the 
 shining of its eyes, killed it, and at that moment its 
 stench began to spread. The whole cellar was filled 
 with it to such a degree, that the woman kept her bed 
 for several days after, and all the meat, bread, and other 
 provisions, that were k.^t there, were so infected, 
 that they were obliged to be thrown out of doors." 
 
 All these animals are nearly of the same form and 
 size as the European Polecat ; they resemble it also by 
 its natural habits ; and the physical results of their 
 generation are the same. 
 
 THE PEKAN AND THE VISON. 
 
 THE fur merchants of Canada, have long been ac- 
 quainted with the name of Pekan, without any know- 
 ledge of the animal to which it belongs. We are also 
 ignorant of the origin of the Vison as well as of the 
 Pekan, and it is only said they belong to two dif- 
 ferent animals of North America, and principally of 
 Canada. 
 
 The Vison lives in burrows, by the water side. Its 
 feet are demi-palmated ; its fur is of a more or less 
 deep brown, with a fawn coloured tinge ; its tail is of 
 a blackish brown. On the point of the lower jaw is a 
 white spot. 
 
 The Pekan lives in the same countries, and has the 
 same habits, as the Vison. The head, neck, shoul- 
 ders, and upper part of the back, are of a mixed gray 
 and brown. The nose, the loins, the tail, and the limbs 
 are of a blackish brown. There is very often a spot 
 on the throat. 
 
 THE SABLE. 
 
 ALMOST every naturalist has spoken of this animal 
 without knowing any thing more of it than its skin. 
 Mr. Gmelin is the first who has given its figure and 
 description : he saw two living ones at the governor 
 of Tobolski's. " The Sable (says he) resembles the 
 martin in its shape and habit of body, and the weasel 
 in the number of its teeth : it has large whiskers about 
 20*
 
 234 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 the mouth, its feet are broad, and armed with five claws, 
 like the rest of its kind. These characters were com- 
 mon to these two Sables ; but one of them was a dark 
 brown, excepting the ears and the throat, where the hair 
 was rather yellow ; the otl er, which was smaller, was 
 more of a yellowish cast, its ears and throat being also 
 much paler. These are the colours they both have 
 in winter, and which they are seen to change in the 
 spring; the former becoming of a yellow brown, the 
 other of a pale yellow." He says, also, that at night 
 they were extremely restless and active ; but that, in the 
 day, and particularly after eating, they would sleep so 
 soundly for half an hour or an hour at a time, that not 
 even pricking them would awaken them. When they 
 saw a cat, they rose on their hind feet, preparatory to 
 the combat. 
 
 These animals inhabit the banks of rivers in shady 
 places, and in the thickest woods: they leap with great 
 ease from tree to tree, and are said to be afraid of the 
 sun. which tarnishes the lustre of their robes in a very 
 short time. They are also improperly said, by some, 
 to hide themselves, and remain torpid during the win- 
 ter, when it is the chief time they are hunted, and in 
 which only they re in season, as their skins are much 
 finer and better a^hat time than in summer : they live 
 on rats, fish, and wild fruit: they have the disagreeable 
 odour of their kind, which is strongest during the time 
 their heat is on them : they are mostly found in Siberia, 
 and but very few in Russia ; and there are still fewer 
 in Lapland and other countries. The blackest skins 
 are the most esteemed. The difference of this skin 
 from others consists in the quality of the fur, which 
 has no grain, and rubbed any way is equally smooth 
 and unresisting ; whereas, the furs of other animals, 
 rubbed against the grain, give a sensation of rough- 
 ness from their resistance. The skin of the Sable 
 is, accordingly, more valuable than that of any other 
 animal of an equal size. 
 
 The hunting of the Sable falls to the lot of con- 
 demned criminals, who are sent from Russia into these 
 wild and extensive forests, which, for a great part of 
 the year, are covered with snow ; these unfortunate 
 wretches remain there many years, and are obliged to 
 furnish a certain number of skins every year ; they
 
 THE LEMMING RAT. 235 
 
 onl) kill this animal by a single ball, in order to 
 damage it as little as possible ; and sometimes, instead 
 of fire-arms, they make use of the cross-bow and very 
 small pointed arrows. As the success of this hunting 
 trade supposes address and great assiduity, the officers 
 are permitted to encourage the hunters, by allowing 
 them to share among themselves the surplus of those 
 skins which they procure ; and this, in the process of 
 a few years, amounts to a very considerable sum. 
 As, however, Siberia has become more populous, the 
 Sables have retired further to the north and east, 
 among the deserts and mountains. 
 
 THE LEMMING RAT, OR LAPLAND MARMOT, 
 
 Is of the shape of a mouse, but has a shorter tail : 
 its body is about the length of five inches, covered 
 with fine hair of various colours. Those of Norway 
 are of the size of a water rat ; but those of Lapland 
 are scarcely as large as mice. The former are varie- 
 gated with black and tawny in the upper parts ; the 
 sides of the head and the under parts are white. The 
 legs are grayish, and the under parts of the body of a 
 dull white. In some there are m^jny red hairs about 
 the mouth resembling whiskers, six of which are longer 
 and redder than the rest. The mouth is but small, 
 and the upper lip is divided like the squirrel's. The 
 remains of the food in the throat of this animal incline 
 us to imagine it ruminates. The head is large, short, 
 and thick; the neck short; and the body thick. The 
 eyes are small and black ; the ears round, and inclining 
 towards the neck ; the legs before are short, and those 
 behind longer, which gives it a greater degree of 
 swiftness ; the feet are clothed with hair, and armed 
 with five very sharp and crooked claws ; the middle 
 claw is very long, and the fifth is like a little finger, 
 or the spur of a cock, sometimes placed very high up 
 the leg. This animal, therefore, whose legs are very 
 short, runs quite swift. It generally inhabits the moun- 
 tains of Norway and Lapland, but descends in such 
 great numbers, in some years, and in some seasons, 
 that the inhabitants look on their arrival as a terrible 
 scourge, from which there is no possibility of deliver- 
 ance They move, for the most part, in a square*
 
 236 NATURAL HISIORY". 
 
 marching forward by night, and lying still by day 
 Thus, like an animated torrent, they are often seen 
 more than a mile broad covering the ground, and that 
 so thick, that the hindmost touches its leader. It is 
 in vain that the inhabitants resist, or attempt to stop 
 their progress ; they still keep moving forward ; and 
 though thousands are destroyed, myriads are seen to 
 succeed and make their destruction impracticable : they 
 generally move in lines, which are about three feet 
 l v om each other, and exactly parallel : their march is 
 always directed from the north-west to the south- 
 west, and regularly conducted from the beginning. 
 Wherever their motions are turned, nothing can stop 
 them ; they go directly forward, impelled by some 
 strange power; and from the time they at first set out, 
 they never think of retreating. If a lake or a river 
 happens to interrupt their progress, they all together 
 take the water and swim over it; a fire, a deep well, 
 or a torrent, does not turn them out of their straight- 
 lined direction ; they boldly plunge into the flames, or 
 leap down the well, and are sometimes seen climbing 
 up on the other side. If they are interrupted by a boat 
 across the river while they are swimming, they never 
 attempt to swim round it, but mount directly up its 
 sides; and the boatmen, who know how vain resistance 
 would be, calmly suffer the living torrent to pass over, 
 which it does without farther damage. If they meet 
 with a stack of hay or corn which interrupts their 
 passage, instead of going over it, they gnaw their way 
 through ; if they are stopped by a house in their course, 
 if they cannot get through it, they continue there till 
 they die. It is happy, however, that they eat nothing 
 that is prepared for human subsistence ; they never 
 enter a house to destroy the provisions, but are con- 
 tented with eating every root and vegetable that they 
 meet. If they happen to pass through a meadow, 
 they destroy it in a very short time, and give it an 
 appearance of being burnt up and strewed with ashes. 
 If they are interrupted in their course, and a man 
 should imprudently venture to attack one of them, the 
 little animal is no way intimidated by the disparity of 
 strength, but furiously flies up at its opponent, and 
 barking somewhat like a puppy, wherever it fastens it 
 does not easily quit its hold : if, at last, the leader is
 
 THE LEMMING RAT. 237 
 
 found out of its line, which it defends as long as it can, 
 and be separated from the rest of its kind, it sets up a 
 plaintive cry, diffeient from that of anger, and, as some 
 say, gives itself a voluntary death, by hanging itself 
 on the fork of a tree. 
 
 An enemy so numerous and destructive would quickly 
 render the countries where they appear utterly unin- 
 habitable, did it not fortunately happen that the same 
 rapacity that animates them to destroy the labours of 
 mankind, at last impels them to destroy each other. 
 After committing incredible devastation, they are at 
 last seen to separate into two armies, opposed with 
 deadly hatred along the coasts of the larger lakes and 
 rivers. The Laplanders, who observe them thus drawn 
 up to fight, instead of considering their mutual ani- 
 mosity as a happy riddance of a most dreadful pest, 
 form ominous prognostics from the manner of their 
 engagements: they consider their combats as a presage 
 of war, and expect an invasion from the Russians or 
 Swedes, as the side next those kingdoms happens to 
 conquer. The two divisions, however, continue their 
 engagements and animosity until one part overcomes 
 the other: from that time they utterly disappear, nor 
 is it well known what becomes of either the conquerors 
 or the conquered. Some suppose, that they rush head- 
 long into the sea ; others, that they kill themselves, as 
 some are found hanging on the forked branches of a 
 tree; and others, that they are destroyed by the young 
 spring herbage. But the most p-obable opinion is, 
 that having devoured the vegetable productions of the 
 country, and having nothing more to subsist on, they 
 then fall to devouring each other, and having habituated 
 themselves to that kind of food, continue it. However 
 this be, they are often found dead by thousands, and 
 their carcasses have been known to infect the air for 
 several miles round, so as to produce very malignant 
 disorders: they seem also to infect the plants* they 
 have gnawed, for the cattle often die that afterwards 
 feed in the places where they passed. The inhabitants 
 have an opinion, as they do not know whence such 
 numbers proceed, that they fall with the rain. 
 
 Five or six young ones are produced at each litter, 
 and the female brings forth several times in the course 
 of a year. They sometimes litter while emigrating,
 
 238 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 and they have been seen carrying some of their 
 offspring in their mouths, and others on their backs. 
 
 As for the rest, the male is generally larger and 
 more beautifully spotted than the female: they go in 
 droves into the water: but no sooner does a storm cf 
 wind arise, than they are all drowned. The flesh cf 
 the Lemmings is horrid food, and their skin, although 
 covered with a very beautiful fur, is of too little con- 
 sistence to be serviceable. 
 
 THE CANADIAN OTTER, 
 
 WHICH is much larger than the common Otter 
 must be a native of the north of Europe, as well as of 
 Canada. It appears to be larger and blacker than the 
 common Otter ; but is rather a variety than a distinct 
 species. 
 
 THE SEAL. 
 
 THIS animal has its head round* like thai of the 
 human species ; its snout is broad like the otter's ; the 
 eyes large and elevated ; little or no external signs of 
 ears, only two auditory passages in the sides of the 
 head ; it has whiskers about its mouth, and its teeth 
 somewhat resemble those of the wolf; the tongue is 
 forked at the point; the body, hands, and feet, covered 
 with a short and bristly hair; it has no legs, but two 
 feet, or membranes, like ham's, with five toes, termi- 
 nated by as many claws: these membranes, which have 
 the appearance of hands, are nly larger, and turned 
 backwards, as if designed to unite with its very short 
 tail, which they accompany on both sides. The body 
 is thickest where the neck is joined to it, whence the 
 animal tapers down to the tail like a fish. This amphi- 
 bious creature, though of a very different nature from 
 that of our domestic animals, yet seems susceptible of 
 a kind of education : it is fed by putting it often in 
 water : it is taught to salute persons with its head and 
 its voice ; it is accustomed to obey the call of its 
 keeper, and gives many other signs of intelligence and 
 docility. 
 
 The sensations of the Seal are a? perfect, and its 
 agacity as ready, as those of any ether quadruped:
 
 THE SEAL. 239 
 
 both the one and the other are strongly marked by its 
 docility, its social qualities, its strong instinct for its 
 female, its great attention towards its young, and by 
 its voice, which is more expressive and more modulated 
 than in other animals : its body is likewise firm and 
 large : it is also strong, and armed with very sharp 
 teeth and claws, and has many particular and singular 
 advantages over any other animals we can compare 
 with it ; it endures both heat and cold, and feeds indif- 
 ferently on grass, flesh, or fish ; it can equally live on 
 ice, land, or in the water. This animal and the waJ- 
 rus are the only quadrupeds which deserve the name 
 of amphibious, or which have the foramen ovale open, 
 consequently they are the only animals of that class 
 which can exist without respiration, and to which the 
 watery element is as agreeable as that of the air. 
 
 But these advantages, which are very great, are 
 counterbalanced by imperfections still greater : they 
 may be said to be deprived of the use of their fore legs, 
 or membranes ; they are almost entirely shut up within 
 its body, while nothing appears but the extremity of 
 them, which are furnished with five toes, scarcely 
 .moveable, being united together by a very strong mem- 
 brane, so that they might more properly be called fins 
 than feet, as they are more adapted for the purpose of 
 swimming than walking, the hind feet, indeed, being 
 .turned backwards, are entirely useless upon land ; so 
 that when the animal is obliged to move, it drags itself 
 forward like a reptile, and with an effort more pain- 
 ful ; for it cannot twist itself about like a serpent, but 
 lies like a lump on the earth, and by grasping whatever 
 it finds in its reach, drags itself up the steepest shores, 
 rocks, and shoals of ice: by this method it moves with 
 such a degree of swiftness, that a man cannot overtake 
 it; it makes its way towards the sea, and often, though 
 wounded, escapes the pursuit >f the hunter. 
 
 Seals are social animals, and generally found in great 
 numbers in the places they frequent: their natural 
 climate is the northern, but they are also met in the 
 vemperate and even hot countries ; for they are seen 
 on the shores of almost all the seas in the universe. 
 The species alone seems to vary, and, according to 
 the difference of clima'tes, changes its colour and ev 
 *ts shape
 
 240 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The females of these animals bring forth in winter, 
 and rear their young upon some sand-bank, rock, or 
 email island, at some distance from the continent. 
 When they suckle their young, they sit upon their 
 hinder legs, and they continue with their dam for 
 twelve or fifteen days; after which she brings them 
 down to the water, accustoms them to swim, and get 
 their food by their own industry. As each litter never 
 exceeds above three or four, so the animal's cares are 
 not much divided, and the education of her little ones 
 is soon completed. The young particularly distinguish 
 their mother's voice among the numerous bleatings of 
 the old ones, and are perfectly obedient to her call. 
 We are unacquainted with the time of the female's 
 gestation ; but, if we judge from the time of their 
 growth, the length of their lives, and the size of the 
 animals, it will appear to be many months : the time 
 also that intervenes, from their birth till they attain 
 their full growth, being many years, the length of their 
 lives must also be very long. I am of opinion that 
 these animals live upward? of. a hundred years; for 
 we know that cetaceous animals in general live much 
 longer than quadrupeds ; and as the Seal fills up the 
 chasm between the one and the other, it must partici- 
 pate of the nature of the first, and consequently live 
 much longer than the latter. 
 
 The voice of the Seal may be compared to the bark- 
 ing of an angry dog. When young, they have a shrill 
 note, somewhat like the mewing of a cat : those that 
 are taken early from their dams mew continually, and 
 very often die sooner than take the food that is offered 
 them. These animals in general are of a courageous 
 nature. It is remarked, that instead of being terrified 
 at thunder and lightning, they are rather delighted, 
 generally come on shore in tempests and storms, and 
 even quit their icy abodes to avoid the shock of the 
 tempestuous waves : at such times, they sport in great 
 numbers along the shore ; the tremendous conflict 
 seems to divert them, and the heavy rains that fall ap- 
 pear to enliven them : they have naturally a disagree- 
 able scent, and when there are great numbers together, 
 it is smelt at a great distance. It often happens, that 
 when pursued they drop their excrements, which are 
 of a yellow colour, and of a very abominable scent
 
 THE SEAL. 211 
 
 As they have a prodigious quantity v blood, and arc 
 also greatly overloaded with fat, they are consequently 
 of a very dull and heavy nature ; they usually sleep 
 soundly, and are fond of taking their repose on flakes 
 of ice, or on the sides of rocks, at which time the 
 hunters approach very near without disturbing them, 
 and this is the usual method of taking them : they are 
 very seldom killed with fire arms ; for, as they do not 
 immediately die, even if they are shot in the head, 
 they plunge into the sea, and are entirely lost to the 
 hunter ; the general method therefore is to surprise 
 them when asleep, and knock them on the head; 
 " They are not easily killed, and are a long time dying 
 (says a modern traveller), for although they are mor- 
 tally wounded, and their blood nearly exhausted, and 
 nearly stripped of their skins, yet they still continue 
 alive ; indeed, it is a di*sagreeable sight to see these 
 animals wounded a-nd skinned, wallowing and rolling 
 about in their blood in the greatest agonies. These 
 remarks were made on the animals we killed, which 
 were about eight feet long, for, after they were skin- 
 ned, and even deprived of a great part of their fat, yet 
 they attempted to bite their butchers, notwithstanding 
 they had given them many powerful blows over the 
 head and nose. One of them even seized a lance which 
 was presented to it with as much eagerness as if it had 
 not been wounded ; after which we pierced it through 
 the heart and liver, whence as much blood flowed as is 
 contained in a young ox." 
 
 THE COMMON SEAIr. 
 
 THESE animals differ considerable in size, being 
 found from four to nine feet long ; they also vary in 
 their colours ; some being black, others white, some 
 spotted, and many yellow. Their chief food consists 
 of fish, which they are remarkably expert in pursuing 
 and catching. In those places where herring* are seen 
 in shoals, the Seals destroy them by thousands ; and 
 when these retire they are obliged to hunt after fish 
 that are stronger, and more capable of evading pursuit. 
 They are taken for the sake of their skins and the oil 
 their fat yields. The Seal is capable of being tamed, 
 and is said to be fond of music, The Icelander* 
 VOL. II. 21
 
 842 5ATVRAL HISTORY. 
 
 believe them to be the offspring of Pharaoh and hit 
 host, who were converted into Seals on their being 
 overwhelmed in the Red Sea. Were the race of this 
 creature to cease to exist, the Greenlander would be 
 rendered almost unable to inhabit his rigid clime, as it 
 is principally from them that he derives the necessaries 
 of life. There is scarcely a part of them which is not 
 of the highest utility to him. 
 
 THE URSINE SEAL, 
 
 THE males of this species are, in general, about eight 
 feet long, but the females are much smaller. Their 
 bodies are very thick, and the colour of the hair is 
 commonly black, but that of the old ones is tip- 
 ped with gray. The females are of an ash-coloured 
 hue. The nose projects like that of a pug dog, and 
 the eyes are Jarge and prominent. Their voice va- 
 ries on different occasions ; thus, when sporting on 
 their native rocks, they low like a cow ; when engaged 
 in battle they growl hideously ; after a defeat or re- 
 ceiving a wound, they mew like a cat ; and the note of 
 triumph after a victory somewhat resembles the chirp- 
 ing of a cricket. These animals are chiefly found on 
 the islands in the vicinty of Kamts'chatka, from June to 
 September ; after which they remove, some to the 
 Asiatic, and some to the American coast. On Behrings 
 Island they are so numerous as almost to cover the 
 whole shore ; but it is a singular fact that they only fre- 
 quent that part of it which lies towards Kamtschatka. 
 
 Ursine Seals* live in families, each male being sur- 
 rounded by from eight to fifty females, whom he watch- 
 es with the most vigilant jealousy, and treats in the 
 most tyrannical manner. They are of an irritable dis- 
 position, and have frequent battles. So tenacious are 
 they of life that they will five a fortnight after receiv- 
 ing wounds which would be speedily mortal to other 
 animals. 
 
 THE 30TT1E-*OSED SEAL. 
 
 ' THIS variety of the Seal is usually found in tne sea 
 around New Zealand, the island of Juan Fernandez, 
 and the Falkland islands. The male of this species
 
 THE SEA LION. 243 
 
 measures from fifteen to twenty feet in length, and 
 differs from the female in having a large snout, which 
 projects five or six inches beyond the extremity of the 
 upper jaw, and which, w?'en irritated, it inflates, so as 
 to give to it the appearance of an arched or hooked 
 nose. The quantity of blubber contained between the 
 skin and the flesh is so great, it being at least a foot in 
 depth in the largest, that the animal, when in motion, 
 looks like an immense skin filled with oil. This quantity 
 of fat probably contributes to render the Bottle-nosed 
 Seal of so lethargic a disposition, that it is not easily 
 to be compelled to move, and, consequently, is easily 
 killed. It divides its time almost equally between the 
 land and sea, and lives in herds, each of which seems 
 to be under the direction of a large male, which sea- 
 men term the Bashaw, from the circumstance of his 
 driving away females from the other males, and appro- 
 priating them to himself. At a distance from each 
 herd, some of the males are placed as sentinels, and by 
 them the alarm is loudly given in case of danger. 
 
 THE SEA LION, OR LEONINE SEAL. 
 
 To the species of seals, as above described, we may 
 with great propriety, add another animal, described in 
 Anson's Voyages by the name of the Sea Lion. They 
 are found in great numbers on the coasts of the South 
 Sea. The Sea Lion resembles our sea calf, which is 
 very common in the same latitude ; but they are much 
 larger than any of the former, being from eleven to 
 eighteen feet long, and from eight to eleven in circum- 
 ference. It is so fat, that when the skin is taken off, 
 the blubber is about a foot thick all round the body. 
 About ninety gallons of oil is drawn from one of these 
 animals ; they are at the same time very full of blood, 
 and when deeply wounded in many parts of the body, 
 the blood spouts out with amazing power: the throat 
 of one of these animals being cut, it afforded two bar- 
 rels of blood, besides what then remained in its body. 
 Its skin is covered with a short hair of a brownish 
 colour, but blackish on the tail and feet : their toes 
 are united by a membrane which does not reach to 
 their extremity ; each of the toes is known by a claw. 
 The Sea Lion differs from the seal, not only in its si/*
 
 844 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 ind bulk, but also in some other characters ; the male 
 nas a kind of thick comb or trunk hanging from the 
 end of the upper jaw, about five or six inches long. 
 This character is not seen in the female. The strongest 
 males collect together a flock of females, and hinder 
 the others from approaching them. These animals are 
 truly amphibious ; they remain all the summer in th 
 sea, and go on shore in winter, at which season the 
 females bring forth their young, but never above one 
 or two at a litter, which they suckle, like the seal. 
 
 The Sea Lions, while they are on shore, feed on the 
 grass by the side of the sea : they are of a very heavy 
 and drowsy nature, and delight to sleep in the mire ; 
 but they are very wary, and at those times commonly 
 fix some as sentinels near the place where they sleep ; 
 and it is said, that these sentinels are very careful to 
 awake them when any danger is near. Their voices 
 are very shrill, and of various tones ; sometimes grunt- 
 ing like hogs, and sometimes neighing like horses. 
 The males often fight with each other, when they 
 wound one another desperately with their teeth. The 
 flesh of these animals is not disagreeable to eat, parti- 
 cularly the tongue, which is as good as that of the ox. 
 They are very easily killed, as they cannot defend 
 themselves, nor fly from their enemies : they are so 
 exceedingly heavy, that ihey move with great difficulty, 
 and turn themselves about with still greater. Those 
 that hunt them have only to guard against their teeth, 
 which are very strong, and which they make use of 
 with powerful effect on those who approach within 
 their reach. 
 
 By comparing other observations and accounts, the 
 Sea Lion of South America appears to be nearly the 
 ame as that found on the northern coast of the same 
 continent. The great seal of the Canadian Sea, spoken 
 of by Davis, by the name of the sea wolf, and which 
 he distinguishes from the common sea calf, might pos- 
 sibly be the same as the Sea Lion we are speaking of. 
 Their young, says this author, are larger and longer 
 than our largest hog. 
 
 THE WALRUS, MORSE, OR SEA COW. 
 
 THE name of Sea Cow, or Sea Horse, by which 
 the Walrus is most generally known, has been very
 
 THE WALRUS. 245 
 
 wrongly applied, since the animal which it denotes 
 has not the least resemblance to the land animals of 
 that name : the denomination of sea elephant, which 
 others have given it, is much better imagined, as it 
 is founded on a singular and very apparent character. 
 The Walrus, like the elephant, has two large ivory 
 tusks, weighing from ten to thirty pounds each, which 
 shoot from the upper jaw ; its head also is formed, or 
 rather deformed, like that of the elephant, and would 
 entirely resemble it in that part if it had a trunk ; but 
 the Walrus is deprived of that instrument, which serves 
 the elephant in the place of an arm and hand, and has 
 real arms to make use of. These members, like those 
 of the seal, are shut up within the skin, so that nothing 
 appears outwardly but its hands and feet : its body is 
 long and tapering, thickest towards the neck : the 
 whole body is clothed with a short hair : the toes, and 
 the hands, or feet, are covered with a membrane, and 
 terminated by short and sharp-pointed claws. On 
 each side of the mouth are large bristles in the form 
 of whiskers: its tongue is hollowed, the concha of the 
 ears are wanting, &c. ; so that, excepting the two great 
 tusks, and the cutting teeth, which it is deficient in 
 above and below, the Walrus in every other particular 
 perfectly resembles the seal: it is only much larger 
 and stronger, being commonly from twelve to sixteen 
 feet in length, and eight or nine in circumference, and 
 sometimes reaching eighteen feet in length, with a 
 proportionable girth ; whereas the largest seals are no 
 more than seven or eight feet. The Walruses also are 
 generally seen to frequent the same places as the seals 
 are known to reside in, and are almost always found 
 together. They have the same habitudes in every 
 respect, excepting that there are fewer varieties of the 
 Morse than the seal ; they likewise are more attached 
 to one particular climate, and are rarely found except 
 in the northern seas. 
 
 " There was formerly," says Zordrager, " great 
 plenty of Morses and seals in the bays of Horisont 
 and Klock, but at present there are very few. Both 
 these animals quit the water in the summer, and resort 
 to the neighbouring plains, where there are flocks of 
 them from eighty to two hundred, particularly Morses, 
 which will remain there several days together, tiU 
 21*
 
 S46 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 hunger obliges them to return to the sea. This animal 
 externally resembles the seal, but it is stronger and 
 much laiger: like that, it has five toes to each paw, 
 but its claws are shorter, and its head thicker and 
 rounder ; its skin is thick, wrinkled, and covered with 
 very short hair of different colours; its upper jaw is 
 armed with two teeth about half an ell or an ell in 
 length; these tusks, which are hollow at the rooi, 
 become larger as the animal grows older. Some of 
 them are found to have but one, the other being torn 
 out in fighting with each other, or perhaps fallen out 
 through age. This ivory generally brings a greater 
 price than that of the elephant, as it is of a more com- 
 pact and harder substance. The mouth of this animal 
 is like that of the ox, and furnished with hairs which 
 are hollow, pointed, and about the thickness of a straw. 
 Above the mouth are two nostrils, through which the 
 animal spouts the water like a whale. There are a 
 great number of Morses towards Spitzbergen, and the 
 profit that is derived from their teeth and fat fully 
 repays the trouble, for the oil is almost as much valued 
 as that produced from the whale. When the hunter is 
 near one of these animals in the water, or on the ice, 
 he darts a very strong harpoon at it, which though 
 made expressly for the purpose, often slips over its 
 hard and thick skin ; but if it has penetrated into it, 
 they haul the animal towards the boat, and kill it with 
 a sharp and strong lance. The Morse is generally 
 heavier than the ox, and as difficult to pursue as the 
 whale, the skin of which is more easily pierced. For 
 this reason, they always endeavour to wound it in the 
 most tender part, and aim at its eyes : the animal, 
 obliged by this motion to turn -its head, exposes its 
 breast to the hunter, who immediately strikes it very 
 forcibly in that part, and draws the lance out again as 
 quick a possible, for fear it should seize the lance with 
 its teeth, and wound those that attack it. Formerly, 
 before these animals were so greatly persecuted, they 
 advanced so far on shore, that when it was high water, 
 they were at a great distance from the sea ; and at 
 low water, being at a still greater, the hunters easily 
 approached them and killed great numbers. The 
 hunters, in order to cut off their retreat to the sea, and 
 after they had killed several, made a kind of barriei
 
 THE WALRUS. 347 
 
 of their dead bodies, and in this manner often killed 
 three or four hundred in a season. The prodigious 
 quantity of bones spread over the shores, sufficiently 
 proves how numerous these animals were in former 
 times. When they are wounded, they become ex 
 tremely furious, often biting the lances in pieces with 
 their teeth, or tearing them out of the hands of their 
 enemies : and when at last they are strongly engaged, 
 they put their head between their paws, or fins, and in 
 this manner roll into the sea. When there is a great 
 number together, they are so bold as to attack the boats 
 that pursue them, bite them with their teeth, and exert 
 all their strength to overturn them." 
 
 Captain Cook saw a herd of them floating on an ice 
 island off the northern coast of the American conti- 
 nent. " They lie (says he) in herds of many hundreds 
 upon the ice, huddling over one another like swine ; 
 and roar or bray so 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 on the watch. These, 
 at the approach of the boat, would wake those next 
 to them ; and the alarm being thus gradually commu- 
 nicated, the whole herd would be awaked. 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, on the first discharge, kill those we fired 
 at, we generally lost them, though mortally wounded. 
 Vast numbers of these animals would follow and come 
 close up to the boats ; but the flash of a musket in the 
 pan, or even the pointing of a musket at them, would 
 send them down in an instant. The female Walrus 
 will defend her offspring to the very last, and 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 be killed, the other is a 
 certain prey." 
 
 We find the Walrus can live, at least for some time, 
 in a temperate climate. We do not know how long it 
 goes with young but if we judge by the time of its 
 growth and size, we must suppose it to be upwards of 
 nine months. It cannot continue in the water for a 
 long time together, and is obliged to go on shore to
 
 348 NATURAL H1.STORV. 
 
 suckle its young, and for other occasions. When they 
 meet with a steep shore, or pieces of ice to climb up, 
 they make use of their tusks to hold by, and their feet 
 to drag along the heavy mass of their body. They are 
 said to feed upon the shell fish which are at the bottom 
 of the sea, and to grub them up with their strong tusks. 
 Others say, that they live on the broad leaves of a cer- 
 tain vegetable which grows in the sea, and that they 
 eat neither flesh nor fish But I imagine all these opin- 
 ions have but a weak foundation ; and there is reason 
 to think, that the Walrus, like the seal, lives on prey, 
 especially herrings and other fish ; for it does not eat 
 at all when upon land, and it is chiefly hunger which 
 obliges it to return to the sea. 
 
 The fat of the Wairus furnishes from one to two 
 barrels of oil ; and the skin is capable of being manu- 
 factured into a strong and elastic leather. 
 
 THE MANATI. 
 
 THIS animal may be indiscriminately called the lat,i 
 of beasts or first of fishes. It cannot be called a quad- 
 ruped ; nor can it entirely be termed a fish : it par- 
 takes of the nature of a fish by its two feet or hands ; 
 but the hind legs, which are almost wholly concealed 
 in the bodies of the seal and morse, are entirely want- 
 ing in the Manati : instead of two short feet and a 
 small narrow tail, which is placed in a horizontal direc- 
 tion in the morse, the Manati has only a thick tail, 
 spread out broad like a fan. Oviedo seems to be the 
 first author who has given any sort of history or des- 
 cription of the Manati ; he says, "it is a veiy clumsy 
 and misshapen animal, the head of which is thicker than 
 that of an ox, the eyes small, and the two feet or hands 
 are placed near the head, for the purpose of swimming. 
 It has no scales, but is covered with a skin, or rather 
 a thick hide, with a few hairs or bristles : it is a peace- 
 able animal, and feeds upon the herbage by the river 
 sides, without entirely leaving the water, swimming on 
 the surface of it to seek its food. The hunters prac- 
 tise the following method to take the Manati ; they 
 row themselves in a boat or raft as near the animal as 
 possible, and dart a very strong lance into it, to the 
 end of which a very long cord is fastened ; the Ma-
 
 THE MANATI. 249 
 
 nati feeling itself wounded, instantly swirr.s nway or 
 plunges to the bottom : but the cord which holds the 
 lance has a cork or piece of wood fastened to the end 
 of it, to serve as a buoy; when the animal begins to 
 grow faint and weak through the loss of blood, he 
 swims to shore ; the cord is then wound up, and the 
 animal drawn within arm's length of the boat, where 
 they despatch it in the water by strokes of the oar or 
 lance. It is so very heavy, as to be a sufficient load 
 for two oxen to draw ; its flesh is excellent eating, 
 which is eaten rather as beef than as fish. Some of 
 these animals measure more than fifteen feet in length 
 by six feet in breadth ; the body becomes narrower 
 towards the tail, and then spreads gradually broader 
 towards the end. As the Spaniards, adds Oviedo, give 
 the appellation of hands to the feet of quadrupeds, 
 and as this animal has only fore feet, they have giv6n 
 it the name of Manati, i. e. an animal with hands. 
 The female has breasts placed forward like those of a 
 woman, and she generally brings forth two young ones 
 at a time, which she suckles. The flesh and fat of 
 this animal (says M. de Condamine)have a great resem- 
 blance to veal. It is not, properly speaking, amphi- 
 bious, since it never entirely leaves the water, having 
 only two flat nns, close to the head, about sixteen 
 inches long, and which serve the animal instead of arms 
 and hands. It only raises its head out of the water to 
 feed on the herbage by the seaside. The eyes of this 
 animal have no proportion to the size of its body; the 
 orifice of its ears is still less, and only seems like a hole 
 made by a pin. The Manati is not peculiar to the 
 Amazonian river; for it is not less common in the 
 Oroonoko : it is found also, though less frequently, in 
 the Oyapoc, and many other rivers in the environs ol 
 Cayenne, and the coast of Guiana,' and probably in 
 other parts." 
 
 The Manati species, however, is not confined to the 
 seas and rivers of the New World, but is found also in 
 those of Africa. 
 
 As the description given by Buffon of this animal is 
 too vague to be satisfactory, it maybe proper to enlarge 
 somewhat on the different species.
 
 U50 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 THE WHALE-TAILED MORSE. 
 
 THIS variety of the Morse tribe, which is also called 
 the Manati, chiefly inhabits that part of the North 
 Pacific which lies between Kamtschatka and America. 
 It lives in families, which unite and form immense 
 droves. All the individuals are exceedingly attached 
 to each other, particularly the males to their females ; 
 nothing can terrify or compel the latter to abandon the 
 former. The Manati is sometimes twenty-eight feet 
 long, and weighs ,as much as eight thousand pounds. 
 It has a small head, double lips, and the mouth is filled 
 with white tubulous bristles, near the junction of the 
 jaws, which prevent the food from escaping out of the 
 mouth with the water. The blubber and the skin are 
 the parts which render this creature an object o r pur- 
 suit to mankind. 
 
 THE ROUND-TAILED MANATI. 
 
 THIS animal frequents most of the great African 
 rivers, from Senegal to the Cape of Good Hope, and 
 also many of the rivers on the eastern shore of South 
 America. It is often seen in the Amazon nearly a 
 thousand leagues from its mouth. It prefers shallow 
 waters near low land, and is a frolicsome creature, 
 frequently leaping into the air to great heights. The 
 natives of America are said frequently to tame it, and 
 we are told that it delights in music. The female, 
 when struck by the harpoon, seems insensible to her 
 own sufferings, and only anxious to protect her young 
 one, by taking it under her fins or feet. The Round- 
 tailed Manati is about six feet in length, and three or 
 four in circumference. Its flesh is a white, well tasted, 
 and salubrious food. When the thicker parts of the 
 skin are cut into slices and dried, they become exceed- 
 ingly tough, and form good whips. Of the thinner 
 parts, which have more pliability, the Indians make 
 thongs to fasten together the sides of their canoes. 
 
 THE SEA-APE MANATI. 
 
 THIS animal was seen, by Mr. Steller, off the coast 
 of America, and was called by him the Sea-Ape. Pen
 
 MAIMON. P. 2t>2. 
 
 ORAN OTAN. P. 251.
 
 MONKEYS. 25] 
 
 nun I places it among the Manati tribe ; but, as it has a 
 head resembling in some measure that of a dog, with 
 sharp upright ears, Mr. Bingly is disposed to class it 
 with the seals. The name of Sea-Ape was given to it 
 in consequence of the frolicsome tricks which it played. 
 It swam round and admired the ship, stood erect for a 
 considerable time with one-third of its body out of the 
 xvater, darted backward and forward repeatedly, under 
 the ship, and brought up in its mouth a sea plant, like 
 the bottle g<ourd, which it tossed up, caught, and played 
 innumerable antics with. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Of Monkeys The Oran-otang The Pigmy The 
 Gibbon, r Long-armed Ape The Magot The 
 Baboon The Maimon The Mandrill The Pig- 
 tailed Baboon The Pig-faced Baboon The Bon- 
 netted Monkey the Dog-faced Baboon The Ursine 
 Baboon The Wanderoo and the Loando The Ma- 
 caque and Egret The Patas The Malbrouck 
 The MangabeyThe MonaThe CallitrixThe 
 Mustache The Talapoin The Douc American 
 Monkeys The Warine and Alouato The Coati 
 The Capuchin Monkey The Sai, or Weeper The. 
 Siamira, or Orange Monkey The Saki The Ta~ 
 mar in The Wistiti The Marikina the Pinch 
 The Mico. 
 
 THE Monkey tribe is very numerous, and is usually 
 classed by naturalists in three divisions. Those which 
 have no tails are termed Apes, and those which have 
 short tails are denominated Baboons; but by far the 
 most numerous division consists of those which have 
 long tails, and which are known by the general name 
 of Monkeys. 
 
 THE ORAN-OTANO, OR THE PONGO AND THE JOCKO. 
 
 ORAN-OTANG is the name this animal bears in th 
 Past Indies ; Pongo, i*. denomination at Loando,
 
 ,"W NATURAL HUfORY. 
 
 province of Congo; and Kukurlacks in some paits of 
 he East Indies. We shall present the Oran-otang and 
 the Jocko together, because they are, possibly, but 
 one and the same species. We have seen the small 
 Oran-otang, or the Jocko, alive, and we have pre- 
 served its skin, but we can only speak of the Pongo, 
 or great Oran-otang, from the accounts travellers 
 have given us of it. Battel assures us, " that, except- 
 ing his size, the Pongo is exactly like that of a man in 
 all his proportions : he is as tall (he says) as a giant : 
 his face is like that of a man, the eyes deep sunk in 
 the head, the hair on each side extremely long, the 
 visage naked and without hair, as are also the ears and 
 the hands ; the body is lightly covered and scarcely 
 differing from that of a man, except that there are no 
 calves to the legs. Still, however, the animal is seen 
 to walk on his hinder legs : he sleeps under trees, and 
 builds himself a hut, whic.i serves to protect him 
 against the sun, and the rains of the tropical climates, 
 of which he is a native ; he lives only upon fruits, and 
 is not carnivorous : he cannot speak, although furnish- 
 ed with greater instinct than any other animal of the 
 brute creation. When the Negroes make a fire in the 
 woods, this animal comes near and warms himself by 
 the blaze : he has not, however, skill enough to keep 
 the flame alive by feeding it with fuel. They go to- 
 gether in companies, and if they happen to meet with 
 one of the human species, remote from succour, they 
 show him no mercy. They even attack the elephant, 
 which they beat with their clubs, and oblige to leave 
 that part of the forest which they claim as their own. 
 It is impossible to take any of these creatures alive, 
 they are so strong. None of this kind, therefore, are 
 taken, except when very young, and then but rarely, 
 when the female happens to leave them behind ; for, 
 in general, they cling to the breast, and adhere both 
 with legs and arms. There are two kinds of this 
 animal, both very much resembling the human race, 
 the Pongo, which is taller and thicker than a man ; 
 and the Jocko, whose size is much smaller," <k-c. 
 " The Apes of Guinea (says Bosman), which are call- 
 ed Smitten by the Flemings, are of a brown colour, and 
 grow to a very large size. I have seen some above 
 fire feet tall : these Apes arc of a very disagreeable
 
 M -N KEYS. 253 
 
 appearance, as well as those of another kind, which 
 resemble them in every particular, excepting in size, 
 which is a fourth part less than that of the former : 
 they are very easily taught to do almost whateVei 
 their masters please." Schouten says, "That the ani- 
 mals which the Indians call Oran-otangs, are almost all 
 of the same height and shape as mankind, but that 
 their back and loins arc covered with hair, of which, 
 however, there is a deficiency in the fore part of the 
 body ; that the females have two breasts ; that the face 
 is rough, the nose flat, and the ears like those of a 
 man ; that they are robust, active, bold, and defend 
 themselves even against armed men; that they are 
 passionately fond of women, and that there is no safety 
 for them in passing through the woods they inhabit, a's 
 these animals immediately attack and injure them.'* 
 To these testimonies we may add that of M. de la 
 Bresse, mentioned in his Voyage to Angola. This 
 traveller assures us, " that the Oran-otangs, which he 
 calls Quimpeazes, often attempt^ to surprise the female 
 negroes, which they keep with 'them for the pleasure 
 of their company, feeding them very plentifully all the 
 time. I knew (says he) a woman of Loando that had 
 Jived among these animals for three years. They grow 
 from six to seven feet high, and are of unequalled 
 strength. They build sheds, and make use of clubs 
 for their defence : their faces are broad, their noses 
 flat, their ears without a tip, their skins are fairer than 
 that of a Mulatto, but they are covered on many parts 
 of their body with long and tawny coloured hair : their 
 belly is extremely large, their heels flat, and yet rising 
 oehind about half an inch : they sometimes walk up- 
 right, and sometimes upon all fours when they are fan- 
 tastically disposed. We purchased two of these ani- 
 mals, one about fourteen months old, which was a 
 male, and a female about twelve months." 
 
 The Oran-otang which I saw, walked always upright, 
 even when it carried heavy burdens. Its air was 
 melancholy, its deportment grave, its nature more 
 gentle and very different from that of other apes. 
 Unlike the baboon, or the monkey, whose motions 
 are violent, and appetites capricious, who are fond of 
 mischief, and only obedient through fear, a look was 
 sufficient to keep it in awe. I have seen it give its 
 VOL. II. 22
 
 254 NATURAL HUTORY. 
 
 hand to sLow the company to the door, that came to 
 see it, and it would walk about gravely with them, as 
 if one of the society. I have seen it sit at table, unfold 
 its napkin, wipe its lips, make use of the spoon and the 
 fork to carry the victuals to its mouth, pour out its 
 drink into a glass, touch glasses when invited, take a 
 cup and saucer and lay them on the table, put in sugar, 
 pour out its tea, leave it to cool before drinking, and 
 all this without any other instigation than the signs or 
 the command of its master, and often of its own accord. 
 It was gentle and inoffensive : it even approached 
 strangers with respect, and came rather to receive 
 caresses than to offer injuries : it ate almost of every 
 thing that was offered to it, but it preferred dry and 
 ripe fruits to all other aliments. It would drink wine, 
 bu in small quantities, and willingly left it for milk, 
 y other sweet liquor. Mr. L. Brosse, who bought 
 two young ones that were but a year old, from a negro, 
 relates that, " even at that age, they sat at table, ate 
 of every thing without distinction, made use of their 
 knife, spoon, and fork, both to eat their meat and help 
 themselves ; they drank wine and other liquors. We 
 carried them on shipboard, and when they were at 
 table, they made signs to the cabin-boys expressive of 
 their wants ; and whenever they neglected attending 
 upon them as they desired, they instantly flew into a 
 passion, seized them by the arm, bit them, and kept 
 them down. The male was seasick, and required 
 attendance like a human creature : he was even twice 
 bled in the right arm ; and every time afterwards when 
 he found himself indisposed, he- showed his arm, as 
 desirous of being relieved by bleeding." , ! ; 
 
 Henry Grose relates, " that these animals are met 
 with to the north of Coromandel ; that Mr. Home, 
 governor of Bombay, had two of them sent him, a 
 male and a female ; they were scarcely two feet high, 
 but their form was entirely like the human : they 
 walked erect upon their two feet, and were of a pale 
 colour, without any hairs on any other part than where 
 mankind generally have them ; their actions perfectly 
 resembled the human, and their melancholy plainly 
 evinced how strongly they felt the weight of their 
 captivity : they made their bed very carefully in the 
 cage in whic . they were sent on board the ihip
 
 MONKEYS. 25b 
 
 When any person looked at them, they hit! those part* 
 with their hands, which modesty forbids the sight of. 
 The female (adds he) died on board, and the male 
 showed all real signs of grief, and took the death of 
 his companion so greatly to heart, that he refused his 
 food, and did not survive her more than two days." 
 
 Francis Pyrard relates, " that in the province of 
 Sierra Leona, in Africa, there are a kind of apes called 
 Barris, which are strong and muscular, and so very 
 industrious, that, if properly fed and instructed when 
 young, they serve as very useful domestics : they 
 usually walk upright, will pound at the mortar, fetch 
 water from the river in a little pitcher, which they 
 carry on their heads ; but, if care be not taken to 
 receive the pitcher at their return, they let it fall to 
 the ground, and then, seeing it broken, they begin to 
 lament and cry for the loss." 
 
 The Jocko is known by the name of the Chimpanzee. 
 It is the Simia Troglodytes of Linnaeus. From the 
 Oran it differs only in colour and stature; the former 
 being dark brown or blackish, and the latter not 
 exceeding two feet and a half or three feet. It is a 
 native of Angola, Sierra Leone, and some parts of Asia. 
 
 Mr. M'Leod gives the following description of an 
 Oran-otang which was brought to England, from Bor- 
 neo, in 1816, on board the Alceste, when the embass 
 was returning from its fruitless mission to China : 
 " The Oran-otang, also a native of Borneo (says he), 
 is an animal remarkable not only from being extremely 
 rare, but as possessing, in many respects, a strong re- 
 semblance to man. What is technically denominated 
 the cranium is perfectly human in its appearance ; the 
 shape of the upper part of the head, the forehead, the 
 eyes (which are dark and full), the eyelashes, and, 
 indeed, every thing relating to the eyes and ears, 
 differing in no respect from man. The hair of his 
 head, however, is merely the same which covers his 
 body generally The nose is very flat, the distance 
 between it and the mouth considerable ; the chin, and, 
 in feet, the whole of the lower jaw, is very large, and 
 his teeth, twenty-six in number, are strong. The 
 lower part of his face is what may be termed an ugly 
 or caricature likeness of the human countenance. The 
 position of the scapulae, or shoulderblades, the general
 
 256 NATURAl HISTORY. 
 
 form of the shoulders and breasts, as well as the figure 
 of the arms, the elbow joint especially, and the hands, 
 strongly continue the resemblance. The metacarpal, 
 or that part of the hand immediately above the fingers, 
 is somewhat elongated ; and, by the thumb being 
 thrown a little higher up, nature seems to have adapted 
 the hand to his mode of life, and given him the power 
 of grasping more effectually the branches of trees. 
 
 " He is corpulent about the abdomen, or, in common 
 phrase, rather pot-bellied, looking like one of those 
 figures of Bacchus often seen riding on casks: but whe- 
 ther this is his natural appearance when wild, or acquired 
 since his introduction into new society, and by indulging 
 in a high style of living, it is difficult to determine. 
 
 " His thighs and legs are short and bandy, the ankle 
 and heel like the human ; but the fore part of the foot 
 is composed of toes, as long and as pliable as his 
 fingers, with a thumb a little situated before the inner 
 ankle ; this conformation enabling him to hold equally 
 fast with his feet as with his hands. When he stands 
 erect, he is about three feet high, and he can walk 
 when led like a child, but his natural locomotion, when 
 on a plain surface, is supporting himself along, at every 
 step, by placing the knuckles of his hands upon the 
 ground. AlLthe fingers, both of the hands and feet, 
 have nails exactly like the human race, except the 
 thumb of the foot, which is without any. 
 
 " His natural food would appear to be all kinds of 
 fruits and nuts, but he eats biscuit, or any other sort 
 of bread, and sometimes animal food. He will drink 
 grog, or even spirits, if given to him ; and has been 
 known repeatedly to help himself in this way: he was 
 also taught to sip his tea or coffee, and, since his arri- 
 val in England, has discovered a taste for a pot of 
 porter. His usual conduct is not mischievous and 
 chattering, like that of monkeys in general : but he 
 has rather a grave and sedate character, and is much 
 inclined to be social, and on good terms with every 
 oody. He made no difficulty, however, when cold, or 
 inclined to sleep, in supplying himself with any jacket 
 he found hanging about, or in stealing a pillow from a 
 hammock in order to be more soft and comfortable. 
 
 " Sometimes, when teasgd by showing him some- 
 thing tc eat, he would display in a very strong mannei
 
 MONKEYS. 25? 
 
 the human passions, following the person whining and 
 crying, throwing himself off on his back, and rolling 
 about apparently in a great rage, attempting to bite 
 those, near him, and frequently lowering himself by a 
 ope over the ship's side, as if pretending to drown 
 himself; but, when he came near the water's edge, 
 he aways reconsidered the matter, and came on board 
 again. He would often rifle and examine the pockets 
 of his friends in quest of nuts and biscuits, which they 
 sometimes carried for him. He had a great antipathy 
 to the smaller tribe of monkeys, and would throw them 
 overboard if he could ; but in his general habits and 
 disposition there is much docility and good nature, 
 and when not annoyed he is extremely inoffensive. 
 He approaches, upon the whole, nearer to the human 
 kind than any other animal." 
 
 An enormous Oran-otang, of the height of seven feet, 
 and of a proportionate bulk, was, after many attempts, 
 killed under a tree, from which it had fallen, in con- 
 sequence of several bullet wounds, at Ramboon, on the 
 western coast of Sumatra ; having, as is supposed, 
 wandered from the large and almost impenetrable 
 forest, situated about two days' journey inland. The 
 skin of this extraordinary creature is preserved in the 
 museum of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta ; it is of a 
 dark leaden colour, covered, unequally, with brownish 
 red, shaggy and glossy hair, which is long on the flanks 
 and shoulders. The head was well proportioned to 
 the body, the nose prominent, the eyes large, and the 
 mouth rather larger in proportion than that of man ; 
 the chin was fringed with a curling beard, reaching 
 from ear to ear, and the visage by no means disgusting. 
 His chest was wide and expanding, and waist rather 
 slender : his legs rather short, as compared with his 
 arms ; the feet and hands had very nearly the human 
 form, except that the thumbs were smaller, and situ- 
 ated higher towards the wrists, than in man. His walk 
 was erect, but waddling, and not quick, unless when 
 his hands were used to assist, or a branch of a tree, to 
 push himself along, his chief agility being shown in 
 climbing trees, and springing from branch to branch, 
 when pursued. The perfect state of his teeth showed 
 that he was young, and in full vigour. He was with 
 out any vestiges of a tail. 
 
 22*
 
 858 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 THE PITHECOS, O.I PIGMY 
 
 BY the testimonies of the ancients, the Pithecos 
 seems to be the most gentle and docile of all the Mon- 
 key kinJ that was known to them: it was common in 
 Asia, as well as in Libya, and in the other provinces 
 of Africa, frequented by the Greek and Roman travel- 
 lers. And this has made me presume, that we must 
 refer the animals mentioned by Leo the African, and 
 Marmol, to this kind. " These animals (says Marmol) 
 have feet and hands, and, if I may be allowed the ex- 
 pression, a human face, with an appearance of much 
 vivacity and malice : they live upon corn, herbage, and 
 all sorts of fruits ; to obtain which they sally forth in 
 large bodies, and plunder the gardens or villages. 
 Before they venture out on this expedition, one of the 
 company ascends an eminence, and surveys the coun- 
 try round. If there is no appearance of any person 
 near, he makes signs to his companions to enter the 
 vineyard or orchards, and begin their plunder: but aa 
 soon as the sentinel perceives any one coming, he 
 instantly sets up a loud cry, and the whole company 
 scamper off with the utmgst precipitation, and, jumping 
 from tree to tree, retreat to the mountains. It is a 
 great curiosity to see those animals retreat; for the 
 females carry four or five young ones upon their backs, 
 and with this heavy load leap with great agility from 
 branch to branch, though great numbers of them are 
 taken, notwithstanding all their cunning. When they 
 are angry, they bite ; but while they are coaxed, they 
 are very tame. Those that are tamed perform things 
 almost incredible, and imitate mankind in almost every 
 action they see them do." The pithecos has no tail ; 
 its canine teeth are not proportionably longer than 
 those of mankind ; its face is flat, as are likewise its 
 nails, which are rounded at the top, like those of a man ; 
 it walks erect, is about a cubit high, and of a gentle 
 and tractable disposition. It is however, a dirty spe- 
 cies, and leaves an unpleasant smell wherever it goes. 
 Besides which, it has a mischievous propensity to 
 break and destroy whatever comes in its way. 
 
 The Pigmy Apes are fattened for food by the inha- 
 bitants of the country where they are found. The
 
 THE LONG-ARMED APE THE MAGOT. 2&U 
 
 mode of catching them is curious. The Apes sleep in 
 caverns in the woods. Near these haunts the natives 
 place vessels containing strong liquors. The animals 
 assemble to enjoy the unexpected repast; they drain 
 the vessels, and the consequence is, that they become 
 intoxicated, fall asleep, and are then easily taken. 
 
 THE GIBBON, OR LONG-ARMED APE. 
 
 ALWAYS keeps its erect posture, even when it walks 
 upon all fours, its arms being as long as its body and 
 legs put together. We have seen one of these animals 
 alive ; it was but young, and not then more than three 
 feet high ; though we must presume that it had not 
 attained its full size, but that when it is adult, and in 
 its free state, it is at least four feet. It had no appear- 
 ance of any tail ; it had a circle of gray, bushy hair 
 all round the face, which gave it a very remarkable 
 appearance : its eyes were large and sunk in its head, 
 its face resembling that of a man, tanned, and its ears 
 well proportioned. This Ape appeared to us to be of 
 a gentle and tractable disposition ; its motions were 
 neither rash nor precipitate. It was fed on bread, 
 fruit, almonds, <fcc., and calmly received the food that 
 was presented to it ; it was very averse to cold and 
 wet weather, and did not live long after being brought 
 from its native country. It is a native of the East 
 Indies, and particularly found along the coasts of Coro 
 mandel, Malacca, and the Molucca islands. 
 
 THE MAGOT. 
 
 THIS animal is generally known by the name of the 
 Barbary Ape. Of all the Apes which have no tail, 
 this animal can best endure the temperature of our 
 climate. We have kept one for many years. In the 
 summer it remained in the open air with pleasure ; 
 and in the winter, might be kept in a room without 
 any fire. It was filthy, and of a sullen disposition: it 
 equally made use of a grimace to show its anger, or 
 express its sense of hunger: its motions were violent, 
 its manners awkward, and its physiognomy rather ugly 
 than ridiculous. Whenever it was offended, it grinned 
 %nd showed its teeth. It put whatever was given to it
 
 i460 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 into the pouches on each side of its jaws, and com- 
 monly ate every thing that was offered to it, except 
 raw flesh, cheese, and other things of a fermentative 
 nature When it slept, it was fond of roosting on a 
 vvoodei. or iron bar. It was always kept chained, for 
 notwithstanding its long subjection, it was neither 
 civilized, nor fond of its keeper: apparently, it had 
 been but badly educated, for I hav^ seen others of the 
 same kind who were more sagacious, obedient, gayer, 
 and so tractable as to be taught to dance, and suffer 
 themselves quietly to be clothed and dressed. 
 
 This ape is about two feet and a half, or three feet 
 high, in its erect posture ; but the female is not so 
 large as the male. It rather chooses to walk on all fours, 
 than erect. When it sleeps, it is almost always sitting. 
 There are two very prominent callosities on its poste- 
 riors. It differs also from the Pithecos ; first in the 
 form of its snout, which is thicker and longer, like that 
 of a dog ; whereas the pithecos has a flat visage, like 
 the human. Secondly, in having long canine teeth ; 
 instead of which the pithecos has them no longer in 
 proportion than those of a man. Thirdly, in its nails, 
 which are neither so flat nor so round ; and, in short, 
 it is larger, and of a more sullen and untractable dis- 
 position than the other. It abounds in Barbary. 
 and in the forests of India, Arabia, and Africa. In 
 Barbary the trees are sometimes nearly covered with 
 them. 
 
 It is probably this kind of Monkey which Robert 
 Lade speaks of in the following terms : " We travel- 
 led over a great mountain at the Cape of Good Hope-, 
 where we diverted ourselves with hunting the large 
 Apes, which are there in great plenty. I am not able 
 to represent all the tractableness of these animals 
 which pursued us, nor the swiftness and impudence 
 with which they returned to us after we had driven 
 them away. Sometimes they suffered us to approach 
 so near them, that, stopping almost close to one of 
 these animals, to take my observations, I thought my- 
 self certain of securing him, when, taking a sudden 
 leap, he sprang above ten paces from me, and climbed 
 up a tree with the greatest agility. They remained 
 afterwards very quiet, looking on us as though they 
 were pleased with our astonishment. There were some
 
 3EOUP OF MONKEYS. P. 251. 
 
 BABOON. P. 261-
 
 MONKEYS. 261 
 
 o exceedingly large, that if they had been of a fero- 
 cious nature, our number would not have been suffi- 
 cient to secure us from their attacks. As it would have 
 been useless to kill these animals, we made no use of 
 our guns ; but the captain, thinking to wound one of 
 them, which was seated on a tree, after a long pursuit, 
 had no sooner presented his piece, but the animal, 
 probably from the remembrance of the execution of 
 some of his companions, in the same manner, was so 
 greatly terrified at it, that he fell almost motionless at 
 our feet, and being stunned in the fall, we had not, the 
 least trouble to secure it : however, when it revived, we 
 had occasion for all our strength and address to keep 
 it, defending itself by biting those who were near it, 
 which obliged us to bind our handkerchiefs over its 
 head." 
 
 Tavernier tells us that some of the inhabitants of 
 India adopt a ludicrous mode of avenging themselves 
 on these Monkeys, who not unfrequently attack the 
 women who are going to market, and rob them of 
 their provisions. In an open space, near the retreat 
 of the Apes, they place five or six baskets of rice, 
 forty or fifty yards asunder, and near the baskets a 
 number of stout cudgels, each two feet in length. 
 They then hide themselves, to watch for the result. 
 Thinking that no one sees them, the apes hasten 
 towards the baskets. For a while they grin angrily at 
 each other, then approach, then retire, and seem to 
 dread coming to action for the prey. More daring 
 than the males, the females at length advance to the 
 baskets, and as they thrust in their heads to eat, the 
 males on the one side rush forward to prevent them. 
 This brings on a general engagement, and the cudgels 
 are lustily plied till the weakest party is compelled to 
 seek for shelter in the woods. The victors then quietly 
 fall to upon their hard-earned meal. 
 
 THE BABOON, 
 
 PROPERLV so called, has a pouch on each side of 
 its cheeks, capable of being greatly distended ; it has 
 callosities on its posteriors, which are naked, and of 
 a red colour, and are often <jf a large size and dis- 
 gustingly conspicuous : it* tail is crooked and thick,
 
 263 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 generally as long as, and sometimes longer than the 
 body, but in several of the species it is extremely short. 
 The canine teeth are much thicker and longer than 
 those of men. Its snout is very thick and very long, 
 terminating in a flattened extremity like that of the 
 dog ; its ears are naked , its body and limbs are strong, 
 thick, and short; its hair is long and thick, of a reddish 
 brown colour, and pretty uniform over the whole body 
 It walks oftener on all fours than upright, and is from 
 three to four feet high ; but there seems to be different 
 sizes of these animals. The female brings forth usually 
 but one at a time, which she carries in her arms, and 
 in a peculiar manner, clinging to her breast : in other 
 respects, these Baboons, although .mischievous and fe- 
 rocious, axe not carnivorous; they principally feed upon 
 fruits, roots, and corn ; they generally keep together 
 in companies, and sally forth to commit their depre- 
 dations on the neighbouring vineyards or orchards. 
 " As they are extremely fond of grapes, apples, and 
 ripe fruit, they assemble together in great numbers, 
 and proceed on their enterprises with previous delibe- 
 ration. The dogs who are set to watch do not easily 
 conquer these animals, as they are extremely active, 
 and make dexterous use of their teeth and claws. On 
 these occasions, a part of them enter the enclosure, 
 while one of the company stands sentinel ; the rest 
 stand without the fence, a small distance from each 
 other, and form a line, reaching all the way from the 
 enclosure to the rendezvous without, which is generally 
 in some craggy mountain. Every thing being thus 
 disposed, the plunderers within the orchard throw the 
 fruit to them without as fast as they can gather it : or, 
 if the wall or hedge be high, to those that sit at the top, 
 and these hand the plunder to those next their side." 
 
 THE MAIMON, 
 
 WHICH is a native of the banks of the Ganges, has 
 pouches on each side of its cheeks, and 'callosities on 
 its posteriors ; its tail is naked, curled up, and about 
 the length of five or six inches ; the canine teeth are 
 not much longer in proportion than those of men ; the 
 snout is very broad ; the orbits of the eyes very acute 
 above ; the face, ears, hands, and feet are naked, and
 
 MONKEYS. 263 
 
 of i flesh colour ; the hair on the body is of a beautiful 
 grsenish gray, each hair being gray and black tipped 
 with yellow; the extremities are gray; the region of 
 the reins is a golden yellow ; and the thighs are of a 
 lively red. It sometimes walks erect, and at other 
 times upon all fours: it is about two feet or two fee* 
 and a half tall when erect. It is a spiteful animal. 
 
 THE MANDRILL. 
 
 THIS Baboon, which also bears the nam of thjj 
 Ribbed-nosed Baboon, is an ugly, disgusting animal. 
 It is found on the Gold Coast, and in other southern 
 provinces of Africa, where the Negroes call it Boggo, 
 and the Europeans Mandrill. This animal is the largest 
 of the Baboon kind. Smith relates, that a female Man- 
 drill was given to him, which was not above six months 
 old, and had then attained the size of an adult Baboon; 
 he likewise acquaints us, that these animals walk always 
 erect ; that they sigh and cry, like the human species ; 
 that they have a violent passion for the female sex ; 
 that they never fail to overcame them if they find them 
 within their reach. 
 
 This animal is equally remarkable for its variety 
 of colour, its singularity of appearance, its immense 
 strength, and its unconquerable savageness. " Under 
 its projecting forehead," says Mr. Bingley, " are two 
 small and vivid eyes, situated so near to each other 
 that their position alone gives to the physiognomy an 
 air of ferocity. An enormous muzzle, indicative of the 
 most brutal passions, terminates in a broad and rounded 
 extremity of a fiery red colour, from which continually 
 oozes a mucous humour. The cheeks, greatly swollen 
 and deeply furrowed, are naked, and of a deep blue 
 colour. A narrow blood-coloured ridge extends down 
 the middle of the face, and terminates in the nose." 
 Round the neck the hair is very long. On the sides 
 of the head it joins that at the top, and the whole 
 terminates in a somewhat pointed form. Each "hair 
 of the body is annulated with black and yellow ; so 
 that the whole fur has a greenish brown hue. 
 
 When standing upright, the Mandrill is in height 
 fir jm three feet and a half to five feet. It is to be found 
 on the Gold Coast, in several other parts of Africa, and
 
 NATURAL IISTORV. 
 
 also in the East Indies and the Indian Archipelago. 
 Its voice bears some resemblance to the roaring of a 
 lion. No art or kindness can in the least subdue its 
 brutal propensities ; and its g^eat strength renders it 
 an object of perpetual dread to its keepers. Yet it 
 is not, strictly speaking, a carnivorous animal ; for, 
 though it will eat meat that has been cooked, its usual 
 food is fruits and nuts. 
 
 THE PIG-TAILED BABOON, 
 
 So termed from its short, naked, piglike tail, is the 
 least of all the Baboon kind ; it has a la-rge thick 
 muzzle, naked face and ears, and is of a flesh colour; 
 the hair on the head and back is of a deep olive : it 
 has hazel eyes, and callosities on the buttocks, which 
 are naked, and of a red colour. It is a native o f 
 Sumatra and Japan. 
 
 THE PIG-FACED BABOON. 
 
 THIS animal, which is also called the Chacena, is a 
 native of Africa, and was formerly exceedingly trouble- 
 some to the settlers in the neighbourhood of the Cape 
 of Good Hope. Its general colour is a dusky hue, 
 bordering upon black. The body is from two to three 
 feet in length, and the tail is so short that, when the 
 animal stands on all fours, it does not reach the ground. 
 The forehead of this species is remarkably depressed ; 
 the nose is much prolonged. The voice of the Pig- 
 faced Baboon has a near resemblance to the bark of 
 a dog. 
 
 THE BONNETED MONKEY. 
 
 THIS animal is called the Chinese Bonnet by Buffon. 
 This name it derives from the circumstance of the hair 
 on the upper part of the head diverging horizontally 
 from a central point towards an imaginary circum- 
 ference ; thus looking not unlike the round bonnet of 
 a Chinese. Its body is from twelve to fifteen inches 
 long, and its tail quite as much. The whole of the face 
 is hairless, and the forehead, which is strongly wrinkled, 
 * nearly naked. The colour of the upper part of the
 
 MONKEYS. 'Ji i, r i 
 
 body is a \miform yellowish gray ; the under surface 
 derives a bluish tinge from the skin, which has but a 
 thin covering. Eastern Asia is the native country of 
 this species. 
 
 THE DOG-FACED BABOON. 
 
 THIS animal, which is between four and five feet 
 high, and inhabits various parts of Africa and Asia, is 
 distinguished by a longer tail than the rest of its kind ; 
 in this respect it seems to bear some affinity to the 
 Monkey, and has been classed under that denomination 
 by several naturalists. Its head is large, muzzle long 
 and thick, eyes small, face naked, and of an olive 
 colour; the hair on its forehead is separated in the 
 middle, and hangs down on each side of the face ; from 
 thence down its back as far as its waist it is long and 
 shaggy, of a bluish gray colour, freckled with dark 
 spots ; the hair on the lower part of the body is short ; 
 and its buttocks are bare and red. It lives in troops, 
 commits great depredations in gardens and cultivated 
 grounds, and is exceedingly strong, vicious, and impu- 
 dent. 
 
 THE URSINE BABOON 
 
 Is not unlike the last, but rather less. Its nose is 
 long, head large, ears short, forehead high and pro- 
 minent, terminating in a ridge ; the body thick and 
 strong, covered with long dusky hair, which gives it 
 the appearance of a young bear ; its tail is half the 
 length of its body ; its buttocks red. This animal 
 is very numerous about the Cape of Good Hope. 
 Troops of them make expeditions for the sake of 
 piunder, in which, to prevent being surprised, they 
 place a sentinel, which, upon the sight of a man, gives 
 a loud yell ; when the whole troop retreats with the 
 greatest precipitation; the young ones leaping on the 
 backs of their parents, and clinging closely to them. 
 When the Ursine Baboon sees a single person sitting 
 and eating in the fields, it will steal behind him,- snatch 
 his food from him, retire to a little distance, and begin 
 to devour it ; now and then holding it out in its paws 
 towards the loser, with many laughable grimace*, a* 
 VOL. II. 23
 
 P.06 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 if offering to restore the prize. It may ae tamed, and 
 will then guard its master's property with all the 
 sagacity and fidelity of a dog. 
 
 THE U'ANDEROO AND THE LOANDO. 
 
 As these two animals seem to be but one and the 
 same species, we have, therefore, here preserved the 
 two names they bear in Ceylon, as they at least form 
 two distinct breeds. The body of the Wanderoo is 
 covered with brown and black hairs, and he has a long 
 white head of hair, and a monstrous white beard ; the 
 body of the Loando, on the contrary, is covered with 
 whitish hairs, but he has the like large head of hair 
 and beard. There is still a third variety found in the 
 same country, which may, possibly, be the common 
 stock of the other two, because it is of a uniform whi- 
 tish colour over its body, with the like head of hair 
 and beard. These animals are baboons, and not, as 
 some have imagined, monkeys, as they have all the 
 characters, as well in shape as in disposition, and are 
 of the same savage nature, and even more ferocious. 
 
 "The white monkeys (says Forbin) are sometimes 
 as big as the largest English mastiff; they are more 
 dangerous than the black : they principally attack 
 women, and often, after having greatly injured them, 
 finish their cruelty by strangling. Sometimes they 
 even come to their houses ; but the Macaroes, who are 
 very jealous of their wives, take care to prevent their 
 entrance into their habitations ; and the females not 
 liking (as the chevalier humorously relates) either the 
 manners or the figure of the paltry gallants, boldly 
 stand on their defence, and with clubs, or whatever 
 other arms they can provide, instead of answering 
 their caresses, oblige their ugly suitors to return, not, 
 however, before they have damaged or plundered every 
 thing they can lay their hands on." It is, however, 
 exceedingly doubtful whether the white monkey, here 
 described, be of the same species as the Wanderoo. 
 
 THE MACAQUE AND THE EGRET. 
 
 OF all the Apes, or Monkeys, with long tails, the 
 Macaque approaches nearest the Baboon ; its body
 
 MONKEYS. 267 
 
 being short and compact, like that animal' its head 
 thick, its snout broad, its nose flat, its cheeks wrinkled ; 
 but it is bulkier and taller than most other Monkeys. 
 It is also so extremely ugly, that it might well be look- 
 ed upon as a smaller kind of the Baboon, if it did not 
 differ in the tail, which is crooked, but longer and 
 tufted ; whereas that of the Baboon, in general, is ex- 
 tremely short. This species is a native of Congo, and 
 other southern parts of Africa. It is numerous, and 
 subject to many varieties with respect to its size, colour, 
 and disposition of the hair. The body of that de- 
 scribed by Hasselquist was more than two feet long; 
 and those which we have seen were ?.ot above one foot 
 and a half. That which we here term the Egret, be- 
 cause of the plume on its head, seems to be only a va- 
 riety of the first, which it perfectly resembles, except- 
 ing the difference before mentioned, and some other 
 slight varieties in the hair. Both of them are tracta- 
 ble and docile ; but, independent of the scent which 
 they diffuse around them, they are so misshapen, and 
 even so hideous when they grimace, that we cannot 
 look on them without horror and disgust. These Mon- 
 keys go in flocks. Bosnian relates, that they take a 
 melon in each hand, under their arms, and one in their 
 mouths, which they go off with ; if the pursuit is hot, 
 they drop first that from under their arm, then that 
 from their hand ; and if it be continued, they at last 
 let fall that which they had hitherto kept in their 
 mouths. In other respects, says this traveller, they 
 examine the melon beds carefully, and what does not 
 please them they throw away, and tear up others ; so 
 that, by this nicety, they do exceedingly great injuries 
 to many of the orchards and vineyards by their depre- 
 dations. 
 
 THE PATAS. 
 
 Is a native of the same country, and is nearly of the 
 same size, as the macaque, the body being only some- 
 what longer, the face not so ugly, and the hair fairer. 
 It is, indeed, of so brilliant a red, that the animal looks 
 as if it were painted. The face is of a flesh colour, 
 and the ears black. The length of this animal is about 
 half a yard. In Senegal it is called the Red Monkey.
 
 5S6S NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 I am inclined to think, that the Monkey spoken of by 
 IVIarmol, and said to be of the colour of the wild cat, 
 and to be a native of Africa, is only a variety of the 
 Patas species. These animals are not so subtle as 
 others of their kind, but are possessed of an extreme 
 curiosity. " I have seen them (says Bruce) descend 
 from the top to the branches of very high trees, to view 
 the vessels on the water, which they admired for some 
 time, and seemed diverted with what they had seen ; 
 they quitted their stations for their companions to have 
 the same sight : some even threw the branches of the 
 trees at the French, who returned their salute with a 
 musket ball; some were killed, others wounded, and 
 the rest fell on the ground in the utmost consternation. 
 One part uttered most hideous cries, while another 
 was picking up stones to throw at their enemies, and a 
 third were occupied in the easing of nature into their 
 hands, which presently they sent with vengeance to 
 the spectators ; but perceiving, at length, how unequal 
 the battle was, they desisted, and prudently retired." 
 
 THE MALEROUCK. 
 
 THESE animals are found in Bengal,* where travel- 
 lers inform us they plunder whole fields of grain, and 
 plantations of sugarcanes ; and while one stands sen- 
 tinel on a tree, the others load themselves with the 
 booty. But if the owner of the field or plantations 
 appear to interrupt their depredations, their faithful 
 companion on the look out gives notice by crying out 
 houp, houp, fioup, which the rest perfectly understand ; 
 and all at once throwing down their plunder, which 
 they hold in their left hands, they scamper off upon 
 three legs, holding the remainder in their right, and 
 save themselves from their pursuers by climbing up 
 trees, where they have their general abode. The fe- 
 males, even loaded with their young ones, clasp them 
 close to the breast, leap like the others from branch to 
 branch, and escape with the rest. When it happens 
 they cannot find any provision in the fields, they get 
 on the tops of houses, and, having pulled off the tiles, 
 do great damage to the inside. They do not eat a sin- 
 
 'Some later naturalists are jf opinion, that the Malbrouck is not a native of I* 
 , but of Africa.
 
 
 MONKEYS. 369 
 
 gle thing without smelling at it for 1 1-ong time before- 
 hand ; and when they have satisfied their hunger, they 
 put the remainder in the pouches on the sides of their 
 cheeks for the next day: they destroy the nests of 
 birds, and never fail to throw the eggs on the ground 
 when they want appetite or inclination to eat them. 
 
 The most formidable enemy these animals have is 
 the serpent, no other animal of the forest being able 
 to surprise them, as they are so exceedingly swift and 
 subtle, and easily climb up and seat themselves on the 
 tops of the highest trees. " The Monkey," says a 
 traveller, " has it in his power to be master of the 
 forest, for there are neither tigers nor lions which can 
 dispute the possession with it : the chief animal it has 
 to fear, and which attacks them both night and day, is 
 the snake. There are some snakes in those forests of 
 a prodigious size, which wind up the trees where the 
 Monkeys reside, and, when the) happen to surprise 
 them sleeping, swallow them whole before the little 
 animals have time to make a defence." 
 
 The Malbrouck has pouches on each side of its 
 cheeks, and callosities on its posteriors ; its tail is very 
 near as long as the body and head put together. The 
 eyelids are of a fleshy, and the face of an ash colour; 
 the ears are large, thin, and of a flesh colour ; they 
 have a list of gray hairs on them, like the mona ; but 
 in other parts are of a uniform colour, approaching 
 towards a brown on the upper parts of the body, and 
 towards a gray on the lower. It goes on all fours, and 
 is about a foot or a foot and a half long from the snout 
 to the insertion of the tail. 
 
 THE MANGABEY. ?? . ;, 
 
 WE have seen two of this kind of Monkey : both 
 were sent to us by the denomination of Madagascar 
 Monkeys. They are however, most probably, natives 
 cf the western coast of Africa. They are easily distin- 
 guished by a very apparent character. The Mangabey 
 has its eyelids naked, and of a striking whiteness. It 
 has pouches on each side of its cheeks, and callosities 
 on its posteriors. Its tail is as long as the head and 
 body put together, and it has a prominent roll of hair 
 over its eves. Its snout is thick and long, its eyebrows 
 23*
 
 
 270 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 rough and bristly, its ears black and ahiust naked 1 
 the hair of the upper parts of its body brown, and those 
 below gray. There is a variety in this species, some 
 being of a uniform colour, and others having a circle 
 of white hair round the neck, and the form of a beard 
 round their jaws. They walk on all fours, and are 
 near a foot and a half long from the snout to the tail. 
 From the peculiarity of their eyelids, they have the 
 name of the White Eyelid Monkey. 
 
 THE MO.VA, VARIED, OR COMMON MONKEY, 
 
 Is the most common of the Monkey tribe. We kept 
 one of them alive for many years. This alone is suf- 
 ficient to prove that it is not a native of the hot coun- 
 tries of Africa and India. In fact, it is met with in 
 Barbary, Arabia, Persia, &c. The visage of this ani- 
 mal is of a brown hue, with a kind of white beard, 
 mixed with yellow and a little black ; the back is red 
 and black ; the belly and the hind parts of the thighs 
 and legs whitish, though the foreparts of the two last 
 are of a black colour : the tail is of an ash-colour, 
 marked with two white spots, one on each side, at its in- 
 sertion. On its forehead the hair is of a gray colour, in 
 the form of a crescent, and between the eyes and the 
 ears is a black stripe, as there is from the ears, and 
 shoulders, and arms. 
 
 In general, the disposition of the Monkey is much 
 more tractable than the baboon, and not so sullen as 
 the ape : it is extravagantly spirited, but not ferocious, 
 being docile through fear. The Mona is, in particular, 
 susceptible of education, and even attached to those 
 persons who take care of it. That which we brought 
 up would suffer itself to be stroked and handled by 
 those it knew, but would often bite strangers. It was 
 chained, but was very desirous of its liberty : for, when 
 it either broke its chain or got loose, it would run away, 
 and would not suffer itself to be retaken by any other 
 person than its master. It ate every thing that was offer- 
 ed to it, especially flesh, bread, and its favourite food, 
 fruits. The Mona is about a foot and a half in length. 
 
 THE CALLITRIX, OR GREEN MONKEY, 
 
 HAS got pouches on each side of its cheeks, and cal- 
 losities on its posteriors : the tail is much longer than
 
 MONKEYS. 271 
 
 the WMiole bouy, and is terminated by a brush of yellow 
 hair. Its head is small, its snout long, and its face and 
 ears of a black colour, with some long yellow hairs on 
 the cheeks: it has a narrow stripe instead of eyebrows, 
 formed of long black hairs : above, it is of a fine olive- 
 green colour, with a little yellow mixed with it ; and 
 beneath, it is of a dirty white : it walks on all fours ; 
 and the length of its body, including its head, is about 
 fifteen inches. 
 
 The Callitrix is found in Senegal, as well as in Mau- 
 ritania and the neighbouring islands. Mr. Adanson 
 relates, that the environs of the woods of Podor on the 
 banks of the Senegal are filled with green Monkeys. 
 ** I only discovered these animals (says he,) by their 
 breaking off the branches of trees, and throwing them 
 down on my head ; for they were so very quiet and 
 nimble in their tricks, that I could scarcely hear them. 
 I did not walk far, before I killed three of them with- 
 out in the least terrifying any of the rest; howevei, 
 when numbers felt themselves wounded, they began 
 to retreat, some concealing themselves behind large 
 branches, and others descending and running away ; 
 but the greatest number leaped from the top of one 
 tree to another. During this little fray, I killed about 
 twenty-three in less than an hour, without any of them 
 uttering a single cry, although they made an appear- 
 ance of attacking me." 
 
 THE MUSTACHE 
 
 SEEMS to be a native of the same country as the 
 macaque. It is, probably, the same animal as the 
 Guinea travellers call White Nose, from its upper lips 
 being of a white colour, whereas all the rest of its face 
 is of a deep blue. It seems to be one of the most 
 beautiful of the Monkey kind. 
 
 The Mustache has pouches on each side of its cheeks, 
 and callosities on its posteriors. The tail is much longer 
 than the head and body together. Its face is of a deep 
 blue, with a great and broad white mark in the shape 
 of a chevron under the nose, which is naked. There 
 is only a slight edging of black hair both on the upper 
 and under lip. Its body is short and compact. There 
 are two thick tufts of hair of a bright yellow colour
 
 272 XATVRAL HISTORI. 
 
 below the ears, and another tuft of bristly hair upon 
 the head ; the hair of the body is of a greenish cast, 
 and the breast and belly of an ash colour. It walks 
 on all fours, and is about a foot long. The female is 
 subject to a periodical emanation. 
 
 THE TALAPOIN 
 
 Is a pretty small animal ; its name indicates it to be 
 a native of Siam, and other eastern provinces of Asia, 
 but we cannot speak positively as to that point ; how- 
 ever, it is certain it is a native of the Old Continent, 
 and not found any where in the New, from the pouches 
 on each side of its cheeks, and callosities on its poste- 
 riors, which characters neither belong to the sagoins, 
 nor sapajous, which are the only animals of the New 
 World which we can compare with the Monkey. 
 
 Edwards has given a figure and description of a 
 Monkey, by the name of the Black Monkey, of a 
 moderate size, which seems to approach nearer the 
 Talapoin than any of the rest. It is also, probably, 
 the same species of Black Monkeys which Bosman 
 epeaks of, by the name of Bourdmanmetjes, thn skin 
 of which, he informs us, makes a good fur. M. Cuvier, 
 however, is of opinion, that the Talapoin is only the 
 malbrouck in its youthful state. 
 
 THE DOUC 
 
 Is the last among the class of animals, called Apes, 
 Baboons, and Monkeys. This animal, without belong- 
 ing to any one of these three precisely, yet partakes 
 of them all. Of the Monkey, in the length of its tail ; 
 of the Baboon, in its size ; and of the Ape, by the 
 flatness of its face. It has, besides, a very particular 
 character, by which it seems to fill up the chasrn 
 between the Monkey and the sapajou. These two 
 families of animals differ between themselves, the 
 Monkey having fleshy posteriori, and all the sapajous 
 having them covered with hair. The Douc is the only 
 Monkey which has hairy posteriors like the sapajou: 
 it resembles it also by the flatness of the snout ; but it 
 is infinitely nearer the Monkey than the sapajou, by 
 its long tail, and by other very essential characters
 
 AMERICAN MONKEYS. 273 
 
 Its variegated skin seems to indicate the ambiguity 
 of its nature, and at the same time distinguishes its 
 species in a very evident manne' 
 
 The Douc has no callosities on its posteriors, and is 
 clothed all over with hair : its tail, though long, is not 
 so long as its body and head put together ; its face is 
 covered with reddish down with a white beard ; the 
 ears are naked, and of the same colour as the face ; 
 the lips brown, as are the orbits of the eyes : the 
 colour of the hair is very bright, and very variegated ; 
 it has a collar of a purple colour round its neck ; its 
 forehead, body, and arms, are white; its hind legs are 
 of a red chestnut; it is black above the forehead and 
 the upper part of the arms ; the parts below the body 
 are of an ash colour ; the tail is white as well as the 
 bottom of the loins ; it more frequently walks on two 
 feet than on four ; and it is three feet and a half or 
 four feet high when it is upright. 
 
 Travellers inform us, that the larger Monkeys of 
 the southern parts of Asia produce bezoar in their 
 stomach, which is superior to that of the bezoar of 
 goats and gazelles. These larger Monkeys of the 
 southern parts of India, are the wanderoo and the 
 Douc. We, therefore, suppose that we must refer 
 the production of the bezoar to this species. It is 
 pretended, that this Monkey bezoar is always of a 
 round form, whereas the other bezoars are of different 
 sizes and figures. 
 
 OF THE MONKEY TRIBE IN AMERICA 
 
 ALL the four-handed animals which we have given 
 a description of, and which we have comprehended 
 under the general names of Apes, Baboons, and Mon- 
 keys, exclusively belong to the Old Continent: and 
 all those which remain to be spoken of, are, on the 
 contrary, only found in the New World. We here 
 distinguish them by two generical names, as we can 
 divide them into two classes ; the first into that of 
 the SAPAJOU, and the second into the SAGOIN. Both 
 these animals have their feet nearly like those of the 
 Ape and Monkey kind, but they differ from the Ape in 
 having tails. The sapajou has a very long tail, which 
 it makes use of to seize and lay hold of things, and by
 
 274 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 which it suspends from the branches of trees. The 
 tail of the sangoin, on the contrary, is proportionally 
 longer than that of the sapajou, but is weak and straight, 
 so that they cannot make use of it either to lay hold 
 of any thing, or for the purpose of climbing : this dif- 
 ference is so very apparent, that it is alone sufficient 
 to distinguish the sapajou from the sagoin. 
 
 THE WARINE AND THE ALOUATO 
 
 ARE the largest of these animals belonging to the 
 New Continent ; they surpass the size of the largest 
 Monkey, and approach the size of the baboon : they 
 have a long tail, and are moreover of the sapajou 
 family, in which they hold a very distinct rank, not only 
 with regard to size, but also to voice, which sounds 
 like a drum, or, as others say, like the screaming of 
 immense herds of swine, and may be heard at a very 
 great distance. From the excessive noise which they 
 make they have obtained the name of the Howling 
 Monkey. Marcgrave informs us, " that every morning 
 and evening the Warines and the Alouatos assemble in 
 the woods ; that one among them seats himself on an 
 elevated place, makes a sign with his hand to the rest 
 to seat themselves round him ; as soon as he sees them 
 all seated, he begins an oration with so quick and loud 
 a voice, that, at a distance, it might be imagined they 
 were all making a noise together. During the whole 
 discourse the rest keep a profound silence, and 'when 
 it is ended, he makes a signal to the rest to answer 
 him, and immediately they all set up a cry together, 
 till by another sign with his hand he orders them to 
 be silent: when they are immediately obedient and 
 quiet. Then the first renews his discourse, or his song, 
 which when finished, and the others have paid the 
 utmost attention to it the whole assembly breaks up 
 and separates." This singular noise is made by the 
 instrumentality of a long bony process in the throat. 
 According to the same author, " the face of the Warine 
 is broad, the eyes black and sparkling, the ears short 
 and round, the tail naked at the extremity, with which 
 it holds firmly whatever it encircles; the hair of the 
 body is black, long, and glossy ; it is much longer under 
 the chin, which forms a kind of roun ? beard : the hair
 
 .AMERICAN MONKEYS. 275 
 
 oft the hands, feet, and a part of the tail, is brown. 
 The male is of the same colour as the female, and only 
 differs from it in being a little larger. The females 
 carry their young on their backs, and thus loaded leap 
 from branch to branch, and from tree to tree. The 
 young one clasps the narrowest part of the body of the 
 mother with its hands and arms, and thus holds itself 
 firmly fastened, whatever motion its parent makes. In 
 other respects, these animals are wild and mischievous: 
 they can neither be tamed nor subdued, and bite dread- 
 fully. As they live only on fruit, grain, and some 
 insects, their flesh is not bad eating. It is like tliat of 
 the hare, but a little sweetish, for which reason a good 
 quantity of salt is put to that which is roasted : the 
 fat is yellow, like that of the capon, and of a very fine 
 flavour. They easily fasten upon the branches of trees, 
 and stick either by their hands, feet, or tail, wherever 
 they touch, which renders it very difficult to take them, 
 even after they are shot, for if they are only wounded, 
 they will not fall to the ground, but cling to the branch, 
 and remain on the tree where they were shot, till they 
 drop off* by putrefaction. What appears singular is, 
 that the moment one of them is wounded, the rest 
 assemble round, and clap their fingers into the wound, 
 as if they were desirous of sounding its depth. If the 
 blood then flows in any quantity, they keep it shut up, 
 while others get leaves, which they chew, and thrust 
 into the orifice. The females bring forth only one at 
 a time." 
 
 The Alouato has the same characters as the Warine, 
 and only seems to differ from it in having no beard, 
 and a reddish-coloured hair, whereas, that of the 
 Warine is black. 
 
 THE COAITA. 
 
 to the warine and the alouato, the Coaita, or 
 Four-fingered Monkey, is the largest of the sapajous. 
 There was one alive at the Duke of Bouillon's, where, 
 by its familiarity and forward caresses, it merited the 
 affection of those who had it under their care ; but in 
 spite of the good treatment and attention paid to it, it 
 could not resist the winter of the year 1764. It differs 
 greatly ; n disposition from the warine and the alouato,
 
 Z7<5 fiATUKAL HIMORY. 
 
 which are wild and untameable. It also differs from 
 them in having but four fingers and no thumb to the 
 fore paws : by this character alone, and its holding 
 tail, it is easily distinguished from the monkey kind. 
 In the use of their tail these animals are singularly 
 dexterous. They can pick up with it even straws and 
 bits of wood ; and M. Audebert tells us, that he saw 
 one of this species carry hay in its tail to make its bed, 
 and move and spread it about as easily as an elephant 
 could have done with his trunk. 
 
 In climbing, too, this member is of great use. 
 "There are (says Dampier) in the Isthmus of Ameri- 
 ca, numbers of Monkeys, some of which are white, 
 but the most part black some have beards, others 
 none. These Monkeys are very droll, and performed 
 a thousand grotesque postures as we traversed in the 
 woods. When. they are unable to leap from one tree 
 to another, on account of the distance, or the tree be- 
 ing separated by a river their dexterity is very surpri- 
 sing. The whole family form a kind of chain, locking 
 tail in tail, or hand in hand, and one of them holding 
 the branch above, the rest swing down, balancing to 
 and fro, like a pendulum, until the undermost is ena- 
 bled to catch hold of the lower branches of some 
 neighbouring tree. When the hold is fixed below, the 
 Monkey lets go that which was above, and thus comes 
 undermost in turn ; but, creeping up along the chain, 
 attains the next branches of the tree like the rest ; and 
 thus, they all take possession without ever coming to 
 the ground." 
 
 They have the address to break the shell of the oys- 
 ters to eat them. They generally produce only one 
 or two young ones at a time, which they carry upon 
 their backs ; they feed upon fish, worms, and insects, 
 but fruit is their general food, and they grow fat when 
 it is ripe, when, it is said, their flesh is good and exqui- 
 site eating. 
 
 The Coati is about a foot and a half long, and its tail 
 is longer than the head and body measured together : 
 it goes on all "ours. 
 
 THL SAJOU, OR CAPUCHIN MONKEY. 
 
 WE are acquainted with two varieties of this spe- 
 cies ; the Brown Sajou commonly called the
 
 AMERICAN MONKEYS. 277 
 
 Monkey ; and the Gray Sajou, which only differs from 
 the other in tbe colour of its hair ; they are both lively, 
 active, and very pleasing by their tricks and nimble- 
 ness. They are, however, fantastical in their tastes 
 and affections : they seem to have a strong inclination 
 for some people, and as great an aversion for others. 
 They are natives of French Guiana. They usually 
 live in troops of from twenty to forty individuals. 
 They often whistle, and when they are enraged they 
 shake their heads violently, and utter, in a ferocious 
 tone, the syllables Pi, ca, rou. 
 
 THE SAI, OR WEEPER. 
 
 WE have seen two of these animals, which seem to 
 make a variety in the species. The hair of the first it* 
 of a deep brown ; the hair of the second, which we 
 have called the White-throated Sai, is white on the 
 breast, neck, ears, and jaws. Travellers have de- 
 scribed these animals by the name of Howlers, from 
 their plaintive moan. Others have called them Musk 
 Monkeys, from their having, like the macaque, that pe- 
 culiar smell. They belong to the sapajou family, as 
 they have a holding tail : they have only two teats, 
 and bring forth but one or two at a time. They are 
 gentle, docile, and so timorous, that their common cry, 
 which resembles that of the cat, is dwindled down to a 
 kind of sighing, when they are threatened. Their 
 food, in this climate, is principally snails and beetles, 
 which they prefer before any other ; but in their na- 
 tive country of Brazil, they chiefly live upon grain, 
 and the wild fruit they pluck from trees, whence they 
 very seldom descend till they have stripped their habi- 
 tation of its treasure. 
 
 THE SIAMIRA. 
 
 Is vulgarly known by the name of the Golden, Or- 
 ange-coloured, or Yellow Sapajou. It is common in 
 Guiana, where it is called Camiri by the natives. By 
 its air, size, the brilliant colour of its coat, the fulness 
 and brightness of its eyes, and its small, round visage, 
 the Siamira has ever taken the lead of every other 
 : it is, in fact, the most beautiful and delicate 
 OL. 1L- -24
 
 278 NATURAL HJ8TORY. 
 
 of the kind, and the most difficult to transport ami pre- 
 serve in other countries. Its tail, without being absolute- 
 ly useless and weak, like that of the sagoin, is also not so 
 muscular as that of the sapajou : its tail may be said to 
 be but half holding ; and though it makes use of it to 
 climb up trees, yet it can neither strongly hold, nor 
 firmly fix itself with it. It is scarcely more than ten 
 or eleven inches in length. It sits upright on its hinder 
 feet with great ease : but it walks commonly on all 
 fours. 
 
 Captain Stedman tells us, that he daily saw them 
 passing along the sides of the river, in regular order, 
 with their young at their backs, looking not unlike 
 small knapsacks. The foremost of them leaps from 
 the extremity of one bough to that of another, which 
 is often at a surprising distance, and so active are these 
 animals, and so well do they measure the intervening 
 space, that he never misses his aim. All the rest fol- 
 o\v him in succession ; and even the females, burdened 
 is they are with the young ones, which cling closely 
 o the mother's back, perform the same leap with equal 
 lafety. 
 
 THE SAKl, 
 
 COMMONLY called the Fox-tailed Monkey, from its 
 tail being clothed with very long hair, is the largest of 
 the sagoin kind, being about seventeen inches long, 
 whereas the size of the five other sagoins is not above 
 nine or ten. The Saki has very long hair on its body, 
 and still longer on its tail. Its face is red, and cover- 
 ed with a whitish down. It is a native of Guiana, and 
 lives in the woods, but is rare. The female brings forth 
 but one offspring at a time. 
 
 THE TAMARIN, OR GREAT-EARED MONKEY. 
 
 THIS animal, which is a native of the hottest parts 
 of South America, is about the size of a squirrel, and 
 has a naked face, of a swarthy flesh colour; its upper 
 lip somewhat divided ; its ears are very large and 
 erect ; its hair is soft, shaggy, and of a black colour : 
 the hands and feet are covered with orange-coloured 
 hair, very fine and smooth ; its nails are long and 
 crooked ; and the ail is black, clothed with short hair.
 
 AMERICAN MONKEYS. 279 
 
 and twice the length of its body. It is a lively, pleasant 
 animal ; easily tamed ; but so delicate, that it cannot 
 bear a removal to a less temperate climate. 
 
 THE WISTITI, OR STRIATED MONKEY. 
 
 THE name of this animal is taken from the sound ol 
 its voice. It is smaller than the tamarin, being not 
 above six inches long, and its tail more than double 
 that length, which is annulated black and white, like 
 the macaque. Its face is naked, and of a flesh colour. 
 It has two very singular tufts of long white hair on the 
 fore part of the ears, which, although very large, can- 
 not be seen by looking at the full face of this animal. 
 Mr. Edwards says, that, when it is in good health, it 
 has much hair and tufted ; that one of those which he 
 saw, and which was healthy, fed on several things, as 
 biscuits, fruit, pulse, insects, snails ; and, being one 
 day unchained, he struck at a little gold fish which was 
 in a glass globe, killed it, and devoured it with the 
 greatest avidity; that afterwards, some small eels 
 being put before him, he was frightened when the} 
 twisted about his neck, but that he soon conquered and 
 eat them. It is a great enemy to cats. These animals,- 
 when young, have an ugly appearance, having scarcely 
 any hair on their bodies. They cling closely to the 
 teats of their dam ; and as they grow older, they fix 
 themselves on her back or shoulders ; when she is 
 weary of carrying them, she releases herself by rubbing 
 against the wall. 
 
 The Striated Monkey is of a hardy nature, and has 
 sometimes produced young ones in Europe, even as 
 far to the north as Paris. Most of the individuals have 
 a somewhat musky smell. The voice is a kind of 
 shrill hissing whistle. 
 
 THE MARIKINA 
 
 Is sufficiently known by the vulgar name of the Small 
 Lion Monkey. It is about eight inches long, and has a 
 small tuft of hair at the end of the tail ; its hair is tufted, 
 long, soft, and glossy; the head is round; the face is 
 brown ; the eyes red ; the ears round, naked, and con- 
 ceded under the long hair which encompasses the face.
 
 380 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 This hair is of a bright red , that on the be dy and tail 
 of a very pale yellow, approaching towards white. 
 This animal has the same manners, the same vivacity, 
 and the same inclination as other sagoins, and seems 
 to be of a more robust temperament. We have seen 
 one which lived nve or six years at Paris, by the care 
 alone of keeping it, during the winter, in a chamber 
 wherein a fire was kept every day. It is a native of 
 Guiana and Brazil, especially in the vicinity of Rio 
 Janeiro, and is a favourite pet of the Creoles. 
 
 THE PINCH, OR RED-TAILED MONKEY, 
 
 Is about nine inches long; and its tail is as long 
 again. It is remarkable for a kind of white and striped 
 hair on the top and sides of the head ; its face is black, 
 shaded by a sMuall gray down; its eyes are black; its 
 tail of a bright red at its insertion, and even as far as 
 half its length, where it changes to a deep brown. 
 The hair of the upper parts of the body is of a brown 
 colour ; that of the breast, belly, hands, and feet is 
 white ; the skin is black, even where covered with 
 white hair ; its throat is naked, and black, like its face ; 
 its voice is soft, and resembles more the chirping of a 
 .little bird than the cry of an animal ; it is very delicate, 
 and cannot be transported from America into Europe, 
 without the greatest precaution. 
 
 THE MICO. 
 
 WE owe the knowledge of this animal to M. de la 
 Condaniine, and shall therefore give this author's 
 account of it, in his Voyage up the Amazon River. 
 " The Mico which the governor of Para made me a 
 present of, was the only one of its kind that had been 
 seen in the country. The hair of its body was of the 
 most beautiful silver colour, its tail glossy, and ap- 
 proaching to black. It had another more remarkable 
 singularity; its ears, jaws, and snout were tinctured 
 with so bright a vermilion as scarcely to be thought 
 natural. I have had it a year; and it was alive at the 
 time I was writing this account, almost within sight of 
 the French coast, where I hoped to have brought it 
 alive; but, notwithstanding the continual precautions 
 that I took to preserve it from the cold, yet the rigour 
 of the season probably killed it."
 
 THE TARTARIAN cow. 381 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 The Tartarian Cow The Tolai The Zisel The 
 Zemni The Pouch The Perouasca The Souslik 
 The Golden-coloured Mole The White Water 
 Rat The Guinea Hog The Wild Boar of Cape 
 Verd The Mexican Wolf The Alco The Tayra 
 The Philander of Surinam The Akouchi The 
 Tucan The Brazilian Field Mouse The Aperea 
 The Tapeti The Juda Goat The Kanguroo 
 The Silver-haired Kanguroo The Kanguroo Rat 
 The Wombach The Duck-billed Platypus A 
 View of the Animals peculiar to each Continent 
 
 THE TARTARIAN COW. 
 
 MR. GMELIN, in the new Memoirs of the Royal Aca- 
 demy at Petersburg, has given the description of this 
 animal, which seems, at first sight, to be a quite differ- 
 ent species from all those we have spoken of under 
 the article of Buffalo. "This cow," says he, "which 
 I saw alive, and had painted in Siberia, came from 
 Calmuchia, and was about the length of two Russian 
 ells and a half; by which model we may judge of the 
 other dimensions. The body resembles that of the 
 common cow ; the hair on the body is black, except 
 on the forehead and spine of the back, where it is 
 white. The neck is covered with a mane, and all the 
 rest of the body with a very long hair, which descends 
 to the knees, so that the feet appear very short; the 
 back is raised in the form of a hunch ; the tail resem- 
 bles that of a horse, white and well clothed with hair ; 
 the fore feet are black, and the hinder ones white ; 
 there are two tufts of long hair, one before and the 
 other behind. The excrements are of a more solid 
 nature than those of the common cow; and it grunts 
 like a hog. It is wild, and even ferocious; for, except- 
 ing the man who feeds it, it buts all those that come 
 near it with its head ; and it dislikes the company oi 
 domestic cows." This animal, which is called the 
 Yack, lives wild in the mountains of Thibet, and has 
 been domesticated by the Mongols. Its tail is used as 
 a standard by the Oriental nations. 
 24* *
 
 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 THE TOLAI. 
 
 THIS animal, which is very common near Baikal 
 Lake, in Tartary, is in size between a hare and a rab- 
 bit, the latter of which it resembles in shape, quality, 
 smell, and colour, and also in the habit of burrowing 
 in the earth to conceal itself. It differs only in the 
 tail, which is considerably longer than that of the rab- 
 bit, and is black above and white underneath. Its head 
 and back are a pale gray, mingled with brown ; the 
 breast and under part of the body are white, as are 
 also the muzzle and round the eyes. 
 
 THE ZISEL. 
 
 THIS animal, which is also called the Earless Mat 
 mot, is smaller than the hamster : its body is long and 
 slender, like the weasel ; whereas, that of the hamster 
 is thick and compact, like that of the rat. It has no 
 external ears, but only auditory passages concealed 
 under the hair. The Zisel is of a grayer, or of a more 
 uniform colour, than the hamster; and the latter is 
 marked in the fore part of its body with three large 
 white spots on each side. These differences, joined to 
 that of their not mixing together, though natives of the 
 same country, are sufficient to leave us not the least 
 room to doubt of their being two different species. It 
 inhabits Russia, as far as Kamtschatka, and the islands 
 between Asia and America ; it is found also in Persia 
 and China, but rarely in any part of Europe, except 
 Russia. It never frequents bogs and woods, but dwells 
 in open, high, dry, and uncultivated places, and prefers 
 turfy and loamy soils, ne,ar the high roads. Each indi- 
 vidual has its separate burrow, in which it lays up its 
 store of winter provision. During the great severity 
 of the frost it lies torpid. In size they vary consider- 
 ably ; some being as large as the marmot, others no 
 bigger than the water rat. Their colour is as various ; 
 but generally it is a yellowish white on the upper 
 parts, and dirty white on the belly. When the fur is 
 varied with waves or small spots of white, the animal 
 is the Souslik, described by Buffon in a subsequent 
 page of this chapter.
 
 THE POUCH, PEROUASCA, 9OUSLIK. 283 
 
 THE ZEMNI. 
 
 THERE is another animal in Poland and Russia, 
 which is called ziemni, or zemni, of the same race as 
 the zisel, but larger, stronger, and more mischievous. 
 It is somewhat smaller than the domestic cat; its head 
 is large, its body slender, and its ears short and round. 
 These have four great incisive teeth: the two in the 
 lower jaw are thrice as long as the two in the upper. 
 The feet are very short and hairy, divided into five 
 toes, and armed with crooked claws ; the hair is soft, 
 short, and of a mouse gray colour ; the tail moderately 
 large ; its eyes small and hid, like those of the mole. 
 Its disposition and habitudes are nearly the same as 
 those of the hamster and zisel ; its bite is dangerous ; 
 it eats greedily, and plunders orchards and gardens ; 
 it burrows ; and lives upon grain, fruit, and pulse, 
 which it stores in magazines for its winter support. 
 Pennant names this animal the Podolian Marmot. 
 
 THE POUCH, 
 
 CALLED also the Surmulot, is larger than the do- 
 mestic black rat ; its snout is long ; its fur is gray, 
 with brown above, and white beneath ; its tail is almost 
 as long as its body. It burrows, and commits depre- 
 dations in the gardens, &c. Though not web-footed, 
 it swims well. There are such numbers near Suraz 
 and in Volhinia, that the inhabitants were obliged to 
 abandon the culture of their gardens. Its native coun- 
 try is India, whence it was introduced into France in 
 1750, and has since been very common in the seaports. 
 
 THE PEROUASCA, 
 
 WHICH the Russians call Perewiaska, and the Po- 
 landers Pizewiaska (a name we may translate the 
 cinctured weasel,) is not so large as a polecat, covered 
 with a whitish hair, transversally striped of a reddish 
 colour, which stripes appear as so many girdles. It 
 lives in the woods, and burrows in the earth ; its skin 
 is sought after, and makes a very beautiful fur. 
 
 THE SOUSLIK. 
 
 THERE is found at Casan, and in the provinces 
 which he Volga pervades, a small animal, called -Sow*
 
 284 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 lib in the Russian tongue, of which very beautiful furs 
 are made. Its tail is short, li\e the field mouse : but 
 what distinguishes it from that and every other rat, is 
 its coat, which is of a grayish hue, sprinkled with 
 small spots of a glossy and bright white colour : these 
 little spots are exceedingly small, at a small distance 
 from each other ; they are more apparent upon the 
 loins of this animal than on the shoulders and head. 
 " The rats called Sousliks," says M. Sanchez, " are 
 taken in great numbers on the salt vessels in the river 
 Kama, which descends from Salikamskia, where the 
 salt pits are, and falls into the Volga below Casan. 
 The Volga, from Simbuski to Somtoff, is covered with 
 these salt vessels ; and these animals are taken on those 
 vessels, and the borders of those rivers : their name is 
 Souslik, i. e. dainty-mouthed, because they are very 
 fond of salt." 
 
 THE GOLDEN-COLOURED MOLE. 
 
 NOT to ornit any animals that belong to the North, 
 we shall take notice of a kind of mole found in Sibe- 
 ria, called the Golden-coloured Mole, the species of 
 which may be different from the ordinary mole, be- 
 cause the Siberian has no tail, and a short snout ; only 
 three toes to the fore feet, and four to the hinder ; 
 whereas, the common mole has five toes on every foot. 
 The snout is shorter than that of "the common mole; 
 the nose naked ; the head and body about four inches 
 long ; the fur above is varied with glossy green, golden 
 and reddish copper colour, the lower is a cinereous 
 brown. Pennant calls it the Siberian Mole, but it is 
 also found at the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 THE WHITE WATER RAT. 
 
 THE European Water Rat is again seen in Canada, 
 but its colour is different ; its back only is brown ; the 
 rest of the body is white and brown : the head and 
 snout are white, as is the extremity of the tail ; the hair 
 seems softer and more glossy than that of our Water 
 Rat ; but they are alike in every other respect ; so that 
 we cannot doubt but that these two animals are of 
 the same species ; the whiteness of the hair being pro- 
 duced by the coldness of the climate.
 
 THE INDIAN HOG ETC. 
 
 THE GUINEA HOG 
 
 Is nearly of the same figure as our hog, and about 
 the same size as the Siam hog ; that is to say, smaller 
 than our boar, or our hog. It is a native of Guinea, 
 and has been transported into Brazil, where it has mul- 
 tiplied, as in its native country ; it is domestic and 
 tame : its hair is short, red, and glossy ; it has no bris- 
 tles, not even on the back ; the tail only, and the 
 crupper near the tail, are covered with longer hair 
 than the rest of the body : its head is not so large as 
 that of our hog ; and its ears are very long, and turned 
 backwards over its neck ; its tail is as much longer, 
 almost touching the ground ; and it has no hair 
 towards its extremity. 
 
 THE WILD BOAR OF CAPE VERD. 
 
 THERE is another hog, or wild boar in Africa which 
 is found from Cape Verd to Congo, and also in Mada- 
 gascar. By the number of its teeth, and enormous 
 size of its two tusks of the upper jaw, it seems to be 
 of a different breed, and perhaps, of a different spe- 
 cies from every other hog, and approaches nearer the 
 babiroussa. These tusks resemble ivory horns, rather 
 than teeth ; they are half a foot long, and five inches 
 round at the base, and are crooked nearly like the 
 horns of a bull. This animal resides principally in 
 subterranean recesses, which he digs with his nose and 
 hoofs ; he is exceeding strong, and in his wild state is 
 of a savage nature. 
 
 THE MEXICAN WO^# 
 
 HAS the same figure, the same appetites, and the 
 same habitudes as the European or North American 
 wolf; and every thing seems to prove them to be of 
 one and the same species ; its head however, is larger, 
 its neck thicker, and the tail not so hairy ; above the 
 mouth, there are some thick bristles, but not so rough 
 as those of the hedgehog ; the body is covered with 
 grayish hair, marked with some white spots ; the head, 
 which is of the same colour as the body, is crossed
 
 286 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 with brown stripes ; and the forehead is adorned with 
 fallow coloured spots ; the ears are of a gray colour, 
 like the head and body. There is a long spot, of a 
 fallow colour, on the neck; a second spot, like the 
 first, on the breast; and a third on the belly. The 
 flank is marked with transversal lists, from the back to 
 the belly. The tail is gray, and marked with a fallow 
 spot on the middle : the legs are striped, from top to 
 bottom, of a gray and brown colour. This Wolf, as 
 we observe, is the most beautiful of the kind ; and its 
 fur is greatly valued. 
 
 THE ALCO, OR MEXICAN DOG. 
 
 BESIDES the dogs, says Fernandez, which the Span- 
 iards have transported into America, we meet with 
 three other species there, which resemble ours, both in 
 nature and manner, and which do not greatly differ 
 from it in form. The first, and the longest of these 
 American dogs, is that called Xoloigtcuintli. What 
 is particularly remarkable in these animals is, their be- 
 ing without hair, and only covered with a soft, close 
 skin, marked with yellow and blue spots. The second 
 is clothed with hair, and, with respect to its size, suffi- 
 ciently resembles our little Malta dogs. It is marked 
 with white, black, and yellow ; it is singular and amu- 
 sing by its deformity, having a hunched back, and an 
 exceedingly short snout; so that the head seems to 
 shoot immediately out of the shoulders ; it is called 
 Micuacanens, from the name of its country. The 
 third kind of these flogs, called Techichi, sufficiently 
 resembles our little dogs ; but its look is dull and 
 savage. The Americans eat their flesh. The word 
 Alco appears to be a generical term. 
 
 THE TAYRA, OR GALERA. 
 
 WHICH Pennant calls the Guinea Weasel, is about 
 the size of a small rabbit, and resembles the weasel or 
 the ferret. It burrows like those animals, and has its 
 fore feet very strong, and considerably shorter than 
 the hinder ones. Its snout is elongated, a little point- 
 ed, and adorned with a whisker. The body is oblong, 
 and greatly resembles that of a rat ; it is covered with
 
 THE PHILANDER OF SURINAM ETC. 287 
 
 blown hair, some of which is pretty long, and in others 
 much shorter. It is a native of Guinea, very common 
 about the negro villages, and exceedingly destructive 
 to poultry. 
 
 THE PHILANDER OF SURINAM. 
 
 THIS animal belongs to the same climate, and is of 
 a near species to the sariga, marmose, cayopolin, and 
 phalanger. It has very sparkling eyes, surro.unded 
 with a circle of deep brown hair. The body is covered 
 with a soft hair, or rather a kind of wool, of a reddish 
 colour, which is fair on the back, and of a yellowish 
 colour on the snout, forehead, belly, and feet. The 
 feet resemble the hands of the ape ; the fore feet 
 having four fingers and a thumb, with short and obtuse 
 nails ; whereas, only the thumb, or great toe of the 
 hinder feet is flat and obtuse, the rest being armed 
 with small, sharp claws. The young of these animals 
 grunt somewhat like a pig: they get on the back of 
 their dam, and fix themselves there, by fastening their 
 tails to hers. In this situation, which is familiar to 
 them, they are carried with as much safety as swift- 
 ness. 
 
 THE AKOUCHI 
 
 Is common in Guiana, and other parts of South 
 America, and inhabits also St. Lucia and Grenada. It 
 differs from the agouti by having a tail. The Akouchi 
 16 generally smaller than the agouti; but its hair is not 
 red. but olive. 
 
 THE TUCAN, OR MEXICAN SHREW, 
 
 Is a little larger than our mole, and, like that, is fatand 
 fleshy, with such very short legs, that its belly touches 
 the ground. Its tail is short ; its nose sharp ; its ears 
 small and round ; its eyes so very small, that they may 
 be said to be useless ; but differs from the mole in the 
 colour of its hair, which is of a reddish hue, and by 
 the number of toes, having only three to the fore feet, 
 and four to those behind. It seems still farther to dif- 
 fer from it, by its flesh being good to eat. It burrows
 
 288 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 and makes such a number of cavities, that travel- 
 lers can scarce tread with safety. If it gets out of its 
 hole, it knows not how to return, but begins to dig 
 another. 
 
 THE FIELD MOUSE OF BRAZIL 
 
 Is considerably larger than ours, being about five 
 inches from the extremity of the snout to the insertion 
 of the tail, which is only two inches, and, consequently, 
 much shorter in proportion than that of the common 
 field mouse. Its snout is pointed, and its teeth very 
 sharp. 
 
 THE APEREA. 
 
 THIS animal, which is found in Brazil and Paraguay, 
 is neither a rabbit nor a rat ; yet it seems to partake 
 something of both. It is about a foot long, by seven 
 inches in circumference. The hair is of the same 
 colour as our hares, but white upon the belly. It has 
 also, like that animal, a slit lip, large incisive teeth, 
 and a whisker about the mouth ; but its ears are 
 rounded, like those of a rat ; the fore legs are only 
 three inches high ; those behind are longer. The 
 Aperia has got no tail ; its flesh is like that of a rab- 
 bit, which it resembles in its method of living ; it con- 
 ceals itself in holes, but does not burrow like a rabbit, 
 but rather retires into the cavities of the rocks and 
 stones. It is very easily taken. Lesson states it to 
 be the Guinea pig in its wild state. 
 
 THE TAPETI 
 
 Is found in Brazil, and other parts of America. It 
 resembles the European rabbk in figure, and the hare 
 in size and colour ; its ears very long, and of the same 
 shape ; its hair is red on the forehead, and whitish on 
 the throat ; some have a circle of hair round the neck ; 
 they are all white on the throat, breast, and belly ; 
 they have black eyes, and whiskers like the rabbit, but 
 have no tail. The Tapeti resembles the hare in its 
 method of living, fecundity, and the quality of its flesh, 
 which is excellent food. It lives in the fields or woods, 
 like the hare, and does not burrow like the rabbit.
 
 THE JUDA GOATS RANQUROO. 28ft 
 
 THE JUDA GOATS 
 
 AKB considered by our Author as only varieties of 
 the common goat. One species has short, smooth, 
 erect horns, curved a little forwards, and is about the 
 size of <i kid of a year old. The other is also of a dwarf- 
 ish size, but of quite different horns. They are very 
 thick, rounded on the upper surface, with two sharp 
 edges below; and bent backwards, with a slight spiral 
 twist downwards, outwards, and upwards. 
 
 THE KANGUROO. 
 
 THERE exist several species of the Kanguroo, all of 
 which are natives of New Holland. The principal of 
 these is the Great Kanguroo, which was first discov- 
 ered in 1770, by some of the persons who accompa- 
 nied Captain Cook. It often measures nine feet in 
 length from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, 
 and when full grown, weighs two hundred pounds. 
 The head and neck are very small, while the lower 
 parts gradually dilate to a very great size; the fore 
 legs are hardly nineteen inches long, while the hinder 
 ones, which are perfectly bare and callous beneath, 
 measure three feet seven inches. The head bears 
 some resemblance to that of the deer, having a mild 
 and placid visage ; the ears are moderately large and 
 erect, the eyes full, and the mouth rather small. The 
 general colour is a pale brown, inclining to white 
 underneath. From the great difference in length of 
 the fore and hind legs, the pace of this animal consists 
 in vast springs, or bounds, which are said at times to 
 exceed twenty feet in length. It can with ease leap 
 over an obstacle above nine feet high. In its state of 
 rest, it sits erect on the whole length of the hind feet, 
 supporting itself by the base of the tail ; which is occa- 
 sionally used as a weapon of defence, and is of such 
 prodigious strength as to be able to break the leg of a 
 mail at a single blow. The. female seldom produces 
 more than one young one at a birth, which, when first 
 brought forth, is not above an inch long, and is received 
 into an abdominal pouch, that the female is furnished 
 with, which conceals the teats, and serves as a recep- 
 tacle to secure the young in time of danger. 
 VOL. II 25
 
 t90 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 THE 8ILYER-HAIRED KANOUROO 
 
 Is considerably smaller than the former, &nd distin 
 guished by the delicacy of its limbs and the siperioi 
 fineness of its hair. 
 
 THE RAT KANOUROO 
 
 DIFFERS from the common species in being only the* 
 size of a rabbit. The colour is brown, with long coarse 
 hair, ash-coloured beneath ; the ears are more rounded, 
 and there are only four toes on the fore feet. On each 
 side of the upper lip are several long whiskers, which 
 are wanting in the Great Kanguroo ; the head is rather 
 flattened sideways, and the general appearance of the 
 animal is far less elegant and pleasing. 
 
 The habits of the Kanguroo have been recently 
 described, with equal animation and fidelity, by Mr. 
 Cunningham, in his amusing and valuable account of 
 his Two Years' Residence in South Wales. 
 
 "Our largest animals (says he) are Kanguroos ; all 
 of which are fine eating, being clear of fat except about 
 the tail, tasting much like venison, and making most 
 delicious stews and steaks, the favourite dish being 
 what is called a steamer, composed of steaks and 
 chopped tail (with a few slices of salt pork) stewed 
 with a very small quantity of water for a couple of 
 hours in a close vessel. We have the forest Kanguroo, 
 of a gray colour, with a longish fur, inhabiting the 
 forests ; the Wallaroo, of a blackish colour, with a 
 coarse shaggy fur, inhabiting the hills ; and the red 
 Kanguroo, with smooth, short, close fur, of a reddish 
 colour (resembling considerably in fineness and texture 
 the fur of the sea otter), inhabiting the open forests ; 
 and all of. these varieties attain the weight of two 
 hundred pounds and upwards when full grown. The 
 Wallabee and Paddymalla grow to about sixty pounds 
 each, and inhabit the bushes and broken r'lly country. 
 The rock Kanguroo is very small, living among the 
 rockiest portions of the mountains ; while the Kangu- 
 roo rat, or, more properly, r.ibbit, is about the size of 
 the smallest of the latter kind of animal, and lodges io
 
 THE KANGUKOO. 291 
 
 kollow trees, hopping along, like the other Kangaroos, 
 with great speed, and affording good sport in the chase. 
 The Kanguroos make no use of their short fore legs 
 except in grazing, when they rise upon them and their 
 tail, bring their hind legs forward, and go nibbling 
 upon all fours, pulling up occasionally some favourite 
 plant with their fore paw, and sitting up bold and erect 
 upon their hind houghs and tail, while they slowly 
 bite and nibble it, shifting it from paw to paw, like a 
 boy protracting his repast on a juicy apple. When 
 chased, they hop upon their hind legs, bounding .on- 
 wards at a most amazing rate, the tail wagging as they 
 leap, and serving them for a balance. They will bound 
 over gullies, and down declivities, the distance of thirty 
 yards, and fly right over the tops of low brushwood ; 
 so that, in such places, dogs stand very little chance 
 with them ; but in a clear open country soon tire them 
 out. The dogs seize them generally by the hip, and 
 throw them over; then fasten upon their throats and 
 finish them. But few dogs will attack a large Kanguroo 
 singly, some of the two hundred weight size often 
 hopping off with three or four assailants hanging about 
 them ; and I was informed of one that actually carried 
 a man to some distance. When a dog gets up close 
 to a large Kanguroo, it will often sit upon its tail and 
 haunches, aad fight the dog, turning adroitly round and 
 round (so as always to face him), and pushing him off 
 with the fore paws ; or it will seize and hug him like 
 a bear, ripping him up with the long sharp claw on its 
 powerful hind leg. They are constantly indeed cutting, 
 and often killing, dogs with this terrible weapon, which 
 will tear out the bowels at a single kick; and a large 
 Kanguroo is, on this account, very dangerous even for 
 a man to approach, when set at bay. The Kanguroo 
 hunters immediately hamstring them when thrown, to 
 prevent injury to themselves or the dogs ; while the 
 black natives give them a heavy blow over the loins 
 with their waddie, which completely paralyzes their 
 hind legs, as all the large nerves supplying these parts 
 pass out there. The Kanguroo has only one young 
 at a time, which you may see attached by the mouth to 
 the nipple inside the mother's pouch from the period 
 it is the size of your thumb top, and as bare and^un- 
 hapen as a new-born mouse, until it attains the size
 
 292 KATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 of a poodle-dog, with a fine glossy coat of hair, ready 
 to leap out and hop along after the mother. The 
 young are attached by the mouth to the nipple in some- 
 what the same way as the placenta of other animals is 
 attached to the uterus, the mouth being contracted 
 round the nipple, which swells out like a cherry inside 
 it, nourishing the foetus by means of absorption through 
 this indirect channel, the mouth and nipple adhering 
 so strongly that it requires considerable force to sepa- 
 rate them. When the foetus arrives at sufficient age 
 to suck, it drops off the nipple, and may then be said 
 to be born, yet still continuing inside of the pouch, 
 and sucking milk now through the ducts of that same 
 nipple from the external surface of which it formerly 
 derived a very different species of nourishment. The 
 manner in which the young reach this pouch from the 
 ovary, and attach themselves to the nipple, is still, I 
 believe, a mystery, as no communicative duct has yet 
 been found ; but the natives assert they are born in 
 the usual way, and that the mother places them there. 
 It is amazing to see the young Kanguroo pop its head 
 out of the pouch when the mother is grazing, and 
 nibble too at the tender herbage which she is passing 
 over. When hard hunted, the mother will stop sud- 
 denly, thrust her fore paws into her pouch, drag out 
 the young one and throw it away, that she may hop* 
 lighter along. They are always very hard pressed, 
 however, before they thus sacrifice the life of their 
 offspring to save their own ; and it is pitiful to see the 
 tender sympathetic looks they will sometimes cast 
 back at the poor little helpless creatures they have 
 been forced to desert. From this singular mode of 
 gestation, you may handle the fcetus in tifero, and pull 
 it about by the tail like a kitten, from the first moment 
 of its appearance there up to the very day of its birth, 
 without causing either pain or annoyance to it or its 
 mother. Such is the very singular manner in which 
 nearly all our Australian quadrupeds are generated and 
 brought forth. When the young Kanguroo has attained 
 a considerable size, it will crawl out, feed about, and 
 creep in again to warm itself, or in case any danger 
 approaches. The Kanguroos feed early in the morn- 
 ing, when the dew is on the grass, which is the best 
 time to hunt them. If there is no dog in your pack
 
 THE KAXGUROO. 293 
 
 that will show the game, you must keep sight of the 
 dogs at full gallop to secure it, or else take out a little 
 short-legged terrier, that will run the foot, and that 
 you can readily keep sight of till it reaches the others, 
 otherwise you may " lose all your sport, as few of our 
 dogs give tongue either in the chase or at the death. 
 If there is a river or pond near, the Kanguroos are 
 sure to retreat thither when hard pressed, and in this 
 way readily baffle the natives' dogs, by shoving under 
 water and drowning such as may venture in beside 
 them. From the great length of their hind legs and 
 tail, they are enabled to stand on the firm bottom while 
 the dogs are obliged to swim ; and in this way a fight 
 between a large Kanguroo and a pack of dogs affords 
 a most amusing spectacle. The Kanguroo stands 
 gravely upright, with his fore paws spread out before 
 him, wheeling round and round to ward off his assail- 
 ants ; and whenever one arrives within his reach, he 
 pounces his paws upon him, and sousing him suddenly 
 under, holds him fast in this .position, gazing all the 
 while around with the most solemn simpleton sort of 
 aspect, heedless of the kicking and sprawling of his 
 victim, whom he quickly puts an end to, if some 
 courageous colleague does not in good time advance to 
 its aid, and force the Kanguroo to let his half-drowned 
 antagonist bob above water again, who paddles forth- 
 with towards shore, shaking his ears and looking most 
 piteously, with no inclination to venture in a second 
 time, notwithstanding all the halloos and cheerings 
 with which you urge him." 
 
 The Kanguroo may be domesticated. " One of the 
 largest tame Kanguroos I have seen in this country 
 (says Mr. Cunningham) is domesticated, and a mis- 
 chievous wag he is, creeping and snuffing cautiously 
 towards a stranger, with such an innocently expressive 
 countenance, that roguery could never be surmised to 
 exist under it ; when, having obtained, as he thinks, H. 
 sufficient introduction, he claps his fore paws on your 
 shoulders (as if to caress you,) and raising himself 
 suddenly upon his tail, administers such a well put 
 push with his hind legs, that it is two to one but he 
 drives you heels over head ! This is all done in what 
 he considers facetious play, with a view of giving you 
 a hint to examine your pockets, and see what Ion lont
 
 IfATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 you have got for him, as he munches cakes and comnU 
 with epicurean gout and if the door is ajar, he will 
 gravely take his station behind your chair at meal 
 time, like a lackey, giving you an admonitory kick 
 every now and then, if you fail to help him as well as 
 yourself." 
 
 THB WOMBACH. 
 
 THIS animal is a native of New South Wales, and 
 was discovered in the year 1798. It is about the size 
 of a badger, a species of which it was supposed to be, 
 from its dexterity in burrowing in the earth by means 
 of its fore paws ; but, in its general motions, it appeared 
 to have much of the habits and manners of a bear. It 
 has a large head, a broad forehead, a face tapering to 
 the nose, which is a hard, gristly substance, well adapt- 
 ed for removing the earth when it burrows : each jaw 
 has two cutting teeth, long and sharp like those of a 
 kanguroo, with a space, of an inch between them and 
 the grinders, which are strong and well set. From the 
 structure of its teeth, it does not appear to be a car- 
 nivorous animal: its eyes are small and black; its eais 
 short and pointed. The paws are something like a 
 beaver's, with which it runs so awkwardly that a man 
 could easily overtake it. Its posteriors differ from 
 most other animals, by falling down in a sloping direc- 
 tion, commencing at the hip joint, and descending to 
 the knee joint of the hind legs : its tail is so short that 
 it is scarcely perceivable. The general colour is of a 
 cream-brown, intermixed with black hairs. The female, 
 like most other animals of New South Wales, is dis- 
 tinguished by a pouch or false belly for its young. The 
 flesh is considered by the natives as a great luxury. 
 
 THE DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS. 
 
 NEW HOLLAND, which, among other living curiosi- 
 ties, has supplied us with that rara avis the black swan, 
 is also the country that produces this anomalous ani- 
 mal, one of the strangest sports of nature, as it com- 
 bines the bill of a bird with the usual characteristics of 
 a quadruped. So singular is this union, that it was at 
 first supposed to b the trick of some person, for the
 
 THK DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS. 295 
 
 purpose of imposing on collectors. Whon the creature 
 was first discovered, it received the allusive name of 
 Ornithorynchus Paradoxicus ; but it has since been 
 denominated the Platypus Anatinus, or Duck-billed 
 Platypus. It has a depressed body, somewhat resem- 
 bling that of an otter in miniature, which is covered 
 with a soft fur, dark brown above, and of a ferruginous 
 white beneath. The head is flattish, and the snout so 
 exactly resembles that of some broad-billed species of 
 duck, that it might easily be mistaken for such. The 
 tail is flat, furry, and of the same colour as the body. 
 The length of the whole animal, from the tip of the 
 beak to that of the tail, is thirteen inches ; of the beak 
 an bch and a half. The legs are very short, and ter- 
 minate in a broad web, which on the fore feet extends 
 to a considerable distance beyond the claws; but on 
 the hind feet reaches no farther than the roots of the 
 claws. On the upper part of the head, on each side, 
 a little beyond the beak, are situated two oval white 
 spots, in the lower part of each of which the eyes are 
 embedded. 
 
 From the general form of this animal, and particu- 
 larly its bill and webbed feet, it may naturally be con- 
 cluded, that it resides in watery situations ; that it has 
 the habit of digging or burrowing in the banks of rivers 
 or under ground ; and that its food consists of aquatic 
 plants and animals. 
 
 After so copious a history of quadrupeds as that which 
 has just been submitted to our readers, a very few words 
 appear necessary to complete the Natural History of that 
 class of animals. 
 
 On one topic only we shall therefore enlarge. It 
 has been frequently intimated, that a material difference 
 exists between the animals of the Old and the New 
 Continent. While America far exceeds us in the size 
 of its reptiles, it is far inferior in its quadruped produc- 
 tions. In effect, so materially different are many of 
 them found which inhabit the New Continent, from 
 those of the 0*ld, that, though we have generally noted 
 the country of the animal we have described, yet we 
 conceived that it might not be unsatisfactory to the 
 reader, if we endeavoured to exhibit a synopsis of 
 the quadrupeds whbh are peculiar to each Continent.
 
 290 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 In pursuing this plan, we have made two columns ; 
 the one for Europe, Asia, Africa, and the other for 
 America. When we have found an animal of the New 
 Continent resembling nearly that of the Old, we have 
 placed it opposite in the same line ; and those which 
 are common to both we have placed in the middle, be- 
 tween the two columns. 
 
 Europe, Asia, Africa, Common to all. America. 
 
 Elephant 
 
 Rhinoceros Tapir . 
 
 Hippopotamus 
 
 Camel Llama 
 
 Dromedary Paco 
 
 Camelopard 
 
 Lion Puma 
 
 Tiger Jaguar 
 
 Panther Cougar 
 
 Leopard Jaguarette 
 
 Ounce Mountain Cat 
 
 Zebra 
 
 {Though not origin* .;/ 
 found there, horses 
 and asses are now 
 plenty in America. 
 
 Ox ( These also are now 
 
 Buffalo ) numerous. 
 
 Sheep . ; ( These also are now 
 
 Goat v ( produced in America. 
 
 Hog Now produced there. 
 
 Peccary 
 
 Guinea Hog Now produced there. 
 
 Dog Now produced there. 
 
 Alco 
 Goschig 
 
 Jackal 
 
 Porcupine Urson 
 
 Couanda 
 
 Genet 
 
 Civets A species of them ia 
 
 said to have been 
 found there origin- 
 ally.
 
 QUADRUPEDS OF EACH COCN'JRT. 297 
 
 Europe, Asia, Africa, Common to all. America. 
 
 Cat Now produced there- 
 Antelope 
 Guinea Stag 
 Chamois 
 Ibex 
 Musk 
 
 Babbit Now produced there. 
 
 Tapeti 
 Ferret 
 
 Rat . Now produced there. 
 
 Aperea 
 
 Mouse . Brazilian Field Mouse 
 
 Fat Squirrel 
 Garden Squirrel 
 Ichneumon 
 Badger 
 
 Sable . . Pekan 
 
 Ermine Vison 
 
 Stinkards 
 Jerboa 
 Maki 
 
 Several species of Monkeys . . . . Sapajou and Sagoas 
 
 Racoon 
 Cabiai 
 Tajacou 
 
 Pangolin and Phategin Ant-eaters 
 
 Sloth 
 
 Rain-deer Cariacou 
 
 Couandou 
 Agouti 
 Coati 
 Opossum 
 Pacps 
 
 Indian Hog 
 Cavy 
 Armadillo 
 Kanguroo 
 Rat 
 
 Rain-deer 
 Stag 
 Bear 
 Roebuck 
 Hare 
 Squirrel 
 Hedgehog 
 Otter 
 Marmot 
 
 Shrew Mouse Mexican Shrew 
 Mle
 
 
 208 
 
 KATL'RAL BISTORT. 
 
 Europe, Asia, Africa. Common to all. 
 Beaver 
 Wolf 
 Fox 
 Weasel 
 Ermine 
 Pine Weasel 
 Polecat 
 Lynx 
 Seal 
 Walrus 
 Roebuck 
 Elk 
 Glutton 
 
 Pouch, Dormouse 
 
 America. 
 
 Mexican Wolf 
 Tayra 
 
 Mazame 
 
 Ondatra 
 
 Of the two hundred species of Quadrupeds which 
 Buffon supposes to exist, he calculates, that about 
 ninety are original inhabitants of the Old Continent, 
 and about seventy of the New, and that forty may be 
 accounted common to both. Since the period when 
 he wrote, the number of species has been much in 
 creased. 


 
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