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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10), by
-Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
-
-
-Title: Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10)
-       Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of
-       Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals,
-       &c. &c
-
-Author: Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
-
-Editor: James Smith Barr
-
-Release Date: May 29, 2014 [EBook #45820]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ASCII
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUFFON'S NATURAL HISTORY, VOL VII ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Chris Curnow, Tom Cosmas and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
-file was produced from images generously made available
-by The Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber Note
-
-Text emphasis is denoted as _Italic Text._
-
-
-
-
-                           _Barr's Buffon._
-
-                       Buffon's Natural History.
-
-                              CONTAINING
-
-                        A THEORY OF THE EARTH,
-                               A GENERAL
-                           _HISTORY OF MAN_,
-                     OF THE BRUTE CREATION, AND OF
-                         VEGETABLES, MINERALS,
-                               _&c. &c._
-
-                           FROM THE FRENCH.
-
-                     WITH NOTES BY THE TRANSLATOR.
-
-                            IN TEN VOLUMES.
-
-                               VOL. VII.
-
-                                London:
-                      PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR,
-              AND SOLD BY H. D. SYMONDS, PATERNOSTER-ROW,
-
-                                 1807.
-
-                    T. Gillet, Printer, Wild court.
-
-
-
-
-                               CONTENTS
-                                  OF
-                          THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
-
-
-
-
-                        Of Carnivorous Animals.
-
-                                                            _Page_
-
-  _Of Tigers_                                                   1
-  _Animals of the Old Continent_                                4
-  _Animals of the New World_                                   24
-  _Animals common to both Continents_                          33
-  _The Tiger_                                                  57
-  _The Panther, Ounce, and Leopard_                            68
-  _The Jaguar_                                                 81
-  _The Cougar_                                                 87
-  _The Lynx_                                                   92
-  _The Hyaena_                                                 107
-  _The Civet and the Zibet_                                   117
-  _The Genet_                                                 129
-  _The Black Wolf_                                            132
-  _The Canadian Musk-rat, and the Muscovy Musk-rat_           133
-  _The Peccari, or Mexican Hog_                               141
-  _The Rousette, or Ternat Bat, the Rougette, or Little
-      Ternat, and the Vampyre_                                149
-  _The Senegal Bat_                                           162
-  _The Bull-dog Bat_                                          163
-  _The Bearded Bat_                                           164
-  _The striped Bat_                                           165
-  _The Polatouch_                                             165
-  _The Grey Squirrel_                                         173
-  _The Palmist, the Squirrel of Barbary and Switzerland_      177
-  _The Ant Eaters_                                            181
-  _The Long and Short-tailed Manis_                           193
-  _The Armadillo_                                             197
-  _The Three-banded_                                          202
-      _Six-banded_                                            205
-      _Eight-banded_                                          207
-      _Nine-banded_                                           208
-      _Twelve-banded_                                         210
-      _Eighteen-banded_                                       212
-  _The Paca_                                                  222
-  _The Opossum_                                               229
-  _The Marmose_                                               251
-  _The Cayopollin_                                            253
-  _The Elephant_                                              255
-  _The Rhinoceros_                                            322
-
-_Directions for placing the Plates in the Seventh Volume._
-
-  Page 57 Fig. 101, 102.
-       68 Fig. 107, 108.
-       77 Fig. 103, 104.
-       85 Fig. 105, 106.
-      117 Fig. 109, 110.
-      118 Fig. 111, 112, 113.
-      133 Fig. 114, 115, 116.
-      150 Fig. 117, 118, 119.
-      165 Fig. 120, 121, 122, 123.
-      181 Fig. 124, 125, 126.
-      205 Fig. 127, 128.
-      222 Fig. 129, 130, 131, 132.
-      236 Fig. 133, 134.
-
-
-
-
-BUFFON'S
-
-NATURAL HISTORY.
-
-
-
-
-_OF CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS._
-
-
-
-
-OF TIGERS.
-
-
-As the word Tiger is a generic name, given several animals of different
-species, it is proper to begin with distinguishing them from each
-other. Leopards and Panthers have often been confounded together, and
-are called Tigers by most travellers. The Ounce, a small species of
-Panther, which is easily tamed, and used by the Orientals in the chace,
-has been taken for the Panther itself, and described as such by the
-name of Tiger. The Lynx, and that called the Lion's provider, have
-also sometimes received the name of Panther, and sometimes Ounce. In
-Africa, and in the southern parts of Asia, these animals are common;
-but the real tiger, and the only one which ought to be so called, is
-scarce, was little known by the ancients, and is badly described by the
-moderns. Aristotle does not mention him; and Pliny merely speaks of him
-as an animal of prodigious velocity; _tremendae velocitatis animal_;[A]
-adding, that he was a much more scarce animal than the Panther, since
-Augustus presented the first to the Romans at the dedication of the
-theatre of Marcellus, while so early as the time of Scaurus, this AEdile
-sent 150 panthers, and afterwards 400 were given by Pompey, and 420
-by Augustus, to the public shews at Rome. Pliny, however, gives no
-description of the tiger, or any of its characteristics. Oppian and
-Solinus appear to be the first who observed that the tiger is marked
-with long streaks, and the panther with round spots. This, indeed, is
-one of the characteristics which distinguishes the true tiger from a
-number of animals that have been so called. Strabo, in speaking of
-the real tiger, gives Megasthenes as his authority, for saying that
-in India there are tigers twice as large as the lion. The tiger then
-stands described by the ancients as an animal that is fierce and
-swift, marked with long stripes, and exceeding the lion in size; nor
-has Gesner, nor the other modern naturalists, who have treated of the
-tiger, added any thing to these observations of the ancients.
-
-[Footnote A: Pliny Nat. Hist. lib. viii. cap. xviii.]
-
-In the French language all those skins of which the hair is short, and
-are marked with round and distinct spots, are called tiger-skins, and
-travellers sharing in this error, have called all animals so marked
-by the general name of tigers; even the academy of sciences have been
-borne away by this torrent, and have adopted the appellation to all,
-although by dissection they found them materially different.
-
-The most general cause, as we intimated in the article of the lion,
-of these ambiguous terms in Natural History, arose from the necessity
-of giving names to the unknown productions of the New World, and thus
-the animals were called after such of the old continent to whom they
-had the smallest resemblance. From the general denomination of tiger
-to every animal whose skin was spotted, instead of one species of that
-name, we now have nine or ten, and consequently the history of these
-animals is exceedingly embarrassed, writers have applied to one species
-what ought to have been ascribed to another.
-
-To dispel the confusion which necessarily results from these erroneous
-denominations, particularly among those which have been commonly
-called tigers, I have resolved to give a comparative enumeration of
-quadrupeds, in which I shall distinguish, 1. Those which are peculiar
-to the old continent, and were not found in America when first
-discovered. 2. Those which are natives of the new continent, and were
-unknown in the old. 3. Those which existing alike in both continents,
-without having been carried from one to the other by man, may be
-considered as common to both. For which purpose it has been necessary
-to collect and arrange the scattered accounts given by the historians
-of America, and those who first visited this continent as travellers.
-
-
-
-
-ANIMALS OF THE OLD CONTINENT.
-
-
-As the largest animals are the best known, and about which there is
-the least uncertainty, in this enumeration they shall follow nearly
-according to their size.
-
-Elephants belong to the Old World; the largest are found in Asia, and
-the smallest in Africa. They are natives of the hottest climates, and,
-though they will live, they cannot multiply in temperate ones; they
-do not propagate even in their own countries after they are deprived
-of their liberty. Though confined to the southern parts of the old
-continent their species is numerous. It is unknown in America, nor is
-there any animal there that can be compared to it in size and figure.
-The same remark applies to the Rhinoceros, which is less numerous than
-the elephant; he is confined to the desarts of Africa, and the forests
-of southern Asia; nor has America any animal that resembles him.
-
-The Hippopotamus inhabits the banks of the large rivers of India and
-Africa, and is less numerous than the Rhinoceros. It is not found in
-America, nor even in the temperate climates of the Old Continent.
-
-The Camel and Dromedary, so apparently similar, yet in reality so
-dissimilar, are very common in Asia and Arabia, and in all the eastern
-parts of the ancient continent. The name of camel has been given to
-the Lama and Pacos of Peru, which are so different from the camel as
-by some to have been called _sheep_, and by others _camels_ of Peru;
-though the pacos has nothing in common with the European sheep but the
-wool, and the lama resembles the camel only by the length of its neck.
-The Spaniards formerly carried camels to Peru; they left them first
-at the Canaries, whence they afterwards transported them to America;
-but the climate of the new world does not seem favourable to them, for
-though they produced, their numbers have always remained very small.
-
-The _Giraffe_ or _Camelopard_, an animal remarkable for its height,
-and the length of its neck and fore legs, is a native of Africa,
-particularly Ethiopia, and has never spread beyond the tropics in the
-temperate climates of the old continent.
-
-In the preceding article we have seen that the lion exists not in
-America, and that the puma of Peru is an animal of a different species;
-and we shall now find that the tiger and panther belong also to the old
-continent, and that the animals of South America, to whom those names
-have been applied, are also different. The real tiger is a terrible
-animal, and more, perhaps, to be dreaded than the lion himself. His
-ferocity is beyond comparison; but an idea of his strength may be drawn
-from his size; he is generally from four to five feet high, and from
-nine to fourteen in length, without including his tail; his skin is not
-covered with round spots, but with black stripes upon a yellow ground,
-which extend across the body, and form rings from one end of the tail
-to the other. These characteristics alone are sufficient to distinguish
-him from all the animals of prey belonging to the new continent, as
-the largest of them scarcely ever exceed the size of our mastiffs. The
-leopard and panther of Africa and Asia, though much smaller than the
-tiger, are larger than the rapacious animals of South America. Pliny,
-whose testimony cannot be doubted (since panthers were daily exposed,
-in his time, at the theatres in Rome), indicates their essential
-characteristics, by saying, their hair is whitish, diversified
-throughout with black spots, like eyes, and that the only difference
-between the male and female were the superior whiteness of her hair.
-
-The American animals, which have been called tigers, have a greater
-resemblance to the panther, and yet their difference from that species
-is very evident. The first is the _Jaguara_, or _Janowra_, a native
-of Guiana, Brasil, and other parts of South America. Ray, with some
-propriety, calls the animal the Pard, or Brasilian lynx. The Portuguese
-call him Ounce, because they had first, by corruption, given that name
-to the lynx, and afterwards to the small panther of India; and the
-French, without his having the smallest affinity, have called him
-tiger. He differs from the panther in size, in the position and figure
-of the spots, in the colour and length of the hair, which is frizzled
-when young, and never so straight as that of the panther, differing
-also in disposition, being more savage, and cannot be tamed; still,
-however, the jaguar of Brasil resembles the panther more than any other
-animal of the new world. The second we call Cougar, by contracting the
-Brasilian name _cougouacou-ara_, and which the French, with still less
-propriety, have called the Red Tiger. From the real tiger it differs
-in all, and from the panther in most respects, its hair being red, and
-without spots; and in the form of its head, and length of his muzzle,
-it differs also from them both. A third species, which has also been
-called tiger, though equally remote, is the _Jaguarette_, which is
-nearly of the size of the jaguar, and resembles him in natural habits,
-but differs in some exterior characters. He has been called black
-tiger, because his hair is black, interspersed with spots of a still
-blacker hue. Besides these three species, and perhaps a fourth, which
-is smaller, that have been named after the tiger, there is another
-American animal, which appears to have a greater right to it, namely,
-the _Cat-pard_, or mountain cat, which resembles both the cat and the
-panther. Though smaller than either of the above three animals, it is
-larger than the wild cat, which it resembles in figure, but its tail is
-much shorter, and it differs also by having its hair diversified with
-black spots, long upon the back and round upon the belly. These four
-American animals have, therefore, very improperly been named tigers.
-The cougar and cat-pard I have seen alive, and am convinced they are
-of different species, and still more so from the tiger or panther; and
-as for the puma and jaguar, it is evident, from the testimony of those
-who have seen them, that the former is not a lion, nor the latter a
-tiger, and therefore, without scruple, we may pronounce, that neither
-the lion, tiger, nor even the panther, exist in America, any more than
-the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, camel, or the camelopard. All
-these species require a hot climate for propagation, and as none of
-them exist in the northern regions, it is impossible they should have
-had any communication with America. This general fact is too important
-not to be supported by every proof; we shall, therefore, continue our
-comparative enumeration of the animals of the old continent with those
-of the new.
-
-It is generally known, that upon horses being first transported into
-America they struck the natives with surprise and terror; and that
-this animal has thriven and multiplied so fast, as to have become
-almost as numerous there now as it is in Europe. It is the same also
-with the ass, which has thriven equally in these warm climates, and
-from which mules have been produced, that are more serviceable than
-the lamas for carrying heavy loads over the mountainous parts of Chili
-and Peru. The Zebra is also an animal of the old continent, and which,
-perhaps, has never been even seen in the new; it seems to require a
-particular climate, and is found only in that part of Africa which lies
-between the Equator and the Cape of Good Hope.
-
-Oxen were unknown in the islands and on the continent of South America.
-Soon after the discovery of these countries, the Spaniards transported
-bulls and cows to them from Europe. In 1550 oxen were employed, for
-the first time, in tilling the ground in the valley of Cusco. On the
-continent these animals multiplied prodigiously, as well as in the
-islands of St. Domingo, Cuba, Barlovento, &c. and in many places
-they even became wild. The species of horned cattle found at Mexico,
-Louisiana, &c. which is called the _wild ox_ or Bison, is not produced
-from the European oxen. The bison existed in America before our race
-was carried thither; and from the latter he is so different as to
-authorize the opinion of his being a different species. He has a rise
-between his shoulders, his hair is softer than wool, is longer before
-than behind, is curled upon the neck and along the spine of the back;
-he is of a brown colour, and faintly marked with some whitish spots; he
-has also short legs, which, like the head and neck, are covered with
-long hair; and the male has a long tail with a tuft of hair at the end,
-like that of the lion. These differences seem to be sufficient grounds
-for considering the ox and bison of different species, yet I will not
-pretend to determine they are so, because the only characteristic which
-identifies animals to be of the same species, is their propagating
-and producing similar individuals, and which fact has never been
-determined between the bison and the oxen of Europe. M. de la Nux, a
-member of the royal council of the isle of Bourbon, has favoured me
-with a letter, in which he says, the hunched-back ox of that island
-propagates with the common horned cattle; and of great advantage would
-it be, if persons who live in remote countries would follow the example
-of this gentleman, in making experimental observations upon animals.
-Nothing could be more easy than for the inhabitants of Louisiana, to
-try if the American bison would copulate with the European cow. It
-is probable they would produce together, and in that case it would
-be ascertained that the European ox, the hunched-backed species of
-the isle of Bourbon, the East India bull and American bison, form
-only one species. M. de la Nux proved by experiments, that the hunch
-is not an essential characteristic, since it disappeared after a few
-generations; and I have myself discovered that the protuberance upon a
-camel's back, which, though as in the bison, is very common, is not a
-constant characteristic, and is probably owing to the healthful state
-of the body, as I once saw a sickly camel which had not the smallest
-appearance of a lump. As to the other difference, namely, the hair
-being more long and soft, that may be entirely owing to the influence
-of the climate, as is the case with goats, hares, and rabbits. With
-some appearance of probability, it may be supposed, (especially if the
-American bison produces with the European cow) that our oxen may have
-found a passage over the northern districts to those of North America,
-and having afterwards advanced into the temperate regions of this New
-World, they received the impressions of the climate, and in time became
-bisons. But till the essential fact of their producing together be
-fully confirmed, I think it right to conclude that our oxen belong to
-the old continent, and existed not in America before they were carried
-thither.
-
-To sheep America has no pretensions; they were transported from Europe,
-and have thriven both in the warm and temperate climates; but, however
-prolific, they are commonly more meagre, and their flesh less juicy and
-tender than those in Europe. Brasil seems to be the most favourable to
-them, as it is there alone that they are found loaded with fat. Guinea
-sheep, as well as European, have been transported to Jamaica, and they
-have prospered equally well. These two species belong solely to the old
-continent. It is also the same with goats, and those we now meet with
-in America in such great numbers, all originated from goats introduced
-from Europe. The latter has not, however, multiplied so fast at Brasil
-as the sheep. When the Spaniards first carried goats to Peru they were
-so rare as to be sold for 110 ducats a piece; but afterwards they
-multiplied so prodigiously as to be held of little value but for their
-skins; they produce there from three to five kids at a time, while in
-Europe they seldom have more than one or two. In all the islands they
-are equally numerous as on the continent. The Spaniards transported
-them even into the islands of the South Sea; and in the island of Juan
-Fernandez their increase became prodigious. But proving a supply of
-provisions to the free-booters who afterwards infested those parts, the
-Spaniards resolved to extirpate them, and for that purpose put dogs
-upon the island, who, multiplying in their turn, not only destroyed all
-the goats in the accessible parts, but became so fierce as to attack
-even men.
-
-The hogs which were transported from Europe to America succeeded
-better, and multiplied faster, than the sheep or goat. The first
-swine, according to Garcilasso, sold still dearer than the first
-goats. Piso says the flesh of the ox and sheep is not so good at
-Brasil as in Europe, but that of the hog, which multiplies very fast,
-is better; and Laet, in his History of the New World, affirms that
-it is preferable at St. Domingo, to what it is in Europe. In general
-it may be remarked, that of all domestic animals which have been
-carried from Europe to America, the hog has thriven the best and most
-universally. In Canada and in Brasil, which includes the warmest and
-coldest climates of the new world, hogs multiply, and their flesh is
-equally good; while the goat, on the contrary, multiplies in warm and
-temperate climates only, and cannot maintain its species in Canada
-without continual supplies. The ass multiplies in Brasil, Peru, &c. but
-not in Canada, where neither mules nor asses are to be seen, although
-numbers of the latter have been transported thither in couples. Horses
-have multiplied nearly as much in the hot as in the cold countries
-throughout America; but have diminished in size, a circumstance which
-is common to all animals transported from Europe to America; and what
-is still more singular, all the native animals of America are much
-smaller in general than those of the old continent. Nature in their
-formation seems to have adopted a smaller scale, and to have formed man
-alone in the same mould. But to proceed in our enumeration:--The hog,
-then, is not a native of America, but was carried thither; and he has
-not only increased in a domestic state but has even become wild, and
-multiplied in the woods without the assistance of man. A species of hog
-has also been transported from Guinea to Brasil, which has likewise
-multiplied; it is much smaller, and seems to form a distinct species
-from the European hog; for although the climate of Brasil is favourable
-to every kind of propagation, these animals have never been known to
-intermingle.
-
-Dogs, whose races are so varied, and so numerously diffused, were
-not found in America, unless in a few rude resemblances, which it is
-difficult to compare with the species at large. At St. Domingo, says
-Garcilasso, there were little animals called _gosques_, not unlike
-little dogs; but there were no dogs like those of Europe. He adds, that
-the latter, on being transported to Cuba and St. Domingo, had become
-wild, and diminished the number of cattle which had become wild also;
-that they committed their devastations in troops of ten or twelve, and
-were more destructive than wolves. According to Joseph Acosta, there
-were no real dogs in the West Indies, but only an animal resembling
-small dogs, called by the Peruvians _alcos_, which attach themselves
-to their masters, and seem to have nearly the same dispositions as the
-dog. If we may believe Father Charlevoix, who quotes no authority,
-"The _goschis_ of St. Domingo were little mute dogs, which served
-as an amusement to the ladies, and were also employed in the chace
-of other animals. Their flesh was good for eating, and they were of
-great benefit to the Spaniards during the first famines, which these
-people experienced, so that they would have been exhausted, had there
-not been numbers of them afterwards brought from the continent. Of
-this animal there were several sorts; of some the hair was straight,
-others had their bodies covered with a wool exceedingly soft; but the
-greatest number had only a thin covering of tender down. In colours
-they exceeded the varieties in the European dogs, forming an assemblage
-of all colours, the most lively not excepted."
-
-If this species of the goschis ever existed, especially as described
-by Father Charlevoix, why have other authors never mentioned it? why
-does it no longer exist? or if in existence, by what means has it lost
-all its beautiful peculiarities? It is most likely that the goschis of
-Charlevoix, and of which he never found the name but in Father Pers, is
-the gosques of Garcilasso; and it is also probable that these gosques
-of St. Domingo, and the alcos of Peru, are the same animal; for certain
-it is, that of all American animals this has the most affinity to the
-European dog. Several authors have considered it as a real dog; and
-Laet expressly says, that when the West Indies were discovered they in
-St. Domingo employed a small dog in hunting, but which was absolutely
-dumb. We observed, in the history of the dog, that he loses the faculty
-of barking in hot countries, but instead thereof they had a kind
-of howl, and are not like these American animals, perfectly mute.
-European dogs have thriven equally well in the hot and cold climates
-of America, and of all animals they are held in the highest estimation
-by the savages; but they have undergone essential changes, for in hot
-countries they have lost their voice, in cold ones they have decreased
-in size, and in general their ears have become straight. Thus they
-have degenerated, or rather returned to their primitive species, the
-shepherd's dog, whose ears are erect, and who barks the least. From
-whence we may conclude, that the dog belongs to the old continent where
-their nature has been developed in the temperate regions only, and
-where they appear to have been varied and brought to perfection by the
-care of man, for in all uncivilized countries, and in very hot or cold
-climates they are ugly, small, and almost mute.
-
-The Hyaena, which is nearly the size of the wolf, was known to the
-ancients, and I have myself seen a living one. It is remarkable for
-having an opening between the anus and tail, like the badger, and from
-which issues a humour that has a strong smell; also for a long bristly
-mane which runs along its neck; and for a voracity which prompts it to
-scrape up graves and devour the most putrid bodies.
-
-This horrid animal is only to be found in Arabia, and other southern
-provinces of Asia; it does not exist in Europe and has never been found
-in the New World.
-
-The jackall, which of all animals not excepting the wolf makes the
-nearest approach to the dog though differing in every essential
-characteristic, is very common in Armenia and Turkey, and is very
-numerous in several other provinces of Asia and Africa; but it is
-absolutely unknown in the new world. It is about the size of the fox,
-and of a very brilliant yellow; this animal has not extended to Europe,
-nor even the northern parts of Asia.
-
-The Genet, being a native of Spain, would doubtless have been noticed
-had he been found in America, but that not being the case, we may
-consider him as peculiar to the old continent; he inhabits the southern
-parts of Europe, and those of Asia under the same latitude.
-
-Though it has been said the Civet was found in New Spain, I am of
-opinion it was not the African, or Indian Civet, which yields the musk
-that is mixed and prepared with that of the animal called the Hiam of
-China; this civet I conceive to belong to the southern part of the old
-continent, has never extended to the north, and consequently would not
-have found a passage to the New World.
-
-Cats as well as dogs were entire strangers to the New Continent, and
-though I formerly mentioned that a huntsman had taken to Columbus a
-cat which he had killed in the woods of America, I am now convinced
-that the species did not then exist there. I was then less aware of
-the abuses which had been made in names, and I acknowledge I am not
-yet sufficiently acquainted with animals to distinguish them with
-precision in the fictitious and misapplied denominations given them
-by travellers. Nor is this to be wondered at, since the nomenclators,
-whose researches were directed to this object, have rendered it more
-dark and intricate by their arbitrary names and arrangements. To the
-natural propensity of comparing things which we see for the first
-time, with those already known, and the almost insuperable difficulty
-of pronouncing the American names being added, we are to impute this
-misapplication of names which have since been productive of so many
-errors. It is much more easy, for example, to call a new animal, a
-_wild boar_, than to pronounce its name at Mexico, _quab-coya-melt_; to
-call another _American fox_, than to retain its Brasilian appellation,
-_tamandua-guacu_; to give the name of _Peruvian sheep_, or _camel_, to
-those animals which in the language of Peru are called _pelon ichiath
-oquitli_. It is the same with almost all the other animals of the New
-World, whose names were so strange and barbarous to the Europeans, that
-they endeavoured to apply others to them, from the resemblance they had
-to those of the old continent, but they were often from affinities too
-remote to justify the application. Five or six species of small animals
-were named hares, or rabbits, merely because their flesh was palatable
-food. They called _cow_ and _elk_ an animal without horns, although
-it had no affinity to either, except a small resemblance in the form
-of the body. But it is unnecessary at present to dwell upon the false
-denominations which have been applied to the animals of America,
-because I shall endeavour to point out and correct them when we come to
-treat of each of those animals in particular.
-
-We find, then, that all our domestic animals, and the largest animals
-of Asia and Africa were unknown in the New World; and the same remark
-extends to several of the less considerable species, of which we shall
-now proceed to make a cursory mention.
-
-The gazelles, of which there are various kinds, and of which some
-belong to Arabia, others to the East Indies, and some to Africa,
-all require a hot climate to subsist and multiply, they therefore
-never extended to the northern climates, so as to obtain a passage
-to America; it appears, indeed, that the African gazelle, and which
-Hernandes, in his History of Mexico calls _algazel ex Aphrica_ must
-have been transported thither. The animal of New Spain, which the same
-author calls _temamacame_, Seba _cervus_, Klein _tragulus_, and Brisson
-the gazelle of New Spain, appears to be a different species to any on
-the old continent.
-
-It is natural to conclude, that the Chamois Goat, which delights in
-the snow of the Alps, would not be afraid of the icy regions of the
-north, and thence might have passed to America, but no such animal
-is found there. This animal requires not only a particular climate,
-but a particular situation. He is attached to the tops of the Alpine,
-Pyrenean, and other lofty mountains, and far from being scattered over
-distant countries, he never descends even to the plains at the bottom
-of his hills; but in this he is not singular, as the marmot, wild goat,
-bear, and lynx, are also mountain animals, and very rarely found in the
-plains.
-
-The buffalo is a native of hot countries, and has been rendered
-domestic in Italy; he resembles less than the ox, the American bison,
-and is unknown in the new continent. The wild goat is found on the
-tops of the highest mountains of Europe and Asia, but was never seen
-on the Cordeliers. The Musk-animal, which is nearly the size of a
-fallow-deer, inhabits only a few particular countries of China and
-Eastern Tartary. The little Guinea Deer, as it is called, seems also
-confined to the provinces of Africa and the East Indies. The Rabbit,
-which comes originally from Spain, and has been diffused over all the
-temperate climates of Europe, did not exist in America; for the animals
-of that continent which are so called, are of a different species, and
-all the real ones were transported thither from Europe. The Ferret,
-brought from Africa to Europe, was unknown in America; as were also our
-rats and mice, which having been carried there in European ships, have
-since multiplied prodigiously.
-
-The following then are nearly all the animals of the old continent,
-namely, the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, camel, dromedary,
-giraffe, lion, tiger, panther, horse, ass, zebra, ox, buffalo, sheep,
-goat, hog, dog, hyaena, jackall, genet, civet, cat, gazelle, chamois
-goat, wild goat, Guinea deer, rabbit, ferret, rat, mouse, loir, lerot,
-marmot, ichneumon, badger, sable, ermine, jerboa, the maki, and several
-species of monkeys, none of which were found in America on the first
-arrival of the Europeans, and which consequently are peculiar to the
-Old World, as we shall endeavour to prove in the particular history of
-each animal.
-
-
-
-
-ANIMALS OF THE NEW WORLD.
-
-
-The animals of the New World were not more known to the Europeans, than
-were our animals to the Americans. The Peruvians and Mexicans were the
-only people on the new continent, which were half civilized. The latter
-had no domestic animals; and those of the former consisted of the lama,
-the pacos, and the alco, a small animal which was domestic in the
-house like our little dogs. The pacos and the lama, like the chamois
-goat, live only on the highest mountains, and are found on those of
-Peru, Chili, and New Spain. Though they had become domestic among the
-Peruvians, and consequently spread over the neighbouring countries,
-their multiplication was not abundant, and has even decreased in their
-native places, since the introduction of European cattle, which have
-succeeded astonishingly in all the southern countries of the American
-continent.
-
-It appears singular that in a world, occupied almost entirely by
-savages, whose manners somewhat resembled those of the brutes, there
-should be no connection, no society existing between them and the
-animals by which they were surrounded; and this was absolutely the
-case, for there were no domestic animals, excepting where the people
-were in some degree civilized. Does not this prove that man, in a
-savage state, is nothing more than a species of animal, incapable of
-ruling others; and possessing only individual faculties, employs them
-for procuring his subsistence, and providing for his security, by
-attacking the weak, and avoiding the strong, but without entertaining
-any idea of real power, or endeavouring to reduce them to subjection?
-Every nation, even those which are but just emerging from barbarism,
-has its domestic animals. With us the horse, the ass, the ox, the
-sheep, the goat, the hog, the dog, and the cat; in Italy the buffalo;
-in Lapland the rein-deer; in Peru the lama, the pacos, and the alco; in
-the eastern countries, the dromedary, the camel, and various species of
-oxen, sheep, and goats; in the southern ones the elephant; all these
-animals have been reduced to servitude, or admitted into society;
-while the savage, hardly desirous of the society of his female, either
-fears or disdains that of other animals. Of these species, rendered
-domestic, it is true, not one existed in America; but if the savages,
-with whom it was peopled, had anciently united, and had communicated
-to each other the mutual aids of society, they would have rendered
-subservient the greatest part of the animals of that country, most of
-them being mild, docile, and timid, few mischievous, and scarcely any
-formidable. Their liberty, therefore, has been preserved solely from
-the weakness of man, who has little or no power without the aid of
-society, upon which even the multiplication of his species depends.
-The immense territories of the new world were but thinly inhabited;
-and, I believe it may be asserted, that on its first discovery, it
-contained not more than half the number of people that may now be
-reckoned in Europe. This scarcity of men allowed every other animal to
-multiply in abundance; every thing was favourable to their increase,
-and the number of individuals of each species was immense; but the
-number of species were comparatively few, and did not amount to more
-than a fourth, or a third of those of the old continent. If we reckon
-200 species of animals in the known world we shall find that more
-than 130 of them belonged to the old continent, and less than 70 to
-the new; and if we except the species common to both continents, that
-is, such as by their natures are capable of enduring the rigours of
-the north, and might have passed from one to the other, there will
-not remain above forty species peculiar to, and natives of, America.
-Animated nature, therefore, is in this portion of the globe less
-active, less varied, and even less vigorous; for by the enumeration of
-the American animals we shall perceive, that not only the number of
-species is smaller, but that in general they are inferior in size to
-those of the old continent; not one animal throughout America can be
-compared to the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, dromedary, buffalo,
-tiger, lion, &c. The Tapir of Brasil is the largest of all the South
-American animals, and this elephant of the new world exceeds not the
-size of a very small mule, or a calf at six months old; with both which
-animals he has been compared, although he does not resemble either.
-The Lama is not so big as the tapir, and appears large only from the
-length of his neck and legs; and the Pacos is much smaller still. The
-Cabiai, which, next to the tapir, is the largest of the South American
-animals, is not bigger than a common-sized hog; he differs as much as
-any of the preceding from all the animals of the old continent; for
-although he has been called the water-hog, he has essentially different
-characteristics from that animal. The Tajacou is smaller than the
-cabiai, and has a strong external resemblance to the hog, but differs
-greatly in his internal conformation. Neither the tajacou, cabiai,
-nor the tapir, are to be found in any part of the old continent; and
-the same may be said of the _Tamanduacuacu_, or _Ouariri_, and of the
-_Ouatiriou_, which we have called Ant-eaters. These last animals, the
-largest of which is below mediocrity, seem confined to the regions of
-South America. They are remarkable in having no teeth, their tongue
-is long and cylindrical, and their mouth is so small that they can
-neither bite nor hardly take hold of any thing; they can only procure
-subsistence by putting out their long tongue in the way of the ants,
-and drawing it in when loaded with them. The sloth, which is called
-_ai_, or _hai_, by the natives of Brasil, on account of the plaintive
-cry of _ai_, which it continually sends forth, seems likewise to
-be confined to the new continent. It is smaller than either of the
-preceding ones, being not more than two feet long, and is scarcely so
-quick in his motion as the turtle; it has but three claws on each foot,
-its fore legs are longer than its hind ones, it has a very short tail,
-and no ears. Besides, the sloth and armadillo are the only quadrupeds,
-which have neither incisive nor canine teeth, but whose grinders are
-cylindrical, and round at the extremities, nearly like those of some
-cetaceous animals.
-
-The Curiacou of Guiana is an animal of the nature and size of our
-largest roe-bucks; the male has horns, which he sheds every year, but
-the female has none. At Cayenne it is called the Hind of the Woods.
-There is another species, called the little cariacou, or hind of the
-fens, which is considerably smaller than the former, and the male
-has no horns. From the resemblance of the names I suspected that
-the cariacou of Cayenne might be the caguacu, or cougouacou-ara, of
-Brasil, and comparing the accounts given by Piso and Marcgrave of the
-latter with the cariacou I had alive, I was persuaded they were the
-same animal, yet so different from our roe-buck as to justify our
-considering them distinct species.
-
-The tapir, cabiai, tajacou, ant-eater, sloth, cariacou, lama, pacos,
-bison, puma, juguar, coujuar, juguarat, and the mountain-cat, &c. are
-therefore the largest animals of the new continent. The middle-sized
-and small ones are the cuandus, or gouandous, agouti, coati, paca,
-opossum, cavies, and armadillos; all which I believe are peculiar to
-the new world, although our latest nomenclators speak of two other
-species of armadillos, one in the East Indies, and the other in Africa;
-but we have only the testimony of the author of the description of
-Seba's cabinet for their existence, and that authority is insufficient
-to confirm the fact, for misnomers frequently happen in the collections
-of natural objects. An animal, for example, is purchased under the name
-of a Ternat, or American bat, and another under that of the East India
-Armadillo; they are then announced by those names in a descriptive
-catalogue, and are adopted by our nomenclators; but when examined more
-closely the American bat proves to be one of our own country, and so
-may the Indian or African armadillo be merely an armadillo of America.
-
-Hitherto we have not spoken of Apes, their history requiring a
-particular discussion. As the word _Ape_ is a generic term applied to
-a number of species, it is not surprising that it should be said they
-abound in the southern parts of both continents; but it is for us here
-to enquire whether the apes of Asia and Africa be the same animals as
-those so called in America, and whether from among more than thirty
-species of apes, which I have examined alive, one of them is alike
-common to both continents.
-
-The Satyr, Ourang-outang, or Man of the Woods, as it is
-indiscriminately termed, seems to differ less from man than from the
-ape, and is only to be found in Africa or the south of Asia. The
-Gibbon, whose fore legs, or arms, are as long as the whole body,
-even the hind legs included, is a native of the East Indies alone.
-Neither of these have tails. The ape, properly so termed, whose hair
-is greenish, with a small intermixture of yellow, has no tail, belongs
-to Africa, and a few other parts of the old continent, but is not to
-be found in the new. It is the same also with the Cynocephali-apes, of
-which there are two or three species; neither of them having any tails,
-at least they are so short as scarcely to be perceivable. All apes
-which are without tails, and whose muzzles, from being short, bear a
-strong resemblance to the face of man, are real apes; and the species
-above-mentioned are all natives of the old continent, and unknown in
-the new; from whence we may pronounce that there are no real apes in
-America.
-
-The Baboon, an animal larger than the dog, and whose body is pursed up
-like that of the hyaena, is exceedingly different from those we have
-noticed, and has a short tail: it is equally endowed with inclination
-and powers for mischief, and is only to be met with in the desarts of
-the southern parts of the old continent.
-
-Besides these without tails, or with very short ones, (which all belong
-to the old continent) almost all the large ones with long tails, are
-peculiar to Africa. There are few even of the middling size in America,
-but those called little long-tailed monkeys are very numerous, of which
-there are several species; and when we give the particular history of
-these animals, it will appear the American monkeys differ very much
-from the apes of Asia and Africa. The Maki, of which there are three or
-four species, has a near resemblance to the monkeys with long tails,
-but is another animal, and peculiar also to the old continent. All the
-animals, therefore, of Asia and Africa, which are known by the name of
-apes, are equally as strange in America as the rhinoceros or tiger; and
-the more we investigate this subject, the more we shall be convinced
-that the animals of the southern parts of one continent did not exist
-in the others and the few found in them must have been carried thither
-by men. Between the coasts of Brasil and Guinea, there are 500 leagues
-of sea; and between those of the East Indies and Peru, the distance
-exceeds 2000 leagues: It appears, therefore, that all those animals
-which from their nature are incapable of supporting cold climates, or,
-if supporting, cannot propagate therein, are confined on two or three
-sides by seas they cannot cross, and on the other by lands so cold they
-cannot live in them. At this one general fact, then, however singular
-it may at first appear, our wonder ought to cease, namely, that not one
-of the animals of the torrid zone of one continent, are natives of the
-torrid zone of the other.
-
-
-
-
-ANIMALS COMMON TO BOTH CONTINENTS.
-
-
-By the preceding enumeration it appears, that not only the quadrupeds
-of the hot climates of Asia and Africa, but many of those in the
-temperate climates of Europe, are strangers in America; but we find
-many there of such as can support cold and propagate their species in
-the regions of the north; and though there is an evident difference
-in them they cannot but be considered as the same animals; and this
-induces us to believe, they formerly passed from one continent to the
-other by lands still unknown, or possibly long since buried by the
-waves. Of the contiguity of the two northern provinces, the proof thus
-drawn from Natural History is a stronger confirmation than all the
-conjectures of speculative Geography.
-
-The Bears of the Illinois, of Louisiana, &c. seem to be the same with
-ours; the former being only smaller and blacker. The stag of Canada,
-though smaller than ours, differs only in the superior loftiness of
-his horns, number of antlers, and length of his tail. The roe-buck,
-found in the south of Canada, and in Louisiana, is also smaller and has
-a longer tail than that of Europe. The Orignal is the same animal as
-the Elk, but not so large. The rein-deer of Lapland, the fallow-deer
-of Greenland, and the Caribou of Canada, appear to be one and the
-same animal. Brisson has indeed classed the latter with the _cervus
-Burgundicus_ of Johnston, but which animal remains unknown, and
-possibly received that name from accident or caprice.
-
-The hares, squirrels, hedge-hogs, otters, marmots, rats, shrew-mice,
-and the moles, are species which may be considered as common to both
-continents; though there is not one perfectly similar in America, to
-what it is in Europe; and it is very difficult, if not impossible,
-to pronounce whether they are in reality different species, or mere
-varieties rendered permanent by the influence of the climate.
-
-The Beavers of Europe seem to be the same as those of Canada. These
-animals prefer cold countries, but can subsist and propagate in
-temperate ones. In the islands of the Rhone in France, there still
-remain a few of the number which formerly subsisted there; and
-they seem more desirous of avoiding a too populous than a too warm
-country. They never form their societies but in desarts remote from
-the dwellings of men; and even in Canada, which can be considered as
-little more than a vast desart, they have retired far from any human
-habitation. The Wolf and Fox are common to both continents. They are
-met with in all parts of North America, and of both species; there are
-some entirely black. Though the Weasel and Ermine frequent the cold
-countries of Europe, they are very rare in America, which is not the
-case with the pine-weasel, marten, and pole-cat. The Pine-weasel of
-North America seems to be the same with that of the northern parts of
-Europe. The Vison of Canada has a strong resemblance to our Marten; and
-the streaked Pole-cat of North America, is perhaps a mere variety of
-the European kind. The Lynx of America is, to all appearance, the same
-with that in Europe. Though it prefers cold countries, it lives and
-multiplies in temperate ones, and is seldom seen but in forests and on
-mountains. The Seal, or sea-calf, seems to be confined to the northern
-regions, and is alike to be found on the coasts of Europe and North
-America.
-
-Such, with a few exceptions, are all the animals common to the old
-and new world; and from this number, inconsiderable as it is, we
-ought, perhaps, to deduct one third, whose species, though similar in
-appearance, may be different in reality. But admitting the identity
-of species, those common to both continents are very small in number,
-compared with those peculiar to each; and it is also evident, that such
-only as can bear cold, and can multiply in these climates, as well as
-in warm ones, are to be found in both. From which there cannot remain a
-doubt but that the two continents are, or have been contiguous towards
-the north, and that the animals common to both, found a passage over
-lands which at present are to us unknown. There is reason to believe,
-from the discoveries made by the Russians to the north of Kamtschatka,
-that the lands of Asia and America are contiguous, while the north of
-Europe appears always to have been separated from the latter by seas
-too considerable for any quadruped to have crossed; nevertheless, the
-animals of North America have a stronger resemblance to those of the
-northern parts of Europe than to those of the north of Asia. Neither
-the Argali, Sable, Mole of Siberia, nor Chinese Musk, are to be found
-at Hudson's Bay, or any other north-west part of the new continent;
-while in the north-east parts we not only find the animals common to
-the north of Europe and Asia, but even such as appear to be peculiar to
-Europe. But it must be acknowledged, that the north-east parts of Asia
-are so little known that we cannot attempt to affirm, with certainty,
-whether the animals of the north of Europe are to be found there or not.
-
-We have already remarked, as a striking singularity, that the animals
-in the southern provinces of the new continent are small, in comparison
-with those of the warm regions of the old; the elephant, &c. of the
-latter being some of them eight and ten times larger than the tapir,
-&c. of the former. And this general fact, as to size, is further
-corroborated, by all the animals which have been transported from
-Europe having become less, and also those common to both continents
-being much smaller in America than those of Europe. In this new world,
-then, there must be something in the combination of the elements, and
-other physical causes, which opposes the aggrandisement of animated
-nature; there must be obstacles to the development, and perhaps to
-the formation of the principles of life. Under this sky, and on this
-vacant land, even those which, from the benign influence of other
-climates, had received their full form and complete extension, lose
-both, and become shrivelled and diminished. These extensive regions
-were thinly inhabited by a few wandering savages, who, instead of
-acting as masters, had no authority in it: for they had no controul
-over either animals or elements; they had neither subjected the
-waves nor directed the motions of rivers, nor even cultivated the
-earth around them; they were themselves nothing more than animals
-of the first rank, mere automatons, incapable of correcting Nature,
-or seconding her intentions. Nature, indeed, had treated them more
-as a stepmother than as an indulgent parent, by denying to them the
-sentiment of love, and the eager desire to propagate their species.
-The American savage, it is true, is little less in stature than other
-men, yet that is not sufficient to form an exception to the general
-remark--that all animated nature is comparatively diminutive in the
-new continent. In the savage the organs of generation are small and
-feeble; he has no hair, no beard, no ardour for the female; though
-more nimble than the European, from being habituated to running, he is
-not so strong; possessed of less sensibility, yet he is more timid and
-dastardly; he has no vivacity, no activity of soul, and that of the
-body is less a voluntary exercise than a necessary action occasioned
-by want. Satisfy his hunger and thirst and you annihilate the active
-principle of all his motions; and he will remain for days together in
-a state of stupid inactivity[B]. Needless is it to search further into
-the cause for the dispersed life of savages, and their aversion to
-society. Nature has withheld from them the most precious spark of her
-torch; they have no ardour for the female, and consequently no love for
-their fellow-creatures. Strangers to an attachment the most lively and
-tender, their other kindred sensations are cold and languid: to their
-parents and children they are little more than indifferent; with them
-the bands of the most intimate of all society, are feeble, nor is there
-the smallest connection between one family and another; of course they
-have no social state among them; cold in temperament, their manners are
-cruel, their women they treat as drudges born to labour, or rather as
-beasts of burthen, whom they load with all the produce of the chace,
-and whom they oblige, without pity or gratitude, to perform offices
-repugnant to their natures, and frequently beyond their strength.
-They have few children, and to those they pay little attention. The
-whole arises from one cause; they are indifferent because they are
-weak, and this indifference to the female is the original stain which
-defaces nature, prevents her from expanding, and, while it destroys
-the seeds of life, strikes at the root of society. Man, therefore,
-forms no exception; for Nature, by retrenching the faculty of love,
-has diminished him more than any other animal. Before we examine the
-causes of this general effect, it must be acknowledged, that although
-Nature has reduced all the quadrupeds of the new world, yet she has
-preserved the size of reptiles, and enlarged that of insects; for
-although there are larger lizards and larger serpents at Senegal than
-in South America, yet in these animals the difference is not near so
-great as in the quadrupeds; the largest serpent at Senegal is not
-twice as large as the great adder of Cayenne, whereas the elephant is
-ten times as big as the tapir, which is the largest animal of South
-America. In no part are the insect tribes so large as in South America.
-At Cayenne, the spiders, caterpillars, and butterflies, surpass all
-the insects of the old continent, not only as to size, but in richness
-of colours, delicacy of shades, variety of forms, number of species,
-and the prodigious multiplication of individuals. The toads, frogs,
-and other creatures of this kind, are also very large in America. Of
-the birds and fish we shall say nothing; for since they possess the
-power of migrating from one continent to the other, it would be almost
-impossible to distinguish which properly belongs to either, but insects
-and reptiles, like quadrupeds, are confined nearly to the spot in
-which they came into existence.
-
-[Footnote B: Mr. Vaillant says, that the Hottentots will sleep for
-two or three days together, either from hunger or excess in eating;
-for, when hungry, indolence has suggested to them the expedient of
-sleeping instead of the labour of seeking for food, and that by tying a
-bandage round their bellies they can do so for the above space, without
-experiencing any consequent inconvenience.]
-
-Let us now then enquire why, in this new world, the reptiles and
-insects are so large, the quadrupeds so small, and the men so cold.
-These effects must depend on the quality of the earth and atmosphere,
-on the degrees of heat and moisture, on the situation and height of
-mountains, on the quality of running and stagnate waters, on the
-extent of forests, and, in a word, on the state in which inanimate
-nature presents itself in that country. In the new world there is
-much less heat and more moisture than in the old. If we compare the
-heat and cold, in each degree of latitude, we shall find a very great
-difference; that at Quebec, which is under the same degree of latitude
-as Paris, the rivers are covered with ice for months in the year, and
-the grounds with snow several feet thick; the air, indeed, is so cold,
-that the birds fly off at the approach of winter, and return not till
-invited by the warmth of spring. This difference of heat under the same
-latitude in the Temperate Zone, though considerable, is perhaps less
-so than the difference of that under the Torrid Zone. At Senegal, we
-are scorched, while at Peru, situate under the same line, we enjoy the
-benign influence of a temperate climate. In such a situation is the
-continent of America placed, and so formed, that every thing concurs
-to diminish the action of heat. There we find the highest mountains
-and greatest rivers in the known world; these mountains form a chain
-which seems to terminate the length of the continent towards the west,
-while the plains and low grounds are all situated on this side of the
-mountains, from whose base they extend to the sea, which separates
-the American from the European continents. Thus the east wind, which
-constantly blows between the tropics, does not reach America until it
-has traversed a vast extent of ocean, and has consequently been greatly
-cooled; and for this reason it is much less warm at Brasil and Cayenne,
-for example, than at Senegal and Guinea, where this east wind arrives,
-charged with the heat of all the burning sands and desarts which it
-necessarily passes in traversing both Asia and Africa.
-
-In treating of the different colours of men, particularly negroes, it
-appeared to be demonstrated that the strong tincture of brown or black
-depends entirely on the situation of the country; that the negroes
-of Nigritia, and those of the west coast of Africa are the blackest,
-because those countries are so situated as to contain more heat than
-any other part of the globe, from the east wind not reaching them until
-it had passed immense tracks of land; that the American Indians, under
-the line, are only tawny, and the Brasilians brown, though under the
-same latitude as the negroes, because the heat of the climate is not
-so great, and the east wind has been cooled with the water, and loaded
-with humid vapours. The clouds which intercept the sun, and the rains
-which refresh the earth, are periodical, and continue several months at
-Cayenne, and other countries of South America. The first cause renders
-all the east coasts of America more temperate than either Asia or
-Africa; this wind arriving in a cool state begins to assume a degree
-of heat in traversing the plains of America, but which is checked by
-the enormous chain of mountains of which the western part of the new
-continent is composed, so that it is less hot under the line at Peru
-and Cayenne, and the natives are of a less dark complexion. If the
-Cordeliers were reduced to a level with the adjacent plains, the heat
-would be excessive in the western territories, and there would soon be
-men as black at Chili and Peru, as on the western coasts of Africa. It
-is evident then that diminution of heat in the new continent is owing
-entirely to situation; and we shall now make it appear, that there is
-a much greater degree of moisture in America. The mountains being the
-most lofty of any upon the globe, and directly facing the east wind,
-they stop and condense the vapours of the air, and thus give rise to a
-number of springs, which, by their junction, form the greatest rivers
-in the world. In proportion, therefore, to its extent there are more
-running waters in the new continent than in the old, and which are
-augmented by their confined situations; for the natives having never
-checked the torrents, directed the rivers, nor drained the marshes,
-immense tracts of land are covered by the stagnant waters, by which the
-moisture of the air is increased and the heat diminished. Besides, the
-earth being every where covered with trees and coarse weeds, it never
-dries, but constantly produces humid and unwholesome exhalations. In
-these gloomy regions, Nature remains concealed under her old garments,
-never having received a new attire from the cultivation of man, but
-totally neglected, her productions languish, become corrupted, and are
-prematurely destroyed. It is principally then from the scarcity of
-men in America, and from most of them living like the brutes, that
-the earth has been neglected, remains cold, and is unable to produce
-the active principles of Nature. To develope the seeds of the largest
-animals and enable them to grow and multiply, requires all the heat
-which the sun can communicate to a fertile soil; and for a reason
-directly opposite it is, that insects, reptiles, and all the little
-animals which wallow in the mud, whose blood is watery, and whose
-increase depends on putrefaction, are more numerous and large in the
-low, humid, and marshy lands of the new continent.
-
-When we reflect on these very striking differences between the old and
-new continents, we can hardly help supposing that the latter is, in
-fact, more recent, and has remained buried under the ocean longer than
-the rest of the globe; for, the enormous western mountains excepted,
-which seem to be monuments of the most remote antiquity, it has all the
-appearance of being a land newly sprung up. We find sea-shells in many
-places under the very first stratum of the vegetable earth, formed into
-masses of lime-stone, though usually less hard and compact than our
-free-stone. If this continent is in reality as ancient as the other,
-why did so few men exist on it? why were the most of that few wandering
-savages? why did the Mexicans and Peruvians, who alone had entered
-into society, reckon only 200 or 300 years from the first man who
-taught them to assemble? why had they not reduced the lama, pacos, and
-other animals, by which they were surrounded, into a domestic state?
-As their society was in its infancy, so were their arts; their talents
-were imperfect, their ideas unexpanded, their organs rude, and their
-language barbarous. The names of their animals[C], of which we have
-subjoined a few as a specimen, were so difficult to pronounce, that our
-only astonishment is, how the Europeans should have taken the trouble
-to write them.
-
-[Footnote C: _Pelon ichiati oquitli_--the lama.
-
-_Tapiierete_, in Brasil; _maniporous_, in Guinea--the tapir.
-
-_Macatlchichiltic temamacama_--the antelope of New Spain.
-
-_Quauhtla coymatl_--the Mexican hog.
-
-_Tlacoozclotl_--the mountain cat.
-
-_Tlaclaughqui ocelotl_, in Mexico--the jaguar.
-
-_Hoitzlaquatzin_--the porcupine of New Spain.
-
-_Xoloitzchuintli_--the Mexican wolf.]
-
-Thus every circumstance seems to indicate, that the Americans were
-new men, or rather men who had been so long estranged from the rest
-of their species that they had lost all idea of the world from which
-they had issued; that the greatest part of the American continent was
-new land, unassisted by man, and in which Nature had not had time to
-establish all her plans, or to display their full extent; that the men
-are cold and the animals diminutive, because the ardour of the former,
-and the largeness of the latter, depend on the heat and salubrity of
-the air; and that, in the course of a few centuries when the lands are
-cultivated, the forests cut down, the rivers confined within proper
-channels, and the marshes drained, this very country will become the
-most fruitful, healthy, and opulent in the world; as it appears already
-in every part which has been cultivated by man. We mean not to infer
-that large animals would then be produced, for the tapir and cabiai
-will never attain the size of the elephant or hippopotamus, but those
-which may be transported there will no longer diminish. By degrees man
-will fill up the vacuums in these immense territories, which, when
-discovered, were perfect desarts.
-
-The first writers who recorded the conquests of the Spaniards, to
-heighten the glory of their arms exaggerated the number of their
-enemies; but is it possible for any reasonable man to credit that
-there were millions of inhabitants at Cuba and St. Domingo, when those
-writers admit there was neither a monarchy, a republic, nor scarcely
-any society among them; and that in these two neighbouring islands,
-situated at but a little distance from the continent, there were only
-five species of animals, the largest of which was not bigger than a
-rabbit? Than this fact, as affirmed by Laet, Acosta, and Father du
-Tertre, in their different histories, no stronger proof can be adduced
-of the empty and desart state of this new-discovered world.
-
-M. Fabry, who travelled for fifteen months over the western parts of
-America, beyond the Mississippi, assured me that he sometimes did
-not meet a single man for the space of 300 or 400 leagues; and all
-our officers who went from Quebec to the Ohio, and from that river
-to Louisiana, agree that it is not uncommon to travel upwards of
-100 leagues without seeing a single family of savages. From these
-testimonies it is plain, that the most agreeable countries of this new
-continent were little better than desarts; but what is more immediately
-necessary to our purpose, they prove that we should distrust the
-evidence of our nomenclators, who set down in their catalogues animals
-as belonging to the new world which solely belong to the old, and
-others as native of particular districts where in fact they never
-existed; and in the same manner they have classed some animals as
-natives of the old world, which belong exclusively to America.
-
-I do not pretend to affirm positively that none of the animals which
-inhabit the warm climates are not common to both. To be physically
-certain of this it is necessary they should have been seen; but it is
-evident, with respect to the large animals of America, that none of
-them are to be found in the old continent, and very few of the small
-ones. Besides, allowing there to be some exceptions, they must relate
-to a trifling number of species, and in no degree affect the general
-rule which I intend to establish, and which seems to me to be our only
-certain guide to the knowledge of animals. This rule, which leads us
-to judge of them as much by climate and disposition as from figure and
-conformation, will seldom be found wrong, and it will enable us to
-avoid and discover a multitude of errors. If, for example, we mean to
-describe the hyaena of Arabia, we may safely affirm that it does not
-exist in Lapland; but we will not say with Brisson, and some others,
-that the hyaena and the glutton are the same animal; nor with Kolbe,
-that the crossed-fox, which inhabits the northern parts of the new
-continent, is found at the Cape of Good Hope, as the animal he mentions
-is not a fox, but a jackall. But it is not my object at present to
-point out all the errors of nomenclators; my intention is solely to
-prove that their blunders would have been less had they paid some
-attention to the differences of climates; if the history of animals
-had been so far studied as to discover, which I have done, that those
-of the southern parts of each continent are never found in both; and
-lastly, if they had abstained from generic names, which have confounded
-together a number of species, not only different, but even remote from
-each other.
-
-The true business of a nomenclator is not to enlarge his list, but to
-form rational comparisons in order to contract it. Nothing can be more
-easy than, by perusing all the authors on animals, and by selecting
-their names and phrases, to form a table which however will always
-be long, in proportion as the enquiry is superficial; while nothing
-can be more difficult than to compare them with that judgment and
-discernment which is necessary to reduce that table to its proper
-dimensions. I said before, and now repeat, that in the whole known
-part of the globe there are not above 200 species of quadrupeds,
-including among them 40 species of apes. To each of these, therefore,
-we had only to appropriate a name; and to retain 200 names, only a
-very moderate exertion of memory is required; for what purpose then
-are quadrupeds formed into classes and genera, which are nothing more
-than props to serve the memory in the recollection of plants, which are
-so very numerous, and often so very similar. But instead of a list of
-200 quadrupeds we have volumes heaped upon volumes full of intricate
-names and phrases. Why introduce an unintelligible jargon, when we may
-be understood by pronouncing a simple name? Why change terms merely
-to form classes? When a dozen animals are included under the name,
-for example, of _the Rabbit_, why is the Rabbit itself omitted, and
-must be sought for under the genus of _the Hare_? Is it not absurd
-and ridiculous to form classes in which the most remote genera are
-assembled together; to put in the first, for example, man and the
-bat; the elephant and scaly lizard in the second; the lion and ferret
-in the third; the hog and the mole in the fourth; and the rhinoceros
-and the rat in the fifth? Ideas so vague and ill-conceived can never
-maintain their ground. These works are destroyed by their own authors,
-one edition contradicting another, and neither of them approved but
-by children, or by such as are always the dupes of mystery, mistaking
-the appearance of method for the reality of science. By comparing the
-fourth edition of Linnaeus's Systema Naturae with the tenth, we find man
-is no longer classed with the bat, but with the scaly lizard; that
-the elephant, hog, and rhinoceros, instead of being classed as before
-with the scaly lizard, mole, and rat, are all three huddled together
-with the shrew-mouse. In the former he had reduced all quadrupeds to
-five classes, but in the latter he divides them into seven. From these
-alterations we may form some idea of those introduced among the genera,
-and how the species have been jumbled and confounded. According to the
-same author there are two species[D] of men, the man of day and the man
-of night, and that these are so very distinct that they ought not to
-be regarded as varieties of the same species. Is not this adding fable
-to absurdity? and were it not better to remain silent with respect to
-matters of which we are ignorant, than to found essential characters,
-and general distinctions upon the grossest error? But to whatever
-length criticisms of this kind might be extended, I shall proceed no
-farther, especially as it does not form my principal object, having
-already said enough to put every reader on his guard, against the
-general as well as particular errors which abound so much in the works
-of nomenclators.
-
-[Footnote D: _Homo diurnus sapiens; homo nocturnus trogloditus._]
-
-In drawing general conclusions, from what has been advanced, we shall
-find that man is the only animated being in whose nature there is
-sufficient strength, genius, and flexibility, to subsist and multiply
-in all the different climates of the earth. It is evident that no
-other animal possesses this grand privilege, for, far from being able
-to multiply in every part of the globe, most of them are confined to
-certain climates, and even particular districts. In every respect man
-is the work of heaven, while many animals are the mere creatures of
-the earth. These of one continent exist not on another, and if there
-are a few exceptions, they are so changed and diminished as hardly to
-be known. Can a stronger proof be given that the impression of their
-form is not unalterable? that their nature, less permanent than that
-of man, may in time be varied, and even absolutely changed? that from
-the same cause those species which are least perfect, least active,
-and furnished with the fewest engines of defence, as well as the most
-delicate and the most cumbrous, have already, or will disappear, for
-their very existence depends on the form which man gives to the surface
-of the earth, or permits it to retain.
-
-The prodigious Mammoth, whose enormous bones I have often viewed with
-astonishment, and which were at least six times bigger than those of
-the largest elephant, exists no longer; although its remains have been
-found in Ireland, Siberia, Louisiana, and other places remote from each
-other. Of all species of quadrupeds this was certainly the largest and
-strongest, and since it has disappeared, how many smaller, weaker, and
-less remarkable, must have perished, without having left any evidence
-of their past existence? How many others have been improved or degraded
-by the great vicissitude of the earth and waters, by the culture or
-neglect of nature, by their long continuance in favourable or repugnant
-climates, that they are no longer the same! and yet, next to man,
-quadrupeds are beings whose nature is most fixed, and whose form most
-permanent. Birds and fishes vary more: those of insects are subject
-to greater variations still; and if we descend to plants, which ought
-not to be excluded from animated nature, we shall be astonished at the
-celerity and facility with which they vary and assume new forms.
-
-It may not be impossible, then, without inverting the order of nature,
-that all the animals of the new world originated from the same stock
-as those of the old; that having been afterwards separated by immense
-seas or impassable lands, they, in course of time, underwent all
-the effects of a climate which was new to them, and which must also
-have had its qualities changed by the very causes which produced its
-separation; and that they, in consequence, became not only inferior in
-size, but different in nature. But these circumstances, if true, ought
-not to prevent us from considering them now as animals of different
-species. From whatever causes these changes may have proceeded, whether
-produced by time, climate, or soil, or whether originating with the
-creation, they are not the less real. Nature is, indeed, in a perpetual
-fluctuation. It is sufficient for man to watch her in his own time, to
-look a little backward and forward, by way of forming a conjecture of
-what she might have been formerly and what she may hereafter be.
-
-As to the utility to be derived from this comparison of animals, it is
-evident, that independent of correcting the errors of our nomenclators,
-our knowledge of the animal creation will be enlarged, rendered
-less imperfect and more certain; that we shall be in less hazard of
-attributing to American animals, properties which belong to those of
-the East Indies, because they may have the same name; that in treating
-of foreign animals, from accounts given by travellers, we shall be more
-able to distinguish names and facts, and to refer them to their true
-species; and, in fine, that the history in which we are now engaged
-will be less erroneous, and perhaps more luminous and complete.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 102. _Black Cougar_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 101. _Tiger_]
-
-
-
-
-THE TIGER.
-
-
-In the class of carnivorous animals, the lion stands foremost, and
-he is immediately followed by the tiger, who, possessing all the bad
-qualities of the former, is a stranger to his good ones. To pride,
-courage, and strength, the lion adds dignity, clemency, and generosity,
-while the tiger is ferocious without provocation and cruel without
-necessity. Thus it is throughout all nature where rank proceeds from
-the superiority of strength. The first class, sole master of all, are
-less tyrannical than their immediate inferiors, who, denied unlimited
-authority, abuse those powers which they possess; thus the tiger is
-more to be dreaded than the lion. The latter often forgets that he is
-the sovereign, or strongest of animals; with an even pace he traverses
-the plains and forests; man he attacks not unless provoked, nor animals
-but when goaded by hunger. The tiger, on the contrary, though glutted
-with carnage, has still an insatiate thirst for blood; his rancour has
-no intervals. With indiscriminate fury he tears in pieces every animal
-he comes near, and destroys with the same ferocity a fresh animal as
-he had done the first. Thus he is the scourge of every country he
-inhabits; and of the appearance of man or his weapons, he is fearless.
-He will destroy whole flocks of domestic animals if he meets with them,
-and all the wild animals that come in his way. He attacks the young
-elephant and rhinoceros, and will sometimes brave the lion himself.
-
-The form of the body usually corresponds with the nature and
-disposition. The noble air of the lion, the height of his limbs in
-exact proportion to the length of his body, his large thick mane, which
-covers his shoulders and shades his face, his determined aspect, and
-solemn pace, seem to announce the dignity and majestic intrepidity of
-his nature. The tiger has a body too long, limbs disproportionally
-short, naked head, and haggard eyes; strong characteristics of
-desperate malice and insatiable cruelty. He has no instinct but an
-uniform rage, a blind fury, so undistinguishing that he not unoften
-devours his own progeny, and even tears the dam in pieces if she offers
-to defend them. Would he were to gratify his thirst for blood to its
-utmost, and by destroying them at their birth extinguish the whole race
-of monsters which he produces!
-
-Happy is it for other animals that the species of tiger is not
-numerous, and that it is chiefly confined to the warmest provinces
-of the East. They are found in Malabar, Siam, Bengal, and in all the
-countries inhabited by the elephant and rhinoceros. It is, indeed,
-said, that they accompany the latter for the purpose of eating their
-dung, which serves to purge them. Be this as it may, they are often
-seen together at the sides of lakes and rivers, where they are probably
-compelled to go by thirst, having often occasion for water to cool that
-fervor they so constantly endure. It is also a convenient situation to
-surprise his victims, since the heat of the climate compels all animals
-to seek for water several times a day; here he chooses his prey, or
-rather multiplies his massacres, for having killed one animal, he
-often proceeds to the destruction of others, tearing open their bodies,
-and swallowing their blood by long draughts; for which their thirst
-seems never to be appeased.
-
-When, however, he has killed a large animal, as a horse, or buffalo,
-he does not devour it on the spot, for fear of being disturbed, but
-drags it off to the forest, which he does with such ease, that the
-swiftness of his course seems scarcely retarded by the enormous load
-which he trails after him. From this circumstance we might judge of his
-strength, but we shall have a more just idea of it by considering his
-bodily dimensions. Some travellers have compared him for size to the
-horse, others to the buffalo, and others merely say he is larger than
-the lion; but we have accounts more recent, which deserve the utmost
-confidence. I have been assured by M. de la Lande-Magon that he saw a
-tiger in the East-Indies fifteen feet long; allowing that he includes
-the tail, and granting four feet for that, the body would still be
-more than ten. It is true that the skin preserved in the Royal Cabinet
-of France is not more than seven feet from the tip of the nose to the
-insertion of the tail; but this tiger had been taken very young, and
-was afterwards always confined in a very narrow apartment, where the
-want of exercise, and space to range in, restraint and, perhaps, not
-having proper nourishment, not only its life might have been shortened,
-but the growth of its body prevented. From the dissection of animals of
-every species that have been reared in houses or court-yards, we find
-that their bodies and members for want of exercise, never attain their
-natural dimensions, and that the organs which are not used as those of
-generation, are so little expanded as to be scarcely perceivable.
-
-The difference of climate alone is capable of producing the same
-effects as confinement and want of exercise. None of the animals of
-hot countries produce in cold ones, even though well fed, and at
-full liberty; and as reproduction is a natural consequence of full
-nutrition, it is evident that when the former does not operate the
-latter must be incomplete; and that, in such animals, cold of itself
-is sufficient to restrain the powers of the internal mould, and
-to diminish the growth, since it destroys the active faculties of
-reproduction. It is not, therefore, surprising that the tiger above
-alluded to should not have acquired its natural growth; yet from a bare
-view of its stuffed skin, and an examination of its skeleton, we may
-form an idea of its formidable strength as an animal. Upon the bones
-of the legs there are inequalities which denote muscular ligatures
-stronger than those of the lion. These bones are also to the full as
-strong, though shorter; and, as already intimated, the height of the
-tiger's legs bear no proportion to the length of his body. Thus that
-velocity which Pliny ascribes to him and which the word _tiger_ seems
-to imply, ought not to be understood of his ordinary movements, or the
-celerity of his continued course; for it is evident, that as his legs
-are short and he can neither walk nor run so fast as those animals
-which have them proportionally longer; but this prodigious swiftness,
-may with great propriety, be applied to the extraordinary bounds he
-is capable of making without any particular effort, for if we suppose
-him to have the same strength and agility in proportion with the cat,
-which he greatly resembles in conformation, and which in an instant
-will leap several feet, we must allow that the bounds of a tiger, whose
-body is ten times as large, must be immense. It is not, therefore,
-the quickness of his running, but of his leaping that Pliny meant to
-denote, and which from the impossibility of evading, when he has made a
-spring, still renders him more formidable.
-
-The tiger is, perhaps, the only animal whose spirit cannot be subdued.
-Neither force nor restraint, violence nor flattery, can prevail, in the
-least, on his stubborn Nature. He is equally indignant at the gentle
-and harsh usage of his keeper; and time instead of mollifying his
-disposition, only serves to increase his fierceness and malignity. With
-equal wrath he snaps at the hand that feeds as that which chastises
-him. He roars at the sight of every object which lives, and seems to
-consider all as his proper prey; he seems to devour beforehand with a
-look, menacing it with the grinding of his teeth, and, regardless of
-his chains, makes efforts to dart upon it, as if to shew his malignity
-when incapable of exerting his force.
-
-To complete the idea of the strength of this terrible animal we shall
-quote Father Tachard's account of a combat between a tiger and three
-elephants, at Siam, of which he was an eye-witness; he says, "a lofty
-palisade of bamboo cane was built, about a hundred feet square, into
-which inclosure three elephants were introduced, for the purpose of
-fighting a tiger. Their heads, and part of their trunks, were covered
-with a kind of armour like a mask. As soon as we arrived at the place
-a tiger was brought forth, of a size much larger than any we had seen
-before; he was not at first let loose, but held by two cords, so that
-he could not make a spring; one of the elephants approached and gave
-him three or four blows on the back with his trunk, with such force as
-to beat him to the ground, where he lay for some time without motion,
-as if he had been dead, although this first attack had greatly abated
-his fury, he was no sooner untied, and at liberty, than he gave a loud
-roar, and made a spring at the elephant's trunk, which was stretched
-out to strike him; but the elephant drew up his trunk with great
-dexterity, received the tiger upon his tusks, and tossed him up into
-the air. This so discouraged him that he no more ventured to approach
-the elephant, but made several turns round the palisade, making several
-efforts to spring at the spectators. Shortly after a second, and then
-a third elephant was set against him, each of which gave him such
-blows that he once more lay for dead, and they certainly would have
-killed him had not an end been put to the combat." From this account
-we may form some idea of the strength and ferocity of the tiger; for
-this animal, though young, and not arrived at his full growth, though
-reduced to captivity, and held by cords, yet he was so formidable to
-three such enormous foes, that it was thought necessary to protect
-those parts of their bodies which were not defended by impenetrable
-skin.
-
-The tiger, of which an anatomical description was made by the
-Jesuits at China, and communicated by Father Gouie to the Academy of
-Sciences, seemed to be the true species,[E] as does also that which
-the Portuguese have distinguished by the name of Royal Tiger. Dellon
-expressly says, in his Travels, that tigers abound more in Malabar than
-in any other part of the East Indies; that their species are numerous,
-but that the largest, which is as big as a horse, and called by the
-Portuguese the Royal Tiger, is very rare. To all appearance, then, the
-Royal Tiger is not a different species; he is found in the East Indies
-only; and, notwithstanding what has been said by Brisson, and others,
-is an utter stranger at Brasil. I am even inclined to think that the
-real tiger is peculiar to Asia, and the inland parts of the south of
-Africa; for though the generality of travellers, who have frequented
-the African coasts, speak of tigers as very common, yet it is very
-plain, from their own accounts of them, that they are either leopards,
-panthers, or ounces. Dr. Shaw says, that the lion and panther hold the
-first rank at Tunis and Algiers, and that in those parts of Barbary the
-tiger is an animal unknown. This observation seems founded in truth,
-for they were Indian, and not African, ambassadors, who presented
-Augustus, while at Samos, the first tiger the Romans had ever seen; and
-it was also from the Indies that Heliogabalus procured those tigers,
-with which, in order to represent the god Bacchus, he proposed that his
-car should be drawn.
-
-[Footnote E: This tiger was streaked, and had been slain, with four
-others, in the field, by the Emperor, it weighed 265lbs; but one of
-them weighed 400; when dissected, one-third of its stomach was full of
-worms, and yet it could not be said the animal had begun to putrify.
-_Hist. Acad._ 1669.]
-
-Thus the species of the tiger has always been more rare and less
-diffused than that of the lion. The female, like the lioness, however,
-produces four or five cubs at a time. She is fierce at all times, but,
-upon her young being in danger, her fury becomes excessive. She then
-braves every danger to secure them, and will pursue the plunderers of
-them with such ferocity, that they are often obliged to drop one to
-secure the rest; this she takes up and conveys to the nearest cover,
-and then renews the pursuit, and will follow them to the very gates of
-towns, or to the ships in which they may have taken refuge; and when
-she has no longer hopes recovering her young, she expresses her agony
-by the most dismal howls of despair.
-
-The tiger testifies his anger in the same manner as the lion; he moves
-the skin of his face, shews his teeth, and roars in a frightful manner;
-but the tone of his voice is very different; and some travellers
-have compared it to the hoarse croak of certain large birds; and the
-ancients expressed it by saying, _Tigrides indomitae raucant, rugiuntque
-Leones_.
-
-The skins of these animals are much esteemed, particularly in China;
-the Mandarins cover their seats and sedans with them, and also their
-cushions and pillows in winter. In Europe, though scarce, they are of
-no great value; those of the panther and leopard being held in much
-greater estimation. The skin is the only advantage, trifling as it
-is, which man can derive from this dreadful animal. It has been said
-that his sweat is poisonous, and that the hair of his whiskers is more
-dangerous than an envenomed arrow; but the real mischiefs he does when
-alive are sufficient, without giving imaginary ones to parts of his
-body when dead; for certain it is, the Indians eat the flesh of the
-tiger, and that they neither find it disagreeable nor unwholesome, and
-if the hair of his whiskers, taken in the form of a pill, do destroy,
-it is that being hard and sharp it produces the same effect in the
-stomach as a number of small needles would.
-
-
-
-
-THE PANTHER, OUNCE, AND LEOPARD.
-
-
-In order to avoid an erroneous use of names, to prevent doubt, and
-to banish ambiguity, it may be necessary to remark that, in Asia and
-Africa, there are, beside the tiger, whose history we have just given,
-three other animals of the same genus, but which not only differ
-from him, but also from each other. These are the Panther, Ounce and
-Leopard, which have been confounded together by naturalists, and also
-with a species of the same kind peculiar to America; but to prevent
-confusion, we shall, in the present instance, confine ourselves solely
-to those of the old continent.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 107. _Panther_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 108. _Caracal_]
-
-The first of these species is the Panther, (_fig. 107._) which the
-Greeks distinguished by the name of Pardalis, the Latins by that of
-Panthera, and Pardus, and the more modern Latins by Leopardus. The body
-of this animal, when it has attained its full growth, is five or six
-feet long, from the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail, which
-is above two feet long. Its colour is of a yellow hue, more or less
-dark on the back and sides, and whitish under the belly; it is marked
-with black spots which are circular, or in the form of a ring, and in
-which rings there are generally lesser spots in the centre of the same
-colour; some of these are oval, others, circular, and are frequently
-above three inches in diameter; on the face and legs the black spots
-are single, and on the tail and belly they are irregular.
-
-The second is the Little Panther of Oppian, which the ancients have
-distinguished by no particular name, but which modern travellers have
-called Ounce, corrupted from the name of lynx or lunx. To this animal
-we shall preserve the name of Ounce, because, in fact, it seems to have
-some affinity to the lynx. It is much less than the panther, its body
-being only about three feet and a half long, which is nearly the size
-of the lynx; its hair is longer than that of the panther, as is also
-its tail, which sometimes measures three feet, although its body is
-one-third less than that of the panther, whose tail never exceeds two
-feet and an half. The colour of the ounce is whitish grey upon the back
-and sides, and still more white under the belly; the back and sides
-of the panther are always yellow, but the spots are nearly of the same
-size and form in them both.
-
-The third species was unknown to the ancients, being peculiar to
-Senegal, Guinea, and other southern countries which they had not
-discovered; and which we, following the example of travellers, shall
-call Leopard a name which has been improperly applied to the panther.
-The Leopard is larger than the ounce, though considerably smaller than
-the panther, being only four feet in length, the tail measures from two
-to two feet and a half. On the back and sides the hair is of a yellow
-colour, under the belly it is whitish; it has black annular spots like
-those of the panther and ounce, but smaller and less regularly disposed.
-
-Each of these animals, therefore, forms a different species. Our
-furriers call the skins of the first species panther skins; those of
-the second, which we call ounce, African tiger skins; and those of the
-third, or leopard, very improperly tiger skins.
-
-Oppian knew the panther and ounce, and was the first who observed there
-were two species of the former, the one large and the other small.
-Though alike in the form of their bodies and the disposition of the
-spots, yet they differed in the length of their tails, which in the
-small species was longer than in the large ones. The Arabians have
-named the large panther Nemer, and the small one Phet or Phed; which
-last seems to be a corruption of Faadh, the present name of this animal
-in Barbary. "The Faadh," says Dr. Shaw, in his Travels, "resembles the
-leopard, (he should have expressed it panther) in having similar spots,
-in other respects they however differ, for the skin of the faadh is
-more dark and coarse, and its disposition is also less fierce." Besides
-we learn from a passage of Albert, commented on by Gesner, that the
-phet, or phed of the Arabs, is called in the Italian, and some other
-European languages Leuaza, or Lonza. It is beyond a doubt then, that
-the little panther of Oppian, the phet or phed of the Arabians, the
-faadh of Barbary, and the onza, or ounce of the Europeans, is the same
-animal; and probably also is the Pard or Pardus of the ancients, and
-the Panthera of Pliny; since he mentions its hair is white, whereas, as
-we have observed, that of the great Panther is yellow. It is, besides,
-highly probable that the little panther was simply called pard or
-pardus, and that, in process of time, the large panther obtained the
-name of leopard, or leopardus, from a notion that it was a mongrel
-species, which had aggrandized itself by an intermixture with that
-of the lion. As this could only be an unfounded prejudice, I have
-preferred the primitive name of panther to the modern compound one of
-leopard, which last I have applied to another animal that has hitherto
-been mentioned by equivocal names only. The ounce therefore differs
-from the panther, in being smaller, having a longer tail, also longer
-hair, of a whitish grey colour; while the leopard differs from them
-both, by having a coat of a brilliant yellow, more or less deep, and by
-the smallness of his spots, which are generally disposed in groups, as
-if each were formed by three or four united.
-
-Pliny, and several after him, have said, that the coat of the female
-panther was whiter than that of the male. This may be true of the
-ounce, but no such difference have we ever observed in the panthers
-belonging to the menagerie of Versailles, which were designed from
-life; and if there be any difference between the colour of the male and
-female it can be neither very permanent nor sensible; in some of the
-skins we have, indeed, perceived different shades, but which we rather
-ascribed to the difference of age or climate than of sex.
-
-The animals described and dissected by the Academy of Sciences, under
-the name of Tigers, and that described by Caius, in Gesner, under
-the name of Uncia, are of the same species as our leopard; and of
-this there cannot remain a doubt, after comparing the figure, and the
-description which we have given, with those of Caius and M. Perrault.
-The latter, indeed, says, that the animals so dissected and described
-by the gentlemen of the Academy, under the name of tigers, were not the
-ounce of Caius; but the only reasons he assigns are, that the ounce is
-smaller, and has not white on the under part of its body. It may also
-be observed, that Caius, who does not give the exact dimensions, says,
-generally it was bigger than the shepherd's dog, and as thick as the
-bull-dog, though shorter in its legs; how, therefore, Perrault should
-assert the ounce of Caius to be smaller than the tigers dissected by
-the gentlemen of the Academy I am at a loss to conceive, for those
-animals measured only four feet from the nose to the tail, which is
-the exact length of the leopard we are now describing. On the whole,
-then, it appears, that the tigers of the Academy, the ounce of Caius,
-and our leopard, are the same animal; and not less true do I conceive
-it that our panther is the same with the panther of the ancients,
-notwithstanding the distinctions which have been attempted to be made
-by Linnaeus, Brisson, and other nomenclators, as they perfectly resemble
-each other in every respect but size, and that may safely be ascribed
-to confinement and want of exercise. This difference of size at first
-perplexed me, but after a scrupulous examination of the large skins
-sold by the furriers with that of our own, I had not the smallest doubt
-of their being the same animals. The panther I have described, and two
-other animals of the same species kept at Versailles, were brought from
-Barbary. The two first were presented to the French King by the Regency
-of Algiers, and the third was purchased for his Majesty of an Algerine
-Jew.
-
-It is particularly necessary to observe, that neither of the animals
-we are now describing can be classed with the pardus of Linnaeus, or
-the leopardus of Brisson, as they are described with having long spots
-on the belly, which is a characteristic that belongs neither to the
-panther, ounce, or leopard, and yet the panther of the ancients has it,
-as well as the pardus of Gesner, and the panthera of Alpinus; but from
-the researches I have made I am convinced that these three animals,
-and perhaps a fourth, which we shall treat of hereafter, and which have
-not these long spots on the belly, are the only species of this kind to
-be found in Asia and Africa, and therefore we must hold this character
-of our nomenclators as fictitious, especially when we recollect,
-that if any animals have these long spots, either in the old or new
-continent, they are always upon the neck or back, and never on the
-belly. We shall merely observe further, that in reading the ancients we
-must not confound the _panther_ with the _panthera_, the latter is the
-animal we have described, but the panther of the scholiasts of Homer
-and other authors, is a kind of timid wolf, perhaps the jackall, as I
-shall explain when I come to the history of that animal.
-
-After having dissipated the cloud under which our nomenclators seem to
-have obscured Nature, and removed every ambiguity, by giving the exact
-description of the three animals under consideration, we shall now
-proceed to the peculiarities which relate to them respectively.
-
-Of the panther, which I had an opportunity of examining alive, his
-appearance was fierce, he had a restless eye, a cruel countenance,
-precipitate motions, and a cry similar to that of an enraged dog,
-but more strong and harsh; his tongue was red and exceedingly rough,
-his teeth were strong and pointed; his claws sharp and hard; his skin
-was beautiful, of a yellow hue, interspersed with black spots of an
-annular form, and his hair short; the upper part of his tail was marked
-with large black spots, and with black and white ringlets towards the
-extremity; his size and make was similar to that of a vigorous mastiff,
-but his legs were not so large.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 103. _Leopard_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 104. _Ounce_]
-
-All our travellers confirm the testimonies of the ancients as to the
-large and small panther, that is, our panther and ounce. It appears
-that there now exist, as in the days of Oppian, in that part of Africa
-which extends along the Mediterranean, and in the parts of Asia which
-were known to the ancients, two species of panthers, the largest of
-which has been called panther or leopard, and the smaller ounce, by the
-generality of travellers. By them it is universally allowed that the
-ounce is easily tamed, that he is trained to the chace and employed for
-this purpose in Persia, and in several other provinces of Asia; that
-some ounces are so small as to be carried by a horseman on the crupper,
-and so mild as to allow themselves to be handled and caressed.[F] The
-Panther appears to be of a more fierce and stubborn nature; when in
-the power of man, and in his gentlest moments, he seems rather to be
-subdued than tamed. Never does he entirely lose the ferocity of his
-disposition; and in order to train him to the chace, much care and
-precaution are necessary. When thus employed, he is shut up in a cage
-and carried in one of the little vehicles of the country; as soon
-as the game appears, the door is opened, and he springs towards his
-prey, generally overtaking it in three or four bounds, drags it to the
-ground and strangles it; but if disappointed of his aim he becomes
-furious, and will even attack his master, who to prevent this dangerous
-consequence usually carries with him some pieces of flesh or live
-animals, as lambs or kids, one of which he puts in his way to appease
-the fury arising from his disappointment.
-
-[Footnote F: A particular account of this practice is related in
-Tavernier's Travels; Chardin's Travels in Persia; Gesner's Hist. Quad.
-Pros. Alp. Hist. Egypt. Bernier dans le Mosul, &c.]
-
-The species of the ounce (_fig. 104._) seems to be more numerous, and
-more diffused than that of the panther; it is very common in Arabia,
-Barbary, and the southern parts of Asia, Egypt, perhaps, excepted.[G]
-They are even known in China, where they are distinguished by the
-name of _hinen-pao_.[H] The ounce is employed for the chace, in the
-hot climates of Asia, because dogs are very rarely to be found unless
-transported thither, and then they very soon lose not only their voice
-but their instinct.[I] Besides the panther, ounce, and leopard, have
-such an antipathy to dogs, that they attack them in preference to all
-other animals.[J] In Europe our sporting dogs have no enemy but the
-wolf; but in countries full of tigers, lions, panthers, leopards, and
-ounces, which are all more strong and cruel than the wolf, to attempt
-to keep dogs would be in vain. As the scent of the ounce is inferior to
-that of the dog, he hunts solely by the eye; with such vigour does he
-bound, that a ditch, or a wall of several feet high, is no impediment
-to his career; he often climbs trees to watch for his prey, and when
-near, will suddenly dart upon them; and this method is also adopted by
-the panther and leopard.
-
-[Footnote G: Maserier affirms that there are neither lions, tigers, nor
-leopards in Egypt. _Descrip. Egypt, Tom. II._]
-
-[Footnote H: A kind of leopard or panther found in the province of
-Pekin; it is not so ferocious as the ordinary tigers. _Thevenot._]
-
-[Footnote I: Vide Voyage de Jean Ovington, _Tom. I. p. 278_.]
-
-[Footnote J: The leopards, says le Maire, are deadly enemies to dogs,
-and devour all of them they meet.]
-
-The Leopard, (_fig. 103._) has the same manners and disposition as
-the panther; but in no part does he appear to have been tamed like
-the ounce; nor do the Negroes of Senegal and Guinea, where he greatly
-abounds, ever make use of him in the chace. He is generally larger than
-the ounce, but smaller than the panther; and his tail, though shorter
-than that of the ounce, is from two to two feet and a half in length.
-This leopard of Senegal and Guinea, to which we have particularly
-appropriated the name of _leopard_, is probably the animal which at
-Congo is called the _Engoi_; and perhaps also the _Antamba_[K] of
-Madagascar. I quote these names, from a persuasion that an acquaintance
-with the denominations applied to them in the countries which they
-inhabit would increase our knowledge of animals.
-
-[Footnote K: The antamba is a beast as large as a dog; it has a round
-head, and, in the opinion of the Negroes, resembles the leopard; it
-devours both men and cattle, and is only to be found in the most
-unfrequented parts of the island. _Flacourt's Voyage._]
-
-The species of the leopard seems to be subject to more varieties than
-that of the panther and the ounce. I have examined many leopards' skins
-which differed from each other, not only in the ground colour, but in
-the shade of the spots which last are always smaller than those of the
-panther or the ounce. In all leopards' skins, the spots are nearly of
-the same size and the same figure, and their chief difference consists
-in their colour being deeper in some than in others; in being also more
-or less yellow, consists also the difference in the hair itself; but as
-all these skins are nearly of the same size, both in the body and tail,
-it is highly probable they belong to the same species of animals.
-
-The panther, ounce, and leopard, are only found in Africa, and the
-hottest climates of Asia; they have never been diffused over the
-northern, nor even the temperate regions. Aristotle speaks of the
-panther as an animal of Asia and Africa, and expressly says, it does
-not exist in Europe. It is impossible, therefore, that these animals,
-which are confined to the torrid zone of the old continent, could
-ever have passed to the new world by any northern lands; and it will
-be found, by the description we shall give of the American animals
-of this kind, that they are a different species, and ought not to be
-confounded with those of Africa and Asia, as they have been by most of
-our nomenclators.
-
-These animals, in general, delight in the thickest forests, and
-often frequent the borders of rivers, and the environs of solitary
-habitations, where they surprise their prey, and seize equally the tame
-and wild animals that come there to drink. Men they seldom attack, even
-though provoked. They easily climb trees in pursuit of wild cats and
-other animals, which cannot escape them. Though they live solely by
-prey, and are usually meagre, travellers pretend that their flesh is
-not unpalatable; the Indians and negroes eat it, but they prefer that
-of the dog. With respect to their skins, they are all valuable, and
-make excellent furs. The most beautiful and most costly is that of the
-leopard, which, when the colours are bright, not unfrequently sells for
-eight or nine guineas.
-
-
-
-
-THE JAGUAR.
-
-
-The jaguar (_fig. 105._) resembles the ounce in size, and nearly so in
-the form of the spots upon his skin, and in disposition. He is less
-ferocious than the panther or the leopard. The ground of his colour,
-like that of the leopard, is a bright yellow, and not grey like that
-of the ounce. His tail is shorter than that of either; his hair is
-longer than the panther's, but shorter than that of the ounce; it is
-frizzled when he is young, but smooth when at full growth. I never saw
-this animal alive, but had one sent me entire and well preserved in
-spirits, and it is from this subject the figure and description have
-been drawn; it was taken when very young, and brought up in the house
-till it was two years old, and then killed for the purpose of being
-sent to me; it had not therefore acquired its full growth, but it was
-evident, from a slight inspection, that its full size would hardly
-have equalled that of an ordinary dog. It is, nevertheless, an animal
-the most formidable, the most cruel, it is, in a word, the tiger of
-the new world, where Nature seems to have diminished all the genera of
-quadrupeds. The Jaguar, like the tiger, lives on prey; but a lighted
-brand will put him to flight, and if his appetite is satisfied, he so
-entirely loses all courage and vivacity, that he will fly from a single
-dog. He discovers no signs of activity or alertness but when pressed
-with hunger. The savages, by nature cowardly, dread his approach. They
-pretend he has a particular propensity to destroy them, and that if
-he meets with Indians and Europeans asleep together, he will pass
-the latter and kill the former. The same thing has been said of the
-leopard, that he prefers black men to white, that he scents them out,
-and can distinguish them as well by night as by day.
-
-Almost all the authors who have written the History of the New World,
-mention this animal, some by the name of tiger or leopard, and others
-under the names given them at Brasil, Mexico, &c. The first who gave
-a particular description of him were Piso and Marcgrave, who called
-him jaguara, instead of janouara, his Brasilian name. They also speak
-of another animal of the same genus, and perhaps of the same species,
-under the name of jaguarette; but, like those two authors, we have
-distinguished them from each other, because there is a probability
-of their being different species; but whether they are really so, or
-only varieties of the same species, we cannot determine, having never
-seen but one of the kinds. Piso and Marcgrave say, that the jaguarette
-differs from the jaguar, by its hair being shorter, more glossy, and
-of a different colour, being black, interspersed with spots of a still
-deeper black. But from the similitude in the form of his body, in his
-manners, and disposition, he may, nevertheless, be only a variety of
-the same species, especially as, according to the testimony of Piso,
-the ground colour of the jaguar, as well as that of the spots, vary in
-different individuals; he says that some are marked with black, and
-others with red or yellowish spots; and with regard to the difference
-of colour, that is, of grey, yellow, or black, the same is to be met
-with in other species of animals, as there are black wolves, black
-foxes, black squirrels, &c. If such variations are not so common among
-wild as tame animals, it is because the former are less liable to those
-accidents which tend to produce them. Their lives being more uniform,
-their food less various, and their freedom less restrained, their
-nature must be more permanent, that is, less subject to accidental
-alterations and changes in colour.
-
-The jaguar is found in Brasil, Paraguay, Tucuman, Guiana, in the
-country of the Amazons, in Mexico, and in all parts of South America.
-At Cayenne, however, this animal is more scarce than the cougar, which
-they denominate red tiger, nor is the jaguar so common now in Brasil,
-which appears his native country, as it was formerly. A price has been
-set upon his head, so that many of them have been destroyed, and the
-others have withdrawn themselves from the coasts to the inland parts of
-the country. The jaguarette appears to have been always more scarce,
-or at least to have inhabited those places which were distant from the
-haunts of men, and the few travellers who mention him appear to have
-drawn their accounts entirely from Marcgrave and Piso.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 105. _Jaguar of New Spain_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 106. _Cougar_]
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-M. le Brun had a female Jaguar of New Spain (_fig. 105._) sent him
-in the year 1775; it appeared very young, and was much less than the
-one described in the original work, this measuring one foot eleven
-inches long, and the former two feet five inches; there was a great
-resemblance between them, and the differences only such as are common
-to the varieties of the same species. The ground colour of the one we
-are now speaking of was a dirty grey intermixed with red: the spots
-were yellow, bordered with black; its head yellow, and ears black, with
-a white spot on the external part.
-
-Among a number of excellent remarks made by M. Sonnini de Manoncour,
-respecting the jaguars of Guiana, he says, "the hair of the young
-jaguar is not frizzled, as stated by M. de Buffon, but perfectly
-smooth, and with regard to their only equalling the size of an ordinary
-dog, I have had the skin of one that measured near five feet from
-the nose to the tail, which was two feet long; and from the tracks I
-have seen of these animals I have little doubt of the American tigers
-being as large as those of Africa, except the royal tiger, the largest
-animal to which that name is given; for the panther, which M. de
-Buffon considers the largest, does not exceed five or six feet when
-full grown, and it is certain that some of these animals exceed those
-dimensions. When young their colour is a deep yellow, which becomes
-lighter as they advance in years. He is not by any means an indolent
-animal; he constantly attacks dogs, commits great devastation among
-flocks, and in the desarts is even formidable to men. In a journey
-I made through these forests, we were tormented with one for three
-successive nights, and yet he avoided all our attempts to destroy him;
-but finding we kept up large fires, of which they are much afraid, he
-at last left us with a dismal howling. At Cayenne the natives have an
-idea that the jaguar would rather destroy them than the whites, but
-it is not so with the savages, with whom I have travelled through the
-desarts, and never found them to have any particular terror; they slept
-as we did, with their hammocks suspended, making a little fire under
-them, which often went out before the morning; and, in short, took no
-particular precautions, where they knew themselves surrounded with
-those animals. (This, observes M. Buffon, is a strong proof that they
-are not very dangerous animals to men.) The flesh of the jaguar is not
-good. All the animals of the new continent fly from him, not being able
-to withstand his power: the only one capable of making any tolerable
-resistance is the ant-eater, who, on being attacked, turns on his back,
-and often preserves himself by the strength of his long claws."
-
-
-
-
-THE COUGAR.
-
-
-The Cougar, (_fig. 106._) is longer but less thick than the jaguar; he
-is more agile, more slender, and stands higher on his legs; he has a
-small head, long tail, and short hair, which is nearly of one entire
-colour, namely, a lively red, intermixed with a few blackish tints,
-particularly on his back. He is neither marked with stripes like the
-tiger, nor with spots like the panther, ounce, or leopard. His chin,
-neck, and all the inferior parts of his body are whitish. Though not
-so strong as the jaguar he is as fierce, and perhaps more cruel. He
-appears more ravenous, for having once seized his prey, he kills it,
-and without waiting to tear it to pieces, he continues to eat and
-suck alternately, until he has gorged his appetite and glutted his
-blood-thirsty fury.
-
-These animals are common in Guiana. They have been known formerly
-to swim over from the continent to Cayenne, in order to devour the
-flocks; insomuch that they were at first considered as the scourge of
-the colony; but by degrees the settlers lessened their numbers, and by
-continually hunting them have compelled the remainder to retire far
-from the cultivated parts of the country. They are found in Brasil,
-Paraguay, and in the country of the Amazons; and there is reason to
-believe that the animal, described by some travellers, under the name
-of the Ocorome, in Peru, is the same as the cougar, as well as that in
-the country of the Iroquois, which has been considered as a tiger,
-though it is neither striped like that animal, nor spotted like the
-panther.
-
-The cougar, by the lightness of his body, and length of his legs,
-seems to be more calculated for speed, and climbing of trees, than the
-jaguar. They are equally indolent and cowardly, when glutted with prey;
-and they seldom attack men unless they find them asleep. When there is
-a necessity for passing the night in the woods, the kindling a fire
-is the only precaution necessary to prevent their approach.[L] They
-delight in the shades of forests, where they hide themselves in some
-bushy tree, in order to dart upon such animals as pass by. Though they
-live only on prey, and drink blood more often than water, yet it is
-said their flesh is very palatable. Piso says, it is as good as veal;
-and Charlevoix, and others, have compared it to mutton. I think it is
-hardly credible that the flesh can be well tasted; and therefore prefer
-the testimony of Desmarchais, who says, the best thing about this
-animal is his skin, of which they make horse-cloths, his flesh being
-generally lean and of a disagreeable flavour.
-
-[Footnote L: The Indians on the banks of the Oronoka, in Guiana, light
-a fire during the night in order to frighten away the tigers who dare
-not approach the place at long as the fire remains burning.]
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-Mr. Colinson mentions another species of cougar, which is found on
-the mountains of Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and the adjacent
-provinces, and which, from his account, seems to differ very much from
-that just described; his legs being shorter, and his body and tail
-much longer, but in colour, and in the shape of the head, they have a
-perfect resemblance.
-
-M. de la Borde describes three species of rapacious animals at Cayenne;
-first, the jaguar, which they call tiger; the second, the cougar, or
-red tiger; (the former is about the size of a large bull-dog, and the
-latter much smaller) and the third they call black tiger, which we
-have termed black cougar. (_fig. 102._) "Its head, continues M. de la
-Borde, is somewhat like that of a common cougar; it has long black
-hair, a long tail, and large whiskers, but is much less than the other.
-The skin of both the jaguar and cougar are easily penetrated even
-with the arrows of the Indians. When very hard set for food, they will
-attack cows and oxen; in this case they spring upon their backs, and
-having brought them to the ground, they tear them to pieces, first
-opening their breasts and bellies, to glut themselves with their blood;
-they then drag pieces of flesh into the wood, covering the remainder
-with branches of trees, and keeping near to feed upon it, until it
-begins to putrify, when they touch it no more. They will keep near a
-flock of wild hogs, for the purpose of seizing the stragglers, but
-cautiously avoid being surrounded by them. They often seek for prey
-on the sea-shore, and devour the eggs left there by the turtles: they
-also make prey of the caimans, or alligators, lizards, and fishes; to
-take the former, they use the craft of lying down by the edge of the
-water, which they strike so as to make sufficient noise to attract his
-attention, who will come towards the place, and no sooner puts his head
-above water, than his seducer makes a certain spring at him, kills and
-drags him to some convenient place where he may devour him at leisure.
-It is said by the Indians that the jaguar decoys the agouti in the
-same manner, by counterfeiting his cry. They sometimes eat the leaves
-and buds of the Indian figs; they are excellent swimmers, and cross
-the largest rivers. They seldom have more than one young at a time,
-which they hide in the trunks of hollow trees. They eat their flesh at
-Cayenne, and, when young, it is as white as that of a rabbit."
-
-The cougar is easily tamed, and rendered nearly as familiar as domestic
-animals.
-
-
-
-
-THE LYNX.
-
-
-The gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences have given a very accurate
-description of the Lynx, and have discussed with equal ingenuity and
-erudition the circumstances and names relative to this animal, which
-occur in the writings of the ancients. They have shewn that the lynx
-of AElian is the same animal which they have dissected and described
-under the name of Lupus-cervarius, and justly censure those who have
-taken it for the Thos of Aristotle. This discussion is enriched with
-observations and reflections equally interesting and pertinent; it is
-a pity, therefore, they had not adopted its real name of lynx, instead
-of that which is the same that Gaza gave to the _thos_ of Aristotle.
-Having, like Oppian, intimated that there are two species or races of
-the lynx, the one large, which chaces the stag and fallow-deer, and
-the other smaller, which scarcely hunts any thing but the hare, they
-appear to have confounded the two species together, namely, the spotted
-lynx, which is commonly found in the northern countries; and the lynx
-of the Levant or Barbary, whose skin is of an uniform colour. I have
-seen both these animals alive, and they closely resemble each other
-in many particulars. They have both long stripes of black hair at the
-extremities of their ears. This very circumstance, by which AElian first
-distinguished the lynx, belongs, in fact, to these animals only, and
-perhaps it was this which induced the Academy to consider them as the
-same species. But, independently of the difference of colour and spots
-upon the hair, it will appear extremely probable that they belong to
-two distinct species.
-
-Klein says, that the most beautiful lynx belongs to Africa and Asia in
-general, and to Persia in particular; that he had seen one at Dresden,
-which came from Africa, which was finely spotted, and of a considerable
-height; that those of Europe, especially from Prussia, and other
-northern countries are less pleasing to the eye, that their colour is
-little, if at all, inclined to white, but rather of a reddish hue,
-with spots confused and huddled together. Without absolutely denying
-what M. Klein has here advanced, I must declare I could never learn
-from any other authority that the lynx is an inhabitant of the warm
-climates of Asia and Africa. Kolbe is the only writer who mentions the
-lynx as common at the Cape of Good Hope, and as perfectly resembling
-that of Brandenburg in Germany; but I have discovered so many mistakes
-in the writings of this author, that I never gave much credit to his
-testimony, unless when supported by that of others. Now all travellers
-mention having seen the spotted lynx in the North of Germany, in
-Lithuania, Muscovy, Siberia, Canada, and other northern regions of both
-continents; but not one, whose accounts I have read, asserts he met
-with this animal in the warm climates of Africa or Asia. The lynxes
-of the Levant, Barbary, Arabia, and other hot climates, are, as I
-before observed, of one uniform colour, and without spots; they cannot,
-therefore, be the same as that mentioned by Klein, which he says was
-finely spotted, nor that of Kolbe, which, according to his statement,
-perfectly resembled those of Brandenburgh. It would be difficult to
-reconcile these testimonies with the information we have from other
-hands. The lynx is certainly more common in cold than in temperate
-climates, and is at least very rare in hot ones. He was, indeed, known
-to the Greeks and Romans; a circumstance which does not, however, infer
-that he came from Africa, or the southern provinces of Asia. Pliny, on
-the contrary, says, that the first of them which were seen at Rome,
-came from Gaul in the time of Pompey. At present there are none in
-France, except possibly a few in the Alpine and Pyrenean mountains.
-But the Romans, under the name of Gaul, comprehended several of the
-northern countries; and, besides, France is not at this time so cold as
-it was in those times.
-
-The most beautiful skins of the lynx come from Siberia, as belonging to
-the _Loup-cervier_, and from Canada, under the name of _chat-cervier_,
-because, like all other animals, they are smaller in the new than in
-the old world; and are therefore compared to the wolf in Europe, and
-to the cat in Canada. What seems to have deceived M. Klein, and might
-have deceived even more able writers is, first, that the ancients have
-said that India furnished lynxes to the god Bacchus; secondly, Pliny
-has placed the lynx in Ethiopia, and has said their hides and claws
-were prepared at Carpathos, now Scarpantho or Zerpantho, an island
-in the Mediterranean, between Rhodes and Candia; thirdly, Gesner has
-allotted a particular article to the lynx of Asia or Africa, in which
-there is the following extract of a letter from Baron Balicze. "You
-have not," says he to Gesner, "mentioned in your history of animals,
-the Indian or African lynx. As Pliny has mentioned it, the authority
-of that great man has induced me to send you a drawing of this animal,
-that you may include it in your list. This drawing was made at
-Constantinople. This animal is very different from the lynx of Germany,
-being much larger, has shorter and rougher hair, &c." Gesner, without
-making any reflections on this letter, contents himself with giving the
-substance of it, and intimating within a parenthesis, that the drawing
-never came to hand.
-
-To prevent a continuance of these errors, let it be observed, first,
-that poets and painters have affixed tigers, panthers, and lynxes,
-to the car of Bacchus, as best pleased their fancies; or rather
-because all fierce and spotted animals were consecrated to that god;
-secondly, that it is the word _lynx_ which constitutes the whole of
-the ambiguity, since by comparing what Pliny says in one[M] passage
-with two others[N] it is plain that the Ethiopian animal which he calls
-lynx, is by no means the same as the chaus, or lupus-cervarius, which
-comes from the northern countries; and that it was from this name
-being improperly applied that the Baron Balicze was deceived though he
-considers the Indian lynx as a different animal from the German luchs,
-or our lynx. This Indian or African lynx, which he has described as
-larger and more full of spots than our lynx, was in all probability,
-a kind of panther. However true or erroneous this last conjecture
-may be, it appears that the lynx, of which we are now treating, is a
-stranger in the southern countries, and is found only in the northern
-parts of the new and old continents. Olaus says this animal is common
-in the forests of the North of Europe; Olearius, in speaking of
-Muscovy, asserts the same thing; Rosinus Lentilius observes that the
-lynx is common in Courland and Lithuania, and that those of Cassubia,
-a province of Pomerania, are very small, and not so much spotted as
-those of Poland and Lithuania; and lastly, Paul Jovius confirms these
-testimonies by adding, that the finest skins of the lynx come from
-Siberia, and that there is a great traffic carried on with them at
-Ustivaga, a town about 600 miles from Moscow.
-
-[Footnote M: Vide Pliny, lib. VIII. cap. 19.]
-
-[Footnote N: Ibid. VIII. c. 22, 23.]
-
-This animal, which as we have shewn, prefers the cold to the temperate
-climates, is one of those which might have passed from one continent to
-the other through the northern regions, and this is probably the reason
-why we find him a tenant of the northern parts of America. Travellers
-have described him in such a manner as to preclude all mistake; and
-besides its skin forms an article of commerce between Europe and
-America. The lynx of Canada, as we have already remarked, is only
-smaller and whiter than those of Europe, and it is from this difference
-in size that they have been distinguished with the appellation of
-_chat-cervier_, and been considered by our nomenclators as animals of a
-different species. Without pronouncing decisively upon this question we
-shall only observe, that to all appearance the lynxes of Canada and of
-Muscovy are of the same species, first because the difference in size
-is not very considerable, since it is almost relatively the same as
-that which takes place between all animals common to both continents;
-the wolf, fox, &c. being smaller in America than they are in Europe, it
-cannot be expected to be otherwise with the lynx. Secondly, because,
-even in the north of Europe, these animals are found to vary in size;
-and authors mention two kinds, the one large and the other small.
-Thirdly, because they equally require the same climate, are of the
-same dispositions, the same figure, differing only in size, and a
-few trifling particulars of colour, circumstances not sufficient to
-authorize our pronouncing them to be two distinct species.
-
-The lynx, of which the ancients have said his sight could penetrate
-opaque bodies, and whose urine possessed the properly of hardening
-into a precious stone, called Lapis Lyncurius, is an animal that never
-existed, any more than the properties attributed to him, except in
-fable. To the true lynx this imaginary one has no affinity but in name.
-We must not, therefore, following the example of most naturalists,
-attribute to the former, which is a real being, the properties of this
-imaginary one, the existence of which even Pliny himself does not seem
-disposed to believe, since he speaks of it as an extraordinary animal,
-and classes it with the sphynx, the pegasus, and other prodigies, or
-monsters, the produce of Ethiopia, a country with which the ancients
-were very little acquainted.
-
-Our lynx, though he cannot see through stone walls, has bright eyes, a
-mild aspect, and an agreeable lively appearance. His urine produces not
-precious stones, but he covers it with earth, like the cats, to whom he
-has a near resemblance, and whose manners, and love of cleanliness are
-the same. In nothing is he like the wolf but in a kind of howl, which
-being heard at a considerable distance often deceives the hunters, by
-making them suppose they hear a real wolf. This alone, perhaps, is
-the cause of his having received the appellation of _loup_, and to
-distinguish him from the real wolf, and because he attacks the stags,
-the epithet of _cervarius_ might have afterwards been added. The lynx
-is not so big as the wolf, has shorter legs, and generally about the
-size of a fox. He differs from the panther and ounce in the following
-particulars; he has longer hair, his spots are less lively, and are
-badly disposed; his ears are much longer, and they have tufts of black
-hairs at the points; his tail is shorter, and is also black at the end;
-his eyes have a whitish cast, and his countenance is more agreeable,
-and less ferocious. The skin of the male is more spotted than that of
-the female. He does not run like the wolf, but walks and bounds like
-the cat. He lives upon other animals, and those he pursues to the
-tops of the highest trees, so that neither the wild-cat, pine-weasel,
-ermine, nor squirrel, can escape him. He also seizes birds, lies in
-wait for the stag, roe-buck, and hare, whom he seizes by the throat,
-sucks their blood, and then opens their heads to devour the brains;
-this done he frequently abandons them to go in search of fresh prey,
-and is seldom known to return to the former one; which has given rise
-to the remark, that of all animals the lynx has the shortest memory.
-His colour changes with the climate and the season. In winter his fur
-is much better than in summer, and his flesh, like that of all beasts
-of prey, is not good to eat.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-There is a Canadian Lynx in the Royal Cabinet in France, in fine
-preservation; it is only two feet three inches long, and rather more
-than thirteen inches high; its body is covered with long grey hair,
-striped with yellow, and spotted with black; its head also is grey,
-interspersed with white and yellow hairs, and shaded with a kind of
-black stripes; it has long white whiskers; its ears are more than two
-inches high, white on the inside, with yellow edges, the outside of a
-mouse colour, edged with black, and at the tip of each ear is a tuft
-of black hair seven lines high; it has a short tail, which is black
-from the end to about the middle, and the other part is of a reddish
-white; its belly, hind-legs, inside of the fore-legs and feet are of a
-dirty white, and it has long white claws. This lynx strongly resembles
-the one we have just described, except in the length of the tail and
-tuft on the ears, from which we may infer that the Canadian Lynx is a
-variety from that of the old continent.
-
-Pontoppidan describes the lynx of Norway to be white with deep spots,
-and claws like those of a cat; he says there are four species there,
-some being like the wolf, others the fox, others the cat, and others
-with a head like that of a colt; the last of which is not only doubtful
-in itself, but throws a degree of suspicion on the veracity of the
-remainder.
-
-The species of the lynx is very common throughout Europe, and also in
-the northern provinces of Asia. Their skins are very valuable, and much
-esteemed for muffs, &c. in Norway, Russia, and even as far as China,
-and notwithstanding they are very common, they sell at a high price.
-
-
-
-
-THE CARACAL.
-
-
-Though the Caracal[O] resembles the lynx in size, formation of the
-body, aspect, and the tufts of black hair at the extremities of the
-ears, I do not scruple from their disagreement in other respects, to
-treat of them as animals of a different species. The Caracal is not
-spotted like the lynx; his hair is rougher and shorter; his tail is
-longer, and of a uniform colour; his snout is longer, in aspect he
-is less mild, and in disposition more fierce. The lynx inhabits cold
-and at most temperate climates, while the caracal is to be found only
-in the warmest countries. It is as much from these differences of
-disposition and climate, that I judge them to be of different species,
-as from the inspection and comparison of the two animals, both of which
-I have examined and had designed from life.
-
-[Footnote O: In Turkey it is called Kaarah-kula; Arabia Gat el Challah;
-in Persia Siyah-Gush, denoting in all three languages, _the cat with
-long ears_.]
-
-The Caracal is common in Barbary, in Arabia, and in all those countries
-inhabited by the lion, panther, and ounce. Like them he depends on prey
-for subsistence, but from the inferiority of his size and strength,
-he has much difficulty to procure a sufficiency; frequently being
-obliged to be content with the leavings of the more powerful. He keeps
-at a distance from the panther, because that animal exercises its
-cruelty after being gorged with food; but he follows the lion, who,
-when the cravings of his appetite are satisfied, never injures any
-creature. From the remains left by this noble animal, the caracal not
-unoften enjoys a comfortable repast. Sometimes he follows, or even
-goes before, at no great distance, taking a refuge in the trees, when
-self-preservation renders it necessary, and where the lion cannot, like
-the panther, follow him. For all these reasons it is that the caracal
-has been called the Lion's Guide, or Provider; and it is said that the
-lion, whose smell is far from being acute, employs him to scent out his
-prey, and is permitted to enjoy the remains as a reward for his trouble.
-
-The caracal[P] (_fig. 108._) is about the size of a fox, but more
-fierce, and much stronger. He has been known to attack, and in a few
-minutes, to tear in pieces a large dog, which defended himself to the
-utmost. He is very difficult to tame, yet if taken very young, and
-reared with care, he may be trained to the chace, to which he is by
-nature inclined, and in which he is very successful, especially if he
-be only let loose upon such animals as are inferior in strength, for
-he declines a service of danger with every expression of reluctance.
-In India they made use of him to catch hares, rabbits, and even large
-birds, whom he seizes with singular address and facility.
-
-[Footnote P: The principal part of his body is of a reddish brown
-colour, the inferior parts of the neck and belly whitish; round his
-muzzle black, his ears of a dark shade, with a tuft of black hair from
-his extremities.]
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-Mr. Bruce has informed me that he saw a caracal in Nubia, which
-differed from the one of barbary, just described; his face was more
-round, his ears black on the outside, intermixed with white hairs, and
-on the breast, belly, and inside of the thighs he had yellow spots. But
-this is a mere variety, of which there are several: for instance, in
-Lybia there is a caracal with white ears, and a white tail with four
-black rings at the end, and which is not bigger than a domestic cat;
-and if this were to establish a difference we might say there are two
-species of caracals in Barbary, the one large, with black ears and long
-tufts, and the other smaller, with white ears and short tufts.
-
-
-
-
-THE HYAENA.
-
-
-Aristotle has left us two accounts by which alone the hyaena (_fig.
-110._) might easily be distinguished from all other animals.
-Nevertheless, travellers and naturalists have confounded him with no
-less than four other species, namely, the jackall, glutton, civet, and
-the baboon; all of which are carnivorous and ferocious like the hyaena,
-and all have some few particular resemblances to him, whence these
-errors may have originated. The jackall inhabits the same countries,
-and like the hyaena resembles the wolf in form; like him also he feeds
-upon dead carcasses, and digs up graves to devour their contents. The
-glutton has the same voracity, the same appetite for corrupted flesh,
-the same propensity for digging the dead out of their graves; and
-though he belongs to a different climate, and his figure is widely
-different from that of the hyaena, yet from this affinity of disposition
-authors have thought themselves warranted in considering them as of
-the same species. The civet is a native of the same countries as the
-hyaena, and like him has a streak of long hair along the back, and also
-a particular opening, or glandular pouch; characteristics which belong
-only to a few animals, and which induced Bellon to suppose the civet
-was the hyaena of the ancients. As to the baboon, which has hands and
-feet like those of a man or a monkey, he resembles the hyaena still less
-than the other three, and it must be solely from their name that they
-have been confounded together.
-
-The hyaena, according to Dr. Shaw, is called _dubbah_ in Barbary; and
-Marmol, and Leo Africanus, say, the baboon is distinguished by the name
-of _dabuh_; and as the baboon belongs to the same climates, scratches
-up the earth and is nearly of the same form with the hyaena; these
-circumstances first deceived travellers, and naturalists adopted their
-blunders without investigation; and even those who distinguished the
-two animals, retained the name of _dabuh_ to the hyaena, which in fact
-belongs to the baboon. It appears, then, that the hyaena is neither the
-_dabuh_ of the Arabians, the _jesef_ or _sesef_ of the Africans, nor
-the _deeb_ of Barbary. But to put a final stop to this confusion of
-names, I shall give, in a few words, the substance of the inquiries I
-have made with respect to those animals.
-
-Aristotle calls it by two names, _hyaena_ and _glanus_; names which
-we may be assured are applied to the same animals by comparing the
-passages wherein they are mentioned.[Q] The ancient Latins retained the
-name hyaena, and never adopted that of glanus. In the writings of the
-modern Latins, however, we find the _ganus_, or _gannus_, and _belbus_
-employed as names for the hyaena. According to Rasis, the Arabians call
-it _kabo_, or _zabo_, names that appear to be derived from the word
-_zeeb_, which, in their language denominates a wolf. In Barbary the
-hyaena bears the name of _dubbah_, as appears from the description given
-of this animal by Dr. Shaw.[R] In Turkey it is called _zirtlaat_,
-according to Nieremberg; in Persia _kaftaar_, as stated by Kaempfer; and
-_castar_, according to Pietro della Valle. These are the only names
-which seem actually to refer to the hyaena; though it is nevertheless
-probable that the _lycaon_ and the _crocuta_ of India and Ethiopia,
-of which the ancients speak, are no other than the hyaena. Porphyry
-expressly says that the _crocuta_ of the Indies is the hyaena of the
-Greeks; and, indeed, all they have written, whether true or fabulous,
-respecting the lycaon and crocuta, bears some analogy to the nature of
-the hyaena. But we shall make no further conjectures on this subject
-until we treat of fabulous animals, and the affinities they have with
-real ones.
-
-[Footnote Q: Aristotle Hist. Animal. lib. vi. c. 32. lib. viii. c. 5.]
-
-[Footnote R: The Dubbah is nearly the size of the wolf. Its neck is so
-exceedingly stiff, that when it offers to look behind, or even on one
-side, it is obliged to turn the whole body, like the hog, the badger,
-and the crocodile. Its colour is somewhat inclined to a reddish brown,
-with a few brown streaks of a darker hue, it has very long hairs on
-the neck which it can occasionally erect. Its paws are large and well
-armed, with which it digs up plants, and sometimes dead bodies from
-their graves. Next to the lion and panther, the dubbah is the most
-fierce of all the animals of Barbary. As it is furnished with a mane,
-has a difficulty in turning the head, and scrapes up dead bodies
-from their graves, it has every appearance of being the hyaena of the
-ancients. _See Shaw's Travels._]
-
-The panther of the Greeks, the _lupus canarius_ of Gaza, and the
-_lupus armenius_ of the modern Latins and Arabians, seem to be the
-same animal, that is, the jackall, which the Turks call _cical_,
-according to Pollux, and _thacal_ according to Spon and Wheeler; which
-the modern Greeks distinguish by the name of _zachalia_, the Persians
-_siechal_, or _schachal_, and the Moors of Barbary _deeb_; that of
-jackall, however, having been adopted by a number of travellers, to
-that we shall give the preference, and only remark at present, that he
-differs from the hyaena not only in size, figure, and colour, but in
-natural habits, for the hyaena is a solitary animal, while the jackall
-is seldom seen but in troops. After the example of Kaempfer, some of our
-nomenclators have called the jackall _lupus aureus_, because his hair
-is of a lively yellow hue.
-
-It is therefore evident, that the jackall is a very different animal
-from the hyaena; and no less so than the glutton, which is an animal
-confined to the northern regions of Lapland, Russia, and Siberia; it is
-a stranger even in the temperate climates, and therefore could never
-have inhabited Arabia, or any of the other warm countries in which
-the hyaena resides. It differs also in form, for the glutton bears a
-strong resemblance to a very large badger; his legs are so short that
-his belly almost reaches the ground; he has five toes on each of his
-feet, has no mane, and his body is covered with black hair, excepting
-sometimes a few reddish yellow hairs upon his sides; in short, he
-resembles him in nothing but in being exceedingly voracious. He was
-unknown to the ancients, who had made no great progress into the north
-of Europe. Olaus is the first author who mentions this animal and
-from his prodigious gluttony he called him _gulo_. In Sclavonia he
-afterwards obtained the name of _rosomak_, and in Germany _jerff_,
-or _wildfras_, and the French travellers have called him _glouton_.
-There are varieties in this species, as well as in that of the jackall,
-which we shall speak of when we come to the particular history of those
-animals, and shall only here observe, that those varieties, instead
-of assimilating them with the hyaena, render them additionally a more
-distinct species.
-
-The civet has nothing in common with the hyaena but the glandular pouch,
-under the tail, and the mane along the neck and back-bone. It differs
-from the hyaena in figure and size, not being more than half as large;
-his ears are short and covered with hair, whereas those of the hyaena
-are long and naked; he has also short legs, and five toes upon each
-foot, while the legs of the hyaena are long, and he has only four toes
-upon each foot; nor does the civet dig up the earth in search for
-dead bodies. From these differences these animals are easily to be
-distinguished from each other.
-
-With respect to the baboon, which is the _papio_ of the Latins, and
-as we have before observed, has been mistaken for the hyaena, merely
-from the ambiguity of names, which seems to have arisen from a passage
-of Leo Africanus, and since copied by Marmol. "The _dabuh_ say
-these authors, is of the size and form of the wolf; and scratches up
-dead bodies from their graves." From which it was supposed to mean
-the _dubbah_, or hyaena, although it is expressly stated in the same
-passages that the _dubbah_ has hands and feet resembling those of
-a man; a remark which, however applicable to the baboon, cannot be
-applied to the hyaena.
-
-From taking a view of the _lupus-marinus_ of Bellon, which Gesner has
-copied, we might mistake it for the figure of the hyaena, to which it
-bears a great resemblance; but his description corresponds not with our
-hyaena, for he says, the _lupus-marinus_ is an amphibious animal which
-feeds on fish, and has sometimes been seen on the coasts of the British
-ocean; besides this author says nothing of the peculiar characteristics
-which distinguish the hyaena from all other animals. It is possible
-that Bellon, prepossessed with the notion that the civet was the hyaena
-of the ancients, has given the figure of the real one under the name
-of _lupus-marinus_, for so striking and singular are the characters
-of that animal, that it is hardly possible to be deceived in them; he
-is, perhaps, the only quadruped that has four toes upon each foot.
-Like the badger he has an aperture under the tail, which does not
-penetrate into the body; his ears are long, straight, and naked; his
-head is shorter and more square than that of the wolf; his legs are
-longer, especially the hind ones; his eyes are placed like those of
-the dog; the hair of his body and mane is of a dark grey, with a small
-intermixture of yellow and black, and disposed all along in waves,
-and though in size he equals the wolf, yet he has, nevertheless, a
-contracted appearance.
-
-This wild and solitary animal resides in the caverns of mountains,
-the clefts of rocks, or in dens, which he forms for himself under
-the earth. Though taken ever so young he is not to be tamed; he is
-naturally ferocious. He lives like the wolf, by depredation, but he
-is more strong and daring. He sometimes attacks men, and darts with a
-ferocious resolution on all kinds of cattle; he follows the flocks,
-and even breaks down the sheep-folds in the night to get at his prey.
-His eyes shine in the dark, and it is asserted that he sees better
-by night than day. All naturalists who have treated of this animal,
-except Kaempfer, say, that his cry resembles the noise of a man who is
-vomiting, while the latter asserts it to be like the lowing of a calf.
-He defends himself against the lion, stands in no awe of the panther,
-and attacks the ounce, which is incapable of resisting him. When at a
-loss for prey he scrapes up the earth with his feet, and tears out the
-carcasses of animals and men, which in the countries he inhabits are
-promiscuously buried in the fields. He is found in almost all the hot
-climates of Africa and Asia, and it is probable that the animal called
-_farasse_, at Madagascar, which resembles the wolf in figure, but is
-larger and stronger, is the same animal.
-
-Of this animal more absurd stories have been told than of any other.
-The ancients have gravely written that the hyaena is alternately male
-and female; that when it brings forth, suckles and rears its progeny,
-it remains as a female the whole year, but the year following it
-resumes the functions of the male, and obliges its companion to submit
-to those of the female. The circumstance which gave rise to this fable
-is plainly the orifice under the tail, in both males and females,
-independently of the organs of generation peculiar to both sexes,
-and which are the same in the hyaena as in all other animals. It has
-also been affirmed that this animal could imitate the human voice,
-remember the names of shepherds, call upon, fascinate, and render
-them motionless; that he can terrify shepherdesses, cause them to
-forget and neglect their flocks, to be distracted in love, &c. All this
-might surely happen without the intervention of the hyaena! But I shall
-conclude here, to avoid the reproach which has been cast upon Pliny,
-that of taking pleasure in compiling and relating absurd fables.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-At the fair of St. Germain, in the year 1773, I saw a male hyaena; the
-one just described was very ferocious, and as I mentioned untameable,
-but this was perfectly gentle, for though his keeper made him angry for
-the purpose of erecting his mane, yet he seemed to forget it in a few
-moments, and suffer himself to be played with without any appearance of
-dislike. He exactly accorded with the description I have given, except
-his tail being entirely white.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 109. _Lynx._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 110. _Hyaena._]
-
-In the island of Meroe there is a large kind of hyaenas, so strong that
-they can run off with a man to the distance of more than a league
-without stopping. These are also of a darker colour, and erect their
-long hairs on the hind parts and not the front. Mr. Bruce informs
-me that he has observed, that when the hyaenas are forced to take to
-flight, they are at first exceedingly lame of the left hind leg, and
-which continues for more than an hundred paces, so much so indeed as to
-give them the appearance of falling, and that it is the same also with
-those of Syria and Barbary.
-
-
-
-
-THE CIVET AND THE ZIBET.
-
-
-The generality of naturalists are of opinion that the perfume called
-civet, or musk, is furnished only by one species of animals. I
-have, however, seen two animals that furnish it, which, though they
-have many essential affinities, both in their external and internal
-conformations, yet differ in so many characteristics, that there is
-sufficient reason to consider them as two distinct species. To the
-first I have continued the original name of Civet, (_fig. 111._) and
-the second, for the sake of distinction, I have called Zibet (_fig.
-113._) The civet seems to be the same as that described by the Academy
-of Sciences; by Caius, in Gesner, page 837, and by Fabius Columna,
-who has given both the male and female figures in the publication of
-Faber, which follows that of Hernandes. The _zibet_ appears to be the
-same animal as M. de la Peyronnie has described under the name of Musk
-Animal, in the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences for the year 1731.
-Both differ from the civet in the very same characters; both want the
-mane, or the long hair, on the back-bone, and both have the tail marked
-with strong annular streaks. The civet, on the contrary, has a mane,
-but no rings on the tail. It must, however be acknowledged that our
-zibet, and the musk animal of M. de la Peyronnie, are not so perfectly
-similar as to leave no doubt of the identity of their species. The
-rings on the tail of the zibet are larger than those of the musk
-animal, and the length of his tail is shorter in proportion to that
-of his body; but these differences are slight, and appear to be mere
-accidental varieties, to which the civet must be more subject than any
-other wild animal, as they are reared and fed like domestic ones in
-many parts of the Levant and East Indies. Certain it is, that our zibet
-bears a stronger resemblance to the musk animal than to the civet, and
-consequently they may be considered as the same species. Nor, indeed,
-do we mean positively to affirm that civet and zibet are not varieties
-of the same species, but from their different characteristics there is
-a strong presumption they really are so.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 111. _Civet_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 112. _Genet_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 113. _Zibet_]
-
-The animal which we here name the Civet, is called the _falanoue_, at
-Madagascar, _nzime_, or _nzfusi_ at Congo, _kankan_ in Ethiopia, and
-_kastor_ in Guinea. That it is the civet of Guinea I am certain, for
-the one I had was sent from Guinea, to one of my correspondents at St.
-Domingo, where, after being fed for some time, it was killed for the
-more easy conveyance to Europe.
-
-The zibet is probably the civet of Asia, of the East Indies, and of
-Arabia, where he is called zebet, or zibet, an Arabic word, which
-likewise signifies the perfume of that animal, and which we have
-adopted to signify the animal itself. He differs from the civet in
-having a longer and less thick body; a snout more thin and slender,
-and somewhat concave on the upper part; whereas that of the civet is
-more short, thick, and rather convex. The ears of the zibet are also
-larger and more elevated; his tail is longer, and more strongly marked;
-his hair is shorter and much more soft; he has no mane, or long hair
-on the neck or back-bone; no black spots under the eyes, or on the
-cheeks; all of which are remarkable characteristics in the civet. Some
-travellers have suspected there were two species of civets; but no
-person has examined them with sufficient accuracy as to give a distinct
-description. I have seen both; and after a careful comparison, am of
-opinion, that they not only differ in species, but perhaps belong to
-different climates.
-
-These animals have been called musk-cats, though they have nothing in
-common with the cat, except bodily agility. They rather resemble the
-fox, especially in the head. Their skins are diversified with stripes
-and spots, which has occasioned them to be mistaken for small panthers,
-when seen at a distance; but in every other respect they differ from
-the panther. There is an animal called the Genet, which is spotted in
-the like manner, whose head is nearly of the same shape, and which,
-like the civet, has a pouch where an odoriferous humor is formed; but
-this animal is smaller than our civet; its legs are shorter, and its
-body thinner; its perfume is very faint, and of short duration; while
-the perfume of the civet is very strong, and that of the zibet is so to
-an excess.
-
-This humor is found in the orifice which these animals have near the
-organs of generation; it is nearly as thick as pomatum, and though the
-odour is very strong, it is yet agreeable, even when it issues from the
-body of the animal. This perfume of the civet must not be confounded
-with musk, which is a sanguineous humor, obtained from an animal very
-different from either the civet or zibet, being a species of roe-buck,
-or goat, without horns, and which has no one property in common with
-the civet, but that of furnishing a strong perfume.
-
-These two species of civets have not been distinguished with precision.
-They have both been sometimes confounded with the weasel of Virginia,
-the genet, the musk-deer, and even with the hyaena. Bellon, who has
-given a figure and description of the civet, insists that it was the
-hyaena of the ancients, and his mistake is the more excusable not being
-destitute of some foundation. Certain it is, that most of the fables
-which have been related of the hyaena, took their rise from the civet.
-The philters said to have been obtained from certain parts of the
-hyaena, and their power to excite love, sufficiently indicate that the
-stimulating virtues of the preparations of civet, were not unknown to
-the ancients, and which are still used for this very purpose in the
-East. What they have said of the uncertainty of the sex of the hyaena,
-is still more applicable to the civet, for the male has no external
-appearance, but three apertures so perfectly similar to those of
-the female, that it is hardly possible to determine the sex but by
-dissection. The opening which contains the perfume, is situated between
-the other two, and in the same direct line which extends from the os
-sacrum to the pubis.
-
-Another error, which has made more progress, is that of Gregoire de
-Bolivar, with respect to the climates in which the civet is found.
-After stating them to be common in Africa and the East Indies, he
-positively affirms they are also very numerous in all parts of South
-America. This assertion, transmitted by Faber, has been copied by
-Aldrovandus, and adopted by all the authors who have since treated
-of the civet. But the truth is, that they are animals peculiar to
-the hottest climates of the old continent, and which could not have
-found a northern passage into the New World; where, in fact, no civets
-ever existed until they were transported thither from the Philippine
-Islands and the coasts of Africa. As the assertion of Bolivar is
-positive, and mine only negative, it is necessary I should give my
-particular reasons, to prove the falsity of the fact. Besides my own
-remarks, I refer to the very words of Faber himself.[S] On this head
-it is to be observed, that the figure given by Faber, was left to him
-by Recchi, without any description[T]; and of which the inscription
-is, _animal zibethicum Americanum_; but this figure has no resemblance
-to the civet or zibet, and rather represents the badger; secondly,
-Faber gives a description and the figures of a male and female civet,
-which resemble our zibet; but these civets are not the same animal as
-that represented in the first figure; nor do they represent animals of
-America, but civets belonging to the old continent, of which Fabius
-Columna had procured drawings at Naples, and furnished Faber with
-their figures and descriptions; thirdly, after having quoted Bolivar
-respecting the climates in which the civet is found, Faber concludes
-with admiring Bolivar's prodigious memory, and that he was indebted
-for this recital to the oral information of that gentleman. These
-three remarks are alone sufficient to create a suspicion respecting the
-pretended _animal zibethicum Americanum_, but what completely proves
-the error, Fernandes, in his description of the animals of America,
-flatly contradicts Bolivar, and affirms that the civet was not a native
-of America, but that, in his time, they had began to transport some
-of them from the Philippine Islands to New Spain. In fine, if we add
-this positive testimony of Fernandes, to that of all the travellers,
-who mention that civets are very common in the Philippine Islands, in
-the East Indies, and in Africa, not one of whom intimates having seen
-this animal in America, every doubt will vanish of what we advanced
-in our enumeration of the animals of the two continents, and it will
-be admitted that the civet is not a native of America, but an animal
-peculiar to the warm climates of the old continent, and that he was
-never found in the new, until after he had been transported thither.
-Had I not guarded against such mistakes, which are too frequent, I
-should have described my civet as an American animal, from its having
-been sent to me from St. Domingo, and not directly from Guinea, the
-place of its nativity, of which I was, however, assured by the letter
-from M. Pages which accompanied the animal. These particular facts
-I consider as confirmations to the general position, that there is a
-real difference between all the animals of the southern parts of each
-continent.
-
-[Footnote S: Novae Hisp. Anim. Nardi Antonii Recchi Imagines & Nomina,
-Joannis Fabri Lyncei Expositione, p. 539.]
-
-[Footnote T: _Ibid._ p. 465.]
-
-Both the civet and zibet are then animals of the old continent, nor
-have they any other external differences, besides those already
-pointed out; and as to their internal differences, and the structure
-of their reservoirs which contain the perfume, they have been so
-accurately described by Messrs. Morand and Peyronnie, in the Memoirs
-of the Academy for 1728 and 1731, that I could do little more than
-give a repetition of their accounts. With regard to what remains to be
-further observed of those two animals, as the few facts are hardly more
-applicable to the one than the other, and as it would be difficult to
-point out the distinction, I shall collect the whole under one head.
-
-The civets, (by the plural number I mean the civet and zibet) though
-natives of the hottest climates of Asia and Africa, can yet live in
-temperate and even cold countries, provided they are carefully defended
-from the injuries of the weather, and supplied with succulent food. In
-Holland they are frequently reared for the advantage obtained by their
-perfume. The civet brought from Amsterdam is preferred to that which
-comes from the Levant or the Indies, as being the most genuine. That
-imported from Guinea would be the best, were it not that the Negroes,
-as well as the Indians, and the people of the Levant, adulterate it
-with the mixture of storax, and other balsamic and odoriferous drugs
-and plants.
-
-Those who keep these animals collect the perfume in the following
-manner; they put them into a narrow cage, in which they cannot turn
-themselves; this cage opens behind, and two or three times in a
-week the animal is drawn a little out by the tail, and kept in that
-position by putting a bar across the fore-part of the cage; this done,
-the person takes out the perfume from the pouch with a small spoon,
-scraping all the internal parts, and then, putting the matter into a
-vessel, the greatest care is taken to keep it closely covered. The
-quantity so procured depends greatly upon the appetite of the animal,
-and the quality of his nourishment, as he always produces more in
-proportion to the goodness of his food. Hashed flesh, eggs, rice, small
-animals, birds, young poultry, and particularly fish, are the best, and
-which he most prefers; and these ought to be so varied as to excite his
-appetite and preserve his health. He requires but little water, and
-though he drinks seldom, yet he discharges urine very frequently; and
-even on such occasions, the male is not to be distinguished from the
-female.
-
-The perfume of the civets is so strong that it communicates itself to
-all parts of the body; the hair and skin is impregnated with it to
-such a degree, that it preserves the odour for a long time after it is
-stripped off. If a person be shut up in a close room with one of them
-alive, he cannot support the perfume, it is so copiously diffused. When
-the animal is enraged, its scent is more violent than ordinary, and if
-tormented so as to make him sweat, that is also collected and serves
-to adulterate, or at least increase the perfume which is otherwise
-obtained.
-
-The civets are naturally wild, and even ferocious; and though tameable
-to a certain degree, they are never perfectly familiar. Their teeth are
-strong and sharp, but their claws are blunt and feeble. They are light
-and active, and live by prey, pursuing small animals, and surprising
-birds. They can bound like cats, and run like dogs; and sometimes steal
-into yards and out-houses to carry off the poultry. Their eyes shine
-in the dark, and they probably see better in the night than in the
-day. When they fail in procuring animal food, they subsist on roots
-and fruits. As they seldom drink they never inhabit moist places, but
-cheerfully reside among arid sands and burning mountains. They breed
-very fast in their native climates; but though they can live, and even
-produce perfume in temperate climates, yet they cannot multiply. They
-have a voice more powerful, and a tongue less rough than the cat, and
-their cry is not unlike that of an enraged dog.
-
-The odorous humor which exudes from these animals is called civet in
-England and France, and _zibet_, or _algalia_, in Arabia, the Indies,
-and the Levant, where it is more used than in Europe. It is now very
-little employed as a medicine, but it is still used as an ingredient
-in the compositions of perfumers and confectioners. The smell of the
-civet, though stronger, is more agreeable than that of the musk. Both,
-however, lost their repute when the method of preparing ambergris was
-discovered; and even that seems now to be proscribed from the toilets
-of the polite and delicate.
-
-
-
-
-THE GENET.
-
-
-The Genet (_fig. 112._) is a smaller animal than the civet. He has a
-long body, short legs, a sharp snout, slender head, and smooth soft
-hair, of a glossy ash colour, marked with black spots, which are round,
-and separated on the sides, but so nearly united on the back as to have
-the appearance of stripes along the body. Upon the neck and back it has
-a kind of mane, which forms a black streak from the head to the tail,
-the latter of which is as long as the body, and is marked with seven
-or eight rings, alternately black and white; the black spots on the
-neck also appear to form streaks, and it has a white spot under each
-eye. Under the tail, and in the very same place with the civets, it has
-a pouch, in which is secreted a kind of perfume, but is much weaker,
-and its scent soon evaporates. It is somewhat longer than the marten,
-which it greatly resembles in form, habit, and disposition; and from
-which it seems chiefly to differ in being more easily tamed. Bellon
-assures us, that he has seen them in the houses at Constantinople as
-tame as cats, that they were permitted to run about without doing
-the least mischief, and that they were called _Constantinople cats_;
-_Spanish cats_; _genet cats_, _&c._ though, indeed, they have nothing
-in common with that animal, except the skill of watching and catching
-mice.[U] Naturalists pretend that genets inhabit only moist grounds,
-and reside along the banks of rivers, and that they are never found on
-mountains or dry grounds. The species is not numerous, or, at least,
-not much diffused; for there are none of them in any part of Europe,
-except Spain and Turkey. They seem to require a warm climate to subsist
-and multiply in, and yet they are not found in India or Africa. The
-_fossane_ has been called the genet of Madagascar, but that animal is
-of a different species, as will hereafter be shewn.
-
-[Footnote U: It is, perhaps, because they are only found in the Levant
-and in Spain, that they are designated by their country; for the name
-of _genet_ is not derived from any of the ancient languages, and is
-probably only a new appellation taken from some place abounding with
-them, a custom which is very common in Spain, where a certain race of
-horses are called _genets_.]
-
-The skin of the genet makes a light and handsome fur, it was
-formerly fashionable for muffs, and consequently very dear; but the
-manufacturers having got the art of counterfeiting them, by painting
-the skins of grey rabbits with black spots, their value is abated,
-from being no longer esteemed.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-I formerly stated that genets were not to be found in any parts of
-Europe, except Spain and Turkey, but since then I have learned that
-they are common in the southern provinces of France, and that at
-Poitou they are known by that name even to the peasantry. In April,
-1775, the Abbe Roubard sent me a genet that was killed at Livray, in
-Poitou, which, except some trifling variations in the colour of the
-hair, was similar to that I have described; and he assured me that the
-species was also to be found in the neighbouring provinces; and M.
-Delpeche informed me, in a letter, that it was a constant practice with
-the peasants of the province of Rouergue to bring dead genets to the
-merchants in the winter; he added, that they were not very numerous,
-that they were principally found near Villefranche, and that they
-burrow in holes like the rabbits, especially in winter.
-
-
-
-
-THE BLACK WOLF.
-
-
-We mention ibis animal merely as a supplement to the description we
-have given of the wolf, for there can be little doubt of his belonging
-to the same species. We have already said, that in the northern parts
-of Europe there were some wolves black, and others white, and that the
-black wolves were generally the largest; but the one we are now about
-to describe came from Canada, and was smaller than the common wolf;
-but we have had repeated occasions to remark, that the animals of the
-northern parts of America are less in size than those belonging to the
-north of Europe, and this difference in size was the chief, if not the
-only variation in him; besides, he had been taken very young, and ever
-after kept in a state of captivity, which also might have prevented the
-completion of his growth. Our common wolf is less in Canada than in
-Europe; and in that country black wolves and foxes are not uncommon. We
-saw this animal alive, and to us it appeared perfectly to resemble the
-common wolf both in figure and disposition.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 115. _Muscovy Rat._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 114. _Canadian Musk Rat._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 116. _Mexican Hog._]
-
-
-
-
-THE CANADIAN MUSK-RAT, AND THE MUSCOVY MUSK-RAT.
-
-
-Though these two animals have been denominated musk-rats, and have
-a few common characteristics, yet they ought not to be confounded;
-they must also be distinguished from the Pilori, or Musk-rat, of
-the Antilles; all three forming different species, and belonging to
-different climates; the first, also called Ondatra, is found in Canada;
-the second, or Desman, in Lapland and Muscovy; and the Pilori, in
-Martinico and other of the Antille islands.
-
-The Musk-rat of Canada (_fig. 115._) differs from that of Muscovy
-in having all its toes separate, eyes very conspicuous, and a short
-nose; whereas the latter (_fig. 114._) has the toes of the hind feet
-united by a membrane, exceedingly small eyes, and a long nose like the
-shrew-mouse. The tail of both is flat, in which, as well as in many
-other characteristics, they differ from the pilori of the Antilles. The
-tail of the pilori is short, and, like that of other rats, cylindrical;
-the other two have long tails, and the head of the first is like that
-of a water-rat, and the head of the second resembles a shrew-mouse.
-
-In the memoirs of the Academy of Sciences, for 1725, we meet with a
-very accurate description of the Canadian musk-rat. M. Sarrasin, a
-correspondent of the Academy, dissected a number of them at Quebec, and
-made some striking and singular remarks; by comparing his description
-with our own, we have not the least doubt but the animal which he calls
-the musk-rat of Canada, is the same with that now before us.
-
-This animal is of the size of a small rabbit, and of the figure of
-a rat. Its head is short, and similar to that of the water-rat; its
-hair is soft and glossy, with a thick down underneath, like that of
-the beaver; its tail is long and covered with little scales, like that
-of the other rats, though of a different form, for instead of being
-cylindrical it is flat from the middle to the tip, and rather round at
-the insertion. The toes are not united by membranes, but furnished
-with a long thick hair, which enables the animal to swim with ease. Its
-ears are very short, but not naked, as in the common rat, but covered
-with hair, both outwardly and inwardly; its eyes are large; it has two
-incisive teeth, about an inch long, in the under jaw, and two shorter
-ones in the upper; these four teeth are very strong, and by them the
-animal is enabled to gnaw through wood.
-
-The striking singularities remarked by M. Sarrasin, in this animal
-are, first, the muscular force and great expansibility in the skin,
-which enables the animal to contract and compress its body into a
-smaller size. Secondly, the suppleness of the false ribs, which admits
-a contraction of body so considerable that the musk-rat can obtain an
-easy passage through holes where smaller animals cannot find admission.
-Thirdly, the manner in which the female voids her urine, the urethra
-not terminating, as in other animals, under the clitoris, but at a
-hairy eminence above the os pubis, and in which there is an orifice,
-that serves the urine to escape. This strange organization is found in
-only a few species of animals, as rats and apes have three apertures;
-and these two are perhaps the only animals who have a passage for the
-urine distinct from the organs of generation: to the females alone,
-however, does this singularity belong, for the conformation of the
-males is the same with that of other quadrupeds. M. Sarrasin observes,
-fourthly, that the testicles which, as in other rats, are situated
-on each side of the anus, become exceedingly large, considering the
-size of the animal, during the rutting season; but that over, they not
-only change in size, consistency, and colour, but even in situation,
-and with the seminal vessels, and all the organs of generation become
-almost invisible. And, lastly, that the vessels which contain the
-musk, or perfume, of this animal, under the form of a milky humor, and
-which adjoin the parts of generation, undergo the same changes; that
-during the rutting season they enlarge in a great degree, and then the
-perfume is exceedingly strong, and may be sensibly distinguished at
-a considerable distance, but at its expiration they become wrinkled,
-decay, and at length entirely disappear. The change in the vessels,
-which contain the perfume, is effected more quickly, and more
-completely, than that of the parts of generation. These vessels are
-common to both sexes, and at the above periods contain a considerable
-quantity of milky humor; and the secretion is formed, and the humor
-voided, nearly in the same place as the urine of other quadrupeds.
-These singularities were worthy the attention of so able an anatomist
-as M. Sarrasin. We have already mentioned similar alterations in the
-parts of generation in the water-rat, the campagnol, and the mole; but
-this is not the place for us to enlarge on the general consequences
-which might be drawn from these singular facts, nor even on the
-immediate references they may have to our theory of generation. These
-we shall soon have occasion to present with more advantage, by uniting
-them with other facts to which they relate.
-
-As the Canadian musk-rat belongs to the same country as the beaver, is
-fond of water, and has nearly the same figure, colour, and hair, they
-have been often compared to each other; it is even affirmed, that, at
-the first glance, a full grown musk-rat may be mistaken for a beaver
-of a month old. But in the form of their tails there is a considerable
-difference; that of the beaver being oval and flat horizontally;
-whereas that of the musk-rat is of a considerable length, and flat,
-or compressed vertically. In disposition and instinct, however,
-these animals have a strong resemblance. The musk-rats, as well as
-the beavers, live in societies during the winter. They form little
-dwellings about two feet and a half in diameter and sometimes larger,
-in which is often an association of several families. These habitations
-are not for the purpose of resorting to, in order to sleep like the
-marmots, for five or six months, but to obtain a shelter from the
-inclemency of the weather; they are of a round form, and covered with a
-dome about a foot thick; the materials for making which are herbs and
-rushes interwoven together, and cemented with clay, which they prepare
-with their feet; these huts are impenetrable by the rain, and secured
-from the effects of inundations by being elevated on the inside, and
-tho' covered with snow several feet thick in the winter these animals
-do not seem to be incommoded by this circumstance. They do not provide
-a stock of provisions for that season, but dig a sort of passages
-round their dwellings, for the purpose of procuring roots and water.
-As winter is not their season of love, they reap but little advantage
-from associating. All this period they remain totally deprived of
-light, and therefore no sooner has the mild breath of spring begun to
-dissolve the snow, and uncover the tops of their little mansions, than
-the huntsmen open their dome suddenly, dazzle them with the light,
-and kill or seize all those who have not obtained shelter in their
-subterraneous passages; but as their skins are valuable, and their
-flesh not unpalatable, thither they are also pursued for slaughter.
-Such as escape quit their habitations about the same time. They wander
-about during the summer but always in pairs, for then is the time of
-their amours; then it is that all their vessels expand, and feeding
-largely upon the fresh roots and vegetables which the season affords,
-they acquire a strong smell of musk; a scent which, though agreeable
-to Europeans, is so disgustful to the savages, that they distinguish
-one of their rivers, from being frequented by a number of them, the
-Stinking River, and the animal itself the Stinkard.
-
-They produce once a year, and generally have five or six young. Their
-time of gestation cannot be long, as they are not in season till the
-summer, and their young are full grown by October, when they seek for
-shelter; they construct new huts every year, and are never known to
-revisit their former habitations. Their cry is a kind of groan, which
-the huntsmen imitate in order to allure them. So strong are their
-fore-teeth, and so calculated for gnawing, that if shut up in a box,
-they soon make a hole large enough to escape through, a faculty which
-they possess in common with the beaver. They do not swim so fast, or
-so long as the beaver, and are often seen upon the ground; they run
-very indifferently, and in their walk they waddle like a goose. Their
-skin retains the smell of musk, which renders it of little value to the
-furriers, but their under hair, or down, is used in the manufacture
-of hats. These animals are not very wild, and when taken young are
-easily tamed; and are then tolerably handsome, for their tail, which
-is afterwards long and disagreeable, is very short. They play with all
-the innocence and sprightliness of young cats, and they might be reared
-with ease but for their disagreeable smell.
-
-The Canadian and Muscovy musk-rats, are the only animals belonging to
-the northern regions which yield any perfume, for the odour of the
-_castoreum_ (obtained from the badger) is highly disagreeable; and it
-is only in warm climates that we meet with the animals which furnish
-the real musk, the civet, and other delicate perfumes.
-
-The musk-rat of Muscovy might, perhaps, present singularities analogous
-to those of the Canadian, and not less remarkable, but it does not
-appear that any naturalist has yet had an opportunity to dissect, or
-examine it alive. Of its exterior form alone we can speak, as that
-sent from Lapland, for the king's cabinet, was in a dry state, and
-therefore I can only add my regret that so little is known about it.
-
-
-
-
-THE PECCARI, OR MEXICAN HOG.
-
-
-Among the animals of the New World, few species are more numerous, or
-more remarkable, than that of the Mexican Hog.[V] (_fig. 116._) At the
-first glance he resembles our wild boar, or rather the hog of Siam,
-which, as we have already observed, is nothing more than a variety of
-the wild boar; and for which reason this has been called the American
-wild boar, or American hog. He is, however, of a distinct species,
-and refuses to engender either with our wild or domestic kinds; a
-circumstance of which I was convinced, by having reared one of these
-animals in company with several sows.
-
-[Footnote V: This animal has a variety of names; besides the above,
-some call him _Tajassou_, _Tajacou_, _Paquira_, _Saino_, &c.]
-
-He differs also from the hog in a number of characteristics, both
-external and internal. He is less corpulent, and his legs are shorter;
-in the stomach and intestines, there is a difference of conformation.
-He has no tail, and his bristles are much stronger than those of the
-wild boar; and, lastly, he has on his back, near the crupper, an
-opening from which there is discharged an ichorous humor of a very
-disagreeable smell. This is the only animal which has an opening in
-this part of the body. In the civets, the badger, and the genet,
-the reservoir for their perfume is situated beneath the parts of
-generation; and in the musk-animal, and the musk-rat of Canada, we
-find it under the belly. The moisture which exudes from this aperture
-in the back of the Mexican hog, is secreted by large glands, which
-M. Daubenton has described with much attention, as well as the other
-singularities of this animal; Dr. Tyson also in the Philosophical
-Transactions, No. 153, has given a good description of it. Without
-minutely detailing the observations of these two able anatomists, I
-shall barely remark, that the latter was mistaken in asserting that
-this animal has three stomachs, or, as Mr. Ray says, a gizzard and
-two stomachs. M. Daubenton plainly shews, that it is only one stomach
-divided by two similar pouches, which give it the appearance of three;
-that only one of these pouches has a pyrolus, or orifice below, for
-the discharge of its contents; that, consequently, we ought to consider
-the two others merely as appendages to, or rather portions of, the same
-stomach.
-
-The Mexican hog might be rendered a domestic animal like the common
-kind; he has nearly the same habits and natural inclinations; feeds
-upon the same aliments, and his flesh, though more dry and lean, is not
-unpalatable, and may be improved by castration. When killed, not only
-the parts of generation, if the flesh is intended to be eaten, (as is
-also done with the wild boar) must be taken instantly away, but also
-the glands at the opening in the back, and which are common to both
-male and female, must likewise be removed, for if this operation be
-deferred for only half an hour, the flesh becomes utterly unfit to be
-eaten.
-
-These animals are extremely numerous in all the warm climates of South
-America. They go in herds of two or three hundred together, and unite,
-like hogs, in the defence of each other. They are particularly fierce
-when their young are attempted to be taken from them. They surround
-their plunderers, attack them without fear, and frequently make their
-lives pay the forfeit of their rashness. In their native country they
-prefer the mountainous parts to the low and level grounds; neither do
-they seek marshes nor mud, like our hogs, but remain in the forests,
-where they subsist upon wild fruits, roots, and vegetables; they are an
-unceasing enemy to all the serpent kinds, with which the uncultivated
-forests of the New Continent abound: as soon as they perceive a serpent
-or viper, they seize it with their fore hoofs, skin it in an instant,
-and devour the flesh.
-
-These animals are very prolific; the young ones follow the dam, and do
-not separate from her till they are full grown. If taken young they
-are very easily tamed, and soon lose all their natural ferocity, but
-they never shew any signs of docility, but continue stupid, without
-attachment, or even seeming to know the hand that feeds them. They do
-no mischief, and may be permitted to run tame, without apprehending
-any dangerous consequence. They seldom stray far from home, but return
-of themselves to the sty: they never quarrel among each other, except
-when they are fed in the same trough. At such times they have an angry
-grunt, much stronger and harsher than that of a common hog; but they
-seldom scream, only when suddenly surprised, or frightened, when they
-have a shrill manner of blowing like the wild boar. When enraged they
-draw their breath with great force, and point their bristles upward
-which more resemble the sharp armour of the hedge-hog than the bristles
-of the wild boar.
-
-The species of the Mexican hog is preserved without alteration, and
-altogether unmixed with that of the European hog, which has been
-transported to, and become wild in, the forests of America. These
-animals meet in the woods, and even herd together, and yet never
-produce an intermediate breed. It is the same with the Guinea hog,
-which has greatly multiplied in America, after being brought thither
-from Africa.
-
-However approximate the species of the European hog, the Guinea-hog,
-and the peccari, may appear, it is, nevertheless, evident, that they
-are each distinct, and separate from the others since they inhabit the
-same climate without intermixture. Of the three, the strongest, most
-robust, and most formidable, is our wild boar. The peccari, though
-equally fierce, is yet less active, and inferior as to the engines of
-defence, his tusks being much shorter. This animal dreads the cold, and
-cannot subsist, without shelter, even in our temperate regions; nor can
-our wild boar exist in countries which are very cold; therefore it is
-impossible that either of them could have found a passage from the one
-continent to the other, over any northern country; and therefore the
-Mexican hog cannot be considered as an European hog degenerated, or
-changed, by the climate of America, but as an animal peculiar to the
-southern regions of that continent.
-
-Ray and other naturalists, have maintained, that the humor discharged
-from the back of the Mexican hog is a kind of musk, an agreeable
-perfume, even as it exudes from the body of the animal; that it is
-perceived at a considerable distance, and perfumes every place he
-inhabits, and through which he passes. I have, I must own, a thousand
-times experienced very contrary effects; for so disagreeable is the
-smell of this moisture, on being separated from the body of the animal,
-that I could not collect it without being exceedingly incommoded. It
-becomes less foetid by being dried in the air, but never acquires
-the agreeable smell of musk, or of civet; and naturalists would have
-expressed themselves with more propriety, if they had compared it to
-that of _castoreum_.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-M. de la Borde says, there are two kinds of the Peccari, or Mexican
-hog, in Cayenne, which never intermix; the largest of which is black,
-excepting two white spots upon its jaws, and that the hair of the small
-one is rather red; but I apprehend the differences are occasioned by
-age, or some accidental circumstance. He adds, that those of the large
-size do not associate with men; but that they live in the woods, upon
-seeds, roots, and fruits; that they dig in the damp soils for worms,
-and that they go in flocks of two or three hundred. It is no difficult
-matter to shoot them, as, instead of flying, they collect together,
-and will stand several discharges; nay, they will even attack the
-dogs, and sometimes men. He mentions an instance where he was out with
-a party that were surrounded by a flock of these hogs, who were not
-to be intimidated by a continual firing, and could not be dispersed
-until several of them were killed. When taken young, they are soon
-rendered familiar, but they will not intermix with the domestic hogs.
-When living in their natural state of freedom, they often reside in the
-marshes, and will swim across rivers. Their flesh, though palatable, is
-not so good as the common hog; it has a strong resemblance to that of
-the hare, and is without lard or grease.
-
-M. de la Borde speaks of another species of hog found in Guiana, which
-he calls _patira_, in these terms: "The patira is about the size of the
-small Mexican hog, and the only difference is the former having a white
-stripe along the back; they live in large forests, and, in general,
-herd in families. They will defend themselves against dogs, when hunted
-by them: when likely to be overpowered, they seek shelter in hollow
-trees, or in holes of the earth, that have been made by armadilloes,
-which they entered backwards. To get them out, the hunters employ every
-means to irritate them, (having first inclosed a space round the hole)
-for when angry they will quit their retreat, and the men, standing
-prepared, destroy them with pitchforks and sabres. If a hunter observes
-a single one in a hole, and does not then wish to take it, he closes
-up the entrance, and is sure to have him the next day. Their flesh
-is superior to that of other hogs. When caught young they are easily
-rendered domestic, but even then they preserve their natural inveteracy
-against dogs, whom they attack on all occasions. They constantly live
-in the marshes, unless when entirely covered with water. The females
-produce two at a time, and they breed at all seasons of the year. Their
-hair is soft, like that of the Mexican hog. When tamed they follow
-their masters, and allow themselves to be handled by those they know,
-but strangers they always threaten by shewing their teeth."
-
-
-
-
-THE ROUSETTE, OR TERNAT BAT, THE ROUGETTE, OR LITTLE TERNAT, AND THE
-VAMPYRE.
-
-
-The Roussette[W] and the Rougette[X] seem to form two distinct species,
-but they so nearly resemble each other that they ought not to be
-presented apart, as they differ only in the size of the body and colour
-of the hair. The Great Ternat, (_fig. 117._) whose hair is of a reddish
-brown, is nine inches in length, from the tip of the nose to the
-insertion of the tail, and in breadth three 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, when the wings are extended; and
-its neck is half encircled with a stripe of lively red, intermixed with
-orange, of which we perceive no vestige on the neck of the roussette.
-They both belong to nearly the same hot climates of the old continent,
-are met with in Madagascar, in the island of Bourbon, in Ternat, the
-Philippines, and other islands of the Indian Archipelago, where they
-seem to be more common than on the neighbouring continents.
-
-[Footnote W: Also called the Flying Dog, and the Great Bat of
-Madagascar.]
-
-[Footnote X: Or the Red-necked Flying Dog.]
-
-In the hot countries of the New World, there is another flying
-quadruped, of which we know not the American name, but shall call it
-Vampyre, because it sucks the blood of men, and other animals while
-asleep, without causing sufficient pain to awaken them. This American
-animal is of a different species from the bats just mentioned, both of
-which are to be found solely in Africa, and in the southern parts of
-Asia.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 117. _Ternat Bat._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 118. _Bull Dog Bat_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG: 119. _Senegal Bat_]
-
-The vampyre[Y] is smaller than the rougette, which is itself smaller
-than the roussette. The first, when it flies, seems to be of the
-size of a pigeon, the second of a raven, and the third of a large
-hen. Both the roussette and rougette have well shaped heads, short
-ears, and round noses, nearly like that of a dog. Of the vampyre, on
-the contrary, the nose is long, the aspect as hideous as that of the
-ugliest bats; its head is unshapely, and its ears are large, open, and
-very erect; its noise is deformed, its nostrils resembling a funnel,
-with 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, that this species is different from the Ternat
-bats. It is an animal not less mischievous than it is deformed; it is
-the pest of man, and the torment of other animals. In confirmation of
-this, the authentic testimony of M. de la Condamine may be produced.
-"The bats," says he, "which suck the blood of horses, mules, and even
-men, when they do 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 some are 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."
-These facts are confirmed by many other historians and travellers.
-Petrus Martyr, who wrote not long after the conquest of South America,
-says, that there are bats in the isthmus of Darien which suck the blood
-of men and animals while they are asleep, so as to much weaken, and
-frequently kill them. Jumilla, Don George Juan, and Don Ant. de Ulloa,
-assert the same. Though from the above testimonies it appears that
-these blood-sucking bats are numerous, particularly in South America,
-yet we have not been able to obtain a single individual. Seba has
-presented us with a figure and description of this animal, of which the
-nose is so extraordinary, that I am astonished travellers should not
-have remarked a deformity so palpable as to strike the most superficial
-beholder; possibly the animal of which Seba gives the figure, is not
-the same with that which we distinguish by the name of the vampyre, or
-blood-sucker; It is also possible, that this figure of Seba's is false
-or exaggerated, or at least that this deformed nose is only a monstrous
-accidental variety; though of these deformities there may be found
-permanent examples in some other species of bats. By time alone will
-these obscurities be removed.
-
-[Footnote Y: An American animal called the Great American Bat, or
-Flying Dog of New Spain.]
-
-Both the roussette and rougette are in the cabinet of the King of
-France; and it is to the island of Bourbon that we are indebted
-for them. They belong exclusively to the Old Continent; and in no
-part either of Africa or Asia are they so numerous as the vampyre
-is in America. These animals are larger, stronger, and perhaps more
-mischievous than the vampyre. But it is by open force, and in the day
-as well as night, that they commit hostilities. Fowls and small birds
-are the objects of their destructive fury; they even attack men, and
-wound their faces; but no traveller has accused them of sucking the
-blood of men and animals while asleep.
-
-The ancients had but an imperfect knowledge of these winged quadrupeds,
-which may, indeed, be termed monsters; and it is probable, that from
-those whimsical models of Nature, they received the idea of harpies.
-The wings, the teeth, the claws, the cruelty, the voracity; the
-nastiness, and all the destructive qualities, and noxious faculties of
-the harpies, bear no small resemblance to those of the Ternat bat.
-Herodotus seems to have denoted them, when he mentions that there were
-large bats which greatly incommoded the men employed in collecting
-cassia round the marshes of Asia, and that, to shield themselves from
-the dangerous bites of these animals, they were obliged to cover
-the body and face with leather. Strabo speaks of very large bats in
-Mesopotamia, whose flesh was palatable. Among the moderns, these
-large bats have been mentioned, though in vague terms, by Albertus,
-Isidorus, and Scaliger. With more precision have they been treated of
-by Linscot, Nicholas Matthias, and Francis Pyrard; Oliger Jacobeus has
-given a short description of them with a figure; and lastly, in Seba,
-and in Edwards, we find well-executed description and figures, which
-correspond with our own.
-
-The Ternat bats are carnivorous animals, voracious, and possessed of
-an appetite for every thing that offers. In a dearth of flesh or fish,
-they feed on vegetables and fruits of every kind. They are fond of
-the juice of the palm-tree, and it is easy to take them by placing
-near their retreats vessels filled with palm-tree water, or any other
-fermented liquor, with which they are sure to intoxicate themselves.
-They fasten themselves to trees, and hang from them by their claws.
-They usually fly in flocks, and more by night than by day. Places
-which are much frequented they shun, and their favourite residence is
-uninhabited islands. To copulation they are strongly inclined. In the
-male the sex is very apparent, and not concealed in a scabbard, like
-that of quadrupeds, but extends forwards from the body, nearly as it
-does in the ape. In the female the sex is equally conspicuous; she
-has but two nipples, and those situated upon the breast; she produces
-more than once a year, but the number at each time is but small. Their
-flesh, when young, is not unpalatable; the Indians[Z] are fond of it,
-and compare its flavour to that of the partridge or the rabbit.
-
-[Footnote Z: The Moors and Malayans are most certainly meant, as the
-Indians neither eat nor kill any animal. Lett. M. La Nux.]
-
-The American travellers unanimously agree, that the great bats of the
-new continent suck the blood both of men and animals while they are
-asleep, and without awakening them. Of this singular fact, no mention
-is made by any of the Asiatic or African travellers, who speak of the
-Ternat bats. Their silence, nevertheless, is no adequate proof of their
-being guiltless, especially as they have so many other resemblances
-to those great bats, which we denominated vampyres. I have, therefore,
-thought it worth while to examine how it is possible that these animals
-should suck the blood of a person asleep, without causing a pain
-so sensible as to awake him. Were they to cut the flesh with their
-teeth, which are as large as those of other quadrupeds of the same
-size, the pain of the bite would effectually rouse any of the human
-species, however soundly asleep; and the repose of animals is more
-easily disturbed than that of man. Thus it would also be, were they to
-inflict the wound with their claws. With their tongue only, then, is
-it 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 vampyre I have not had an opportunity of observing,
-but those of several Ternat bats which M. Daubenton attentively
-examined, seemed to indicate the possibility of the fact; their tongues
-were sharp, and full of prickles directed backward; and it appears
-that these prickles, or points, from their exceeding minuteness, may
-be insinuated into the pores of the skin, and may penetrate them so
-deep as to command a flow of the blood, by the continued function
-of the tongue. But it is needless to reason upon a fact of which all
-the circumstances are imperfectly known to us, and of which some are
-perhaps exaggerated, or erroneously related.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-Among other remarks which I received from the ingenious M. de la
-Nux upon this work, after its first publication, were the following
-respecting these animals. He says, in general terms, that the size and
-number of the Great Ternat Bats are both exaggerated; that instead of
-attacking men they invariably endeavour to get from them, consequently
-never bite but when taken, or defending themselves, which they do then
-most dreadfully; and that instead of being ferocious animals, they
-are perfectly gentle in their dispositions. Speaking from his own
-experience, he says, both the great and small Ternat bats are natives
-of Bourbon, the isles of France, and Madagascar, in the former of
-which he had resided upwards of fifty years; when he first arrived
-there they were very numerous in many places where at present they are
-not to be found, and for these reasons, that the forests were then
-adjacent to them, which had been cleared away by the settlements, and
-that it is only in forests they can subsist; besides, they bring forth
-but once a year, and are hunted, both by whites and negroes, for the
-sake of their flesh and grease. The females are in season about the
-month of May, and produce towards the end of September. They appear
-to come to maturity in about eight months, since there are no small
-ones to be seen after April or May, and the young are to be known
-from the old by their colours being more vivid: they become grey with
-age, but it is uncertain at what period; at this time their flesh is
-very disagreeable, and their fat alone, of which they have plenty
-during the summer, is eaten by the negroes. They never feed upon any
-kind of flesh, but entirely on bananas, peaches, and other fruits and
-flowers with which these forests abound: they are exceedingly fond
-of the juices of certain umbellated flowers; and it is possibly for
-the purpose of sucking the different species of them that they have
-such a number of sharp papillae on their tongues. They never touch the
-skins of the mango, perhaps because it is resinous. Some of them
-which have been caught, and kept alive, have been known to eat bread
-and sugar-canes, but I believe, even in that state, no kind of meat,
-either raw or prepared. There cannot be any thing to apprehend from
-these animals, either personally, or even for poultry, because they are
-incapable of seizing upon the smallest bird, for if they come too near
-the ground they fall, and are then under the necessity of climbing up
-some elevated object before they can resume their flight, and in this
-case they climb up the first thing they meet with, even if it be a man.
-They trail their bodies along, consequently move very slow, and which
-is of itself sufficient to prove their incapacity for seizing birds.
-These animals, when going to take wing, cannot, like birds, dart at
-once into the air, but are obliged to beat their wings several times
-to fill them, and to release their claws from what they have hold of,
-and even then the weight of their bodies frequently bears them to the
-ground; from this necessity of filling their wings they cannot take
-flight from any part of the tree, but are obliged to crawl to a part
-of the branch where they can act with perfect freedom. They are much
-alarmed at the firing of a gun, or at a peal of thunder; and if a
-large flock of them, resting upon a tree, are surprised by either of
-these reports, in their haste to fly, numbers of them fall to the
-ground, not having sufficient air in their wings; in this case they
-hasten to climb up the first object they met with; let us therefore
-only suppose that object to be a traveller unacquainted with these
-animals; he would naturally be struck with terror at being suddenly
-surrounded with a number of creatures of such an ugly form and aspect,
-and especially when they began to climb up his body; he would of course
-endeavour to extricate himself from them, and they, in turn, finding
-themselves roughly treated, might begin to scratch and bite. Would
-not a circumstance of this nature be sufficient to give rise to the
-idea that these bats were ferocious animals, rushing upon men for the
-purpose of wounding and destroying them? when the whole would arise
-from the rencounter of different animals mutually afraid of each other.
-They are led to reside in forests by instinct, it being there only
-they can procure subsistence, and not from any savage disposition;
-besides this, neither of these bats ever light upon carrion, nor do
-they eat upon the ground, but generally in a hanging posture, and which
-appears to be necessary when they feed all of which is surely enough
-to prove they are neither carnivorous, voracious, nor cruel animals;
-and as their flight is both heavy and noisy, there cannot remain a
-doubt of their being a species very distant from the vampyre. The great
-Ternat bats have also been charged with feeding on fish, because they
-sometimes fly very near the water; but this is equally untrue, for it
-is certain that they live entirely on vegetables, and it is solely for
-the purpose of washing themselves that they go so near the water, being
-an exceedingly clean animal, for of the numbers I have killed I never
-found dirt upon any of them.
-
-When near, the great Ternat bat is certainly rather disgustful, and all
-his motions are disagreeable, and it is only when perched on a tree
-that his natural deformity is concealed; he then hangs with his head
-downward, his wings are folded close to his sides, his vibrating wings,
-which are his greatest defects, as well as hind paws, by which he is
-suspended, are concealed, and there then appears only a round plump
-body, covered with a clean, smooth brown hair, terminated with a head
-rather agreeable than otherwise. This is the only attitude in which
-they take repose, they frequently remain in it the greatest part of
-the day, and in it they are seen to the greatest advantage, especially
-if they are at the height of 40 or 50 feet, and about 100 feet
-distant. The great Ternat bat is always placed for shew with his wings
-extended, by which means he is seen to the greatest disadvantage. The
-representation given of him in your work is not exact, as they never
-rest with their four feet on the ground. Both species are excellent
-food, and have never been known to produce any bad effects, although
-frequently eaten to excess; nor is that in the least surprising when we
-consider they feed entirely on ripe fruits, the juices, flowers, and
-according to Herodotus, "the exudations of trees."
-
-
-
-
-THE SENEGAL BAT.
-
-
-The Senegal Bat[AA] (_fig. 119._) or as it is called by some, the
-Marmotte Volante, is of a dark brown colour upon its head and back,
-with a light mixture, which increasing under the belly, renders that
-considerably paler; the tail, as well as the membrane of the wings,
-are quite black. That which I saw and had been brought from Senegal,
-by M. Adanson, was not more than four inches in length, and his wings
-extended to about 21 inches; his head was long, ears short, and his
-nose rather pointed; he had 20 teeth in the whole, two incisive, two
-canine, and eight grinders in the upper jaw and six incisive and two
-canine in the under.
-
-[Footnote AA: Of this and the two following Mr. Pennant's Synopsis
-contains very accurate descriptions.]
-
-
-
-
-THE BULL-DOG BAT.
-
-
-The Bull-Dog Bat, (_fig. 118._) has a short thick nose, and large broad
-ears, which bend forward. The greatest part of its body is a dark
-ash-colour; the middle of its belly is brown, and its chest and throat
-a clear ash, without any mixture; the tail and membrane of the wings
-are nearly black, from the latter of which there comes a part of the
-tail, composed of five false vertebrae. It has 26 teeth, two incisive,
-and two canine, in each jaw; eight grinders in the upper, and ten in
-the lower; it is not more than two inches in length, measuring from the
-top of the nose, nor does its wings extend to quite ten.
-
-
-
-
-THE BEARDED BAT.
-
-
-The head of this bat (_fig. 120._) is very peculiarly constructed; the
-nose is sunk in the front, and, contrary to all other animals, it has
-not its nostrils divided by a partition, but are placed on the sides of
-a kind of gutter entirely open from one end to the other; the exterior
-edges of them join above the upper lip, forming a cavity from thence to
-the front, where it terminates with a deep hole covered all round with
-long hairs. It has long narrow ears; the hair on the top and hind part
-of the head, along the neck, back, tail, and shoulders, is of a reddish
-brown, and all the remainder is of a yellowish white; the membrane of
-the wings and tail have a kind of mixture of black and reddish brown
-and its claws are yellow. Its body is about an inch and a half long,
-and its wings extend to about seven.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 121. _Polatouch_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 120. _Bearded Bat_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 122. _Swiss Squirrel_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 123. _Palmist_]
-
-
-
-
-THE STRIPED BAT.
-
-
-This bat is very small, has a short nose and broad ears, bending
-forward; it is of a whitish yellow colour, excepting under its throat,
-breast, and belly, which is a light blue, with a yellow shade; the
-tail, and membrane of the wings are a mixture of yellow and brown.
-
-
-
-
-THE POLATOUCH.
-
-
-I have chosen to continue the name this animal bears in Russia, its
-native country, rather than to adopt those vague and uncertain ones
-since appropriated to it, such as, the Flying-rat, Flying-squirrel, &c.
-
-The Polatouch (_fig. 121._) resembles but in a few particulars either
-the squirrel, loir, or rat. To the squirrel it has no affinity but in
-the largeness of the eyes, and form of the tail, the latter of which,
-however, is neither so long, nor bushy as in the former. He is more
-like the loir by the shape of his body, his short and naked ears, and
-the hairs of his tail, which are of the same form and length; but he
-is not like him, subject to numbness in cold weather. The polatouch
-is a different species from the squirrel rat, or dormouse, though
-he participates of the nature of all three. M. Klein gave the first
-exact description of this animal, in the Philosophical Transactions,
-1733; he was, however, known long before that time. He is found in the
-northern parts both of the ancient and New Continent,[AB] but he is
-more common in America than in Europe, where he is seldom seen, except
-in Lithuania and Russia. This little animal dwells upon trees, like the
-squirrel; he goes from branch to branch, and when he leaps from one
-tree to another, his loose skin stretches forward by his fore-legs, and
-backward by his hind ones; his skin thus stretched and drawn outwardly
-more than an inch, increases the surface of his body, without adding to
-its weight, and consequently retards the acceleration of his fall, so
-that he is enabled to reach in one leap a great distance. This motion
-is not like the flight of a bird, nor the fluttering of a bat, both
-of which are made by striking the air with repeated vibrations. It is
-one single leap, caused by the first impulsion, the motion of which is
-prolonged, because the body of the animal presents to the air a larger
-surface, and thence finds a greater resistance, and falls more slowly.
-This singular extension of the skin is peculiar to the polatouch, and
-this characteristic is sufficient to distinguish him from all other
-squirrels, rats, or dormice. But the most singular things in Nature
-are not unparalleled; there is another animal of the same kind, with a
-similar skin, which is not only stretched from one leg to another, but
-from the head to the tail. This animal, whose figure and description
-has been given by Seba, under the denomination of the flying-squirrel
-of Virginia, seems so different from the polatouch, as to constitute
-another species; though probably it may be only a simple variety, or
-an accidental and monstrous production, for no traveller or naturalist
-makes mention of it. Seba is the only one who has seen it in the
-cabinet of Vincent; and I always distrust descriptions of animals made
-in cabinets of curiosities, which are often disfigured to make them
-appear more extraordinary.
-
-[Footnote AB: The Hurons of Canada have three different species of
-squirrels. The Flying-squirrels are frequent in North America, but they
-have been lately found in Poland.]
-
-I have seen and kept a long while the living polatouch. He has been
-well described by travellers, particularly Sagard, Theodat, John of
-Laet, Fernandes, Le Hontan, Denys, Catesby, Dumont, Le Pague du Pratz,
-&c. and Messrs. Klein, Seba, and Edwards, have given exact descriptions
-of him, with his figure. What I have seen of this animal agrees with
-their relations. He is commonly smaller than a squirrel. That which we
-had weighed little more than two ounces, about the weight of a middling
-sized bat, and the squirrel weighs eight or nine ounces. However, there
-are some of a greater size, since we have a skin of a polatouch much
-larger than usual.
-
-The polatouch has some analogy with the bat by this extension of the
-skin, which unites the fore and hind legs, and supports him in the
-air; he seems also to participate of his nature, for he is quiet and
-sleepy in the day time, having no activity but towards the evening.
-He is easily tamed, but soon offended, and must be kept in a cage, or
-fastened with a small chain; he feeds upon bread, fruits, seeds, and
-is remarkably fond of the buds and shoots of the birch and pine trees.
-He does not seek after nuts and almonds like a squirrel. He makes
-a bed of leaves, in which he buries himself, and sleeps through the
-day, leaving it only in the night, or when pressed by hunger. As he
-has little agility, he becomes easily the prey of martens, and other
-animals who climb up the trees, so that the species is not numerous,
-although they have commonly three or four young at a time.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-In the original work I remarked having seen the skin of a polatouch
-larger than the common size, but the difference was very trifling,
-to one the Prince de Conde has since permitted me to examine, whose
-bulk was perfectly gigantic, compared with those of Russia or America,
-the latter never exceeding five inches in length, and this measured
-twenty-three. It was taken upon the Malabar coast, where they are
-very common, as well as in the Philippine Islands, and other parts
-of India, where they are called taguans, or great flying squirrels;
-but notwithstanding they resemble the polatouch in figure, and the
-extension of their skin, yet I think they ought to be considered as
-different species; for among other varieties, the tail of the taguan
-is round, and that of the common kind flat; the hair of the former's
-tail is also of a blackish brown, the face is quite black, the sides of
-the head have a mixture of white hairs, and on the nose and round the
-eyes, there are also some red ones; it has long brown hairs that cover
-the neck, the whole back is a mixture of black and white, the belly of
-a dirty white; the upper part of the extended skin is brown, and the
-under a greyish yellow, the legs black with a reddish shade, the tail
-brown, deepening by degrees until it becomes quite black at the end,
-the toes are black, and the claws hooked like those of the cat, from
-which, and the resemblance of the tail, it has been called by some the
-flying cat. M. de Vosmaer, in his Description of an _Ecureuil Volant_,
-gives a very particular account of both species, as does M. l'Abbe
-Prevost, and both of which perfectly coincide with the above.
-
-At this time, March 17, 1775, I have one of the small species alive;
-I kept it in a cage, with a box at the bottom filled with cotton, in
-which it covers itself all day, and only comes out at night to seek
-for food. Whenever it is forced to come out, it cries somewhat like a
-mouse; its teeth are small, but sharp, and it bites violently; it can
-only be made to extend its wings by letting it fall from some height;
-and it is so very chilly, that I am astonished how it preserves itself
-in the northern climates, since it would very soon perish, even in
-France, if it were not supplied with plenty of cotton to cover itself
-all over.
-
-Of the Great Flying Squirrel M. de Vosmaer remarks, "that it has a
-great affinity to the smaller species described by M. de Buffon;
-they both have the same kind of membranes, with which they support
-themselves in the air when they leap from tree to tree." These animals
-were first mentioned by Valentine, who states them to be found in the
-island of Gilolo, where they are called _flying civets_; he describes
-them to have long tails, and says, when at rest their wings are not
-to be seen; that they are very wild and fearful; that their heads are
-reddish, intermixed with grey, that their membranes are covered with
-hair, their teeth so strong and sharp that they would soon escape from
-a wooden cage; that they are sometimes called _flying monkeys_; and
-that they are also to be met with in the island of Ternat, where they
-were at first mistaken for squirrels.
-
-M. l'Abbe Prevost says, it is also found in the Philippine Islands,
-where it is called _taguan_; that he saw two females, the one at the
-Hague, whose body was a light chesnut, rather darker on the back, and
-black towards the extremity of the tail; and that he had also seen
-two males in the Prince of Orange's cabinet, which were one foot five
-inches long in the body, and their tails one foot eight. The hind part
-of their heads, back, and the commencement of the tail are covered with
-long hairs, black at the bottom, and of a greyish white at the ends;
-the other part of the tail is black, and the hair is so disposed as to
-make the tail have a round appearance, the cheeks are brown, and their
-throats, breasts, and bellies are of a whitish grey. The membranes are
-the thinnest in the middle where they are covered with chesnut hairs,
-increasing in thickness towards the paws, and the colour growing darker
-until it is nearly black at the extremities.
-
-
-
-
-THE GREY SQUIRREL.
-
-
-This animal is found in the northern parts of both continents. He is in
-shape like a common squirrel, and his external difference consists in
-his being larger, and the colour of his hair not being red, but of a
-grey more or less deep; his ears are not so hairy towards the extremity
-as those of our squirrels. These differences, which are constant, seem
-sufficient to constitute a particular species. Many authors think this
-species is different in Europe and America, and that the grey squirrels
-of the former are of the common kind, and that they change their colour
-with the season in the northern climates. Without denying absolutely
-this assertion, which does not seem sufficiently proved, we look upon
-the grey squirrel of Europe and America as the same animal, and as a
-distinct species from common squirrels, who are found in the northern
-parts of both continents, being of the same size, and of a red, more or
-less bright according to the temperature of the country.
-
-At the same time, other squirrels of a larger size, whose hair is grey,
-or somewhat black, in all seasons, breed in the same latitude. Besides,
-the fur of the grey squirrel is more fine and soft than that of our
-squirrels; we are, therefore, authorised to believe that though very
-nearly alike, they ought to be distinguished as different species.
-
-M. Regnard says affirmatively, that the grey squirrels of Lapland are
-the same animals as the French squirrels. This assertion is so positive
-that it would be satisfactory were it not contradicted by others; M.
-Regnard has written excellent dramatic pieces, but he did not give a
-sufficient application to Natural History, nor did he continue long
-enough in Lapland to see the squirrels change their colour. It is true
-that some naturalists, and among them Linnaeus, have said, that in the
-north of Europe the hair of the squirrel changes colour in the winter.
-This may be true, for the hares, wolves, and weasels, also change their
-colour in those climates; but from red they grow white, not grey; and
-to give no other instance but that of the squirrel, Linnaeus in the
-_Fauna Suecica_, says, _aestate ruber hieme incanus_, consequently
-from red he becomes white; and we do not see why this author should
-substitute for the word _incanus_ that of _cinereus_, which is found
-in the last edition of the _Systema Naturae_. M. Klein asserts, on the
-contrary, that the squirrels in the vicinity of Dantzic, are red in the
-winter as well as in the summer, and that there are others frequently
-found in Poland grey and blackish, who do not change their colour any
-more than the red; these last also breed in Canada, and in all parts
-of North America, consequently we may consider the grey squirrel as an
-animal common to both continents, and of a different species from that
-of the common squirrel.
-
-Besides, we do not perceive that the squirrels which are very frequent
-in our forests unite in troops; we do not see them travel in companies,
-approach the waters, nor cross rivers upon the bark of trees. Thus
-they differ from the grey squirrels, not only in size and colour but
-in natural habits; for although the navigations of the grey squirrels
-seem almost incredible, they are attested by so many witnesses that we
-cannot deny the fact.[AC]
-
-[Footnote AC: The grey squirrels frequently remove their place of
-residence, and it not unoften happens that not one can be seen one
-winter where they were in multitudes the year before; they go in
-large bodies, and when they want to cross a lake or river, they seize
-a piece of the bark of a birch or lime, and drawing it to the edge
-of the water, get upon it, and trust themselves to the hazard of the
-wind and waves, erecting their tails to serve the purpose of sails;
-they sometimes form a fleet of three or four thousand, and if the
-wind proves too strong, a general shipwreck ensues, to the no small
-emolument of the Laplander who may fortunately find their bodies on the
-shore, as, if they have not lain too long, their furs will prepare in
-the usual manner; but if the winds are favourable they are certain to
-make their desired port. _Oeuvres de M. Regnard, tom. i. p. 163._]
-
-Of all quadrupeds that are not domestic, the squirrel is, perhaps, the
-most subject to vary in shape and colour, and whose species has the
-greatest numbers of others that approach it. The white squirrel of
-Siberia seems to differ only in colour from our common squirrel. The
-black and the grey of America are, perhaps, only varieties of the grey
-squirrel. The squirrels of Barbary, Switzerland, and the palmist, are
-three species very much like each other.
-
-We have very little information with regard to the grey squirrel.
-Fernandes says, that the grey or blackish squirrels of America dwell
-upon trees, particularly upon pines; that they feed upon fruits and
-seeds; that they provide provisions for the winter, and heap it up in
-some hollow tree, where they retire during that season, and where the
-female brings forth her young. The grey squirrel differs, then, from
-the others who make their nests at the tops of trees like birds, yet
-we do not pretend to affirm that the blackish squirrel, mentioned by
-Fernandes, is the same as the grey squirrel of Virginia, or that both
-of them are the same as the grey squirrel of Europe; we only think it
-is probable, as these three animals are nearly of the same size and
-colour, inhabit the same climates, are precisely of a similar form, and
-their skins being equally used in the furs, called the fur of the grey
-squirrel.
-
-
-
-
-THE PALMIST, THE SQUIRRELS OF BARBARY AND SWITZERLAND.
-
-
-The palmist is about the size of a rat, or a small squirrel; he lives
-upon the palm-trees, from which he takes his name. Some call him the
-palm-rat, and others the palm-tree squirrel; but as he is neither a rat
-nor a squirrel, we call him palmist. (_fig. 123._) His head is nearly
-the same form as that of the campagnol, and covered with rough hair.
-His long tail does not lie on the ground, like that of the rat, but
-he carries it erect vertically, without, however, throwing it down on
-his back like the squirrel; it is covered with hair longer than that
-of his body, but shorter than the hair of the tail of a squirrel. His
-back is variegated with white and brown stripes, which distinguish
-the palmist from all other animals, except the squirrels of Barbary
-and Switzerland. These three animals are so much alike, that Mr. Ray
-thought they made but one species; but if we consider that the palmist
-and the squirrel of Barbary, are only found in the warm climates of the
-ancient continent, and that the squirrel of Switzerland, described by
-Lister, Catesby, and Edwards, is only to be met with in the cold and
-temperate regions of the New World, we must judge them to be different
-species. By minute observation it is easy to perceive that the white
-and brown stripes of the Swiss are disposed differently from those of
-the palmist, whose white stripe extends all along the back, while it
-is black or brown in the Swiss; and this brown stripe in the latter
-is followed by a white stripe, in the same manner as the white stripe
-in the former is by a brown; besides, the palmist has but three white
-stripes, while the Swiss has four; he also brings down his tail on
-his back, which the palmist does not: the latter dwells upon trees,
-and the Swiss is an inhabitant of the earth; from which difference he
-is called the land squirrel. In fine, he is smaller than the palmist,
-consequently there can be no doubt of their being two different species.
-
-As for the squirrel of Barbary, as he is of the same continent and
-climate, of the same size, and nearly the same form as the palmist,
-they might be considered as varieties of the same species; yet in
-comparing the description and figure of the squirrel of Barbary, given
-by Caius, and copied by Aldrovandus and Johnson, with the description
-given here of the palmist, and comparing afterwards the description
-and figure of the squirrel of Barbary, given by Edwards, it is easy to
-discern that they are different animals. We have seen them all in the
-king's cabinet. The squirrel of Barbary has the head and forehead more
-round, the ears longer, and the tail more bushy than the palmist; he is
-more like a squirrel than a rat, by the form of his head and body; and
-a palmist resembles more 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 back bone, but that on the squirrel
-of Barbary is brown and red. These animals have very near the same
-habits and dispositions as the common squirrel. Like him they feed upon
-fruit, and use their fore paws in carrying it to the mouth; they have
-the same voice and cry, the same instinct, and agility; they are lively
-and tractable, easily tamed, and so fond of their habitations, that
-they never go out but on diversion, and return spontaneously to their
-residence. They are both of a pretty figure; their coats, which has
-white stripes, is more valuable than that of the squirrel; their size
-is shorter, their body lighter, and their motions equally quick. The
-palmist, and the squirrel of Barbary, dwell on trees like the common
-squirrel, but the Swiss lives upon the 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 completely tamed, from which it appears he is more like a rat,
-or a field mouse, than a squirrel, by instinct and nature.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 124. _Great Ant Eater._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 125. _Short tail'd Manis._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 126. _Long tail'd Ditto._]
-
-
-
-
-THE ANT EATERS.
-
-
-South America produces three animals with a long snout, a small mouth,
-without teeth, and a large round tongue; with which they penetrate
-into the ants' nests, and draw them out again when covered with those
-insects, which are their principal food. The first of these ant-eaters
-is that which the Brasilians call Tamandua-Gaucu, or Great Tamandua,
-and to which the French settled in America have given the name of
-Tamanoir. This animal (_fig. 124._) is about four feet in length from
-the extremity of the muzzle to the origin of its tail; his head is
-fourteen or fifteen inches long, his muzzle stretches out to a great
-length; his tail is two feet and a half long, is covered with rough
-hair, more than a foot in length; his neck is short, his head narrow,
-his eyes black and small, his ears round, his tongue thin, more than
-two feet long, and which he folds up in his mouth. 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 hair of his tail and body are black and white. Upon the tail
-they are disposed in a bunch, which he turns up on his back, and covers
-with it his whole body, when he is inclined to sleep, or wants to
-shelter himself from the rain or heat of the sun. The long hair of his
-tail and of his body is not round in all its extent; it is flat towards
-the ends, 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 sweeps along the ground. The hair of the fore-part of his body is
-longer than that on the hind part. On the neck and back it is somewhat
-erect, and towards the tail, and on the flanks, close to the skin; his
-fore-parts are variegated with white, and his hind-parts wholly black;
-he has also a white stripe on the breast, which extends on the sides
-of the body and terminates on the back near the thighs; his hind-legs
-are almost black, and the fore-legs almost white, with a large black
-spot towards the middle. The Great Ant-eater moves so slow that a man
-can easily overtake him in running; his feet seem less calculated to
-walk than to climb, and to fasten round bodies; for he holds so fast a
-branch, or a stick, that it is not possible to force it from him.
-
-The second of these animals is called by the Americans only Tamandua;
-he is much smaller than the former, being not above eighteen inches
-from the extremities of the muzzle to the tail; his head is five inches
-long, his muzzle crooked, and long; his tail ten inches long, without
-hair at the end; his ears are erect, and about an inch long; his tongue
-is round, eight inches long, and placed in a sort of hollow canal
-within the lower 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
-Great Ant-Eater. He climbs and holds fast a branch, or a stick, like
-the former, and his motions are equally slow. He cannot cover himself
-with his tail, the hair being short, and the end almost bare. When he
-sleeps he hides his head under his neck and fore-legs.
-
-The third of these animals, the natives of Guiana call _ouatiriouaou_.
-He is still smaller than the second, being not above six or seven
-inches in length from the extremities of the snout to the tail; his
-head is two inches long; and his muzzle proportionally short; his tail
-is seven inches in length, the hair curls downwards, and it is bare
-at the end; his tongue is narrow, long, and flat; his neck is very
-short, his head big in proportion to the body; his eyes are placed low,
-and at a little distance from the corners of the mouth, his ears are
-small, and hidden by the hair; his legs are but three inches long, the
-fore-feet have only two claws, the outward of which is much thicker
-and longer than the inward; the hind feet have four claws, the hair of
-the body is about nine inches long; smooth, and of a shining colour,
-diversified with red and yellow, his feet are not made to walk, but to
-climb and to take hold of branches of trees, on which he hangs himself
-by the extremity of his tail.
-
-We know of these kind of animals only the three species we have
-mentioned. M. Brisson, after Seba, speaks of a fourth species, under
-the denomination of the _long-eared ant-eater_, but we doubt its
-existence; because Seba has been guilty of more than one error in
-enumerating animals of this kind; he says expressly, "we preserve in
-our cabinet six species called ant-eaters," and yet he gave only a
-description of five; and amongst them he reckoned the _ysquiepatl_, or
-_mouffette_, an animal, not only of a species, but even of a genus,
-widely different from the ant-eaters, as he has teeth, and a flat
-short tongue, like other quadrupeds, and comes very near a kind of
-weasels or martens. Out of these six species, pretended to be preserved
-in the cabinet of Seba, four only remain, as the ysquiepatl, which
-he reckoned the fifth, is no ant-eater, and the sixth is not even
-mentioned, unless the author meant to comprehend among these animals
-the _Pangolin_ or scaly lizard, which he does not intimate in his
-description of that animal. The scaly lizard feeds upon ants; he has
-a long muzzle, a narrow mouth, without visible teeth, and the tongue
-round; characteristics which he has in common with ant-eaters; but
-he differs from it as well as from all other quadrupeds, by having
-the body covered with thick scales instead of hair. Besides, this
-animal belongs to the hottest climates of the old continent, and the
-ant-eaters, whose bodies are covered with hair, are found only in the
-southern parts of the new world. There are therefore no more than
-four species instead of six, mentioned by Seba, and out of these four
-there is but one species discernible by its description; which is
-our third or smallest ant-eater, to whom Seba allows but one claw to
-each foot, though he has two. The three others are so imperfectly
-described, that they cannot be traced to their true species. One may
-judge by this of the credit which Seba's voluminous book deserves.
-This animal which he calls _tamandua murmecophage_ of America, and
-the figure of which he has given[AD], cannot be compared with either
-of the three we are now treating of, it is sufficient to be convinced
-of his error by reading his description. The second which he terms
-_tamandua-guacu_ of Brasil, or the _bear ant-eater_, is described in
-a vague, equivocal manner; yet I am inclined to think with Klein and
-Linnaeus, that he meant the true tamandua-guacu, or great ant-eater, but
-it is so badly described, and so imperfectly represented, that Linnaeus
-has comprehended, under one species, the first and second of Seba's
-animals. M. Brisson considered the last as a particular species, but I
-do not believe his establishment of this species better founded than
-his criticism on M. Klein, for having confounded it with that of the
-great ant-eater. The only just reproach M. Klein has incurred, is to
-have added to the good description he has given of this animal, the
-erroneous indications of Seba. In fine, the third of these animals,
-whose figure is given in that work, is so badly described, that I
-cannot persuade myself, notwithstanding the respect I have for Linnaeus
-and Brisson's authority, this animal from Seba's description and figure
-can be the middle ant-eater; I only wish that his description may
-be attended to in order to judge of its fallacy. These discussions,
-although tedious and disagreeable, cannot be avoided in the details of
-a Natural History. Before we write upon a subject very little known, we
-must, as much as possible, remove all obscurities, and point out the
-numberless errors before we can come to the truth. The result of this
-criticism is a proof that three species of ant-eaters really exist,
-namely the _tamanoir_, the _tamandua_, and the _ouatiriouaou_, and that
-the fourth called the _long-eared ant-eaters_, mentioned by M. Brisson,
-is doubtful, as well as the other species indicated by Seba. I have
-seen the first and last with their skins, in the king's cabinet; and
-they are certainly very different from each other. We have not seen the
-tamandua, but have described it, after Piso and Marcgrave, the only
-authors that ought to be consulted upon this animal, as all others
-have only copied them. The tamandua, and the small ant-eater have the
-extremities of their tails bare, with which they hang on the branches
-of trees, and when they perceive hollows, they put their tongues
-within, and draw them instantly back in their mouths, to swallow the
-insects which they have gathered.
-
-[Footnote AD: Seba, tom. I, p. 60, tab. 37. fig. 2.]
-
-These three animals, so different in size and proportions of the body,
-have many things in common, both as to conformation and instinct. All
-feed upon ants, and put their tongues into honey, and other liquid
-and viscous substances; they gather quickly crumbs of bread and small
-pieces of meat; they are easily tamed; they can subsist a long while
-without food; they do not swallow all the liquor which they take into
-their mouths, a part returning through their nostrils; they commonly
-sleep in the day-time, and change their station in the night; they go
-so slow that a man may overtake them easily whilst running in open
-ground. The savages eat their flesh, but which has an unsavoury taste.
-
-The great ant-eater looks, at a distance, like a fox, and for that
-reason some travellers call him the American fox; he is strong enough
-to defend himself against a large dog, and even the jaguar. When
-attacked he at first fights standing on his hind legs, like the bear,
-and makes use of his fore claws, which are powerful weapons; afterwards
-he lies down on his back, and uses all four feet, and in that situation
-he is almost invincible, and fights with obstinacy till the last
-extremity; even after he has put to death his adversary he keeps hold
-of him a long while. He maintains the fight longer than most animals,
-from being 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 three ant-eaters are natives of the hottest climates of America,
-are found in Brasil, Guiana, the country of the Amazons, &c. but they
-are not met with in Canada, or in the northern regions of the new
-world, they consequently do not belong to the ancient continent; yet
-Kolbe and Desmarchais have stated these animals to live in Africa, but
-they seem to have confounded the scaly lizard with the ant-eaters.
-Perhaps this mistake is in consequence of a passage of Marcgrave, who
-says: "_Tamandua-guacu Brasiliensibus, congensibus (ubi et frequens
-est) umbula dictus_;" but Marcgrave certainly never saw this animal in
-Africa, since he confesses that he had seen only his skin in America.
-Desmarchais only says that the great ant-eater is found in Africa as
-well as America, but he adds no circumstance to prove this fact. In
-regard to Kolbe's attestation, we reckon it nothing, for a man who
-has seen at the Cape of Good Hope, elks and lynxes, like those of
-Prussia, might also see the ant-eaters in the same climate. But they
-are not mentioned by any authors among the animals of Asia or Africa,
-while all the travellers, and most of the historians, of America, make
-a particular mention of them. De Lery, de Laet, Father d'Abbeville,
-Maffee, Faber, Nieremberg, and M. de la Condamine, agree with Piso and
-Barrere, in declaring that the ant-eaters are peculiar to the warm
-countries of America; thus we cannot doubt that Desmarchais and Kolbe
-were mistaken, and that these three species of animals do not exist in
-the ancient continents.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-I have received from M. Maudhuit, residing at Guiana, an ant-eater in
-excellent condition, which appears to be of the same species as those
-just described, differing somewhat in the length of the muzzle and the
-toes.
-
-M. de la Borde has also transmitted several particulars; he says,
-"There are two species of ant-eaters which inhabit the woods of Guiana,
-the one larger than the other; they run very slow, and when they swim
-across large rivers which is a common practice, it is easy to knock
-them on the head with a stick; but in the woods it is necessary to use
-muskets, for the dogs refuse to hunt them. The great ant-eater tears up
-the nests of wood-lice, which he easily discovers; he is a dangerous
-animal to encounter, as he gives most severe wounds with his claws,
-with which he successfully defends himself against the most fierce
-animal of this continent, such as the jaguars, cougars, &c. and with
-which he also kills many dogs, who are therefore afraid of him. He is
-said to feed on ants, for which his tongue appeared well calculated,
-but I found in the stomach of one a great number of wood-lice, which
-had just been swallowed. The females bring forth in the holes of trees,
-and have one at a time, and at those periods they will even attack
-men. The savages at Cayenne eat the flesh, although it is black and
-unsavory; their skins are thick and hard; they do not attain their
-full size before they are four years old; and the whole of their
-respiration is performed through their nostrils. The smaller one has
-whitish hair, about two inches long; it has no teeth, but its claws
-are very long; this, as well as the former feeds during the night; the
-female also has but one at a time, and they perfectly resemble each
-other, but the latter is more scarce to be met with than the former."
-
-This gentleman sent me also the following remarks upon our third
-species. "It has bright hair, rather of a golden colour; it feeds upon
-ants, which adhere to its tongue; it is not bigger than a squirrel,
-runs very slow, and is easily taken; it fixes itself so fast to a stick
-or branch that it may be carried in that manner to any distance, and
-they are frequently found thus fixed; these, like the former bring
-forth but one at a time, in the holes of trees, and feed also in the
-night; they are not by any means scarce, though it is difficult to
-distinguish them on the trees."
-
-
-
-
-THE LONG AND THE SHORT-TAILED MANIS.
-
-
-These animals are commonly known under the name of scaly lizards; we
-reject this denomination; 1st, because it is a compound; 2dly, because
-it is ambiguous, and applied to both species; 3dly, because it is
-wrongly imagined; these animals being not only of another species,
-but even of a different class, than the lizards, which are oviparous
-reptiles, while the pangolin, and the phatagen, as they are called in
-their native countries of the east, are viviparous quadrupeds.
-
-All lizards are covered with a sleek speckled skin, in representation
-of scales, but these animals have no scales on their throat, breast,
-or belly, the phatagen, or long-tailed manis, (_fig. 126._) like
-other quadrupeds, has hair on all these under parts of the body; the
-pangolin, or short-tailed manis (_fig. 125._) has nothing but a smooth
-skin without hair. The scales with which all the other parts of the
-bodies of these two animals are covered do not stick to the skin,
-they are only strongly fixed at the lower parts, being moveable, like
-the quills of a porcupine, at the will of the animal; they raise these
-scales when exasperated, and when particularly so, they roll themselves
-up like a ball, resembling the hedge-hog: these scales are so big,
-so hard, and so sharp, that they repel all animals of prey; it is an
-offensive armour which wounds while it resists. The most cruel and
-voracious animals, such as the tiger and the panther, make but useless
-efforts to devour these animals, they tread upon, and roll them about,
-but when they attempt to seize them, they receive severe wounds; they
-can neither destroy them by violence, nor bruize, or smother them with
-their weight. The fox is averse to attacking the hedge-hog when rolled
-up, but he forces him to stretch himself by treading on, and squeezing
-him with all his weight, and as soon as his head appears, he seizes the
-snout, and thus secures him as a prey. But of all quadrupeds, without
-even excepting the porcupine, the armour of the manis is the strongest
-and most offensive, and which animals, by contracting their bodies and
-presenting their weapons, brave the fury of all their enemies. When
-they contract themselves, they do not take, like the hedge-hog, a
-globose figure, but form an oblong, their thick and long tail remaining
-outwardly and encircling their bodies; this exterior part, by which it
-would seem these animals could be seized, carries its own defence; it
-is covered with scales equally hard and sharp as those with which the
-body is cloathed, and as it is convex upwards and flat below, nearly in
-the form of half a pyramid, the sides are covered with square scales
-folding in a right angle, as thick and as cutting as the others, so
-that the tail seems to be still more strongly armed than the body, the
-under parts of which are unprovided with scales.
-
-The short-tailed manis is larger than the long-tailed kind; his fore
-feet are covered with scales, but the feet of the latter, and part of
-his fore legs are clothed with hair only. The former has also larger
-scales, thicker, more convex, uniformly cutting, and not so close as
-those of the latter, which are armed with three sharp points; he is
-also hairy upon the belly; the other has no hair on that part of his
-body, but between the scales which cover his back, some thick and long
-hair issues like the bristles of a hog, which are not on the back
-of the long-tailed species. These are all the essential differences
-which we have observed in the skins of both these animals, and which
-distinguish them from all other quadrupeds so much, that they have been
-looked upon as a species of monsters. From these general and constant
-differences, we dare affirm them to be two animals of distinct species.
-We have discovered their analogies and differences, not only by the
-inspection of three of them, which we have seen, but also by comparing
-all which has been observed by travellers and naturalists.
-
-The short-tailed manis is from six to eight feet in length, his tail
-included, when he comes to his full growth; the tail is nearly as
-long as the body, though it appears shorter when the animal is young;
-the scales are not then so large nor so thick, and of a pale colour;
-the colour becomes deeper in the adult, and the scales acquire such
-a hardness, as to resist a musket ball. Both these animals have some
-affinity with the great and middle ant-eater, for like them they feed
-on ants, have very long tongues, narrow mouths, without apparent teeth;
-their bodies and tails are also very long, and the claws of their
-feet very near of the same length and the same form, but they have
-five toes on each foot, while the great and middle ant-eaters have
-but four to their fore feet; these are covered with hair, the others
-are armed with scales; and besides they are not natives of the same
-continent. The ant-eaters are found in America, and both the species
-of the manis belong to the East Indies and Africa, where the negroes
-call them _quogelo_; they eat their flesh, which they reckon a delicate
-wholesome food, and use their scales for different purposes. They have
-nothing forbidding but their figure; they are gentle and innocent,
-feeding upon insects only; they never run fast, and cannot escape the
-pursuit of men, except by hiding themselves in hollow rocks, or in
-holes, which they dig themselves, and in which they breed. They are two
-extraordinary species, not numerous, and seemingly useless: their odd
-form seems to exist as an intermediate class betwixt the quadrupeds and
-reptiles.
-
-
-
-
-THE ARMADILLO.
-
-
-When we speak of a quadruped, the very name seems to carry the idea
-of an animal covered with hair; as when we mention a bird, or fish,
-feathers and scales present themselves to our imagination, and seem
-to be inseparable attributes of those beings: yet Nature, as if
-willing to deviate from this characteristic uniformity, and to elude
-our views, offers herself, contrary to our general ideas, and in
-contradiction to our denominations and characters, and amazes more by
-her exceptions than by her laws. Quadrupeds, 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 neither superior in every thing,
-nor separated by constant attributes from all other animals. The first
-of those characters which constitutes their name, and which consists
-in having four feet, is common to lizards, frogs, &c. which differ,
-however, from quadrupeds in so many other respects, as to make them
-be considered as a separate class. The second general property, to
-produce young alive, is not peculiar to quadrupeds, since it is also
-common with cetaceous animals. And the third attribute, which seems the
-less equivocal, as it is the most apparent, that of being covered with
-hair, exists not in several species which cannot be excluded from the
-class of quadrupeds, since this single characteristic excepted, they
-are like them in all other respects: and, as these exceptions of nature
-are but gradations calculated to join in a general chain, the links
-of the most distant beings, we should seize these singular relations
-as they offer themselves to our view. The armadillos, instead of hair,
-are covered, like turtles, craw-fish, &c. with a solid crust. The
-manis is armed with scales like fish; the porcupine carries a sort of
-prickly feathers, the quill of which is like that of the birds. Thus
-in the class of quadrupeds, and in the most constant characteristic
-of these animals, that of being covered with hairs, Nature varies in
-bringing them near the three different classes of birds, fishes, and
-the crustaceous kinds. We must be cautious then in judging of the
-nature of beings by one single character, as that would always lead us
-into error; even two or three characters, though general, are often
-insufficient, and it is only, as we have often repeated, by the union
-of all the attributes, and by enumerating all the characters, that we
-can judge of the essential qualities of the productions of nature. A
-good description without definitions, an exposition more exact on the
-differences than the analogies, a particular attention to exceptions
-and almost imperceptible gradations, are the true rules, and I dare
-assert, the only means of estimating nature. If the time lost in
-forming definitions had been employed in making good descriptions, we
-should not at this day have found Natural History in its infancy; we
-should have had less trouble in taking off her bawbles, disentangling
-her from her swaddling clothes, and, perhaps, have anticipated her slow
-discoveries, for we should have written more for science; and less
-against error.
-
-But to return to our subject; it appears then that there exists
-several species of animals which are not covered with hair among the
-viviparous quadrupeds. Armadillos form alone a whole genus, in which
-may be reckoned many distinct species, all of whom are, however,
-covered with a crust, resembling bone; it covers the head, neck,
-back, flanks, rump, and the tail, to the very extremity. The crust
-is covered with a thin skin, sleek and transparent: the only parts
-that are not sheltered by this buckler are the throat, breast, and
-belly, which have a white grainy skin, like that of a plucked fowl, by
-inspecting these parts with attention, we perceive the rudiments of
-scales of the same substance as the crust; the skin of these animals,
-even in the places where it is most soft, is therefore inclined to
-become bony, but the ossification is only realized on the superior and
-external parts of the body. This crust is not in one piece, like that
-of the turtle, but consists of several bands, joined to each other
-by membranes, which allow this armour a degree of motion. The number
-of these bands does not depend, as might be imagined, on the age of
-the animal. The young armadillos, and the adults, have the same number
-of stripes, of which we have been convinced by comparing them; and
-though we cannot be certain that all these animals do not intermix
-and produce promiscuously, yet it is very probable, that since the
-difference in the number of these moveable bands is constant, they are
-really distinct species, or at least lasting varieties, produced by the
-influence of various climates. In this uncertainty, which time alone
-can remove, we have thought proper to mention all the armadillos under
-one head, enumerating each of them as if they were, in fact, so many
-different species.
-
-Father d'Abbeville seems to be the first who has distinguished them by
-different names or epithets, and which have been, for the most part,
-adopted by the authors who have written after him. He has clearly
-indicated six species of them: first, _tatououasso_, or, as we call
-it, twelve-banded armadillo; 2. the _tatouette_, or eight-banded; 3.
-the _encuberto_ of Marcgrave, or six-banded; 4. the _tatua-apara_,
-or three-banded; 5. the _cinquincon_, or eighteen-banded; 6.
-_cachichame_, or nineteen-banded. Other travellers have confounded the
-species; but we have borrowed only the description of the _apar_ and
-the _cinquincon_, having seen the other four.
-
-All, except the _cinquincon_ have two long bucklers, one at the
-shoulders, and another on the rump; they each consist of one solid
-piece; but the cuirass, which is also bony, and covers the body, is
-transversely divided, and parted into more or less moveable bands,
-separated from each other by a flexible skin. But the _cinquincon_ has
-but one buckler, and that on his shoulder, the rump being covered with
-moveable bands, like those of the cuirass of the body. But we shall now
-proceed to a description of them particularly.
-
-
-
-
-THE THREE-BANDED ARMADILLO.
-
-
-The first author who described this animal was Clusius, and though his
-description was from a drawing only, it is evidently the same species
-which Marcgrave calls the _tatua-apara_; from its three moveable
-stripes, and its short tail; he has an oblong head, almost pyramidal;
-the snout sharp, small eyes, short round ears, and the upper part of
-the head covered with a helmet of one piece; he has five claws to each
-foot; the two middle claws of the fore feet are very long, and the
-two lateral shorter; the fifth, which projects, is the least. In the
-hind feet they are shorter and more even. The tail is but two inches
-in length, and is entirely covered with a crust; the body is a foot
-long, and above eight inches in its largest breadth. The cuirass, which
-covers it, is divided into four parts, and composed of three moveable
-transverse bands, which give the animal liberty to bend and contract
-his body in a round form; the skin between the stripes is very supple.
-The bucklers which cover the shoulders and rump are composed of five
-pieces, equally disposed in five angles; the three moveable bands
-betwixt these two bucklers consist of square pieces, ornamented with
-little scales of a straw colour. Marcgrave adds, that when he lies down
-to sleep, or any person touches him, he brings his fore feet together,
-lays his head under his belly, and bends himself so perfectly round
-that he looks more like a sea-shell than a terrestrial animal. This
-contraction is made with the assistance of two great muscles on the
-sides of his body, and the strongest man finds it difficult to force
-him with his hands to stretch out. Piso, and Ray, have added nothing
-to the description of Marcgrave, but it is singular that Seba, who
-has given us a description and figure of this animal evidently copied
-after Marcgrave, not only not mentions that author, but tells us, "that
-no naturalist has known this animal, that it is extremely scarce, and
-found in the most remote countries of the East Indies," when in fact
-this animal is well described by Marcgrave, and the species is well
-known, not indeed in the East Indies, but in America, where it is very
-common. The only real difference between the description of Seba, and
-that of Marcgrave is, that the latter gives the animal five claws to
-each foot, and Seba allows him but four, and yet they evidently speak
-of the same animal.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 127. _Six Banded Armadillo._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 128. _Long-tailed Armadillo._]
-
-Fabius Calumna has given the description and figure of an armadillo
-contracted into a ball, which seems to have had four moveable bands,
-but as this author was absolutely unacquainted with the animal, whose
-skin or shell he has described, as he did not even know the name of
-the armadillo, though mentioned by Bellon fifty years before, but gave
-him a Greek name, (_cheloniscus_); besides, as he confesses, that the
-skin had been pasted together, and wanted several pieces, we do not
-see ourselves authorised to pronounce, as our modern nomenclators have
-done, that a species of armadillo, with four moveable bands, exists in
-Nature; and more especially since these imperfect indications given in
-1606, by Fabius Calumna, no mention is made of it in the works of any
-naturalists; and, if he really did exist, he certainly would have been
-introduced into some cabinets, or have been observed by some travellers.
-
-
-
-
-THE SIX BANDED.
-
-
-This species (_fig._ 127) is larger than the former; he has the upper
-part of the head, neck, body, legs, and tail, covered with a very hard
-crust, composed of several large pieces, elegantly disposed. He has
-a buckler on each shoulder, and another on the rump, each of which
-are in one piece; only there is beyond the buckler on the shoulders,
-and near the head a moveable band, which enables the animal to bend
-its neck. The buckler on the shoulders is formed by five parallel
-rows, composed of pieces which represent five angles, with an oval
-in each; the cuirass on the back, that is the part betwixt the two
-bucklers, is divided into six bands, which are united together and to
-the bucklers, by seven joints of a supple and thick skin. These bands
-are composed of large square pieces; from the skin of these joints
-some white hairs issue out, like those on the breast and belly; all
-these inferior parts are covered only by a grainy skin, and not by a
-crustaceous substance like the upper. The buckler on the rump has a
-border, the mosaic work of which is similar to that of the moveable
-bands, and the rest consists of pieces like those of the bucklers of
-the shoulders. The crust of the head is long, broad, and consists of
-one piece, extending to the moveable band on the neck. He has a sharp
-muzzle, small and hollow eyes, a narrow and sharp tongue; the ears are
-without hair, naked, short, and brown, like the skin of the joints;
-he has eighteen teeth in each jaw, five claws to each foot, long, in
-a round form, and rather narrow; the head and the snout are like
-those of a pig, the tail is thick at its origin, diminishing gradually
-towards the extremity, where it is very slender and round. The colour
-of the body is a reddish yellow; the animal is commonly thick and fat,
-and the male has the sexual organ very visible; he digs into the ground
-with great facility with his snout and claws; he dwells in the day-time
-underground, and only goes out towards the evening to seek for food; he
-drinks often, lives upon fruit, roots, insects, and birds, when he can
-catch them.
-
-
-
-
-THE EIGHT BANDED.
-
-
-This is not so large as the last, he has a small head, a sharp snout,
-the ears erect, and rather long, the tail still longer, and the legs
-rather short. He has small black eyes, four toes on the fore-feet, and
-five on those behind; the head is covered with a helmet, the shoulders
-and rump with shields, and the body with a cuirass composed of eight
-moveable bands connected together, and with the bucklers, by nine
-joints of a flexible skin; the tail has also a similar number of bands.
-The colour of the cuirass on the back is iron grey, and on the flanks
-and tail of a light grey with spots of iron grey. The belly is covered
-with a whitish skin, grainy and hairy. The individual of this species,
-described by Marcgrave, had a head three inches long, the ears near
-two, the legs about three, the two middle toes of the fore-feet an
-inch; the body from the neck to the origin of the tail seven inches,
-and the tail nine inches in length; the bucklers had small white spots;
-the moveable bands were marked by triangular figures; this crust was
-not hard, being penetrable to the smallest shot which would kill the
-animal, whose flesh is very white, and good to eat.
-
-
-
-
-THE NINE BANDED.
-
-
-Nieremberg has described this animal very imperfectly: Wormius and Grew
-have described him much better. The individual which Wormius mentioned
-was adult, and one of the largest of the species; that of Grew was
-younger and smaller. We shall only give their descriptions as far as
-they agree with our own specimens. Besides, it may be presumed, that
-this nine-striped armadillo is not really a distinct species from
-the eight, which he resembles in every other respect. We have two
-eight-banded armadillos which are dried, and seem to be both males; we
-have seven or eight with nine bands, one well preserved, which is a
-female, and the others are so dried up that we could not discern the
-sex. It is probable, therefore, that the eight-banded is the male and
-the nine-banded the female. But this is merely a conjecture for we
-shall give in the following article the description of two armadillos,
-one of which has more rows than the other upon the buckler on the rump,
-and yet they are so alike in every other respect, that one should be
-inclined to think this difference arises only from that of the sex, for
-it is not improbable, that greater numbers of these moveable bands may
-be necessary to facilitate the gestation and delivery of the female.
-The head of the armadillo, the skin of which Wormius has described,
-was five inches from the end of the snout to the ears, and eighteen
-inches from the ears to the tail, which last was a foot in length, and
-composed of twelve rings. The head of that described by Grew was three
-inches, the body seven and a half, and the tail eleven; the proportions
-of the head and body agree, but the difference of the tail is too
-great; and it is probable that the tail of that described by Wormius
-had been broken, for it should have exceeded a foot in length. As in
-this species the tail diminishes to the size of an awl, and is, at the
-same time, very brittle; few of the skins therefore have the whole tail
-preserved as that described by Grew.
-
-
-
-
-THE TWELVE BANDED.
-
-
-This seems to be the largest of the species. He has a larger and
-broader head, and a snout not so sharp as the others; his legs and feet
-are thicker, and his tail has not any crust; a particularity which is
-alone sufficient to distinguish this species from all others. He has
-five toes on each foot, and twelve moveable bands. The buckler on
-the shoulders is formed of five or six rows, each composed of large
-quadrangular pieces. The moveable bands are also formed of large
-pieces, almost square; those which compose the buckler on the rump are
-like those on the shoulder. The helmet of the head consists of large
-irregular pieces. Between the joints of the moveable bands and in the
-other parts of the armour, there appear some hairs like the bristles
-of a hog; there are also upon his breast, belly, legs, and tail, round
-scales, almost imperceptible, hard and polished like the crust, and
-between which are small tufts of hair. The pieces which compose the
-helmet, the two bucklers, and the cuirass, being proportionally larger
-and less in number in this than in other armadillos, evidently prove he
-is the largest of the kind. The head of that from which we took this
-description was seven inches long, and the body twenty-one.
-
-
-
-
-THE EIGHTEEN BANDED.
-
-
-Mr. Grew first described this animal from a skin preserved in the
-cabinet of the Royal Society in London. All the other armadillos have
-two bucklers, one on the shoulders, and the other on the rump, but
-this has but one, which is upon his shoulders. He is called the weasel
-armadillo, because his head is nearly of the same form as a weasel.
-From the description of this animal given by Grew, it appears, that
-his body is about ten inches in length, his head three, and his tail
-five; the legs two or three inches in height; the forehead large and
-flat, small eyes, and the ears an inch long, he has five toes on each
-foot, the three in the middle being the largest. The armour of the
-head and legs is composed of round scales, about a quarter of an inch
-diameter, that on the neck consisted of one piece, as did the buckler
-on the shoulders composed of several rows of scales like those of the
-armour; these rows on the buckler, in this species, as in all others
-are continuous, and join by a symphysis. The rest of the body, from
-the buckler on the shoulders to the tail, is covered with moveable
-bands, parted from each other by a supple membrane: these bands are
-eighteen in number; those nearest the shoulders are the largest, and
-are composed of small squares. The posterior are intermixed with round
-and square pieces, and the extremity of the armour near the tail is of
-a parabolic figure. The first half of the tail is encircled with six
-rings, composed of small square pieces, and the lower part is covered
-with irregular scales. The breast, belly, and ears, are naked, as in
-the other species. It should seem that, of all armadillos, this has
-the most facility to contract and roll himself up in a ball, by his
-moveable bands which extend to the tail.
-
-Linnaeus who must have seen the descriptions of Grew and Ray, who both
-agree with that we have given, has indicated this animal with one
-band only, instead of eighteen: founded on an evident mistake, by
-having taken the _tatu seu armadillo Africanus_ of Seba for the _tatu
-mustelinas_ of Grew, which even according to the descriptions of these
-two authors, are very different from each other. It is doubtful whether
-the tatou of Seba exists, at least as he has described him, but the
-animal given in Grew's description is a real existing species.
-
-All the armadillos come originally from America; they were unknown
-before the discovery of the New World. The ancients never mentioned
-them, and modern travellers all agree, that these animals are natives
-of Mexico, Brasil, Guiana, &c. and no one pretends to have seen this
-species in Asia or Africa. Some have, indeed, confounded the scaly
-lizards of the East Indies with the armadillos of America. Others
-thought they existed on the western coasts of Africa, because they have
-sometimes been transported from Brasil into Guinea. Bellon, who wrote
-above two centuries ago, and is one of the first who has given a short
-description, with the figure of a tatou, from a skin which he had seen
-in Turkey, says, that it came from the new continent. Oviedo, De Lery,
-Gomara, Thevet, Ant, Herrera, Father d'Abbeville, Francois, Ximenes,
-Staddenius, Monard, Joseph Acosta, De Laet, and all the more recent
-authors mention these animals as natives of the southern countries of
-America. Piso is the only one who has pretended, without any authority,
-that the armadillos were found in the East Indies, as well as in
-America; and it is probable, that he has confounded the scaly lizards
-with the armadillos, especially as they have been so called by the
-Spaniards; this error has been adopted by nomenclators, and those who
-have given descriptions of cabinets; who have not only admitted the
-existence of armadillos in the East Indies, but even in Africa, though
-none were ever in those two parts of the world, except such as have
-been transported from America.
-
-The climate of these animals is not therefore, equivocal; but it is
-more difficult to determine the relative bulk of each species. For
-this purpose we have compared great numbers which are preserved in
-the king's cabinet and those of others. We have also compared the
-descriptions of all authors with those of our own, without being able
-to ascertain the fact. It appears that the twelve and six banded are
-the largest, and that the three, eight, nine, and eighteen banded
-are the smallest. In the larger species the crustaceous substance is
-harder and more solid; the pieces which compose it are larger, and in a
-smaller number; the moveable bands encroach, less one upon the other;
-the flesh, as well as the skin, is harder, and not so savory. Piso
-says, that the flesh of the six banded is not eatable; and Nieremberg
-affirms, that it is unwholesome and pernicious. Barrere says, that the
-twelve banded has a strong smell of musk; and all authors agree in
-praising the flesh of the three banded, and particularly that of the
-eight, which is as white, and equally good as the flesh of a pig. They
-say also, that the small species dwell in marshy and low grounds, and
-that those of the large species are found on dry and high lands only.
-
-These animals can all contract their bodies into a round form, with
-more or less facility. When they are contracted the defects of their
-armour is most visible in those who have it composed of the smallest
-number of pieces; the three banded then shews two large voids betwixt
-the bucklers and the armour on the back. None of them can roll
-themselves up in a ball so exact as that formed by the hedge-hog; when
-so contracted they represent the figure of a globe flattened at the two
-ends.
-
-This singular crust, which covers them, is a bone composed of small
-contiguous pieces, and being neither moveable nor jointed, except at
-the partitions of the bands, are united by a symphysis, and may all
-be separated from each other if put on the fire. When the animal is
-alive these small pieces, both of the bucklers and the moveable bands
-yield to his motions, especially when he contracts himself, otherwise
-he could not possibly roll himself up. These pieces in different
-species are of different figures always as regularly disposed as an
-elegantly contrived mosaic work. The pellicle which covers the crust is
-a transparent skin, and has the effect of a varnish on the whole body;
-this skin, when taken off, changes the relievo of this natural mosaic,
-and gives it a different appearance. This crustaceous covering is only
-a surface independent of the interior parts of the animal's body, his
-bones, and other organs, being composed like those of other quadrupeds.
-
-The armadillos, in general, are innocent, harmless animals, unless they
-can penetrate into gardens, where they will eat the melons, potatoes,
-pulse, and roots. Though they originally belong to the hot climates of
-America, they live in temperate regions. I once saw one in Languedoc,
-which was fed in the house, and went about every where without doing
-any mischief. They walk quickly, but they can neither leap, run, nor
-climb up trees, so that they cannot escape those who pursue them; they
-have no resource but to hide themselves in their holes, or if at too
-great a distance from their habitations, to endeavour to dig one before
-they are overtaken, for which they want but a few instants, the mole
-itself not being more expert in digging the ground. Sometimes before
-they can get quite concealed they are caught by the tail, and when they
-make such a strong resistance that the tail is often broke without
-bringing out the body; in order to take them without mutilation the
-burrow must be opened, when they are taken without any resistance; when
-caught they roll themselves up into a ball, and will not extend again
-unless they are placed near the fire. Hard as their coat of mail is,
-the animal, on being lightly touched with the finger, receives so quick
-an impression that he contracts instantaneously. When in deep burrows
-they are forced out by smoking them, or letting water run down the
-holes. It is said that they remain under ground above three months in
-the year; be that as it may, it is certain that they never come out of
-their holes but in the night, when they seek for food. The armadillo is
-hunted with small dogs, by whom he is soon overtaken; but before they
-have reached him he contracts himself, in which condition he is seized,
-and carried off. If near the brink of a precipice, he escapes both
-dogs and hunters, for contracting he rolls himself down like a ball,
-without hurt or prejudice to his coat of mail.
-
-These animals are fat, and very prolific: the male has exterior signs
-of great generative faculties; the female brings forth, as it is said,
-every four months, of course their species are very numerous. As they
-are good to eat they are hunted in different manners; they are easily
-taken with snares laid for them on the banks of rivers, and in marshy
-grounds, which they inhabit by preference. They never go to any great
-distance from their burrows, which are very deep, and which they
-endeavour to reach whenever they are alarmed. It is pretended they are
-not afraid of the bite of the rattle snake, though it is as dangerous
-as that of the viper; nay, it is asserted, that they live in peace with
-these reptiles, which are often found in their holes. The savages make
-different uses of their crusts; they paint them with divers colours,
-and make baskets, boxes, and other small vessels, of them. Monard,
-Ximenes, and many other writers, have attributed great medicinal
-properties to different parts of these animals; they assure us that the
-crustaceous covering, reduced into powder, and taken inwardly, even in
-a small quantity, is a powerful sudorific; and that the bone of the
-hip, pulverised, cures the venereal disease; that the first bone of
-the tail, applied to the ear, cures deafness, &c. We give no credit to
-these extraordinary properties; the crust and bones of the armadillos
-being of the same nature as the bones of other animals. Such marvellous
-effects are never produced but by imaginary virtues.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-I received the drawing of a six-banded armadillo, taken from life, from
-M. de Seve, and with it a description; in which, after stating that it
-corresponds pretty much with that we have given, observes, that the
-rows on the bucklers, and their pieces, vary in form and number: this
-animal was fourteen inches long, independent of the tail, which he
-supposed to be about six inches, as part of it was broken off; his head
-was rather more than three inches long, and his ears a little above
-one; on the broadest part of the body the crust measured six inches
-seven lines; the fore legs were two inches long, and his hind ones
-three.
-
-M. de la Borde says, there are two species of Armadillos at Guiana,
-the largest black and the other a greyish brown; the former are so
-prolific as sometimes to bring forth eight or ten at a litter: they
-reside in very deep holes, and when any attempts are made to take
-them by digging, they penetrate further in the earth, and almost
-perpendicularly; they only quit their holes in the night, and then for
-the purpose of seeking for food, which commonly consists of worms,
-ants, and wood-lice; their flesh is of an excellent flavour, and
-resembles that of a pig. The small one has not more than four or five
-young at a time, and they are more hard to be taken; these sometimes
-come out of their holes in the day, but never when it rains. The
-hunters know when they are in their holes by the number of flies which
-hover round: and when they begin to dig the animal digs also, and by
-throwing the earth behind, so effectually closes up the holes that
-smoke cannot penetrate to them. I conceive the first of these animals
-to be that we have mentioned, as the twelve-banded, and the other the
-eight-banded armadillos.
-
-Dr. W. Watson has given a description of an armadillo with nine bands,
-and a long tail, (_fig. 128._) in the Philosophical Transactions,
-where he says, This animal was brought from America, and kept alive
-in the house of Lord Southwell; but the drawing was not taken till
-after its death; he weighed seven pounds, and was not bigger than
-a common-sized cat; while in possession of Lord Southwell it grew
-considerably; it was fed with flesh and milk, but would not eat grain
-or fruits. Those by whom it was brought from America asserted, that it
-dug a hole for itself in the earth in which it lived.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 129. _Paca._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 132. _Marine Opossum._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 130-131. _Virginian Opossum Male and Female._]
-
-
-
-
-THE PACA.
-
-The paca (_fig. 129._) is an animal of the new world, which digs itself
-a borough like a rabbit, to whom he has often been compared, though
-there is scarce any likeness between them; he is much larger than the
-rabbit, or even the hare; his body is bigger and more compact; he has
-a round head and short snout; he is fat and bulky, and is more like
-a pig in form, grunting, waddling, and manner of eating, for he does
-not use, like the rabbit, his fore feet to carry food to his mouth,
-but grubs up the earth like the hog to find subsistence. They inhabit
-the banks of rivers, and are found only in the damp and warm places of
-South America: their flesh is very good to eat, and excessively fat;
-their skin is eaten like that of a pig. For these reasons a perpetual
-war is 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. Their skins, though covered with short and rough hair, make
-a fine fur because it is regularly spotted on the sides. These animals
-bring forth very often, and in abundance: men, and animals of prey,
-destroy great numbers of them, and yet the species remains undiminished
-in numbers; he is peculiar to South America, and is found no where in
-the old continent.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-Our former description of the Paca was taken from a young one which had
-not nearly come to its full growth. Since then I have had one sent me,
-which was much bigger even when he arrived, and continued to grow while
-I kept him, namely from August 1774, to May 28, 1775. From the Sieur
-Trecourt I received an account of his natural habits, in which that
-gentleman says: "This animal remains perfectly quiet in the day, if he
-is provided with a wooden cage, or box, and has plenty of provisions,
-to which he readily retires of himself while the day continues, but
-as soon as night comes on he becomes in a perpetual agitation to get
-out, and will even use violent efforts to effect that purpose if he
-is fastened in; this he never attempts during the day, unless pressed
-to make some natural evacuation, in which case he always gets to the
-furthest corner, having an aversion to any kind of dirt in the place
-he lives in; even his straw he pushes out with his nose when it begins
-to smell, and will seek about for rags, or paper, to supply its place.
-He had no particular attachment to his box, for he would often forsake
-it for some obscure corner, and when once his bed was made, he could
-only be made to leave his new habitation by force. This animal, which
-was a female, gave a strong proof of her propensity to cleanliness,
-for a large male rabbit being put with her when she was in season, she
-received him with a degree of fondness, and something was expected
-from them; she would lick his nose, ears, and body, and even suffer
-him to take away the greatest part of her food; but upon voiding his
-excrement, in their common apartment, she immediately took an aversion
-to him, and retired to the bottom of an old press, making herself a bed
-with paper and rags, nor would she return to her house again, until she
-perceived it was cleared of the dirt and her filthy companion."
-
-The Paca very easily becomes domesticated, and is very gentle and
-tractable, unless when much irritated. He is very fond of being
-noticed, and will lick the hands of those who caress him; he very
-readily distinguishes the voices of those who take care of him, and
-when stroked on the back, he will lie down on his belly, stretch
-himself out, and, with a gentle cry, express his gratitude for the
-favour, and seem to ask a continuance; but if laid hold of in a rough
-manner, he will struggle violently to escape. His muscles are very
-strong, yet his feeling is so delicate that the slightest touch on
-the skin will excite in him the most sensible emotions; and which
-sensibility, though commonly producing good humour, will sometimes,
-by irritation, or presenting an offensive object, put him in the most
-violent passion. A strange dog invariably produces the latter effect;
-and he has been observed, when shut in his cage, to make violent
-efforts to get out upon the appearance of one. It was at first thought
-he had no desire to come out but upon natural occasions; but one day,
-when he was at liberty, he flew out upon a poor dog, and bit him very
-severely; but in a few days after he became perfectly familiar with
-the same dog. He will also fly at strangers, if they plague him, but
-he never offers to bite those by whom he is taken care of. He has a
-dislike to children, and will run after them; and when in a passion he
-makes a kind of grunting, and at the same time a chattering with his
-teeth. He very frequently sits for a considerable time together on his
-posteriors, and has a common practice of appearing to comb his head
-and whiskers with his paws, which he repeatedly licks with his tongue.
-When thus employed, he scratches all parts of his body which he can
-reach with his fore paws, and afterwards the remainder with his hind
-ones. He is, however, a gross animal; he does not appear delicate;
-his coat is not smooth; he is far from active, but moves heavily and
-somewhat like a hog; whom he also resembles by the whiteness and
-thickness of his skin; he seldom attempts to run, and when he does, it
-is very aukwardly.
-
-This animal, though not full grown, measured more than eighteen
-inches from the point of his nose to the extremity of his body, and
-he could stretch himself out to near two feet, while the one which I
-formerly described was not more than seven inches five lines, and this
-difference was evidently to be attributed to their ages, as in all
-other respects they were perfectly similar.
-
-This animal measured about seven inches high before, and nine and a
-half behind, by which his head always appeared lower than his hind
-parts: his head is five inches long, and rather convex; he has large
-brown eyes, two inches asunder, short round ears, covered with a fine
-down, a broad black nose, divided like that of a hare, very large
-nostrils, and in which he has great strength; the upper jaw comes out
-above an inch beyond the lower; he has a fold along them that may at
-first sight be taken for the mouth, but which is scarcely perceptible
-unless it is open; he has two large yellow teeth in each jaw, with
-which he can cut through wood, and I have known him make a hole in
-a plank in a single night through which he could put his head; but,
-although several times attempted, he would never permit us to count his
-grinders; he has a thick rough tongue, and whiskers on each side his
-nose, consisting of black and white hairs; he has five toes on each
-foot, and long claws on them, of a flesh colour; and his tail is merely
-a kind of button, does not exceed five lines in length, and requires a
-close inspection to discover it.
-
-The paca, when domesticated, will eat any thing that is given him, and
-if fed with bread he seems to have an equal relish for it, whether
-soaked in water, wine, or vinegar; he is extremely fond of sugar and
-fruits, and will leap about for joy when they are given him; he seems
-to have the same relish for grapes, celery, onions, or garlic; he will
-also eat grass, moss, the bark of trees, or even wood; he drinks like
-a dog; his urine has a disagreeable smell, and his excrements are like
-those of the rabbit.
-
-As there can be little doubt but these animals would produce in the
-climates of France; as they are easily tamed, and their flesh is
-excellent food, they might be rendered an advantageous acquisition,
-especially as one individual would be equal to seven or eight rabbits,
-and their flesh not inferior.
-
-M. de la Borde agrees with most of the foregoing particulars, and says
-also that the paca generally has his hole on the banks of rivers, and
-that he so forms it as to have three ways to enter or retreat; that
-when disturbed he takes to the water, and endeavours to effectuate his
-escape by diving frequently, and that he makes a stout defence when
-attacked by dogs.
-
-
-
-
-THE OPOSSUM.
-
-
-The opossum is an animal of America, which is easily distinguished
-from all others by two singular characters; first, the female has
-under the belly a large cavity where she receives and suckles her
-young; secondly, both male and female have no claws on the great
-toes of the hind feet, which is separated from the others, as the
-thumb on the human hand, whilst all the other toes are armed with
-crooked claws, like the feet of other quadrupeds. The first of these
-characters has been observed by most travellers and naturalists, but
-the second had escaped their observation. Edward Tyson, an English
-physician, seems to be the first who made this remark; and he only
-has given a good description of the female in a treatise printed in
-London in 1698, under the title of The Anatomy of an Opossum. Some
-years after, W. Cooper, a celebrated English anatomist, communicated to
-Tyson the observations which he had made Upon the male. Other authors,
-and especially the nomenclators, who have multiplied beings without
-necessity, have here fallen into numerous errors respecting this animal.
-
-Our opossum, described by Tyson, is the same animal as the oriental
-philandre of Seba, since of all the animals which Seba has described,
-and to which he gave the name of philandre, opossum, or carigueya,
-this is the only one who has a bag under the belly, and thumbs without
-claws behind. This animal is a native of the warm climates of the new
-world; for the two we have in the king's cabinet came from America.
-That which Tyson had, was sent him from Virginia. M. de Chanvallon,
-correspondent of the Academy of Sciences in Martinico, who has given
-us a young opossum, acknowledged the two others to be true opossums
-of America. All the travellers agree, that this animal is found in
-Brasil, New Spain, Virginia, and the Antilles; and none mention having
-seen it in the East Indies; thus Seba was mistaken in calling it the
-oriental philandre. He says, his philandre was sent him from Amboyna,
-under the name of coes-coes, with other curiosities, but he confesses,
-at the same time, that it had been transported from some other remote
-countries to Amboyna. This should be sufficient to shew, that the
-denomination of oriental philandre was improper; for it is possible
-that travellers have transported this animal from America to the East
-Indies, but nothing proves that he is a native of Amboyna; and even
-the passage of Seba, which we have quoted, seems to indicate the
-contrary. The cause of this error and even of the name _coes-coes_,
-is found in Piso, who says, that in the East Indies, and only in the
-island of Amboyna, is found an animal very much like the opossum of
-Brasil to whom the natives give the name of _cous-cous_. Piso quotes
-no authority for this assertion. It would be strange, if it was true,
-as Piso affirms, that this animal is only found in Amboyna, while
-Seba, on the contrary, says, that the opossum sent him from Amboyna,
-was not a native of that island, but had been brought there from more
-distant countries; though he was ignorant of the native country of his
-philandre, he nevertheless gave him the epithet of oriental, though
-he is certainly the same animal as that of the West Indies; the proof
-of it will clearly appear by comparing the figure he has given with
-Nature. But another error of this author is, that while he gives to the
-opossum of America the name of great oriental philandre he presents
-us another animal, which he thinks a different one, under the name of
-the philandre of America; and which according to his own description,
-differs only from the former by being smaller, and having the spots
-above the eyes of a deeper brown colour; which differences are merely
-accidental, and too inconsiderable to constitute two different species,
-for he does not mention another difference more essential, if it
-existed, that Seba's philandre of America has sharp claws on the hind
-toes of the hind feet, while his oriental philandre has no claws upon
-his two thumbs. It is certain, that our opossum, which is the true one
-of America, has no claws to his toes behind; if an animal with sharp
-claws did exist, such as is represented by Seba, it could not be, as he
-asserts, the opossum of America. But this is not all, Seba mentions a
-third animal, under the name of oriental philandre, of whom, however,
-he speaks only after Valentin, an author who, as we have observed
-already, deserves little credit: and this third animal is yet the same
-as the two first. We are, therefore, persuaded that the three animals
-of Seba are individuals of the same species, and which species is the
-same as our opossum; and that the difference between them might be
-occasioned by their age, as it entirely consists in their size and
-slight variations in their colour, particularly in the spots above
-their eyes.
-
-Seba says, "that according to Valentin, this last philandre is the
-largest species seen in the East Indies, and particularly among the
-Malays, where he is called _pelandor aroe_, which signifies a rabbit
-of _Aroe_, though Aroe is not the only place where these animals are
-found; that they are common in the island of Solor; that they are
-kept promiscuously with rabbits, to whom they do no harm; and that
-the inhabitants eat their flesh, which they reckon excellent." These
-facts are very doubtful, not to say absolutely false, for according to
-Seba, this is not the largest species of the oriental philandre, that
-it bears no resemblance to the rabbit, therefore is very improperly
-termed the rabbit of Aroe; and that no person who has travelled in the
-East Indies has mentioned this remarkable animal; neither is he found
-in the island of Solor, nor in any other part of the ancient continent.
-Seba himself seems to have perceived not only the incapacity, but also
-the inaccuracy of the author whom he quotes: F. Valentin has written a
-Natural History of the East Indies in five volumes folio, and for the
-credit due to his testimony, both Artedi and Seba refer to a passage
-wherein he affirms, "that the pouch of the philandre is the womb in
-which the young are conceived; that having himself dissected a female,
-he found no other; and if that pouch is not the real womb, the teats
-are to the young, what the pedicles are to fruits, that they stick to
-them till they are sufficiently grown, and then they are separated
-like the fruit, when it is come to ripeness." What seems to be the
-truth is, that Valentin, who affirms that those animals are common in
-the East Indies, especially at Solor, had never seen any there; that
-all he says, even his most manifest errors, are copied from Piso and
-Marcgrave, who are themselves copyists of Ximenes, and are mistaken in
-everything they have advanced of their own authority; for Marcgrave and
-Piso say expressly and observatively, as well as Valentin, that the
-pouch is the true womb where the young of the opossums are conceived.
-Marcgrave says, he dissected one, and found no other womb: Piso, who
-says he dissected many, affirms he never could discover any womb in the
-internal parts, and also maintains the opinion, equally ill-grounded,
-that this animal is found at Amboyna. One may judge of what credit
-ought to be given to Marcgrave, Piso, and Valentin's assertions, the
-first of whom had not examined with accuracy; the second had added to
-the errors of the first, and the last copied from both.
-
-I should willingly ask pardon of my reader for the length of this
-critical disquisition, but when obliged to correct errors, we cannot be
-too exact or too attentive, even to the smallest circumstances.
-
-M. Brisson, in his work upon the quadrupeds, has adopted whatever
-he found in that of Seba, and adopts both his denominations and
-descriptions; he goes even farther than his author, in making three
-distinct species of the philandres, described by Seba; for, if he had
-adhered to Seba, he would have observed that the latter did not give
-them as really different from each other. Seba had no doubt that an
-animal of the warm climates of America, could be found also in the
-torrid regions of Asia; but he distinguished them according as they
-came to him from one or the other continent. It seems clear that he
-does not use the word species in its most strict sense, nor did Seba
-ever pretend to make a methodical division of animals into classes,
-genera, and species; he has only given the figures of the different
-animals in his cabinet, distinguishing by names, according as he saw
-some difference in their size, colour, or the countries from which
-he received them. It appears, therefore, that M. Brisson was not
-authorised by Seba, in making three different species of philandres,
-especially as he has not employed the distinctive characters, and makes
-no mention of the want of the claws, in the hind toes of the hind feet;
-he only says, in general, that the toes of the philandres have claws,
-without making any exception; yet the one which he saw in the King's
-cabinet, and which is our opossum, had no claws to the hind toes of the
-hind legs, and which seems to be the only one he has seen. The work of
-M. Brisson is very useful, but in his catalogue the species are more
-numerous than in that of Nature.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 133. _Elephant._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 134. _Rhinoceros._]
-
-We have now only to examine the nomenclature of Linnaeus, which in this
-article is much less erroneous than in many others, for he suppresses
-one of the three species of Seba; but he should have reduced them to
-one. Besides, he employs the distinctive character of the toes behind
-without claws, which none but Tyson had observed. The description which
-Linnaeus gives of the opossum as the _marsupialis_, seems to be a good
-one, and agreeable to Nature, but he is in an error when under the name
-of opossum he designs an animal different from his _marsupialis_, upon
-the authority of Seba, acknowledging, however, that this opossum had no
-claws to the toes behind, whilst they are very visible in the figures
-of Seba. Another error is, considering the _maritacaca_ of Piso, as
-the same animal as the _carigueya_, whilst these two animals, though
-mentioned in the same chapter, are mentioned by Piso as two different
-animals, and he describes them one after the other. But his greatest
-error is in making two different species of the _marsupialis_ and the
-opossum; they have both, according to Linnaeus, the pouch, the hind toes
-of their hind feet have no claws, are both natives of America, and only
-differ in this respect, by the first having eight paps, and the second
-only two, and the spot above the eyes more pale. These characteristics
-cannot be sufficient to distinguish them as distinct species; for
-the first can scarcely be called a difference; nor can any thing be
-established as fixed or certain, in regard to the order and the number
-of the paps, since they vary in the same species of most animals.
-
-From this examination, which we have made with strict impartiality, it
-appears, that the _philandre_, _opossum_, _seu carigueya Brasiliensis_,
-and the _philander orientalis maximus_ of Seba; those of M. Brisson,
-and the _marsupialis_ and _opossum_ of Linnaeus are all of them the same
-animal, which is our opossum whose natural climate is South America;
-and who was never seen in the East Indies, but when transported
-thither. Upon this subject, some uncertainty still remains in regard to
-the _taiibi_, which Marcgrave does not mention as an animal different
-from the _carigueya_, but which Johnston, Seba, Klein, Linnaeus, and
-Brisson, have presented as distinct from the preceding. In Marcgrave
-the two names of _carigueya_ and _taiibi_ are found in the same
-article, where it is said, that this animal is called _carigueya_ in
-Brasil, and _taiibi_ in Paraguay. There is afterwards a description
-of the _carigueya_ taken from Ximenes; and then another is given of
-the animal called _taiibi_, by the Brasilians; _cachorro domato_, by
-the Portuguese, and _hooschratte_, or the rat of the wood, by the
-Dutch. Marcgrave does not say this is an animal different from the
-_carigueya_, but on the contrary, considers it as the male of that
-species; and it appears clearly, that the male and female opossum were
-called _taiibi_ in Paraguay, and that in Brasil they gave the name of
-_taiibi_ to the male, and that of _carigueya_ to the female. Besides,
-the difference between those two animals, such as it is indicated by
-their descriptions, is too inconsiderable to conclude they are not the
-same species. The most essential is, the colour of the hair, which in
-the _carigueya_ is yellow and brown, and grey in the _taiibi_, the
-hairs of which are white at their bottom, and brown or black at the
-extremities. It is therefore more than probable, that the _taiibi_ is
-the male opossum. Mr. Ray seems to be of that opinion, when speaking
-of the _carigueya_, and the _taiibi_. Yet, notwithstanding Marcgrave's
-authority, and the rational doubt of Ray, Seba gives the figure of an
-animal, under the name of the _taiibi_; and says, at the same time,
-that this _taiibi_ is the same animal as the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes;
-this is adding error upon error; for even according to Seba, his
-_taiibi_, which is a female, has no bag under the belly; and Hernandes
-gives to his _tlaquatzin_ this bag as a particular characteristic;
-consequently the _taiibi_ of Seba cannot be the _tlaquatzin_ of
-Hernandes, as it has no pouch, nor the _taiibi_ of Marcgrave, since it
-is a female; it is certainly, therefore, another animal badly designed,
-and badly described, to whom Seba thought proper to give the name of
-_taiibi_, and which he confounds with the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes,
-which as we have said before, is our opossum. Brisson and Linnaeus have,
-in regard to the _taiibi_, literally followed Seba; they have copied
-even his error in regard to the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes, and both,
-have made an equivocal species of this animal, the first under the name
-of _philandre_ of Brasil, and the second under that of _philander_.
-The true _taiibi_ of Marcgrave and Ray, is not therefore the _taiibi_
-of Seba, the _philander_ of Linnaeus, nor the Brasilian _philander_ of
-Brisson; nor are the two latter the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes. The
-_taiibi_ of Seba (supposing his existence) is a different animal from
-all those treated of by the above authors, and ought to have had a
-particular denomination, and not been confounded with the _taiibi_ of
-Marcgrave, which has nothing in common with him; besides, as the male
-opossum has no pouch, it is not surprising that they have been taken
-for different animals, as that the female is called carigueya, and the
-male taiibi.
-
-Edward Tyson dissected and described the female opossum with care; in
-the individual which served him for subject, the head was six inches,
-the body thirteen, and the tail twelve in length: the fore legs were
-six inches, and the hind legs four inches and a half in height:
-the body was fifteen or sixteen inches in circumference; the tail
-three inches round in the beginning, and only one inch towards the
-extremities; the head three inches betwixt the two ears, decreasing
-gradually to the nose; and was more like that of a pig than a fox; the
-sockets of the eyes are much inclined in the direction from the ears
-to the nose; the ears are rounded, and about an inch and a half long;
-the mouth was two inches and a half wide from one of the corners of
-the lip to the extremity of the snout; the tongue narrow, three inches
-long, and rough; his fore feet had five toes armed with crooked claws,
-but in the hind feet he had only four toes with claws, and the fifth
-toe, or thumb, was separated from the others, was placed lower, and had
-no claws. All his claws were without hair, and covered with a skin of
-a reddish colour, and very near an inch in length; his hind and fore
-paws were large, and he had fleshy callosities under all the toes. The
-tail was covered with hair for two or three inches from the beginning,
-and the rest of it with a smooth scaly skin to the end. These scales
-were whitish, almost hexagonal, and placed regularly, so that they did
-not encroach upon each other, but were divided by a skin browner than
-the scales. The ears were without hair, thin and membranous like the
-wings of a bat, and very open. The upper jaw longer than the under;
-the nostrils large, the eyes small, black, and lively; the neck short,
-the breast wide, and the whiskers like those of a cat: the hairs of
-the forehead whiter and shorter than those of the body; his colour a
-yellowish grey, intermixed with black on the back and sides, more brown
-on the belly, and still deeper on the legs. Under the belly of the
-female (_fig. 131._) is a skin two or three inches long, which forms a
-kind of pouch by a double fold thinly covered with hair on the inside,
-and which pouch contains the teats. The young enter into this pouch to
-suck, and soon acquire the habit of hiding themselves in it, so that
-they retire thither whenever they are frightened. This pouch opens and
-shuts according to the will of the animal; which it effects by several
-muscles and two bones, which are peculiar to the opossum; these two
-bones are about two inches in length, placed by the os pubis, they
-decrease gradually from the basis to the extremities, and support the
-muscles which open the pouch; the antagonists of these muscles serve
-to shut it so exactly, that in the living animal the opening cannot
-be seen, without forcibly dilating it with the fingers. The inside
-of this pouch is full of kernels, which contain a yellow substance,
-the smell of which is so offensive, that it infects the whole body
-of the animal; yet when this matter is dried, it not only loses its
-disagreeable smell, but acquires a perfume which may be compared to
-that of musk. This pouch is not, as Marcgrave and Piso have falsely
-asserted, the place in which the young are conceived; the female
-opossum has an internal womb, different indeed from that of other
-animals, but in which the young are conceived, and remain till they are
-brought forth. Tyson says, that in this animal there are two wombs,
-two vaginas, and four ovariums. M. Daubenton does not agree with Tyson
-in these particulars; but by his description, it is at least certain,
-that in the organs of generation of the opossums, there are several
-parts double which are single in other animals. The glans penis of the
-male, and the glans clitoridis in the female, which are forked, and
-seem double. The vagina, which is single at the entrance, is afterwards
-divided into two channels; this conformation is very singular, and
-differs from that of all other quadrupeds.
-
-The opossum belongs to the south parts of the new world, but he does
-not, like the armadillo, seem confined to the hottest climates, for he
-is found not only in Brasil, Guiana, and Mexico, but also in Florida,
-Virginia, and other temperate regions of this continent. They are very
-common in these countries, as they bring forth often, and most authors
-say four or five, others six or seven, at a time. Marcgrave affirms,
-that he has seen six young ones alive in the pouch of the female; they
-were about two inches in length, were very nimble, and went in and
-out of the pouch many times in a day. They are very small when just
-brought forth: some travellers say they are not bigger than flies
-when they go out of the womb into the pouch, and attach themselves to
-the teats. This fact is not so much exaggerated as might be imagined,
-for we have seen in an animal, whose species is somewhat like that of
-the opossum, young ones sticking to the teats not bigger than beans;
-and it is not improbable, that, in these animals, the womb is only the
-place of conception and first formation of the foetus, whose unfolding
-is completed in the pouch. No one has observed the time of their
-gestation, which we think is shorter than in any other quadruped; and
-as this early exclusion of the foetus is a singularity in nature, we
-wish those who have an opportunity of observing the opossums in their
-native country would contrive to discover how long the females go
-with young, and how long the young remain attached to the teats. This
-observation is curious in itself, and may become useful, in pointing
-out some means of preserving the lives of children born before their
-natural period.
-
-That the young opossums stick to the teats of the mother till they
-have acquired strength, and a sufficient growth to move with ease, is
-a fact not to be doubted; nor is it peculiar to this species only,
-since we have seen it in that of the _marmose_. The female marmose has
-not, like the opossum, a bag under the belly; it is not, therefore, in
-consequence of the assistance which the young receive from the pouch
-that they stick so long to the teats, and increase in that immoveable
-situation. I make this observation to prevent the pouch being
-considered as a second womb, or at least an asylum necessary to the
-young before they are unfolded. Some authors pretend that they stick to
-the teats for several weeks, others say that they remain in the pouch
-only the first month after they came out of the womb. The pouch may
-be opened, the young counted, and even felt, without disturbing them,
-for they do not leave the teats, which they hold with their mouths,
-before they are strong enough to walk; then they fall into the bag,
-and afterwards go out to seek for their subsistence; they often go in
-again to sleep, to suck, and to hide themselves when terrified; in
-cases of danger the mother flies, and carries the whole of her young
-with her. Her belly does not seem to have any increased bigness when
-she is breeding, for in the time of the true gestation it is scarcely
-perceivable that she is with young.
-
-From inspecting the form of the feet it is easy to perceive that he
-walks and runs aukwardly; it is said 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 by the tail, the
-extremity of which is so muscular and flexible that he can clasp with
-it any thing he seizes upon. He sometimes remains a long while in this
-situation, his body suspended, with his head hanging downward, waiting
-for his prey. At other times he jumps from one tree to another, as the
-monkeys, with like muscular flexible tails, which he resembles also
-in the conformation of his feet. Though carnivorous, and even greedy
-of blood, which he sucks with avidity, he feeds also upon reptiles,
-insects, sugar-canes, potatoes, roots, and even leaves and bark of
-trees. He may easily be rendered a domestic animal, for he is neither
-wild nor ferocious; but he creates disgust by his smell, which is
-more offensive than that of the fox; his figure is also forbidding,
-for his ears are like those of an ounce, his tail resembles that of a
-serpent, his mouth is cleft to the very eyes, his body appears always
-dirty, because his hair is neither smooth nor curled, and seems as if
-covered with dirt. His bad smell resides in the skin, for his flesh is
-eatable. The savages hunt this animal by preference, and feed on his
-flesh heartily.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-M. de la Borde has sent me an account of three opossums, which he
-kept in a cask at Cayenne; in most particulars it agrees with the
-description already given; he says they are very easily tamed, and
-feed upon fish, flesh, bread, &c. that those he had possessed no
-disagreeable smell, but that there are two species, the one which has
-so strong an odour as to be called stinking by the inhabitants, and
-that their flesh is not good to eat.
-
-M. de Vosmaer, to his description of the flying squirrel, has added a
-note, in which he says, "the _coes-coes_ is the _bosch_ of the East
-Indies, the _philandre_ of Seba, and the _didelphie_ of Linnaeus. M.
-de Buffon has confined this animal to the new world, and positively
-denies its existence in the East Indies; but I can assure that learned
-naturalist that Valentin and Seba said no more than the truth, in
-affirming they were common to both Asia and America, for I have had a
-male and female sent me from the East Indies, and Dr. Schlosser, at
-Amsterdam received one of the same species from Amboyna. The principal
-difference between those of the East and West Indies is in the colour
-of the hair, the male of the former being of a yellowish white, and
-the female a little darker, with a brown line on the back, and their
-ears are less than those of the latter. The heads also of the West
-India species are much shorter than those of the East." I have not
-the smallest reason to doubt M. Vosmaer's receiving two animals from
-the East Indies, under the name of _coes-coes_, but am of opinion the
-differences which he points out are sufficient to induce us not to
-consider them the same species as the opossums. I, however, confess the
-justice of his observation upon my making the three philandres of Seba
-the same animal, when, in fact, the third is a different species, and
-found in the Philippine islands, and possibly in many parts of the East
-Indies, where it is called _coes-coes_, or _cous-cous_. Christopher
-Barchewitz gives a description of this animal found in the island of
-Lethy, and from the similarity it plainly appears, that the East India
-_cuscus_ is of the same genus as the American opossum; but that is no
-proof of their being of the same species; and I am still of opinion,
-that the animals of one continent will not be found in the other,
-unless they have been transported thither. I do not mean to deny the
-possibility of the same climates in the two continents producing some
-animals of exactly the same species, provided other circumstances were
-the same; I am not, however, treating here of possibilities, but of
-general facts, of which we have given many instances in our enumeration
-of animals peculiar to the two continents; and, upon the whole, I am
-inclined to consider the coes-coes of the East Indies as an animal
-whose species approaches very near to that of the opossums of America,
-but that they have similar differences, to those which are observable
-between the jaguar and leopards, which of all animals peculiar to
-the southern climates of the two continents, without being the same
-species, come the nearest to each other.
-
-
-
-
-THE MARMOSE.
-
-
-The species of the Marmose, or Murine Opossum, (_fig. 132._) resembles
-that of the preceding; they are natives of the same climate and the
-same continent; they are very much alike in the form of the body, the
-conformation of the feet, in the tail, which is mostly covered with
-scales, except the upper part, which is hairy, and by the teeth, which
-are more numerous than in other quadrupeds. But the marmose is smaller,
-and his snout sharper; the female has no pouch under the belly, she
-has only two loose skins near the thighs, between which the young
-fix themselves to the teats. The parts of generation of the male and
-female marmose resemble, by their form and their position, those of
-the opossum. When the young are brought forth, and fix themselves to
-the teats, they are not so big as small beans. The brood is also more
-numerous; I have seen ten young ones, each sticking to a different
-teat, and the mother had four more teats, which made fourteen in
-all. It is particularly on the females of this species that the
-observations, recommended in the preceding article, should be made; as
-I am persuaded they bring forth a few days after conception, and that
-the young are only foetuses which are not come to the fourth part of
-their growth. The mother always miscarries, and the foetuses save their
-lives by sticking to the teats, and never leaving them till they have
-acquired the growth and strength which they would naturally have got in
-the womb, if they had remained until the proper period.
-
-The marmose has the same manners, and the same inclinations, as the
-opossum; both of them dig burrows to dwell under the ground, hang by
-the extremities of their tails to the branches of trees, and rush upon
-birds and small animals; they eat fruit, corn, and roots, but they are
-still more greedy of fish and craw-fish, which, it is affirmed, they
-catch with their tails. This fact, however, is doubtful, and does not
-agree with the natural stupidity attributed to those animals, who,
-according to the relation of most travellers, do not even know how to
-move, fly, or defend themselves, with any degree of art.
-
-
-
-
-THE CAYOPOLLIN.
-
-
-Fernandes is the first author who has mentioned this animal. The
-Cayopollin, says he, is a small animal, little bigger than a rat, very
-much resembling the opossum in the snout, ears, and tail, and which
-he makes use of as we do our hands; he has thin transparent ears; his
-belly, legs, and feet, are white. The young, when frightened, seize
-hold of the mother, who carries them up on the trees. This species is
-found on the mountains of New Spain. Nieremberg has copied Fernandes
-verbatim, without any addition of his own. Seba, who first caused
-this animal to be engraved, gives no description of it; he only says,
-that he has the head thicker, and the tail a little bigger than the
-marmose, and that though he is of the same kind he belongs to another
-climate, and even to another continent. He refers his readers to
-Nieremberg and Johnston for a further description of this animal; but
-it seems evident that neither of them had seen him, as they only follow
-Fernandes. Neither of these three authors say that he is a native of
-Africa, on the contrary, they assert, that he comes originally from
-the mountains of the warm climates of America, and yet Seba, without
-any authority, has pretended, that it is an African animal. That which
-we have seen certainly came from America; he was larger, the snout
-not so sharp, and the tail was longer than those of the marmose, and
-he resembled the opossum more even than the marmose does. These three
-animals are much alike in the conformation of their interior and
-exterior parts, in their additional bones, form of their feet, in being
-brought forth before their entire formation, their long and continued
-adherence to the teats, and in their habits and dispositions. They are
-all three natives of the new world, and of the same climate; they are
-never found in the cold regions of America, nor can hardly live in
-temperate climates. All of them are very ugly; their mouths extended
-like that of a pike, their ears like those of a bat, their tails like
-that of a snake, and their monkey's feet present a very odd form, which
-is rendered still more disagreeable by their bad smell, and by the
-slowness and stupidity which accompany their actions and manners.
-
-
-
-
-THE ELEPHANT.
-
-
-The Elephant, the human species excepted, is the most considerable
-animal of this world; he surpasses all terrestrial beings in size, and
-approaches near to man in understanding, as much, at least, as matter
-can approach to mind. The elephant, dog, beaver, and ape, of all the
-animated beings, have the most admirable instinct; but this instinct,
-which is only the product of all the interior and exterior faculties
-of the animal, manifests itself very differently in every one of these
-species. The dog is naturally as cruel and bloody as the wolf; but his
-ferocious nature is to be conquered by gentleness: he only differs
-from the other animals of prey, by possessing a degree of sensibility,
-which makes him susceptible of affection, and capable of attachment.
-He has from nature this disposition, which man has cultivated and
-improved by a constant and ancient society with this animal. The
-dog alone was worthy of this attention, as he is more capable than
-any other quadruped of foreign impressions, his social nature has
-improved all his relative faculties. His sensibility, tractable temper,
-courage, talents, and even his manners, are modified by the example
-and qualities of his matter. He has not then, from nature, all those
-qualifications he appears to possess, but has acquired them from his
-intercourse with men; he is only more susceptible of tuition than other
-animals; far from having, like most of them, a disgust for man, his
-inclination leads him to seek their society: actuated by a desire of
-pleasing, his tractability, fidelity, constant submission, and that
-attention necessary to act in consequence of man's orders, are the
-result of this natural sentiment.
-
-The ape, on the contrary, is untractable and eccentric; his nature
-is perverse; he has no relative sensibility, no gratitude for good
-treatment, and no remembrance of favours; he is naturally averse from
-the society of man, he hates constraint, is mischievous by nature,
-and inclined to do every thing hurtful and disagreeable. But these
-real faults are compensated by seeming perfections. His exterior
-conformation resembles that of man, he has arms, hands, and fingers.
-The use of these parts alone, makes him superior in dexterity to
-other animals; and the affinities to us which he then possesses by a
-similarity of motions, and the conformity of his actions, please and
-deceive us, and induce us to attribute to interior qualities, what
-depends merely on the formation of his members.
-
-The beaver, who seems inferior to the dog and ape, by his individual
-faculties, has nevertheless received from Nature a gift almost
-equivalent to that of speech; he makes himself so well understood by
-those of his own species, as to bring them together; to act in concert,
-and to undertake and execute extensive and continued labours in common;
-and this social love, as well as the product of their reciprocal
-understanding, have better claims to our admiration, than the dexterity
-of the ape, or the faithfulness of the dog.
-
-Thus the dog's genius is only borrowed; the ape has but the appearance
-of sagacity, and the beaver is only sensible in regard to himself, and
-those of his species. The elephant is superior to them all three, for
-in him are united all their most eminent qualities. The hand is the
-principal organ of the ape's dexterity; the elephant is equally so
-with his trunk, which serves him instead of arms and hands, by it he
-can lift up, and seize small as well as large objects, carry them to
-his mouth, place them on his back, hold them fast, or throw them to a
-distance; he has at the same time the docility of the dog; he is, like
-him, susceptible of gratitude, capable of a strong attachment, attends
-upon man without reluctance, and submits to him, not so much by force
-as good treatment; serves him with zeal, intelligence, and fidelity;
-in fine, the elephant, the same as the beaver, likes the society of
-his own species, and by whom he is understood. They are often seen to
-assemble together, disperse, and act in concert, and if they do not
-carry on any work in common, it is, perhaps, only for want of room and
-tranquillity; for men have been very anciently multiplied in all the
-regions inhabited by the elephant; he consequently lives in fear and
-anxiety, and is no where a peaceful possessor of a space large and free
-enough to establish a secure habitation. We have seen that all these
-advantages are requisite to manifest the talents of the beaver, and
-that wherever men are settled, he loses his industry, and ceases to
-build. Every being has its relative value in Nature. To judge of the
-elephant, we must allow him to possess the sagacity of the beaver,
-the dexterity of the ape, the sentiment of the dog with the peculiar
-advantages of strength, bigness, and longevity. We must not forget his
-arms, or tusks, with which he can pierce through and conquer the lion.
-We should also recollect that he shakes the ground at every step; that
-with his trunk he roots out trees; that with the strength of his body,
-he makes a breach in the wall; that though tremendous by his strength,
-he is more invincible by the resistance of his bulky massiveness, and
-the thickness of his skin; that he can carry on his back an armed tower
-filled with many men; and 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 passions; 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 some offence; and he remembers
-favours as long as injuries. Having no taste for flesh, and feeding
-chiefly upon vegetables, he is not naturally an enemy to any living
-creature; he is beloved by them all, since all of them respect, and
-no one has cause to fear him. For these reasons, men at all times
-have had a sort of veneration for this first of animals. The ancients
-considered the elephant as a prodigy, a miracle of Nature, and he is
-in reality her greatest effort; they have attributed to him without
-hesitation, intellectual qualities and moral virtues.
-
-Pliny, AElian, Solinus, Plutarch, and other more modern authors,
-have even given to this animal rational faculties, a natural innate
-religion, the observation of a daily worship, such as that of the sun
-and moon, the use of ablution before adoration, a spirit of divination,
-piety towards heaven and their fellow creatures whom they assist at
-their deaths; and after their decease, express their regret by tears,
-and cover them with earth. The Indians, prepossessed with the opinion
-of the metempsychosis, are to this day persuaded, that a body so
-majestic as that of the elephant cannot be animated but by the soul of
-a great man, or a king. They respect at Siam,[AE] Laos, and Pegu, white
-elephants as the living manes of the emperors of India. They have
-each of them a palace, a number of servants, golden vessels, exquisite
-dainties, magnificent trappings, and are absolved from all labour and
-obedience; the living emperor is the only one before whom they kneel
-down, and the monarch returns the salute. These flattering attentions,
-this respect, these offerings flatter them but do not inspire them with
-vanity; they have not consequently a human soul, and this circumstance
-should be sufficient to prove it to the Indians.
-
-[Footnote AE: The white elephant, so much respected in India, and who
-has been the cause of so many wars, is very small and wrinkled with
-age. He is attended by several mandarins who are appointed to take care
-of him, and his victuals is presented to him in large golden vessels;
-his apartment is very magnificent, and gilt all round. At about a
-league from the country-house belonging to the king, is another white
-elephant, kept as a successor to the former, whom they say is 300 years
-old. He is also attended by mandarins, and his mother and aunt are kept
-with him out of respect. _Premier Voyage du P. Tachard._]
-
-Without adopting the credulities of antiquity, and the puerile fictions
-of superstition, the elephant is an animal still worth the attention
-of a philosopher, who ought to consider him as a being of the first
-distinction. He deserves to be known, and to be observed; we shall
-therefore write his history with impartiality; we shall consider him
-at first in his state of nature when he is free and independent, and
-afterwards in his servile condition, when the will of his master
-becomes the cause of his actions.
-
-In a wild state, the elephant is neither sanguinary nor ferocious; he
-is of a mild temper, and never makes a bad use of his arms, or his
-strength; for he never employs or exerts them but in his own defence,
-or in protecting others of his species. His manners are social, for he
-is seldom wandering alone: they commonly walk in troops, the oldest
-leading, and the next in age bringing up the rear; the young and the
-weak keeping in the middle. The females carry their young, and hold
-them close with their trunks. They only observe this order in perilous
-marches when they go to feed on cultivated lands; they travel with
-less precaution in forests and solitary places, but without separating
-to such a distance as not to be able to give to each other mutual
-assistance, and warnings of danger. Some, however, straggle, and
-remain behind, and it is none but these the hunters dare attack, 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, for they go straight to the offender, and
-notwithstanding the great heaviness of their bodies they walk so fast
-that they easily overtake the most agile man; they pierce him through
-with their tusks, or seize him with their trunks; throw him like a
-stone, and then kill him by treading him under their feet. But it is
-only when they have been provoked that they become so furious and so
-implacable; they do no harm to those who do not disturb them; yet,
-as they are very suspicious, and sensible of injuries, it is proper
-to avoid them; and the travellers who frequent the countries where
-they are numerous, light great fires in the night, and beat drums,
-to prevent their approach. It is said that when they have been once
-attacked by men, or have fallen into a snare, they never forget it,
-but seek for revenge on all occasions. As they have a most exquisite
-sense of smelling, perhaps more perfect than that of any other animal,
-they smell a man at a great distance, and can easily follow him by the
-scent. The ancients have asserted that the elephant tears up the grass
-where the hunters have passed, and with their trunks convey it to each
-other, in order to give information of the passage and march of the
-enemy. These animals are fond of the banks of rivers, deep valleys,
-shady places, and marshy grounds. They cannot go long without water,
-which they make thick and muddy before they drink it. They often fill
-their trunks with water, either to convey it to their mouths, or only
-to cool their noses, and to amuse themselves in sprinkling it around
-them. They cannot support cold, and suffer equally from excessive heat;
-to avoid the burning rays of the sun, they penetrate into the thickest
-recesses of the forests. They bathe often in the water; the enormous
-size of their bodies is rather an advantage to them in swimming, and
-they do not sink so deep in the water as other animals; besides, the
-length of their trunks, which they erect in the air, 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, but they have a dislike to flesh and fish.
-When one of them finds a good pasture, he calls the others, and invites
-them to come and feed with him. As they consume 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 enormous
-weight, they destroy ten times more with their feet, than they consume
-for their food, which may be reckoned at 150lbs. of grass daily; and
-as they always keep in great numbers together, they will lay waste a
-large territory in an hour's time; for this reason the Indians and
-Negroes exert every means to prevent their visits, and to drive them
-away; they make great noises, and large fires round their cultivated
-lands; yet, notwithstanding these precautions, 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; the only things that can stop their
-progress are fire-works, and crackers thrown amongst them; the sudden
-and repeated noise of which sometimes occasions them to turn back. It
-is very difficult to part them, for they commonly act together whether
-they attack, proceed, or turn back.
-
-When the females come in season this social intercourse yields to a
-more lively sentiment; the herd separate in pairs, having each chosen
-their mates; they then seek for solitary places, and in their march
-love seems to precede and modesty to follow them; for they observe the
-greatest mystery in their amours, and they have never been seen to
-couple. They avoid the inspection of their own species, and, perhaps,
-know better than ourselves the pure delight of secret pleasure, being
-wholly taken with one beloved object. They retire into shady woods
-and most solitary places, to give themselves up, without disturbance
-or restraint, to the impulses of Nature, which are strong and lasting,
-as they have long intervals between their seasons of love. The female
-goes two years with young; when she is in that condition the male
-abstains from her, and thus are they subjected to the influence of love
-but once in three years. They bring forth only one young, which has
-teeth at its birth, and is then bigger than a wild boar; his tusks are
-not visible, but they appear soon after, and when six months old they
-are some inches long. At that age the elephant is bigger than the ox,
-and the tusks continue to increase till he is much advanced in years,
-provided the animal is in health, and at liberty, for it is scarcely
-to be imagined how much slavery and unnatural food change his natural
-habit and constitution.
-
-The elephant is easily tamed, brought into submission, and instructed,
-and as he is the strongest and most sensible of animals, he is more
-serviceable than any of them; but he seems always to feel his servile
-condition, for though subject to the powerful impressions of love they
-never couple, nor produce in a state of domesticity. His passion,
-irritated by constraint, degenerates into fury; as he cannot indulge
-it without witnesses he becomes violent and intractable, and the
-strongest chains and fetters are often found necessary to stop his
-impetuosity, and subdue his anger. Thus the elephant differs from all
-domestic animals which man treats or manages as beings without will;
-he is not like these born slaves, which we mutilate or multiply for
-our use. Here the individual alone is a slave, the species remains
-independent, and constantly refuses to increase for the benefit of
-their tyrants. This alone shews in the elephant elevated sentiments
-superior to the nature of common brutes. To be agitated by the most
-ardent desires, and to deny themselves the satisfaction of enjoying
-them; to be subjected to all the fury of love, and yet not to violate
-the laws of modesty, are, perhaps, the highest efforts of human virtue,
-but which in these majestic animals are all suggested by instinct, and
-from which they never deviate. Enraged that they cannot be gratified
-without witnesses their fury becomes stronger than their passion of
-love, destroys the effects of it, and provokes, at the same time, that
-anger which, in those instants, renders the elephant more dangerous
-than any other wild animal.
-
-We should be inclined to doubt this fact, were it possible, but
-naturalists, historians, and travellers, all agree, that the elephants
-never produce in a domestic state. The kings of India keep a great
-number of them, and after having endeavoured in vain to make them
-multiply, like other domestic animals, they found it necessary to part
-the males from the females, to prevent that fury which is occasioned
-by the irritation of desires they will not satisfy in a state of
-subjection. There are, therefore, no domestic elephants but what have
-been wild, 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 frequented by the elephants, a spot
-is chosen, and encircled with palisadoes; the strongest trees of the
-forest serve for stakes, to which are fastened cross pieces of timber,
-which support the other stakes. A man may easily pass through this
-palisado; a large opening is also left, through which the elephant may
-go in, and over it is a trap, or large stake, which is let down to
-shut the opening after the animal has entered. To bring him to this
-inclosure the hunters take a tame female with them into the forest,
-who is in season, and when when they think she is near enough to be
-heard they oblige her to make the cry of love, the wild male answers
-immediately, and begins his march to meet her. She is then led towards
-the inclosure, repeating her call now and then; she arrives first,
-and the male following her track enters through the same gate. As
-soon as he perceives himself enclosed his ardour vanishes, and when
-he discovers the hunters he becomes furious; they throw ropes at him
-with a running knot, by which they fetter his legs and trunk; they then
-bring two or three tame elephants, led by dextrous men, and endeavour
-to tie him to one of them; in short, by dint of dexterity, strength,
-terror, and caresses, they succeed in taming him in a few days.
-
-I shall not enter into more particulars on this subject, but refer
-to those travellers who have been ocular witnesses of the manner of
-hunting the elephants;[AF] it varies according to different countries,
-and according to the power and the abilities of those who make war
-against them, for instead of erecting, like the kings of Siam, walls,
-terraces, or making palisades around large inclosures, the poor negroes
-use the most simple snares; they dig pits in the passages, where the
-elephants are known to pass, so deep as to prevent their getting out
-again when fallen in.
-
-[Footnote AF: For the purpose of hunting the elephant, they have at a
-little distance from Luovo, a kind of amphitheatre, surrounded with
-high walls, where those are placed who wish to see the sport. In the
-middle of these walls a palisade is formed, with strong stakes fixed
-in the ground; a pretty large opening is left on the side next the
-forest, and a smaller one towards the city, into which the elephant
-cannot enter without difficulty. Upon the day fixed upon for the chace,
-the hunters go into the forests upon some female elephants covering
-themselves with leaves to prevent being seen; having reason to suppose
-there are wild ones near, they make the females utter certain cries,
-and which the wild males instantly answer; the hunter then drives the
-female back to the above amphitheatre, whither the male constantly
-follows her, and being entered the large opening is immediately shut.
-At the one we were present, the females went out on the other side,
-but from the smallness of the size the wild one refused to enter;
-the females repeated their cries, and some of the Siamese began to
-irritate him, by clapping their hands, and crying _pat, pat_, while
-others struck him with long poles that had sharp points, all of whom he
-pursued, but they escaped by slipping between the palisades, sufficient
-spaces being left for that purpose; at length he fixed upon one whom he
-pursued with great fury, and the man running into this narrow passage
-the elephant followed him, but the moment he entered, the bars, before
-and behind, were let fall, and he no sooner found himself in the snare
-than he made the most violent efforts, and raised the most hideous
-cries. The hunters then endeavoured to sooth him by flinging quantities
-of water upon his body and trunk, rubbing him with leaves, putting oil
-on his ears, and bringing tame elephants, who seemed to caress him with
-their trunks, one of which, properly trained, was mounted by a man who
-made him go backwards and forwards to shew as it were the stranger that
-he had nothing to fear. Ropes were thrown round his hind legs and body,
-and then the bar was taken away from the further end, where being come
-he was tied to two tame elephants one of each side of him these led
-him the way while another pushed him behind with his head until they
-came to a kind of shade where he was fastened to a large post, like the
-capstan of a ship, and there left till the next day. While here, one
-of the Bramins, or priests, dressed in white, and mounted on another
-elephant, goes to him and sprinkles him with consecrated water, which
-they imagine has the power of divesting him of his ferocity. Next day
-he is marched off with the other elephants, and by the end of the
-fifteenth, they are in general perfectly tame. _Premier Voyage du P.
-Tachard._
-
-In Ethiopia they take great numbers of these animals by forming an
-inclosure in the thickest parts of the forests, leaving a sufficient
-opening, with a door lying flat on the ground; the hunters sit to watch
-for the elephant on a tree and as soon as he enters they draw up the
-door with a rope, then descend and attack him with arrows, but if by
-any chance he gets out of his confinement, he kills every man that he
-can come near. _L'Afrique de Marmol._
-
-At Ceylon they take the elephant by digging deep ditches lightly
-covering them over, in places frequented by these animals, who coming
-on this covering in the night, unavoidably fall in and are unable to
-get out again; here the slaves supply them with food, to whom they,
-in a short time, are so accustomed, and familiar, as to be led up to
-Goa perfectly tame. They have also a mode of hunting them with two
-tame females, whom they take into the forests, and coming near a wild
-elephant, they let them loose; these go up to the strange one on each
-side, press so closely against him as to force him their way, and
-render it impossible for him to escape. _Memoir es touchant les Indes
-Orientales. Voyages de P. Philippe, Thevenot, &c._]
-
-The elephant, when once tamed, becomes the most tractable and
-submissive of all animals; he conceives an affection for his leader,
-caresses him, and seems to foresee whatever can please him; in a
-little time he understands signs, and even the expression of sounds;
-he distinguishes the tones of command, anger, or approbation, and acts
-accordingly. He never mistakes the voice of his master; he receives his
-orders with attention, executes them with prudence and eagerness, but
-without precipitation, for his motions are always measured, and his
-character seems to participate of the gravity of his body. He is easily
-taught to bend his knees to assist those who ride on his back; he
-caresses his friends, salutes the persons he is directed to take notice
-of, lifts up burdens, and helps to load himself with his trunk; he has
-no aversion to being clothed, and seems to delight in a golden harness
-or magnificent trappings; he is easily put into traces, and often
-employed in drawing; he draws evenly, without slopping or any marks
-of dislike, provided he is not insulted by unseasonable correction,
-and that his driver seems to approve the spontaneous exertion of his
-strength. His conductor is mounted on his neck, and makes use of an
-iron rod, hooked at the end, with which he strikes him on the head, or
-sides, to make him turn, or increase his pace; but a word is commonly
-sufficient, especially, if the animal has bad time to make himself
-well acquainted with his conductor, and has a confidence in him. His
-attachment is sometimes so strong, and so lasting, and his affection so
-great, that he will refuse to serve a second person, and has been known
-to die of grief when in a fit of rage he has happened to destroy his
-keeper.
-
-The species of the elephant is numerous, though they bring forth but
-one in two or three years. In proportion to the shortness of the life
-of an animal is its multiplicity of production; and in the elephant
-the duration of its existence compensates for the smallness of its
-number; and if it be true that they live 200 years, and propagate
-until they are 120, each couple may bring forth forty in that time.
-Besides, having nothing to fear from other animals, and being taken by
-men with great difficulty and danger, the species has not decreased,
-and is generally dispersed in all the southern parts of Africa and
-Asia. They are numerous at Ceylon, in the Mogul dominions, in Bengal,
-Siam, Pegu, and the other territories of India. They are perhaps, in
-a greater number in the South of Africa, except some parts which
-they have abandoned, since they have been so fully inhabited by men.
-They are faithful to their country, and constant to their climate,
-for though they can live in temperate regions it does not seem that
-they ever attempted to settle, or even to travel into them. They were
-formerly unknown in Europe. It does not seem that Homer, who speaks
-of the ivory, knew the animal from whom it is obtained. Alexander was
-the first who rode upon an elephant in Europe. He sent into Greece
-those which he took at Porus, and were, perhaps, the same which Pyrrhus
-employed several years after against the Romans, in the Tarentine
-war, and with which Curius adorned his triumph into Rome. Hannibal
-afterwards brought them from Africa, made them pass the Alps, and led
-them almost to the gates of Rome.
-
-From time immemorial the Indians have made use of elephants in war.
-Among those nations, unacquainted with military discipline, they
-formed their best troop, and as long as battles were decided by iron
-weapons they commonly vanquished. Yet we learn by history that the
-Greeks and Romans soon used themselves 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
-obliged to turn all their attention to the elephant, when separated
-from their troops. Now that fire is become the element of war, and the
-principal instrument of death, elephants, who are afraid of noise and
-flame, would be rather an incumbrance in battle, and more dangerous
-than useful. The kings of India still arm their elephants in war, but
-it is more for shew than for real service; yet they derive from these
-animals the same utility that arises from an army which is to enslave
-their equals; they make use of them to subdue the wild elephants. The
-most powerful monarchs of the Indies have now above 200 elephants for
-war. They keep many others for different services, and to carry the
-large cages in which their women travel; it is a perfectly safe way of
-travelling, for the elephant never stumbles; but time is required to be
-used to the motions of his pace. The best place is upon the neck, as
-you there ride more easy than on the shoulders or the back; but in war,
-or hunting, several men ride the same elephant: the conductor rides on
-his neck, and the hunters, or warriors, are placed on other parts of
-his body.
-
-In those happy regions, where our cannon and our murdering arts are
-yet scarcely known, they fight still upon elephants. At Cochin, and
-in the other parts of Malabar, they make no 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, ride on nothing but
-elephants; on festival days they are preceded and followed by a great
-number of these animals, superbly caparisoned, and covered with the
-richest stuffs. They surround their tusks with gold and silver rings;
-they paint their ears and cheeks; they crown them with garlands, and
-their harness is ornamented with little bells; they seem to delight in
-magnificent attire, and the more their trappings are rich and splendid
-the more they are cheerful and caressing. It is only in the East
-Indies that the elephants are so far improved, for in Africa they can
-scarcely tame them. The Asiatics, anciently civilized, have reduced
-the education of the elephant into a system, and they have instructed
-and modified him according to their manners. But of all the Africans
-the Carthaginians were the only people who trained up the elephants to
-war, because at the time of the splendor of their commonwealth they
-were, perhaps, more civilized than any other of the eastern nations.
-At present no wild elephants are found in all that part of Africa on
-this side Mount Atlas; there are even few beyond those mountains, as
-far as the river Senegal. But they are numerous in Senegal, in Guinea,
-in Congo, and on the Teeth Coast, in the countries of Anto, Acra,
-Benin, and all the other southern parts of Africa, as far as the Cape
-of Good Hope, except some provinces very populous, such as Fida, Ardra,
-&c. They are also found in Abyssinia, in Ethiopia, in Nigritia, on the
-eastern coast, and in the inland parts of Africa. They are also in the
-great islands of India and Africa, such as Madagascar, Java, and the
-Philippines.
-
-After comparing the relations of travellers and historians it seems
-that elephants are actually more numerous in Africa than in Asia; they
-are there also less mistrustful, and not so shy, as if they knew the
-unskilfulness and the little power of the men who inhabit this part
-of the world; they come daily without fear to their habitations, and
-treat the negroes with that natural and scornful indifference they
-have for other animals; they do not consider those men as powerful and
-formidable beings, but as a species whose skill consists in laying
-snares, without having the courage to encounter them, and absolutely
-ignorant of the art of reducing them into subjection. It is by this
-art known, from the earliest times, to the eastern nations, that their
-species is diminished. The wild elephants, which they tame, become by
-their captivity, like so many voluntary eunuchs, which daily drain
-the source of generation; but, on the contrary, in Africa, where they
-are all free, the whole species propagate, and all the individuals
-constantly concur to its increase. I do not know any other cause
-for this difference in their numbers, for, in considering the other
-effects, it seems the south of India, and the east of Africa, are the
-natural countries, and the most suitable to the elephant. He is there
-much larger and stronger than in Guinea, or in the other western parts
-of Africa. He fears excessive heat, and never inhabits the burning
-sands; he is most frequently found on the flat countries near the
-rivers, and never on the hilly parts of Africa; but in India the most
-powerful and the most courageous of the species, and who have the
-strongest and longest tusks, are the elephants of the mountains; they
-inhabit the high grounds, where the air being more temperate, the water
-more pure, and the food more wholesome, they gradually arrive to the
-full perfection of their nature.
-
-In general the elephants of Asia are larger and superior in strength,
-to those of Africa; particularly those of Ceylon, which exceed in
-courage and sagacity even those of Asia. Probably they owe these
-qualifications to their more improved education; it is, however,
-certain, that all travellers have celebrated the elephants of this
-island, where the ground is interspersed with mountains, which rise
-gradually towards the centre, and where the heat is not so excessive as
-in Senegal, Guinea, and other western parts of Africa. The ancients,
-who knew no more of this part of the world, but the countries seated
-between Mount Atlas and the Mediterranean, had observed, that the
-elephants of Lybia were much smaller than those of India. There are not
-any elephants at this time, in that part of Africa, which proves, as
-mentioned in the article of the Lion, that men are more numerous there
-now than they were in the ages of Carthage. The elephants have retired
-in proportion as men have molested them; but in travelling through the
-climates of Africa, they have not changed their nature; for those of
-Senegal, Guinea, &c. are at this time smaller than those of India.
-
-The strength of these animals is proportionate to their bigness. The
-elephants of India carry with ease burdens of three or four thousand
-pounds weight; the smallest, that is, those of Africa, lift up freely
-with their trunks, burdens of two hundredweight, and place them on
-their shoulders; they take into their trunks a great quantity of water,
-which they throw out around them, at seven or eight feet distance; they
-can carry a weight of a thousand pounds upon their tusks; with their
-trunks they break off branches, and with their tusks they root out
-trees. Their strength may be judged of by their agility, comparatively
-to the bulk of their bodies; they walk as fast as a horse goes on
-an easy trot; and they run as fast as a horse can gallop; which
-seldom happens in their wild state, except when they are provoked
-or frightened. The tame elephants are commonly walked; they travel
-easily, and without fatigue, fifteen or twenty leagues a day; and, when
-hurried, they can travel thirty-five or forty. Their steps are heard
-at a great distance, and they may be followed by their tracks, for
-the marks they leave on the ground are fifteen or eighteen inches in
-diameter.
-
-A domestic elephant does, perhaps, to his master more real service than
-five or six horses; but he requires much care and abundance of good
-food; it is computed that he consumes to the amount of an hundred
-pence per day. He is commonly fed with raw or boiled rice mixed with
-water; and it is reckoned he wants one hundred pounds of rice daily to
-be kept in his full vigour; they give him also grass to cool him, for
-he is often over-heated, and must be led to the water that he may bathe
-two or three times a day; he easily learns to wash himself; he takes
-the water up in his trunk, carries it to his mouth, drinks part, and
-then by elevating his trunk, lets the remainder flow over every part
-of his body. To give an idea of the services he is able to perform, it
-is sufficient to observe, that all the bags, bales, and parcels, which
-are transported from one place to another in the Indies, are carried by
-elephants; that they carry burdens on their bodies, their necks, their
-tusks, and even with their mouths, by giving them the end of a rope
-which they hold with their teeth.
-
-When the elephant is taken care of he lives a long time even in
-captivity; and it is to be presumed, that in a state of liberty his
-life is still longer. Some authors say he lives four or five hundred
-years; others, two or three hundred; and others, one hundred and
-twenty, thirty, and even one hundred and fifty years. I take this last
-opinion to be the nearest to the truth; and if it is certain, that
-captive elephants live one hundred and twenty or thirty years; those
-who are free, and enjoy all the conveniences and rights of Nature,
-must live at least two hundred; besides, if their gestation lasts
-two years, and thirty years are required to bring them to their full
-growth, we may be assured that their life extends to the term we have
-mentioned. It is not so much the captivity, as the change of climate
-which shortens their existence: whatever care is taken of the elephant,
-he does not live long in temperate, and still shorter in cold climates.
-The elephant which the King of Portugal sent to Louis XIV. in 1668, and
-who was then but four years old, died in his seventeenth, 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 score pounds of bread, twelve pints of wine, two
-buckets of porridge, with four or five pounds of bread in it, the last
-was changed every other day for two buckets of rice boiled in water,
-without reckoning what was given him by visitors. He had, besides,
-every day a sheaf of corn to amuse himself; for, after eating the ears,
-he made large whisps of the straw, and used them 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 pulled and eat the grass. The elephant who was lately at Naples,
-though the heat is greater than at Paris, lived there but a few years.
-Those which have been transported to Petersburg perished successively,
-notwithstanding they were well sheltered, covered, and warmed with
-stoves; consequently, we may conclude, that this animal cannot live in
-a state of nature, nor multiply in Europe. But I am surprised that the
-Portuguese, who first knew the use and value of these animals in the
-East Indies, did not transport them into the warm climate of Brasil,
-where they might have propagated, if left at liberty.
-
-The common colour of the elephant is of ash grey, or blackish. White
-ones, as we have observed, are extremely scarce: and some have been
-seen in the Indies of a reddish colour; these and the white are
-much esteemed; but these varieties are so scarce, that they cannot
-be considered as a race distinct from the species, but rather as
-accidental qualities peculiar to individuals; for otherwise, the
-countries of the white, red, and black elephants would be known, as
-well as the climates of white, red, and black men, and those of a
-copper colour. "Elephants of three different sorts are found in the
-Indies; (says Father Vincent Marie) the white, which are the largest,
-most gentle, and of the best temper, are worshipped as gods by several
-nations; the red, such as those of Ceylon, though the smallest, are the
-most valiant, the strongest, and best for war, and the other elephants,
-either from natural inclination, or perceiving in them something
-superior, shew them a great respect; the third species, is that of the
-black, which are the most common, and the least esteemed." This author
-is the only one who has intimated that Ceylon was the peculiar climate
-of red elephants; other travellers make no mention of such a fact. He
-also affirms, that the elephants of Ceylon are smaller than the others.
-Thevenot says the same thing in his voyage, but others assert the
-contrary. Father Vincent Marie also, is the only author who has said
-the white elephants are the largest. Father Tachard assures us on the
-contrary, that the white elephant of the king of Siam was rather small,
-though very old. After comparing the relations of travellers, in regard
-to the size of elephants in different countries, it seems, that the
-smallest are those of North and West Africa, and that the ancients, who
-only knew the northern part of Africa, had some reason to say that,
-in general, the elephants of the Indies were much larger than those of
-Africa. But in the eastern parts of this quarter of the world, unknown
-to them, the elephants are at least as large as those of India; for
-those of Siam and Pegu excel in bulk the elephants of Ceylon; which,
-however, are the most courageous and intelligent, according to the
-unanimous opinion of travellers.
-
-Having thus collected the different facts relative to the species,
-let us now examine minutely the faculties of the individual; his
-senses, motion, size, strength, address, sagacity, and intelligence.
-The elephant has very small eyes, compared to the enormous size of
-his body, but they are bright and lively; and what distinguishes them
-from the eyes of all other animals, is their pathetic expression of
-sentiment, and an almost rational direction of all their motions.
-He turns them slowly and gently towards his master, and when he
-speaks, the animal has the appearance of listening to him with an
-eye of friendship and attention, and by an expressive glance seems
-to penetrate into his wishes, and anticipate his desires. 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 of which he is to obey. Dogs, the eyes of which have much
-expression, are animals too lively to allow us to distinguish their
-successive sensations; but as the elephant is naturally grave and
-sedate, we may read in his eyes, whose motions are slow, the order and
-succession of his interior affections.
-
-He has a quick hearing, and this organ, like that of smelling, is
-outwardly 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 and moves them with such facility that he makes use of
-them to defend his eyes against the inconveniency of dust and flies.
-He delights in the sound of musical instruments, and moves in exact
-time to the sound of the trumpet and tabor. He has an exquisite sense
-of smelling, and he is passionately fond of perfumes of all sorts,
-and especially of fragrant flowers; he gathers them one by one, makes
-nosegays of them, which he smells with eagerness, and then carries to
-his mouth, as if he intended to taste them. Orange flowers are one of
-his most exquisite dainties; he strips with his trunk an orange tree
-of all its verdure, eating the fruit, the flowers, the leaves, and even
-the young branches. He chuses in meadows odoriferous plants, and in the
-woods he gives the preference to cocoa, palm, and sago trees, and as
-these trees are pithy and tender he not only cats the leaves and fruits
-but even the branches, the trunk, and the roots, for when he cannot
-break the branches with his trunk, he roots up the trees with his tusks.
-
-In regard to the sense of feeling, it centres in his trunk; but it is
-as delicate and as distinct in that as in the human hand. This trunk,
-composed of membranes, nerves, and muscles, is, at the same time, a
-member capable of motion, and an organ of sentiment. The animal can
-not only move and bend it, but he can shorten, lengthen, and turn it
-all ways. The extremity of the trunk is terminated by a protuberance,
-which projects on the upper part like a finger, by which the elephant
-does the same as we do with our fingers; he picks up from the ground
-the smallest pieces of money; he gathers herbs and flowers, chusing
-them one after another; he unties knots, opens and shuts doors, by
-turning the keys or slipping the bolts: he learns to draw regular
-characters with an instrument as small as a pen. We cannot even deny
-that this hand of the elephant has several advantages over ours: it is
-equally flexible and as dexterous in feeling or laying hold of objects.
-These operations are made by means of that sort of finger, seated at
-the superior part of the border, which surrounds the extremity of the
-trunk, in the middle of which there is a concavity, in the form of a
-cup, and at the bottom of it are the two apertures, which convey the
-sense of smelling and respiration. The elephant, consequently, unites
-in his trunk both the senses of feeling and smelling; and he may join
-the power of his lungs to the action of his hand, either drawing
-liquids by suction, or lifting up very heavy burdens, by applying the
-extremity of his trunk, and making within an empty place by respiration.
-
-Thus the delicacy of feeling, exquisiteness of smelling, facility
-of motion, and the power of suction, are united in the trunk of the
-elephant. Of all the instruments which Nature has so liberally bestowed
-on her favourite productions, the trunk of the elephant is, perhaps,
-the most complete and the most admirable; it is not only an organic
-instrument, but a triple sense, whose united functions are, at the
-same time, the cause, and produce the effect of that intelligence,
-and of those peculiar faculties which distinguish the elephant, and
-raise him above all other quadrupeds. He is less subject than other
-animals to errors of sight, because he rectifies them quickly by the
-sense of feeling; and making use of his trunk as a long arm to feel
-distant bodies, he acquires, like men, distinct ideas of distance. But
-other animals (except the monkey, and some others, who have the fore
-feet similar to arms and hands) cannot acquire the same ideas without
-running over that space with their bodies. Feeling is, of all the
-senses, that which has the most relation to knowledge. The delicacy of
-feeling gives the idea of the substance of the bodies; the flexibility
-of the trunk gives the idea of their exterior form; the power of
-suction, that of their weight; smelling, that of their qualities;
-and its length, that of their distance. They, therefore, with the
-same member, and by one simultaneous act, feel, perceive, and judge
-of divers things at once. His multiplied sensations are equivalent
-to reflection; and though this animal is, like others, incapable of
-thinking, as his sensations are combined in the same organ, are coeval
-and undivided, it is not surprising that he has ideas of his own, and
-that he acquires in a little time those we inculcate to him. His
-remembrance should be more perfect than that of any other animal, for
-memory only depends chiefly on the circumstances of action; and no
-sensation, however lively, can leave a lasting impression, when single
-and abstractedly taken; but several combined sensations leave deep
-impressions, so that if the elephant cannot recall an idea by feeling
-alone, the sensations of smelling and suction, which act at the same
-time, help him in recalling them to remembrance. With us the best
-method to improve the memory is to make use successively of all our
-senses to consider an object; and it is for want of that combined use
-of the senses that man forgets more things than he can recollect.
-
-Although the elephant has a more retentive memory, and more
-intelligence than any other animal, his brain is proportionally smaller
-than most of them, which I only mention as a proof that the brain is
-not the seat of sentiment, the _sensorium commune_, which resides, on
-the contrary, in the nerves of the senses, and in the membranes of the
-head, which are so numerously distributed on the trunk of the elephant,
-as to be equal to all those on the rest of the body. It is, therefore,
-by virtue of this singular combination of faculties in the trunk, that
-this animal is superior to all others in intelligence, notwithstanding
-his enormous size, and the disproportion of his form; for the elephant
-is, at the same time, a miracle of intelligence, and a monster of
-matter. His body is very thick, without any suppleness; his neck short
-and stiff, his head small and deformed, his ears and nose exceedingly
-large; his eyes, mouth, genital members, and tail, very small in
-proportion; his legs are like massive pillars, straight and stiff; his
-feet so short and small, that they are hardly perceptible, and his skin
-hard, thick, and callous; all these deformities are more remarkable,
-from being exhibited on a large scale, and most of them being peculiar
-to himself alone, no other animal having either the head, feet, nose,
-ears, or tusks, placed like those of the elephant.
-
-From this singular conformation he suffers several inconveniences; he
-can scarcely move his head, or turn back without making a circuit. The
-hunters who attack him behind, or on the flanks, avoid the effects of
-his vengeance by circular motions, and they have sufficient time to
-strike him again whilst he is turning against them. His legs, which
-are not so stiff as his neck and body, yet bend very slowly, and
-with difficulty; their articulation with the thighs is very strong.
-His knee is situated like that of a man, and his feet as low; but his
-foot has no strength nor elastic power, and the knee is hard, without
-suppleness; yet whilst the elephant is in his youth and vigour, he
-bends it to lay down, to let himself be loaded, or to help his leaders
-to mount him; but when he is old or infirm, this motion becomes so
-difficult that he sleeps standing; and, if he is compelled to lay
-down, the use of engines are necessary to raise him. His tusks, which
-become of an enormous weight when he grows old, not being seated in
-a vertical position, as the horns of other animals, form two long
-levers, and being in an almost horizontal direction, fatigue his head
-prodigiously, and draw it downwards, so that the animal is sometimes
-obliged to make holes in the wall of his lodge to support them, and
-ease himself of their weight. He has the disadvantage of having the
-organ of smelling far distant from that of tasting; and likewise the
-inconvenience of not being able to seize any thing on the ground with
-his mouth, because his neck is too short to let his head reach the
-earth; he is forced, therefore, to take his food, and even his drink
-with his nose; and to carry it not only to the entrance of his mouth,
-but to his very throat; and when his trunk is full of water, he thrusts
-the extremity of it to the very root of the tongue, probably to push
-back the epiglottis, and to prevent the liquor which passes through
-with impetuosity, from entering into the larynx; for he thrusts out the
-water by the strength of the same air which he had employed to suck it
-up, and it goes out of the trunk with noise, and enters into the throat
-with precipitation. Neither the tongue, the mouth, nor the lips, are of
-any service to him, as to other animals, in sucking or lapping their
-drink. From this description seems to result the singular consequence,
-that the young elephant must suck with his nose, and afterwards carry
-the milk to his throat. Yet the ancients have written that he sucks
-with the mouth, and not with the trunk; but they were not, probably,
-witnesses of the fact, and have founded their opinion on the analogy
-with all other animals. If the young elephant had once been used to
-suck with his mouth, how could he lose that habit the remainder of
-his life? Why does he never use the mouth to take water within his
-reach? Why does he constantly employ two actions, where one would be
-sufficient? Why does he never take any thing with his mouth, but what
-is thrown in when it is open? It appears probable, therefore, that the
-young elephant sucks with his trunk only. This presumption is not only
-proved by the subsequent facts, but is also founded on a better analogy
-than that which decided the opinion of the ancients. We have said, that
-animals in general, at the instant they are brought forth, can have
-no indication of the food they want, from any other sense but that of
-smelling: the ear is certainly of no use in that respect; neither is
-the eye, since the eyes of most animals are not open when they begin
-to suck: feeling can give but a vague idea of all the parts of the
-mother's body, or rather indicates nothing relative to the appetite.
-Smelling alone directs him: it is not only a sort of taste, but a
-species of fore-taste, which precedes, accompanies, and determines the
-other. The elephant, like other animals, perceives by this fore-taste
-the presence of his food; and as the seat of smelling is united with
-the power of suction at the extremity of his trunk, he applies it to
-the teats, sucks the milk, and conveys it afterwards to his mouth to
-satisfy his appetite. Besides, the two paps being seated on the breast,
-like those of women, and the teats being very small in proportion to
-the size of the mouth of the young elephant, who cannot bend his neck,
-he could not reach the teat of his mother with his mouth, unless she
-laid upon her back, or on her side, and even in that situation he would
-find it very difficult to suck her, on account of the largeness of the
-mouth, and the smallness of the nipples. The margin of the trunk, which
-the elephant contracts as much as he pleases, is easily proportioned
-to the nipple, and the young elephant may suck his mother with it,
-either when she stands, or lies on her side. Thus, every thing agrees
-to confute the opinion of the ancients on this subject, for none of
-them, nor even any of the moderns, pretend to have seen the elephant
-sucking, and I think, I may affirm, that whenever that observation is
-made, it will appear, that he does not suck with his mouth, but with
-his trunk. I likewise believe, that the ancients have been mistaken in
-telling us, that elephants couple like other quadrupeds, the position
-of the parts seeming to make it almost impossible. The female has not,
-like other quadrupeds, the orifice of the vagina near the anus, being
-near three feet distance from it, and seated almost in the middle of
-the belly. Besides, naturalists and travellers agree that the male
-elephant has not the genital member longer than a horse, and therefore
-it is impossible for them to copulate like other quadrupeds, and that
-the female must necessarily lie on her back, and which De Feynes and
-Tavernier positively affirm must be the fact, though I should not pay
-much attention to their testimony were it not in conformity with the
-physical conformation; they require, therefore, for this operation,
-more time and conveniences, than other animals; and it is, perhaps, for
-this reason they never couple, but when at full liberty. The female
-must not only consent, but even place herself in an indecent situation,
-to provoke the male, which probably, she never assumes but when she
-thinks herself without witnesses. Is not modesty then a physical
-virtue of which animals are susceptible? It is at least like softness,
-moderation, temperance, a general attribute of the female sex.
-
-Thus the elephant neither sucks, eats, or drinks, like other
-quadrupeds. The sound of his voice is also very singular. If we believe
-the ancients, he has, as it were, two voices: the one issuing from the
-trunk, which is rough, and from the length of the passage is somewhat
-like that of a trumpet; and the other coming from his mouth, which is
-interrupted by short pauses and hard sighs. This fact, advanced by
-Aristotle and afterwards repeated by naturalists and some travellers,
-is at least doubtful. M. de Bussy affirms positively, that the elephant
-does not utter any sounds through the trunk; yet as in shutting the
-mouth close, man can make a sound through the nose, it is possible
-that the elephant, with so long a nose may issue sounds in the same
-manner. From wherever it proceeds, the cry of the elephant is heard at
-more than a league's distance; and yet, it is not so terrifying as the
-roaring of the lion or the tiger.
-
-The elephant is yet more singular in the conformation of his feet,
-and the texture of his skin. He is not clothed with hair like other
-quadrupeds, but his skin is perfectly bare; some bristles issue out in
-different parts, they are thinly scattered on the body, but more thick
-on the eye-lids, on the back part of the head, within the ears, the
-thighs, and the legs. The epidermis has two sorts of wrinkles, which
-are hard and callous, some sinking, others prominent, which gives a
-divided appearance, like the bark of an old oak. In man, and in other
-animals, the epidermis sticks every where close to the skin, but 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 divers crusts, which
-are regenerated one above the other, drying up. It is this thickness of
-the epidermis which produces the _elephantiasis_, or dry leprosy, to
-which man, whose skin is bare like that of the elephant, is sometimes
-subject. This distemper is very common to elephants, and to prevent it
-the Indians rub them often with oil, to preserve the skin clean and
-supple. It is very tender wherever it is not callous; in the fissures,
-and other places, where it is neither dry nor hard, the elephant is
-so sensible 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, ears, and trunk, to strike
-them; he contracts his skin and squeezes them to death betwixt his
-wrinkles; he takes branches of trees, boughs, and handfuls of straw,
-to drive them away, and when all this does not answer the purpose, he
-gathers dust with his trunk, and covers with it all the tender parts
-of his body. He often covers himself with dust several times in a day,
-particularly after bathing. The use of water is almost as necessary
-to these animals as air. When at liberty they seldom leave the banks
-of rivers, but often go into them, and remain for hours together up
-to the belly. In India, where they are treated most suitable to their
-nature and constitution, they wash them with care, and give them all
-the necessary time and opportunity to wash themselves. They clean their
-skins by rubbing it with pumice-stones, and afterwards they pour on
-them perfumed oil, and paint them with various colours.
-
-The conformation of the elephant's feet and legs is also different
-from that of other animals; the fore legs seem to be higher than those
-behind, yet the hind legs are the longest; they are not bent in two
-places, like the hind legs of a horse, or an ox, the thigh-bones of
-which seem to be of the same piece with the buttock, the knee very near
-the belly, and the bones of the foot so high and so long that they seem
-to make a great part of the leg; in the elephant, on the contrary, the
-foot is very short, and rests on the ground; he has the knee like man,
-in the middle of the leg; his short foot is divided into five toes,
-which are all covered with a skin, so as not to appear outwardly; we
-are only able to perceive a kind of nails, the number of which varies,
-though that of the toes is constant, for he has always five toes to
-each foot, and commonly five nails, but sometimes he has no more than
-four, or even three, and in this case they do not correspond exactly
-with the extremities of the toes. However, this variety, which has
-only been observed in young elephants transported to Europe, seems
-to be merely accidental, and depends, probably on the treatment the
-elephant has received in his youth. The sole of the feet is covered
-with a skin, as hard as the hoof, which projects all round; the nails
-are formed of the same substance.
-
-The ears of the elephant are very long; he makes use of them as a fan,
-and moves them as he pleases: his tail is not longer than his ears,
-being 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; these bristles are as big and as strong as wire,
-and a man cannot break them by pulling with his hands, though they
-are elastic and pliant. This tuft of hair is an ornament which the
-negro women are particularly partial to, from superstitious notions.
-An elephant's tail is sometimes sold for two or three slaves, and
-the negroes often hazard their lives to cut and snatch it from the
-living animal. Besides this tuft at the extremity, the tail is covered
-throughout with hard bristles, bigger than those of a wild boar; some
-are also found on the convex part of the trunk, and on the eye-brows,
-where they sometimes are a foot in length. The hairs on the eye-lids
-are peculiar to men, monkeys, and elephants.
-
-The climate, food, and condition, have great influence on the growth
-and size of the elephant. In general those who are taken young, and
-early lose their liberty, never come to their full growth. The biggest
-elephants of India, and the eastern coasts 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 are brought young into Europe acquire not that height. That which
-was in the menagerie of 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, and as the growth gradually diminishes as animals advance in
-years, if he had lived thirty years, which is the ordinary term of
-their full growth, he would not have been more than eight feet high.
-Thus a domestic state reduces the growth of the animal at least one
-third, not only in height but in all other dimensions. The length of
-the body, measured from the eye to the tail, is very near equal to
-his height; an elephant of the Indies, therefore, of fourteen feet
-high, is seven times bigger and heavier than was the elephant of
-Versailles. In comparing the growth of this animal with that of man
-we shall find, that an infant, being commonly thirty-one inches, that
-is half his height when he is two years old, and coming to his full
-growth at twenty, the elephant, who increases in height and bulk to his
-thirtieth year, should come to half his height in three years. In the
-same manner, if we judge of the enormity of the bulk of the elephant,
-it will be found, that the volume of a man's body being supposed to be
-two cubic feet and a half, the body of an elephant of fourteen feet in
-length, allowing him only three feet in thickness, and of a middling
-breadth, would be fifty times as big, and, consequently, an elephant
-ought to weigh as much as fifty men.
-
-"I have seen (says father Vincent Marie) some elephants who were
-fourteen or fifteen feet high, long and thick in proportion. The male
-is always larger than the female. The price of these animals increases
-in proportion to their size, which is measured from the eye to the
-extremity of the back, and after exceeding certain dimensions, the
-price increases like that of precious stones."
-
-"The elephants of Guinea (says Bosman) are ten, twelve, or thirteen
-feet in height, and yet they are incomparably smaller than those of the
-East Indies, since those who have written the history of that country,
-give to those more cubits in height, than the others have feet."
-
-"I have seen elephants thirteen feet high, (says Edward Terry) and I
-have met with many, who affirmed they have seen elephants fifteen feet
-high[AG]."
-
-[Footnote AG: These authors probably referred to different measures,
-the first meaning Roman, the second Rhenish, and the last English feet.]
-
-From these, and many other attestations, we may conclude, that the most
-common size of the elephant is from ten to eleven feet; that those of
-thirteen or fourteen feet are very scarce, and that the smallest are
-at least nine feet high when they come to their full growth in a state
-of liberty. These enormous lumps of matter, as we have observed, move
-with much celerity; they are supported by four members, which are more
-like pillars, or massive columns, than legs, and are from fifteen to
-eighteen inches in diameter, and five or six feet in height; their
-legs are therefore twice as long as those of a man; thus, though the
-elephant took but one step to a man's two, he would overtake him in
-running. The common pace of the elephant is not swifter than that of
-the horse; but when he is pressed, he goes a sort of amble, equivalent
-for quickness to a gallop. He executes with speed, and even with ease,
-all direct motion; but he has no facility for oblique or retrograde
-motions. It is commonly in narrow and deep roads, where he can hardly
-turn, that the negroes attack him, and cut off his tail, which they
-value as much as the whole animal. He cannot go down a steep declivity
-without much difficulty, he is then obliged to bend the hind legs,
-in order to keep the fore part of his body on a level with the hind,
-and that his own weight may not throw him down. He swims well, though
-the form of his legs and feet seem to indicate the contrary; but as
-the capacity of his breast and belly is very large, as the volume of
-the lungs and intestines is enormous, and as those parts are full of
-air, or matter lighter than water, he sinks less deep than any other
-animal; he finds less resistance to overcome, and, consequently, can
-swim faster in making less efforts with his limbs. Thus, he is very
-useful for crossing rivers; besides two field-pieces, each of them
-four-pounders, with which he is loaded on these occasions, he carries
-heavy baggage, and several persons holding him by the ears and tail.
-When thus loaded, he swims deep in the water, and nothing is seen but
-his trunk, which he keeps erect to enable him to breathe.
-
-Though the elephant commonly feeds on herbs and young branches, and
-requires prodigious quantities of these aliments, to extract from them
-the nutrition necessary to such a body, yet he has not many stomachs,
-like most animals who feed on the same substances. He has but one
-stomach, does not ruminate, and is formed more like the horse than
-the ox, or other ruminating animals. The want of a paunch is supplied
-by the bigness and length of his intestines, and especially of the
-colon, which is two or three feet in diameter, and fifteen or twenty
-in length. The stomach is much smaller than the colon, being but four
-feet, at the most, in length, and a foot and a half in diameter. To
-fill such a capaciousness, the animal must eat almost continually,
-especially when he has no food more substantial than herbage; therefore
-the wild elephants are almost always employed in grubbing up trees,
-gathering herbs, or breaking young boughs; and those that are tame,
-though fed with great quantities of rice, pluck up herbs whenever
-they find an opportunity. However great the appetite of the elephant,
-he eats with moderation, and his taste for cleanliness gets the better
-of his wants. His dexterity in parting, with his trunk, the good
-leaves from the bad, and the care he takes to shake off the sand or
-insects, are convincing marks of his delicacy. He is very fond of
-wine, spirituous liquors, brandy, and arrack. He is prevailed upon to
-exert his greatest efforts, and to undertake the most arduous task, by
-shewing him a vessel full of these liquors, and promising it to him as
-the reward of his labours. He seems also to like the smoke of tobacco,
-but it stupifies and intoxicates him: he has a natural aversion to bad
-smells, and such an antipathy for hogs, that the cry of that animal
-disorders and puts him to flight.
-
-To give a complete idea of the nature and intelligence of this singular
-animal, I shall insert here some particulars communicated to me by the
-Marquis de Montmirail, President of the Royal Academy of Sciences,
-who has taken the trouble to translate from some Italian and German
-books, which were not known to me, whatever relates to the history of
-the animal creation. His taste for arts and sciences, his zeal for
-the advancement of them, his exquisite judgment, and a very extensive
-knowledge of all the parts of Natural History, entitle him to the
-greatest respect, and it is with pleasure and gratitude I refer to the
-information he has given me, and which I shall have frequent occasion
-to refer to in the subsequent part of this work:--"They make use of
-the elephant to carry artillery over mountains; and it is then that he
-gives the greatest proofs of his intelligence: when the oxen, yoked
-together, endeavour to draw a piece of artillery up a mountain, the
-elephant pushes the breech of the cannon with his forehead, and at
-every effort he supports the carriage with his knee, which he places
-against the wheel. He seems as if he understood what is 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 shews any repugnance to comply, the _cornack_, so his leader
-is called, promises to give him arrack, or some other thing that he
-likes; then the animal agrees to every thing proposed; but it is
-dangerous to break a promise with him, as many cornacks have fallen
-victims by such conduct. An instance of this happened at Dekan, which
-deserves to be recorded; and which, however incredible it may appear,
-is perfectly true. An elephant, in revenge, killed his cornack; the
-man's wife being witness of this dreadful catastrophe, took her two
-children and threw them to the feet of the still enraged animal,
-saying, _Since thou hast killed my husband, take also my life and that
-of my children_. The elephant stopped short, grew calm, and, as if
-moved with regret and compassion, took with his trunk the biggest of
-the two children, placed him on his neck, adopted him for his cornack,
-and would never suffer any other to mount him afterwards.
-
-"If the elephant be vindictive he is no less grateful. A soldier at
-Pondicherry, who commonly gave one of these animals a certain measure
-of arrack every time he received his pay, having one day drank more
-than common, and seeing himself pursued by the guard, who wanted to
-conduct him to prison, took refuge under the elephant, and there fell
-asleep. In vain did the guard attempt to draw him out from this asylum,
-the elephant firmly defending him with his trunk. The next day, when
-the soldier became sober, he was struck with terror to find himself
-under an animal of such enormous bulk. The elephant, who no doubt
-perceived his consternation, caressed him with his trunk, and made him
-understand that he might depart freely.
-
-"The elephant sometimes falls into a sort of phrenzy, which deprives
-him of his tractability, and makes him so formidable that it is
-frequently thought necessary to kill him, though they generally tie
-him with heavy chains, in hopes that he will come to himself; but when
-in his natural state the most acute pains cannot provoke him to do any
-harm to those who have not offended him. An elephant, made furious by
-the wounds he had received in the battle of Hambour, ran about the
-field crying out in the most hideous manner. A soldier, notwithstanding
-the warning of his companions, was unable to fly, perhaps from being
-wounded; the elephant coming up to him appeared afraid of trampling
-him under his feet, took him up with his trunk, placed him gently on
-one side, and continued his march." These particulars were given to
-the Marquis Montmirail by M. de Bussy, who lived ten years in India,
-and served the state with reputation. He had several elephants in his
-service; he mounted them often, saw them every day, and had frequent
-opportunities of observing many others.
-
-The gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences have also communicated to us
-the following facts, which they learned from those who governed the
-elephant at Versailles, and which deserve to be mentioned here. "The
-elephant seemed to discern when any body made a fool of him, and he
-remembered the affront to be revenged the first opportunity. A man
-deceived him by feigning to throw something into his mouth, upon which
-the animal gave him such a blow with his trunk as broke two of his
-ribs; having knocked him down, he trampled him under his feet, and
-broke one of his legs, and then kneeling down, he tried to thrust his
-tusks into the man's belly, which, however, went into the ground on
-both sides of his thigh, without hurting him. He bruised another man,
-by squeezing him against the wall, for a little mockery. A painter was
-desirous to draw him in an unusual attitude, with his trunk erect and
-his mouth open; the servant of the painter, to make him remain in that
-attitude, threw fruits into his mouth, but often deceived him, which
-provoked his indignation, and, as if he knew the painter was the cause
-of his being thus insulted, without taking any notice of the servant,
-he threw such a quantity of water with his trunk upon the paper, the
-master was drawing on, as totally to spoil the design. The elephant
-made less use of his strength than of his address, which was such that
-he untied with great facility a double leather string which fastened
-his leg, and as this buckle had a small string twisted around it with
-several knots, he untied them all without breaking either the strings
-or the strap. One night, having thus disentangled himself from his
-leather strings, he dexterously broke open the door of his lodge, so
-that his keeper was not awakened by the noise; he went from thence
-into several courts of the menagerie, breaking open the doors that
-were shut, and pulling down the stone work when the passage was too
-narrow for him to pass; by this means he got into the lodges of other
-animals, terrifying them to that degree, that they hid themselves
-in the remotest parts of the inclosures." In fine, to omit nothing
-that may contribute to make all the natural and acquired faculties of
-this animal so superior to all others, perfectly known, we shall add
-some facts, extracted from the most credible authors. "The elephant,
-even when wild (says Father Vincent Marie), has his virtues. He is
-generous and temperate; and when tamed he is esteemed for gentleness
-and fidelity to his master, and friendship for his governors. If
-destined to the immediate services of princes he knows his fortune,
-and preserves a gravity agreeable to the dignity of his employ. If, on
-the contrary, he is employed in mean labours, he evidently grieves and
-laments his being thus debased. In war he is impetuous and proud at
-the first onset; he is equally so when surrounded by hunters, but he
-loses courage when he is conquered. He fights with his tusks, and fears
-nothing so much as losing his trunk, which, by its consistence, is
-easily cut off. He is naturally mild, never attacks any person, unless
-he has been offended; he seems to delight in company, is particularly
-fond of children, caresses them, and seems to be sensible that they are
-harmless and innocent."
-
-"The elephant, (says F. Pyrard) is an animal of so much judgment and
-knowledge, that one should think him endowed with rational faculties;
-besides being of infinite service to man. If wanted to be ridden,
-he is so supple, and obedient, that he conforms to the conveniency
-and quality of the person he serves: he bends his knees, and helps
-his leader to mount him with his trunk. He is so tractable, that he
-does whatever he is required, provided he is treated with gentleness.
-He performs all that he is commanded, and caresses those whom he is
-directed to use with civility."
-
-"By giving the elephants, (says the Dutch travellers) whatever can
-please them, they are as easily tamed and rendered as submissive as
-men. It may be said they want no other faculty, but that of speech.
-They are proud and ambitious, but they remember good offices, and are
-so grateful for them, that they never fail to incline their head as a
-mark of respect, when they pass before a house where they have been
-well used. They may be conducted at the command of a child, but they
-love to be praised and cherished. No person can affront, or injure them
-without their notice; and those who have treated them with disrespect,
-may think themselves happy if they escape without being sprinkled with
-the water from their trunks, or thrown into the dirt."
-
-"The elephants, (says Father Philip) come very near the human species
-in judgment and reasoning. Monkeys are stupid brute animals compared
-to them. The elephants are so modest, that they cannot bear being
-seen when they couple; and if by chance, any person were to see this
-operation they would infallibly be revenged of them. They salute by
-bending the knees, and inclining their head; and when their master
-shews his intention to mount them, they so dexterously present to him
-their foot, that he may use it as a step. When a wild elephant is
-taken, and his feet are tied, one of the hunters comes near, salutes,
-makes an apology for having tied him, and protests that his intention
-is not to do him any harm; tells him that in his savage state he often
-wanted food, but now he will be treated with tenderness, and which
-he promises to do constantly. The hunter has no sooner finished this
-soothing discourse, than the elephant follows him as gently as a lamb.
-We must not, however, conclude from this, that the elephant understands
-languages, but only having a particular discerning faculty, he knows
-the motions of esteem from contempt, friendship from hatred, and all
-other sentiments of man towards him, for which cause he is more easily
-tamed by reasoning than by blows. He throws stones to a great distance,
-and very straight with his trunk; which he also makes use of to pour
-water over his body when bathing."
-
-"Of five elephants, (says Tavernier) which the hunters had taken, three
-escaped, although their bodies and legs were fastened with chains and
-ropes. These men told us the following surprising circumstance, if it
-can be believed, that when an elephant has been caught, and escaped the
-snare, he becomes very mistrustful and breaks off a large branch with
-his trunk, with which he sounds the ground before he puts his foot upon
-it, to discover if there are any holes, by which he may be caught a
-second time; for this reason the hunters, who related this singularity,
-despaired of catching again the three elephants who had escaped. The
-other two which they had caught, was each of them placed betwixt two
-tame elephants, and around them were six men, holding torches, who
-spoke to the animals, and presented them something to eat, saying, in
-their language, 'take this and eat it.' What they gave them consisted
-of small bundles of hay, bits of black sugar, and rice boiled in water,
-with pepper. When the wild elephant refused to do what he was ordered,
-the men commanded the tame elephants to beat him, which they did
-immediately; one striking his forehead, and when he seemed to aim at a
-revenge, the other struck him on the side, so that the poor creature
-soon perceived he had nothing to do, but to obey."
-
-"I have several times observed, (says Edward Terry) that the elephant
-does many things which seemed to be more the result of a rational than
-an instinctive faculty. He does whatever his master commands him. If
-he wishes him to frighten any body, he advances towards him with the
-same fury as if he would tear him to pieces, and when near he stops
-short, without doing him any harm. If the master is inclined to affront
-another, he speaks to the elephant, who takes up dirty water with his
-trunk, and throws it over the person pointed out to him. His trunk is
-made of a cartilage, hangs betwixt his tusks, and by some called his
-hand, because on many occasions it is as serviceable to him as the hand
-is to men. The Mogul keeps elephants for the execution of criminals
-condemned to death. If their leader bids them dispatch the wretched
-creatures quickly, they tear them to pieces in a moment with their
-feet; but if commanded to make the criminals languish, they break their
-bones one after another, and make them suffer torments as cruel as
-those of the wheel."
-
-We might quote several other facts equally curious and interesting,
-but we should exceed the limits of this work; we should not have
-even entered into so many particulars, if the elephant (_fig. 133._)
-were not, of all animals, the first in every respect, and that which
-consequently deserves most attention.
-
-We have said nothing respecting the production of his ivory because M.
-Daubenton has made several useful observations upon the nature and
-quality of it, but he has at the same time assigned to the elephant
-the tusks, and prodigious bones attributed to the mammoth. I confess
-I was long doubtful on this subject; I had several times considered
-those enormous bones, and compared them with the skeleton of an almost
-adult elephant preserved in the king's cabinet, and before writing the
-history of those animals, I could not persuade myself that elephants
-six or seven times bigger than the one whose skeleton I had seen,
-could exist; more especially, as the large bones had not the same
-proportions with the corresponding ones of the elephant, I thought with
-the generality of naturalists that these enormous bones had belonged
-to an animal much larger, whose species was lost or annihilated. But
-it is certain, as we have mentioned before, that some elephants exist
-who are fourteen feet high, that is, six or seven times bigger (for
-the bulk is in proportion to the cube in height) than the elephant,
-of whose skeleton we have spoken, and which was not more than seven
-feet and a half in height. It is also certain, for the observations of
-M. Daubenton, that age changes the proportion of the bones and when
-the animal is adult, they grow considerably thicker, though they are
-come to their full height: in fine, it is certain, from the relations
-of travellers, that of some elephants, the tusks weigh more than
-120lbs.[AH] From these observations, we cannot doubt that those tusks
-and bones we have already noticed for their prodigious size, actually
-belonged to the elephant. Sir Hans Sloane was of that opinion, but
-he did not prove it. M. Gmelin said it still more affirmatively, and
-gave on this subject several curious facts[AI]; but M. Daubenton is
-the first who has proved them unquestionably by exact measures and
-comparisons, and reasons founded on the great knowledge that he has
-acquired in the Science of Anatomy.
-
-[Footnote AH: Mr. Eden says, that several elephant's tusks which he
-measured, were no less than nine feet long, and as big as a man's thigh
-in circumference, some of them weighing more than nine pounds; and that
-he saw a head in the possession of a Mr. Jude, which had been brought
-from Guinea by some English ships, of which the mere bones, without the
-tusks, weighed upwards of 200lbs. and it was supposed that when the
-head was entire it could not weigh less than 500lbs. Lopes affirms he
-met with several tusks that weighed 200lbs. _Hist. Gen. des Voyages._
-This magnitude of the tusks is also confirmed by Drake, Holbe, and the
-Dutch travellers.]
-
-[Footnote AI: The Czar, Peter, being curious in Natural History, issued
-orders in the year 1722, that wherever any bones of the mammoth should
-be found, search should be made after the remainder, and the whole of
-them sent to Petersburg, and which orders were made public in all the
-towns of Siberia. In consequence of this several persons applied to the
-Woywode of Jakutzk to be sent off to two different places, where they
-affirmed they had seen these bones; their demands were complied with,
-and many of them returned with heads and various bones, which were
-transmitted to Petersburg, and placed in the imperial cabinet; but it
-will be found upon examination that all the bones placed there, under
-the denomination of the Mammoth bones, are perfectly similar with the
-elephant's. And as to their being found under the earth and in Siberia,
-it may fairly be presumed that in the great revolutions which have
-happened to the earth, a great number of elephants might be driven from
-their native climates; many have been destroyed by the inundations, and
-those who wandered so far into the North must necessarily have perished
-from the rigours of the climate. _Voyage a Kamtschatka par M. Gmelin._]
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-The female elephant, as in all other animals, is more gentle than the
-male, at least we found it so, for the male which we saw in 1771,
-was more fierce and untractable than a female we witnessed in 1773;
-he would frequently lay hold of, and tear the clothes of those who
-approached too near him, and even his keepers were always obliged to
-be on their guard, while she was perfectly quiet, and always ready
-to obey, nor ever shewed a disposition to be perverse but when they
-wanted to put her into a covered waggon for the purpose of conveying
-her from one town to another; upon which occasion she would refuse to
-go forward, and they had no means of making her advance but by pricking
-her behind; this would make her very angry, and being unable to turn,
-the only way she had of revenge was to take up water in her trunk and
-throw it over them, and which she would do in pretty large quantities.
-
-I formerly remarked, there was a probability, from the situation of the
-sexual organs, that these animals did not copulate in the same manner
-as other quadrupeds, but this conjecture I understand is not warranted
-in fact, for M. Marcel Bles thus expresses himself upon the subject:
-"The comte de Buffon, in his excellent work, is deceived in respect to
-the copulation of the elephants. In many parts of Asia and Africa they
-certainly, during their season of love, retire into the most secret
-recesses of the forests; but in the island of Ceylon which is almost
-in every part inhabited, and where I have lived twelve years, they
-have not that opportunity of concealing themselves. I have frequently
-examined them, and from the female organ being nearly in the middle of
-the belly there is some reason to conclude as M. de Buffon has done;
-however, when inclined to admit the male, I have seen the female bend
-her two fore legs upon the root of a tree, lowering, at the same time,
-her head and neck, and keeping her hind legs erect, which gave the male
-an opportunity of acting in the same manner as other quadrupeds. They
-never copulate but in a state of freedom. The males are very furious in
-the rutting season, and it is very dangerous to go near them; during
-which the females will sometimes make their escape, and seek the wild
-males in the woods. A few days after her cornack goes into the woods
-in search of her, and she will come to him upon hearing him call her
-by name, and quietly suffer herself to be led home again. It was from
-these excursions discovered that the females bring forth at the end of
-nine months."
-
-I certainly am ready to give full credit to the first remark of M.
-Marcel Bless, because he assures us that he has seen the elephant
-perform the operation; but I cannot think we ought so perfectly to
-acquiesce as to the time of their going with young, since it is the
-opinion of all travellers that they do not bring forth in a less period
-than two years.
-
-
-
-
-THE RHINOCEROS.
-
-
-After the elephant the Rhinoceros (_fig. 124._) is the most powerful
-of 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 nearly equal to his length. In
-bulk, therefore, he nearly resembles the elephant, and if he appears
-smaller, it is because his legs are shorter in proportion than those
-of the elephant. But he differs widely from that sagacious animal by
-his natural faculties and intelligence, having received from Nature
-merely what she grants in common to all animals. He is deprived of
-all feeling in his skin; he has no organ to answer the purpose of
-hands, to give him a distinct sense of touching; instead of a trunk
-he has only a moveable lip, in which centres all his dexterity. He
-is superior to other animals only in strength, magnitude, 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 advantageously than the horn of ruminating animals; those only
-protect the superior parts of the head and neck, whilst the horn of the
-rhinoceros defends all the exterior parts of the muzzle, the mouth, and
-the face, from insult. For this reason the tiger attacks more readily
-the elephant, whose trunk he can seize, than the rhinoceros, which he
-cannot attack in front without running the danger of having his inside
-torn out; for the body and limbs are covered with so impenetrable a
-skin that he fears neither the claws of the tiger nor lion, nor the
-fire and weapons of the huntsman. His skin is blackish, of the same
-colour, but thicker and harder than that of the elephant; nor does
-he feel the sting of flies. He cannot contract nor extend his skin;
-it is folded by large wrinkles on the neck, shoulders, and rump to
-facilitate the motion of his head and legs, which last are massive,
-and terminated by large feet, armed with three great toes. His head is
-larger in proportion than that of the elephant, but his eyes are still
-smaller, which he seldom opens entirely. The upper jaw projects above
-the lower, and the upper lip is moveable, and may be lengthened six
-or seven inches; it is terminated by a sharp edge, which gives the
-animal the power to gather grass and divide it into handfuls, as the
-elephant does with his trunk. This muscular and flexible lip is a sort
-of imperfect trunk which is equally capable of seizing with force, and
-feeling with delicacy. Instead of those long ivory tusks, which form
-the weapons of the elephant, the rhinoceros has a powerful horn, and
-two strong incisive teeth in each jaw: these teeth, which the elephant
-has not, are placed at a great distance, one in each corner or angle
-of the jaws; the under jaw is square before, and there are no other
-incisive teeth in all the interior part, which is covered by the lips;
-but, independently of these four incisive teeth, placed in the four
-corners of the mouth, he has twenty-four smaller teeth, six on each
-side of each jaw. His ears are always erect; they are in form like
-those of the hog, only they are smaller in proportion to his body, and
-they are the only hairy parts about him. The end of the tail, like that
-of the elephant, is furnished with a tuft of large bristles, very hard
-and very solid.
-
-Mr. Parsons, a celebrated physician in London, to whom the republic of
-letters is indebted for several discoveries in Natural History, and to
-whom I am under obligations for the marks of esteem and friendship
-he has honoured me with, published in 1744, a Natural History of the
-Rhinoceros, of which I shall give an extract with more willingness,
-because whatever Mr. Parsons has written deserves credit and attention.
-
-"Though the rhinoceros was often seen at the spectacles at Rome,
-from the time of Pompey to that of Heliogabalus, though many have
-been transported into Europe in these last ages, and though Bontius,
-Chardin, and Kolbe, have drawn this figure, both in the Indies and
-Africa, yet he was so badly represented, and his description was so
-incorrect, that he was known very imperfectly, until those which
-arrived in London in 1739 and 1741, were inspected, when the errors or
-caprices of those who had published figures of him became very visible.
-That of Albert Durer, which was the first, is the least conformable to
-Nature; it has, nevertheless, been copied by most naturalists; and some
-of them have loaded it with false drapery, and foreign ornaments. That
-of Bontius is more simple and more true; but the inferior part of the
-legs is badly delineated. On the contrary, that of Chardin represents
-naturally the foldings of the skin and feet, but in other respects does
-not resemble the animal. That of Camerarius is not better; nor is
-that drawn from the rhinoceros which was in London in 1685, and which
-was published by Carwitham in 1739. Those which were engraved on the
-ancient pavement of Praeneste, or on the medals of Domitian, are very
-imperfect; but they have not the imaginary ornaments given to that of
-Albert Durer." Dr. Parsons has taken the trouble to draw this animal
-himself in three different views, before, behind, and in profile; and
-particular parts from other rhinoceroses which are preserved in the
-cabinets of Natural History.
-
-The rhinoceros which arrived in London in 1739, was sent from Bengal:
-though not more than two years old, the expences of his food, and of
-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
-portions: he had also hay and green herbage, to the last of which he
-gave the preference. His drink was water, of which he drank great
-quantities at a time. He was of a quiet disposition, and suffered all
-parts of his body to be felt. He grew unruly upon being struck, or
-when he was hungry; and in both cases he could only be appeased by
-giving him something to eat. When he was angry he leaped forwards with
-impetuosity, and raised himself to a great height, and rushed furiously
-against the walls with his head, and which he did with a prodigious
-quickness, notwithstanding his heavy appearance and massive corpulence.
-"I have often been witness (says Dr. Parsons) of those motions produced
-by impatience or anger, especially in the morning before his rice and
-sugar were brought him. The quickness and celerity of the motions of
-this animal made me of opinion that he is absolutely unconquerable,
-and that he would easily overtake any man who should have given him
-offence."
-
-This rhinoceros, when two years old, was not higher than a young cow
-who had never had any young; but his body was very long and very thick.
-His head was large in proportion to his body; taking it from the ears
-to the horn of the nose, it formed a concavity, the extremities of
-which, that is, the upper end of the snout, and the part near the ears
-are very high. The horn, not then an inch long, was black, smooth
-at the end, but wrinkled and directed backwards at the base. His
-nostrils were not above an inch from the mouth; the under lip was
-like that of a ox, but the upper resembled that of an horse, with this
-difference and advantage, that the rhinoceros can lengthen, direct,
-turn it round a stick, and seize with it those objects which he wants
-to carry to his mouth. The tongue of this young rhinoceros was soft
-like that of a calf; his eyes had no vivacity, they were formed like
-those of a hog, and were placed very low, that is, near the opening
-of the nostrils. His ears were large, thin towards the end, and bound
-up with a sort of wrinkle at the origin. His neck was very short, the
-skin forming on this part two large foldings which surround him. His
-shoulders were very thick, and at their juncture there was another
-fold of skin which comes under the fore legs. The body of this young
-rhinoceros was very thick, and resembled that of a cow ready to bring
-forth. There was another fold betwixt the body and the rump, which
-descends under the hind legs; and lastly, there was another fold which
-transversally surrounds the lower part of the crupper, at some distance
-from the tail. The belly was very big, and hung down to the ground,
-especially the middle part; the legs were round, thick, strong, and
-bent backward at the joint, which was covered by a remarkable fold
-of the skin when the animal laid down, but it disappeared when he
-was standing. The tail was thin and short, compared to the volume of
-the body; that of this rhinoceros was not above seventeen inches in
-length; it is a little thicker at the extremity, which is covered with
-hard, short and thick hair. The sexual organ of the rhinoceros is of
-an extraordinary form; it is contained in a sort of case, like that of
-a horse, and the first thing which appears when irritated is a second
-prepuce of flesh colour, from which issues a hollow pipe, in form of
-a funnel, like a fleur de luce. It not being in a straight direction,
-but rather inclining backward, he emits his urine behind, and from
-which it appears their copulation must be different from other animals.
-The female has the exterior parts of generation situated like those
-of the cow, and she resembles perfectly the male in the size and form
-of the body. The skin is thick and impenetrable; in taking the folds
-with the hand, it feels like a wooden plank half an inch thick. "When
-it is tanned (says Dr. Grew) it is excessively hard, and thicker than
-the skin of any other terrestrial animal." It is every where more or
-less covered with incrustations, in the shape of galls, which are
-small on the summit of the neck and back, but becomes bigger down the
-sides; the largest are on the shoulders and crupper, the thighs, and
-around the legs, down to the feet; but betwixt the folds the skin is
-penetrable, and even tender, and as soft as silk, while the outward
-part of the folds is as rough as the rest. This tender skin between the
-folds is of flesh colour, and the skin of the belly is nearly of the
-same colour and consistence; but those galls, or tuberosities, should
-not, as some authors have done, be compared to scales, as they are
-mere callosities of the skin, irregular in their figure and symmetry
-in their respective positions. The suppleness of the skin in the folds
-gives the rhinoceros the power of moving his head, neck, and limbs,
-with facility. The whole body, except at the joints, is inflexible,
-like a cuirass. Dr. Parsons says, that this animal hearkened with a
-sort of continual attention to any kind of noise; so that if he was
-even sleeping, eating, or satisfying other urgent wants, he instantly
-raised up his head, and listened till the noise had ceased.
-
-In fine, after giving this exact description of the rhinoceros, Dr.
-Parsons examines whether the rhinoceros with a double horn exists, and
-having compared the relations of ancients and moderns, and the remains
-of this variety, found in the collections of natural objects, he
-concludes, with some probability, that the rhinoceroses of Asia have
-commonly but one horn, and those of Africa, generally two.
-
-It is certain that some rhinoceroses have but one horn, and others
-have two; but it is not equally certain that this variety is constant,
-and depends on the climate of Africa or India, or that two distinct
-species may be established from these differences. It seems that
-the rhinoceroses with one horn have it bigger and longer than those
-who have two. 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 base. Some double horns are but two feet in length.
-
-Commonly these horns are brown, or olive colour, though some are grey,
-and even white. They have only a small concavity, in form of a cup,
-under their base, by which they are fastened to the skin of the nose;
-the remaining part of the horn is solid, and very hard. It is with this
-weapon that the rhinoceros is said to attack, and sometimes mortally
-wound, the biggest elephants, whose long legs give the rhinoceros
-an opportunity of striking them with his snout and horn under their
-bellies, where the skin is tender, and penetrable; but if he misses
-the first blow the elephant throws him on the ground and kills him.
-
-The horn of the rhinoceros is more valued by the Indians than the ivory
-of the elephant, not so much on account of its real use, though they
-make several things of it with the chisel, but for divers specific
-virtues, and medicinal properties, which they ascribe to it. The white,
-from being the most rare, are also those which they value most. Among
-the presents which the king of Siam sent to Louis XIV. in 1686, were
-six horns of the rhinoceros. We have seen in the king's cabinet twelve
-of different sizes, and one of them, though mutilated, is three feet
-eight inches and a half in length.
-
-The rhinoceros, without being ferocious, carnivorous, or even very
-wild, is, nevertheless, untractable. He is of the nature of a hog,
-blunt and brutal, without intellects, sentiment, or docility. He is
-subject to fits of fury, that nothing can calm; for the rhinoceros,
-which Emanuel, king of Portugal, sent to the Pope in 1513, was the
-cause of the ship being destroyed in which he was transporting; and
-that which we saw at Paris was drowned in the same manner, in going
-over to Italy. These animals, also like the hog, are 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, Mogul, Sumatra, Java, in Abyssinia, in Ethiopia, in the
-country of the Anzicos, and as far as the Cape of Good Hope. But in
-general the species is not so numerous, or so universally spread, as
-that of the elephant. The female brings forth but one young, and that
-at a great distance of time. In the first month the rhinoceros is not
-much bigger than a large dog; he has no horn when first brought forth,
-although the rudiment of it is seen in the foetus. When he is two years
-old his horn is not above an inch long; and in his sixth year it is
-about ten inches; and as some of these horns are very near four feet
-long, it appears that they grow till the half, or, perhaps, during the
-whole life of the animal, which must be long, since the rhinoceros,
-described by Dr. Parsons, was not come to half his growth at two years
-old, which makes it probable that this animal, like man, lives to
-seventy or eighty years.
-
-Without the capacity of being useful like the elephant, the rhinoceros
-is equally hurtful from the prodigious devastation which he makes in
-the fields. He has no one advantageous quality while alive. His flesh
-is excellent, according to the taste of the Indians and Negroes: Kolbe
-says, he has often eaten it with 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, urine, and excrements,
-are esteemed as antidotes against poison, or remedies against several
-diseases. These antidotes, or remedies, extracted from different
-parts of the rhinoceros, are of the same use in the dispensatory of
-the Indians, as the theriaca is in that of Europe. Probably, all
-those virtues are imaginary:--But how many things are held in great
-estimation, which have no value but in opinion!
-
-The rhinoceros feeds upon coarse herbs, such as thistles and prickly
-shrubs, and he prefers this wild food to the sweet pasture of the
-verdant meadows. He is fond of sugar canes, and eats also all sorts
-of corn. Having no taste for flesh, he neither molests small animals,
-nor fears the large ones, but lives in peace with them all, not
-excepting the tiger, who often accompanies, without daring to attack
-him; therefore, I doubt, whether the battles betwixt the elephant
-and rhinoceros, have any foundation; they must at least be seldom,
-since there is no motive for war on either side; and, besides, no
-sort of antipathy has been observed between these animals. Some even
-in captivity have lived quietly together, without giving offence or
-provocation. Pliny is, I believe, the first who has mentioned these
-battles betwixt the rhinoceros and elephant. It seems they were
-compelled to fight in the spectacles at Rome, and, probably from thence
-the idea has been taken, that when in their natural state they fought
-as desperately; but every action without a motive is unnatural; it is
-an effect without a cause, which cannot happen but by chance.
-
-The rhinoceroses do not herd together, nor march in troops like the
-elephants; they are more wild and solitary, and perhaps more difficult
-to hunt and subdue. They never attack men unless provoked; but then
-they become furious, and are very formidable. Neither scymetars, darts,
-nor lances, can make an incision upon his skin, which even resists
-musket balls; the only places penetrable in his body are the belly,
-the eyes, and round the ears; so that the hunters, instead of facing
-and attacking this animal, follow him at a distance by his track,
-and wait till he lies down to rest or sleep. We have in the king's
-cabinet a foetus of a rhinoceros, which was extracted from the body
-of the mother, and sent from the island of Java: it was said, in a
-memorial which accompanied this present, that twenty-eight huntsmen
-having assembled to attack this rhinoceros, they followed her at a
-distance for some days, one or two walking now and then before to
-reconnoitre her situation; by these means they surprised her when she
-was asleep, and silently came so near that they discharged at once
-their twenty-eight guns into the lower parts of her belly.
-
-From the description given by Dr. Parsons, it appears that this animal
-has a good ear, and even very attentive: it is also affirmed, that his
-sense of smelling is excellent; but it is said that he has not a good
-eye, and sees only those things which are before him: his eyes are so
-small, and placed so low, and obliquely, they have so little vivacity
-and motion, that this fact seems to be confirmed. His voice, when he
-is calm, resembling the grunting of a hog; but when he is angry, it is
-sharp, and heard at a great distance. Though he lives upon vegetables,
-he does not ruminate: thus, it is probable, that, like the elephant,
-he has but one stomach, and very large bowels, which supply the office
-of many stomachs. His consumption of food, though very great, is not
-comparable to that of the elephant, and it appears, by the thickness of
-his skin, that he loses much less than the latter by perspiration.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-In the month of September, 1770, another rhinoceros was brought to
-the royal menagerie, which was said to be only three months old; but
-I am persuaded it was as many years, for it was eight feet two inches
-in length, including the head, five feet six inches high, and eight
-feet two inches in circumference: by the 28th of August, 1781, it
-had increased seven inches in length, three inches in the height,
-and seven inches in circumference; and on the 12th of August, 1772,
-it measured nine feet four inches in length, including the head, six
-feet four inches high at the crupper, and only five feet eleven at
-the withers. In some places its skin was spotted with black and grey,
-and in others it was in deep furrows, having the appearance of a kind
-of scales. This animal had but one horn, which was brown, and of a
-very hard substance; and in all other respects he nearly resembled the
-description we have already given.
-
-Mr. Bruce has remarked, that my conjecture, that in the interior parts
-of Africa there were rhinoceroses with two horns, was exactly the case,
-for he saw none in Abyssinia but what had one situated near the nose,
-which was of the common form, and the other rather higher on the head,
-sharp at the point, and always shorter than the first. M. Daubenton
-received a letter from M. Allamand at Leyden, in 1776, in which that
-gentleman says, "In a passage which M. de Buffon has quoted from Mr.
-Parsons, it is supposed, that the rhinoceroses of Asia have but one
-horn, and those of the Cape of Good Hope have two, but I am inclined
-to believe the opposite is the fact, for the heads of those I have
-received from Bengal, and other parts of India, had always two horns,
-and those which came from the Cape had but one." This remark of M.
-Allamand we may consider as a confirmation of our former observation,
-that the rhinoceroses with two horns form a variety in the species, and
-may be equally found in Asia and Africa.
-
-
-_END OF THE SEVENTH VOLUME._
-
-
-T. Gillet, Printer, Wild-court.
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber Note
-
-
-All obvious typographical errors were corrected. Where several variant
-spellings were used, the most prevalent version was use to standardize
-them. All illustration headers were standardized to display "_Engraved
-for Barr's Buffon._" above each group and the captions were also
-standardized. The illustration captions were arranged in ascending
-numbers. Where paragraphs were split by illustrations, they were
-rejoined. To match the other volumes in this series, the list for the
-placement of images was positioned after the Table of Contents. Although
-the original printed version capitalized the first word (or words) of the
-opening paragraph, here the first letter only was capitalized (unless it
-was a person's name).
-
-  Page  Change
-  ====  ====================
-    29  cougouacu-apara changed to cougouacou-ara
-   171  missing endquote, placed at end of line
-   225  missing endquote, placed at end of paragraph
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII
-(of 10), by Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 45820 ***
+
+Transcriber Note
+
+Text emphasis is denoted as _Italic Text._
+
+
+
+
+                           _Barr's Buffon._
+
+                       Buffon's Natural History.
+
+                              CONTAINING
+
+                        A THEORY OF THE EARTH,
+                               A GENERAL
+                           _HISTORY OF MAN_,
+                     OF THE BRUTE CREATION, AND OF
+                         VEGETABLES, MINERALS,
+                               _&c. &c._
+
+                           FROM THE FRENCH.
+
+                     WITH NOTES BY THE TRANSLATOR.
+
+                            IN TEN VOLUMES.
+
+                               VOL. VII.
+
+                                London:
+                      PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR,
+              AND SOLD BY H. D. SYMONDS, PATERNOSTER-ROW,
+
+                                 1807.
+
+                    T. Gillet, Printer, Wild court.
+
+
+
+
+                               CONTENTS
+                                  OF
+                          THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
+
+
+
+
+                        Of Carnivorous Animals.
+
+                                                            _Page_
+
+  _Of Tigers_                                                   1
+  _Animals of the Old Continent_                                4
+  _Animals of the New World_                                   24
+  _Animals common to both Continents_                          33
+  _The Tiger_                                                  57
+  _The Panther, Ounce, and Leopard_                            68
+  _The Jaguar_                                                 81
+  _The Cougar_                                                 87
+  _The Lynx_                                                   92
+  _The Hyæna_                                                 107
+  _The Civet and the Zibet_                                   117
+  _The Genet_                                                 129
+  _The Black Wolf_                                            132
+  _The Canadian Musk-rat, and the Muscovy Musk-rat_           133
+  _The Peccari, or Mexican Hog_                               141
+  _The Rousette, or Ternat Bat, the Rougette, or Little
+      Ternat, and the Vampyre_                                149
+  _The Senegal Bat_                                           162
+  _The Bull-dog Bat_                                          163
+  _The Bearded Bat_                                           164
+  _The striped Bat_                                           165
+  _The Polatouch_                                             165
+  _The Grey Squirrel_                                         173
+  _The Palmist, the Squirrel of Barbary and Switzerland_      177
+  _The Ant Eaters_                                            181
+  _The Long and Short-tailed Manis_                           193
+  _The Armadillo_                                             197
+  _The Three-banded_                                          202
+      _Six-banded_                                            205
+      _Eight-banded_                                          207
+      _Nine-banded_                                           208
+      _Twelve-banded_                                         210
+      _Eighteen-banded_                                       212
+  _The Paca_                                                  222
+  _The Opossum_                                               229
+  _The Marmose_                                               251
+  _The Cayopollin_                                            253
+  _The Elephant_                                              255
+  _The Rhinoceros_                                            322
+
+_Directions for placing the Plates in the Seventh Volume._
+
+  Page 57 Fig. 101, 102.
+       68 Fig. 107, 108.
+       77 Fig. 103, 104.
+       85 Fig. 105, 106.
+      117 Fig. 109, 110.
+      118 Fig. 111, 112, 113.
+      133 Fig. 114, 115, 116.
+      150 Fig. 117, 118, 119.
+      165 Fig. 120, 121, 122, 123.
+      181 Fig. 124, 125, 126.
+      205 Fig. 127, 128.
+      222 Fig. 129, 130, 131, 132.
+      236 Fig. 133, 134.
+
+
+
+
+BUFFON'S
+
+NATURAL HISTORY.
+
+
+
+
+_OF CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS._
+
+
+
+
+OF TIGERS.
+
+
+As the word Tiger is a generic name, given several animals of different
+species, it is proper to begin with distinguishing them from each
+other. Leopards and Panthers have often been confounded together, and
+are called Tigers by most travellers. The Ounce, a small species of
+Panther, which is easily tamed, and used by the Orientals in the chace,
+has been taken for the Panther itself, and described as such by the
+name of Tiger. The Lynx, and that called the Lion's provider, have
+also sometimes received the name of Panther, and sometimes Ounce. In
+Africa, and in the southern parts of Asia, these animals are common;
+but the real tiger, and the only one which ought to be so called, is
+scarce, was little known by the ancients, and is badly described by the
+moderns. Aristotle does not mention him; and Pliny merely speaks of him
+as an animal of prodigious velocity; _tremendæ velocitatis animal_;[A]
+adding, that he was a much more scarce animal than the Panther, since
+Augustus presented the first to the Romans at the dedication of the
+theatre of Marcellus, while so early as the time of Scaurus, this Ædile
+sent 150 panthers, and afterwards 400 were given by Pompey, and 420
+by Augustus, to the public shews at Rome. Pliny, however, gives no
+description of the tiger, or any of its characteristics. Oppian and
+Solinus appear to be the first who observed that the tiger is marked
+with long streaks, and the panther with round spots. This, indeed, is
+one of the characteristics which distinguishes the true tiger from a
+number of animals that have been so called. Strabo, in speaking of
+the real tiger, gives Megasthenes as his authority, for saying that
+in India there are tigers twice as large as the lion. The tiger then
+stands described by the ancients as an animal that is fierce and
+swift, marked with long stripes, and exceeding the lion in size; nor
+has Gesner, nor the other modern naturalists, who have treated of the
+tiger, added any thing to these observations of the ancients.
+
+[Footnote A: Pliny Nat. Hist. lib. viii. cap. xviii.]
+
+In the French language all those skins of which the hair is short, and
+are marked with round and distinct spots, are called tiger-skins, and
+travellers sharing in this error, have called all animals so marked
+by the general name of tigers; even the academy of sciences have been
+borne away by this torrent, and have adopted the appellation to all,
+although by dissection they found them materially different.
+
+The most general cause, as we intimated in the article of the lion,
+of these ambiguous terms in Natural History, arose from the necessity
+of giving names to the unknown productions of the New World, and thus
+the animals were called after such of the old continent to whom they
+had the smallest resemblance. From the general denomination of tiger
+to every animal whose skin was spotted, instead of one species of that
+name, we now have nine or ten, and consequently the history of these
+animals is exceedingly embarrassed, writers have applied to one species
+what ought to have been ascribed to another.
+
+To dispel the confusion which necessarily results from these erroneous
+denominations, particularly among those which have been commonly
+called tigers, I have resolved to give a comparative enumeration of
+quadrupeds, in which I shall distinguish, 1. Those which are peculiar
+to the old continent, and were not found in America when first
+discovered. 2. Those which are natives of the new continent, and were
+unknown in the old. 3. Those which existing alike in both continents,
+without having been carried from one to the other by man, may be
+considered as common to both. For which purpose it has been necessary
+to collect and arrange the scattered accounts given by the historians
+of America, and those who first visited this continent as travellers.
+
+
+
+
+ANIMALS OF THE OLD CONTINENT.
+
+
+As the largest animals are the best known, and about which there is
+the least uncertainty, in this enumeration they shall follow nearly
+according to their size.
+
+Elephants belong to the Old World; the largest are found in Asia, and
+the smallest in Africa. They are natives of the hottest climates, and,
+though they will live, they cannot multiply in temperate ones; they
+do not propagate even in their own countries after they are deprived
+of their liberty. Though confined to the southern parts of the old
+continent their species is numerous. It is unknown in America, nor is
+there any animal there that can be compared to it in size and figure.
+The same remark applies to the Rhinoceros, which is less numerous than
+the elephant; he is confined to the desarts of Africa, and the forests
+of southern Asia; nor has America any animal that resembles him.
+
+The Hippopotamus inhabits the banks of the large rivers of India and
+Africa, and is less numerous than the Rhinoceros. It is not found in
+America, nor even in the temperate climates of the Old Continent.
+
+The Camel and Dromedary, so apparently similar, yet in reality so
+dissimilar, are very common in Asia and Arabia, and in all the eastern
+parts of the ancient continent. The name of camel has been given to
+the Lama and Pacos of Peru, which are so different from the camel as
+by some to have been called _sheep_, and by others _camels_ of Peru;
+though the pacos has nothing in common with the European sheep but the
+wool, and the lama resembles the camel only by the length of its neck.
+The Spaniards formerly carried camels to Peru; they left them first
+at the Canaries, whence they afterwards transported them to America;
+but the climate of the new world does not seem favourable to them, for
+though they produced, their numbers have always remained very small.
+
+The _Giraffe_ or _Camelopard_, an animal remarkable for its height,
+and the length of its neck and fore legs, is a native of Africa,
+particularly Ethiopia, and has never spread beyond the tropics in the
+temperate climates of the old continent.
+
+In the preceding article we have seen that the lion exists not in
+America, and that the puma of Peru is an animal of a different species;
+and we shall now find that the tiger and panther belong also to the old
+continent, and that the animals of South America, to whom those names
+have been applied, are also different. The real tiger is a terrible
+animal, and more, perhaps, to be dreaded than the lion himself. His
+ferocity is beyond comparison; but an idea of his strength may be drawn
+from his size; he is generally from four to five feet high, and from
+nine to fourteen in length, without including his tail; his skin is not
+covered with round spots, but with black stripes upon a yellow ground,
+which extend across the body, and form rings from one end of the tail
+to the other. These characteristics alone are sufficient to distinguish
+him from all the animals of prey belonging to the new continent, as
+the largest of them scarcely ever exceed the size of our mastiffs. The
+leopard and panther of Africa and Asia, though much smaller than the
+tiger, are larger than the rapacious animals of South America. Pliny,
+whose testimony cannot be doubted (since panthers were daily exposed,
+in his time, at the theatres in Rome), indicates their essential
+characteristics, by saying, their hair is whitish, diversified
+throughout with black spots, like eyes, and that the only difference
+between the male and female were the superior whiteness of her hair.
+
+The American animals, which have been called tigers, have a greater
+resemblance to the panther, and yet their difference from that species
+is very evident. The first is the _Jaguara_, or _Janowra_, a native
+of Guiana, Brasil, and other parts of South America. Ray, with some
+propriety, calls the animal the Pard, or Brasilian lynx. The Portuguese
+call him Ounce, because they had first, by corruption, given that name
+to the lynx, and afterwards to the small panther of India; and the
+French, without his having the smallest affinity, have called him
+tiger. He differs from the panther in size, in the position and figure
+of the spots, in the colour and length of the hair, which is frizzled
+when young, and never so straight as that of the panther, differing
+also in disposition, being more savage, and cannot be tamed; still,
+however, the jaguar of Brasil resembles the panther more than any other
+animal of the new world. The second we call Cougar, by contracting the
+Brasilian name _cougouacou-ara_, and which the French, with still less
+propriety, have called the Red Tiger. From the real tiger it differs
+in all, and from the panther in most respects, its hair being red, and
+without spots; and in the form of its head, and length of his muzzle,
+it differs also from them both. A third species, which has also been
+called tiger, though equally remote, is the _Jaguarette_, which is
+nearly of the size of the jaguar, and resembles him in natural habits,
+but differs in some exterior characters. He has been called black
+tiger, because his hair is black, interspersed with spots of a still
+blacker hue. Besides these three species, and perhaps a fourth, which
+is smaller, that have been named after the tiger, there is another
+American animal, which appears to have a greater right to it, namely,
+the _Cat-pard_, or mountain cat, which resembles both the cat and the
+panther. Though smaller than either of the above three animals, it is
+larger than the wild cat, which it resembles in figure, but its tail is
+much shorter, and it differs also by having its hair diversified with
+black spots, long upon the back and round upon the belly. These four
+American animals have, therefore, very improperly been named tigers.
+The cougar and cat-pard I have seen alive, and am convinced they are
+of different species, and still more so from the tiger or panther; and
+as for the puma and jaguar, it is evident, from the testimony of those
+who have seen them, that the former is not a lion, nor the latter a
+tiger, and therefore, without scruple, we may pronounce, that neither
+the lion, tiger, nor even the panther, exist in America, any more than
+the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, camel, or the camelopard. All
+these species require a hot climate for propagation, and as none of
+them exist in the northern regions, it is impossible they should have
+had any communication with America. This general fact is too important
+not to be supported by every proof; we shall, therefore, continue our
+comparative enumeration of the animals of the old continent with those
+of the new.
+
+It is generally known, that upon horses being first transported into
+America they struck the natives with surprise and terror; and that
+this animal has thriven and multiplied so fast, as to have become
+almost as numerous there now as it is in Europe. It is the same also
+with the ass, which has thriven equally in these warm climates, and
+from which mules have been produced, that are more serviceable than
+the lamas for carrying heavy loads over the mountainous parts of Chili
+and Peru. The Zebra is also an animal of the old continent, and which,
+perhaps, has never been even seen in the new; it seems to require a
+particular climate, and is found only in that part of Africa which lies
+between the Equator and the Cape of Good Hope.
+
+Oxen were unknown in the islands and on the continent of South America.
+Soon after the discovery of these countries, the Spaniards transported
+bulls and cows to them from Europe. In 1550 oxen were employed, for
+the first time, in tilling the ground in the valley of Cusco. On the
+continent these animals multiplied prodigiously, as well as in the
+islands of St. Domingo, Cuba, Barlovento, &c. and in many places
+they even became wild. The species of horned cattle found at Mexico,
+Louisiana, &c. which is called the _wild ox_ or Bison, is not produced
+from the European oxen. The bison existed in America before our race
+was carried thither; and from the latter he is so different as to
+authorize the opinion of his being a different species. He has a rise
+between his shoulders, his hair is softer than wool, is longer before
+than behind, is curled upon the neck and along the spine of the back;
+he is of a brown colour, and faintly marked with some whitish spots; he
+has also short legs, which, like the head and neck, are covered with
+long hair; and the male has a long tail with a tuft of hair at the end,
+like that of the lion. These differences seem to be sufficient grounds
+for considering the ox and bison of different species, yet I will not
+pretend to determine they are so, because the only characteristic which
+identifies animals to be of the same species, is their propagating
+and producing similar individuals, and which fact has never been
+determined between the bison and the oxen of Europe. M. de la Nux, a
+member of the royal council of the isle of Bourbon, has favoured me
+with a letter, in which he says, the hunched-back ox of that island
+propagates with the common horned cattle; and of great advantage would
+it be, if persons who live in remote countries would follow the example
+of this gentleman, in making experimental observations upon animals.
+Nothing could be more easy than for the inhabitants of Louisiana, to
+try if the American bison would copulate with the European cow. It
+is probable they would produce together, and in that case it would
+be ascertained that the European ox, the hunched-backed species of
+the isle of Bourbon, the East India bull and American bison, form
+only one species. M. de la Nux proved by experiments, that the hunch
+is not an essential characteristic, since it disappeared after a few
+generations; and I have myself discovered that the protuberance upon a
+camel's back, which, though as in the bison, is very common, is not a
+constant characteristic, and is probably owing to the healthful state
+of the body, as I once saw a sickly camel which had not the smallest
+appearance of a lump. As to the other difference, namely, the hair
+being more long and soft, that may be entirely owing to the influence
+of the climate, as is the case with goats, hares, and rabbits. With
+some appearance of probability, it may be supposed, (especially if the
+American bison produces with the European cow) that our oxen may have
+found a passage over the northern districts to those of North America,
+and having afterwards advanced into the temperate regions of this New
+World, they received the impressions of the climate, and in time became
+bisons. But till the essential fact of their producing together be
+fully confirmed, I think it right to conclude that our oxen belong to
+the old continent, and existed not in America before they were carried
+thither.
+
+To sheep America has no pretensions; they were transported from Europe,
+and have thriven both in the warm and temperate climates; but, however
+prolific, they are commonly more meagre, and their flesh less juicy and
+tender than those in Europe. Brasil seems to be the most favourable to
+them, as it is there alone that they are found loaded with fat. Guinea
+sheep, as well as European, have been transported to Jamaica, and they
+have prospered equally well. These two species belong solely to the old
+continent. It is also the same with goats, and those we now meet with
+in America in such great numbers, all originated from goats introduced
+from Europe. The latter has not, however, multiplied so fast at Brasil
+as the sheep. When the Spaniards first carried goats to Peru they were
+so rare as to be sold for 110 ducats a piece; but afterwards they
+multiplied so prodigiously as to be held of little value but for their
+skins; they produce there from three to five kids at a time, while in
+Europe they seldom have more than one or two. In all the islands they
+are equally numerous as on the continent. The Spaniards transported
+them even into the islands of the South Sea; and in the island of Juan
+Fernandez their increase became prodigious. But proving a supply of
+provisions to the free-booters who afterwards infested those parts, the
+Spaniards resolved to extirpate them, and for that purpose put dogs
+upon the island, who, multiplying in their turn, not only destroyed all
+the goats in the accessible parts, but became so fierce as to attack
+even men.
+
+The hogs which were transported from Europe to America succeeded
+better, and multiplied faster, than the sheep or goat. The first
+swine, according to Garcilasso, sold still dearer than the first
+goats. Piso says the flesh of the ox and sheep is not so good at
+Brasil as in Europe, but that of the hog, which multiplies very fast,
+is better; and Laet, in his History of the New World, affirms that
+it is preferable at St. Domingo, to what it is in Europe. In general
+it may be remarked, that of all domestic animals which have been
+carried from Europe to America, the hog has thriven the best and most
+universally. In Canada and in Brasil, which includes the warmest and
+coldest climates of the new world, hogs multiply, and their flesh is
+equally good; while the goat, on the contrary, multiplies in warm and
+temperate climates only, and cannot maintain its species in Canada
+without continual supplies. The ass multiplies in Brasil, Peru, &c. but
+not in Canada, where neither mules nor asses are to be seen, although
+numbers of the latter have been transported thither in couples. Horses
+have multiplied nearly as much in the hot as in the cold countries
+throughout America; but have diminished in size, a circumstance which
+is common to all animals transported from Europe to America; and what
+is still more singular, all the native animals of America are much
+smaller in general than those of the old continent. Nature in their
+formation seems to have adopted a smaller scale, and to have formed man
+alone in the same mould. But to proceed in our enumeration:--The hog,
+then, is not a native of America, but was carried thither; and he has
+not only increased in a domestic state but has even become wild, and
+multiplied in the woods without the assistance of man. A species of hog
+has also been transported from Guinea to Brasil, which has likewise
+multiplied; it is much smaller, and seems to form a distinct species
+from the European hog; for although the climate of Brasil is favourable
+to every kind of propagation, these animals have never been known to
+intermingle.
+
+Dogs, whose races are so varied, and so numerously diffused, were
+not found in America, unless in a few rude resemblances, which it is
+difficult to compare with the species at large. At St. Domingo, says
+Garcilasso, there were little animals called _gosques_, not unlike
+little dogs; but there were no dogs like those of Europe. He adds, that
+the latter, on being transported to Cuba and St. Domingo, had become
+wild, and diminished the number of cattle which had become wild also;
+that they committed their devastations in troops of ten or twelve, and
+were more destructive than wolves. According to Joseph Acosta, there
+were no real dogs in the West Indies, but only an animal resembling
+small dogs, called by the Peruvians _alcos_, which attach themselves
+to their masters, and seem to have nearly the same dispositions as the
+dog. If we may believe Father Charlevoix, who quotes no authority,
+"The _goschis_ of St. Domingo were little mute dogs, which served
+as an amusement to the ladies, and were also employed in the chace
+of other animals. Their flesh was good for eating, and they were of
+great benefit to the Spaniards during the first famines, which these
+people experienced, so that they would have been exhausted, had there
+not been numbers of them afterwards brought from the continent. Of
+this animal there were several sorts; of some the hair was straight,
+others had their bodies covered with a wool exceedingly soft; but the
+greatest number had only a thin covering of tender down. In colours
+they exceeded the varieties in the European dogs, forming an assemblage
+of all colours, the most lively not excepted."
+
+If this species of the goschis ever existed, especially as described
+by Father Charlevoix, why have other authors never mentioned it? why
+does it no longer exist? or if in existence, by what means has it lost
+all its beautiful peculiarities? It is most likely that the goschis of
+Charlevoix, and of which he never found the name but in Father Pers, is
+the gosques of Garcilasso; and it is also probable that these gosques
+of St. Domingo, and the alcos of Peru, are the same animal; for certain
+it is, that of all American animals this has the most affinity to the
+European dog. Several authors have considered it as a real dog; and
+Laet expressly says, that when the West Indies were discovered they in
+St. Domingo employed a small dog in hunting, but which was absolutely
+dumb. We observed, in the history of the dog, that he loses the faculty
+of barking in hot countries, but instead thereof they had a kind
+of howl, and are not like these American animals, perfectly mute.
+European dogs have thriven equally well in the hot and cold climates
+of America, and of all animals they are held in the highest estimation
+by the savages; but they have undergone essential changes, for in hot
+countries they have lost their voice, in cold ones they have decreased
+in size, and in general their ears have become straight. Thus they
+have degenerated, or rather returned to their primitive species, the
+shepherd's dog, whose ears are erect, and who barks the least. From
+whence we may conclude, that the dog belongs to the old continent where
+their nature has been developed in the temperate regions only, and
+where they appear to have been varied and brought to perfection by the
+care of man, for in all uncivilized countries, and in very hot or cold
+climates they are ugly, small, and almost mute.
+
+The Hyæna, which is nearly the size of the wolf, was known to the
+ancients, and I have myself seen a living one. It is remarkable for
+having an opening between the anus and tail, like the badger, and from
+which issues a humour that has a strong smell; also for a long bristly
+mane which runs along its neck; and for a voracity which prompts it to
+scrape up graves and devour the most putrid bodies.
+
+This horrid animal is only to be found in Arabia, and other southern
+provinces of Asia; it does not exist in Europe and has never been found
+in the New World.
+
+The jackall, which of all animals not excepting the wolf makes the
+nearest approach to the dog though differing in every essential
+characteristic, is very common in Armenia and Turkey, and is very
+numerous in several other provinces of Asia and Africa; but it is
+absolutely unknown in the new world. It is about the size of the fox,
+and of a very brilliant yellow; this animal has not extended to Europe,
+nor even the northern parts of Asia.
+
+The Genet, being a native of Spain, would doubtless have been noticed
+had he been found in America, but that not being the case, we may
+consider him as peculiar to the old continent; he inhabits the southern
+parts of Europe, and those of Asia under the same latitude.
+
+Though it has been said the Civet was found in New Spain, I am of
+opinion it was not the African, or Indian Civet, which yields the musk
+that is mixed and prepared with that of the animal called the Hiam of
+China; this civet I conceive to belong to the southern part of the old
+continent, has never extended to the north, and consequently would not
+have found a passage to the New World.
+
+Cats as well as dogs were entire strangers to the New Continent, and
+though I formerly mentioned that a huntsman had taken to Columbus a
+cat which he had killed in the woods of America, I am now convinced
+that the species did not then exist there. I was then less aware of
+the abuses which had been made in names, and I acknowledge I am not
+yet sufficiently acquainted with animals to distinguish them with
+precision in the fictitious and misapplied denominations given them
+by travellers. Nor is this to be wondered at, since the nomenclators,
+whose researches were directed to this object, have rendered it more
+dark and intricate by their arbitrary names and arrangements. To the
+natural propensity of comparing things which we see for the first
+time, with those already known, and the almost insuperable difficulty
+of pronouncing the American names being added, we are to impute this
+misapplication of names which have since been productive of so many
+errors. It is much more easy, for example, to call a new animal, a
+_wild boar_, than to pronounce its name at Mexico, _quab-coya-melt_; to
+call another _American fox_, than to retain its Brasilian appellation,
+_tamandua-guacu_; to give the name of _Peruvian sheep_, or _camel_, to
+those animals which in the language of Peru are called _pelon ichiath
+oquitli_. It is the same with almost all the other animals of the New
+World, whose names were so strange and barbarous to the Europeans, that
+they endeavoured to apply others to them, from the resemblance they had
+to those of the old continent, but they were often from affinities too
+remote to justify the application. Five or six species of small animals
+were named hares, or rabbits, merely because their flesh was palatable
+food. They called _cow_ and _elk_ an animal without horns, although
+it had no affinity to either, except a small resemblance in the form
+of the body. But it is unnecessary at present to dwell upon the false
+denominations which have been applied to the animals of America,
+because I shall endeavour to point out and correct them when we come to
+treat of each of those animals in particular.
+
+We find, then, that all our domestic animals, and the largest animals
+of Asia and Africa were unknown in the New World; and the same remark
+extends to several of the less considerable species, of which we shall
+now proceed to make a cursory mention.
+
+The gazelles, of which there are various kinds, and of which some
+belong to Arabia, others to the East Indies, and some to Africa,
+all require a hot climate to subsist and multiply, they therefore
+never extended to the northern climates, so as to obtain a passage
+to America; it appears, indeed, that the African gazelle, and which
+Hernandes, in his History of Mexico calls _algazel ex Aphrica_ must
+have been transported thither. The animal of New Spain, which the same
+author calls _temamaçame_, Seba _cervus_, Klein _tragulus_, and Brisson
+the gazelle of New Spain, appears to be a different species to any on
+the old continent.
+
+It is natural to conclude, that the Chamois Goat, which delights in
+the snow of the Alps, would not be afraid of the icy regions of the
+north, and thence might have passed to America, but no such animal
+is found there. This animal requires not only a particular climate,
+but a particular situation. He is attached to the tops of the Alpine,
+Pyrenean, and other lofty mountains, and far from being scattered over
+distant countries, he never descends even to the plains at the bottom
+of his hills; but in this he is not singular, as the marmot, wild goat,
+bear, and lynx, are also mountain animals, and very rarely found in the
+plains.
+
+The buffalo is a native of hot countries, and has been rendered
+domestic in Italy; he resembles less than the ox, the American bison,
+and is unknown in the new continent. The wild goat is found on the
+tops of the highest mountains of Europe and Asia, but was never seen
+on the Cordeliers. The Musk-animal, which is nearly the size of a
+fallow-deer, inhabits only a few particular countries of China and
+Eastern Tartary. The little Guinea Deer, as it is called, seems also
+confined to the provinces of Africa and the East Indies. The Rabbit,
+which comes originally from Spain, and has been diffused over all the
+temperate climates of Europe, did not exist in America; for the animals
+of that continent which are so called, are of a different species, and
+all the real ones were transported thither from Europe. The Ferret,
+brought from Africa to Europe, was unknown in America; as were also our
+rats and mice, which having been carried there in European ships, have
+since multiplied prodigiously.
+
+The following then are nearly all the animals of the old continent,
+namely, the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, camel, dromedary,
+giraffe, lion, tiger, panther, horse, ass, zebra, ox, buffalo, sheep,
+goat, hog, dog, hyæna, jackall, genet, civet, cat, gazelle, chamois
+goat, wild goat, Guinea deer, rabbit, ferret, rat, mouse, loir, lerot,
+marmot, ichneumon, badger, sable, ermine, jerboa, the maki, and several
+species of monkeys, none of which were found in America on the first
+arrival of the Europeans, and which consequently are peculiar to the
+Old World, as we shall endeavour to prove in the particular history of
+each animal.
+
+
+
+
+ANIMALS OF THE NEW WORLD.
+
+
+The animals of the New World were not more known to the Europeans, than
+were our animals to the Americans. The Peruvians and Mexicans were the
+only people on the new continent, which were half civilized. The latter
+had no domestic animals; and those of the former consisted of the lama,
+the pacos, and the alco, a small animal which was domestic in the
+house like our little dogs. The pacos and the lama, like the chamois
+goat, live only on the highest mountains, and are found on those of
+Peru, Chili, and New Spain. Though they had become domestic among the
+Peruvians, and consequently spread over the neighbouring countries,
+their multiplication was not abundant, and has even decreased in their
+native places, since the introduction of European cattle, which have
+succeeded astonishingly in all the southern countries of the American
+continent.
+
+It appears singular that in a world, occupied almost entirely by
+savages, whose manners somewhat resembled those of the brutes, there
+should be no connection, no society existing between them and the
+animals by which they were surrounded; and this was absolutely the
+case, for there were no domestic animals, excepting where the people
+were in some degree civilized. Does not this prove that man, in a
+savage state, is nothing more than a species of animal, incapable of
+ruling others; and possessing only individual faculties, employs them
+for procuring his subsistence, and providing for his security, by
+attacking the weak, and avoiding the strong, but without entertaining
+any idea of real power, or endeavouring to reduce them to subjection?
+Every nation, even those which are but just emerging from barbarism,
+has its domestic animals. With us the horse, the ass, the ox, the
+sheep, the goat, the hog, the dog, and the cat; in Italy the buffalo;
+in Lapland the rein-deer; in Peru the lama, the pacos, and the alco; in
+the eastern countries, the dromedary, the camel, and various species of
+oxen, sheep, and goats; in the southern ones the elephant; all these
+animals have been reduced to servitude, or admitted into society;
+while the savage, hardly desirous of the society of his female, either
+fears or disdains that of other animals. Of these species, rendered
+domestic, it is true, not one existed in America; but if the savages,
+with whom it was peopled, had anciently united, and had communicated
+to each other the mutual aids of society, they would have rendered
+subservient the greatest part of the animals of that country, most of
+them being mild, docile, and timid, few mischievous, and scarcely any
+formidable. Their liberty, therefore, has been preserved solely from
+the weakness of man, who has little or no power without the aid of
+society, upon which even the multiplication of his species depends.
+The immense territories of the new world were but thinly inhabited;
+and, I believe it may be asserted, that on its first discovery, it
+contained not more than half the number of people that may now be
+reckoned in Europe. This scarcity of men allowed every other animal to
+multiply in abundance; every thing was favourable to their increase,
+and the number of individuals of each species was immense; but the
+number of species were comparatively few, and did not amount to more
+than a fourth, or a third of those of the old continent. If we reckon
+200 species of animals in the known world we shall find that more
+than 130 of them belonged to the old continent, and less than 70 to
+the new; and if we except the species common to both continents, that
+is, such as by their natures are capable of enduring the rigours of
+the north, and might have passed from one to the other, there will
+not remain above forty species peculiar to, and natives of, America.
+Animated nature, therefore, is in this portion of the globe less
+active, less varied, and even less vigorous; for by the enumeration of
+the American animals we shall perceive, that not only the number of
+species is smaller, but that in general they are inferior in size to
+those of the old continent; not one animal throughout America can be
+compared to the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, dromedary, buffalo,
+tiger, lion, &c. The Tapir of Brasil is the largest of all the South
+American animals, and this elephant of the new world exceeds not the
+size of a very small mule, or a calf at six months old; with both which
+animals he has been compared, although he does not resemble either.
+The Lama is not so big as the tapir, and appears large only from the
+length of his neck and legs; and the Pacos is much smaller still. The
+Cabiai, which, next to the tapir, is the largest of the South American
+animals, is not bigger than a common-sized hog; he differs as much as
+any of the preceding from all the animals of the old continent; for
+although he has been called the water-hog, he has essentially different
+characteristics from that animal. The Tajacou is smaller than the
+cabiai, and has a strong external resemblance to the hog, but differs
+greatly in his internal conformation. Neither the tajacou, cabiai,
+nor the tapir, are to be found in any part of the old continent; and
+the same may be said of the _Tamanduacuacu_, or _Ouariri_, and of the
+_Ouatiriou_, which we have called Ant-eaters. These last animals, the
+largest of which is below mediocrity, seem confined to the regions of
+South America. They are remarkable in having no teeth, their tongue
+is long and cylindrical, and their mouth is so small that they can
+neither bite nor hardly take hold of any thing; they can only procure
+subsistence by putting out their long tongue in the way of the ants,
+and drawing it in when loaded with them. The sloth, which is called
+_ai_, or _hai_, by the natives of Brasil, on account of the plaintive
+cry of _ai_, which it continually sends forth, seems likewise to
+be confined to the new continent. It is smaller than either of the
+preceding ones, being not more than two feet long, and is scarcely so
+quick in his motion as the turtle; it has but three claws on each foot,
+its fore legs are longer than its hind ones, it has a very short tail,
+and no ears. Besides, the sloth and armadillo are the only quadrupeds,
+which have neither incisive nor canine teeth, but whose grinders are
+cylindrical, and round at the extremities, nearly like those of some
+cetaceous animals.
+
+The Curiacou of Guiana is an animal of the nature and size of our
+largest roe-bucks; the male has horns, which he sheds every year, but
+the female has none. At Cayenne it is called the Hind of the Woods.
+There is another species, called the little cariacou, or hind of the
+fens, which is considerably smaller than the former, and the male
+has no horns. From the resemblance of the names I suspected that
+the cariacou of Cayenne might be the caguacu, or cougouacou-ara, of
+Brasil, and comparing the accounts given by Piso and Marcgrave of the
+latter with the cariacou I had alive, I was persuaded they were the
+same animal, yet so different from our roe-buck as to justify our
+considering them distinct species.
+
+The tapir, cabiai, tajacou, ant-eater, sloth, cariacou, lama, pacos,
+bison, puma, juguar, coujuar, juguarat, and the mountain-cat, &c. are
+therefore the largest animals of the new continent. The middle-sized
+and small ones are the cuandus, or gouandous, agouti, coati, paca,
+opossum, cavies, and armadillos; all which I believe are peculiar to
+the new world, although our latest nomenclators speak of two other
+species of armadillos, one in the East Indies, and the other in Africa;
+but we have only the testimony of the author of the description of
+Seba's cabinet for their existence, and that authority is insufficient
+to confirm the fact, for misnomers frequently happen in the collections
+of natural objects. An animal, for example, is purchased under the name
+of a Ternat, or American bat, and another under that of the East India
+Armadillo; they are then announced by those names in a descriptive
+catalogue, and are adopted by our nomenclators; but when examined more
+closely the American bat proves to be one of our own country, and so
+may the Indian or African armadillo be merely an armadillo of America.
+
+Hitherto we have not spoken of Apes, their history requiring a
+particular discussion. As the word _Ape_ is a generic term applied to
+a number of species, it is not surprising that it should be said they
+abound in the southern parts of both continents; but it is for us here
+to enquire whether the apes of Asia and Africa be the same animals as
+those so called in America, and whether from among more than thirty
+species of apes, which I have examined alive, one of them is alike
+common to both continents.
+
+The Satyr, Ourang-outang, or Man of the Woods, as it is
+indiscriminately termed, seems to differ less from man than from the
+ape, and is only to be found in Africa or the south of Asia. The
+Gibbon, whose fore legs, or arms, are as long as the whole body,
+even the hind legs included, is a native of the East Indies alone.
+Neither of these have tails. The ape, properly so termed, whose hair
+is greenish, with a small intermixture of yellow, has no tail, belongs
+to Africa, and a few other parts of the old continent, but is not to
+be found in the new. It is the same also with the Cynocephali-apes, of
+which there are two or three species; neither of them having any tails,
+at least they are so short as scarcely to be perceivable. All apes
+which are without tails, and whose muzzles, from being short, bear a
+strong resemblance to the face of man, are real apes; and the species
+above-mentioned are all natives of the old continent, and unknown in
+the new; from whence we may pronounce that there are no real apes in
+America.
+
+The Baboon, an animal larger than the dog, and whose body is pursed up
+like that of the hyæna, is exceedingly different from those we have
+noticed, and has a short tail: it is equally endowed with inclination
+and powers for mischief, and is only to be met with in the desarts of
+the southern parts of the old continent.
+
+Besides these without tails, or with very short ones, (which all belong
+to the old continent) almost all the large ones with long tails, are
+peculiar to Africa. There are few even of the middling size in America,
+but those called little long-tailed monkeys are very numerous, of which
+there are several species; and when we give the particular history of
+these animals, it will appear the American monkeys differ very much
+from the apes of Asia and Africa. The Maki, of which there are three or
+four species, has a near resemblance to the monkeys with long tails,
+but is another animal, and peculiar also to the old continent. All the
+animals, therefore, of Asia and Africa, which are known by the name of
+apes, are equally as strange in America as the rhinoceros or tiger; and
+the more we investigate this subject, the more we shall be convinced
+that the animals of the southern parts of one continent did not exist
+in the others and the few found in them must have been carried thither
+by men. Between the coasts of Brasil and Guinea, there are 500 leagues
+of sea; and between those of the East Indies and Peru, the distance
+exceeds 2000 leagues: It appears, therefore, that all those animals
+which from their nature are incapable of supporting cold climates, or,
+if supporting, cannot propagate therein, are confined on two or three
+sides by seas they cannot cross, and on the other by lands so cold they
+cannot live in them. At this one general fact, then, however singular
+it may at first appear, our wonder ought to cease, namely, that not one
+of the animals of the torrid zone of one continent, are natives of the
+torrid zone of the other.
+
+
+
+
+ANIMALS COMMON TO BOTH CONTINENTS.
+
+
+By the preceding enumeration it appears, that not only the quadrupeds
+of the hot climates of Asia and Africa, but many of those in the
+temperate climates of Europe, are strangers in America; but we find
+many there of such as can support cold and propagate their species in
+the regions of the north; and though there is an evident difference
+in them they cannot but be considered as the same animals; and this
+induces us to believe, they formerly passed from one continent to the
+other by lands still unknown, or possibly long since buried by the
+waves. Of the contiguity of the two northern provinces, the proof thus
+drawn from Natural History is a stronger confirmation than all the
+conjectures of speculative Geography.
+
+The Bears of the Illinois, of Louisiana, &c. seem to be the same with
+ours; the former being only smaller and blacker. The stag of Canada,
+though smaller than ours, differs only in the superior loftiness of
+his horns, number of antlers, and length of his tail. The roe-buck,
+found in the south of Canada, and in Louisiana, is also smaller and has
+a longer tail than that of Europe. The Orignal is the same animal as
+the Elk, but not so large. The rein-deer of Lapland, the fallow-deer
+of Greenland, and the Caribou of Canada, appear to be one and the
+same animal. Brisson has indeed classed the latter with the _cervus
+Burgundicus_ of Johnston, but which animal remains unknown, and
+possibly received that name from accident or caprice.
+
+The hares, squirrels, hedge-hogs, otters, marmots, rats, shrew-mice,
+and the moles, are species which may be considered as common to both
+continents; though there is not one perfectly similar in America, to
+what it is in Europe; and it is very difficult, if not impossible,
+to pronounce whether they are in reality different species, or mere
+varieties rendered permanent by the influence of the climate.
+
+The Beavers of Europe seem to be the same as those of Canada. These
+animals prefer cold countries, but can subsist and propagate in
+temperate ones. In the islands of the Rhone in France, there still
+remain a few of the number which formerly subsisted there; and
+they seem more desirous of avoiding a too populous than a too warm
+country. They never form their societies but in desarts remote from
+the dwellings of men; and even in Canada, which can be considered as
+little more than a vast desart, they have retired far from any human
+habitation. The Wolf and Fox are common to both continents. They are
+met with in all parts of North America, and of both species; there are
+some entirely black. Though the Weasel and Ermine frequent the cold
+countries of Europe, they are very rare in America, which is not the
+case with the pine-weasel, marten, and pole-cat. The Pine-weasel of
+North America seems to be the same with that of the northern parts of
+Europe. The Vison of Canada has a strong resemblance to our Marten; and
+the streaked Pole-cat of North America, is perhaps a mere variety of
+the European kind. The Lynx of America is, to all appearance, the same
+with that in Europe. Though it prefers cold countries, it lives and
+multiplies in temperate ones, and is seldom seen but in forests and on
+mountains. The Seal, or sea-calf, seems to be confined to the northern
+regions, and is alike to be found on the coasts of Europe and North
+America.
+
+Such, with a few exceptions, are all the animals common to the old
+and new world; and from this number, inconsiderable as it is, we
+ought, perhaps, to deduct one third, whose species, though similar in
+appearance, may be different in reality. But admitting the identity
+of species, those common to both continents are very small in number,
+compared with those peculiar to each; and it is also evident, that such
+only as can bear cold, and can multiply in these climates, as well as
+in warm ones, are to be found in both. From which there cannot remain a
+doubt but that the two continents are, or have been contiguous towards
+the north, and that the animals common to both, found a passage over
+lands which at present are to us unknown. There is reason to believe,
+from the discoveries made by the Russians to the north of Kamtschatka,
+that the lands of Asia and America are contiguous, while the north of
+Europe appears always to have been separated from the latter by seas
+too considerable for any quadruped to have crossed; nevertheless, the
+animals of North America have a stronger resemblance to those of the
+northern parts of Europe than to those of the north of Asia. Neither
+the Argali, Sable, Mole of Siberia, nor Chinese Musk, are to be found
+at Hudson's Bay, or any other north-west part of the new continent;
+while in the north-east parts we not only find the animals common to
+the north of Europe and Asia, but even such as appear to be peculiar to
+Europe. But it must be acknowledged, that the north-east parts of Asia
+are so little known that we cannot attempt to affirm, with certainty,
+whether the animals of the north of Europe are to be found there or not.
+
+We have already remarked, as a striking singularity, that the animals
+in the southern provinces of the new continent are small, in comparison
+with those of the warm regions of the old; the elephant, &c. of the
+latter being some of them eight and ten times larger than the tapir,
+&c. of the former. And this general fact, as to size, is further
+corroborated, by all the animals which have been transported from
+Europe having become less, and also those common to both continents
+being much smaller in America than those of Europe. In this new world,
+then, there must be something in the combination of the elements, and
+other physical causes, which opposes the aggrandisement of animated
+nature; there must be obstacles to the development, and perhaps to
+the formation of the principles of life. Under this sky, and on this
+vacant land, even those which, from the benign influence of other
+climates, had received their full form and complete extension, lose
+both, and become shrivelled and diminished. These extensive regions
+were thinly inhabited by a few wandering savages, who, instead of
+acting as masters, had no authority in it: for they had no controul
+over either animals or elements; they had neither subjected the
+waves nor directed the motions of rivers, nor even cultivated the
+earth around them; they were themselves nothing more than animals
+of the first rank, mere automatons, incapable of correcting Nature,
+or seconding her intentions. Nature, indeed, had treated them more
+as a stepmother than as an indulgent parent, by denying to them the
+sentiment of love, and the eager desire to propagate their species.
+The American savage, it is true, is little less in stature than other
+men, yet that is not sufficient to form an exception to the general
+remark--that all animated nature is comparatively diminutive in the
+new continent. In the savage the organs of generation are small and
+feeble; he has no hair, no beard, no ardour for the female; though
+more nimble than the European, from being habituated to running, he is
+not so strong; possessed of less sensibility, yet he is more timid and
+dastardly; he has no vivacity, no activity of soul, and that of the
+body is less a voluntary exercise than a necessary action occasioned
+by want. Satisfy his hunger and thirst and you annihilate the active
+principle of all his motions; and he will remain for days together in
+a state of stupid inactivity[B]. Needless is it to search further into
+the cause for the dispersed life of savages, and their aversion to
+society. Nature has withheld from them the most precious spark of her
+torch; they have no ardour for the female, and consequently no love for
+their fellow-creatures. Strangers to an attachment the most lively and
+tender, their other kindred sensations are cold and languid: to their
+parents and children they are little more than indifferent; with them
+the bands of the most intimate of all society, are feeble, nor is there
+the smallest connection between one family and another; of course they
+have no social state among them; cold in temperament, their manners are
+cruel, their women they treat as drudges born to labour, or rather as
+beasts of burthen, whom they load with all the produce of the chace,
+and whom they oblige, without pity or gratitude, to perform offices
+repugnant to their natures, and frequently beyond their strength.
+They have few children, and to those they pay little attention. The
+whole arises from one cause; they are indifferent because they are
+weak, and this indifference to the female is the original stain which
+defaces nature, prevents her from expanding, and, while it destroys
+the seeds of life, strikes at the root of society. Man, therefore,
+forms no exception; for Nature, by retrenching the faculty of love,
+has diminished him more than any other animal. Before we examine the
+causes of this general effect, it must be acknowledged, that although
+Nature has reduced all the quadrupeds of the new world, yet she has
+preserved the size of reptiles, and enlarged that of insects; for
+although there are larger lizards and larger serpents at Senegal than
+in South America, yet in these animals the difference is not near so
+great as in the quadrupeds; the largest serpent at Senegal is not
+twice as large as the great adder of Cayenne, whereas the elephant is
+ten times as big as the tapir, which is the largest animal of South
+America. In no part are the insect tribes so large as in South America.
+At Cayenne, the spiders, caterpillars, and butterflies, surpass all
+the insects of the old continent, not only as to size, but in richness
+of colours, delicacy of shades, variety of forms, number of species,
+and the prodigious multiplication of individuals. The toads, frogs,
+and other creatures of this kind, are also very large in America. Of
+the birds and fish we shall say nothing; for since they possess the
+power of migrating from one continent to the other, it would be almost
+impossible to distinguish which properly belongs to either, but insects
+and reptiles, like quadrupeds, are confined nearly to the spot in
+which they came into existence.
+
+[Footnote B: Mr. Vaillant says, that the Hottentots will sleep for
+two or three days together, either from hunger or excess in eating;
+for, when hungry, indolence has suggested to them the expedient of
+sleeping instead of the labour of seeking for food, and that by tying a
+bandage round their bellies they can do so for the above space, without
+experiencing any consequent inconvenience.]
+
+Let us now then enquire why, in this new world, the reptiles and
+insects are so large, the quadrupeds so small, and the men so cold.
+These effects must depend on the quality of the earth and atmosphere,
+on the degrees of heat and moisture, on the situation and height of
+mountains, on the quality of running and stagnate waters, on the
+extent of forests, and, in a word, on the state in which inanimate
+nature presents itself in that country. In the new world there is
+much less heat and more moisture than in the old. If we compare the
+heat and cold, in each degree of latitude, we shall find a very great
+difference; that at Quebec, which is under the same degree of latitude
+as Paris, the rivers are covered with ice for months in the year, and
+the grounds with snow several feet thick; the air, indeed, is so cold,
+that the birds fly off at the approach of winter, and return not till
+invited by the warmth of spring. This difference of heat under the same
+latitude in the Temperate Zone, though considerable, is perhaps less
+so than the difference of that under the Torrid Zone. At Senegal, we
+are scorched, while at Peru, situate under the same line, we enjoy the
+benign influence of a temperate climate. In such a situation is the
+continent of America placed, and so formed, that every thing concurs
+to diminish the action of heat. There we find the highest mountains
+and greatest rivers in the known world; these mountains form a chain
+which seems to terminate the length of the continent towards the west,
+while the plains and low grounds are all situated on this side of the
+mountains, from whose base they extend to the sea, which separates
+the American from the European continents. Thus the east wind, which
+constantly blows between the tropics, does not reach America until it
+has traversed a vast extent of ocean, and has consequently been greatly
+cooled; and for this reason it is much less warm at Brasil and Cayenne,
+for example, than at Senegal and Guinea, where this east wind arrives,
+charged with the heat of all the burning sands and desarts which it
+necessarily passes in traversing both Asia and Africa.
+
+In treating of the different colours of men, particularly negroes, it
+appeared to be demonstrated that the strong tincture of brown or black
+depends entirely on the situation of the country; that the negroes
+of Nigritia, and those of the west coast of Africa are the blackest,
+because those countries are so situated as to contain more heat than
+any other part of the globe, from the east wind not reaching them until
+it had passed immense tracks of land; that the American Indians, under
+the line, are only tawny, and the Brasilians brown, though under the
+same latitude as the negroes, because the heat of the climate is not
+so great, and the east wind has been cooled with the water, and loaded
+with humid vapours. The clouds which intercept the sun, and the rains
+which refresh the earth, are periodical, and continue several months at
+Cayenne, and other countries of South America. The first cause renders
+all the east coasts of America more temperate than either Asia or
+Africa; this wind arriving in a cool state begins to assume a degree
+of heat in traversing the plains of America, but which is checked by
+the enormous chain of mountains of which the western part of the new
+continent is composed, so that it is less hot under the line at Peru
+and Cayenne, and the natives are of a less dark complexion. If the
+Cordeliers were reduced to a level with the adjacent plains, the heat
+would be excessive in the western territories, and there would soon be
+men as black at Chili and Peru, as on the western coasts of Africa. It
+is evident then that diminution of heat in the new continent is owing
+entirely to situation; and we shall now make it appear, that there is
+a much greater degree of moisture in America. The mountains being the
+most lofty of any upon the globe, and directly facing the east wind,
+they stop and condense the vapours of the air, and thus give rise to a
+number of springs, which, by their junction, form the greatest rivers
+in the world. In proportion, therefore, to its extent there are more
+running waters in the new continent than in the old, and which are
+augmented by their confined situations; for the natives having never
+checked the torrents, directed the rivers, nor drained the marshes,
+immense tracts of land are covered by the stagnant waters, by which the
+moisture of the air is increased and the heat diminished. Besides, the
+earth being every where covered with trees and coarse weeds, it never
+dries, but constantly produces humid and unwholesome exhalations. In
+these gloomy regions, Nature remains concealed under her old garments,
+never having received a new attire from the cultivation of man, but
+totally neglected, her productions languish, become corrupted, and are
+prematurely destroyed. It is principally then from the scarcity of
+men in America, and from most of them living like the brutes, that
+the earth has been neglected, remains cold, and is unable to produce
+the active principles of Nature. To develope the seeds of the largest
+animals and enable them to grow and multiply, requires all the heat
+which the sun can communicate to a fertile soil; and for a reason
+directly opposite it is, that insects, reptiles, and all the little
+animals which wallow in the mud, whose blood is watery, and whose
+increase depends on putrefaction, are more numerous and large in the
+low, humid, and marshy lands of the new continent.
+
+When we reflect on these very striking differences between the old and
+new continents, we can hardly help supposing that the latter is, in
+fact, more recent, and has remained buried under the ocean longer than
+the rest of the globe; for, the enormous western mountains excepted,
+which seem to be monuments of the most remote antiquity, it has all the
+appearance of being a land newly sprung up. We find sea-shells in many
+places under the very first stratum of the vegetable earth, formed into
+masses of lime-stone, though usually less hard and compact than our
+free-stone. If this continent is in reality as ancient as the other,
+why did so few men exist on it? why were the most of that few wandering
+savages? why did the Mexicans and Peruvians, who alone had entered
+into society, reckon only 200 or 300 years from the first man who
+taught them to assemble? why had they not reduced the lama, pacos, and
+other animals, by which they were surrounded, into a domestic state?
+As their society was in its infancy, so were their arts; their talents
+were imperfect, their ideas unexpanded, their organs rude, and their
+language barbarous. The names of their animals[C], of which we have
+subjoined a few as a specimen, were so difficult to pronounce, that our
+only astonishment is, how the Europeans should have taken the trouble
+to write them.
+
+[Footnote C: _Pelon ichiati oquitli_--the lama.
+
+_Tapiierete_, in Brasil; _maniporous_, in Guinea--the tapir.
+
+_Macatlchichiltic temamacama_--the antelope of New Spain.
+
+_Quauhtla coymatl_--the Mexican hog.
+
+_Tlacoozclotl_--the mountain cat.
+
+_Tlaclaughqui ocelotl_, in Mexico--the jaguar.
+
+_Hoitzlaquatzin_--the porcupine of New Spain.
+
+_Xoloitzchuintli_--the Mexican wolf.]
+
+Thus every circumstance seems to indicate, that the Americans were
+new men, or rather men who had been so long estranged from the rest
+of their species that they had lost all idea of the world from which
+they had issued; that the greatest part of the American continent was
+new land, unassisted by man, and in which Nature had not had time to
+establish all her plans, or to display their full extent; that the men
+are cold and the animals diminutive, because the ardour of the former,
+and the largeness of the latter, depend on the heat and salubrity of
+the air; and that, in the course of a few centuries when the lands are
+cultivated, the forests cut down, the rivers confined within proper
+channels, and the marshes drained, this very country will become the
+most fruitful, healthy, and opulent in the world; as it appears already
+in every part which has been cultivated by man. We mean not to infer
+that large animals would then be produced, for the tapir and cabiai
+will never attain the size of the elephant or hippopotamus, but those
+which may be transported there will no longer diminish. By degrees man
+will fill up the vacuums in these immense territories, which, when
+discovered, were perfect desarts.
+
+The first writers who recorded the conquests of the Spaniards, to
+heighten the glory of their arms exaggerated the number of their
+enemies; but is it possible for any reasonable man to credit that
+there were millions of inhabitants at Cuba and St. Domingo, when those
+writers admit there was neither a monarchy, a republic, nor scarcely
+any society among them; and that in these two neighbouring islands,
+situated at but a little distance from the continent, there were only
+five species of animals, the largest of which was not bigger than a
+rabbit? Than this fact, as affirmed by Laet, Acosta, and Father du
+Tertre, in their different histories, no stronger proof can be adduced
+of the empty and desart state of this new-discovered world.
+
+M. Fabry, who travelled for fifteen months over the western parts of
+America, beyond the Mississippi, assured me that he sometimes did
+not meet a single man for the space of 300 or 400 leagues; and all
+our officers who went from Quebec to the Ohio, and from that river
+to Louisiana, agree that it is not uncommon to travel upwards of
+100 leagues without seeing a single family of savages. From these
+testimonies it is plain, that the most agreeable countries of this new
+continent were little better than desarts; but what is more immediately
+necessary to our purpose, they prove that we should distrust the
+evidence of our nomenclators, who set down in their catalogues animals
+as belonging to the new world which solely belong to the old, and
+others as native of particular districts where in fact they never
+existed; and in the same manner they have classed some animals as
+natives of the old world, which belong exclusively to America.
+
+I do not pretend to affirm positively that none of the animals which
+inhabit the warm climates are not common to both. To be physically
+certain of this it is necessary they should have been seen; but it is
+evident, with respect to the large animals of America, that none of
+them are to be found in the old continent, and very few of the small
+ones. Besides, allowing there to be some exceptions, they must relate
+to a trifling number of species, and in no degree affect the general
+rule which I intend to establish, and which seems to me to be our only
+certain guide to the knowledge of animals. This rule, which leads us
+to judge of them as much by climate and disposition as from figure and
+conformation, will seldom be found wrong, and it will enable us to
+avoid and discover a multitude of errors. If, for example, we mean to
+describe the hyæna of Arabia, we may safely affirm that it does not
+exist in Lapland; but we will not say with Brisson, and some others,
+that the hyæna and the glutton are the same animal; nor with Kolbe,
+that the crossed-fox, which inhabits the northern parts of the new
+continent, is found at the Cape of Good Hope, as the animal he mentions
+is not a fox, but a jackall. But it is not my object at present to
+point out all the errors of nomenclators; my intention is solely to
+prove that their blunders would have been less had they paid some
+attention to the differences of climates; if the history of animals
+had been so far studied as to discover, which I have done, that those
+of the southern parts of each continent are never found in both; and
+lastly, if they had abstained from generic names, which have confounded
+together a number of species, not only different, but even remote from
+each other.
+
+The true business of a nomenclator is not to enlarge his list, but to
+form rational comparisons in order to contract it. Nothing can be more
+easy than, by perusing all the authors on animals, and by selecting
+their names and phrases, to form a table which however will always
+be long, in proportion as the enquiry is superficial; while nothing
+can be more difficult than to compare them with that judgment and
+discernment which is necessary to reduce that table to its proper
+dimensions. I said before, and now repeat, that in the whole known
+part of the globe there are not above 200 species of quadrupeds,
+including among them 40 species of apes. To each of these, therefore,
+we had only to appropriate a name; and to retain 200 names, only a
+very moderate exertion of memory is required; for what purpose then
+are quadrupeds formed into classes and genera, which are nothing more
+than props to serve the memory in the recollection of plants, which are
+so very numerous, and often so very similar. But instead of a list of
+200 quadrupeds we have volumes heaped upon volumes full of intricate
+names and phrases. Why introduce an unintelligible jargon, when we may
+be understood by pronouncing a simple name? Why change terms merely
+to form classes? When a dozen animals are included under the name,
+for example, of _the Rabbit_, why is the Rabbit itself omitted, and
+must be sought for under the genus of _the Hare_? Is it not absurd
+and ridiculous to form classes in which the most remote genera are
+assembled together; to put in the first, for example, man and the
+bat; the elephant and scaly lizard in the second; the lion and ferret
+in the third; the hog and the mole in the fourth; and the rhinoceros
+and the rat in the fifth? Ideas so vague and ill-conceived can never
+maintain their ground. These works are destroyed by their own authors,
+one edition contradicting another, and neither of them approved but
+by children, or by such as are always the dupes of mystery, mistaking
+the appearance of method for the reality of science. By comparing the
+fourth edition of Linnæus's Systema Naturæ with the tenth, we find man
+is no longer classed with the bat, but with the scaly lizard; that
+the elephant, hog, and rhinoceros, instead of being classed as before
+with the scaly lizard, mole, and rat, are all three huddled together
+with the shrew-mouse. In the former he had reduced all quadrupeds to
+five classes, but in the latter he divides them into seven. From these
+alterations we may form some idea of those introduced among the genera,
+and how the species have been jumbled and confounded. According to the
+same author there are two species[D] of men, the man of day and the man
+of night, and that these are so very distinct that they ought not to
+be regarded as varieties of the same species. Is not this adding fable
+to absurdity? and were it not better to remain silent with respect to
+matters of which we are ignorant, than to found essential characters,
+and general distinctions upon the grossest error? But to whatever
+length criticisms of this kind might be extended, I shall proceed no
+farther, especially as it does not form my principal object, having
+already said enough to put every reader on his guard, against the
+general as well as particular errors which abound so much in the works
+of nomenclators.
+
+[Footnote D: _Homo diurnus sapiens; homo nocturnus trogloditus._]
+
+In drawing general conclusions, from what has been advanced, we shall
+find that man is the only animated being in whose nature there is
+sufficient strength, genius, and flexibility, to subsist and multiply
+in all the different climates of the earth. It is evident that no
+other animal possesses this grand privilege, for, far from being able
+to multiply in every part of the globe, most of them are confined to
+certain climates, and even particular districts. In every respect man
+is the work of heaven, while many animals are the mere creatures of
+the earth. These of one continent exist not on another, and if there
+are a few exceptions, they are so changed and diminished as hardly to
+be known. Can a stronger proof be given that the impression of their
+form is not unalterable? that their nature, less permanent than that
+of man, may in time be varied, and even absolutely changed? that from
+the same cause those species which are least perfect, least active,
+and furnished with the fewest engines of defence, as well as the most
+delicate and the most cumbrous, have already, or will disappear, for
+their very existence depends on the form which man gives to the surface
+of the earth, or permits it to retain.
+
+The prodigious Mammoth, whose enormous bones I have often viewed with
+astonishment, and which were at least six times bigger than those of
+the largest elephant, exists no longer; although its remains have been
+found in Ireland, Siberia, Louisiana, and other places remote from each
+other. Of all species of quadrupeds this was certainly the largest and
+strongest, and since it has disappeared, how many smaller, weaker, and
+less remarkable, must have perished, without having left any evidence
+of their past existence? How many others have been improved or degraded
+by the great vicissitude of the earth and waters, by the culture or
+neglect of nature, by their long continuance in favourable or repugnant
+climates, that they are no longer the same! and yet, next to man,
+quadrupeds are beings whose nature is most fixed, and whose form most
+permanent. Birds and fishes vary more: those of insects are subject
+to greater variations still; and if we descend to plants, which ought
+not to be excluded from animated nature, we shall be astonished at the
+celerity and facility with which they vary and assume new forms.
+
+It may not be impossible, then, without inverting the order of nature,
+that all the animals of the new world originated from the same stock
+as those of the old; that having been afterwards separated by immense
+seas or impassable lands, they, in course of time, underwent all
+the effects of a climate which was new to them, and which must also
+have had its qualities changed by the very causes which produced its
+separation; and that they, in consequence, became not only inferior in
+size, but different in nature. But these circumstances, if true, ought
+not to prevent us from considering them now as animals of different
+species. From whatever causes these changes may have proceeded, whether
+produced by time, climate, or soil, or whether originating with the
+creation, they are not the less real. Nature is, indeed, in a perpetual
+fluctuation. It is sufficient for man to watch her in his own time, to
+look a little backward and forward, by way of forming a conjecture of
+what she might have been formerly and what she may hereafter be.
+
+As to the utility to be derived from this comparison of animals, it is
+evident, that independent of correcting the errors of our nomenclators,
+our knowledge of the animal creation will be enlarged, rendered
+less imperfect and more certain; that we shall be in less hazard of
+attributing to American animals, properties which belong to those of
+the East Indies, because they may have the same name; that in treating
+of foreign animals, from accounts given by travellers, we shall be more
+able to distinguish names and facts, and to refer them to their true
+species; and, in fine, that the history in which we are now engaged
+will be less erroneous, and perhaps more luminous and complete.
+
+_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 102. _Black Cougar_]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 101. _Tiger_]
+
+
+
+
+THE TIGER.
+
+
+In the class of carnivorous animals, the lion stands foremost, and
+he is immediately followed by the tiger, who, possessing all the bad
+qualities of the former, is a stranger to his good ones. To pride,
+courage, and strength, the lion adds dignity, clemency, and generosity,
+while the tiger is ferocious without provocation and cruel without
+necessity. Thus it is throughout all nature where rank proceeds from
+the superiority of strength. The first class, sole master of all, are
+less tyrannical than their immediate inferiors, who, denied unlimited
+authority, abuse those powers which they possess; thus the tiger is
+more to be dreaded than the lion. The latter often forgets that he is
+the sovereign, or strongest of animals; with an even pace he traverses
+the plains and forests; man he attacks not unless provoked, nor animals
+but when goaded by hunger. The tiger, on the contrary, though glutted
+with carnage, has still an insatiate thirst for blood; his rancour has
+no intervals. With indiscriminate fury he tears in pieces every animal
+he comes near, and destroys with the same ferocity a fresh animal as
+he had done the first. Thus he is the scourge of every country he
+inhabits; and of the appearance of man or his weapons, he is fearless.
+He will destroy whole flocks of domestic animals if he meets with them,
+and all the wild animals that come in his way. He attacks the young
+elephant and rhinoceros, and will sometimes brave the lion himself.
+
+The form of the body usually corresponds with the nature and
+disposition. The noble air of the lion, the height of his limbs in
+exact proportion to the length of his body, his large thick mane, which
+covers his shoulders and shades his face, his determined aspect, and
+solemn pace, seem to announce the dignity and majestic intrepidity of
+his nature. The tiger has a body too long, limbs disproportionally
+short, naked head, and haggard eyes; strong characteristics of
+desperate malice and insatiable cruelty. He has no instinct but an
+uniform rage, a blind fury, so undistinguishing that he not unoften
+devours his own progeny, and even tears the dam in pieces if she offers
+to defend them. Would he were to gratify his thirst for blood to its
+utmost, and by destroying them at their birth extinguish the whole race
+of monsters which he produces!
+
+Happy is it for other animals that the species of tiger is not
+numerous, and that it is chiefly confined to the warmest provinces
+of the East. They are found in Malabar, Siam, Bengal, and in all the
+countries inhabited by the elephant and rhinoceros. It is, indeed,
+said, that they accompany the latter for the purpose of eating their
+dung, which serves to purge them. Be this as it may, they are often
+seen together at the sides of lakes and rivers, where they are probably
+compelled to go by thirst, having often occasion for water to cool that
+fervor they so constantly endure. It is also a convenient situation to
+surprise his victims, since the heat of the climate compels all animals
+to seek for water several times a day; here he chooses his prey, or
+rather multiplies his massacres, for having killed one animal, he
+often proceeds to the destruction of others, tearing open their bodies,
+and swallowing their blood by long draughts; for which their thirst
+seems never to be appeased.
+
+When, however, he has killed a large animal, as a horse, or buffalo,
+he does not devour it on the spot, for fear of being disturbed, but
+drags it off to the forest, which he does with such ease, that the
+swiftness of his course seems scarcely retarded by the enormous load
+which he trails after him. From this circumstance we might judge of his
+strength, but we shall have a more just idea of it by considering his
+bodily dimensions. Some travellers have compared him for size to the
+horse, others to the buffalo, and others merely say he is larger than
+the lion; but we have accounts more recent, which deserve the utmost
+confidence. I have been assured by M. de la Lande-Magon that he saw a
+tiger in the East-Indies fifteen feet long; allowing that he includes
+the tail, and granting four feet for that, the body would still be
+more than ten. It is true that the skin preserved in the Royal Cabinet
+of France is not more than seven feet from the tip of the nose to the
+insertion of the tail; but this tiger had been taken very young, and
+was afterwards always confined in a very narrow apartment, where the
+want of exercise, and space to range in, restraint and, perhaps, not
+having proper nourishment, not only its life might have been shortened,
+but the growth of its body prevented. From the dissection of animals of
+every species that have been reared in houses or court-yards, we find
+that their bodies and members for want of exercise, never attain their
+natural dimensions, and that the organs which are not used as those of
+generation, are so little expanded as to be scarcely perceivable.
+
+The difference of climate alone is capable of producing the same
+effects as confinement and want of exercise. None of the animals of
+hot countries produce in cold ones, even though well fed, and at
+full liberty; and as reproduction is a natural consequence of full
+nutrition, it is evident that when the former does not operate the
+latter must be incomplete; and that, in such animals, cold of itself
+is sufficient to restrain the powers of the internal mould, and
+to diminish the growth, since it destroys the active faculties of
+reproduction. It is not, therefore, surprising that the tiger above
+alluded to should not have acquired its natural growth; yet from a bare
+view of its stuffed skin, and an examination of its skeleton, we may
+form an idea of its formidable strength as an animal. Upon the bones
+of the legs there are inequalities which denote muscular ligatures
+stronger than those of the lion. These bones are also to the full as
+strong, though shorter; and, as already intimated, the height of the
+tiger's legs bear no proportion to the length of his body. Thus that
+velocity which Pliny ascribes to him and which the word _tiger_ seems
+to imply, ought not to be understood of his ordinary movements, or the
+celerity of his continued course; for it is evident, that as his legs
+are short and he can neither walk nor run so fast as those animals
+which have them proportionally longer; but this prodigious swiftness,
+may with great propriety, be applied to the extraordinary bounds he
+is capable of making without any particular effort, for if we suppose
+him to have the same strength and agility in proportion with the cat,
+which he greatly resembles in conformation, and which in an instant
+will leap several feet, we must allow that the bounds of a tiger, whose
+body is ten times as large, must be immense. It is not, therefore,
+the quickness of his running, but of his leaping that Pliny meant to
+denote, and which from the impossibility of evading, when he has made a
+spring, still renders him more formidable.
+
+The tiger is, perhaps, the only animal whose spirit cannot be subdued.
+Neither force nor restraint, violence nor flattery, can prevail, in the
+least, on his stubborn Nature. He is equally indignant at the gentle
+and harsh usage of his keeper; and time instead of mollifying his
+disposition, only serves to increase his fierceness and malignity. With
+equal wrath he snaps at the hand that feeds as that which chastises
+him. He roars at the sight of every object which lives, and seems to
+consider all as his proper prey; he seems to devour beforehand with a
+look, menacing it with the grinding of his teeth, and, regardless of
+his chains, makes efforts to dart upon it, as if to shew his malignity
+when incapable of exerting his force.
+
+To complete the idea of the strength of this terrible animal we shall
+quote Father Tachard's account of a combat between a tiger and three
+elephants, at Siam, of which he was an eye-witness; he says, "a lofty
+palisade of bamboo cane was built, about a hundred feet square, into
+which inclosure three elephants were introduced, for the purpose of
+fighting a tiger. Their heads, and part of their trunks, were covered
+with a kind of armour like a mask. As soon as we arrived at the place
+a tiger was brought forth, of a size much larger than any we had seen
+before; he was not at first let loose, but held by two cords, so that
+he could not make a spring; one of the elephants approached and gave
+him three or four blows on the back with his trunk, with such force as
+to beat him to the ground, where he lay for some time without motion,
+as if he had been dead, although this first attack had greatly abated
+his fury, he was no sooner untied, and at liberty, than he gave a loud
+roar, and made a spring at the elephant's trunk, which was stretched
+out to strike him; but the elephant drew up his trunk with great
+dexterity, received the tiger upon his tusks, and tossed him up into
+the air. This so discouraged him that he no more ventured to approach
+the elephant, but made several turns round the palisade, making several
+efforts to spring at the spectators. Shortly after a second, and then
+a third elephant was set against him, each of which gave him such
+blows that he once more lay for dead, and they certainly would have
+killed him had not an end been put to the combat." From this account
+we may form some idea of the strength and ferocity of the tiger; for
+this animal, though young, and not arrived at his full growth, though
+reduced to captivity, and held by cords, yet he was so formidable to
+three such enormous foes, that it was thought necessary to protect
+those parts of their bodies which were not defended by impenetrable
+skin.
+
+The tiger, of which an anatomical description was made by the
+Jesuits at China, and communicated by Father Gouie to the Academy of
+Sciences, seemed to be the true species,[E] as does also that which
+the Portuguese have distinguished by the name of Royal Tiger. Dellon
+expressly says, in his Travels, that tigers abound more in Malabar than
+in any other part of the East Indies; that their species are numerous,
+but that the largest, which is as big as a horse, and called by the
+Portuguese the Royal Tiger, is very rare. To all appearance, then, the
+Royal Tiger is not a different species; he is found in the East Indies
+only; and, notwithstanding what has been said by Brisson, and others,
+is an utter stranger at Brasil. I am even inclined to think that the
+real tiger is peculiar to Asia, and the inland parts of the south of
+Africa; for though the generality of travellers, who have frequented
+the African coasts, speak of tigers as very common, yet it is very
+plain, from their own accounts of them, that they are either leopards,
+panthers, or ounces. Dr. Shaw says, that the lion and panther hold the
+first rank at Tunis and Algiers, and that in those parts of Barbary the
+tiger is an animal unknown. This observation seems founded in truth,
+for they were Indian, and not African, ambassadors, who presented
+Augustus, while at Samos, the first tiger the Romans had ever seen; and
+it was also from the Indies that Heliogabalus procured those tigers,
+with which, in order to represent the god Bacchus, he proposed that his
+car should be drawn.
+
+[Footnote E: This tiger was streaked, and had been slain, with four
+others, in the field, by the Emperor, it weighed 265lbs; but one of
+them weighed 400; when dissected, one-third of its stomach was full of
+worms, and yet it could not be said the animal had begun to putrify.
+_Hist. Acad._ 1669.]
+
+Thus the species of the tiger has always been more rare and less
+diffused than that of the lion. The female, like the lioness, however,
+produces four or five cubs at a time. She is fierce at all times, but,
+upon her young being in danger, her fury becomes excessive. She then
+braves every danger to secure them, and will pursue the plunderers of
+them with such ferocity, that they are often obliged to drop one to
+secure the rest; this she takes up and conveys to the nearest cover,
+and then renews the pursuit, and will follow them to the very gates of
+towns, or to the ships in which they may have taken refuge; and when
+she has no longer hopes recovering her young, she expresses her agony
+by the most dismal howls of despair.
+
+The tiger testifies his anger in the same manner as the lion; he moves
+the skin of his face, shews his teeth, and roars in a frightful manner;
+but the tone of his voice is very different; and some travellers
+have compared it to the hoarse croak of certain large birds; and the
+ancients expressed it by saying, _Tigrides indomitæ raucant, rugiuntque
+Leones_.
+
+The skins of these animals are much esteemed, particularly in China;
+the Mandarins cover their seats and sedans with them, and also their
+cushions and pillows in winter. In Europe, though scarce, they are of
+no great value; those of the panther and leopard being held in much
+greater estimation. The skin is the only advantage, trifling as it
+is, which man can derive from this dreadful animal. It has been said
+that his sweat is poisonous, and that the hair of his whiskers is more
+dangerous than an envenomed arrow; but the real mischiefs he does when
+alive are sufficient, without giving imaginary ones to parts of his
+body when dead; for certain it is, the Indians eat the flesh of the
+tiger, and that they neither find it disagreeable nor unwholesome, and
+if the hair of his whiskers, taken in the form of a pill, do destroy,
+it is that being hard and sharp it produces the same effect in the
+stomach as a number of small needles would.
+
+
+
+
+THE PANTHER, OUNCE, AND LEOPARD.
+
+
+In order to avoid an erroneous use of names, to prevent doubt, and
+to banish ambiguity, it may be necessary to remark that, in Asia and
+Africa, there are, beside the tiger, whose history we have just given,
+three other animals of the same genus, but which not only differ
+from him, but also from each other. These are the Panther, Ounce and
+Leopard, which have been confounded together by naturalists, and also
+with a species of the same kind peculiar to America; but to prevent
+confusion, we shall, in the present instance, confine ourselves solely
+to those of the old continent.
+
+_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 107. _Panther_]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 108. _Caracal_]
+
+The first of these species is the Panther, (_fig. 107._) which the
+Greeks distinguished by the name of Pardalis, the Latins by that of
+Panthera, and Pardus, and the more modern Latins by Leopardus. The body
+of this animal, when it has attained its full growth, is five or six
+feet long, from the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail, which
+is above two feet long. Its colour is of a yellow hue, more or less
+dark on the back and sides, and whitish under the belly; it is marked
+with black spots which are circular, or in the form of a ring, and in
+which rings there are generally lesser spots in the centre of the same
+colour; some of these are oval, others, circular, and are frequently
+above three inches in diameter; on the face and legs the black spots
+are single, and on the tail and belly they are irregular.
+
+The second is the Little Panther of Oppian, which the ancients have
+distinguished by no particular name, but which modern travellers have
+called Ounce, corrupted from the name of lynx or lunx. To this animal
+we shall preserve the name of Ounce, because, in fact, it seems to have
+some affinity to the lynx. It is much less than the panther, its body
+being only about three feet and a half long, which is nearly the size
+of the lynx; its hair is longer than that of the panther, as is also
+its tail, which sometimes measures three feet, although its body is
+one-third less than that of the panther, whose tail never exceeds two
+feet and an half. The colour of the ounce is whitish grey upon the back
+and sides, and still more white under the belly; the back and sides
+of the panther are always yellow, but the spots are nearly of the same
+size and form in them both.
+
+The third species was unknown to the ancients, being peculiar to
+Senegal, Guinea, and other southern countries which they had not
+discovered; and which we, following the example of travellers, shall
+call Leopard a name which has been improperly applied to the panther.
+The Leopard is larger than the ounce, though considerably smaller than
+the panther, being only four feet in length, the tail measures from two
+to two feet and a half. On the back and sides the hair is of a yellow
+colour, under the belly it is whitish; it has black annular spots like
+those of the panther and ounce, but smaller and less regularly disposed.
+
+Each of these animals, therefore, forms a different species. Our
+furriers call the skins of the first species panther skins; those of
+the second, which we call ounce, African tiger skins; and those of the
+third, or leopard, very improperly tiger skins.
+
+Oppian knew the panther and ounce, and was the first who observed there
+were two species of the former, the one large and the other small.
+Though alike in the form of their bodies and the disposition of the
+spots, yet they differed in the length of their tails, which in the
+small species was longer than in the large ones. The Arabians have
+named the large panther Nemer, and the small one Phet or Phed; which
+last seems to be a corruption of Faadh, the present name of this animal
+in Barbary. "The Faadh," says Dr. Shaw, in his Travels, "resembles the
+leopard, (he should have expressed it panther) in having similar spots,
+in other respects they however differ, for the skin of the faadh is
+more dark and coarse, and its disposition is also less fierce." Besides
+we learn from a passage of Albert, commented on by Gesner, that the
+phet, or phed of the Arabs, is called in the Italian, and some other
+European languages Leuaza, or Lonza. It is beyond a doubt then, that
+the little panther of Oppian, the phet or phed of the Arabians, the
+faadh of Barbary, and the onza, or ounce of the Europeans, is the same
+animal; and probably also is the Pard or Pardus of the ancients, and
+the Panthera of Pliny; since he mentions its hair is white, whereas, as
+we have observed, that of the great Panther is yellow. It is, besides,
+highly probable that the little panther was simply called pard or
+pardus, and that, in process of time, the large panther obtained the
+name of leopard, or leopardus, from a notion that it was a mongrel
+species, which had aggrandized itself by an intermixture with that
+of the lion. As this could only be an unfounded prejudice, I have
+preferred the primitive name of panther to the modern compound one of
+leopard, which last I have applied to another animal that has hitherto
+been mentioned by equivocal names only. The ounce therefore differs
+from the panther, in being smaller, having a longer tail, also longer
+hair, of a whitish grey colour; while the leopard differs from them
+both, by having a coat of a brilliant yellow, more or less deep, and by
+the smallness of his spots, which are generally disposed in groups, as
+if each were formed by three or four united.
+
+Pliny, and several after him, have said, that the coat of the female
+panther was whiter than that of the male. This may be true of the
+ounce, but no such difference have we ever observed in the panthers
+belonging to the menagerie of Versailles, which were designed from
+life; and if there be any difference between the colour of the male and
+female it can be neither very permanent nor sensible; in some of the
+skins we have, indeed, perceived different shades, but which we rather
+ascribed to the difference of age or climate than of sex.
+
+The animals described and dissected by the Academy of Sciences, under
+the name of Tigers, and that described by Caius, in Gesner, under
+the name of Uncia, are of the same species as our leopard; and of
+this there cannot remain a doubt, after comparing the figure, and the
+description which we have given, with those of Caius and M. Perrault.
+The latter, indeed, says, that the animals so dissected and described
+by the gentlemen of the Academy, under the name of tigers, were not the
+ounce of Caius; but the only reasons he assigns are, that the ounce is
+smaller, and has not white on the under part of its body. It may also
+be observed, that Caius, who does not give the exact dimensions, says,
+generally it was bigger than the shepherd's dog, and as thick as the
+bull-dog, though shorter in its legs; how, therefore, Perrault should
+assert the ounce of Caius to be smaller than the tigers dissected by
+the gentlemen of the Academy I am at a loss to conceive, for those
+animals measured only four feet from the nose to the tail, which is
+the exact length of the leopard we are now describing. On the whole,
+then, it appears, that the tigers of the Academy, the ounce of Caius,
+and our leopard, are the same animal; and not less true do I conceive
+it that our panther is the same with the panther of the ancients,
+notwithstanding the distinctions which have been attempted to be made
+by Linnæus, Brisson, and other nomenclators, as they perfectly resemble
+each other in every respect but size, and that may safely be ascribed
+to confinement and want of exercise. This difference of size at first
+perplexed me, but after a scrupulous examination of the large skins
+sold by the furriers with that of our own, I had not the smallest doubt
+of their being the same animals. The panther I have described, and two
+other animals of the same species kept at Versailles, were brought from
+Barbary. The two first were presented to the French King by the Regency
+of Algiers, and the third was purchased for his Majesty of an Algerine
+Jew.
+
+It is particularly necessary to observe, that neither of the animals
+we are now describing can be classed with the pardus of Linnæus, or
+the leopardus of Brisson, as they are described with having long spots
+on the belly, which is a characteristic that belongs neither to the
+panther, ounce, or leopard, and yet the panther of the ancients has it,
+as well as the pardus of Gesner, and the panthera of Alpinus; but from
+the researches I have made I am convinced that these three animals,
+and perhaps a fourth, which we shall treat of hereafter, and which have
+not these long spots on the belly, are the only species of this kind to
+be found in Asia and Africa, and therefore we must hold this character
+of our nomenclators as fictitious, especially when we recollect,
+that if any animals have these long spots, either in the old or new
+continent, they are always upon the neck or back, and never on the
+belly. We shall merely observe further, that in reading the ancients we
+must not confound the _panther_ with the _panthera_, the latter is the
+animal we have described, but the panther of the scholiasts of Homer
+and other authors, is a kind of timid wolf, perhaps the jackall, as I
+shall explain when I come to the history of that animal.
+
+After having dissipated the cloud under which our nomenclators seem to
+have obscured Nature, and removed every ambiguity, by giving the exact
+description of the three animals under consideration, we shall now
+proceed to the peculiarities which relate to them respectively.
+
+Of the panther, which I had an opportunity of examining alive, his
+appearance was fierce, he had a restless eye, a cruel countenance,
+precipitate motions, and a cry similar to that of an enraged dog,
+but more strong and harsh; his tongue was red and exceedingly rough,
+his teeth were strong and pointed; his claws sharp and hard; his skin
+was beautiful, of a yellow hue, interspersed with black spots of an
+annular form, and his hair short; the upper part of his tail was marked
+with large black spots, and with black and white ringlets towards the
+extremity; his size and make was similar to that of a vigorous mastiff,
+but his legs were not so large.
+
+_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 103. _Leopard_]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 104. _Ounce_]
+
+All our travellers confirm the testimonies of the ancients as to the
+large and small panther, that is, our panther and ounce. It appears
+that there now exist, as in the days of Oppian, in that part of Africa
+which extends along the Mediterranean, and in the parts of Asia which
+were known to the ancients, two species of panthers, the largest of
+which has been called panther or leopard, and the smaller ounce, by the
+generality of travellers. By them it is universally allowed that the
+ounce is easily tamed, that he is trained to the chace and employed for
+this purpose in Persia, and in several other provinces of Asia; that
+some ounces are so small as to be carried by a horseman on the crupper,
+and so mild as to allow themselves to be handled and caressed.[F] The
+Panther appears to be of a more fierce and stubborn nature; when in
+the power of man, and in his gentlest moments, he seems rather to be
+subdued than tamed. Never does he entirely lose the ferocity of his
+disposition; and in order to train him to the chace, much care and
+precaution are necessary. When thus employed, he is shut up in a cage
+and carried in one of the little vehicles of the country; as soon
+as the game appears, the door is opened, and he springs towards his
+prey, generally overtaking it in three or four bounds, drags it to the
+ground and strangles it; but if disappointed of his aim he becomes
+furious, and will even attack his master, who to prevent this dangerous
+consequence usually carries with him some pieces of flesh or live
+animals, as lambs or kids, one of which he puts in his way to appease
+the fury arising from his disappointment.
+
+[Footnote F: A particular account of this practice is related in
+Tavernier's Travels; Chardin's Travels in Persia; Gesner's Hist. Quad.
+Pros. Alp. Hist. Egypt. Bernier dans le Mosul, &c.]
+
+The species of the ounce (_fig. 104._) seems to be more numerous, and
+more diffused than that of the panther; it is very common in Arabia,
+Barbary, and the southern parts of Asia, Egypt, perhaps, excepted.[G]
+They are even known in China, where they are distinguished by the
+name of _hinen-pao_.[H] The ounce is employed for the chace, in the
+hot climates of Asia, because dogs are very rarely to be found unless
+transported thither, and then they very soon lose not only their voice
+but their instinct.[I] Besides the panther, ounce, and leopard, have
+such an antipathy to dogs, that they attack them in preference to all
+other animals.[J] In Europe our sporting dogs have no enemy but the
+wolf; but in countries full of tigers, lions, panthers, leopards, and
+ounces, which are all more strong and cruel than the wolf, to attempt
+to keep dogs would be in vain. As the scent of the ounce is inferior to
+that of the dog, he hunts solely by the eye; with such vigour does he
+bound, that a ditch, or a wall of several feet high, is no impediment
+to his career; he often climbs trees to watch for his prey, and when
+near, will suddenly dart upon them; and this method is also adopted by
+the panther and leopard.
+
+[Footnote G: Maserier affirms that there are neither lions, tigers, nor
+leopards in Egypt. _Descrip. Egypt, Tom. II._]
+
+[Footnote H: A kind of leopard or panther found in the province of
+Pekin; it is not so ferocious as the ordinary tigers. _Thevenot._]
+
+[Footnote I: Vide Voyage de Jean Ovington, _Tom. I. p. 278_.]
+
+[Footnote J: The leopards, says le Maire, are deadly enemies to dogs,
+and devour all of them they meet.]
+
+The Leopard, (_fig. 103._) has the same manners and disposition as
+the panther; but in no part does he appear to have been tamed like
+the ounce; nor do the Negroes of Senegal and Guinea, where he greatly
+abounds, ever make use of him in the chace. He is generally larger than
+the ounce, but smaller than the panther; and his tail, though shorter
+than that of the ounce, is from two to two feet and a half in length.
+This leopard of Senegal and Guinea, to which we have particularly
+appropriated the name of _leopard_, is probably the animal which at
+Congo is called the _Engoi_; and perhaps also the _Antamba_[K] of
+Madagascar. I quote these names, from a persuasion that an acquaintance
+with the denominations applied to them in the countries which they
+inhabit would increase our knowledge of animals.
+
+[Footnote K: The antamba is a beast as large as a dog; it has a round
+head, and, in the opinion of the Negroes, resembles the leopard; it
+devours both men and cattle, and is only to be found in the most
+unfrequented parts of the island. _Flacourt's Voyage._]
+
+The species of the leopard seems to be subject to more varieties than
+that of the panther and the ounce. I have examined many leopards' skins
+which differed from each other, not only in the ground colour, but in
+the shade of the spots which last are always smaller than those of the
+panther or the ounce. In all leopards' skins, the spots are nearly of
+the same size and the same figure, and their chief difference consists
+in their colour being deeper in some than in others; in being also more
+or less yellow, consists also the difference in the hair itself; but as
+all these skins are nearly of the same size, both in the body and tail,
+it is highly probable they belong to the same species of animals.
+
+The panther, ounce, and leopard, are only found in Africa, and the
+hottest climates of Asia; they have never been diffused over the
+northern, nor even the temperate regions. Aristotle speaks of the
+panther as an animal of Asia and Africa, and expressly says, it does
+not exist in Europe. It is impossible, therefore, that these animals,
+which are confined to the torrid zone of the old continent, could
+ever have passed to the new world by any northern lands; and it will
+be found, by the description we shall give of the American animals
+of this kind, that they are a different species, and ought not to be
+confounded with those of Africa and Asia, as they have been by most of
+our nomenclators.
+
+These animals, in general, delight in the thickest forests, and
+often frequent the borders of rivers, and the environs of solitary
+habitations, where they surprise their prey, and seize equally the tame
+and wild animals that come there to drink. Men they seldom attack, even
+though provoked. They easily climb trees in pursuit of wild cats and
+other animals, which cannot escape them. Though they live solely by
+prey, and are usually meagre, travellers pretend that their flesh is
+not unpalatable; the Indians and negroes eat it, but they prefer that
+of the dog. With respect to their skins, they are all valuable, and
+make excellent furs. The most beautiful and most costly is that of the
+leopard, which, when the colours are bright, not unfrequently sells for
+eight or nine guineas.
+
+
+
+
+THE JAGUAR.
+
+
+The jaguar (_fig. 105._) resembles the ounce in size, and nearly so in
+the form of the spots upon his skin, and in disposition. He is less
+ferocious than the panther or the leopard. The ground of his colour,
+like that of the leopard, is a bright yellow, and not grey like that
+of the ounce. His tail is shorter than that of either; his hair is
+longer than the panther's, but shorter than that of the ounce; it is
+frizzled when he is young, but smooth when at full growth. I never saw
+this animal alive, but had one sent me entire and well preserved in
+spirits, and it is from this subject the figure and description have
+been drawn; it was taken when very young, and brought up in the house
+till it was two years old, and then killed for the purpose of being
+sent to me; it had not therefore acquired its full growth, but it was
+evident, from a slight inspection, that its full size would hardly
+have equalled that of an ordinary dog. It is, nevertheless, an animal
+the most formidable, the most cruel, it is, in a word, the tiger of
+the new world, where Nature seems to have diminished all the genera of
+quadrupeds. The Jaguar, like the tiger, lives on prey; but a lighted
+brand will put him to flight, and if his appetite is satisfied, he so
+entirely loses all courage and vivacity, that he will fly from a single
+dog. He discovers no signs of activity or alertness but when pressed
+with hunger. The savages, by nature cowardly, dread his approach. They
+pretend he has a particular propensity to destroy them, and that if
+he meets with Indians and Europeans asleep together, he will pass
+the latter and kill the former. The same thing has been said of the
+leopard, that he prefers black men to white, that he scents them out,
+and can distinguish them as well by night as by day.
+
+Almost all the authors who have written the History of the New World,
+mention this animal, some by the name of tiger or leopard, and others
+under the names given them at Brasil, Mexico, &c. The first who gave
+a particular description of him were Piso and Marcgrave, who called
+him jaguara, instead of janouara, his Brasilian name. They also speak
+of another animal of the same genus, and perhaps of the same species,
+under the name of jaguarette; but, like those two authors, we have
+distinguished them from each other, because there is a probability
+of their being different species; but whether they are really so, or
+only varieties of the same species, we cannot determine, having never
+seen but one of the kinds. Piso and Marcgrave say, that the jaguarette
+differs from the jaguar, by its hair being shorter, more glossy, and
+of a different colour, being black, interspersed with spots of a still
+deeper black. But from the similitude in the form of his body, in his
+manners, and disposition, he may, nevertheless, be only a variety of
+the same species, especially as, according to the testimony of Piso,
+the ground colour of the jaguar, as well as that of the spots, vary in
+different individuals; he says that some are marked with black, and
+others with red or yellowish spots; and with regard to the difference
+of colour, that is, of grey, yellow, or black, the same is to be met
+with in other species of animals, as there are black wolves, black
+foxes, black squirrels, &c. If such variations are not so common among
+wild as tame animals, it is because the former are less liable to those
+accidents which tend to produce them. Their lives being more uniform,
+their food less various, and their freedom less restrained, their
+nature must be more permanent, that is, less subject to accidental
+alterations and changes in colour.
+
+The jaguar is found in Brasil, Paraguay, Tucuman, Guiana, in the
+country of the Amazons, in Mexico, and in all parts of South America.
+At Cayenne, however, this animal is more scarce than the cougar, which
+they denominate red tiger, nor is the jaguar so common now in Brasil,
+which appears his native country, as it was formerly. A price has been
+set upon his head, so that many of them have been destroyed, and the
+others have withdrawn themselves from the coasts to the inland parts of
+the country. The jaguarette appears to have been always more scarce,
+or at least to have inhabited those places which were distant from the
+haunts of men, and the few travellers who mention him appear to have
+drawn their accounts entirely from Marcgrave and Piso.
+
+_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 105. _Jaguar of New Spain_]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 106. _Cougar_]
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+M. le Brun had a female Jaguar of New Spain (_fig. 105._) sent him
+in the year 1775; it appeared very young, and was much less than the
+one described in the original work, this measuring one foot eleven
+inches long, and the former two feet five inches; there was a great
+resemblance between them, and the differences only such as are common
+to the varieties of the same species. The ground colour of the one we
+are now speaking of was a dirty grey intermixed with red: the spots
+were yellow, bordered with black; its head yellow, and ears black, with
+a white spot on the external part.
+
+Among a number of excellent remarks made by M. Sonnini de Manoncour,
+respecting the jaguars of Guiana, he says, "the hair of the young
+jaguar is not frizzled, as stated by M. de Buffon, but perfectly
+smooth, and with regard to their only equalling the size of an ordinary
+dog, I have had the skin of one that measured near five feet from
+the nose to the tail, which was two feet long; and from the tracks I
+have seen of these animals I have little doubt of the American tigers
+being as large as those of Africa, except the royal tiger, the largest
+animal to which that name is given; for the panther, which M. de
+Buffon considers the largest, does not exceed five or six feet when
+full grown, and it is certain that some of these animals exceed those
+dimensions. When young their colour is a deep yellow, which becomes
+lighter as they advance in years. He is not by any means an indolent
+animal; he constantly attacks dogs, commits great devastation among
+flocks, and in the desarts is even formidable to men. In a journey
+I made through these forests, we were tormented with one for three
+successive nights, and yet he avoided all our attempts to destroy him;
+but finding we kept up large fires, of which they are much afraid, he
+at last left us with a dismal howling. At Cayenne the natives have an
+idea that the jaguar would rather destroy them than the whites, but
+it is not so with the savages, with whom I have travelled through the
+desarts, and never found them to have any particular terror; they slept
+as we did, with their hammocks suspended, making a little fire under
+them, which often went out before the morning; and, in short, took no
+particular precautions, where they knew themselves surrounded with
+those animals. (This, observes M. Buffon, is a strong proof that they
+are not very dangerous animals to men.) The flesh of the jaguar is not
+good. All the animals of the new continent fly from him, not being able
+to withstand his power: the only one capable of making any tolerable
+resistance is the ant-eater, who, on being attacked, turns on his back,
+and often preserves himself by the strength of his long claws."
+
+
+
+
+THE COUGAR.
+
+
+The Cougar, (_fig. 106._) is longer but less thick than the jaguar; he
+is more agile, more slender, and stands higher on his legs; he has a
+small head, long tail, and short hair, which is nearly of one entire
+colour, namely, a lively red, intermixed with a few blackish tints,
+particularly on his back. He is neither marked with stripes like the
+tiger, nor with spots like the panther, ounce, or leopard. His chin,
+neck, and all the inferior parts of his body are whitish. Though not
+so strong as the jaguar he is as fierce, and perhaps more cruel. He
+appears more ravenous, for having once seized his prey, he kills it,
+and without waiting to tear it to pieces, he continues to eat and
+suck alternately, until he has gorged his appetite and glutted his
+blood-thirsty fury.
+
+These animals are common in Guiana. They have been known formerly
+to swim over from the continent to Cayenne, in order to devour the
+flocks; insomuch that they were at first considered as the scourge of
+the colony; but by degrees the settlers lessened their numbers, and by
+continually hunting them have compelled the remainder to retire far
+from the cultivated parts of the country. They are found in Brasil,
+Paraguay, and in the country of the Amazons; and there is reason to
+believe that the animal, described by some travellers, under the name
+of the Ocorome, in Peru, is the same as the cougar, as well as that in
+the country of the Iroquois, which has been considered as a tiger,
+though it is neither striped like that animal, nor spotted like the
+panther.
+
+The cougar, by the lightness of his body, and length of his legs,
+seems to be more calculated for speed, and climbing of trees, than the
+jaguar. They are equally indolent and cowardly, when glutted with prey;
+and they seldom attack men unless they find them asleep. When there is
+a necessity for passing the night in the woods, the kindling a fire
+is the only precaution necessary to prevent their approach.[L] They
+delight in the shades of forests, where they hide themselves in some
+bushy tree, in order to dart upon such animals as pass by. Though they
+live only on prey, and drink blood more often than water, yet it is
+said their flesh is very palatable. Piso says, it is as good as veal;
+and Charlevoix, and others, have compared it to mutton. I think it is
+hardly credible that the flesh can be well tasted; and therefore prefer
+the testimony of Desmarchais, who says, the best thing about this
+animal is his skin, of which they make horse-cloths, his flesh being
+generally lean and of a disagreeable flavour.
+
+[Footnote L: The Indians on the banks of the Oronoka, in Guiana, light
+a fire during the night in order to frighten away the tigers who dare
+not approach the place at long as the fire remains burning.]
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+Mr. Colinson mentions another species of cougar, which is found on
+the mountains of Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and the adjacent
+provinces, and which, from his account, seems to differ very much from
+that just described; his legs being shorter, and his body and tail
+much longer, but in colour, and in the shape of the head, they have a
+perfect resemblance.
+
+M. de la Borde describes three species of rapacious animals at Cayenne;
+first, the jaguar, which they call tiger; the second, the cougar, or
+red tiger; (the former is about the size of a large bull-dog, and the
+latter much smaller) and the third they call black tiger, which we
+have termed black cougar. (_fig. 102._) "Its head, continues M. de la
+Borde, is somewhat like that of a common cougar; it has long black
+hair, a long tail, and large whiskers, but is much less than the other.
+The skin of both the jaguar and cougar are easily penetrated even
+with the arrows of the Indians. When very hard set for food, they will
+attack cows and oxen; in this case they spring upon their backs, and
+having brought them to the ground, they tear them to pieces, first
+opening their breasts and bellies, to glut themselves with their blood;
+they then drag pieces of flesh into the wood, covering the remainder
+with branches of trees, and keeping near to feed upon it, until it
+begins to putrify, when they touch it no more. They will keep near a
+flock of wild hogs, for the purpose of seizing the stragglers, but
+cautiously avoid being surrounded by them. They often seek for prey
+on the sea-shore, and devour the eggs left there by the turtles: they
+also make prey of the caïmans, or alligators, lizards, and fishes; to
+take the former, they use the craft of lying down by the edge of the
+water, which they strike so as to make sufficient noise to attract his
+attention, who will come towards the place, and no sooner puts his head
+above water, than his seducer makes a certain spring at him, kills and
+drags him to some convenient place where he may devour him at leisure.
+It is said by the Indians that the jaguar decoys the agouti in the
+same manner, by counterfeiting his cry. They sometimes eat the leaves
+and buds of the Indian figs; they are excellent swimmers, and cross
+the largest rivers. They seldom have more than one young at a time,
+which they hide in the trunks of hollow trees. They eat their flesh at
+Cayenne, and, when young, it is as white as that of a rabbit."
+
+The cougar is easily tamed, and rendered nearly as familiar as domestic
+animals.
+
+
+
+
+THE LYNX.
+
+
+The gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences have given a very accurate
+description of the Lynx, and have discussed with equal ingenuity and
+erudition the circumstances and names relative to this animal, which
+occur in the writings of the ancients. They have shewn that the lynx
+of Ælian is the same animal which they have dissected and described
+under the name of Lupus-cervarius, and justly censure those who have
+taken it for the Thos of Aristotle. This discussion is enriched with
+observations and reflections equally interesting and pertinent; it is
+a pity, therefore, they had not adopted its real name of lynx, instead
+of that which is the same that Gaza gave to the _thos_ of Aristotle.
+Having, like Oppian, intimated that there are two species or races of
+the lynx, the one large, which chaces the stag and fallow-deer, and
+the other smaller, which scarcely hunts any thing but the hare, they
+appear to have confounded the two species together, namely, the spotted
+lynx, which is commonly found in the northern countries; and the lynx
+of the Levant or Barbary, whose skin is of an uniform colour. I have
+seen both these animals alive, and they closely resemble each other
+in many particulars. They have both long stripes of black hair at the
+extremities of their ears. This very circumstance, by which Ælian first
+distinguished the lynx, belongs, in fact, to these animals only, and
+perhaps it was this which induced the Academy to consider them as the
+same species. But, independently of the difference of colour and spots
+upon the hair, it will appear extremely probable that they belong to
+two distinct species.
+
+Klein says, that the most beautiful lynx belongs to Africa and Asia in
+general, and to Persia in particular; that he had seen one at Dresden,
+which came from Africa, which was finely spotted, and of a considerable
+height; that those of Europe, especially from Prussia, and other
+northern countries are less pleasing to the eye, that their colour is
+little, if at all, inclined to white, but rather of a reddish hue,
+with spots confused and huddled together. Without absolutely denying
+what M. Klein has here advanced, I must declare I could never learn
+from any other authority that the lynx is an inhabitant of the warm
+climates of Asia and Africa. Kolbe is the only writer who mentions the
+lynx as common at the Cape of Good Hope, and as perfectly resembling
+that of Brandenburg in Germany; but I have discovered so many mistakes
+in the writings of this author, that I never gave much credit to his
+testimony, unless when supported by that of others. Now all travellers
+mention having seen the spotted lynx in the North of Germany, in
+Lithuania, Muscovy, Siberia, Canada, and other northern regions of both
+continents; but not one, whose accounts I have read, asserts he met
+with this animal in the warm climates of Africa or Asia. The lynxes
+of the Levant, Barbary, Arabia, and other hot climates, are, as I
+before observed, of one uniform colour, and without spots; they cannot,
+therefore, be the same as that mentioned by Klein, which he says was
+finely spotted, nor that of Kolbe, which, according to his statement,
+perfectly resembled those of Brandenburgh. It would be difficult to
+reconcile these testimonies with the information we have from other
+hands. The lynx is certainly more common in cold than in temperate
+climates, and is at least very rare in hot ones. He was, indeed, known
+to the Greeks and Romans; a circumstance which does not, however, infer
+that he came from Africa, or the southern provinces of Asia. Pliny, on
+the contrary, says, that the first of them which were seen at Rome,
+came from Gaul in the time of Pompey. At present there are none in
+France, except possibly a few in the Alpine and Pyrenean mountains.
+But the Romans, under the name of Gaul, comprehended several of the
+northern countries; and, besides, France is not at this time so cold as
+it was in those times.
+
+The most beautiful skins of the lynx come from Siberia, as belonging to
+the _Loup-cervier_, and from Canada, under the name of _chat-cervier_,
+because, like all other animals, they are smaller in the new than in
+the old world; and are therefore compared to the wolf in Europe, and
+to the cat in Canada. What seems to have deceived M. Klein, and might
+have deceived even more able writers is, first, that the ancients have
+said that India furnished lynxes to the god Bacchus; secondly, Pliny
+has placed the lynx in Ethiopia, and has said their hides and claws
+were prepared at Carpathos, now Scarpantho or Zerpantho, an island
+in the Mediterranean, between Rhodes and Candia; thirdly, Gesner has
+allotted a particular article to the lynx of Asia or Africa, in which
+there is the following extract of a letter from Baron Balicze. "You
+have not," says he to Gesner, "mentioned in your history of animals,
+the Indian or African lynx. As Pliny has mentioned it, the authority
+of that great man has induced me to send you a drawing of this animal,
+that you may include it in your list. This drawing was made at
+Constantinople. This animal is very different from the lynx of Germany,
+being much larger, has shorter and rougher hair, &c." Gesner, without
+making any reflections on this letter, contents himself with giving the
+substance of it, and intimating within a parenthesis, that the drawing
+never came to hand.
+
+To prevent a continuance of these errors, let it be observed, first,
+that poets and painters have affixed tigers, panthers, and lynxes,
+to the car of Bacchus, as best pleased their fancies; or rather
+because all fierce and spotted animals were consecrated to that god;
+secondly, that it is the word _lynx_ which constitutes the whole of
+the ambiguity, since by comparing what Pliny says in one[M] passage
+with two others[N] it is plain that the Ethiopian animal which he calls
+lynx, is by no means the same as the chaus, or lupus-cervarius, which
+comes from the northern countries; and that it was from this name
+being improperly applied that the Baron Balicze was deceived though he
+considers the Indian lynx as a different animal from the German luchs,
+or our lynx. This Indian or African lynx, which he has described as
+larger and more full of spots than our lynx, was in all probability,
+a kind of panther. However true or erroneous this last conjecture
+may be, it appears that the lynx, of which we are now treating, is a
+stranger in the southern countries, and is found only in the northern
+parts of the new and old continents. Olaus says this animal is common
+in the forests of the North of Europe; Olearius, in speaking of
+Muscovy, asserts the same thing; Rosinus Lentilius observes that the
+lynx is common in Courland and Lithuania, and that those of Cassubia,
+a province of Pomerania, are very small, and not so much spotted as
+those of Poland and Lithuania; and lastly, Paul Jovius confirms these
+testimonies by adding, that the finest skins of the lynx come from
+Siberia, and that there is a great traffic carried on with them at
+Ustivaga, a town about 600 miles from Moscow.
+
+[Footnote M: Vide Pliny, lib. VIII. cap. 19.]
+
+[Footnote N: Ibid. VIII. c. 22, 23.]
+
+This animal, which as we have shewn, prefers the cold to the temperate
+climates, is one of those which might have passed from one continent to
+the other through the northern regions, and this is probably the reason
+why we find him a tenant of the northern parts of America. Travellers
+have described him in such a manner as to preclude all mistake; and
+besides its skin forms an article of commerce between Europe and
+America. The lynx of Canada, as we have already remarked, is only
+smaller and whiter than those of Europe, and it is from this difference
+in size that they have been distinguished with the appellation of
+_chat-cervier_, and been considered by our nomenclators as animals of a
+different species. Without pronouncing decisively upon this question we
+shall only observe, that to all appearance the lynxes of Canada and of
+Muscovy are of the same species, first because the difference in size
+is not very considerable, since it is almost relatively the same as
+that which takes place between all animals common to both continents;
+the wolf, fox, &c. being smaller in America than they are in Europe, it
+cannot be expected to be otherwise with the lynx. Secondly, because,
+even in the north of Europe, these animals are found to vary in size;
+and authors mention two kinds, the one large and the other small.
+Thirdly, because they equally require the same climate, are of the
+same dispositions, the same figure, differing only in size, and a
+few trifling particulars of colour, circumstances not sufficient to
+authorize our pronouncing them to be two distinct species.
+
+The lynx, of which the ancients have said his sight could penetrate
+opaque bodies, and whose urine possessed the properly of hardening
+into a precious stone, called Lapis Lyncurius, is an animal that never
+existed, any more than the properties attributed to him, except in
+fable. To the true lynx this imaginary one has no affinity but in name.
+We must not, therefore, following the example of most naturalists,
+attribute to the former, which is a real being, the properties of this
+imaginary one, the existence of which even Pliny himself does not seem
+disposed to believe, since he speaks of it as an extraordinary animal,
+and classes it with the sphynx, the pegasus, and other prodigies, or
+monsters, the produce of Ethiopia, a country with which the ancients
+were very little acquainted.
+
+Our lynx, though he cannot see through stone walls, has bright eyes, a
+mild aspect, and an agreeable lively appearance. His urine produces not
+precious stones, but he covers it with earth, like the cats, to whom he
+has a near resemblance, and whose manners, and love of cleanliness are
+the same. In nothing is he like the wolf but in a kind of howl, which
+being heard at a considerable distance often deceives the hunters, by
+making them suppose they hear a real wolf. This alone, perhaps, is
+the cause of his having received the appellation of _loup_, and to
+distinguish him from the real wolf, and because he attacks the stags,
+the epithet of _cervarius_ might have afterwards been added. The lynx
+is not so big as the wolf, has shorter legs, and generally about the
+size of a fox. He differs from the panther and ounce in the following
+particulars; he has longer hair, his spots are less lively, and are
+badly disposed; his ears are much longer, and they have tufts of black
+hairs at the points; his tail is shorter, and is also black at the end;
+his eyes have a whitish cast, and his countenance is more agreeable,
+and less ferocious. The skin of the male is more spotted than that of
+the female. He does not run like the wolf, but walks and bounds like
+the cat. He lives upon other animals, and those he pursues to the
+tops of the highest trees, so that neither the wild-cat, pine-weasel,
+ermine, nor squirrel, can escape him. He also seizes birds, lies in
+wait for the stag, roe-buck, and hare, whom he seizes by the throat,
+sucks their blood, and then opens their heads to devour the brains;
+this done he frequently abandons them to go in search of fresh prey,
+and is seldom known to return to the former one; which has given rise
+to the remark, that of all animals the lynx has the shortest memory.
+His colour changes with the climate and the season. In winter his fur
+is much better than in summer, and his flesh, like that of all beasts
+of prey, is not good to eat.
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+There is a Canadian Lynx in the Royal Cabinet in France, in fine
+preservation; it is only two feet three inches long, and rather more
+than thirteen inches high; its body is covered with long grey hair,
+striped with yellow, and spotted with black; its head also is grey,
+interspersed with white and yellow hairs, and shaded with a kind of
+black stripes; it has long white whiskers; its ears are more than two
+inches high, white on the inside, with yellow edges, the outside of a
+mouse colour, edged with black, and at the tip of each ear is a tuft
+of black hair seven lines high; it has a short tail, which is black
+from the end to about the middle, and the other part is of a reddish
+white; its belly, hind-legs, inside of the fore-legs and feet are of a
+dirty white, and it has long white claws. This lynx strongly resembles
+the one we have just described, except in the length of the tail and
+tuft on the ears, from which we may infer that the Canadian Lynx is a
+variety from that of the old continent.
+
+Pontoppidan describes the lynx of Norway to be white with deep spots,
+and claws like those of a cat; he says there are four species there,
+some being like the wolf, others the fox, others the cat, and others
+with a head like that of a colt; the last of which is not only doubtful
+in itself, but throws a degree of suspicion on the veracity of the
+remainder.
+
+The species of the lynx is very common throughout Europe, and also in
+the northern provinces of Asia. Their skins are very valuable, and much
+esteemed for muffs, &c. in Norway, Russia, and even as far as China,
+and notwithstanding they are very common, they sell at a high price.
+
+
+
+
+THE CARACAL.
+
+
+Though the Caracal[O] resembles the lynx in size, formation of the
+body, aspect, and the tufts of black hair at the extremities of the
+ears, I do not scruple from their disagreement in other respects, to
+treat of them as animals of a different species. The Caracal is not
+spotted like the lynx; his hair is rougher and shorter; his tail is
+longer, and of a uniform colour; his snout is longer, in aspect he
+is less mild, and in disposition more fierce. The lynx inhabits cold
+and at most temperate climates, while the caracal is to be found only
+in the warmest countries. It is as much from these differences of
+disposition and climate, that I judge them to be of different species,
+as from the inspection and comparison of the two animals, both of which
+I have examined and had designed from life.
+
+[Footnote O: In Turkey it is called Kaarah-kula; Arabia Gat el Challah;
+in Persia Siyah-Gush, denoting in all three languages, _the cat with
+long ears_.]
+
+The Caracal is common in Barbary, in Arabia, and in all those countries
+inhabited by the lion, panther, and ounce. Like them he depends on prey
+for subsistence, but from the inferiority of his size and strength,
+he has much difficulty to procure a sufficiency; frequently being
+obliged to be content with the leavings of the more powerful. He keeps
+at a distance from the panther, because that animal exercises its
+cruelty after being gorged with food; but he follows the lion, who,
+when the cravings of his appetite are satisfied, never injures any
+creature. From the remains left by this noble animal, the caracal not
+unoften enjoys a comfortable repast. Sometimes he follows, or even
+goes before, at no great distance, taking a refuge in the trees, when
+self-preservation renders it necessary, and where the lion cannot, like
+the panther, follow him. For all these reasons it is that the caracal
+has been called the Lion's Guide, or Provider; and it is said that the
+lion, whose smell is far from being acute, employs him to scent out his
+prey, and is permitted to enjoy the remains as a reward for his trouble.
+
+The caracal[P] (_fig. 108._) is about the size of a fox, but more
+fierce, and much stronger. He has been known to attack, and in a few
+minutes, to tear in pieces a large dog, which defended himself to the
+utmost. He is very difficult to tame, yet if taken very young, and
+reared with care, he may be trained to the chace, to which he is by
+nature inclined, and in which he is very successful, especially if he
+be only let loose upon such animals as are inferior in strength, for
+he declines a service of danger with every expression of reluctance.
+In India they made use of him to catch hares, rabbits, and even large
+birds, whom he seizes with singular address and facility.
+
+[Footnote P: The principal part of his body is of a reddish brown
+colour, the inferior parts of the neck and belly whitish; round his
+muzzle black, his ears of a dark shade, with a tuft of black hair from
+his extremities.]
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+Mr. Bruce has informed me that he saw a caracal in Nubia, which
+differed from the one of barbary, just described; his face was more
+round, his ears black on the outside, intermixed with white hairs, and
+on the breast, belly, and inside of the thighs he had yellow spots. But
+this is a mere variety, of which there are several: for instance, in
+Lybia there is a caracal with white ears, and a white tail with four
+black rings at the end, and which is not bigger than a domestic cat;
+and if this were to establish a difference we might say there are two
+species of caracals in Barbary, the one large, with black ears and long
+tufts, and the other smaller, with white ears and short tufts.
+
+
+
+
+THE HYÆNA.
+
+
+Aristotle has left us two accounts by which alone the hyæna (_fig.
+110._) might easily be distinguished from all other animals.
+Nevertheless, travellers and naturalists have confounded him with no
+less than four other species, namely, the jackall, glutton, civet, and
+the baboon; all of which are carnivorous and ferocious like the hyæna,
+and all have some few particular resemblances to him, whence these
+errors may have originated. The jackall inhabits the same countries,
+and like the hyæna resembles the wolf in form; like him also he feeds
+upon dead carcasses, and digs up graves to devour their contents. The
+glutton has the same voracity, the same appetite for corrupted flesh,
+the same propensity for digging the dead out of their graves; and
+though he belongs to a different climate, and his figure is widely
+different from that of the hyæna, yet from this affinity of disposition
+authors have thought themselves warranted in considering them as of
+the same species. The civet is a native of the same countries as the
+hyæna, and like him has a streak of long hair along the back, and also
+a particular opening, or glandular pouch; characteristics which belong
+only to a few animals, and which induced Bellon to suppose the civet
+was the hyæna of the ancients. As to the baboon, which has hands and
+feet like those of a man or a monkey, he resembles the hyæna still less
+than the other three, and it must be solely from their name that they
+have been confounded together.
+
+The hyæna, according to Dr. Shaw, is called _dubbah_ in Barbary; and
+Marmol, and Leo Africanus, say, the baboon is distinguished by the name
+of _dabuh_; and as the baboon belongs to the same climates, scratches
+up the earth and is nearly of the same form with the hyæna; these
+circumstances first deceived travellers, and naturalists adopted their
+blunders without investigation; and even those who distinguished the
+two animals, retained the name of _dabuh_ to the hyæna, which in fact
+belongs to the baboon. It appears, then, that the hyæna is neither the
+_dabuh_ of the Arabians, the _jesef_ or _sesef_ of the Africans, nor
+the _deeb_ of Barbary. But to put a final stop to this confusion of
+names, I shall give, in a few words, the substance of the inquiries I
+have made with respect to those animals.
+
+Aristotle calls it by two names, _hyæna_ and _glanus_; names which
+we may be assured are applied to the same animals by comparing the
+passages wherein they are mentioned.[Q] The ancient Latins retained the
+name hyæna, and never adopted that of glanus. In the writings of the
+modern Latins, however, we find the _ganus_, or _gannus_, and _belbus_
+employed as names for the hyæna. According to Rasis, the Arabians call
+it _kabo_, or _zabo_, names that appear to be derived from the word
+_zeeb_, which, in their language denominates a wolf. In Barbary the
+hyæna bears the name of _dubbah_, as appears from the description given
+of this animal by Dr. Shaw.[R] In Turkey it is called _zirtlaat_,
+according to Nieremberg; in Persia _kaftaar_, as stated by Kæmpfer; and
+_castar_, according to Pietro della Valle. These are the only names
+which seem actually to refer to the hyæna; though it is nevertheless
+probable that the _lycaon_ and the _crocuta_ of India and Ethiopia,
+of which the ancients speak, are no other than the hyæna. Porphyry
+expressly says that the _crocuta_ of the Indies is the hyæna of the
+Greeks; and, indeed, all they have written, whether true or fabulous,
+respecting the lycaon and crocuta, bears some analogy to the nature of
+the hyæna. But we shall make no further conjectures on this subject
+until we treat of fabulous animals, and the affinities they have with
+real ones.
+
+[Footnote Q: Aristotle Hist. Animal. lib. vi. c. 32. lib. viii. c. 5.]
+
+[Footnote R: The Dubbah is nearly the size of the wolf. Its neck is so
+exceedingly stiff, that when it offers to look behind, or even on one
+side, it is obliged to turn the whole body, like the hog, the badger,
+and the crocodile. Its colour is somewhat inclined to a reddish brown,
+with a few brown streaks of a darker hue, it has very long hairs on
+the neck which it can occasionally erect. Its paws are large and well
+armed, with which it digs up plants, and sometimes dead bodies from
+their graves. Next to the lion and panther, the dubbah is the most
+fierce of all the animals of Barbary. As it is furnished with a mane,
+has a difficulty in turning the head, and scrapes up dead bodies
+from their graves, it has every appearance of being the hyæna of the
+ancients. _See Shaw's Travels._]
+
+The panther of the Greeks, the _lupus canarius_ of Gaza, and the
+_lupus armenius_ of the modern Latins and Arabians, seem to be the
+same animal, that is, the jackall, which the Turks call _cical_,
+according to Pollux, and _thacal_ according to Spon and Wheeler; which
+the modern Greeks distinguish by the name of _zachalia_, the Persians
+_siechal_, or _schachal_, and the Moors of Barbary _deeb_; that of
+jackall, however, having been adopted by a number of travellers, to
+that we shall give the preference, and only remark at present, that he
+differs from the hyæna not only in size, figure, and colour, but in
+natural habits, for the hyæna is a solitary animal, while the jackall
+is seldom seen but in troops. After the example of Kæmpfer, some of our
+nomenclators have called the jackall _lupus aureus_, because his hair
+is of a lively yellow hue.
+
+It is therefore evident, that the jackall is a very different animal
+from the hyæna; and no less so than the glutton, which is an animal
+confined to the northern regions of Lapland, Russia, and Siberia; it is
+a stranger even in the temperate climates, and therefore could never
+have inhabited Arabia, or any of the other warm countries in which
+the hyæna resides. It differs also in form, for the glutton bears a
+strong resemblance to a very large badger; his legs are so short that
+his belly almost reaches the ground; he has five toes on each of his
+feet, has no mane, and his body is covered with black hair, excepting
+sometimes a few reddish yellow hairs upon his sides; in short, he
+resembles him in nothing but in being exceedingly voracious. He was
+unknown to the ancients, who had made no great progress into the north
+of Europe. Olaus is the first author who mentions this animal and
+from his prodigious gluttony he called him _gulo_. In Sclavonia he
+afterwards obtained the name of _rosomak_, and in Germany _jerff_,
+or _wildfras_, and the French travellers have called him _glouton_.
+There are varieties in this species, as well as in that of the jackall,
+which we shall speak of when we come to the particular history of those
+animals, and shall only here observe, that those varieties, instead
+of assimilating them with the hyæna, render them additionally a more
+distinct species.
+
+The civet has nothing in common with the hyæna but the glandular pouch,
+under the tail, and the mane along the neck and back-bone. It differs
+from the hyæna in figure and size, not being more than half as large;
+his ears are short and covered with hair, whereas those of the hyæna
+are long and naked; he has also short legs, and five toes upon each
+foot, while the legs of the hyæna are long, and he has only four toes
+upon each foot; nor does the civet dig up the earth in search for
+dead bodies. From these differences these animals are easily to be
+distinguished from each other.
+
+With respect to the baboon, which is the _papio_ of the Latins, and
+as we have before observed, has been mistaken for the hyæna, merely
+from the ambiguity of names, which seems to have arisen from a passage
+of Leo Africanus, and since copied by Marmol. "The _dabuh_ say
+these authors, is of the size and form of the wolf; and scratches up
+dead bodies from their graves." From which it was supposed to mean
+the _dubbah_, or hyæna, although it is expressly stated in the same
+passages that the _dubbah_ has hands and feet resembling those of
+a man; a remark which, however applicable to the baboon, cannot be
+applied to the hyæna.
+
+From taking a view of the _lupus-marinus_ of Bellon, which Gesner has
+copied, we might mistake it for the figure of the hyæna, to which it
+bears a great resemblance; but his description corresponds not with our
+hyæna, for he says, the _lupus-marinus_ is an amphibious animal which
+feeds on fish, and has sometimes been seen on the coasts of the British
+ocean; besides this author says nothing of the peculiar characteristics
+which distinguish the hyæna from all other animals. It is possible
+that Bellon, prepossessed with the notion that the civet was the hyæna
+of the ancients, has given the figure of the real one under the name
+of _lupus-marinus_, for so striking and singular are the characters
+of that animal, that it is hardly possible to be deceived in them; he
+is, perhaps, the only quadruped that has four toes upon each foot.
+Like the badger he has an aperture under the tail, which does not
+penetrate into the body; his ears are long, straight, and naked; his
+head is shorter and more square than that of the wolf; his legs are
+longer, especially the hind ones; his eyes are placed like those of
+the dog; the hair of his body and mane is of a dark grey, with a small
+intermixture of yellow and black, and disposed all along in waves,
+and though in size he equals the wolf, yet he has, nevertheless, a
+contracted appearance.
+
+This wild and solitary animal resides in the caverns of mountains,
+the clefts of rocks, or in dens, which he forms for himself under
+the earth. Though taken ever so young he is not to be tamed; he is
+naturally ferocious. He lives like the wolf, by depredation, but he
+is more strong and daring. He sometimes attacks men, and darts with a
+ferocious resolution on all kinds of cattle; he follows the flocks,
+and even breaks down the sheep-folds in the night to get at his prey.
+His eyes shine in the dark, and it is asserted that he sees better
+by night than day. All naturalists who have treated of this animal,
+except Kæmpfer, say, that his cry resembles the noise of a man who is
+vomiting, while the latter asserts it to be like the lowing of a calf.
+He defends himself against the lion, stands in no awe of the panther,
+and attacks the ounce, which is incapable of resisting him. When at a
+loss for prey he scrapes up the earth with his feet, and tears out the
+carcasses of animals and men, which in the countries he inhabits are
+promiscuously buried in the fields. He is found in almost all the hot
+climates of Africa and Asia, and it is probable that the animal called
+_farasse_, at Madagascar, which resembles the wolf in figure, but is
+larger and stronger, is the same animal.
+
+Of this animal more absurd stories have been told than of any other.
+The ancients have gravely written that the hyæna is alternately male
+and female; that when it brings forth, suckles and rears its progeny,
+it remains as a female the whole year, but the year following it
+resumes the functions of the male, and obliges its companion to submit
+to those of the female. The circumstance which gave rise to this fable
+is plainly the orifice under the tail, in both males and females,
+independently of the organs of generation peculiar to both sexes,
+and which are the same in the hyæna as in all other animals. It has
+also been affirmed that this animal could imitate the human voice,
+remember the names of shepherds, call upon, fascinate, and render
+them motionless; that he can terrify shepherdesses, cause them to
+forget and neglect their flocks, to be distracted in love, &c. All this
+might surely happen without the intervention of the hyæna! But I shall
+conclude here, to avoid the reproach which has been cast upon Pliny,
+that of taking pleasure in compiling and relating absurd fables.
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+At the fair of St. Germain, in the year 1773, I saw a male hyæna; the
+one just described was very ferocious, and as I mentioned untameable,
+but this was perfectly gentle, for though his keeper made him angry for
+the purpose of erecting his mane, yet he seemed to forget it in a few
+moments, and suffer himself to be played with without any appearance of
+dislike. He exactly accorded with the description I have given, except
+his tail being entirely white.
+
+_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 109. _Lynx._]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 110. _Hyæna._]
+
+In the island of Meroë there is a large kind of hyænas, so strong that
+they can run off with a man to the distance of more than a league
+without stopping. These are also of a darker colour, and erect their
+long hairs on the hind parts and not the front. Mr. Bruce informs
+me that he has observed, that when the hyænas are forced to take to
+flight, they are at first exceedingly lame of the left hind leg, and
+which continues for more than an hundred paces, so much so indeed as to
+give them the appearance of falling, and that it is the same also with
+those of Syria and Barbary.
+
+
+
+
+THE CIVET AND THE ZIBET.
+
+
+The generality of naturalists are of opinion that the perfume called
+civet, or musk, is furnished only by one species of animals. I
+have, however, seen two animals that furnish it, which, though they
+have many essential affinities, both in their external and internal
+conformations, yet differ in so many characteristics, that there is
+sufficient reason to consider them as two distinct species. To the
+first I have continued the original name of Civet, (_fig. 111._) and
+the second, for the sake of distinction, I have called Zibet (_fig.
+113._) The civet seems to be the same as that described by the Academy
+of Sciences; by Caius, in Gesner, page 837, and by Fabius Columna,
+who has given both the male and female figures in the publication of
+Faber, which follows that of Hernandes. The _zibet_ appears to be the
+same animal as M. de la Peyronnie has described under the name of Musk
+Animal, in the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences for the year 1731.
+Both differ from the civet in the very same characters; both want the
+mane, or the long hair, on the back-bone, and both have the tail marked
+with strong annular streaks. The civet, on the contrary, has a mane,
+but no rings on the tail. It must, however be acknowledged that our
+zibet, and the musk animal of M. de la Peyronnie, are not so perfectly
+similar as to leave no doubt of the identity of their species. The
+rings on the tail of the zibet are larger than those of the musk
+animal, and the length of his tail is shorter in proportion to that
+of his body; but these differences are slight, and appear to be mere
+accidental varieties, to which the civet must be more subject than any
+other wild animal, as they are reared and fed like domestic ones in
+many parts of the Levant and East Indies. Certain it is, that our zibet
+bears a stronger resemblance to the musk animal than to the civet, and
+consequently they may be considered as the same species. Nor, indeed,
+do we mean positively to affirm that civet and zibet are not varieties
+of the same species, but from their different characteristics there is
+a strong presumption they really are so.
+
+_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 111. _Civet_]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 112. _Genet_]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 113. _Zibet_]
+
+The animal which we here name the Civet, is called the _falanoue_, at
+Madagascar, _nzime_, or _nzfusi_ at Congo, _kankan_ in Ethiopia, and
+_kastor_ in Guinea. That it is the civet of Guinea I am certain, for
+the one I had was sent from Guinea, to one of my correspondents at St.
+Domingo, where, after being fed for some time, it was killed for the
+more easy conveyance to Europe.
+
+The zibet is probably the civet of Asia, of the East Indies, and of
+Arabia, where he is called zebet, or zibet, an Arabic word, which
+likewise signifies the perfume of that animal, and which we have
+adopted to signify the animal itself. He differs from the civet in
+having a longer and less thick body; a snout more thin and slender,
+and somewhat concave on the upper part; whereas that of the civet is
+more short, thick, and rather convex. The ears of the zibet are also
+larger and more elevated; his tail is longer, and more strongly marked;
+his hair is shorter and much more soft; he has no mane, or long hair
+on the neck or back-bone; no black spots under the eyes, or on the
+cheeks; all of which are remarkable characteristics in the civet. Some
+travellers have suspected there were two species of civets; but no
+person has examined them with sufficient accuracy as to give a distinct
+description. I have seen both; and after a careful comparison, am of
+opinion, that they not only differ in species, but perhaps belong to
+different climates.
+
+These animals have been called musk-cats, though they have nothing in
+common with the cat, except bodily agility. They rather resemble the
+fox, especially in the head. Their skins are diversified with stripes
+and spots, which has occasioned them to be mistaken for small panthers,
+when seen at a distance; but in every other respect they differ from
+the panther. There is an animal called the Genet, which is spotted in
+the like manner, whose head is nearly of the same shape, and which,
+like the civet, has a pouch where an odoriferous humor is formed; but
+this animal is smaller than our civet; its legs are shorter, and its
+body thinner; its perfume is very faint, and of short duration; while
+the perfume of the civet is very strong, and that of the zibet is so to
+an excess.
+
+This humor is found in the orifice which these animals have near the
+organs of generation; it is nearly as thick as pomatum, and though the
+odour is very strong, it is yet agreeable, even when it issues from the
+body of the animal. This perfume of the civet must not be confounded
+with musk, which is a sanguineous humor, obtained from an animal very
+different from either the civet or zibet, being a species of roe-buck,
+or goat, without horns, and which has no one property in common with
+the civet, but that of furnishing a strong perfume.
+
+These two species of civets have not been distinguished with precision.
+They have both been sometimes confounded with the weasel of Virginia,
+the genet, the musk-deer, and even with the hyæna. Bellon, who has
+given a figure and description of the civet, insists that it was the
+hyæna of the ancients, and his mistake is the more excusable not being
+destitute of some foundation. Certain it is, that most of the fables
+which have been related of the hyæna, took their rise from the civet.
+The philters said to have been obtained from certain parts of the
+hyæna, and their power to excite love, sufficiently indicate that the
+stimulating virtues of the preparations of civet, were not unknown to
+the ancients, and which are still used for this very purpose in the
+East. What they have said of the uncertainty of the sex of the hyæna,
+is still more applicable to the civet, for the male has no external
+appearance, but three apertures so perfectly similar to those of
+the female, that it is hardly possible to determine the sex but by
+dissection. The opening which contains the perfume, is situated between
+the other two, and in the same direct line which extends from the os
+sacrum to the pubis.
+
+Another error, which has made more progress, is that of Gregoire de
+Bolivar, with respect to the climates in which the civet is found.
+After stating them to be common in Africa and the East Indies, he
+positively affirms they are also very numerous in all parts of South
+America. This assertion, transmitted by Faber, has been copied by
+Aldrovandus, and adopted by all the authors who have since treated
+of the civet. But the truth is, that they are animals peculiar to
+the hottest climates of the old continent, and which could not have
+found a northern passage into the New World; where, in fact, no civets
+ever existed until they were transported thither from the Philippine
+Islands and the coasts of Africa. As the assertion of Bolivar is
+positive, and mine only negative, it is necessary I should give my
+particular reasons, to prove the falsity of the fact. Besides my own
+remarks, I refer to the very words of Faber himself.[S] On this head
+it is to be observed, that the figure given by Faber, was left to him
+by Recchi, without any description[T]; and of which the inscription
+is, _animal zibethicum Americanum_; but this figure has no resemblance
+to the civet or zibet, and rather represents the badger; secondly,
+Faber gives a description and the figures of a male and female civet,
+which resemble our zibet; but these civets are not the same animal as
+that represented in the first figure; nor do they represent animals of
+America, but civets belonging to the old continent, of which Fabius
+Columna had procured drawings at Naples, and furnished Faber with
+their figures and descriptions; thirdly, after having quoted Bolivar
+respecting the climates in which the civet is found, Faber concludes
+with admiring Bolivar's prodigious memory, and that he was indebted
+for this recital to the oral information of that gentleman. These
+three remarks are alone sufficient to create a suspicion respecting the
+pretended _animal zibethicum Americanum_, but what completely proves
+the error, Fernandes, in his description of the animals of America,
+flatly contradicts Bolivar, and affirms that the civet was not a native
+of America, but that, in his time, they had began to transport some
+of them from the Philippine Islands to New Spain. In fine, if we add
+this positive testimony of Fernandes, to that of all the travellers,
+who mention that civets are very common in the Philippine Islands, in
+the East Indies, and in Africa, not one of whom intimates having seen
+this animal in America, every doubt will vanish of what we advanced
+in our enumeration of the animals of the two continents, and it will
+be admitted that the civet is not a native of America, but an animal
+peculiar to the warm climates of the old continent, and that he was
+never found in the new, until after he had been transported thither.
+Had I not guarded against such mistakes, which are too frequent, I
+should have described my civet as an American animal, from its having
+been sent to me from St. Domingo, and not directly from Guinea, the
+place of its nativity, of which I was, however, assured by the letter
+from M. Pages which accompanied the animal. These particular facts
+I consider as confirmations to the general position, that there is a
+real difference between all the animals of the southern parts of each
+continent.
+
+[Footnote S: Novæ Hisp. Anim. Nardi Antonii Recchi Imagines & Nomina,
+Joannis Fabri Lyncei Expositione, p. 539.]
+
+[Footnote T: _Ibid._ p. 465.]
+
+Both the civet and zibet are then animals of the old continent, nor
+have they any other external differences, besides those already
+pointed out; and as to their internal differences, and the structure
+of their reservoirs which contain the perfume, they have been so
+accurately described by Messrs. Morand and Peyronnie, in the Memoirs
+of the Academy for 1728 and 1731, that I could do little more than
+give a repetition of their accounts. With regard to what remains to be
+further observed of those two animals, as the few facts are hardly more
+applicable to the one than the other, and as it would be difficult to
+point out the distinction, I shall collect the whole under one head.
+
+The civets, (by the plural number I mean the civet and zibet) though
+natives of the hottest climates of Asia and Africa, can yet live in
+temperate and even cold countries, provided they are carefully defended
+from the injuries of the weather, and supplied with succulent food. In
+Holland they are frequently reared for the advantage obtained by their
+perfume. The civet brought from Amsterdam is preferred to that which
+comes from the Levant or the Indies, as being the most genuine. That
+imported from Guinea would be the best, were it not that the Negroes,
+as well as the Indians, and the people of the Levant, adulterate it
+with the mixture of storax, and other balsamic and odoriferous drugs
+and plants.
+
+Those who keep these animals collect the perfume in the following
+manner; they put them into a narrow cage, in which they cannot turn
+themselves; this cage opens behind, and two or three times in a
+week the animal is drawn a little out by the tail, and kept in that
+position by putting a bar across the fore-part of the cage; this done,
+the person takes out the perfume from the pouch with a small spoon,
+scraping all the internal parts, and then, putting the matter into a
+vessel, the greatest care is taken to keep it closely covered. The
+quantity so procured depends greatly upon the appetite of the animal,
+and the quality of his nourishment, as he always produces more in
+proportion to the goodness of his food. Hashed flesh, eggs, rice, small
+animals, birds, young poultry, and particularly fish, are the best, and
+which he most prefers; and these ought to be so varied as to excite his
+appetite and preserve his health. He requires but little water, and
+though he drinks seldom, yet he discharges urine very frequently; and
+even on such occasions, the male is not to be distinguished from the
+female.
+
+The perfume of the civets is so strong that it communicates itself to
+all parts of the body; the hair and skin is impregnated with it to
+such a degree, that it preserves the odour for a long time after it is
+stripped off. If a person be shut up in a close room with one of them
+alive, he cannot support the perfume, it is so copiously diffused. When
+the animal is enraged, its scent is more violent than ordinary, and if
+tormented so as to make him sweat, that is also collected and serves
+to adulterate, or at least increase the perfume which is otherwise
+obtained.
+
+The civets are naturally wild, and even ferocious; and though tameable
+to a certain degree, they are never perfectly familiar. Their teeth are
+strong and sharp, but their claws are blunt and feeble. They are light
+and active, and live by prey, pursuing small animals, and surprising
+birds. They can bound like cats, and run like dogs; and sometimes steal
+into yards and out-houses to carry off the poultry. Their eyes shine
+in the dark, and they probably see better in the night than in the
+day. When they fail in procuring animal food, they subsist on roots
+and fruits. As they seldom drink they never inhabit moist places, but
+cheerfully reside among arid sands and burning mountains. They breed
+very fast in their native climates; but though they can live, and even
+produce perfume in temperate climates, yet they cannot multiply. They
+have a voice more powerful, and a tongue less rough than the cat, and
+their cry is not unlike that of an enraged dog.
+
+The odorous humor which exudes from these animals is called civet in
+England and France, and _zibet_, or _algalia_, in Arabia, the Indies,
+and the Levant, where it is more used than in Europe. It is now very
+little employed as a medicine, but it is still used as an ingredient
+in the compositions of perfumers and confectioners. The smell of the
+civet, though stronger, is more agreeable than that of the musk. Both,
+however, lost their repute when the method of preparing ambergris was
+discovered; and even that seems now to be proscribed from the toilets
+of the polite and delicate.
+
+
+
+
+THE GENET.
+
+
+The Genet (_fig. 112._) is a smaller animal than the civet. He has a
+long body, short legs, a sharp snout, slender head, and smooth soft
+hair, of a glossy ash colour, marked with black spots, which are round,
+and separated on the sides, but so nearly united on the back as to have
+the appearance of stripes along the body. Upon the neck and back it has
+a kind of mane, which forms a black streak from the head to the tail,
+the latter of which is as long as the body, and is marked with seven
+or eight rings, alternately black and white; the black spots on the
+neck also appear to form streaks, and it has a white spot under each
+eye. Under the tail, and in the very same place with the civets, it has
+a pouch, in which is secreted a kind of perfume, but is much weaker,
+and its scent soon evaporates. It is somewhat longer than the marten,
+which it greatly resembles in form, habit, and disposition; and from
+which it seems chiefly to differ in being more easily tamed. Bellon
+assures us, that he has seen them in the houses at Constantinople as
+tame as cats, that they were permitted to run about without doing
+the least mischief, and that they were called _Constantinople cats_;
+_Spanish cats_; _genet cats_, _&c._ though, indeed, they have nothing
+in common with that animal, except the skill of watching and catching
+mice.[U] Naturalists pretend that genets inhabit only moist grounds,
+and reside along the banks of rivers, and that they are never found on
+mountains or dry grounds. The species is not numerous, or, at least,
+not much diffused; for there are none of them in any part of Europe,
+except Spain and Turkey. They seem to require a warm climate to subsist
+and multiply in, and yet they are not found in India or Africa. The
+_fossane_ has been called the genet of Madagascar, but that animal is
+of a different species, as will hereafter be shewn.
+
+[Footnote U: It is, perhaps, because they are only found in the Levant
+and in Spain, that they are designated by their country; for the name
+of _genet_ is not derived from any of the ancient languages, and is
+probably only a new appellation taken from some place abounding with
+them, a custom which is very common in Spain, where a certain race of
+horses are called _genets_.]
+
+The skin of the genet makes a light and handsome fur, it was
+formerly fashionable for muffs, and consequently very dear; but the
+manufacturers having got the art of counterfeiting them, by painting
+the skins of grey rabbits with black spots, their value is abated,
+from being no longer esteemed.
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+I formerly stated that genets were not to be found in any parts of
+Europe, except Spain and Turkey, but since then I have learned that
+they are common in the southern provinces of France, and that at
+Poitou they are known by that name even to the peasantry. In April,
+1775, the Abbé Roubard sent me a genet that was killed at Livray, in
+Poitou, which, except some trifling variations in the colour of the
+hair, was similar to that I have described; and he assured me that the
+species was also to be found in the neighbouring provinces; and M.
+Delpeche informed me, in a letter, that it was a constant practice with
+the peasants of the province of Rouergue to bring dead genets to the
+merchants in the winter; he added, that they were not very numerous,
+that they were principally found near Villefranche, and that they
+burrow in holes like the rabbits, especially in winter.
+
+
+
+
+THE BLACK WOLF.
+
+
+We mention ibis animal merely as a supplement to the description we
+have given of the wolf, for there can be little doubt of his belonging
+to the same species. We have already said, that in the northern parts
+of Europe there were some wolves black, and others white, and that the
+black wolves were generally the largest; but the one we are now about
+to describe came from Canada, and was smaller than the common wolf;
+but we have had repeated occasions to remark, that the animals of the
+northern parts of America are less in size than those belonging to the
+north of Europe, and this difference in size was the chief, if not the
+only variation in him; besides, he had been taken very young, and ever
+after kept in a state of captivity, which also might have prevented the
+completion of his growth. Our common wolf is less in Canada than in
+Europe; and in that country black wolves and foxes are not uncommon. We
+saw this animal alive, and to us it appeared perfectly to resemble the
+common wolf both in figure and disposition.
+
+_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 115. _Muscovy Rat._]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 114. _Canadian Musk Rat._]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 116. _Mexican Hog._]
+
+
+
+
+THE CANADIAN MUSK-RAT, AND THE MUSCOVY MUSK-RAT.
+
+
+Though these two animals have been denominated musk-rats, and have
+a few common characteristics, yet they ought not to be confounded;
+they must also be distinguished from the Pilori, or Musk-rat, of
+the Antilles; all three forming different species, and belonging to
+different climates; the first, also called Ondatra, is found in Canada;
+the second, or Desman, in Lapland and Muscovy; and the Pilori, in
+Martinico and other of the Antille islands.
+
+The Musk-rat of Canada (_fig. 115._) differs from that of Muscovy
+in having all its toes separate, eyes very conspicuous, and a short
+nose; whereas the latter (_fig. 114._) has the toes of the hind feet
+united by a membrane, exceedingly small eyes, and a long nose like the
+shrew-mouse. The tail of both is flat, in which, as well as in many
+other characteristics, they differ from the pilori of the Antilles. The
+tail of the pilori is short, and, like that of other rats, cylindrical;
+the other two have long tails, and the head of the first is like that
+of a water-rat, and the head of the second resembles a shrew-mouse.
+
+In the memoirs of the Academy of Sciences, for 1725, we meet with a
+very accurate description of the Canadian musk-rat. M. Sarrasin, a
+correspondent of the Academy, dissected a number of them at Quebec, and
+made some striking and singular remarks; by comparing his description
+with our own, we have not the least doubt but the animal which he calls
+the musk-rat of Canada, is the same with that now before us.
+
+This animal is of the size of a small rabbit, and of the figure of
+a rat. Its head is short, and similar to that of the water-rat; its
+hair is soft and glossy, with a thick down underneath, like that of
+the beaver; its tail is long and covered with little scales, like that
+of the other rats, though of a different form, for instead of being
+cylindrical it is flat from the middle to the tip, and rather round at
+the insertion. The toes are not united by membranes, but furnished
+with a long thick hair, which enables the animal to swim with ease. Its
+ears are very short, but not naked, as in the common rat, but covered
+with hair, both outwardly and inwardly; its eyes are large; it has two
+incisive teeth, about an inch long, in the under jaw, and two shorter
+ones in the upper; these four teeth are very strong, and by them the
+animal is enabled to gnaw through wood.
+
+The striking singularities remarked by M. Sarrasin, in this animal
+are, first, the muscular force and great expansibility in the skin,
+which enables the animal to contract and compress its body into a
+smaller size. Secondly, the suppleness of the false ribs, which admits
+a contraction of body so considerable that the musk-rat can obtain an
+easy passage through holes where smaller animals cannot find admission.
+Thirdly, the manner in which the female voids her urine, the urethra
+not terminating, as in other animals, under the clitoris, but at a
+hairy eminence above the os pubis, and in which there is an orifice,
+that serves the urine to escape. This strange organization is found in
+only a few species of animals, as rats and apes have three apertures;
+and these two are perhaps the only animals who have a passage for the
+urine distinct from the organs of generation: to the females alone,
+however, does this singularity belong, for the conformation of the
+males is the same with that of other quadrupeds. M. Sarrasin observes,
+fourthly, that the testicles which, as in other rats, are situated
+on each side of the anus, become exceedingly large, considering the
+size of the animal, during the rutting season; but that over, they not
+only change in size, consistency, and colour, but even in situation,
+and with the seminal vessels, and all the organs of generation become
+almost invisible. And, lastly, that the vessels which contain the
+musk, or perfume, of this animal, under the form of a milky humor, and
+which adjoin the parts of generation, undergo the same changes; that
+during the rutting season they enlarge in a great degree, and then the
+perfume is exceedingly strong, and may be sensibly distinguished at
+a considerable distance, but at its expiration they become wrinkled,
+decay, and at length entirely disappear. The change in the vessels,
+which contain the perfume, is effected more quickly, and more
+completely, than that of the parts of generation. These vessels are
+common to both sexes, and at the above periods contain a considerable
+quantity of milky humor; and the secretion is formed, and the humor
+voided, nearly in the same place as the urine of other quadrupeds.
+These singularities were worthy the attention of so able an anatomist
+as M. Sarrasin. We have already mentioned similar alterations in the
+parts of generation in the water-rat, the campagnol, and the mole; but
+this is not the place for us to enlarge on the general consequences
+which might be drawn from these singular facts, nor even on the
+immediate references they may have to our theory of generation. These
+we shall soon have occasion to present with more advantage, by uniting
+them with other facts to which they relate.
+
+As the Canadian musk-rat belongs to the same country as the beaver, is
+fond of water, and has nearly the same figure, colour, and hair, they
+have been often compared to each other; it is even affirmed, that, at
+the first glance, a full grown musk-rat may be mistaken for a beaver
+of a month old. But in the form of their tails there is a considerable
+difference; that of the beaver being oval and flat horizontally;
+whereas that of the musk-rat is of a considerable length, and flat,
+or compressed vertically. In disposition and instinct, however,
+these animals have a strong resemblance. The musk-rats, as well as
+the beavers, live in societies during the winter. They form little
+dwellings about two feet and a half in diameter and sometimes larger,
+in which is often an association of several families. These habitations
+are not for the purpose of resorting to, in order to sleep like the
+marmots, for five or six months, but to obtain a shelter from the
+inclemency of the weather; they are of a round form, and covered with a
+dome about a foot thick; the materials for making which are herbs and
+rushes interwoven together, and cemented with clay, which they prepare
+with their feet; these huts are impenetrable by the rain, and secured
+from the effects of inundations by being elevated on the inside, and
+tho' covered with snow several feet thick in the winter these animals
+do not seem to be incommoded by this circumstance. They do not provide
+a stock of provisions for that season, but dig a sort of passages
+round their dwellings, for the purpose of procuring roots and water.
+As winter is not their season of love, they reap but little advantage
+from associating. All this period they remain totally deprived of
+light, and therefore no sooner has the mild breath of spring begun to
+dissolve the snow, and uncover the tops of their little mansions, than
+the huntsmen open their dome suddenly, dazzle them with the light,
+and kill or seize all those who have not obtained shelter in their
+subterraneous passages; but as their skins are valuable, and their
+flesh not unpalatable, thither they are also pursued for slaughter.
+Such as escape quit their habitations about the same time. They wander
+about during the summer but always in pairs, for then is the time of
+their amours; then it is that all their vessels expand, and feeding
+largely upon the fresh roots and vegetables which the season affords,
+they acquire a strong smell of musk; a scent which, though agreeable
+to Europeans, is so disgustful to the savages, that they distinguish
+one of their rivers, from being frequented by a number of them, the
+Stinking River, and the animal itself the Stinkard.
+
+They produce once a year, and generally have five or six young. Their
+time of gestation cannot be long, as they are not in season till the
+summer, and their young are full grown by October, when they seek for
+shelter; they construct new huts every year, and are never known to
+revisit their former habitations. Their cry is a kind of groan, which
+the huntsmen imitate in order to allure them. So strong are their
+fore-teeth, and so calculated for gnawing, that if shut up in a box,
+they soon make a hole large enough to escape through, a faculty which
+they possess in common with the beaver. They do not swim so fast, or
+so long as the beaver, and are often seen upon the ground; they run
+very indifferently, and in their walk they waddle like a goose. Their
+skin retains the smell of musk, which renders it of little value to the
+furriers, but their under hair, or down, is used in the manufacture
+of hats. These animals are not very wild, and when taken young are
+easily tamed; and are then tolerably handsome, for their tail, which
+is afterwards long and disagreeable, is very short. They play with all
+the innocence and sprightliness of young cats, and they might be reared
+with ease but for their disagreeable smell.
+
+The Canadian and Muscovy musk-rats, are the only animals belonging to
+the northern regions which yield any perfume, for the odour of the
+_castoreum_ (obtained from the badger) is highly disagreeable; and it
+is only in warm climates that we meet with the animals which furnish
+the real musk, the civet, and other delicate perfumes.
+
+The musk-rat of Muscovy might, perhaps, present singularities analogous
+to those of the Canadian, and not less remarkable, but it does not
+appear that any naturalist has yet had an opportunity to dissect, or
+examine it alive. Of its exterior form alone we can speak, as that
+sent from Lapland, for the king's cabinet, was in a dry state, and
+therefore I can only add my regret that so little is known about it.
+
+
+
+
+THE PECCARI, OR MEXICAN HOG.
+
+
+Among the animals of the New World, few species are more numerous, or
+more remarkable, than that of the Mexican Hog.[V] (_fig. 116._) At the
+first glance he resembles our wild boar, or rather the hog of Siam,
+which, as we have already observed, is nothing more than a variety of
+the wild boar; and for which reason this has been called the American
+wild boar, or American hog. He is, however, of a distinct species,
+and refuses to engender either with our wild or domestic kinds; a
+circumstance of which I was convinced, by having reared one of these
+animals in company with several sows.
+
+[Footnote V: This animal has a variety of names; besides the above,
+some call him _Tajassou_, _Tajacou_, _Paquira_, _Saino_, &c.]
+
+He differs also from the hog in a number of characteristics, both
+external and internal. He is less corpulent, and his legs are shorter;
+in the stomach and intestines, there is a difference of conformation.
+He has no tail, and his bristles are much stronger than those of the
+wild boar; and, lastly, he has on his back, near the crupper, an
+opening from which there is discharged an ichorous humor of a very
+disagreeable smell. This is the only animal which has an opening in
+this part of the body. In the civets, the badger, and the genet,
+the reservoir for their perfume is situated beneath the parts of
+generation; and in the musk-animal, and the musk-rat of Canada, we
+find it under the belly. The moisture which exudes from this aperture
+in the back of the Mexican hog, is secreted by large glands, which
+M. Daubenton has described with much attention, as well as the other
+singularities of this animal; Dr. Tyson also in the Philosophical
+Transactions, No. 153, has given a good description of it. Without
+minutely detailing the observations of these two able anatomists, I
+shall barely remark, that the latter was mistaken in asserting that
+this animal has three stomachs, or, as Mr. Ray says, a gizzard and
+two stomachs. M. Daubenton plainly shews, that it is only one stomach
+divided by two similar pouches, which give it the appearance of three;
+that only one of these pouches has a pyrolus, or orifice below, for
+the discharge of its contents; that, consequently, we ought to consider
+the two others merely as appendages to, or rather portions of, the same
+stomach.
+
+The Mexican hog might be rendered a domestic animal like the common
+kind; he has nearly the same habits and natural inclinations; feeds
+upon the same aliments, and his flesh, though more dry and lean, is not
+unpalatable, and may be improved by castration. When killed, not only
+the parts of generation, if the flesh is intended to be eaten, (as is
+also done with the wild boar) must be taken instantly away, but also
+the glands at the opening in the back, and which are common to both
+male and female, must likewise be removed, for if this operation be
+deferred for only half an hour, the flesh becomes utterly unfit to be
+eaten.
+
+These animals are extremely numerous in all the warm climates of South
+America. They go in herds of two or three hundred together, and unite,
+like hogs, in the defence of each other. They are particularly fierce
+when their young are attempted to be taken from them. They surround
+their plunderers, attack them without fear, and frequently make their
+lives pay the forfeit of their rashness. In their native country they
+prefer the mountainous parts to the low and level grounds; neither do
+they seek marshes nor mud, like our hogs, but remain in the forests,
+where they subsist upon wild fruits, roots, and vegetables; they are an
+unceasing enemy to all the serpent kinds, with which the uncultivated
+forests of the New Continent abound: as soon as they perceive a serpent
+or viper, they seize it with their fore hoofs, skin it in an instant,
+and devour the flesh.
+
+These animals are very prolific; the young ones follow the dam, and do
+not separate from her till they are full grown. If taken young they
+are very easily tamed, and soon lose all their natural ferocity, but
+they never shew any signs of docility, but continue stupid, without
+attachment, or even seeming to know the hand that feeds them. They do
+no mischief, and may be permitted to run tame, without apprehending
+any dangerous consequence. They seldom stray far from home, but return
+of themselves to the sty: they never quarrel among each other, except
+when they are fed in the same trough. At such times they have an angry
+grunt, much stronger and harsher than that of a common hog; but they
+seldom scream, only when suddenly surprised, or frightened, when they
+have a shrill manner of blowing like the wild boar. When enraged they
+draw their breath with great force, and point their bristles upward
+which more resemble the sharp armour of the hedge-hog than the bristles
+of the wild boar.
+
+The species of the Mexican hog is preserved without alteration, and
+altogether unmixed with that of the European hog, which has been
+transported to, and become wild in, the forests of America. These
+animals meet in the woods, and even herd together, and yet never
+produce an intermediate breed. It is the same with the Guinea hog,
+which has greatly multiplied in America, after being brought thither
+from Africa.
+
+However approximate the species of the European hog, the Guinea-hog,
+and the peccari, may appear, it is, nevertheless, evident, that they
+are each distinct, and separate from the others since they inhabit the
+same climate without intermixture. Of the three, the strongest, most
+robust, and most formidable, is our wild boar. The peccari, though
+equally fierce, is yet less active, and inferior as to the engines of
+defence, his tusks being much shorter. This animal dreads the cold, and
+cannot subsist, without shelter, even in our temperate regions; nor can
+our wild boar exist in countries which are very cold; therefore it is
+impossible that either of them could have found a passage from the one
+continent to the other, over any northern country; and therefore the
+Mexican hog cannot be considered as an European hog degenerated, or
+changed, by the climate of America, but as an animal peculiar to the
+southern regions of that continent.
+
+Ray and other naturalists, have maintained, that the humor discharged
+from the back of the Mexican hog is a kind of musk, an agreeable
+perfume, even as it exudes from the body of the animal; that it is
+perceived at a considerable distance, and perfumes every place he
+inhabits, and through which he passes. I have, I must own, a thousand
+times experienced very contrary effects; for so disagreeable is the
+smell of this moisture, on being separated from the body of the animal,
+that I could not collect it without being exceedingly incommoded. It
+becomes less foetid by being dried in the air, but never acquires
+the agreeable smell of musk, or of civet; and naturalists would have
+expressed themselves with more propriety, if they had compared it to
+that of _castoreum_.
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+M. de la Borde says, there are two kinds of the Peccari, or Mexican
+hog, in Cayenne, which never intermix; the largest of which is black,
+excepting two white spots upon its jaws, and that the hair of the small
+one is rather red; but I apprehend the differences are occasioned by
+age, or some accidental circumstance. He adds, that those of the large
+size do not associate with men; but that they live in the woods, upon
+seeds, roots, and fruits; that they dig in the damp soils for worms,
+and that they go in flocks of two or three hundred. It is no difficult
+matter to shoot them, as, instead of flying, they collect together,
+and will stand several discharges; nay, they will even attack the
+dogs, and sometimes men. He mentions an instance where he was out with
+a party that were surrounded by a flock of these hogs, who were not
+to be intimidated by a continual firing, and could not be dispersed
+until several of them were killed. When taken young, they are soon
+rendered familiar, but they will not intermix with the domestic hogs.
+When living in their natural state of freedom, they often reside in the
+marshes, and will swim across rivers. Their flesh, though palatable, is
+not so good as the common hog; it has a strong resemblance to that of
+the hare, and is without lard or grease.
+
+M. de la Borde speaks of another species of hog found in Guiana, which
+he calls _patira_, in these terms: "The patira is about the size of the
+small Mexican hog, and the only difference is the former having a white
+stripe along the back; they live in large forests, and, in general,
+herd in families. They will defend themselves against dogs, when hunted
+by them: when likely to be overpowered, they seek shelter in hollow
+trees, or in holes of the earth, that have been made by armadilloes,
+which they entered backwards. To get them out, the hunters employ every
+means to irritate them, (having first inclosed a space round the hole)
+for when angry they will quit their retreat, and the men, standing
+prepared, destroy them with pitchforks and sabres. If a hunter observes
+a single one in a hole, and does not then wish to take it, he closes
+up the entrance, and is sure to have him the next day. Their flesh
+is superior to that of other hogs. When caught young they are easily
+rendered domestic, but even then they preserve their natural inveteracy
+against dogs, whom they attack on all occasions. They constantly live
+in the marshes, unless when entirely covered with water. The females
+produce two at a time, and they breed at all seasons of the year. Their
+hair is soft, like that of the Mexican hog. When tamed they follow
+their masters, and allow themselves to be handled by those they know,
+but strangers they always threaten by shewing their teeth."
+
+
+
+
+THE ROUSETTE, OR TERNAT BAT, THE ROUGETTE, OR LITTLE TERNAT, AND THE
+VAMPYRE.
+
+
+The Roussette[W] and the Rougette[X] seem to form two distinct species,
+but they so nearly resemble each other that they ought not to be
+presented apart, as they differ only in the size of the body and colour
+of the hair. The Great Ternat, (_fig. 117._) whose hair is of a reddish
+brown, is nine inches in length, from the tip of the nose to the
+insertion of the tail, and in breadth three 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, when the wings are extended; and
+its neck is half encircled with a stripe of lively red, intermixed with
+orange, of which we perceive no vestige on the neck of the roussette.
+They both belong to nearly the same hot climates of the old continent,
+are met with in Madagascar, in the island of Bourbon, in Ternat, the
+Philippines, and other islands of the Indian Archipelago, where they
+seem to be more common than on the neighbouring continents.
+
+[Footnote W: Also called the Flying Dog, and the Great Bat of
+Madagascar.]
+
+[Footnote X: Or the Red-necked Flying Dog.]
+
+In the hot countries of the New World, there is another flying
+quadruped, of which we know not the American name, but shall call it
+Vampyre, because it sucks the blood of men, and other animals while
+asleep, without causing sufficient pain to awaken them. This American
+animal is of a different species from the bats just mentioned, both of
+which are to be found solely in Africa, and in the southern parts of
+Asia.
+
+_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 117. _Ternat Bat._]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 118. _Bull Dog Bat_]
+
+[Illustration: FIG: 119. _Senegal Bat_]
+
+The vampyre[Y] is smaller than the rougette, which is itself smaller
+than the roussette. The first, when it flies, seems to be of the
+size of a pigeon, the second of a raven, and the third of a large
+hen. Both the roussette and rougette have well shaped heads, short
+ears, and round noses, nearly like that of a dog. Of the vampyre, on
+the contrary, the nose is long, the aspect as hideous as that of the
+ugliest bats; its head is unshapely, and its ears are large, open, and
+very erect; its noise is deformed, its nostrils resembling a funnel,
+with 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, that this species is different from the Ternat
+bats. It is an animal not less mischievous than it is deformed; it is
+the pest of man, and the torment of other animals. In confirmation of
+this, the authentic testimony of M. de la Condamine may be produced.
+"The bats," says he, "which suck the blood of horses, mules, and even
+men, when they do 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 some are 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."
+These facts are confirmed by many other historians and travellers.
+Petrus Martyr, who wrote not long after the conquest of South America,
+says, that there are bats in the isthmus of Darien which suck the blood
+of men and animals while they are asleep, so as to much weaken, and
+frequently kill them. Jumilla, Don George Juan, and Don Ant. de Ulloa,
+assert the same. Though from the above testimonies it appears that
+these blood-sucking bats are numerous, particularly in South America,
+yet we have not been able to obtain a single individual. Seba has
+presented us with a figure and description of this animal, of which the
+nose is so extraordinary, that I am astonished travellers should not
+have remarked a deformity so palpable as to strike the most superficial
+beholder; possibly the animal of which Seba gives the figure, is not
+the same with that which we distinguish by the name of the vampyre, or
+blood-sucker; It is also possible, that this figure of Seba's is false
+or exaggerated, or at least that this deformed nose is only a monstrous
+accidental variety; though of these deformities there may be found
+permanent examples in some other species of bats. By time alone will
+these obscurities be removed.
+
+[Footnote Y: An American animal called the Great American Bat, or
+Flying Dog of New Spain.]
+
+Both the roussette and rougette are in the cabinet of the King of
+France; and it is to the island of Bourbon that we are indebted
+for them. They belong exclusively to the Old Continent; and in no
+part either of Africa or Asia are they so numerous as the vampyre
+is in America. These animals are larger, stronger, and perhaps more
+mischievous than the vampyre. But it is by open force, and in the day
+as well as night, that they commit hostilities. Fowls and small birds
+are the objects of their destructive fury; they even attack men, and
+wound their faces; but no traveller has accused them of sucking the
+blood of men and animals while asleep.
+
+The ancients had but an imperfect knowledge of these winged quadrupeds,
+which may, indeed, be termed monsters; and it is probable, that from
+those whimsical models of Nature, they received the idea of harpies.
+The wings, the teeth, the claws, the cruelty, the voracity; the
+nastiness, and all the destructive qualities, and noxious faculties of
+the harpies, bear no small resemblance to those of the Ternat bat.
+Herodotus seems to have denoted them, when he mentions that there were
+large bats which greatly incommoded the men employed in collecting
+cassia round the marshes of Asia, and that, to shield themselves from
+the dangerous bites of these animals, they were obliged to cover
+the body and face with leather. Strabo speaks of very large bats in
+Mesopotamia, whose flesh was palatable. Among the moderns, these
+large bats have been mentioned, though in vague terms, by Albertus,
+Isidorus, and Scaliger. With more precision have they been treated of
+by Linscot, Nicholas Matthias, and Francis Pyrard; Oliger Jacobeus has
+given a short description of them with a figure; and lastly, in Seba,
+and in Edwards, we find well-executed description and figures, which
+correspond with our own.
+
+The Ternat bats are carnivorous animals, voracious, and possessed of
+an appetite for every thing that offers. In a dearth of flesh or fish,
+they feed on vegetables and fruits of every kind. They are fond of
+the juice of the palm-tree, and it is easy to take them by placing
+near their retreats vessels filled with palm-tree water, or any other
+fermented liquor, with which they are sure to intoxicate themselves.
+They fasten themselves to trees, and hang from them by their claws.
+They usually fly in flocks, and more by night than by day. Places
+which are much frequented they shun, and their favourite residence is
+uninhabited islands. To copulation they are strongly inclined. In the
+male the sex is very apparent, and not concealed in a scabbard, like
+that of quadrupeds, but extends forwards from the body, nearly as it
+does in the ape. In the female the sex is equally conspicuous; she
+has but two nipples, and those situated upon the breast; she produces
+more than once a year, but the number at each time is but small. Their
+flesh, when young, is not unpalatable; the Indians[Z] are fond of it,
+and compare its flavour to that of the partridge or the rabbit.
+
+[Footnote Z: The Moors and Malayans are most certainly meant, as the
+Indians neither eat nor kill any animal. Lett. M. La Nux.]
+
+The American travellers unanimously agree, that the great bats of the
+new continent suck the blood both of men and animals while they are
+asleep, and without awakening them. Of this singular fact, no mention
+is made by any of the Asiatic or African travellers, who speak of the
+Ternat bats. Their silence, nevertheless, is no adequate proof of their
+being guiltless, especially as they have so many other resemblances
+to those great bats, which we denominated vampyres. I have, therefore,
+thought it worth while to examine how it is possible that these animals
+should suck the blood of a person asleep, without causing a pain
+so sensible as to awake him. Were they to cut the flesh with their
+teeth, which are as large as those of other quadrupeds of the same
+size, the pain of the bite would effectually rouse any of the human
+species, however soundly asleep; and the repose of animals is more
+easily disturbed than that of man. Thus it would also be, were they to
+inflict the wound with their claws. With their tongue only, then, is
+it 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 vampyre I have not had an opportunity of observing,
+but those of several Ternat bats which M. Daubenton attentively
+examined, seemed to indicate the possibility of the fact; their tongues
+were sharp, and full of prickles directed backward; and it appears
+that these prickles, or points, from their exceeding minuteness, may
+be insinuated into the pores of the skin, and may penetrate them so
+deep as to command a flow of the blood, by the continued function
+of the tongue. But it is needless to reason upon a fact of which all
+the circumstances are imperfectly known to us, and of which some are
+perhaps exaggerated, or erroneously related.
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+Among other remarks which I received from the ingenious M. de la
+Nux upon this work, after its first publication, were the following
+respecting these animals. He says, in general terms, that the size and
+number of the Great Ternat Bats are both exaggerated; that instead of
+attacking men they invariably endeavour to get from them, consequently
+never bite but when taken, or defending themselves, which they do then
+most dreadfully; and that instead of being ferocious animals, they
+are perfectly gentle in their dispositions. Speaking from his own
+experience, he says, both the great and small Ternat bats are natives
+of Bourbon, the isles of France, and Madagascar, in the former of
+which he had resided upwards of fifty years; when he first arrived
+there they were very numerous in many places where at present they are
+not to be found, and for these reasons, that the forests were then
+adjacent to them, which had been cleared away by the settlements, and
+that it is only in forests they can subsist; besides, they bring forth
+but once a year, and are hunted, both by whites and negroes, for the
+sake of their flesh and grease. The females are in season about the
+month of May, and produce towards the end of September. They appear
+to come to maturity in about eight months, since there are no small
+ones to be seen after April or May, and the young are to be known
+from the old by their colours being more vivid: they become grey with
+age, but it is uncertain at what period; at this time their flesh is
+very disagreeable, and their fat alone, of which they have plenty
+during the summer, is eaten by the negroes. They never feed upon any
+kind of flesh, but entirely on bananas, peaches, and other fruits and
+flowers with which these forests abound: they are exceedingly fond
+of the juices of certain umbellated flowers; and it is possibly for
+the purpose of sucking the different species of them that they have
+such a number of sharp papillæ on their tongues. They never touch the
+skins of the mango, perhaps because it is resinous. Some of them
+which have been caught, and kept alive, have been known to eat bread
+and sugar-canes, but I believe, even in that state, no kind of meat,
+either raw or prepared. There cannot be any thing to apprehend from
+these animals, either personally, or even for poultry, because they are
+incapable of seizing upon the smallest bird, for if they come too near
+the ground they fall, and are then under the necessity of climbing up
+some elevated object before they can resume their flight, and in this
+case they climb up the first thing they meet with, even if it be a man.
+They trail their bodies along, consequently move very slow, and which
+is of itself sufficient to prove their incapacity for seizing birds.
+These animals, when going to take wing, cannot, like birds, dart at
+once into the air, but are obliged to beat their wings several times
+to fill them, and to release their claws from what they have hold of,
+and even then the weight of their bodies frequently bears them to the
+ground; from this necessity of filling their wings they cannot take
+flight from any part of the tree, but are obliged to crawl to a part
+of the branch where they can act with perfect freedom. They are much
+alarmed at the firing of a gun, or at a peal of thunder; and if a
+large flock of them, resting upon a tree, are surprised by either of
+these reports, in their haste to fly, numbers of them fall to the
+ground, not having sufficient air in their wings; in this case they
+hasten to climb up the first object they met with; let us therefore
+only suppose that object to be a traveller unacquainted with these
+animals; he would naturally be struck with terror at being suddenly
+surrounded with a number of creatures of such an ugly form and aspect,
+and especially when they began to climb up his body; he would of course
+endeavour to extricate himself from them, and they, in turn, finding
+themselves roughly treated, might begin to scratch and bite. Would
+not a circumstance of this nature be sufficient to give rise to the
+idea that these bats were ferocious animals, rushing upon men for the
+purpose of wounding and destroying them? when the whole would arise
+from the rencounter of different animals mutually afraid of each other.
+They are led to reside in forests by instinct, it being there only
+they can procure subsistence, and not from any savage disposition;
+besides this, neither of these bats ever light upon carrion, nor do
+they eat upon the ground, but generally in a hanging posture, and which
+appears to be necessary when they feed all of which is surely enough
+to prove they are neither carnivorous, voracious, nor cruel animals;
+and as their flight is both heavy and noisy, there cannot remain a
+doubt of their being a species very distant from the vampyre. The great
+Ternat bats have also been charged with feeding on fish, because they
+sometimes fly very near the water; but this is equally untrue, for it
+is certain that they live entirely on vegetables, and it is solely for
+the purpose of washing themselves that they go so near the water, being
+an exceedingly clean animal, for of the numbers I have killed I never
+found dirt upon any of them.
+
+When near, the great Ternat bat is certainly rather disgustful, and all
+his motions are disagreeable, and it is only when perched on a tree
+that his natural deformity is concealed; he then hangs with his head
+downward, his wings are folded close to his sides, his vibrating wings,
+which are his greatest defects, as well as hind paws, by which he is
+suspended, are concealed, and there then appears only a round plump
+body, covered with a clean, smooth brown hair, terminated with a head
+rather agreeable than otherwise. This is the only attitude in which
+they take repose, they frequently remain in it the greatest part of
+the day, and in it they are seen to the greatest advantage, especially
+if they are at the height of 40 or 50 feet, and about 100 feet
+distant. The great Ternat bat is always placed for shew with his wings
+extended, by which means he is seen to the greatest disadvantage. The
+representation given of him in your work is not exact, as they never
+rest with their four feet on the ground. Both species are excellent
+food, and have never been known to produce any bad effects, although
+frequently eaten to excess; nor is that in the least surprising when we
+consider they feed entirely on ripe fruits, the juices, flowers, and
+according to Herodotus, "the exudations of trees."
+
+
+
+
+THE SENEGAL BAT.
+
+
+The Senegal Bat[AA] (_fig. 119._) or as it is called by some, the
+Marmotte Volante, is of a dark brown colour upon its head and back,
+with a light mixture, which increasing under the belly, renders that
+considerably paler; the tail, as well as the membrane of the wings,
+are quite black. That which I saw and had been brought from Senegal,
+by M. Adanson, was not more than four inches in length, and his wings
+extended to about 21 inches; his head was long, ears short, and his
+nose rather pointed; he had 20 teeth in the whole, two incisive, two
+canine, and eight grinders in the upper jaw and six incisive and two
+canine in the under.
+
+[Footnote AA: Of this and the two following Mr. Pennant's Synopsis
+contains very accurate descriptions.]
+
+
+
+
+THE BULL-DOG BAT.
+
+
+The Bull-Dog Bat, (_fig. 118._) has a short thick nose, and large broad
+ears, which bend forward. The greatest part of its body is a dark
+ash-colour; the middle of its belly is brown, and its chest and throat
+a clear ash, without any mixture; the tail and membrane of the wings
+are nearly black, from the latter of which there comes a part of the
+tail, composed of five false vertebræ. It has 26 teeth, two incisive,
+and two canine, in each jaw; eight grinders in the upper, and ten in
+the lower; it is not more than two inches in length, measuring from the
+top of the nose, nor does its wings extend to quite ten.
+
+
+
+
+THE BEARDED BAT.
+
+
+The head of this bat (_fig. 120._) is very peculiarly constructed; the
+nose is sunk in the front, and, contrary to all other animals, it has
+not its nostrils divided by a partition, but are placed on the sides of
+a kind of gutter entirely open from one end to the other; the exterior
+edges of them join above the upper lip, forming a cavity from thence to
+the front, where it terminates with a deep hole covered all round with
+long hairs. It has long narrow ears; the hair on the top and hind part
+of the head, along the neck, back, tail, and shoulders, is of a reddish
+brown, and all the remainder is of a yellowish white; the membrane of
+the wings and tail have a kind of mixture of black and reddish brown
+and its claws are yellow. Its body is about an inch and a half long,
+and its wings extend to about seven.
+
+_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 121. _Polatouch_]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 120. _Bearded Bat_]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 122. _Swiss Squirrel_]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 123. _Palmist_]
+
+
+
+
+THE STRIPED BAT.
+
+
+This bat is very small, has a short nose and broad ears, bending
+forward; it is of a whitish yellow colour, excepting under its throat,
+breast, and belly, which is a light blue, with a yellow shade; the
+tail, and membrane of the wings are a mixture of yellow and brown.
+
+
+
+
+THE POLATOUCH.
+
+
+I have chosen to continue the name this animal bears in Russia, its
+native country, rather than to adopt those vague and uncertain ones
+since appropriated to it, such as, the Flying-rat, Flying-squirrel, &c.
+
+The Polatouch (_fig. 121._) resembles but in a few particulars either
+the squirrel, loir, or rat. To the squirrel it has no affinity but in
+the largeness of the eyes, and form of the tail, the latter of which,
+however, is neither so long, nor bushy as in the former. He is more
+like the loir by the shape of his body, his short and naked ears, and
+the hairs of his tail, which are of the same form and length; but he
+is not like him, subject to numbness in cold weather. The polatouch
+is a different species from the squirrel rat, or dormouse, though
+he participates of the nature of all three. M. Klein gave the first
+exact description of this animal, in the Philosophical Transactions,
+1733; he was, however, known long before that time. He is found in the
+northern parts both of the ancient and New Continent,[AB] but he is
+more common in America than in Europe, where he is seldom seen, except
+in Lithuania and Russia. This little animal dwells upon trees, like the
+squirrel; he goes from branch to branch, and when he leaps from one
+tree to another, his loose skin stretches forward by his fore-legs, and
+backward by his hind ones; his skin thus stretched and drawn outwardly
+more than an inch, increases the surface of his body, without adding to
+its weight, and consequently retards the acceleration of his fall, so
+that he is enabled to reach in one leap a great distance. This motion
+is not like the flight of a bird, nor the fluttering of a bat, both
+of which are made by striking the air with repeated vibrations. It is
+one single leap, caused by the first impulsion, the motion of which is
+prolonged, because the body of the animal presents to the air a larger
+surface, and thence finds a greater resistance, and falls more slowly.
+This singular extension of the skin is peculiar to the polatouch, and
+this characteristic is sufficient to distinguish him from all other
+squirrels, rats, or dormice. But the most singular things in Nature
+are not unparalleled; there is another animal of the same kind, with a
+similar skin, which is not only stretched from one leg to another, but
+from the head to the tail. This animal, whose figure and description
+has been given by Seba, under the denomination of the flying-squirrel
+of Virginia, seems so different from the polatouch, as to constitute
+another species; though probably it may be only a simple variety, or
+an accidental and monstrous production, for no traveller or naturalist
+makes mention of it. Seba is the only one who has seen it in the
+cabinet of Vincent; and I always distrust descriptions of animals made
+in cabinets of curiosities, which are often disfigured to make them
+appear more extraordinary.
+
+[Footnote AB: The Hurons of Canada have three different species of
+squirrels. The Flying-squirrels are frequent in North America, but they
+have been lately found in Poland.]
+
+I have seen and kept a long while the living polatouch. He has been
+well described by travellers, particularly Sagard, Theodat, John of
+Laet, Fernandes, Le Hontan, Denys, Catesby, Dumont, Le Pague du Pratz,
+&c. and Messrs. Klein, Seba, and Edwards, have given exact descriptions
+of him, with his figure. What I have seen of this animal agrees with
+their relations. He is commonly smaller than a squirrel. That which we
+had weighed little more than two ounces, about the weight of a middling
+sized bat, and the squirrel weighs eight or nine ounces. However, there
+are some of a greater size, since we have a skin of a polatouch much
+larger than usual.
+
+The polatouch has some analogy with the bat by this extension of the
+skin, which unites the fore and hind legs, and supports him in the
+air; he seems also to participate of his nature, for he is quiet and
+sleepy in the day time, having no activity but towards the evening.
+He is easily tamed, but soon offended, and must be kept in a cage, or
+fastened with a small chain; he feeds upon bread, fruits, seeds, and
+is remarkably fond of the buds and shoots of the birch and pine trees.
+He does not seek after nuts and almonds like a squirrel. He makes
+a bed of leaves, in which he buries himself, and sleeps through the
+day, leaving it only in the night, or when pressed by hunger. As he
+has little agility, he becomes easily the prey of martens, and other
+animals who climb up the trees, so that the species is not numerous,
+although they have commonly three or four young at a time.
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+In the original work I remarked having seen the skin of a polatouch
+larger than the common size, but the difference was very trifling,
+to one the Prince de Condé has since permitted me to examine, whose
+bulk was perfectly gigantic, compared with those of Russia or America,
+the latter never exceeding five inches in length, and this measured
+twenty-three. It was taken upon the Malabar coast, where they are
+very common, as well as in the Philippine Islands, and other parts
+of India, where they are called taguans, or great flying squirrels;
+but notwithstanding they resemble the polatouch in figure, and the
+extension of their skin, yet I think they ought to be considered as
+different species; for among other varieties, the tail of the taguan
+is round, and that of the common kind flat; the hair of the former's
+tail is also of a blackish brown, the face is quite black, the sides of
+the head have a mixture of white hairs, and on the nose and round the
+eyes, there are also some red ones; it has long brown hairs that cover
+the neck, the whole back is a mixture of black and white, the belly of
+a dirty white; the upper part of the extended skin is brown, and the
+under a greyish yellow, the legs black with a reddish shade, the tail
+brown, deepening by degrees until it becomes quite black at the end,
+the toes are black, and the claws hooked like those of the cat, from
+which, and the resemblance of the tail, it has been called by some the
+flying cat. M. de Vosmaër, in his Description of an _Ecureuil Volant_,
+gives a very particular account of both species, as does M. l'Abbé
+Prevost, and both of which perfectly coincide with the above.
+
+At this time, March 17, 1775, I have one of the small species alive;
+I kept it in a cage, with a box at the bottom filled with cotton, in
+which it covers itself all day, and only comes out at night to seek
+for food. Whenever it is forced to come out, it cries somewhat like a
+mouse; its teeth are small, but sharp, and it bites violently; it can
+only be made to extend its wings by letting it fall from some height;
+and it is so very chilly, that I am astonished how it preserves itself
+in the northern climates, since it would very soon perish, even in
+France, if it were not supplied with plenty of cotton to cover itself
+all over.
+
+Of the Great Flying Squirrel M. de Vosmaër remarks, "that it has a
+great affinity to the smaller species described by M. de Buffon;
+they both have the same kind of membranes, with which they support
+themselves in the air when they leap from tree to tree." These animals
+were first mentioned by Valentine, who states them to be found in the
+island of Gilolo, where they are called _flying civets_; he describes
+them to have long tails, and says, when at rest their wings are not
+to be seen; that they are very wild and fearful; that their heads are
+reddish, intermixed with grey, that their membranes are covered with
+hair, their teeth so strong and sharp that they would soon escape from
+a wooden cage; that they are sometimes called _flying monkeys_; and
+that they are also to be met with in the island of Ternat, where they
+were at first mistaken for squirrels.
+
+M. l'Abbé Prevost says, it is also found in the Philippine Islands,
+where it is called _taguan_; that he saw two females, the one at the
+Hague, whose body was a light chesnut, rather darker on the back, and
+black towards the extremity of the tail; and that he had also seen
+two males in the Prince of Orange's cabinet, which were one foot five
+inches long in the body, and their tails one foot eight. The hind part
+of their heads, back, and the commencement of the tail are covered with
+long hairs, black at the bottom, and of a greyish white at the ends;
+the other part of the tail is black, and the hair is so disposed as to
+make the tail have a round appearance, the cheeks are brown, and their
+throats, breasts, and bellies are of a whitish grey. The membranes are
+the thinnest in the middle where they are covered with chesnut hairs,
+increasing in thickness towards the paws, and the colour growing darker
+until it is nearly black at the extremities.
+
+
+
+
+THE GREY SQUIRREL.
+
+
+This animal is found in the northern parts of both continents. He is in
+shape like a common squirrel, and his external difference consists in
+his being larger, and the colour of his hair not being red, but of a
+grey more or less deep; his ears are not so hairy towards the extremity
+as those of our squirrels. These differences, which are constant, seem
+sufficient to constitute a particular species. Many authors think this
+species is different in Europe and America, and that the grey squirrels
+of the former are of the common kind, and that they change their colour
+with the season in the northern climates. Without denying absolutely
+this assertion, which does not seem sufficiently proved, we look upon
+the grey squirrel of Europe and America as the same animal, and as a
+distinct species from common squirrels, who are found in the northern
+parts of both continents, being of the same size, and of a red, more or
+less bright according to the temperature of the country.
+
+At the same time, other squirrels of a larger size, whose hair is grey,
+or somewhat black, in all seasons, breed in the same latitude. Besides,
+the fur of the grey squirrel is more fine and soft than that of our
+squirrels; we are, therefore, authorised to believe that though very
+nearly alike, they ought to be distinguished as different species.
+
+M. Regnard says affirmatively, that the grey squirrels of Lapland are
+the same animals as the French squirrels. This assertion is so positive
+that it would be satisfactory were it not contradicted by others; M.
+Regnard has written excellent dramatic pieces, but he did not give a
+sufficient application to Natural History, nor did he continue long
+enough in Lapland to see the squirrels change their colour. It is true
+that some naturalists, and among them Linnæus, have said, that in the
+north of Europe the hair of the squirrel changes colour in the winter.
+This may be true, for the hares, wolves, and weasels, also change their
+colour in those climates; but from red they grow white, not grey; and
+to give no other instance but that of the squirrel, Linnæus in the
+_Fauna Suecica_, says, _æstate ruber hieme incanus_, consequently
+from red he becomes white; and we do not see why this author should
+substitute for the word _incanus_ that of _cinereus_, which is found
+in the last edition of the _Systema Naturæ_. M. Klein asserts, on the
+contrary, that the squirrels in the vicinity of Dantzic, are red in the
+winter as well as in the summer, and that there are others frequently
+found in Poland grey and blackish, who do not change their colour any
+more than the red; these last also breed in Canada, and in all parts
+of North America, consequently we may consider the grey squirrel as an
+animal common to both continents, and of a different species from that
+of the common squirrel.
+
+Besides, we do not perceive that the squirrels which are very frequent
+in our forests unite in troops; we do not see them travel in companies,
+approach the waters, nor cross rivers upon the bark of trees. Thus
+they differ from the grey squirrels, not only in size and colour but
+in natural habits; for although the navigations of the grey squirrels
+seem almost incredible, they are attested by so many witnesses that we
+cannot deny the fact.[AC]
+
+[Footnote AC: The grey squirrels frequently remove their place of
+residence, and it not unoften happens that not one can be seen one
+winter where they were in multitudes the year before; they go in
+large bodies, and when they want to cross a lake or river, they seize
+a piece of the bark of a birch or lime, and drawing it to the edge
+of the water, get upon it, and trust themselves to the hazard of the
+wind and waves, erecting their tails to serve the purpose of sails;
+they sometimes form a fleet of three or four thousand, and if the
+wind proves too strong, a general shipwreck ensues, to the no small
+emolument of the Laplander who may fortunately find their bodies on the
+shore, as, if they have not lain too long, their furs will prepare in
+the usual manner; but if the winds are favourable they are certain to
+make their desired port. _Oeuvres de M. Regnard, tom. i. p. 163._]
+
+Of all quadrupeds that are not domestic, the squirrel is, perhaps, the
+most subject to vary in shape and colour, and whose species has the
+greatest numbers of others that approach it. The white squirrel of
+Siberia seems to differ only in colour from our common squirrel. The
+black and the grey of America are, perhaps, only varieties of the grey
+squirrel. The squirrels of Barbary, Switzerland, and the palmist, are
+three species very much like each other.
+
+We have very little information with regard to the grey squirrel.
+Fernandes says, that the grey or blackish squirrels of America dwell
+upon trees, particularly upon pines; that they feed upon fruits and
+seeds; that they provide provisions for the winter, and heap it up in
+some hollow tree, where they retire during that season, and where the
+female brings forth her young. The grey squirrel differs, then, from
+the others who make their nests at the tops of trees like birds, yet
+we do not pretend to affirm that the blackish squirrel, mentioned by
+Fernandes, is the same as the grey squirrel of Virginia, or that both
+of them are the same as the grey squirrel of Europe; we only think it
+is probable, as these three animals are nearly of the same size and
+colour, inhabit the same climates, are precisely of a similar form, and
+their skins being equally used in the furs, called the fur of the grey
+squirrel.
+
+
+
+
+THE PALMIST, THE SQUIRRELS OF BARBARY AND SWITZERLAND.
+
+
+The palmist is about the size of a rat, or a small squirrel; he lives
+upon the palm-trees, from which he takes his name. Some call him the
+palm-rat, and others the palm-tree squirrel; but as he is neither a rat
+nor a squirrel, we call him palmist. (_fig. 123._) His head is nearly
+the same form as that of the campagnol, and covered with rough hair.
+His long tail does not lie on the ground, like that of the rat, but
+he carries it erect vertically, without, however, throwing it down on
+his back like the squirrel; it is covered with hair longer than that
+of his body, but shorter than the hair of the tail of a squirrel. His
+back is variegated with white and brown stripes, which distinguish
+the palmist from all other animals, except the squirrels of Barbary
+and Switzerland. These three animals are so much alike, that Mr. Ray
+thought they made but one species; but if we consider that the palmist
+and the squirrel of Barbary, are only found in the warm climates of the
+ancient continent, and that the squirrel of Switzerland, described by
+Lister, Catesby, and Edwards, is only to be met with in the cold and
+temperate regions of the New World, we must judge them to be different
+species. By minute observation it is easy to perceive that the white
+and brown stripes of the Swiss are disposed differently from those of
+the palmist, whose white stripe extends all along the back, while it
+is black or brown in the Swiss; and this brown stripe in the latter
+is followed by a white stripe, in the same manner as the white stripe
+in the former is by a brown; besides, the palmist has but three white
+stripes, while the Swiss has four; he also brings down his tail on
+his back, which the palmist does not: the latter dwells upon trees,
+and the Swiss is an inhabitant of the earth; from which difference he
+is called the land squirrel. In fine, he is smaller than the palmist,
+consequently there can be no doubt of their being two different species.
+
+As for the squirrel of Barbary, as he is of the same continent and
+climate, of the same size, and nearly the same form as the palmist,
+they might be considered as varieties of the same species; yet in
+comparing the description and figure of the squirrel of Barbary, given
+by Caius, and copied by Aldrovandus and Johnson, with the description
+given here of the palmist, and comparing afterwards the description
+and figure of the squirrel of Barbary, given by Edwards, it is easy to
+discern that they are different animals. We have seen them all in the
+king's cabinet. The squirrel of Barbary has the head and forehead more
+round, the ears longer, and the tail more bushy than the palmist; he is
+more like a squirrel than a rat, by the form of his head and body; and
+a palmist resembles more 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 back bone, but that on the squirrel
+of Barbary is brown and red. These animals have very near the same
+habits and dispositions as the common squirrel. Like him they feed upon
+fruit, and use their fore paws in carrying it to the mouth; they have
+the same voice and cry, the same instinct, and agility; they are lively
+and tractable, easily tamed, and so fond of their habitations, that
+they never go out but on diversion, and return spontaneously to their
+residence. They are both of a pretty figure; their coats, which has
+white stripes, is more valuable than that of the squirrel; their size
+is shorter, their body lighter, and their motions equally quick. The
+palmist, and the squirrel of Barbary, dwell on trees like the common
+squirrel, but the Swiss lives upon the 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 completely tamed, from which it appears he is more like a rat,
+or a field mouse, than a squirrel, by instinct and nature.
+
+_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 124. _Great Ant Eater._]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 125. _Short tail'd Manis._]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 126. _Long tail'd Ditto._]
+
+
+
+
+THE ANT EATERS.
+
+
+South America produces three animals with a long snout, a small mouth,
+without teeth, and a large round tongue; with which they penetrate
+into the ants' nests, and draw them out again when covered with those
+insects, which are their principal food. The first of these ant-eaters
+is that which the Brasilians call Tamandua-Gaucu, or Great Tamandua,
+and to which the French settled in America have given the name of
+Tamanoir. This animal (_fig. 124._) is about four feet in length from
+the extremity of the muzzle to the origin of its tail; his head is
+fourteen or fifteen inches long, his muzzle stretches out to a great
+length; his tail is two feet and a half long, is covered with rough
+hair, more than a foot in length; his neck is short, his head narrow,
+his eyes black and small, his ears round, his tongue thin, more than
+two feet long, and which he folds up in his mouth. 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 hair of his tail and body are black and white. Upon the tail
+they are disposed in a bunch, which he turns up on his back, and covers
+with it his whole body, when he is inclined to sleep, or wants to
+shelter himself from the rain or heat of the sun. The long hair of his
+tail and of his body is not round in all its extent; it is flat towards
+the ends, 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 sweeps along the ground. The hair of the fore-part of his body is
+longer than that on the hind part. On the neck and back it is somewhat
+erect, and towards the tail, and on the flanks, close to the skin; his
+fore-parts are variegated with white, and his hind-parts wholly black;
+he has also a white stripe on the breast, which extends on the sides
+of the body and terminates on the back near the thighs; his hind-legs
+are almost black, and the fore-legs almost white, with a large black
+spot towards the middle. The Great Ant-eater moves so slow that a man
+can easily overtake him in running; his feet seem less calculated to
+walk than to climb, and to fasten round bodies; for he holds so fast a
+branch, or a stick, that it is not possible to force it from him.
+
+The second of these animals is called by the Americans only Tamandua;
+he is much smaller than the former, being not above eighteen inches
+from the extremities of the muzzle to the tail; his head is five inches
+long, his muzzle crooked, and long; his tail ten inches long, without
+hair at the end; his ears are erect, and about an inch long; his tongue
+is round, eight inches long, and placed in a sort of hollow canal
+within the lower 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
+Great Ant-Eater. He climbs and holds fast a branch, or a stick, like
+the former, and his motions are equally slow. He cannot cover himself
+with his tail, the hair being short, and the end almost bare. When he
+sleeps he hides his head under his neck and fore-legs.
+
+The third of these animals, the natives of Guiana call _ouatiriouaou_.
+He is still smaller than the second, being not above six or seven
+inches in length from the extremities of the snout to the tail; his
+head is two inches long; and his muzzle proportionally short; his tail
+is seven inches in length, the hair curls downwards, and it is bare
+at the end; his tongue is narrow, long, and flat; his neck is very
+short, his head big in proportion to the body; his eyes are placed low,
+and at a little distance from the corners of the mouth, his ears are
+small, and hidden by the hair; his legs are but three inches long, the
+fore-feet have only two claws, the outward of which is much thicker
+and longer than the inward; the hind feet have four claws, the hair of
+the body is about nine inches long; smooth, and of a shining colour,
+diversified with red and yellow, his feet are not made to walk, but to
+climb and to take hold of branches of trees, on which he hangs himself
+by the extremity of his tail.
+
+We know of these kind of animals only the three species we have
+mentioned. M. Brisson, after Seba, speaks of a fourth species, under
+the denomination of the _long-eared ant-eater_, but we doubt its
+existence; because Seba has been guilty of more than one error in
+enumerating animals of this kind; he says expressly, "we preserve in
+our cabinet six species called ant-eaters," and yet he gave only a
+description of five; and amongst them he reckoned the _ysquiepatl_, or
+_mouffette_, an animal, not only of a species, but even of a genus,
+widely different from the ant-eaters, as he has teeth, and a flat
+short tongue, like other quadrupeds, and comes very near a kind of
+weasels or martens. Out of these six species, pretended to be preserved
+in the cabinet of Seba, four only remain, as the ysquiepatl, which
+he reckoned the fifth, is no ant-eater, and the sixth is not even
+mentioned, unless the author meant to comprehend among these animals
+the _Pangolin_ or scaly lizard, which he does not intimate in his
+description of that animal. The scaly lizard feeds upon ants; he has
+a long muzzle, a narrow mouth, without visible teeth, and the tongue
+round; characteristics which he has in common with ant-eaters; but
+he differs from it as well as from all other quadrupeds, by having
+the body covered with thick scales instead of hair. Besides, this
+animal belongs to the hottest climates of the old continent, and the
+ant-eaters, whose bodies are covered with hair, are found only in the
+southern parts of the new world. There are therefore no more than
+four species instead of six, mentioned by Seba, and out of these four
+there is but one species discernible by its description; which is
+our third or smallest ant-eater, to whom Seba allows but one claw to
+each foot, though he has two. The three others are so imperfectly
+described, that they cannot be traced to their true species. One may
+judge by this of the credit which Seba's voluminous book deserves.
+This animal which he calls _tamandua murmecophage_ of America, and
+the figure of which he has given[AD], cannot be compared with either
+of the three we are now treating of, it is sufficient to be convinced
+of his error by reading his description. The second which he terms
+_tamandua-guacu_ of Brasil, or the _bear ant-eater_, is described in
+a vague, equivocal manner; yet I am inclined to think with Klein and
+Linnæus, that he meant the true tamandua-guacu, or great ant-eater, but
+it is so badly described, and so imperfectly represented, that Linnæus
+has comprehended, under one species, the first and second of Seba's
+animals. M. Brisson considered the last as a particular species, but I
+do not believe his establishment of this species better founded than
+his criticism on M. Klein, for having confounded it with that of the
+great ant-eater. The only just reproach M. Klein has incurred, is to
+have added to the good description he has given of this animal, the
+erroneous indications of Seba. In fine, the third of these animals,
+whose figure is given in that work, is so badly described, that I
+cannot persuade myself, notwithstanding the respect I have for Linnæus
+and Brisson's authority, this animal from Seba's description and figure
+can be the middle ant-eater; I only wish that his description may
+be attended to in order to judge of its fallacy. These discussions,
+although tedious and disagreeable, cannot be avoided in the details of
+a Natural History. Before we write upon a subject very little known, we
+must, as much as possible, remove all obscurities, and point out the
+numberless errors before we can come to the truth. The result of this
+criticism is a proof that three species of ant-eaters really exist,
+namely the _tamanoir_, the _tamandua_, and the _ouatiriouaou_, and that
+the fourth called the _long-eared ant-eaters_, mentioned by M. Brisson,
+is doubtful, as well as the other species indicated by Seba. I have
+seen the first and last with their skins, in the king's cabinet; and
+they are certainly very different from each other. We have not seen the
+tamandua, but have described it, after Piso and Marcgrave, the only
+authors that ought to be consulted upon this animal, as all others
+have only copied them. The tamandua, and the small ant-eater have the
+extremities of their tails bare, with which they hang on the branches
+of trees, and when they perceive hollows, they put their tongues
+within, and draw them instantly back in their mouths, to swallow the
+insects which they have gathered.
+
+[Footnote AD: Seba, tom. I, p. 60, tab. 37. fig. 2.]
+
+These three animals, so different in size and proportions of the body,
+have many things in common, both as to conformation and instinct. All
+feed upon ants, and put their tongues into honey, and other liquid
+and viscous substances; they gather quickly crumbs of bread and small
+pieces of meat; they are easily tamed; they can subsist a long while
+without food; they do not swallow all the liquor which they take into
+their mouths, a part returning through their nostrils; they commonly
+sleep in the day-time, and change their station in the night; they go
+so slow that a man may overtake them easily whilst running in open
+ground. The savages eat their flesh, but which has an unsavoury taste.
+
+The great ant-eater looks, at a distance, like a fox, and for that
+reason some travellers call him the American fox; he is strong enough
+to defend himself against a large dog, and even the jaguar. When
+attacked he at first fights standing on his hind legs, like the bear,
+and makes use of his fore claws, which are powerful weapons; afterwards
+he lies down on his back, and uses all four feet, and in that situation
+he is almost invincible, and fights with obstinacy till the last
+extremity; even after he has put to death his adversary he keeps hold
+of him a long while. He maintains the fight longer than most animals,
+from being 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 three ant-eaters are natives of the hottest climates of America,
+are found in Brasil, Guiana, the country of the Amazons, &c. but they
+are not met with in Canada, or in the northern regions of the new
+world, they consequently do not belong to the ancient continent; yet
+Kolbe and Desmarchais have stated these animals to live in Africa, but
+they seem to have confounded the scaly lizard with the ant-eaters.
+Perhaps this mistake is in consequence of a passage of Marcgrave, who
+says: "_Tamandua-guacu Brasiliensibus, congensibus (ubi et frequens
+est) umbula dictus_;" but Marcgrave certainly never saw this animal in
+Africa, since he confesses that he had seen only his skin in America.
+Desmarchais only says that the great ant-eater is found in Africa as
+well as America, but he adds no circumstance to prove this fact. In
+regard to Kolbe's attestation, we reckon it nothing, for a man who
+has seen at the Cape of Good Hope, elks and lynxes, like those of
+Prussia, might also see the ant-eaters in the same climate. But they
+are not mentioned by any authors among the animals of Asia or Africa,
+while all the travellers, and most of the historians, of America, make
+a particular mention of them. De Lery, de Laët, Father d'Abbeville,
+Maffèe, Faber, Nieremberg, and M. de la Condamine, agree with Piso and
+Barrere, in declaring that the ant-eaters are peculiar to the warm
+countries of America; thus we cannot doubt that Desmarchais and Kolbe
+were mistaken, and that these three species of animals do not exist in
+the ancient continents.
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+I have received from M. Maudhuit, residing at Guiana, an ant-eater in
+excellent condition, which appears to be of the same species as those
+just described, differing somewhat in the length of the muzzle and the
+toes.
+
+M. de la Borde has also transmitted several particulars; he says,
+"There are two species of ant-eaters which inhabit the woods of Guiana,
+the one larger than the other; they run very slow, and when they swim
+across large rivers which is a common practice, it is easy to knock
+them on the head with a stick; but in the woods it is necessary to use
+muskets, for the dogs refuse to hunt them. The great ant-eater tears up
+the nests of wood-lice, which he easily discovers; he is a dangerous
+animal to encounter, as he gives most severe wounds with his claws,
+with which he successfully defends himself against the most fierce
+animal of this continent, such as the jaguars, cougars, &c. and with
+which he also kills many dogs, who are therefore afraid of him. He is
+said to feed on ants, for which his tongue appeared well calculated,
+but I found in the stomach of one a great number of wood-lice, which
+had just been swallowed. The females bring forth in the holes of trees,
+and have one at a time, and at those periods they will even attack
+men. The savages at Cayenne eat the flesh, although it is black and
+unsavory; their skins are thick and hard; they do not attain their
+full size before they are four years old; and the whole of their
+respiration is performed through their nostrils. The smaller one has
+whitish hair, about two inches long; it has no teeth, but its claws
+are very long; this, as well as the former feeds during the night; the
+female also has but one at a time, and they perfectly resemble each
+other, but the latter is more scarce to be met with than the former."
+
+This gentleman sent me also the following remarks upon our third
+species. "It has bright hair, rather of a golden colour; it feeds upon
+ants, which adhere to its tongue; it is not bigger than a squirrel,
+runs very slow, and is easily taken; it fixes itself so fast to a stick
+or branch that it may be carried in that manner to any distance, and
+they are frequently found thus fixed; these, like the former bring
+forth but one at a time, in the holes of trees, and feed also in the
+night; they are not by any means scarce, though it is difficult to
+distinguish them on the trees."
+
+
+
+
+THE LONG AND THE SHORT-TAILED MANIS.
+
+
+These animals are commonly known under the name of scaly lizards; we
+reject this denomination; 1st, because it is a compound; 2dly, because
+it is ambiguous, and applied to both species; 3dly, because it is
+wrongly imagined; these animals being not only of another species,
+but even of a different class, than the lizards, which are oviparous
+reptiles, while the pangolin, and the phatagen, as they are called in
+their native countries of the east, are viviparous quadrupeds.
+
+All lizards are covered with a sleek speckled skin, in representation
+of scales, but these animals have no scales on their throat, breast,
+or belly, the phatagen, or long-tailed manis, (_fig. 126._) like
+other quadrupeds, has hair on all these under parts of the body; the
+pangolin, or short-tailed manis (_fig. 125._) has nothing but a smooth
+skin without hair. The scales with which all the other parts of the
+bodies of these two animals are covered do not stick to the skin,
+they are only strongly fixed at the lower parts, being moveable, like
+the quills of a porcupine, at the will of the animal; they raise these
+scales when exasperated, and when particularly so, they roll themselves
+up like a ball, resembling the hedge-hog: these scales are so big,
+so hard, and so sharp, that they repel all animals of prey; it is an
+offensive armour which wounds while it resists. The most cruel and
+voracious animals, such as the tiger and the panther, make but useless
+efforts to devour these animals, they tread upon, and roll them about,
+but when they attempt to seize them, they receive severe wounds; they
+can neither destroy them by violence, nor bruize, or smother them with
+their weight. The fox is averse to attacking the hedge-hog when rolled
+up, but he forces him to stretch himself by treading on, and squeezing
+him with all his weight, and as soon as his head appears, he seizes the
+snout, and thus secures him as a prey. But of all quadrupeds, without
+even excepting the porcupine, the armour of the manis is the strongest
+and most offensive, and which animals, by contracting their bodies and
+presenting their weapons, brave the fury of all their enemies. When
+they contract themselves, they do not take, like the hedge-hog, a
+globose figure, but form an oblong, their thick and long tail remaining
+outwardly and encircling their bodies; this exterior part, by which it
+would seem these animals could be seized, carries its own defence; it
+is covered with scales equally hard and sharp as those with which the
+body is cloathed, and as it is convex upwards and flat below, nearly in
+the form of half a pyramid, the sides are covered with square scales
+folding in a right angle, as thick and as cutting as the others, so
+that the tail seems to be still more strongly armed than the body, the
+under parts of which are unprovided with scales.
+
+The short-tailed manis is larger than the long-tailed kind; his fore
+feet are covered with scales, but the feet of the latter, and part of
+his fore legs are clothed with hair only. The former has also larger
+scales, thicker, more convex, uniformly cutting, and not so close as
+those of the latter, which are armed with three sharp points; he is
+also hairy upon the belly; the other has no hair on that part of his
+body, but between the scales which cover his back, some thick and long
+hair issues like the bristles of a hog, which are not on the back
+of the long-tailed species. These are all the essential differences
+which we have observed in the skins of both these animals, and which
+distinguish them from all other quadrupeds so much, that they have been
+looked upon as a species of monsters. From these general and constant
+differences, we dare affirm them to be two animals of distinct species.
+We have discovered their analogies and differences, not only by the
+inspection of three of them, which we have seen, but also by comparing
+all which has been observed by travellers and naturalists.
+
+The short-tailed manis is from six to eight feet in length, his tail
+included, when he comes to his full growth; the tail is nearly as
+long as the body, though it appears shorter when the animal is young;
+the scales are not then so large nor so thick, and of a pale colour;
+the colour becomes deeper in the adult, and the scales acquire such
+a hardness, as to resist a musket ball. Both these animals have some
+affinity with the great and middle ant-eater, for like them they feed
+on ants, have very long tongues, narrow mouths, without apparent teeth;
+their bodies and tails are also very long, and the claws of their
+feet very near of the same length and the same form, but they have
+five toes on each foot, while the great and middle ant-eaters have
+but four to their fore feet; these are covered with hair, the others
+are armed with scales; and besides they are not natives of the same
+continent. The ant-eaters are found in America, and both the species
+of the manis belong to the East Indies and Africa, where the negroes
+call them _quogelo_; they eat their flesh, which they reckon a delicate
+wholesome food, and use their scales for different purposes. They have
+nothing forbidding but their figure; they are gentle and innocent,
+feeding upon insects only; they never run fast, and cannot escape the
+pursuit of men, except by hiding themselves in hollow rocks, or in
+holes, which they dig themselves, and in which they breed. They are two
+extraordinary species, not numerous, and seemingly useless: their odd
+form seems to exist as an intermediate class betwixt the quadrupeds and
+reptiles.
+
+
+
+
+THE ARMADILLO.
+
+
+When we speak of a quadruped, the very name seems to carry the idea
+of an animal covered with hair; as when we mention a bird, or fish,
+feathers and scales present themselves to our imagination, and seem
+to be inseparable attributes of those beings: yet Nature, as if
+willing to deviate from this characteristic uniformity, and to elude
+our views, offers herself, contrary to our general ideas, and in
+contradiction to our denominations and characters, and amazes more by
+her exceptions than by her laws. Quadrupeds, 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 neither superior in every thing,
+nor separated by constant attributes from all other animals. The first
+of those characters which constitutes their name, and which consists
+in having four feet, is common to lizards, frogs, &c. which differ,
+however, from quadrupeds in so many other respects, as to make them
+be considered as a separate class. The second general property, to
+produce young alive, is not peculiar to quadrupeds, since it is also
+common with cetaceous animals. And the third attribute, which seems the
+less equivocal, as it is the most apparent, that of being covered with
+hair, exists not in several species which cannot be excluded from the
+class of quadrupeds, since this single characteristic excepted, they
+are like them in all other respects: and, as these exceptions of nature
+are but gradations calculated to join in a general chain, the links
+of the most distant beings, we should seize these singular relations
+as they offer themselves to our view. The armadillos, instead of hair,
+are covered, like turtles, craw-fish, &c. with a solid crust. The
+manis is armed with scales like fish; the porcupine carries a sort of
+prickly feathers, the quill of which is like that of the birds. Thus
+in the class of quadrupeds, and in the most constant characteristic
+of these animals, that of being covered with hairs, Nature varies in
+bringing them near the three different classes of birds, fishes, and
+the crustaceous kinds. We must be cautious then in judging of the
+nature of beings by one single character, as that would always lead us
+into error; even two or three characters, though general, are often
+insufficient, and it is only, as we have often repeated, by the union
+of all the attributes, and by enumerating all the characters, that we
+can judge of the essential qualities of the productions of nature. A
+good description without definitions, an exposition more exact on the
+differences than the analogies, a particular attention to exceptions
+and almost imperceptible gradations, are the true rules, and I dare
+assert, the only means of estimating nature. If the time lost in
+forming definitions had been employed in making good descriptions, we
+should not at this day have found Natural History in its infancy; we
+should have had less trouble in taking off her bawbles, disentangling
+her from her swaddling clothes, and, perhaps, have anticipated her slow
+discoveries, for we should have written more for science; and less
+against error.
+
+But to return to our subject; it appears then that there exists
+several species of animals which are not covered with hair among the
+viviparous quadrupeds. Armadillos form alone a whole genus, in which
+may be reckoned many distinct species, all of whom are, however,
+covered with a crust, resembling bone; it covers the head, neck,
+back, flanks, rump, and the tail, to the very extremity. The crust
+is covered with a thin skin, sleek and transparent: the only parts
+that are not sheltered by this buckler are the throat, breast, and
+belly, which have a white grainy skin, like that of a plucked fowl, by
+inspecting these parts with attention, we perceive the rudiments of
+scales of the same substance as the crust; the skin of these animals,
+even in the places where it is most soft, is therefore inclined to
+become bony, but the ossification is only realized on the superior and
+external parts of the body. This crust is not in one piece, like that
+of the turtle, but consists of several bands, joined to each other
+by membranes, which allow this armour a degree of motion. The number
+of these bands does not depend, as might be imagined, on the age of
+the animal. The young armadillos, and the adults, have the same number
+of stripes, of which we have been convinced by comparing them; and
+though we cannot be certain that all these animals do not intermix
+and produce promiscuously, yet it is very probable, that since the
+difference in the number of these moveable bands is constant, they are
+really distinct species, or at least lasting varieties, produced by the
+influence of various climates. In this uncertainty, which time alone
+can remove, we have thought proper to mention all the armadillos under
+one head, enumerating each of them as if they were, in fact, so many
+different species.
+
+Father d'Abbeville seems to be the first who has distinguished them by
+different names or epithets, and which have been, for the most part,
+adopted by the authors who have written after him. He has clearly
+indicated six species of them: first, _tatououasso_, or, as we call
+it, twelve-banded armadillo; 2. the _tatouette_, or eight-banded; 3.
+the _encuberto_ of Marcgrave, or six-banded; 4. the _tatua-apara_,
+or three-banded; 5. the _cinquinçon_, or eighteen-banded; 6.
+_cachichame_, or nineteen-banded. Other travellers have confounded the
+species; but we have borrowed only the description of the _apar_ and
+the _cinquinçon_, having seen the other four.
+
+All, except the _cinquinçon_ have two long bucklers, one at the
+shoulders, and another on the rump; they each consist of one solid
+piece; but the cuirass, which is also bony, and covers the body, is
+transversely divided, and parted into more or less moveable bands,
+separated from each other by a flexible skin. But the _cinquinçon_ has
+but one buckler, and that on his shoulder, the rump being covered with
+moveable bands, like those of the cuirass of the body. But we shall now
+proceed to a description of them particularly.
+
+
+
+
+THE THREE-BANDED ARMADILLO.
+
+
+The first author who described this animal was Clusius, and though his
+description was from a drawing only, it is evidently the same species
+which Marcgrave calls the _tatua-apara_; from its three moveable
+stripes, and its short tail; he has an oblong head, almost pyramidal;
+the snout sharp, small eyes, short round ears, and the upper part of
+the head covered with a helmet of one piece; he has five claws to each
+foot; the two middle claws of the fore feet are very long, and the
+two lateral shorter; the fifth, which projects, is the least. In the
+hind feet they are shorter and more even. The tail is but two inches
+in length, and is entirely covered with a crust; the body is a foot
+long, and above eight inches in its largest breadth. The cuirass, which
+covers it, is divided into four parts, and composed of three moveable
+transverse bands, which give the animal liberty to bend and contract
+his body in a round form; the skin between the stripes is very supple.
+The bucklers which cover the shoulders and rump are composed of five
+pieces, equally disposed in five angles; the three moveable bands
+betwixt these two bucklers consist of square pieces, ornamented with
+little scales of a straw colour. Marcgrave adds, that when he lies down
+to sleep, or any person touches him, he brings his fore feet together,
+lays his head under his belly, and bends himself so perfectly round
+that he looks more like a sea-shell than a terrestrial animal. This
+contraction is made with the assistance of two great muscles on the
+sides of his body, and the strongest man finds it difficult to force
+him with his hands to stretch out. Piso, and Ray, have added nothing
+to the description of Marcgrave, but it is singular that Seba, who
+has given us a description and figure of this animal evidently copied
+after Marcgrave, not only not mentions that author, but tells us, "that
+no naturalist has known this animal, that it is extremely scarce, and
+found in the most remote countries of the East Indies," when in fact
+this animal is well described by Marcgrave, and the species is well
+known, not indeed in the East Indies, but in America, where it is very
+common. The only real difference between the description of Seba, and
+that of Marcgrave is, that the latter gives the animal five claws to
+each foot, and Seba allows him but four, and yet they evidently speak
+of the same animal.
+
+_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 127. _Six Banded Armadillo._]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 128. _Long-tailed Armadillo._]
+
+Fabius Calumna has given the description and figure of an armadillo
+contracted into a ball, which seems to have had four moveable bands,
+but as this author was absolutely unacquainted with the animal, whose
+skin or shell he has described, as he did not even know the name of
+the armadillo, though mentioned by Bellon fifty years before, but gave
+him a Greek name, (_cheloniscus_); besides, as he confesses, that the
+skin had been pasted together, and wanted several pieces, we do not
+see ourselves authorised to pronounce, as our modern nomenclators have
+done, that a species of armadillo, with four moveable bands, exists in
+Nature; and more especially since these imperfect indications given in
+1606, by Fabius Calumna, no mention is made of it in the works of any
+naturalists; and, if he really did exist, he certainly would have been
+introduced into some cabinets, or have been observed by some travellers.
+
+
+
+
+THE SIX BANDED.
+
+
+This species (_fig._ 127) is larger than the former; he has the upper
+part of the head, neck, body, legs, and tail, covered with a very hard
+crust, composed of several large pieces, elegantly disposed. He has
+a buckler on each shoulder, and another on the rump, each of which
+are in one piece; only there is beyond the buckler on the shoulders,
+and near the head a moveable band, which enables the animal to bend
+its neck. The buckler on the shoulders is formed by five parallel
+rows, composed of pieces which represent five angles, with an oval
+in each; the cuirass on the back, that is the part betwixt the two
+bucklers, is divided into six bands, which are united together and to
+the bucklers, by seven joints of a supple and thick skin. These bands
+are composed of large square pieces; from the skin of these joints
+some white hairs issue out, like those on the breast and belly; all
+these inferior parts are covered only by a grainy skin, and not by a
+crustaceous substance like the upper. The buckler on the rump has a
+border, the mosaic work of which is similar to that of the moveable
+bands, and the rest consists of pieces like those of the bucklers of
+the shoulders. The crust of the head is long, broad, and consists of
+one piece, extending to the moveable band on the neck. He has a sharp
+muzzle, small and hollow eyes, a narrow and sharp tongue; the ears are
+without hair, naked, short, and brown, like the skin of the joints;
+he has eighteen teeth in each jaw, five claws to each foot, long, in
+a round form, and rather narrow; the head and the snout are like
+those of a pig, the tail is thick at its origin, diminishing gradually
+towards the extremity, where it is very slender and round. The colour
+of the body is a reddish yellow; the animal is commonly thick and fat,
+and the male has the sexual organ very visible; he digs into the ground
+with great facility with his snout and claws; he dwells in the day-time
+underground, and only goes out towards the evening to seek for food; he
+drinks often, lives upon fruit, roots, insects, and birds, when he can
+catch them.
+
+
+
+
+THE EIGHT BANDED.
+
+
+This is not so large as the last, he has a small head, a sharp snout,
+the ears erect, and rather long, the tail still longer, and the legs
+rather short. He has small black eyes, four toes on the fore-feet, and
+five on those behind; the head is covered with a helmet, the shoulders
+and rump with shields, and the body with a cuirass composed of eight
+moveable bands connected together, and with the bucklers, by nine
+joints of a flexible skin; the tail has also a similar number of bands.
+The colour of the cuirass on the back is iron grey, and on the flanks
+and tail of a light grey with spots of iron grey. The belly is covered
+with a whitish skin, grainy and hairy. The individual of this species,
+described by Marcgrave, had a head three inches long, the ears near
+two, the legs about three, the two middle toes of the fore-feet an
+inch; the body from the neck to the origin of the tail seven inches,
+and the tail nine inches in length; the bucklers had small white spots;
+the moveable bands were marked by triangular figures; this crust was
+not hard, being penetrable to the smallest shot which would kill the
+animal, whose flesh is very white, and good to eat.
+
+
+
+
+THE NINE BANDED.
+
+
+Nieremberg has described this animal very imperfectly: Wormius and Grew
+have described him much better. The individual which Wormius mentioned
+was adult, and one of the largest of the species; that of Grew was
+younger and smaller. We shall only give their descriptions as far as
+they agree with our own specimens. Besides, it may be presumed, that
+this nine-striped armadillo is not really a distinct species from
+the eight, which he resembles in every other respect. We have two
+eight-banded armadillos which are dried, and seem to be both males; we
+have seven or eight with nine bands, one well preserved, which is a
+female, and the others are so dried up that we could not discern the
+sex. It is probable, therefore, that the eight-banded is the male and
+the nine-banded the female. But this is merely a conjecture for we
+shall give in the following article the description of two armadillos,
+one of which has more rows than the other upon the buckler on the rump,
+and yet they are so alike in every other respect, that one should be
+inclined to think this difference arises only from that of the sex, for
+it is not improbable, that greater numbers of these moveable bands may
+be necessary to facilitate the gestation and delivery of the female.
+The head of the armadillo, the skin of which Wormius has described,
+was five inches from the end of the snout to the ears, and eighteen
+inches from the ears to the tail, which last was a foot in length, and
+composed of twelve rings. The head of that described by Grew was three
+inches, the body seven and a half, and the tail eleven; the proportions
+of the head and body agree, but the difference of the tail is too
+great; and it is probable that the tail of that described by Wormius
+had been broken, for it should have exceeded a foot in length. As in
+this species the tail diminishes to the size of an awl, and is, at the
+same time, very brittle; few of the skins therefore have the whole tail
+preserved as that described by Grew.
+
+
+
+
+THE TWELVE BANDED.
+
+
+This seems to be the largest of the species. He has a larger and
+broader head, and a snout not so sharp as the others; his legs and feet
+are thicker, and his tail has not any crust; a particularity which is
+alone sufficient to distinguish this species from all others. He has
+five toes on each foot, and twelve moveable bands. The buckler on
+the shoulders is formed of five or six rows, each composed of large
+quadrangular pieces. The moveable bands are also formed of large
+pieces, almost square; those which compose the buckler on the rump are
+like those on the shoulder. The helmet of the head consists of large
+irregular pieces. Between the joints of the moveable bands and in the
+other parts of the armour, there appear some hairs like the bristles
+of a hog; there are also upon his breast, belly, legs, and tail, round
+scales, almost imperceptible, hard and polished like the crust, and
+between which are small tufts of hair. The pieces which compose the
+helmet, the two bucklers, and the cuirass, being proportionally larger
+and less in number in this than in other armadillos, evidently prove he
+is the largest of the kind. The head of that from which we took this
+description was seven inches long, and the body twenty-one.
+
+
+
+
+THE EIGHTEEN BANDED.
+
+
+Mr. Grew first described this animal from a skin preserved in the
+cabinet of the Royal Society in London. All the other armadillos have
+two bucklers, one on the shoulders, and the other on the rump, but
+this has but one, which is upon his shoulders. He is called the weasel
+armadillo, because his head is nearly of the same form as a weasel.
+From the description of this animal given by Grew, it appears, that
+his body is about ten inches in length, his head three, and his tail
+five; the legs two or three inches in height; the forehead large and
+flat, small eyes, and the ears an inch long, he has five toes on each
+foot, the three in the middle being the largest. The armour of the
+head and legs is composed of round scales, about a quarter of an inch
+diameter, that on the neck consisted of one piece, as did the buckler
+on the shoulders composed of several rows of scales like those of the
+armour; these rows on the buckler, in this species, as in all others
+are continuous, and join by a symphysis. The rest of the body, from
+the buckler on the shoulders to the tail, is covered with moveable
+bands, parted from each other by a supple membrane: these bands are
+eighteen in number; those nearest the shoulders are the largest, and
+are composed of small squares. The posterior are intermixed with round
+and square pieces, and the extremity of the armour near the tail is of
+a parabolic figure. The first half of the tail is encircled with six
+rings, composed of small square pieces, and the lower part is covered
+with irregular scales. The breast, belly, and ears, are naked, as in
+the other species. It should seem that, of all armadillos, this has
+the most facility to contract and roll himself up in a ball, by his
+moveable bands which extend to the tail.
+
+Linnæus who must have seen the descriptions of Grew and Ray, who both
+agree with that we have given, has indicated this animal with one
+band only, instead of eighteen: founded on an evident mistake, by
+having taken the _tatu seu armadillo Africanus_ of Seba for the _tatu
+mustelinas_ of Grew, which even according to the descriptions of these
+two authors, are very different from each other. It is doubtful whether
+the tatou of Seba exists, at least as he has described him, but the
+animal given in Grew's description is a real existing species.
+
+All the armadillos come originally from America; they were unknown
+before the discovery of the New World. The ancients never mentioned
+them, and modern travellers all agree, that these animals are natives
+of Mexico, Brasil, Guiana, &c. and no one pretends to have seen this
+species in Asia or Africa. Some have, indeed, confounded the scaly
+lizards of the East Indies with the armadillos of America. Others
+thought they existed on the western coasts of Africa, because they have
+sometimes been transported from Brasil into Guinea. Bellon, who wrote
+above two centuries ago, and is one of the first who has given a short
+description, with the figure of a tatou, from a skin which he had seen
+in Turkey, says, that it came from the new continent. Oviedo, De Lery,
+Gomara, Thevet, Ant, Herrera, Father d'Abbeville, François, Ximenes,
+Staddenius, Monard, Joseph Acosta, De Laët, and all the more recent
+authors mention these animals as natives of the southern countries of
+America. Piso is the only one who has pretended, without any authority,
+that the armadillos were found in the East Indies, as well as in
+America; and it is probable, that he has confounded the scaly lizards
+with the armadillos, especially as they have been so called by the
+Spaniards; this error has been adopted by nomenclators, and those who
+have given descriptions of cabinets; who have not only admitted the
+existence of armadillos in the East Indies, but even in Africa, though
+none were ever in those two parts of the world, except such as have
+been transported from America.
+
+The climate of these animals is not therefore, equivocal; but it is
+more difficult to determine the relative bulk of each species. For
+this purpose we have compared great numbers which are preserved in
+the king's cabinet and those of others. We have also compared the
+descriptions of all authors with those of our own, without being able
+to ascertain the fact. It appears that the twelve and six banded are
+the largest, and that the three, eight, nine, and eighteen banded
+are the smallest. In the larger species the crustaceous substance is
+harder and more solid; the pieces which compose it are larger, and in a
+smaller number; the moveable bands encroach, less one upon the other;
+the flesh, as well as the skin, is harder, and not so savory. Piso
+says, that the flesh of the six banded is not eatable; and Nieremberg
+affirms, that it is unwholesome and pernicious. Barrere says, that the
+twelve banded has a strong smell of musk; and all authors agree in
+praising the flesh of the three banded, and particularly that of the
+eight, which is as white, and equally good as the flesh of a pig. They
+say also, that the small species dwell in marshy and low grounds, and
+that those of the large species are found on dry and high lands only.
+
+These animals can all contract their bodies into a round form, with
+more or less facility. When they are contracted the defects of their
+armour is most visible in those who have it composed of the smallest
+number of pieces; the three banded then shews two large voids betwixt
+the bucklers and the armour on the back. None of them can roll
+themselves up in a ball so exact as that formed by the hedge-hog; when
+so contracted they represent the figure of a globe flattened at the two
+ends.
+
+This singular crust, which covers them, is a bone composed of small
+contiguous pieces, and being neither moveable nor jointed, except at
+the partitions of the bands, are united by a symphysis, and may all
+be separated from each other if put on the fire. When the animal is
+alive these small pieces, both of the bucklers and the moveable bands
+yield to his motions, especially when he contracts himself, otherwise
+he could not possibly roll himself up. These pieces in different
+species are of different figures always as regularly disposed as an
+elegantly contrived mosaic work. The pellicle which covers the crust is
+a transparent skin, and has the effect of a varnish on the whole body;
+this skin, when taken off, changes the relievo of this natural mosaic,
+and gives it a different appearance. This crustaceous covering is only
+a surface independent of the interior parts of the animal's body, his
+bones, and other organs, being composed like those of other quadrupeds.
+
+The armadillos, in general, are innocent, harmless animals, unless they
+can penetrate into gardens, where they will eat the melons, potatoes,
+pulse, and roots. Though they originally belong to the hot climates of
+America, they live in temperate regions. I once saw one in Languedoc,
+which was fed in the house, and went about every where without doing
+any mischief. They walk quickly, but they can neither leap, run, nor
+climb up trees, so that they cannot escape those who pursue them; they
+have no resource but to hide themselves in their holes, or if at too
+great a distance from their habitations, to endeavour to dig one before
+they are overtaken, for which they want but a few instants, the mole
+itself not being more expert in digging the ground. Sometimes before
+they can get quite concealed they are caught by the tail, and when they
+make such a strong resistance that the tail is often broke without
+bringing out the body; in order to take them without mutilation the
+burrow must be opened, when they are taken without any resistance; when
+caught they roll themselves up into a ball, and will not extend again
+unless they are placed near the fire. Hard as their coat of mail is,
+the animal, on being lightly touched with the finger, receives so quick
+an impression that he contracts instantaneously. When in deep burrows
+they are forced out by smoking them, or letting water run down the
+holes. It is said that they remain under ground above three months in
+the year; be that as it may, it is certain that they never come out of
+their holes but in the night, when they seek for food. The armadillo is
+hunted with small dogs, by whom he is soon overtaken; but before they
+have reached him he contracts himself, in which condition he is seized,
+and carried off. If near the brink of a precipice, he escapes both
+dogs and hunters, for contracting he rolls himself down like a ball,
+without hurt or prejudice to his coat of mail.
+
+These animals are fat, and very prolific: the male has exterior signs
+of great generative faculties; the female brings forth, as it is said,
+every four months, of course their species are very numerous. As they
+are good to eat they are hunted in different manners; they are easily
+taken with snares laid for them on the banks of rivers, and in marshy
+grounds, which they inhabit by preference. They never go to any great
+distance from their burrows, which are very deep, and which they
+endeavour to reach whenever they are alarmed. It is pretended they are
+not afraid of the bite of the rattle snake, though it is as dangerous
+as that of the viper; nay, it is asserted, that they live in peace with
+these reptiles, which are often found in their holes. The savages make
+different uses of their crusts; they paint them with divers colours,
+and make baskets, boxes, and other small vessels, of them. Monard,
+Ximenes, and many other writers, have attributed great medicinal
+properties to different parts of these animals; they assure us that the
+crustaceous covering, reduced into powder, and taken inwardly, even in
+a small quantity, is a powerful sudorific; and that the bone of the
+hip, pulverised, cures the venereal disease; that the first bone of
+the tail, applied to the ear, cures deafness, &c. We give no credit to
+these extraordinary properties; the crust and bones of the armadillos
+being of the same nature as the bones of other animals. Such marvellous
+effects are never produced but by imaginary virtues.
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+I received the drawing of a six-banded armadillo, taken from life, from
+M. de Séve, and with it a description; in which, after stating that it
+corresponds pretty much with that we have given, observes, that the
+rows on the bucklers, and their pieces, vary in form and number: this
+animal was fourteen inches long, independent of the tail, which he
+supposed to be about six inches, as part of it was broken off; his head
+was rather more than three inches long, and his ears a little above
+one; on the broadest part of the body the crust measured six inches
+seven lines; the fore legs were two inches long, and his hind ones
+three.
+
+M. de la Borde says, there are two species of Armadillos at Guiana,
+the largest black and the other a greyish brown; the former are so
+prolific as sometimes to bring forth eight or ten at a litter: they
+reside in very deep holes, and when any attempts are made to take
+them by digging, they penetrate further in the earth, and almost
+perpendicularly; they only quit their holes in the night, and then for
+the purpose of seeking for food, which commonly consists of worms,
+ants, and wood-lice; their flesh is of an excellent flavour, and
+resembles that of a pig. The small one has not more than four or five
+young at a time, and they are more hard to be taken; these sometimes
+come out of their holes in the day, but never when it rains. The
+hunters know when they are in their holes by the number of flies which
+hover round: and when they begin to dig the animal digs also, and by
+throwing the earth behind, so effectually closes up the holes that
+smoke cannot penetrate to them. I conceive the first of these animals
+to be that we have mentioned, as the twelve-banded, and the other the
+eight-banded armadillos.
+
+Dr. W. Watson has given a description of an armadillo with nine bands,
+and a long tail, (_fig. 128._) in the Philosophical Transactions,
+where he says, This animal was brought from America, and kept alive
+in the house of Lord Southwell; but the drawing was not taken till
+after its death; he weighed seven pounds, and was not bigger than
+a common-sized cat; while in possession of Lord Southwell it grew
+considerably; it was fed with flesh and milk, but would not eat grain
+or fruits. Those by whom it was brought from America asserted, that it
+dug a hole for itself in the earth in which it lived.
+
+_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 129. _Paca._]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 132. _Marine Opossum._]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 130-131. _Virginian Opossum Male and Female._]
+
+
+
+
+THE PACA.
+
+The paca (_fig. 129._) is an animal of the new world, which digs itself
+a borough like a rabbit, to whom he has often been compared, though
+there is scarce any likeness between them; he is much larger than the
+rabbit, or even the hare; his body is bigger and more compact; he has
+a round head and short snout; he is fat and bulky, and is more like
+a pig in form, grunting, waddling, and manner of eating, for he does
+not use, like the rabbit, his fore feet to carry food to his mouth,
+but grubs up the earth like the hog to find subsistence. They inhabit
+the banks of rivers, and are found only in the damp and warm places of
+South America: their flesh is very good to eat, and excessively fat;
+their skin is eaten like that of a pig. For these reasons a perpetual
+war is 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. Their skins, though covered with short and rough hair, make
+a fine fur because it is regularly spotted on the sides. These animals
+bring forth very often, and in abundance: men, and animals of prey,
+destroy great numbers of them, and yet the species remains undiminished
+in numbers; he is peculiar to South America, and is found no where in
+the old continent.
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+Our former description of the Paca was taken from a young one which had
+not nearly come to its full growth. Since then I have had one sent me,
+which was much bigger even when he arrived, and continued to grow while
+I kept him, namely from August 1774, to May 28, 1775. From the Sieur
+Trécourt I received an account of his natural habits, in which that
+gentleman says: "This animal remains perfectly quiet in the day, if he
+is provided with a wooden cage, or box, and has plenty of provisions,
+to which he readily retires of himself while the day continues, but
+as soon as night comes on he becomes in a perpetual agitation to get
+out, and will even use violent efforts to effect that purpose if he
+is fastened in; this he never attempts during the day, unless pressed
+to make some natural evacuation, in which case he always gets to the
+furthest corner, having an aversion to any kind of dirt in the place
+he lives in; even his straw he pushes out with his nose when it begins
+to smell, and will seek about for rags, or paper, to supply its place.
+He had no particular attachment to his box, for he would often forsake
+it for some obscure corner, and when once his bed was made, he could
+only be made to leave his new habitation by force. This animal, which
+was a female, gave a strong proof of her propensity to cleanliness,
+for a large male rabbit being put with her when she was in season, she
+received him with a degree of fondness, and something was expected
+from them; she would lick his nose, ears, and body, and even suffer
+him to take away the greatest part of her food; but upon voiding his
+excrement, in their common apartment, she immediately took an aversion
+to him, and retired to the bottom of an old press, making herself a bed
+with paper and rags, nor would she return to her house again, until she
+perceived it was cleared of the dirt and her filthy companion."
+
+The Paca very easily becomes domesticated, and is very gentle and
+tractable, unless when much irritated. He is very fond of being
+noticed, and will lick the hands of those who caress him; he very
+readily distinguishes the voices of those who take care of him, and
+when stroked on the back, he will lie down on his belly, stretch
+himself out, and, with a gentle cry, express his gratitude for the
+favour, and seem to ask a continuance; but if laid hold of in a rough
+manner, he will struggle violently to escape. His muscles are very
+strong, yet his feeling is so delicate that the slightest touch on
+the skin will excite in him the most sensible emotions; and which
+sensibility, though commonly producing good humour, will sometimes,
+by irritation, or presenting an offensive object, put him in the most
+violent passion. A strange dog invariably produces the latter effect;
+and he has been observed, when shut in his cage, to make violent
+efforts to get out upon the appearance of one. It was at first thought
+he had no desire to come out but upon natural occasions; but one day,
+when he was at liberty, he flew out upon a poor dog, and bit him very
+severely; but in a few days after he became perfectly familiar with
+the same dog. He will also fly at strangers, if they plague him, but
+he never offers to bite those by whom he is taken care of. He has a
+dislike to children, and will run after them; and when in a passion he
+makes a kind of grunting, and at the same time a chattering with his
+teeth. He very frequently sits for a considerable time together on his
+posteriors, and has a common practice of appearing to comb his head
+and whiskers with his paws, which he repeatedly licks with his tongue.
+When thus employed, he scratches all parts of his body which he can
+reach with his fore paws, and afterwards the remainder with his hind
+ones. He is, however, a gross animal; he does not appear delicate;
+his coat is not smooth; he is far from active, but moves heavily and
+somewhat like a hog; whom he also resembles by the whiteness and
+thickness of his skin; he seldom attempts to run, and when he does, it
+is very aukwardly.
+
+This animal, though not full grown, measured more than eighteen
+inches from the point of his nose to the extremity of his body, and
+he could stretch himself out to near two feet, while the one which I
+formerly described was not more than seven inches five lines, and this
+difference was evidently to be attributed to their ages, as in all
+other respects they were perfectly similar.
+
+This animal measured about seven inches high before, and nine and a
+half behind, by which his head always appeared lower than his hind
+parts: his head is five inches long, and rather convex; he has large
+brown eyes, two inches asunder, short round ears, covered with a fine
+down, a broad black nose, divided like that of a hare, very large
+nostrils, and in which he has great strength; the upper jaw comes out
+above an inch beyond the lower; he has a fold along them that may at
+first sight be taken for the mouth, but which is scarcely perceptible
+unless it is open; he has two large yellow teeth in each jaw, with
+which he can cut through wood, and I have known him make a hole in
+a plank in a single night through which he could put his head; but,
+although several times attempted, he would never permit us to count his
+grinders; he has a thick rough tongue, and whiskers on each side his
+nose, consisting of black and white hairs; he has five toes on each
+foot, and long claws on them, of a flesh colour; and his tail is merely
+a kind of button, does not exceed five lines in length, and requires a
+close inspection to discover it.
+
+The paca, when domesticated, will eat any thing that is given him, and
+if fed with bread he seems to have an equal relish for it, whether
+soaked in water, wine, or vinegar; he is extremely fond of sugar and
+fruits, and will leap about for joy when they are given him; he seems
+to have the same relish for grapes, celery, onions, or garlic; he will
+also eat grass, moss, the bark of trees, or even wood; he drinks like
+a dog; his urine has a disagreeable smell, and his excrements are like
+those of the rabbit.
+
+As there can be little doubt but these animals would produce in the
+climates of France; as they are easily tamed, and their flesh is
+excellent food, they might be rendered an advantageous acquisition,
+especially as one individual would be equal to seven or eight rabbits,
+and their flesh not inferior.
+
+M. de la Borde agrees with most of the foregoing particulars, and says
+also that the paca generally has his hole on the banks of rivers, and
+that he so forms it as to have three ways to enter or retreat; that
+when disturbed he takes to the water, and endeavours to effectuate his
+escape by diving frequently, and that he makes a stout defence when
+attacked by dogs.
+
+
+
+
+THE OPOSSUM.
+
+
+The opossum is an animal of America, which is easily distinguished
+from all others by two singular characters; first, the female has
+under the belly a large cavity where she receives and suckles her
+young; secondly, both male and female have no claws on the great
+toes of the hind feet, which is separated from the others, as the
+thumb on the human hand, whilst all the other toes are armed with
+crooked claws, like the feet of other quadrupeds. The first of these
+characters has been observed by most travellers and naturalists, but
+the second had escaped their observation. Edward Tyson, an English
+physician, seems to be the first who made this remark; and he only
+has given a good description of the female in a treatise printed in
+London in 1698, under the title of The Anatomy of an Opossum. Some
+years after, W. Cooper, a celebrated English anatomist, communicated to
+Tyson the observations which he had made Upon the male. Other authors,
+and especially the nomenclators, who have multiplied beings without
+necessity, have here fallen into numerous errors respecting this animal.
+
+Our opossum, described by Tyson, is the same animal as the oriental
+philandre of Seba, since of all the animals which Seba has described,
+and to which he gave the name of philandre, opossum, or carigueya,
+this is the only one who has a bag under the belly, and thumbs without
+claws behind. This animal is a native of the warm climates of the new
+world; for the two we have in the king's cabinet came from America.
+That which Tyson had, was sent him from Virginia. M. de Chanvallon,
+correspondent of the Academy of Sciences in Martinico, who has given
+us a young opossum, acknowledged the two others to be true opossums
+of America. All the travellers agree, that this animal is found in
+Brasil, New Spain, Virginia, and the Antilles; and none mention having
+seen it in the East Indies; thus Seba was mistaken in calling it the
+oriental philandre. He says, his philandre was sent him from Amboyna,
+under the name of coes-coes, with other curiosities, but he confesses,
+at the same time, that it had been transported from some other remote
+countries to Amboyna. This should be sufficient to shew, that the
+denomination of oriental philandre was improper; for it is possible
+that travellers have transported this animal from America to the East
+Indies, but nothing proves that he is a native of Amboyna; and even
+the passage of Seba, which we have quoted, seems to indicate the
+contrary. The cause of this error and even of the name _coes-coes_,
+is found in Piso, who says, that in the East Indies, and only in the
+island of Amboyna, is found an animal very much like the opossum of
+Brasil to whom the natives give the name of _cous-cous_. Piso quotes
+no authority for this assertion. It would be strange, if it was true,
+as Piso affirms, that this animal is only found in Amboyna, while
+Seba, on the contrary, says, that the opossum sent him from Amboyna,
+was not a native of that island, but had been brought there from more
+distant countries; though he was ignorant of the native country of his
+philandre, he nevertheless gave him the epithet of oriental, though
+he is certainly the same animal as that of the West Indies; the proof
+of it will clearly appear by comparing the figure he has given with
+Nature. But another error of this author is, that while he gives to the
+opossum of America the name of great oriental philandre he presents
+us another animal, which he thinks a different one, under the name of
+the philandre of America; and which according to his own description,
+differs only from the former by being smaller, and having the spots
+above the eyes of a deeper brown colour; which differences are merely
+accidental, and too inconsiderable to constitute two different species,
+for he does not mention another difference more essential, if it
+existed, that Seba's philandre of America has sharp claws on the hind
+toes of the hind feet, while his oriental philandre has no claws upon
+his two thumbs. It is certain, that our opossum, which is the true one
+of America, has no claws to his toes behind; if an animal with sharp
+claws did exist, such as is represented by Seba, it could not be, as he
+asserts, the opossum of America. But this is not all, Seba mentions a
+third animal, under the name of oriental philandre, of whom, however,
+he speaks only after Valentin, an author who, as we have observed
+already, deserves little credit: and this third animal is yet the same
+as the two first. We are, therefore, persuaded that the three animals
+of Seba are individuals of the same species, and which species is the
+same as our opossum; and that the difference between them might be
+occasioned by their age, as it entirely consists in their size and
+slight variations in their colour, particularly in the spots above
+their eyes.
+
+Seba says, "that according to Valentin, this last philandre is the
+largest species seen in the East Indies, and particularly among the
+Malays, where he is called _pelandor aroé_, which signifies a rabbit
+of _Aroé_, though Aroé is not the only place where these animals are
+found; that they are common in the island of Solor; that they are
+kept promiscuously with rabbits, to whom they do no harm; and that
+the inhabitants eat their flesh, which they reckon excellent." These
+facts are very doubtful, not to say absolutely false, for according to
+Seba, this is not the largest species of the oriental philandre, that
+it bears no resemblance to the rabbit, therefore is very improperly
+termed the rabbit of Aroé; and that no person who has travelled in the
+East Indies has mentioned this remarkable animal; neither is he found
+in the island of Solor, nor in any other part of the ancient continent.
+Seba himself seems to have perceived not only the incapacity, but also
+the inaccuracy of the author whom he quotes: F. Valentin has written a
+Natural History of the East Indies in five volumes folio, and for the
+credit due to his testimony, both Artedi and Seba refer to a passage
+wherein he affirms, "that the pouch of the philandre is the womb in
+which the young are conceived; that having himself dissected a female,
+he found no other; and if that pouch is not the real womb, the teats
+are to the young, what the pedicles are to fruits, that they stick to
+them till they are sufficiently grown, and then they are separated
+like the fruit, when it is come to ripeness." What seems to be the
+truth is, that Valentin, who affirms that those animals are common in
+the East Indies, especially at Solor, had never seen any there; that
+all he says, even his most manifest errors, are copied from Piso and
+Marcgrave, who are themselves copyists of Ximenes, and are mistaken in
+everything they have advanced of their own authority; for Marcgrave and
+Piso say expressly and observatively, as well as Valentin, that the
+pouch is the true womb where the young of the opossums are conceived.
+Marcgrave says, he dissected one, and found no other womb: Piso, who
+says he dissected many, affirms he never could discover any womb in the
+internal parts, and also maintains the opinion, equally ill-grounded,
+that this animal is found at Amboyna. One may judge of what credit
+ought to be given to Marcgrave, Piso, and Valentin's assertions, the
+first of whom had not examined with accuracy; the second had added to
+the errors of the first, and the last copied from both.
+
+I should willingly ask pardon of my reader for the length of this
+critical disquisition, but when obliged to correct errors, we cannot be
+too exact or too attentive, even to the smallest circumstances.
+
+M. Brisson, in his work upon the quadrupeds, has adopted whatever
+he found in that of Seba, and adopts both his denominations and
+descriptions; he goes even farther than his author, in making three
+distinct species of the philandres, described by Seba; for, if he had
+adhered to Seba, he would have observed that the latter did not give
+them as really different from each other. Seba had no doubt that an
+animal of the warm climates of America, could be found also in the
+torrid regions of Asia; but he distinguished them according as they
+came to him from one or the other continent. It seems clear that he
+does not use the word species in its most strict sense, nor did Seba
+ever pretend to make a methodical division of animals into classes,
+genera, and species; he has only given the figures of the different
+animals in his cabinet, distinguishing by names, according as he saw
+some difference in their size, colour, or the countries from which
+he received them. It appears, therefore, that M. Brisson was not
+authorised by Seba, in making three different species of philandres,
+especially as he has not employed the distinctive characters, and makes
+no mention of the want of the claws, in the hind toes of the hind feet;
+he only says, in general, that the toes of the philandres have claws,
+without making any exception; yet the one which he saw in the King's
+cabinet, and which is our opossum, had no claws to the hind toes of the
+hind legs, and which seems to be the only one he has seen. The work of
+M. Brisson is very useful, but in his catalogue the species are more
+numerous than in that of Nature.
+
+_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 133. _Elephant._]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 134. _Rhinoceros._]
+
+We have now only to examine the nomenclature of Linnæus, which in this
+article is much less erroneous than in many others, for he suppresses
+one of the three species of Seba; but he should have reduced them to
+one. Besides, he employs the distinctive character of the toes behind
+without claws, which none but Tyson had observed. The description which
+Linnæus gives of the opossum as the _marsupialis_, seems to be a good
+one, and agreeable to Nature, but he is in an error when under the name
+of opossum he designs an animal different from his _marsupialis_, upon
+the authority of Seba, acknowledging, however, that this opossum had no
+claws to the toes behind, whilst they are very visible in the figures
+of Seba. Another error is, considering the _maritacaca_ of Piso, as
+the same animal as the _carigueya_, whilst these two animals, though
+mentioned in the same chapter, are mentioned by Piso as two different
+animals, and he describes them one after the other. But his greatest
+error is in making two different species of the _marsupialis_ and the
+opossum; they have both, according to Linnæus, the pouch, the hind toes
+of their hind feet have no claws, are both natives of America, and only
+differ in this respect, by the first having eight paps, and the second
+only two, and the spot above the eyes more pale. These characteristics
+cannot be sufficient to distinguish them as distinct species; for
+the first can scarcely be called a difference; nor can any thing be
+established as fixed or certain, in regard to the order and the number
+of the paps, since they vary in the same species of most animals.
+
+From this examination, which we have made with strict impartiality, it
+appears, that the _philandre_, _opossum_, _seu carigueya Brasiliensis_,
+and the _philander orientalis maximus_ of Seba; those of M. Brisson,
+and the _marsupialis_ and _opossum_ of Linnæus are all of them the same
+animal, which is our opossum whose natural climate is South America;
+and who was never seen in the East Indies, but when transported
+thither. Upon this subject, some uncertainty still remains in regard to
+the _taiibi_, which Marcgrave does not mention as an animal different
+from the _carigueya_, but which Johnston, Seba, Klein, Linnæus, and
+Brisson, have presented as distinct from the preceding. In Marcgrave
+the two names of _carigueya_ and _taiibi_ are found in the same
+article, where it is said, that this animal is called _carigueya_ in
+Brasil, and _taiibi_ in Paraguay. There is afterwards a description
+of the _carigueya_ taken from Ximenes; and then another is given of
+the animal called _taiibi_, by the Brasilians; _cachorro domato_, by
+the Portuguese, and _hooschratte_, or the rat of the wood, by the
+Dutch. Marcgrave does not say this is an animal different from the
+_carigueya_, but on the contrary, considers it as the male of that
+species; and it appears clearly, that the male and female opossum were
+called _taiibi_ in Paraguay, and that in Brasil they gave the name of
+_taiibi_ to the male, and that of _carigueya_ to the female. Besides,
+the difference between those two animals, such as it is indicated by
+their descriptions, is too inconsiderable to conclude they are not the
+same species. The most essential is, the colour of the hair, which in
+the _carigueya_ is yellow and brown, and grey in the _taiibi_, the
+hairs of which are white at their bottom, and brown or black at the
+extremities. It is therefore more than probable, that the _taiibi_ is
+the male opossum. Mr. Ray seems to be of that opinion, when speaking
+of the _carigueya_, and the _taiibi_. Yet, notwithstanding Marcgrave's
+authority, and the rational doubt of Ray, Seba gives the figure of an
+animal, under the name of the _taiibi_; and says, at the same time,
+that this _taiibi_ is the same animal as the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes;
+this is adding error upon error; for even according to Seba, his
+_taiibi_, which is a female, has no bag under the belly; and Hernandes
+gives to his _tlaquatzin_ this bag as a particular characteristic;
+consequently the _taiibi_ of Seba cannot be the _tlaquatzin_ of
+Hernandes, as it has no pouch, nor the _taiibi_ of Marcgrave, since it
+is a female; it is certainly, therefore, another animal badly designed,
+and badly described, to whom Seba thought proper to give the name of
+_taiibi_, and which he confounds with the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes,
+which as we have said before, is our opossum. Brisson and Linnæus have,
+in regard to the _taiibi_, literally followed Seba; they have copied
+even his error in regard to the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes, and both,
+have made an equivocal species of this animal, the first under the name
+of _philandre_ of Brasil, and the second under that of _philander_.
+The true _taiibi_ of Marcgrave and Ray, is not therefore the _taiibi_
+of Seba, the _philander_ of Linnæus, nor the Brasilian _philander_ of
+Brisson; nor are the two latter the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes. The
+_taiibi_ of Seba (supposing his existence) is a different animal from
+all those treated of by the above authors, and ought to have had a
+particular denomination, and not been confounded with the _taiibi_ of
+Marcgrave, which has nothing in common with him; besides, as the male
+opossum has no pouch, it is not surprising that they have been taken
+for different animals, as that the female is called carigueya, and the
+male taiibi.
+
+Edward Tyson dissected and described the female opossum with care; in
+the individual which served him for subject, the head was six inches,
+the body thirteen, and the tail twelve in length: the fore legs were
+six inches, and the hind legs four inches and a half in height:
+the body was fifteen or sixteen inches in circumference; the tail
+three inches round in the beginning, and only one inch towards the
+extremities; the head three inches betwixt the two ears, decreasing
+gradually to the nose; and was more like that of a pig than a fox; the
+sockets of the eyes are much inclined in the direction from the ears
+to the nose; the ears are rounded, and about an inch and a half long;
+the mouth was two inches and a half wide from one of the corners of
+the lip to the extremity of the snout; the tongue narrow, three inches
+long, and rough; his fore feet had five toes armed with crooked claws,
+but in the hind feet he had only four toes with claws, and the fifth
+toe, or thumb, was separated from the others, was placed lower, and had
+no claws. All his claws were without hair, and covered with a skin of
+a reddish colour, and very near an inch in length; his hind and fore
+paws were large, and he had fleshy callosities under all the toes. The
+tail was covered with hair for two or three inches from the beginning,
+and the rest of it with a smooth scaly skin to the end. These scales
+were whitish, almost hexagonal, and placed regularly, so that they did
+not encroach upon each other, but were divided by a skin browner than
+the scales. The ears were without hair, thin and membranous like the
+wings of a bat, and very open. The upper jaw longer than the under;
+the nostrils large, the eyes small, black, and lively; the neck short,
+the breast wide, and the whiskers like those of a cat: the hairs of
+the forehead whiter and shorter than those of the body; his colour a
+yellowish grey, intermixed with black on the back and sides, more brown
+on the belly, and still deeper on the legs. Under the belly of the
+female (_fig. 131._) is a skin two or three inches long, which forms a
+kind of pouch by a double fold thinly covered with hair on the inside,
+and which pouch contains the teats. The young enter into this pouch to
+suck, and soon acquire the habit of hiding themselves in it, so that
+they retire thither whenever they are frightened. This pouch opens and
+shuts according to the will of the animal; which it effects by several
+muscles and two bones, which are peculiar to the opossum; these two
+bones are about two inches in length, placed by the os pubis, they
+decrease gradually from the basis to the extremities, and support the
+muscles which open the pouch; the antagonists of these muscles serve
+to shut it so exactly, that in the living animal the opening cannot
+be seen, without forcibly dilating it with the fingers. The inside
+of this pouch is full of kernels, which contain a yellow substance,
+the smell of which is so offensive, that it infects the whole body
+of the animal; yet when this matter is dried, it not only loses its
+disagreeable smell, but acquires a perfume which may be compared to
+that of musk. This pouch is not, as Marcgrave and Piso have falsely
+asserted, the place in which the young are conceived; the female
+opossum has an internal womb, different indeed from that of other
+animals, but in which the young are conceived, and remain till they are
+brought forth. Tyson says, that in this animal there are two wombs,
+two vaginas, and four ovariums. M. Daubenton does not agree with Tyson
+in these particulars; but by his description, it is at least certain,
+that in the organs of generation of the opossums, there are several
+parts double which are single in other animals. The glans penis of the
+male, and the glans clitoridis in the female, which are forked, and
+seem double. The vagina, which is single at the entrance, is afterwards
+divided into two channels; this conformation is very singular, and
+differs from that of all other quadrupeds.
+
+The opossum belongs to the south parts of the new world, but he does
+not, like the armadillo, seem confined to the hottest climates, for he
+is found not only in Brasil, Guiana, and Mexico, but also in Florida,
+Virginia, and other temperate regions of this continent. They are very
+common in these countries, as they bring forth often, and most authors
+say four or five, others six or seven, at a time. Marcgrave affirms,
+that he has seen six young ones alive in the pouch of the female; they
+were about two inches in length, were very nimble, and went in and
+out of the pouch many times in a day. They are very small when just
+brought forth: some travellers say they are not bigger than flies
+when they go out of the womb into the pouch, and attach themselves to
+the teats. This fact is not so much exaggerated as might be imagined,
+for we have seen in an animal, whose species is somewhat like that of
+the opossum, young ones sticking to the teats not bigger than beans;
+and it is not improbable, that, in these animals, the womb is only the
+place of conception and first formation of the foetus, whose unfolding
+is completed in the pouch. No one has observed the time of their
+gestation, which we think is shorter than in any other quadruped; and
+as this early exclusion of the foetus is a singularity in nature, we
+wish those who have an opportunity of observing the opossums in their
+native country would contrive to discover how long the females go
+with young, and how long the young remain attached to the teats. This
+observation is curious in itself, and may become useful, in pointing
+out some means of preserving the lives of children born before their
+natural period.
+
+That the young opossums stick to the teats of the mother till they
+have acquired strength, and a sufficient growth to move with ease, is
+a fact not to be doubted; nor is it peculiar to this species only,
+since we have seen it in that of the _marmose_. The female marmose has
+not, like the opossum, a bag under the belly; it is not, therefore, in
+consequence of the assistance which the young receive from the pouch
+that they stick so long to the teats, and increase in that immoveable
+situation. I make this observation to prevent the pouch being
+considered as a second womb, or at least an asylum necessary to the
+young before they are unfolded. Some authors pretend that they stick to
+the teats for several weeks, others say that they remain in the pouch
+only the first month after they came out of the womb. The pouch may
+be opened, the young counted, and even felt, without disturbing them,
+for they do not leave the teats, which they hold with their mouths,
+before they are strong enough to walk; then they fall into the bag,
+and afterwards go out to seek for their subsistence; they often go in
+again to sleep, to suck, and to hide themselves when terrified; in
+cases of danger the mother flies, and carries the whole of her young
+with her. Her belly does not seem to have any increased bigness when
+she is breeding, for in the time of the true gestation it is scarcely
+perceivable that she is with young.
+
+From inspecting the form of the feet it is easy to perceive that he
+walks and runs aukwardly; it is said 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 by the tail, the
+extremity of which is so muscular and flexible that he can clasp with
+it any thing he seizes upon. He sometimes remains a long while in this
+situation, his body suspended, with his head hanging downward, waiting
+for his prey. At other times he jumps from one tree to another, as the
+monkeys, with like muscular flexible tails, which he resembles also
+in the conformation of his feet. Though carnivorous, and even greedy
+of blood, which he sucks with avidity, he feeds also upon reptiles,
+insects, sugar-canes, potatoes, roots, and even leaves and bark of
+trees. He may easily be rendered a domestic animal, for he is neither
+wild nor ferocious; but he creates disgust by his smell, which is
+more offensive than that of the fox; his figure is also forbidding,
+for his ears are like those of an ounce, his tail resembles that of a
+serpent, his mouth is cleft to the very eyes, his body appears always
+dirty, because his hair is neither smooth nor curled, and seems as if
+covered with dirt. His bad smell resides in the skin, for his flesh is
+eatable. The savages hunt this animal by preference, and feed on his
+flesh heartily.
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+M. de la Borde has sent me an account of three opossums, which he
+kept in a cask at Cayenne; in most particulars it agrees with the
+description already given; he says they are very easily tamed, and
+feed upon fish, flesh, bread, &c. that those he had possessed no
+disagreeable smell, but that there are two species, the one which has
+so strong an odour as to be called stinking by the inhabitants, and
+that their flesh is not good to eat.
+
+M. de Vosmaër, to his description of the flying squirrel, has added a
+note, in which he says, "the _coes-coes_ is the _bosch_ of the East
+Indies, the _philandre_ of Seba, and the _didelphiè_ of Linnæus. M.
+de Buffon has confined this animal to the new world, and positively
+denies its existence in the East Indies; but I can assure that learned
+naturalist that Valentin and Seba said no more than the truth, in
+affirming they were common to both Asia and America, for I have had a
+male and female sent me from the East Indies, and Dr. Schlosser, at
+Amsterdam received one of the same species from Amboyna. The principal
+difference between those of the East and West Indies is in the colour
+of the hair, the male of the former being of a yellowish white, and
+the female a little darker, with a brown line on the back, and their
+ears are less than those of the latter. The heads also of the West
+India species are much shorter than those of the East." I have not
+the smallest reason to doubt M. Vosmaër's receiving two animals from
+the East Indies, under the name of _coes-coes_, but am of opinion the
+differences which he points out are sufficient to induce us not to
+consider them the same species as the opossums. I, however, confess the
+justice of his observation upon my making the three philandres of Seba
+the same animal, when, in fact, the third is a different species, and
+found in the Philippine islands, and possibly in many parts of the East
+Indies, where it is called _coes-coes_, or _cous-cous_. Christopher
+Barchewitz gives a description of this animal found in the island of
+Lethy, and from the similarity it plainly appears, that the East India
+_cuscus_ is of the same genus as the American opossum; but that is no
+proof of their being of the same species; and I am still of opinion,
+that the animals of one continent will not be found in the other,
+unless they have been transported thither. I do not mean to deny the
+possibility of the same climates in the two continents producing some
+animals of exactly the same species, provided other circumstances were
+the same; I am not, however, treating here of possibilities, but of
+general facts, of which we have given many instances in our enumeration
+of animals peculiar to the two continents; and, upon the whole, I am
+inclined to consider the coes-coes of the East Indies as an animal
+whose species approaches very near to that of the opossums of America,
+but that they have similar differences, to those which are observable
+between the jaguar and leopards, which of all animals peculiar to
+the southern climates of the two continents, without being the same
+species, come the nearest to each other.
+
+
+
+
+THE MARMOSE.
+
+
+The species of the Marmose, or Murine Opossum, (_fig. 132._) resembles
+that of the preceding; they are natives of the same climate and the
+same continent; they are very much alike in the form of the body, the
+conformation of the feet, in the tail, which is mostly covered with
+scales, except the upper part, which is hairy, and by the teeth, which
+are more numerous than in other quadrupeds. But the marmose is smaller,
+and his snout sharper; the female has no pouch under the belly, she
+has only two loose skins near the thighs, between which the young
+fix themselves to the teats. The parts of generation of the male and
+female marmose resemble, by their form and their position, those of
+the opossum. When the young are brought forth, and fix themselves to
+the teats, they are not so big as small beans. The brood is also more
+numerous; I have seen ten young ones, each sticking to a different
+teat, and the mother had four more teats, which made fourteen in
+all. It is particularly on the females of this species that the
+observations, recommended in the preceding article, should be made; as
+I am persuaded they bring forth a few days after conception, and that
+the young are only foetuses which are not come to the fourth part of
+their growth. The mother always miscarries, and the foetuses save their
+lives by sticking to the teats, and never leaving them till they have
+acquired the growth and strength which they would naturally have got in
+the womb, if they had remained until the proper period.
+
+The marmose has the same manners, and the same inclinations, as the
+opossum; both of them dig burrows to dwell under the ground, hang by
+the extremities of their tails to the branches of trees, and rush upon
+birds and small animals; they eat fruit, corn, and roots, but they are
+still more greedy of fish and craw-fish, which, it is affirmed, they
+catch with their tails. This fact, however, is doubtful, and does not
+agree with the natural stupidity attributed to those animals, who,
+according to the relation of most travellers, do not even know how to
+move, fly, or defend themselves, with any degree of art.
+
+
+
+
+THE CAYOPOLLIN.
+
+
+Fernandes is the first author who has mentioned this animal. The
+Cayopollin, says he, is a small animal, little bigger than a rat, very
+much resembling the opossum in the snout, ears, and tail, and which
+he makes use of as we do our hands; he has thin transparent ears; his
+belly, legs, and feet, are white. The young, when frightened, seize
+hold of the mother, who carries them up on the trees. This species is
+found on the mountains of New Spain. Nieremberg has copied Fernandes
+verbatim, without any addition of his own. Seba, who first caused
+this animal to be engraved, gives no description of it; he only says,
+that he has the head thicker, and the tail a little bigger than the
+marmose, and that though he is of the same kind he belongs to another
+climate, and even to another continent. He refers his readers to
+Nieremberg and Johnston for a further description of this animal; but
+it seems evident that neither of them had seen him, as they only follow
+Fernandes. Neither of these three authors say that he is a native of
+Africa, on the contrary, they assert, that he comes originally from
+the mountains of the warm climates of America, and yet Seba, without
+any authority, has pretended, that it is an African animal. That which
+we have seen certainly came from America; he was larger, the snout
+not so sharp, and the tail was longer than those of the marmose, and
+he resembled the opossum more even than the marmose does. These three
+animals are much alike in the conformation of their interior and
+exterior parts, in their additional bones, form of their feet, in being
+brought forth before their entire formation, their long and continued
+adherence to the teats, and in their habits and dispositions. They are
+all three natives of the new world, and of the same climate; they are
+never found in the cold regions of America, nor can hardly live in
+temperate climates. All of them are very ugly; their mouths extended
+like that of a pike, their ears like those of a bat, their tails like
+that of a snake, and their monkey's feet present a very odd form, which
+is rendered still more disagreeable by their bad smell, and by the
+slowness and stupidity which accompany their actions and manners.
+
+
+
+
+THE ELEPHANT.
+
+
+The Elephant, the human species excepted, is the most considerable
+animal of this world; he surpasses all terrestrial beings in size, and
+approaches near to man in understanding, as much, at least, as matter
+can approach to mind. The elephant, dog, beaver, and ape, of all the
+animated beings, have the most admirable instinct; but this instinct,
+which is only the product of all the interior and exterior faculties
+of the animal, manifests itself very differently in every one of these
+species. The dog is naturally as cruel and bloody as the wolf; but his
+ferocious nature is to be conquered by gentleness: he only differs
+from the other animals of prey, by possessing a degree of sensibility,
+which makes him susceptible of affection, and capable of attachment.
+He has from nature this disposition, which man has cultivated and
+improved by a constant and ancient society with this animal. The
+dog alone was worthy of this attention, as he is more capable than
+any other quadruped of foreign impressions, his social nature has
+improved all his relative faculties. His sensibility, tractable temper,
+courage, talents, and even his manners, are modified by the example
+and qualities of his matter. He has not then, from nature, all those
+qualifications he appears to possess, but has acquired them from his
+intercourse with men; he is only more susceptible of tuition than other
+animals; far from having, like most of them, a disgust for man, his
+inclination leads him to seek their society: actuated by a desire of
+pleasing, his tractability, fidelity, constant submission, and that
+attention necessary to act in consequence of man's orders, are the
+result of this natural sentiment.
+
+The ape, on the contrary, is untractable and eccentric; his nature
+is perverse; he has no relative sensibility, no gratitude for good
+treatment, and no remembrance of favours; he is naturally averse from
+the society of man, he hates constraint, is mischievous by nature,
+and inclined to do every thing hurtful and disagreeable. But these
+real faults are compensated by seeming perfections. His exterior
+conformation resembles that of man, he has arms, hands, and fingers.
+The use of these parts alone, makes him superior in dexterity to
+other animals; and the affinities to us which he then possesses by a
+similarity of motions, and the conformity of his actions, please and
+deceive us, and induce us to attribute to interior qualities, what
+depends merely on the formation of his members.
+
+The beaver, who seems inferior to the dog and ape, by his individual
+faculties, has nevertheless received from Nature a gift almost
+equivalent to that of speech; he makes himself so well understood by
+those of his own species, as to bring them together; to act in concert,
+and to undertake and execute extensive and continued labours in common;
+and this social love, as well as the product of their reciprocal
+understanding, have better claims to our admiration, than the dexterity
+of the ape, or the faithfulness of the dog.
+
+Thus the dog's genius is only borrowed; the ape has but the appearance
+of sagacity, and the beaver is only sensible in regard to himself, and
+those of his species. The elephant is superior to them all three, for
+in him are united all their most eminent qualities. The hand is the
+principal organ of the ape's dexterity; the elephant is equally so
+with his trunk, which serves him instead of arms and hands, by it he
+can lift up, and seize small as well as large objects, carry them to
+his mouth, place them on his back, hold them fast, or throw them to a
+distance; he has at the same time the docility of the dog; he is, like
+him, susceptible of gratitude, capable of a strong attachment, attends
+upon man without reluctance, and submits to him, not so much by force
+as good treatment; serves him with zeal, intelligence, and fidelity;
+in fine, the elephant, the same as the beaver, likes the society of
+his own species, and by whom he is understood. They are often seen to
+assemble together, disperse, and act in concert, and if they do not
+carry on any work in common, it is, perhaps, only for want of room and
+tranquillity; for men have been very anciently multiplied in all the
+regions inhabited by the elephant; he consequently lives in fear and
+anxiety, and is no where a peaceful possessor of a space large and free
+enough to establish a secure habitation. We have seen that all these
+advantages are requisite to manifest the talents of the beaver, and
+that wherever men are settled, he loses his industry, and ceases to
+build. Every being has its relative value in Nature. To judge of the
+elephant, we must allow him to possess the sagacity of the beaver,
+the dexterity of the ape, the sentiment of the dog with the peculiar
+advantages of strength, bigness, and longevity. We must not forget his
+arms, or tusks, with which he can pierce through and conquer the lion.
+We should also recollect that he shakes the ground at every step; that
+with his trunk he roots out trees; that with the strength of his body,
+he makes a breach in the wall; that though tremendous by his strength,
+he is more invincible by the resistance of his bulky massiveness, and
+the thickness of his skin; that he can carry on his back an armed tower
+filled with many men; and 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 passions; 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 some offence; and he remembers
+favours as long as injuries. Having no taste for flesh, and feeding
+chiefly upon vegetables, he is not naturally an enemy to any living
+creature; he is beloved by them all, since all of them respect, and
+no one has cause to fear him. For these reasons, men at all times
+have had a sort of veneration for this first of animals. The ancients
+considered the elephant as a prodigy, a miracle of Nature, and he is
+in reality her greatest effort; they have attributed to him without
+hesitation, intellectual qualities and moral virtues.
+
+Pliny, Ælian, Solinus, Plutarch, and other more modern authors,
+have even given to this animal rational faculties, a natural innate
+religion, the observation of a daily worship, such as that of the sun
+and moon, the use of ablution before adoration, a spirit of divination,
+piety towards heaven and their fellow creatures whom they assist at
+their deaths; and after their decease, express their regret by tears,
+and cover them with earth. The Indians, prepossessed with the opinion
+of the metempsychosis, are to this day persuaded, that a body so
+majestic as that of the elephant cannot be animated but by the soul of
+a great man, or a king. They respect at Siam,[AE] Laos, and Pegu, white
+elephants as the living manes of the emperors of India. They have
+each of them a palace, a number of servants, golden vessels, exquisite
+dainties, magnificent trappings, and are absolved from all labour and
+obedience; the living emperor is the only one before whom they kneel
+down, and the monarch returns the salute. These flattering attentions,
+this respect, these offerings flatter them but do not inspire them with
+vanity; they have not consequently a human soul, and this circumstance
+should be sufficient to prove it to the Indians.
+
+[Footnote AE: The white elephant, so much respected in India, and who
+has been the cause of so many wars, is very small and wrinkled with
+age. He is attended by several mandarins who are appointed to take care
+of him, and his victuals is presented to him in large golden vessels;
+his apartment is very magnificent, and gilt all round. At about a
+league from the country-house belonging to the king, is another white
+elephant, kept as a successor to the former, whom they say is 300 years
+old. He is also attended by mandarins, and his mother and aunt are kept
+with him out of respect. _Premier Voyage du P. Tachard._]
+
+Without adopting the credulities of antiquity, and the puerile fictions
+of superstition, the elephant is an animal still worth the attention
+of a philosopher, who ought to consider him as a being of the first
+distinction. He deserves to be known, and to be observed; we shall
+therefore write his history with impartiality; we shall consider him
+at first in his state of nature when he is free and independent, and
+afterwards in his servile condition, when the will of his master
+becomes the cause of his actions.
+
+In a wild state, the elephant is neither sanguinary nor ferocious; he
+is of a mild temper, and never makes a bad use of his arms, or his
+strength; for he never employs or exerts them but in his own defence,
+or in protecting others of his species. His manners are social, for he
+is seldom wandering alone: they commonly walk in troops, the oldest
+leading, and the next in age bringing up the rear; the young and the
+weak keeping in the middle. The females carry their young, and hold
+them close with their trunks. They only observe this order in perilous
+marches when they go to feed on cultivated lands; they travel with
+less precaution in forests and solitary places, but without separating
+to such a distance as not to be able to give to each other mutual
+assistance, and warnings of danger. Some, however, straggle, and
+remain behind, and it is none but these the hunters dare attack, 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, for they go straight to the offender, and
+notwithstanding the great heaviness of their bodies they walk so fast
+that they easily overtake the most agile man; they pierce him through
+with their tusks, or seize him with their trunks; throw him like a
+stone, and then kill him by treading him under their feet. But it is
+only when they have been provoked that they become so furious and so
+implacable; they do no harm to those who do not disturb them; yet,
+as they are very suspicious, and sensible of injuries, it is proper
+to avoid them; and the travellers who frequent the countries where
+they are numerous, light great fires in the night, and beat drums,
+to prevent their approach. It is said that when they have been once
+attacked by men, or have fallen into a snare, they never forget it,
+but seek for revenge on all occasions. As they have a most exquisite
+sense of smelling, perhaps more perfect than that of any other animal,
+they smell a man at a great distance, and can easily follow him by the
+scent. The ancients have asserted that the elephant tears up the grass
+where the hunters have passed, and with their trunks convey it to each
+other, in order to give information of the passage and march of the
+enemy. These animals are fond of the banks of rivers, deep valleys,
+shady places, and marshy grounds. They cannot go long without water,
+which they make thick and muddy before they drink it. They often fill
+their trunks with water, either to convey it to their mouths, or only
+to cool their noses, and to amuse themselves in sprinkling it around
+them. They cannot support cold, and suffer equally from excessive heat;
+to avoid the burning rays of the sun, they penetrate into the thickest
+recesses of the forests. They bathe often in the water; the enormous
+size of their bodies is rather an advantage to them in swimming, and
+they do not sink so deep in the water as other animals; besides, the
+length of their trunks, which they erect in the air, 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, but they have a dislike to flesh and fish.
+When one of them finds a good pasture, he calls the others, and invites
+them to come and feed with him. As they consume 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 enormous
+weight, they destroy ten times more with their feet, than they consume
+for their food, which may be reckoned at 150lbs. of grass daily; and
+as they always keep in great numbers together, they will lay waste a
+large territory in an hour's time; for this reason the Indians and
+Negroes exert every means to prevent their visits, and to drive them
+away; they make great noises, and large fires round their cultivated
+lands; yet, notwithstanding these precautions, 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; the only things that can stop their
+progress are fire-works, and crackers thrown amongst them; the sudden
+and repeated noise of which sometimes occasions them to turn back. It
+is very difficult to part them, for they commonly act together whether
+they attack, proceed, or turn back.
+
+When the females come in season this social intercourse yields to a
+more lively sentiment; the herd separate in pairs, having each chosen
+their mates; they then seek for solitary places, and in their march
+love seems to precede and modesty to follow them; for they observe the
+greatest mystery in their amours, and they have never been seen to
+couple. They avoid the inspection of their own species, and, perhaps,
+know better than ourselves the pure delight of secret pleasure, being
+wholly taken with one beloved object. They retire into shady woods
+and most solitary places, to give themselves up, without disturbance
+or restraint, to the impulses of Nature, which are strong and lasting,
+as they have long intervals between their seasons of love. The female
+goes two years with young; when she is in that condition the male
+abstains from her, and thus are they subjected to the influence of love
+but once in three years. They bring forth only one young, which has
+teeth at its birth, and is then bigger than a wild boar; his tusks are
+not visible, but they appear soon after, and when six months old they
+are some inches long. At that age the elephant is bigger than the ox,
+and the tusks continue to increase till he is much advanced in years,
+provided the animal is in health, and at liberty, for it is scarcely
+to be imagined how much slavery and unnatural food change his natural
+habit and constitution.
+
+The elephant is easily tamed, brought into submission, and instructed,
+and as he is the strongest and most sensible of animals, he is more
+serviceable than any of them; but he seems always to feel his servile
+condition, for though subject to the powerful impressions of love they
+never couple, nor produce in a state of domesticity. His passion,
+irritated by constraint, degenerates into fury; as he cannot indulge
+it without witnesses he becomes violent and intractable, and the
+strongest chains and fetters are often found necessary to stop his
+impetuosity, and subdue his anger. Thus the elephant differs from all
+domestic animals which man treats or manages as beings without will;
+he is not like these born slaves, which we mutilate or multiply for
+our use. Here the individual alone is a slave, the species remains
+independent, and constantly refuses to increase for the benefit of
+their tyrants. This alone shews in the elephant elevated sentiments
+superior to the nature of common brutes. To be agitated by the most
+ardent desires, and to deny themselves the satisfaction of enjoying
+them; to be subjected to all the fury of love, and yet not to violate
+the laws of modesty, are, perhaps, the highest efforts of human virtue,
+but which in these majestic animals are all suggested by instinct, and
+from which they never deviate. Enraged that they cannot be gratified
+without witnesses their fury becomes stronger than their passion of
+love, destroys the effects of it, and provokes, at the same time, that
+anger which, in those instants, renders the elephant more dangerous
+than any other wild animal.
+
+We should be inclined to doubt this fact, were it possible, but
+naturalists, historians, and travellers, all agree, that the elephants
+never produce in a domestic state. The kings of India keep a great
+number of them, and after having endeavoured in vain to make them
+multiply, like other domestic animals, they found it necessary to part
+the males from the females, to prevent that fury which is occasioned
+by the irritation of desires they will not satisfy in a state of
+subjection. There are, therefore, no domestic elephants but what have
+been wild, 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 frequented by the elephants, a spot
+is chosen, and encircled with palisadoes; the strongest trees of the
+forest serve for stakes, to which are fastened cross pieces of timber,
+which support the other stakes. A man may easily pass through this
+palisado; a large opening is also left, through which the elephant may
+go in, and over it is a trap, or large stake, which is let down to
+shut the opening after the animal has entered. To bring him to this
+inclosure the hunters take a tame female with them into the forest,
+who is in season, and when when they think she is near enough to be
+heard they oblige her to make the cry of love, the wild male answers
+immediately, and begins his march to meet her. She is then led towards
+the inclosure, repeating her call now and then; she arrives first,
+and the male following her track enters through the same gate. As
+soon as he perceives himself enclosed his ardour vanishes, and when
+he discovers the hunters he becomes furious; they throw ropes at him
+with a running knot, by which they fetter his legs and trunk; they then
+bring two or three tame elephants, led by dextrous men, and endeavour
+to tie him to one of them; in short, by dint of dexterity, strength,
+terror, and caresses, they succeed in taming him in a few days.
+
+I shall not enter into more particulars on this subject, but refer
+to those travellers who have been ocular witnesses of the manner of
+hunting the elephants;[AF] it varies according to different countries,
+and according to the power and the abilities of those who make war
+against them, for instead of erecting, like the kings of Siam, walls,
+terraces, or making palisades around large inclosures, the poor negroes
+use the most simple snares; they dig pits in the passages, where the
+elephants are known to pass, so deep as to prevent their getting out
+again when fallen in.
+
+[Footnote AF: For the purpose of hunting the elephant, they have at a
+little distance from Luovo, a kind of amphitheatre, surrounded with
+high walls, where those are placed who wish to see the sport. In the
+middle of these walls a palisade is formed, with strong stakes fixed
+in the ground; a pretty large opening is left on the side next the
+forest, and a smaller one towards the city, into which the elephant
+cannot enter without difficulty. Upon the day fixed upon for the chace,
+the hunters go into the forests upon some female elephants covering
+themselves with leaves to prevent being seen; having reason to suppose
+there are wild ones near, they make the females utter certain cries,
+and which the wild males instantly answer; the hunter then drives the
+female back to the above amphitheatre, whither the male constantly
+follows her, and being entered the large opening is immediately shut.
+At the one we were present, the females went out on the other side,
+but from the smallness of the size the wild one refused to enter;
+the females repeated their cries, and some of the Siamese began to
+irritate him, by clapping their hands, and crying _pat, pat_, while
+others struck him with long poles that had sharp points, all of whom he
+pursued, but they escaped by slipping between the palisades, sufficient
+spaces being left for that purpose; at length he fixed upon one whom he
+pursued with great fury, and the man running into this narrow passage
+the elephant followed him, but the moment he entered, the bars, before
+and behind, were let fall, and he no sooner found himself in the snare
+than he made the most violent efforts, and raised the most hideous
+cries. The hunters then endeavoured to sooth him by flinging quantities
+of water upon his body and trunk, rubbing him with leaves, putting oil
+on his ears, and bringing tame elephants, who seemed to caress him with
+their trunks, one of which, properly trained, was mounted by a man who
+made him go backwards and forwards to shew as it were the stranger that
+he had nothing to fear. Ropes were thrown round his hind legs and body,
+and then the bar was taken away from the further end, where being come
+he was tied to two tame elephants one of each side of him these led
+him the way while another pushed him behind with his head until they
+came to a kind of shade where he was fastened to a large post, like the
+capstan of a ship, and there left till the next day. While here, one
+of the Bramins, or priests, dressed in white, and mounted on another
+elephant, goes to him and sprinkles him with consecrated water, which
+they imagine has the power of divesting him of his ferocity. Next day
+he is marched off with the other elephants, and by the end of the
+fifteenth, they are in general perfectly tame. _Premier Voyage du P.
+Tachard._
+
+In Ethiopia they take great numbers of these animals by forming an
+inclosure in the thickest parts of the forests, leaving a sufficient
+opening, with a door lying flat on the ground; the hunters sit to watch
+for the elephant on a tree and as soon as he enters they draw up the
+door with a rope, then descend and attack him with arrows, but if by
+any chance he gets out of his confinement, he kills every man that he
+can come near. _L'Afrique de Marmol._
+
+At Ceylon they take the elephant by digging deep ditches lightly
+covering them over, in places frequented by these animals, who coming
+on this covering in the night, unavoidably fall in and are unable to
+get out again; here the slaves supply them with food, to whom they,
+in a short time, are so accustomed, and familiar, as to be led up to
+Goa perfectly tame. They have also a mode of hunting them with two
+tame females, whom they take into the forests, and coming near a wild
+elephant, they let them loose; these go up to the strange one on each
+side, press so closely against him as to force him their way, and
+render it impossible for him to escape. _Memoir es touchant les Indes
+Orientales. Voyages de P. Philippe, Thevenot, &c._]
+
+The elephant, when once tamed, becomes the most tractable and
+submissive of all animals; he conceives an affection for his leader,
+caresses him, and seems to foresee whatever can please him; in a
+little time he understands signs, and even the expression of sounds;
+he distinguishes the tones of command, anger, or approbation, and acts
+accordingly. He never mistakes the voice of his master; he receives his
+orders with attention, executes them with prudence and eagerness, but
+without precipitation, for his motions are always measured, and his
+character seems to participate of the gravity of his body. He is easily
+taught to bend his knees to assist those who ride on his back; he
+caresses his friends, salutes the persons he is directed to take notice
+of, lifts up burdens, and helps to load himself with his trunk; he has
+no aversion to being clothed, and seems to delight in a golden harness
+or magnificent trappings; he is easily put into traces, and often
+employed in drawing; he draws evenly, without slopping or any marks
+of dislike, provided he is not insulted by unseasonable correction,
+and that his driver seems to approve the spontaneous exertion of his
+strength. His conductor is mounted on his neck, and makes use of an
+iron rod, hooked at the end, with which he strikes him on the head, or
+sides, to make him turn, or increase his pace; but a word is commonly
+sufficient, especially, if the animal has bad time to make himself
+well acquainted with his conductor, and has a confidence in him. His
+attachment is sometimes so strong, and so lasting, and his affection so
+great, that he will refuse to serve a second person, and has been known
+to die of grief when in a fit of rage he has happened to destroy his
+keeper.
+
+The species of the elephant is numerous, though they bring forth but
+one in two or three years. In proportion to the shortness of the life
+of an animal is its multiplicity of production; and in the elephant
+the duration of its existence compensates for the smallness of its
+number; and if it be true that they live 200 years, and propagate
+until they are 120, each couple may bring forth forty in that time.
+Besides, having nothing to fear from other animals, and being taken by
+men with great difficulty and danger, the species has not decreased,
+and is generally dispersed in all the southern parts of Africa and
+Asia. They are numerous at Ceylon, in the Mogul dominions, in Bengal,
+Siam, Pegu, and the other territories of India. They are perhaps, in
+a greater number in the South of Africa, except some parts which
+they have abandoned, since they have been so fully inhabited by men.
+They are faithful to their country, and constant to their climate,
+for though they can live in temperate regions it does not seem that
+they ever attempted to settle, or even to travel into them. They were
+formerly unknown in Europe. It does not seem that Homer, who speaks
+of the ivory, knew the animal from whom it is obtained. Alexander was
+the first who rode upon an elephant in Europe. He sent into Greece
+those which he took at Porus, and were, perhaps, the same which Pyrrhus
+employed several years after against the Romans, in the Tarentine
+war, and with which Curius adorned his triumph into Rome. Hannibal
+afterwards brought them from Africa, made them pass the Alps, and led
+them almost to the gates of Rome.
+
+From time immemorial the Indians have made use of elephants in war.
+Among those nations, unacquainted with military discipline, they
+formed their best troop, and as long as battles were decided by iron
+weapons they commonly vanquished. Yet we learn by history that the
+Greeks and Romans soon used themselves 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
+obliged to turn all their attention to the elephant, when separated
+from their troops. Now that fire is become the element of war, and the
+principal instrument of death, elephants, who are afraid of noise and
+flame, would be rather an incumbrance in battle, and more dangerous
+than useful. The kings of India still arm their elephants in war, but
+it is more for shew than for real service; yet they derive from these
+animals the same utility that arises from an army which is to enslave
+their equals; they make use of them to subdue the wild elephants. The
+most powerful monarchs of the Indies have now above 200 elephants for
+war. They keep many others for different services, and to carry the
+large cages in which their women travel; it is a perfectly safe way of
+travelling, for the elephant never stumbles; but time is required to be
+used to the motions of his pace. The best place is upon the neck, as
+you there ride more easy than on the shoulders or the back; but in war,
+or hunting, several men ride the same elephant: the conductor rides on
+his neck, and the hunters, or warriors, are placed on other parts of
+his body.
+
+In those happy regions, where our cannon and our murdering arts are
+yet scarcely known, they fight still upon elephants. At Cochin, and
+in the other parts of Malabar, they make no 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, ride on nothing but
+elephants; on festival days they are preceded and followed by a great
+number of these animals, superbly caparisoned, and covered with the
+richest stuffs. They surround their tusks with gold and silver rings;
+they paint their ears and cheeks; they crown them with garlands, and
+their harness is ornamented with little bells; they seem to delight in
+magnificent attire, and the more their trappings are rich and splendid
+the more they are cheerful and caressing. It is only in the East
+Indies that the elephants are so far improved, for in Africa they can
+scarcely tame them. The Asiatics, anciently civilized, have reduced
+the education of the elephant into a system, and they have instructed
+and modified him according to their manners. But of all the Africans
+the Carthaginians were the only people who trained up the elephants to
+war, because at the time of the splendor of their commonwealth they
+were, perhaps, more civilized than any other of the eastern nations.
+At present no wild elephants are found in all that part of Africa on
+this side Mount Atlas; there are even few beyond those mountains, as
+far as the river Senegal. But they are numerous in Senegal, in Guinea,
+in Congo, and on the Teeth Coast, in the countries of Anto, Acra,
+Benin, and all the other southern parts of Africa, as far as the Cape
+of Good Hope, except some provinces very populous, such as Fida, Ardra,
+&c. They are also found in Abyssinia, in Ethiopia, in Nigritia, on the
+eastern coast, and in the inland parts of Africa. They are also in the
+great islands of India and Africa, such as Madagascar, Java, and the
+Philippines.
+
+After comparing the relations of travellers and historians it seems
+that elephants are actually more numerous in Africa than in Asia; they
+are there also less mistrustful, and not so shy, as if they knew the
+unskilfulness and the little power of the men who inhabit this part
+of the world; they come daily without fear to their habitations, and
+treat the negroes with that natural and scornful indifference they
+have for other animals; they do not consider those men as powerful and
+formidable beings, but as a species whose skill consists in laying
+snares, without having the courage to encounter them, and absolutely
+ignorant of the art of reducing them into subjection. It is by this
+art known, from the earliest times, to the eastern nations, that their
+species is diminished. The wild elephants, which they tame, become by
+their captivity, like so many voluntary eunuchs, which daily drain
+the source of generation; but, on the contrary, in Africa, where they
+are all free, the whole species propagate, and all the individuals
+constantly concur to its increase. I do not know any other cause
+for this difference in their numbers, for, in considering the other
+effects, it seems the south of India, and the east of Africa, are the
+natural countries, and the most suitable to the elephant. He is there
+much larger and stronger than in Guinea, or in the other western parts
+of Africa. He fears excessive heat, and never inhabits the burning
+sands; he is most frequently found on the flat countries near the
+rivers, and never on the hilly parts of Africa; but in India the most
+powerful and the most courageous of the species, and who have the
+strongest and longest tusks, are the elephants of the mountains; they
+inhabit the high grounds, where the air being more temperate, the water
+more pure, and the food more wholesome, they gradually arrive to the
+full perfection of their nature.
+
+In general the elephants of Asia are larger and superior in strength,
+to those of Africa; particularly those of Ceylon, which exceed in
+courage and sagacity even those of Asia. Probably they owe these
+qualifications to their more improved education; it is, however,
+certain, that all travellers have celebrated the elephants of this
+island, where the ground is interspersed with mountains, which rise
+gradually towards the centre, and where the heat is not so excessive as
+in Senegal, Guinea, and other western parts of Africa. The ancients,
+who knew no more of this part of the world, but the countries seated
+between Mount Atlas and the Mediterranean, had observed, that the
+elephants of Lybia were much smaller than those of India. There are not
+any elephants at this time, in that part of Africa, which proves, as
+mentioned in the article of the Lion, that men are more numerous there
+now than they were in the ages of Carthage. The elephants have retired
+in proportion as men have molested them; but in travelling through the
+climates of Africa, they have not changed their nature; for those of
+Senegal, Guinea, &c. are at this time smaller than those of India.
+
+The strength of these animals is proportionate to their bigness. The
+elephants of India carry with ease burdens of three or four thousand
+pounds weight; the smallest, that is, those of Africa, lift up freely
+with their trunks, burdens of two hundredweight, and place them on
+their shoulders; they take into their trunks a great quantity of water,
+which they throw out around them, at seven or eight feet distance; they
+can carry a weight of a thousand pounds upon their tusks; with their
+trunks they break off branches, and with their tusks they root out
+trees. Their strength may be judged of by their agility, comparatively
+to the bulk of their bodies; they walk as fast as a horse goes on
+an easy trot; and they run as fast as a horse can gallop; which
+seldom happens in their wild state, except when they are provoked
+or frightened. The tame elephants are commonly walked; they travel
+easily, and without fatigue, fifteen or twenty leagues a day; and, when
+hurried, they can travel thirty-five or forty. Their steps are heard
+at a great distance, and they may be followed by their tracks, for
+the marks they leave on the ground are fifteen or eighteen inches in
+diameter.
+
+A domestic elephant does, perhaps, to his master more real service than
+five or six horses; but he requires much care and abundance of good
+food; it is computed that he consumes to the amount of an hundred
+pence per day. He is commonly fed with raw or boiled rice mixed with
+water; and it is reckoned he wants one hundred pounds of rice daily to
+be kept in his full vigour; they give him also grass to cool him, for
+he is often over-heated, and must be led to the water that he may bathe
+two or three times a day; he easily learns to wash himself; he takes
+the water up in his trunk, carries it to his mouth, drinks part, and
+then by elevating his trunk, lets the remainder flow over every part
+of his body. To give an idea of the services he is able to perform, it
+is sufficient to observe, that all the bags, bales, and parcels, which
+are transported from one place to another in the Indies, are carried by
+elephants; that they carry burdens on their bodies, their necks, their
+tusks, and even with their mouths, by giving them the end of a rope
+which they hold with their teeth.
+
+When the elephant is taken care of he lives a long time even in
+captivity; and it is to be presumed, that in a state of liberty his
+life is still longer. Some authors say he lives four or five hundred
+years; others, two or three hundred; and others, one hundred and
+twenty, thirty, and even one hundred and fifty years. I take this last
+opinion to be the nearest to the truth; and if it is certain, that
+captive elephants live one hundred and twenty or thirty years; those
+who are free, and enjoy all the conveniences and rights of Nature,
+must live at least two hundred; besides, if their gestation lasts
+two years, and thirty years are required to bring them to their full
+growth, we may be assured that their life extends to the term we have
+mentioned. It is not so much the captivity, as the change of climate
+which shortens their existence: whatever care is taken of the elephant,
+he does not live long in temperate, and still shorter in cold climates.
+The elephant which the King of Portugal sent to Louis XIV. in 1668, and
+who was then but four years old, died in his seventeenth, 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 score pounds of bread, twelve pints of wine, two
+buckets of porridge, with four or five pounds of bread in it, the last
+was changed every other day for two buckets of rice boiled in water,
+without reckoning what was given him by visitors. He had, besides,
+every day a sheaf of corn to amuse himself; for, after eating the ears,
+he made large whisps of the straw, and used them 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 pulled and eat the grass. The elephant who was lately at Naples,
+though the heat is greater than at Paris, lived there but a few years.
+Those which have been transported to Petersburg perished successively,
+notwithstanding they were well sheltered, covered, and warmed with
+stoves; consequently, we may conclude, that this animal cannot live in
+a state of nature, nor multiply in Europe. But I am surprised that the
+Portuguese, who first knew the use and value of these animals in the
+East Indies, did not transport them into the warm climate of Brasil,
+where they might have propagated, if left at liberty.
+
+The common colour of the elephant is of ash grey, or blackish. White
+ones, as we have observed, are extremely scarce: and some have been
+seen in the Indies of a reddish colour; these and the white are
+much esteemed; but these varieties are so scarce, that they cannot
+be considered as a race distinct from the species, but rather as
+accidental qualities peculiar to individuals; for otherwise, the
+countries of the white, red, and black elephants would be known, as
+well as the climates of white, red, and black men, and those of a
+copper colour. "Elephants of three different sorts are found in the
+Indies; (says Father Vincent Marie) the white, which are the largest,
+most gentle, and of the best temper, are worshipped as gods by several
+nations; the red, such as those of Ceylon, though the smallest, are the
+most valiant, the strongest, and best for war, and the other elephants,
+either from natural inclination, or perceiving in them something
+superior, shew them a great respect; the third species, is that of the
+black, which are the most common, and the least esteemed." This author
+is the only one who has intimated that Ceylon was the peculiar climate
+of red elephants; other travellers make no mention of such a fact. He
+also affirms, that the elephants of Ceylon are smaller than the others.
+Thevenot says the same thing in his voyage, but others assert the
+contrary. Father Vincent Marie also, is the only author who has said
+the white elephants are the largest. Father Tachard assures us on the
+contrary, that the white elephant of the king of Siam was rather small,
+though very old. After comparing the relations of travellers, in regard
+to the size of elephants in different countries, it seems, that the
+smallest are those of North and West Africa, and that the ancients, who
+only knew the northern part of Africa, had some reason to say that,
+in general, the elephants of the Indies were much larger than those of
+Africa. But in the eastern parts of this quarter of the world, unknown
+to them, the elephants are at least as large as those of India; for
+those of Siam and Pegu excel in bulk the elephants of Ceylon; which,
+however, are the most courageous and intelligent, according to the
+unanimous opinion of travellers.
+
+Having thus collected the different facts relative to the species,
+let us now examine minutely the faculties of the individual; his
+senses, motion, size, strength, address, sagacity, and intelligence.
+The elephant has very small eyes, compared to the enormous size of
+his body, but they are bright and lively; and what distinguishes them
+from the eyes of all other animals, is their pathetic expression of
+sentiment, and an almost rational direction of all their motions.
+He turns them slowly and gently towards his master, and when he
+speaks, the animal has the appearance of listening to him with an
+eye of friendship and attention, and by an expressive glance seems
+to penetrate into his wishes, and anticipate his desires. 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 of which he is to obey. Dogs, the eyes of which have much
+expression, are animals too lively to allow us to distinguish their
+successive sensations; but as the elephant is naturally grave and
+sedate, we may read in his eyes, whose motions are slow, the order and
+succession of his interior affections.
+
+He has a quick hearing, and this organ, like that of smelling, is
+outwardly 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 and moves them with such facility that he makes use of
+them to defend his eyes against the inconveniency of dust and flies.
+He delights in the sound of musical instruments, and moves in exact
+time to the sound of the trumpet and tabor. He has an exquisite sense
+of smelling, and he is passionately fond of perfumes of all sorts,
+and especially of fragrant flowers; he gathers them one by one, makes
+nosegays of them, which he smells with eagerness, and then carries to
+his mouth, as if he intended to taste them. Orange flowers are one of
+his most exquisite dainties; he strips with his trunk an orange tree
+of all its verdure, eating the fruit, the flowers, the leaves, and even
+the young branches. He chuses in meadows odoriferous plants, and in the
+woods he gives the preference to cocoa, palm, and sago trees, and as
+these trees are pithy and tender he not only cats the leaves and fruits
+but even the branches, the trunk, and the roots, for when he cannot
+break the branches with his trunk, he roots up the trees with his tusks.
+
+In regard to the sense of feeling, it centres in his trunk; but it is
+as delicate and as distinct in that as in the human hand. This trunk,
+composed of membranes, nerves, and muscles, is, at the same time, a
+member capable of motion, and an organ of sentiment. The animal can
+not only move and bend it, but he can shorten, lengthen, and turn it
+all ways. The extremity of the trunk is terminated by a protuberance,
+which projects on the upper part like a finger, by which the elephant
+does the same as we do with our fingers; he picks up from the ground
+the smallest pieces of money; he gathers herbs and flowers, chusing
+them one after another; he unties knots, opens and shuts doors, by
+turning the keys or slipping the bolts: he learns to draw regular
+characters with an instrument as small as a pen. We cannot even deny
+that this hand of the elephant has several advantages over ours: it is
+equally flexible and as dexterous in feeling or laying hold of objects.
+These operations are made by means of that sort of finger, seated at
+the superior part of the border, which surrounds the extremity of the
+trunk, in the middle of which there is a concavity, in the form of a
+cup, and at the bottom of it are the two apertures, which convey the
+sense of smelling and respiration. The elephant, consequently, unites
+in his trunk both the senses of feeling and smelling; and he may join
+the power of his lungs to the action of his hand, either drawing
+liquids by suction, or lifting up very heavy burdens, by applying the
+extremity of his trunk, and making within an empty place by respiration.
+
+Thus the delicacy of feeling, exquisiteness of smelling, facility
+of motion, and the power of suction, are united in the trunk of the
+elephant. Of all the instruments which Nature has so liberally bestowed
+on her favourite productions, the trunk of the elephant is, perhaps,
+the most complete and the most admirable; it is not only an organic
+instrument, but a triple sense, whose united functions are, at the
+same time, the cause, and produce the effect of that intelligence,
+and of those peculiar faculties which distinguish the elephant, and
+raise him above all other quadrupeds. He is less subject than other
+animals to errors of sight, because he rectifies them quickly by the
+sense of feeling; and making use of his trunk as a long arm to feel
+distant bodies, he acquires, like men, distinct ideas of distance. But
+other animals (except the monkey, and some others, who have the fore
+feet similar to arms and hands) cannot acquire the same ideas without
+running over that space with their bodies. Feeling is, of all the
+senses, that which has the most relation to knowledge. The delicacy of
+feeling gives the idea of the substance of the bodies; the flexibility
+of the trunk gives the idea of their exterior form; the power of
+suction, that of their weight; smelling, that of their qualities;
+and its length, that of their distance. They, therefore, with the
+same member, and by one simultaneous act, feel, perceive, and judge
+of divers things at once. His multiplied sensations are equivalent
+to reflection; and though this animal is, like others, incapable of
+thinking, as his sensations are combined in the same organ, are coeval
+and undivided, it is not surprising that he has ideas of his own, and
+that he acquires in a little time those we inculcate to him. His
+remembrance should be more perfect than that of any other animal, for
+memory only depends chiefly on the circumstances of action; and no
+sensation, however lively, can leave a lasting impression, when single
+and abstractedly taken; but several combined sensations leave deep
+impressions, so that if the elephant cannot recall an idea by feeling
+alone, the sensations of smelling and suction, which act at the same
+time, help him in recalling them to remembrance. With us the best
+method to improve the memory is to make use successively of all our
+senses to consider an object; and it is for want of that combined use
+of the senses that man forgets more things than he can recollect.
+
+Although the elephant has a more retentive memory, and more
+intelligence than any other animal, his brain is proportionally smaller
+than most of them, which I only mention as a proof that the brain is
+not the seat of sentiment, the _sensorium commune_, which resides, on
+the contrary, in the nerves of the senses, and in the membranes of the
+head, which are so numerously distributed on the trunk of the elephant,
+as to be equal to all those on the rest of the body. It is, therefore,
+by virtue of this singular combination of faculties in the trunk, that
+this animal is superior to all others in intelligence, notwithstanding
+his enormous size, and the disproportion of his form; for the elephant
+is, at the same time, a miracle of intelligence, and a monster of
+matter. His body is very thick, without any suppleness; his neck short
+and stiff, his head small and deformed, his ears and nose exceedingly
+large; his eyes, mouth, genital members, and tail, very small in
+proportion; his legs are like massive pillars, straight and stiff; his
+feet so short and small, that they are hardly perceptible, and his skin
+hard, thick, and callous; all these deformities are more remarkable,
+from being exhibited on a large scale, and most of them being peculiar
+to himself alone, no other animal having either the head, feet, nose,
+ears, or tusks, placed like those of the elephant.
+
+From this singular conformation he suffers several inconveniences; he
+can scarcely move his head, or turn back without making a circuit. The
+hunters who attack him behind, or on the flanks, avoid the effects of
+his vengeance by circular motions, and they have sufficient time to
+strike him again whilst he is turning against them. His legs, which
+are not so stiff as his neck and body, yet bend very slowly, and
+with difficulty; their articulation with the thighs is very strong.
+His knee is situated like that of a man, and his feet as low; but his
+foot has no strength nor elastic power, and the knee is hard, without
+suppleness; yet whilst the elephant is in his youth and vigour, he
+bends it to lay down, to let himself be loaded, or to help his leaders
+to mount him; but when he is old or infirm, this motion becomes so
+difficult that he sleeps standing; and, if he is compelled to lay
+down, the use of engines are necessary to raise him. His tusks, which
+become of an enormous weight when he grows old, not being seated in
+a vertical position, as the horns of other animals, form two long
+levers, and being in an almost horizontal direction, fatigue his head
+prodigiously, and draw it downwards, so that the animal is sometimes
+obliged to make holes in the wall of his lodge to support them, and
+ease himself of their weight. He has the disadvantage of having the
+organ of smelling far distant from that of tasting; and likewise the
+inconvenience of not being able to seize any thing on the ground with
+his mouth, because his neck is too short to let his head reach the
+earth; he is forced, therefore, to take his food, and even his drink
+with his nose; and to carry it not only to the entrance of his mouth,
+but to his very throat; and when his trunk is full of water, he thrusts
+the extremity of it to the very root of the tongue, probably to push
+back the epiglottis, and to prevent the liquor which passes through
+with impetuosity, from entering into the larynx; for he thrusts out the
+water by the strength of the same air which he had employed to suck it
+up, and it goes out of the trunk with noise, and enters into the throat
+with precipitation. Neither the tongue, the mouth, nor the lips, are of
+any service to him, as to other animals, in sucking or lapping their
+drink. From this description seems to result the singular consequence,
+that the young elephant must suck with his nose, and afterwards carry
+the milk to his throat. Yet the ancients have written that he sucks
+with the mouth, and not with the trunk; but they were not, probably,
+witnesses of the fact, and have founded their opinion on the analogy
+with all other animals. If the young elephant had once been used to
+suck with his mouth, how could he lose that habit the remainder of
+his life? Why does he never use the mouth to take water within his
+reach? Why does he constantly employ two actions, where one would be
+sufficient? Why does he never take any thing with his mouth, but what
+is thrown in when it is open? It appears probable, therefore, that the
+young elephant sucks with his trunk only. This presumption is not only
+proved by the subsequent facts, but is also founded on a better analogy
+than that which decided the opinion of the ancients. We have said, that
+animals in general, at the instant they are brought forth, can have
+no indication of the food they want, from any other sense but that of
+smelling: the ear is certainly of no use in that respect; neither is
+the eye, since the eyes of most animals are not open when they begin
+to suck: feeling can give but a vague idea of all the parts of the
+mother's body, or rather indicates nothing relative to the appetite.
+Smelling alone directs him: it is not only a sort of taste, but a
+species of fore-taste, which precedes, accompanies, and determines the
+other. The elephant, like other animals, perceives by this fore-taste
+the presence of his food; and as the seat of smelling is united with
+the power of suction at the extremity of his trunk, he applies it to
+the teats, sucks the milk, and conveys it afterwards to his mouth to
+satisfy his appetite. Besides, the two paps being seated on the breast,
+like those of women, and the teats being very small in proportion to
+the size of the mouth of the young elephant, who cannot bend his neck,
+he could not reach the teat of his mother with his mouth, unless she
+laid upon her back, or on her side, and even in that situation he would
+find it very difficult to suck her, on account of the largeness of the
+mouth, and the smallness of the nipples. The margin of the trunk, which
+the elephant contracts as much as he pleases, is easily proportioned
+to the nipple, and the young elephant may suck his mother with it,
+either when she stands, or lies on her side. Thus, every thing agrees
+to confute the opinion of the ancients on this subject, for none of
+them, nor even any of the moderns, pretend to have seen the elephant
+sucking, and I think, I may affirm, that whenever that observation is
+made, it will appear, that he does not suck with his mouth, but with
+his trunk. I likewise believe, that the ancients have been mistaken in
+telling us, that elephants couple like other quadrupeds, the position
+of the parts seeming to make it almost impossible. The female has not,
+like other quadrupeds, the orifice of the vagina near the anus, being
+near three feet distance from it, and seated almost in the middle of
+the belly. Besides, naturalists and travellers agree that the male
+elephant has not the genital member longer than a horse, and therefore
+it is impossible for them to copulate like other quadrupeds, and that
+the female must necessarily lie on her back, and which De Feynes and
+Tavernier positively affirm must be the fact, though I should not pay
+much attention to their testimony were it not in conformity with the
+physical conformation; they require, therefore, for this operation,
+more time and conveniences, than other animals; and it is, perhaps, for
+this reason they never couple, but when at full liberty. The female
+must not only consent, but even place herself in an indecent situation,
+to provoke the male, which probably, she never assumes but when she
+thinks herself without witnesses. Is not modesty then a physical
+virtue of which animals are susceptible? It is at least like softness,
+moderation, temperance, a general attribute of the female sex.
+
+Thus the elephant neither sucks, eats, or drinks, like other
+quadrupeds. The sound of his voice is also very singular. If we believe
+the ancients, he has, as it were, two voices: the one issuing from the
+trunk, which is rough, and from the length of the passage is somewhat
+like that of a trumpet; and the other coming from his mouth, which is
+interrupted by short pauses and hard sighs. This fact, advanced by
+Aristotle and afterwards repeated by naturalists and some travellers,
+is at least doubtful. M. de Bussy affirms positively, that the elephant
+does not utter any sounds through the trunk; yet as in shutting the
+mouth close, man can make a sound through the nose, it is possible
+that the elephant, with so long a nose may issue sounds in the same
+manner. From wherever it proceeds, the cry of the elephant is heard at
+more than a league's distance; and yet, it is not so terrifying as the
+roaring of the lion or the tiger.
+
+The elephant is yet more singular in the conformation of his feet,
+and the texture of his skin. He is not clothed with hair like other
+quadrupeds, but his skin is perfectly bare; some bristles issue out in
+different parts, they are thinly scattered on the body, but more thick
+on the eye-lids, on the back part of the head, within the ears, the
+thighs, and the legs. The epidermis has two sorts of wrinkles, which
+are hard and callous, some sinking, others prominent, which gives a
+divided appearance, like the bark of an old oak. In man, and in other
+animals, the epidermis sticks every where close to the skin, but 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 divers crusts, which
+are regenerated one above the other, drying up. It is this thickness of
+the epidermis which produces the _elephantiasis_, or dry leprosy, to
+which man, whose skin is bare like that of the elephant, is sometimes
+subject. This distemper is very common to elephants, and to prevent it
+the Indians rub them often with oil, to preserve the skin clean and
+supple. It is very tender wherever it is not callous; in the fissures,
+and other places, where it is neither dry nor hard, the elephant is
+so sensible 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, ears, and trunk, to strike
+them; he contracts his skin and squeezes them to death betwixt his
+wrinkles; he takes branches of trees, boughs, and handfuls of straw,
+to drive them away, and when all this does not answer the purpose, he
+gathers dust with his trunk, and covers with it all the tender parts
+of his body. He often covers himself with dust several times in a day,
+particularly after bathing. The use of water is almost as necessary
+to these animals as air. When at liberty they seldom leave the banks
+of rivers, but often go into them, and remain for hours together up
+to the belly. In India, where they are treated most suitable to their
+nature and constitution, they wash them with care, and give them all
+the necessary time and opportunity to wash themselves. They clean their
+skins by rubbing it with pumice-stones, and afterwards they pour on
+them perfumed oil, and paint them with various colours.
+
+The conformation of the elephant's feet and legs is also different
+from that of other animals; the fore legs seem to be higher than those
+behind, yet the hind legs are the longest; they are not bent in two
+places, like the hind legs of a horse, or an ox, the thigh-bones of
+which seem to be of the same piece with the buttock, the knee very near
+the belly, and the bones of the foot so high and so long that they seem
+to make a great part of the leg; in the elephant, on the contrary, the
+foot is very short, and rests on the ground; he has the knee like man,
+in the middle of the leg; his short foot is divided into five toes,
+which are all covered with a skin, so as not to appear outwardly; we
+are only able to perceive a kind of nails, the number of which varies,
+though that of the toes is constant, for he has always five toes to
+each foot, and commonly five nails, but sometimes he has no more than
+four, or even three, and in this case they do not correspond exactly
+with the extremities of the toes. However, this variety, which has
+only been observed in young elephants transported to Europe, seems
+to be merely accidental, and depends, probably on the treatment the
+elephant has received in his youth. The sole of the feet is covered
+with a skin, as hard as the hoof, which projects all round; the nails
+are formed of the same substance.
+
+The ears of the elephant are very long; he makes use of them as a fan,
+and moves them as he pleases: his tail is not longer than his ears,
+being 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; these bristles are as big and as strong as wire,
+and a man cannot break them by pulling with his hands, though they
+are elastic and pliant. This tuft of hair is an ornament which the
+negro women are particularly partial to, from superstitious notions.
+An elephant's tail is sometimes sold for two or three slaves, and
+the negroes often hazard their lives to cut and snatch it from the
+living animal. Besides this tuft at the extremity, the tail is covered
+throughout with hard bristles, bigger than those of a wild boar; some
+are also found on the convex part of the trunk, and on the eye-brows,
+where they sometimes are a foot in length. The hairs on the eye-lids
+are peculiar to men, monkeys, and elephants.
+
+The climate, food, and condition, have great influence on the growth
+and size of the elephant. In general those who are taken young, and
+early lose their liberty, never come to their full growth. The biggest
+elephants of India, and the eastern coasts 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 are brought young into Europe acquire not that height. That which
+was in the menagerie of 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, and as the growth gradually diminishes as animals advance in
+years, if he had lived thirty years, which is the ordinary term of
+their full growth, he would not have been more than eight feet high.
+Thus a domestic state reduces the growth of the animal at least one
+third, not only in height but in all other dimensions. The length of
+the body, measured from the eye to the tail, is very near equal to
+his height; an elephant of the Indies, therefore, of fourteen feet
+high, is seven times bigger and heavier than was the elephant of
+Versailles. In comparing the growth of this animal with that of man
+we shall find, that an infant, being commonly thirty-one inches, that
+is half his height when he is two years old, and coming to his full
+growth at twenty, the elephant, who increases in height and bulk to his
+thirtieth year, should come to half his height in three years. In the
+same manner, if we judge of the enormity of the bulk of the elephant,
+it will be found, that the volume of a man's body being supposed to be
+two cubic feet and a half, the body of an elephant of fourteen feet in
+length, allowing him only three feet in thickness, and of a middling
+breadth, would be fifty times as big, and, consequently, an elephant
+ought to weigh as much as fifty men.
+
+"I have seen (says father Vincent Marie) some elephants who were
+fourteen or fifteen feet high, long and thick in proportion. The male
+is always larger than the female. The price of these animals increases
+in proportion to their size, which is measured from the eye to the
+extremity of the back, and after exceeding certain dimensions, the
+price increases like that of precious stones."
+
+"The elephants of Guinea (says Bosman) are ten, twelve, or thirteen
+feet in height, and yet they are incomparably smaller than those of the
+East Indies, since those who have written the history of that country,
+give to those more cubits in height, than the others have feet."
+
+"I have seen elephants thirteen feet high, (says Edward Terry) and I
+have met with many, who affirmed they have seen elephants fifteen feet
+high[AG]."
+
+[Footnote AG: These authors probably referred to different measures,
+the first meaning Roman, the second Rhenish, and the last English feet.]
+
+From these, and many other attestations, we may conclude, that the most
+common size of the elephant is from ten to eleven feet; that those of
+thirteen or fourteen feet are very scarce, and that the smallest are
+at least nine feet high when they come to their full growth in a state
+of liberty. These enormous lumps of matter, as we have observed, move
+with much celerity; they are supported by four members, which are more
+like pillars, or massive columns, than legs, and are from fifteen to
+eighteen inches in diameter, and five or six feet in height; their
+legs are therefore twice as long as those of a man; thus, though the
+elephant took but one step to a man's two, he would overtake him in
+running. The common pace of the elephant is not swifter than that of
+the horse; but when he is pressed, he goes a sort of amble, equivalent
+for quickness to a gallop. He executes with speed, and even with ease,
+all direct motion; but he has no facility for oblique or retrograde
+motions. It is commonly in narrow and deep roads, where he can hardly
+turn, that the negroes attack him, and cut off his tail, which they
+value as much as the whole animal. He cannot go down a steep declivity
+without much difficulty, he is then obliged to bend the hind legs,
+in order to keep the fore part of his body on a level with the hind,
+and that his own weight may not throw him down. He swims well, though
+the form of his legs and feet seem to indicate the contrary; but as
+the capacity of his breast and belly is very large, as the volume of
+the lungs and intestines is enormous, and as those parts are full of
+air, or matter lighter than water, he sinks less deep than any other
+animal; he finds less resistance to overcome, and, consequently, can
+swim faster in making less efforts with his limbs. Thus, he is very
+useful for crossing rivers; besides two field-pieces, each of them
+four-pounders, with which he is loaded on these occasions, he carries
+heavy baggage, and several persons holding him by the ears and tail.
+When thus loaded, he swims deep in the water, and nothing is seen but
+his trunk, which he keeps erect to enable him to breathe.
+
+Though the elephant commonly feeds on herbs and young branches, and
+requires prodigious quantities of these aliments, to extract from them
+the nutrition necessary to such a body, yet he has not many stomachs,
+like most animals who feed on the same substances. He has but one
+stomach, does not ruminate, and is formed more like the horse than
+the ox, or other ruminating animals. The want of a paunch is supplied
+by the bigness and length of his intestines, and especially of the
+colon, which is two or three feet in diameter, and fifteen or twenty
+in length. The stomach is much smaller than the colon, being but four
+feet, at the most, in length, and a foot and a half in diameter. To
+fill such a capaciousness, the animal must eat almost continually,
+especially when he has no food more substantial than herbage; therefore
+the wild elephants are almost always employed in grubbing up trees,
+gathering herbs, or breaking young boughs; and those that are tame,
+though fed with great quantities of rice, pluck up herbs whenever
+they find an opportunity. However great the appetite of the elephant,
+he eats with moderation, and his taste for cleanliness gets the better
+of his wants. His dexterity in parting, with his trunk, the good
+leaves from the bad, and the care he takes to shake off the sand or
+insects, are convincing marks of his delicacy. He is very fond of
+wine, spirituous liquors, brandy, and arrack. He is prevailed upon to
+exert his greatest efforts, and to undertake the most arduous task, by
+shewing him a vessel full of these liquors, and promising it to him as
+the reward of his labours. He seems also to like the smoke of tobacco,
+but it stupifies and intoxicates him: he has a natural aversion to bad
+smells, and such an antipathy for hogs, that the cry of that animal
+disorders and puts him to flight.
+
+To give a complete idea of the nature and intelligence of this singular
+animal, I shall insert here some particulars communicated to me by the
+Marquis de Montmirail, President of the Royal Academy of Sciences,
+who has taken the trouble to translate from some Italian and German
+books, which were not known to me, whatever relates to the history of
+the animal creation. His taste for arts and sciences, his zeal for
+the advancement of them, his exquisite judgment, and a very extensive
+knowledge of all the parts of Natural History, entitle him to the
+greatest respect, and it is with pleasure and gratitude I refer to the
+information he has given me, and which I shall have frequent occasion
+to refer to in the subsequent part of this work:--"They make use of
+the elephant to carry artillery over mountains; and it is then that he
+gives the greatest proofs of his intelligence: when the oxen, yoked
+together, endeavour to draw a piece of artillery up a mountain, the
+elephant pushes the breech of the cannon with his forehead, and at
+every effort he supports the carriage with his knee, which he places
+against the wheel. He seems as if he understood what is 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 shews any repugnance to comply, the _cornack_, so his leader
+is called, promises to give him arrack, or some other thing that he
+likes; then the animal agrees to every thing proposed; but it is
+dangerous to break a promise with him, as many cornacks have fallen
+victims by such conduct. An instance of this happened at Dekan, which
+deserves to be recorded; and which, however incredible it may appear,
+is perfectly true. An elephant, in revenge, killed his cornack; the
+man's wife being witness of this dreadful catastrophe, took her two
+children and threw them to the feet of the still enraged animal,
+saying, _Since thou hast killed my husband, take also my life and that
+of my children_. The elephant stopped short, grew calm, and, as if
+moved with regret and compassion, took with his trunk the biggest of
+the two children, placed him on his neck, adopted him for his cornack,
+and would never suffer any other to mount him afterwards.
+
+"If the elephant be vindictive he is no less grateful. A soldier at
+Pondicherry, who commonly gave one of these animals a certain measure
+of arrack every time he received his pay, having one day drank more
+than common, and seeing himself pursued by the guard, who wanted to
+conduct him to prison, took refuge under the elephant, and there fell
+asleep. In vain did the guard attempt to draw him out from this asylum,
+the elephant firmly defending him with his trunk. The next day, when
+the soldier became sober, he was struck with terror to find himself
+under an animal of such enormous bulk. The elephant, who no doubt
+perceived his consternation, caressed him with his trunk, and made him
+understand that he might depart freely.
+
+"The elephant sometimes falls into a sort of phrenzy, which deprives
+him of his tractability, and makes him so formidable that it is
+frequently thought necessary to kill him, though they generally tie
+him with heavy chains, in hopes that he will come to himself; but when
+in his natural state the most acute pains cannot provoke him to do any
+harm to those who have not offended him. An elephant, made furious by
+the wounds he had received in the battle of Hambour, ran about the
+field crying out in the most hideous manner. A soldier, notwithstanding
+the warning of his companions, was unable to fly, perhaps from being
+wounded; the elephant coming up to him appeared afraid of trampling
+him under his feet, took him up with his trunk, placed him gently on
+one side, and continued his march." These particulars were given to
+the Marquis Montmirail by M. de Bussy, who lived ten years in India,
+and served the state with reputation. He had several elephants in his
+service; he mounted them often, saw them every day, and had frequent
+opportunities of observing many others.
+
+The gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences have also communicated to us
+the following facts, which they learned from those who governed the
+elephant at Versailles, and which deserve to be mentioned here. "The
+elephant seemed to discern when any body made a fool of him, and he
+remembered the affront to be revenged the first opportunity. A man
+deceived him by feigning to throw something into his mouth, upon which
+the animal gave him such a blow with his trunk as broke two of his
+ribs; having knocked him down, he trampled him under his feet, and
+broke one of his legs, and then kneeling down, he tried to thrust his
+tusks into the man's belly, which, however, went into the ground on
+both sides of his thigh, without hurting him. He bruised another man,
+by squeezing him against the wall, for a little mockery. A painter was
+desirous to draw him in an unusual attitude, with his trunk erect and
+his mouth open; the servant of the painter, to make him remain in that
+attitude, threw fruits into his mouth, but often deceived him, which
+provoked his indignation, and, as if he knew the painter was the cause
+of his being thus insulted, without taking any notice of the servant,
+he threw such a quantity of water with his trunk upon the paper, the
+master was drawing on, as totally to spoil the design. The elephant
+made less use of his strength than of his address, which was such that
+he untied with great facility a double leather string which fastened
+his leg, and as this buckle had a small string twisted around it with
+several knots, he untied them all without breaking either the strings
+or the strap. One night, having thus disentangled himself from his
+leather strings, he dexterously broke open the door of his lodge, so
+that his keeper was not awakened by the noise; he went from thence
+into several courts of the menagerie, breaking open the doors that
+were shut, and pulling down the stone work when the passage was too
+narrow for him to pass; by this means he got into the lodges of other
+animals, terrifying them to that degree, that they hid themselves
+in the remotest parts of the inclosures." In fine, to omit nothing
+that may contribute to make all the natural and acquired faculties of
+this animal so superior to all others, perfectly known, we shall add
+some facts, extracted from the most credible authors. "The elephant,
+even when wild (says Father Vincent Marie), has his virtues. He is
+generous and temperate; and when tamed he is esteemed for gentleness
+and fidelity to his master, and friendship for his governors. If
+destined to the immediate services of princes he knows his fortune,
+and preserves a gravity agreeable to the dignity of his employ. If, on
+the contrary, he is employed in mean labours, he evidently grieves and
+laments his being thus debased. In war he is impetuous and proud at
+the first onset; he is equally so when surrounded by hunters, but he
+loses courage when he is conquered. He fights with his tusks, and fears
+nothing so much as losing his trunk, which, by its consistence, is
+easily cut off. He is naturally mild, never attacks any person, unless
+he has been offended; he seems to delight in company, is particularly
+fond of children, caresses them, and seems to be sensible that they are
+harmless and innocent."
+
+"The elephant, (says F. Pyrard) is an animal of so much judgment and
+knowledge, that one should think him endowed with rational faculties;
+besides being of infinite service to man. If wanted to be ridden,
+he is so supple, and obedient, that he conforms to the conveniency
+and quality of the person he serves: he bends his knees, and helps
+his leader to mount him with his trunk. He is so tractable, that he
+does whatever he is required, provided he is treated with gentleness.
+He performs all that he is commanded, and caresses those whom he is
+directed to use with civility."
+
+"By giving the elephants, (says the Dutch travellers) whatever can
+please them, they are as easily tamed and rendered as submissive as
+men. It may be said they want no other faculty, but that of speech.
+They are proud and ambitious, but they remember good offices, and are
+so grateful for them, that they never fail to incline their head as a
+mark of respect, when they pass before a house where they have been
+well used. They may be conducted at the command of a child, but they
+love to be praised and cherished. No person can affront, or injure them
+without their notice; and those who have treated them with disrespect,
+may think themselves happy if they escape without being sprinkled with
+the water from their trunks, or thrown into the dirt."
+
+"The elephants, (says Father Philip) come very near the human species
+in judgment and reasoning. Monkeys are stupid brute animals compared
+to them. The elephants are so modest, that they cannot bear being
+seen when they couple; and if by chance, any person were to see this
+operation they would infallibly be revenged of them. They salute by
+bending the knees, and inclining their head; and when their master
+shews his intention to mount them, they so dexterously present to him
+their foot, that he may use it as a step. When a wild elephant is
+taken, and his feet are tied, one of the hunters comes near, salutes,
+makes an apology for having tied him, and protests that his intention
+is not to do him any harm; tells him that in his savage state he often
+wanted food, but now he will be treated with tenderness, and which
+he promises to do constantly. The hunter has no sooner finished this
+soothing discourse, than the elephant follows him as gently as a lamb.
+We must not, however, conclude from this, that the elephant understands
+languages, but only having a particular discerning faculty, he knows
+the motions of esteem from contempt, friendship from hatred, and all
+other sentiments of man towards him, for which cause he is more easily
+tamed by reasoning than by blows. He throws stones to a great distance,
+and very straight with his trunk; which he also makes use of to pour
+water over his body when bathing."
+
+"Of five elephants, (says Tavernier) which the hunters had taken, three
+escaped, although their bodies and legs were fastened with chains and
+ropes. These men told us the following surprising circumstance, if it
+can be believed, that when an elephant has been caught, and escaped the
+snare, he becomes very mistrustful and breaks off a large branch with
+his trunk, with which he sounds the ground before he puts his foot upon
+it, to discover if there are any holes, by which he may be caught a
+second time; for this reason the hunters, who related this singularity,
+despaired of catching again the three elephants who had escaped. The
+other two which they had caught, was each of them placed betwixt two
+tame elephants, and around them were six men, holding torches, who
+spoke to the animals, and presented them something to eat, saying, in
+their language, 'take this and eat it.' What they gave them consisted
+of small bundles of hay, bits of black sugar, and rice boiled in water,
+with pepper. When the wild elephant refused to do what he was ordered,
+the men commanded the tame elephants to beat him, which they did
+immediately; one striking his forehead, and when he seemed to aim at a
+revenge, the other struck him on the side, so that the poor creature
+soon perceived he had nothing to do, but to obey."
+
+"I have several times observed, (says Edward Terry) that the elephant
+does many things which seemed to be more the result of a rational than
+an instinctive faculty. He does whatever his master commands him. If
+he wishes him to frighten any body, he advances towards him with the
+same fury as if he would tear him to pieces, and when near he stops
+short, without doing him any harm. If the master is inclined to affront
+another, he speaks to the elephant, who takes up dirty water with his
+trunk, and throws it over the person pointed out to him. His trunk is
+made of a cartilage, hangs betwixt his tusks, and by some called his
+hand, because on many occasions it is as serviceable to him as the hand
+is to men. The Mogul keeps elephants for the execution of criminals
+condemned to death. If their leader bids them dispatch the wretched
+creatures quickly, they tear them to pieces in a moment with their
+feet; but if commanded to make the criminals languish, they break their
+bones one after another, and make them suffer torments as cruel as
+those of the wheel."
+
+We might quote several other facts equally curious and interesting,
+but we should exceed the limits of this work; we should not have
+even entered into so many particulars, if the elephant (_fig. 133._)
+were not, of all animals, the first in every respect, and that which
+consequently deserves most attention.
+
+We have said nothing respecting the production of his ivory because M.
+Daubenton has made several useful observations upon the nature and
+quality of it, but he has at the same time assigned to the elephant
+the tusks, and prodigious bones attributed to the mammoth. I confess
+I was long doubtful on this subject; I had several times considered
+those enormous bones, and compared them with the skeleton of an almost
+adult elephant preserved in the king's cabinet, and before writing the
+history of those animals, I could not persuade myself that elephants
+six or seven times bigger than the one whose skeleton I had seen,
+could exist; more especially, as the large bones had not the same
+proportions with the corresponding ones of the elephant, I thought with
+the generality of naturalists that these enormous bones had belonged
+to an animal much larger, whose species was lost or annihilated. But
+it is certain, as we have mentioned before, that some elephants exist
+who are fourteen feet high, that is, six or seven times bigger (for
+the bulk is in proportion to the cube in height) than the elephant,
+of whose skeleton we have spoken, and which was not more than seven
+feet and a half in height. It is also certain, for the observations of
+M. Daubenton, that age changes the proportion of the bones and when
+the animal is adult, they grow considerably thicker, though they are
+come to their full height: in fine, it is certain, from the relations
+of travellers, that of some elephants, the tusks weigh more than
+120lbs.[AH] From these observations, we cannot doubt that those tusks
+and bones we have already noticed for their prodigious size, actually
+belonged to the elephant. Sir Hans Sloane was of that opinion, but
+he did not prove it. M. Gmelin said it still more affirmatively, and
+gave on this subject several curious facts[AI]; but M. Daubenton is
+the first who has proved them unquestionably by exact measures and
+comparisons, and reasons founded on the great knowledge that he has
+acquired in the Science of Anatomy.
+
+[Footnote AH: Mr. Eden says, that several elephant's tusks which he
+measured, were no less than nine feet long, and as big as a man's thigh
+in circumference, some of them weighing more than nine pounds; and that
+he saw a head in the possession of a Mr. Jude, which had been brought
+from Guinea by some English ships, of which the mere bones, without the
+tusks, weighed upwards of 200lbs. and it was supposed that when the
+head was entire it could not weigh less than 500lbs. Lopes affirms he
+met with several tusks that weighed 200lbs. _Hist. Gen. des Voyages._
+This magnitude of the tusks is also confirmed by Drake, Holbe, and the
+Dutch travellers.]
+
+[Footnote AI: The Czar, Peter, being curious in Natural History, issued
+orders in the year 1722, that wherever any bones of the mammoth should
+be found, search should be made after the remainder, and the whole of
+them sent to Petersburg, and which orders were made public in all the
+towns of Siberia. In consequence of this several persons applied to the
+Woywode of Jakutzk to be sent off to two different places, where they
+affirmed they had seen these bones; their demands were complied with,
+and many of them returned with heads and various bones, which were
+transmitted to Petersburg, and placed in the imperial cabinet; but it
+will be found upon examination that all the bones placed there, under
+the denomination of the Mammoth bones, are perfectly similar with the
+elephant's. And as to their being found under the earth and in Siberia,
+it may fairly be presumed that in the great revolutions which have
+happened to the earth, a great number of elephants might be driven from
+their native climates; many have been destroyed by the inundations, and
+those who wandered so far into the North must necessarily have perished
+from the rigours of the climate. _Voyage a Kamtschatka par M. Gmelin._]
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+The female elephant, as in all other animals, is more gentle than the
+male, at least we found it so, for the male which we saw in 1771,
+was more fierce and untractable than a female we witnessed in 1773;
+he would frequently lay hold of, and tear the clothes of those who
+approached too near him, and even his keepers were always obliged to
+be on their guard, while she was perfectly quiet, and always ready
+to obey, nor ever shewed a disposition to be perverse but when they
+wanted to put her into a covered waggon for the purpose of conveying
+her from one town to another; upon which occasion she would refuse to
+go forward, and they had no means of making her advance but by pricking
+her behind; this would make her very angry, and being unable to turn,
+the only way she had of revenge was to take up water in her trunk and
+throw it over them, and which she would do in pretty large quantities.
+
+I formerly remarked, there was a probability, from the situation of the
+sexual organs, that these animals did not copulate in the same manner
+as other quadrupeds, but this conjecture I understand is not warranted
+in fact, for M. Marcel Bles thus expresses himself upon the subject:
+"The comte de Buffon, in his excellent work, is deceived in respect to
+the copulation of the elephants. In many parts of Asia and Africa they
+certainly, during their season of love, retire into the most secret
+recesses of the forests; but in the island of Ceylon which is almost
+in every part inhabited, and where I have lived twelve years, they
+have not that opportunity of concealing themselves. I have frequently
+examined them, and from the female organ being nearly in the middle of
+the belly there is some reason to conclude as M. de Buffon has done;
+however, when inclined to admit the male, I have seen the female bend
+her two fore legs upon the root of a tree, lowering, at the same time,
+her head and neck, and keeping her hind legs erect, which gave the male
+an opportunity of acting in the same manner as other quadrupeds. They
+never copulate but in a state of freedom. The males are very furious in
+the rutting season, and it is very dangerous to go near them; during
+which the females will sometimes make their escape, and seek the wild
+males in the woods. A few days after her cornack goes into the woods
+in search of her, and she will come to him upon hearing him call her
+by name, and quietly suffer herself to be led home again. It was from
+these excursions discovered that the females bring forth at the end of
+nine months."
+
+I certainly am ready to give full credit to the first remark of M.
+Marcel Bless, because he assures us that he has seen the elephant
+perform the operation; but I cannot think we ought so perfectly to
+acquiesce as to the time of their going with young, since it is the
+opinion of all travellers that they do not bring forth in a less period
+than two years.
+
+
+
+
+THE RHINOCEROS.
+
+
+After the elephant the Rhinoceros (_fig. 124._) is the most powerful
+of 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 nearly equal to his length. In
+bulk, therefore, he nearly resembles the elephant, and if he appears
+smaller, it is because his legs are shorter in proportion than those
+of the elephant. But he differs widely from that sagacious animal by
+his natural faculties and intelligence, having received from Nature
+merely what she grants in common to all animals. He is deprived of
+all feeling in his skin; he has no organ to answer the purpose of
+hands, to give him a distinct sense of touching; instead of a trunk
+he has only a moveable lip, in which centres all his dexterity. He
+is superior to other animals only in strength, magnitude, 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 advantageously than the horn of ruminating animals; those only
+protect the superior parts of the head and neck, whilst the horn of the
+rhinoceros defends all the exterior parts of the muzzle, the mouth, and
+the face, from insult. For this reason the tiger attacks more readily
+the elephant, whose trunk he can seize, than the rhinoceros, which he
+cannot attack in front without running the danger of having his inside
+torn out; for the body and limbs are covered with so impenetrable a
+skin that he fears neither the claws of the tiger nor lion, nor the
+fire and weapons of the huntsman. His skin is blackish, of the same
+colour, but thicker and harder than that of the elephant; nor does
+he feel the sting of flies. He cannot contract nor extend his skin;
+it is folded by large wrinkles on the neck, shoulders, and rump to
+facilitate the motion of his head and legs, which last are massive,
+and terminated by large feet, armed with three great toes. His head is
+larger in proportion than that of the elephant, but his eyes are still
+smaller, which he seldom opens entirely. The upper jaw projects above
+the lower, and the upper lip is moveable, and may be lengthened six
+or seven inches; it is terminated by a sharp edge, which gives the
+animal the power to gather grass and divide it into handfuls, as the
+elephant does with his trunk. This muscular and flexible lip is a sort
+of imperfect trunk which is equally capable of seizing with force, and
+feeling with delicacy. Instead of those long ivory tusks, which form
+the weapons of the elephant, the rhinoceros has a powerful horn, and
+two strong incisive teeth in each jaw: these teeth, which the elephant
+has not, are placed at a great distance, one in each corner or angle
+of the jaws; the under jaw is square before, and there are no other
+incisive teeth in all the interior part, which is covered by the lips;
+but, independently of these four incisive teeth, placed in the four
+corners of the mouth, he has twenty-four smaller teeth, six on each
+side of each jaw. His ears are always erect; they are in form like
+those of the hog, only they are smaller in proportion to his body, and
+they are the only hairy parts about him. The end of the tail, like that
+of the elephant, is furnished with a tuft of large bristles, very hard
+and very solid.
+
+Mr. Parsons, a celebrated physician in London, to whom the republic of
+letters is indebted for several discoveries in Natural History, and to
+whom I am under obligations for the marks of esteem and friendship
+he has honoured me with, published in 1744, a Natural History of the
+Rhinoceros, of which I shall give an extract with more willingness,
+because whatever Mr. Parsons has written deserves credit and attention.
+
+"Though the rhinoceros was often seen at the spectacles at Rome,
+from the time of Pompey to that of Heliogabalus, though many have
+been transported into Europe in these last ages, and though Bontius,
+Chardin, and Kolbe, have drawn this figure, both in the Indies and
+Africa, yet he was so badly represented, and his description was so
+incorrect, that he was known very imperfectly, until those which
+arrived in London in 1739 and 1741, were inspected, when the errors or
+caprices of those who had published figures of him became very visible.
+That of Albert Durer, which was the first, is the least conformable to
+Nature; it has, nevertheless, been copied by most naturalists; and some
+of them have loaded it with false drapery, and foreign ornaments. That
+of Bontius is more simple and more true; but the inferior part of the
+legs is badly delineated. On the contrary, that of Chardin represents
+naturally the foldings of the skin and feet, but in other respects does
+not resemble the animal. That of Camerarius is not better; nor is
+that drawn from the rhinoceros which was in London in 1685, and which
+was published by Carwitham in 1739. Those which were engraved on the
+ancient pavement of Præneste, or on the medals of Domitian, are very
+imperfect; but they have not the imaginary ornaments given to that of
+Albert Durer." Dr. Parsons has taken the trouble to draw this animal
+himself in three different views, before, behind, and in profile; and
+particular parts from other rhinoceroses which are preserved in the
+cabinets of Natural History.
+
+The rhinoceros which arrived in London in 1739, was sent from Bengal:
+though not more than two years old, the expences of his food, and of
+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
+portions: he had also hay and green herbage, to the last of which he
+gave the preference. His drink was water, of which he drank great
+quantities at a time. He was of a quiet disposition, and suffered all
+parts of his body to be felt. He grew unruly upon being struck, or
+when he was hungry; and in both cases he could only be appeased by
+giving him something to eat. When he was angry he leaped forwards with
+impetuosity, and raised himself to a great height, and rushed furiously
+against the walls with his head, and which he did with a prodigious
+quickness, notwithstanding his heavy appearance and massive corpulence.
+"I have often been witness (says Dr. Parsons) of those motions produced
+by impatience or anger, especially in the morning before his rice and
+sugar were brought him. The quickness and celerity of the motions of
+this animal made me of opinion that he is absolutely unconquerable,
+and that he would easily overtake any man who should have given him
+offence."
+
+This rhinoceros, when two years old, was not higher than a young cow
+who had never had any young; but his body was very long and very thick.
+His head was large in proportion to his body; taking it from the ears
+to the horn of the nose, it formed a concavity, the extremities of
+which, that is, the upper end of the snout, and the part near the ears
+are very high. The horn, not then an inch long, was black, smooth
+at the end, but wrinkled and directed backwards at the base. His
+nostrils were not above an inch from the mouth; the under lip was
+like that of a ox, but the upper resembled that of an horse, with this
+difference and advantage, that the rhinoceros can lengthen, direct,
+turn it round a stick, and seize with it those objects which he wants
+to carry to his mouth. The tongue of this young rhinoceros was soft
+like that of a calf; his eyes had no vivacity, they were formed like
+those of a hog, and were placed very low, that is, near the opening
+of the nostrils. His ears were large, thin towards the end, and bound
+up with a sort of wrinkle at the origin. His neck was very short, the
+skin forming on this part two large foldings which surround him. His
+shoulders were very thick, and at their juncture there was another
+fold of skin which comes under the fore legs. The body of this young
+rhinoceros was very thick, and resembled that of a cow ready to bring
+forth. There was another fold betwixt the body and the rump, which
+descends under the hind legs; and lastly, there was another fold which
+transversally surrounds the lower part of the crupper, at some distance
+from the tail. The belly was very big, and hung down to the ground,
+especially the middle part; the legs were round, thick, strong, and
+bent backward at the joint, which was covered by a remarkable fold
+of the skin when the animal laid down, but it disappeared when he
+was standing. The tail was thin and short, compared to the volume of
+the body; that of this rhinoceros was not above seventeen inches in
+length; it is a little thicker at the extremity, which is covered with
+hard, short and thick hair. The sexual organ of the rhinoceros is of
+an extraordinary form; it is contained in a sort of case, like that of
+a horse, and the first thing which appears when irritated is a second
+prepuce of flesh colour, from which issues a hollow pipe, in form of
+a funnel, like a fleur de luce. It not being in a straight direction,
+but rather inclining backward, he emits his urine behind, and from
+which it appears their copulation must be different from other animals.
+The female has the exterior parts of generation situated like those
+of the cow, and she resembles perfectly the male in the size and form
+of the body. The skin is thick and impenetrable; in taking the folds
+with the hand, it feels like a wooden plank half an inch thick. "When
+it is tanned (says Dr. Grew) it is excessively hard, and thicker than
+the skin of any other terrestrial animal." It is every where more or
+less covered with incrustations, in the shape of galls, which are
+small on the summit of the neck and back, but becomes bigger down the
+sides; the largest are on the shoulders and crupper, the thighs, and
+around the legs, down to the feet; but betwixt the folds the skin is
+penetrable, and even tender, and as soft as silk, while the outward
+part of the folds is as rough as the rest. This tender skin between the
+folds is of flesh colour, and the skin of the belly is nearly of the
+same colour and consistence; but those galls, or tuberosities, should
+not, as some authors have done, be compared to scales, as they are
+mere callosities of the skin, irregular in their figure and symmetry
+in their respective positions. The suppleness of the skin in the folds
+gives the rhinoceros the power of moving his head, neck, and limbs,
+with facility. The whole body, except at the joints, is inflexible,
+like a cuirass. Dr. Parsons says, that this animal hearkened with a
+sort of continual attention to any kind of noise; so that if he was
+even sleeping, eating, or satisfying other urgent wants, he instantly
+raised up his head, and listened till the noise had ceased.
+
+In fine, after giving this exact description of the rhinoceros, Dr.
+Parsons examines whether the rhinoceros with a double horn exists, and
+having compared the relations of ancients and moderns, and the remains
+of this variety, found in the collections of natural objects, he
+concludes, with some probability, that the rhinoceroses of Asia have
+commonly but one horn, and those of Africa, generally two.
+
+It is certain that some rhinoceroses have but one horn, and others
+have two; but it is not equally certain that this variety is constant,
+and depends on the climate of Africa or India, or that two distinct
+species may be established from these differences. It seems that
+the rhinoceroses with one horn have it bigger and longer than those
+who have two. 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 base. Some double horns are but two feet in length.
+
+Commonly these horns are brown, or olive colour, though some are grey,
+and even white. They have only a small concavity, in form of a cup,
+under their base, by which they are fastened to the skin of the nose;
+the remaining part of the horn is solid, and very hard. It is with this
+weapon that the rhinoceros is said to attack, and sometimes mortally
+wound, the biggest elephants, whose long legs give the rhinoceros
+an opportunity of striking them with his snout and horn under their
+bellies, where the skin is tender, and penetrable; but if he misses
+the first blow the elephant throws him on the ground and kills him.
+
+The horn of the rhinoceros is more valued by the Indians than the ivory
+of the elephant, not so much on account of its real use, though they
+make several things of it with the chisel, but for divers specific
+virtues, and medicinal properties, which they ascribe to it. The white,
+from being the most rare, are also those which they value most. Among
+the presents which the king of Siam sent to Louis XIV. in 1686, were
+six horns of the rhinoceros. We have seen in the king's cabinet twelve
+of different sizes, and one of them, though mutilated, is three feet
+eight inches and a half in length.
+
+The rhinoceros, without being ferocious, carnivorous, or even very
+wild, is, nevertheless, untractable. He is of the nature of a hog,
+blunt and brutal, without intellects, sentiment, or docility. He is
+subject to fits of fury, that nothing can calm; for the rhinoceros,
+which Emanuel, king of Portugal, sent to the Pope in 1513, was the
+cause of the ship being destroyed in which he was transporting; and
+that which we saw at Paris was drowned in the same manner, in going
+over to Italy. These animals, also like the hog, are 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, Mogul, Sumatra, Java, in Abyssinia, in Ethiopia, in the
+country of the Anzicos, and as far as the Cape of Good Hope. But in
+general the species is not so numerous, or so universally spread, as
+that of the elephant. The female brings forth but one young, and that
+at a great distance of time. In the first month the rhinoceros is not
+much bigger than a large dog; he has no horn when first brought forth,
+although the rudiment of it is seen in the foetus. When he is two years
+old his horn is not above an inch long; and in his sixth year it is
+about ten inches; and as some of these horns are very near four feet
+long, it appears that they grow till the half, or, perhaps, during the
+whole life of the animal, which must be long, since the rhinoceros,
+described by Dr. Parsons, was not come to half his growth at two years
+old, which makes it probable that this animal, like man, lives to
+seventy or eighty years.
+
+Without the capacity of being useful like the elephant, the rhinoceros
+is equally hurtful from the prodigious devastation which he makes in
+the fields. He has no one advantageous quality while alive. His flesh
+is excellent, according to the taste of the Indians and Negroes: Kolbe
+says, he has often eaten it with 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, urine, and excrements,
+are esteemed as antidotes against poison, or remedies against several
+diseases. These antidotes, or remedies, extracted from different
+parts of the rhinoceros, are of the same use in the dispensatory of
+the Indians, as the theriaca is in that of Europe. Probably, all
+those virtues are imaginary:--But how many things are held in great
+estimation, which have no value but in opinion!
+
+The rhinoceros feeds upon coarse herbs, such as thistles and prickly
+shrubs, and he prefers this wild food to the sweet pasture of the
+verdant meadows. He is fond of sugar canes, and eats also all sorts
+of corn. Having no taste for flesh, he neither molests small animals,
+nor fears the large ones, but lives in peace with them all, not
+excepting the tiger, who often accompanies, without daring to attack
+him; therefore, I doubt, whether the battles betwixt the elephant
+and rhinoceros, have any foundation; they must at least be seldom,
+since there is no motive for war on either side; and, besides, no
+sort of antipathy has been observed between these animals. Some even
+in captivity have lived quietly together, without giving offence or
+provocation. Pliny is, I believe, the first who has mentioned these
+battles betwixt the rhinoceros and elephant. It seems they were
+compelled to fight in the spectacles at Rome, and, probably from thence
+the idea has been taken, that when in their natural state they fought
+as desperately; but every action without a motive is unnatural; it is
+an effect without a cause, which cannot happen but by chance.
+
+The rhinoceroses do not herd together, nor march in troops like the
+elephants; they are more wild and solitary, and perhaps more difficult
+to hunt and subdue. They never attack men unless provoked; but then
+they become furious, and are very formidable. Neither scymetars, darts,
+nor lances, can make an incision upon his skin, which even resists
+musket balls; the only places penetrable in his body are the belly,
+the eyes, and round the ears; so that the hunters, instead of facing
+and attacking this animal, follow him at a distance by his track,
+and wait till he lies down to rest or sleep. We have in the king's
+cabinet a foetus of a rhinoceros, which was extracted from the body
+of the mother, and sent from the island of Java: it was said, in a
+memorial which accompanied this present, that twenty-eight huntsmen
+having assembled to attack this rhinoceros, they followed her at a
+distance for some days, one or two walking now and then before to
+reconnoitre her situation; by these means they surprised her when she
+was asleep, and silently came so near that they discharged at once
+their twenty-eight guns into the lower parts of her belly.
+
+From the description given by Dr. Parsons, it appears that this animal
+has a good ear, and even very attentive: it is also affirmed, that his
+sense of smelling is excellent; but it is said that he has not a good
+eye, and sees only those things which are before him: his eyes are so
+small, and placed so low, and obliquely, they have so little vivacity
+and motion, that this fact seems to be confirmed. His voice, when he
+is calm, resembling the grunting of a hog; but when he is angry, it is
+sharp, and heard at a great distance. Though he lives upon vegetables,
+he does not ruminate: thus, it is probable, that, like the elephant,
+he has but one stomach, and very large bowels, which supply the office
+of many stomachs. His consumption of food, though very great, is not
+comparable to that of the elephant, and it appears, by the thickness of
+his skin, that he loses much less than the latter by perspiration.
+
+
+SUPPLEMENT.
+
+In the month of September, 1770, another rhinoceros was brought to
+the royal menagerie, which was said to be only three months old; but
+I am persuaded it was as many years, for it was eight feet two inches
+in length, including the head, five feet six inches high, and eight
+feet two inches in circumference: by the 28th of August, 1781, it
+had increased seven inches in length, three inches in the height,
+and seven inches in circumference; and on the 12th of August, 1772,
+it measured nine feet four inches in length, including the head, six
+feet four inches high at the crupper, and only five feet eleven at
+the withers. In some places its skin was spotted with black and grey,
+and in others it was in deep furrows, having the appearance of a kind
+of scales. This animal had but one horn, which was brown, and of a
+very hard substance; and in all other respects he nearly resembled the
+description we have already given.
+
+Mr. Bruce has remarked, that my conjecture, that in the interior parts
+of Africa there were rhinoceroses with two horns, was exactly the case,
+for he saw none in Abyssinia but what had one situated near the nose,
+which was of the common form, and the other rather higher on the head,
+sharp at the point, and always shorter than the first. M. Daubenton
+received a letter from M. Allamand at Leyden, in 1776, in which that
+gentleman says, "In a passage which M. de Buffon has quoted from Mr.
+Parsons, it is supposed, that the rhinoceroses of Asia have but one
+horn, and those of the Cape of Good Hope have two, but I am inclined
+to believe the opposite is the fact, for the heads of those I have
+received from Bengal, and other parts of India, had always two horns,
+and those which came from the Cape had but one." This remark of M.
+Allamand we may consider as a confirmation of our former observation,
+that the rhinoceroses with two horns form a variety in the species, and
+may be equally found in Asia and Africa.
+
+
+_END OF THE SEVENTH VOLUME._
+
+
+T. Gillet, Printer, Wild-court.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber Note
+
+
+All obvious typographical errors were corrected. Where several variant
+spellings were used, the most prevalent version was use to standardize
+them. All illustration headers were standardized to display "_Engraved
+for Barr's Buffon._" above each group and the captions were also
+standardized. The illustration captions were arranged in ascending
+numbers. Where paragraphs were split by illustrations, they were
+rejoined. To match the other volumes in this series, the list for the
+placement of images was positioned after the Table of Contents. Although
+the original printed version capitalized the first word (or words) of the
+opening paragraph, here the first letter only was capitalized (unless it
+was a person's name).
+
+  Page  Change
+  ====  ====================
+    29  cougouacu-apara changed to cougouacou-ara
+   171  missing endquote, placed at end of line
+   225  missing endquote, placed at end of paragraph
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII
+(of 10), by Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 45820 ***
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-  <head>
-    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
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-      Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10), by Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon, a Project Gutenberg eBook.
-    </title>
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-
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-
-<pre>
-
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10), by 
-Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
-
-
-Title: Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10)
-       Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of
-              Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals,
-              &c. &c
-
-Author: Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
-
-Editor: James Smith Barr
-
-Release Date: May 29, 2014 [EBook #45820]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUFFON'S NATURAL HISTORY, VOL VII ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Chris Curnow, Tom Cosmas and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
-file was produced from images generously made available
-by The Internet Archive)
-
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-
-
-</pre>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 244px;">
-<img src="images/coverpage.jpg" width="244" height="454" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption"><a name="cover" id="cover"></a></span>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[i]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<p class="caption2"><i>Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 118px;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="118" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption1" style="margin-top: 0.5em">Buffon&rsquo;s Natural History.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3">CONTAINING</p>
-
-<p class="caption2">A THEORY OF THE EARTH,<br />
-<span class="smaller">A GENERAL</span><br />
-<i>HISTORY OF MAN</i>,<br />
-<span class="smaller">OF THE BRUTE CREATION, AND OF</span><br />
-VEGETABLES, MINERALS,<br />
-&amp;c. &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3">FROM THE FRENCH.<br />
-<span class="smaller">WITH NOTES BY THE TRANSLATOR.</span><br />
-IN TEN VOLUMES.<br />
-<br />
-VOL. VII.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 118px;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="118" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 69px;">
-<img src="images/txt_london.png" width="69" height="21" alt="London:" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR,<br />
-<span class="smaller">AND SOLD BY H. D. SYMONDS, PATERNOSTER-ROW.</span></p>
-
-<hr class="r10" />
-
-<p class="caption3 pmb4">1807.<br />
-<br />
-<span class="smaller">T. Gillet, Printer, Wild-court.</span></p>
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[ii]</a><br /><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_2.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2">CONTENTS<br />
-<span class="vsmall">OF</span><br />
-<span class="smaller">THE SEVENTH VOLUME.</span></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 118px;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_2.png" width="118" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p class="caption3">Of Carnivorous Animals.</p>
-
-<table style="width: 65%" summary="ToC">
-<tr>
-  <td></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><i>Page</i></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>Of Tigers</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>Animals of the Old Continent</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>Animals of the New World</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>Animals common to both Continents</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Tiger</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_57">57</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Panther, Ounce, and Leopard</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Jaguar</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Cougar</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Lynx</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Hy�na</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_107">107</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Civet and the Zibet</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Genet</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Black Wolf</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Canadian Musk-rat, and the Muscovy Musk-rat</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Peccari, or Mexican Hog</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><div class="references"><i>The Rousette, or Ternat Bat, the Rougette,
-    or Little Ternat, and the Vampyre</i></div>
-    <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Senegal Bat</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Bull-dog Bat</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Bearded Bat</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_164">164</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The striped Bat</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Polatouch</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Grey Squirrel</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Palmist, the Squirrel of Barbary and Switzerland</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Ant Eaters</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Long and Short-tailed Manis</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Armadillo</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_197">197</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Three-banded</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_202">202</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="ind25em"><i>Six-banded</i></span></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_205">205</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="ind25em"><i>Eight-banded</i></span></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="ind25em"><i>Nine-banded</i></span></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_208">208</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="ind25em"><i>Twelve-banded</i></span></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><span class="ind25em"><i>Eighteen-banded</i></span></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Paca</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_222">222</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Opossum</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Marmose</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_251">251</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Cayopollin</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_253">253</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr class="row1">
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Elephant</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_255">255</a></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl"><i>The Rhinoceros</i></td>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_322">322</a></td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Directions for placing the Plates in the
-Seventh Volume.</i></p>
-
-<table summary="LoI">
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdl vtop" rowspan="13">Page</td>
-  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_57">57</a></td>
-  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_101">101</a>, <a href="#FIG_102">102</a>.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td>
-  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_107">107</a>, <a href="#FIG_108">108</a>.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td>
-  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_103">103</a>, <a href="#FIG_104">104</a>.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td>
-  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_105">105</a>, <a href="#FIG_106">106</a>.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td>
-  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_109">109</a>, <a href="#FIG_110">110</a>.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td>
-  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_111">111</a>, <a href="#FIG_112">112</a>, <a href="#FIG_113">113</a>.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td>
-  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_114">114</a>, <a href="#FIG_115">115</a>, <a href="#FIG_116">116</a>.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td>
-  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_117">117</a>, <a href="#FIG_118">118</a>, <a href="#FIG_119">119</a>.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td>
-  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_120">120</a>, <a href="#FIG_121">121</a>, <a href="#FIG_122">122</a>, <a href="#FIG_123">123</a>.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td>
-  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_124">124</a>, <a href="#FIG_125">125</a>, <a href="#FIG_126">126</a>.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_205">205</a></td>
-  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_127">127</a>, <a href="#FIG_128">128</a>.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_222">222</a></td>
-  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_129">129</a>, <a href="#FIG_130">130</a>, <a href="#FIG_131">131</a>, <a href="#FIG_132">132</a>.</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td>
-  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_133">133</a>, <a href="#FIG_134">134</a>.</td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2">BUFFON&rsquo;S</p>
-
-<p class="caption2">NATURAL HISTORY.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="OF_CARNIVOROUS_ANIMALS" id="OF_CARNIVOROUS_ANIMALS"><i>OF CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS.</i></a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_2.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="OF_TIGERS" id="OF_TIGERS">OF TIGERS.</a></p>
-
-
-<p class="p0"><span class="drop">A</span>s the word Tiger is a generic name, given
-several animals of different species, it is
-proper to begin with distinguishing them from
-each other. Leopards and Panthers have
-often been confounded together, and are called
-Tigers by most travellers. The Ounce, a small
-species of Panther, which is easily tamed, and
-used by the Orientals in the chace, has been
-taken for the Panther itself, and described as
-such by the name of Tiger. The Lynx, and
-that called the Lion&rsquo;s provider, have also sometimes
-received the name of Panther, and sometimes
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>
-Ounce. In Africa, and in the southern
-parts of Asia, these animals are common; but
-the real tiger, and the only one which ought to
-be so called, is scarce, was little known by the
-ancients, and is badly described by the moderns.
-Aristotle does not mention him; and
-Pliny merely speaks of him as an animal of
-prodigious velocity; <i>tremend� velocitatis animal</i>;<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a>
-adding, that he was a much more
-scarce animal than the Panther, since Augustus
-presented the first to the Romans at the
-dedication of the theatre of Marcellus, while
-so early as the time of Scaurus, this �dile sent
-150 panthers, and afterwards 400 were given
-by Pompey, and 420 by Augustus, to the
-public shews at Rome. Pliny, however, gives
-no description of the tiger, or any of its characteristics.
-Oppian and Solinus appear to
-be the first who observed that the tiger is marked
-with long streaks, and the panther with
-round spots. This, indeed, is one of the characteristics
-which distinguishes the true tiger
-from a number of animals that have been so
-called. Strabo, in speaking of the real tiger,
-gives Megasthenes as his authority, for saying
-that in India there are tigers twice as large as
-the lion. The tiger then stands described by
-the ancients as an animal that is fierce and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>
-swift, marked with long stripes, and exceeding
-the lion in size; nor has Gesner, nor the other
-modern naturalists, who have treated of the
-tiger, added any thing to these observations of
-the ancients.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> Pliny Nat. Hist. lib. viii. cap. xviii.</p></div>
-
-<p>In the French language all those skins of
-which the hair is short, and are marked with
-round and distinct spots, are called tiger-skins,
-and travellers sharing in this error, have called
-all animals so marked by the general name of
-tigers; even the academy of sciences have
-been borne away by this torrent, and have
-adopted the appellation to all, although by
-dissection they found them materially different.</p>
-
-<p>The most general cause, as we intimated in
-the article of the lion, of these ambiguous terms
-in Natural History, arose from the necessity of
-giving names to the unknown productions of
-the New World, and thus the animals were
-called after such of the old continent to whom
-they had the smallest resemblance. From the
-general denomination of tiger to every animal
-whose skin was spotted, instead of one species
-of that name, we now have nine or ten, and
-consequently the history of these animals is
-exceedingly embarrassed, writers have applied
-to one species what ought to have been ascribed
-to another.</p>
-
-<p>To dispel the confusion which necessarily
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>
-results from these erroneous denominations,
-particularly among those which have been
-commonly called tigers, I have resolved to give
-a comparative enumeration of quadrupeds, in
-which I shall distinguish, 1. Those which are
-peculiar to the old continent, and were not
-found in America when first discovered. 2.
-Those which are natives of the new continent,
-and were unknown in the old. 3. Those which
-existing alike in both continents, without having
-been carried from one to the other by man,
-may be considered as common to both. For
-which purpose it has been necessary to collect
-and arrange the scattered accounts given by
-the historians of America, and those who first
-visited this continent as travellers.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="ANIMALS_OF_THE_OLD_CONTINENT" id="ANIMALS_OF_THE_OLD_CONTINENT">ANIMALS OF THE OLD CONTINENT.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>AS the largest animals are the best known,
-and about which there is the least uncertainty,
-in this enumeration they shall follow nearly
-according to their size.</p>
-
-<p>Elephants belong to the Old World; the
-largest are found in Asia, and the smallest in
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span>
-Africa. They are natives of the hottest climates,
-and, though they will live, they cannot
-multiply in temperate ones; they do not propagate
-even in their own countries after they are
-deprived of their liberty. Though confined
-to the southern parts of the old continent their
-species is numerous. It is unknown in America,
-nor is there any animal there that can be
-compared to it in size and figure. The same
-remark applies to the Rhinoceros, which is less
-numerous than the elephant; he is confined to
-the desarts of Africa, and the forests of southern
-Asia; nor has America any animal that
-resembles him.</p>
-
-<p>The Hippopotamus inhabits the banks of the
-large rivers of India and Africa, and is less numerous
-than the Rhinoceros. It is not found
-in America, nor even in the temperate climates
-of the Old Continent.</p>
-
-<p>The Camel and Dromedary, so apparently
-similar, yet in reality so dissimilar, are very
-common in Asia and Arabia, and in all the eastern
-parts of the ancient continent. The name
-of camel has been given to the Lama and Pacos
-of Peru, which are so different from the camel
-as by some to have been called <i>sheep</i>, and by
-others <i>camels</i> of Peru; though the pacos has
-nothing in common with the European sheep
-but the wool, and the lama resembles the camel
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>
-only by the length of its neck. The Spaniards
-formerly carried camels to Peru; they left them
-first at the Canaries, whence they afterwards
-transported them to America; but the climate
-of the new world does not seem favourable to
-them, for though they produced, their numbers
-have always remained very small.</p>
-
-<p>The <i>Giraffe</i> or <i>Camelopard</i>, an animal remarkable
-for its height, and the length of its
-neck and fore legs, is a native of Africa, particularly
-Ethiopia, and has never spread beyond
-the tropics in the temperate climates of the old
-continent.</p>
-
-<p>In the preceding article we have seen that
-the lion exists not in America, and that the
-puma of Peru is an animal of a different species;
-and we shall now find that the tiger
-and panther belong also to the old continent,
-and that the animals of South America, to
-whom those names have been applied, are also
-different. The real tiger is a terrible animal,
-and more, perhaps, to be dreaded than the lion
-himself. His ferocity is beyond comparison;
-but an idea of his strength may be drawn from
-his size; he is generally from four to five feet
-high, and from nine to fourteen in length,
-without including his tail; his skin is not
-covered with round spots, but with black
-stripes upon a yellow ground, which extend
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>
-across the body, and form rings from one end
-of the tail to the other. These characteristics
-alone are sufficient to distinguish him from all
-the animals of prey belonging to the new continent,
-as the largest of them scarcely ever exceed
-the size of our mastiffs. The leopard and
-panther of Africa and Asia, though much
-smaller than the tiger, are larger than the rapacious
-animals of South America. Pliny,
-whose testimony cannot be doubted (since panthers
-were daily exposed, in his time, at the
-theatres in Rome), indicates their essential characteristics,
-by saying, their hair is whitish, diversified
-throughout with black spots, like eyes,
-and that the only difference between the male
-and female were the superior whiteness of her
-hair.</p>
-
-<p>The American animals, which have been
-called tigers, have a greater resemblance to the
-panther, and yet their difference from that species
-is very evident. The first is the <i>Jaguara</i>,
-or <i>Janowra</i>, a native of Guiana, Brasil, and
-other parts of South America. Ray, with
-some propriety, calls the animal the Pard, or
-Brasilian lynx. The Portuguese call him
-Ounce, because they had first, by corruption,
-given that name to the lynx, and afterwards to
-the small panther of India; and the French,
-without his having the smallest affinity, have
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>
-called him tiger. He differs from the panther
-in size, in the position and figure of the spots,
-in the colour and length of the hair, which is
-frizzled when young, and never so straight as
-that of the panther, differing also in disposition,
-being more savage, and cannot be tamed; still,
-however, the jaguar of Brasil resembles the panther
-more than any other animal of the new world.
-The second we call Cougar, by contracting the
-Brasilian name <i>cougouacou-ara</i>, and which the
-French, with still less propriety, have called
-the Red Tiger. From the real tiger it differs
-in all, and from the panther in most respects,
-its hair being red, and without spots; and in
-the form of its head, and length of his muzzle,
-it differs also from them both. A third species,
-which has also been called tiger, though equally
-remote, is the <i>Jaguarette</i>, which is nearly of
-the size of the jaguar, and resembles him in
-natural habits, but differs in some exterior
-characters. He has been called black tiger, because
-his hair is black, interspersed with spots
-of a still blacker hue. Besides these three species,
-and perhaps a fourth, which is smaller,
-that have been named after the tiger, there is
-another American animal, which appears to
-have a greater right to it, namely, the <i>Cat-pard</i>,
-or mountain cat, which resembles both the
-cat and the panther. Though smaller than
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>
-either of the above three animals, it is larger
-than the wild cat, which it resembles in figure,
-but its tail is much shorter, and it differs also
-by having its hair diversified with black spots,
-long upon the back and round upon the belly.
-These four American animals have, therefore,
-very improperly been named tigers. The
-cougar and cat-pard I have seen alive, and am
-convinced they are of different species, and
-still more so from the tiger or panther; and as
-for the puma and jaguar, it is evident, from
-the testimony of those who have seen them,
-that the former is not a lion, nor the latter a
-tiger, and therefore, without scruple, we may
-pronounce, that neither the lion, tiger, nor
-even the panther, exist in America, any more
-than the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus,
-camel, or the camelopard. All these species
-require a hot climate for propagation,
-and as none of them exist in the northern regions,
-it is impossible they should have had
-any communication with America. This general
-fact is too important not to be supported by
-every proof; we shall, therefore, continue our
-comparative enumeration of the animals of
-the old continent with those of the new.</p>
-
-<p>It is generally known, that upon horses
-being first transported into America they
-struck the natives with surprise and terror;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>
-and that this animal has thriven and multiplied
-so fast, as to have become almost as numerous
-there now as it is in Europe. It is the
-same also with the ass, which has thriven
-equally in these warm climates, and from
-which mules have been produced, that are
-more serviceable than the lamas for carrying
-heavy loads over the mountainous parts of
-Chili and Peru. The Zebra is also an animal
-of the old continent, and which, perhaps,
-has never been even seen in the new; it seems
-to require a particular climate, and is found
-only in that part of Africa which lies between
-the Equator and the Cape of Good Hope.</p>
-
-<p>Oxen were unknown in the islands and on
-the continent of South America. Soon after the
-discovery of these countries, the Spaniards
-transported bulls and cows to them from Europe.
-In 1550 oxen were employed, for the first
-time, in tilling the ground in the valley of Cusco.
-On the continent these animals multiplied
-prodigiously, as well as in the islands of St.
-Domingo, Cuba, Barlovento, &amp;c. and in many
-places they even became wild. The species of
-horned cattle found at Mexico, Louisiana, &amp;c.
-which is called the <i>wild ox</i> or Bison, is not
-produced from the European oxen. The bison
-existed in America before our race was carried
-thither; and from the latter he is so different
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
-as to authorize the opinion of his being
-a different species. He has a rise between his
-shoulders, his hair is softer than wool, is longer
-before than behind, is curled upon the neck
-and along the spine of the back; he is of a
-brown colour, and faintly marked with some
-whitish spots; he has also short legs, which,
-like the head and neck, are covered with long
-hair; and the male has a long tail with a tuft
-of hair at the end, like that of the lion. These
-differences seem to be sufficient grounds for
-considering the ox and bison of different species,
-yet I will not pretend to determine they
-are so, because the only characteristic which
-identifies animals to be of the same species, is
-their propagating and producing similar individuals,
-and which fact has never been determined
-between the bison and the oxen of Europe.
-M. de la Nux, a member of the royal
-council of the isle of Bourbon, has favoured me
-with a letter, in which he says, the hunched-back
-ox of that island propagates with the common
-horned cattle; and of great advantage
-would it be, if persons who live in remote countries
-would follow the example of this gentleman,
-in making experimental observations upon
-animals. Nothing could be more easy than
-for the inhabitants of Louisiana, to try if the
-American bison would copulate with the European
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>
-cow. It is probable they would produce
-together, and in that case it would be ascertained
-that the European ox, the hunched-backed
-species of the isle of Bourbon, the East
-India bull and American bison, form only one
-species. M. de la Nux proved by experiments,
-that the hunch is not an essential characteristic,
-since it disappeared after a few generations;
-and I have myself discovered that the protuberance
-upon a camel&rsquo;s back, which, though as
-in the bison, is very common, is not a constant
-characteristic, and is probably owing to the
-healthful state of the body, as I once saw a
-sickly camel which had not the smallest appearance
-of a lump. As to the other difference,
-namely, the hair being more long and soft,
-that may be entirely owing to the influence of
-the climate, as is the case with goats, hares,
-and rabbits. With some appearance of probability,
-it may be supposed, (especially if the
-American bison produces with the European
-cow) that our oxen may have found a passage
-over the northern districts to those of North
-America, and having afterwards advanced
-into the temperate regions of this New World,
-they received the impressions of the climate,
-and in time became bisons. But till the essential
-fact of their producing together be fully
-confirmed, I think it right to conclude that our
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>
-oxen belong to the old continent, and existed
-not in America before they were carried
-thither.</p>
-
-<p>To sheep America has no pretensions; they
-were transported from Europe, and have
-thriven both in the warm and temperate climates;
-but, however prolific, they are commonly
-more meagre, and their flesh less juicy
-and tender than those in Europe. Brasil seems
-to be the most favourable to them, as it is
-there alone that they are found loaded with
-fat. Guinea sheep, as well as European, have
-been transported to Jamaica, and they have
-prospered equally well. These two species
-belong solely to the old continent. It is also
-the same with goats, and those we now meet
-with in America in such great numbers, all
-originated from goats introduced from Europe.
-The latter has not, however, multiplied so fast
-at Brasil as the sheep. When the Spaniards
-first carried goats to Peru they were so rare as
-to be sold for 110 ducats a piece; but afterwards
-they multiplied so prodigiously as to
-be held of little value but for their skins; they
-produce there from three to five kids at a time,
-while in Europe they seldom have more than
-one or two. In all the islands they are equally
-numerous as on the continent. The Spaniards
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
-transported them even into the islands of the
-South Sea; and in the island of Juan Fernandez
-their increase became prodigious. But
-proving a supply of provisions to the free-booters
-who afterwards infested those parts,
-the Spaniards resolved to extirpate them, and
-for that purpose put dogs upon the island, who,
-multiplying in their turn, not only destroyed
-all the goats in the accessible parts, but became
-so fierce as to attack even men.</p>
-
-<p>The hogs which were transported from Europe
-to America succeeded better, and multiplied
-faster, than the sheep or goat. The first
-swine, according to Garcilasso, sold still dearer
-than the first goats. Piso says the flesh of the
-ox and sheep is not so good at Brasil as in Europe,
-but that of the hog, which multiplies
-very fast, is better; and Laet, in his History of
-the New World, affirms that it is preferable
-at St. Domingo, to what it is in Europe. In
-general it may be remarked, that of all domestic
-animals which have been carried from Europe
-to America, the hog has thriven the best
-and most universally. In Canada and in Brasil,
-which includes the warmest and coldest
-climates of the new world, hogs multiply, and
-their flesh is equally good; while the goat, on
-the contrary, multiplies in warm and temperate
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>
-climates only, and cannot maintain its species
-in Canada without continual supplies. The
-ass multiplies in Brasil, Peru, &amp;c. but not in
-Canada, where neither mules nor asses are to
-be seen, although numbers of the latter have
-been transported thither in couples. Horses
-have multiplied nearly as much in the hot as
-in the cold countries throughout America; but
-have diminished in size, a circumstance which
-is common to all animals transported from
-Europe to America; and what is still more
-singular, all the native animals of America are
-much smaller in general than those of the old
-continent. Nature in their formation seems
-to have adopted a smaller scale, and to have
-formed man alone in the same mould. But to
-proceed in our enumeration:&mdash;The hog, then,
-is not a native of America, but was carried
-thither; and he has not only increased in a domestic
-state but has even become wild, and
-multiplied in the woods without the assistance
-of man. A species of hog has also been transported
-from Guinea to Brasil, which has likewise
-multiplied; it is much smaller, and seems
-to form a distinct species from the European
-hog; for although the climate of Brasil is favourable
-to every kind of propagation, these
-animals have never been known to intermingle.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Dogs, whose races are so varied, and so numerously
-diffused, were not found in America,
-unless in a few rude resemblances, which it is
-difficult to compare with the species at large.
-At St. Domingo, says Garcilasso, there were
-little animals called <i>gosques</i>, not unlike little
-dogs; but there were no dogs like those of Europe.
-He adds, that the latter, on being transported
-to Cuba and St. Domingo, had become
-wild, and diminished the number of cattle
-which had become wild also; that they committed
-their devastations in troops of ten or
-twelve, and were more destructive than wolves.
-According to Joseph Acosta, there were no real
-dogs in the West Indies, but only an animal
-resembling small dogs, called by the Peruvians
-<i>alcos</i>, which attach themselves to their masters,
-and seem to have nearly the same dispositions
-as the dog. If we may believe Father
-Charlevoix, who quotes no authority, &ldquo;The
-<i>goschis</i> of St. Domingo were little mute
-dogs, which served as an amusement to the
-ladies, and were also employed in the chace
-of other animals. Their flesh was good for
-eating, and they were of great benefit to the
-Spaniards during the first famines, which
-these people experienced, so that they would
-have been exhausted, had there not been numbers
-of them afterwards brought from the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
-continent. Of this animal there were several
-sorts; of some the hair was straight, others
-had their bodies covered with a wool exceedingly
-soft; but the greatest number had only
-a thin covering of tender down. In colours
-they exceeded the varieties in the European
-dogs, forming an assemblage of all colours,
-the most lively not excepted.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>If this species of the goschis ever existed,
-especially as described by Father Charlevoix,
-why have other authors never mentioned it? why
-does it no longer exist? or if in existence, by
-what means has it lost all its beautiful peculiarities?
-It is most likely that the goschis of
-Charlevoix, and of which he never found the
-name but in Father Pers, is the gosques of
-Garcilasso; and it is also probable that these
-gosques of St. Domingo, and the alcos of
-Peru, are the same animal; for certain it is,
-that of all American animals this has the most
-affinity to the European dog. Several authors
-have considered it as a real dog; and Laet
-expressly says, that when the West Indies
-were discovered they in St. Domingo employed
-a small dog in hunting, but which was
-absolutely dumb. We observed, in the
-history of the dog, that he loses the faculty
-of barking in hot countries, but instead thereof
-they had a kind of howl, and are not
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
-like these American animals, perfectly mute.
-European dogs have thriven equally well in
-the hot and cold climates of America, and of
-all animals they are held in the highest estimation
-by the savages; but they have undergone
-essential changes, for in hot countries they
-have lost their voice, in cold ones they have
-decreased in size, and in general their ears
-have become straight. Thus they have degenerated,
-or rather returned to their primitive
-species, the shepherd&rsquo;s dog, whose ears are
-erect, and who barks the least. From whence
-we may conclude, that the dog belongs to the
-old continent where their nature has been developed
-in the temperate regions only, and
-where they appear to have been varied and
-brought to perfection by the care of man, for
-in all uncivilized countries, and in very hot or
-cold climates they are ugly, small, and almost
-mute.</p>
-
-<p>The Hy�na, which is nearly the size of the
-wolf, was known to the ancients, and I have
-myself seen a living one. It is remarkable
-for having an opening between the anus and
-tail, like the badger, and from which issues
-a humour that has a strong smell; also for a
-long bristly mane which runs along its neck;
-and for a voracity which prompts it to scrape
-up graves and devour the most putrid bodies.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>This horrid animal is only to be found in
-Arabia, and other southern provinces of Asia;
-it does not exist in Europe and has never been
-found in the New World.</p>
-
-<p>The jackall, which of all animals not excepting
-the wolf makes the nearest approach
-to the dog though differing in every essential
-characteristic, is very common in Armenia
-and Turkey, and is very numerous in several
-other provinces of Asia and Africa; but it is
-absolutely unknown in the new world. It is
-about the size of the fox, and of a very brilliant
-yellow; this animal has not extended to
-Europe, nor even the northern parts of Asia.</p>
-
-<p>The Genet, being a native of Spain, would
-doubtless have been noticed had he been found
-in America, but that not being the case, we
-may consider him as peculiar to the old continent;
-he inhabits the southern parts of Europe,
-and those of Asia under the same latitude.</p>
-
-<p>Though it has been said the Civet was
-found in New Spain, I am of opinion it was
-not the African, or Indian Civet, which yields
-the musk that is mixed and prepared with that
-of the animal called the Hiam of China; this civet
-I conceive to belong to the southern part of
-the old continent, has never extended to the
-north, and consequently would not have found
-a passage to the New World.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Cats as well as dogs were entire strangers to
-the New Continent, and though I formerly
-mentioned that a huntsman had taken to Columbus
-a cat which he had killed in the woods of
-America, I am now convinced that the species
-did not then exist there. I was then less aware
-of the abuses which had been made in names,
-and I acknowledge I am not yet sufficiently acquainted
-with animals to distinguish them with
-precision in the fictitious and misapplied denominations
-given them by travellers. Nor is
-this to be wondered at, since the nomenclators,
-whose researches were directed to this object,
-have rendered it more dark and intricate by
-their arbitrary names and arrangements. To
-the natural propensity of comparing things
-which we see for the first time, with those already
-known, and the almost insuperable difficulty
-of pronouncing the American names being
-added, we are to impute this misapplication
-of names which have since been productive of
-so many errors. It is much more easy, for example,
-to call a new animal, a <i>wild boar</i>, than
-to pronounce its name at Mexico, <i>quab-coya-melt</i>;
-to call another <i>American fox</i>, than to retain
-its Brasilian appellation, <i>tamandua-guacu</i>;
-to give the name of <i>Peruvian sheep</i>, or <i>camel</i>,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>
-to those animals which in the language of Peru
-are called <i>pelon ichiath oquitli</i>. It is the same
-with almost all the other animals of the New
-World, whose names were so strange and barbarous
-to the Europeans, that they endeavoured
-to apply others to them, from the resemblance
-they had to those of the old continent,
-but they were often from affinities too remote to
-justify the application. Five or six species of
-small animals were named hares, or rabbits,
-merely because their flesh was palatable food.
-They called <i>cow</i> and <i>elk</i> an animal without
-horns, although it had no affinity to either, except
-a small resemblance in the form of the
-body. But it is unnecessary at present to
-dwell upon the false denominations which
-have been applied to the animals of America,
-because I shall endeavour to point out and
-correct them when we come to treat of each of
-those animals in particular.</p>
-
-<p>We find, then, that all our domestic animals,
-and the largest animals of Asia and
-Africa were unknown in the New World; and
-the same remark extends to several of the less
-considerable species, of which we shall now
-proceed to make a cursory mention.</p>
-
-<p>The gazelles, of which there are various
-kinds, and of which some belong to Arabia,
-others to the East Indies, and some to Africa,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>
-all require a hot climate to subsist and multiply,
-they therefore never extended to the
-northern climates, so as to obtain a passage to
-America; it appears, indeed, that the African
-gazelle, and which Hernandes, in his History
-of Mexico calls <i>algazel ex Aphrica</i> must have
-been transported thither. The animal of New
-Spain, which the same author calls <i>temama�ame</i>,
-Seba <i>cervus</i>, Klein <i>tragulus</i>, and Brisson the
-gazelle of New Spain, appears to be a different
-species to any on the old continent.</p>
-
-<p>It is natural to conclude, that the Chamois
-Goat, which delights in the snow of the Alps,
-would not be afraid of the icy regions of the
-north, and thence might have passed to America,
-but no such animal is found there. This
-animal requires not only a particular climate,
-but a particular situation. He is attached to
-the tops of the Alpine, Pyrenean, and other
-lofty mountains, and far from being scattered
-over distant countries, he never descends even
-to the plains at the bottom of his hills; but in
-this he is not singular, as the marmot, wild
-goat, bear, and lynx, are also mountain animals,
-and very rarely found in the plains.</p>
-
-<p>The buffalo is a native of hot countries, and
-has been rendered domestic in Italy; he resembles
-less than the ox, the American bison,
-and is unknown in the new continent. The
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>
-wild goat is found on the tops of the highest
-mountains of Europe and Asia, but was never
-seen on the Cordeliers. The Musk-animal,
-which is nearly the size of a fallow-deer, inhabits
-only a few particular countries of China
-and Eastern Tartary. The little Guinea Deer,
-as it is called, seems also confined to the provinces
-of Africa and the East Indies. The
-Rabbit, which comes originally from Spain,
-and has been diffused over all the temperate
-climates of Europe, did not exist in America;
-for the animals of that continent which are so
-called, are of a different species, and all the
-real ones were transported thither from Europe.
-The Ferret, brought from Africa to
-Europe, was unknown in America; as were
-also our rats and mice, which having been
-carried there in European ships, have since
-multiplied prodigiously.</p>
-
-<p>The following then are nearly all the animals
-of the old continent, namely, the elephant,
-rhinoceros, hippopotamus, camel, dromedary,
-giraffe, lion, tiger, panther, horse,
-ass, zebra, ox, buffalo, sheep, goat, hog, dog,
-hy�na, jackall, genet, civet, cat, gazelle,
-chamois goat, wild goat, Guinea deer, rabbit,
-ferret, rat, mouse, loir, lerot, marmot, ichneumon,
-badger, sable, ermine, jerboa, the
-maki, and several species of monkeys, none
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
-of which were found in America on the first
-arrival of the Europeans, and which consequently
-are peculiar to the Old World, as we
-shall endeavour to prove in the particular history
-of each animal.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="ANIMALS_OF_THE_NEW_WORLD" id="ANIMALS_OF_THE_NEW_WORLD">ANIMALS OF THE NEW WORLD.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE animals of the New World were not
-more known to the Europeans, than were our
-animals to the Americans. The Peruvians
-and Mexicans were the only people on the
-new continent, which were half civilized.
-The latter had no domestic animals; and those
-of the former consisted of the lama, the pacos,
-and the alco, a small animal which was domestic
-in the house like our little dogs. The pacos
-and the lama, like the chamois goat, live
-only on the highest mountains, and are found
-on those of Peru, Chili, and New Spain.
-Though they had become domestic among
-the Peruvians, and consequently spread over
-the neighbouring countries, their multiplication
-was not abundant, and has even decreased
-in their native places, since the introduction
-of European cattle, which have succeeded
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>
-astonishingly in all the southern countries
-of the American continent.</p>
-
-<p>It appears singular that in a world, occupied
-almost entirely by savages, whose manners
-somewhat resembled those of the brutes, there
-should be no connection, no society existing
-between them and the animals by which they
-were surrounded; and this was absolutely the
-case, for there were no domestic animals, excepting
-where the people were in some degree
-civilized. Does not this prove that man, in a
-savage state, is nothing more than a species of
-animal, incapable of ruling others; and possessing
-only individual faculties, employs them
-for procuring his subsistence, and providing
-for his security, by attacking the weak, and
-avoiding the strong, but without entertaining
-any idea of real power, or endeavouring to reduce
-them to subjection? Every nation, even
-those which are but just emerging from barbarism,
-has its domestic animals. With us
-the horse, the ass, the ox, the sheep, the goat,
-the hog, the dog, and the cat; in Italy the
-buffalo; in Lapland the rein-deer; in Peru
-the lama, the pacos, and the alco; in the
-eastern countries, the dromedary, the camel,
-and various species of oxen, sheep, and goats;
-in the southern ones the elephant; all these
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
-animals have been reduced to servitude, or admitted
-into society; while the savage, hardly
-desirous of the society of his female, either
-fears or disdains that of other animals. Of
-these species, rendered domestic, it is true, not
-one existed in America; but if the savages,
-with whom it was peopled, had anciently
-united, and had communicated to each other
-the mutual aids of society, they would have
-rendered subservient the greatest part of the
-animals of that country, most of them being
-mild, docile, and timid, few mischievous, and
-scarcely any formidable. Their liberty, therefore,
-has been preserved solely from the weakness
-of man, who has little or no power without
-the aid of society, upon which even the
-multiplication of his species depends. The
-immense territories of the new world were
-but thinly inhabited; and, I believe it may
-be asserted, that on its first discovery, it contained
-not more than half the number of people
-that may now be reckoned in Europe. This
-scarcity of men allowed every other animal to
-multiply in abundance; every thing was favourable
-to their increase, and the number of
-individuals of each species was immense; but
-the number of species were comparatively few,
-and did not amount to more than a fourth,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
-or a third of those of the old continent. If we
-reckon 200 species of animals in the known
-world we shall find that more than 130 of
-them belonged to the old continent, and less
-than 70 to the new; and if we except the
-species common to both continents, that is,
-such as by their natures are capable of enduring
-the rigours of the north, and might have
-passed from one to the other, there will not
-remain above forty species peculiar to, and
-natives of, America. Animated nature, therefore,
-is in this portion of the globe less active,
-less varied, and even less vigorous; for by the
-enumeration of the American animals we shall
-perceive, that not only the number of species
-is smaller, but that in general they are inferior
-in size to those of the old continent; not one
-animal throughout America can be compared
-to the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus,
-dromedary, buffalo, tiger, lion, &amp;c. The
-Tapir of Brasil is the largest of all the South
-American animals, and this elephant of the
-new world exceeds not the size of a very small
-mule, or a calf at six months old; with both
-which animals he has been compared, although
-he does not resemble either. The
-Lama is not so big as the tapir, and appears
-large only from the length of his neck and legs;
-and the Pacos is much smaller still. The Cabiai,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
-which, next to the tapir, is the largest of
-the South American animals, is not bigger
-than a common-sized hog; he differs as much
-as any of the preceding from all the animals
-of the old continent; for although he has
-been called the water-hog, he has essentially
-different characteristics from that animal.
-The Tajacou is smaller than the cabiai, and
-has a strong external resemblance to the hog,
-but differs greatly in his internal conformation.
-Neither the tajacou, cabiai, nor the tapir, are
-to be found in any part of the old continent;
-and the same may be said of the <i>Tamanduacuacu</i>,
-or <i>Ouariri</i>, and of the <i>Ouatiriou</i>, which
-we have called Ant-eaters. These last animals,
-the largest of which is below mediocrity, seem
-confined to the regions of South America.
-They are remarkable in having no teeth, their
-tongue is long and cylindrical, and their
-mouth is so small that they can neither bite nor
-hardly take hold of any thing; they can
-only procure subsistence by putting out their
-long tongue in the way of the ants, and drawing
-it in when loaded with them. The sloth,
-which is called <i>ai</i>, or <i>hai</i>, by the natives of
-Brasil, on account of the plaintive cry of <i>ai</i>,
-which it continually sends forth, seems
-likewise to be confined to the new continent.
-It is smaller than either of the preceding
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
-ones, being not more than two feet long, and
-is scarcely so quick in his motion as the turtle;
-it has but three claws on each foot, its fore
-legs are longer than its hind ones, it has a very
-short tail, and no ears. Besides, the sloth and
-armadillo are the only quadrupeds, which
-have neither incisive nor canine teeth, but
-whose grinders are cylindrical, and round at
-the extremities, nearly like those of some cetaceous
-animals.</p>
-
-<p>The Curiacou of Guiana is an animal of the
-nature and size of our largest roe-bucks; the
-male has horns, which he sheds every year, but
-the female has none. At Cayenne it is called
-the Hind of the Woods. There is another
-species, called the little cariacou, or hind of the
-fens, which is considerably smaller than the
-former, and the male has no horns. From the
-resemblance of the names I suspected that the
-cariacou of Cayenne might be the caguacu, or
-cougouacou-ara, of Brasil, and comparing the
-accounts given by Piso and Marcgrave of the
-latter with the cariacou I had alive, I was persuaded
-they were the same animal, yet so different
-from our roe-buck as to justify our considering
-them distinct species.</p>
-
-<p>The tapir, cabiai, tajacou, ant-eater, sloth,
-cariacou, lama, pacos, bison, puma, juguar,
-coujuar, juguarat, and the mountain-cat, &amp;c.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
-are therefore the largest animals of the new
-continent. The middle-sized and small ones
-are the cuandus, or gouandous, agouti, coati,
-paca, opossum, cavies, and armadillos; all
-which I believe are peculiar to the new world,
-although our latest nomenclators speak of two
-other species of armadillos, one in the East
-Indies, and the other in Africa; but we have
-only the testimony of the author of the description
-of Seba&rsquo;s cabinet for their existence,
-and that authority is insufficient to confirm
-the fact, for misnomers frequently happen in
-the collections of natural objects. An animal,
-for example, is purchased under the name of
-a Ternat, or American bat, and another
-under that of the East India Armadillo;
-they are then announced by those names in
-a descriptive catalogue, and are adopted by
-our nomenclators; but when examined more
-closely the American bat proves to be one of
-our own country, and so may the Indian or
-African armadillo be merely an armadillo of
-America.</p>
-
-<p>Hitherto we have not spoken of Apes, their
-history requiring a particular discussion. As
-the word <i>Ape</i> is a generic term applied to a
-number of species, it is not surprising that it
-should be said they abound in the southern parts
-of both continents; but it is for us here to enquire
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
-whether the apes of Asia and Africa be
-the same animals as those so called in America,
-and whether from among more than thirty species
-of apes, which I have examined alive, one
-of them is alike common to both continents.</p>
-
-<p>The Satyr, Ourang-outang, or Man of the
-Woods, as it is indiscriminately termed, seems
-to differ less from man than from the ape, and
-is only to be found in Africa or the south of
-Asia. The Gibbon, whose fore legs, or arms,
-are as long as the whole body, even the hind legs
-included, is a native of the East Indies alone.
-Neither of these have tails. The ape, properly
-so termed, whose hair is greenish, with a small
-intermixture of yellow, has no tail, belongs to
-Africa, and a few other parts of the old continent,
-but is not to be found in the new. It is
-the same also with the Cynocephali-apes, of
-which there are two or three species; neither
-of them having any tails, at least they
-are so short as scarcely to be perceivable. All
-apes which are without tails, and whose muzzles,
-from being short, bear a strong resemblance
-to the face of man, are real apes; and
-the species above-mentioned are all natives of
-the old continent, and unknown in the new;
-from whence we may pronounce that there are
-no real apes in America.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The Baboon, an animal larger than the dog,
-and whose body is pursed up like that of the
-hy�na, is exceedingly different from those we
-have noticed, and has a short tail: it is equally
-endowed with inclination and powers for mischief,
-and is only to be met with in the desarts
-of the southern parts of the old continent.</p>
-
-<p>Besides these without tails, or with very short
-ones, (which all belong to the old continent)
-almost all the large ones with long tails, are
-peculiar to Africa. There are few even of the
-middling size in America, but those called little
-long-tailed monkeys are very numerous, of
-which there are several species; and when we
-give the particular history of these animals, it
-will appear the American monkeys differ very
-much from the apes of Asia and Africa. The
-Maki, of which there are three or four species,
-has a near resemblance to the monkeys with
-long tails, but is another animal, and peculiar
-also to the old continent. All the animals,
-therefore, of Asia and Africa, which are known
-by the name of apes, are equally as strange in
-America as the rhinoceros or tiger; and the
-more we investigate this subject, the more we
-shall be convinced that the animals of the
-southern parts of one continent did not exist in
-the others and the few found in them must have
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
-been carried thither by men. Between the
-coasts of Brasil and Guinea, there are 500
-leagues of sea; and between those of the East
-Indies and Peru, the distance exceeds 2000
-leagues: It appears, therefore, that all those
-animals which from their nature are incapable
-of supporting cold climates, or, if supporting,
-cannot propagate therein, are confined on two
-or three sides by seas they cannot cross, and on
-the other by lands so cold they cannot live in
-them. At this one general fact, then, however
-singular it may at first appear, our wonder
-ought to cease, namely, that not one of the
-animals of the torrid zone of one continent,
-are natives of the torrid zone of the other.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="ANIMALS_COMMON_TO_BOTH_CONTINENTS" id="ANIMALS_COMMON_TO_BOTH_CONTINENTS">ANIMALS COMMON TO BOTH CONTINENTS.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>BY the preceding enumeration it appears,
-that not only the quadrupeds of the hot climates
-of Asia and Africa, but many of those in
-the temperate climates of Europe, are strangers
-in America; but we find many there of such
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>
-as can support cold and propagate their species
-in the regions of the north; and though there
-is an evident difference in them they cannot but
-be considered as the same animals; and this induces
-us to believe, they formerly passed from
-one continent to the other by lands still unknown,
-or possibly long since buried by the
-waves. Of the contiguity of the two northern
-provinces, the proof thus drawn from Natural
-History is a stronger confirmation than all the
-conjectures of speculative Geography.</p>
-
-<p>The Bears of the Illinois, of Louisiana,
-&amp;c. seem to be the same with ours; the former
-being only smaller and blacker. The stag of
-Canada, though smaller than ours, differs only
-in the superior loftiness of his horns, number
-of antlers, and length of his tail. The roe-buck,
-found in the south of Canada, and in
-Louisiana, is also smaller and has a longer tail
-than that of Europe. The Orignal is the same
-animal as the Elk, but not so large. The rein-deer
-of Lapland, the fallow-deer of Greenland,
-and the Caribou of Canada, appear to be one
-and the same animal. Brisson has indeed
-classed the latter with the <i>cervus Burgundicus</i>
-of Johnston, but which animal remains unknown,
-and possibly received that name from
-accident or caprice.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The hares, squirrels, hedge-hogs, otters,
-marmots, rats, shrew-mice, and the moles, are
-species which may be considered as common
-to both continents; though there is not one
-perfectly similar in America, to what it is in
-Europe; and it is very difficult, if not impossible,
-to pronounce whether they are in reality
-different species, or mere varieties rendered permanent
-by the influence of the climate.</p>
-
-<p>The Beavers of Europe seem to be the same
-as those of Canada. These animals prefer cold
-countries, but can subsist and propagate in temperate
-ones. In the islands of the Rhone in
-France, there still remain a few of the number
-which formerly subsisted there; and they seem
-more desirous of avoiding a too populous than
-a too warm country. They never form their
-societies but in desarts remote from the dwellings
-of men; and even in Canada, which can
-be considered as little more than a vast desart,
-they have retired far from any human habitation.
-The Wolf and Fox are common to both
-continents. They are met with in all parts of
-North America, and of both species; there are
-some entirely black. Though the Weasel and
-Ermine frequent the cold countries of Europe,
-they are very rare in America, which is not
-the case with the pine-weasel, marten, and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
-pole-cat. The Pine-weasel of North America
-seems to be the same with that of the northern
-parts of Europe. The Vison of Canada has a
-strong resemblance to our Marten; and the
-streaked Pole-cat of North America, is perhaps
-a mere variety of the European kind. The
-Lynx of America is, to all appearance, the
-same with that in Europe. Though it prefers
-cold countries, it lives and multiplies in
-temperate ones, and is seldom seen but in forests
-and on mountains. The Seal, or sea-calf,
-seems to be confined to the northern regions,
-and is alike to be found on the coasts of Europe
-and North America.</p>
-
-<p>Such, with a few exceptions, are all the animals
-common to the old and new world; and
-from this number, inconsiderable as it is, we
-ought, perhaps, to deduct one third, whose species,
-though similar in appearance, may be different
-in reality. But admitting the identity of
-species, those common to both continents are
-very small in number, compared with those peculiar
-to each; and it is also evident, that such
-only as can bear cold, and can multiply in these
-climates, as well as in warm ones, are to be
-found in both. From which there cannot remain
-a doubt but that the two continents are,
-or have been contiguous towards the north,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
-and that the animals common to both, found a
-passage over lands which at present are to us
-unknown. There is reason to believe, from
-the discoveries made by the Russians to the
-north of Kamtschatka, that the lands of Asia
-and America are contiguous, while the north
-of Europe appears always to have been separated
-from the latter by seas too considerable
-for any quadruped to have crossed; nevertheless,
-the animals of North America have a stronger
-resemblance to those of the northern parts of
-Europe than to those of the north of Asia.
-Neither the Argali, Sable, Mole of Siberia, nor
-Chinese Musk, are to be found at Hudson&rsquo;s Bay,
-or any other north-west part of the new continent;
-while in the north-east parts we not only
-find the animals common to the north of Europe
-and Asia, but even such as appear to be
-peculiar to Europe. But it must be acknowledged,
-that the north-east parts of Asia are so
-little known that we cannot attempt to affirm,
-with certainty, whether the animals of the
-north of Europe are to be found there or not.</p>
-
-<p>We have already remarked, as a striking
-singularity, that the animals in the southern
-provinces of the new continent are small, in
-comparison with those of the warm regions of
-the old; the elephant, &amp;c. of the latter being
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
-some of them eight and ten times larger than
-the tapir, &amp;c. of the former. And this general
-fact, as to size, is further corroborated, by all
-the animals which have been transported from
-Europe having become less, and also those
-common to both continents being much smaller
-in America than those of Europe. In this
-new world, then, there must be something
-in the combination of the elements, and other
-physical causes, which opposes the aggrandisement
-of animated nature; there must be obstacles
-to the development, and perhaps to the
-formation of the principles of life. Under this
-sky, and on this vacant land, even those which,
-from the benign influence of other climates,
-had received their full form and complete extension,
-lose both, and become shrivelled and
-diminished. These extensive regions were
-thinly inhabited by a few wandering savages,
-who, instead of acting as masters, had no
-authority in it: for they had no controul over
-either animals or elements; they had neither
-subjected the waves nor directed the motions
-of rivers, nor even cultivated the earth around
-them; they were themselves nothing more than
-animals of the first rank, mere automatons,
-incapable of correcting Nature, or seconding
-her intentions. Nature, indeed, had treated
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
-them more as a stepmother than as an indulgent
-parent, by denying to them the sentiment of
-love, and the eager desire to propagate their
-species. The American savage, it is true, is
-little less in stature than other men, yet that is
-not sufficient to form an exception to the general
-remark&mdash;that all animated nature is comparatively
-diminutive in the new continent.
-In the savage the organs of generation are
-small and feeble; he has no hair, no beard, no
-ardour for the female; though more nimble
-than the European, from being habituated to
-running, he is not so strong; possessed of less
-sensibility, yet he is more timid and dastardly;
-he has no vivacity, no activity of soul, and
-that of the body is less a voluntary exercise than
-a necessary action occasioned by want. Satisfy
-his hunger and thirst and you annihilate
-the active principle of all his motions; and he
-will remain for days together in a state of stupid
-inactivity<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a>. Needless is it to search further
-into the cause for the dispersed life of savages,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
-and their aversion to society. Nature has
-withheld from them the most precious spark of
-her torch; they have no ardour for the female,
-and consequently no love for their fellow-creatures.
-Strangers to an attachment the most
-lively and tender, their other kindred sensations
-are cold and languid: to their parents
-and children they are little more than indifferent;
-with them the bands of the most
-intimate of all society, are feeble, nor is there
-the smallest connection between one family
-and another; of course they have no social
-state among them; cold in temperament,
-their manners are cruel, their women they
-treat as drudges born to labour, or rather as
-beasts of burthen, whom they load with all
-the produce of the chace, and whom they
-oblige, without pity or gratitude, to perform
-offices repugnant to their natures, and frequently
-beyond their strength. They have
-few children, and to those they pay little attention.
-The whole arises from one cause;
-they are indifferent because they are weak, and
-this indifference to the female is the original
-stain which defaces nature, prevents her from
-expanding, and, while it destroys the seeds of
-life, strikes at the root of society. Man, therefore,
-forms no exception; for Nature, by retrenching
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
-the faculty of love, has diminished
-him more than any other animal. Before we
-examine the causes of this general effect, it
-must be acknowledged, that although Nature
-has reduced all the quadrupeds of the new
-world, yet she has preserved the size of reptiles,
-and enlarged that of insects; for although
-there are larger lizards and larger serpents at
-Senegal than in South America, yet in these
-animals the difference is not near so great as
-in the quadrupeds; the largest serpent at Senegal
-is not twice as large as the great adder of
-Cayenne, whereas the elephant is ten times as
-big as the tapir, which is the largest animal of
-South America. In no part are the insect
-tribes so large as in South America. At Cayenne,
-the spiders, caterpillars, and butterflies,
-surpass all the insects of the old continent, not
-only as to size, but in richness of colours, delicacy
-of shades, variety of forms, number of
-species, and the prodigious multiplication of
-individuals. The toads, frogs, and other
-creatures of this kind, are also very large in
-America. Of the birds and fish we shall say
-nothing; for since they possess the power of
-migrating from one continent to the other, it
-would be almost impossible to distinguish which
-properly belongs to either, but insects and reptiles,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>
-like quadrupeds, are confined nearly to
-the spot in which they came into existence.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> Mr. Vaillant says, that the Hottentots will sleep for two
-or three days together, either from hunger or excess in eating;
-for, when hungry, indolence has suggested to them
-the expedient of sleeping instead of the labour of seeking
-for food, and that by tying a bandage round their bellies
-they can do so for the above space, without experiencing
-any consequent inconvenience.</p></div>
-
-<p>Let us now then enquire why, in this new
-world, the reptiles and insects are so large,
-the quadrupeds so small, and the men so cold.
-These effects must depend on the quality of the
-earth and atmosphere, on the degrees of heat
-and moisture, on the situation and height of
-mountains, on the quality of running and stagnate
-waters, on the extent of forests, and, in a
-word, on the state in which inanimate nature
-presents itself in that country. In the new
-world there is much less heat and more moisture
-than in the old. If we compare the heat and
-cold, in each degree of latitude, we shall find a
-very great difference; that at Quebec, which
-is under the same degree of latitude as Paris,
-the rivers are covered with ice for months in
-the year, and the grounds with snow several
-feet thick; the air, indeed, is so cold, that the
-birds fly off at the approach of winter, and return
-not till invited by the warmth of spring.
-This difference of heat under the same latitude
-in the Temperate Zone, though considerable,
-is perhaps less so than the difference of that
-under the Torrid Zone. At Senegal, we are
-scorched, while at Peru, situate under the same
-line, we enjoy the benign influence of a temperate
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
-climate. In such a situation is the continent
-of America placed, and so formed, that
-every thing concurs to diminish the action of
-heat. There we find the highest mountains
-and greatest rivers in the known world; these
-mountains form a chain which seems to terminate
-the length of the continent towards the
-west, while the plains and low grounds are all
-situated on this side of the mountains, from
-whose base they extend to the sea, which separates
-the American from the European continents.
-Thus the east wind, which constantly
-blows between the tropics, does not reach
-America until it has traversed a vast extent of
-ocean, and has consequently been greatly cooled;
-and for this reason it is much less warm at
-Brasil and Cayenne, for example, than at Senegal
-and Guinea, where this east wind arrives,
-charged with the heat of all the burning sands
-and desarts which it necessarily passes in traversing
-both Asia and Africa.</p>
-
-<p>In treating of the different colours of men,
-particularly negroes, it appeared to be demonstrated
-that the strong tincture of brown or
-black depends entirely on the situation of the
-country; that the negroes of Nigritia, and those
-of the west coast of Africa are the blackest,
-because those countries are so situated as to
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
-contain more heat than any other part of the
-globe, from the east wind not reaching them
-until it had passed immense tracks of land;
-that the American Indians, under the line, are
-only tawny, and the Brasilians brown, though
-under the same latitude as the negroes, because
-the heat of the climate is not so great, and the
-east wind has been cooled with the water, and
-loaded with humid vapours. The clouds which
-intercept the sun, and the rains which refresh
-the earth, are periodical, and continue several
-months at Cayenne, and other countries of
-South America. The first cause renders all
-the east coasts of America more temperate than
-either Asia or Africa; this wind arriving in a
-cool state begins to assume a degree of heat in
-traversing the plains of America, but which is
-checked by the enormous chain of mountains
-of which the western part of the new continent
-is composed, so that it is less hot under
-the line at Peru and Cayenne, and the natives
-are of a less dark complexion. If the Cordeliers
-were reduced to a level with the adjacent
-plains, the heat would be excessive in
-the western territories, and there would soon
-be men as black at Chili and Peru, as on the
-western coasts of Africa. It is evident then
-that diminution of heat in the new continent is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
-owing entirely to situation; and we shall now
-make it appear, that there is a much greater
-degree of moisture in America. The mountains
-being the most lofty of any upon the
-globe, and directly facing the east wind, they
-stop and condense the vapours of the air, and
-thus give rise to a number of springs, which,
-by their junction, form the greatest rivers in
-the world. In proportion, therefore, to its
-extent there are more running waters in the
-new continent than in the old, and which are
-augmented by their confined situations; for
-the natives having never checked the torrents,
-directed the rivers, nor drained the marshes,
-immense tracts of land are covered by the
-stagnant waters, by which the moisture of the
-air is increased and the heat diminished.
-Besides, the earth being every where covered
-with trees and coarse weeds, it never dries, but
-constantly produces humid and unwholesome
-exhalations. In these gloomy regions, Nature
-remains concealed under her old garments,
-never having received a new attire from the
-cultivation of man, but totally neglected, her
-productions languish, become corrupted, and
-are prematurely destroyed. It is principally
-then from the scarcity of men in America, and
-from most of them living like the brutes, that
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
-the earth has been neglected, remains cold,
-and is unable to produce the active principles
-of Nature. To develope the seeds of the
-largest animals and enable them to grow and
-multiply, requires all the heat which the sun
-can communicate to a fertile soil; and for a
-reason directly opposite it is, that insects, reptiles,
-and all the little animals which wallow
-in the mud, whose blood is watery, and whose
-increase depends on putrefaction, are more
-numerous and large in the low, humid, and
-marshy lands of the new continent.</p>
-
-<p>When we reflect on these very striking differences
-between the old and new continents,
-we can hardly help supposing that the latter is,
-in fact, more recent, and has remained buried
-under the ocean longer than the rest of the
-globe; for, the enormous western mountains
-excepted, which seem to be monuments of the
-most remote antiquity, it has all the appearance
-of being a land newly sprung up. We
-find sea-shells in many places under the very
-first stratum of the vegetable earth, formed into
-masses of lime-stone, though usually less hard
-and compact than our free-stone. If this continent
-is in reality as ancient as the other, why
-did so few men exist on it? why were the most
-of that few wandering savages? why did the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
-Mexicans and Peruvians, who alone had entered
-into society, reckon only 200 or 300
-years from the first man who taught them to
-assemble? why had they not reduced the lama,
-pacos, and other animals, by which they were
-surrounded, into a domestic state? As their
-society was in its infancy, so were their arts;
-their talents were imperfect, their ideas unexpanded,
-their organs rude, and their language
-barbarous. The names of their animals<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a>, of
-which we have subjoined a few as a specimen,
-were so difficult to pronounce, that our only
-astonishment is, how the Europeans should
-have taken the trouble to write them.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> <i>Pelon ichiati oquitli</i>&mdash;the lama.
-</p>
-<p>
-<i>Tapiierete</i>, in Brasil; <i>maniporous</i>, in Guinea&mdash;the tapir.
-</p>
-<p>
-<i>Macatlchichiltic temamacama</i>&mdash;the antelope of New Spain.
-</p>
-<p>
-<i>Quauhtla coymatl</i>&mdash;the Mexican hog.
-</p>
-<p>
-<i>Tlacoozclotl</i>&mdash;the mountain cat.
-</p>
-<p>
-<i>Tlaclaughqui ocelotl</i>, in Mexico&mdash;the jaguar.
-</p>
-<p>
-<i>Hoitzlaquatzin</i>&mdash;the porcupine of New Spain.
-</p>
-<p>
-<i>Xoloitzchuintli</i>&mdash;the Mexican wolf.</p></div>
-
-<p>Thus every circumstance seems to indicate,
-that the Americans were new men, or rather
-men who had been so long estranged from the
-rest of their species that they had lost all idea
-of the world from which they had issued; that
-the greatest part of the American continent was
-new land, unassisted by man, and in which Nature
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
-had not had time to establish all her plans,
-or to display their full extent; that the men
-are cold and the animals diminutive, because
-the ardour of the former, and the largeness of
-the latter, depend on the heat and salubrity
-of the air; and that, in the course of a few
-centuries when the lands are cultivated, the forests
-cut down, the rivers confined within
-proper channels, and the marshes drained, this
-very country will become the most fruitful,
-healthy, and opulent in the world; as it appears
-already in every part which has been cultivated
-by man. We mean not to infer that
-large animals would then be produced, for the
-tapir and cabiai will never attain the size of
-the elephant or hippopotamus, but those
-which may be transported there will no longer
-diminish. By degrees man will fill up the
-vacuums in these immense territories, which,
-when discovered, were perfect desarts.</p>
-
-<p>The first writers who recorded the conquests
-of the Spaniards, to heighten the glory of their
-arms exaggerated the number of their enemies;
-but is it possible for any reasonable man to
-credit that there were millions of inhabitants
-at Cuba and St. Domingo, when those writers
-admit there was neither a monarchy, a republic,
-nor scarcely any society among them;
-and that in these two neighbouring
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>
-islands, situated at but a little distance from
-the continent, there were only five species of
-animals, the largest of which was not bigger
-than a rabbit? Than this fact, as affirmed by
-Laet, Acosta, and Father du Tertre, in their
-different histories, no stronger proof can be
-adduced of the empty and desart state of this
-new-discovered world.</p>
-
-<p>M. Fabry, who travelled for fifteen months
-over the western parts of America, beyond the
-Mississippi, assured me that he sometimes did
-not meet a single man for the space of 300 or
-400 leagues; and all our officers who went from
-Quebec to the Ohio, and from that river to Louisiana,
-agree that it is not uncommon to travel
-upwards of 100 leagues without seeing a single
-family of savages. From these testimonies it is
-plain, that the most agreeable countries of this
-new continent were little better than desarts;
-but what is more immediately necessary to
-our purpose, they prove that we should distrust
-the evidence of our nomenclators, who
-set down in their catalogues animals as belonging
-to the new world which solely belong
-to the old, and others as native of particular
-districts where in fact they never existed;
-and in the same manner they have classed some
-animals as natives of the old world, which
-belong exclusively to America.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>I do not pretend to affirm positively that
-none of the animals which inhabit the warm
-climates are not common to both. To be physically
-certain of this it is necessary they
-should have been seen; but it is evident, with
-respect to the large animals of America, that
-none of them are to be found in the old continent,
-and very few of the small ones. Besides,
-allowing there to be some exceptions,
-they must relate to a trifling number of species,
-and in no degree affect the general rule which
-I intend to establish, and which seems to me to
-be our only certain guide to the knowledge of
-animals. This rule, which leads us to judge
-of them as much by climate and disposition as
-from figure and conformation, will seldom be
-found wrong, and it will enable us to avoid
-and discover a multitude of errors. If, for
-example, we mean to describe the hy�na of
-Arabia, we may safely affirm that it does not
-exist in Lapland; but we will not say with
-Brisson, and some others, that the hy�na and
-the glutton are the same animal; nor with
-Kolbe, that the crossed-fox, which inhabits the
-northern parts of the new continent, is found
-at the Cape of Good Hope, as the animal he
-mentions is not a fox, but a jackall. But it
-is not my object at present to point out all the
-errors of nomenclators; my intention is solely
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>
-to prove that their blunders would have been less
-had they paid some attention to the differences
-of climates; if the history of animals had
-been so far studied as to discover, which I
-have done, that those of the southern parts of
-each continent are never found in both; and
-lastly, if they had abstained from generic
-names, which have confounded together a
-number of species, not only different, but even
-remote from each other.</p>
-
-<p>The true business of a nomenclator is not
-to enlarge his list, but to form rational comparisons
-in order to contract it. Nothing can
-be more easy than, by perusing all the authors
-on animals, and by selecting their names and
-phrases, to form a table which however will
-always be long, in proportion as the enquiry
-is superficial; while nothing can be more difficult
-than to compare them with that judgment
-and discernment which is necessary to
-reduce that table to its proper dimensions. I
-said before, and now repeat, that in the whole
-known part of the globe there are not above
-200 species of quadrupeds, including among
-them 40 species of apes. To each of these,
-therefore, we had only to appropriate a name;
-and to retain 200 names, only a very moderate
-exertion of memory is required; for what purpose
-then are quadrupeds formed into classes
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>
-and genera, which are nothing more than
-props to serve the memory in the recollection
-of plants, which are so very numerous, and
-often so very similar. But instead of a list of
-200 quadrupeds we have volumes heaped upon
-volumes full of intricate names and phrases.
-Why introduce an unintelligible jargon, when
-we may be understood by pronouncing a simple
-name? Why change terms merely to form
-classes? When a dozen animals are included
-under the name, for example, of <i>the Rabbit</i>,
-why is the Rabbit itself omitted, and must be
-sought for under the genus of <i>the Hare</i>? Is
-it not absurd and ridiculous to form classes in
-which the most remote genera are assembled
-together; to put in the first, for example, man
-and the bat; the elephant and scaly lizard in
-the second; the lion and ferret in the third;
-the hog and the mole in the fourth; and the
-rhinoceros and the rat in the fifth? Ideas so
-vague and ill-conceived can never maintain
-their ground. These works are destroyed by
-their own authors, one edition contradicting
-another, and neither of them approved but by
-children, or by such as are always the dupes
-of mystery, mistaking the appearance of method
-for the reality of science. By comparing
-the fourth edition of Linn�us&rsquo;s Systema Natur�
-with the tenth, we find man is no longer
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
-classed with the bat, but with the scaly lizard;
-that the elephant, hog, and rhinoceros,
-instead of being classed as before with the scaly
-lizard, mole, and rat, are all three huddled
-together with the shrew-mouse. In the former
-he had reduced all quadrupeds to five classes,
-but in the latter he divides them into seven.
-From these alterations we may form some idea
-of those introduced among the genera, and
-how the species have been jumbled and confounded.
-According to the same author there
-are two species<a name="FNanchor_D_4" id="FNanchor_D_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a> of men, the man of day and
-the man of night, and that these are so very
-distinct that they ought not to be regarded as
-varieties of the same species. Is not this adding
-fable to absurdity? and were it not better
-to remain silent with respect to matters of which
-we are ignorant, than to found essential characters,
-and general distinctions upon the
-grossest error? But to whatever length criticisms
-of this kind might be extended, I shall
-proceed no farther, especially as it does not
-form my principal object, having already said
-enough to put every reader on his guard, against
-the general as well as particular errors
-which abound so much in the works of nomenclators.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_D_4" id="Footnote_D_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_4"><span class="label">[D]</span></a> <i>Homo diurnus sapiens; homo nocturnus trogloditus.</i></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p></div>
-
-<p>In drawing general conclusions, from what
-has been advanced, we shall find that man is
-the only animated being in whose nature there
-is sufficient strength, genius, and flexibility, to
-subsist and multiply in all the different climates
-of the earth. It is evident that no other animal
-possesses this grand privilege, for, far from
-being able to multiply in every part of the
-globe, most of them are confined to certain
-climates, and even particular districts. In every
-respect man is the work of heaven, while many
-animals are the mere creatures of the earth.
-These of one continent exist not on another,
-and if there are a few exceptions, they are so
-changed and diminished as hardly to be known.
-Can a stronger proof be given that the impression
-of their form is not unalterable? that their
-nature, less permanent than that of man, may
-in time be varied, and even absolutely changed?
-that from the same cause those species
-which are least perfect, least active, and furnished
-with the fewest engines of defence, as
-well as the most delicate and the most cumbrous,
-have already, or will disappear, for
-their very existence depends on the form which
-man gives to the surface of the earth, or permits
-it to retain.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The prodigious Mammoth, whose enormous
-bones I have often viewed with astonishment,
-and which were at least six times bigger than
-those of the largest elephant, exists no longer;
-although its remains have been found in Ireland,
-Siberia, Louisiana, and other places remote
-from each other. Of all species of quadrupeds
-this was certainly the largest and
-strongest, and since it has disappeared, how
-many smaller, weaker, and less remarkable,
-must have perished, without having left any
-evidence of their past existence? How many
-others have been improved or degraded by the
-great vicissitude of the earth and waters, by the
-culture or neglect of nature, by their long continuance
-in favourable or repugnant climates,
-that they are no longer the same! and yet, next
-to man, quadrupeds are beings whose nature is
-most fixed, and whose form most permanent.
-Birds and fishes vary more: those of insects
-are subject to greater variations still; and if
-we descend to plants, which ought not to be
-excluded from animated nature, we shall be
-astonished at the celerity and facility with
-which they vary and assume new forms.</p>
-
-<p>It may not be impossible, then, without inverting
-the order of nature, that all the animals
-of the new world originated from the same
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
-stock as those of the old; that having been afterwards
-separated by immense seas or impassable
-lands, they, in course of time, underwent
-all the effects of a climate which was new to
-them, and which must also have had its qualities
-changed by the very causes which produced
-its separation; and that they, in consequence,
-became not only inferior in size, but
-different in nature. But these circumstances,
-if true, ought not to prevent us from considering
-them now as animals of different species.
-From whatever causes these changes may have
-proceeded, whether produced by time, climate,
-or soil, or whether originating with the creation,
-they are not the less real. Nature is, indeed,
-in a perpetual fluctuation. It is sufficient
-for man to watch her in his own time, to look a
-little backward and forward, by way of forming
-a conjecture of what she might have been formerly
-and what she may hereafter be.</p>
-
-<p>As to the utility to be derived from this
-comparison of animals, it is evident, that independent
-of correcting the errors of our nomenclators,
-our knowledge of the animal creation
-will be enlarged, rendered less imperfect
-and more certain; that we shall be in less
-hazard of attributing to American animals,
-properties which belong to those of the East
-Indies, because they may have the same name;
-that in treating of foreign animals, from accounts
-given by travellers, we shall be more
-able to distinguish names and facts, and to
-refer them to their true species; and, in fine,
-that the history in which we are now engaged
-will be less erroneous, and perhaps more luminous
-and complete.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 375px;">
-<a id="FIG_102"></a><img src="images/fig_102.png" width="375" height="285" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 102. <i>Black Cougar</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 376px;">
-<a id="FIG_101"></a><img src="images/fig_101.png" width="376" height="285" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 101. <i>Tiger</i></span>
-</div>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_TIGER" id="THE_TIGER">THE TIGER.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>IN the class of carnivorous animals, the lion
-stands foremost, and he is immediately followed
-by the tiger, who, possessing all the bad qualities
-of the former, is a stranger to his good
-ones. To pride, courage, and strength, the
-lion adds dignity, clemency, and generosity,
-while the tiger is ferocious without provocation
-and cruel without necessity. Thus it is
-throughout all nature where rank proceeds
-from the superiority of strength. The first
-class, sole master of all, are less tyrannical than
-their immediate inferiors, who, denied unlimited
-authority, abuse those powers which they possess;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
-thus the tiger is more to be dreaded than
-the lion. The latter often forgets that he is
-the sovereign, or strongest of animals; with
-an even pace he traverses the plains and forests;
-man he attacks not unless provoked, nor animals
-but when goaded by hunger. The tiger,
-on the contrary, though glutted with carnage,
-has still an insatiate thirst for blood; his rancour
-has no intervals. With indiscriminate
-fury he tears in pieces every animal he comes
-near, and destroys with the same ferocity a fresh
-animal as he had done the first. Thus he is the
-scourge of every country he inhabits; and of
-the appearance of man or his weapons, he is
-fearless. He will destroy whole flocks of domestic
-animals if he meets with them, and all
-the wild animals that come in his way. He
-attacks the young elephant and rhinoceros,
-and will sometimes brave the lion himself.</p>
-
-<p>The form of the body usually corresponds
-with the nature and disposition. The noble
-air of the lion, the height of his limbs in exact
-proportion to the length of his body, his large
-thick mane, which covers his shoulders and
-shades his face, his determined aspect, and
-solemn pace, seem to announce the dignity and
-majestic intrepidity of his nature. The tiger
-has a body too long, limbs disproportionally
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>
-short, naked head, and haggard eyes; strong
-characteristics of desperate malice and insatiable
-cruelty. He has no instinct but an uniform
-rage, a blind fury, so undistinguishing
-that he not unoften devours his own progeny,
-and even tears the dam in pieces if she offers
-to defend them. Would he were to gratify
-his thirst for blood to its utmost, and by
-destroying them at their birth extinguish the
-whole race of monsters which he produces!</p>
-
-<p>Happy is it for other animals that the species
-of tiger is not numerous, and that it is
-chiefly confined to the warmest provinces of
-the East. They are found in Malabar, Siam,
-Bengal, and in all the countries inhabited by
-the elephant and rhinoceros. It is, indeed,
-said, that they accompany the latter for the
-purpose of eating their dung, which serves to
-purge them. Be this as it may, they are
-often seen together at the sides of lakes and
-rivers, where they are probably compelled
-to go by thirst, having often occasion for
-water to cool that fervor they so constantly
-endure. It is also a convenient situation to
-surprise his victims, since the heat of the
-climate compels all animals to seek for water
-several times a day; here he chooses his prey,
-or rather multiplies his massacres, for having
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>
-killed one animal, he often proceeds to the
-destruction of others, tearing open their bodies,
-and swallowing their blood by long draughts;
-for which their thirst seems never to be appeased.</p>
-
-<p>When, however, he has killed a large animal,
-as a horse, or buffalo, he does not devour
-it on the spot, for fear of being disturbed, but
-drags it off to the forest, which he does with
-such ease, that the swiftness of his course seems
-scarcely retarded by the enormous load which
-he trails after him. From this circumstance we
-might judge of his strength, but we shall have
-a more just idea of it by considering his bodily
-dimensions. Some travellers have compared
-him for size to the horse, others to the buffalo,
-and others merely say he is larger than the
-lion; but we have accounts more recent, which
-deserve the utmost confidence. I have been
-assured by M. de la Lande-Magon that he saw
-a tiger in the East-Indies fifteen feet long; allowing
-that he includes the tail, and granting
-four feet for that, the body would still be more
-than ten. It is true that the skin preserved in
-the Royal Cabinet of France is not more than
-seven feet from the tip of the nose to the insertion
-of the tail; but this tiger had been
-taken very young, and was afterwards always
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
-confined in a very narrow apartment, where the
-want of exercise, and space to range in, restraint
-and, perhaps, not having proper nourishment,
-not only its life might have been
-shortened, but the growth of its body prevented.
-From the dissection of animals of every
-species that have been reared in houses or
-court-yards, we find that their bodies and
-members for want of exercise, never attain
-their natural dimensions, and that the organs
-which are not used as those of generation, are
-so little expanded as to be scarcely perceivable.</p>
-
-<p>The difference of climate alone is capable of
-producing the same effects as confinement and
-want of exercise. None of the animals of
-hot countries produce in cold ones, even though
-well fed, and at full liberty; and as reproduction
-is a natural consequence of full nutrition,
-it is evident that when the former does not
-operate the latter must be incomplete; and
-that, in such animals, cold of itself is sufficient
-to restrain the powers of the internal mould,
-and to diminish the growth, since it destroys
-the active faculties of reproduction. It is
-not, therefore, surprising that the tiger
-above alluded to should not have acquired its
-natural growth; yet from a bare view of its
-stuffed skin, and an examination of its skeleton,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
-we may form an idea of its formidable strength
-as an animal. Upon the bones of the legs
-there are inequalities which denote muscular
-ligatures stronger than those of the lion. These
-bones are also to the full as strong, though
-shorter; and, as already intimated, the height
-of the tiger&rsquo;s legs bear no proportion to the
-length of his body. Thus that velocity which
-Pliny ascribes to him and which the word <i>tiger</i>
-seems to imply, ought not to be understood of
-his ordinary movements, or the celerity of his
-continued course; for it is evident, that as his
-legs are short and he can neither walk nor run
-so fast as those animals which have them proportionally
-longer; but this prodigious swiftness,
-may with great propriety, be applied to
-the extraordinary bounds he is capable of making
-without any particular effort, for if we
-suppose him to have the same strength and
-agility in proportion with the cat, which he
-greatly resembles in conformation, and which
-in an instant will leap several feet, we must allow
-that the bounds of a tiger, whose body is
-ten times as large, must be immense. It is not,
-therefore, the quickness of his running, but of
-his leaping that Pliny meant to denote, and
-which from the impossibility of evading, when
-he has made a spring, still renders him more
-formidable.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The tiger is, perhaps, the only animal whose
-spirit cannot be subdued. Neither force nor
-restraint, violence nor flattery, can prevail, in
-the least, on his stubborn Nature. He is
-equally indignant at the gentle and harsh
-usage of his keeper; and time instead of mollifying
-his disposition, only serves to increase
-his fierceness and malignity. With equal
-wrath he snaps at the hand that feeds as
-that which chastises him. He roars at the
-sight of every object which lives, and seems to
-consider all as his proper prey; he seems to
-devour beforehand with a look, menacing it
-with the grinding of his teeth, and, regardless
-of his chains, makes efforts to dart upon it, as
-if to shew his malignity when incapable of exerting
-his force.</p>
-
-<p>To complete the idea of the strength of this
-terrible animal we shall quote Father Tachard&rsquo;s
-account of a combat between a tiger and three
-elephants, at Siam, of which he was an eye-witness;
-he says, &ldquo;a lofty palisade of bamboo
-cane was built, about a hundred feet square,
-into which inclosure three elephants were introduced,
-for the purpose of fighting a tiger.
-Their heads, and part of their trunks, were
-covered with a kind of armour like a mask.
-As soon as we arrived at the place a tiger was
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
-brought forth, of a size much larger than any
-we had seen before; he was not at first let
-loose, but held by two cords, so that he could
-not make a spring; one of the elephants approached
-and gave him three or four blows on
-the back with his trunk, with such force as to
-beat him to the ground, where he lay for some
-time without motion, as if he had been dead,
-although this first attack had greatly abated his
-fury, he was no sooner untied, and at liberty,
-than he gave a loud roar, and made a spring at
-the elephant&rsquo;s trunk, which was stretched out
-to strike him; but the elephant drew up his
-trunk with great dexterity, received the tiger
-upon his tusks, and tossed him up into the
-air. This so discouraged him that he no more
-ventured to approach the elephant, but made
-several turns round the palisade, making several
-efforts to spring at the spectators. Shortly
-after a second, and then a third elephant was
-set against him, each of which gave him such
-blows that he once more lay for dead, and they
-certainly would have killed him had not an end
-been put to the combat.&rdquo; From this account
-we may form some idea of the strength and
-ferocity of the tiger; for this animal, though
-young, and not arrived at his full growth,
-though reduced to captivity, and held by cords,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>
-yet he was so formidable to three such enormous
-foes, that it was thought necessary to
-protect those parts of their bodies which were
-not defended by impenetrable skin.</p>
-
-<p>The tiger, of which an anatomical description
-was made by the Jesuits at China, and
-communicated by Father Gouie to the Academy
-of Sciences, seemed to be the true species,<a name="FNanchor_E_5" id="FNanchor_E_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a>
-as does also that which the Portuguese have
-distinguished by the name of Royal Tiger.
-Dellon expressly says, in his Travels, that tigers
-abound more in Malabar than in any other part
-of the East Indies; that their species are numerous,
-but that the largest, which is as big as a
-horse, and called by the Portuguese the Royal
-Tiger, is very rare. To all appearance, then,
-the Royal Tiger is not a different species; he
-is found in the East Indies only; and, notwithstanding
-what has been said by Brisson, and
-others, is an utter stranger at Brasil. I am
-even inclined to think that the real tiger is peculiar
-to Asia, and the inland parts of the south
-of Africa; for though the generality of travellers,
-who have frequented the African coasts,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>
-speak of tigers as very common, yet it is very
-plain, from their own accounts of them, that
-they are either leopards, panthers, or ounces.
-Dr. Shaw says, that the lion and panther hold
-the first rank at Tunis and Algiers, and that in
-those parts of Barbary the tiger is an animal
-unknown. This observation seems founded in
-truth, for they were Indian, and not African,
-ambassadors, who presented Augustus, while at
-Samos, the first tiger the Romans had ever
-seen; and it was also from the Indies that Heliogabalus
-procured those tigers, with which,
-in order to represent the god Bacchus, he proposed
-that his car should be drawn.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_E_5" id="Footnote_E_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_5"><span class="label">[E]</span></a> This tiger was streaked, and had been slain, with four
-others, in the field, by the Emperor, it weighed 265lbs; but
-one of them weighed 400; when dissected, one-third of its
-stomach was full of worms, and yet it could not be said the
-animal had begun to putrify. <i>Hist. Acad.</i> 1669.</p></div>
-
-<p>Thus the species of the tiger has always been
-more rare and less diffused than that of the lion.
-The female, like the lioness, however, produces
-four or five cubs at a time. She is fierce
-at all times, but, upon her young being in
-danger, her fury becomes excessive. She then
-braves every danger to secure them, and will
-pursue the plunderers of them with such ferocity,
-that they are often obliged to drop one
-to secure the rest; this she takes up and conveys
-to the nearest cover, and then renews the
-pursuit, and will follow them to the very
-gates of towns, or to the ships in which they
-may have taken refuge; and when she has no
-longer hopes recovering her young, she expresses
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
-her agony by the most dismal howls of
-despair.</p>
-
-<p>The tiger testifies his anger in the same manner
-as the lion; he moves the skin of his face,
-shews his teeth, and roars in a frightful manner;
-but the tone of his voice is very different;
-and some travellers have compared it to the
-hoarse croak of certain large birds; and the
-ancients expressed it by saying, <i>Tigrides indomit�
-raucant, rugiuntque Leones</i>.</p>
-
-<p>The skins of these animals are much esteemed,
-particularly in China; the Mandarins
-cover their seats and sedans with them, and also
-their cushions and pillows in winter. In Europe,
-though scarce, they are of no great value;
-those of the panther and leopard being held in
-much greater estimation. The skin is the only
-advantage, trifling as it is, which man can derive
-from this dreadful animal. It has been
-said that his sweat is poisonous, and that the
-hair of his whiskers is more dangerous than an
-envenomed arrow; but the real mischiefs he
-does when alive are sufficient, without giving
-imaginary ones to parts of his body when
-dead; for certain it is, the Indians eat the flesh
-of the tiger, and that they neither find it disagreeable
-nor unwholesome, and if the hair of
-his whiskers, taken in the form of a pill, do destroy,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>
-it is that being hard and sharp it produces
-the same effect in the stomach as a
-number of small needles would.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_PANTHER_OUNCE_AND_LEOPARD" id="THE_PANTHER_OUNCE_AND_LEOPARD">THE PANTHER, OUNCE, AND LEOPARD.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>IN order to avoid an erroneous use of names,
-to prevent doubt, and to banish ambiguity, it
-may be necessary to remark that, in Asia and
-Africa, there are, beside the tiger, whose history
-we have just given, three other animals of
-the same genus, but which not only differ
-from him, but also from each other. These
-are the Panther, Ounce and Leopard, which
-have been confounded together by naturalists,
-and also with a species of the same kind peculiar
-to America; but to prevent confusion, we
-shall, in the present instance, confine ourselves
-solely to those of the old continent.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 384px;">
-<a id="FIG_107"></a><img src="images/fig_107.png" width="384" height="296" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 107. <i>Panther</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 384px;">
-<a id="FIG_108"></a><img src="images/fig_108.png" width="384" height="296" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 108. <i>Caracal</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The first of these species is the Panther,
-(<a href="#FIG_107"><i>fig. 107</i></a>) which the Greeks distinguished by
-the name of Pardalis, the Latins by that of
-Panthera, and Pardus, and the more modern
-Latins by Leopardus. The body of this animal,
-when it has attained its full growth, is five
-or six feet long, from the tip of the nose to the
-insertion of the tail, which is above two feet
-long. Its colour is of a yellow hue, more or
-less dark on the back and sides, and whitish
-under the belly; it is marked with black spots
-which are circular, or in the form of a ring,
-and in which rings there are generally lesser
-spots in the centre of the same colour; some of
-these are oval, others, circular, and are frequently
-above three inches in diameter; on the
-face and legs the black spots are single, and on
-the tail and belly they are irregular.</p>
-
-<p>The second is the Little Panther of Oppian,
-which the ancients have distinguished by no
-particular name, but which modern travellers
-have called Ounce, corrupted from the name of
-lynx or lunx. To this animal we shall preserve
-the name of Ounce, because, in fact, it
-seems to have some affinity to the lynx. It is
-much less than the panther, its body being
-only about three feet and a half long, which is
-nearly the size of the lynx; its hair is longer
-than that of the panther, as is also its tail, which
-sometimes measures three feet, although its
-body is one-third less than that of the panther,
-whose tail never exceeds two feet and an half.
-The colour of the ounce is whitish grey upon
-the back and sides, and still more white under
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
-the belly; the back and sides of the panther
-are always yellow, but the spots are nearly of
-the same size and form in them both.</p>
-
-<p>The third species was unknown to the ancients,
-being peculiar to Senegal, Guinea,
-and other southern countries which they had
-not discovered; and which we, following the
-example of travellers, shall call Leopard a
-name which has been improperly applied to
-the panther. The Leopard is larger than the
-ounce, though considerably smaller than the
-panther, being only four feet in length, the
-tail measures from two to two feet and a half.
-On the back and sides the hair is of a yellow
-colour, under the belly it is whitish; it has
-black annular spots like those of the panther
-and ounce, but smaller and less regularly disposed.</p>
-
-<p>Each of these animals, therefore, forms a
-different species. Our furriers call the skins
-of the first species panther skins; those of the
-second, which we call ounce, African tiger
-skins; and those of the third, or leopard, very
-improperly tiger skins.</p>
-
-<p>Oppian knew the panther and ounce, and
-was the first who observed there were two
-species of the former, the one large and the
-other small. Though alike in the form of their
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
-bodies and the disposition of the spots, yet they
-differed in the length of their tails, which in
-the small species was longer than in the large
-ones. The Arabians have named the large
-panther Nemer, and the small one Phet or
-Phed; which last seems to be a corruption of
-Faadh, the present name of this animal in
-Barbary. &ldquo;The Faadh,&rdquo; says Dr. Shaw, in
-his Travels, &ldquo;resembles the leopard, (he
-should have expressed it panther) in having
-similar spots, in other respects they however
-differ, for the skin of the faadh is more dark
-and coarse, and its disposition is also less fierce.&rdquo;
-Besides we learn from a passage of Albert,
-commented on by Gesner, that the phet, or
-phed of the Arabs, is called in the Italian, and
-some other European languages Leuaza, or
-Lonza. It is beyond a doubt then, that the
-little panther of Oppian, the phet or phed of
-the Arabians, the faadh of Barbary, and the
-onza, or ounce of the Europeans, is the same
-animal; and probably also is the Pard or Pardus
-of the ancients, and the Panthera of Pliny;
-since he mentions its hair is white, whereas,
-as we have observed, that of the great Panther
-is yellow. It is, besides, highly probable that
-the little panther was simply called pard or
-pardus, and that, in process of time, the large
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
-panther obtained the name of leopard, or leopardus,
-from a notion that it was a mongrel
-species, which had aggrandized itself by an intermixture
-with that of the lion. As this
-could only be an unfounded prejudice, I have
-preferred the primitive name of panther to the
-modern compound one of leopard, which last
-I have applied to another animal that has
-hitherto been mentioned by equivocal names
-only. The ounce therefore differs from the
-panther, in being smaller, having a longer tail,
-also longer hair, of a whitish grey colour;
-while the leopard differs from them both, by
-having a coat of a brilliant yellow, more or
-less deep, and by the smallness of his spots,
-which are generally disposed in groups, as if
-each were formed by three or four united.</p>
-
-<p>Pliny, and several after him, have said, that
-the coat of the female panther was whiter than
-that of the male. This may be true of the
-ounce, but no such difference have we ever
-observed in the panthers belonging to the
-menagerie of Versailles, which were designed
-from life; and if there be any difference between
-the colour of the male and female it can
-be neither very permanent nor sensible; in
-some of the skins we have, indeed, perceived
-different shades, but which we rather ascribed
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>
-to the difference of age or climate than of
-sex.</p>
-
-<p>The animals described and dissected by the
-Academy of Sciences, under the name of
-Tigers, and that described by Caius, in Gesner,
-under the name of Uncia, are of the same
-species as our leopard; and of this there cannot
-remain a doubt, after comparing the figure,
-and the description which we have given,
-with those of Caius and M. Perrault. The
-latter, indeed, says, that the animals so dissected
-and described by the gentlemen of the
-Academy, under the name of tigers, were not
-the ounce of Caius; but the only reasons he
-assigns are, that the ounce is smaller, and has
-not white on the under part of its body. It
-may also be observed, that Caius, who does not
-give the exact dimensions, says, generally it
-was bigger than the shepherd&rsquo;s dog, and as
-thick as the bull-dog, though shorter in its
-legs; how, therefore, Perrault should assert
-the ounce of Caius to be smaller than the tigers
-dissected by the gentlemen of the Academy
-I am at a loss to conceive, for those animals
-measured only four feet from the nose to
-the tail, which is the exact length of the leopard
-we are now describing. On the whole,
-then, it appears, that the tigers of the Academy,
-the ounce of Caius, and our leopard, are
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
-the same animal; and not less true do I conceive
-it that our panther is the same with the
-panther of the ancients, notwithstanding the
-distinctions which have been attempted to be
-made by Linn�us, Brisson, and other nomenclators,
-as they perfectly resemble each other
-in every respect but size, and that may safely
-be ascribed to confinement and want of exercise.
-This difference of size at first perplexed
-me, but after a scrupulous examination of the
-large skins sold by the furriers with that of
-our own, I had not the smallest doubt of their
-being the same animals. The panther I have
-described, and two other animals of the same
-species kept at Versailles, were brought from
-Barbary. The two first were presented to the
-French King by the Regency of Algiers, and
-the third was purchased for his Majesty of an
-Algerine Jew.</p>
-
-<p>It is particularly necessary to observe, that
-neither of the animals we are now describing
-can be classed with the pardus of Linn�us, or
-the leopardus of Brisson, as they are described
-with having long spots on the belly, which is
-a characteristic that belongs neither to the
-panther, ounce, or leopard, and yet the panther
-of the ancients has it, as well as the pardus of
-Gesner, and the panthera of Alpinus; but
-from the researches I have made I am convinced
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
-that these three animals, and perhaps a
-fourth, which we shall treat of hereafter, and
-which have not these long spots on the belly,
-are the only species of this kind to be found in
-Asia and Africa, and therefore we must hold
-this character of our nomenclators as fictitious,
-especially when we recollect, that if any animals
-have these long spots, either in the old or
-new continent, they are always upon the neck
-or back, and never on the belly. We shall
-merely observe further, that in reading the ancients
-we must not confound the <i>panther</i> with
-the <i>panthera</i>, the latter is the animal we have
-described, but the panther of the scholiasts of
-Homer and other authors, is a kind of timid
-wolf, perhaps the jackall, as I shall explain
-when I come to the history of that animal.</p>
-
-<p>After having dissipated the cloud under
-which our nomenclators seem to have obscured
-Nature, and removed every ambiguity, by
-giving the exact description of the three animals
-under consideration, we shall now proceed
-to the peculiarities which relate to them
-respectively.</p>
-
-<p>Of the panther, which I had an opportunity
-of examining alive, his appearance was fierce,
-he had a restless eye, a cruel countenance, precipitate
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
-motions, and a cry similar to that of
-an enraged dog, but more strong and harsh;
-his tongue was red and exceedingly rough, his
-teeth were strong and pointed; his claws sharp
-and hard; his skin was beautiful, of a yellow
-hue, interspersed with black spots of an annular
-form, and his hair short; the upper part of
-his tail was marked with large black spots, and
-with black and white ringlets towards the
-extremity; his size and make was similar to
-that of a vigorous mastiff, but his legs were
-not so large.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 386px;">
-<a id="FIG_103"></a><img src="images/fig_103.png" width="386" height="287" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 103. <i>Leopard</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 387px;">
-<a id="FIG_104"></a><img src="images/fig_104.png" width="387" height="288" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 104. <i>Ounce</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>All our travellers confirm the testimonies of
-the ancients as to the large and small panther,
-that is, our panther and ounce. It appears
-that there now exist, as in the days of Oppian,
-in that part of Africa which extends along the
-Mediterranean, and in the parts of Asia which
-were known to the ancients, two species of
-panthers, the largest of which has been called
-panther or leopard, and the smaller ounce, by
-the generality of travellers. By them it is universally
-allowed that the ounce is easily tamed,
-that he is trained to the chace and employed for
-this purpose in Persia, and in several other provinces
-of Asia; that some ounces are so small
-as to be carried by a horseman on the crupper,
-and so mild as to allow themselves to be handled
-and caressed.<a name="FNanchor_F_6" id="FNanchor_F_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_F_6" class="fnanchor">[F]</a> The Panther appears to be of a
-more fierce and stubborn nature; when in the
-power of man, and in his gentlest moments, he
-seems rather to be subdued than tamed. Never
-does he entirely lose the ferocity of his disposition;
-and in order to train him to the chace,
-much care and precaution are necessary. When
-thus employed, he is shut up in a cage and carried
-in one of the little vehicles of the country;
-as soon as the game appears, the door is opened,
-and he springs towards his prey, generally
-overtaking it in three or four bounds, drags it
-to the ground and strangles it; but if disappointed
-of his aim he becomes furious, and will
-even attack his master, who to prevent this dangerous
-consequence usually carries with him
-some pieces of flesh or live animals, as lambs
-or kids, one of which he puts in his way to appease
-the fury arising from his disappointment.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_F_6" id="Footnote_F_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_F_6"><span class="label">[F]</span></a> A particular account of this practice is related in Tavernier&rsquo;s
-Travels; Chardin&rsquo;s Travels in Persia; Gesner&rsquo;s
-Hist. Quad. Pros. Alp. Hist. Egypt. Bernier dans le Mosul,
-&amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<p>The species of the ounce (<a href="#FIG_104"><i>fig. 104</i></a>) seems to
-be more numerous, and more diffused than that
-of the panther; it is very common in Arabia,
-Barbary, and the southern parts of Asia,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
-Egypt, perhaps, excepted.<a name="FNanchor_G_7" id="FNanchor_G_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_G_7" class="fnanchor">[G]</a> They are even
-known in China, where they are distinguished
-by the name of <i>hinen-pao</i>.<a name="FNanchor_H_8" id="FNanchor_H_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_H_8" class="fnanchor">[H]</a> The ounce is employed
-for the chace, in the hot climates of
-Asia, because dogs are very rarely to be found
-unless transported thither, and then they very
-soon lose not only their voice but their instinct.<a name="FNanchor_I_9" id="FNanchor_I_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_I_9" class="fnanchor">[I]</a>
-Besides the panther, ounce, and leopard, have
-such an antipathy to dogs, that they attack
-them in preference to all other animals.<a name="FNanchor_J_10" id="FNanchor_J_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_J_10" class="fnanchor">[J]</a> In
-Europe our sporting dogs have no enemy but
-the wolf; but in countries full of tigers, lions,
-panthers, leopards, and ounces, which are all
-more strong and cruel than the wolf, to attempt
-to keep dogs would be in vain. As the scent
-of the ounce is inferior to that of the dog, he
-hunts solely by the eye; with such vigour does
-he bound, that a ditch, or a wall of several
-feet high, is no impediment to his career; he
-often climbs trees to watch for his prey, and
-when near, will suddenly dart upon them; and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
-this method is also adopted by the panther
-and leopard.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_G_7" id="Footnote_G_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_G_7"><span class="label">[G]</span></a> Maserier affirms that there are neither lions, tigers, nor
-leopards in Egypt. <i>Descrip. Egypt, Tom. II.</i></p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_H_8" id="Footnote_H_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_H_8"><span class="label">[H]</span></a> A kind of leopard or panther found in the province of
-Pekin; it is not so ferocious as the ordinary tigers. <i>Thevenot.</i></p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_I_9" id="Footnote_I_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_I_9"><span class="label">[I]</span></a> Vide Voyage de Jean Ovington, <i>Tom. I. p. 278</i>.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_J_10" id="Footnote_J_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_J_10"><span class="label">[J]</span></a> The leopards, says le Maire, are deadly enemies to
-dogs, and devour all of them they meet.</p></div>
-
-<p>The Leopard, (<a href="#FIG_103"><i>fig. 103</i></a>) has the same manners
-and disposition as the panther; but in no
-part does he appear to have been tamed like
-the ounce; nor do the Negroes of Senegal and
-Guinea, where he greatly abounds, ever make
-use of him in the chace. He is generally larger
-than the ounce, but smaller than the panther;
-and his tail, though shorter than that of
-the ounce, is from two to two feet and a half
-in length. This leopard of Senegal and Guinea,
-to which we have particularly appropriated
-the name of <i>leopard</i>, is probably the animal
-which at Congo is called the <i>Engoi</i>; and
-perhaps also the <i>Antamba</i><a name="FNanchor_K_11" id="FNanchor_K_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_K_11" class="fnanchor">[K]</a> of Madagascar.
-I quote these names, from a persuasion that an
-acquaintance with the denominations applied
-to them in the countries which they inhabit
-would increase our knowledge of animals.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_K_11" id="Footnote_K_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_K_11"><span class="label">[K]</span></a> The antamba is a beast as large as a dog; it has a
-round head, and, in the opinion of the Negroes, resembles
-the leopard; it devours both men and cattle, and is only to
-be found in the most unfrequented parts of the island.
-<i>Flacourt&rsquo;s Voyage.</i></p></div>
-
-<p>The species of the leopard seems to be subject
-to more varieties than that of the panther
-and the ounce. I have examined
-many leopards&rsquo; skins which differed from
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
-each other, not only in the ground colour,
-but in the shade of the spots which last are
-always smaller than those of the panther or
-the ounce. In all leopards&rsquo; skins, the spots are
-nearly of the same size and the same figure, and
-their chief difference consists in their colour
-being deeper in some than in others; in being
-also more or less yellow, consists also the difference
-in the hair itself; but as all these skins
-are nearly of the same size, both in the body
-and tail, it is highly probable they belong to
-the same species of animals.</p>
-
-<p>The panther, ounce, and leopard, are only
-found in Africa, and the hottest climates of
-Asia; they have never been diffused over the
-northern, nor even the temperate regions.
-Aristotle speaks of the panther as an animal of
-Asia and Africa, and expressly says, it does not
-exist in Europe. It is impossible, therefore,
-that these animals, which are confined to the
-torrid zone of the old continent, could ever
-have passed to the new world by any northern
-lands; and it will be found, by the description
-we shall give of the American animals of this
-kind, that they are a different species, and ought
-not to be confounded with those of Africa and
-Asia, as they have been by most of our nomenclators.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>These animals, in general, delight in the
-thickest forests, and often frequent the borders
-of rivers, and the environs of solitary habitations,
-where they surprise their prey, and seize
-equally the tame and wild animals that come
-there to drink. Men they seldom attack, even
-though provoked. They easily climb trees in
-pursuit of wild cats and other animals, which
-cannot escape them. Though they live solely
-by prey, and are usually meagre, travellers
-pretend that their flesh is not unpalatable;
-the Indians and negroes eat it, but they prefer
-that of the dog. With respect to their skins,
-they are all valuable, and make excellent furs.
-The most beautiful and most costly is that of
-the leopard, which, when the colours are
-bright, not unfrequently sells for eight or nine
-guineas.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_JAGUAR" id="THE_JAGUAR">THE JAGUAR.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE jaguar (<a href="#FIG_105"><i>fig. 105</i></a>) resembles the ounce
-in size, and nearly so in the form of the spots
-upon his skin, and in disposition. He is less
-ferocious than the panther or the leopard. The
-ground of his colour, like that of the leopard,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
-is a bright yellow, and not grey like that of the
-ounce. His tail is shorter than that of either;
-his hair is longer than the panther&rsquo;s, but
-shorter than that of the ounce; it is frizzled
-when he is young, but smooth when at full
-growth. I never saw this animal alive, but
-had one sent me entire and well preserved in
-spirits, and it is from this subject the figure
-and description have been drawn; it was taken
-when very young, and brought up in the
-house till it was two years old, and then killed
-for the purpose of being sent to me; it had
-not therefore acquired its full growth, but it
-was evident, from a slight inspection, that its
-full size would hardly have equalled that of
-an ordinary dog. It is, nevertheless, an animal
-the most formidable, the most cruel,
-it is, in a word, the tiger of the new world,
-where Nature seems to have diminished all
-the genera of quadrupeds. The Jaguar,
-like the tiger, lives on prey; but a lighted
-brand will put him to flight, and if his appetite
-is satisfied, he so entirely loses all courage
-and vivacity, that he will fly from a single
-dog. He discovers no signs of activity or
-alertness but when pressed with hunger.
-The savages, by nature cowardly, dread his
-approach. They pretend he has a particular
-propensity to destroy them, and that if he
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
-meets with Indians and Europeans asleep together,
-he will pass the latter and kill the former.
-The same thing has been said of the
-leopard, that he prefers black men to white,
-that he scents them out, and can distinguish
-them as well by night as by day.</p>
-
-<p>Almost all the authors who have written the
-History of the New World, mention this animal,
-some by the name of tiger or leopard, and
-others under the names given them at Brasil,
-Mexico, &amp;c. The first who gave a particular
-description of him were Piso and Marcgrave,
-who called him jaguara, instead of janouara,
-his Brasilian name. They also speak of another
-animal of the same genus, and perhaps of the
-same species, under the name of jaguarette;
-but, like those two authors, we have distinguished
-them from each other, because there is
-a probability of their being different species;
-but whether they are really so, or only varieties
-of the same species, we cannot determine,
-having never seen but one of the kinds. Piso
-and Marcgrave say, that the jaguarette differs
-from the jaguar, by its hair being shorter, more
-glossy, and of a different colour, being black,
-interspersed with spots of a still deeper black.
-But from the similitude in the form of his
-body, in his manners, and disposition, he may,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>
-nevertheless, be only a variety of the same species,
-especially as, according to the testimony
-of Piso, the ground colour of the jaguar, as well
-as that of the spots, vary in different individuals;
-he says that some are marked with
-black, and others with red or yellowish spots;
-and with regard to the difference of colour,
-that is, of grey, yellow, or black, the same is
-to be met with in other species of animals, as
-there are black wolves, black foxes, black
-squirrels, &amp;c. If such variations are not so
-common among wild as tame animals, it is because
-the former are less liable to those accidents
-which tend to produce them. Their
-lives being more uniform, their food less various,
-and their freedom less restrained, their
-nature must be more permanent, that is, less
-subject to accidental alterations and changes
-in colour.</p>
-
-<p>The jaguar is found in Brasil, Paraguay,
-Tucuman, Guiana, in the country of the
-Amazons, in Mexico, and in all parts of
-South America. At Cayenne, however, this
-animal is more scarce than the cougar, which
-they denominate red tiger, nor is the jaguar so
-common now in Brasil, which appears his native
-country, as it was formerly. A price has
-been set upon his head, so that many of them
-have been destroyed, and the others have withdrawn
-themselves from the coasts to the inland
-parts of the country. The jaguarette appears
-to have been always more scarce, or at least to
-have inhabited those places which were distant
-from the haunts of men, and the few travellers
-who mention him appear to have drawn their
-accounts entirely from Marcgrave and Piso.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 381px;">
-<a id="FIG_105"></a><img src="images/fig_105.png" width="381" height="284" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 105. <i>Jaguar of New Spain</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 382px;">
-<a id="FIG_106"></a><img src="images/fig_106.png" width="382" height="289" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 106. <i>Cougar</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>M. Le BRUN had a female Jaguar of New
-Spain (<a href="#FIG_105"><i>fig. 105</i></a>) sent him in the year 1775; it
-appeared very young, and was much less than
-the one described in the original work, this
-measuring one foot eleven inches long, and the
-former two feet five inches; there was a great
-resemblance between them, and the differences
-only such as are common to the varieties of the
-same species. The ground colour of the one
-we are now speaking of was a dirty grey intermixed
-with red: the spots were yellow, bordered
-with black; its head yellow, and ears
-black, with a white spot on the external part.</p>
-
-<p>Among a number of excellent remarks made
-by M. Sonnini de Manoncour, respecting the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>
-jaguars of Guiana, he says, &ldquo;the hair of the
-young jaguar is not frizzled, as stated by M. de
-Buffon, but perfectly smooth, and with regard
-to their only equalling the size of an ordinary
-dog, I have had the skin of one that measured
-near five feet from the nose to the tail, which
-was two feet long; and from the tracks I have
-seen of these animals I have little doubt of the
-American tigers being as large as those of
-Africa, except the royal tiger, the largest
-animal to which that name is given; for the
-panther, which M. de Buffon considers the
-largest, does not exceed five or six feet when
-full grown, and it is certain that some of these
-animals exceed those dimensions. When young
-their colour is a deep yellow, which becomes
-lighter as they advance in years. He is not
-by any means an indolent animal; he constantly
-attacks dogs, commits great devastation
-among flocks, and in the desarts is even formidable
-to men. In a journey I made through
-these forests, we were tormented with one for
-three successive nights, and yet he avoided
-all our attempts to destroy him; but finding
-we kept up large fires, of which they are
-much afraid, he at last left us with a dismal
-howling. At Cayenne the natives have an
-idea that the jaguar would rather destroy them
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
-than the whites, but it is not so with the savages,
-with whom I have travelled through
-the desarts, and never found them to have any
-particular terror; they slept as we did, with
-their hammocks suspended, making a little fire
-under them, which often went out before the
-morning; and, in short, took no particular
-precautions, where they knew themselves surrounded
-with those animals. (This, observes
-M. Buffon, is a strong proof that they are not
-very dangerous animals to men.) The flesh
-of the jaguar is not good. All the animals of
-the new continent fly from him, not being able
-to withstand his power: the only one capable
-of making any tolerable resistance is the ant-eater,
-who, on being attacked, turns on his
-back, and often preserves himself by the
-strength of his long claws.&rdquo;</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_COUGAR" id="THE_COUGAR">THE COUGAR.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE Cougar, (<a href="#FIG_106"><i>fig. 106</i></a>) is longer but less
-thick than the jaguar; he is more agile, more
-slender, and stands higher on his legs; he has
-a small head, long tail, and short hair, which
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>
-is nearly of one entire colour, namely, a lively
-red, intermixed with a few blackish tints, particularly
-on his back. He is neither marked
-with stripes like the tiger, nor with spots like
-the panther, ounce, or leopard. His chin,
-neck, and all the inferior parts of his body
-are whitish. Though not so strong as the jaguar
-he is as fierce, and perhaps more cruel.
-He appears more ravenous, for having once
-seized his prey, he kills it, and without waiting
-to tear it to pieces, he continues to eat and suck
-alternately, until he has gorged his appetite
-and glutted his blood-thirsty fury.</p>
-
-<p>These animals are common in Guiana.
-They have been known formerly to swim over
-from the continent to Cayenne, in order to devour
-the flocks; insomuch that they were at
-first considered as the scourge of the colony;
-but by degrees the settlers lessened their numbers,
-and by continually hunting them have
-compelled the remainder to retire far from the
-cultivated parts of the country. They are
-found in Brasil, Paraguay, and in the country
-of the Amazons; and there is reason to believe
-that the animal, described by some travellers,
-under the name of the Ocorome, in Peru, is
-the same as the cougar, as well as that in the
-country of the Iroquois, which has been considered
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>
-as a tiger, though it is neither striped
-like that animal, nor spotted like the panther.</p>
-
-<p>The cougar, by the lightness of his body, and
-length of his legs, seems to be more calculated
-for speed, and climbing of trees, than the jaguar.
-They are equally indolent and cowardly,
-when glutted with prey; and they seldom attack
-men unless they find them asleep. When
-there is a necessity for passing the night in the
-woods, the kindling a fire is the only precaution
-necessary to prevent their approach.<a name="FNanchor_L_12" id="FNanchor_L_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_L_12" class="fnanchor">[L]</a>
-They delight in the shades of forests, where
-they hide themselves in some bushy tree, in
-order to dart upon such animals as pass by.
-Though they live only on prey, and drink
-blood more often than water, yet it is said their
-flesh is very palatable. Piso says, it is as
-good as veal; and Charlevoix, and others,
-have compared it to mutton. I think it is
-hardly credible that the flesh can be well
-tasted; and therefore prefer the testimony of
-Desmarchais, who says, the best thing about
-this animal is his skin, of which they make
-horse-cloths, his flesh being generally lean and
-of a disagreeable flavour.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_L_12" id="Footnote_L_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_L_12"><span class="label">[L]</span></a> The Indians on the banks of the Oronoka, in Guiana,
-light a fire during the night in order to frighten away the
-tigers who dare not approach the place at long as the fire
-remains burning.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span></p></div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>MR. COLINSON mentions another species
-of cougar, which is found on the mountains
-of Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and
-the adjacent provinces, and which, from his
-account, seems to differ very much from that
-just described; his legs being shorter, and his
-body and tail much longer, but in colour, and
-in the shape of the head, they have a perfect
-resemblance.</p>
-
-<p>M. de la Borde describes three species of rapacious
-animals at Cayenne; first, the jaguar,
-which they call tiger; the second, the cougar,
-or red tiger; (the former is about the size of a
-large bull-dog, and the latter much smaller) and
-the third they call black tiger, which we have
-termed black cougar. (<a href="#FIG_102"><i>fig. 102</i></a>) &ldquo;Its head,
-continues M. de la Borde, is somewhat like that
-of a common cougar; it has long black hair,
-a long tail, and large whiskers, but is much
-less than the other. The skin of both the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
-jaguar and cougar are easily penetrated even
-with the arrows of the Indians. When very
-hard set for food, they will attack cows and
-oxen; in this case they spring upon their backs,
-and having brought them to the ground, they
-tear them to pieces, first opening their breasts
-and bellies, to glut themselves with their blood;
-they then drag pieces of flesh into the wood,
-covering the remainder with branches of trees,
-and keeping near to feed upon it, until it begins
-to putrify, when they touch it no more.
-They will keep near a flock of wild hogs, for
-the purpose of seizing the stragglers, but cautiously
-avoid being surrounded by them. They
-often seek for prey on the sea-shore, and devour
-the eggs left there by the turtles: they also
-make prey of the ca�mans, or alligators, lizards,
-and fishes; to take the former, they use the
-craft of lying down by the edge of the water,
-which they strike so as to make sufficient noise
-to attract his attention, who will come towards
-the place, and no sooner puts his head above
-water, than his seducer makes a certain spring
-at him, kills and drags him to some convenient
-place where he may devour him at leisure.
-It is said by the Indians that the jaguar decoys
-the agouti in the same manner, by counterfeiting
-his cry. They sometimes eat the leaves
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>
-and buds of the Indian figs; they are excellent
-swimmers, and cross the largest rivers. They
-seldom have more than one young at a time,
-which they hide in the trunks of hollow trees.
-They eat their flesh at Cayenne, and, when
-young, it is as white as that of a rabbit.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>The cougar is easily tamed, and rendered
-nearly as familiar as domestic animals.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_LYNX" id="THE_LYNX">THE LYNX.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences
-have given a very accurate description of the
-Lynx, and have discussed with equal ingenuity
-and erudition the circumstances and names relative
-to this animal, which occur in the writings
-of the ancients. They have shewn that the lynx
-of �lian is the same animal which they have
-dissected and described under the name of Lupus-cervarius,
-and justly censure those who
-have taken it for the Thos of Aristotle. This
-discussion is enriched with observations and reflections
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>
-equally interesting and pertinent; it is
-a pity, therefore, they had not adopted its real
-name of lynx, instead of that which is the same
-that Gaza gave to the <i>thos</i> of Aristotle. Having,
-like Oppian, intimated that there are two
-species or races of the lynx, the one large,
-which chaces the stag and fallow-deer, and
-the other smaller, which scarcely hunts any
-thing but the hare, they appear to have confounded
-the two species together, namely, the
-spotted lynx, which is commonly found in
-the northern countries; and the lynx of the
-Levant or Barbary, whose skin is of an uniform
-colour. I have seen both these animals
-alive, and they closely resemble each other in
-many particulars. They have both long
-stripes of black hair at the extremities of their
-ears. This very circumstance, by which �lian
-first distinguished the lynx, belongs, in fact, to
-these animals only, and perhaps it was this
-which induced the Academy to consider them
-as the same species. But, independently of
-the difference of colour and spots upon the hair,
-it will appear extremely probable that they
-belong to two distinct species.</p>
-
-<p>Klein says, that the most beautiful lynx belongs
-to Africa and Asia in general, and to
-Persia in particular; that he had seen one at
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>
-Dresden, which came from Africa, which was
-finely spotted, and of a considerable height;
-that those of Europe, especially from Prussia,
-and other northern countries are less pleasing
-to the eye, that their colour is little, if at all,
-inclined to white, but rather of a reddish hue,
-with spots confused and huddled together.
-Without absolutely denying what M. Klein
-has here advanced, I must declare I could never
-learn from any other authority that the lynx is
-an inhabitant of the warm climates of Asia and
-Africa. Kolbe is the only writer who mentions
-the lynx as common at the Cape of Good
-Hope, and as perfectly resembling that of
-Brandenburg in Germany; but I have discovered
-so many mistakes in the writings of
-this author, that I never gave much credit to
-his testimony, unless when supported by that
-of others. Now all travellers mention having
-seen the spotted lynx in the North of Germany,
-in Lithuania, Muscovy, Siberia, Canada, and
-other northern regions of both continents; but
-not one, whose accounts I have read, asserts
-he met with this animal in the warm climates
-of Africa or Asia. The lynxes of the Levant,
-Barbary, Arabia, and other hot climates, are,
-as I before observed, of one uniform colour,
-and without spots; they cannot, therefore, be
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
-the same as that mentioned by Klein, which
-he says was finely spotted, nor that of Kolbe,
-which, according to his statement, perfectly
-resembled those of Brandenburgh. It would
-be difficult to reconcile these testimonies with
-the information we have from other hands.
-The lynx is certainly more common in cold
-than in temperate climates, and is at least very
-rare in hot ones. He was, indeed, known to
-the Greeks and Romans; a circumstance which
-does not, however, infer that he came from
-Africa, or the southern provinces of Asia.
-Pliny, on the contrary, says, that the first of
-them which were seen at Rome, came from
-Gaul in the time of Pompey. At present there
-are none in France, except possibly a few in
-the Alpine and Pyrenean mountains. But the
-Romans, under the name of Gaul, comprehended
-several of the northern countries; and,
-besides, France is not at this time so cold as it
-was in those times.</p>
-
-<p>The most beautiful skins of the lynx come
-from Siberia, as belonging to the <i>Loup-cervier</i>,
-and from Canada, under the name of
-<i>chat-cervier</i>, because, like all other animals,
-they are smaller in the new than in the old
-world; and are therefore compared to the wolf
-in Europe, and to the cat in Canada. What
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
-seems to have deceived M. Klein, and might
-have deceived even more able writers is, first,
-that the ancients have said that India furnished
-lynxes to the god Bacchus; secondly, Pliny
-has placed the lynx in Ethiopia, and has said
-their hides and claws were prepared at Carpathos,
-now Scarpantho or Zerpantho, an island
-in the Mediterranean, between Rhodes and
-Candia; thirdly, Gesner has allotted a particular
-article to the lynx of Asia or Africa, in
-which there is the following extract of a letter
-from Baron Balicze. &ldquo;You have not,&rdquo; says he to
-Gesner, &ldquo;mentioned in your history of animals,
-the Indian or African lynx. As Pliny has
-mentioned it, the authority of that great man
-has induced me to send you a drawing of this
-animal, that you may include it in your list.
-This drawing was made at Constantinople.
-This animal is very different from the lynx of
-Germany, being much larger, has shorter and
-rougher hair, &amp;c.&rdquo; Gesner, without making
-any reflections on this letter, contents himself
-with giving the substance of it, and intimating
-within a parenthesis, that the drawing never
-came to hand.</p>
-
-<p>To prevent a continuance of these errors,
-let it be observed, first, that poets and
-painters have affixed tigers, panthers, and
-lynxes, to the car of Bacchus, as best pleased
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>
-their fancies; or rather because all fierce and
-spotted animals were consecrated to that god;
-secondly, that it is the word <i>lynx</i> which constitutes
-the whole of the ambiguity, since by
-comparing what Pliny says in one<a name="FNanchor_M_13" id="FNanchor_M_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_M_13" class="fnanchor">[M]</a> passage
-with two others<a name="FNanchor_N_14" id="FNanchor_N_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_N_14" class="fnanchor">[N]</a> it is plain that the Ethiopian
-animal which he calls lynx, is by no means the
-same as the chaus, or lupus-cervarius, which
-comes from the northern countries; and that it
-was from this name being improperly applied
-that the Baron Balicze was deceived though he
-considers the Indian lynx as a different animal
-from the German luchs, or our lynx. This
-Indian or African lynx, which he has described
-as larger and more full of spots than our lynx,
-was in all probability, a kind of panther.
-However true or erroneous this last conjecture
-may be, it appears that the lynx, of which we
-are now treating, is a stranger in the southern
-countries, and is found only in the northern
-parts of the new and old continents. Olaus
-says this animal is common in the forests of
-the North of Europe; Olearius, in speaking of
-Muscovy, asserts the same thing; Rosinus
-Lentilius observes that the lynx is common in
-Courland and Lithuania, and that those of
-Cassubia, a province of Pomerania, are very
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>
-small, and not so much spotted as those of Poland
-and Lithuania; and lastly, Paul Jovius
-confirms these testimonies by adding, that the
-finest skins of the lynx come from Siberia, and
-that there is a great traffic carried on with them
-at Ustivaga, a town about 600 miles from
-Moscow.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_M_13" id="Footnote_M_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_M_13"><span class="label">[M]</span></a> Vide Pliny, lib. VIII. cap. 19.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_N_14" id="Footnote_N_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_N_14"><span class="label">[N]</span></a> Ibid. VIII. c. 22, 23.</p></div>
-
-<p>This animal, which as we have shewn, prefers
-the cold to the temperate climates, is one of
-those which might have passed from one continent
-to the other through the northern regions,
-and this is probably the reason why we
-find him a tenant of the northern parts of
-America. Travellers have described him in
-such a manner as to preclude all mistake; and
-besides its skin forms an article of commerce between
-Europe and America. The lynx of Canada,
-as we have already remarked, is only smaller
-and whiter than those of Europe, and it is
-from this difference in size that they have been
-distinguished with the appellation of <i>chat-cervier</i>,
-and been considered by our nomenclators as
-animals of a different species. Without pronouncing
-decisively upon this question we shall
-only observe, that to all appearance the lynxes
-of Canada and of Muscovy are of the same
-species, first because the difference in size is
-not very considerable, since it is almost relatively
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>
-the same as that which takes place between
-all animals common to both continents;
-the wolf, fox, &amp;c. being smaller in America
-than they are in Europe, it cannot be expected
-to be otherwise with the lynx. Secondly, because,
-even in the north of Europe, these animals
-are found to vary in size; and authors
-mention two kinds, the one large and the other
-small. Thirdly, because they equally require
-the same climate, are of the same dispositions,
-the same figure, differing only in size, and a few
-trifling particulars of colour, circumstances
-not sufficient to authorize our pronouncing
-them to be two distinct species.</p>
-
-<p>The lynx, of which the ancients have said
-his sight could penetrate opaque bodies, and
-whose urine possessed the properly of hardening
-into a precious stone, called Lapis Lyncurius,
-is an animal that never existed, any
-more than the properties attributed to him,
-except in fable. To the true lynx this imaginary
-one has no affinity but in name. We must
-not, therefore, following the example of most
-naturalists, attribute to the former, which is
-a real being, the properties of this imaginary
-one, the existence of which even Pliny himself
-does not seem disposed to believe, since he
-speaks of it as an extraordinary animal, and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
-classes it with the sphynx, the pegasus, and
-other prodigies, or monsters, the produce of
-Ethiopia, a country with which the ancients
-were very little acquainted.</p>
-
-<p>Our lynx, though he cannot see through
-stone walls, has bright eyes, a mild aspect, and
-an agreeable lively appearance. His urine
-produces not precious stones, but he covers it
-with earth, like the cats, to whom he has a
-near resemblance, and whose manners, and
-love of cleanliness are the same. In nothing is
-he like the wolf but in a kind of howl, which
-being heard at a considerable distance often
-deceives the hunters, by making them suppose
-they hear a real wolf. This alone, perhaps, is
-the cause of his having received the appellation
-of <i>loup</i>, and to distinguish him from the real
-wolf, and because he attacks the stags, the
-epithet of <i>cervarius</i> might have afterwards
-been added. The lynx is not so big as the
-wolf, has shorter legs, and generally about the
-size of a fox. He differs from the panther and
-ounce in the following particulars; he has
-longer hair, his spots are less lively, and are
-badly disposed; his ears are much longer, and
-they have tufts of black hairs at the points;
-his tail is shorter, and is also black at the end;
-his eyes have a whitish cast, and his countenance
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
-is more agreeable, and less ferocious.
-The skin of the male is more spotted than that
-of the female. He does not run like the wolf,
-but walks and bounds like the cat. He lives
-upon other animals, and those he pursues to
-the tops of the highest trees, so that neither
-the wild-cat, pine-weasel, ermine, nor squirrel,
-can escape him. He also seizes birds, lies in
-wait for the stag, roe-buck, and hare, whom
-he seizes by the throat, sucks their blood, and
-then opens their heads to devour the brains;
-this done he frequently abandons them to go
-in search of fresh prey, and is seldom known
-to return to the former one; which has given
-rise to the remark, that of all animals the lynx
-has the shortest memory. His colour changes
-with the climate and the season. In winter
-his fur is much better than in summer, and
-his flesh, like that of all beasts of prey, is not
-good to eat.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>THERE is a Canadian Lynx in the Royal
-Cabinet in France, in fine preservation; it is
-only two feet three inches long, and rather
-more than thirteen inches high; its body is
-covered with long grey hair, striped with yellow,
-and spotted with black; its head also is
-grey, interspersed with white and yellow hairs,
-and shaded with a kind of black stripes; it has
-long white whiskers; its ears are more than
-two inches high, white on the inside, with
-yellow edges, the outside of a mouse colour,
-edged with black, and at the tip of each ear is
-a tuft of black hair seven lines high; it has a
-short tail, which is black from the end to about
-the middle, and the other part is of a reddish
-white; its belly, hind-legs, inside of the fore-legs
-and feet are of a dirty white, and it has
-long white claws. This lynx strongly resembles
-the one we have just described, except in the
-length of the tail and tuft on the ears, from
-which we may infer that the Canadian Lynx
-is a variety from that of the old continent.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Pontoppidan describes the lynx of Norway
-to be white with deep spots, and claws like
-those of a cat; he says there are four species
-there, some being like the wolf, others the fox,
-others the cat, and others with a head like that
-of a colt; the last of which is not only doubtful
-in itself, but throws a degree of suspicion
-on the veracity of the remainder.</p>
-
-<p>The species of the lynx is very common
-throughout Europe, and also in the northern
-provinces of Asia. Their skins are very valuable,
-and much esteemed for muffs, &amp;c. in
-Norway, Russia, and even as far as China,
-and notwithstanding they are very common,
-they sell at a high price.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_CARACAL" id="THE_CARACAL">THE CARACAL.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THOUGH the Caracal<a name="FNanchor_O_15" id="FNanchor_O_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_O_15" class="fnanchor">[O]</a> resembles the lynx
-in size, formation of the body, aspect, and the
-tufts of black hair at the extremities of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>
-ears, I do not scruple from their disagreement
-in other respects, to treat of them as animals
-of a different species. The Caracal is not
-spotted like the lynx; his hair is rougher and
-shorter; his tail is longer, and of a uniform
-colour; his snout is longer, in aspect he is
-less mild, and in disposition more fierce. The
-lynx inhabits cold and at most temperate climates,
-while the caracal is to be found only
-in the warmest countries. It is as much from
-these differences of disposition and climate,
-that I judge them to be of different species, as
-from the inspection and comparison of the
-two animals, both of which I have examined
-and had designed from life.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_O_15" id="Footnote_O_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_O_15"><span class="label">[O]</span></a> In Turkey it is called Kaarah-kula; Arabia Gat el
-Challah; in Persia Siyah-Gush, denoting in all three languages,
-<i>the cat with long ears</i>.</p></div>
-
-<p>The Caracal is common in Barbary, in Arabia,
-and in all those countries inhabited by the
-lion, panther, and ounce. Like them he depends
-on prey for subsistence, but from the inferiority
-of his size and strength, he has much
-difficulty to procure a sufficiency; frequently
-being obliged to be content with the leavings
-of the more powerful. He keeps at a distance
-from the panther, because that animal exercises
-its cruelty after being gorged with food; but
-he follows the lion, who, when the cravings of
-his appetite are satisfied, never injures any creature.
-From the remains left by this noble animal,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
-the caracal not unoften enjoys a comfortable
-repast. Sometimes he follows, or even
-goes before, at no great distance, taking a refuge
-in the trees, when self-preservation renders it
-necessary, and where the lion cannot, like the
-panther, follow him. For all these reasons it
-is that the caracal has been called the Lion&rsquo;s
-Guide, or Provider; and it is said that the lion,
-whose smell is far from being acute, employs
-him to scent out his prey, and is permitted to
-enjoy the remains as a reward for his trouble.</p>
-
-<p>The caracal<a name="FNanchor_P_16" id="FNanchor_P_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_P_16" class="fnanchor">[P]</a> (<a href="#FIG_108"><i>fig. 108</i></a>) is about the size of
-a fox, but more fierce, and much stronger.
-He has been known to attack, and in a few minutes,
-to tear in pieces a large dog, which defended
-himself to the utmost. He is very
-difficult to tame, yet if taken very young, and
-reared with care, he may be trained to the
-chace, to which he is by nature inclined, and
-in which he is very successful, especially if he
-be only let loose upon such animals as are inferior
-in strength, for he declines a service of
-danger with every expression of reluctance.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>
-In India they made use of him to catch hares,
-rabbits, and even large birds, whom he seizes
-with singular address and facility.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_P_16" id="Footnote_P_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_P_16"><span class="label">[P]</span></a> The principal part of his body is of a reddish brown
-colour, the inferior parts of the neck and belly whitish;
-round his muzzle black, his ears of a dark shade, with a tuft
-of black hair from his extremities.</p></div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>MR. BRUCE has informed me that he saw
-a caracal in Nubia, which differed from the
-one of barbary, just described; his face was
-more round, his ears black on the outside, intermixed
-with white hairs, and on the breast,
-belly, and inside of the thighs he had yellow
-spots. But this is a mere variety, of which
-there are several: for instance, in Lybia there
-is a caracal with white ears, and a white tail
-with four black rings at the end, and which
-is not bigger than a domestic cat; and if
-this were to establish a difference we might
-say there are two species of caracals in Barbary,
-the one large, with black ears and long
-tufts, and the other smaller, with white ears
-and short tufts.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_HYAENA" id="THE_HYAENA">THE HY�NA.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>ARISTOTLE has left us two accounts by
-which alone the hy�na (<a href="#FIG_110"><i>fig. 110</i></a>) might easily
-be distinguished from all other animals.
-Nevertheless, travellers and naturalists have
-confounded him with no less than four other
-species, namely, the jackall, glutton, civet, and
-the baboon; all of which are carnivorous and
-ferocious like the hy�na, and all have some few
-particular resemblances to him, whence these
-errors may have originated. The jackall inhabits
-the same countries, and like the hy�na
-resembles the wolf in form; like him also he
-feeds upon dead carcasses, and digs up graves
-to devour their contents. The glutton has
-the same voracity, the same appetite for corrupted
-flesh, the same propensity for digging
-the dead out of their graves; and though he
-belongs to a different climate, and his figure is
-widely different from that of the hy�na, yet
-from this affinity of disposition authors have
-thought themselves warranted in considering
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
-them as of the same species. The civet is a
-native of the same countries as the hy�na, and
-like him has a streak of long hair along the
-back, and also a particular opening, or glandular
-pouch; characteristics which belong
-only to a few animals, and which induced
-Bellon to suppose the civet was the hy�na of
-the ancients. As to the baboon, which has
-hands and feet like those of a man or a monkey,
-he resembles the hy�na still less than the other
-three, and it must be solely from their name
-that they have been confounded together.</p>
-
-<p>The hy�na, according to Dr. Shaw, is called
-<i>dubbah</i> in Barbary; and Marmol, and Leo
-Africanus, say, the baboon is distinguished by
-the name of <i>dabuh</i>; and as the baboon belongs
-to the same climates, scratches up the earth and
-is nearly of the same form with the hy�na;
-these circumstances first deceived travellers,
-and naturalists adopted their blunders without
-investigation; and even those who distinguished
-the two animals, retained the name of <i>dabuh</i>
-to the hy�na, which in fact belongs to the
-baboon. It appears, then, that the hy�na
-is neither the <i>dabuh</i> of the Arabians, the <i>jesef</i>
-or <i>sesef</i> of the Africans, nor the <i>deeb</i> of Barbary.
-But to put a final stop to this confusion
-of names, I shall give, in a few words, the substance
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
-of the inquiries I have made with respect
-to those animals.</p>
-
-<p>Aristotle calls it by two names, <i>hy�na</i> and
-<i>glanus</i>; names which we may be assured are
-applied to the same animals by comparing the
-passages wherein they are mentioned.<a name="FNanchor_Q_17" id="FNanchor_Q_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_Q_17" class="fnanchor">[Q]</a> The
-ancient Latins retained the name hy�na, and
-never adopted that of glanus. In the writings
-of the modern Latins, however, we find the
-<i>ganus</i>, or <i>gannus</i>, and <i>belbus</i> employed as
-names for the hy�na. According to Rasis, the
-Arabians call it <i>kabo</i>, or <i>zabo</i>, names that appear
-to be derived from the word <i>zeeb</i>, which,
-in their language denominates a wolf. In Barbary
-the hy�na bears the name of <i>dubbah</i>, as
-appears from the description given of this animal
-by Dr. Shaw.<a name="FNanchor_R_18" id="FNanchor_R_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_R_18" class="fnanchor">[R]</a> In Turkey it is called
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>
-<i>zirtlaat</i>, according to Nieremberg; in Persia
-<i>kaftaar</i>, as stated by K�mpfer; and <i>castar</i>,
-according to Pietro della Valle. These are
-the only names which seem actually to refer to
-the hy�na; though it is nevertheless probable
-that the <i>lycaon</i> and the <i>crocuta</i> of India and
-Ethiopia, of which the ancients speak, are no
-other than the hy�na. Porphyry expressly
-says that the <i>crocuta</i> of the Indies is the hy�na
-of the Greeks; and, indeed, all they have
-written, whether true or fabulous, respecting
-the lycaon and crocuta, bears some analogy
-to the nature of the hy�na. But we shall
-make no further conjectures on this subject
-until we treat of fabulous animals, and the
-affinities they have with real ones.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_Q_17" id="Footnote_Q_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_Q_17"><span class="label">[Q]</span></a> Aristotle Hist. Animal. lib. vi. c. 32. lib. viii. c. 5.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_R_18" id="Footnote_R_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_R_18"><span class="label">[R]</span></a> The Dubbah is nearly the size of the wolf. Its neck is so
-exceedingly stiff, that when it offers to look behind, or even
-on one side, it is obliged to turn the whole body, like the
-hog, the badger, and the crocodile. Its colour is somewhat
-inclined to a reddish brown, with a few brown streaks of a
-darker hue, it has very long hairs on the neck which it can
-occasionally erect. Its paws are large and well armed, with
-which it digs up plants, and sometimes dead bodies from
-their graves. Next to the lion and panther, the dubbah is
-the most fierce of all the animals of Barbary. As it is furnished
-with a mane, has a difficulty in turning the head, and
-scrapes up dead bodies from their graves, it has every appearance
-of being the hy�na of the ancients. <i>See Shaw&rsquo;s
-Travels.</i></p></div>
-
-<p>The panther of the Greeks, the <i>lupus canarius</i>
-of Gaza, and the <i>lupus armenius</i> of the
-modern Latins and Arabians, seem to be the
-same animal, that is, the jackall, which the
-Turks call <i>cical</i>, according to Pollux, and <i>thacal</i>
-according to Spon and Wheeler; which
-the modern Greeks distinguish by the name of
-<i>zachalia</i>, the Persians <i>siechal</i>, or <i>schachal</i>, and
-the Moors of Barbary <i>deeb</i>; that of jackall,
-however, having been adopted by a number
-of travellers, to that we shall give the preference,
-and only remark at present, that he
-differs from the hy�na not only in size,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
-figure, and colour, but in natural habits, for
-the hy�na is a solitary animal, while the jackall
-is seldom seen but in troops. After the
-example of K�mpfer, some of our nomenclators
-have called the jackall <i>lupus aureus</i>, because
-his hair is of a lively yellow hue.</p>
-
-<p>It is therefore evident, that the jackall is a
-very different animal from the hy�na; and no
-less so than the glutton, which is an animal
-confined to the northern regions of Lapland,
-Russia, and Siberia; it is a stranger even in
-the temperate climates, and therefore could
-never have inhabited Arabia, or any of the
-other warm countries in which the hy�na resides.
-It differs also in form, for the glutton
-bears a strong resemblance to a very large
-badger; his legs are so short that his belly
-almost reaches the ground; he has five toes
-on each of his feet, has no mane, and his
-body is covered with black hair, excepting
-sometimes a few reddish yellow hairs upon his
-sides; in short, he resembles him in nothing
-but in being exceedingly voracious. He was
-unknown to the ancients, who had made no
-great progress into the north of Europe.
-Olaus is the first author who mentions this
-animal and from his prodigious gluttony he
-called him <i>gulo</i>. In Sclavonia he afterwards
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>
-obtained the name of <i>rosomak</i>, and in Germany
-<i>jerff</i>, or <i>wildfras</i>, and the French travellers
-have called him <i>glouton</i>. There are
-varieties in this species, as well as in that of
-the jackall, which we shall speak of when we
-come to the particular history of those animals,
-and shall only here observe, that those
-varieties, instead of assimilating them with the
-hy�na, render them additionally a more distinct
-species.</p>
-
-<p>The civet has nothing in common with the
-hy�na but the glandular pouch, under the
-tail, and the mane along the neck and back-bone.
-It differs from the hy�na in figure and
-size, not being more than half as large; his
-ears are short and covered with hair, whereas
-those of the hy�na are long and naked; he has
-also short legs, and five toes upon each foot,
-while the legs of the hy�na are long, and he
-has only four toes upon each foot; nor does
-the civet dig up the earth in search for dead
-bodies. From these differences these animals
-are easily to be distinguished from each other.</p>
-
-<p>With respect to the baboon, which is the
-<i>papio</i> of the Latins, and as we have before observed,
-has been mistaken for the hy�na, merely
-from the ambiguity of names, which seems
-to have arisen from a passage of Leo Africanus,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
-and since copied by Marmol. &ldquo;The
-<i>dabuh</i> say these authors, is of the size and form
-of the wolf; and scratches up dead bodies
-from their graves.&rdquo; From which it was supposed
-to mean the <i>dubbah</i>, or hy�na, although
-it is expressly stated in the same passages that
-the <i>dubbah</i> has hands and feet resembling those
-of a man; a remark which, however applicable
-to the baboon, cannot be applied to the
-hy�na.</p>
-
-<p>From taking a view of the <i>lupus-marinus</i> of
-Bellon, which Gesner has copied, we might
-mistake it for the figure of the hy�na, to
-which it bears a great resemblance; but his
-description corresponds not with our hy�na,
-for he says, the <i>lupus-marinus</i> is an amphibious
-animal which feeds on fish, and has sometimes
-been seen on the coasts of the British ocean;
-besides this author says nothing of the peculiar
-characteristics which distinguish the
-hy�na from all other animals. It is possible
-that Bellon, prepossessed with the notion that
-the civet was the hy�na of the ancients, has
-given the figure of the real one under the name
-of <i>lupus-marinus</i>, for so striking and singular
-are the characters of that animal, that it is
-hardly possible to be deceived in them; he is,
-perhaps, the only quadruped that has four toes
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>
-upon each foot. Like the badger he has an
-aperture under the tail, which does not penetrate
-into the body; his ears are long, straight,
-and naked; his head is shorter and more square
-than that of the wolf; his legs are longer,
-especially the hind ones; his eyes are placed
-like those of the dog; the hair of his body
-and mane is of a dark grey, with a small intermixture
-of yellow and black, and disposed
-all along in waves, and though in size he
-equals the wolf, yet he has, nevertheless, a
-contracted appearance.</p>
-
-<p>This wild and solitary animal resides in the
-caverns of mountains, the clefts of rocks, or in
-dens, which he forms for himself under the
-earth. Though taken ever so young he is
-not to be tamed; he is naturally ferocious.
-He lives like the wolf, by depredation, but he
-is more strong and daring. He sometimes
-attacks men, and darts with a ferocious resolution
-on all kinds of cattle; he follows the
-flocks, and even breaks down the sheep-folds
-in the night to get at his prey. His eyes
-shine in the dark, and it is asserted that he
-sees better by night than day. All naturalists
-who have treated of this animal, except K�mpfer,
-say, that his cry resembles the noise of a
-man who is vomiting, while the latter asserts
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
-it to be like the lowing of a calf. He defends
-himself against the lion, stands in no awe of
-the panther, and attacks the ounce, which is
-incapable of resisting him. When at a loss
-for prey he scrapes up the earth with his feet,
-and tears out the carcasses of animals and men,
-which in the countries he inhabits are promiscuously
-buried in the fields. He is found
-in almost all the hot climates of Africa and
-Asia, and it is probable that the animal called
-<i>farasse</i>, at Madagascar, which resembles the
-wolf in figure, but is larger and stronger, is the
-same animal.</p>
-
-<p>Of this animal more absurd stories have been
-told than of any other. The ancients have
-gravely written that the hy�na is alternately
-male and female; that when it brings forth,
-suckles and rears its progeny, it remains as a
-female the whole year, but the year following
-it resumes the functions of the male, and
-obliges its companion to submit to those of the
-female. The circumstance which gave rise to
-this fable is plainly the orifice under the tail,
-in both males and females, independently
-of the organs of generation peculiar to both
-sexes, and which are the same in the hy�na as
-in all other animals. It has also been affirmed
-that this animal could imitate the human voice,
-remember the names of shepherds, call upon,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>
-fascinate, and render them motionless; that he
-can terrify shepherdesses, cause them to forget
-and neglect their flocks, to be distracted in
-love, &amp;c. All this might surely happen without
-the intervention of the hy�na! But I shall
-conclude here, to avoid the reproach which
-has been cast upon Pliny, that of taking pleasure
-in compiling and relating absurd fables.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>AT the fair of St. Germain, in the year
-1773, I saw a male hy�na; the one just described
-was very ferocious, and as I mentioned
-untameable, but this was perfectly gentle, for
-though his keeper made him angry for the
-purpose of erecting his mane, yet he seemed
-to forget it in a few moments, and suffer himself
-to be played with without any appearance
-of dislike. He exactly accorded with the description
-I have given, except his tail being
-entirely white.</p>
-
-<p>In the island of Mero� there is a large kind
-of hy�nas, so strong that they can run off
-with a man to the distance of more than a
-league without stopping. These are also of a
-darker colour, and erect their long hairs on
-the hind parts and not the front. Mr. Bruce
-informs me that he has observed, that when
-the hy�nas are forced to take to flight, they
-are at first exceedingly lame of the left hind
-leg, and which continues for more than an
-hundred paces, so much so indeed as to give
-them the appearance of falling, and that it is
-the same also with those of Syria and Barbary.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 385px;">
-<a id="FIG_109"></a><img src="images/fig_109.png" width="385" height="286" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 109. <i>Lynx.</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 384px;">
-<a id="FIG_110"></a><img src="images/fig_110.png" width="384" height="290" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 110. <i>Hy�na.</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_CIVET_AND_THE_ZIBET" id="THE_CIVET_AND_THE_ZIBET">THE CIVET AND THE ZIBET.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE generality of naturalists are of opinion
-that the perfume called civet, or musk, is furnished
-only by one species of animals. I have,
-however, seen two animals that furnish it,
-which, though they have many essential affinities,
-both in their external and internal conformations,
-yet differ in so many characteristics,
-that there is sufficient reason to consider them
-as two distinct species. To the first I have
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
-continued the original name of Civet, (<i>fig.
-111.</i>) and the second, for the sake of distinction,
-I have called Zibet (<a href="#FIG_113"><i>fig. 113</i></a>) The civet
-seems to be the same as that described by the
-Academy of Sciences; by Caius, in Gesner,
-page 837, and by Fabius Columna, who has
-given both the male and female figures in the
-publication of Faber, which follows that of
-Hernandes. The <i>zibet</i> appears to be the same
-animal as M. de la Peyronnie has described
-under the name of Musk Animal, in the Memoirs
-of the Academy of Sciences for the year
-1731. Both differ from the civet in the very
-same characters; both want the mane, or the
-long hair, on the back-bone, and both have
-the tail marked with strong annular streaks.
-The civet, on the contrary, has a mane, but
-no rings on the tail. It must, however be
-acknowledged that our zibet, and the musk
-animal of M. de la Peyronnie, are not so perfectly
-similar as to leave no doubt of the identity
-of their species. The rings on the tail of
-the zibet are larger than those of the musk animal,
-and the length of his tail is shorter in proportion
-to that of his body; but these differences
-are slight, and appear to be mere accidental
-varieties, to which the civet must be
-more subject than any other wild animal, as
-they are reared and fed like domestic ones in
-many parts of the Levant and East Indies.
-Certain it is, that our zibet bears a stronger
-resemblance to the musk animal than to the
-civet, and consequently they may be considered
-as the same species. Nor, indeed, do we
-mean positively to affirm that civet and zibet
-are not varieties of the same species, but from
-their different characteristics there is a strong
-presumption they really are so.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 375px;">
-<a id="FIG_111"></a><img src="images/fig_111.png" width="375" height="288" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 111. <i>Civet</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 380px;">
-<a id="FIG_112"></a><a id="FIG_113"></a>
-<img src="images/fig_112-113.png" width="380" height="290" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 112. <i>Genet</i><br />
-FIG. 113. <i>Zibet</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>The animal which we here name the Civet,
-is called the <i>falanoue</i>, at Madagascar, <i>nzime</i>,
-or <i>nzfusi</i> at Congo, <i>kankan</i> in Ethiopia, and
-<i>kastor</i> in Guinea. That it is the civet of
-Guinea I am certain, for the one I had was
-sent from Guinea, to one of my correspondents
-at St. Domingo, where, after being fed for
-some time, it was killed for the more easy conveyance
-to Europe.</p>
-
-<p>The zibet is probably the civet of Asia, of
-the East Indies, and of Arabia, where he is
-called zebet, or zibet, an Arabic word, which
-likewise signifies the perfume of that animal,
-and which we have adopted to signify the
-animal itself. He differs from the civet in
-having a longer and less thick body; a snout
-more thin and slender, and somewhat concave
-on the upper part; whereas that of the civet
-is more short, thick, and rather convex. The
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>
-ears of the zibet are also larger and more elevated;
-his tail is longer, and more strongly
-marked; his hair is shorter and much more
-soft; he has no mane, or long hair on the
-neck or back-bone; no black spots under the
-eyes, or on the cheeks; all of which are remarkable
-characteristics in the civet. Some
-travellers have suspected there were two species
-of civets; but no person has examined
-them with sufficient accuracy as to give a distinct
-description. I have seen both; and after
-a careful comparison, am of opinion, that they
-not only differ in species, but perhaps belong
-to different climates.</p>
-
-<p>These animals have been called musk-cats,
-though they have nothing in common with the
-cat, except bodily agility. They rather resemble
-the fox, especially in the head. Their
-skins are diversified with stripes and spots,
-which has occasioned them to be mistaken for
-small panthers, when seen at a distance; but
-in every other respect they differ from the
-panther. There is an animal called the Genet,
-which is spotted in the like manner, whose
-head is nearly of the same shape, and which,
-like the civet, has a pouch where an odoriferous
-humor is formed; but this animal is
-smaller than our civet; its legs are shorter,
-and its body thinner; its perfume is very faint,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
-and of short duration; while the perfume of
-the civet is very strong, and that of the zibet
-is so to an excess.</p>
-
-<p>This humor is found in the orifice which
-these animals have near the organs of generation;
-it is nearly as thick as pomatum, and
-though the odour is very strong, it is yet
-agreeable, even when it issues from the body
-of the animal. This perfume of the civet must
-not be confounded with musk, which is a
-sanguineous humor, obtained from an animal
-very different from either the civet or zibet,
-being a species of roe-buck, or goat, without
-horns, and which has no one property in common
-with the civet, but that of furnishing a
-strong perfume.</p>
-
-<p>These two species of civets have not been
-distinguished with precision. They have both
-been sometimes confounded with the weasel of
-Virginia, the genet, the musk-deer, and even
-with the hy�na. Bellon, who has given a
-figure and description of the civet, insists that
-it was the hy�na of the ancients, and his mistake
-is the more excusable not being destitute
-of some foundation. Certain it is, that most of
-the fables which have been related of the hy�na,
-took their rise from the civet. The philters
-said to have been obtained from certain parts of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
-the hy�na, and their power to excite love, sufficiently
-indicate that the stimulating virtues
-of the preparations of civet, were not unknown
-to the ancients, and which are still used for this
-very purpose in the East. What they have
-said of the uncertainty of the sex of the hy�na,
-is still more applicable to the civet, for the
-male has no external appearance, but three
-apertures so perfectly similar to those of the
-female, that it is hardly possible to determine
-the sex but by dissection. The opening which
-contains the perfume, is situated between the
-other two, and in the same direct line which
-extends from the os sacrum to the pubis.</p>
-
-<p>Another error, which has made more progress,
-is that of Gregoire de Bolivar, with respect
-to the climates in which the civet is
-found. After stating them to be common in
-Africa and the East Indies, he positively affirms
-they are also very numerous in all parts
-of South America. This assertion, transmitted
-by Faber, has been copied by Aldrovandus,
-and adopted by all the authors who have since
-treated of the civet. But the truth is, that
-they are animals peculiar to the hottest climates
-of the old continent, and which could not have
-found a northern passage into the New World;
-where, in fact, no civets ever existed until they
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>
-were transported thither from the Philippine
-Islands and the coasts of Africa. As the assertion
-of Bolivar is positive, and mine only negative,
-it is necessary I should give my particular
-reasons, to prove the falsity of the fact. Besides
-my own remarks, I refer to the very words
-of Faber himself.<a name="FNanchor_S_19" id="FNanchor_S_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_S_19" class="fnanchor">[S]</a> On this head it is to be
-observed, that the figure given by Faber, was
-left to him by Recchi, without any description<a name="FNanchor_T_20" id="FNanchor_T_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_T_20" class="fnanchor">[T]</a>;
-and of which the inscription is, <i>animal
-zibethicum Americanum</i>; but this figure
-has no resemblance to the civet or zibet, and
-rather represents the badger; secondly, Faber
-gives a description and the figures of a male
-and female civet, which resemble our zibet;
-but these civets are not the same animal as
-that represented in the first figure; nor do
-they represent animals of America, but civets
-belonging to the old continent, of which Fabius
-Columna had procured drawings at Naples,
-and furnished Faber with their figures
-and descriptions; thirdly, after having quoted
-Bolivar respecting the climates in which the
-civet is found, Faber concludes with admiring
-Bolivar&rsquo;s prodigious memory, and that he
-was indebted for this recital to the oral information
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
-of that gentleman. These three remarks
-are alone sufficient to create a suspicion
-respecting the pretended <i>animal zibethicum
-Americanum</i>, but what completely proves the
-error, Fernandes, in his description of the animals
-of America, flatly contradicts Bolivar,
-and affirms that the civet was not a native of
-America, but that, in his time, they had began
-to transport some of them from the
-Philippine Islands to New Spain. In fine,
-if we add this positive testimony of Fernandes,
-to that of all the travellers, who mention that
-civets are very common in the Philippine
-Islands, in the East Indies, and in Africa,
-not one of whom intimates having seen this
-animal in America, every doubt will vanish
-of what we advanced in our enumeration of
-the animals of the two continents, and it will
-be admitted that the civet is not a native of
-America, but an animal peculiar to the warm
-climates of the old continent, and that he was
-never found in the new, until after he had
-been transported thither. Had I not guarded
-against such mistakes, which are too frequent,
-I should have described my civet as
-an American animal, from its having been
-sent to me from St. Domingo, and not directly
-from Guinea, the place of its nativity, of which
-I was, however, assured by the letter from M.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
-Pages which accompanied the animal. These
-particular facts I consider as confirmations to
-the general position, that there is a real difference
-between all the animals of the southern
-parts of each continent.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_S_19" id="Footnote_S_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_S_19"><span class="label">[S]</span></a> Nov� Hisp. Anim. Nardi Antonii Recchi Imagines &amp;
-Nomina, Joannis Fabri Lyncei Expositione, p. 539.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_T_20" id="Footnote_T_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_T_20"><span class="label">[T]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i> p. 465.</p></div>
-
-<p>Both the civet and zibet are then animals of
-the old continent, nor have they any other external
-differences, besides those already pointed
-out; and as to their internal differences, and
-the structure of their reservoirs which contain
-the perfume, they have been so accurately described
-by Messrs. Morand and Peyronnie, in
-the Memoirs of the Academy for 1728 and
-1731, that I could do little more than give a
-repetition of their accounts. With regard to
-what remains to be further observed of those
-two animals, as the few facts are hardly more
-applicable to the one than the other, and as it
-would be difficult to point out the distinction,
-I shall collect the whole under one head.</p>
-
-<p>The civets, (by the plural number I mean
-the civet and zibet) though natives of the hottest
-climates of Asia and Africa, can yet live in
-temperate and even cold countries, provided
-they are carefully defended from the injuries of
-the weather, and supplied with succulent food.
-In Holland they are frequently reared for the
-advantage obtained by their perfume. The
-civet brought from Amsterdam is preferred to
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>
-that which comes from the Levant or the Indies,
-as being the most genuine. That imported
-from Guinea would be the best, were it
-not that the Negroes, as well as the Indians,
-and the people of the Levant, adulterate it
-with the mixture of storax, and other balsamic
-and odoriferous drugs and plants.</p>
-
-<p>Those who keep these animals collect the
-perfume in the following manner; they put
-them into a narrow cage, in which they cannot
-turn themselves; this cage opens behind,
-and two or three times in a week the animal is
-drawn a little out by the tail, and kept in that
-position by putting a bar across the fore-part
-of the cage; this done, the person takes out
-the perfume from the pouch with a small
-spoon, scraping all the internal parts, and
-then, putting the matter into a vessel, the greatest
-care is taken to keep it closely covered.
-The quantity so procured depends greatly upon
-the appetite of the animal, and the quality of
-his nourishment, as he always produces more
-in proportion to the goodness of his food.
-Hashed flesh, eggs, rice, small animals, birds,
-young poultry, and particularly fish, are the
-best, and which he most prefers; and these
-ought to be so varied as to excite his appetite
-and preserve his health. He requires but
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>
-little water, and though he drinks seldom, yet
-he discharges urine very frequently; and even
-on such occasions, the male is not to be distinguished
-from the female.</p>
-
-<p>The perfume of the civets is so strong that
-it communicates itself to all parts of the body;
-the hair and skin is impregnated with it to
-such a degree, that it preserves the odour for a
-long time after it is stripped off. If a person
-be shut up in a close room with one of them
-alive, he cannot support the perfume, it is so
-copiously diffused. When the animal is enraged,
-its scent is more violent than ordinary,
-and if tormented so as to make him sweat, that
-is also collected and serves to adulterate, or at
-least increase the perfume which is otherwise
-obtained.</p>
-
-<p>The civets are naturally wild, and even ferocious;
-and though tameable to a certain degree,
-they are never perfectly familiar. Their
-teeth are strong and sharp, but their claws are
-blunt and feeble. They are light and active,
-and live by prey, pursuing small animals, and
-surprising birds. They can bound like cats,
-and run like dogs; and sometimes steal into
-yards and out-houses to carry off the poultry.
-Their eyes shine in the dark, and they probably
-see better in the night than in the day. When
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
-they fail in procuring animal food, they subsist
-on roots and fruits. As they seldom drink
-they never inhabit moist places, but cheerfully
-reside among arid sands and burning mountains.
-They breed very fast in their native
-climates; but though they can live, and even
-produce perfume in temperate climates, yet
-they cannot multiply. They have a voice
-more powerful, and a tongue less rough than
-the cat, and their cry is not unlike that of an
-enraged dog.</p>
-
-<p>The odorous humor which exudes from
-these animals is called civet in England and
-France, and <i>zibet</i>, or <i>algalia</i>, in Arabia, the
-Indies, and the Levant, where it is more used
-than in Europe. It is now very little employed
-as a medicine, but it is still used as an ingredient
-in the compositions of perfumers and
-confectioners. The smell of the civet, though
-stronger, is more agreeable than that of the
-musk. Both, however, lost their repute when
-the method of preparing ambergris was discovered;
-and even that seems now to be proscribed
-from the toilets of the polite and delicate.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_GENET" id="THE_GENET">THE GENET.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE Genet (<a href="#FIG_112"><i>fig. 112</i></a>) is a smaller animal
-than the civet. He has a long body, short
-legs, a sharp snout, slender head, and smooth
-soft hair, of a glossy ash colour, marked with
-black spots, which are round, and separated
-on the sides, but so nearly united on the back as
-to have the appearance of stripes along the body.
-Upon the neck and back it has a kind of mane,
-which forms a black streak from the head to
-the tail, the latter of which is as long as the
-body, and is marked with seven or eight rings,
-alternately black and white; the black spots
-on the neck also appear to form streaks, and it
-has a white spot under each eye. Under the
-tail, and in the very same place with the civets,
-it has a pouch, in which is secreted a kind of
-perfume, but is much weaker, and its scent
-soon evaporates. It is somewhat longer than
-the marten, which it greatly resembles in form,
-habit, and disposition; and from which it seems
-chiefly to differ in being more easily tamed.
-Bellon assures us, that he has seen them in the
-houses at Constantinople as tame as cats, that
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>
-they were permitted to run about without
-doing the least mischief, and that they were
-called <i>Constantinople cats</i>; <i>Spanish cats</i>; <i>genet
-cats</i>, <i>&amp;c.</i> though, indeed, they have nothing in
-common with that animal, except the skill
-of watching and catching mice.<a name="FNanchor_U_21" id="FNanchor_U_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_U_21" class="fnanchor">[U]</a> Naturalists
-pretend that genets inhabit only moist grounds,
-and reside along the banks of rivers, and that
-they are never found on mountains or dry
-grounds. The species is not numerous, or, at
-least, not much diffused; for there are none of
-them in any part of Europe, except Spain and
-Turkey. They seem to require a warm climate
-to subsist and multiply in, and yet they
-are not found in India or Africa. The <i>fossane</i>
-has been called the genet of Madagascar, but
-that animal is of a different species, as will
-hereafter be shewn.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_U_21" id="Footnote_U_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_U_21"><span class="label">[U]</span></a> It is, perhaps, because they are only found in the Levant
-and in Spain, that they are designated by their country; for
-the name of <i>genet</i> is not derived from any of the ancient
-languages, and is probably only a new appellation taken
-from some place abounding with them, a custom which is
-very common in Spain, where a certain race of horses are
-called <i>genets</i>.</p></div>
-
-<p>The skin of the genet makes a light and
-handsome fur, it was formerly fashionable for
-muffs, and consequently very dear; but the
-manufacturers having got the art of counterfeiting
-them, by painting the skins of grey
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>
-rabbits with black spots, their value is abated,
-from being no longer esteemed.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>I formerly stated that genets were not to be
-found in any parts of Europe, except Spain
-and Turkey, but since then I have learned that
-they are common in the southern provinces of
-France, and that at Poitou they are known by
-that name even to the peasantry. In April,
-1775, the Abb� Roubard sent me a genet that
-was killed at Livray, in Poitou, which, except
-some trifling variations in the colour of the
-hair, was similar to that I have described; and
-he assured me that the species was also to be
-found in the neighbouring provinces; and
-M. Delpeche informed me, in a letter, that it
-was a constant practice with the peasants of
-the province of Rouergue to bring dead genets
-to the merchants in the winter; he added,
-that they were not very numerous, that they
-were principally found near Villefranche, and
-that they burrow in holes like the rabbits,
-especially in winter.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_BLACK_WOLF" id="THE_BLACK_WOLF">THE BLACK WOLF.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>WE mention ibis animal merely as a supplement
-to the description we have given of the
-wolf, for there can be little doubt of his belonging
-to the same species. We have already
-said, that in the northern parts of Europe
-there were some wolves black, and others
-white, and that the black wolves were generally
-the largest; but the one we are now
-about to describe came from Canada, and was
-smaller than the common wolf; but we have
-had repeated occasions to remark, that the
-animals of the northern parts of America
-are less in size than those belonging to the
-north of Europe, and this difference in size was
-the chief, if not the only variation in him;
-besides, he had been taken very young, and
-ever after kept in a state of captivity, which
-also might have prevented the completion
-of his growth. Our common wolf is less in
-Canada than in Europe; and in that country
-black wolves and foxes are not uncommon.
-We saw this animal alive, and to us it appeared
-perfectly to resemble the common wolf both
-in figure and disposition.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 373px;">
-<a id="FIG_114"></a><a id="FIG_115"></a>
-<img src="images/fig_114-115.png" width="373" height="290" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 115. <i>Muscovy Rat.</i><br />
-FIG. 114. <i>Canadian Musk Rat.</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 372px;">
-<a id="FIG_116"></a><img src="images/fig_116.png" width="372" height="294" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 116. <i>Mexican Hog.</i></span>
-</div>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_CANADIAN_MUSK-RAT_AND_THE_MUSCOVY" id="THE_CANADIAN_MUSK-RAT_AND_THE_MUSCOVY">THE CANADIAN MUSK-RAT, AND THE MUSCOVY
-MUSK-RAT.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THOUGH these two animals have been
-denominated musk-rats, and have a few common
-characteristics, yet they ought not to be
-confounded; they must also be distinguished
-from the Pilori, or Musk-rat, of the Antilles;
-all three forming different species, and belonging
-to different climates; the first, also called
-Ondatra, is found in Canada; the second, or
-Desman, in Lapland and Muscovy; and the
-Pilori, in Martinico and other of the Antille
-islands.</p>
-
-<p>The Musk-rat of Canada (<a href="#FIG_115"><i>fig. 115</i></a>) differs
-from that of Muscovy in having all its toes
-separate, eyes very conspicuous, and a short
-nose; whereas the latter (<a href="#FIG_114"><i>fig. 114</i></a>) has the toes
-of the hind feet united by a membrane, exceedingly
-small eyes, and a long nose like the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>
-shrew-mouse. The tail of both is flat, in
-which, as well as in many other characteristics,
-they differ from the pilori of the Antilles.
-The tail of the pilori is short, and, like that
-of other rats, cylindrical; the other two have
-long tails, and the head of the first is like that
-of a water-rat, and the head of the second resembles
-a shrew-mouse.</p>
-
-<p>In the memoirs of the Academy of Sciences,
-for 1725, we meet with a very accurate description
-of the Canadian musk-rat. M. Sarrasin,
-a correspondent of the Academy, dissected
-a number of them at Quebec, and made some
-striking and singular remarks; by comparing
-his description with our own, we have not the
-least doubt but the animal which he calls the
-musk-rat of Canada, is the same with that now
-before us.</p>
-
-<p>This animal is of the size of a small rabbit,
-and of the figure of a rat. Its head is short,
-and similar to that of the water-rat; its hair is
-soft and glossy, with a thick down underneath,
-like that of the beaver; its tail is long and
-covered with little scales, like that of the other
-rats, though of a different form, for instead of
-being cylindrical it is flat from the middle to
-the tip, and rather round at the insertion. The
-toes are not united by membranes, but furnished
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>
-with a long thick hair, which enables
-the animal to swim with ease. Its ears are
-very short, but not naked, as in the common
-rat, but covered with hair, both outwardly and
-inwardly; its eyes are large; it has two incisive
-teeth, about an inch long, in the under
-jaw, and two shorter ones in the upper; these
-four teeth are very strong, and by them the
-animal is enabled to gnaw through wood.</p>
-
-<p>The striking singularities remarked by M.
-Sarrasin, in this animal are, first, the muscular
-force and great expansibility in the skin,
-which enables the animal to contract and
-compress its body into a smaller size. Secondly,
-the suppleness of the false ribs, which
-admits a contraction of body so considerable
-that the musk-rat can obtain an easy passage
-through holes where smaller animals cannot
-find admission. Thirdly, the manner in which
-the female voids her urine, the urethra not
-terminating, as in other animals, under the
-clitoris, but at a hairy eminence above the
-os pubis, and in which there is an orifice,
-that serves the urine to escape. This strange
-organization is found in only a few species
-of animals, as rats and apes have three apertures;
-and these two are perhaps the only
-animals who have a passage for the urine
-distinct from the organs of generation: to the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>
-females alone, however, does this singularity
-belong, for the conformation of the males is
-the same with that of other quadrupeds. M.
-Sarrasin observes, fourthly, that the testicles
-which, as in other rats, are situated on each
-side of the anus, become exceedingly large,
-considering the size of the animal, during the
-rutting season; but that over, they not only
-change in size, consistency, and colour, but
-even in situation, and with the seminal vessels,
-and all the organs of generation become almost
-invisible. And, lastly, that the vessels which
-contain the musk, or perfume, of this animal,
-under the form of a milky humor, and which
-adjoin the parts of generation, undergo the
-same changes; that during the rutting season
-they enlarge in a great degree, and then the
-perfume is exceedingly strong, and may be sensibly
-distinguished at a considerable distance,
-but at its expiration they become wrinkled,
-decay, and at length entirely disappear. The
-change in the vessels, which contain the perfume,
-is effected more quickly, and more
-completely, than that of the parts of generation.
-These vessels are common to both sexes,
-and at the above periods contain a considerable
-quantity of milky humor; and the secretion
-is formed, and the humor voided, nearly in
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
-the same place as the urine of other quadrupeds.
-These singularities were worthy the
-attention of so able an anatomist as M. Sarrasin.
-We have already mentioned similar
-alterations in the parts of generation in the water-rat,
-the campagnol, and the mole; but
-this is not the place for us to enlarge on the
-general consequences which might be drawn
-from these singular facts, nor even on the immediate
-references they may have to our theory
-of generation. These we shall soon have
-occasion to present with more advantage, by
-uniting them with other facts to which they
-relate.</p>
-
-<p>As the Canadian musk-rat belongs to the
-same country as the beaver, is fond of water,
-and has nearly the same figure, colour, and
-hair, they have been often compared to each
-other; it is even affirmed, that, at the first
-glance, a full grown musk-rat may be mistaken
-for a beaver of a month old. But in the
-form of their tails there is a considerable difference;
-that of the beaver being oval and flat
-horizontally; whereas that of the musk-rat is
-of a considerable length, and flat, or compressed
-vertically. In disposition and instinct, however,
-these animals have a strong resemblance.
-The musk-rats, as well as the beavers, live in
-societies during the winter. They form little
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
-dwellings about two feet and a half in diameter
-and sometimes larger, in which is often an
-association of several families. These habitations
-are not for the purpose of resorting to, in
-order to sleep like the marmots, for five or six
-months, but to obtain a shelter from the inclemency
-of the weather; they are of a round
-form, and covered with a dome about a foot
-thick; the materials for making which are
-herbs and rushes interwoven together, and cemented
-with clay, which they prepare with
-their feet; these huts are impenetrable by the
-rain, and secured from the effects of inundations
-by being elevated on the inside, and tho&rsquo;
-covered with snow several feet thick in the
-winter these animals do not seem to be incommoded
-by this circumstance. They do not
-provide a stock of provisions for that season,
-but dig a sort of passages round their dwellings,
-for the purpose of procuring roots and
-water. As winter is not their season of love,
-they reap but little advantage from associating.
-All this period they remain totally
-deprived of light, and therefore no sooner
-has the mild breath of spring begun to
-dissolve the snow, and uncover the tops of
-their little mansions, than the huntsmen open
-their dome suddenly, dazzle them with the
-light, and kill or seize all those who have not
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>
-obtained shelter in their subterraneous passages;
-but as their skins are valuable, and their flesh
-not unpalatable, thither they are also pursued
-for slaughter. Such as escape quit their habitations
-about the same time. They wander
-about during the summer but always in pairs,
-for then is the time of their amours; then it is
-that all their vessels expand, and feeding largely
-upon the fresh roots and vegetables which
-the season affords, they acquire a strong smell
-of musk; a scent which, though agreeable to
-Europeans, is so disgustful to the savages,
-that they distinguish one of their rivers, from
-being frequented by a number of them, the
-Stinking River, and the animal itself the Stinkard.</p>
-
-<p>They produce once a year, and generally
-have five or six young. Their time of gestation
-cannot be long, as they are not in season
-till the summer, and their young are full grown
-by October, when they seek for shelter; they
-construct new huts every year, and are never
-known to revisit their former habitations.
-Their cry is a kind of groan, which the huntsmen
-imitate in order to allure them. So strong
-are their fore-teeth, and so calculated for
-gnawing, that if shut up in a box, they soon
-make a hole large enough to escape through,
-a faculty which they possess in common with
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>
-the beaver. They do not swim so fast, or so
-long as the beaver, and are often seen upon
-the ground; they run very indifferently, and
-in their walk they waddle like a goose. Their
-skin retains the smell of musk, which renders
-it of little value to the furriers, but their under
-hair, or down, is used in the manufacture of
-hats. These animals are not very wild, and
-when taken young are easily tamed; and are
-then tolerably handsome, for their tail, which
-is afterwards long and disagreeable, is very
-short. They play with all the innocence and
-sprightliness of young cats, and they might
-be reared with ease but for their disagreeable
-smell.</p>
-
-<p>The Canadian and Muscovy musk-rats, are
-the only animals belonging to the northern
-regions which yield any perfume, for the odour
-of the <i>castoreum</i> (obtained from the badger)
-is highly disagreeable; and it is only in warm
-climates that we meet with the animals which
-furnish the real musk, the civet, and other delicate
-perfumes.</p>
-
-<p>The musk-rat of Muscovy might, perhaps,
-present singularities analogous to those of the
-Canadian, and not less remarkable, but it does
-not appear that any naturalist has yet had an
-opportunity to dissect, or examine it alive. Of
-its exterior form alone we can speak, as that
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>
-sent from Lapland, for the king&rsquo;s cabinet, was
-in a dry state, and therefore I can only add
-my regret that so little is known about it.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_PECCARI_OR_MEXICAN_HOG" id="THE_PECCARI_OR_MEXICAN_HOG">THE PECCARI, OR MEXICAN HOG.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>AMONG the animals of the New World,
-few species are more numerous, or more remarkable,
-than that of the Mexican Hog.<a name="FNanchor_V_22" id="FNanchor_V_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_V_22" class="fnanchor">[V]</a>
-(<a href="#FIG_116"><i>fig. 116</i></a>) At the first glance he resembles
-our wild boar, or rather the hog of Siam,
-which, as we have already observed, is nothing
-more than a variety of the wild boar; and for
-which reason this has been called the American
-wild boar, or American hog. He is, however,
-of a distinct species, and refuses to engender
-either with our wild or domestic kinds;
-a circumstance of which I was convinced, by
-having reared one of these animals in company
-with several sows.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_V_22" id="Footnote_V_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_V_22"><span class="label">[V]</span></a> This animal has a variety of names; besides the above,
-some call him <i>Tajassou</i>, <i>Tajacou</i>, <i>Paquira</i>, <i>Saino</i>, &amp;c.</p></div>
-
-<p>He differs also from the hog in a number
-of characteristics, both external and internal.
-He is less corpulent, and his legs are shorter;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>
-in the stomach and intestines, there is a difference
-of conformation. He has no tail, and
-his bristles are much stronger than those of
-the wild boar; and, lastly, he has on his back,
-near the crupper, an opening from which
-there is discharged an ichorous humor of a
-very disagreeable smell. This is the only
-animal which has an opening in this part of
-the body. In the civets, the badger, and the
-genet, the reservoir for their perfume is situated
-beneath the parts of generation; and in
-the musk-animal, and the musk-rat of Canada,
-we find it under the belly. The moisture
-which exudes from this aperture in the back
-of the Mexican hog, is secreted by large glands,
-which M. Daubenton has described with
-much attention, as well as the other singularities
-of this animal; Dr. Tyson also in the
-Philosophical Transactions, No. 153, has given
-a good description of it. Without minutely
-detailing the observations of these two able
-anatomists, I shall barely remark, that the
-latter was mistaken in asserting that this animal
-has three stomachs, or, as Mr. Ray says,
-a gizzard and two stomachs. M. Daubenton
-plainly shews, that it is only one stomach divided
-by two similar pouches, which give it
-the appearance of three; that only one of
-these pouches has a pyrolus, or orifice below,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>
-for the discharge of its contents; that, consequently,
-we ought to consider the two others
-merely as appendages to, or rather portions
-of, the same stomach.</p>
-
-<p>The Mexican hog might be rendered a domestic
-animal like the common kind; he has
-nearly the same habits and natural inclinations;
-feeds upon the same aliments, and his
-flesh, though more dry and lean, is not unpalatable,
-and may be improved by castration.
-When killed, not only the parts of generation,
-if the flesh is intended to be eaten, (as is also
-done with the wild boar) must be taken instantly
-away, but also the glands at the opening
-in the back, and which are common to
-both male and female, must likewise be removed,
-for if this operation be deferred for
-only half an hour, the flesh becomes utterly
-unfit to be eaten.</p>
-
-<p>These animals are extremely numerous in
-all the warm climates of South America.
-They go in herds of two or three hundred together,
-and unite, like hogs, in the defence of
-each other. They are particularly fierce
-when their young are attempted to be taken
-from them. They surround their plunderers,
-attack them without fear, and frequently make
-their lives pay the forfeit of their rashness.
-In their native country they prefer the mountainous
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>
-parts to the low and level grounds;
-neither do they seek marshes nor mud, like
-our hogs, but remain in the forests, where
-they subsist upon wild fruits, roots, and vegetables;
-they are an unceasing enemy to all
-the serpent kinds, with which the uncultivated
-forests of the New Continent abound: as
-soon as they perceive a serpent or viper, they
-seize it with their fore hoofs, skin it in an instant,
-and devour the flesh.</p>
-
-<p>These animals are very prolific; the young
-ones follow the dam, and do not separate from
-her till they are full grown. If taken young
-they are very easily tamed, and soon lose all
-their natural ferocity, but they never shew any
-signs of docility, but continue stupid, without
-attachment, or even seeming to know the hand
-that feeds them. They do no mischief, and
-may be permitted to run tame, without apprehending
-any dangerous consequence. They
-seldom stray far from home, but return of
-themselves to the sty: they never quarrel
-among each other, except when they are fed
-in the same trough. At such times they have
-an angry grunt, much stronger and harsher
-than that of a common hog; but they seldom
-scream, only when suddenly surprised, or frightened,
-when they have a shrill manner of blowing
-like the wild boar. When enraged they
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>
-draw their breath with great force, and point
-their bristles upward which more resemble the
-sharp armour of the hedge-hog than the bristles
-of the wild boar.</p>
-
-<p>The species of the Mexican hog is preserved
-without alteration, and altogether unmixed
-with that of the European hog, which has been
-transported to, and become wild in, the forests
-of America. These animals meet in the woods,
-and even herd together, and yet never produce
-an intermediate breed. It is the same with the
-Guinea hog, which has greatly multiplied in
-America, after being brought thither from
-Africa.</p>
-
-<p>However approximate the species of the
-European hog, the Guinea-hog, and the peccari,
-may appear, it is, nevertheless, evident,
-that they are each distinct, and separate from
-the others since they inhabit the same climate
-without intermixture. Of the three, the
-strongest, most robust, and most formidable, is
-our wild boar. The peccari, though equally
-fierce, is yet less active, and inferior as to the
-engines of defence, his tusks being much
-shorter. This animal dreads the cold, and cannot
-subsist, without shelter, even in our temperate
-regions; nor can our wild boar exist in
-countries which are very cold; therefore it is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>
-impossible that either of them could have found
-a passage from the one continent to the other,
-over any northern country; and therefore the
-Mexican hog cannot be considered as an European
-hog degenerated, or changed, by the
-climate of America, but as an animal peculiar
-to the southern regions of that continent.</p>
-
-<p>Ray and other naturalists, have maintained,
-that the humor discharged from the back of
-the Mexican hog is a kind of musk, an agreeable
-perfume, even as it exudes from the body
-of the animal; that it is perceived at a considerable
-distance, and perfumes every place he
-inhabits, and through which he passes. I have,
-I must own, a thousand times experienced very
-contrary effects; for so disagreeable is the smell
-of this moisture, on being separated from the
-body of the animal, that I could not collect it
-without being exceedingly incommoded. It
-becomes less f&oelig;tid by being dried in the air, but
-never acquires the agreeable smell of musk, or
-of civet; and naturalists would have expressed
-themselves with more propriety, if they had
-compared it to that of <i>castoreum</i>.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>M. de la BORDE says, there are two
-kinds of the Peccari, or Mexican hog, in
-Cayenne, which never intermix; the largest
-of which is black, excepting two white spots
-upon its jaws, and that the hair of the small
-one is rather red; but I apprehend the differences
-are occasioned by age, or some accidental
-circumstance. He adds, that those of the
-large size do not associate with men; but that
-they live in the woods, upon seeds, roots, and
-fruits; that they dig in the damp soils for
-worms, and that they go in flocks of two or
-three hundred. It is no difficult matter to
-shoot them, as, instead of flying, they collect
-together, and will stand several discharges;
-nay, they will even attack the dogs, and sometimes
-men. He mentions an instance where
-he was out with a party that were surrounded
-by a flock of these hogs, who were not to be
-intimidated by a continual firing, and could
-not be dispersed until several of them were
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>
-killed. When taken young, they are soon
-rendered familiar, but they will not intermix
-with the domestic hogs. When living in
-their natural state of freedom, they often reside
-in the marshes, and will swim across rivers.
-Their flesh, though palatable, is not so good
-as the common hog; it has a strong resemblance
-to that of the hare, and is without lard
-or grease.</p>
-
-<p>M. de la Borde speaks of another species of
-hog found in Guiana, which he calls <i>patira</i>, in
-these terms: &ldquo;The patira is about the size of
-the small Mexican hog, and the only difference
-is the former having a white stripe along
-the back; they live in large forests, and, in
-general, herd in families. They will defend
-themselves against dogs, when hunted by
-them: when likely to be overpowered, they
-seek shelter in hollow trees, or in holes of the
-earth, that have been made by armadilloes,
-which they entered backwards. To get them
-out, the hunters employ every means to irritate
-them, (having first inclosed a space round
-the hole) for when angry they will quit their
-retreat, and the men, standing prepared, destroy
-them with pitchforks and sabres. If a
-hunter observes a single one in a hole, and
-does not then wish to take it, he closes up the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>
-entrance, and is sure to have him the next day.
-Their flesh is superior to that of other hogs.
-When caught young they are easily rendered
-domestic, but even then they preserve their
-natural inveteracy against dogs, whom they
-attack on all occasions. They constantly live
-in the marshes, unless when entirely covered
-with water. The females produce two at a
-time, and they breed at all seasons of the year.
-Their hair is soft, like that of the Mexican
-hog. When tamed they follow their masters,
-and allow themselves to be handled by those
-they know, but strangers they always threaten
-by shewing their teeth.&rdquo;</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_ROUSETTE_OR_TERNAT_BAT_THE_ROUGETTE" id="THE_ROUSETTE_OR_TERNAT_BAT_THE_ROUGETTE">THE ROUSETTE, OR TERNAT BAT, THE ROUGETTE,
-OR LITTLE TERNAT, AND THE VAMPYRE.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE Roussette<a name="FNanchor_W_23" id="FNanchor_W_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_W_23" class="fnanchor">[W]</a> and the Rougette<a name="FNanchor_X_24" id="FNanchor_X_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_X_24" class="fnanchor">[X]</a> seem
-to form two distinct species, but they so nearly
-resemble each other that they ought not to be
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>
-presented apart, as they differ only in the size
-of the body and colour of the hair. The Great
-Ternat, (<a href="#FIG_117"><i>fig. 117</i></a>) whose hair is of a reddish
-brown, is nine inches in length, from the tip
-of the nose to the insertion of the tail, and in
-breadth three 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, when the wings
-are extended; and its neck is half encircled
-with a stripe of lively red, intermixed with
-orange, of which we perceive no vestige on
-the neck of the roussette. They both belong
-to nearly the same hot climates of the old
-continent, are met with in Madagascar, in the
-island of Bourbon, in Ternat, the Philippines,
-and other islands of the Indian Archipelago,
-where they seem to be more common than on
-the neighbouring continents.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_W_23" id="Footnote_W_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_W_23"><span class="label">[W]</span></a> Also called the Flying Dog, and the Great Bat of Madagascar.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_X_24" id="Footnote_X_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_X_24"><span class="label">[X]</span></a> Or the Red-necked Flying Dog.</p></div>
-
-<p>In the hot countries of the New World,
-there is another flying quadruped, of which
-we know not the American name, but shall call
-it Vampyre, because it sucks the blood of men,
-and other animals while asleep, without causing
-sufficient pain to awaken them. This American
-animal is of a different species from the
-bats just mentioned, both of which are to be
-found solely in Africa, and in the southern
-parts of Asia.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 392px;">
-<a id="FIG_117"></a><img src="images/fig_117.png" width="392" height="292" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 117. <i>Ternat Bat.</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 393px;">
-<a id="FIG_118"></a><a id="FIG_119"></a>
-<img src="images/fig_118-119.png" width="393" height="292" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 118. <i>Bull Dog Bat</i><br />
-FIG: 119. <i>Senegal Bat</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>THE vampyre<a name="FNanchor_Y_25" id="FNanchor_Y_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_Y_25" class="fnanchor">[Y]</a> is smaller than the rougette,
-which is itself smaller than the roussette.
-The first, when it flies, seems to be of the size
-of a pigeon, the second of a raven, and the
-third of a large hen. Both the roussette and
-rougette have well shaped heads, short ears,
-and round noses, nearly like that of a dog. Of
-the vampyre, on the contrary, the nose is long,
-the aspect as hideous as that of the ugliest bats;
-its head is unshapely, and its ears are large,
-open, and very erect; its noise is deformed,
-its nostrils resembling a funnel, with a membrane
-at the top, which rises up in the form
-of a sharp horn, or cock&rsquo;s-comb, and greatly
-heightens the deformity of its face. There is
-no doubt, therefore, that this species is different
-from the Ternat bats. It is an animal
-not less mischievous than it is deformed; it is
-the pest of man, and the torment of other
-animals. In confirmation of this, the authentic
-testimony of M. de la Condamine may be
-produced. &ldquo;The bats,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;which
-suck the blood of horses, mules, and even men,
-when they do guard against it by sleeping
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>
-under the shelter of a pavilion, are a scourge
-common to most of the hot countries of America.
-Of these some are 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.&rdquo; These facts are confirmed
-by many other historians and travellers.
-Petrus Martyr, who wrote not long after the
-conquest of South America, says, that there
-are bats in the isthmus of Darien which suck
-the blood of men and animals while they are
-asleep, so as to much weaken, and frequently
-kill them. Jumilla, Don George Juan, and
-Don Ant. de Ulloa, assert the same. Though
-from the above testimonies it appears that these
-blood-sucking bats are numerous, particularly
-in South America, yet we have not been able
-to obtain a single individual. Seba has presented
-us with a figure and description of this
-animal, of which the nose is so extraordinary,
-that I am astonished travellers should not
-have remarked a deformity so palpable as to
-strike the most superficial beholder; possibly
-the animal of which Seba gives the figure, is
-not the same with that which we distinguish
-by the name of the vampyre, or blood-sucker;
-It is also possible, that this figure of Seba&rsquo;s is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>
-false or exaggerated, or at least that this deformed
-nose is only a monstrous accidental
-variety; though of these deformities there may
-be found permanent examples in some other
-species of bats. By time alone will these obscurities
-be removed.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_Y_25" id="Footnote_Y_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_Y_25"><span class="label">[Y]</span></a> An American animal called the Great American Bat,
-or Flying Dog of New Spain.</p></div>
-
-<p>Both the roussette and rougette are in the
-cabinet of the King of France; and it is to
-the island of Bourbon that we are indebted for
-them. They belong exclusively to the Old
-Continent; and in no part either of Africa or
-Asia are they so numerous as the vampyre is in
-America. These animals are larger, stronger,
-and perhaps more mischievous than the vampyre.
-But it is by open force, and in the day
-as well as night, that they commit hostilities.
-Fowls and small birds are the objects of their
-destructive fury; they even attack men, and
-wound their faces; but no traveller has accused
-them of sucking the blood of men and
-animals while asleep.</p>
-
-<p>The ancients had but an imperfect knowledge
-of these winged quadrupeds, which may, indeed,
-be termed monsters; and it is probable,
-that from those whimsical models of Nature,
-they received the idea of harpies. The wings,
-the teeth, the claws, the cruelty, the voracity;
-the nastiness, and all the destructive qualities,
-and noxious faculties of the harpies, bear no
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>
-small resemblance to those of the Ternat bat.
-Herodotus seems to have denoted them, when
-he mentions that there were large bats which
-greatly incommoded the men employed in
-collecting cassia round the marshes of Asia,
-and that, to shield themselves from the dangerous
-bites of these animals, they were obliged
-to cover the body and face with leather.
-Strabo speaks of very large bats in Mesopotamia,
-whose flesh was palatable. Among the
-moderns, these large bats have been mentioned,
-though in vague terms, by Albertus, Isidorus,
-and Scaliger. With more precision have they
-been treated of by Linscot, Nicholas Matthias,
-and Francis Pyrard; Oliger Jacobeus has given
-a short description of them with a figure; and
-lastly, in Seba, and in Edwards, we find well-executed
-description and figures, which correspond
-with our own.</p>
-
-<p>The Ternat bats are carnivorous animals,
-voracious, and possessed of an appetite for every
-thing that offers. In a dearth of flesh or fish,
-they feed on vegetables and fruits of every kind.
-They are fond of the juice of the palm-tree, and
-it is easy to take them by placing near their
-retreats vessels filled with palm-tree water, or
-any other fermented liquor, with which they
-are sure to intoxicate themselves. They fasten
-themselves to trees, and hang from them by
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>
-their claws. They usually fly in flocks, and
-more by night than by day. Places which
-are much frequented they shun, and their favourite
-residence is uninhabited islands. To
-copulation they are strongly inclined. In the
-male the sex is very apparent, and not concealed
-in a scabbard, like that of quadrupeds,
-but extends forwards from the body, nearly
-as it does in the ape. In the female the sex
-is equally conspicuous; she has but two
-nipples, and those situated upon the breast;
-she produces more than once a year, but the
-number at each time is but small. Their flesh,
-when young, is not unpalatable; the Indians<a name="FNanchor_Z_26" id="FNanchor_Z_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_Z_26" class="fnanchor">[Z]</a>
-are fond of it, and compare its flavour to that
-of the partridge or the rabbit.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_Z_26" id="Footnote_Z_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_Z_26"><span class="label">[Z]</span></a> The Moors and Malayans are most certainly meant, as
-the Indians neither eat nor kill any animal. Lett. M. La Nux.</p></div>
-
-<p>The American travellers unanimously agree,
-that the great bats of the new continent suck
-the blood both of men and animals while they
-are asleep, and without awakening them. Of
-this singular fact, no mention is made by any
-of the Asiatic or African travellers, who speak
-of the Ternat bats. Their silence, nevertheless,
-is no adequate proof of their being guiltless,
-especially as they have so many other
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>
-resemblances to those great bats, which we
-denominated vampyres. I have, therefore,
-thought it worth while to examine how it is
-possible that these animals should suck the
-blood of a person asleep, without causing a
-pain so sensible as to awake him. Were they
-to cut the flesh with their teeth, which are as
-large as those of other quadrupeds of the same
-size, the pain of the bite would effectually
-rouse any of the human species, however
-soundly asleep; and the repose of animals is
-more easily disturbed than that of man. Thus
-it would also be, were they to inflict the wound
-with their claws. With their tongue only,
-then, is it 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.</p>
-
-<p>The tongue of the vampyre I have not had
-an opportunity of observing, but those of several
-Ternat bats which M. Daubenton attentively
-examined, seemed to indicate the possibility of
-the fact; their tongues were sharp, and full of
-prickles directed backward; and it appears that
-these prickles, or points, from their exceeding
-minuteness, may be insinuated into the pores
-of the skin, and may penetrate them so deep
-as to command a flow of the blood, by the continued
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>
-function of the tongue. But it is needless
-to reason upon a fact of which all the circumstances
-are imperfectly known to us, and
-of which some are perhaps exaggerated, or
-erroneously related.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>AMONG other remarks which I received
-from the ingenious M. de la Nux upon this
-work, after its first publication, were the following
-respecting these animals. He says, in
-general terms, that the size and number of the
-Great Ternat Bats are both exaggerated; that
-instead of attacking men they invariably endeavour
-to get from them, consequently never
-bite but when taken, or defending themselves,
-which they do then most dreadfully; and that
-instead of being ferocious animals, they are
-perfectly gentle in their dispositions. Speaking
-from his own experience, he says, both the
-great and small Ternat bats are natives of
-Bourbon, the isles of France, and Madagascar,
-in the former of which he had resided
-upwards of fifty years; when he first arrived
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>
-there they were very numerous in many places
-where at present they are not to be found, and
-for these reasons, that the forests were then
-adjacent to them, which had been cleared away
-by the settlements, and that it is only in forests
-they can subsist; besides, they bring forth but
-once a year, and are hunted, both by whites
-and negroes, for the sake of their flesh and
-grease. The females are in season about the
-month of May, and produce towards the end
-of September. They appear to come to maturity
-in about eight months, since there are
-no small ones to be seen after April or May,
-and the young are to be known from the old
-by their colours being more vivid: they become
-grey with age, but it is uncertain at
-what period; at this time their flesh is very
-disagreeable, and their fat alone, of which they
-have plenty during the summer, is eaten by
-the negroes. They never feed upon any kind
-of flesh, but entirely on bananas, peaches, and
-other fruits and flowers with which these
-forests abound: they are exceedingly fond of
-the juices of certain umbellated flowers; and
-it is possibly for the purpose of sucking the
-different species of them that they have such a
-number of sharp papill� on their tongues.
-They never touch the skins of the mango,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>
-perhaps because it is resinous. Some of them
-which have been caught, and kept alive, have
-been known to eat bread and sugar-canes, but
-I believe, even in that state, no kind of meat,
-either raw or prepared. There cannot be any
-thing to apprehend from these animals, either
-personally, or even for poultry, because they
-are incapable of seizing upon the smallest bird,
-for if they come too near the ground they fall,
-and are then under the necessity of climbing
-up some elevated object before they can resume
-their flight, and in this case they climb
-up the first thing they meet with, even if it be
-a man. They trail their bodies along, consequently
-move very slow, and which is of itself
-sufficient to prove their incapacity for seizing
-birds. These animals, when going to take
-wing, cannot, like birds, dart at once into
-the air, but are obliged to beat their wings
-several times to fill them, and to release their
-claws from what they have hold of, and even
-then the weight of their bodies frequently bears
-them to the ground; from this necessity of
-filling their wings they cannot take flight
-from any part of the tree, but are obliged to
-crawl to a part of the branch where they can
-act with perfect freedom. They are much
-alarmed at the firing of a gun, or at a peal of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>
-thunder; and if a large flock of them, resting
-upon a tree, are surprised by either of these reports,
-in their haste to fly, numbers of them
-fall to the ground, not having sufficient air in
-their wings; in this case they hasten to climb
-up the first object they met with; let us therefore
-only suppose that object to be a traveller
-unacquainted with these animals; he would naturally
-be struck with terror at being suddenly
-surrounded with a number of creatures of such
-an ugly form and aspect, and especially when
-they began to climb up his body; he would of
-course endeavour to extricate himself from
-them, and they, in turn, finding themselves
-roughly treated, might begin to scratch and
-bite. Would not a circumstance of this nature
-be sufficient to give rise to the idea that
-these bats were ferocious animals, rushing
-upon men for the purpose of wounding and
-destroying them? when the whole would
-arise from the rencounter of different animals
-mutually afraid of each other. They are led
-to reside in forests by instinct, it being there
-only they can procure subsistence, and not
-from any savage disposition; besides this, neither
-of these bats ever light upon carrion, nor
-do they eat upon the ground, but generally in
-a hanging posture, and which appears to be
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>
-necessary when they feed all of which is surely
-enough to prove they are neither carnivorous,
-voracious, nor cruel animals; and as their
-flight is both heavy and noisy, there cannot
-remain a doubt of their being a species very
-distant from the vampyre. The great Ternat
-bats have also been charged with feeding on
-fish, because they sometimes fly very near the
-water; but this is equally untrue, for it is certain
-that they live entirely on vegetables, and it
-is solely for the purpose of washing themselves
-that they go so near the water, being an exceedingly
-clean animal, for of the numbers
-I have killed I never found dirt upon any of
-them.</p>
-
-<p>When near, the great Ternat bat is certainly
-rather disgustful, and all his motions are disagreeable,
-and it is only when perched on a
-tree that his natural deformity is concealed;
-he then hangs with his head downward, his
-wings are folded close to his sides, his vibrating
-wings, which are his greatest defects, as well
-as hind paws, by which he is suspended, are
-concealed, and there then appears only a round
-plump body, covered with a clean, smooth
-brown hair, terminated with a head rather
-agreeable than otherwise. This is the only
-attitude in which they take repose, they frequently
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>
-remain in it the greatest part of the day,
-and in it they are seen to the greatest advantage,
-especially if they are at the height of
-40 or 50 feet, and about 100 feet distant. The
-great Ternat bat is always placed for shew with
-his wings extended, by which means he is seen
-to the greatest disadvantage. The representation
-given of him in your work is not exact, as
-they never rest with their four feet on the
-ground. Both species are excellent food, and
-have never been known to produce any bad effects,
-although frequently eaten to excess; nor
-is that in the least surprising when we consider
-they feed entirely on ripe fruits, the juices,
-flowers, and according to Herodotus, &ldquo;the exudations
-of trees.&rdquo;</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_SENEGAL_BAT" id="THE_SENEGAL_BAT">THE SENEGAL BAT.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE Senegal Bat<a name="FNanchor_AA_27" id="FNanchor_AA_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_AA_27" class="fnanchor">[AA]</a> (<a href="#FIG_119"><i>fig. 119</i></a>) or as it is
-called by some, the Marmotte Volante, is of a
-dark brown colour upon its head and back,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>
-with a light mixture, which increasing under
-the belly, renders that considerably paler; the
-tail, as well as the membrane of the wings, are
-quite black. That which I saw and had been
-brought from Senegal, by M. Adanson, was
-not more than four inches in length, and his
-wings extended to about 21 inches; his head
-was long, ears short, and his nose rather pointed;
-he had 20 teeth in the whole, two incisive,
-two canine, and eight grinders in the upper jaw
-and six incisive and two canine in the under.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_AA_27" id="Footnote_AA_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AA_27"><span class="label">[AA]</span></a> Of this and the two following Mr. Pennant&rsquo;s Synopsis
-contains very accurate descriptions.</p></div>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_BULL-DOG_BAT" id="THE_BULL-DOG_BAT">THE BULL-DOG BAT.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>The Bull-Dog Bat, (<a href="#FIG_118"><i>fig. 118</i></a>) has a
-short thick nose, and large broad ears, which
-bend forward. The greatest part of its body
-is a dark ash-colour; the middle of its belly is
-brown, and its chest and throat a clear ash,
-without any mixture; the tail and membrane
-of the wings are nearly black, from the latter
-of which there comes a part of the tail, composed
-of five false vertebr�. It has 26 teeth,
-two incisive, and two canine, in each jaw;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>
-eight grinders in the upper, and ten in the
-lower; it is not more than two inches in length,
-measuring from the top of the nose, nor does
-its wings extend to quite ten.</p>
-
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_BEARDED_BAT" id="THE_BEARDED_BAT">THE BEARDED BAT.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE head of this bat (<a href="#FIG_120"><i>fig. 120</i></a>) is very peculiarly
-constructed; the nose is sunk in the
-front, and, contrary to all other animals, it has
-not its nostrils divided by a partition, but are
-placed on the sides of a kind of gutter entirely
-open from one end to the other; the exterior
-edges of them join above the upper lip, forming
-a cavity from thence to the front, where it
-terminates with a deep hole covered all round
-with long hairs. It has long narrow ears; the
-hair on the top and hind part of the head, along
-the neck, back, tail, and shoulders, is of a reddish
-brown, and all the remainder is of a yellowish
-white; the membrane of the wings and
-tail have a kind of mixture of black and reddish
-brown and its claws are yellow. Its body is
-about an inch and a half long, and its wings
-extend to about seven.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 385px;">
-<a id="FIG_120"></a><a id="FIG_121"></a>
-<img src="images/fig_120-121.png" width="385" height="294" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 121. <i>Polatouch</i><br />
-FIG. 120. <i>Bearded Bat</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 381px;">
-<a id="FIG_122"></a><a id="FIG_123"></a>
-<img src="images/fig_122-123.png" width="381" height="299" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 122. <i>Swiss Squirrel</i><br />
-FIG. 123. <i>Palmist</i></span>
-</div>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_STRIPED_BAT" id="THE_STRIPED_BAT">THE STRIPED BAT.</a></p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>THIS bat is very small, has a short nose
-and broad ears, bending forward; it is of a
-whitish yellow colour, excepting under its
-throat, breast, and belly, which is a light blue,
-with a yellow shade; the tail, and membrane
-of the wings are a mixture of yellow and
-brown.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_POLATOUCH" id="THE_POLATOUCH">THE POLATOUCH.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>I HAVE chosen to continue the name this
-animal bears in Russia, its native country, rather
-than to adopt those vague and uncertain
-ones since appropriated to it, such as, the
-Flying-rat, Flying-squirrel, &amp;c.</p>
-
-<p>The Polatouch (<a href="#FIG_121"><i>fig. 121</i></a>) resembles but in
-a few particulars either the squirrel, loir, or
-rat. To the squirrel it has no affinity but in
-the largeness of the eyes, and form of the tail,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>
-the latter of which, however, is neither so long,
-nor bushy as in the former. He is more like
-the loir by the shape of his body, his short and
-naked ears, and the hairs of his tail, which are
-of the same form and length; but he is not
-like him, subject to numbness in cold weather.
-The polatouch is a different species from the
-squirrel rat, or dormouse, though he participates
-of the nature of all three. M. Klein
-gave the first exact description of this animal,
-in the Philosophical Transactions, 1733; he
-was, however, known long before that time.
-He is found in the northern parts both of the
-ancient and New Continent,<a name="FNanchor_AB_28" id="FNanchor_AB_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_AB_28" class="fnanchor">[AB]</a> but he is more
-common in America than in Europe, where
-he is seldom seen, except in Lithuania and
-Russia. This little animal dwells upon trees,
-like the squirrel; he goes from branch to
-branch, and when he leaps from one tree to
-another, his loose skin stretches forward by
-his fore-legs, and backward by his hind ones;
-his skin thus stretched and drawn outwardly
-more than an inch, increases the surface of
-his body, without adding to its weight, and
-consequently retards the acceleration of his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>
-fall, so that he is enabled to reach in one leap
-a great distance. This motion is not like the
-flight of a bird, nor the fluttering of a bat, both
-of which are made by striking the air with
-repeated vibrations. It is one single leap,
-caused by the first impulsion, the motion of
-which is prolonged, because the body of the
-animal presents to the air a larger surface, and
-thence finds a greater resistance, and falls more
-slowly. This singular extension of the skin
-is peculiar to the polatouch, and this characteristic
-is sufficient to distinguish him from
-all other squirrels, rats, or dormice. But the
-most singular things in Nature are not unparalleled;
-there is another animal of the same
-kind, with a similar skin, which is not only
-stretched from one leg to another, but from the
-head to the tail. This animal, whose figure
-and description has been given by Seba, under
-the denomination of the flying-squirrel of Virginia,
-seems so different from the polatouch, as
-to constitute another species; though probably
-it may be only a simple variety, or an accidental
-and monstrous production, for no traveller
-or naturalist makes mention of it. Seba
-is the only one who has seen it in the cabinet
-of Vincent; and I always distrust descriptions
-of animals made in cabinets of curiosities, which
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>
-are often disfigured to make them appear
-more extraordinary.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_AB_28" id="Footnote_AB_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AB_28"><span class="label">[AB]</span></a> The Hurons of Canada have three different species of
-squirrels. The Flying-squirrels are frequent in North
-America, but they have been lately found in Poland.</p></div>
-
-<p>I have seen and kept a long while the living
-polatouch. He has been well described by travellers,
-particularly Sagard, Theodat, John of
-Laet, Fernandes, Le Hontan, Denys, Catesby,
-Dumont, Le Pague du Pratz, &amp;c. and Messrs.
-Klein, Seba, and Edwards, have given exact
-descriptions of him, with his figure. What
-I have seen of this animal agrees with their
-relations. He is commonly smaller than a
-squirrel. That which we had weighed little
-more than two ounces, about the weight of a
-middling sized bat, and the squirrel weighs
-eight or nine ounces. However, there are
-some of a greater size, since we have a skin of
-a polatouch much larger than usual.</p>
-
-<p>The polatouch has some analogy with the
-bat by this extension of the skin, which unites
-the fore and hind legs, and supports him in the
-air; he seems also to participate of his nature,
-for he is quiet and sleepy in the day time, having
-no activity but towards the evening. He is
-easily tamed, but soon offended, and must be kept
-in a cage, or fastened with a small chain; he
-feeds upon bread, fruits, seeds, and is remarkably
-fond of the buds and shoots of the birch
-and pine trees. He does not seek after nuts
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>
-and almonds like a squirrel. He makes a bed
-of leaves, in which he buries himself, and sleeps
-through the day, leaving it only in the night,
-or when pressed by hunger. As he has little
-agility, he becomes easily the prey of martens,
-and other animals who climb up the trees, so
-that the species is not numerous, although
-they have commonly three or four young at a
-time.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>IN the original work I remarked having seen
-the skin of a polatouch larger than the common
-size, but the difference was very trifling, to one
-the Prince de Cond� has since permitted me to
-examine, whose bulk was perfectly gigantic,
-compared with those of Russia or America, the
-latter never exceeding five inches in length, and
-this measured twenty-three. It was taken
-upon the Malabar coast, where they are very
-common, as well as in the Philippine Islands,
-and other parts of India, where they are called
-taguans, or great flying squirrels; but notwithstanding
-they resemble the polatouch in
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>
-figure, and the extension of their skin, yet I
-think they ought to be considered as different
-species; for among other varieties, the tail of
-the taguan is round, and that of the common
-kind flat; the hair of the former&rsquo;s tail is also of
-a blackish brown, the face is quite black, the
-sides of the head have a mixture of white hairs,
-and on the nose and round the eyes, there are
-also some red ones; it has long brown hairs that
-cover the neck, the whole back is a mixture of
-black and white, the belly of a dirty white; the
-upper part of the extended skin is brown, and
-the under a greyish yellow, the legs black with
-a reddish shade, the tail brown, deepening by
-degrees until it becomes quite black at the end,
-the toes are black, and the claws hooked like
-those of the cat, from which, and the resemblance
-of the tail, it has been called by some
-the flying cat. M. de Vosma�r, in his Description
-of an <i>Ecureuil Volant</i>, gives a very
-particular account of both species, as does M.
-l&rsquo;Abb� Prevost, and both of which perfectly
-coincide with the above.</p>
-
-<p>At this time, March 17, 1775, I have one
-of the small species alive; I kept it in a cage,
-with a box at the bottom filled with cotton, in
-which it covers itself all day, and only comes
-out at night to seek for food. Whenever it is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>
-forced to come out, it cries somewhat like a
-mouse; its teeth are small, but sharp, and it
-bites violently; it can only be made to extend
-its wings by letting it fall from some height;
-and it is so very chilly, that I am astonished
-how it preserves itself in the northern climates,
-since it would very soon perish, even in
-France, if it were not supplied with plenty of
-cotton to cover itself all over.</p>
-
-<p>Of the Great Flying Squirrel M. de Vosma�r
-remarks, &ldquo;that it has a great affinity to
-the smaller species described by M. de Buffon;
-they both have the same kind of membranes,
-with which they support themselves
-in the air when they leap from tree to tree.&rdquo;
-These animals were first mentioned by Valentine,
-who states them to be found in the island
-of Gilolo, where they are called <i>flying civets</i>;
-he describes them to have long tails, and says,
-when at rest their wings are not to be seen;
-that they are very wild and fearful; that
-their heads are reddish, intermixed with grey,
-that their membranes are covered with hair,
-their teeth so strong and sharp that they would
-soon escape from a wooden cage; that they are
-sometimes called <i>flying monkeys</i>; and that they
-are also to be met with in the island of Ternat,
-where they were at first mistaken for squirrels.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>M. l&rsquo;Abb� Prevost says, it is also found in
-the Philippine Islands, where it is called <i>taguan</i>;
-that he saw two females, the one at the
-Hague, whose body was a light chesnut, rather
-darker on the back, and black towards the
-extremity of the tail; and that he had also
-seen two males in the Prince of Orange&rsquo;s cabinet,
-which were one foot five inches long in
-the body, and their tails one foot eight. The
-hind part of their heads, back, and the commencement
-of the tail are covered with long
-hairs, black at the bottom, and of a greyish
-white at the ends; the other part of the tail
-is black, and the hair is so disposed as to
-make the tail have a round appearance, the
-cheeks are brown, and their throats, breasts,
-and bellies are of a whitish grey. The membranes
-are the thinnest in the middle where
-they are covered with chesnut hairs, increasing
-in thickness towards the paws, and the
-colour growing darker until it is nearly black
-at the extremities.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_GREY_SQUIRREL" id="THE_GREY_SQUIRREL">THE GREY SQUIRREL.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THIS animal is found in the northern parts
-of both continents. He is in shape like a
-common squirrel, and his external difference
-consists in his being larger, and the colour of
-his hair not being red, but of a grey more or
-less deep; his ears are not so hairy towards
-the extremity as those of our squirrels. These
-differences, which are constant, seem sufficient
-to constitute a particular species.
-Many authors think this species is different in
-Europe and America, and that the grey squirrels
-of the former are of the common kind,
-and that they change their colour with the
-season in the northern climates. Without
-denying absolutely this assertion, which does
-not seem sufficiently proved, we look upon
-the grey squirrel of Europe and America as
-the same animal, and as a distinct species
-from common squirrels, who are found in the
-northern parts of both continents, being of the
-same size, and of a red, more or less bright
-according to the temperature of the country.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>At the same time, other squirrels of a larger
-size, whose hair is grey, or somewhat black,
-in all seasons, breed in the same latitude. Besides,
-the fur of the grey squirrel is more fine
-and soft than that of our squirrels; we are,
-therefore, authorised to believe that though
-very nearly alike, they ought to be distinguished
-as different species.</p>
-
-<p>M. Regnard says affirmatively, that the
-grey squirrels of Lapland are the same animals
-as the French squirrels. This assertion is so
-positive that it would be satisfactory were it
-not contradicted by others; M. Regnard has
-written excellent dramatic pieces, but he did
-not give a sufficient application to Natural
-History, nor did he continue long enough in
-Lapland to see the squirrels change their colour.
-It is true that some naturalists, and
-among them Linn�us, have said, that in the
-north of Europe the hair of the squirrel changes
-colour in the winter. This may be true,
-for the hares, wolves, and weasels, also change
-their colour in those climates; but from red
-they grow white, not grey; and to give no
-other instance but that of the squirrel, Linn�us
-in the <i>Fauna Suecica</i>, says, <i>�state ruber
-hieme incanus</i>, consequently from red he becomes
-white; and we do not see why this author
-should substitute for the word <i>incanus</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>
-that of <i>cinereus</i>, which is found in the last
-edition of the <i>Systema Natur�</i>. M. Klein
-asserts, on the contrary, that the squirrels in
-the vicinity of Dantzic, are red in the winter
-as well as in the summer, and that there are
-others frequently found in Poland grey and
-blackish, who do not change their colour any
-more than the red; these last also breed in
-Canada, and in all parts of North America,
-consequently we may consider the grey squirrel
-as an animal common to both continents,
-and of a different species from that of the common
-squirrel.</p>
-
-<p>Besides, we do not perceive that the squirrels
-which are very frequent in our forests unite in
-troops; we do not see them travel in companies,
-approach the waters, nor cross rivers
-upon the bark of trees. Thus they differ from
-the grey squirrels, not only in size and colour
-but in natural habits; for although the navigations
-of the grey squirrels seem almost incredible,
-they are attested by so many witnesses
-that we cannot deny the fact.<a name="FNanchor_AC_29" id="FNanchor_AC_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_AC_29" class="fnanchor">[AC]</a></p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_AC_29" id="Footnote_AC_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AC_29"><span class="label">[AC]</span></a> The grey squirrels frequently remove their place of residence,
-and it not unoften happens that not one can be seen
-one winter where they were in multitudes the year before;
-they go in large bodies, and when they want to cross a lake
-or river, they seize a piece of the bark of a birch or lime,
-and drawing it to the edge of the water, get upon it, and
-trust themselves to the hazard of the wind and waves, erecting
-their tails to serve the purpose of sails; they sometimes
-form a fleet of three or four thousand, and if the wind proves
-too strong, a general shipwreck ensues, to the no small emolument
-of the Laplander who may fortunately find their
-bodies on the shore, as, if they have not lain too long, their
-furs will prepare in the usual manner; but if the winds are
-favourable they are certain to make their desired port.
-<i>Oeuvres de M. Regnard, tom. i. p. 163.</i></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p></div>
-
-<p>Of all quadrupeds that are not domestic,
-the squirrel is, perhaps, the most subject to
-vary in shape and colour, and whose species
-has the greatest numbers of others that approach
-it. The white squirrel of Siberia seems
-to differ only in colour from our common
-squirrel. The black and the grey of America
-are, perhaps, only varieties of the grey squirrel.
-The squirrels of Barbary, Switzerland,
-and the palmist, are three species very much
-like each other.</p>
-
-<p>We have very little information with regard
-to the grey squirrel. Fernandes says, that the
-grey or blackish squirrels of America dwell
-upon trees, particularly upon pines; that they
-feed upon fruits and seeds; that they provide
-provisions for the winter, and heap it up in
-some hollow tree, where they retire during
-that season, and where the female brings forth
-her young. The grey squirrel differs, then,
-from the others who make their nests at the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>
-tops of trees like birds, yet we do not pretend
-to affirm that the blackish squirrel, mentioned
-by Fernandes, is the same as the grey squirrel
-of Virginia, or that both of them are the same
-as the grey squirrel of Europe; we only think
-it is probable, as these three animals are nearly
-of the same size and colour, inhabit the same
-climates, are precisely of a similar form, and
-their skins being equally used in the furs, called
-the fur of the grey squirrel.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_PALMIST_THE_SQUIRRELS_OF_BARBARY" id="THE_PALMIST_THE_SQUIRRELS_OF_BARBARY">THE PALMIST, THE SQUIRRELS OF BARBARY
-AND SWITZERLAND.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE palmist is about the size of a rat, or
-a small squirrel; he lives upon the palm-trees,
-from which he takes his name. Some call
-him the palm-rat, and others the palm-tree
-squirrel; but as he is neither a rat nor a squirrel,
-we call him palmist. (<a href="#FIG_123"><i>fig. 123</i></a>) His head
-is nearly the same form as that of the campagnol,
-and covered with rough hair. His long
-tail does not lie on the ground, like that of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>
-rat, but he carries it erect vertically, without,
-however, throwing it down on his back like
-the squirrel; it is covered with hair longer
-than that of his body, but shorter than the hair
-of the tail of a squirrel. His back is variegated
-with white and brown stripes, which distinguish
-the palmist from all other animals,
-except the squirrels of Barbary and Switzerland.
-These three animals are so much alike,
-that Mr. Ray thought they made but one species;
-but if we consider that the palmist and
-the squirrel of Barbary, are only found in the
-warm climates of the ancient continent, and
-that the squirrel of Switzerland, described by
-Lister, Catesby, and Edwards, is only to be
-met with in the cold and temperate regions of
-the New World, we must judge them to be different
-species. By minute observation it is
-easy to perceive that the white and brown
-stripes of the Swiss are disposed differently
-from those of the palmist, whose white stripe
-extends all along the back, while it is black or
-brown in the Swiss; and this brown stripe in
-the latter is followed by a white stripe, in the
-same manner as the white stripe in the former
-is by a brown; besides, the palmist has but
-three white stripes, while the Swiss has four;
-he also brings down his tail on his back, which
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>
-the palmist does not: the latter dwells upon
-trees, and the Swiss is an inhabitant of the earth;
-from which difference he is called the land
-squirrel. In fine, he is smaller than the palmist,
-consequently there can be no doubt of
-their being two different species.</p>
-
-<p>As for the squirrel of Barbary, as he is of
-the same continent and climate, of the same
-size, and nearly the same form as the palmist,
-they might be considered as varieties of the
-same species; yet in comparing the description
-and figure of the squirrel of Barbary, given by
-Caius, and copied by Aldrovandus and Johnson,
-with the description given here of the
-palmist, and comparing afterwards the description
-and figure of the squirrel of Barbary,
-given by Edwards, it is easy to discern that
-they are different animals. We have seen
-them all in the king&rsquo;s cabinet. The squirrel
-of Barbary has the head and forehead more
-round, the ears longer, and the tail more bushy
-than the palmist; he is more like a squirrel
-than a rat, by the form of his head and body;
-and a palmist resembles more 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&rsquo;s
-back bone, but that on the squirrel of Barbary
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>
-is brown and red. These animals have very
-near the same habits and dispositions as the
-common squirrel. Like him they feed upon
-fruit, and use their fore paws in carrying it to
-the mouth; they have the same voice and cry,
-the same instinct, and agility; they are lively
-and tractable, easily tamed, and so fond of
-their habitations, that they never go out but
-on diversion, and return spontaneously to
-their residence. They are both of a pretty
-figure; their coats, which has white stripes, is
-more valuable than that of the squirrel; their
-size is shorter, their body lighter, and their
-motions equally quick. The palmist, and the
-squirrel of Barbary, dwell on trees like the
-common squirrel, but the Swiss lives upon the
-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 completely
-tamed, from which it appears he is
-more like a rat, or a field mouse, than a squirrel,
-by instinct and nature.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 375px;">
-<a id="FIG_124"></a><img src="images/fig_124.png" width="375" height="281" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 124. <i>Great Ant Eater.</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 375px;">
-<a id="FIG_125"></a><a id="FIG_126"></a>
-<img src="images/fig_125-126.png" width="375" height="287" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 125. <i>Short tail&rsquo;d Manis.</i><br />
-FIG. 126. <i>Long tail&rsquo;d Ditto.</i></span>
-</div>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_ANT_EATERS" id="THE_ANT_EATERS">THE ANT EATERS.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>SOUTH America produces three animals
-with a long snout, a small mouth, without
-teeth, and a large round tongue; with which
-they penetrate into the ants&rsquo; nests, and draw
-them out again when covered with those insects,
-which are their principal food. The first
-of these ant-eaters is that which the Brasilians
-call Tamandua-Gaucu, or Great Tamandua,
-and to which the French settled in America
-have given the name of Tamanoir. This animal
-(<a href="#FIG_124"><i>fig. 124</i></a>) is about four feet in length from
-the extremity of the muzzle to the origin of its
-tail; his head is fourteen or fifteen inches long,
-his muzzle stretches out to a great length; his
-tail is two feet and a half long, is covered with
-rough hair, more than a foot in length; his
-neck is short, his head narrow, his eyes black
-and small, his ears round, his tongue thin,
-more than two feet long, and which he folds up
-in his mouth. His legs are but one foot high;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>
-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 hair of his tail and body are
-black and white. Upon the tail they are disposed
-in a bunch, which he turns up on his
-back, and covers with it his whole body, when
-he is inclined to sleep, or wants to shelter
-himself from the rain or heat of the sun. The
-long hair of his tail and of his body is not
-round in all its extent; it is flat towards the
-ends, 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 sweeps along the ground. The
-hair of the fore-part of his body is longer than
-that on the hind part. On the neck and back
-it is somewhat erect, and towards the tail, and
-on the flanks, close to the skin; his fore-parts
-are variegated with white, and his hind-parts
-wholly black; he has also a white stripe on the
-breast, which extends on the sides of the body
-and terminates on the back near the thighs;
-his hind-legs are almost black, and the fore-legs
-almost white, with a large black spot towards
-the middle. The Great Ant-eater moves so
-slow that a man can easily overtake him in running;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>
-his feet seem less calculated to walk
-than to climb, and to fasten round bodies; for
-he holds so fast a branch, or a stick, that it is
-not possible to force it from him.</p>
-
-<p>The second of these animals is called by the
-Americans only Tamandua; he is much smaller
-than the former, being not above eighteen
-inches from the extremities of the muzzle to
-the tail; his head is five inches long, his muzzle
-crooked, and long; his tail ten inches long,
-without hair at the end; his ears are erect, and
-about an inch long; his tongue is round, eight
-inches long, and placed in a sort of hollow
-canal within the lower 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 Great Ant-Eater. He climbs
-and holds fast a branch, or a stick, like the
-former, and his motions are equally slow. He
-cannot cover himself with his tail, the hair being
-short, and the end almost bare. When
-he sleeps he hides his head under his neck and
-fore-legs.</p>
-
-<p>The third of these animals, the natives of
-Guiana call <i>ouatiriouaou</i>. He is still smaller
-than the second, being not above six or seven
-inches in length from the extremities of the
-snout to the tail; his head is two inches long;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>
-and his muzzle proportionally short; his tail
-is seven inches in length, the hair curls downwards,
-and it is bare at the end; his tongue is
-narrow, long, and flat; his neck is very short,
-his head big in proportion to the body; his
-eyes are placed low, and at a little distance
-from the corners of the mouth, his ears are
-small, and hidden by the hair; his legs are but
-three inches long, the fore-feet have only two
-claws, the outward of which is much thicker
-and longer than the inward; the hind feet
-have four claws, the hair of the body is about
-nine inches long; smooth, and of a shining
-colour, diversified with red and yellow, his
-feet are not made to walk, but to climb and to
-take hold of branches of trees, on which he
-hangs himself by the extremity of his tail.</p>
-
-<p>We know of these kind of animals only the
-three species we have mentioned. M. Brisson,
-after Seba, speaks of a fourth species, under the
-denomination of the <i>long-eared ant-eater</i>, but
-we doubt its existence; because Seba has been
-guilty of more than one error in enumerating
-animals of this kind; he says expressly, &ldquo;we
-preserve in our cabinet six species called ant-eaters,&rdquo;
-and yet he gave only a description
-of five; and amongst them he reckoned the
-<i>ysquiepatl</i>, or <i>mouffette</i>, an animal, not only
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>
-of a species, but even of a genus, widely different
-from the ant-eaters, as he has teeth, and a
-flat short tongue, like other quadrupeds, and
-comes very near a kind of weasels or martens.
-Out of these six species, pretended to be preserved
-in the cabinet of Seba, four only remain,
-as the ysquiepatl, which he reckoned the fifth,
-is no ant-eater, and the sixth is not even mentioned,
-unless the author meant to comprehend
-among these animals the <i>Pangolin</i> or scaly lizard,
-which he does not intimate in his description
-of that animal. The scaly lizard
-feeds upon ants; he has a long muzzle, a narrow
-mouth, without visible teeth, and the
-tongue round; characteristics which he has in
-common with ant-eaters; but he differs from
-it as well as from all other quadrupeds, by
-having the body covered with thick scales instead
-of hair. Besides, this animal belongs to
-the hottest climates of the old continent, and
-the ant-eaters, whose bodies are covered with
-hair, are found only in the southern parts of
-the new world. There are therefore no more
-than four species instead of six, mentioned by
-Seba, and out of these four there is but one
-species discernible by its description; which
-is our third or smallest ant-eater, to whom
-Seba allows but one claw to each foot, though
-he has two. The three others are so imperfectly
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>
-described, that they cannot be traced to
-their true species. One may judge by this of
-the credit which Seba&rsquo;s voluminous book deserves.
-This animal which he calls <i>tamandua
-murmecophage</i> of America, and the figure of
-which he has given<a name="FNanchor_AD_30" id="FNanchor_AD_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_AD_30" class="fnanchor">[AD]</a>, cannot be compared
-with either of the three we are now treating
-of, it is sufficient to be convinced of his error
-by reading his description. The second
-which he terms <i>tamandua-guacu</i> of Brasil, or
-the <i>bear ant-eater</i>, is described in a vague,
-equivocal manner; yet I am inclined to
-think with Klein and Linn�us, that he meant
-the true tamandua-guacu, or great ant-eater,
-but it is so badly described, and so imperfectly
-represented, that Linn�us has comprehended,
-under one species, the first and second of
-Seba&rsquo;s animals. M. Brisson considered the
-last as a particular species, but I do not believe
-his establishment of this species better founded
-than his criticism on M. Klein, for having confounded
-it with that of the great ant-eater. The
-only just reproach M. Klein has incurred, is
-to have added to the good description he has
-given of this animal, the erroneous indications
-of Seba. In fine, the third of these animals,
-whose figure is given in that work, is so badly
-described, that I cannot persuade myself, notwithstanding
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>
-the respect I have for Linn�us
-and Brisson&rsquo;s authority, this animal from Seba&rsquo;s
-description and figure can be the middle
-ant-eater; I only wish that his description may
-be attended to in order to judge of its fallacy.
-These discussions, although tedious and disagreeable,
-cannot be avoided in the details of a
-Natural History. Before we write upon a subject
-very little known, we must, as much as possible,
-remove all obscurities, and point out the
-numberless errors before we can come to the
-truth. The result of this criticism is a proof
-that three species of ant-eaters really exist,
-namely the <i>tamanoir</i>, the <i>tamandua</i>, and the
-<i>ouatiriouaou</i>, and that the fourth called the
-<i>long-eared ant-eaters</i>, mentioned by M. Brisson,
-is doubtful, as well as the other species
-indicated by Seba. I have seen the first and
-last with their skins, in the king&rsquo;s cabinet;
-and they are certainly very different from
-each other. We have not seen the tamandua,
-but have described it, after Piso and Marcgrave,
-the only authors that ought to be consulted
-upon this animal, as all others have
-only copied them. The tamandua, and the
-small ant-eater have the extremities of their
-tails bare, with which they hang on the
-branches of trees, and when they perceive
-hollows, they put their tongues within, and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>
-draw them instantly back in their mouths,
-to swallow the insects which they have gathered.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_AD_30" id="Footnote_AD_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AD_30"><span class="label">[AD]</span></a> Seba, tom. I, p. 60, tab. 37. fig. 2.</p></div>
-
-<p>These three animals, so different in size and
-proportions of the body, have many things in
-common, both as to conformation and instinct.
-All feed upon ants, and put their tongues into
-honey, and other liquid and viscous substances;
-they gather quickly crumbs of bread
-and small pieces of meat; they are easily
-tamed; they can subsist a long while without
-food; they do not swallow all the liquor
-which they take into their mouths, a part returning
-through their nostrils; they commonly
-sleep in the day-time, and change their station
-in the night; they go so slow that a man
-may overtake them easily whilst running in
-open ground. The savages eat their flesh,
-but which has an unsavoury taste.</p>
-
-<p>The great ant-eater looks, at a distance, like
-a fox, and for that reason some travellers call
-him the American fox; he is strong enough to
-defend himself against a large dog, and even
-the jaguar. When attacked he at first fights
-standing on his hind legs, like the bear, and
-makes use of his fore claws, which are powerful
-weapons; afterwards he lies down on his back,
-and uses all four feet, and in that situation he
-is almost invincible, and fights with obstinacy
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>
-till the last extremity; even after he has put to
-death his adversary he keeps hold of him a
-long while. He maintains the fight longer
-than most animals, from being 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.</p>
-
-<p>The three ant-eaters are natives of the hottest
-climates of America, are found in Brasil,
-Guiana, the country of the Amazons, &amp;c. but
-they are not met with in Canada, or in the
-northern regions of the new world, they consequently
-do not belong to the ancient continent;
-yet Kolbe and Desmarchais have stated
-these animals to live in Africa, but they seem
-to have confounded the scaly lizard with the
-ant-eaters. Perhaps this mistake is in consequence
-of a passage of Marcgrave, who says:
-&ldquo;<i>Tamandua-guacu Brasiliensibus, congensibus
-(ubi et frequens est) umbula dictus</i>;&rdquo; but Marcgrave
-certainly never saw this animal in Africa,
-since he confesses that he had seen only
-his skin in America. Desmarchais only says
-that the great ant-eater is found in Africa as
-well as America, but he adds no circumstance
-to prove this fact. In regard to Kolbe&rsquo;s
-attestation, we reckon it nothing, for a man
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>
-who has seen at the Cape of Good Hope, elks
-and lynxes, like those of Prussia, might also see
-the ant-eaters in the same climate. But they
-are not mentioned by any authors among the
-animals of Asia or Africa, while all the travellers,
-and most of the historians, of America,
-make a particular mention of them. De Lery,
-de La�t, Father d&rsquo;Abbeville, Maff�e, Faber,
-Nieremberg, and M. de la Condamine, agree
-with Piso and Barrere, in declaring that the
-ant-eaters are peculiar to the warm countries
-of America; thus we cannot doubt that Desmarchais
-and Kolbe were mistaken, and that
-these three species of animals do not exist in
-the ancient continents.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>I HAVE received from M. Maudhuit, residing
-at Guiana, an ant-eater in excellent condition,
-which appears to be of the same species
-as those just described, differing somewhat in
-the length of the muzzle and the toes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>M. de la Borde has also transmitted several
-particulars; he says, &ldquo;There are two species
-of ant-eaters which inhabit the woods of
-Guiana, the one larger than the other; they
-run very slow, and when they swim across large
-rivers which is a common practice, it is easy
-to knock them on the head with a stick; but
-in the woods it is necessary to use muskets,
-for the dogs refuse to hunt them. The great
-ant-eater tears up the nests of wood-lice,
-which he easily discovers; he is a dangerous
-animal to encounter, as he gives most severe
-wounds with his claws, with which he
-successfully defends himself against the most
-fierce animal of this continent, such as the
-jaguars, cougars, &amp;c. and with which he also
-kills many dogs, who are therefore afraid of
-him. He is said to feed on ants, for which his
-tongue appeared well calculated, but I found in
-the stomach of one a great number of wood-lice,
-which had just been swallowed. The females
-bring forth in the holes of trees, and
-have one at a time, and at those periods they
-will even attack men. The savages at Cayenne
-eat the flesh, although it is black and unsavory;
-their skins are thick and hard; they do not
-attain their full size before they are four years
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>
-old; and the whole of their respiration is performed
-through their nostrils. The smaller
-one has whitish hair, about two inches long;
-it has no teeth, but its claws are very long;
-this, as well as the former feeds during the
-night; the female also has but one at a time,
-and they perfectly resemble each other, but the
-latter is more scarce to be met with than the
-former.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>This gentleman sent me also the following
-remarks upon our third species. &ldquo;It has
-bright hair, rather of a golden colour; it feeds
-upon ants, which adhere to its tongue; it is
-not bigger than a squirrel, runs very slow, and
-is easily taken; it fixes itself so fast to a stick
-or branch that it may be carried in that manner
-to any distance, and they are frequently
-found thus fixed; these, like the former bring
-forth but one at a time, in the holes of trees,
-and feed also in the night; they are not by
-any means scarce, though it is difficult to distinguish
-them on the trees.&rdquo;</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_LONG_AND_THE_SHORT-TAILED_MANIS" id="THE_LONG_AND_THE_SHORT-TAILED_MANIS">THE LONG AND THE SHORT-TAILED MANIS.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THESE animals are commonly known
-under the name of scaly lizards; we reject this
-denomination; 1st, because it is a compound;
-2dly, because it is ambiguous, and applied to
-both species; 3dly, because it is wrongly
-imagined; these animals being not only of
-another species, but even of a different class,
-than the lizards, which are oviparous reptiles,
-while the pangolin, and the phatagen, as they
-are called in their native countries of the east,
-are viviparous quadrupeds.</p>
-
-<p>All lizards are covered with a sleek speckled
-skin, in representation of scales, but these animals
-have no scales on their throat, breast, or
-belly, the phatagen, or long-tailed manis,
-(<a href="#FIG_126"><i>fig. 126</i></a>) like other quadrupeds, has hair on
-all these under parts of the body; the pangolin,
-or short-tailed manis (<a href="#FIG_125"><i>fig. 125</i></a>) has nothing
-but a smooth skin without hair. The scales
-with which all the other parts of the bodies of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>
-these two animals are covered do not stick to
-the skin, they are only strongly fixed at the
-lower parts, being moveable, like the quills of
-a porcupine, at the will of the animal; they
-raise these scales when exasperated, and when
-particularly so, they roll themselves up like a
-ball, resembling the hedge-hog: these scales are
-so big, so hard, and so sharp, that they repel all
-animals of prey; it is an offensive armour which
-wounds while it resists. The most cruel and
-voracious animals, such as the tiger and the
-panther, make but useless efforts to devour these
-animals, they tread upon, and roll them about,
-but when they attempt to seize them, they receive
-severe wounds; they can neither destroy
-them by violence, nor bruize, or smother them
-with their weight. The fox is averse to attacking
-the hedge-hog when rolled up, but he
-forces him to stretch himself by treading on,
-and squeezing him with all his weight, and as
-soon as his head appears, he seizes the snout,
-and thus secures him as a prey. But of all quadrupeds,
-without even excepting the porcupine,
-the armour of the manis is the strongest and
-most offensive, and which animals, by contracting
-their bodies and presenting their weapons,
-brave the fury of all their enemies.
-When they contract themselves, they do not
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>
-take, like the hedge-hog, a globose figure, but
-form an oblong, their thick and long tail remaining
-outwardly and encircling their bodies;
-this exterior part, by which it would seem these
-animals could be seized, carries its own defence;
-it is covered with scales equally hard
-and sharp as those with which the body is
-cloathed, and as it is convex upwards and flat
-below, nearly in the form of half a pyramid,
-the sides are covered with square scales folding
-in a right angle, as thick and as cutting as the
-others, so that the tail seems to be still more
-strongly armed than the body, the under parts
-of which are unprovided with scales.</p>
-
-<p>The short-tailed manis is larger than the
-long-tailed kind; his fore feet are covered with
-scales, but the feet of the latter, and part of his
-fore legs are clothed with hair only. The
-former has also larger scales, thicker, more convex,
-uniformly cutting, and not so close as those
-of the latter, which are armed with three sharp
-points; he is also hairy upon the belly; the
-other has no hair on that part of his body, but
-between the scales which cover his back, some
-thick and long hair issues like the bristles of a
-hog, which are not on the back of the long-tailed
-species. These are all the essential differences
-which we have observed in the skins of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>
-both these animals, and which distinguish
-them from all other quadrupeds so much, that
-they have been looked upon as a species of
-monsters. From these general and constant
-differences, we dare affirm them to be two animals
-of distinct species. We have discovered
-their analogies and differences, not only by the
-inspection of three of them, which we have
-seen, but also by comparing all which has
-been observed by travellers and naturalists.</p>
-
-<p>The short-tailed manis is from six to eight
-feet in length, his tail included, when he comes
-to his full growth; the tail is nearly as long as
-the body, though it appears shorter when the
-animal is young; the scales are not then so
-large nor so thick, and of a pale colour; the
-colour becomes deeper in the adult, and the
-scales acquire such a hardness, as to resist a
-musket ball. Both these animals have some
-affinity with the great and middle ant-eater, for
-like them they feed on ants, have very long
-tongues, narrow mouths, without apparent
-teeth; their bodies and tails are also very long,
-and the claws of their feet very near of the same
-length and the same form, but they have five
-toes on each foot, while the great and middle
-ant-eaters have but four to their fore feet; these
-are covered with hair, the others are armed
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>
-with scales; and besides they are not natives of
-the same continent. The ant-eaters are found
-in America, and both the species of the manis
-belong to the East Indies and Africa, where
-the negroes call them <i>quogelo</i>; they eat their
-flesh, which they reckon a delicate wholesome
-food, and use their scales for different purposes.
-They have nothing forbidding but their figure;
-they are gentle and innocent, feeding upon insects
-only; they never run fast, and cannot escape
-the pursuit of men, except by hiding
-themselves in hollow rocks, or in holes, which
-they dig themselves, and in which they breed.
-They are two extraordinary species, not numerous,
-and seemingly useless: their odd form
-seems to exist as an intermediate class betwixt
-the quadrupeds and reptiles.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_ARMADILLO" id="THE_ARMADILLO">THE ARMADILLO.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>WHEN we speak of a quadruped, the very
-name seems to carry the idea of an animal covered
-with hair; as when we mention a bird,
-or fish, feathers and scales present themselves
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>
-to our imagination, and seem to be inseparable
-attributes of those beings: yet Nature, as if
-willing to deviate from this characteristic uniformity,
-and to elude our views, offers herself,
-contrary to our general ideas, and in contradiction
-to our denominations and characters,
-and amazes more by her exceptions than by
-her laws. Quadrupeds, 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 neither superior in every thing,
-nor separated by constant attributes from all
-other animals. The first of those characters
-which constitutes their name, and which consists
-in having four feet, is common to lizards, frogs,
-&amp;c. which differ, however, from quadrupeds
-in so many other respects, as to make them be
-considered as a separate class. The second
-general property, to produce young alive, is
-not peculiar to quadrupeds, since it is also
-common with cetaceous animals. And the
-third attribute, which seems the less equivocal,
-as it is the most apparent, that of being covered
-with hair, exists not in several species
-which cannot be excluded from the class of
-quadrupeds, since this single characteristic excepted,
-they are like them in all other respects:
-and, as these exceptions of nature are but gradations
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>
-calculated to join in a general chain,
-the links of the most distant beings, we should
-seize these singular relations as they offer
-themselves to our view. The armadillos, instead
-of hair, are covered, like turtles, craw-fish,
-&amp;c. with a solid crust. The manis is
-armed with scales like fish; the porcupine
-carries a sort of prickly feathers, the quill of
-which is like that of the birds. Thus in the
-class of quadrupeds, and in the most constant
-characteristic of these animals, that of being
-covered with hairs, Nature varies in bringing
-them near the three different classes of birds,
-fishes, and the crustaceous kinds. We must
-be cautious then in judging of the nature of
-beings by one single character, as that would
-always lead us into error; even two or three
-characters, though general, are often insufficient,
-and it is only, as we have often repeated,
-by the union of all the attributes, and by enumerating
-all the characters, that we can judge
-of the essential qualities of the productions of
-nature. A good description without definitions,
-an exposition more exact on the differences
-than the analogies, a particular attention
-to exceptions and almost imperceptible
-gradations, are the true rules, and I dare assert,
-the only means of estimating nature. If
-the time lost in forming definitions had been
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>
-employed in making good descriptions, we
-should not at this day have found Natural
-History in its infancy; we should have had
-less trouble in taking off her bawbles, disentangling
-her from her swaddling clothes, and,
-perhaps, have anticipated her slow discoveries,
-for we should have written more for science;
-and less against error.</p>
-
-<p>But to return to our subject; it appears
-then that there exists several species of animals
-which are not covered with hair among the
-viviparous quadrupeds. Armadillos form alone
-a whole genus, in which may be reckoned
-many distinct species, all of whom are, however,
-covered with a crust, resembling bone;
-it covers the head, neck, back, flanks, rump,
-and the tail, to the very extremity. The crust
-is covered with a thin skin, sleek and transparent:
-the only parts that are not sheltered by
-this buckler are the throat, breast, and belly,
-which have a white grainy skin, like that of a
-plucked fowl, by inspecting these parts with
-attention, we perceive the rudiments of scales
-of the same substance as the crust; the skin of
-these animals, even in the places where it is
-most soft, is therefore inclined to become
-bony, but the ossification is only realized
-on the superior and external parts of the body.
-This crust is not in one piece, like that of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>
-turtle, but consists of several bands, joined to
-each other by membranes, which allow this
-armour a degree of motion. The number of
-these bands does not depend, as might be
-imagined, on the age of the animal. The
-young armadillos, and the adults, have the same
-number of stripes, of which we have been convinced
-by comparing them; and though we
-cannot be certain that all these animals do not
-intermix and produce promiscuously, yet it is
-very probable, that since the difference in the
-number of these moveable bands is constant,
-they are really distinct species, or at least
-lasting varieties, produced by the influence of
-various climates. In this uncertainty, which
-time alone can remove, we have thought proper
-to mention all the armadillos under one head,
-enumerating each of them as if they were, in
-fact, so many different species.</p>
-
-<p>Father d&rsquo;Abbeville seems to be the first who
-has distinguished them by different names or
-epithets, and which have been, for the most
-part, adopted by the authors who have written
-after him. He has clearly indicated six species
-of them: first, <i>tatououasso</i>, or, as we call it,
-twelve-banded armadillo; 2. the <i>tatouette</i>, or
-eight-banded; 3. the <i>encuberto</i> of Marcgrave,
-or six-banded; 4. the <i>tatua-apara</i>, or three-banded;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>
-5. the <i>cinquin�on</i>, or eighteen-banded;
-6. <i>cachichame</i>, or nineteen-banded. Other
-travellers have confounded the species; but
-we have borrowed only the description of the
-<i>apar</i> and the <i>cinquin�on</i>, having seen the other
-four.</p>
-
-<p>All, except the <i>cinquin�on</i> have two long
-bucklers, one at the shoulders, and another
-on the rump; they each consist of one solid
-piece; but the cuirass, which is also bony, and
-covers the body, is transversely divided, and
-parted into more or less moveable bands, separated
-from each other by a flexible skin. But
-the <i>cinquin�on</i> has but one buckler, and that
-on his shoulder, the rump being covered with
-moveable bands, like those of the cuirass of the
-body. But we shall now proceed to a description
-of them particularly.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_THREE-BANDED_ARMADILLO" id="THE_THREE-BANDED_ARMADILLO">THE THREE-BANDED ARMADILLO.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE first author who described this animal
-was Clusius, and though his description was
-from a drawing only, it is evidently the same
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>
-species which Marcgrave calls the <i>tatua-apara</i>;
-from its three moveable stripes,
-and its short tail; he has an oblong head, almost
-pyramidal; the snout sharp, small eyes,
-short round ears, and the upper part of the
-head covered with a helmet of one piece; he
-has five claws to each foot; the two middle
-claws of the fore feet are very long, and the
-two lateral shorter; the fifth, which projects,
-is the least. In the hind feet they are shorter
-and more even. The tail is but two inches in
-length, and is entirely covered with a crust;
-the body is a foot long, and above eight inches
-in its largest breadth. The cuirass, which
-covers it, is divided into four parts, and composed
-of three moveable transverse bands,
-which give the animal liberty to bend and
-contract his body in a round form; the skin
-between the stripes is very supple. The bucklers
-which cover the shoulders and rump are
-composed of five pieces, equally disposed in
-five angles; the three moveable bands betwixt
-these two bucklers consist of square pieces, ornamented
-with little scales of a straw colour.
-Marcgrave adds, that when he lies down to
-sleep, or any person touches him, he brings
-his fore feet together, lays his head under his
-belly, and bends himself so perfectly round
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>
-that he looks more like a sea-shell than a terrestrial
-animal. This contraction is made
-with the assistance of two great muscles on the
-sides of his body, and the strongest man finds
-it difficult to force him with his hands to
-stretch out. Piso, and Ray, have added
-nothing to the description of Marcgrave, but
-it is singular that Seba, who has given us a
-description and figure of this animal evidently
-copied after Marcgrave, not only not mentions
-that author, but tells us, &ldquo;that no naturalist
-has known this animal, that it is extremely
-scarce, and found in the most remote countries
-of the East Indies,&rdquo; when in fact this animal
-is well described by Marcgrave, and the species
-is well known, not indeed in the East Indies,
-but in America, where it is very common.
-The only real difference between the
-description of Seba, and that of Marcgrave is,
-that the latter gives the animal five claws to
-each foot, and Seba allows him but four, and
-yet they evidently speak of the same animal.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>Fabius Calumna has given the description
-and figure of an armadillo contracted into a
-ball, which seems to have had four moveable
-bands, but as this author was absolutely unacquainted
-with the animal, whose skin or
-shell he has described, as he did not even
-know the name of the armadillo, though mentioned
-by Bellon fifty years before, but gave
-him a Greek name, (<i>cheloniscus</i>); besides, as
-he confesses, that the skin had been pasted
-together, and wanted several pieces, we do
-not see ourselves authorised to pronounce, as
-our modern nomenclators have done, that a
-species of armadillo, with four moveable bands,
-exists in Nature; and more especially since
-these imperfect indications given in 1606, by
-Fabius Calumna, no mention is made of it in
-the works of any naturalists; and, if he really
-did exist, he certainly would have been introduced
-into some cabinets, or have been observed
-by some travellers.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 384px;">
-<a id="FIG_127"></a><img src="images/fig_127.png" width="384" height="286" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 127. <i>Six Banded Armadillo.</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 380px;">
-<a id="FIG_128"></a><img src="images/fig_128.png" width="380" height="288" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 128. <i>Long-tailed Armadillo.</i></span>
-</div>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_SIX_BANDED" id="THE_SIX_BANDED">THE SIX BANDED.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>THIS species (<i>fig.</i> 127) is larger than the
-former; he has the upper part of the head,
-neck, body, legs, and tail, covered with a very
-hard crust, composed of several large pieces,
-elegantly disposed. He has a buckler on each
-shoulder, and another on the rump, each of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>
-which are in one piece; only there is beyond
-the buckler on the shoulders, and near the head
-a moveable band, which enables the animal to
-bend its neck. The buckler on the shoulders
-is formed by five parallel rows, composed of
-pieces which represent five angles, with an
-oval in each; the cuirass on the back, that is
-the part betwixt the two bucklers, is divided
-into six bands, which are united together and
-to the bucklers, by seven joints of a supple and
-thick skin. These bands are composed of
-large square pieces; from the skin of these
-joints some white hairs issue out, like those on
-the breast and belly; all these inferior parts are
-covered only by a grainy skin, and not by a
-crustaceous substance like the upper. The
-buckler on the rump has a border, the mosaic
-work of which is similar to that of the moveable
-bands, and the rest consists of pieces like
-those of the bucklers of the shoulders. The
-crust of the head is long, broad, and consists of
-one piece, extending to the moveable band on
-the neck. He has a sharp muzzle, small and
-hollow eyes, a narrow and sharp tongue; the
-ears are without hair, naked, short, and brown,
-like the skin of the joints; he has eighteen teeth
-in each jaw, five claws to each foot, long, in a
-round form, and rather narrow; the head and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>
-the snout are like those of a pig, the tail is
-thick at its origin, diminishing gradually towards
-the extremity, where it is very slender
-and round. The colour of the body is a reddish
-yellow; the animal is commonly thick
-and fat, and the male has the sexual organ
-very visible; he digs into the ground with
-great facility with his snout and claws; he
-dwells in the day-time underground, and only
-goes out towards the evening to seek for food;
-he drinks often, lives upon fruit, roots, insects,
-and birds, when he can catch them.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_EIGHT_BANDED" id="THE_EIGHT_BANDED">THE EIGHT BANDED.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THIS is not so large as the last, he has a
-small head, a sharp snout, the ears erect, and
-rather long, the tail still longer, and the legs
-rather short. He has small black eyes, four
-toes on the fore-feet, and five on those behind;
-the head is covered with a helmet, the shoulders
-and rump with shields, and the body
-with a cuirass composed of eight moveable
-bands connected together, and with the bucklers,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>
-by nine joints of a flexible skin; the tail has
-also a similar number of bands. The colour
-of the cuirass on the back is iron grey, and on
-the flanks and tail of a light grey with spots
-of iron grey. The belly is covered with a
-whitish skin, grainy and hairy. The individual
-of this species, described by Marcgrave,
-had a head three inches long, the ears near
-two, the legs about three, the two middle toes
-of the fore-feet an inch; the body from the
-neck to the origin of the tail seven inches, and
-the tail nine inches in length; the bucklers
-had small white spots; the moveable bands
-were marked by triangular figures; this crust
-was not hard, being penetrable to the smallest
-shot which would kill the animal, whose flesh
-is very white, and good to eat.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_NINE_BANDED" id="THE_NINE_BANDED">THE NINE BANDED.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>NIEREMBERG has described this animal
-very imperfectly: Wormius and Grew have
-described him much better. The individual
-which Wormius mentioned was adult, and one of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>
-the largest of the species; that of Grew was
-younger and smaller. We shall only give their
-descriptions as far as they agree with our own
-specimens. Besides, it may be presumed, that
-this nine-striped armadillo is not really a
-distinct species from the eight, which he resembles
-in every other respect. We have two
-eight-banded armadillos which are dried, and
-seem to be both males; we have seven or
-eight with nine bands, one well preserved,
-which is a female, and the others are so dried
-up that we could not discern the sex. It is
-probable, therefore, that the eight-banded is
-the male and the nine-banded the female.
-But this is merely a conjecture for we shall give
-in the following article the description of two
-armadillos, one of which has more rows than
-the other upon the buckler on the rump, and
-yet they are so alike in every other respect,
-that one should be inclined to think this
-difference arises only from that of the sex,
-for it is not improbable, that greater numbers
-of these moveable bands may be necessary
-to facilitate the gestation and delivery of
-the female. The head of the armadillo, the
-skin of which Wormius has described, was
-five inches from the end of the snout to the
-ears, and eighteen inches from the ears to the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>
-tail, which last was a foot in length, and composed
-of twelve rings. The head of that described
-by Grew was three inches, the body
-seven and a half, and the tail eleven; the proportions
-of the head and body agree, but the
-difference of the tail is too great; and it is probable
-that the tail of that described by Wormius
-had been broken, for it should have exceeded
-a foot in length. As in this species the
-tail diminishes to the size of an awl, and is, at
-the same time, very brittle; few of the skins
-therefore have the whole tail preserved as that
-described by Grew.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_TWELVE_BANDED" id="THE_TWELVE_BANDED">THE TWELVE BANDED.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THIS seems to be the largest of the species.
-He has a larger and broader head, and a snout
-not so sharp as the others; his legs and feet
-are thicker, and his tail has not any crust; a
-particularity which is alone sufficient to distinguish
-this species from all others. He has
-five toes on each foot, and twelve moveable
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>
-bands. The buckler on the shoulders is formed
-of five or six rows, each composed of large
-quadrangular pieces. The moveable bands
-are also formed of large pieces, almost square;
-those which compose the buckler on the rump
-are like those on the shoulder. The helmet of
-the head consists of large irregular pieces.
-Between the joints of the moveable bands and
-in the other parts of the armour, there appear
-some hairs like the bristles of a hog; there are
-also upon his breast, belly, legs, and tail, round
-scales, almost imperceptible, hard and polished
-like the crust, and between which are small
-tufts of hair. The pieces which compose the
-helmet, the two bucklers, and the cuirass,
-being proportionally larger and less in number
-in this than in other armadillos, evidently
-prove he is the largest of the kind. The
-head of that from which we took this description
-was seven inches long, and the body
-twenty-one.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_EIGHTEEN_BANDED" id="THE_EIGHTEEN_BANDED">THE EIGHTEEN BANDED.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>MR. GREW first described this animal from
-a skin preserved in the cabinet of the Royal
-Society in London. All the other armadillos
-have two bucklers, one on the shoulders, and
-the other on the rump, but this has but one,
-which is upon his shoulders. He is called the
-weasel armadillo, because his head is nearly
-of the same form as a weasel. From the description
-of this animal given by Grew, it appears,
-that his body is about ten inches in
-length, his head three, and his tail five; the
-legs two or three inches in height; the forehead
-large and flat, small eyes, and the ears an
-inch long, he has five toes on each foot, the
-three in the middle being the largest. The armour
-of the head and legs is composed of
-round scales, about a quarter of an inch diameter,
-that on the neck consisted of
-one piece, as did the buckler on the
-shoulders composed of several rows of
-scales like those of the armour; these rows
-on the buckler, in this species, as in all others
-are continuous, and join by a symphysis.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>
-The rest of the body, from the buckler on the
-shoulders to the tail, is covered with moveable
-bands, parted from each other by a supple
-membrane: these bands are eighteen in number;
-those nearest the shoulders are the largest,
-and are composed of small squares. The posterior
-are intermixed with round and square
-pieces, and the extremity of the armour near
-the tail is of a parabolic figure. The first half
-of the tail is encircled with six rings, composed
-of small square pieces, and the lower part
-is covered with irregular scales. The breast,
-belly, and ears, are naked, as in the other species.
-It should seem that, of all armadillos,
-this has the most facility to contract and roll
-himself up in a ball, by his moveable bands
-which extend to the tail.</p>
-
-<p>Linn�us who must have seen the descriptions
-of Grew and Ray, who both agree with
-that we have given, has indicated this animal
-with one band only, instead of eighteen:
-founded on an evident mistake, by having
-taken the <i>tatu seu armadillo Africanus</i> of Seba
-for the <i>tatu mustelinas</i> of Grew, which even
-according to the descriptions of these two authors,
-are very different from each other. It
-is doubtful whether the tatou of Seba exists, at
-least as he has described him, but the animal
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>
-given in Grew&rsquo;s description is a real existing
-species.</p>
-
-<p>All the armadillos come originally from
-America; they were unknown before the discovery
-of the New World. The ancients
-never mentioned them, and modern travellers
-all agree, that these animals are natives of
-Mexico, Brasil, Guiana, &amp;c. and no one
-pretends to have seen this species in Asia or
-Africa. Some have, indeed, confounded the
-scaly lizards of the East Indies with the armadillos
-of America. Others thought they existed
-on the western coasts of Africa, because
-they have sometimes been transported from
-Brasil into Guinea. Bellon, who wrote above
-two centuries ago, and is one of the first who
-has given a short description, with the figure
-of a tatou, from a skin which he had seen in
-Turkey, says, that it came from the new continent.
-Oviedo, De Lery, Gomara, Thevet,
-Ant, Herrera, Father d&rsquo;Abbeville, Fran�ois,
-Ximenes, Staddenius, Monard, Joseph Acosta,
-De La�t, and all the more recent authors
-mention these animals as natives of the southern
-countries of America. Piso is the only
-one who has pretended, without any authority,
-that the armadillos were found in the
-East Indies, as well as in America; and it is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>
-probable, that he has confounded the scaly
-lizards with the armadillos, especially as they
-have been so called by the Spaniards; this
-error has been adopted by nomenclators, and
-those who have given descriptions of cabinets;
-who have not only admitted the existence of
-armadillos in the East Indies, but even in
-Africa, though none were ever in those two
-parts of the world, except such as have been
-transported from America.</p>
-
-<p>The climate of these animals is not therefore,
-equivocal; but it is more difficult to determine
-the relative bulk of each species. For
-this purpose we have compared great numbers
-which are preserved in the king&rsquo;s cabinet
-and those of others. We have also compared
-the descriptions of all authors with
-those of our own, without being able to ascertain
-the fact. It appears that the twelve and
-six banded are the largest, and that the three,
-eight, nine, and eighteen banded are the
-smallest. In the larger species the crustaceous
-substance is harder and more solid; the
-pieces which compose it are larger, and in a
-smaller number; the moveable bands encroach,
-less one upon the other; the flesh, as well as the
-skin, is harder, and not so savory. Piso says,
-that the flesh of the six banded is not eatable;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>
-and Nieremberg affirms, that it is unwholesome
-and pernicious. Barrere says, that
-the twelve banded has a strong smell of musk;
-and all authors agree in praising the flesh of
-the three banded, and particularly that of the
-eight, which is as white, and equally good as
-the flesh of a pig. They say also, that the
-small species dwell in marshy and low
-grounds, and that those of the large species
-are found on dry and high lands only.</p>
-
-<p>These animals can all contract their bodies
-into a round form, with more or less facility.
-When they are contracted the defects of
-their armour is most visible in those who
-have it composed of the smallest number of
-pieces; the three banded then shews two large
-voids betwixt the bucklers and the armour
-on the back. None of them can roll themselves
-up in a ball so exact as that formed by
-the hedge-hog; when so contracted they represent
-the figure of a globe flattened at the
-two ends.</p>
-
-<p>This singular crust, which covers them, is a
-bone composed of small contiguous pieces, and
-being neither moveable nor jointed, except at
-the partitions of the bands, are united by a
-symphysis, and may all be separated from each
-other if put on the fire. When the animal is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>
-alive these small pieces, both of the bucklers
-and the moveable bands yield to his motions,
-especially when he contracts himself, otherwise
-he could not possibly roll himself up.
-These pieces in different species are of different
-figures always as regularly disposed as an
-elegantly contrived mosaic work. The pellicle
-which covers the crust is a transparent
-skin, and has the effect of a varnish on the
-whole body; this skin, when taken off,
-changes the relievo of this natural mosaic, and
-gives it a different appearance. This crustaceous
-covering is only a surface independent
-of the interior parts of the animal&rsquo;s body, his
-bones, and other organs, being composed like
-those of other quadrupeds.</p>
-
-<p>The armadillos, in general, are innocent,
-harmless animals, unless they can penetrate
-into gardens, where they will eat the melons,
-potatoes, pulse, and roots. Though they originally
-belong to the hot climates of America,
-they live in temperate regions. I once saw
-one in Languedoc, which was fed in the house,
-and went about every where without doing
-any mischief. They walk quickly, but they
-can neither leap, run, nor climb up trees, so
-that they cannot escape those who pursue
-them; they have no resource but to hide themselves
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>
-in their holes, or if at too great a distance
-from their habitations, to endeavour to
-dig one before they are overtaken, for which
-they want but a few instants, the mole itself
-not being more expert in digging the ground.
-Sometimes before they can get quite concealed
-they are caught by the tail, and when they
-make such a strong resistance that the tail is
-often broke without bringing out the body; in
-order to take them without mutilation the
-burrow must be opened, when they are taken
-without any resistance; when caught they roll
-themselves up into a ball, and will not extend
-again unless they are placed near the fire.
-Hard as their coat of mail is, the animal, on
-being lightly touched with the finger, receives
-so quick an impression that he contracts instantaneously.
-When in deep burrows they are
-forced out by smoking them, or letting water
-run down the holes. It is said that they remain
-under ground above three months in
-the year; be that as it may, it is certain that
-they never come out of their holes but in the
-night, when they seek for food. The armadillo
-is hunted with small dogs, by whom he
-is soon overtaken; but before they have
-reached him he contracts himself, in which
-condition he is seized, and carried off. If
-near the brink of a precipice, he escapes
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>
-both dogs and hunters, for contracting he
-rolls himself down like a ball, without hurt or
-prejudice to his coat of mail.</p>
-
-<p>These animals are fat, and very prolific:
-the male has exterior signs of great generative
-faculties; the female brings forth, as it is said,
-every four months, of course their species are
-very numerous. As they are good to eat they
-are hunted in different manners; they are
-easily taken with snares laid for them on the
-banks of rivers, and in marshy grounds, which
-they inhabit by preference. They never go to
-any great distance from their burrows, which
-are very deep, and which they endeavour to
-reach whenever they are alarmed. It is pretended
-they are not afraid of the bite of the
-rattle snake, though it is as dangerous as that
-of the viper; nay, it is asserted, that they live
-in peace with these reptiles, which are often
-found in their holes. The savages make different
-uses of their crusts; they paint them
-with divers colours, and make baskets, boxes,
-and other small vessels, of them. Monard,
-Ximenes, and many other writers, have attributed
-great medicinal properties to different
-parts of these animals; they assure us that the
-crustaceous covering, reduced into powder,
-and taken inwardly, even in a small quantity,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>
-is a powerful sudorific; and that the bone of
-the hip, pulverised, cures the venereal disease;
-that the first bone of the tail, applied to the
-ear, cures deafness, &amp;c. We give no credit
-to these extraordinary properties; the crust
-and bones of the armadillos being of the same
-nature as the bones of other animals. Such
-marvellous effects are never produced but by
-imaginary virtues.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>I RECEIVED the drawing of a six-banded
-armadillo, taken from life, from M. de S�ve,
-and with it a description; in which, after stating
-that it corresponds pretty much with that
-we have given, observes, that the rows on the
-bucklers, and their pieces, vary in form and
-number: this animal was fourteen inches long,
-independent of the tail, which he supposed to
-be about six inches, as part of it was broken
-off; his head was rather more than three inches
-long, and his ears a little above one; on the
-broadest part of the body the crust measured
-six inches seven lines; the fore legs were two
-inches long, and his hind ones three.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>M. de la Borde says, there are two species
-of Armadillos at Guiana, the largest black and
-the other a greyish brown; the former are so
-prolific as sometimes to bring forth eight or
-ten at a litter: they reside in very deep holes,
-and when any attempts are made to take them
-by digging, they penetrate further in the earth,
-and almost perpendicularly; they only quit
-their holes in the night, and then for the purpose
-of seeking for food, which commonly consists
-of worms, ants, and wood-lice; their flesh
-is of an excellent flavour, and resembles that
-of a pig. The small one has not more than
-four or five young at a time, and they are more
-hard to be taken; these sometimes come out
-of their holes in the day, but never when it
-rains. The hunters know when they are in
-their holes by the number of flies which hover
-round: and when they begin to dig the animal
-digs also, and by throwing the earth behind,
-so effectually closes up the holes that smoke
-cannot penetrate to them. I conceive the first
-of these animals to be that we have mentioned,
-as the twelve-banded, and the other the eight-banded
-armadillos.</p>
-
-<p>Dr. W. Watson has given a description of
-an armadillo with nine bands, and a long tail,
-(<a href="#FIG_128"><i>fig. 128</i></a>) in the Philosophical Transactions,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>
-where he says, This animal was brought from
-America, and kept alive in the house of Lord
-Southwell; but the drawing was not taken till
-after its death; he weighed seven pounds, and
-was not bigger than a common-sized cat;
-while in possession of Lord Southwell it grew
-considerably; it was fed with flesh and milk,
-but would not eat grain or fruits. Those by
-whom it was brought from America asserted,
-that it dug a hole for itself in the earth in
-which it lived.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 378px;">
-<a id="FIG_129"></a><a id="FIG_132"></a>
-<img src="images/fig_129-132.png" width="378" height="296" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 129. <i>Paca.</i><br />
-FIG. 132. <i>Marine Opossum.</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 380px;">
-<a id="FIG_130"></a><a id="FIG_131"></a>
-<img src="images/fig_130-131.png" width="380" height="292" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 130-131. <i>Virginian Opossum Male and Female.</i></span>
-</div>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_PACA" id="THE_PACA">THE PACA.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE paca (<a href="#FIG_129"><i>fig. 129</i></a>) is an animal of the
-new world, which digs itself a borough like a
-rabbit, to whom he has often been compared,
-though there is scarce any likeness between
-them; he is much larger than the rabbit, or
-even the hare; his body is bigger and more
-compact; he has a round head and short
-snout; he is fat and bulky, and is more like a
-pig in form, grunting, waddling, and manner
-of eating, for he does not use, like the rabbit,
-his fore feet to carry food to his mouth, but
-grubs up the earth like the hog to find subsistence.
-They inhabit the banks of rivers,
-and are found only in the damp and warm
-places of South America: their flesh is very
-good to eat, and excessively fat; their skin is
-eaten like that of a pig. For these reasons a
-perpetual war is 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. Their skins, though covered
-with short and rough hair, make a fine fur
-because it is regularly spotted on the sides.
-These animals bring forth very often, and in
-abundance: men, and animals of prey, destroy
-great numbers of them, and yet the species remains
-undiminished in numbers; he is peculiar
-to South America, and is found no where
-in the old continent.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>OUR former description of the Paca was
-taken from a young one which had not nearly
-come to its full growth. Since then I have
-had one sent me, which was much bigger even
-when he arrived, and continued to grow while
-I kept him, namely from August 1774, to
-May 28, 1775. From the Sieur Tr�court I
-received an account of his natural habits, in
-which that gentleman says: &ldquo;This animal remains
-perfectly quiet in the day, if he is provided
-with a wooden cage, or box, and has
-plenty of provisions, to which he readily retires
-of himself while the day continues, but
-as soon as night comes on he becomes in a perpetual
-agitation to get out, and will even use
-violent efforts to effect that purpose if he is
-fastened in; this he never attempts during the
-day, unless pressed to make some natural evacuation,
-in which case he always gets to the
-furthest corner, having an aversion to any kind
-of dirt in the place he lives in; even his straw
-he pushes out with his nose when it begins to
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>
-smell, and will seek about for rags, or paper,
-to supply its place. He had no particular attachment
-to his box, for he would often forsake
-it for some obscure corner, and when once
-his bed was made, he could only be made to
-leave his new habitation by force. This animal,
-which was a female, gave a strong proof
-of her propensity to cleanliness, for a large
-male rabbit being put with her when she was
-in season, she received him with a degree of
-fondness, and something was expected from
-them; she would lick his nose, ears, and body,
-and even suffer him to take away the greatest
-part of her food; but upon voiding his excrement,
-in their common apartment, she immediately
-took an aversion to him, and retired to
-the bottom of an old press, making herself a
-bed with paper and rags, nor would she return
-to her house again, until she perceived it was
-cleared of the dirt and her filthy companion.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>The Paca very easily becomes domesticated,
-and is very gentle and tractable, unless when
-much irritated. He is very fond of being noticed,
-and will lick the hands of those who
-caress him; he very readily distinguishes the
-voices of those who take care of him, and when
-stroked on the back, he will lie down on his
-belly, stretch himself out, and, with a gentle
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>
-cry, express his gratitude for the favour, and
-seem to ask a continuance; but if laid hold of
-in a rough manner, he will struggle violently
-to escape. His muscles are very strong, yet
-his feeling is so delicate that the slightest touch
-on the skin will excite in him the most sensible
-emotions; and which sensibility, though
-commonly producing good humour, will sometimes,
-by irritation, or presenting an offensive
-object, put him in the most violent passion.
-A strange dog invariably produces the latter
-effect; and he has been observed, when shut
-in his cage, to make violent efforts to get out
-upon the appearance of one. It was at first
-thought he had no desire to come out but
-upon natural occasions; but one day, when
-he was at liberty, he flew out upon a poor
-dog, and bit him very severely; but in a few
-days after he became perfectly familiar with
-the same dog. He will also fly at strangers,
-if they plague him, but he never offers to bite
-those by whom he is taken care of. He has
-a dislike to children, and will run after them;
-and when in a passion he makes a kind of
-grunting, and at the same time a chattering
-with his teeth. He very frequently sits for a
-considerable time together on his posteriors,
-and has a common practice of appearing to
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>
-comb his head and whiskers with his paws,
-which he repeatedly licks with his tongue.
-When thus employed, he scratches all parts
-of his body which he can reach with his fore
-paws, and afterwards the remainder with his
-hind ones. He is, however, a gross animal;
-he does not appear delicate; his coat is not
-smooth; he is far from active, but moves heavily
-and somewhat like a hog; whom he also
-resembles by the whiteness and thickness of
-his skin; he seldom attempts to run, and
-when he does, it is very aukwardly.</p>
-
-<p>This animal, though not full grown, measured
-more than eighteen inches from the
-point of his nose to the extremity of his body,
-and he could stretch himself out to near two
-feet, while the one which I formerly described
-was not more than seven inches five lines, and
-this difference was evidently to be attributed
-to their ages, as in all other respects they were
-perfectly similar.</p>
-
-<p>This animal measured about seven inches
-high before, and nine and a half behind, by
-which his head always appeared lower than his
-hind parts: his head is five inches long, and
-rather convex; he has large brown eyes, two
-inches asunder, short round ears, covered with
-a fine down, a broad black nose, divided like
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span>
-that of a hare, very large nostrils, and in
-which he has great strength; the upper jaw
-comes out above an inch beyond the lower;
-he has a fold along them that may at first
-sight be taken for the mouth, but which is
-scarcely perceptible unless it is open; he has
-two large yellow teeth in each jaw, with
-which he can cut through wood, and I have
-known him make a hole in a plank in a single
-night through which he could put his head;
-but, although several times attempted, he
-would never permit us to count his grinders;
-he has a thick rough tongue, and whiskers on
-each side his nose, consisting of black and
-white hairs; he has five toes on each foot,
-and long claws on them, of a flesh colour;
-and his tail is merely a kind of button, does
-not exceed five lines in length, and requires a
-close inspection to discover it.</p>
-
-<p>The paca, when domesticated, will eat any
-thing that is given him, and if fed with bread
-he seems to have an equal relish for it, whether
-soaked in water, wine, or vinegar; he is
-extremely fond of sugar and fruits, and will
-leap about for joy when they are given him;
-he seems to have the same relish for grapes,
-celery, onions, or garlic; he will also eat
-grass, moss, the bark of trees, or even wood;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>
-he drinks like a dog; his urine has a disagreeable
-smell, and his excrements are like those
-of the rabbit.</p>
-
-<p>As there can be little doubt but these animals
-would produce in the climates of France;
-as they are easily tamed, and their flesh is excellent
-food, they might be rendered an advantageous
-acquisition, especially as one individual
-would be equal to seven or eight rabbits,
-and their flesh not inferior.</p>
-
-<p>M. de la Borde agrees with most of the foregoing
-particulars, and says also that the paca
-generally has his hole on the banks of rivers,
-and that he so forms it as to have three ways
-to enter or retreat; that when disturbed he
-takes to the water, and endeavours to effectuate
-his escape by diving frequently, and that he
-makes a stout defence when attacked by dogs.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_OPOSSUM" id="THE_OPOSSUM">THE OPOSSUM.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE opossum is an animal of America,
-which is easily distinguished from all others by
-two singular characters; first, the female has
-under the belly a large cavity where she receives
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>
-and suckles her young; secondly, both
-male and female have no claws on the great
-toes of the hind feet, which is separated from
-the others, as the thumb on the human hand,
-whilst all the other toes are armed with
-crooked claws, like the feet of other quadrupeds.
-The first of these characters has been
-observed by most travellers and naturalists,
-but the second had escaped their observation.
-Edward Tyson, an English physician, seems
-to be the first who made this remark; and he
-only has given a good description of the female
-in a treatise printed in London in 1698,
-under the title of The Anatomy of an Opossum.
-Some years after, W. Cooper, a celebrated
-English anatomist, communicated to
-Tyson the observations which he had made
-Upon the male. Other authors, and especially
-the nomenclators, who have multiplied
-beings without necessity, have here fallen into
-numerous errors respecting this animal.</p>
-
-<p>Our opossum, described by Tyson, is the
-same animal as the oriental philandre of
-Seba, since of all the animals which Seba
-has described, and to which he gave
-the name of philandre, opossum, or carigueya,
-this is the only one who has a
-bag under the belly, and thumbs without
-claws behind. This animal is a native
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>
-of the warm climates of the new world; for the
-two we have in the king&rsquo;s cabinet came from
-America. That which Tyson had, was sent
-him from Virginia. M. de Chanvallon, correspondent
-of the Academy of Sciences in Martinico,
-who has given us a young opossum,
-acknowledged the two others to be true opossums
-of America. All the travellers agree,
-that this animal is found in Brasil, New Spain,
-Virginia, and the Antilles; and none mention
-having seen it in the East Indies; thus Seba
-was mistaken in calling it the oriental philandre.
-He says, his philandre was sent him
-from Amboyna, under the name of coes-coes,
-with other curiosities, but he confesses, at the
-same time, that it had been transported from
-some other remote countries to Amboyna.
-This should be sufficient to shew, that the
-denomination of oriental philandre was
-improper; for it is possible that travellers
-have transported this animal from America
-to the East Indies, but nothing proves that
-he is a native of Amboyna; and even the passage
-of Seba, which we have quoted, seems
-to indicate the contrary. The cause of this
-error and even of the name <i>coes-coes</i>, is found
-in Piso, who says, that in the East Indies, and
-only in the island of Amboyna, is found an
-animal very much like the opossum of Brasil
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>
-to whom the natives give the name of <i>cous-cous</i>.
-Piso quotes no authority for this assertion. It
-would be strange, if it was true, as Piso affirms,
-that this animal is only found in Amboyna,
-while Seba, on the contrary, says, that the
-opossum sent him from Amboyna, was not a
-native of that island, but had been brought
-there from more distant countries; though he
-was ignorant of the native country of his philandre,
-he nevertheless gave him the epithet
-of oriental, though he is certainly the same
-animal as that of the West Indies; the proof
-of it will clearly appear by comparing the
-figure he has given with Nature. But another
-error of this author is, that while he
-gives to the opossum of America the name of
-great oriental philandre he presents us another
-animal, which he thinks a different one, under
-the name of the philandre of America; and
-which according to his own description, differs
-only from the former by being smaller, and
-having the spots above the eyes of a deeper
-brown colour; which differences are merely
-accidental, and too inconsiderable to constitute
-two different species, for he does not mention
-another difference more essential, if it existed,
-that Seba&rsquo;s philandre of America has sharp
-claws on the hind toes of the hind feet, while
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>
-his oriental philandre has no claws upon his two
-thumbs. It is certain, that our opossum, which
-is the true one of America, has no claws to his
-toes behind; if an animal with sharp claws did
-exist, such as is represented by Seba, it could
-not be, as he asserts, the opossum of America.
-But this is not all, Seba mentions a third animal,
-under the name of oriental philandre, of
-whom, however, he speaks only after Valentin,
-an author who, as we have observed already,
-deserves little credit: and this third animal is
-yet the same as the two first. We are, therefore,
-persuaded that the three animals of Seba
-are individuals of the same species, and which
-species is the same as our opossum; and that
-the difference between them might be occasioned
-by their age, as it entirely consists in
-their size and slight variations in their colour,
-particularly in the spots above their eyes.</p>
-
-<p>Seba says, &ldquo;that according to Valentin, this
-last philandre is the largest species seen in the
-East Indies, and particularly among the Malays,
-where he is called <i>pelandor aro�</i>, which
-signifies a rabbit of <i>Aro�</i>, though Aro� is not
-the only place where these animals are found;
-that they are common in the island of Solor;
-that they are kept promiscuously with rabbits,
-to whom they do no harm; and that the inhabitants
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>
-eat their flesh, which they reckon excellent.&rdquo;
-These facts are very doubtful, not
-to say absolutely false, for according to Seba,
-this is not the largest species of the oriental
-philandre, that it bears no resemblance to the
-rabbit, therefore is very improperly termed the
-rabbit of Aro�; and that no person who has
-travelled in the East Indies has mentioned this
-remarkable animal; neither is he found in the
-island of Solor, nor in any other part of the ancient
-continent. Seba himself seems to have
-perceived not only the incapacity, but also the
-inaccuracy of the author whom he quotes: F.
-Valentin has written a Natural History of the
-East Indies in five volumes folio, and for the
-credit due to his testimony, both Artedi and
-Seba refer to a passage wherein he affirms,
-&ldquo;that the pouch of the philandre is the womb
-in which the young are conceived; that having
-himself dissected a female, he found no other;
-and if that pouch is not the real womb, the
-teats are to the young, what the pedicles are to
-fruits, that they stick to them till they are sufficiently
-grown, and then they are separated
-like the fruit, when it is come to ripeness.&rdquo;
-What seems to be the truth is, that Valentin,
-who affirms that those animals are common in
-the East Indies, especially at Solor, had never
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>
-seen any there; that all he says, even his most
-manifest errors, are copied from Piso and
-Marcgrave, who are themselves copyists of
-Ximenes, and are mistaken in everything they
-have advanced of their own authority; for
-Marcgrave and Piso say expressly and observatively,
-as well as Valentin, that the pouch
-is the true womb where the young of the opossums
-are conceived. Marcgrave says, he dissected
-one, and found no other womb: Piso,
-who says he dissected many, affirms he never
-could discover any womb in the internal parts,
-and also maintains the opinion, equally ill-grounded,
-that this animal is found at Amboyna.
-One may judge of what credit ought
-to be given to Marcgrave, Piso, and Valentin&rsquo;s
-assertions, the first of whom had not examined
-with accuracy; the second had added to the
-errors of the first, and the last copied from
-both.</p>
-
-<p>I should willingly ask pardon of my reader
-for the length of this critical disquisition, but
-when obliged to correct errors, we cannot be
-too exact or too attentive, even to the smallest
-circumstances.</p>
-
-<p>M. Brisson, in his work upon the quadrupeds,
-has adopted whatever he found in that of
-Seba, and adopts both his denominations and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span>
-descriptions; he goes even farther than his author,
-in making three distinct species of the
-philandres, described by Seba; for, if he had
-adhered to Seba, he would have observed that
-the latter did not give them as really different
-from each other. Seba had no doubt that an
-animal of the warm climates of America, could
-be found also in the torrid regions of Asia; but
-he distinguished them according as they came
-to him from one or the other continent. It
-seems clear that he does not use the word species
-in its most strict sense, nor did Seba ever
-pretend to make a methodical division of animals
-into classes, genera, and species; he has
-only given the figures of the different animals
-in his cabinet, distinguishing by names, according
-as he saw some difference in their size, colour,
-or the countries from which he received
-them. It appears, therefore, that M. Brisson
-was not authorised by Seba, in making three
-different species of philandres, especially as he
-has not employed the distinctive characters, and
-makes no mention of the want of the claws, in
-the hind toes of the hind feet; he only says, in
-general, that the toes of the philandres have
-claws, without making any exception; yet the
-one which he saw in the King&rsquo;s cabinet, and
-which is our opossum, had no claws to the hind
-toes of the hind legs, and which seems to be
-the only one he has seen. The work of M.
-Brisson is very useful, but in his catalogue
-the species are more numerous than in that
-of Nature.</p>
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 378px;">
-<a id="FIG_133"></a><img src="images/fig_133.png" width="378" height="293" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 133. <i>Elephant.</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 383px;">
-<a id="FIG_134"></a><img src="images/fig_134.png" width="383" height="292" alt="" />
-<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 134. <i>Rhinoceros.</i></span>
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>We have now only to examine the nomenclature
-of Linn�us, which in this article is
-much less erroneous than in many others, for
-he suppresses one of the three species of Seba;
-but he should have reduced them to one. Besides,
-he employs the distinctive character of
-the toes behind without claws, which none but
-Tyson had observed. The description which
-Linn�us gives of the opossum as the <i>marsupialis</i>,
-seems to be a good one, and agreeable
-to Nature, but he is in an error when under
-the name of opossum he designs an animal different
-from his <i>marsupialis</i>, upon the authority
-of Seba, acknowledging, however, that this
-opossum had no claws to the toes behind,
-whilst they are very visible in the figures of
-Seba. Another error is, considering the <i>maritacaca</i>
-of Piso, as the same animal as the <i>carigueya</i>,
-whilst these two animals, though mentioned
-in the same chapter, are mentioned by
-Piso as two different animals, and he describes
-them one after the other. But his greatest
-error is in making two different species of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>
-<i>marsupialis</i> and the opossum; they have both,
-according to Linn�us, the pouch, the hind
-toes of their hind feet have no claws, are both
-natives of America, and only differ in this respect,
-by the first having eight paps, and the
-second only two, and the spot above the eyes
-more pale. These characteristics cannot be
-sufficient to distinguish them as distinct species;
-for the first can scarcely be called a difference;
-nor can any thing be established as
-fixed or certain, in regard to the order and
-the number of the paps, since they vary in the
-same species of most animals.</p>
-
-<p>From this examination, which we have made
-with strict impartiality, it appears, that the <i>philandre</i>,
-<i>opossum</i>, <i>seu carigueya Brasiliensis</i>, and
-the <i>philander orientalis maximus</i> of Seba;
-those of M. Brisson, and the <i>marsupialis</i> and
-<i>opossum</i> of Linn�us are all of them the same
-animal, which is our opossum whose natural
-climate is South America; and who was never
-seen in the East Indies, but when transported
-thither. Upon this subject, some uncertainty
-still remains in regard to the <i>taiibi</i>, which
-Marcgrave does not mention as an animal different
-from the <i>carigueya</i>, but which Johnston,
-Seba, Klein, Linn�us, and Brisson, have presented
-as distinct from the preceding. In
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>
-Marcgrave the two names of <i>carigueya</i> and
-<i>taiibi</i> are found in the same article, where it is
-said, that this animal is called <i>carigueya</i> in Brasil,
-and <i>taiibi</i> in Paraguay. There is afterwards
-a description of the <i>carigueya</i> taken from
-Ximenes; and then another is given of the animal
-called <i>taiibi</i>, by the Brasilians; <i>cachorro
-domato</i>, by the Portuguese, and <i>hooschratte</i>, or
-the rat of the wood, by the Dutch. Marcgrave
-does not say this is an animal different
-from the <i>carigueya</i>, but on the contrary, considers
-it as the male of that species; and it appears
-clearly, that the male and female opossum
-were called <i>taiibi</i> in Paraguay, and that
-in Brasil they gave the name of <i>taiibi</i> to the
-male, and that of <i>carigueya</i> to the female. Besides,
-the difference between those two animals,
-such as it is indicated by their descriptions, is
-too inconsiderable to conclude they are not the
-same species. The most essential is, the colour
-of the hair, which in the <i>carigueya</i> is yellow
-and brown, and grey in the <i>taiibi</i>, the hairs of
-which are white at their bottom, and brown
-or black at the extremities. It is therefore more
-than probable, that the <i>taiibi</i> is the male opossum.
-Mr. Ray seems to be of that opinion,
-when speaking of the <i>carigueya</i>, and the <i>taiibi</i>.
-Yet, notwithstanding Marcgrave&rsquo;s authority,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>
-and the rational doubt of Ray, Seba gives the
-figure of an animal, under the name of the
-<i>taiibi</i>; and says, at the same time, that this
-<i>taiibi</i> is the same animal as the <i>tlaquatzin</i> of
-Hernandes; this is adding error upon error;
-for even according to Seba, his <i>taiibi</i>, which is
-a female, has no bag under the belly; and Hernandes
-gives to his <i>tlaquatzin</i> this bag as a particular
-characteristic; consequently the <i>taiibi</i> of
-Seba cannot be the <i>tlaquatzin</i> of Hernandes,
-as it has no pouch, nor the <i>taiibi</i> of Marcgrave,
-since it is a female; it is certainly, therefore,
-another animal badly designed, and badly described,
-to whom Seba thought proper to give
-the name of <i>taiibi</i>, and which he confounds
-with the <i>tlaquatzin</i> of Hernandes, which as we
-have said before, is our opossum. Brisson and
-Linn�us have, in regard to the <i>taiibi</i>, literally
-followed Seba; they have copied even his error in
-regard to the <i>tlaquatzin</i> of Hernandes, and both,
-have made an equivocal species of this animal,
-the first under the name of <i>philandre</i> of Brasil,
-and the second under that of <i>philander</i>. The
-true <i>taiibi</i> of Marcgrave and Ray, is not therefore
-the <i>taiibi</i> of Seba, the <i>philander</i> of Linn�us,
-nor the Brasilian <i>philander</i> of Brisson;
-nor are the two latter the <i>tlaquatzin</i> of Hernandes.
-The <i>taiibi</i> of Seba (supposing his existence)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>
-is a different animal from all those treated
-of by the above authors, and ought to have had
-a particular denomination, and not been confounded
-with the <i>taiibi</i> of Marcgrave, which
-has nothing in common with him; besides, as
-the male opossum has no pouch, it is not surprising
-that they have been taken for different
-animals, as that the female is called carigueya,
-and the male taiibi.</p>
-
-<p>Edward Tyson dissected and described the
-female opossum with care; in the individual
-which served him for subject, the head was
-six inches, the body thirteen, and the tail twelve
-in length: the fore legs were six inches, and
-the hind legs four inches and a half in height:
-the body was fifteen or sixteen inches in circumference;
-the tail three inches round in the
-beginning, and only one inch towards the extremities;
-the head three inches betwixt the
-two ears, decreasing gradually to the nose; and
-was more like that of a pig than a fox; the
-sockets of the eyes are much inclined in the
-direction from the ears to the nose; the ears are
-rounded, and about an inch and a half long; the
-mouth was two inches and a half wide from
-one of the corners of the lip to the extremity
-of the snout; the tongue narrow, three inches
-long, and rough; his fore feet had five toes
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>
-armed with crooked claws, but in the hind
-feet he had only four toes with claws, and the
-fifth toe, or thumb, was separated from the
-others, was placed lower, and had no claws.
-All his claws were without hair, and covered
-with a skin of a reddish colour, and very near
-an inch in length; his hind and fore paws were
-large, and he had fleshy callosities under all the
-toes. The tail was covered with hair for two
-or three inches from the beginning, and the
-rest of it with a smooth scaly skin to the end.
-These scales were whitish, almost hexagonal,
-and placed regularly, so that they did not encroach
-upon each other, but were divided by
-a skin browner than the scales. The ears were
-without hair, thin and membranous like the
-wings of a bat, and very open. The upper
-jaw longer than the under; the nostrils large,
-the eyes small, black, and lively; the neck
-short, the breast wide, and the whiskers like
-those of a cat: the hairs of the forehead whiter
-and shorter than those of the body; his colour
-a yellowish grey, intermixed with black on the
-back and sides, more brown on the belly, and
-still deeper on the legs. Under the belly of the
-female (<a href="#FIG_131"><i>fig. 131</i></a>) is a skin two or three inches
-long, which forms a kind of pouch by a double
-fold thinly covered with hair on the inside, and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>
-which pouch contains the teats. The young
-enter into this pouch to suck, and soon acquire
-the habit of hiding themselves in it, so that they
-retire thither whenever they are frightened.
-This pouch opens and shuts according to the
-will of the animal; which it effects by several
-muscles and two bones, which are peculiar to
-the opossum; these two bones are about two
-inches in length, placed by the os pubis, they
-decrease gradually from the basis to the extremities,
-and support the muscles which open the
-pouch; the antagonists of these muscles serve
-to shut it so exactly, that in the living animal
-the opening cannot be seen, without forcibly
-dilating it with the fingers. The inside of this
-pouch is full of kernels, which contain a yellow
-substance, the smell of which is so offensive,
-that it infects the whole body of the animal; yet
-when this matter is dried, it not only loses its
-disagreeable smell, but acquires a perfume
-which may be compared to that of musk.
-This pouch is not, as Marcgrave and Piso
-have falsely asserted, the place in which the
-young are conceived; the female opossum has
-an internal womb, different indeed from that
-of other animals, but in which the young are
-conceived, and remain till they are brought
-forth. Tyson says, that in this animal there
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>
-are two wombs, two vaginas, and four ovariums.
-M. Daubenton does not agree with
-Tyson in these particulars; but by his description,
-it is at least certain, that in the organs
-of generation of the opossums, there are
-several parts double which are single in other
-animals. The glans penis of the male, and the
-glans clitoridis in the female, which are forked,
-and seem double. The vagina, which is
-single at the entrance, is afterwards divided
-into two channels; this conformation is very
-singular, and differs from that of all other quadrupeds.</p>
-
-<p>The opossum belongs to the south parts of
-the new world, but he does not, like the armadillo,
-seem confined to the hottest climates,
-for he is found not only in Brasil, Guiana, and
-Mexico, but also in Florida, Virginia, and
-other temperate regions of this continent.
-They are very common in these countries, as
-they bring forth often, and most authors say
-four or five, others six or seven, at a time.
-Marcgrave affirms, that he has seen six young
-ones alive in the pouch of the female; they
-were about two inches in length, were very
-nimble, and went in and out of the pouch many
-times in a day. They are very small when
-just brought forth: some travellers say they
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span>
-are not bigger than flies when they go out of
-the womb into the pouch, and attach themselves
-to the teats. This fact is not so much
-exaggerated as might be imagined, for we have
-seen in an animal, whose species is somewhat
-like that of the opossum, young ones sticking
-to the teats not bigger than beans; and it is
-not improbable, that, in these animals, the
-womb is only the place of conception and first
-formation of the f&oelig;tus, whose unfolding is
-completed in the pouch. No one has observed
-the time of their gestation, which we think is
-shorter than in any other quadruped; and as
-this early exclusion of the f&oelig;tus is a singularity
-in nature, we wish those who have an
-opportunity of observing the opossums in their
-native country would contrive to discover how
-long the females go with young, and how long
-the young remain attached to the teats. This
-observation is curious in itself, and may become
-useful, in pointing out some means of
-preserving the lives of children born before
-their natural period.</p>
-
-<p>That the young opossums stick to the teats
-of the mother till they have acquired strength,
-and a sufficient growth to move with ease, is
-a fact not to be doubted; nor is it peculiar
-to this species only, since we have seen it in
-that of the <i>marmose</i>. The female marmose
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span>
-has not, like the opossum, a bag under the
-belly; it is not, therefore, in consequence of
-the assistance which the young receive from
-the pouch that they stick so long to the teats,
-and increase in that immoveable situation. I
-make this observation to prevent the pouch
-being considered as a second womb, or at least
-an asylum necessary to the young before they
-are unfolded. Some authors pretend that they
-stick to the teats for several weeks, others
-say that they remain in the pouch only the
-first month after they came out of the womb.
-The pouch may be opened, the young counted,
-and even felt, without disturbing them, for
-they do not leave the teats, which they hold
-with their mouths, before they are strong
-enough to walk; then they fall into the bag,
-and afterwards go out to seek for their subsistence;
-they often go in again to sleep, to
-suck, and to hide themselves when terrified;
-in cases of danger the mother flies, and carries
-the whole of her young with her. Her belly
-does not seem to have any increased bigness
-when she is breeding, for in the time of the
-true gestation it is scarcely perceivable that
-she is with young.</p>
-
-<p>From inspecting the form of the feet it is
-easy to perceive that he walks and runs aukwardly;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span>
-it is said 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 by the tail, the
-extremity of which is so muscular and flexible
-that he can clasp with it any thing he seizes
-upon. He sometimes remains a long while in
-this situation, his body suspended, with his
-head hanging downward, waiting for his prey.
-At other times he jumps from one tree to
-another, as the monkeys, with like muscular
-flexible tails, which he resembles also in the
-conformation of his feet. Though carnivorous,
-and even greedy of blood, which he sucks
-with avidity, he feeds also upon reptiles,
-insects, sugar-canes, potatoes, roots, and even
-leaves and bark of trees. He may easily be
-rendered a domestic animal, for he is neither
-wild nor ferocious; but he creates disgust by
-his smell, which is more offensive than that of
-the fox; his figure is also forbidding, for his
-ears are like those of an ounce, his tail resembles
-that of a serpent, his mouth is cleft
-to the very eyes, his body appears always
-dirty, because his hair is neither smooth nor
-curled, and seems as if covered with dirt.
-His bad smell resides in the skin, for his flesh
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span>
-is eatable. The savages hunt this animal by
-preference, and feed on his flesh heartily.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>M. de la BORDE has sent me an account
-of three opossums, which he kept in a cask at
-Cayenne; in most particulars it agrees with
-the description already given; he says they are
-very easily tamed, and feed upon fish, flesh,
-bread, &amp;c. that those he had possessed no disagreeable
-smell, but that there are two species,
-the one which has so strong an odour as to be
-called stinking by the inhabitants, and that
-their flesh is not good to eat.</p>
-
-<p>M. de Vosma�r, to his description of the
-flying squirrel, has added a note, in which he
-says, &ldquo;the <i>coes-coes</i> is the <i>bosch</i> of the East
-Indies, the <i>philandre</i> of Seba, and the <i>didelphi�</i>
-of Linn�us. M. de Buffon has confined this
-animal to the new world, and positively denies
-its existence in the East Indies; but I can
-assure that learned naturalist that Valentin
-and Seba said no more than the truth, in
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>
-affirming they were common to both Asia and
-America, for I have had a male and female sent
-me from the East Indies, and Dr. Schlosser, at
-Amsterdam received one of the same species
-from Amboyna. The principal difference
-between those of the East and West Indies is
-in the colour of the hair, the male of the
-former being of a yellowish white, and the female
-a little darker, with a brown line on the
-back, and their ears are less than those of the
-latter. The heads also of the West India
-species are much shorter than those of the
-East.&rdquo; I have not the smallest reason to doubt
-M. Vosma�r&rsquo;s receiving two animals from the
-East Indies, under the name of <i>coes-coes</i>,
-but am of opinion the differences which he
-points out are sufficient to induce us not to
-consider them the same species as the opossums.
-I, however, confess the justice of his observation
-upon my making the three philandres of
-Seba the same animal, when, in fact, the third
-is a different species, and found in the Philippine
-islands, and possibly in many parts of the
-East Indies, where it is called <i>coes-coes</i>, or
-<i>cous-cous</i>. Christopher Barchewitz gives a description
-of this animal found in the island
-of Lethy, and from the similarity it plainly appears,
-that the East India <i>cuscus</i> is of the same
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span>
-genus as the American opossum; but that is no
-proof of their being of the same species; and
-I am still of opinion, that the animals of one
-continent will not be found in the other, unless
-they have been transported thither. I do not
-mean to deny the possibility of the same climates
-in the two continents producing some
-animals of exactly the same species, provided
-other circumstances were the same; I am not,
-however, treating here of possibilities, but of
-general facts, of which we have given many
-instances in our enumeration of animals peculiar
-to the two continents; and, upon the
-whole, I am inclined to consider the coes-coes
-of the East Indies as an animal whose species
-approaches very near to that of the opossums
-of America, but that they have similar differences,
-to those which are observable between
-the jaguar and leopards, which of all animals
-peculiar to the southern climates of the two
-continents, without being the same species,
-come the nearest to each other.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_MARMOSE" id="THE_MARMOSE">THE MARMOSE.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE species of the Marmose, or Murine
-Opossum, (<a href="#FIG_132"><i>fig. 132</i></a>) resembles that of the
-preceding; they are natives of the same climate
-and the same continent; they are very
-much alike in the form of the body, the conformation
-of the feet, in the tail, which is
-mostly covered with scales, except the upper
-part, which is hairy, and by the teeth, which
-are more numerous than in other quadrupeds.
-But the marmose is smaller, and his snout
-sharper; the female has no pouch under the
-belly, she has only two loose skins near the
-thighs, between which the young fix themselves
-to the teats. The parts of generation of
-the male and female marmose resemble, by
-their form and their position, those of the
-opossum. When the young are brought forth,
-and fix themselves to the teats, they are not so
-big as small beans. The brood is also more
-numerous; I have seen ten young ones, each
-sticking to a different teat, and the mother
-had four more teats, which made fourteen in
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span>
-all. It is particularly on the females of this
-species that the observations, recommended in
-the preceding article, should be made; as I am
-persuaded they bring forth a few days after conception,
-and that the young are only f&oelig;tuses
-which are not come to the fourth part of their
-growth. The mother always miscarries, and
-the f&oelig;tuses save their lives by sticking to the
-teats, and never leaving them till they have
-acquired the growth and strength which they
-would naturally have got in the womb, if they
-had remained until the proper period.</p>
-
-<p>The marmose has the same manners, and the
-same inclinations, as the opossum; both of
-them dig burrows to dwell under the ground,
-hang by the extremities of their tails to the
-branches of trees, and rush upon birds and
-small animals; they eat fruit, corn, and roots,
-but they are still more greedy of fish and
-craw-fish, which, it is affirmed, they catch
-with their tails. This fact, however, is doubtful,
-and does not agree with the natural stupidity
-attributed to those animals, who, according
-to the relation of most travellers, do not
-even know how to move, fly, or defend themselves,
-with any degree of art.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_CAYOPOLLIN" id="THE_CAYOPOLLIN">THE CAYOPOLLIN.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>FERNANDES is the first author who has
-mentioned this animal. The Cayopollin, says
-he, is a small animal, little bigger than a rat,
-very much resembling the opossum in the
-snout, ears, and tail, and which he makes use
-of as we do our hands; he has thin transparent
-ears; his belly, legs, and feet, are white. The
-young, when frightened, seize hold of the
-mother, who carries them up on the trees.
-This species is found on the mountains of
-New Spain. Nieremberg has copied Fernandes
-verbatim, without any addition of his
-own. Seba, who first caused this animal to be
-engraved, gives no description of it; he only
-says, that he has the head thicker, and the tail
-a little bigger than the marmose, and that
-though he is of the same kind he belongs to
-another climate, and even to another continent.
-He refers his readers to Nieremberg and Johnston
-for a further description of this animal;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>
-but it seems evident that neither of them had
-seen him, as they only follow Fernandes.
-Neither of these three authors say that he is a
-native of Africa, on the contrary, they assert,
-that he comes originally from the mountains
-of the warm climates of America, and yet Seba,
-without any authority, has pretended, that it
-is an African animal. That which we have
-seen certainly came from America; he was
-larger, the snout not so sharp, and the tail was
-longer than those of the marmose, and he
-resembled the opossum more even than the
-marmose does. These three animals are
-much alike in the conformation of their interior
-and exterior parts, in their additional bones,
-form of their feet, in being brought forth before
-their entire formation, their long and continued
-adherence to the teats, and in their habits
-and dispositions. They are all three
-natives of the new world, and of the same
-climate; they are never found in the cold regions
-of America, nor can hardly live in temperate
-climates. All of them are very ugly;
-their mouths extended like that of a pike, their
-ears like those of a bat, their tails like that of
-a snake, and their monkey&rsquo;s feet present a very
-odd form, which is rendered still more disagreeable
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span>
-by their bad smell, and by the slowness
-and stupidity which accompany their actions
-and manners.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_ELEPHANT" id="THE_ELEPHANT">THE ELEPHANT.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>THE Elephant, the human species excepted,
-is the most considerable animal of this
-world; he surpasses all terrestrial beings in size,
-and approaches near to man in understanding,
-as much, at least, as matter can approach to
-mind. The elephant, dog, beaver, and ape,
-of all the animated beings, have the most admirable
-instinct; but this instinct, which is
-only the product of all the interior and exterior
-faculties of the animal, manifests itself very
-differently in every one of these species. The
-dog is naturally as cruel and bloody as the
-wolf; but his ferocious nature is to be conquered
-by gentleness: he only differs from the
-other animals of prey, by possessing a degree
-of sensibility, which makes him susceptible of
-affection, and capable of attachment. He has
-from nature this disposition, which man has
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span>
-cultivated and improved by a constant and
-ancient society with this animal. The dog
-alone was worthy of this attention, as he is
-more capable than any other quadruped of
-foreign impressions, his social nature has improved
-all his relative faculties. His sensibility,
-tractable temper, courage, talents, and
-even his manners, are modified by the example
-and qualities of his matter. He has not then,
-from nature, all those qualifications he appears
-to possess, but has acquired them from his intercourse
-with men; he is only more susceptible
-of tuition than other animals; far from having,
-like most of them, a disgust for man, his inclination
-leads him to seek their society: actuated
-by a desire of pleasing, his tractability,
-fidelity, constant submission, and that attention
-necessary to act in consequence of man&rsquo;s
-orders, are the result of this natural sentiment.</p>
-
-<p>The ape, on the contrary, is untractable and
-eccentric; his nature is perverse; he has no
-relative sensibility, no gratitude for good treatment,
-and no remembrance of favours; he is
-naturally averse from the society of man,
-he hates constraint, is mischievous by nature,
-and inclined to do every thing hurtful
-and disagreeable. But these real faults are
-compensated by seeming perfections. His
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span>
-exterior conformation resembles that of man,
-he has arms, hands, and fingers. The use of
-these parts alone, makes him superior in dexterity
-to other animals; and the affinities to
-us which he then possesses by a similarity of
-motions, and the conformity of his actions,
-please and deceive us, and induce us to attribute
-to interior qualities, what depends merely
-on the formation of his members.</p>
-
-<p>The beaver, who seems inferior to the dog
-and ape, by his individual faculties, has nevertheless
-received from Nature a gift almost
-equivalent to that of speech; he makes himself
-so well understood by those of his own species,
-as to bring them together; to act in concert,
-and to undertake and execute extensive
-and continued labours in common; and this
-social love, as well as the product of their reciprocal
-understanding, have better claims
-to our admiration, than the dexterity of the ape,
-or the faithfulness of the dog.</p>
-
-<p>Thus the dog&rsquo;s genius is only borrowed; the
-ape has but the appearance of sagacity, and
-the beaver is only sensible in regard to himself,
-and those of his species. The elephant is superior
-to them all three, for in him are united all
-their most eminent qualities. The hand is the
-principal organ of the ape&rsquo;s dexterity; the elephant
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span>
-is equally so with his trunk, which serves
-him instead of arms and hands, by it he can
-lift up, and seize small as well as large objects,
-carry them to his mouth, place them on his
-back, hold them fast, or throw them to a distance;
-he has at the same time the docility of
-the dog; he is, like him, susceptible of gratitude,
-capable of a strong attachment, attends
-upon man without reluctance, and submits to
-him, not so much by force as good treatment;
-serves him with zeal, intelligence, and fidelity;
-in fine, the elephant, the same as the beaver,
-likes the society of his own species, and by
-whom he is understood. They are often seen
-to assemble together, disperse, and act in concert,
-and if they do not carry on any work in
-common, it is, perhaps, only for want of
-room and tranquillity; for men have been
-very anciently multiplied in all the regions inhabited
-by the elephant; he consequently
-lives in fear and anxiety, and is no where a
-peaceful possessor of a space large and free
-enough to establish a secure habitation. We
-have seen that all these advantages are requisite
-to manifest the talents of the beaver, and
-that wherever men are settled, he loses his
-industry, and ceases to build. Every being has
-its relative value in Nature. To judge of
-the elephant, we must allow him to possess the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>
-sagacity of the beaver, the dexterity of the ape,
-the sentiment of the dog with the peculiar advantages
-of strength, bigness, and longevity.
-We must not forget his arms, or tusks, with
-which he can pierce through and conquer the
-lion. We should also recollect that he shakes
-the ground at every step; that with his trunk
-he roots out trees; that with the strength of
-his body, he makes a breach in the wall; that
-though tremendous by his strength, he is more
-invincible by the resistance of his bulky massiveness,
-and the thickness of his skin; that he
-can carry on his back an armed tower filled
-with many men; and 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 passions; 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 some offence;
-and he remembers favours as long as injuries.
-Having no taste for flesh, and feeding chiefly
-upon vegetables, he is not naturally an enemy
-to any living creature; he is beloved by them
-all, since all of them respect, and no one has
-cause to fear him. For these reasons, men at
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span>
-all times have had a sort of veneration for this
-first of animals. The ancients considered the
-elephant as a prodigy, a miracle of Nature,
-and he is in reality her greatest effort; they
-have attributed to him without hesitation, intellectual
-qualities and moral virtues.</p>
-
-<p>Pliny, �lian, Solinus, Plutarch, and other
-more modern authors, have even given to this
-animal rational faculties, a natural innate religion,
-the observation of a daily worship, such
-as that of the sun and moon, the use of ablution
-before adoration, a spirit of divination, piety
-towards heaven and their fellow creatures
-whom they assist at their deaths; and after
-their decease, express their regret by tears, and
-cover them with earth. The Indians, prepossessed
-with the opinion of the metempsychosis,
-are to this day persuaded, that a body so majestic
-as that of the elephant cannot be animated
-but by the soul of a great man, or a king. They
-respect at Siam,<a name="FNanchor_AE_31" id="FNanchor_AE_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_AE_31" class="fnanchor">[AE]</a> Laos, and Pegu, white elephants
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span>
-as the living manes of the emperors
-of India. They have each of them a palace,
-a number of servants, golden vessels, exquisite
-dainties, magnificent trappings, and are
-absolved from all labour and obedience; the
-living emperor is the only one before whom
-they kneel down, and the monarch returns the
-salute. These flattering attentions, this respect,
-these offerings flatter them but do not
-inspire them with vanity; they have not consequently
-a human soul, and this circumstance
-should be sufficient to prove it to the
-Indians.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_AE_31" id="Footnote_AE_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AE_31"><span class="label">[AE]</span></a> The white elephant, so much respected in India, and
-who has been the cause of so many wars, is very small and
-wrinkled with age. He is attended by several mandarins who
-are appointed to take care of him, and his victuals is presented
-to him in large golden vessels; his apartment is very magnificent,
-and gilt all round. At about a league from the
-country-house belonging to the king, is another white elephant,
-kept as a successor to the former, whom they say is
-300 years old. He is also attended by mandarins, and his
-mother and aunt are kept with him out of respect. <i>Premier
-Voyage du P. Tachard.</i></p></div>
-
-<p>Without adopting the credulities of antiquity,
-and the puerile fictions of superstition,
-the elephant is an animal still worth the attention
-of a philosopher, who ought to consider
-him as a being of the first distinction. He
-deserves to be known, and to be observed; we
-shall therefore write his history with impartiality;
-we shall consider him at first in his
-state of nature when he is free and independent,
-and afterwards in his servile condition,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span>
-when the will of his master becomes the cause
-of his actions.</p>
-
-<p>In a wild state, the elephant is neither sanguinary
-nor ferocious; he is of a mild temper,
-and never makes a bad use of his arms, or his
-strength; for he never employs or exerts them
-but in his own defence, or in protecting others
-of his species. His manners are social, for he
-is seldom wandering alone: they commonly
-walk in troops, the oldest leading, and the
-next in age bringing up the rear; the young
-and the weak keeping in the middle. The
-females carry their young, and hold them
-close with their trunks. They only observe
-this order in perilous marches when they go to
-feed on cultivated lands; they travel with
-less precaution in forests and solitary places,
-but without separating to such a distance as
-not to be able to give to each other mutual
-assistance, and warnings of danger. Some,
-however, straggle, and remain behind, and it
-is none but these the hunters dare attack, 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, for they go
-straight to the offender, and notwithstanding
-the great heaviness of their bodies they walk
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span>
-so fast that they easily overtake the most agile
-man; they pierce him through with their
-tusks, or seize him with their trunks; throw
-him like a stone, and then kill him by treading
-him under their feet. But it is only when
-they have been provoked that they become so
-furious and so implacable; they do no harm
-to those who do not disturb them; yet, as they
-are very suspicious, and sensible of injuries,
-it is proper to avoid them; and the travellers
-who frequent the countries where they are numerous,
-light great fires in the night, and
-beat drums, to prevent their approach. It is
-said that when they have been once attacked
-by men, or have fallen into a snare, they never
-forget it, but seek for revenge on all occasions.
-As they have a most exquisite sense of smelling,
-perhaps more perfect than that of any
-other animal, they smell a man at a great distance,
-and can easily follow him by the scent.
-The ancients have asserted that the elephant
-tears up the grass where the hunters have passed,
-and with their trunks convey it to each
-other, in order to give information of the passage
-and march of the enemy. These animals
-are fond of the banks of rivers, deep valleys,
-shady places, and marshy grounds. They
-cannot go long without water, which they
-make thick and muddy before they drink it.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span>
-They often fill their trunks with water, either
-to convey it to their mouths, or only to cool
-their noses, and to amuse themselves in
-sprinkling it around them. They cannot
-support cold, and suffer equally from excessive
-heat; to avoid the burning rays of the
-sun, they penetrate into the thickest recesses
-of the forests. They bathe often in the water;
-the enormous size of their bodies is rather an
-advantage to them in swimming, and they do
-not sink so deep in the water as other animals;
-besides, the length of their trunks, which
-they erect in the air, and through which they
-breathe, takes from them all fear of being
-drowned.</p>
-
-<p>Their common food is roots, herbs, leaves,
-and young branches; they also eat fruit and
-corn, but they have a dislike to flesh and fish.
-When one of them finds a good pasture, he
-calls the others, and invites them to come and
-feed with him. As they consume 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
-enormous weight, they destroy ten times more
-with their feet, than they consume for their
-food, which may be reckoned at 150lbs. of
-grass daily; and as they always keep in great
-numbers together, they will lay waste a
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span>
-large territory in an hour&rsquo;s time; for this reason
-the Indians and Negroes exert every means to
-prevent their visits, and to drive them away;
-they make great noises, and large fires round
-their cultivated lands; yet, notwithstanding
-these precautions, 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; the only things that can stop
-their progress are fire-works, and crackers
-thrown amongst them; the sudden and repeated
-noise of which sometimes occasions them to
-turn back. It is very difficult to part them,
-for they commonly act together whether they
-attack, proceed, or turn back.</p>
-
-<p>When the females come in season this social
-intercourse yields to a more lively sentiment;
-the herd separate in pairs, having each chosen
-their mates; they then seek for solitary places,
-and in their march love seems to precede and
-modesty to follow them; for they observe the
-greatest mystery in their amours, and they have
-never been seen to couple. They avoid the
-inspection of their own species, and, perhaps,
-know better than ourselves the pure delight of
-secret pleasure, being wholly taken with one
-beloved object. They retire into shady woods
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span>
-and most solitary places, to give themselves
-up, without disturbance or restraint, to the impulses
-of Nature, which are strong and lasting,
-as they have long intervals between their seasons
-of love. The female goes two years with
-young; when she is in that condition the male
-abstains from her, and thus are they subjected
-to the influence of love but once in three
-years. They bring forth only one young,
-which has teeth at its birth, and is then bigger
-than a wild boar; his tusks are not visible,
-but they appear soon after, and when six
-months old they are some inches long. At
-that age the elephant is bigger than the ox,
-and the tusks continue to increase till he is
-much advanced in years, provided the animal
-is in health, and at liberty, for it is scarcely
-to be imagined how much slavery and unnatural
-food change his natural habit and
-constitution.</p>
-
-<p>The elephant is easily tamed, brought into
-submission, and instructed, and as he is the
-strongest and most sensible of animals, he is
-more serviceable than any of them; but he
-seems always to feel his servile condition, for
-though subject to the powerful impressions of
-love they never couple, nor produce in a state
-of domesticity. His passion, irritated by constraint,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span>
-degenerates into fury; as he cannot indulge
-it without witnesses he becomes violent
-and intractable, and the strongest chains and
-fetters are often found necessary to stop his
-impetuosity, and subdue his anger. Thus the
-elephant differs from all domestic animals
-which man treats or manages as beings without
-will; he is not like these born slaves, which
-we mutilate or multiply for our use. Here
-the individual alone is a slave, the species remains
-independent, and constantly refuses to
-increase for the benefit of their tyrants. This
-alone shews in the elephant elevated sentiments
-superior to the nature of common brutes. To
-be agitated by the most ardent desires, and to
-deny themselves the satisfaction of enjoying
-them; to be subjected to all the fury of love,
-and yet not to violate the laws of modesty, are,
-perhaps, the highest efforts of human virtue,
-but which in these majestic animals are all
-suggested by instinct, and from which they
-never deviate. Enraged that they cannot be
-gratified without witnesses their fury becomes
-stronger than their passion of love, destroys
-the effects of it, and provokes, at the same
-time, that anger which, in those instants, renders
-the elephant more dangerous than any
-other wild animal.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>We should be inclined to doubt this fact,
-were it possible, but naturalists, historians,
-and travellers, all agree, that the elephants never
-produce in a domestic state. The kings
-of India keep a great number of them, and
-after having endeavoured in vain to make
-them multiply, like other domestic animals,
-they found it necessary to part the males from
-the females, to prevent that fury which is
-occasioned by the irritation of desires they
-will not satisfy in a state of subjection. There
-are, therefore, no domestic elephants but what
-have been wild, 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 frequented
-by the elephants, a spot is chosen, and
-encircled with palisadoes; the strongest trees
-of the forest serve for stakes, to which are
-fastened cross pieces of timber, which support
-the other stakes. A man may easily pass
-through this palisado; a large opening is
-also left, through which the elephant may go
-in, and over it is a trap, or large stake, which
-is let down to shut the opening after the animal
-has entered. To bring him to this inclosure
-the hunters take a tame female with
-them into the forest, who is in season, and when
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span>
-when they think she is near enough to be
-heard they oblige her to make the cry of love,
-the wild male answers immediately, and begins
-his march to meet her. She is then led towards
-the inclosure, repeating her call now
-and then; she arrives first, and the male
-following her track enters through the same
-gate. As soon as he perceives himself enclosed
-his ardour vanishes, and when he discovers the
-hunters he becomes furious; they throw ropes
-at him with a running knot, by which they
-fetter his legs and trunk; they then bring two
-or three tame elephants, led by dextrous men,
-and endeavour to tie him to one of them; in
-short, by dint of dexterity, strength, terror,
-and caresses, they succeed in taming him in a
-few days.</p>
-
-<p>I shall not enter into more particulars on
-this subject, but refer to those travellers who
-have been ocular witnesses of the manner of
-hunting the elephants;<a name="FNanchor_AF_32" id="FNanchor_AF_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_AF_32" class="fnanchor">[AF]</a> it varies according
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span>
-to different countries, and according to the
-power and the abilities of those who make war
-against them, for instead of erecting, like the
-kings of Siam, walls, terraces, or making palisades
-around large inclosures, the poor negroes
-use the most simple snares; they dig
-pits in the passages, where the elephants are
-known to pass, so deep as to prevent their
-getting out again when fallen in.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_AF_32" id="Footnote_AF_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AF_32"><span class="label">[AF]</span></a> For the purpose of hunting the elephant, they have at a
-little distance from Luovo, a kind of amphitheatre, surrounded
-with high walls, where those are placed who wish
-to see the sport. In the middle of these walls a palisade is
-formed, with strong stakes fixed in the ground; a pretty
-large opening is left on the side next the forest, and a smaller
-one towards the city, into which the elephant cannot enter
-without difficulty. Upon the day fixed upon for the chace,
-the hunters go into the forests upon some female elephants
-covering themselves with leaves to prevent being seen;
-having reason to suppose there are wild ones near, they
-make the females utter certain cries, and which the wild
-males instantly answer; the hunter then drives the female
-back to the above amphitheatre, whither the male constantly
-follows her, and being entered the large opening is
-immediately shut. At the one we were present, the females
-went out on the other side, but from the smallness of the
-size the wild one refused to enter; the females repeated
-their cries, and some of the Siamese began to irritate him,
-by clapping their hands, and crying <i>pat, pat</i>, while others
-struck him with long poles that had sharp points, all of
-whom he pursued, but they escaped by slipping between
-the palisades, sufficient spaces being left for that purpose;
-at length he fixed upon one whom he pursued with great
-fury, and the man running into this narrow passage
-the elephant followed him, but the moment he entered,
-the bars, before and behind, were let fall, and he no
-sooner found himself in the snare than he made the
-most violent efforts, and raised the most hideous cries.
-The hunters then endeavoured to sooth him by flinging
-quantities of water upon his body and trunk, rubbing
-him with leaves, putting oil on his ears, and bringing
-tame elephants, who seemed to caress him with their trunks,
-one of which, properly trained, was mounted by a man who
-made him go backwards and forwards to shew as it were the
-stranger that he had nothing to fear. Ropes were thrown
-round his hind legs and body, and then the bar was taken
-away from the further end, where being come he was tied to
-two tame elephants one of each side of him these led him
-the way while another pushed him behind with his head until
-they came to a kind of shade where he was fastened to a
-large post, like the capstan of a ship, and there left till the
-next day. While here, one of the Bramins, or priests, dressed
-in white, and mounted on another elephant, goes to him
-and sprinkles him with consecrated water, which they imagine
-has the power of divesting him of his ferocity. Next
-day he is marched off with the other elephants, and by the
-end of the fifteenth, they are in general perfectly tame.
-<i>Premier Voyage du P. Tachard.</i>
-</p>
-<p>
-In Ethiopia they take great numbers of these animals by
-forming an inclosure in the thickest parts of the forests,
-leaving a sufficient opening, with a door lying flat on the
-ground; the hunters sit to watch for the elephant on a tree
-and as soon as he enters they draw up the door with a rope,
-then descend and attack him with arrows, but if by any
-chance he gets out of his confinement, he kills every man
-that he can come near. <i>L&rsquo;Afrique de Marmol.</i>
-</p>
-<p>
-At Ceylon they take the elephant by digging deep ditches
-lightly covering them over, in places frequented by these
-animals, who coming on this covering in the night, unavoidably
-fall in and are unable to get out again; here the
-slaves supply them with food, to whom they, in a short
-time, are so accustomed, and familiar, as to be led up to Goa
-perfectly tame. They have also a mode of hunting them
-with two tame females, whom they take into the forests, and
-coming near a wild elephant, they let them loose; these go
-up to the strange one on each side, press so closely against
-him as to force him their way, and render it impossible for
-him to escape. <i>Memoir es touchant les Indes Orientales. Voyages
-de P. Philippe, Thevenot, &amp;c.</i></p></div>
-
-<p>The elephant, when once tamed, becomes
-the most tractable and submissive of all animals;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span>
-he conceives an affection for his leader,
-caresses him, and seems to foresee whatever
-can please him; in a little time he understands
-signs, and even the expression of sounds; he
-distinguishes the tones of command, anger, or
-approbation, and acts accordingly. He never
-mistakes the voice of his master; he receives
-his orders with attention, executes them with
-prudence and eagerness, but without precipitation,
-for his motions are always measured, and
-his character seems to participate of the gravity
-of his body. He is easily taught to bend his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span>
-knees to assist those who ride on his back; he
-caresses his friends, salutes the persons he is
-directed to take notice of, lifts up burdens, and
-helps to load himself with his trunk; he has
-no aversion to being clothed, and seems to
-delight in a golden harness or magnificent
-trappings; he is easily put into traces, and
-often employed in drawing; he draws evenly,
-without slopping or any marks of dislike,
-provided he is not insulted by unseasonable correction,
-and that his driver seems to approve
-the spontaneous exertion of his strength. His
-conductor is mounted on his neck, and makes
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span>
-use of an iron rod, hooked at the end, with
-which he strikes him on the head, or sides, to
-make him turn, or increase his pace; but a
-word is commonly sufficient, especially, if the
-animal has bad time to make himself well acquainted
-with his conductor, and has a confidence
-in him. His attachment is sometimes
-so strong, and so lasting, and his affection so
-great, that he will refuse to serve a second
-person, and has been known to die of grief
-when in a fit of rage he has happened to destroy
-his keeper.</p>
-
-<p>The species of the elephant is numerous,
-though they bring forth but one in two or
-three years. In proportion to the shortness
-of the life of an animal is its multiplicity of
-production; and in the elephant the duration
-of its existence compensates for the smallness
-of its number; and if it be true that they live
-200 years, and propagate until they are 120,
-each couple may bring forth forty in that time.
-Besides, having nothing to fear from other
-animals, and being taken by men with great
-difficulty and danger, the species has not decreased,
-and is generally dispersed in all the
-southern parts of Africa and Asia. They are
-numerous at Ceylon, in the Mogul dominions,
-in Bengal, Siam, Pegu, and the other territories
-of India. They are perhaps, in a
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span>
-greater number in the South of Africa, except
-some parts which they have abandoned,
-since they have been so fully inhabited by men.
-They are faithful to their country, and constant
-to their climate, for though they can live in
-temperate regions it does not seem that they
-ever attempted to settle, or even to travel
-into them. They were formerly unknown in
-Europe. It does not seem that Homer, who
-speaks of the ivory, knew the animal from
-whom it is obtained. Alexander was the first
-who rode upon an elephant in Europe. He
-sent into Greece those which he took at Porus,
-and were, perhaps, the same which Pyrrhus
-employed several years after against the Romans,
-in the Tarentine war, and with which
-Curius adorned his triumph into Rome. Hannibal
-afterwards brought them from Africa,
-made them pass the Alps, and led them almost
-to the gates of Rome.</p>
-
-<p>From time immemorial the Indians have
-made use of elephants in war. Among those
-nations, unacquainted with military discipline,
-they formed their best troop, and as long as
-battles were decided by iron weapons they
-commonly vanquished. Yet we learn by history
-that the Greeks and Romans soon used themselves
-to those monsters of war; they opened
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span>
-their ranks to let them go through; they did
-not attempt to wound them, but threw all
-their darts against their leaders, who were
-obliged to turn all their attention to the
-elephant, when separated from their troops.
-Now that fire is become the element of war, and
-the principal instrument of death, elephants,
-who are afraid of noise and flame, would be
-rather an incumbrance in battle, and more
-dangerous than useful. The kings of India
-still arm their elephants in war, but it is more
-for shew than for real service; yet they derive
-from these animals the same utility that arises
-from an army which is to enslave their equals;
-they make use of them to subdue the wild
-elephants. The most powerful monarchs of
-the Indies have now above 200 elephants for
-war. They keep many others for different
-services, and to carry the large cages in which
-their women travel; it is a perfectly safe way
-of travelling, for the elephant never stumbles;
-but time is required to be used to the motions
-of his pace. The best place is upon the neck,
-as you there ride more easy than on the shoulders
-or the back; but in war, or hunting, several
-men ride the same elephant: the conductor
-rides on his neck, and the hunters, or
-warriors, are placed on other parts of his body.</p>
-
-<p>In those happy regions, where our cannon
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span>
-and our murdering arts are yet scarcely known,
-they fight still upon elephants. At Cochin,
-and in the other parts of Malabar, they make
-no 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, ride on nothing but elephants; on
-festival days they are preceded and followed
-by a great number of these animals, superbly
-caparisoned, and covered with the richest
-stuffs. They surround their tusks with gold
-and silver rings; they paint their ears and
-cheeks; they crown them with garlands, and
-their harness is ornamented with little bells;
-they seem to delight in magnificent attire, and
-the more their trappings are rich and splendid
-the more they are cheerful and caressing. It
-is only in the East Indies that the elephants
-are so far improved, for in Africa they can
-scarcely tame them. The Asiatics, anciently
-civilized, have reduced the education of
-the elephant into a system, and they have instructed
-and modified him according to their
-manners. But of all the Africans the Carthaginians
-were the only people who trained up
-the elephants to war, because at the time of
-the splendor of their commonwealth they were,
-perhaps, more civilized than any other of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span>
-eastern nations. At present no wild elephants
-are found in all that part of Africa on this
-side Mount Atlas; there are even few beyond
-those mountains, as far as the river Senegal.
-But they are numerous in Senegal, in Guinea,
-in Congo, and on the Teeth Coast, in the
-countries of Anto, Acra, Benin, and all the
-other southern parts of Africa, as far as the
-Cape of Good Hope, except some provinces
-very populous, such as Fida, Ardra, &amp;c.
-They are also found in Abyssinia, in Ethiopia,
-in Nigritia, on the eastern coast, and in the
-inland parts of Africa. They are also in the
-great islands of India and Africa, such as
-Madagascar, Java, and the Philippines.</p>
-
-<p>After comparing the relations of travellers
-and historians it seems that elephants are actually
-more numerous in Africa than in Asia;
-they are there also less mistrustful, and not so
-shy, as if they knew the unskilfulness and the
-little power of the men who inhabit this part
-of the world; they come daily without fear to
-their habitations, and treat the negroes with
-that natural and scornful indifference they
-have for other animals; they do not consider
-those men as powerful and formidable beings,
-but as a species whose skill consists in laying
-snares, without having the courage to encounter
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span>
-them, and absolutely ignorant of the art of reducing
-them into subjection. It is by this art
-known, from the earliest times, to the eastern
-nations, that their species is diminished. The
-wild elephants, which they tame, become by
-their captivity, like so many voluntary eunuchs,
-which daily drain the source of generation;
-but, on the contrary, in Africa, where
-they are all free, the whole species propagate,
-and all the individuals constantly concur to
-its increase. I do not know any other cause
-for this difference in their numbers, for, in
-considering the other effects, it seems the south
-of India, and the east of Africa, are the natural
-countries, and the most suitable to the elephant.
-He is there much larger and stronger
-than in Guinea, or in the other western parts
-of Africa. He fears excessive heat, and never
-inhabits the burning sands; he is most frequently
-found on the flat countries near the
-rivers, and never on the hilly parts of Africa;
-but in India the most powerful and the most
-courageous of the species, and who have the
-strongest and longest tusks, are the elephants
-of the mountains; they inhabit the high
-grounds, where the air being more temperate,
-the water more pure, and the food more
-wholesome, they gradually arrive to the full
-perfection of their nature.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>In general the elephants of Asia are larger
-and superior in strength, to those of Africa;
-particularly those of Ceylon, which exceed in
-courage and sagacity even those of Asia. Probably
-they owe these qualifications to their
-more improved education; it is, however, certain,
-that all travellers have celebrated the elephants
-of this island, where the ground is interspersed
-with mountains, which rise gradually
-towards the centre, and where the heat is
-not so excessive as in Senegal, Guinea, and
-other western parts of Africa. The ancients,
-who knew no more of this part of the world,
-but the countries seated between Mount Atlas
-and the Mediterranean, had observed, that the
-elephants of Lybia were much smaller than
-those of India. There are not any elephants
-at this time, in that part of Africa, which
-proves, as mentioned in the article of the Lion,
-that men are more numerous there now than
-they were in the ages of Carthage. The elephants
-have retired in proportion as men have
-molested them; but in travelling through the
-climates of Africa, they have not changed their
-nature; for those of Senegal, Guinea, &amp;c. are
-at this time smaller than those of India.</p>
-
-<p>The strength of these animals is proportionate
-to their bigness. The elephants of India
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span>
-carry with ease burdens of three or four thousand
-pounds weight; the smallest, that is, those
-of Africa, lift up freely with their trunks, burdens
-of two hundredweight, and place them
-on their shoulders; they take into their trunks
-a great quantity of water, which they throw
-out around them, at seven or eight feet distance;
-they can carry a weight of a thousand pounds
-upon their tusks; with their trunks they break
-off branches, and with their tusks they root
-out trees. Their strength may be judged of
-by their agility, comparatively to the bulk of
-their bodies; they walk as fast as a horse goes
-on an easy trot; and they run as fast as a horse
-can gallop; which seldom happens in their
-wild state, except when they are provoked or
-frightened. The tame elephants are commonly
-walked; they travel easily, and without fatigue,
-fifteen or twenty leagues a day; and,
-when hurried, they can travel thirty-five or
-forty. Their steps are heard at a great distance,
-and they may be followed by their tracks,
-for the marks they leave on the ground are
-fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter.</p>
-
-<p>A domestic elephant does, perhaps, to his
-master more real service than five or six horses;
-but he requires much care and abundance of
-good food; it is computed that he consumes to
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span>
-the amount of an hundred pence per day. He is
-commonly fed with raw or boiled rice mixed
-with water; and it is reckoned he wants one
-hundred pounds of rice daily to be kept in his
-full vigour; they give him also grass to cool
-him, for he is often over-heated, and must be
-led to the water that he may bathe two or three
-times a day; he easily learns to wash himself;
-he takes the water up in his trunk, carries it to
-his mouth, drinks part, and then by elevating
-his trunk, lets the remainder flow over every
-part of his body. To give an idea of the services
-he is able to perform, it is sufficient to
-observe, that all the bags, bales, and parcels,
-which are transported from one place to another
-in the Indies, are carried by elephants;
-that they carry burdens on their bodies, their
-necks, their tusks, and even with their mouths,
-by giving them the end of a rope which they
-hold with their teeth.</p>
-
-<p>When the elephant is taken care of he lives
-a long time even in captivity; and it is to be
-presumed, that in a state of liberty his life is
-still longer. Some authors say he lives four
-or five hundred years; others, two or three
-hundred; and others, one hundred and twenty,
-thirty, and even one hundred and fifty years.
-I take this last opinion to be the nearest to the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span>
-truth; and if it is certain, that captive elephants
-live one hundred and twenty or thirty years;
-those who are free, and enjoy all the conveniences
-and rights of Nature, must live at least
-two hundred; besides, if their gestation lasts
-two years, and thirty years are required to
-bring them to their full growth, we may be
-assured that their life extends to the term we
-have mentioned. It is not so much the captivity,
-as the change of climate which shortens
-their existence: whatever care is taken of the
-elephant, he does not live long in temperate,
-and still shorter in cold climates. The elephant
-which the King of Portugal sent to Louis
-XIV. in 1668, and who was then but four
-years old, died in his seventeenth, 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 score pounds of
-bread, twelve pints of wine, two buckets of
-porridge, with four or five pounds of bread in
-it, the last was changed every other day for
-two buckets of rice boiled in water, without
-reckoning what was given him by visitors.
-He had, besides, every day a sheaf of corn to
-amuse himself; for, after eating the ears, he
-made large whisps of the straw, and used them
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span>
-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 pulled and eat the grass.
-The elephant who was lately at Naples, though
-the heat is greater than at Paris, lived there
-but a few years. Those which have been
-transported to Petersburg perished successively,
-notwithstanding they were well sheltered,
-covered, and warmed with stoves; consequently,
-we may conclude, that this animal
-cannot live in a state of nature, nor multiply
-in Europe. But I am surprised that the Portuguese,
-who first knew the use and value of
-these animals in the East Indies, did not transport
-them into the warm climate of Brasil,
-where they might have propagated, if left at
-liberty.</p>
-
-<p>The common colour of the elephant is of
-ash grey, or blackish. White ones, as we have
-observed, are extremely scarce: and some have
-been seen in the Indies of a reddish colour;
-these and the white are much esteemed; but
-these varieties are so scarce, that they cannot
-be considered as a race distinct from the species,
-but rather as accidental qualities peculiar
-to individuals; for otherwise, the countries of
-the white, red, and black elephants would be
-known, as well as the climates of white, red,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span>
-and black men, and those of a copper colour.
-&ldquo;Elephants of three different sorts are found
-in the Indies; (says Father Vincent Marie) the
-white, which are the largest, most gentle, and
-of the best temper, are worshipped as gods by
-several nations; the red, such as those of Ceylon,
-though the smallest, are the most valiant,
-the strongest, and best for war, and the other
-elephants, either from natural inclination, or
-perceiving in them something superior, shew
-them a great respect; the third species, is that
-of the black, which are the most common, and
-the least esteemed.&rdquo; This author is the only
-one who has intimated that Ceylon was the peculiar
-climate of red elephants; other travellers
-make no mention of such a fact. He also
-affirms, that the elephants of Ceylon are smaller
-than the others. Thevenot says the same
-thing in his voyage, but others assert the contrary.
-Father Vincent Marie also, is the only
-author who has said the white elephants are
-the largest. Father Tachard assures us on the
-contrary, that the white elephant of the king
-of Siam was rather small, though very old.
-After comparing the relations of travellers, in
-regard to the size of elephants in different
-countries, it seems, that the smallest are those
-of North and West Africa, and that the ancients,
-who only knew the northern part of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span>
-Africa, had some reason to say that, in general,
-the elephants of the Indies were much larger
-than those of Africa. But in the eastern parts
-of this quarter of the world, unknown to them,
-the elephants are at least as large as those of
-India; for those of Siam and Pegu excel in
-bulk the elephants of Ceylon; which, however,
-are the most courageous and intelligent, according
-to the unanimous opinion of travellers.</p>
-
-<p>Having thus collected the different facts relative
-to the species, let us now examine minutely
-the faculties of the individual; his
-senses, motion, size, strength, address, sagacity,
-and intelligence. The elephant has very small
-eyes, compared to the enormous size of his
-body, but they are bright and lively; and
-what distinguishes them from the eyes of all
-other animals, is their pathetic expression of
-sentiment, and an almost rational direction of
-all their motions. He turns them slowly and
-gently towards his master, and when he speaks,
-the animal has the appearance of listening to
-him with an eye of friendship and attention,
-and by an expressive glance seems to penetrate
-into his wishes, and anticipate his desires. He
-seems to reflect, to think, and to deliberate,
-and never acts till he has examined and observed
-several times, without passion or precipitation,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span>
-the signs of which he is to obey.
-Dogs, the eyes of which have much expression,
-are animals too lively to allow us to distinguish
-their successive sensations; but as the
-elephant is naturally grave and sedate, we
-may read in his eyes, whose motions are slow,
-the order and succession of his interior affections.</p>
-
-<p>He has a quick hearing, and this organ,
-like that of smelling, is outwardly 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 and moves them with such
-facility that he makes use of them to defend
-his eyes against the inconveniency of dust and
-flies. He delights in the sound of musical instruments,
-and moves in exact time to the
-sound of the trumpet and tabor. He has an
-exquisite sense of smelling, and he is passionately
-fond of perfumes of all sorts, and especially
-of fragrant flowers; he gathers them one
-by one, makes nosegays of them, which he
-smells with eagerness, and then carries to his
-mouth, as if he intended to taste them.
-Orange flowers are one of his most exquisite
-dainties; he strips with his trunk an orange
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span>
-tree of all its verdure, eating the fruit, the
-flowers, the leaves, and even the young
-branches. He chuses in meadows odoriferous
-plants, and in the woods he gives the preference
-to cocoa, palm, and sago trees, and as
-these trees are pithy and tender he not only
-cats the leaves and fruits but even the branches,
-the trunk, and the roots, for when he cannot
-break the branches with his trunk, he roots up
-the trees with his tusks.</p>
-
-<p>In regard to the sense of feeling, it centres in
-his trunk; but it is as delicate and as distinct
-in that as in the human hand. This trunk,
-composed of membranes, nerves, and muscles,
-is, at the same time, a member capable of motion,
-and an organ of sentiment. The animal
-can not only move and bend it, but he can
-shorten, lengthen, and turn it all ways. The
-extremity of the trunk is terminated by a protuberance,
-which projects on the upper part
-like a finger, by which the elephant does the
-same as we do with our fingers; he picks up
-from the ground the smallest pieces of money;
-he gathers herbs and flowers, chusing them
-one after another; he unties knots, opens and
-shuts doors, by turning the keys or slipping
-the bolts: he learns to draw regular characters
-with an instrument as small as a pen. We
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span>
-cannot even deny that this hand of the elephant
-has several advantages over ours: it is equally
-flexible and as dexterous in feeling or laying
-hold of objects. These operations are made
-by means of that sort of finger, seated at the
-superior part of the border, which surrounds
-the extremity of the trunk, in the middle of
-which there is a concavity, in the form of a
-cup, and at the bottom of it are the two apertures,
-which convey the sense of smelling and
-respiration. The elephant, consequently,
-unites in his trunk both the senses of feeling
-and smelling; and he may join the power of
-his lungs to the action of his hand, either
-drawing liquids by suction, or lifting up very
-heavy burdens, by applying the extremity of
-his trunk, and making within an empty place
-by respiration.</p>
-
-<p>Thus the delicacy of feeling, exquisiteness
-of smelling, facility of motion, and the power
-of suction, are united in the trunk of the elephant.
-Of all the instruments which Nature
-has so liberally bestowed on her favourite productions,
-the trunk of the elephant is, perhaps,
-the most complete and the most admirable; it
-is not only an organic instrument, but a triple
-sense, whose united functions are, at the same
-time, the cause, and produce the effect of that
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span>
-intelligence, and of those peculiar faculties
-which distinguish the elephant, and raise him
-above all other quadrupeds. He is less subject
-than other animals to errors of sight, because
-he rectifies them quickly by the sense of feeling;
-and making use of his trunk as a long
-arm to feel distant bodies, he acquires, like
-men, distinct ideas of distance. But other
-animals (except the monkey, and some others,
-who have the fore feet similar to arms and
-hands) cannot acquire the same ideas without
-running over that space with their bodies.
-Feeling is, of all the senses, that which has the
-most relation to knowledge. The delicacy of
-feeling gives the idea of the substance of the
-bodies; the flexibility of the trunk gives the
-idea of their exterior form; the power of suction,
-that of their weight; smelling, that of
-their qualities; and its length, that of their
-distance. They, therefore, with the same
-member, and by one simultaneous act, feel,
-perceive, and judge of divers things at once.
-His multiplied sensations are equivalent to reflection;
-and though this animal is, like others,
-incapable of thinking, as his sensations are
-combined in the same organ, are coeval and
-undivided, it is not surprising that he has
-ideas of his own, and that he acquires in a
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span>
-little time those we inculcate to him. His remembrance
-should be more perfect than that
-of any other animal, for memory only depends
-chiefly on the circumstances of action; and
-no sensation, however lively, can leave a lasting
-impression, when single and abstractedly
-taken; but several combined sensations leave
-deep impressions, so that if the elephant cannot
-recall an idea by feeling alone, the sensations
-of smelling and suction, which act at the
-same time, help him in recalling them to remembrance.
-With us the best method to improve
-the memory is to make use successively
-of all our senses to consider an object; and it
-is for want of that combined use of the senses
-that man forgets more things than he can recollect.</p>
-
-<p>Although the elephant has a more retentive
-memory, and more intelligence than any other
-animal, his brain is proportionally smaller
-than most of them, which I only mention as a
-proof that the brain is not the seat of sentiment,
-the <i>sensorium commune</i>, which resides,
-on the contrary, in the nerves of the senses,
-and in the membranes of the head, which are
-so numerously distributed on the trunk of the
-elephant, as to be equal to all those on the rest
-of the body. It is, therefore, by virtue of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span>
-this singular combination of faculties in the
-trunk, that this animal is superior to all others
-in intelligence, notwithstanding his enormous
-size, and the disproportion of his form; for
-the elephant is, at the same time, a miracle
-of intelligence, and a monster of matter. His
-body is very thick, without any suppleness;
-his neck short and stiff, his head small and
-deformed, his ears and nose exceedingly large;
-his eyes, mouth, genital members, and tail,
-very small in proportion; his legs are like
-massive pillars, straight and stiff; his feet so
-short and small, that they are hardly perceptible,
-and his skin hard, thick, and callous;
-all these deformities are more remarkable,
-from being exhibited on a large scale, and
-most of them being peculiar to himself alone,
-no other animal having either the head, feet,
-nose, ears, or tusks, placed like those of the
-elephant.</p>
-
-<p>From this singular conformation he suffers
-several inconveniences; he can scarcely move
-his head, or turn back without making a circuit.
-The hunters who attack him behind,
-or on the flanks, avoid the effects of his vengeance
-by circular motions, and they have
-sufficient time to strike him again whilst he
-is turning against them. His legs, which are
-not so stiff as his neck and body, yet bend
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span>
-very slowly, and with difficulty; their articulation
-with the thighs is very strong. His
-knee is situated like that of a man, and his
-feet as low; but his foot has no strength nor
-elastic power, and the knee is hard, without
-suppleness; yet whilst the elephant is in his
-youth and vigour, he bends it to lay down, to
-let himself be loaded, or to help his leaders to
-mount him; but when he is old or infirm,
-this motion becomes so difficult that he sleeps
-standing; and, if he is compelled to lay down,
-the use of engines are necessary to raise him.
-His tusks, which become of an enormous
-weight when he grows old, not being seated
-in a vertical position, as the horns of other
-animals, form two long levers, and being in
-an almost horizontal direction, fatigue his head
-prodigiously, and draw it downwards, so that
-the animal is sometimes obliged to make holes
-in the wall of his lodge to support them, and
-ease himself of their weight. He has the disadvantage
-of having the organ of smelling far
-distant from that of tasting; and likewise the
-inconvenience of not being able to seize any
-thing on the ground with his mouth, because
-his neck is too short to let his head reach
-the earth; he is forced, therefore, to take
-his food, and even his drink with his nose;
-and to carry it not only to the entrance of his
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span>
-mouth, but to his very throat; and when his
-trunk is full of water, he thrusts the extremity
-of it to the very root of the tongue, probably
-to push back the epiglottis, and to prevent
-the liquor which passes through with impetuosity,
-from entering into the larynx; for
-he thrusts out the water by the strength of the
-same air which he had employed to suck it up,
-and it goes out of the trunk with noise, and
-enters into the throat with precipitation. Neither
-the tongue, the mouth, nor the lips, are of
-any service to him, as to other animals, in sucking
-or lapping their drink. From this description
-seems to result the singular consequence,
-that the young elephant must suck with his
-nose, and afterwards carry the milk to his throat.
-Yet the ancients have written that he sucks with
-the mouth, and not with the trunk; but they were
-not, probably, witnesses of the fact, and have
-founded their opinion on the analogy with all
-other animals. If the young elephant had once
-been used to suck with his mouth, how could
-he lose that habit the remainder of his life?
-Why does he never use the mouth to take water
-within his reach? Why does he constantly
-employ two actions, where one would be sufficient?
-Why does he never take any thing with
-his mouth, but what is thrown in when it is
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span>
-open? It appears probable, therefore, that the
-young elephant sucks with his trunk only.
-This presumption is not only proved by the
-subsequent facts, but is also founded on a better
-analogy than that which decided the opinion
-of the ancients. We have said, that animals in
-general, at the instant they are brought forth,
-can have no indication of the food they want,
-from any other sense but that of smelling: the
-ear is certainly of no use in that respect; neither
-is the eye, since the eyes of most animals
-are not open when they begin to suck: feeling
-can give but a vague idea of all the parts of the
-mother&rsquo;s body, or rather indicates nothing relative
-to the appetite. Smelling alone directs
-him: it is not only a sort of taste, but a species
-of fore-taste, which precedes, accompanies,
-and determines the other. The elephant, like
-other animals, perceives by this fore-taste the
-presence of his food; and as the seat of smelling
-is united with the power of suction at the
-extremity of his trunk, he applies it to the
-teats, sucks the milk, and conveys it afterwards
-to his mouth to satisfy his appetite. Besides,
-the two paps being seated on the breast, like
-those of women, and the teats being very small
-in proportion to the size of the mouth of the
-young elephant, who cannot bend his neck,
-he could not reach the teat of his mother with
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span>
-his mouth, unless she laid upon her back, or on
-her side, and even in that situation he would
-find it very difficult to suck her, on account
-of the largeness of the mouth, and the smallness
-of the nipples. The margin of the trunk,
-which the elephant contracts as much as he
-pleases, is easily proportioned to the nipple, and
-the young elephant may suck his mother with
-it, either when she stands, or lies on her side.
-Thus, every thing agrees to confute the opinion
-of the ancients on this subject, for none
-of them, nor even any of the moderns, pretend
-to have seen the elephant sucking, and I think,
-I may affirm, that whenever that observation
-is made, it will appear, that he does not suck
-with his mouth, but with his trunk. I likewise
-believe, that the ancients have been mistaken
-in telling us, that elephants couple like
-other quadrupeds, the position of the parts
-seeming to make it almost impossible. The
-female has not, like other quadrupeds, the orifice
-of the vagina near the anus, being near
-three feet distance from it, and seated almost
-in the middle of the belly. Besides, naturalists
-and travellers agree that the male elephant
-has not the genital member longer than a horse,
-and therefore it is impossible for them to copulate
-like other quadrupeds, and that the female
-must necessarily lie on her back, and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span>
-which De Feynes and Tavernier positively
-affirm must be the fact, though I should not
-pay much attention to their testimony were it
-not in conformity with the physical conformation;
-they require, therefore, for this operation,
-more time and conveniences, than
-other animals; and it is, perhaps, for this reason
-they never couple, but when at full liberty.
-The female must not only consent, but even
-place herself in an indecent situation, to provoke
-the male, which probably, she never assumes
-but when she thinks herself without
-witnesses. Is not modesty then a physical
-virtue of which animals are susceptible? It is
-at least like softness, moderation, temperance,
-a general attribute of the female sex.</p>
-
-<p>Thus the elephant neither sucks, eats, or
-drinks, like other quadrupeds. The sound of
-his voice is also very singular. If we believe
-the ancients, he has, as it were, two voices: the
-one issuing from the trunk, which is rough, and
-from the length of the passage is somewhat
-like that of a trumpet; and the other coming
-from his mouth, which is interrupted by short
-pauses and hard sighs. This fact, advanced by
-Aristotle and afterwards repeated by naturalists
-and some travellers, is at least doubtful.
-M. de Bussy affirms positively, that the elephant
-does not utter any sounds through the trunk; yet
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span>
-as in shutting the mouth close, man can make
-a sound through the nose, it is possible that the
-elephant, with so long a nose may issue sounds
-in the same manner. From wherever it proceeds,
-the cry of the elephant is heard at more
-than a league&rsquo;s distance; and yet, it is not so
-terrifying as the roaring of the lion or the
-tiger.</p>
-
-<p>The elephant is yet more singular in the
-conformation of his feet, and the texture of
-his skin. He is not clothed with hair like
-other quadrupeds, but his skin is perfectly bare;
-some bristles issue out in different parts, they
-are thinly scattered on the body, but more thick
-on the eye-lids, on the back part of the head,
-within the ears, the thighs, and the legs. The
-epidermis has two sorts of wrinkles, which are
-hard and callous, some sinking, others prominent,
-which gives a divided appearance,
-like the bark of an old oak. In man, and in
-other animals, the epidermis sticks every where
-close to the skin, but 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 divers crusts, which are
-regenerated one above the other, drying up.
-It is this thickness of the epidermis which
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span>
-produces the <i>elephantiasis</i>, or dry leprosy,
-to which man, whose skin is bare like that of
-the elephant, is sometimes subject. This distemper
-is very common to elephants, and to
-prevent it the Indians rub them often with oil,
-to preserve the skin clean and supple. It is
-very tender wherever it is not callous; in the
-fissures, and other places, where it is neither
-dry nor hard, the elephant is so sensible 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, ears, and trunk, to strike them; he
-contracts his skin and squeezes them to death
-betwixt his wrinkles; he takes branches of
-trees, boughs, and handfuls of straw, to drive
-them away, and when all this does not answer
-the purpose, he gathers dust with his trunk,
-and covers with it all the tender parts of his
-body. He often covers himself with dust several
-times in a day, particularly after bathing.
-The use of water is almost as necessary to
-these animals as air. When at liberty they
-seldom leave the banks of rivers, but often go
-into them, and remain for hours together up to
-the belly. In India, where they are treated
-most suitable to their nature and constitution,
-they wash them with care, and give them all
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span>
-the necessary time and opportunity to wash
-themselves. They clean their skins by rubbing
-it with pumice-stones, and afterwards they
-pour on them perfumed oil, and paint them
-with various colours.</p>
-
-<p>The conformation of the elephant&rsquo;s feet and
-legs is also different from that of other animals;
-the fore legs seem to be higher than
-those behind, yet the hind legs are the longest;
-they are not bent in two places, like the hind
-legs of a horse, or an ox, the thigh-bones of
-which seem to be of the same piece with the
-buttock, the knee very near the belly, and
-the bones of the foot so high and so long that
-they seem to make a great part of the leg; in
-the elephant, on the contrary, the foot is very
-short, and rests on the ground; he has the
-knee like man, in the middle of the leg; his
-short foot is divided into five toes, which are
-all covered with a skin, so as not to appear
-outwardly; we are only able to perceive a
-kind of nails, the number of which varies,
-though that of the toes is constant, for he has
-always five toes to each foot, and commonly
-five nails, but sometimes he has no more than
-four, or even three, and in this case they do
-not correspond exactly with the extremities of
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span>
-the toes. However, this variety, which has
-only been observed in young elephants transported
-to Europe, seems to be merely accidental,
-and depends, probably on the treatment
-the elephant has received in his youth.
-The sole of the feet is covered with a skin, as
-hard as the hoof, which projects all round;
-the nails are formed of the same substance.</p>
-
-<p>The ears of the elephant are very long; he
-makes use of them as a fan, and moves them
-as he pleases: his tail is not longer than his
-ears, being 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; these bristles are as big and
-as strong as wire, and a man cannot break them
-by pulling with his hands, though they are
-elastic and pliant. This tuft of hair is an
-ornament which the negro women are particularly
-partial to, from superstitious notions.
-An elephant&rsquo;s tail is sometimes sold for two or
-three slaves, and the negroes often hazard their
-lives to cut and snatch it from the living animal.
-Besides this tuft at the extremity, the tail
-is covered throughout with hard bristles, bigger
-than those of a wild boar; some are also
-found on the convex part of the trunk, and
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span>
-on the eye-brows, where they sometimes are a
-foot in length. The hairs on the eye-lids are
-peculiar to men, monkeys, and elephants.</p>
-
-<p>The climate, food, and condition, have great
-influence on the growth and size of the elephant.
-In general those who are taken
-young, and early lose their liberty, never come
-to their full growth. The biggest elephants
-of India, and the eastern coasts 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 are brought young into
-Europe acquire not that height. That which
-was in the menagerie of 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, and as the growth gradually
-diminishes as animals advance in years, if he
-had lived thirty years, which is the ordinary
-term of their full growth, he would not have
-been more than eight feet high. Thus a
-domestic state reduces the growth of the animal
-at least one third, not only in height but
-in all other dimensions. The length of the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span>
-body, measured from the eye to the tail, is very
-near equal to his height; an elephant of the
-Indies, therefore, of fourteen feet high, is seven
-times bigger and heavier than was the elephant
-of Versailles. In comparing the growth of
-this animal with that of man we shall find,
-that an infant, being commonly thirty-one
-inches, that is half his height when he is two
-years old, and coming to his full growth at
-twenty, the elephant, who increases in height
-and bulk to his thirtieth year, should come
-to half his height in three years. In the same
-manner, if we judge of the enormity of the
-bulk of the elephant, it will be found, that
-the volume of a man&rsquo;s body being supposed to
-be two cubic feet and a half, the body of an
-elephant of fourteen feet in length, allowing
-him only three feet in thickness, and of a
-middling breadth, would be fifty times as big,
-and, consequently, an elephant ought to weigh
-as much as fifty men.</p>
-
-<p>&ldquo;I have seen (says father Vincent Marie)
-some elephants who were fourteen or fifteen
-feet high, long and thick in proportion. The
-male is always larger than the female. The
-price of these animals increases in proportion
-to their size, which is measured from the eye
-to the extremity of the back, and after exceeding
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span>
-certain dimensions, the price increases like
-that of precious stones.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>&ldquo;The elephants of Guinea (says Bosman)
-are ten, twelve, or thirteen feet in height, and
-yet they are incomparably smaller than those of
-the East Indies, since those who have written
-the history of that country, give to those more
-cubits in height, than the others have feet.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>&ldquo;I have seen elephants thirteen feet high,
-(says Edward Terry) and I have met with
-many, who affirmed they have seen elephants
-fifteen feet high<a name="FNanchor_AG_33" id="FNanchor_AG_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_AG_33" class="fnanchor">[AG]</a>."</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_AG_33" id="Footnote_AG_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AG_33"><span class="label">[AG]</span></a> These authors probably referred to different measures,
-the first meaning Roman, the second Rhenish, and the last
-English feet.</p></div>
-
-<p>From these, and many other attestations, we
-may conclude, that the most common size of
-the elephant is from ten to eleven feet; that
-those of thirteen or fourteen feet are very scarce,
-and that the smallest are at least nine feet high
-when they come to their full growth in a state
-of liberty. These enormous lumps of matter,
-as we have observed, move with much celerity;
-they are supported by four members, which are
-more like pillars, or massive columns, than legs,
-and are from fifteen to eighteen inches in diameter,
-and five or six feet in height; their legs
-are therefore twice as long as those of a man;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span>
-thus, though the elephant took but one step to
-a man&rsquo;s two, he would overtake him in running.
-The common pace of the elephant is not
-swifter than that of the horse; but when he is
-pressed, he goes a sort of amble, equivalent for
-quickness to a gallop. He executes with speed,
-and even with ease, all direct motion; but he
-has no facility for oblique or retrograde motions.
-It is commonly in narrow and deep
-roads, where he can hardly turn, that the negroes
-attack him, and cut off his tail, which
-they value as much as the whole animal. He
-cannot go down a steep declivity without much
-difficulty, he is then obliged to bend the hind
-legs, in order to keep the fore part of his body
-on a level with the hind, and that his own
-weight may not throw him down. He swims
-well, though the form of his legs and feet seem
-to indicate the contrary; but as the capacity of
-his breast and belly is very large, as the volume
-of the lungs and intestines is enormous, and as
-those parts are full of air, or matter lighter than
-water, he sinks less deep than any other animal;
-he finds less resistance to overcome, and,
-consequently, can swim faster in making less
-efforts with his limbs. Thus, he is very
-useful for crossing rivers; besides two field-pieces,
-each of them four-pounders, with
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span>
-which he is loaded on these occasions, he carries
-heavy baggage, and several persons holding
-him by the ears and tail. When thus
-loaded, he swims deep in the water, and nothing
-is seen but his trunk, which he keeps
-erect to enable him to breathe.</p>
-
-<p>Though the elephant commonly feeds on
-herbs and young branches, and requires prodigious
-quantities of these aliments, to extract
-from them the nutrition necessary to such a
-body, yet he has not many stomachs, like most
-animals who feed on the same substances. He
-has but one stomach, does not ruminate, and
-is formed more like the horse than the ox, or
-other ruminating animals. The want of a
-paunch is supplied by the bigness and length
-of his intestines, and especially of the colon,
-which is two or three feet in diameter, and fifteen
-or twenty in length. The stomach is
-much smaller than the colon, being but four
-feet, at the most, in length, and a foot and a
-half in diameter. To fill such a capaciousness,
-the animal must eat almost continually,
-especially when he has no food more substantial
-than herbage; therefore the wild elephants
-are almost always employed in grubbing up
-trees, gathering herbs, or breaking young
-boughs; and those that are tame, though fed
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span>
-with great quantities of rice, pluck up herbs
-whenever they find an opportunity. However
-great the appetite of the elephant, he eats
-with moderation, and his taste for cleanliness
-gets the better of his wants. His dexterity in
-parting, with his trunk, the good leaves from
-the bad, and the care he takes to shake off the
-sand or insects, are convincing marks of his
-delicacy. He is very fond of wine, spirituous
-liquors, brandy, and arrack. He is prevailed
-upon to exert his greatest efforts, and to undertake
-the most arduous task, by shewing
-him a vessel full of these liquors, and promising
-it to him as the reward of his labours.
-He seems also to like the smoke of tobacco,
-but it stupifies and intoxicates him: he has a
-natural aversion to bad smells, and such an
-antipathy for hogs, that the cry of that animal
-disorders and puts him to flight.</p>
-
-<p>To give a complete idea of the nature and
-intelligence of this singular animal, I shall insert
-here some particulars communicated to
-me by the Marquis de Montmirail, President
-of the Royal Academy of Sciences, who has
-taken the trouble to translate from some Italian
-and German books, which were not known to
-me, whatever relates to the history of the animal
-creation. His taste for arts and sciences,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span>
-his zeal for the advancement of them, his exquisite
-judgment, and a very extensive knowledge
-of all the parts of Natural History, entitle
-him to the greatest respect, and it is with
-pleasure and gratitude I refer to the information
-he has given me, and which I shall have
-frequent occasion to refer to in the subsequent
-part of this work:&mdash;"They make use of the
-elephant to carry artillery over mountains;
-and it is then that he gives the greatest proofs
-of his intelligence: when the oxen, yoked together,
-endeavour to draw a piece of artillery up
-a mountain, the elephant pushes the breech of
-the cannon with his forehead, and at every
-effort he supports the carriage with his knee,
-which he places against the wheel. He seems
-as if he understood what is 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 shews any repugnance to comply,
-the <i>cornack</i>, so his leader is called, promises
-to give him arrack, or some other thing
-that he likes; then the animal agrees to every
-thing proposed; but it is dangerous to break a
-promise with him, as many cornacks have
-fallen victims by such conduct. An instance of
-this happened at Dekan, which deserves to be
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span>
-recorded; and which, however incredible it
-may appear, is perfectly true. An elephant,
-in revenge, killed his cornack; the man&rsquo;s wife
-being witness of this dreadful catastrophe,
-took her two children and threw them to the
-feet of the still enraged animal, saying, <i>Since
-thou hast killed my husband, take also my life
-and that of my children</i>. The elephant stopped
-short, grew calm, and, as if moved with regret
-and compassion, took with his trunk the biggest
-of the two children, placed him on his neck,
-adopted him for his cornack, and would never
-suffer any other to mount him afterwards.</p>
-
-<p>&ldquo;If the elephant be vindictive he is no less
-grateful. A soldier at Pondicherry, who commonly
-gave one of these animals a certain
-measure of arrack every time he received his
-pay, having one day drank more than common,
-and seeing himself pursued by the guard, who
-wanted to conduct him to prison, took refuge
-under the elephant, and there fell asleep. In
-vain did the guard attempt to draw him out
-from this asylum, the elephant firmly defending
-him with his trunk. The next day,
-when the soldier became sober, he was struck
-with terror to find himself under an animal of
-such enormous bulk. The elephant, who no
-doubt perceived his consternation, caressed
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span>
-him with his trunk, and made him understand
-that he might depart freely.</p>
-
-<p>&ldquo;The elephant sometimes falls into a sort of
-phrenzy, which deprives him of his tractability,
-and makes him so formidable that it is frequently
-thought necessary to kill him, though
-they generally tie him with heavy chains, in
-hopes that he will come to himself; but when
-in his natural state the most acute pains cannot
-provoke him to do any harm to those who have
-not offended him. An elephant, made furious
-by the wounds he had received in the battle of
-Hambour, ran about the field crying out in the
-most hideous manner. A soldier, notwithstanding
-the warning of his companions, was unable
-to fly, perhaps from being wounded; the elephant
-coming up to him appeared afraid of
-trampling him under his feet, took him up with
-his trunk, placed him gently on one side, and
-continued his march.&rdquo; These particulars were
-given to the Marquis Montmirail by M. de
-Bussy, who lived ten years in India, and served
-the state with reputation. He had several elephants
-in his service; he mounted them often,
-saw them every day, and had frequent opportunities
-of observing many others.</p>
-
-<p>The gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences
-have also communicated to us the following
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span>
-facts, which they learned from those who governed
-the elephant at Versailles, and which
-deserve to be mentioned here. &ldquo;The elephant
-seemed to discern when any body made a fool
-of him, and he remembered the affront to be
-revenged the first opportunity. A man deceived
-him by feigning to throw something
-into his mouth, upon which the animal gave
-him such a blow with his trunk as broke two
-of his ribs; having knocked him down, he
-trampled him under his feet, and broke one of
-his legs, and then kneeling down, he tried to
-thrust his tusks into the man&rsquo;s belly, which,
-however, went into the ground on both sides of
-his thigh, without hurting him. He bruised
-another man, by squeezing him against the
-wall, for a little mockery. A painter was
-desirous to draw him in an unusual attitude,
-with his trunk erect and his mouth open; the
-servant of the painter, to make him remain in
-that attitude, threw fruits into his mouth, but
-often deceived him, which provoked his indignation,
-and, as if he knew the painter was
-the cause of his being thus insulted, without
-taking any notice of the servant, he threw such
-a quantity of water with his trunk upon the
-paper, the master was drawing on, as totally
-to spoil the design. The elephant made less
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span>
-use of his strength than of his address, which
-was such that he untied with great facility a
-double leather string which fastened his leg,
-and as this buckle had a small string twisted
-around it with several knots, he untied them
-all without breaking either the strings or the
-strap. One night, having thus disentangled
-himself from his leather strings, he dexterously
-broke open the door of his lodge, so that his
-keeper was not awakened by the noise; he
-went from thence into several courts of the
-menagerie, breaking open the doors that were
-shut, and pulling down the stone work when
-the passage was too narrow for him to pass;
-by this means he got into the lodges of other
-animals, terrifying them to that degree, that
-they hid themselves in the remotest parts of
-the inclosures.&rdquo; In fine, to omit nothing that
-may contribute to make all the natural and
-acquired faculties of this animal so superior to
-all others, perfectly known, we shall add some
-facts, extracted from the most credible authors.
-&ldquo;The elephant, even when wild (says
-Father Vincent Marie), has his virtues. He
-is generous and temperate; and when tamed
-he is esteemed for gentleness and fidelity to his
-master, and friendship for his governors. If
-destined to the immediate services of princes
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span>
-he knows his fortune, and preserves a gravity
-agreeable to the dignity of his employ. If, on
-the contrary, he is employed in mean labours,
-he evidently grieves and laments his being
-thus debased. In war he is impetuous and
-proud at the first onset; he is equally so when
-surrounded by hunters, but he loses courage
-when he is conquered. He fights with his
-tusks, and fears nothing so much as losing his
-trunk, which, by its consistence, is easily cut
-off. He is naturally mild, never attacks any
-person, unless he has been offended; he seems
-to delight in company, is particularly fond of
-children, caresses them, and seems to be sensible
-that they are harmless and innocent.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>&ldquo;The elephant, (says F. Pyrard) is an animal
-of so much judgment and knowledge, that
-one should think him endowed with rational
-faculties; besides being of infinite service to
-man. If wanted to be ridden, he is so supple,
-and obedient, that he conforms to the conveniency
-and quality of the person he serves:
-he bends his knees, and helps his leader to
-mount him with his trunk. He is so tractable,
-that he does whatever he is required, provided
-he is treated with gentleness. He performs all
-that he is commanded, and caresses those whom
-he is directed to use with civility.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span></p>
-
-<p>&ldquo;By giving the elephants, (says the Dutch
-travellers) whatever can please them, they are
-as easily tamed and rendered as submissive as
-men. It may be said they want no other faculty,
-but that of speech. They are proud
-and ambitious, but they remember good offices,
-and are so grateful for them, that they never
-fail to incline their head as a mark of respect,
-when they pass before a house where they have
-been well used. They may be conducted at
-the command of a child, but they love to be
-praised and cherished. No person can affront,
-or injure them without their notice; and those
-who have treated them with disrespect, may
-think themselves happy if they escape without
-being sprinkled with the water from their
-trunks, or thrown into the dirt.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>&ldquo;The elephants, (says Father Philip) come
-very near the human species in judgment and
-reasoning. Monkeys are stupid brute animals
-compared to them. The elephants are so
-modest, that they cannot bear being seen when
-they couple; and if by chance, any person
-were to see this operation they would infallibly
-be revenged of them. They salute by bending
-the knees, and inclining their head; and when
-their master shews his intention to mount them,
-they so dexterously present to him their foot,
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span>
-that he may use it as a step. When a wild
-elephant is taken, and his feet are tied, one of
-the hunters comes near, salutes, makes an
-apology for having tied him, and protests that
-his intention is not to do him any harm; tells
-him that in his savage state he often wanted
-food, but now he will be treated with tenderness,
-and which he promises to do constantly.
-The hunter has no sooner finished this soothing
-discourse, than the elephant follows him as
-gently as a lamb. We must not, however,
-conclude from this, that the elephant understands
-languages, but only having a particular
-discerning faculty, he knows the motions of
-esteem from contempt, friendship from hatred,
-and all other sentiments of man towards him,
-for which cause he is more easily tamed by
-reasoning than by blows. He throws stones to
-a great distance, and very straight with his
-trunk; which he also makes use of to pour water
-over his body when bathing.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>&ldquo;Of five elephants, (says Tavernier) which
-the hunters had taken, three escaped, although
-their bodies and legs were fastened with chains
-and ropes. These men told us the following
-surprising circumstance, if it can be believed,
-that when an elephant has been caught, and
-escaped the snare, he becomes very mistrustful
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span>
-and breaks off a large branch with his trunk,
-with which he sounds the ground before he puts
-his foot upon it, to discover if there are any holes,
-by which he may be caught a second time; for
-this reason the hunters, who related this singularity,
-despaired of catching again the three
-elephants who had escaped. The other two
-which they had caught, was each of them
-placed betwixt two tame elephants, and around
-them were six men, holding torches, who
-spoke to the animals, and presented them something
-to eat, saying, in their language, &lsquo;take
-this and eat it.&rsquo; What they gave them consisted
-of small bundles of hay, bits of black
-sugar, and rice boiled in water, with pepper.
-When the wild elephant refused to do what he
-was ordered, the men commanded the tame
-elephants to beat him, which they did immediately;
-one striking his forehead, and when
-he seemed to aim at a revenge, the other struck
-him on the side, so that the poor creature
-soon perceived he had nothing to do, but to
-obey.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>&ldquo;I have several times observed, (says Edward
-Terry) that the elephant does many
-things which seemed to be more the result of
-a rational than an instinctive faculty. He
-does whatever his master commands him.
-If he wishes him to frighten any body, he
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span>
-advances towards him with the same fury
-as if he would tear him to pieces, and when
-near he stops short, without doing him any
-harm. If the master is inclined to affront
-another, he speaks to the elephant, who takes
-up dirty water with his trunk, and throws
-it over the person pointed out to him. His
-trunk is made of a cartilage, hangs betwixt
-his tusks, and by some called his hand, because
-on many occasions it is as serviceable
-to him as the hand is to men. The Mogul
-keeps elephants for the execution of criminals
-condemned to death. If their leader bids
-them dispatch the wretched creatures quickly,
-they tear them to pieces in a moment
-with their feet; but if commanded to make
-the criminals languish, they break their bones
-one after another, and make them suffer torments
-as cruel as those of the wheel.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>We might quote several other facts equally
-curious and interesting, but we should exceed
-the limits of this work; we should not have
-even entered into so many particulars, if the
-elephant (<a href="#FIG_133"><i>fig. 133</i></a>) were not, of all animals, the
-first in every respect, and that which consequently
-deserves most attention.</p>
-
-<p>We have said nothing respecting the production
-of his ivory because M. Daubenton has
-made several useful observations upon the nature
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span>
-and quality of it, but he has at the same
-time assigned to the elephant the tusks, and
-prodigious bones attributed to the mammoth.
-I confess I was long doubtful on this subject;
-I had several times considered those enormous
-bones, and compared them with the skeleton
-of an almost adult elephant preserved in the
-king&rsquo;s cabinet, and before writing the history
-of those animals, I could not persuade
-myself that elephants six or seven times bigger
-than the one whose skeleton I had seen,
-could exist; more especially, as the large bones
-had not the same proportions with the corresponding
-ones of the elephant, I thought with
-the generality of naturalists that these enormous
-bones had belonged to an animal much
-larger, whose species was lost or annihilated.
-But it is certain, as we have mentioned before,
-that some elephants exist who are fourteen feet
-high, that is, six or seven times bigger (for
-the bulk is in proportion to the cube in
-height) than the elephant, of whose skeleton
-we have spoken, and which was not
-more than seven feet and a half in height.
-It is also certain, for the observations of
-M. Daubenton, that age changes the proportion
-of the bones and when the animal
-is adult, they grow considerably thicker,
-though they are come to their full height: in
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span>
-fine, it is certain, from the relations of travellers,
-that of some elephants, the tusks
-weigh more than 120lbs.<a name="FNanchor_AH_34" id="FNanchor_AH_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_AH_34" class="fnanchor">[AH]</a> From these observations,
-we cannot doubt that those tusks
-and bones we have already noticed for their
-prodigious size, actually belonged to the
-elephant. Sir Hans Sloane was of that opinion,
-but he did not prove it. M. Gmelin
-said it still more affirmatively, and gave on this
-subject several curious facts<a name="FNanchor_AI_35" id="FNanchor_AI_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_AI_35" class="fnanchor">[AI]</a>; but M. Daubenton
-is the first who has proved them unquestionably
-by exact measures and comparisons,
-and reasons founded on the great knowledge
-that he has acquired in the Science of
-Anatomy.</p>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_AH_34" id="Footnote_AH_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AH_34"><span class="label">[AH]</span></a> Mr. Eden says, that several elephant&rsquo;s tusks which he
-measured, were no less than nine feet long, and as big as a
-man&rsquo;s thigh in circumference, some of them weighing more
-than nine pounds; and that he saw a head in the possession
-of a Mr. Jude, which had been brought from Guinea by
-some English ships, of which the mere bones, without the
-tusks, weighed upwards of 200lbs. and it was supposed that
-when the head was entire it could not weigh less than 500lbs.
-Lopes affirms he met with several tusks that weighed 200lbs.
-<i>Hist. Gen. des Voyages.</i> This magnitude of the tusks is also
-confirmed by Drake, Holbe, and the Dutch travellers.</p></div>
-
-<div class="footnote">
-
-<p><a name="Footnote_AI_35" id="Footnote_AI_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AI_35"><span class="label">[AI]</span></a> The Czar, Peter, being curious in Natural History, issued
-orders in the year 1722, that wherever any bones of the
-mammoth should be found, search should be made after the
-remainder, and the whole of them sent to Petersburg,
-and which orders were made public in all the towns of Siberia.
-In consequence of this several persons applied to the Woywode
-of Jakutzk to be sent off to two different places, where
-they affirmed they had seen these bones; their demands
-were complied with, and many of them returned with heads
-and various bones, which were transmitted to Petersburg,
-and placed in the imperial cabinet; but it will be found
-upon examination that all the bones placed there, under the
-denomination of the Mammoth bones, are perfectly similar
-with the elephant&rsquo;s. And as to their being found under
-the earth and in Siberia, it may fairly be presumed that
-in the great revolutions which have happened to the earth,
-a great number of elephants might be driven from their native
-climates; many have been destroyed by the inundations,
-and those who wandered so far into the North must necessarily
-have perished from the rigours of the climate. <i>Voyage
-a Kamtschatka par M. Gmelin.</i></p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span></p></div>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>THE female elephant, as in all other animals,
-is more gentle than the male, at least
-we found it so, for the male which we saw in
-1771, was more fierce and untractable than a
-female we witnessed in 1773; he would frequently
-lay hold of, and tear the clothes of
-those who approached too near him, and even
-his keepers were always obliged to be on their
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span>
-guard, while she was perfectly quiet, and
-always ready to obey, nor ever shewed a disposition
-to be perverse but when they wanted
-to put her into a covered waggon for the purpose
-of conveying her from one town to another;
-upon which occasion she would refuse to go
-forward, and they had no means of making her
-advance but by pricking her behind; this
-would make her very angry, and being unable
-to turn, the only way she had of revenge was
-to take up water in her trunk and throw it
-over them, and which she would do in pretty
-large quantities.</p>
-
-<p>I formerly remarked, there was a probability,
-from the situation of the sexual organs, that
-these animals did not copulate in the same manner
-as other quadrupeds, but this conjecture I
-understand is not warranted in fact, for M.
-Marcel Bles thus expresses himself upon the
-subject: &ldquo;The comte de Buffon, in his excellent
-work, is deceived in respect to the
-copulation of the elephants. In many parts of
-Asia and Africa they certainly, during their
-season of love, retire into the most secret
-recesses of the forests; but in the island of
-Ceylon which is almost in every part inhabited,
-and where I have lived twelve years, they have
-not that opportunity of concealing themselves.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span>
-I have frequently examined them, and from the
-female organ being nearly in the middle of the
-belly there is some reason to conclude as M. de
-Buffon has done; however, when inclined to
-admit the male, I have seen the female bend her
-two fore legs upon the root of a tree, lowering,
-at the same time, her head and neck, and keeping
-her hind legs erect, which gave the male an
-opportunity of acting in the same manner as
-other quadrupeds. They never copulate but
-in a state of freedom. The males are very furious
-in the rutting season, and it is very dangerous
-to go near them; during which the
-females will sometimes make their escape, and
-seek the wild males in the woods. A few days
-after her cornack goes into the woods in search
-of her, and she will come to him upon hearing
-him call her by name, and quietly suffer herself
-to be led home again. It was from these excursions
-discovered that the females bring forth
-at the end of nine months.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>I certainly am ready to give full credit to
-the first remark of M. Marcel Bless, because he
-assures us that he has seen the elephant perform
-the operation; but I cannot think we ought so
-perfectly to acquiesce as to the time of their
-going with young, since it is the opinion of all
-travellers that they do not bring forth in a less
-period than two years.</p>
-
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span></p>
-
-<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_RHINOCEROS" id="THE_RHINOCEROS">THE RHINOCEROS.</a></p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-
-<p>AFTER the elephant the Rhinoceros
-(<a href="#FIG_124"><i>fig. 124</i></a>) is the most powerful of 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 nearly equal to his length. In bulk,
-therefore, he nearly resembles the elephant, and
-if he appears smaller, it is because his legs are
-shorter in proportion than those of the elephant.
-But he differs widely from that sagacious animal
-by his natural faculties and intelligence,
-having received from Nature merely what she
-grants in common to all animals. He is deprived
-of all feeling in his skin; he has no organ
-to answer the purpose of hands, to give
-him a distinct sense of touching; instead of a
-trunk he has only a moveable lip, in which
-centres all his dexterity. He is superior to other
-animals only in strength, magnitude, and the
-offensive weapon, which he carries upon his
-nose, and which is peculiar to him. This
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span>
-weapon is a very hard horn, solid throughout,
-and placed more advantageously than the horn
-of ruminating animals; those only protect the
-superior parts of the head and neck, whilst the
-horn of the rhinoceros defends all the exterior
-parts of the muzzle, the mouth, and the face,
-from insult. For this reason the tiger attacks
-more readily the elephant, whose trunk he can
-seize, than the rhinoceros, which he cannot
-attack in front without running the danger of
-having his inside torn out; for the body and
-limbs are covered with so impenetrable a skin
-that he fears neither the claws of the tiger nor
-lion, nor the fire and weapons of the huntsman.
-His skin is blackish, of the same colour,
-but thicker and harder than that of the
-elephant; nor does he feel the sting of flies.
-He cannot contract nor extend his skin; it is
-folded by large wrinkles on the neck, shoulders,
-and rump to facilitate the motion of his head
-and legs, which last are massive, and terminated
-by large feet, armed with three great
-toes. His head is larger in proportion than
-that of the elephant, but his eyes are still
-smaller, which he seldom opens entirely. The
-upper jaw projects above the lower, and the
-upper lip is moveable, and may be lengthened
-six or seven inches; it is terminated by a sharp
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span>
-edge, which gives the animal the power to gather
-grass and divide it into handfuls, as the
-elephant does with his trunk. This muscular
-and flexible lip is a sort of imperfect trunk
-which is equally capable of seizing with force,
-and feeling with delicacy. Instead of those
-long ivory tusks, which form the weapons of
-the elephant, the rhinoceros has a powerful
-horn, and two strong incisive teeth in each
-jaw: these teeth, which the elephant has not,
-are placed at a great distance, one in each
-corner or angle of the jaws; the under jaw is
-square before, and there are no other incisive
-teeth in all the interior part, which is covered
-by the lips; but, independently of these four
-incisive teeth, placed in the four corners of
-the mouth, he has twenty-four smaller teeth,
-six on each side of each jaw. His ears are always
-erect; they are in form like those of the
-hog, only they are smaller in proportion to
-his body, and they are the only hairy parts
-about him. The end of the tail, like that of
-the elephant, is furnished with a tuft of large
-bristles, very hard and very solid.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Parsons, a celebrated physician in London,
-to whom the republic of letters is indebted
-for several discoveries in Natural History, and
-to whom I am under obligations for the marks
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span>
-of esteem and friendship he has honoured me
-with, published in 1744, a Natural History of
-the Rhinoceros, of which I shall give an extract
-with more willingness, because whatever Mr.
-Parsons has written deserves credit and attention.</p>
-
-<p>&ldquo;Though the rhinoceros was often seen at
-the spectacles at Rome, from the time of Pompey
-to that of Heliogabalus, though many have
-been transported into Europe in these last ages,
-and though Bontius, Chardin, and Kolbe, have
-drawn this figure, both in the Indies and Africa,
-yet he was so badly represented, and his description
-was so incorrect, that he was known
-very imperfectly, until those which arrived in
-London in 1739 and 1741, were inspected,
-when the errors or caprices of those who had
-published figures of him became very visible.
-That of Albert Durer, which was the first, is
-the least conformable to Nature; it has, nevertheless,
-been copied by most naturalists;
-and some of them have loaded it with false
-drapery, and foreign ornaments. That of
-Bontius is more simple and more true; but
-the inferior part of the legs is badly delineated.
-On the contrary, that of Chardin represents
-naturally the foldings of the skin and feet,
-but in other respects does not resemble the animal.
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span>
-That of Camerarius is not better; nor
-is that drawn from the rhinoceros which was
-in London in 1685, and which was published
-by Carwitham in 1739. Those which were
-engraved on the ancient pavement of Pr�neste,
-or on the medals of Domitian, are very imperfect;
-but they have not the imaginary ornaments
-given to that of Albert Durer.&rdquo; Dr.
-Parsons has taken the trouble to draw this
-animal himself in three different views, before,
-behind, and in profile; and particular parts
-from other rhinoceroses which are preserved
-in the cabinets of Natural History.</p>
-
-<p>The rhinoceros which arrived in London in
-1739, was sent from Bengal: though not more
-than two years old, the expences of his food,
-and of 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 portions:
-he had also hay and green herbage, to the last
-of which he gave the preference. His drink
-was water, of which he drank great quantities
-at a time. He was of a quiet disposition, and
-suffered all parts of his body to be felt. He
-grew unruly upon being struck, or when he was
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span>
-hungry; and in both cases he could only be
-appeased by giving him something to eat.
-When he was angry he leaped forwards with
-impetuosity, and raised himself to a great
-height, and rushed furiously against the walls
-with his head, and which he did with a prodigious
-quickness, notwithstanding his heavy
-appearance and massive corpulence. &ldquo;I have
-often been witness (says Dr. Parsons) of those
-motions produced by impatience or anger, especially
-in the morning before his rice and
-sugar were brought him. The quickness and
-celerity of the motions of this animal made me
-of opinion that he is absolutely unconquerable,
-and that he would easily overtake any man
-who should have given him offence.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p>This rhinoceros, when two years old, was
-not higher than a young cow who had never
-had any young; but his body was very long and
-very thick. His head was large in proportion
-to his body; taking it from the ears to the
-horn of the nose, it formed a concavity, the
-extremities of which, that is, the upper end of
-the snout, and the part near the ears are very
-high. The horn, not then an inch long, was
-black, smooth at the end, but wrinkled and directed
-backwards at the base. His nostrils
-were not above an inch from the mouth; the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span>
-under lip was like that of a ox, but the upper
-resembled that of an horse, with this difference
-and advantage, that the rhinoceros can lengthen,
-direct, turn it round a stick, and seize with it
-those objects which he wants to carry to his
-mouth. The tongue of this young rhinoceros
-was soft like that of a calf; his eyes had no vivacity,
-they were formed like those of a hog,
-and were placed very low, that is, near the
-opening of the nostrils. His ears were large,
-thin towards the end, and bound up with a sort
-of wrinkle at the origin. His neck was very
-short, the skin forming on this part two large
-foldings which surround him. His shoulders
-were very thick, and at their juncture there was
-another fold of skin which comes under the
-fore legs. The body of this young rhinoceros
-was very thick, and resembled that of a cow
-ready to bring forth. There was another fold
-betwixt the body and the rump, which descends
-under the hind legs; and lastly, there was another
-fold which transversally surrounds the lower
-part of the crupper, at some distance from the
-tail. The belly was very big, and hung down
-to the ground, especially the middle part; the
-legs were round, thick, strong, and bent backward
-at the joint, which was covered by a remarkable
-fold of the skin when the animal laid
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span>
-down, but it disappeared when he was standing.
-The tail was thin and short, compared to the
-volume of the body; that of this rhinoceros
-was not above seventeen inches in length; it
-is a little thicker at the extremity, which is covered
-with hard, short and thick hair. The
-sexual organ of the rhinoceros is of an extraordinary
-form; it is contained in a sort of
-case, like that of a horse, and the first thing
-which appears when irritated is a second prepuce
-of flesh colour, from which issues a
-hollow pipe, in form of a funnel, like a fleur
-de luce. It not being in a straight direction,
-but rather inclining backward, he emits his
-urine behind, and from which it appears their
-copulation must be different from other animals.
-The female has the exterior parts
-of generation situated like those of the cow,
-and she resembles perfectly the male in the
-size and form of the body. The skin is
-thick and impenetrable; in taking the folds
-with the hand, it feels like a wooden plank
-half an inch thick. &ldquo;When it is tanned
-(says Dr. Grew) it is excessively hard,
-and thicker than the skin of any other terrestrial
-animal.&rdquo; It is every where more or
-less covered with incrustations, in the shape
-of galls, which are small on the summit of the
-neck and back, but becomes bigger down the
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span>
-sides; the largest are on the shoulders and
-crupper, the thighs, and around the legs, down
-to the feet; but betwixt the folds the skin is
-penetrable, and even tender, and as soft as
-silk, while the outward part of the folds is as
-rough as the rest. This tender skin between
-the folds is of flesh colour, and the skin of the
-belly is nearly of the same colour and consistence;
-but those galls, or tuberosities, should
-not, as some authors have done, be compared
-to scales, as they are mere callosities of the
-skin, irregular in their figure and symmetry in
-their respective positions. The suppleness of
-the skin in the folds gives the rhinoceros the
-power of moving his head, neck, and limbs,
-with facility. The whole body, except at the
-joints, is inflexible, like a cuirass. Dr. Parsons
-says, that this animal hearkened with a
-sort of continual attention to any kind of noise;
-so that if he was even sleeping, eating, or satisfying
-other urgent wants, he instantly raised
-up his head, and listened till the noise had
-ceased.</p>
-
-<p>In fine, after giving this exact description of
-the rhinoceros, Dr. Parsons examines whether
-the rhinoceros with a double horn exists, and
-having compared the relations of ancients and
-moderns, and the remains of this variety,
-found in the collections of natural objects, he
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span>
-concludes, with some probability, that the
-rhinoceroses of Asia have commonly but one
-horn, and those of Africa, generally two.</p>
-
-<p>It is certain that some rhinoceroses have
-but one horn, and others have two; but it is
-not equally certain that this variety is constant,
-and depends on the climate of Africa or India,
-or that two distinct species may be established
-from these differences. It seems that the rhinoceroses
-with one horn have it bigger and
-longer than those who have two. 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 base. Some
-double horns are but two feet in length.</p>
-
-<p>Commonly these horns are brown, or olive
-colour, though some are grey, and even white.
-They have only a small concavity, in form of
-a cup, under their base, by which they are
-fastened to the skin of the nose; the remaining
-part of the horn is solid, and very hard. It is
-with this weapon that the rhinoceros is said to
-attack, and sometimes mortally wound, the
-biggest elephants, whose long legs give the
-rhinoceros an opportunity of striking them
-with his snout and horn under their bellies,
-where the skin is tender, and penetrable; but
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span>
-if he misses the first blow the elephant throws
-him on the ground and kills him.</p>
-
-<p>The horn of the rhinoceros is more valued
-by the Indians than the ivory of the elephant,
-not so much on account of its real use, though
-they make several things of it with the chisel,
-but for divers specific virtues, and medicinal
-properties, which they ascribe to it. The
-white, from being the most rare, are also those
-which they value most. Among the presents
-which the king of Siam sent to Louis XIV.
-in 1686, were six horns of the rhinoceros.
-We have seen in the king&rsquo;s cabinet twelve of
-different sizes, and one of them, though
-mutilated, is three feet eight inches and a half
-in length.</p>
-
-<p>The rhinoceros, without being ferocious,
-carnivorous, or even very wild, is, nevertheless,
-untractable. He is of the nature of a hog,
-blunt and brutal, without intellects, sentiment,
-or docility. He is subject to fits of fury, that
-nothing can calm; for the rhinoceros, which
-Emanuel, king of Portugal, sent to the Pope
-in 1513, was the cause of the ship being destroyed
-in which he was transporting; and that
-which we saw at Paris was drowned in the
-same manner, in going over to Italy. These
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span>
-animals, also like the hog, are 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, Mogul, Sumatra, Java,
-in Abyssinia, in Ethiopia, in the country of the
-Anzicos, and as far as the Cape of Good
-Hope. But in general the species is not so
-numerous, or so universally spread, as that of
-the elephant. The female brings forth but
-one young, and that at a great distance of
-time. In the first month the rhinoceros is
-not much bigger than a large dog; he has no
-horn when first brought forth, although the
-rudiment of it is seen in the f&oelig;tus. When
-he is two years old his horn is not above an
-inch long; and in his sixth year it is about
-ten inches; and as some of these horns are
-very near four feet long, it appears that they
-grow till the half, or, perhaps, during the
-whole life of the animal, which must be long,
-since the rhinoceros, described by Dr. Parsons,
-was not come to half his growth at two years
-old, which makes it probable that this animal,
-like man, lives to seventy or eighty years.</p>
-
-<p>Without the capacity of being useful like
-the elephant, the rhinoceros is equally hurtful
-from the prodigious devastation which he
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span>
-makes in the fields. He has no one advantageous
-quality while alive. His flesh is excellent,
-according to the taste of the Indians
-and Negroes: Kolbe says, he has often eaten
-it with 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, urine, and excrements,
-are esteemed as antidotes against poison,
-or remedies against several diseases.
-These antidotes, or remedies, extracted from
-different parts of the rhinoceros, are of the
-same use in the dispensatory of the Indians,
-as the theriaca is in that of Europe. Probably,
-all those virtues are imaginary:&mdash;But how
-many things are held in great estimation,
-which have no value but in opinion!</p>
-
-<p>The rhinoceros feeds upon coarse herbs, such
-as thistles and prickly shrubs, and he prefers
-this wild food to the sweet pasture of the
-verdant meadows. He is fond of sugar canes,
-and eats also all sorts of corn. Having no
-taste for flesh, he neither molests small animals,
-nor fears the large ones, but lives in peace with
-them all, not excepting the tiger, who often accompanies,
-without daring to attack him; therefore,
-I doubt, whether the battles betwixt the
-elephant and rhinoceros, have any foundation;
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span>
-they must at least be seldom, since there is no
-motive for war on either side; and, besides, no
-sort of antipathy has been observed between
-these animals. Some even in captivity have
-lived quietly together, without giving offence
-or provocation. Pliny is, I believe, the first
-who has mentioned these battles betwixt the
-rhinoceros and elephant. It seems they were
-compelled to fight in the spectacles at Rome,
-and, probably from thence the idea has been
-taken, that when in their natural state they
-fought as desperately; but every action without
-a motive is unnatural; it is an effect without
-a cause, which cannot happen but by chance.</p>
-
-<p>The rhinoceroses do not herd together, nor
-march in troops like the elephants; they are
-more wild and solitary, and perhaps more
-difficult to hunt and subdue. They never
-attack men unless provoked; but then they
-become furious, and are very formidable.
-Neither scymetars, darts, nor lances, can make
-an incision upon his skin, which even resists
-musket balls; the only places penetrable in
-his body are the belly, the eyes, and round
-the ears; so that the hunters, instead of facing
-and attacking this animal, follow him at a
-distance by his track, and wait till he lies
-down to rest or sleep. We have in the king&rsquo;s
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span>
-cabinet a f&oelig;tus of a rhinoceros, which was
-extracted from the body of the mother, and
-sent from the island of Java: it was said, in a
-memorial which accompanied this present, that
-twenty-eight huntsmen having assembled to
-attack this rhinoceros, they followed her at a
-distance for some days, one or two walking
-now and then before to reconnoitre her situation;
-by these means they surprised her when
-she was asleep, and silently came so near that
-they discharged at once their twenty-eight
-guns into the lower parts of her belly.</p>
-
-<p>From the description given by Dr. Parsons,
-it appears that this animal has a good ear,
-and even very attentive: it is also affirmed, that
-his sense of smelling is excellent; but it is said
-that he has not a good eye, and sees only those
-things which are before him: his eyes are so
-small, and placed so low, and obliquely, they
-have so little vivacity and motion, that this fact
-seems to be confirmed. His voice, when he is
-calm, resembling the grunting of a hog; but
-when he is angry, it is sharp, and heard at a
-great distance. Though he lives upon vegetables,
-he does not ruminate: thus, it is probable,
-that, like the elephant, he has but one
-stomach, and very large bowels, which supply
-the office of many stomachs. His consumption
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span>
-of food, though very great, is not comparable
-to that of the elephant, and it appears,
-by the thickness of his skin, that he loses much
-less than the latter by perspiration.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<p>IN the month of September, 1770, another
-rhinoceros was brought to the royal menagerie,
-which was said to be only three months
-old; but I am persuaded it was as many years,
-for it was eight feet two inches in length, including
-the head, five feet six inches high, and
-eight feet two inches in circumference: by
-the 28th of August, 1781, it had increased
-seven inches in length, three inches in the
-height, and seven inches in circumference; and
-on the 12th of August, 1772, it measured
-nine feet four inches in length, including the
-head, six feet four inches high at the crupper,
-and only five feet eleven at the withers. In
-some places its skin was spotted with black
-and grey, and in others it was in deep furrows,
-having the appearance of a kind of scales.
-This animal had but one horn, which was
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span>
-brown, and of a very hard substance; and in
-all other respects he nearly resembled the description
-we have already given.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Bruce has remarked, that my conjecture,
-that in the interior parts of Africa there
-were rhinoceroses with two horns, was exactly
-the case, for he saw none in Abyssinia but
-what had one situated near the nose, which
-was of the common form, and the other rather
-higher on the head, sharp at the point, and always
-shorter than the first. M. Daubenton
-received a letter from M. Allamand at Leyden,
-in 1776, in which that gentleman says, &ldquo;In a
-passage which M. de Buffon has quoted from
-Mr. Parsons, it is supposed, that the rhinoceroses
-of Asia have but one horn, and those of
-the Cape of Good Hope have two, but I am
-inclined to believe the opposite is the fact, for
-the heads of those I have received from Bengal,
-and other parts of India, had always two
-horns, and those which came from the Cape
-had but one.&rdquo; This remark of M. Allamand
-we may consider as a confirmation of our former
-observation, that the rhinoceroses with
-two horns form a variety in the species, and
-may be equally found in Asia and Africa.</p>
-
-
-<p class="caption3"><i>END OF THE SEVENTH VOLUME.</i></p>
-
-
-<p class="center">T. Gillet, Printer, Wild-court.</p>
-
-<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
-<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
-</div>
-
-<div class="trans_notes">
-<p class="caption2">Transcriber Note</p>
-
-
-<p>All obvious typographical errors were corrected. Where several variant
-spellings were used, the most prevalent version was use to standardize
-them. All illustration headers were standardized to display &ldquo;<i>Engraved
-for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i>&rdquo; above each group and the captions were also
-standardized. The illustration captions were arranged in ascending
-numbers. Where paragraphs were split by illustrations, they were
-rejoined. To match the other volumes in this series, the list for the
-placement of images was positioned after the Table of Contents.</p>
-
-<table summary="corrections">
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_29">p. 29</a>,</td>
-  <td class="tdl">cougouacu-apara changed to cougouacou-ara</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_171">p. 171</a>,</td>
-  <td class="tdl">missing endquote, placed at end of line</td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_225">p. 225</a>,</td>
-  <td class="tdl">missing endquote, placed at end of paragraph</td>
-</tr>
-</table>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
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-</pre>
-
-</body>
-</html>
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" />
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
+    <title>
+      Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10), by Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon, a Project Gutenberg eBook.
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css">
+
+body {margin-left: 10%;  margin-right: 10%;}
+
+p {margin-top: .75em; text-align: justify;
+    margin-bottom: .75em; text-indent: 1.5em;}
+
+hr {width: 33%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;
+     margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; clear: both;}
+
+hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-top: 2em;}
+hr.r10  {width: 10%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;}
+
+table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-collapse: collapse;}
+.row1 {background-color: #f0ffff;}
+
+.pagenum  {position: absolute; right: 3.5%;
+           font-size: small; text-align: right; color: #808080;} /* page numbers */
+.center   {text-align: center; margin:0; text-indent: 0;}
+.vtop     {vertical-align: top;}
+.vsmall   {font-size: 0.5em;}
+.smaller  {font-size: 0.8em;}
+.drop     {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; font-size: 2.5em;}
+.tdl      {text-align: left;}
+.tdr      {text-align: right;}
+.tdr2    {text-align: right; padding-right:2em;}
+.p0       {text-indent: 0;}
+.pmb4     {margin-bottom: 4em;}
+.ind25em   {padding-left: 2.5em;}
+.caption1, .caption2, .caption3 {font-weight: bold; text-align: center; text-indent: 0;}
+.caption1   {font-size:2.00em; margin-top: 2em;}
+.caption2   {font-size:1.50em; margin-top: 1.5em;}
+.caption3   {font-size:1.15em; margin-top: 1em;}
+
+/* Images */
+.fig_center {margin: auto; text-align: center;}
+
+.fig_caption {font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.15em; margin-bottom: 1em;}
+
+.references  {margin-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em; text-align: justify;}
+
+/* Transcriber notes */
+.trans_notes {background-color: #e6e6fa; color: black; padding:1.5em;
+             margin-bottom:5em;}
+
+/* Footnotes */
+.footnote         {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;}
+.footnote .label  {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;}
+.fnanchor         {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;}
+
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 45820 ***</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 244px;">
+<img src="images/coverpage.jpg" width="244" height="454" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption"><a name="cover" id="cover"></a></span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[i]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="caption2"><i>Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 118px;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="118" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption1" style="margin-top: 0.5em">Buffon&rsquo;s Natural History.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3">CONTAINING</p>
+
+<p class="caption2">A THEORY OF THE EARTH,<br />
+<span class="smaller">A GENERAL</span><br />
+<i>HISTORY OF MAN</i>,<br />
+<span class="smaller">OF THE BRUTE CREATION, AND OF</span><br />
+VEGETABLES, MINERALS,<br />
+&amp;c. &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3">FROM THE FRENCH.<br />
+<span class="smaller">WITH NOTES BY THE TRANSLATOR.</span><br />
+IN TEN VOLUMES.<br />
+<br />
+VOL. VII.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 118px;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="118" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 69px;">
+<img src="images/txt_london.png" width="69" height="21" alt="London:" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR,<br />
+<span class="smaller">AND SOLD BY H. D. SYMONDS, PATERNOSTER-ROW.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="r10" />
+
+<p class="caption3 pmb4">1807.<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smaller">T. Gillet, Printer, Wild-court.</span></p>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[ii]</a><br /><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_2.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2">CONTENTS<br />
+<span class="vsmall">OF</span><br />
+<span class="smaller">THE SEVENTH VOLUME.</span></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 118px;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_2.png" width="118" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="caption3">Of Carnivorous Animals.</p>
+
+<table style="width: 65%" summary="ToC">
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><i>Page</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>Of Tigers</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>Animals of the Old Continent</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>Animals of the New World</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>Animals common to both Continents</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Tiger</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_57">57</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Panther, Ounce, and Leopard</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Jaguar</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Cougar</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Lynx</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Hyæna</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_107">107</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Civet and the Zibet</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Genet</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Black Wolf</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Canadian Musk-rat, and the Muscovy Musk-rat</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Peccari, or Mexican Hog</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><div class="references"><i>The Rousette, or Ternat Bat, the Rougette,
+    or Little Ternat, and the Vampyre</i></div>
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Senegal Bat</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Bull-dog Bat</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Bearded Bat</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_164">164</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The striped Bat</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Polatouch</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Grey Squirrel</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Palmist, the Squirrel of Barbary and Switzerland</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Ant Eaters</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Long and Short-tailed Manis</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Armadillo</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_197">197</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Three-banded</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_202">202</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="ind25em"><i>Six-banded</i></span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_205">205</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="ind25em"><i>Eight-banded</i></span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="ind25em"><i>Nine-banded</i></span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_208">208</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="ind25em"><i>Twelve-banded</i></span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class="ind25em"><i>Eighteen-banded</i></span></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Paca</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_222">222</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Opossum</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Marmose</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_251">251</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Cayopollin</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_253">253</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="row1">
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Elephant</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_255">255</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><i>The Rhinoceros</i></td>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_322">322</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Directions for placing the Plates in the
+Seventh Volume.</i></p>
+
+<table summary="LoI">
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdl vtop" rowspan="13">Page</td>
+  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_57">57</a></td>
+  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_101">101</a>, <a href="#FIG_102">102</a>.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td>
+  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_107">107</a>, <a href="#FIG_108">108</a>.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td>
+  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_103">103</a>, <a href="#FIG_104">104</a>.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td>
+  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_105">105</a>, <a href="#FIG_106">106</a>.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td>
+  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_109">109</a>, <a href="#FIG_110">110</a>.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td>
+  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_111">111</a>, <a href="#FIG_112">112</a>, <a href="#FIG_113">113</a>.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td>
+  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_114">114</a>, <a href="#FIG_115">115</a>, <a href="#FIG_116">116</a>.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td>
+  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_117">117</a>, <a href="#FIG_118">118</a>, <a href="#FIG_119">119</a>.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td>
+  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_120">120</a>, <a href="#FIG_121">121</a>, <a href="#FIG_122">122</a>, <a href="#FIG_123">123</a>.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td>
+  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_124">124</a>, <a href="#FIG_125">125</a>, <a href="#FIG_126">126</a>.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_205">205</a></td>
+  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_127">127</a>, <a href="#FIG_128">128</a>.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_222">222</a></td>
+  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_129">129</a>, <a href="#FIG_130">130</a>, <a href="#FIG_131">131</a>, <a href="#FIG_132">132</a>.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr2"><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td>
+  <td class="tdl">Fig. <a href="#FIG_133">133</a>, <a href="#FIG_134">134</a>.</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2">BUFFON&rsquo;S</p>
+
+<p class="caption2">NATURAL HISTORY.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="OF_CARNIVOROUS_ANIMALS" id="OF_CARNIVOROUS_ANIMALS"><i>OF CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS.</i></a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_2.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="OF_TIGERS" id="OF_TIGERS">OF TIGERS.</a></p>
+
+
+<p class="p0"><span class="drop">A</span>s the word Tiger is a generic name, given
+several animals of different species, it is
+proper to begin with distinguishing them from
+each other. Leopards and Panthers have
+often been confounded together, and are called
+Tigers by most travellers. The Ounce, a small
+species of Panther, which is easily tamed, and
+used by the Orientals in the chace, has been
+taken for the Panther itself, and described as
+such by the name of Tiger. The Lynx, and
+that called the Lion&rsquo;s provider, have also sometimes
+received the name of Panther, and sometimes
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>
+Ounce. In Africa, and in the southern
+parts of Asia, these animals are common; but
+the real tiger, and the only one which ought to
+be so called, is scarce, was little known by the
+ancients, and is badly described by the moderns.
+Aristotle does not mention him; and
+Pliny merely speaks of him as an animal of
+prodigious velocity; <i>tremendæ velocitatis animal</i>;<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a>
+adding, that he was a much more
+scarce animal than the Panther, since Augustus
+presented the first to the Romans at the
+dedication of the theatre of Marcellus, while
+so early as the time of Scaurus, this Ædile sent
+150 panthers, and afterwards 400 were given
+by Pompey, and 420 by Augustus, to the
+public shews at Rome. Pliny, however, gives
+no description of the tiger, or any of its characteristics.
+Oppian and Solinus appear to
+be the first who observed that the tiger is marked
+with long streaks, and the panther with
+round spots. This, indeed, is one of the characteristics
+which distinguishes the true tiger
+from a number of animals that have been so
+called. Strabo, in speaking of the real tiger,
+gives Megasthenes as his authority, for saying
+that in India there are tigers twice as large as
+the lion. The tiger then stands described by
+the ancients as an animal that is fierce and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>
+swift, marked with long stripes, and exceeding
+the lion in size; nor has Gesner, nor the other
+modern naturalists, who have treated of the
+tiger, added any thing to these observations of
+the ancients.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> Pliny Nat. Hist. lib. viii. cap. xviii.</p></div>
+
+<p>In the French language all those skins of
+which the hair is short, and are marked with
+round and distinct spots, are called tiger-skins,
+and travellers sharing in this error, have called
+all animals so marked by the general name of
+tigers; even the academy of sciences have
+been borne away by this torrent, and have
+adopted the appellation to all, although by
+dissection they found them materially different.</p>
+
+<p>The most general cause, as we intimated in
+the article of the lion, of these ambiguous terms
+in Natural History, arose from the necessity of
+giving names to the unknown productions of
+the New World, and thus the animals were
+called after such of the old continent to whom
+they had the smallest resemblance. From the
+general denomination of tiger to every animal
+whose skin was spotted, instead of one species
+of that name, we now have nine or ten, and
+consequently the history of these animals is
+exceedingly embarrassed, writers have applied
+to one species what ought to have been ascribed
+to another.</p>
+
+<p>To dispel the confusion which necessarily
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>
+results from these erroneous denominations,
+particularly among those which have been
+commonly called tigers, I have resolved to give
+a comparative enumeration of quadrupeds, in
+which I shall distinguish, 1. Those which are
+peculiar to the old continent, and were not
+found in America when first discovered. 2.
+Those which are natives of the new continent,
+and were unknown in the old. 3. Those which
+existing alike in both continents, without having
+been carried from one to the other by man,
+may be considered as common to both. For
+which purpose it has been necessary to collect
+and arrange the scattered accounts given by
+the historians of America, and those who first
+visited this continent as travellers.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="ANIMALS_OF_THE_OLD_CONTINENT" id="ANIMALS_OF_THE_OLD_CONTINENT">ANIMALS OF THE OLD CONTINENT.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>AS the largest animals are the best known,
+and about which there is the least uncertainty,
+in this enumeration they shall follow nearly
+according to their size.</p>
+
+<p>Elephants belong to the Old World; the
+largest are found in Asia, and the smallest in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span>
+Africa. They are natives of the hottest climates,
+and, though they will live, they cannot
+multiply in temperate ones; they do not propagate
+even in their own countries after they are
+deprived of their liberty. Though confined
+to the southern parts of the old continent their
+species is numerous. It is unknown in America,
+nor is there any animal there that can be
+compared to it in size and figure. The same
+remark applies to the Rhinoceros, which is less
+numerous than the elephant; he is confined to
+the desarts of Africa, and the forests of southern
+Asia; nor has America any animal that
+resembles him.</p>
+
+<p>The Hippopotamus inhabits the banks of the
+large rivers of India and Africa, and is less numerous
+than the Rhinoceros. It is not found
+in America, nor even in the temperate climates
+of the Old Continent.</p>
+
+<p>The Camel and Dromedary, so apparently
+similar, yet in reality so dissimilar, are very
+common in Asia and Arabia, and in all the eastern
+parts of the ancient continent. The name
+of camel has been given to the Lama and Pacos
+of Peru, which are so different from the camel
+as by some to have been called <i>sheep</i>, and by
+others <i>camels</i> of Peru; though the pacos has
+nothing in common with the European sheep
+but the wool, and the lama resembles the camel
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>
+only by the length of its neck. The Spaniards
+formerly carried camels to Peru; they left them
+first at the Canaries, whence they afterwards
+transported them to America; but the climate
+of the new world does not seem favourable to
+them, for though they produced, their numbers
+have always remained very small.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Giraffe</i> or <i>Camelopard</i>, an animal remarkable
+for its height, and the length of its
+neck and fore legs, is a native of Africa, particularly
+Ethiopia, and has never spread beyond
+the tropics in the temperate climates of the old
+continent.</p>
+
+<p>In the preceding article we have seen that
+the lion exists not in America, and that the
+puma of Peru is an animal of a different species;
+and we shall now find that the tiger
+and panther belong also to the old continent,
+and that the animals of South America, to
+whom those names have been applied, are also
+different. The real tiger is a terrible animal,
+and more, perhaps, to be dreaded than the lion
+himself. His ferocity is beyond comparison;
+but an idea of his strength may be drawn from
+his size; he is generally from four to five feet
+high, and from nine to fourteen in length,
+without including his tail; his skin is not
+covered with round spots, but with black
+stripes upon a yellow ground, which extend
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>
+across the body, and form rings from one end
+of the tail to the other. These characteristics
+alone are sufficient to distinguish him from all
+the animals of prey belonging to the new continent,
+as the largest of them scarcely ever exceed
+the size of our mastiffs. The leopard and
+panther of Africa and Asia, though much
+smaller than the tiger, are larger than the rapacious
+animals of South America. Pliny,
+whose testimony cannot be doubted (since panthers
+were daily exposed, in his time, at the
+theatres in Rome), indicates their essential characteristics,
+by saying, their hair is whitish, diversified
+throughout with black spots, like eyes,
+and that the only difference between the male
+and female were the superior whiteness of her
+hair.</p>
+
+<p>The American animals, which have been
+called tigers, have a greater resemblance to the
+panther, and yet their difference from that species
+is very evident. The first is the <i>Jaguara</i>,
+or <i>Janowra</i>, a native of Guiana, Brasil, and
+other parts of South America. Ray, with
+some propriety, calls the animal the Pard, or
+Brasilian lynx. The Portuguese call him
+Ounce, because they had first, by corruption,
+given that name to the lynx, and afterwards to
+the small panther of India; and the French,
+without his having the smallest affinity, have
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>
+called him tiger. He differs from the panther
+in size, in the position and figure of the spots,
+in the colour and length of the hair, which is
+frizzled when young, and never so straight as
+that of the panther, differing also in disposition,
+being more savage, and cannot be tamed; still,
+however, the jaguar of Brasil resembles the panther
+more than any other animal of the new world.
+The second we call Cougar, by contracting the
+Brasilian name <i>cougouacou-ara</i>, and which the
+French, with still less propriety, have called
+the Red Tiger. From the real tiger it differs
+in all, and from the panther in most respects,
+its hair being red, and without spots; and in
+the form of its head, and length of his muzzle,
+it differs also from them both. A third species,
+which has also been called tiger, though equally
+remote, is the <i>Jaguarette</i>, which is nearly of
+the size of the jaguar, and resembles him in
+natural habits, but differs in some exterior
+characters. He has been called black tiger, because
+his hair is black, interspersed with spots
+of a still blacker hue. Besides these three species,
+and perhaps a fourth, which is smaller,
+that have been named after the tiger, there is
+another American animal, which appears to
+have a greater right to it, namely, the <i>Cat-pard</i>,
+or mountain cat, which resembles both the
+cat and the panther. Though smaller than
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>
+either of the above three animals, it is larger
+than the wild cat, which it resembles in figure,
+but its tail is much shorter, and it differs also
+by having its hair diversified with black spots,
+long upon the back and round upon the belly.
+These four American animals have, therefore,
+very improperly been named tigers. The
+cougar and cat-pard I have seen alive, and am
+convinced they are of different species, and
+still more so from the tiger or panther; and as
+for the puma and jaguar, it is evident, from
+the testimony of those who have seen them,
+that the former is not a lion, nor the latter a
+tiger, and therefore, without scruple, we may
+pronounce, that neither the lion, tiger, nor
+even the panther, exist in America, any more
+than the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus,
+camel, or the camelopard. All these species
+require a hot climate for propagation,
+and as none of them exist in the northern regions,
+it is impossible they should have had
+any communication with America. This general
+fact is too important not to be supported by
+every proof; we shall, therefore, continue our
+comparative enumeration of the animals of
+the old continent with those of the new.</p>
+
+<p>It is generally known, that upon horses
+being first transported into America they
+struck the natives with surprise and terror;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>
+and that this animal has thriven and multiplied
+so fast, as to have become almost as numerous
+there now as it is in Europe. It is the
+same also with the ass, which has thriven
+equally in these warm climates, and from
+which mules have been produced, that are
+more serviceable than the lamas for carrying
+heavy loads over the mountainous parts of
+Chili and Peru. The Zebra is also an animal
+of the old continent, and which, perhaps,
+has never been even seen in the new; it seems
+to require a particular climate, and is found
+only in that part of Africa which lies between
+the Equator and the Cape of Good Hope.</p>
+
+<p>Oxen were unknown in the islands and on
+the continent of South America. Soon after the
+discovery of these countries, the Spaniards
+transported bulls and cows to them from Europe.
+In 1550 oxen were employed, for the first
+time, in tilling the ground in the valley of Cusco.
+On the continent these animals multiplied
+prodigiously, as well as in the islands of St.
+Domingo, Cuba, Barlovento, &amp;c. and in many
+places they even became wild. The species of
+horned cattle found at Mexico, Louisiana, &amp;c.
+which is called the <i>wild ox</i> or Bison, is not
+produced from the European oxen. The bison
+existed in America before our race was carried
+thither; and from the latter he is so different
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
+as to authorize the opinion of his being
+a different species. He has a rise between his
+shoulders, his hair is softer than wool, is longer
+before than behind, is curled upon the neck
+and along the spine of the back; he is of a
+brown colour, and faintly marked with some
+whitish spots; he has also short legs, which,
+like the head and neck, are covered with long
+hair; and the male has a long tail with a tuft
+of hair at the end, like that of the lion. These
+differences seem to be sufficient grounds for
+considering the ox and bison of different species,
+yet I will not pretend to determine they
+are so, because the only characteristic which
+identifies animals to be of the same species, is
+their propagating and producing similar individuals,
+and which fact has never been determined
+between the bison and the oxen of Europe.
+M. de la Nux, a member of the royal
+council of the isle of Bourbon, has favoured me
+with a letter, in which he says, the hunched-back
+ox of that island propagates with the common
+horned cattle; and of great advantage
+would it be, if persons who live in remote countries
+would follow the example of this gentleman,
+in making experimental observations upon
+animals. Nothing could be more easy than
+for the inhabitants of Louisiana, to try if the
+American bison would copulate with the European
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>
+cow. It is probable they would produce
+together, and in that case it would be ascertained
+that the European ox, the hunched-backed
+species of the isle of Bourbon, the East
+India bull and American bison, form only one
+species. M. de la Nux proved by experiments,
+that the hunch is not an essential characteristic,
+since it disappeared after a few generations;
+and I have myself discovered that the protuberance
+upon a camel&rsquo;s back, which, though as
+in the bison, is very common, is not a constant
+characteristic, and is probably owing to the
+healthful state of the body, as I once saw a
+sickly camel which had not the smallest appearance
+of a lump. As to the other difference,
+namely, the hair being more long and soft,
+that may be entirely owing to the influence of
+the climate, as is the case with goats, hares,
+and rabbits. With some appearance of probability,
+it may be supposed, (especially if the
+American bison produces with the European
+cow) that our oxen may have found a passage
+over the northern districts to those of North
+America, and having afterwards advanced
+into the temperate regions of this New World,
+they received the impressions of the climate,
+and in time became bisons. But till the essential
+fact of their producing together be fully
+confirmed, I think it right to conclude that our
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>
+oxen belong to the old continent, and existed
+not in America before they were carried
+thither.</p>
+
+<p>To sheep America has no pretensions; they
+were transported from Europe, and have
+thriven both in the warm and temperate climates;
+but, however prolific, they are commonly
+more meagre, and their flesh less juicy
+and tender than those in Europe. Brasil seems
+to be the most favourable to them, as it is
+there alone that they are found loaded with
+fat. Guinea sheep, as well as European, have
+been transported to Jamaica, and they have
+prospered equally well. These two species
+belong solely to the old continent. It is also
+the same with goats, and those we now meet
+with in America in such great numbers, all
+originated from goats introduced from Europe.
+The latter has not, however, multiplied so fast
+at Brasil as the sheep. When the Spaniards
+first carried goats to Peru they were so rare as
+to be sold for 110 ducats a piece; but afterwards
+they multiplied so prodigiously as to
+be held of little value but for their skins; they
+produce there from three to five kids at a time,
+while in Europe they seldom have more than
+one or two. In all the islands they are equally
+numerous as on the continent. The Spaniards
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
+transported them even into the islands of the
+South Sea; and in the island of Juan Fernandez
+their increase became prodigious. But
+proving a supply of provisions to the free-booters
+who afterwards infested those parts,
+the Spaniards resolved to extirpate them, and
+for that purpose put dogs upon the island, who,
+multiplying in their turn, not only destroyed
+all the goats in the accessible parts, but became
+so fierce as to attack even men.</p>
+
+<p>The hogs which were transported from Europe
+to America succeeded better, and multiplied
+faster, than the sheep or goat. The first
+swine, according to Garcilasso, sold still dearer
+than the first goats. Piso says the flesh of the
+ox and sheep is not so good at Brasil as in Europe,
+but that of the hog, which multiplies
+very fast, is better; and Laet, in his History of
+the New World, affirms that it is preferable
+at St. Domingo, to what it is in Europe. In
+general it may be remarked, that of all domestic
+animals which have been carried from Europe
+to America, the hog has thriven the best
+and most universally. In Canada and in Brasil,
+which includes the warmest and coldest
+climates of the new world, hogs multiply, and
+their flesh is equally good; while the goat, on
+the contrary, multiplies in warm and temperate
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>
+climates only, and cannot maintain its species
+in Canada without continual supplies. The
+ass multiplies in Brasil, Peru, &amp;c. but not in
+Canada, where neither mules nor asses are to
+be seen, although numbers of the latter have
+been transported thither in couples. Horses
+have multiplied nearly as much in the hot as
+in the cold countries throughout America; but
+have diminished in size, a circumstance which
+is common to all animals transported from
+Europe to America; and what is still more
+singular, all the native animals of America are
+much smaller in general than those of the old
+continent. Nature in their formation seems
+to have adopted a smaller scale, and to have
+formed man alone in the same mould. But to
+proceed in our enumeration:&mdash;The hog, then,
+is not a native of America, but was carried
+thither; and he has not only increased in a domestic
+state but has even become wild, and
+multiplied in the woods without the assistance
+of man. A species of hog has also been transported
+from Guinea to Brasil, which has likewise
+multiplied; it is much smaller, and seems
+to form a distinct species from the European
+hog; for although the climate of Brasil is favourable
+to every kind of propagation, these
+animals have never been known to intermingle.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Dogs, whose races are so varied, and so numerously
+diffused, were not found in America,
+unless in a few rude resemblances, which it is
+difficult to compare with the species at large.
+At St. Domingo, says Garcilasso, there were
+little animals called <i>gosques</i>, not unlike little
+dogs; but there were no dogs like those of Europe.
+He adds, that the latter, on being transported
+to Cuba and St. Domingo, had become
+wild, and diminished the number of cattle
+which had become wild also; that they committed
+their devastations in troops of ten or
+twelve, and were more destructive than wolves.
+According to Joseph Acosta, there were no real
+dogs in the West Indies, but only an animal
+resembling small dogs, called by the Peruvians
+<i>alcos</i>, which attach themselves to their masters,
+and seem to have nearly the same dispositions
+as the dog. If we may believe Father
+Charlevoix, who quotes no authority, &ldquo;The
+<i>goschis</i> of St. Domingo were little mute
+dogs, which served as an amusement to the
+ladies, and were also employed in the chace
+of other animals. Their flesh was good for
+eating, and they were of great benefit to the
+Spaniards during the first famines, which
+these people experienced, so that they would
+have been exhausted, had there not been numbers
+of them afterwards brought from the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
+continent. Of this animal there were several
+sorts; of some the hair was straight, others
+had their bodies covered with a wool exceedingly
+soft; but the greatest number had only
+a thin covering of tender down. In colours
+they exceeded the varieties in the European
+dogs, forming an assemblage of all colours,
+the most lively not excepted.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>If this species of the goschis ever existed,
+especially as described by Father Charlevoix,
+why have other authors never mentioned it? why
+does it no longer exist? or if in existence, by
+what means has it lost all its beautiful peculiarities?
+It is most likely that the goschis of
+Charlevoix, and of which he never found the
+name but in Father Pers, is the gosques of
+Garcilasso; and it is also probable that these
+gosques of St. Domingo, and the alcos of
+Peru, are the same animal; for certain it is,
+that of all American animals this has the most
+affinity to the European dog. Several authors
+have considered it as a real dog; and Laet
+expressly says, that when the West Indies
+were discovered they in St. Domingo employed
+a small dog in hunting, but which was
+absolutely dumb. We observed, in the
+history of the dog, that he loses the faculty
+of barking in hot countries, but instead thereof
+they had a kind of howl, and are not
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
+like these American animals, perfectly mute.
+European dogs have thriven equally well in
+the hot and cold climates of America, and of
+all animals they are held in the highest estimation
+by the savages; but they have undergone
+essential changes, for in hot countries they
+have lost their voice, in cold ones they have
+decreased in size, and in general their ears
+have become straight. Thus they have degenerated,
+or rather returned to their primitive
+species, the shepherd&rsquo;s dog, whose ears are
+erect, and who barks the least. From whence
+we may conclude, that the dog belongs to the
+old continent where their nature has been developed
+in the temperate regions only, and
+where they appear to have been varied and
+brought to perfection by the care of man, for
+in all uncivilized countries, and in very hot or
+cold climates they are ugly, small, and almost
+mute.</p>
+
+<p>The Hyæna, which is nearly the size of the
+wolf, was known to the ancients, and I have
+myself seen a living one. It is remarkable
+for having an opening between the anus and
+tail, like the badger, and from which issues
+a humour that has a strong smell; also for a
+long bristly mane which runs along its neck;
+and for a voracity which prompts it to scrape
+up graves and devour the most putrid bodies.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This horrid animal is only to be found in
+Arabia, and other southern provinces of Asia;
+it does not exist in Europe and has never been
+found in the New World.</p>
+
+<p>The jackall, which of all animals not excepting
+the wolf makes the nearest approach
+to the dog though differing in every essential
+characteristic, is very common in Armenia
+and Turkey, and is very numerous in several
+other provinces of Asia and Africa; but it is
+absolutely unknown in the new world. It is
+about the size of the fox, and of a very brilliant
+yellow; this animal has not extended to
+Europe, nor even the northern parts of Asia.</p>
+
+<p>The Genet, being a native of Spain, would
+doubtless have been noticed had he been found
+in America, but that not being the case, we
+may consider him as peculiar to the old continent;
+he inhabits the southern parts of Europe,
+and those of Asia under the same latitude.</p>
+
+<p>Though it has been said the Civet was
+found in New Spain, I am of opinion it was
+not the African, or Indian Civet, which yields
+the musk that is mixed and prepared with that
+of the animal called the Hiam of China; this civet
+I conceive to belong to the southern part of
+the old continent, has never extended to the
+north, and consequently would not have found
+a passage to the New World.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Cats as well as dogs were entire strangers to
+the New Continent, and though I formerly
+mentioned that a huntsman had taken to Columbus
+a cat which he had killed in the woods of
+America, I am now convinced that the species
+did not then exist there. I was then less aware
+of the abuses which had been made in names,
+and I acknowledge I am not yet sufficiently acquainted
+with animals to distinguish them with
+precision in the fictitious and misapplied denominations
+given them by travellers. Nor is
+this to be wondered at, since the nomenclators,
+whose researches were directed to this object,
+have rendered it more dark and intricate by
+their arbitrary names and arrangements. To
+the natural propensity of comparing things
+which we see for the first time, with those already
+known, and the almost insuperable difficulty
+of pronouncing the American names being
+added, we are to impute this misapplication
+of names which have since been productive of
+so many errors. It is much more easy, for example,
+to call a new animal, a <i>wild boar</i>, than
+to pronounce its name at Mexico, <i>quab-coya-melt</i>;
+to call another <i>American fox</i>, than to retain
+its Brasilian appellation, <i>tamandua-guacu</i>;
+to give the name of <i>Peruvian sheep</i>, or <i>camel</i>,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>
+to those animals which in the language of Peru
+are called <i>pelon ichiath oquitli</i>. It is the same
+with almost all the other animals of the New
+World, whose names were so strange and barbarous
+to the Europeans, that they endeavoured
+to apply others to them, from the resemblance
+they had to those of the old continent,
+but they were often from affinities too remote to
+justify the application. Five or six species of
+small animals were named hares, or rabbits,
+merely because their flesh was palatable food.
+They called <i>cow</i> and <i>elk</i> an animal without
+horns, although it had no affinity to either, except
+a small resemblance in the form of the
+body. But it is unnecessary at present to
+dwell upon the false denominations which
+have been applied to the animals of America,
+because I shall endeavour to point out and
+correct them when we come to treat of each of
+those animals in particular.</p>
+
+<p>We find, then, that all our domestic animals,
+and the largest animals of Asia and
+Africa were unknown in the New World; and
+the same remark extends to several of the less
+considerable species, of which we shall now
+proceed to make a cursory mention.</p>
+
+<p>The gazelles, of which there are various
+kinds, and of which some belong to Arabia,
+others to the East Indies, and some to Africa,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>
+all require a hot climate to subsist and multiply,
+they therefore never extended to the
+northern climates, so as to obtain a passage to
+America; it appears, indeed, that the African
+gazelle, and which Hernandes, in his History
+of Mexico calls <i>algazel ex Aphrica</i> must have
+been transported thither. The animal of New
+Spain, which the same author calls <i>temamaçame</i>,
+Seba <i>cervus</i>, Klein <i>tragulus</i>, and Brisson the
+gazelle of New Spain, appears to be a different
+species to any on the old continent.</p>
+
+<p>It is natural to conclude, that the Chamois
+Goat, which delights in the snow of the Alps,
+would not be afraid of the icy regions of the
+north, and thence might have passed to America,
+but no such animal is found there. This
+animal requires not only a particular climate,
+but a particular situation. He is attached to
+the tops of the Alpine, Pyrenean, and other
+lofty mountains, and far from being scattered
+over distant countries, he never descends even
+to the plains at the bottom of his hills; but in
+this he is not singular, as the marmot, wild
+goat, bear, and lynx, are also mountain animals,
+and very rarely found in the plains.</p>
+
+<p>The buffalo is a native of hot countries, and
+has been rendered domestic in Italy; he resembles
+less than the ox, the American bison,
+and is unknown in the new continent. The
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>
+wild goat is found on the tops of the highest
+mountains of Europe and Asia, but was never
+seen on the Cordeliers. The Musk-animal,
+which is nearly the size of a fallow-deer, inhabits
+only a few particular countries of China
+and Eastern Tartary. The little Guinea Deer,
+as it is called, seems also confined to the provinces
+of Africa and the East Indies. The
+Rabbit, which comes originally from Spain,
+and has been diffused over all the temperate
+climates of Europe, did not exist in America;
+for the animals of that continent which are so
+called, are of a different species, and all the
+real ones were transported thither from Europe.
+The Ferret, brought from Africa to
+Europe, was unknown in America; as were
+also our rats and mice, which having been
+carried there in European ships, have since
+multiplied prodigiously.</p>
+
+<p>The following then are nearly all the animals
+of the old continent, namely, the elephant,
+rhinoceros, hippopotamus, camel, dromedary,
+giraffe, lion, tiger, panther, horse,
+ass, zebra, ox, buffalo, sheep, goat, hog, dog,
+hyæna, jackall, genet, civet, cat, gazelle,
+chamois goat, wild goat, Guinea deer, rabbit,
+ferret, rat, mouse, loir, lerot, marmot, ichneumon,
+badger, sable, ermine, jerboa, the
+maki, and several species of monkeys, none
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
+of which were found in America on the first
+arrival of the Europeans, and which consequently
+are peculiar to the Old World, as we
+shall endeavour to prove in the particular history
+of each animal.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="ANIMALS_OF_THE_NEW_WORLD" id="ANIMALS_OF_THE_NEW_WORLD">ANIMALS OF THE NEW WORLD.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE animals of the New World were not
+more known to the Europeans, than were our
+animals to the Americans. The Peruvians
+and Mexicans were the only people on the
+new continent, which were half civilized.
+The latter had no domestic animals; and those
+of the former consisted of the lama, the pacos,
+and the alco, a small animal which was domestic
+in the house like our little dogs. The pacos
+and the lama, like the chamois goat, live
+only on the highest mountains, and are found
+on those of Peru, Chili, and New Spain.
+Though they had become domestic among
+the Peruvians, and consequently spread over
+the neighbouring countries, their multiplication
+was not abundant, and has even decreased
+in their native places, since the introduction
+of European cattle, which have succeeded
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>
+astonishingly in all the southern countries
+of the American continent.</p>
+
+<p>It appears singular that in a world, occupied
+almost entirely by savages, whose manners
+somewhat resembled those of the brutes, there
+should be no connection, no society existing
+between them and the animals by which they
+were surrounded; and this was absolutely the
+case, for there were no domestic animals, excepting
+where the people were in some degree
+civilized. Does not this prove that man, in a
+savage state, is nothing more than a species of
+animal, incapable of ruling others; and possessing
+only individual faculties, employs them
+for procuring his subsistence, and providing
+for his security, by attacking the weak, and
+avoiding the strong, but without entertaining
+any idea of real power, or endeavouring to reduce
+them to subjection? Every nation, even
+those which are but just emerging from barbarism,
+has its domestic animals. With us
+the horse, the ass, the ox, the sheep, the goat,
+the hog, the dog, and the cat; in Italy the
+buffalo; in Lapland the rein-deer; in Peru
+the lama, the pacos, and the alco; in the
+eastern countries, the dromedary, the camel,
+and various species of oxen, sheep, and goats;
+in the southern ones the elephant; all these
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
+animals have been reduced to servitude, or admitted
+into society; while the savage, hardly
+desirous of the society of his female, either
+fears or disdains that of other animals. Of
+these species, rendered domestic, it is true, not
+one existed in America; but if the savages,
+with whom it was peopled, had anciently
+united, and had communicated to each other
+the mutual aids of society, they would have
+rendered subservient the greatest part of the
+animals of that country, most of them being
+mild, docile, and timid, few mischievous, and
+scarcely any formidable. Their liberty, therefore,
+has been preserved solely from the weakness
+of man, who has little or no power without
+the aid of society, upon which even the
+multiplication of his species depends. The
+immense territories of the new world were
+but thinly inhabited; and, I believe it may
+be asserted, that on its first discovery, it contained
+not more than half the number of people
+that may now be reckoned in Europe. This
+scarcity of men allowed every other animal to
+multiply in abundance; every thing was favourable
+to their increase, and the number of
+individuals of each species was immense; but
+the number of species were comparatively few,
+and did not amount to more than a fourth,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
+or a third of those of the old continent. If we
+reckon 200 species of animals in the known
+world we shall find that more than 130 of
+them belonged to the old continent, and less
+than 70 to the new; and if we except the
+species common to both continents, that is,
+such as by their natures are capable of enduring
+the rigours of the north, and might have
+passed from one to the other, there will not
+remain above forty species peculiar to, and
+natives of, America. Animated nature, therefore,
+is in this portion of the globe less active,
+less varied, and even less vigorous; for by the
+enumeration of the American animals we shall
+perceive, that not only the number of species
+is smaller, but that in general they are inferior
+in size to those of the old continent; not one
+animal throughout America can be compared
+to the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus,
+dromedary, buffalo, tiger, lion, &amp;c. The
+Tapir of Brasil is the largest of all the South
+American animals, and this elephant of the
+new world exceeds not the size of a very small
+mule, or a calf at six months old; with both
+which animals he has been compared, although
+he does not resemble either. The
+Lama is not so big as the tapir, and appears
+large only from the length of his neck and legs;
+and the Pacos is much smaller still. The Cabiai,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
+which, next to the tapir, is the largest of
+the South American animals, is not bigger
+than a common-sized hog; he differs as much
+as any of the preceding from all the animals
+of the old continent; for although he has
+been called the water-hog, he has essentially
+different characteristics from that animal.
+The Tajacou is smaller than the cabiai, and
+has a strong external resemblance to the hog,
+but differs greatly in his internal conformation.
+Neither the tajacou, cabiai, nor the tapir, are
+to be found in any part of the old continent;
+and the same may be said of the <i>Tamanduacuacu</i>,
+or <i>Ouariri</i>, and of the <i>Ouatiriou</i>, which
+we have called Ant-eaters. These last animals,
+the largest of which is below mediocrity, seem
+confined to the regions of South America.
+They are remarkable in having no teeth, their
+tongue is long and cylindrical, and their
+mouth is so small that they can neither bite nor
+hardly take hold of any thing; they can
+only procure subsistence by putting out their
+long tongue in the way of the ants, and drawing
+it in when loaded with them. The sloth,
+which is called <i>ai</i>, or <i>hai</i>, by the natives of
+Brasil, on account of the plaintive cry of <i>ai</i>,
+which it continually sends forth, seems
+likewise to be confined to the new continent.
+It is smaller than either of the preceding
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
+ones, being not more than two feet long, and
+is scarcely so quick in his motion as the turtle;
+it has but three claws on each foot, its fore
+legs are longer than its hind ones, it has a very
+short tail, and no ears. Besides, the sloth and
+armadillo are the only quadrupeds, which
+have neither incisive nor canine teeth, but
+whose grinders are cylindrical, and round at
+the extremities, nearly like those of some cetaceous
+animals.</p>
+
+<p>The Curiacou of Guiana is an animal of the
+nature and size of our largest roe-bucks; the
+male has horns, which he sheds every year, but
+the female has none. At Cayenne it is called
+the Hind of the Woods. There is another
+species, called the little cariacou, or hind of the
+fens, which is considerably smaller than the
+former, and the male has no horns. From the
+resemblance of the names I suspected that the
+cariacou of Cayenne might be the caguacu, or
+cougouacou-ara, of Brasil, and comparing the
+accounts given by Piso and Marcgrave of the
+latter with the cariacou I had alive, I was persuaded
+they were the same animal, yet so different
+from our roe-buck as to justify our considering
+them distinct species.</p>
+
+<p>The tapir, cabiai, tajacou, ant-eater, sloth,
+cariacou, lama, pacos, bison, puma, juguar,
+coujuar, juguarat, and the mountain-cat, &amp;c.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
+are therefore the largest animals of the new
+continent. The middle-sized and small ones
+are the cuandus, or gouandous, agouti, coati,
+paca, opossum, cavies, and armadillos; all
+which I believe are peculiar to the new world,
+although our latest nomenclators speak of two
+other species of armadillos, one in the East
+Indies, and the other in Africa; but we have
+only the testimony of the author of the description
+of Seba&rsquo;s cabinet for their existence,
+and that authority is insufficient to confirm
+the fact, for misnomers frequently happen in
+the collections of natural objects. An animal,
+for example, is purchased under the name of
+a Ternat, or American bat, and another
+under that of the East India Armadillo;
+they are then announced by those names in
+a descriptive catalogue, and are adopted by
+our nomenclators; but when examined more
+closely the American bat proves to be one of
+our own country, and so may the Indian or
+African armadillo be merely an armadillo of
+America.</p>
+
+<p>Hitherto we have not spoken of Apes, their
+history requiring a particular discussion. As
+the word <i>Ape</i> is a generic term applied to a
+number of species, it is not surprising that it
+should be said they abound in the southern parts
+of both continents; but it is for us here to enquire
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
+whether the apes of Asia and Africa be
+the same animals as those so called in America,
+and whether from among more than thirty species
+of apes, which I have examined alive, one
+of them is alike common to both continents.</p>
+
+<p>The Satyr, Ourang-outang, or Man of the
+Woods, as it is indiscriminately termed, seems
+to differ less from man than from the ape, and
+is only to be found in Africa or the south of
+Asia. The Gibbon, whose fore legs, or arms,
+are as long as the whole body, even the hind legs
+included, is a native of the East Indies alone.
+Neither of these have tails. The ape, properly
+so termed, whose hair is greenish, with a small
+intermixture of yellow, has no tail, belongs to
+Africa, and a few other parts of the old continent,
+but is not to be found in the new. It is
+the same also with the Cynocephali-apes, of
+which there are two or three species; neither
+of them having any tails, at least they
+are so short as scarcely to be perceivable. All
+apes which are without tails, and whose muzzles,
+from being short, bear a strong resemblance
+to the face of man, are real apes; and
+the species above-mentioned are all natives of
+the old continent, and unknown in the new;
+from whence we may pronounce that there are
+no real apes in America.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Baboon, an animal larger than the dog,
+and whose body is pursed up like that of the
+hyæna, is exceedingly different from those we
+have noticed, and has a short tail: it is equally
+endowed with inclination and powers for mischief,
+and is only to be met with in the desarts
+of the southern parts of the old continent.</p>
+
+<p>Besides these without tails, or with very short
+ones, (which all belong to the old continent)
+almost all the large ones with long tails, are
+peculiar to Africa. There are few even of the
+middling size in America, but those called little
+long-tailed monkeys are very numerous, of
+which there are several species; and when we
+give the particular history of these animals, it
+will appear the American monkeys differ very
+much from the apes of Asia and Africa. The
+Maki, of which there are three or four species,
+has a near resemblance to the monkeys with
+long tails, but is another animal, and peculiar
+also to the old continent. All the animals,
+therefore, of Asia and Africa, which are known
+by the name of apes, are equally as strange in
+America as the rhinoceros or tiger; and the
+more we investigate this subject, the more we
+shall be convinced that the animals of the
+southern parts of one continent did not exist in
+the others and the few found in them must have
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
+been carried thither by men. Between the
+coasts of Brasil and Guinea, there are 500
+leagues of sea; and between those of the East
+Indies and Peru, the distance exceeds 2000
+leagues: It appears, therefore, that all those
+animals which from their nature are incapable
+of supporting cold climates, or, if supporting,
+cannot propagate therein, are confined on two
+or three sides by seas they cannot cross, and on
+the other by lands so cold they cannot live in
+them. At this one general fact, then, however
+singular it may at first appear, our wonder
+ought to cease, namely, that not one of the
+animals of the torrid zone of one continent,
+are natives of the torrid zone of the other.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="ANIMALS_COMMON_TO_BOTH_CONTINENTS" id="ANIMALS_COMMON_TO_BOTH_CONTINENTS">ANIMALS COMMON TO BOTH CONTINENTS.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>BY the preceding enumeration it appears,
+that not only the quadrupeds of the hot climates
+of Asia and Africa, but many of those in
+the temperate climates of Europe, are strangers
+in America; but we find many there of such
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>
+as can support cold and propagate their species
+in the regions of the north; and though there
+is an evident difference in them they cannot but
+be considered as the same animals; and this induces
+us to believe, they formerly passed from
+one continent to the other by lands still unknown,
+or possibly long since buried by the
+waves. Of the contiguity of the two northern
+provinces, the proof thus drawn from Natural
+History is a stronger confirmation than all the
+conjectures of speculative Geography.</p>
+
+<p>The Bears of the Illinois, of Louisiana,
+&amp;c. seem to be the same with ours; the former
+being only smaller and blacker. The stag of
+Canada, though smaller than ours, differs only
+in the superior loftiness of his horns, number
+of antlers, and length of his tail. The roe-buck,
+found in the south of Canada, and in
+Louisiana, is also smaller and has a longer tail
+than that of Europe. The Orignal is the same
+animal as the Elk, but not so large. The rein-deer
+of Lapland, the fallow-deer of Greenland,
+and the Caribou of Canada, appear to be one
+and the same animal. Brisson has indeed
+classed the latter with the <i>cervus Burgundicus</i>
+of Johnston, but which animal remains unknown,
+and possibly received that name from
+accident or caprice.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The hares, squirrels, hedge-hogs, otters,
+marmots, rats, shrew-mice, and the moles, are
+species which may be considered as common
+to both continents; though there is not one
+perfectly similar in America, to what it is in
+Europe; and it is very difficult, if not impossible,
+to pronounce whether they are in reality
+different species, or mere varieties rendered permanent
+by the influence of the climate.</p>
+
+<p>The Beavers of Europe seem to be the same
+as those of Canada. These animals prefer cold
+countries, but can subsist and propagate in temperate
+ones. In the islands of the Rhone in
+France, there still remain a few of the number
+which formerly subsisted there; and they seem
+more desirous of avoiding a too populous than
+a too warm country. They never form their
+societies but in desarts remote from the dwellings
+of men; and even in Canada, which can
+be considered as little more than a vast desart,
+they have retired far from any human habitation.
+The Wolf and Fox are common to both
+continents. They are met with in all parts of
+North America, and of both species; there are
+some entirely black. Though the Weasel and
+Ermine frequent the cold countries of Europe,
+they are very rare in America, which is not
+the case with the pine-weasel, marten, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+pole-cat. The Pine-weasel of North America
+seems to be the same with that of the northern
+parts of Europe. The Vison of Canada has a
+strong resemblance to our Marten; and the
+streaked Pole-cat of North America, is perhaps
+a mere variety of the European kind. The
+Lynx of America is, to all appearance, the
+same with that in Europe. Though it prefers
+cold countries, it lives and multiplies in
+temperate ones, and is seldom seen but in forests
+and on mountains. The Seal, or sea-calf,
+seems to be confined to the northern regions,
+and is alike to be found on the coasts of Europe
+and North America.</p>
+
+<p>Such, with a few exceptions, are all the animals
+common to the old and new world; and
+from this number, inconsiderable as it is, we
+ought, perhaps, to deduct one third, whose species,
+though similar in appearance, may be different
+in reality. But admitting the identity of
+species, those common to both continents are
+very small in number, compared with those peculiar
+to each; and it is also evident, that such
+only as can bear cold, and can multiply in these
+climates, as well as in warm ones, are to be
+found in both. From which there cannot remain
+a doubt but that the two continents are,
+or have been contiguous towards the north,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
+and that the animals common to both, found a
+passage over lands which at present are to us
+unknown. There is reason to believe, from
+the discoveries made by the Russians to the
+north of Kamtschatka, that the lands of Asia
+and America are contiguous, while the north
+of Europe appears always to have been separated
+from the latter by seas too considerable
+for any quadruped to have crossed; nevertheless,
+the animals of North America have a stronger
+resemblance to those of the northern parts of
+Europe than to those of the north of Asia.
+Neither the Argali, Sable, Mole of Siberia, nor
+Chinese Musk, are to be found at Hudson&rsquo;s Bay,
+or any other north-west part of the new continent;
+while in the north-east parts we not only
+find the animals common to the north of Europe
+and Asia, but even such as appear to be
+peculiar to Europe. But it must be acknowledged,
+that the north-east parts of Asia are so
+little known that we cannot attempt to affirm,
+with certainty, whether the animals of the
+north of Europe are to be found there or not.</p>
+
+<p>We have already remarked, as a striking
+singularity, that the animals in the southern
+provinces of the new continent are small, in
+comparison with those of the warm regions of
+the old; the elephant, &amp;c. of the latter being
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
+some of them eight and ten times larger than
+the tapir, &amp;c. of the former. And this general
+fact, as to size, is further corroborated, by all
+the animals which have been transported from
+Europe having become less, and also those
+common to both continents being much smaller
+in America than those of Europe. In this
+new world, then, there must be something
+in the combination of the elements, and other
+physical causes, which opposes the aggrandisement
+of animated nature; there must be obstacles
+to the development, and perhaps to the
+formation of the principles of life. Under this
+sky, and on this vacant land, even those which,
+from the benign influence of other climates,
+had received their full form and complete extension,
+lose both, and become shrivelled and
+diminished. These extensive regions were
+thinly inhabited by a few wandering savages,
+who, instead of acting as masters, had no
+authority in it: for they had no controul over
+either animals or elements; they had neither
+subjected the waves nor directed the motions
+of rivers, nor even cultivated the earth around
+them; they were themselves nothing more than
+animals of the first rank, mere automatons,
+incapable of correcting Nature, or seconding
+her intentions. Nature, indeed, had treated
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
+them more as a stepmother than as an indulgent
+parent, by denying to them the sentiment of
+love, and the eager desire to propagate their
+species. The American savage, it is true, is
+little less in stature than other men, yet that is
+not sufficient to form an exception to the general
+remark&mdash;that all animated nature is comparatively
+diminutive in the new continent.
+In the savage the organs of generation are
+small and feeble; he has no hair, no beard, no
+ardour for the female; though more nimble
+than the European, from being habituated to
+running, he is not so strong; possessed of less
+sensibility, yet he is more timid and dastardly;
+he has no vivacity, no activity of soul, and
+that of the body is less a voluntary exercise than
+a necessary action occasioned by want. Satisfy
+his hunger and thirst and you annihilate
+the active principle of all his motions; and he
+will remain for days together in a state of stupid
+inactivity<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a>. Needless is it to search further
+into the cause for the dispersed life of savages,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
+and their aversion to society. Nature has
+withheld from them the most precious spark of
+her torch; they have no ardour for the female,
+and consequently no love for their fellow-creatures.
+Strangers to an attachment the most
+lively and tender, their other kindred sensations
+are cold and languid: to their parents
+and children they are little more than indifferent;
+with them the bands of the most
+intimate of all society, are feeble, nor is there
+the smallest connection between one family
+and another; of course they have no social
+state among them; cold in temperament,
+their manners are cruel, their women they
+treat as drudges born to labour, or rather as
+beasts of burthen, whom they load with all
+the produce of the chace, and whom they
+oblige, without pity or gratitude, to perform
+offices repugnant to their natures, and frequently
+beyond their strength. They have
+few children, and to those they pay little attention.
+The whole arises from one cause;
+they are indifferent because they are weak, and
+this indifference to the female is the original
+stain which defaces nature, prevents her from
+expanding, and, while it destroys the seeds of
+life, strikes at the root of society. Man, therefore,
+forms no exception; for Nature, by retrenching
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
+the faculty of love, has diminished
+him more than any other animal. Before we
+examine the causes of this general effect, it
+must be acknowledged, that although Nature
+has reduced all the quadrupeds of the new
+world, yet she has preserved the size of reptiles,
+and enlarged that of insects; for although
+there are larger lizards and larger serpents at
+Senegal than in South America, yet in these
+animals the difference is not near so great as
+in the quadrupeds; the largest serpent at Senegal
+is not twice as large as the great adder of
+Cayenne, whereas the elephant is ten times as
+big as the tapir, which is the largest animal of
+South America. In no part are the insect
+tribes so large as in South America. At Cayenne,
+the spiders, caterpillars, and butterflies,
+surpass all the insects of the old continent, not
+only as to size, but in richness of colours, delicacy
+of shades, variety of forms, number of
+species, and the prodigious multiplication of
+individuals. The toads, frogs, and other
+creatures of this kind, are also very large in
+America. Of the birds and fish we shall say
+nothing; for since they possess the power of
+migrating from one continent to the other, it
+would be almost impossible to distinguish which
+properly belongs to either, but insects and reptiles,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>
+like quadrupeds, are confined nearly to
+the spot in which they came into existence.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> Mr. Vaillant says, that the Hottentots will sleep for two
+or three days together, either from hunger or excess in eating;
+for, when hungry, indolence has suggested to them
+the expedient of sleeping instead of the labour of seeking
+for food, and that by tying a bandage round their bellies
+they can do so for the above space, without experiencing
+any consequent inconvenience.</p></div>
+
+<p>Let us now then enquire why, in this new
+world, the reptiles and insects are so large,
+the quadrupeds so small, and the men so cold.
+These effects must depend on the quality of the
+earth and atmosphere, on the degrees of heat
+and moisture, on the situation and height of
+mountains, on the quality of running and stagnate
+waters, on the extent of forests, and, in a
+word, on the state in which inanimate nature
+presents itself in that country. In the new
+world there is much less heat and more moisture
+than in the old. If we compare the heat and
+cold, in each degree of latitude, we shall find a
+very great difference; that at Quebec, which
+is under the same degree of latitude as Paris,
+the rivers are covered with ice for months in
+the year, and the grounds with snow several
+feet thick; the air, indeed, is so cold, that the
+birds fly off at the approach of winter, and return
+not till invited by the warmth of spring.
+This difference of heat under the same latitude
+in the Temperate Zone, though considerable,
+is perhaps less so than the difference of that
+under the Torrid Zone. At Senegal, we are
+scorched, while at Peru, situate under the same
+line, we enjoy the benign influence of a temperate
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
+climate. In such a situation is the continent
+of America placed, and so formed, that
+every thing concurs to diminish the action of
+heat. There we find the highest mountains
+and greatest rivers in the known world; these
+mountains form a chain which seems to terminate
+the length of the continent towards the
+west, while the plains and low grounds are all
+situated on this side of the mountains, from
+whose base they extend to the sea, which separates
+the American from the European continents.
+Thus the east wind, which constantly
+blows between the tropics, does not reach
+America until it has traversed a vast extent of
+ocean, and has consequently been greatly cooled;
+and for this reason it is much less warm at
+Brasil and Cayenne, for example, than at Senegal
+and Guinea, where this east wind arrives,
+charged with the heat of all the burning sands
+and desarts which it necessarily passes in traversing
+both Asia and Africa.</p>
+
+<p>In treating of the different colours of men,
+particularly negroes, it appeared to be demonstrated
+that the strong tincture of brown or
+black depends entirely on the situation of the
+country; that the negroes of Nigritia, and those
+of the west coast of Africa are the blackest,
+because those countries are so situated as to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
+contain more heat than any other part of the
+globe, from the east wind not reaching them
+until it had passed immense tracks of land;
+that the American Indians, under the line, are
+only tawny, and the Brasilians brown, though
+under the same latitude as the negroes, because
+the heat of the climate is not so great, and the
+east wind has been cooled with the water, and
+loaded with humid vapours. The clouds which
+intercept the sun, and the rains which refresh
+the earth, are periodical, and continue several
+months at Cayenne, and other countries of
+South America. The first cause renders all
+the east coasts of America more temperate than
+either Asia or Africa; this wind arriving in a
+cool state begins to assume a degree of heat in
+traversing the plains of America, but which is
+checked by the enormous chain of mountains
+of which the western part of the new continent
+is composed, so that it is less hot under
+the line at Peru and Cayenne, and the natives
+are of a less dark complexion. If the Cordeliers
+were reduced to a level with the adjacent
+plains, the heat would be excessive in
+the western territories, and there would soon
+be men as black at Chili and Peru, as on the
+western coasts of Africa. It is evident then
+that diminution of heat in the new continent is
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
+owing entirely to situation; and we shall now
+make it appear, that there is a much greater
+degree of moisture in America. The mountains
+being the most lofty of any upon the
+globe, and directly facing the east wind, they
+stop and condense the vapours of the air, and
+thus give rise to a number of springs, which,
+by their junction, form the greatest rivers in
+the world. In proportion, therefore, to its
+extent there are more running waters in the
+new continent than in the old, and which are
+augmented by their confined situations; for
+the natives having never checked the torrents,
+directed the rivers, nor drained the marshes,
+immense tracts of land are covered by the
+stagnant waters, by which the moisture of the
+air is increased and the heat diminished.
+Besides, the earth being every where covered
+with trees and coarse weeds, it never dries, but
+constantly produces humid and unwholesome
+exhalations. In these gloomy regions, Nature
+remains concealed under her old garments,
+never having received a new attire from the
+cultivation of man, but totally neglected, her
+productions languish, become corrupted, and
+are prematurely destroyed. It is principally
+then from the scarcity of men in America, and
+from most of them living like the brutes, that
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
+the earth has been neglected, remains cold,
+and is unable to produce the active principles
+of Nature. To develope the seeds of the
+largest animals and enable them to grow and
+multiply, requires all the heat which the sun
+can communicate to a fertile soil; and for a
+reason directly opposite it is, that insects, reptiles,
+and all the little animals which wallow
+in the mud, whose blood is watery, and whose
+increase depends on putrefaction, are more
+numerous and large in the low, humid, and
+marshy lands of the new continent.</p>
+
+<p>When we reflect on these very striking differences
+between the old and new continents,
+we can hardly help supposing that the latter is,
+in fact, more recent, and has remained buried
+under the ocean longer than the rest of the
+globe; for, the enormous western mountains
+excepted, which seem to be monuments of the
+most remote antiquity, it has all the appearance
+of being a land newly sprung up. We
+find sea-shells in many places under the very
+first stratum of the vegetable earth, formed into
+masses of lime-stone, though usually less hard
+and compact than our free-stone. If this continent
+is in reality as ancient as the other, why
+did so few men exist on it? why were the most
+of that few wandering savages? why did the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+Mexicans and Peruvians, who alone had entered
+into society, reckon only 200 or 300
+years from the first man who taught them to
+assemble? why had they not reduced the lama,
+pacos, and other animals, by which they were
+surrounded, into a domestic state? As their
+society was in its infancy, so were their arts;
+their talents were imperfect, their ideas unexpanded,
+their organs rude, and their language
+barbarous. The names of their animals<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a>, of
+which we have subjoined a few as a specimen,
+were so difficult to pronounce, that our only
+astonishment is, how the Europeans should
+have taken the trouble to write them.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> <i>Pelon ichiati oquitli</i>&mdash;the lama.
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Tapiierete</i>, in Brasil; <i>maniporous</i>, in Guinea&mdash;the tapir.
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Macatlchichiltic temamacama</i>&mdash;the antelope of New Spain.
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Quauhtla coymatl</i>&mdash;the Mexican hog.
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Tlacoozclotl</i>&mdash;the mountain cat.
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Tlaclaughqui ocelotl</i>, in Mexico&mdash;the jaguar.
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Hoitzlaquatzin</i>&mdash;the porcupine of New Spain.
+</p>
+<p>
+<i>Xoloitzchuintli</i>&mdash;the Mexican wolf.</p></div>
+
+<p>Thus every circumstance seems to indicate,
+that the Americans were new men, or rather
+men who had been so long estranged from the
+rest of their species that they had lost all idea
+of the world from which they had issued; that
+the greatest part of the American continent was
+new land, unassisted by man, and in which Nature
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
+had not had time to establish all her plans,
+or to display their full extent; that the men
+are cold and the animals diminutive, because
+the ardour of the former, and the largeness of
+the latter, depend on the heat and salubrity
+of the air; and that, in the course of a few
+centuries when the lands are cultivated, the forests
+cut down, the rivers confined within
+proper channels, and the marshes drained, this
+very country will become the most fruitful,
+healthy, and opulent in the world; as it appears
+already in every part which has been cultivated
+by man. We mean not to infer that
+large animals would then be produced, for the
+tapir and cabiai will never attain the size of
+the elephant or hippopotamus, but those
+which may be transported there will no longer
+diminish. By degrees man will fill up the
+vacuums in these immense territories, which,
+when discovered, were perfect desarts.</p>
+
+<p>The first writers who recorded the conquests
+of the Spaniards, to heighten the glory of their
+arms exaggerated the number of their enemies;
+but is it possible for any reasonable man to
+credit that there were millions of inhabitants
+at Cuba and St. Domingo, when those writers
+admit there was neither a monarchy, a republic,
+nor scarcely any society among them;
+and that in these two neighbouring
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>
+islands, situated at but a little distance from
+the continent, there were only five species of
+animals, the largest of which was not bigger
+than a rabbit? Than this fact, as affirmed by
+Laet, Acosta, and Father du Tertre, in their
+different histories, no stronger proof can be
+adduced of the empty and desart state of this
+new-discovered world.</p>
+
+<p>M. Fabry, who travelled for fifteen months
+over the western parts of America, beyond the
+Mississippi, assured me that he sometimes did
+not meet a single man for the space of 300 or
+400 leagues; and all our officers who went from
+Quebec to the Ohio, and from that river to Louisiana,
+agree that it is not uncommon to travel
+upwards of 100 leagues without seeing a single
+family of savages. From these testimonies it is
+plain, that the most agreeable countries of this
+new continent were little better than desarts;
+but what is more immediately necessary to
+our purpose, they prove that we should distrust
+the evidence of our nomenclators, who
+set down in their catalogues animals as belonging
+to the new world which solely belong
+to the old, and others as native of particular
+districts where in fact they never existed;
+and in the same manner they have classed some
+animals as natives of the old world, which
+belong exclusively to America.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>I do not pretend to affirm positively that
+none of the animals which inhabit the warm
+climates are not common to both. To be physically
+certain of this it is necessary they
+should have been seen; but it is evident, with
+respect to the large animals of America, that
+none of them are to be found in the old continent,
+and very few of the small ones. Besides,
+allowing there to be some exceptions,
+they must relate to a trifling number of species,
+and in no degree affect the general rule which
+I intend to establish, and which seems to me to
+be our only certain guide to the knowledge of
+animals. This rule, which leads us to judge
+of them as much by climate and disposition as
+from figure and conformation, will seldom be
+found wrong, and it will enable us to avoid
+and discover a multitude of errors. If, for
+example, we mean to describe the hyæna of
+Arabia, we may safely affirm that it does not
+exist in Lapland; but we will not say with
+Brisson, and some others, that the hyæna and
+the glutton are the same animal; nor with
+Kolbe, that the crossed-fox, which inhabits the
+northern parts of the new continent, is found
+at the Cape of Good Hope, as the animal he
+mentions is not a fox, but a jackall. But it
+is not my object at present to point out all the
+errors of nomenclators; my intention is solely
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>
+to prove that their blunders would have been less
+had they paid some attention to the differences
+of climates; if the history of animals had
+been so far studied as to discover, which I
+have done, that those of the southern parts of
+each continent are never found in both; and
+lastly, if they had abstained from generic
+names, which have confounded together a
+number of species, not only different, but even
+remote from each other.</p>
+
+<p>The true business of a nomenclator is not
+to enlarge his list, but to form rational comparisons
+in order to contract it. Nothing can
+be more easy than, by perusing all the authors
+on animals, and by selecting their names and
+phrases, to form a table which however will
+always be long, in proportion as the enquiry
+is superficial; while nothing can be more difficult
+than to compare them with that judgment
+and discernment which is necessary to
+reduce that table to its proper dimensions. I
+said before, and now repeat, that in the whole
+known part of the globe there are not above
+200 species of quadrupeds, including among
+them 40 species of apes. To each of these,
+therefore, we had only to appropriate a name;
+and to retain 200 names, only a very moderate
+exertion of memory is required; for what purpose
+then are quadrupeds formed into classes
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>
+and genera, which are nothing more than
+props to serve the memory in the recollection
+of plants, which are so very numerous, and
+often so very similar. But instead of a list of
+200 quadrupeds we have volumes heaped upon
+volumes full of intricate names and phrases.
+Why introduce an unintelligible jargon, when
+we may be understood by pronouncing a simple
+name? Why change terms merely to form
+classes? When a dozen animals are included
+under the name, for example, of <i>the Rabbit</i>,
+why is the Rabbit itself omitted, and must be
+sought for under the genus of <i>the Hare</i>? Is
+it not absurd and ridiculous to form classes in
+which the most remote genera are assembled
+together; to put in the first, for example, man
+and the bat; the elephant and scaly lizard in
+the second; the lion and ferret in the third;
+the hog and the mole in the fourth; and the
+rhinoceros and the rat in the fifth? Ideas so
+vague and ill-conceived can never maintain
+their ground. These works are destroyed by
+their own authors, one edition contradicting
+another, and neither of them approved but by
+children, or by such as are always the dupes
+of mystery, mistaking the appearance of method
+for the reality of science. By comparing
+the fourth edition of Linnæus&rsquo;s Systema Naturæ
+with the tenth, we find man is no longer
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
+classed with the bat, but with the scaly lizard;
+that the elephant, hog, and rhinoceros,
+instead of being classed as before with the scaly
+lizard, mole, and rat, are all three huddled
+together with the shrew-mouse. In the former
+he had reduced all quadrupeds to five classes,
+but in the latter he divides them into seven.
+From these alterations we may form some idea
+of those introduced among the genera, and
+how the species have been jumbled and confounded.
+According to the same author there
+are two species<a name="FNanchor_D_4" id="FNanchor_D_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a> of men, the man of day and
+the man of night, and that these are so very
+distinct that they ought not to be regarded as
+varieties of the same species. Is not this adding
+fable to absurdity? and were it not better
+to remain silent with respect to matters of which
+we are ignorant, than to found essential characters,
+and general distinctions upon the
+grossest error? But to whatever length criticisms
+of this kind might be extended, I shall
+proceed no farther, especially as it does not
+form my principal object, having already said
+enough to put every reader on his guard, against
+the general as well as particular errors
+which abound so much in the works of nomenclators.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_D_4" id="Footnote_D_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_4"><span class="label">[D]</span></a> <i>Homo diurnus sapiens; homo nocturnus trogloditus.</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p></div>
+
+<p>In drawing general conclusions, from what
+has been advanced, we shall find that man is
+the only animated being in whose nature there
+is sufficient strength, genius, and flexibility, to
+subsist and multiply in all the different climates
+of the earth. It is evident that no other animal
+possesses this grand privilege, for, far from
+being able to multiply in every part of the
+globe, most of them are confined to certain
+climates, and even particular districts. In every
+respect man is the work of heaven, while many
+animals are the mere creatures of the earth.
+These of one continent exist not on another,
+and if there are a few exceptions, they are so
+changed and diminished as hardly to be known.
+Can a stronger proof be given that the impression
+of their form is not unalterable? that their
+nature, less permanent than that of man, may
+in time be varied, and even absolutely changed?
+that from the same cause those species
+which are least perfect, least active, and furnished
+with the fewest engines of defence, as
+well as the most delicate and the most cumbrous,
+have already, or will disappear, for
+their very existence depends on the form which
+man gives to the surface of the earth, or permits
+it to retain.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The prodigious Mammoth, whose enormous
+bones I have often viewed with astonishment,
+and which were at least six times bigger than
+those of the largest elephant, exists no longer;
+although its remains have been found in Ireland,
+Siberia, Louisiana, and other places remote
+from each other. Of all species of quadrupeds
+this was certainly the largest and
+strongest, and since it has disappeared, how
+many smaller, weaker, and less remarkable,
+must have perished, without having left any
+evidence of their past existence? How many
+others have been improved or degraded by the
+great vicissitude of the earth and waters, by the
+culture or neglect of nature, by their long continuance
+in favourable or repugnant climates,
+that they are no longer the same! and yet, next
+to man, quadrupeds are beings whose nature is
+most fixed, and whose form most permanent.
+Birds and fishes vary more: those of insects
+are subject to greater variations still; and if
+we descend to plants, which ought not to be
+excluded from animated nature, we shall be
+astonished at the celerity and facility with
+which they vary and assume new forms.</p>
+
+<p>It may not be impossible, then, without inverting
+the order of nature, that all the animals
+of the new world originated from the same
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
+stock as those of the old; that having been afterwards
+separated by immense seas or impassable
+lands, they, in course of time, underwent
+all the effects of a climate which was new to
+them, and which must also have had its qualities
+changed by the very causes which produced
+its separation; and that they, in consequence,
+became not only inferior in size, but
+different in nature. But these circumstances,
+if true, ought not to prevent us from considering
+them now as animals of different species.
+From whatever causes these changes may have
+proceeded, whether produced by time, climate,
+or soil, or whether originating with the creation,
+they are not the less real. Nature is, indeed,
+in a perpetual fluctuation. It is sufficient
+for man to watch her in his own time, to look a
+little backward and forward, by way of forming
+a conjecture of what she might have been formerly
+and what she may hereafter be.</p>
+
+<p>As to the utility to be derived from this
+comparison of animals, it is evident, that independent
+of correcting the errors of our nomenclators,
+our knowledge of the animal creation
+will be enlarged, rendered less imperfect
+and more certain; that we shall be in less
+hazard of attributing to American animals,
+properties which belong to those of the East
+Indies, because they may have the same name;
+that in treating of foreign animals, from accounts
+given by travellers, we shall be more
+able to distinguish names and facts, and to
+refer them to their true species; and, in fine,
+that the history in which we are now engaged
+will be less erroneous, and perhaps more luminous
+and complete.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 375px;">
+<a id="FIG_102"></a><img src="images/fig_102.png" width="375" height="285" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 102. <i>Black Cougar</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 376px;">
+<a id="FIG_101"></a><img src="images/fig_101.png" width="376" height="285" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 101. <i>Tiger</i></span>
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_TIGER" id="THE_TIGER">THE TIGER.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>IN the class of carnivorous animals, the lion
+stands foremost, and he is immediately followed
+by the tiger, who, possessing all the bad qualities
+of the former, is a stranger to his good
+ones. To pride, courage, and strength, the
+lion adds dignity, clemency, and generosity,
+while the tiger is ferocious without provocation
+and cruel without necessity. Thus it is
+throughout all nature where rank proceeds
+from the superiority of strength. The first
+class, sole master of all, are less tyrannical than
+their immediate inferiors, who, denied unlimited
+authority, abuse those powers which they possess;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
+thus the tiger is more to be dreaded than
+the lion. The latter often forgets that he is
+the sovereign, or strongest of animals; with
+an even pace he traverses the plains and forests;
+man he attacks not unless provoked, nor animals
+but when goaded by hunger. The tiger,
+on the contrary, though glutted with carnage,
+has still an insatiate thirst for blood; his rancour
+has no intervals. With indiscriminate
+fury he tears in pieces every animal he comes
+near, and destroys with the same ferocity a fresh
+animal as he had done the first. Thus he is the
+scourge of every country he inhabits; and of
+the appearance of man or his weapons, he is
+fearless. He will destroy whole flocks of domestic
+animals if he meets with them, and all
+the wild animals that come in his way. He
+attacks the young elephant and rhinoceros,
+and will sometimes brave the lion himself.</p>
+
+<p>The form of the body usually corresponds
+with the nature and disposition. The noble
+air of the lion, the height of his limbs in exact
+proportion to the length of his body, his large
+thick mane, which covers his shoulders and
+shades his face, his determined aspect, and
+solemn pace, seem to announce the dignity and
+majestic intrepidity of his nature. The tiger
+has a body too long, limbs disproportionally
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>
+short, naked head, and haggard eyes; strong
+characteristics of desperate malice and insatiable
+cruelty. He has no instinct but an uniform
+rage, a blind fury, so undistinguishing
+that he not unoften devours his own progeny,
+and even tears the dam in pieces if she offers
+to defend them. Would he were to gratify
+his thirst for blood to its utmost, and by
+destroying them at their birth extinguish the
+whole race of monsters which he produces!</p>
+
+<p>Happy is it for other animals that the species
+of tiger is not numerous, and that it is
+chiefly confined to the warmest provinces of
+the East. They are found in Malabar, Siam,
+Bengal, and in all the countries inhabited by
+the elephant and rhinoceros. It is, indeed,
+said, that they accompany the latter for the
+purpose of eating their dung, which serves to
+purge them. Be this as it may, they are
+often seen together at the sides of lakes and
+rivers, where they are probably compelled
+to go by thirst, having often occasion for
+water to cool that fervor they so constantly
+endure. It is also a convenient situation to
+surprise his victims, since the heat of the
+climate compels all animals to seek for water
+several times a day; here he chooses his prey,
+or rather multiplies his massacres, for having
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>
+killed one animal, he often proceeds to the
+destruction of others, tearing open their bodies,
+and swallowing their blood by long draughts;
+for which their thirst seems never to be appeased.</p>
+
+<p>When, however, he has killed a large animal,
+as a horse, or buffalo, he does not devour
+it on the spot, for fear of being disturbed, but
+drags it off to the forest, which he does with
+such ease, that the swiftness of his course seems
+scarcely retarded by the enormous load which
+he trails after him. From this circumstance we
+might judge of his strength, but we shall have
+a more just idea of it by considering his bodily
+dimensions. Some travellers have compared
+him for size to the horse, others to the buffalo,
+and others merely say he is larger than the
+lion; but we have accounts more recent, which
+deserve the utmost confidence. I have been
+assured by M. de la Lande-Magon that he saw
+a tiger in the East-Indies fifteen feet long; allowing
+that he includes the tail, and granting
+four feet for that, the body would still be more
+than ten. It is true that the skin preserved in
+the Royal Cabinet of France is not more than
+seven feet from the tip of the nose to the insertion
+of the tail; but this tiger had been
+taken very young, and was afterwards always
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
+confined in a very narrow apartment, where the
+want of exercise, and space to range in, restraint
+and, perhaps, not having proper nourishment,
+not only its life might have been
+shortened, but the growth of its body prevented.
+From the dissection of animals of every
+species that have been reared in houses or
+court-yards, we find that their bodies and
+members for want of exercise, never attain
+their natural dimensions, and that the organs
+which are not used as those of generation, are
+so little expanded as to be scarcely perceivable.</p>
+
+<p>The difference of climate alone is capable of
+producing the same effects as confinement and
+want of exercise. None of the animals of
+hot countries produce in cold ones, even though
+well fed, and at full liberty; and as reproduction
+is a natural consequence of full nutrition,
+it is evident that when the former does not
+operate the latter must be incomplete; and
+that, in such animals, cold of itself is sufficient
+to restrain the powers of the internal mould,
+and to diminish the growth, since it destroys
+the active faculties of reproduction. It is
+not, therefore, surprising that the tiger
+above alluded to should not have acquired its
+natural growth; yet from a bare view of its
+stuffed skin, and an examination of its skeleton,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
+we may form an idea of its formidable strength
+as an animal. Upon the bones of the legs
+there are inequalities which denote muscular
+ligatures stronger than those of the lion. These
+bones are also to the full as strong, though
+shorter; and, as already intimated, the height
+of the tiger&rsquo;s legs bear no proportion to the
+length of his body. Thus that velocity which
+Pliny ascribes to him and which the word <i>tiger</i>
+seems to imply, ought not to be understood of
+his ordinary movements, or the celerity of his
+continued course; for it is evident, that as his
+legs are short and he can neither walk nor run
+so fast as those animals which have them proportionally
+longer; but this prodigious swiftness,
+may with great propriety, be applied to
+the extraordinary bounds he is capable of making
+without any particular effort, for if we
+suppose him to have the same strength and
+agility in proportion with the cat, which he
+greatly resembles in conformation, and which
+in an instant will leap several feet, we must allow
+that the bounds of a tiger, whose body is
+ten times as large, must be immense. It is not,
+therefore, the quickness of his running, but of
+his leaping that Pliny meant to denote, and
+which from the impossibility of evading, when
+he has made a spring, still renders him more
+formidable.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The tiger is, perhaps, the only animal whose
+spirit cannot be subdued. Neither force nor
+restraint, violence nor flattery, can prevail, in
+the least, on his stubborn Nature. He is
+equally indignant at the gentle and harsh
+usage of his keeper; and time instead of mollifying
+his disposition, only serves to increase
+his fierceness and malignity. With equal
+wrath he snaps at the hand that feeds as
+that which chastises him. He roars at the
+sight of every object which lives, and seems to
+consider all as his proper prey; he seems to
+devour beforehand with a look, menacing it
+with the grinding of his teeth, and, regardless
+of his chains, makes efforts to dart upon it, as
+if to shew his malignity when incapable of exerting
+his force.</p>
+
+<p>To complete the idea of the strength of this
+terrible animal we shall quote Father Tachard&rsquo;s
+account of a combat between a tiger and three
+elephants, at Siam, of which he was an eye-witness;
+he says, &ldquo;a lofty palisade of bamboo
+cane was built, about a hundred feet square,
+into which inclosure three elephants were introduced,
+for the purpose of fighting a tiger.
+Their heads, and part of their trunks, were
+covered with a kind of armour like a mask.
+As soon as we arrived at the place a tiger was
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
+brought forth, of a size much larger than any
+we had seen before; he was not at first let
+loose, but held by two cords, so that he could
+not make a spring; one of the elephants approached
+and gave him three or four blows on
+the back with his trunk, with such force as to
+beat him to the ground, where he lay for some
+time without motion, as if he had been dead,
+although this first attack had greatly abated his
+fury, he was no sooner untied, and at liberty,
+than he gave a loud roar, and made a spring at
+the elephant&rsquo;s trunk, which was stretched out
+to strike him; but the elephant drew up his
+trunk with great dexterity, received the tiger
+upon his tusks, and tossed him up into the
+air. This so discouraged him that he no more
+ventured to approach the elephant, but made
+several turns round the palisade, making several
+efforts to spring at the spectators. Shortly
+after a second, and then a third elephant was
+set against him, each of which gave him such
+blows that he once more lay for dead, and they
+certainly would have killed him had not an end
+been put to the combat.&rdquo; From this account
+we may form some idea of the strength and
+ferocity of the tiger; for this animal, though
+young, and not arrived at his full growth,
+though reduced to captivity, and held by cords,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>
+yet he was so formidable to three such enormous
+foes, that it was thought necessary to
+protect those parts of their bodies which were
+not defended by impenetrable skin.</p>
+
+<p>The tiger, of which an anatomical description
+was made by the Jesuits at China, and
+communicated by Father Gouie to the Academy
+of Sciences, seemed to be the true species,<a name="FNanchor_E_5" id="FNanchor_E_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a>
+as does also that which the Portuguese have
+distinguished by the name of Royal Tiger.
+Dellon expressly says, in his Travels, that tigers
+abound more in Malabar than in any other part
+of the East Indies; that their species are numerous,
+but that the largest, which is as big as a
+horse, and called by the Portuguese the Royal
+Tiger, is very rare. To all appearance, then,
+the Royal Tiger is not a different species; he
+is found in the East Indies only; and, notwithstanding
+what has been said by Brisson, and
+others, is an utter stranger at Brasil. I am
+even inclined to think that the real tiger is peculiar
+to Asia, and the inland parts of the south
+of Africa; for though the generality of travellers,
+who have frequented the African coasts,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>
+speak of tigers as very common, yet it is very
+plain, from their own accounts of them, that
+they are either leopards, panthers, or ounces.
+Dr. Shaw says, that the lion and panther hold
+the first rank at Tunis and Algiers, and that in
+those parts of Barbary the tiger is an animal
+unknown. This observation seems founded in
+truth, for they were Indian, and not African,
+ambassadors, who presented Augustus, while at
+Samos, the first tiger the Romans had ever
+seen; and it was also from the Indies that Heliogabalus
+procured those tigers, with which,
+in order to represent the god Bacchus, he proposed
+that his car should be drawn.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_E_5" id="Footnote_E_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_5"><span class="label">[E]</span></a> This tiger was streaked, and had been slain, with four
+others, in the field, by the Emperor, it weighed 265lbs; but
+one of them weighed 400; when dissected, one-third of its
+stomach was full of worms, and yet it could not be said the
+animal had begun to putrify. <i>Hist. Acad.</i> 1669.</p></div>
+
+<p>Thus the species of the tiger has always been
+more rare and less diffused than that of the lion.
+The female, like the lioness, however, produces
+four or five cubs at a time. She is fierce
+at all times, but, upon her young being in
+danger, her fury becomes excessive. She then
+braves every danger to secure them, and will
+pursue the plunderers of them with such ferocity,
+that they are often obliged to drop one
+to secure the rest; this she takes up and conveys
+to the nearest cover, and then renews the
+pursuit, and will follow them to the very
+gates of towns, or to the ships in which they
+may have taken refuge; and when she has no
+longer hopes recovering her young, she expresses
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
+her agony by the most dismal howls of
+despair.</p>
+
+<p>The tiger testifies his anger in the same manner
+as the lion; he moves the skin of his face,
+shews his teeth, and roars in a frightful manner;
+but the tone of his voice is very different;
+and some travellers have compared it to the
+hoarse croak of certain large birds; and the
+ancients expressed it by saying, <i>Tigrides indomitæ
+raucant, rugiuntque Leones</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The skins of these animals are much esteemed,
+particularly in China; the Mandarins
+cover their seats and sedans with them, and also
+their cushions and pillows in winter. In Europe,
+though scarce, they are of no great value;
+those of the panther and leopard being held in
+much greater estimation. The skin is the only
+advantage, trifling as it is, which man can derive
+from this dreadful animal. It has been
+said that his sweat is poisonous, and that the
+hair of his whiskers is more dangerous than an
+envenomed arrow; but the real mischiefs he
+does when alive are sufficient, without giving
+imaginary ones to parts of his body when
+dead; for certain it is, the Indians eat the flesh
+of the tiger, and that they neither find it disagreeable
+nor unwholesome, and if the hair of
+his whiskers, taken in the form of a pill, do destroy,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>
+it is that being hard and sharp it produces
+the same effect in the stomach as a
+number of small needles would.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_PANTHER_OUNCE_AND_LEOPARD" id="THE_PANTHER_OUNCE_AND_LEOPARD">THE PANTHER, OUNCE, AND LEOPARD.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>IN order to avoid an erroneous use of names,
+to prevent doubt, and to banish ambiguity, it
+may be necessary to remark that, in Asia and
+Africa, there are, beside the tiger, whose history
+we have just given, three other animals of
+the same genus, but which not only differ
+from him, but also from each other. These
+are the Panther, Ounce and Leopard, which
+have been confounded together by naturalists,
+and also with a species of the same kind peculiar
+to America; but to prevent confusion, we
+shall, in the present instance, confine ourselves
+solely to those of the old continent.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 384px;">
+<a id="FIG_107"></a><img src="images/fig_107.png" width="384" height="296" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 107. <i>Panther</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 384px;">
+<a id="FIG_108"></a><img src="images/fig_108.png" width="384" height="296" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 108. <i>Caracal</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The first of these species is the Panther,
+(<a href="#FIG_107"><i>fig. 107</i></a>) which the Greeks distinguished by
+the name of Pardalis, the Latins by that of
+Panthera, and Pardus, and the more modern
+Latins by Leopardus. The body of this animal,
+when it has attained its full growth, is five
+or six feet long, from the tip of the nose to the
+insertion of the tail, which is above two feet
+long. Its colour is of a yellow hue, more or
+less dark on the back and sides, and whitish
+under the belly; it is marked with black spots
+which are circular, or in the form of a ring,
+and in which rings there are generally lesser
+spots in the centre of the same colour; some of
+these are oval, others, circular, and are frequently
+above three inches in diameter; on the
+face and legs the black spots are single, and on
+the tail and belly they are irregular.</p>
+
+<p>The second is the Little Panther of Oppian,
+which the ancients have distinguished by no
+particular name, but which modern travellers
+have called Ounce, corrupted from the name of
+lynx or lunx. To this animal we shall preserve
+the name of Ounce, because, in fact, it
+seems to have some affinity to the lynx. It is
+much less than the panther, its body being
+only about three feet and a half long, which is
+nearly the size of the lynx; its hair is longer
+than that of the panther, as is also its tail, which
+sometimes measures three feet, although its
+body is one-third less than that of the panther,
+whose tail never exceeds two feet and an half.
+The colour of the ounce is whitish grey upon
+the back and sides, and still more white under
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
+the belly; the back and sides of the panther
+are always yellow, but the spots are nearly of
+the same size and form in them both.</p>
+
+<p>The third species was unknown to the ancients,
+being peculiar to Senegal, Guinea,
+and other southern countries which they had
+not discovered; and which we, following the
+example of travellers, shall call Leopard a
+name which has been improperly applied to
+the panther. The Leopard is larger than the
+ounce, though considerably smaller than the
+panther, being only four feet in length, the
+tail measures from two to two feet and a half.
+On the back and sides the hair is of a yellow
+colour, under the belly it is whitish; it has
+black annular spots like those of the panther
+and ounce, but smaller and less regularly disposed.</p>
+
+<p>Each of these animals, therefore, forms a
+different species. Our furriers call the skins
+of the first species panther skins; those of the
+second, which we call ounce, African tiger
+skins; and those of the third, or leopard, very
+improperly tiger skins.</p>
+
+<p>Oppian knew the panther and ounce, and
+was the first who observed there were two
+species of the former, the one large and the
+other small. Though alike in the form of their
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
+bodies and the disposition of the spots, yet they
+differed in the length of their tails, which in
+the small species was longer than in the large
+ones. The Arabians have named the large
+panther Nemer, and the small one Phet or
+Phed; which last seems to be a corruption of
+Faadh, the present name of this animal in
+Barbary. &ldquo;The Faadh,&rdquo; says Dr. Shaw, in
+his Travels, &ldquo;resembles the leopard, (he
+should have expressed it panther) in having
+similar spots, in other respects they however
+differ, for the skin of the faadh is more dark
+and coarse, and its disposition is also less fierce.&rdquo;
+Besides we learn from a passage of Albert,
+commented on by Gesner, that the phet, or
+phed of the Arabs, is called in the Italian, and
+some other European languages Leuaza, or
+Lonza. It is beyond a doubt then, that the
+little panther of Oppian, the phet or phed of
+the Arabians, the faadh of Barbary, and the
+onza, or ounce of the Europeans, is the same
+animal; and probably also is the Pard or Pardus
+of the ancients, and the Panthera of Pliny;
+since he mentions its hair is white, whereas,
+as we have observed, that of the great Panther
+is yellow. It is, besides, highly probable that
+the little panther was simply called pard or
+pardus, and that, in process of time, the large
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
+panther obtained the name of leopard, or leopardus,
+from a notion that it was a mongrel
+species, which had aggrandized itself by an intermixture
+with that of the lion. As this
+could only be an unfounded prejudice, I have
+preferred the primitive name of panther to the
+modern compound one of leopard, which last
+I have applied to another animal that has
+hitherto been mentioned by equivocal names
+only. The ounce therefore differs from the
+panther, in being smaller, having a longer tail,
+also longer hair, of a whitish grey colour;
+while the leopard differs from them both, by
+having a coat of a brilliant yellow, more or
+less deep, and by the smallness of his spots,
+which are generally disposed in groups, as if
+each were formed by three or four united.</p>
+
+<p>Pliny, and several after him, have said, that
+the coat of the female panther was whiter than
+that of the male. This may be true of the
+ounce, but no such difference have we ever
+observed in the panthers belonging to the
+menagerie of Versailles, which were designed
+from life; and if there be any difference between
+the colour of the male and female it can
+be neither very permanent nor sensible; in
+some of the skins we have, indeed, perceived
+different shades, but which we rather ascribed
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>
+to the difference of age or climate than of
+sex.</p>
+
+<p>The animals described and dissected by the
+Academy of Sciences, under the name of
+Tigers, and that described by Caius, in Gesner,
+under the name of Uncia, are of the same
+species as our leopard; and of this there cannot
+remain a doubt, after comparing the figure,
+and the description which we have given,
+with those of Caius and M. Perrault. The
+latter, indeed, says, that the animals so dissected
+and described by the gentlemen of the
+Academy, under the name of tigers, were not
+the ounce of Caius; but the only reasons he
+assigns are, that the ounce is smaller, and has
+not white on the under part of its body. It
+may also be observed, that Caius, who does not
+give the exact dimensions, says, generally it
+was bigger than the shepherd&rsquo;s dog, and as
+thick as the bull-dog, though shorter in its
+legs; how, therefore, Perrault should assert
+the ounce of Caius to be smaller than the tigers
+dissected by the gentlemen of the Academy
+I am at a loss to conceive, for those animals
+measured only four feet from the nose to
+the tail, which is the exact length of the leopard
+we are now describing. On the whole,
+then, it appears, that the tigers of the Academy,
+the ounce of Caius, and our leopard, are
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
+the same animal; and not less true do I conceive
+it that our panther is the same with the
+panther of the ancients, notwithstanding the
+distinctions which have been attempted to be
+made by Linnæus, Brisson, and other nomenclators,
+as they perfectly resemble each other
+in every respect but size, and that may safely
+be ascribed to confinement and want of exercise.
+This difference of size at first perplexed
+me, but after a scrupulous examination of the
+large skins sold by the furriers with that of
+our own, I had not the smallest doubt of their
+being the same animals. The panther I have
+described, and two other animals of the same
+species kept at Versailles, were brought from
+Barbary. The two first were presented to the
+French King by the Regency of Algiers, and
+the third was purchased for his Majesty of an
+Algerine Jew.</p>
+
+<p>It is particularly necessary to observe, that
+neither of the animals we are now describing
+can be classed with the pardus of Linnæus, or
+the leopardus of Brisson, as they are described
+with having long spots on the belly, which is
+a characteristic that belongs neither to the
+panther, ounce, or leopard, and yet the panther
+of the ancients has it, as well as the pardus of
+Gesner, and the panthera of Alpinus; but
+from the researches I have made I am convinced
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
+that these three animals, and perhaps a
+fourth, which we shall treat of hereafter, and
+which have not these long spots on the belly,
+are the only species of this kind to be found in
+Asia and Africa, and therefore we must hold
+this character of our nomenclators as fictitious,
+especially when we recollect, that if any animals
+have these long spots, either in the old or
+new continent, they are always upon the neck
+or back, and never on the belly. We shall
+merely observe further, that in reading the ancients
+we must not confound the <i>panther</i> with
+the <i>panthera</i>, the latter is the animal we have
+described, but the panther of the scholiasts of
+Homer and other authors, is a kind of timid
+wolf, perhaps the jackall, as I shall explain
+when I come to the history of that animal.</p>
+
+<p>After having dissipated the cloud under
+which our nomenclators seem to have obscured
+Nature, and removed every ambiguity, by
+giving the exact description of the three animals
+under consideration, we shall now proceed
+to the peculiarities which relate to them
+respectively.</p>
+
+<p>Of the panther, which I had an opportunity
+of examining alive, his appearance was fierce,
+he had a restless eye, a cruel countenance, precipitate
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
+motions, and a cry similar to that of
+an enraged dog, but more strong and harsh;
+his tongue was red and exceedingly rough, his
+teeth were strong and pointed; his claws sharp
+and hard; his skin was beautiful, of a yellow
+hue, interspersed with black spots of an annular
+form, and his hair short; the upper part of
+his tail was marked with large black spots, and
+with black and white ringlets towards the
+extremity; his size and make was similar to
+that of a vigorous mastiff, but his legs were
+not so large.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 386px;">
+<a id="FIG_103"></a><img src="images/fig_103.png" width="386" height="287" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 103. <i>Leopard</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 387px;">
+<a id="FIG_104"></a><img src="images/fig_104.png" width="387" height="288" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 104. <i>Ounce</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>All our travellers confirm the testimonies of
+the ancients as to the large and small panther,
+that is, our panther and ounce. It appears
+that there now exist, as in the days of Oppian,
+in that part of Africa which extends along the
+Mediterranean, and in the parts of Asia which
+were known to the ancients, two species of
+panthers, the largest of which has been called
+panther or leopard, and the smaller ounce, by
+the generality of travellers. By them it is universally
+allowed that the ounce is easily tamed,
+that he is trained to the chace and employed for
+this purpose in Persia, and in several other provinces
+of Asia; that some ounces are so small
+as to be carried by a horseman on the crupper,
+and so mild as to allow themselves to be handled
+and caressed.<a name="FNanchor_F_6" id="FNanchor_F_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_F_6" class="fnanchor">[F]</a> The Panther appears to be of a
+more fierce and stubborn nature; when in the
+power of man, and in his gentlest moments, he
+seems rather to be subdued than tamed. Never
+does he entirely lose the ferocity of his disposition;
+and in order to train him to the chace,
+much care and precaution are necessary. When
+thus employed, he is shut up in a cage and carried
+in one of the little vehicles of the country;
+as soon as the game appears, the door is opened,
+and he springs towards his prey, generally
+overtaking it in three or four bounds, drags it
+to the ground and strangles it; but if disappointed
+of his aim he becomes furious, and will
+even attack his master, who to prevent this dangerous
+consequence usually carries with him
+some pieces of flesh or live animals, as lambs
+or kids, one of which he puts in his way to appease
+the fury arising from his disappointment.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_F_6" id="Footnote_F_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_F_6"><span class="label">[F]</span></a> A particular account of this practice is related in Tavernier&rsquo;s
+Travels; Chardin&rsquo;s Travels in Persia; Gesner&rsquo;s
+Hist. Quad. Pros. Alp. Hist. Egypt. Bernier dans le Mosul,
+&amp;c.</p></div>
+
+<p>The species of the ounce (<a href="#FIG_104"><i>fig. 104</i></a>) seems to
+be more numerous, and more diffused than that
+of the panther; it is very common in Arabia,
+Barbary, and the southern parts of Asia,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
+Egypt, perhaps, excepted.<a name="FNanchor_G_7" id="FNanchor_G_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_G_7" class="fnanchor">[G]</a> They are even
+known in China, where they are distinguished
+by the name of <i>hinen-pao</i>.<a name="FNanchor_H_8" id="FNanchor_H_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_H_8" class="fnanchor">[H]</a> The ounce is employed
+for the chace, in the hot climates of
+Asia, because dogs are very rarely to be found
+unless transported thither, and then they very
+soon lose not only their voice but their instinct.<a name="FNanchor_I_9" id="FNanchor_I_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_I_9" class="fnanchor">[I]</a>
+Besides the panther, ounce, and leopard, have
+such an antipathy to dogs, that they attack
+them in preference to all other animals.<a name="FNanchor_J_10" id="FNanchor_J_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_J_10" class="fnanchor">[J]</a> In
+Europe our sporting dogs have no enemy but
+the wolf; but in countries full of tigers, lions,
+panthers, leopards, and ounces, which are all
+more strong and cruel than the wolf, to attempt
+to keep dogs would be in vain. As the scent
+of the ounce is inferior to that of the dog, he
+hunts solely by the eye; with such vigour does
+he bound, that a ditch, or a wall of several
+feet high, is no impediment to his career; he
+often climbs trees to watch for his prey, and
+when near, will suddenly dart upon them; and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
+this method is also adopted by the panther
+and leopard.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_G_7" id="Footnote_G_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_G_7"><span class="label">[G]</span></a> Maserier affirms that there are neither lions, tigers, nor
+leopards in Egypt. <i>Descrip. Egypt, Tom. II.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_H_8" id="Footnote_H_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_H_8"><span class="label">[H]</span></a> A kind of leopard or panther found in the province of
+Pekin; it is not so ferocious as the ordinary tigers. <i>Thevenot.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_I_9" id="Footnote_I_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_I_9"><span class="label">[I]</span></a> Vide Voyage de Jean Ovington, <i>Tom. I. p. 278</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_J_10" id="Footnote_J_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_J_10"><span class="label">[J]</span></a> The leopards, says le Maire, are deadly enemies to
+dogs, and devour all of them they meet.</p></div>
+
+<p>The Leopard, (<a href="#FIG_103"><i>fig. 103</i></a>) has the same manners
+and disposition as the panther; but in no
+part does he appear to have been tamed like
+the ounce; nor do the Negroes of Senegal and
+Guinea, where he greatly abounds, ever make
+use of him in the chace. He is generally larger
+than the ounce, but smaller than the panther;
+and his tail, though shorter than that of
+the ounce, is from two to two feet and a half
+in length. This leopard of Senegal and Guinea,
+to which we have particularly appropriated
+the name of <i>leopard</i>, is probably the animal
+which at Congo is called the <i>Engoi</i>; and
+perhaps also the <i>Antamba</i><a name="FNanchor_K_11" id="FNanchor_K_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_K_11" class="fnanchor">[K]</a> of Madagascar.
+I quote these names, from a persuasion that an
+acquaintance with the denominations applied
+to them in the countries which they inhabit
+would increase our knowledge of animals.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_K_11" id="Footnote_K_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_K_11"><span class="label">[K]</span></a> The antamba is a beast as large as a dog; it has a
+round head, and, in the opinion of the Negroes, resembles
+the leopard; it devours both men and cattle, and is only to
+be found in the most unfrequented parts of the island.
+<i>Flacourt&rsquo;s Voyage.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The species of the leopard seems to be subject
+to more varieties than that of the panther
+and the ounce. I have examined
+many leopards&rsquo; skins which differed from
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
+each other, not only in the ground colour,
+but in the shade of the spots which last are
+always smaller than those of the panther or
+the ounce. In all leopards&rsquo; skins, the spots are
+nearly of the same size and the same figure, and
+their chief difference consists in their colour
+being deeper in some than in others; in being
+also more or less yellow, consists also the difference
+in the hair itself; but as all these skins
+are nearly of the same size, both in the body
+and tail, it is highly probable they belong to
+the same species of animals.</p>
+
+<p>The panther, ounce, and leopard, are only
+found in Africa, and the hottest climates of
+Asia; they have never been diffused over the
+northern, nor even the temperate regions.
+Aristotle speaks of the panther as an animal of
+Asia and Africa, and expressly says, it does not
+exist in Europe. It is impossible, therefore,
+that these animals, which are confined to the
+torrid zone of the old continent, could ever
+have passed to the new world by any northern
+lands; and it will be found, by the description
+we shall give of the American animals of this
+kind, that they are a different species, and ought
+not to be confounded with those of Africa and
+Asia, as they have been by most of our nomenclators.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>These animals, in general, delight in the
+thickest forests, and often frequent the borders
+of rivers, and the environs of solitary habitations,
+where they surprise their prey, and seize
+equally the tame and wild animals that come
+there to drink. Men they seldom attack, even
+though provoked. They easily climb trees in
+pursuit of wild cats and other animals, which
+cannot escape them. Though they live solely
+by prey, and are usually meagre, travellers
+pretend that their flesh is not unpalatable;
+the Indians and negroes eat it, but they prefer
+that of the dog. With respect to their skins,
+they are all valuable, and make excellent furs.
+The most beautiful and most costly is that of
+the leopard, which, when the colours are
+bright, not unfrequently sells for eight or nine
+guineas.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_JAGUAR" id="THE_JAGUAR">THE JAGUAR.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE jaguar (<a href="#FIG_105"><i>fig. 105</i></a>) resembles the ounce
+in size, and nearly so in the form of the spots
+upon his skin, and in disposition. He is less
+ferocious than the panther or the leopard. The
+ground of his colour, like that of the leopard,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
+is a bright yellow, and not grey like that of the
+ounce. His tail is shorter than that of either;
+his hair is longer than the panther&rsquo;s, but
+shorter than that of the ounce; it is frizzled
+when he is young, but smooth when at full
+growth. I never saw this animal alive, but
+had one sent me entire and well preserved in
+spirits, and it is from this subject the figure
+and description have been drawn; it was taken
+when very young, and brought up in the
+house till it was two years old, and then killed
+for the purpose of being sent to me; it had
+not therefore acquired its full growth, but it
+was evident, from a slight inspection, that its
+full size would hardly have equalled that of
+an ordinary dog. It is, nevertheless, an animal
+the most formidable, the most cruel,
+it is, in a word, the tiger of the new world,
+where Nature seems to have diminished all
+the genera of quadrupeds. The Jaguar,
+like the tiger, lives on prey; but a lighted
+brand will put him to flight, and if his appetite
+is satisfied, he so entirely loses all courage
+and vivacity, that he will fly from a single
+dog. He discovers no signs of activity or
+alertness but when pressed with hunger.
+The savages, by nature cowardly, dread his
+approach. They pretend he has a particular
+propensity to destroy them, and that if he
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
+meets with Indians and Europeans asleep together,
+he will pass the latter and kill the former.
+The same thing has been said of the
+leopard, that he prefers black men to white,
+that he scents them out, and can distinguish
+them as well by night as by day.</p>
+
+<p>Almost all the authors who have written the
+History of the New World, mention this animal,
+some by the name of tiger or leopard, and
+others under the names given them at Brasil,
+Mexico, &amp;c. The first who gave a particular
+description of him were Piso and Marcgrave,
+who called him jaguara, instead of janouara,
+his Brasilian name. They also speak of another
+animal of the same genus, and perhaps of the
+same species, under the name of jaguarette;
+but, like those two authors, we have distinguished
+them from each other, because there is
+a probability of their being different species;
+but whether they are really so, or only varieties
+of the same species, we cannot determine,
+having never seen but one of the kinds. Piso
+and Marcgrave say, that the jaguarette differs
+from the jaguar, by its hair being shorter, more
+glossy, and of a different colour, being black,
+interspersed with spots of a still deeper black.
+But from the similitude in the form of his
+body, in his manners, and disposition, he may,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>
+nevertheless, be only a variety of the same species,
+especially as, according to the testimony
+of Piso, the ground colour of the jaguar, as well
+as that of the spots, vary in different individuals;
+he says that some are marked with
+black, and others with red or yellowish spots;
+and with regard to the difference of colour,
+that is, of grey, yellow, or black, the same is
+to be met with in other species of animals, as
+there are black wolves, black foxes, black
+squirrels, &amp;c. If such variations are not so
+common among wild as tame animals, it is because
+the former are less liable to those accidents
+which tend to produce them. Their
+lives being more uniform, their food less various,
+and their freedom less restrained, their
+nature must be more permanent, that is, less
+subject to accidental alterations and changes
+in colour.</p>
+
+<p>The jaguar is found in Brasil, Paraguay,
+Tucuman, Guiana, in the country of the
+Amazons, in Mexico, and in all parts of
+South America. At Cayenne, however, this
+animal is more scarce than the cougar, which
+they denominate red tiger, nor is the jaguar so
+common now in Brasil, which appears his native
+country, as it was formerly. A price has
+been set upon his head, so that many of them
+have been destroyed, and the others have withdrawn
+themselves from the coasts to the inland
+parts of the country. The jaguarette appears
+to have been always more scarce, or at least to
+have inhabited those places which were distant
+from the haunts of men, and the few travellers
+who mention him appear to have drawn their
+accounts entirely from Marcgrave and Piso.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 381px;">
+<a id="FIG_105"></a><img src="images/fig_105.png" width="381" height="284" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 105. <i>Jaguar of New Spain</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 382px;">
+<a id="FIG_106"></a><img src="images/fig_106.png" width="382" height="289" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 106. <i>Cougar</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>M. Le BRUN had a female Jaguar of New
+Spain (<a href="#FIG_105"><i>fig. 105</i></a>) sent him in the year 1775; it
+appeared very young, and was much less than
+the one described in the original work, this
+measuring one foot eleven inches long, and the
+former two feet five inches; there was a great
+resemblance between them, and the differences
+only such as are common to the varieties of the
+same species. The ground colour of the one
+we are now speaking of was a dirty grey intermixed
+with red: the spots were yellow, bordered
+with black; its head yellow, and ears
+black, with a white spot on the external part.</p>
+
+<p>Among a number of excellent remarks made
+by M. Sonnini de Manoncour, respecting the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>
+jaguars of Guiana, he says, &ldquo;the hair of the
+young jaguar is not frizzled, as stated by M. de
+Buffon, but perfectly smooth, and with regard
+to their only equalling the size of an ordinary
+dog, I have had the skin of one that measured
+near five feet from the nose to the tail, which
+was two feet long; and from the tracks I have
+seen of these animals I have little doubt of the
+American tigers being as large as those of
+Africa, except the royal tiger, the largest
+animal to which that name is given; for the
+panther, which M. de Buffon considers the
+largest, does not exceed five or six feet when
+full grown, and it is certain that some of these
+animals exceed those dimensions. When young
+their colour is a deep yellow, which becomes
+lighter as they advance in years. He is not
+by any means an indolent animal; he constantly
+attacks dogs, commits great devastation
+among flocks, and in the desarts is even formidable
+to men. In a journey I made through
+these forests, we were tormented with one for
+three successive nights, and yet he avoided
+all our attempts to destroy him; but finding
+we kept up large fires, of which they are
+much afraid, he at last left us with a dismal
+howling. At Cayenne the natives have an
+idea that the jaguar would rather destroy them
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
+than the whites, but it is not so with the savages,
+with whom I have travelled through
+the desarts, and never found them to have any
+particular terror; they slept as we did, with
+their hammocks suspended, making a little fire
+under them, which often went out before the
+morning; and, in short, took no particular
+precautions, where they knew themselves surrounded
+with those animals. (This, observes
+M. Buffon, is a strong proof that they are not
+very dangerous animals to men.) The flesh
+of the jaguar is not good. All the animals of
+the new continent fly from him, not being able
+to withstand his power: the only one capable
+of making any tolerable resistance is the ant-eater,
+who, on being attacked, turns on his
+back, and often preserves himself by the
+strength of his long claws.&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_COUGAR" id="THE_COUGAR">THE COUGAR.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE Cougar, (<a href="#FIG_106"><i>fig. 106</i></a>) is longer but less
+thick than the jaguar; he is more agile, more
+slender, and stands higher on his legs; he has
+a small head, long tail, and short hair, which
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>
+is nearly of one entire colour, namely, a lively
+red, intermixed with a few blackish tints, particularly
+on his back. He is neither marked
+with stripes like the tiger, nor with spots like
+the panther, ounce, or leopard. His chin,
+neck, and all the inferior parts of his body
+are whitish. Though not so strong as the jaguar
+he is as fierce, and perhaps more cruel.
+He appears more ravenous, for having once
+seized his prey, he kills it, and without waiting
+to tear it to pieces, he continues to eat and suck
+alternately, until he has gorged his appetite
+and glutted his blood-thirsty fury.</p>
+
+<p>These animals are common in Guiana.
+They have been known formerly to swim over
+from the continent to Cayenne, in order to devour
+the flocks; insomuch that they were at
+first considered as the scourge of the colony;
+but by degrees the settlers lessened their numbers,
+and by continually hunting them have
+compelled the remainder to retire far from the
+cultivated parts of the country. They are
+found in Brasil, Paraguay, and in the country
+of the Amazons; and there is reason to believe
+that the animal, described by some travellers,
+under the name of the Ocorome, in Peru, is
+the same as the cougar, as well as that in the
+country of the Iroquois, which has been considered
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>
+as a tiger, though it is neither striped
+like that animal, nor spotted like the panther.</p>
+
+<p>The cougar, by the lightness of his body, and
+length of his legs, seems to be more calculated
+for speed, and climbing of trees, than the jaguar.
+They are equally indolent and cowardly,
+when glutted with prey; and they seldom attack
+men unless they find them asleep. When
+there is a necessity for passing the night in the
+woods, the kindling a fire is the only precaution
+necessary to prevent their approach.<a name="FNanchor_L_12" id="FNanchor_L_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_L_12" class="fnanchor">[L]</a>
+They delight in the shades of forests, where
+they hide themselves in some bushy tree, in
+order to dart upon such animals as pass by.
+Though they live only on prey, and drink
+blood more often than water, yet it is said their
+flesh is very palatable. Piso says, it is as
+good as veal; and Charlevoix, and others,
+have compared it to mutton. I think it is
+hardly credible that the flesh can be well
+tasted; and therefore prefer the testimony of
+Desmarchais, who says, the best thing about
+this animal is his skin, of which they make
+horse-cloths, his flesh being generally lean and
+of a disagreeable flavour.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_L_12" id="Footnote_L_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_L_12"><span class="label">[L]</span></a> The Indians on the banks of the Oronoka, in Guiana,
+light a fire during the night in order to frighten away the
+tigers who dare not approach the place at long as the fire
+remains burning.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span></p></div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>MR. COLINSON mentions another species
+of cougar, which is found on the mountains
+of Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and
+the adjacent provinces, and which, from his
+account, seems to differ very much from that
+just described; his legs being shorter, and his
+body and tail much longer, but in colour, and
+in the shape of the head, they have a perfect
+resemblance.</p>
+
+<p>M. de la Borde describes three species of rapacious
+animals at Cayenne; first, the jaguar,
+which they call tiger; the second, the cougar,
+or red tiger; (the former is about the size of a
+large bull-dog, and the latter much smaller) and
+the third they call black tiger, which we have
+termed black cougar. (<a href="#FIG_102"><i>fig. 102</i></a>) &ldquo;Its head,
+continues M. de la Borde, is somewhat like that
+of a common cougar; it has long black hair,
+a long tail, and large whiskers, but is much
+less than the other. The skin of both the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
+jaguar and cougar are easily penetrated even
+with the arrows of the Indians. When very
+hard set for food, they will attack cows and
+oxen; in this case they spring upon their backs,
+and having brought them to the ground, they
+tear them to pieces, first opening their breasts
+and bellies, to glut themselves with their blood;
+they then drag pieces of flesh into the wood,
+covering the remainder with branches of trees,
+and keeping near to feed upon it, until it begins
+to putrify, when they touch it no more.
+They will keep near a flock of wild hogs, for
+the purpose of seizing the stragglers, but cautiously
+avoid being surrounded by them. They
+often seek for prey on the sea-shore, and devour
+the eggs left there by the turtles: they also
+make prey of the caïmans, or alligators, lizards,
+and fishes; to take the former, they use the
+craft of lying down by the edge of the water,
+which they strike so as to make sufficient noise
+to attract his attention, who will come towards
+the place, and no sooner puts his head above
+water, than his seducer makes a certain spring
+at him, kills and drags him to some convenient
+place where he may devour him at leisure.
+It is said by the Indians that the jaguar decoys
+the agouti in the same manner, by counterfeiting
+his cry. They sometimes eat the leaves
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>
+and buds of the Indian figs; they are excellent
+swimmers, and cross the largest rivers. They
+seldom have more than one young at a time,
+which they hide in the trunks of hollow trees.
+They eat their flesh at Cayenne, and, when
+young, it is as white as that of a rabbit.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>The cougar is easily tamed, and rendered
+nearly as familiar as domestic animals.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_LYNX" id="THE_LYNX">THE LYNX.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences
+have given a very accurate description of the
+Lynx, and have discussed with equal ingenuity
+and erudition the circumstances and names relative
+to this animal, which occur in the writings
+of the ancients. They have shewn that the lynx
+of Ælian is the same animal which they have
+dissected and described under the name of Lupus-cervarius,
+and justly censure those who
+have taken it for the Thos of Aristotle. This
+discussion is enriched with observations and reflections
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>
+equally interesting and pertinent; it is
+a pity, therefore, they had not adopted its real
+name of lynx, instead of that which is the same
+that Gaza gave to the <i>thos</i> of Aristotle. Having,
+like Oppian, intimated that there are two
+species or races of the lynx, the one large,
+which chaces the stag and fallow-deer, and
+the other smaller, which scarcely hunts any
+thing but the hare, they appear to have confounded
+the two species together, namely, the
+spotted lynx, which is commonly found in
+the northern countries; and the lynx of the
+Levant or Barbary, whose skin is of an uniform
+colour. I have seen both these animals
+alive, and they closely resemble each other in
+many particulars. They have both long
+stripes of black hair at the extremities of their
+ears. This very circumstance, by which Ælian
+first distinguished the lynx, belongs, in fact, to
+these animals only, and perhaps it was this
+which induced the Academy to consider them
+as the same species. But, independently of
+the difference of colour and spots upon the hair,
+it will appear extremely probable that they
+belong to two distinct species.</p>
+
+<p>Klein says, that the most beautiful lynx belongs
+to Africa and Asia in general, and to
+Persia in particular; that he had seen one at
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>
+Dresden, which came from Africa, which was
+finely spotted, and of a considerable height;
+that those of Europe, especially from Prussia,
+and other northern countries are less pleasing
+to the eye, that their colour is little, if at all,
+inclined to white, but rather of a reddish hue,
+with spots confused and huddled together.
+Without absolutely denying what M. Klein
+has here advanced, I must declare I could never
+learn from any other authority that the lynx is
+an inhabitant of the warm climates of Asia and
+Africa. Kolbe is the only writer who mentions
+the lynx as common at the Cape of Good
+Hope, and as perfectly resembling that of
+Brandenburg in Germany; but I have discovered
+so many mistakes in the writings of
+this author, that I never gave much credit to
+his testimony, unless when supported by that
+of others. Now all travellers mention having
+seen the spotted lynx in the North of Germany,
+in Lithuania, Muscovy, Siberia, Canada, and
+other northern regions of both continents; but
+not one, whose accounts I have read, asserts
+he met with this animal in the warm climates
+of Africa or Asia. The lynxes of the Levant,
+Barbary, Arabia, and other hot climates, are,
+as I before observed, of one uniform colour,
+and without spots; they cannot, therefore, be
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
+the same as that mentioned by Klein, which
+he says was finely spotted, nor that of Kolbe,
+which, according to his statement, perfectly
+resembled those of Brandenburgh. It would
+be difficult to reconcile these testimonies with
+the information we have from other hands.
+The lynx is certainly more common in cold
+than in temperate climates, and is at least very
+rare in hot ones. He was, indeed, known to
+the Greeks and Romans; a circumstance which
+does not, however, infer that he came from
+Africa, or the southern provinces of Asia.
+Pliny, on the contrary, says, that the first of
+them which were seen at Rome, came from
+Gaul in the time of Pompey. At present there
+are none in France, except possibly a few in
+the Alpine and Pyrenean mountains. But the
+Romans, under the name of Gaul, comprehended
+several of the northern countries; and,
+besides, France is not at this time so cold as it
+was in those times.</p>
+
+<p>The most beautiful skins of the lynx come
+from Siberia, as belonging to the <i>Loup-cervier</i>,
+and from Canada, under the name of
+<i>chat-cervier</i>, because, like all other animals,
+they are smaller in the new than in the old
+world; and are therefore compared to the wolf
+in Europe, and to the cat in Canada. What
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
+seems to have deceived M. Klein, and might
+have deceived even more able writers is, first,
+that the ancients have said that India furnished
+lynxes to the god Bacchus; secondly, Pliny
+has placed the lynx in Ethiopia, and has said
+their hides and claws were prepared at Carpathos,
+now Scarpantho or Zerpantho, an island
+in the Mediterranean, between Rhodes and
+Candia; thirdly, Gesner has allotted a particular
+article to the lynx of Asia or Africa, in
+which there is the following extract of a letter
+from Baron Balicze. &ldquo;You have not,&rdquo; says he to
+Gesner, &ldquo;mentioned in your history of animals,
+the Indian or African lynx. As Pliny has
+mentioned it, the authority of that great man
+has induced me to send you a drawing of this
+animal, that you may include it in your list.
+This drawing was made at Constantinople.
+This animal is very different from the lynx of
+Germany, being much larger, has shorter and
+rougher hair, &amp;c.&rdquo; Gesner, without making
+any reflections on this letter, contents himself
+with giving the substance of it, and intimating
+within a parenthesis, that the drawing never
+came to hand.</p>
+
+<p>To prevent a continuance of these errors,
+let it be observed, first, that poets and
+painters have affixed tigers, panthers, and
+lynxes, to the car of Bacchus, as best pleased
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>
+their fancies; or rather because all fierce and
+spotted animals were consecrated to that god;
+secondly, that it is the word <i>lynx</i> which constitutes
+the whole of the ambiguity, since by
+comparing what Pliny says in one<a name="FNanchor_M_13" id="FNanchor_M_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_M_13" class="fnanchor">[M]</a> passage
+with two others<a name="FNanchor_N_14" id="FNanchor_N_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_N_14" class="fnanchor">[N]</a> it is plain that the Ethiopian
+animal which he calls lynx, is by no means the
+same as the chaus, or lupus-cervarius, which
+comes from the northern countries; and that it
+was from this name being improperly applied
+that the Baron Balicze was deceived though he
+considers the Indian lynx as a different animal
+from the German luchs, or our lynx. This
+Indian or African lynx, which he has described
+as larger and more full of spots than our lynx,
+was in all probability, a kind of panther.
+However true or erroneous this last conjecture
+may be, it appears that the lynx, of which we
+are now treating, is a stranger in the southern
+countries, and is found only in the northern
+parts of the new and old continents. Olaus
+says this animal is common in the forests of
+the North of Europe; Olearius, in speaking of
+Muscovy, asserts the same thing; Rosinus
+Lentilius observes that the lynx is common in
+Courland and Lithuania, and that those of
+Cassubia, a province of Pomerania, are very
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>
+small, and not so much spotted as those of Poland
+and Lithuania; and lastly, Paul Jovius
+confirms these testimonies by adding, that the
+finest skins of the lynx come from Siberia, and
+that there is a great traffic carried on with them
+at Ustivaga, a town about 600 miles from
+Moscow.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_M_13" id="Footnote_M_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_M_13"><span class="label">[M]</span></a> Vide Pliny, lib. VIII. cap. 19.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_N_14" id="Footnote_N_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_N_14"><span class="label">[N]</span></a> Ibid. VIII. c. 22, 23.</p></div>
+
+<p>This animal, which as we have shewn, prefers
+the cold to the temperate climates, is one of
+those which might have passed from one continent
+to the other through the northern regions,
+and this is probably the reason why we
+find him a tenant of the northern parts of
+America. Travellers have described him in
+such a manner as to preclude all mistake; and
+besides its skin forms an article of commerce between
+Europe and America. The lynx of Canada,
+as we have already remarked, is only smaller
+and whiter than those of Europe, and it is
+from this difference in size that they have been
+distinguished with the appellation of <i>chat-cervier</i>,
+and been considered by our nomenclators as
+animals of a different species. Without pronouncing
+decisively upon this question we shall
+only observe, that to all appearance the lynxes
+of Canada and of Muscovy are of the same
+species, first because the difference in size is
+not very considerable, since it is almost relatively
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>
+the same as that which takes place between
+all animals common to both continents;
+the wolf, fox, &amp;c. being smaller in America
+than they are in Europe, it cannot be expected
+to be otherwise with the lynx. Secondly, because,
+even in the north of Europe, these animals
+are found to vary in size; and authors
+mention two kinds, the one large and the other
+small. Thirdly, because they equally require
+the same climate, are of the same dispositions,
+the same figure, differing only in size, and a few
+trifling particulars of colour, circumstances
+not sufficient to authorize our pronouncing
+them to be two distinct species.</p>
+
+<p>The lynx, of which the ancients have said
+his sight could penetrate opaque bodies, and
+whose urine possessed the properly of hardening
+into a precious stone, called Lapis Lyncurius,
+is an animal that never existed, any
+more than the properties attributed to him,
+except in fable. To the true lynx this imaginary
+one has no affinity but in name. We must
+not, therefore, following the example of most
+naturalists, attribute to the former, which is
+a real being, the properties of this imaginary
+one, the existence of which even Pliny himself
+does not seem disposed to believe, since he
+speaks of it as an extraordinary animal, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
+classes it with the sphynx, the pegasus, and
+other prodigies, or monsters, the produce of
+Ethiopia, a country with which the ancients
+were very little acquainted.</p>
+
+<p>Our lynx, though he cannot see through
+stone walls, has bright eyes, a mild aspect, and
+an agreeable lively appearance. His urine
+produces not precious stones, but he covers it
+with earth, like the cats, to whom he has a
+near resemblance, and whose manners, and
+love of cleanliness are the same. In nothing is
+he like the wolf but in a kind of howl, which
+being heard at a considerable distance often
+deceives the hunters, by making them suppose
+they hear a real wolf. This alone, perhaps, is
+the cause of his having received the appellation
+of <i>loup</i>, and to distinguish him from the real
+wolf, and because he attacks the stags, the
+epithet of <i>cervarius</i> might have afterwards
+been added. The lynx is not so big as the
+wolf, has shorter legs, and generally about the
+size of a fox. He differs from the panther and
+ounce in the following particulars; he has
+longer hair, his spots are less lively, and are
+badly disposed; his ears are much longer, and
+they have tufts of black hairs at the points;
+his tail is shorter, and is also black at the end;
+his eyes have a whitish cast, and his countenance
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
+is more agreeable, and less ferocious.
+The skin of the male is more spotted than that
+of the female. He does not run like the wolf,
+but walks and bounds like the cat. He lives
+upon other animals, and those he pursues to
+the tops of the highest trees, so that neither
+the wild-cat, pine-weasel, ermine, nor squirrel,
+can escape him. He also seizes birds, lies in
+wait for the stag, roe-buck, and hare, whom
+he seizes by the throat, sucks their blood, and
+then opens their heads to devour the brains;
+this done he frequently abandons them to go
+in search of fresh prey, and is seldom known
+to return to the former one; which has given
+rise to the remark, that of all animals the lynx
+has the shortest memory. His colour changes
+with the climate and the season. In winter
+his fur is much better than in summer, and
+his flesh, like that of all beasts of prey, is not
+good to eat.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>THERE is a Canadian Lynx in the Royal
+Cabinet in France, in fine preservation; it is
+only two feet three inches long, and rather
+more than thirteen inches high; its body is
+covered with long grey hair, striped with yellow,
+and spotted with black; its head also is
+grey, interspersed with white and yellow hairs,
+and shaded with a kind of black stripes; it has
+long white whiskers; its ears are more than
+two inches high, white on the inside, with
+yellow edges, the outside of a mouse colour,
+edged with black, and at the tip of each ear is
+a tuft of black hair seven lines high; it has a
+short tail, which is black from the end to about
+the middle, and the other part is of a reddish
+white; its belly, hind-legs, inside of the fore-legs
+and feet are of a dirty white, and it has
+long white claws. This lynx strongly resembles
+the one we have just described, except in the
+length of the tail and tuft on the ears, from
+which we may infer that the Canadian Lynx
+is a variety from that of the old continent.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Pontoppidan describes the lynx of Norway
+to be white with deep spots, and claws like
+those of a cat; he says there are four species
+there, some being like the wolf, others the fox,
+others the cat, and others with a head like that
+of a colt; the last of which is not only doubtful
+in itself, but throws a degree of suspicion
+on the veracity of the remainder.</p>
+
+<p>The species of the lynx is very common
+throughout Europe, and also in the northern
+provinces of Asia. Their skins are very valuable,
+and much esteemed for muffs, &amp;c. in
+Norway, Russia, and even as far as China,
+and notwithstanding they are very common,
+they sell at a high price.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_CARACAL" id="THE_CARACAL">THE CARACAL.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THOUGH the Caracal<a name="FNanchor_O_15" id="FNanchor_O_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_O_15" class="fnanchor">[O]</a> resembles the lynx
+in size, formation of the body, aspect, and the
+tufts of black hair at the extremities of the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>
+ears, I do not scruple from their disagreement
+in other respects, to treat of them as animals
+of a different species. The Caracal is not
+spotted like the lynx; his hair is rougher and
+shorter; his tail is longer, and of a uniform
+colour; his snout is longer, in aspect he is
+less mild, and in disposition more fierce. The
+lynx inhabits cold and at most temperate climates,
+while the caracal is to be found only
+in the warmest countries. It is as much from
+these differences of disposition and climate,
+that I judge them to be of different species, as
+from the inspection and comparison of the
+two animals, both of which I have examined
+and had designed from life.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_O_15" id="Footnote_O_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_O_15"><span class="label">[O]</span></a> In Turkey it is called Kaarah-kula; Arabia Gat el
+Challah; in Persia Siyah-Gush, denoting in all three languages,
+<i>the cat with long ears</i>.</p></div>
+
+<p>The Caracal is common in Barbary, in Arabia,
+and in all those countries inhabited by the
+lion, panther, and ounce. Like them he depends
+on prey for subsistence, but from the inferiority
+of his size and strength, he has much
+difficulty to procure a sufficiency; frequently
+being obliged to be content with the leavings
+of the more powerful. He keeps at a distance
+from the panther, because that animal exercises
+its cruelty after being gorged with food; but
+he follows the lion, who, when the cravings of
+his appetite are satisfied, never injures any creature.
+From the remains left by this noble animal,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
+the caracal not unoften enjoys a comfortable
+repast. Sometimes he follows, or even
+goes before, at no great distance, taking a refuge
+in the trees, when self-preservation renders it
+necessary, and where the lion cannot, like the
+panther, follow him. For all these reasons it
+is that the caracal has been called the Lion&rsquo;s
+Guide, or Provider; and it is said that the lion,
+whose smell is far from being acute, employs
+him to scent out his prey, and is permitted to
+enjoy the remains as a reward for his trouble.</p>
+
+<p>The caracal<a name="FNanchor_P_16" id="FNanchor_P_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_P_16" class="fnanchor">[P]</a> (<a href="#FIG_108"><i>fig. 108</i></a>) is about the size of
+a fox, but more fierce, and much stronger.
+He has been known to attack, and in a few minutes,
+to tear in pieces a large dog, which defended
+himself to the utmost. He is very
+difficult to tame, yet if taken very young, and
+reared with care, he may be trained to the
+chace, to which he is by nature inclined, and
+in which he is very successful, especially if he
+be only let loose upon such animals as are inferior
+in strength, for he declines a service of
+danger with every expression of reluctance.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>
+In India they made use of him to catch hares,
+rabbits, and even large birds, whom he seizes
+with singular address and facility.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_P_16" id="Footnote_P_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_P_16"><span class="label">[P]</span></a> The principal part of his body is of a reddish brown
+colour, the inferior parts of the neck and belly whitish;
+round his muzzle black, his ears of a dark shade, with a tuft
+of black hair from his extremities.</p></div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>MR. BRUCE has informed me that he saw
+a caracal in Nubia, which differed from the
+one of barbary, just described; his face was
+more round, his ears black on the outside, intermixed
+with white hairs, and on the breast,
+belly, and inside of the thighs he had yellow
+spots. But this is a mere variety, of which
+there are several: for instance, in Lybia there
+is a caracal with white ears, and a white tail
+with four black rings at the end, and which
+is not bigger than a domestic cat; and if
+this were to establish a difference we might
+say there are two species of caracals in Barbary,
+the one large, with black ears and long
+tufts, and the other smaller, with white ears
+and short tufts.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_HYAENA" id="THE_HYAENA">THE HYÆNA.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>ARISTOTLE has left us two accounts by
+which alone the hyæna (<a href="#FIG_110"><i>fig. 110</i></a>) might easily
+be distinguished from all other animals.
+Nevertheless, travellers and naturalists have
+confounded him with no less than four other
+species, namely, the jackall, glutton, civet, and
+the baboon; all of which are carnivorous and
+ferocious like the hyæna, and all have some few
+particular resemblances to him, whence these
+errors may have originated. The jackall inhabits
+the same countries, and like the hyæna
+resembles the wolf in form; like him also he
+feeds upon dead carcasses, and digs up graves
+to devour their contents. The glutton has
+the same voracity, the same appetite for corrupted
+flesh, the same propensity for digging
+the dead out of their graves; and though he
+belongs to a different climate, and his figure is
+widely different from that of the hyæna, yet
+from this affinity of disposition authors have
+thought themselves warranted in considering
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
+them as of the same species. The civet is a
+native of the same countries as the hyæna, and
+like him has a streak of long hair along the
+back, and also a particular opening, or glandular
+pouch; characteristics which belong
+only to a few animals, and which induced
+Bellon to suppose the civet was the hyæna of
+the ancients. As to the baboon, which has
+hands and feet like those of a man or a monkey,
+he resembles the hyæna still less than the other
+three, and it must be solely from their name
+that they have been confounded together.</p>
+
+<p>The hyæna, according to Dr. Shaw, is called
+<i>dubbah</i> in Barbary; and Marmol, and Leo
+Africanus, say, the baboon is distinguished by
+the name of <i>dabuh</i>; and as the baboon belongs
+to the same climates, scratches up the earth and
+is nearly of the same form with the hyæna;
+these circumstances first deceived travellers,
+and naturalists adopted their blunders without
+investigation; and even those who distinguished
+the two animals, retained the name of <i>dabuh</i>
+to the hyæna, which in fact belongs to the
+baboon. It appears, then, that the hyæna
+is neither the <i>dabuh</i> of the Arabians, the <i>jesef</i>
+or <i>sesef</i> of the Africans, nor the <i>deeb</i> of Barbary.
+But to put a final stop to this confusion
+of names, I shall give, in a few words, the substance
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
+of the inquiries I have made with respect
+to those animals.</p>
+
+<p>Aristotle calls it by two names, <i>hyæna</i> and
+<i>glanus</i>; names which we may be assured are
+applied to the same animals by comparing the
+passages wherein they are mentioned.<a name="FNanchor_Q_17" id="FNanchor_Q_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_Q_17" class="fnanchor">[Q]</a> The
+ancient Latins retained the name hyæna, and
+never adopted that of glanus. In the writings
+of the modern Latins, however, we find the
+<i>ganus</i>, or <i>gannus</i>, and <i>belbus</i> employed as
+names for the hyæna. According to Rasis, the
+Arabians call it <i>kabo</i>, or <i>zabo</i>, names that appear
+to be derived from the word <i>zeeb</i>, which,
+in their language denominates a wolf. In Barbary
+the hyæna bears the name of <i>dubbah</i>, as
+appears from the description given of this animal
+by Dr. Shaw.<a name="FNanchor_R_18" id="FNanchor_R_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_R_18" class="fnanchor">[R]</a> In Turkey it is called
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>
+<i>zirtlaat</i>, according to Nieremberg; in Persia
+<i>kaftaar</i>, as stated by Kæmpfer; and <i>castar</i>,
+according to Pietro della Valle. These are
+the only names which seem actually to refer to
+the hyæna; though it is nevertheless probable
+that the <i>lycaon</i> and the <i>crocuta</i> of India and
+Ethiopia, of which the ancients speak, are no
+other than the hyæna. Porphyry expressly
+says that the <i>crocuta</i> of the Indies is the hyæna
+of the Greeks; and, indeed, all they have
+written, whether true or fabulous, respecting
+the lycaon and crocuta, bears some analogy
+to the nature of the hyæna. But we shall
+make no further conjectures on this subject
+until we treat of fabulous animals, and the
+affinities they have with real ones.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_Q_17" id="Footnote_Q_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_Q_17"><span class="label">[Q]</span></a> Aristotle Hist. Animal. lib. vi. c. 32. lib. viii. c. 5.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_R_18" id="Footnote_R_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_R_18"><span class="label">[R]</span></a> The Dubbah is nearly the size of the wolf. Its neck is so
+exceedingly stiff, that when it offers to look behind, or even
+on one side, it is obliged to turn the whole body, like the
+hog, the badger, and the crocodile. Its colour is somewhat
+inclined to a reddish brown, with a few brown streaks of a
+darker hue, it has very long hairs on the neck which it can
+occasionally erect. Its paws are large and well armed, with
+which it digs up plants, and sometimes dead bodies from
+their graves. Next to the lion and panther, the dubbah is
+the most fierce of all the animals of Barbary. As it is furnished
+with a mane, has a difficulty in turning the head, and
+scrapes up dead bodies from their graves, it has every appearance
+of being the hyæna of the ancients. <i>See Shaw&rsquo;s
+Travels.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The panther of the Greeks, the <i>lupus canarius</i>
+of Gaza, and the <i>lupus armenius</i> of the
+modern Latins and Arabians, seem to be the
+same animal, that is, the jackall, which the
+Turks call <i>cical</i>, according to Pollux, and <i>thacal</i>
+according to Spon and Wheeler; which
+the modern Greeks distinguish by the name of
+<i>zachalia</i>, the Persians <i>siechal</i>, or <i>schachal</i>, and
+the Moors of Barbary <i>deeb</i>; that of jackall,
+however, having been adopted by a number
+of travellers, to that we shall give the preference,
+and only remark at present, that he
+differs from the hyæna not only in size,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
+figure, and colour, but in natural habits, for
+the hyæna is a solitary animal, while the jackall
+is seldom seen but in troops. After the
+example of Kæmpfer, some of our nomenclators
+have called the jackall <i>lupus aureus</i>, because
+his hair is of a lively yellow hue.</p>
+
+<p>It is therefore evident, that the jackall is a
+very different animal from the hyæna; and no
+less so than the glutton, which is an animal
+confined to the northern regions of Lapland,
+Russia, and Siberia; it is a stranger even in
+the temperate climates, and therefore could
+never have inhabited Arabia, or any of the
+other warm countries in which the hyæna resides.
+It differs also in form, for the glutton
+bears a strong resemblance to a very large
+badger; his legs are so short that his belly
+almost reaches the ground; he has five toes
+on each of his feet, has no mane, and his
+body is covered with black hair, excepting
+sometimes a few reddish yellow hairs upon his
+sides; in short, he resembles him in nothing
+but in being exceedingly voracious. He was
+unknown to the ancients, who had made no
+great progress into the north of Europe.
+Olaus is the first author who mentions this
+animal and from his prodigious gluttony he
+called him <i>gulo</i>. In Sclavonia he afterwards
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>
+obtained the name of <i>rosomak</i>, and in Germany
+<i>jerff</i>, or <i>wildfras</i>, and the French travellers
+have called him <i>glouton</i>. There are
+varieties in this species, as well as in that of
+the jackall, which we shall speak of when we
+come to the particular history of those animals,
+and shall only here observe, that those
+varieties, instead of assimilating them with the
+hyæna, render them additionally a more distinct
+species.</p>
+
+<p>The civet has nothing in common with the
+hyæna but the glandular pouch, under the
+tail, and the mane along the neck and back-bone.
+It differs from the hyæna in figure and
+size, not being more than half as large; his
+ears are short and covered with hair, whereas
+those of the hyæna are long and naked; he has
+also short legs, and five toes upon each foot,
+while the legs of the hyæna are long, and he
+has only four toes upon each foot; nor does
+the civet dig up the earth in search for dead
+bodies. From these differences these animals
+are easily to be distinguished from each other.</p>
+
+<p>With respect to the baboon, which is the
+<i>papio</i> of the Latins, and as we have before observed,
+has been mistaken for the hyæna, merely
+from the ambiguity of names, which seems
+to have arisen from a passage of Leo Africanus,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
+and since copied by Marmol. &ldquo;The
+<i>dabuh</i> say these authors, is of the size and form
+of the wolf; and scratches up dead bodies
+from their graves.&rdquo; From which it was supposed
+to mean the <i>dubbah</i>, or hyæna, although
+it is expressly stated in the same passages that
+the <i>dubbah</i> has hands and feet resembling those
+of a man; a remark which, however applicable
+to the baboon, cannot be applied to the
+hyæna.</p>
+
+<p>From taking a view of the <i>lupus-marinus</i> of
+Bellon, which Gesner has copied, we might
+mistake it for the figure of the hyæna, to
+which it bears a great resemblance; but his
+description corresponds not with our hyæna,
+for he says, the <i>lupus-marinus</i> is an amphibious
+animal which feeds on fish, and has sometimes
+been seen on the coasts of the British ocean;
+besides this author says nothing of the peculiar
+characteristics which distinguish the
+hyæna from all other animals. It is possible
+that Bellon, prepossessed with the notion that
+the civet was the hyæna of the ancients, has
+given the figure of the real one under the name
+of <i>lupus-marinus</i>, for so striking and singular
+are the characters of that animal, that it is
+hardly possible to be deceived in them; he is,
+perhaps, the only quadruped that has four toes
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>
+upon each foot. Like the badger he has an
+aperture under the tail, which does not penetrate
+into the body; his ears are long, straight,
+and naked; his head is shorter and more square
+than that of the wolf; his legs are longer,
+especially the hind ones; his eyes are placed
+like those of the dog; the hair of his body
+and mane is of a dark grey, with a small intermixture
+of yellow and black, and disposed
+all along in waves, and though in size he
+equals the wolf, yet he has, nevertheless, a
+contracted appearance.</p>
+
+<p>This wild and solitary animal resides in the
+caverns of mountains, the clefts of rocks, or in
+dens, which he forms for himself under the
+earth. Though taken ever so young he is
+not to be tamed; he is naturally ferocious.
+He lives like the wolf, by depredation, but he
+is more strong and daring. He sometimes
+attacks men, and darts with a ferocious resolution
+on all kinds of cattle; he follows the
+flocks, and even breaks down the sheep-folds
+in the night to get at his prey. His eyes
+shine in the dark, and it is asserted that he
+sees better by night than day. All naturalists
+who have treated of this animal, except Kæmpfer,
+say, that his cry resembles the noise of a
+man who is vomiting, while the latter asserts
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
+it to be like the lowing of a calf. He defends
+himself against the lion, stands in no awe of
+the panther, and attacks the ounce, which is
+incapable of resisting him. When at a loss
+for prey he scrapes up the earth with his feet,
+and tears out the carcasses of animals and men,
+which in the countries he inhabits are promiscuously
+buried in the fields. He is found
+in almost all the hot climates of Africa and
+Asia, and it is probable that the animal called
+<i>farasse</i>, at Madagascar, which resembles the
+wolf in figure, but is larger and stronger, is the
+same animal.</p>
+
+<p>Of this animal more absurd stories have been
+told than of any other. The ancients have
+gravely written that the hyæna is alternately
+male and female; that when it brings forth,
+suckles and rears its progeny, it remains as a
+female the whole year, but the year following
+it resumes the functions of the male, and
+obliges its companion to submit to those of the
+female. The circumstance which gave rise to
+this fable is plainly the orifice under the tail,
+in both males and females, independently
+of the organs of generation peculiar to both
+sexes, and which are the same in the hyæna as
+in all other animals. It has also been affirmed
+that this animal could imitate the human voice,
+remember the names of shepherds, call upon,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>
+fascinate, and render them motionless; that he
+can terrify shepherdesses, cause them to forget
+and neglect their flocks, to be distracted in
+love, &amp;c. All this might surely happen without
+the intervention of the hyæna! But I shall
+conclude here, to avoid the reproach which
+has been cast upon Pliny, that of taking pleasure
+in compiling and relating absurd fables.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>AT the fair of St. Germain, in the year
+1773, I saw a male hyæna; the one just described
+was very ferocious, and as I mentioned
+untameable, but this was perfectly gentle, for
+though his keeper made him angry for the
+purpose of erecting his mane, yet he seemed
+to forget it in a few moments, and suffer himself
+to be played with without any appearance
+of dislike. He exactly accorded with the description
+I have given, except his tail being
+entirely white.</p>
+
+<p>In the island of Meroë there is a large kind
+of hyænas, so strong that they can run off
+with a man to the distance of more than a
+league without stopping. These are also of a
+darker colour, and erect their long hairs on
+the hind parts and not the front. Mr. Bruce
+informs me that he has observed, that when
+the hyænas are forced to take to flight, they
+are at first exceedingly lame of the left hind
+leg, and which continues for more than an
+hundred paces, so much so indeed as to give
+them the appearance of falling, and that it is
+the same also with those of Syria and Barbary.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 385px;">
+<a id="FIG_109"></a><img src="images/fig_109.png" width="385" height="286" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 109. <i>Lynx.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 384px;">
+<a id="FIG_110"></a><img src="images/fig_110.png" width="384" height="290" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 110. <i>Hyæna.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_CIVET_AND_THE_ZIBET" id="THE_CIVET_AND_THE_ZIBET">THE CIVET AND THE ZIBET.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE generality of naturalists are of opinion
+that the perfume called civet, or musk, is furnished
+only by one species of animals. I have,
+however, seen two animals that furnish it,
+which, though they have many essential affinities,
+both in their external and internal conformations,
+yet differ in so many characteristics,
+that there is sufficient reason to consider them
+as two distinct species. To the first I have
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
+continued the original name of Civet, (<i>fig.
+111.</i>) and the second, for the sake of distinction,
+I have called Zibet (<a href="#FIG_113"><i>fig. 113</i></a>) The civet
+seems to be the same as that described by the
+Academy of Sciences; by Caius, in Gesner,
+page 837, and by Fabius Columna, who has
+given both the male and female figures in the
+publication of Faber, which follows that of
+Hernandes. The <i>zibet</i> appears to be the same
+animal as M. de la Peyronnie has described
+under the name of Musk Animal, in the Memoirs
+of the Academy of Sciences for the year
+1731. Both differ from the civet in the very
+same characters; both want the mane, or the
+long hair, on the back-bone, and both have
+the tail marked with strong annular streaks.
+The civet, on the contrary, has a mane, but
+no rings on the tail. It must, however be
+acknowledged that our zibet, and the musk
+animal of M. de la Peyronnie, are not so perfectly
+similar as to leave no doubt of the identity
+of their species. The rings on the tail of
+the zibet are larger than those of the musk animal,
+and the length of his tail is shorter in proportion
+to that of his body; but these differences
+are slight, and appear to be mere accidental
+varieties, to which the civet must be
+more subject than any other wild animal, as
+they are reared and fed like domestic ones in
+many parts of the Levant and East Indies.
+Certain it is, that our zibet bears a stronger
+resemblance to the musk animal than to the
+civet, and consequently they may be considered
+as the same species. Nor, indeed, do we
+mean positively to affirm that civet and zibet
+are not varieties of the same species, but from
+their different characteristics there is a strong
+presumption they really are so.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 375px;">
+<a id="FIG_111"></a><img src="images/fig_111.png" width="375" height="288" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 111. <i>Civet</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 380px;">
+<a id="FIG_112"></a><a id="FIG_113"></a>
+<img src="images/fig_112-113.png" width="380" height="290" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 112. <i>Genet</i><br />
+FIG. 113. <i>Zibet</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The animal which we here name the Civet,
+is called the <i>falanoue</i>, at Madagascar, <i>nzime</i>,
+or <i>nzfusi</i> at Congo, <i>kankan</i> in Ethiopia, and
+<i>kastor</i> in Guinea. That it is the civet of
+Guinea I am certain, for the one I had was
+sent from Guinea, to one of my correspondents
+at St. Domingo, where, after being fed for
+some time, it was killed for the more easy conveyance
+to Europe.</p>
+
+<p>The zibet is probably the civet of Asia, of
+the East Indies, and of Arabia, where he is
+called zebet, or zibet, an Arabic word, which
+likewise signifies the perfume of that animal,
+and which we have adopted to signify the
+animal itself. He differs from the civet in
+having a longer and less thick body; a snout
+more thin and slender, and somewhat concave
+on the upper part; whereas that of the civet
+is more short, thick, and rather convex. The
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>
+ears of the zibet are also larger and more elevated;
+his tail is longer, and more strongly
+marked; his hair is shorter and much more
+soft; he has no mane, or long hair on the
+neck or back-bone; no black spots under the
+eyes, or on the cheeks; all of which are remarkable
+characteristics in the civet. Some
+travellers have suspected there were two species
+of civets; but no person has examined
+them with sufficient accuracy as to give a distinct
+description. I have seen both; and after
+a careful comparison, am of opinion, that they
+not only differ in species, but perhaps belong
+to different climates.</p>
+
+<p>These animals have been called musk-cats,
+though they have nothing in common with the
+cat, except bodily agility. They rather resemble
+the fox, especially in the head. Their
+skins are diversified with stripes and spots,
+which has occasioned them to be mistaken for
+small panthers, when seen at a distance; but
+in every other respect they differ from the
+panther. There is an animal called the Genet,
+which is spotted in the like manner, whose
+head is nearly of the same shape, and which,
+like the civet, has a pouch where an odoriferous
+humor is formed; but this animal is
+smaller than our civet; its legs are shorter,
+and its body thinner; its perfume is very faint,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
+and of short duration; while the perfume of
+the civet is very strong, and that of the zibet
+is so to an excess.</p>
+
+<p>This humor is found in the orifice which
+these animals have near the organs of generation;
+it is nearly as thick as pomatum, and
+though the odour is very strong, it is yet
+agreeable, even when it issues from the body
+of the animal. This perfume of the civet must
+not be confounded with musk, which is a
+sanguineous humor, obtained from an animal
+very different from either the civet or zibet,
+being a species of roe-buck, or goat, without
+horns, and which has no one property in common
+with the civet, but that of furnishing a
+strong perfume.</p>
+
+<p>These two species of civets have not been
+distinguished with precision. They have both
+been sometimes confounded with the weasel of
+Virginia, the genet, the musk-deer, and even
+with the hyæna. Bellon, who has given a
+figure and description of the civet, insists that
+it was the hyæna of the ancients, and his mistake
+is the more excusable not being destitute
+of some foundation. Certain it is, that most of
+the fables which have been related of the hyæna,
+took their rise from the civet. The philters
+said to have been obtained from certain parts of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
+the hyæna, and their power to excite love, sufficiently
+indicate that the stimulating virtues
+of the preparations of civet, were not unknown
+to the ancients, and which are still used for this
+very purpose in the East. What they have
+said of the uncertainty of the sex of the hyæna,
+is still more applicable to the civet, for the
+male has no external appearance, but three
+apertures so perfectly similar to those of the
+female, that it is hardly possible to determine
+the sex but by dissection. The opening which
+contains the perfume, is situated between the
+other two, and in the same direct line which
+extends from the os sacrum to the pubis.</p>
+
+<p>Another error, which has made more progress,
+is that of Gregoire de Bolivar, with respect
+to the climates in which the civet is
+found. After stating them to be common in
+Africa and the East Indies, he positively affirms
+they are also very numerous in all parts
+of South America. This assertion, transmitted
+by Faber, has been copied by Aldrovandus,
+and adopted by all the authors who have since
+treated of the civet. But the truth is, that
+they are animals peculiar to the hottest climates
+of the old continent, and which could not have
+found a northern passage into the New World;
+where, in fact, no civets ever existed until they
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>
+were transported thither from the Philippine
+Islands and the coasts of Africa. As the assertion
+of Bolivar is positive, and mine only negative,
+it is necessary I should give my particular
+reasons, to prove the falsity of the fact. Besides
+my own remarks, I refer to the very words
+of Faber himself.<a name="FNanchor_S_19" id="FNanchor_S_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_S_19" class="fnanchor">[S]</a> On this head it is to be
+observed, that the figure given by Faber, was
+left to him by Recchi, without any description<a name="FNanchor_T_20" id="FNanchor_T_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_T_20" class="fnanchor">[T]</a>;
+and of which the inscription is, <i>animal
+zibethicum Americanum</i>; but this figure
+has no resemblance to the civet or zibet, and
+rather represents the badger; secondly, Faber
+gives a description and the figures of a male
+and female civet, which resemble our zibet;
+but these civets are not the same animal as
+that represented in the first figure; nor do
+they represent animals of America, but civets
+belonging to the old continent, of which Fabius
+Columna had procured drawings at Naples,
+and furnished Faber with their figures
+and descriptions; thirdly, after having quoted
+Bolivar respecting the climates in which the
+civet is found, Faber concludes with admiring
+Bolivar&rsquo;s prodigious memory, and that he
+was indebted for this recital to the oral information
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
+of that gentleman. These three remarks
+are alone sufficient to create a suspicion
+respecting the pretended <i>animal zibethicum
+Americanum</i>, but what completely proves the
+error, Fernandes, in his description of the animals
+of America, flatly contradicts Bolivar,
+and affirms that the civet was not a native of
+America, but that, in his time, they had began
+to transport some of them from the
+Philippine Islands to New Spain. In fine,
+if we add this positive testimony of Fernandes,
+to that of all the travellers, who mention that
+civets are very common in the Philippine
+Islands, in the East Indies, and in Africa,
+not one of whom intimates having seen this
+animal in America, every doubt will vanish
+of what we advanced in our enumeration of
+the animals of the two continents, and it will
+be admitted that the civet is not a native of
+America, but an animal peculiar to the warm
+climates of the old continent, and that he was
+never found in the new, until after he had
+been transported thither. Had I not guarded
+against such mistakes, which are too frequent,
+I should have described my civet as
+an American animal, from its having been
+sent to me from St. Domingo, and not directly
+from Guinea, the place of its nativity, of which
+I was, however, assured by the letter from M.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
+Pages which accompanied the animal. These
+particular facts I consider as confirmations to
+the general position, that there is a real difference
+between all the animals of the southern
+parts of each continent.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_S_19" id="Footnote_S_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_S_19"><span class="label">[S]</span></a> Novæ Hisp. Anim. Nardi Antonii Recchi Imagines &amp;
+Nomina, Joannis Fabri Lyncei Expositione, p. 539.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_T_20" id="Footnote_T_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_T_20"><span class="label">[T]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i> p. 465.</p></div>
+
+<p>Both the civet and zibet are then animals of
+the old continent, nor have they any other external
+differences, besides those already pointed
+out; and as to their internal differences, and
+the structure of their reservoirs which contain
+the perfume, they have been so accurately described
+by Messrs. Morand and Peyronnie, in
+the Memoirs of the Academy for 1728 and
+1731, that I could do little more than give a
+repetition of their accounts. With regard to
+what remains to be further observed of those
+two animals, as the few facts are hardly more
+applicable to the one than the other, and as it
+would be difficult to point out the distinction,
+I shall collect the whole under one head.</p>
+
+<p>The civets, (by the plural number I mean
+the civet and zibet) though natives of the hottest
+climates of Asia and Africa, can yet live in
+temperate and even cold countries, provided
+they are carefully defended from the injuries of
+the weather, and supplied with succulent food.
+In Holland they are frequently reared for the
+advantage obtained by their perfume. The
+civet brought from Amsterdam is preferred to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>
+that which comes from the Levant or the Indies,
+as being the most genuine. That imported
+from Guinea would be the best, were it
+not that the Negroes, as well as the Indians,
+and the people of the Levant, adulterate it
+with the mixture of storax, and other balsamic
+and odoriferous drugs and plants.</p>
+
+<p>Those who keep these animals collect the
+perfume in the following manner; they put
+them into a narrow cage, in which they cannot
+turn themselves; this cage opens behind,
+and two or three times in a week the animal is
+drawn a little out by the tail, and kept in that
+position by putting a bar across the fore-part
+of the cage; this done, the person takes out
+the perfume from the pouch with a small
+spoon, scraping all the internal parts, and
+then, putting the matter into a vessel, the greatest
+care is taken to keep it closely covered.
+The quantity so procured depends greatly upon
+the appetite of the animal, and the quality of
+his nourishment, as he always produces more
+in proportion to the goodness of his food.
+Hashed flesh, eggs, rice, small animals, birds,
+young poultry, and particularly fish, are the
+best, and which he most prefers; and these
+ought to be so varied as to excite his appetite
+and preserve his health. He requires but
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>
+little water, and though he drinks seldom, yet
+he discharges urine very frequently; and even
+on such occasions, the male is not to be distinguished
+from the female.</p>
+
+<p>The perfume of the civets is so strong that
+it communicates itself to all parts of the body;
+the hair and skin is impregnated with it to
+such a degree, that it preserves the odour for a
+long time after it is stripped off. If a person
+be shut up in a close room with one of them
+alive, he cannot support the perfume, it is so
+copiously diffused. When the animal is enraged,
+its scent is more violent than ordinary,
+and if tormented so as to make him sweat, that
+is also collected and serves to adulterate, or at
+least increase the perfume which is otherwise
+obtained.</p>
+
+<p>The civets are naturally wild, and even ferocious;
+and though tameable to a certain degree,
+they are never perfectly familiar. Their
+teeth are strong and sharp, but their claws are
+blunt and feeble. They are light and active,
+and live by prey, pursuing small animals, and
+surprising birds. They can bound like cats,
+and run like dogs; and sometimes steal into
+yards and out-houses to carry off the poultry.
+Their eyes shine in the dark, and they probably
+see better in the night than in the day. When
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
+they fail in procuring animal food, they subsist
+on roots and fruits. As they seldom drink
+they never inhabit moist places, but cheerfully
+reside among arid sands and burning mountains.
+They breed very fast in their native
+climates; but though they can live, and even
+produce perfume in temperate climates, yet
+they cannot multiply. They have a voice
+more powerful, and a tongue less rough than
+the cat, and their cry is not unlike that of an
+enraged dog.</p>
+
+<p>The odorous humor which exudes from
+these animals is called civet in England and
+France, and <i>zibet</i>, or <i>algalia</i>, in Arabia, the
+Indies, and the Levant, where it is more used
+than in Europe. It is now very little employed
+as a medicine, but it is still used as an ingredient
+in the compositions of perfumers and
+confectioners. The smell of the civet, though
+stronger, is more agreeable than that of the
+musk. Both, however, lost their repute when
+the method of preparing ambergris was discovered;
+and even that seems now to be proscribed
+from the toilets of the polite and delicate.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_GENET" id="THE_GENET">THE GENET.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE Genet (<a href="#FIG_112"><i>fig. 112</i></a>) is a smaller animal
+than the civet. He has a long body, short
+legs, a sharp snout, slender head, and smooth
+soft hair, of a glossy ash colour, marked with
+black spots, which are round, and separated
+on the sides, but so nearly united on the back as
+to have the appearance of stripes along the body.
+Upon the neck and back it has a kind of mane,
+which forms a black streak from the head to
+the tail, the latter of which is as long as the
+body, and is marked with seven or eight rings,
+alternately black and white; the black spots
+on the neck also appear to form streaks, and it
+has a white spot under each eye. Under the
+tail, and in the very same place with the civets,
+it has a pouch, in which is secreted a kind of
+perfume, but is much weaker, and its scent
+soon evaporates. It is somewhat longer than
+the marten, which it greatly resembles in form,
+habit, and disposition; and from which it seems
+chiefly to differ in being more easily tamed.
+Bellon assures us, that he has seen them in the
+houses at Constantinople as tame as cats, that
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>
+they were permitted to run about without
+doing the least mischief, and that they were
+called <i>Constantinople cats</i>; <i>Spanish cats</i>; <i>genet
+cats</i>, <i>&amp;c.</i> though, indeed, they have nothing in
+common with that animal, except the skill
+of watching and catching mice.<a name="FNanchor_U_21" id="FNanchor_U_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_U_21" class="fnanchor">[U]</a> Naturalists
+pretend that genets inhabit only moist grounds,
+and reside along the banks of rivers, and that
+they are never found on mountains or dry
+grounds. The species is not numerous, or, at
+least, not much diffused; for there are none of
+them in any part of Europe, except Spain and
+Turkey. They seem to require a warm climate
+to subsist and multiply in, and yet they
+are not found in India or Africa. The <i>fossane</i>
+has been called the genet of Madagascar, but
+that animal is of a different species, as will
+hereafter be shewn.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_U_21" id="Footnote_U_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_U_21"><span class="label">[U]</span></a> It is, perhaps, because they are only found in the Levant
+and in Spain, that they are designated by their country; for
+the name of <i>genet</i> is not derived from any of the ancient
+languages, and is probably only a new appellation taken
+from some place abounding with them, a custom which is
+very common in Spain, where a certain race of horses are
+called <i>genets</i>.</p></div>
+
+<p>The skin of the genet makes a light and
+handsome fur, it was formerly fashionable for
+muffs, and consequently very dear; but the
+manufacturers having got the art of counterfeiting
+them, by painting the skins of grey
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>
+rabbits with black spots, their value is abated,
+from being no longer esteemed.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>I formerly stated that genets were not to be
+found in any parts of Europe, except Spain
+and Turkey, but since then I have learned that
+they are common in the southern provinces of
+France, and that at Poitou they are known by
+that name even to the peasantry. In April,
+1775, the Abbé Roubard sent me a genet that
+was killed at Livray, in Poitou, which, except
+some trifling variations in the colour of the
+hair, was similar to that I have described; and
+he assured me that the species was also to be
+found in the neighbouring provinces; and
+M. Delpeche informed me, in a letter, that it
+was a constant practice with the peasants of
+the province of Rouergue to bring dead genets
+to the merchants in the winter; he added,
+that they were not very numerous, that they
+were principally found near Villefranche, and
+that they burrow in holes like the rabbits,
+especially in winter.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_BLACK_WOLF" id="THE_BLACK_WOLF">THE BLACK WOLF.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>WE mention ibis animal merely as a supplement
+to the description we have given of the
+wolf, for there can be little doubt of his belonging
+to the same species. We have already
+said, that in the northern parts of Europe
+there were some wolves black, and others
+white, and that the black wolves were generally
+the largest; but the one we are now
+about to describe came from Canada, and was
+smaller than the common wolf; but we have
+had repeated occasions to remark, that the
+animals of the northern parts of America
+are less in size than those belonging to the
+north of Europe, and this difference in size was
+the chief, if not the only variation in him;
+besides, he had been taken very young, and
+ever after kept in a state of captivity, which
+also might have prevented the completion
+of his growth. Our common wolf is less in
+Canada than in Europe; and in that country
+black wolves and foxes are not uncommon.
+We saw this animal alive, and to us it appeared
+perfectly to resemble the common wolf both
+in figure and disposition.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 373px;">
+<a id="FIG_114"></a><a id="FIG_115"></a>
+<img src="images/fig_114-115.png" width="373" height="290" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 115. <i>Muscovy Rat.</i><br />
+FIG. 114. <i>Canadian Musk Rat.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 372px;">
+<a id="FIG_116"></a><img src="images/fig_116.png" width="372" height="294" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 116. <i>Mexican Hog.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_CANADIAN_MUSK-RAT_AND_THE_MUSCOVY" id="THE_CANADIAN_MUSK-RAT_AND_THE_MUSCOVY">THE CANADIAN MUSK-RAT, AND THE MUSCOVY
+MUSK-RAT.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THOUGH these two animals have been
+denominated musk-rats, and have a few common
+characteristics, yet they ought not to be
+confounded; they must also be distinguished
+from the Pilori, or Musk-rat, of the Antilles;
+all three forming different species, and belonging
+to different climates; the first, also called
+Ondatra, is found in Canada; the second, or
+Desman, in Lapland and Muscovy; and the
+Pilori, in Martinico and other of the Antille
+islands.</p>
+
+<p>The Musk-rat of Canada (<a href="#FIG_115"><i>fig. 115</i></a>) differs
+from that of Muscovy in having all its toes
+separate, eyes very conspicuous, and a short
+nose; whereas the latter (<a href="#FIG_114"><i>fig. 114</i></a>) has the toes
+of the hind feet united by a membrane, exceedingly
+small eyes, and a long nose like the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>
+shrew-mouse. The tail of both is flat, in
+which, as well as in many other characteristics,
+they differ from the pilori of the Antilles.
+The tail of the pilori is short, and, like that
+of other rats, cylindrical; the other two have
+long tails, and the head of the first is like that
+of a water-rat, and the head of the second resembles
+a shrew-mouse.</p>
+
+<p>In the memoirs of the Academy of Sciences,
+for 1725, we meet with a very accurate description
+of the Canadian musk-rat. M. Sarrasin,
+a correspondent of the Academy, dissected
+a number of them at Quebec, and made some
+striking and singular remarks; by comparing
+his description with our own, we have not the
+least doubt but the animal which he calls the
+musk-rat of Canada, is the same with that now
+before us.</p>
+
+<p>This animal is of the size of a small rabbit,
+and of the figure of a rat. Its head is short,
+and similar to that of the water-rat; its hair is
+soft and glossy, with a thick down underneath,
+like that of the beaver; its tail is long and
+covered with little scales, like that of the other
+rats, though of a different form, for instead of
+being cylindrical it is flat from the middle to
+the tip, and rather round at the insertion. The
+toes are not united by membranes, but furnished
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>
+with a long thick hair, which enables
+the animal to swim with ease. Its ears are
+very short, but not naked, as in the common
+rat, but covered with hair, both outwardly and
+inwardly; its eyes are large; it has two incisive
+teeth, about an inch long, in the under
+jaw, and two shorter ones in the upper; these
+four teeth are very strong, and by them the
+animal is enabled to gnaw through wood.</p>
+
+<p>The striking singularities remarked by M.
+Sarrasin, in this animal are, first, the muscular
+force and great expansibility in the skin,
+which enables the animal to contract and
+compress its body into a smaller size. Secondly,
+the suppleness of the false ribs, which
+admits a contraction of body so considerable
+that the musk-rat can obtain an easy passage
+through holes where smaller animals cannot
+find admission. Thirdly, the manner in which
+the female voids her urine, the urethra not
+terminating, as in other animals, under the
+clitoris, but at a hairy eminence above the
+os pubis, and in which there is an orifice,
+that serves the urine to escape. This strange
+organization is found in only a few species
+of animals, as rats and apes have three apertures;
+and these two are perhaps the only
+animals who have a passage for the urine
+distinct from the organs of generation: to the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>
+females alone, however, does this singularity
+belong, for the conformation of the males is
+the same with that of other quadrupeds. M.
+Sarrasin observes, fourthly, that the testicles
+which, as in other rats, are situated on each
+side of the anus, become exceedingly large,
+considering the size of the animal, during the
+rutting season; but that over, they not only
+change in size, consistency, and colour, but
+even in situation, and with the seminal vessels,
+and all the organs of generation become almost
+invisible. And, lastly, that the vessels which
+contain the musk, or perfume, of this animal,
+under the form of a milky humor, and which
+adjoin the parts of generation, undergo the
+same changes; that during the rutting season
+they enlarge in a great degree, and then the
+perfume is exceedingly strong, and may be sensibly
+distinguished at a considerable distance,
+but at its expiration they become wrinkled,
+decay, and at length entirely disappear. The
+change in the vessels, which contain the perfume,
+is effected more quickly, and more
+completely, than that of the parts of generation.
+These vessels are common to both sexes,
+and at the above periods contain a considerable
+quantity of milky humor; and the secretion
+is formed, and the humor voided, nearly in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
+the same place as the urine of other quadrupeds.
+These singularities were worthy the
+attention of so able an anatomist as M. Sarrasin.
+We have already mentioned similar
+alterations in the parts of generation in the water-rat,
+the campagnol, and the mole; but
+this is not the place for us to enlarge on the
+general consequences which might be drawn
+from these singular facts, nor even on the immediate
+references they may have to our theory
+of generation. These we shall soon have
+occasion to present with more advantage, by
+uniting them with other facts to which they
+relate.</p>
+
+<p>As the Canadian musk-rat belongs to the
+same country as the beaver, is fond of water,
+and has nearly the same figure, colour, and
+hair, they have been often compared to each
+other; it is even affirmed, that, at the first
+glance, a full grown musk-rat may be mistaken
+for a beaver of a month old. But in the
+form of their tails there is a considerable difference;
+that of the beaver being oval and flat
+horizontally; whereas that of the musk-rat is
+of a considerable length, and flat, or compressed
+vertically. In disposition and instinct, however,
+these animals have a strong resemblance.
+The musk-rats, as well as the beavers, live in
+societies during the winter. They form little
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
+dwellings about two feet and a half in diameter
+and sometimes larger, in which is often an
+association of several families. These habitations
+are not for the purpose of resorting to, in
+order to sleep like the marmots, for five or six
+months, but to obtain a shelter from the inclemency
+of the weather; they are of a round
+form, and covered with a dome about a foot
+thick; the materials for making which are
+herbs and rushes interwoven together, and cemented
+with clay, which they prepare with
+their feet; these huts are impenetrable by the
+rain, and secured from the effects of inundations
+by being elevated on the inside, and tho&rsquo;
+covered with snow several feet thick in the
+winter these animals do not seem to be incommoded
+by this circumstance. They do not
+provide a stock of provisions for that season,
+but dig a sort of passages round their dwellings,
+for the purpose of procuring roots and
+water. As winter is not their season of love,
+they reap but little advantage from associating.
+All this period they remain totally
+deprived of light, and therefore no sooner
+has the mild breath of spring begun to
+dissolve the snow, and uncover the tops of
+their little mansions, than the huntsmen open
+their dome suddenly, dazzle them with the
+light, and kill or seize all those who have not
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>
+obtained shelter in their subterraneous passages;
+but as their skins are valuable, and their flesh
+not unpalatable, thither they are also pursued
+for slaughter. Such as escape quit their habitations
+about the same time. They wander
+about during the summer but always in pairs,
+for then is the time of their amours; then it is
+that all their vessels expand, and feeding largely
+upon the fresh roots and vegetables which
+the season affords, they acquire a strong smell
+of musk; a scent which, though agreeable to
+Europeans, is so disgustful to the savages,
+that they distinguish one of their rivers, from
+being frequented by a number of them, the
+Stinking River, and the animal itself the Stinkard.</p>
+
+<p>They produce once a year, and generally
+have five or six young. Their time of gestation
+cannot be long, as they are not in season
+till the summer, and their young are full grown
+by October, when they seek for shelter; they
+construct new huts every year, and are never
+known to revisit their former habitations.
+Their cry is a kind of groan, which the huntsmen
+imitate in order to allure them. So strong
+are their fore-teeth, and so calculated for
+gnawing, that if shut up in a box, they soon
+make a hole large enough to escape through,
+a faculty which they possess in common with
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>
+the beaver. They do not swim so fast, or so
+long as the beaver, and are often seen upon
+the ground; they run very indifferently, and
+in their walk they waddle like a goose. Their
+skin retains the smell of musk, which renders
+it of little value to the furriers, but their under
+hair, or down, is used in the manufacture of
+hats. These animals are not very wild, and
+when taken young are easily tamed; and are
+then tolerably handsome, for their tail, which
+is afterwards long and disagreeable, is very
+short. They play with all the innocence and
+sprightliness of young cats, and they might
+be reared with ease but for their disagreeable
+smell.</p>
+
+<p>The Canadian and Muscovy musk-rats, are
+the only animals belonging to the northern
+regions which yield any perfume, for the odour
+of the <i>castoreum</i> (obtained from the badger)
+is highly disagreeable; and it is only in warm
+climates that we meet with the animals which
+furnish the real musk, the civet, and other delicate
+perfumes.</p>
+
+<p>The musk-rat of Muscovy might, perhaps,
+present singularities analogous to those of the
+Canadian, and not less remarkable, but it does
+not appear that any naturalist has yet had an
+opportunity to dissect, or examine it alive. Of
+its exterior form alone we can speak, as that
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>
+sent from Lapland, for the king&rsquo;s cabinet, was
+in a dry state, and therefore I can only add
+my regret that so little is known about it.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_PECCARI_OR_MEXICAN_HOG" id="THE_PECCARI_OR_MEXICAN_HOG">THE PECCARI, OR MEXICAN HOG.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>AMONG the animals of the New World,
+few species are more numerous, or more remarkable,
+than that of the Mexican Hog.<a name="FNanchor_V_22" id="FNanchor_V_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_V_22" class="fnanchor">[V]</a>
+(<a href="#FIG_116"><i>fig. 116</i></a>) At the first glance he resembles
+our wild boar, or rather the hog of Siam,
+which, as we have already observed, is nothing
+more than a variety of the wild boar; and for
+which reason this has been called the American
+wild boar, or American hog. He is, however,
+of a distinct species, and refuses to engender
+either with our wild or domestic kinds;
+a circumstance of which I was convinced, by
+having reared one of these animals in company
+with several sows.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_V_22" id="Footnote_V_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_V_22"><span class="label">[V]</span></a> This animal has a variety of names; besides the above,
+some call him <i>Tajassou</i>, <i>Tajacou</i>, <i>Paquira</i>, <i>Saino</i>, &amp;c.</p></div>
+
+<p>He differs also from the hog in a number
+of characteristics, both external and internal.
+He is less corpulent, and his legs are shorter;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>
+in the stomach and intestines, there is a difference
+of conformation. He has no tail, and
+his bristles are much stronger than those of
+the wild boar; and, lastly, he has on his back,
+near the crupper, an opening from which
+there is discharged an ichorous humor of a
+very disagreeable smell. This is the only
+animal which has an opening in this part of
+the body. In the civets, the badger, and the
+genet, the reservoir for their perfume is situated
+beneath the parts of generation; and in
+the musk-animal, and the musk-rat of Canada,
+we find it under the belly. The moisture
+which exudes from this aperture in the back
+of the Mexican hog, is secreted by large glands,
+which M. Daubenton has described with
+much attention, as well as the other singularities
+of this animal; Dr. Tyson also in the
+Philosophical Transactions, No. 153, has given
+a good description of it. Without minutely
+detailing the observations of these two able
+anatomists, I shall barely remark, that the
+latter was mistaken in asserting that this animal
+has three stomachs, or, as Mr. Ray says,
+a gizzard and two stomachs. M. Daubenton
+plainly shews, that it is only one stomach divided
+by two similar pouches, which give it
+the appearance of three; that only one of
+these pouches has a pyrolus, or orifice below,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>
+for the discharge of its contents; that, consequently,
+we ought to consider the two others
+merely as appendages to, or rather portions
+of, the same stomach.</p>
+
+<p>The Mexican hog might be rendered a domestic
+animal like the common kind; he has
+nearly the same habits and natural inclinations;
+feeds upon the same aliments, and his
+flesh, though more dry and lean, is not unpalatable,
+and may be improved by castration.
+When killed, not only the parts of generation,
+if the flesh is intended to be eaten, (as is also
+done with the wild boar) must be taken instantly
+away, but also the glands at the opening
+in the back, and which are common to
+both male and female, must likewise be removed,
+for if this operation be deferred for
+only half an hour, the flesh becomes utterly
+unfit to be eaten.</p>
+
+<p>These animals are extremely numerous in
+all the warm climates of South America.
+They go in herds of two or three hundred together,
+and unite, like hogs, in the defence of
+each other. They are particularly fierce
+when their young are attempted to be taken
+from them. They surround their plunderers,
+attack them without fear, and frequently make
+their lives pay the forfeit of their rashness.
+In their native country they prefer the mountainous
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>
+parts to the low and level grounds;
+neither do they seek marshes nor mud, like
+our hogs, but remain in the forests, where
+they subsist upon wild fruits, roots, and vegetables;
+they are an unceasing enemy to all
+the serpent kinds, with which the uncultivated
+forests of the New Continent abound: as
+soon as they perceive a serpent or viper, they
+seize it with their fore hoofs, skin it in an instant,
+and devour the flesh.</p>
+
+<p>These animals are very prolific; the young
+ones follow the dam, and do not separate from
+her till they are full grown. If taken young
+they are very easily tamed, and soon lose all
+their natural ferocity, but they never shew any
+signs of docility, but continue stupid, without
+attachment, or even seeming to know the hand
+that feeds them. They do no mischief, and
+may be permitted to run tame, without apprehending
+any dangerous consequence. They
+seldom stray far from home, but return of
+themselves to the sty: they never quarrel
+among each other, except when they are fed
+in the same trough. At such times they have
+an angry grunt, much stronger and harsher
+than that of a common hog; but they seldom
+scream, only when suddenly surprised, or frightened,
+when they have a shrill manner of blowing
+like the wild boar. When enraged they
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>
+draw their breath with great force, and point
+their bristles upward which more resemble the
+sharp armour of the hedge-hog than the bristles
+of the wild boar.</p>
+
+<p>The species of the Mexican hog is preserved
+without alteration, and altogether unmixed
+with that of the European hog, which has been
+transported to, and become wild in, the forests
+of America. These animals meet in the woods,
+and even herd together, and yet never produce
+an intermediate breed. It is the same with the
+Guinea hog, which has greatly multiplied in
+America, after being brought thither from
+Africa.</p>
+
+<p>However approximate the species of the
+European hog, the Guinea-hog, and the peccari,
+may appear, it is, nevertheless, evident,
+that they are each distinct, and separate from
+the others since they inhabit the same climate
+without intermixture. Of the three, the
+strongest, most robust, and most formidable, is
+our wild boar. The peccari, though equally
+fierce, is yet less active, and inferior as to the
+engines of defence, his tusks being much
+shorter. This animal dreads the cold, and cannot
+subsist, without shelter, even in our temperate
+regions; nor can our wild boar exist in
+countries which are very cold; therefore it is
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>
+impossible that either of them could have found
+a passage from the one continent to the other,
+over any northern country; and therefore the
+Mexican hog cannot be considered as an European
+hog degenerated, or changed, by the
+climate of America, but as an animal peculiar
+to the southern regions of that continent.</p>
+
+<p>Ray and other naturalists, have maintained,
+that the humor discharged from the back of
+the Mexican hog is a kind of musk, an agreeable
+perfume, even as it exudes from the body
+of the animal; that it is perceived at a considerable
+distance, and perfumes every place he
+inhabits, and through which he passes. I have,
+I must own, a thousand times experienced very
+contrary effects; for so disagreeable is the smell
+of this moisture, on being separated from the
+body of the animal, that I could not collect it
+without being exceedingly incommoded. It
+becomes less f&oelig;tid by being dried in the air, but
+never acquires the agreeable smell of musk, or
+of civet; and naturalists would have expressed
+themselves with more propriety, if they had
+compared it to that of <i>castoreum</i>.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>M. de la BORDE says, there are two
+kinds of the Peccari, or Mexican hog, in
+Cayenne, which never intermix; the largest
+of which is black, excepting two white spots
+upon its jaws, and that the hair of the small
+one is rather red; but I apprehend the differences
+are occasioned by age, or some accidental
+circumstance. He adds, that those of the
+large size do not associate with men; but that
+they live in the woods, upon seeds, roots, and
+fruits; that they dig in the damp soils for
+worms, and that they go in flocks of two or
+three hundred. It is no difficult matter to
+shoot them, as, instead of flying, they collect
+together, and will stand several discharges;
+nay, they will even attack the dogs, and sometimes
+men. He mentions an instance where
+he was out with a party that were surrounded
+by a flock of these hogs, who were not to be
+intimidated by a continual firing, and could
+not be dispersed until several of them were
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>
+killed. When taken young, they are soon
+rendered familiar, but they will not intermix
+with the domestic hogs. When living in
+their natural state of freedom, they often reside
+in the marshes, and will swim across rivers.
+Their flesh, though palatable, is not so good
+as the common hog; it has a strong resemblance
+to that of the hare, and is without lard
+or grease.</p>
+
+<p>M. de la Borde speaks of another species of
+hog found in Guiana, which he calls <i>patira</i>, in
+these terms: &ldquo;The patira is about the size of
+the small Mexican hog, and the only difference
+is the former having a white stripe along
+the back; they live in large forests, and, in
+general, herd in families. They will defend
+themselves against dogs, when hunted by
+them: when likely to be overpowered, they
+seek shelter in hollow trees, or in holes of the
+earth, that have been made by armadilloes,
+which they entered backwards. To get them
+out, the hunters employ every means to irritate
+them, (having first inclosed a space round
+the hole) for when angry they will quit their
+retreat, and the men, standing prepared, destroy
+them with pitchforks and sabres. If a
+hunter observes a single one in a hole, and
+does not then wish to take it, he closes up the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>
+entrance, and is sure to have him the next day.
+Their flesh is superior to that of other hogs.
+When caught young they are easily rendered
+domestic, but even then they preserve their
+natural inveteracy against dogs, whom they
+attack on all occasions. They constantly live
+in the marshes, unless when entirely covered
+with water. The females produce two at a
+time, and they breed at all seasons of the year.
+Their hair is soft, like that of the Mexican
+hog. When tamed they follow their masters,
+and allow themselves to be handled by those
+they know, but strangers they always threaten
+by shewing their teeth.&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_ROUSETTE_OR_TERNAT_BAT_THE_ROUGETTE" id="THE_ROUSETTE_OR_TERNAT_BAT_THE_ROUGETTE">THE ROUSETTE, OR TERNAT BAT, THE ROUGETTE,
+OR LITTLE TERNAT, AND THE VAMPYRE.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE Roussette<a name="FNanchor_W_23" id="FNanchor_W_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_W_23" class="fnanchor">[W]</a> and the Rougette<a name="FNanchor_X_24" id="FNanchor_X_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_X_24" class="fnanchor">[X]</a> seem
+to form two distinct species, but they so nearly
+resemble each other that they ought not to be
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>
+presented apart, as they differ only in the size
+of the body and colour of the hair. The Great
+Ternat, (<a href="#FIG_117"><i>fig. 117</i></a>) whose hair is of a reddish
+brown, is nine inches in length, from the tip
+of the nose to the insertion of the tail, and in
+breadth three 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, when the wings
+are extended; and its neck is half encircled
+with a stripe of lively red, intermixed with
+orange, of which we perceive no vestige on
+the neck of the roussette. They both belong
+to nearly the same hot climates of the old
+continent, are met with in Madagascar, in the
+island of Bourbon, in Ternat, the Philippines,
+and other islands of the Indian Archipelago,
+where they seem to be more common than on
+the neighbouring continents.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_W_23" id="Footnote_W_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_W_23"><span class="label">[W]</span></a> Also called the Flying Dog, and the Great Bat of Madagascar.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_X_24" id="Footnote_X_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_X_24"><span class="label">[X]</span></a> Or the Red-necked Flying Dog.</p></div>
+
+<p>In the hot countries of the New World,
+there is another flying quadruped, of which
+we know not the American name, but shall call
+it Vampyre, because it sucks the blood of men,
+and other animals while asleep, without causing
+sufficient pain to awaken them. This American
+animal is of a different species from the
+bats just mentioned, both of which are to be
+found solely in Africa, and in the southern
+parts of Asia.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 392px;">
+<a id="FIG_117"></a><img src="images/fig_117.png" width="392" height="292" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 117. <i>Ternat Bat.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 393px;">
+<a id="FIG_118"></a><a id="FIG_119"></a>
+<img src="images/fig_118-119.png" width="393" height="292" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 118. <i>Bull Dog Bat</i><br />
+FIG: 119. <i>Senegal Bat</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>THE vampyre<a name="FNanchor_Y_25" id="FNanchor_Y_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_Y_25" class="fnanchor">[Y]</a> is smaller than the rougette,
+which is itself smaller than the roussette.
+The first, when it flies, seems to be of the size
+of a pigeon, the second of a raven, and the
+third of a large hen. Both the roussette and
+rougette have well shaped heads, short ears,
+and round noses, nearly like that of a dog. Of
+the vampyre, on the contrary, the nose is long,
+the aspect as hideous as that of the ugliest bats;
+its head is unshapely, and its ears are large,
+open, and very erect; its noise is deformed,
+its nostrils resembling a funnel, with a membrane
+at the top, which rises up in the form
+of a sharp horn, or cock&rsquo;s-comb, and greatly
+heightens the deformity of its face. There is
+no doubt, therefore, that this species is different
+from the Ternat bats. It is an animal
+not less mischievous than it is deformed; it is
+the pest of man, and the torment of other
+animals. In confirmation of this, the authentic
+testimony of M. de la Condamine may be
+produced. &ldquo;The bats,&rdquo; says he, &ldquo;which
+suck the blood of horses, mules, and even men,
+when they do guard against it by sleeping
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>
+under the shelter of a pavilion, are a scourge
+common to most of the hot countries of America.
+Of these some are 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.&rdquo; These facts are confirmed
+by many other historians and travellers.
+Petrus Martyr, who wrote not long after the
+conquest of South America, says, that there
+are bats in the isthmus of Darien which suck
+the blood of men and animals while they are
+asleep, so as to much weaken, and frequently
+kill them. Jumilla, Don George Juan, and
+Don Ant. de Ulloa, assert the same. Though
+from the above testimonies it appears that these
+blood-sucking bats are numerous, particularly
+in South America, yet we have not been able
+to obtain a single individual. Seba has presented
+us with a figure and description of this
+animal, of which the nose is so extraordinary,
+that I am astonished travellers should not
+have remarked a deformity so palpable as to
+strike the most superficial beholder; possibly
+the animal of which Seba gives the figure, is
+not the same with that which we distinguish
+by the name of the vampyre, or blood-sucker;
+It is also possible, that this figure of Seba&rsquo;s is
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>
+false or exaggerated, or at least that this deformed
+nose is only a monstrous accidental
+variety; though of these deformities there may
+be found permanent examples in some other
+species of bats. By time alone will these obscurities
+be removed.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_Y_25" id="Footnote_Y_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_Y_25"><span class="label">[Y]</span></a> An American animal called the Great American Bat,
+or Flying Dog of New Spain.</p></div>
+
+<p>Both the roussette and rougette are in the
+cabinet of the King of France; and it is to
+the island of Bourbon that we are indebted for
+them. They belong exclusively to the Old
+Continent; and in no part either of Africa or
+Asia are they so numerous as the vampyre is in
+America. These animals are larger, stronger,
+and perhaps more mischievous than the vampyre.
+But it is by open force, and in the day
+as well as night, that they commit hostilities.
+Fowls and small birds are the objects of their
+destructive fury; they even attack men, and
+wound their faces; but no traveller has accused
+them of sucking the blood of men and
+animals while asleep.</p>
+
+<p>The ancients had but an imperfect knowledge
+of these winged quadrupeds, which may, indeed,
+be termed monsters; and it is probable,
+that from those whimsical models of Nature,
+they received the idea of harpies. The wings,
+the teeth, the claws, the cruelty, the voracity;
+the nastiness, and all the destructive qualities,
+and noxious faculties of the harpies, bear no
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>
+small resemblance to those of the Ternat bat.
+Herodotus seems to have denoted them, when
+he mentions that there were large bats which
+greatly incommoded the men employed in
+collecting cassia round the marshes of Asia,
+and that, to shield themselves from the dangerous
+bites of these animals, they were obliged
+to cover the body and face with leather.
+Strabo speaks of very large bats in Mesopotamia,
+whose flesh was palatable. Among the
+moderns, these large bats have been mentioned,
+though in vague terms, by Albertus, Isidorus,
+and Scaliger. With more precision have they
+been treated of by Linscot, Nicholas Matthias,
+and Francis Pyrard; Oliger Jacobeus has given
+a short description of them with a figure; and
+lastly, in Seba, and in Edwards, we find well-executed
+description and figures, which correspond
+with our own.</p>
+
+<p>The Ternat bats are carnivorous animals,
+voracious, and possessed of an appetite for every
+thing that offers. In a dearth of flesh or fish,
+they feed on vegetables and fruits of every kind.
+They are fond of the juice of the palm-tree, and
+it is easy to take them by placing near their
+retreats vessels filled with palm-tree water, or
+any other fermented liquor, with which they
+are sure to intoxicate themselves. They fasten
+themselves to trees, and hang from them by
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>
+their claws. They usually fly in flocks, and
+more by night than by day. Places which
+are much frequented they shun, and their favourite
+residence is uninhabited islands. To
+copulation they are strongly inclined. In the
+male the sex is very apparent, and not concealed
+in a scabbard, like that of quadrupeds,
+but extends forwards from the body, nearly
+as it does in the ape. In the female the sex
+is equally conspicuous; she has but two
+nipples, and those situated upon the breast;
+she produces more than once a year, but the
+number at each time is but small. Their flesh,
+when young, is not unpalatable; the Indians<a name="FNanchor_Z_26" id="FNanchor_Z_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_Z_26" class="fnanchor">[Z]</a>
+are fond of it, and compare its flavour to that
+of the partridge or the rabbit.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_Z_26" id="Footnote_Z_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_Z_26"><span class="label">[Z]</span></a> The Moors and Malayans are most certainly meant, as
+the Indians neither eat nor kill any animal. Lett. M. La Nux.</p></div>
+
+<p>The American travellers unanimously agree,
+that the great bats of the new continent suck
+the blood both of men and animals while they
+are asleep, and without awakening them. Of
+this singular fact, no mention is made by any
+of the Asiatic or African travellers, who speak
+of the Ternat bats. Their silence, nevertheless,
+is no adequate proof of their being guiltless,
+especially as they have so many other
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>
+resemblances to those great bats, which we
+denominated vampyres. I have, therefore,
+thought it worth while to examine how it is
+possible that these animals should suck the
+blood of a person asleep, without causing a
+pain so sensible as to awake him. Were they
+to cut the flesh with their teeth, which are as
+large as those of other quadrupeds of the same
+size, the pain of the bite would effectually
+rouse any of the human species, however
+soundly asleep; and the repose of animals is
+more easily disturbed than that of man. Thus
+it would also be, were they to inflict the wound
+with their claws. With their tongue only,
+then, is it 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.</p>
+
+<p>The tongue of the vampyre I have not had
+an opportunity of observing, but those of several
+Ternat bats which M. Daubenton attentively
+examined, seemed to indicate the possibility of
+the fact; their tongues were sharp, and full of
+prickles directed backward; and it appears that
+these prickles, or points, from their exceeding
+minuteness, may be insinuated into the pores
+of the skin, and may penetrate them so deep
+as to command a flow of the blood, by the continued
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>
+function of the tongue. But it is needless
+to reason upon a fact of which all the circumstances
+are imperfectly known to us, and
+of which some are perhaps exaggerated, or
+erroneously related.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>AMONG other remarks which I received
+from the ingenious M. de la Nux upon this
+work, after its first publication, were the following
+respecting these animals. He says, in
+general terms, that the size and number of the
+Great Ternat Bats are both exaggerated; that
+instead of attacking men they invariably endeavour
+to get from them, consequently never
+bite but when taken, or defending themselves,
+which they do then most dreadfully; and that
+instead of being ferocious animals, they are
+perfectly gentle in their dispositions. Speaking
+from his own experience, he says, both the
+great and small Ternat bats are natives of
+Bourbon, the isles of France, and Madagascar,
+in the former of which he had resided
+upwards of fifty years; when he first arrived
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>
+there they were very numerous in many places
+where at present they are not to be found, and
+for these reasons, that the forests were then
+adjacent to them, which had been cleared away
+by the settlements, and that it is only in forests
+they can subsist; besides, they bring forth but
+once a year, and are hunted, both by whites
+and negroes, for the sake of their flesh and
+grease. The females are in season about the
+month of May, and produce towards the end
+of September. They appear to come to maturity
+in about eight months, since there are
+no small ones to be seen after April or May,
+and the young are to be known from the old
+by their colours being more vivid: they become
+grey with age, but it is uncertain at
+what period; at this time their flesh is very
+disagreeable, and their fat alone, of which they
+have plenty during the summer, is eaten by
+the negroes. They never feed upon any kind
+of flesh, but entirely on bananas, peaches, and
+other fruits and flowers with which these
+forests abound: they are exceedingly fond of
+the juices of certain umbellated flowers; and
+it is possibly for the purpose of sucking the
+different species of them that they have such a
+number of sharp papillæ on their tongues.
+They never touch the skins of the mango,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>
+perhaps because it is resinous. Some of them
+which have been caught, and kept alive, have
+been known to eat bread and sugar-canes, but
+I believe, even in that state, no kind of meat,
+either raw or prepared. There cannot be any
+thing to apprehend from these animals, either
+personally, or even for poultry, because they
+are incapable of seizing upon the smallest bird,
+for if they come too near the ground they fall,
+and are then under the necessity of climbing
+up some elevated object before they can resume
+their flight, and in this case they climb
+up the first thing they meet with, even if it be
+a man. They trail their bodies along, consequently
+move very slow, and which is of itself
+sufficient to prove their incapacity for seizing
+birds. These animals, when going to take
+wing, cannot, like birds, dart at once into
+the air, but are obliged to beat their wings
+several times to fill them, and to release their
+claws from what they have hold of, and even
+then the weight of their bodies frequently bears
+them to the ground; from this necessity of
+filling their wings they cannot take flight
+from any part of the tree, but are obliged to
+crawl to a part of the branch where they can
+act with perfect freedom. They are much
+alarmed at the firing of a gun, or at a peal of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>
+thunder; and if a large flock of them, resting
+upon a tree, are surprised by either of these reports,
+in their haste to fly, numbers of them
+fall to the ground, not having sufficient air in
+their wings; in this case they hasten to climb
+up the first object they met with; let us therefore
+only suppose that object to be a traveller
+unacquainted with these animals; he would naturally
+be struck with terror at being suddenly
+surrounded with a number of creatures of such
+an ugly form and aspect, and especially when
+they began to climb up his body; he would of
+course endeavour to extricate himself from
+them, and they, in turn, finding themselves
+roughly treated, might begin to scratch and
+bite. Would not a circumstance of this nature
+be sufficient to give rise to the idea that
+these bats were ferocious animals, rushing
+upon men for the purpose of wounding and
+destroying them? when the whole would
+arise from the rencounter of different animals
+mutually afraid of each other. They are led
+to reside in forests by instinct, it being there
+only they can procure subsistence, and not
+from any savage disposition; besides this, neither
+of these bats ever light upon carrion, nor
+do they eat upon the ground, but generally in
+a hanging posture, and which appears to be
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>
+necessary when they feed all of which is surely
+enough to prove they are neither carnivorous,
+voracious, nor cruel animals; and as their
+flight is both heavy and noisy, there cannot
+remain a doubt of their being a species very
+distant from the vampyre. The great Ternat
+bats have also been charged with feeding on
+fish, because they sometimes fly very near the
+water; but this is equally untrue, for it is certain
+that they live entirely on vegetables, and it
+is solely for the purpose of washing themselves
+that they go so near the water, being an exceedingly
+clean animal, for of the numbers
+I have killed I never found dirt upon any of
+them.</p>
+
+<p>When near, the great Ternat bat is certainly
+rather disgustful, and all his motions are disagreeable,
+and it is only when perched on a
+tree that his natural deformity is concealed;
+he then hangs with his head downward, his
+wings are folded close to his sides, his vibrating
+wings, which are his greatest defects, as well
+as hind paws, by which he is suspended, are
+concealed, and there then appears only a round
+plump body, covered with a clean, smooth
+brown hair, terminated with a head rather
+agreeable than otherwise. This is the only
+attitude in which they take repose, they frequently
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>
+remain in it the greatest part of the day,
+and in it they are seen to the greatest advantage,
+especially if they are at the height of
+40 or 50 feet, and about 100 feet distant. The
+great Ternat bat is always placed for shew with
+his wings extended, by which means he is seen
+to the greatest disadvantage. The representation
+given of him in your work is not exact, as
+they never rest with their four feet on the
+ground. Both species are excellent food, and
+have never been known to produce any bad effects,
+although frequently eaten to excess; nor
+is that in the least surprising when we consider
+they feed entirely on ripe fruits, the juices,
+flowers, and according to Herodotus, &ldquo;the exudations
+of trees.&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_SENEGAL_BAT" id="THE_SENEGAL_BAT">THE SENEGAL BAT.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE Senegal Bat<a name="FNanchor_AA_27" id="FNanchor_AA_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_AA_27" class="fnanchor">[AA]</a> (<a href="#FIG_119"><i>fig. 119</i></a>) or as it is
+called by some, the Marmotte Volante, is of a
+dark brown colour upon its head and back,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>
+with a light mixture, which increasing under
+the belly, renders that considerably paler; the
+tail, as well as the membrane of the wings, are
+quite black. That which I saw and had been
+brought from Senegal, by M. Adanson, was
+not more than four inches in length, and his
+wings extended to about 21 inches; his head
+was long, ears short, and his nose rather pointed;
+he had 20 teeth in the whole, two incisive,
+two canine, and eight grinders in the upper jaw
+and six incisive and two canine in the under.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_AA_27" id="Footnote_AA_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AA_27"><span class="label">[AA]</span></a> Of this and the two following Mr. Pennant&rsquo;s Synopsis
+contains very accurate descriptions.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_BULL-DOG_BAT" id="THE_BULL-DOG_BAT">THE BULL-DOG BAT.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The Bull-Dog Bat, (<a href="#FIG_118"><i>fig. 118</i></a>) has a
+short thick nose, and large broad ears, which
+bend forward. The greatest part of its body
+is a dark ash-colour; the middle of its belly is
+brown, and its chest and throat a clear ash,
+without any mixture; the tail and membrane
+of the wings are nearly black, from the latter
+of which there comes a part of the tail, composed
+of five false vertebræ. It has 26 teeth,
+two incisive, and two canine, in each jaw;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>
+eight grinders in the upper, and ten in the
+lower; it is not more than two inches in length,
+measuring from the top of the nose, nor does
+its wings extend to quite ten.</p>
+
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_BEARDED_BAT" id="THE_BEARDED_BAT">THE BEARDED BAT.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE head of this bat (<a href="#FIG_120"><i>fig. 120</i></a>) is very peculiarly
+constructed; the nose is sunk in the
+front, and, contrary to all other animals, it has
+not its nostrils divided by a partition, but are
+placed on the sides of a kind of gutter entirely
+open from one end to the other; the exterior
+edges of them join above the upper lip, forming
+a cavity from thence to the front, where it
+terminates with a deep hole covered all round
+with long hairs. It has long narrow ears; the
+hair on the top and hind part of the head, along
+the neck, back, tail, and shoulders, is of a reddish
+brown, and all the remainder is of a yellowish
+white; the membrane of the wings and
+tail have a kind of mixture of black and reddish
+brown and its claws are yellow. Its body is
+about an inch and a half long, and its wings
+extend to about seven.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 385px;">
+<a id="FIG_120"></a><a id="FIG_121"></a>
+<img src="images/fig_120-121.png" width="385" height="294" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 121. <i>Polatouch</i><br />
+FIG. 120. <i>Bearded Bat</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 381px;">
+<a id="FIG_122"></a><a id="FIG_123"></a>
+<img src="images/fig_122-123.png" width="381" height="299" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 122. <i>Swiss Squirrel</i><br />
+FIG. 123. <i>Palmist</i></span>
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_STRIPED_BAT" id="THE_STRIPED_BAT">THE STRIPED BAT.</a></p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>THIS bat is very small, has a short nose
+and broad ears, bending forward; it is of a
+whitish yellow colour, excepting under its
+throat, breast, and belly, which is a light blue,
+with a yellow shade; the tail, and membrane
+of the wings are a mixture of yellow and
+brown.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_POLATOUCH" id="THE_POLATOUCH">THE POLATOUCH.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>I HAVE chosen to continue the name this
+animal bears in Russia, its native country, rather
+than to adopt those vague and uncertain
+ones since appropriated to it, such as, the
+Flying-rat, Flying-squirrel, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>The Polatouch (<a href="#FIG_121"><i>fig. 121</i></a>) resembles but in
+a few particulars either the squirrel, loir, or
+rat. To the squirrel it has no affinity but in
+the largeness of the eyes, and form of the tail,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>
+the latter of which, however, is neither so long,
+nor bushy as in the former. He is more like
+the loir by the shape of his body, his short and
+naked ears, and the hairs of his tail, which are
+of the same form and length; but he is not
+like him, subject to numbness in cold weather.
+The polatouch is a different species from the
+squirrel rat, or dormouse, though he participates
+of the nature of all three. M. Klein
+gave the first exact description of this animal,
+in the Philosophical Transactions, 1733; he
+was, however, known long before that time.
+He is found in the northern parts both of the
+ancient and New Continent,<a name="FNanchor_AB_28" id="FNanchor_AB_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_AB_28" class="fnanchor">[AB]</a> but he is more
+common in America than in Europe, where
+he is seldom seen, except in Lithuania and
+Russia. This little animal dwells upon trees,
+like the squirrel; he goes from branch to
+branch, and when he leaps from one tree to
+another, his loose skin stretches forward by
+his fore-legs, and backward by his hind ones;
+his skin thus stretched and drawn outwardly
+more than an inch, increases the surface of
+his body, without adding to its weight, and
+consequently retards the acceleration of his
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>
+fall, so that he is enabled to reach in one leap
+a great distance. This motion is not like the
+flight of a bird, nor the fluttering of a bat, both
+of which are made by striking the air with
+repeated vibrations. It is one single leap,
+caused by the first impulsion, the motion of
+which is prolonged, because the body of the
+animal presents to the air a larger surface, and
+thence finds a greater resistance, and falls more
+slowly. This singular extension of the skin
+is peculiar to the polatouch, and this characteristic
+is sufficient to distinguish him from
+all other squirrels, rats, or dormice. But the
+most singular things in Nature are not unparalleled;
+there is another animal of the same
+kind, with a similar skin, which is not only
+stretched from one leg to another, but from the
+head to the tail. This animal, whose figure
+and description has been given by Seba, under
+the denomination of the flying-squirrel of Virginia,
+seems so different from the polatouch, as
+to constitute another species; though probably
+it may be only a simple variety, or an accidental
+and monstrous production, for no traveller
+or naturalist makes mention of it. Seba
+is the only one who has seen it in the cabinet
+of Vincent; and I always distrust descriptions
+of animals made in cabinets of curiosities, which
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>
+are often disfigured to make them appear
+more extraordinary.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_AB_28" id="Footnote_AB_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AB_28"><span class="label">[AB]</span></a> The Hurons of Canada have three different species of
+squirrels. The Flying-squirrels are frequent in North
+America, but they have been lately found in Poland.</p></div>
+
+<p>I have seen and kept a long while the living
+polatouch. He has been well described by travellers,
+particularly Sagard, Theodat, John of
+Laet, Fernandes, Le Hontan, Denys, Catesby,
+Dumont, Le Pague du Pratz, &amp;c. and Messrs.
+Klein, Seba, and Edwards, have given exact
+descriptions of him, with his figure. What
+I have seen of this animal agrees with their
+relations. He is commonly smaller than a
+squirrel. That which we had weighed little
+more than two ounces, about the weight of a
+middling sized bat, and the squirrel weighs
+eight or nine ounces. However, there are
+some of a greater size, since we have a skin of
+a polatouch much larger than usual.</p>
+
+<p>The polatouch has some analogy with the
+bat by this extension of the skin, which unites
+the fore and hind legs, and supports him in the
+air; he seems also to participate of his nature,
+for he is quiet and sleepy in the day time, having
+no activity but towards the evening. He is
+easily tamed, but soon offended, and must be kept
+in a cage, or fastened with a small chain; he
+feeds upon bread, fruits, seeds, and is remarkably
+fond of the buds and shoots of the birch
+and pine trees. He does not seek after nuts
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>
+and almonds like a squirrel. He makes a bed
+of leaves, in which he buries himself, and sleeps
+through the day, leaving it only in the night,
+or when pressed by hunger. As he has little
+agility, he becomes easily the prey of martens,
+and other animals who climb up the trees, so
+that the species is not numerous, although
+they have commonly three or four young at a
+time.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>IN the original work I remarked having seen
+the skin of a polatouch larger than the common
+size, but the difference was very trifling, to one
+the Prince de Condé has since permitted me to
+examine, whose bulk was perfectly gigantic,
+compared with those of Russia or America, the
+latter never exceeding five inches in length, and
+this measured twenty-three. It was taken
+upon the Malabar coast, where they are very
+common, as well as in the Philippine Islands,
+and other parts of India, where they are called
+taguans, or great flying squirrels; but notwithstanding
+they resemble the polatouch in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>
+figure, and the extension of their skin, yet I
+think they ought to be considered as different
+species; for among other varieties, the tail of
+the taguan is round, and that of the common
+kind flat; the hair of the former&rsquo;s tail is also of
+a blackish brown, the face is quite black, the
+sides of the head have a mixture of white hairs,
+and on the nose and round the eyes, there are
+also some red ones; it has long brown hairs that
+cover the neck, the whole back is a mixture of
+black and white, the belly of a dirty white; the
+upper part of the extended skin is brown, and
+the under a greyish yellow, the legs black with
+a reddish shade, the tail brown, deepening by
+degrees until it becomes quite black at the end,
+the toes are black, and the claws hooked like
+those of the cat, from which, and the resemblance
+of the tail, it has been called by some
+the flying cat. M. de Vosmaër, in his Description
+of an <i>Ecureuil Volant</i>, gives a very
+particular account of both species, as does M.
+l&rsquo;Abbé Prevost, and both of which perfectly
+coincide with the above.</p>
+
+<p>At this time, March 17, 1775, I have one
+of the small species alive; I kept it in a cage,
+with a box at the bottom filled with cotton, in
+which it covers itself all day, and only comes
+out at night to seek for food. Whenever it is
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>
+forced to come out, it cries somewhat like a
+mouse; its teeth are small, but sharp, and it
+bites violently; it can only be made to extend
+its wings by letting it fall from some height;
+and it is so very chilly, that I am astonished
+how it preserves itself in the northern climates,
+since it would very soon perish, even in
+France, if it were not supplied with plenty of
+cotton to cover itself all over.</p>
+
+<p>Of the Great Flying Squirrel M. de Vosmaër
+remarks, &ldquo;that it has a great affinity to
+the smaller species described by M. de Buffon;
+they both have the same kind of membranes,
+with which they support themselves
+in the air when they leap from tree to tree.&rdquo;
+These animals were first mentioned by Valentine,
+who states them to be found in the island
+of Gilolo, where they are called <i>flying civets</i>;
+he describes them to have long tails, and says,
+when at rest their wings are not to be seen;
+that they are very wild and fearful; that
+their heads are reddish, intermixed with grey,
+that their membranes are covered with hair,
+their teeth so strong and sharp that they would
+soon escape from a wooden cage; that they are
+sometimes called <i>flying monkeys</i>; and that they
+are also to be met with in the island of Ternat,
+where they were at first mistaken for squirrels.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>M. l&rsquo;Abbé Prevost says, it is also found in
+the Philippine Islands, where it is called <i>taguan</i>;
+that he saw two females, the one at the
+Hague, whose body was a light chesnut, rather
+darker on the back, and black towards the
+extremity of the tail; and that he had also
+seen two males in the Prince of Orange&rsquo;s cabinet,
+which were one foot five inches long in
+the body, and their tails one foot eight. The
+hind part of their heads, back, and the commencement
+of the tail are covered with long
+hairs, black at the bottom, and of a greyish
+white at the ends; the other part of the tail
+is black, and the hair is so disposed as to
+make the tail have a round appearance, the
+cheeks are brown, and their throats, breasts,
+and bellies are of a whitish grey. The membranes
+are the thinnest in the middle where
+they are covered with chesnut hairs, increasing
+in thickness towards the paws, and the
+colour growing darker until it is nearly black
+at the extremities.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_GREY_SQUIRREL" id="THE_GREY_SQUIRREL">THE GREY SQUIRREL.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THIS animal is found in the northern parts
+of both continents. He is in shape like a
+common squirrel, and his external difference
+consists in his being larger, and the colour of
+his hair not being red, but of a grey more or
+less deep; his ears are not so hairy towards
+the extremity as those of our squirrels. These
+differences, which are constant, seem sufficient
+to constitute a particular species.
+Many authors think this species is different in
+Europe and America, and that the grey squirrels
+of the former are of the common kind,
+and that they change their colour with the
+season in the northern climates. Without
+denying absolutely this assertion, which does
+not seem sufficiently proved, we look upon
+the grey squirrel of Europe and America as
+the same animal, and as a distinct species
+from common squirrels, who are found in the
+northern parts of both continents, being of the
+same size, and of a red, more or less bright
+according to the temperature of the country.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At the same time, other squirrels of a larger
+size, whose hair is grey, or somewhat black,
+in all seasons, breed in the same latitude. Besides,
+the fur of the grey squirrel is more fine
+and soft than that of our squirrels; we are,
+therefore, authorised to believe that though
+very nearly alike, they ought to be distinguished
+as different species.</p>
+
+<p>M. Regnard says affirmatively, that the
+grey squirrels of Lapland are the same animals
+as the French squirrels. This assertion is so
+positive that it would be satisfactory were it
+not contradicted by others; M. Regnard has
+written excellent dramatic pieces, but he did
+not give a sufficient application to Natural
+History, nor did he continue long enough in
+Lapland to see the squirrels change their colour.
+It is true that some naturalists, and
+among them Linnæus, have said, that in the
+north of Europe the hair of the squirrel changes
+colour in the winter. This may be true,
+for the hares, wolves, and weasels, also change
+their colour in those climates; but from red
+they grow white, not grey; and to give no
+other instance but that of the squirrel, Linnæus
+in the <i>Fauna Suecica</i>, says, <i>æstate ruber
+hieme incanus</i>, consequently from red he becomes
+white; and we do not see why this author
+should substitute for the word <i>incanus</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>
+that of <i>cinereus</i>, which is found in the last
+edition of the <i>Systema Naturæ</i>. M. Klein
+asserts, on the contrary, that the squirrels in
+the vicinity of Dantzic, are red in the winter
+as well as in the summer, and that there are
+others frequently found in Poland grey and
+blackish, who do not change their colour any
+more than the red; these last also breed in
+Canada, and in all parts of North America,
+consequently we may consider the grey squirrel
+as an animal common to both continents,
+and of a different species from that of the common
+squirrel.</p>
+
+<p>Besides, we do not perceive that the squirrels
+which are very frequent in our forests unite in
+troops; we do not see them travel in companies,
+approach the waters, nor cross rivers
+upon the bark of trees. Thus they differ from
+the grey squirrels, not only in size and colour
+but in natural habits; for although the navigations
+of the grey squirrels seem almost incredible,
+they are attested by so many witnesses
+that we cannot deny the fact.<a name="FNanchor_AC_29" id="FNanchor_AC_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_AC_29" class="fnanchor">[AC]</a></p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_AC_29" id="Footnote_AC_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AC_29"><span class="label">[AC]</span></a> The grey squirrels frequently remove their place of residence,
+and it not unoften happens that not one can be seen
+one winter where they were in multitudes the year before;
+they go in large bodies, and when they want to cross a lake
+or river, they seize a piece of the bark of a birch or lime,
+and drawing it to the edge of the water, get upon it, and
+trust themselves to the hazard of the wind and waves, erecting
+their tails to serve the purpose of sails; they sometimes
+form a fleet of three or four thousand, and if the wind proves
+too strong, a general shipwreck ensues, to the no small emolument
+of the Laplander who may fortunately find their
+bodies on the shore, as, if they have not lain too long, their
+furs will prepare in the usual manner; but if the winds are
+favourable they are certain to make their desired port.
+<i>Oeuvres de M. Regnard, tom. i. p. 163.</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p></div>
+
+<p>Of all quadrupeds that are not domestic,
+the squirrel is, perhaps, the most subject to
+vary in shape and colour, and whose species
+has the greatest numbers of others that approach
+it. The white squirrel of Siberia seems
+to differ only in colour from our common
+squirrel. The black and the grey of America
+are, perhaps, only varieties of the grey squirrel.
+The squirrels of Barbary, Switzerland,
+and the palmist, are three species very much
+like each other.</p>
+
+<p>We have very little information with regard
+to the grey squirrel. Fernandes says, that the
+grey or blackish squirrels of America dwell
+upon trees, particularly upon pines; that they
+feed upon fruits and seeds; that they provide
+provisions for the winter, and heap it up in
+some hollow tree, where they retire during
+that season, and where the female brings forth
+her young. The grey squirrel differs, then,
+from the others who make their nests at the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>
+tops of trees like birds, yet we do not pretend
+to affirm that the blackish squirrel, mentioned
+by Fernandes, is the same as the grey squirrel
+of Virginia, or that both of them are the same
+as the grey squirrel of Europe; we only think
+it is probable, as these three animals are nearly
+of the same size and colour, inhabit the same
+climates, are precisely of a similar form, and
+their skins being equally used in the furs, called
+the fur of the grey squirrel.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_PALMIST_THE_SQUIRRELS_OF_BARBARY" id="THE_PALMIST_THE_SQUIRRELS_OF_BARBARY">THE PALMIST, THE SQUIRRELS OF BARBARY
+AND SWITZERLAND.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE palmist is about the size of a rat, or
+a small squirrel; he lives upon the palm-trees,
+from which he takes his name. Some call
+him the palm-rat, and others the palm-tree
+squirrel; but as he is neither a rat nor a squirrel,
+we call him palmist. (<a href="#FIG_123"><i>fig. 123</i></a>) His head
+is nearly the same form as that of the campagnol,
+and covered with rough hair. His long
+tail does not lie on the ground, like that of the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>
+rat, but he carries it erect vertically, without,
+however, throwing it down on his back like
+the squirrel; it is covered with hair longer
+than that of his body, but shorter than the hair
+of the tail of a squirrel. His back is variegated
+with white and brown stripes, which distinguish
+the palmist from all other animals,
+except the squirrels of Barbary and Switzerland.
+These three animals are so much alike,
+that Mr. Ray thought they made but one species;
+but if we consider that the palmist and
+the squirrel of Barbary, are only found in the
+warm climates of the ancient continent, and
+that the squirrel of Switzerland, described by
+Lister, Catesby, and Edwards, is only to be
+met with in the cold and temperate regions of
+the New World, we must judge them to be different
+species. By minute observation it is
+easy to perceive that the white and brown
+stripes of the Swiss are disposed differently
+from those of the palmist, whose white stripe
+extends all along the back, while it is black or
+brown in the Swiss; and this brown stripe in
+the latter is followed by a white stripe, in the
+same manner as the white stripe in the former
+is by a brown; besides, the palmist has but
+three white stripes, while the Swiss has four;
+he also brings down his tail on his back, which
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>
+the palmist does not: the latter dwells upon
+trees, and the Swiss is an inhabitant of the earth;
+from which difference he is called the land
+squirrel. In fine, he is smaller than the palmist,
+consequently there can be no doubt of
+their being two different species.</p>
+
+<p>As for the squirrel of Barbary, as he is of
+the same continent and climate, of the same
+size, and nearly the same form as the palmist,
+they might be considered as varieties of the
+same species; yet in comparing the description
+and figure of the squirrel of Barbary, given by
+Caius, and copied by Aldrovandus and Johnson,
+with the description given here of the
+palmist, and comparing afterwards the description
+and figure of the squirrel of Barbary,
+given by Edwards, it is easy to discern that
+they are different animals. We have seen
+them all in the king&rsquo;s cabinet. The squirrel
+of Barbary has the head and forehead more
+round, the ears longer, and the tail more bushy
+than the palmist; he is more like a squirrel
+than a rat, by the form of his head and body;
+and a palmist resembles more 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&rsquo;s
+back bone, but that on the squirrel of Barbary
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>
+is brown and red. These animals have very
+near the same habits and dispositions as the
+common squirrel. Like him they feed upon
+fruit, and use their fore paws in carrying it to
+the mouth; they have the same voice and cry,
+the same instinct, and agility; they are lively
+and tractable, easily tamed, and so fond of
+their habitations, that they never go out but
+on diversion, and return spontaneously to
+their residence. They are both of a pretty
+figure; their coats, which has white stripes, is
+more valuable than that of the squirrel; their
+size is shorter, their body lighter, and their
+motions equally quick. The palmist, and the
+squirrel of Barbary, dwell on trees like the
+common squirrel, but the Swiss lives upon the
+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 completely
+tamed, from which it appears he is
+more like a rat, or a field mouse, than a squirrel,
+by instinct and nature.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 375px;">
+<a id="FIG_124"></a><img src="images/fig_124.png" width="375" height="281" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 124. <i>Great Ant Eater.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 375px;">
+<a id="FIG_125"></a><a id="FIG_126"></a>
+<img src="images/fig_125-126.png" width="375" height="287" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 125. <i>Short tail&rsquo;d Manis.</i><br />
+FIG. 126. <i>Long tail&rsquo;d Ditto.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_ANT_EATERS" id="THE_ANT_EATERS">THE ANT EATERS.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>SOUTH America produces three animals
+with a long snout, a small mouth, without
+teeth, and a large round tongue; with which
+they penetrate into the ants&rsquo; nests, and draw
+them out again when covered with those insects,
+which are their principal food. The first
+of these ant-eaters is that which the Brasilians
+call Tamandua-Gaucu, or Great Tamandua,
+and to which the French settled in America
+have given the name of Tamanoir. This animal
+(<a href="#FIG_124"><i>fig. 124</i></a>) is about four feet in length from
+the extremity of the muzzle to the origin of its
+tail; his head is fourteen or fifteen inches long,
+his muzzle stretches out to a great length; his
+tail is two feet and a half long, is covered with
+rough hair, more than a foot in length; his
+neck is short, his head narrow, his eyes black
+and small, his ears round, his tongue thin,
+more than two feet long, and which he folds up
+in his mouth. His legs are but one foot high;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>
+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 hair of his tail and body are
+black and white. Upon the tail they are disposed
+in a bunch, which he turns up on his
+back, and covers with it his whole body, when
+he is inclined to sleep, or wants to shelter
+himself from the rain or heat of the sun. The
+long hair of his tail and of his body is not
+round in all its extent; it is flat towards the
+ends, 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 sweeps along the ground. The
+hair of the fore-part of his body is longer than
+that on the hind part. On the neck and back
+it is somewhat erect, and towards the tail, and
+on the flanks, close to the skin; his fore-parts
+are variegated with white, and his hind-parts
+wholly black; he has also a white stripe on the
+breast, which extends on the sides of the body
+and terminates on the back near the thighs;
+his hind-legs are almost black, and the fore-legs
+almost white, with a large black spot towards
+the middle. The Great Ant-eater moves so
+slow that a man can easily overtake him in running;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>
+his feet seem less calculated to walk
+than to climb, and to fasten round bodies; for
+he holds so fast a branch, or a stick, that it is
+not possible to force it from him.</p>
+
+<p>The second of these animals is called by the
+Americans only Tamandua; he is much smaller
+than the former, being not above eighteen
+inches from the extremities of the muzzle to
+the tail; his head is five inches long, his muzzle
+crooked, and long; his tail ten inches long,
+without hair at the end; his ears are erect, and
+about an inch long; his tongue is round, eight
+inches long, and placed in a sort of hollow
+canal within the lower 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 Great Ant-Eater. He climbs
+and holds fast a branch, or a stick, like the
+former, and his motions are equally slow. He
+cannot cover himself with his tail, the hair being
+short, and the end almost bare. When
+he sleeps he hides his head under his neck and
+fore-legs.</p>
+
+<p>The third of these animals, the natives of
+Guiana call <i>ouatiriouaou</i>. He is still smaller
+than the second, being not above six or seven
+inches in length from the extremities of the
+snout to the tail; his head is two inches long;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>
+and his muzzle proportionally short; his tail
+is seven inches in length, the hair curls downwards,
+and it is bare at the end; his tongue is
+narrow, long, and flat; his neck is very short,
+his head big in proportion to the body; his
+eyes are placed low, and at a little distance
+from the corners of the mouth, his ears are
+small, and hidden by the hair; his legs are but
+three inches long, the fore-feet have only two
+claws, the outward of which is much thicker
+and longer than the inward; the hind feet
+have four claws, the hair of the body is about
+nine inches long; smooth, and of a shining
+colour, diversified with red and yellow, his
+feet are not made to walk, but to climb and to
+take hold of branches of trees, on which he
+hangs himself by the extremity of his tail.</p>
+
+<p>We know of these kind of animals only the
+three species we have mentioned. M. Brisson,
+after Seba, speaks of a fourth species, under the
+denomination of the <i>long-eared ant-eater</i>, but
+we doubt its existence; because Seba has been
+guilty of more than one error in enumerating
+animals of this kind; he says expressly, &ldquo;we
+preserve in our cabinet six species called ant-eaters,&rdquo;
+and yet he gave only a description
+of five; and amongst them he reckoned the
+<i>ysquiepatl</i>, or <i>mouffette</i>, an animal, not only
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>
+of a species, but even of a genus, widely different
+from the ant-eaters, as he has teeth, and a
+flat short tongue, like other quadrupeds, and
+comes very near a kind of weasels or martens.
+Out of these six species, pretended to be preserved
+in the cabinet of Seba, four only remain,
+as the ysquiepatl, which he reckoned the fifth,
+is no ant-eater, and the sixth is not even mentioned,
+unless the author meant to comprehend
+among these animals the <i>Pangolin</i> or scaly lizard,
+which he does not intimate in his description
+of that animal. The scaly lizard
+feeds upon ants; he has a long muzzle, a narrow
+mouth, without visible teeth, and the
+tongue round; characteristics which he has in
+common with ant-eaters; but he differs from
+it as well as from all other quadrupeds, by
+having the body covered with thick scales instead
+of hair. Besides, this animal belongs to
+the hottest climates of the old continent, and
+the ant-eaters, whose bodies are covered with
+hair, are found only in the southern parts of
+the new world. There are therefore no more
+than four species instead of six, mentioned by
+Seba, and out of these four there is but one
+species discernible by its description; which
+is our third or smallest ant-eater, to whom
+Seba allows but one claw to each foot, though
+he has two. The three others are so imperfectly
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>
+described, that they cannot be traced to
+their true species. One may judge by this of
+the credit which Seba&rsquo;s voluminous book deserves.
+This animal which he calls <i>tamandua
+murmecophage</i> of America, and the figure of
+which he has given<a name="FNanchor_AD_30" id="FNanchor_AD_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_AD_30" class="fnanchor">[AD]</a>, cannot be compared
+with either of the three we are now treating
+of, it is sufficient to be convinced of his error
+by reading his description. The second
+which he terms <i>tamandua-guacu</i> of Brasil, or
+the <i>bear ant-eater</i>, is described in a vague,
+equivocal manner; yet I am inclined to
+think with Klein and Linnæus, that he meant
+the true tamandua-guacu, or great ant-eater,
+but it is so badly described, and so imperfectly
+represented, that Linnæus has comprehended,
+under one species, the first and second of
+Seba&rsquo;s animals. M. Brisson considered the
+last as a particular species, but I do not believe
+his establishment of this species better founded
+than his criticism on M. Klein, for having confounded
+it with that of the great ant-eater. The
+only just reproach M. Klein has incurred, is
+to have added to the good description he has
+given of this animal, the erroneous indications
+of Seba. In fine, the third of these animals,
+whose figure is given in that work, is so badly
+described, that I cannot persuade myself, notwithstanding
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>
+the respect I have for Linnæus
+and Brisson&rsquo;s authority, this animal from Seba&rsquo;s
+description and figure can be the middle
+ant-eater; I only wish that his description may
+be attended to in order to judge of its fallacy.
+These discussions, although tedious and disagreeable,
+cannot be avoided in the details of a
+Natural History. Before we write upon a subject
+very little known, we must, as much as possible,
+remove all obscurities, and point out the
+numberless errors before we can come to the
+truth. The result of this criticism is a proof
+that three species of ant-eaters really exist,
+namely the <i>tamanoir</i>, the <i>tamandua</i>, and the
+<i>ouatiriouaou</i>, and that the fourth called the
+<i>long-eared ant-eaters</i>, mentioned by M. Brisson,
+is doubtful, as well as the other species
+indicated by Seba. I have seen the first and
+last with their skins, in the king&rsquo;s cabinet;
+and they are certainly very different from
+each other. We have not seen the tamandua,
+but have described it, after Piso and Marcgrave,
+the only authors that ought to be consulted
+upon this animal, as all others have
+only copied them. The tamandua, and the
+small ant-eater have the extremities of their
+tails bare, with which they hang on the
+branches of trees, and when they perceive
+hollows, they put their tongues within, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>
+draw them instantly back in their mouths,
+to swallow the insects which they have gathered.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_AD_30" id="Footnote_AD_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AD_30"><span class="label">[AD]</span></a> Seba, tom. I, p. 60, tab. 37. fig. 2.</p></div>
+
+<p>These three animals, so different in size and
+proportions of the body, have many things in
+common, both as to conformation and instinct.
+All feed upon ants, and put their tongues into
+honey, and other liquid and viscous substances;
+they gather quickly crumbs of bread
+and small pieces of meat; they are easily
+tamed; they can subsist a long while without
+food; they do not swallow all the liquor
+which they take into their mouths, a part returning
+through their nostrils; they commonly
+sleep in the day-time, and change their station
+in the night; they go so slow that a man
+may overtake them easily whilst running in
+open ground. The savages eat their flesh,
+but which has an unsavoury taste.</p>
+
+<p>The great ant-eater looks, at a distance, like
+a fox, and for that reason some travellers call
+him the American fox; he is strong enough to
+defend himself against a large dog, and even
+the jaguar. When attacked he at first fights
+standing on his hind legs, like the bear, and
+makes use of his fore claws, which are powerful
+weapons; afterwards he lies down on his back,
+and uses all four feet, and in that situation he
+is almost invincible, and fights with obstinacy
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>
+till the last extremity; even after he has put to
+death his adversary he keeps hold of him a
+long while. He maintains the fight longer
+than most animals, from being 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.</p>
+
+<p>The three ant-eaters are natives of the hottest
+climates of America, are found in Brasil,
+Guiana, the country of the Amazons, &amp;c. but
+they are not met with in Canada, or in the
+northern regions of the new world, they consequently
+do not belong to the ancient continent;
+yet Kolbe and Desmarchais have stated
+these animals to live in Africa, but they seem
+to have confounded the scaly lizard with the
+ant-eaters. Perhaps this mistake is in consequence
+of a passage of Marcgrave, who says:
+&ldquo;<i>Tamandua-guacu Brasiliensibus, congensibus
+(ubi et frequens est) umbula dictus</i>;&rdquo; but Marcgrave
+certainly never saw this animal in Africa,
+since he confesses that he had seen only
+his skin in America. Desmarchais only says
+that the great ant-eater is found in Africa as
+well as America, but he adds no circumstance
+to prove this fact. In regard to Kolbe&rsquo;s
+attestation, we reckon it nothing, for a man
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>
+who has seen at the Cape of Good Hope, elks
+and lynxes, like those of Prussia, might also see
+the ant-eaters in the same climate. But they
+are not mentioned by any authors among the
+animals of Asia or Africa, while all the travellers,
+and most of the historians, of America,
+make a particular mention of them. De Lery,
+de Laët, Father d&rsquo;Abbeville, Maffèe, Faber,
+Nieremberg, and M. de la Condamine, agree
+with Piso and Barrere, in declaring that the
+ant-eaters are peculiar to the warm countries
+of America; thus we cannot doubt that Desmarchais
+and Kolbe were mistaken, and that
+these three species of animals do not exist in
+the ancient continents.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>I HAVE received from M. Maudhuit, residing
+at Guiana, an ant-eater in excellent condition,
+which appears to be of the same species
+as those just described, differing somewhat in
+the length of the muzzle and the toes.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>M. de la Borde has also transmitted several
+particulars; he says, &ldquo;There are two species
+of ant-eaters which inhabit the woods of
+Guiana, the one larger than the other; they
+run very slow, and when they swim across large
+rivers which is a common practice, it is easy
+to knock them on the head with a stick; but
+in the woods it is necessary to use muskets,
+for the dogs refuse to hunt them. The great
+ant-eater tears up the nests of wood-lice,
+which he easily discovers; he is a dangerous
+animal to encounter, as he gives most severe
+wounds with his claws, with which he
+successfully defends himself against the most
+fierce animal of this continent, such as the
+jaguars, cougars, &amp;c. and with which he also
+kills many dogs, who are therefore afraid of
+him. He is said to feed on ants, for which his
+tongue appeared well calculated, but I found in
+the stomach of one a great number of wood-lice,
+which had just been swallowed. The females
+bring forth in the holes of trees, and
+have one at a time, and at those periods they
+will even attack men. The savages at Cayenne
+eat the flesh, although it is black and unsavory;
+their skins are thick and hard; they do not
+attain their full size before they are four years
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>
+old; and the whole of their respiration is performed
+through their nostrils. The smaller
+one has whitish hair, about two inches long;
+it has no teeth, but its claws are very long;
+this, as well as the former feeds during the
+night; the female also has but one at a time,
+and they perfectly resemble each other, but the
+latter is more scarce to be met with than the
+former.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>This gentleman sent me also the following
+remarks upon our third species. &ldquo;It has
+bright hair, rather of a golden colour; it feeds
+upon ants, which adhere to its tongue; it is
+not bigger than a squirrel, runs very slow, and
+is easily taken; it fixes itself so fast to a stick
+or branch that it may be carried in that manner
+to any distance, and they are frequently
+found thus fixed; these, like the former bring
+forth but one at a time, in the holes of trees,
+and feed also in the night; they are not by
+any means scarce, though it is difficult to distinguish
+them on the trees.&rdquo;</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_LONG_AND_THE_SHORT-TAILED_MANIS" id="THE_LONG_AND_THE_SHORT-TAILED_MANIS">THE LONG AND THE SHORT-TAILED MANIS.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THESE animals are commonly known
+under the name of scaly lizards; we reject this
+denomination; 1st, because it is a compound;
+2dly, because it is ambiguous, and applied to
+both species; 3dly, because it is wrongly
+imagined; these animals being not only of
+another species, but even of a different class,
+than the lizards, which are oviparous reptiles,
+while the pangolin, and the phatagen, as they
+are called in their native countries of the east,
+are viviparous quadrupeds.</p>
+
+<p>All lizards are covered with a sleek speckled
+skin, in representation of scales, but these animals
+have no scales on their throat, breast, or
+belly, the phatagen, or long-tailed manis,
+(<a href="#FIG_126"><i>fig. 126</i></a>) like other quadrupeds, has hair on
+all these under parts of the body; the pangolin,
+or short-tailed manis (<a href="#FIG_125"><i>fig. 125</i></a>) has nothing
+but a smooth skin without hair. The scales
+with which all the other parts of the bodies of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>
+these two animals are covered do not stick to
+the skin, they are only strongly fixed at the
+lower parts, being moveable, like the quills of
+a porcupine, at the will of the animal; they
+raise these scales when exasperated, and when
+particularly so, they roll themselves up like a
+ball, resembling the hedge-hog: these scales are
+so big, so hard, and so sharp, that they repel all
+animals of prey; it is an offensive armour which
+wounds while it resists. The most cruel and
+voracious animals, such as the tiger and the
+panther, make but useless efforts to devour these
+animals, they tread upon, and roll them about,
+but when they attempt to seize them, they receive
+severe wounds; they can neither destroy
+them by violence, nor bruize, or smother them
+with their weight. The fox is averse to attacking
+the hedge-hog when rolled up, but he
+forces him to stretch himself by treading on,
+and squeezing him with all his weight, and as
+soon as his head appears, he seizes the snout,
+and thus secures him as a prey. But of all quadrupeds,
+without even excepting the porcupine,
+the armour of the manis is the strongest and
+most offensive, and which animals, by contracting
+their bodies and presenting their weapons,
+brave the fury of all their enemies.
+When they contract themselves, they do not
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>
+take, like the hedge-hog, a globose figure, but
+form an oblong, their thick and long tail remaining
+outwardly and encircling their bodies;
+this exterior part, by which it would seem these
+animals could be seized, carries its own defence;
+it is covered with scales equally hard
+and sharp as those with which the body is
+cloathed, and as it is convex upwards and flat
+below, nearly in the form of half a pyramid,
+the sides are covered with square scales folding
+in a right angle, as thick and as cutting as the
+others, so that the tail seems to be still more
+strongly armed than the body, the under parts
+of which are unprovided with scales.</p>
+
+<p>The short-tailed manis is larger than the
+long-tailed kind; his fore feet are covered with
+scales, but the feet of the latter, and part of his
+fore legs are clothed with hair only. The
+former has also larger scales, thicker, more convex,
+uniformly cutting, and not so close as those
+of the latter, which are armed with three sharp
+points; he is also hairy upon the belly; the
+other has no hair on that part of his body, but
+between the scales which cover his back, some
+thick and long hair issues like the bristles of a
+hog, which are not on the back of the long-tailed
+species. These are all the essential differences
+which we have observed in the skins of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>
+both these animals, and which distinguish
+them from all other quadrupeds so much, that
+they have been looked upon as a species of
+monsters. From these general and constant
+differences, we dare affirm them to be two animals
+of distinct species. We have discovered
+their analogies and differences, not only by the
+inspection of three of them, which we have
+seen, but also by comparing all which has
+been observed by travellers and naturalists.</p>
+
+<p>The short-tailed manis is from six to eight
+feet in length, his tail included, when he comes
+to his full growth; the tail is nearly as long as
+the body, though it appears shorter when the
+animal is young; the scales are not then so
+large nor so thick, and of a pale colour; the
+colour becomes deeper in the adult, and the
+scales acquire such a hardness, as to resist a
+musket ball. Both these animals have some
+affinity with the great and middle ant-eater, for
+like them they feed on ants, have very long
+tongues, narrow mouths, without apparent
+teeth; their bodies and tails are also very long,
+and the claws of their feet very near of the same
+length and the same form, but they have five
+toes on each foot, while the great and middle
+ant-eaters have but four to their fore feet; these
+are covered with hair, the others are armed
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>
+with scales; and besides they are not natives of
+the same continent. The ant-eaters are found
+in America, and both the species of the manis
+belong to the East Indies and Africa, where
+the negroes call them <i>quogelo</i>; they eat their
+flesh, which they reckon a delicate wholesome
+food, and use their scales for different purposes.
+They have nothing forbidding but their figure;
+they are gentle and innocent, feeding upon insects
+only; they never run fast, and cannot escape
+the pursuit of men, except by hiding
+themselves in hollow rocks, or in holes, which
+they dig themselves, and in which they breed.
+They are two extraordinary species, not numerous,
+and seemingly useless: their odd form
+seems to exist as an intermediate class betwixt
+the quadrupeds and reptiles.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_ARMADILLO" id="THE_ARMADILLO">THE ARMADILLO.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>WHEN we speak of a quadruped, the very
+name seems to carry the idea of an animal covered
+with hair; as when we mention a bird,
+or fish, feathers and scales present themselves
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>
+to our imagination, and seem to be inseparable
+attributes of those beings: yet Nature, as if
+willing to deviate from this characteristic uniformity,
+and to elude our views, offers herself,
+contrary to our general ideas, and in contradiction
+to our denominations and characters,
+and amazes more by her exceptions than by
+her laws. Quadrupeds, 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 neither superior in every thing,
+nor separated by constant attributes from all
+other animals. The first of those characters
+which constitutes their name, and which consists
+in having four feet, is common to lizards, frogs,
+&amp;c. which differ, however, from quadrupeds
+in so many other respects, as to make them be
+considered as a separate class. The second
+general property, to produce young alive, is
+not peculiar to quadrupeds, since it is also
+common with cetaceous animals. And the
+third attribute, which seems the less equivocal,
+as it is the most apparent, that of being covered
+with hair, exists not in several species
+which cannot be excluded from the class of
+quadrupeds, since this single characteristic excepted,
+they are like them in all other respects:
+and, as these exceptions of nature are but gradations
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>
+calculated to join in a general chain,
+the links of the most distant beings, we should
+seize these singular relations as they offer
+themselves to our view. The armadillos, instead
+of hair, are covered, like turtles, craw-fish,
+&amp;c. with a solid crust. The manis is
+armed with scales like fish; the porcupine
+carries a sort of prickly feathers, the quill of
+which is like that of the birds. Thus in the
+class of quadrupeds, and in the most constant
+characteristic of these animals, that of being
+covered with hairs, Nature varies in bringing
+them near the three different classes of birds,
+fishes, and the crustaceous kinds. We must
+be cautious then in judging of the nature of
+beings by one single character, as that would
+always lead us into error; even two or three
+characters, though general, are often insufficient,
+and it is only, as we have often repeated,
+by the union of all the attributes, and by enumerating
+all the characters, that we can judge
+of the essential qualities of the productions of
+nature. A good description without definitions,
+an exposition more exact on the differences
+than the analogies, a particular attention
+to exceptions and almost imperceptible
+gradations, are the true rules, and I dare assert,
+the only means of estimating nature. If
+the time lost in forming definitions had been
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>
+employed in making good descriptions, we
+should not at this day have found Natural
+History in its infancy; we should have had
+less trouble in taking off her bawbles, disentangling
+her from her swaddling clothes, and,
+perhaps, have anticipated her slow discoveries,
+for we should have written more for science;
+and less against error.</p>
+
+<p>But to return to our subject; it appears
+then that there exists several species of animals
+which are not covered with hair among the
+viviparous quadrupeds. Armadillos form alone
+a whole genus, in which may be reckoned
+many distinct species, all of whom are, however,
+covered with a crust, resembling bone;
+it covers the head, neck, back, flanks, rump,
+and the tail, to the very extremity. The crust
+is covered with a thin skin, sleek and transparent:
+the only parts that are not sheltered by
+this buckler are the throat, breast, and belly,
+which have a white grainy skin, like that of a
+plucked fowl, by inspecting these parts with
+attention, we perceive the rudiments of scales
+of the same substance as the crust; the skin of
+these animals, even in the places where it is
+most soft, is therefore inclined to become
+bony, but the ossification is only realized
+on the superior and external parts of the body.
+This crust is not in one piece, like that of the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>
+turtle, but consists of several bands, joined to
+each other by membranes, which allow this
+armour a degree of motion. The number of
+these bands does not depend, as might be
+imagined, on the age of the animal. The
+young armadillos, and the adults, have the same
+number of stripes, of which we have been convinced
+by comparing them; and though we
+cannot be certain that all these animals do not
+intermix and produce promiscuously, yet it is
+very probable, that since the difference in the
+number of these moveable bands is constant,
+they are really distinct species, or at least
+lasting varieties, produced by the influence of
+various climates. In this uncertainty, which
+time alone can remove, we have thought proper
+to mention all the armadillos under one head,
+enumerating each of them as if they were, in
+fact, so many different species.</p>
+
+<p>Father d&rsquo;Abbeville seems to be the first who
+has distinguished them by different names or
+epithets, and which have been, for the most
+part, adopted by the authors who have written
+after him. He has clearly indicated six species
+of them: first, <i>tatououasso</i>, or, as we call it,
+twelve-banded armadillo; 2. the <i>tatouette</i>, or
+eight-banded; 3. the <i>encuberto</i> of Marcgrave,
+or six-banded; 4. the <i>tatua-apara</i>, or three-banded;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>
+5. the <i>cinquinçon</i>, or eighteen-banded;
+6. <i>cachichame</i>, or nineteen-banded. Other
+travellers have confounded the species; but
+we have borrowed only the description of the
+<i>apar</i> and the <i>cinquinçon</i>, having seen the other
+four.</p>
+
+<p>All, except the <i>cinquinçon</i> have two long
+bucklers, one at the shoulders, and another
+on the rump; they each consist of one solid
+piece; but the cuirass, which is also bony, and
+covers the body, is transversely divided, and
+parted into more or less moveable bands, separated
+from each other by a flexible skin. But
+the <i>cinquinçon</i> has but one buckler, and that
+on his shoulder, the rump being covered with
+moveable bands, like those of the cuirass of the
+body. But we shall now proceed to a description
+of them particularly.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_THREE-BANDED_ARMADILLO" id="THE_THREE-BANDED_ARMADILLO">THE THREE-BANDED ARMADILLO.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE first author who described this animal
+was Clusius, and though his description was
+from a drawing only, it is evidently the same
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>
+species which Marcgrave calls the <i>tatua-apara</i>;
+from its three moveable stripes,
+and its short tail; he has an oblong head, almost
+pyramidal; the snout sharp, small eyes,
+short round ears, and the upper part of the
+head covered with a helmet of one piece; he
+has five claws to each foot; the two middle
+claws of the fore feet are very long, and the
+two lateral shorter; the fifth, which projects,
+is the least. In the hind feet they are shorter
+and more even. The tail is but two inches in
+length, and is entirely covered with a crust;
+the body is a foot long, and above eight inches
+in its largest breadth. The cuirass, which
+covers it, is divided into four parts, and composed
+of three moveable transverse bands,
+which give the animal liberty to bend and
+contract his body in a round form; the skin
+between the stripes is very supple. The bucklers
+which cover the shoulders and rump are
+composed of five pieces, equally disposed in
+five angles; the three moveable bands betwixt
+these two bucklers consist of square pieces, ornamented
+with little scales of a straw colour.
+Marcgrave adds, that when he lies down to
+sleep, or any person touches him, he brings
+his fore feet together, lays his head under his
+belly, and bends himself so perfectly round
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>
+that he looks more like a sea-shell than a terrestrial
+animal. This contraction is made
+with the assistance of two great muscles on the
+sides of his body, and the strongest man finds
+it difficult to force him with his hands to
+stretch out. Piso, and Ray, have added
+nothing to the description of Marcgrave, but
+it is singular that Seba, who has given us a
+description and figure of this animal evidently
+copied after Marcgrave, not only not mentions
+that author, but tells us, &ldquo;that no naturalist
+has known this animal, that it is extremely
+scarce, and found in the most remote countries
+of the East Indies,&rdquo; when in fact this animal
+is well described by Marcgrave, and the species
+is well known, not indeed in the East Indies,
+but in America, where it is very common.
+The only real difference between the
+description of Seba, and that of Marcgrave is,
+that the latter gives the animal five claws to
+each foot, and Seba allows him but four, and
+yet they evidently speak of the same animal.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Fabius Calumna has given the description
+and figure of an armadillo contracted into a
+ball, which seems to have had four moveable
+bands, but as this author was absolutely unacquainted
+with the animal, whose skin or
+shell he has described, as he did not even
+know the name of the armadillo, though mentioned
+by Bellon fifty years before, but gave
+him a Greek name, (<i>cheloniscus</i>); besides, as
+he confesses, that the skin had been pasted
+together, and wanted several pieces, we do
+not see ourselves authorised to pronounce, as
+our modern nomenclators have done, that a
+species of armadillo, with four moveable bands,
+exists in Nature; and more especially since
+these imperfect indications given in 1606, by
+Fabius Calumna, no mention is made of it in
+the works of any naturalists; and, if he really
+did exist, he certainly would have been introduced
+into some cabinets, or have been observed
+by some travellers.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 384px;">
+<a id="FIG_127"></a><img src="images/fig_127.png" width="384" height="286" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 127. <i>Six Banded Armadillo.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 380px;">
+<a id="FIG_128"></a><img src="images/fig_128.png" width="380" height="288" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 128. <i>Long-tailed Armadillo.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_SIX_BANDED" id="THE_SIX_BANDED">THE SIX BANDED.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>THIS species (<i>fig.</i> 127) is larger than the
+former; he has the upper part of the head,
+neck, body, legs, and tail, covered with a very
+hard crust, composed of several large pieces,
+elegantly disposed. He has a buckler on each
+shoulder, and another on the rump, each of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>
+which are in one piece; only there is beyond
+the buckler on the shoulders, and near the head
+a moveable band, which enables the animal to
+bend its neck. The buckler on the shoulders
+is formed by five parallel rows, composed of
+pieces which represent five angles, with an
+oval in each; the cuirass on the back, that is
+the part betwixt the two bucklers, is divided
+into six bands, which are united together and
+to the bucklers, by seven joints of a supple and
+thick skin. These bands are composed of
+large square pieces; from the skin of these
+joints some white hairs issue out, like those on
+the breast and belly; all these inferior parts are
+covered only by a grainy skin, and not by a
+crustaceous substance like the upper. The
+buckler on the rump has a border, the mosaic
+work of which is similar to that of the moveable
+bands, and the rest consists of pieces like
+those of the bucklers of the shoulders. The
+crust of the head is long, broad, and consists of
+one piece, extending to the moveable band on
+the neck. He has a sharp muzzle, small and
+hollow eyes, a narrow and sharp tongue; the
+ears are without hair, naked, short, and brown,
+like the skin of the joints; he has eighteen teeth
+in each jaw, five claws to each foot, long, in a
+round form, and rather narrow; the head and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>
+the snout are like those of a pig, the tail is
+thick at its origin, diminishing gradually towards
+the extremity, where it is very slender
+and round. The colour of the body is a reddish
+yellow; the animal is commonly thick
+and fat, and the male has the sexual organ
+very visible; he digs into the ground with
+great facility with his snout and claws; he
+dwells in the day-time underground, and only
+goes out towards the evening to seek for food;
+he drinks often, lives upon fruit, roots, insects,
+and birds, when he can catch them.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_EIGHT_BANDED" id="THE_EIGHT_BANDED">THE EIGHT BANDED.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THIS is not so large as the last, he has a
+small head, a sharp snout, the ears erect, and
+rather long, the tail still longer, and the legs
+rather short. He has small black eyes, four
+toes on the fore-feet, and five on those behind;
+the head is covered with a helmet, the shoulders
+and rump with shields, and the body
+with a cuirass composed of eight moveable
+bands connected together, and with the bucklers,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>
+by nine joints of a flexible skin; the tail has
+also a similar number of bands. The colour
+of the cuirass on the back is iron grey, and on
+the flanks and tail of a light grey with spots
+of iron grey. The belly is covered with a
+whitish skin, grainy and hairy. The individual
+of this species, described by Marcgrave,
+had a head three inches long, the ears near
+two, the legs about three, the two middle toes
+of the fore-feet an inch; the body from the
+neck to the origin of the tail seven inches, and
+the tail nine inches in length; the bucklers
+had small white spots; the moveable bands
+were marked by triangular figures; this crust
+was not hard, being penetrable to the smallest
+shot which would kill the animal, whose flesh
+is very white, and good to eat.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_NINE_BANDED" id="THE_NINE_BANDED">THE NINE BANDED.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>NIEREMBERG has described this animal
+very imperfectly: Wormius and Grew have
+described him much better. The individual
+which Wormius mentioned was adult, and one of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>
+the largest of the species; that of Grew was
+younger and smaller. We shall only give their
+descriptions as far as they agree with our own
+specimens. Besides, it may be presumed, that
+this nine-striped armadillo is not really a
+distinct species from the eight, which he resembles
+in every other respect. We have two
+eight-banded armadillos which are dried, and
+seem to be both males; we have seven or
+eight with nine bands, one well preserved,
+which is a female, and the others are so dried
+up that we could not discern the sex. It is
+probable, therefore, that the eight-banded is
+the male and the nine-banded the female.
+But this is merely a conjecture for we shall give
+in the following article the description of two
+armadillos, one of which has more rows than
+the other upon the buckler on the rump, and
+yet they are so alike in every other respect,
+that one should be inclined to think this
+difference arises only from that of the sex,
+for it is not improbable, that greater numbers
+of these moveable bands may be necessary
+to facilitate the gestation and delivery of
+the female. The head of the armadillo, the
+skin of which Wormius has described, was
+five inches from the end of the snout to the
+ears, and eighteen inches from the ears to the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>
+tail, which last was a foot in length, and composed
+of twelve rings. The head of that described
+by Grew was three inches, the body
+seven and a half, and the tail eleven; the proportions
+of the head and body agree, but the
+difference of the tail is too great; and it is probable
+that the tail of that described by Wormius
+had been broken, for it should have exceeded
+a foot in length. As in this species the
+tail diminishes to the size of an awl, and is, at
+the same time, very brittle; few of the skins
+therefore have the whole tail preserved as that
+described by Grew.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_TWELVE_BANDED" id="THE_TWELVE_BANDED">THE TWELVE BANDED.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THIS seems to be the largest of the species.
+He has a larger and broader head, and a snout
+not so sharp as the others; his legs and feet
+are thicker, and his tail has not any crust; a
+particularity which is alone sufficient to distinguish
+this species from all others. He has
+five toes on each foot, and twelve moveable
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>
+bands. The buckler on the shoulders is formed
+of five or six rows, each composed of large
+quadrangular pieces. The moveable bands
+are also formed of large pieces, almost square;
+those which compose the buckler on the rump
+are like those on the shoulder. The helmet of
+the head consists of large irregular pieces.
+Between the joints of the moveable bands and
+in the other parts of the armour, there appear
+some hairs like the bristles of a hog; there are
+also upon his breast, belly, legs, and tail, round
+scales, almost imperceptible, hard and polished
+like the crust, and between which are small
+tufts of hair. The pieces which compose the
+helmet, the two bucklers, and the cuirass,
+being proportionally larger and less in number
+in this than in other armadillos, evidently
+prove he is the largest of the kind. The
+head of that from which we took this description
+was seven inches long, and the body
+twenty-one.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_EIGHTEEN_BANDED" id="THE_EIGHTEEN_BANDED">THE EIGHTEEN BANDED.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>MR. GREW first described this animal from
+a skin preserved in the cabinet of the Royal
+Society in London. All the other armadillos
+have two bucklers, one on the shoulders, and
+the other on the rump, but this has but one,
+which is upon his shoulders. He is called the
+weasel armadillo, because his head is nearly
+of the same form as a weasel. From the description
+of this animal given by Grew, it appears,
+that his body is about ten inches in
+length, his head three, and his tail five; the
+legs two or three inches in height; the forehead
+large and flat, small eyes, and the ears an
+inch long, he has five toes on each foot, the
+three in the middle being the largest. The armour
+of the head and legs is composed of
+round scales, about a quarter of an inch diameter,
+that on the neck consisted of
+one piece, as did the buckler on the
+shoulders composed of several rows of
+scales like those of the armour; these rows
+on the buckler, in this species, as in all others
+are continuous, and join by a symphysis.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>
+The rest of the body, from the buckler on the
+shoulders to the tail, is covered with moveable
+bands, parted from each other by a supple
+membrane: these bands are eighteen in number;
+those nearest the shoulders are the largest,
+and are composed of small squares. The posterior
+are intermixed with round and square
+pieces, and the extremity of the armour near
+the tail is of a parabolic figure. The first half
+of the tail is encircled with six rings, composed
+of small square pieces, and the lower part
+is covered with irregular scales. The breast,
+belly, and ears, are naked, as in the other species.
+It should seem that, of all armadillos,
+this has the most facility to contract and roll
+himself up in a ball, by his moveable bands
+which extend to the tail.</p>
+
+<p>Linnæus who must have seen the descriptions
+of Grew and Ray, who both agree with
+that we have given, has indicated this animal
+with one band only, instead of eighteen:
+founded on an evident mistake, by having
+taken the <i>tatu seu armadillo Africanus</i> of Seba
+for the <i>tatu mustelinas</i> of Grew, which even
+according to the descriptions of these two authors,
+are very different from each other. It
+is doubtful whether the tatou of Seba exists, at
+least as he has described him, but the animal
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>
+given in Grew&rsquo;s description is a real existing
+species.</p>
+
+<p>All the armadillos come originally from
+America; they were unknown before the discovery
+of the New World. The ancients
+never mentioned them, and modern travellers
+all agree, that these animals are natives of
+Mexico, Brasil, Guiana, &amp;c. and no one
+pretends to have seen this species in Asia or
+Africa. Some have, indeed, confounded the
+scaly lizards of the East Indies with the armadillos
+of America. Others thought they existed
+on the western coasts of Africa, because
+they have sometimes been transported from
+Brasil into Guinea. Bellon, who wrote above
+two centuries ago, and is one of the first who
+has given a short description, with the figure
+of a tatou, from a skin which he had seen in
+Turkey, says, that it came from the new continent.
+Oviedo, De Lery, Gomara, Thevet,
+Ant, Herrera, Father d&rsquo;Abbeville, François,
+Ximenes, Staddenius, Monard, Joseph Acosta,
+De Laët, and all the more recent authors
+mention these animals as natives of the southern
+countries of America. Piso is the only
+one who has pretended, without any authority,
+that the armadillos were found in the
+East Indies, as well as in America; and it is
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>
+probable, that he has confounded the scaly
+lizards with the armadillos, especially as they
+have been so called by the Spaniards; this
+error has been adopted by nomenclators, and
+those who have given descriptions of cabinets;
+who have not only admitted the existence of
+armadillos in the East Indies, but even in
+Africa, though none were ever in those two
+parts of the world, except such as have been
+transported from America.</p>
+
+<p>The climate of these animals is not therefore,
+equivocal; but it is more difficult to determine
+the relative bulk of each species. For
+this purpose we have compared great numbers
+which are preserved in the king&rsquo;s cabinet
+and those of others. We have also compared
+the descriptions of all authors with
+those of our own, without being able to ascertain
+the fact. It appears that the twelve and
+six banded are the largest, and that the three,
+eight, nine, and eighteen banded are the
+smallest. In the larger species the crustaceous
+substance is harder and more solid; the
+pieces which compose it are larger, and in a
+smaller number; the moveable bands encroach,
+less one upon the other; the flesh, as well as the
+skin, is harder, and not so savory. Piso says,
+that the flesh of the six banded is not eatable;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>
+and Nieremberg affirms, that it is unwholesome
+and pernicious. Barrere says, that
+the twelve banded has a strong smell of musk;
+and all authors agree in praising the flesh of
+the three banded, and particularly that of the
+eight, which is as white, and equally good as
+the flesh of a pig. They say also, that the
+small species dwell in marshy and low
+grounds, and that those of the large species
+are found on dry and high lands only.</p>
+
+<p>These animals can all contract their bodies
+into a round form, with more or less facility.
+When they are contracted the defects of
+their armour is most visible in those who
+have it composed of the smallest number of
+pieces; the three banded then shews two large
+voids betwixt the bucklers and the armour
+on the back. None of them can roll themselves
+up in a ball so exact as that formed by
+the hedge-hog; when so contracted they represent
+the figure of a globe flattened at the
+two ends.</p>
+
+<p>This singular crust, which covers them, is a
+bone composed of small contiguous pieces, and
+being neither moveable nor jointed, except at
+the partitions of the bands, are united by a
+symphysis, and may all be separated from each
+other if put on the fire. When the animal is
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>
+alive these small pieces, both of the bucklers
+and the moveable bands yield to his motions,
+especially when he contracts himself, otherwise
+he could not possibly roll himself up.
+These pieces in different species are of different
+figures always as regularly disposed as an
+elegantly contrived mosaic work. The pellicle
+which covers the crust is a transparent
+skin, and has the effect of a varnish on the
+whole body; this skin, when taken off,
+changes the relievo of this natural mosaic, and
+gives it a different appearance. This crustaceous
+covering is only a surface independent
+of the interior parts of the animal&rsquo;s body, his
+bones, and other organs, being composed like
+those of other quadrupeds.</p>
+
+<p>The armadillos, in general, are innocent,
+harmless animals, unless they can penetrate
+into gardens, where they will eat the melons,
+potatoes, pulse, and roots. Though they originally
+belong to the hot climates of America,
+they live in temperate regions. I once saw
+one in Languedoc, which was fed in the house,
+and went about every where without doing
+any mischief. They walk quickly, but they
+can neither leap, run, nor climb up trees, so
+that they cannot escape those who pursue
+them; they have no resource but to hide themselves
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>
+in their holes, or if at too great a distance
+from their habitations, to endeavour to
+dig one before they are overtaken, for which
+they want but a few instants, the mole itself
+not being more expert in digging the ground.
+Sometimes before they can get quite concealed
+they are caught by the tail, and when they
+make such a strong resistance that the tail is
+often broke without bringing out the body; in
+order to take them without mutilation the
+burrow must be opened, when they are taken
+without any resistance; when caught they roll
+themselves up into a ball, and will not extend
+again unless they are placed near the fire.
+Hard as their coat of mail is, the animal, on
+being lightly touched with the finger, receives
+so quick an impression that he contracts instantaneously.
+When in deep burrows they are
+forced out by smoking them, or letting water
+run down the holes. It is said that they remain
+under ground above three months in
+the year; be that as it may, it is certain that
+they never come out of their holes but in the
+night, when they seek for food. The armadillo
+is hunted with small dogs, by whom he
+is soon overtaken; but before they have
+reached him he contracts himself, in which
+condition he is seized, and carried off. If
+near the brink of a precipice, he escapes
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>
+both dogs and hunters, for contracting he
+rolls himself down like a ball, without hurt or
+prejudice to his coat of mail.</p>
+
+<p>These animals are fat, and very prolific:
+the male has exterior signs of great generative
+faculties; the female brings forth, as it is said,
+every four months, of course their species are
+very numerous. As they are good to eat they
+are hunted in different manners; they are
+easily taken with snares laid for them on the
+banks of rivers, and in marshy grounds, which
+they inhabit by preference. They never go to
+any great distance from their burrows, which
+are very deep, and which they endeavour to
+reach whenever they are alarmed. It is pretended
+they are not afraid of the bite of the
+rattle snake, though it is as dangerous as that
+of the viper; nay, it is asserted, that they live
+in peace with these reptiles, which are often
+found in their holes. The savages make different
+uses of their crusts; they paint them
+with divers colours, and make baskets, boxes,
+and other small vessels, of them. Monard,
+Ximenes, and many other writers, have attributed
+great medicinal properties to different
+parts of these animals; they assure us that the
+crustaceous covering, reduced into powder,
+and taken inwardly, even in a small quantity,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>
+is a powerful sudorific; and that the bone of
+the hip, pulverised, cures the venereal disease;
+that the first bone of the tail, applied to the
+ear, cures deafness, &amp;c. We give no credit
+to these extraordinary properties; the crust
+and bones of the armadillos being of the same
+nature as the bones of other animals. Such
+marvellous effects are never produced but by
+imaginary virtues.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>I RECEIVED the drawing of a six-banded
+armadillo, taken from life, from M. de Séve,
+and with it a description; in which, after stating
+that it corresponds pretty much with that
+we have given, observes, that the rows on the
+bucklers, and their pieces, vary in form and
+number: this animal was fourteen inches long,
+independent of the tail, which he supposed to
+be about six inches, as part of it was broken
+off; his head was rather more than three inches
+long, and his ears a little above one; on the
+broadest part of the body the crust measured
+six inches seven lines; the fore legs were two
+inches long, and his hind ones three.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>M. de la Borde says, there are two species
+of Armadillos at Guiana, the largest black and
+the other a greyish brown; the former are so
+prolific as sometimes to bring forth eight or
+ten at a litter: they reside in very deep holes,
+and when any attempts are made to take them
+by digging, they penetrate further in the earth,
+and almost perpendicularly; they only quit
+their holes in the night, and then for the purpose
+of seeking for food, which commonly consists
+of worms, ants, and wood-lice; their flesh
+is of an excellent flavour, and resembles that
+of a pig. The small one has not more than
+four or five young at a time, and they are more
+hard to be taken; these sometimes come out
+of their holes in the day, but never when it
+rains. The hunters know when they are in
+their holes by the number of flies which hover
+round: and when they begin to dig the animal
+digs also, and by throwing the earth behind,
+so effectually closes up the holes that smoke
+cannot penetrate to them. I conceive the first
+of these animals to be that we have mentioned,
+as the twelve-banded, and the other the eight-banded
+armadillos.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. W. Watson has given a description of
+an armadillo with nine bands, and a long tail,
+(<a href="#FIG_128"><i>fig. 128</i></a>) in the Philosophical Transactions,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>
+where he says, This animal was brought from
+America, and kept alive in the house of Lord
+Southwell; but the drawing was not taken till
+after its death; he weighed seven pounds, and
+was not bigger than a common-sized cat;
+while in possession of Lord Southwell it grew
+considerably; it was fed with flesh and milk,
+but would not eat grain or fruits. Those by
+whom it was brought from America asserted,
+that it dug a hole for itself in the earth in
+which it lived.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 378px;">
+<a id="FIG_129"></a><a id="FIG_132"></a>
+<img src="images/fig_129-132.png" width="378" height="296" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 129. <i>Paca.</i><br />
+FIG. 132. <i>Marine Opossum.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 380px;">
+<a id="FIG_130"></a><a id="FIG_131"></a>
+<img src="images/fig_130-131.png" width="380" height="292" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 130-131. <i>Virginian Opossum Male and Female.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_PACA" id="THE_PACA">THE PACA.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE paca (<a href="#FIG_129"><i>fig. 129</i></a>) is an animal of the
+new world, which digs itself a borough like a
+rabbit, to whom he has often been compared,
+though there is scarce any likeness between
+them; he is much larger than the rabbit, or
+even the hare; his body is bigger and more
+compact; he has a round head and short
+snout; he is fat and bulky, and is more like a
+pig in form, grunting, waddling, and manner
+of eating, for he does not use, like the rabbit,
+his fore feet to carry food to his mouth, but
+grubs up the earth like the hog to find subsistence.
+They inhabit the banks of rivers,
+and are found only in the damp and warm
+places of South America: their flesh is very
+good to eat, and excessively fat; their skin is
+eaten like that of a pig. For these reasons a
+perpetual war is 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. Their skins, though covered
+with short and rough hair, make a fine fur
+because it is regularly spotted on the sides.
+These animals bring forth very often, and in
+abundance: men, and animals of prey, destroy
+great numbers of them, and yet the species remains
+undiminished in numbers; he is peculiar
+to South America, and is found no where
+in the old continent.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>OUR former description of the Paca was
+taken from a young one which had not nearly
+come to its full growth. Since then I have
+had one sent me, which was much bigger even
+when he arrived, and continued to grow while
+I kept him, namely from August 1774, to
+May 28, 1775. From the Sieur Trécourt I
+received an account of his natural habits, in
+which that gentleman says: &ldquo;This animal remains
+perfectly quiet in the day, if he is provided
+with a wooden cage, or box, and has
+plenty of provisions, to which he readily retires
+of himself while the day continues, but
+as soon as night comes on he becomes in a perpetual
+agitation to get out, and will even use
+violent efforts to effect that purpose if he is
+fastened in; this he never attempts during the
+day, unless pressed to make some natural evacuation,
+in which case he always gets to the
+furthest corner, having an aversion to any kind
+of dirt in the place he lives in; even his straw
+he pushes out with his nose when it begins to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>
+smell, and will seek about for rags, or paper,
+to supply its place. He had no particular attachment
+to his box, for he would often forsake
+it for some obscure corner, and when once
+his bed was made, he could only be made to
+leave his new habitation by force. This animal,
+which was a female, gave a strong proof
+of her propensity to cleanliness, for a large
+male rabbit being put with her when she was
+in season, she received him with a degree of
+fondness, and something was expected from
+them; she would lick his nose, ears, and body,
+and even suffer him to take away the greatest
+part of her food; but upon voiding his excrement,
+in their common apartment, she immediately
+took an aversion to him, and retired to
+the bottom of an old press, making herself a
+bed with paper and rags, nor would she return
+to her house again, until she perceived it was
+cleared of the dirt and her filthy companion.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>The Paca very easily becomes domesticated,
+and is very gentle and tractable, unless when
+much irritated. He is very fond of being noticed,
+and will lick the hands of those who
+caress him; he very readily distinguishes the
+voices of those who take care of him, and when
+stroked on the back, he will lie down on his
+belly, stretch himself out, and, with a gentle
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>
+cry, express his gratitude for the favour, and
+seem to ask a continuance; but if laid hold of
+in a rough manner, he will struggle violently
+to escape. His muscles are very strong, yet
+his feeling is so delicate that the slightest touch
+on the skin will excite in him the most sensible
+emotions; and which sensibility, though
+commonly producing good humour, will sometimes,
+by irritation, or presenting an offensive
+object, put him in the most violent passion.
+A strange dog invariably produces the latter
+effect; and he has been observed, when shut
+in his cage, to make violent efforts to get out
+upon the appearance of one. It was at first
+thought he had no desire to come out but
+upon natural occasions; but one day, when
+he was at liberty, he flew out upon a poor
+dog, and bit him very severely; but in a few
+days after he became perfectly familiar with
+the same dog. He will also fly at strangers,
+if they plague him, but he never offers to bite
+those by whom he is taken care of. He has
+a dislike to children, and will run after them;
+and when in a passion he makes a kind of
+grunting, and at the same time a chattering
+with his teeth. He very frequently sits for a
+considerable time together on his posteriors,
+and has a common practice of appearing to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>
+comb his head and whiskers with his paws,
+which he repeatedly licks with his tongue.
+When thus employed, he scratches all parts
+of his body which he can reach with his fore
+paws, and afterwards the remainder with his
+hind ones. He is, however, a gross animal;
+he does not appear delicate; his coat is not
+smooth; he is far from active, but moves heavily
+and somewhat like a hog; whom he also
+resembles by the whiteness and thickness of
+his skin; he seldom attempts to run, and
+when he does, it is very aukwardly.</p>
+
+<p>This animal, though not full grown, measured
+more than eighteen inches from the
+point of his nose to the extremity of his body,
+and he could stretch himself out to near two
+feet, while the one which I formerly described
+was not more than seven inches five lines, and
+this difference was evidently to be attributed
+to their ages, as in all other respects they were
+perfectly similar.</p>
+
+<p>This animal measured about seven inches
+high before, and nine and a half behind, by
+which his head always appeared lower than his
+hind parts: his head is five inches long, and
+rather convex; he has large brown eyes, two
+inches asunder, short round ears, covered with
+a fine down, a broad black nose, divided like
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span>
+that of a hare, very large nostrils, and in
+which he has great strength; the upper jaw
+comes out above an inch beyond the lower;
+he has a fold along them that may at first
+sight be taken for the mouth, but which is
+scarcely perceptible unless it is open; he has
+two large yellow teeth in each jaw, with
+which he can cut through wood, and I have
+known him make a hole in a plank in a single
+night through which he could put his head;
+but, although several times attempted, he
+would never permit us to count his grinders;
+he has a thick rough tongue, and whiskers on
+each side his nose, consisting of black and
+white hairs; he has five toes on each foot,
+and long claws on them, of a flesh colour;
+and his tail is merely a kind of button, does
+not exceed five lines in length, and requires a
+close inspection to discover it.</p>
+
+<p>The paca, when domesticated, will eat any
+thing that is given him, and if fed with bread
+he seems to have an equal relish for it, whether
+soaked in water, wine, or vinegar; he is
+extremely fond of sugar and fruits, and will
+leap about for joy when they are given him;
+he seems to have the same relish for grapes,
+celery, onions, or garlic; he will also eat
+grass, moss, the bark of trees, or even wood;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>
+he drinks like a dog; his urine has a disagreeable
+smell, and his excrements are like those
+of the rabbit.</p>
+
+<p>As there can be little doubt but these animals
+would produce in the climates of France;
+as they are easily tamed, and their flesh is excellent
+food, they might be rendered an advantageous
+acquisition, especially as one individual
+would be equal to seven or eight rabbits,
+and their flesh not inferior.</p>
+
+<p>M. de la Borde agrees with most of the foregoing
+particulars, and says also that the paca
+generally has his hole on the banks of rivers,
+and that he so forms it as to have three ways
+to enter or retreat; that when disturbed he
+takes to the water, and endeavours to effectuate
+his escape by diving frequently, and that he
+makes a stout defence when attacked by dogs.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_OPOSSUM" id="THE_OPOSSUM">THE OPOSSUM.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE opossum is an animal of America,
+which is easily distinguished from all others by
+two singular characters; first, the female has
+under the belly a large cavity where she receives
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>
+and suckles her young; secondly, both
+male and female have no claws on the great
+toes of the hind feet, which is separated from
+the others, as the thumb on the human hand,
+whilst all the other toes are armed with
+crooked claws, like the feet of other quadrupeds.
+The first of these characters has been
+observed by most travellers and naturalists,
+but the second had escaped their observation.
+Edward Tyson, an English physician, seems
+to be the first who made this remark; and he
+only has given a good description of the female
+in a treatise printed in London in 1698,
+under the title of The Anatomy of an Opossum.
+Some years after, W. Cooper, a celebrated
+English anatomist, communicated to
+Tyson the observations which he had made
+Upon the male. Other authors, and especially
+the nomenclators, who have multiplied
+beings without necessity, have here fallen into
+numerous errors respecting this animal.</p>
+
+<p>Our opossum, described by Tyson, is the
+same animal as the oriental philandre of
+Seba, since of all the animals which Seba
+has described, and to which he gave
+the name of philandre, opossum, or carigueya,
+this is the only one who has a
+bag under the belly, and thumbs without
+claws behind. This animal is a native
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>
+of the warm climates of the new world; for the
+two we have in the king&rsquo;s cabinet came from
+America. That which Tyson had, was sent
+him from Virginia. M. de Chanvallon, correspondent
+of the Academy of Sciences in Martinico,
+who has given us a young opossum,
+acknowledged the two others to be true opossums
+of America. All the travellers agree,
+that this animal is found in Brasil, New Spain,
+Virginia, and the Antilles; and none mention
+having seen it in the East Indies; thus Seba
+was mistaken in calling it the oriental philandre.
+He says, his philandre was sent him
+from Amboyna, under the name of coes-coes,
+with other curiosities, but he confesses, at the
+same time, that it had been transported from
+some other remote countries to Amboyna.
+This should be sufficient to shew, that the
+denomination of oriental philandre was
+improper; for it is possible that travellers
+have transported this animal from America
+to the East Indies, but nothing proves that
+he is a native of Amboyna; and even the passage
+of Seba, which we have quoted, seems
+to indicate the contrary. The cause of this
+error and even of the name <i>coes-coes</i>, is found
+in Piso, who says, that in the East Indies, and
+only in the island of Amboyna, is found an
+animal very much like the opossum of Brasil
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>
+to whom the natives give the name of <i>cous-cous</i>.
+Piso quotes no authority for this assertion. It
+would be strange, if it was true, as Piso affirms,
+that this animal is only found in Amboyna,
+while Seba, on the contrary, says, that the
+opossum sent him from Amboyna, was not a
+native of that island, but had been brought
+there from more distant countries; though he
+was ignorant of the native country of his philandre,
+he nevertheless gave him the epithet
+of oriental, though he is certainly the same
+animal as that of the West Indies; the proof
+of it will clearly appear by comparing the
+figure he has given with Nature. But another
+error of this author is, that while he
+gives to the opossum of America the name of
+great oriental philandre he presents us another
+animal, which he thinks a different one, under
+the name of the philandre of America; and
+which according to his own description, differs
+only from the former by being smaller, and
+having the spots above the eyes of a deeper
+brown colour; which differences are merely
+accidental, and too inconsiderable to constitute
+two different species, for he does not mention
+another difference more essential, if it existed,
+that Seba&rsquo;s philandre of America has sharp
+claws on the hind toes of the hind feet, while
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>
+his oriental philandre has no claws upon his two
+thumbs. It is certain, that our opossum, which
+is the true one of America, has no claws to his
+toes behind; if an animal with sharp claws did
+exist, such as is represented by Seba, it could
+not be, as he asserts, the opossum of America.
+But this is not all, Seba mentions a third animal,
+under the name of oriental philandre, of
+whom, however, he speaks only after Valentin,
+an author who, as we have observed already,
+deserves little credit: and this third animal is
+yet the same as the two first. We are, therefore,
+persuaded that the three animals of Seba
+are individuals of the same species, and which
+species is the same as our opossum; and that
+the difference between them might be occasioned
+by their age, as it entirely consists in
+their size and slight variations in their colour,
+particularly in the spots above their eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Seba says, &ldquo;that according to Valentin, this
+last philandre is the largest species seen in the
+East Indies, and particularly among the Malays,
+where he is called <i>pelandor aroé</i>, which
+signifies a rabbit of <i>Aroé</i>, though Aroé is not
+the only place where these animals are found;
+that they are common in the island of Solor;
+that they are kept promiscuously with rabbits,
+to whom they do no harm; and that the inhabitants
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>
+eat their flesh, which they reckon excellent.&rdquo;
+These facts are very doubtful, not
+to say absolutely false, for according to Seba,
+this is not the largest species of the oriental
+philandre, that it bears no resemblance to the
+rabbit, therefore is very improperly termed the
+rabbit of Aroé; and that no person who has
+travelled in the East Indies has mentioned this
+remarkable animal; neither is he found in the
+island of Solor, nor in any other part of the ancient
+continent. Seba himself seems to have
+perceived not only the incapacity, but also the
+inaccuracy of the author whom he quotes: F.
+Valentin has written a Natural History of the
+East Indies in five volumes folio, and for the
+credit due to his testimony, both Artedi and
+Seba refer to a passage wherein he affirms,
+&ldquo;that the pouch of the philandre is the womb
+in which the young are conceived; that having
+himself dissected a female, he found no other;
+and if that pouch is not the real womb, the
+teats are to the young, what the pedicles are to
+fruits, that they stick to them till they are sufficiently
+grown, and then they are separated
+like the fruit, when it is come to ripeness.&rdquo;
+What seems to be the truth is, that Valentin,
+who affirms that those animals are common in
+the East Indies, especially at Solor, had never
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>
+seen any there; that all he says, even his most
+manifest errors, are copied from Piso and
+Marcgrave, who are themselves copyists of
+Ximenes, and are mistaken in everything they
+have advanced of their own authority; for
+Marcgrave and Piso say expressly and observatively,
+as well as Valentin, that the pouch
+is the true womb where the young of the opossums
+are conceived. Marcgrave says, he dissected
+one, and found no other womb: Piso,
+who says he dissected many, affirms he never
+could discover any womb in the internal parts,
+and also maintains the opinion, equally ill-grounded,
+that this animal is found at Amboyna.
+One may judge of what credit ought
+to be given to Marcgrave, Piso, and Valentin&rsquo;s
+assertions, the first of whom had not examined
+with accuracy; the second had added to the
+errors of the first, and the last copied from
+both.</p>
+
+<p>I should willingly ask pardon of my reader
+for the length of this critical disquisition, but
+when obliged to correct errors, we cannot be
+too exact or too attentive, even to the smallest
+circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>M. Brisson, in his work upon the quadrupeds,
+has adopted whatever he found in that of
+Seba, and adopts both his denominations and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span>
+descriptions; he goes even farther than his author,
+in making three distinct species of the
+philandres, described by Seba; for, if he had
+adhered to Seba, he would have observed that
+the latter did not give them as really different
+from each other. Seba had no doubt that an
+animal of the warm climates of America, could
+be found also in the torrid regions of Asia; but
+he distinguished them according as they came
+to him from one or the other continent. It
+seems clear that he does not use the word species
+in its most strict sense, nor did Seba ever
+pretend to make a methodical division of animals
+into classes, genera, and species; he has
+only given the figures of the different animals
+in his cabinet, distinguishing by names, according
+as he saw some difference in their size, colour,
+or the countries from which he received
+them. It appears, therefore, that M. Brisson
+was not authorised by Seba, in making three
+different species of philandres, especially as he
+has not employed the distinctive characters, and
+makes no mention of the want of the claws, in
+the hind toes of the hind feet; he only says, in
+general, that the toes of the philandres have
+claws, without making any exception; yet the
+one which he saw in the King&rsquo;s cabinet, and
+which is our opossum, had no claws to the hind
+toes of the hind legs, and which seems to be
+the only one he has seen. The work of M.
+Brisson is very useful, but in his catalogue
+the species are more numerous than in that
+of Nature.</p>
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>Engraved for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 378px;">
+<a id="FIG_133"></a><img src="images/fig_133.png" width="378" height="293" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 133. <i>Elephant.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 383px;">
+<a id="FIG_134"></a><img src="images/fig_134.png" width="383" height="292" alt="" />
+<span class="fig_caption">FIG. 134. <i>Rhinoceros.</i></span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We have now only to examine the nomenclature
+of Linnæus, which in this article is
+much less erroneous than in many others, for
+he suppresses one of the three species of Seba;
+but he should have reduced them to one. Besides,
+he employs the distinctive character of
+the toes behind without claws, which none but
+Tyson had observed. The description which
+Linnæus gives of the opossum as the <i>marsupialis</i>,
+seems to be a good one, and agreeable
+to Nature, but he is in an error when under
+the name of opossum he designs an animal different
+from his <i>marsupialis</i>, upon the authority
+of Seba, acknowledging, however, that this
+opossum had no claws to the toes behind,
+whilst they are very visible in the figures of
+Seba. Another error is, considering the <i>maritacaca</i>
+of Piso, as the same animal as the <i>carigueya</i>,
+whilst these two animals, though mentioned
+in the same chapter, are mentioned by
+Piso as two different animals, and he describes
+them one after the other. But his greatest
+error is in making two different species of the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>
+<i>marsupialis</i> and the opossum; they have both,
+according to Linnæus, the pouch, the hind
+toes of their hind feet have no claws, are both
+natives of America, and only differ in this respect,
+by the first having eight paps, and the
+second only two, and the spot above the eyes
+more pale. These characteristics cannot be
+sufficient to distinguish them as distinct species;
+for the first can scarcely be called a difference;
+nor can any thing be established as
+fixed or certain, in regard to the order and
+the number of the paps, since they vary in the
+same species of most animals.</p>
+
+<p>From this examination, which we have made
+with strict impartiality, it appears, that the <i>philandre</i>,
+<i>opossum</i>, <i>seu carigueya Brasiliensis</i>, and
+the <i>philander orientalis maximus</i> of Seba;
+those of M. Brisson, and the <i>marsupialis</i> and
+<i>opossum</i> of Linnæus are all of them the same
+animal, which is our opossum whose natural
+climate is South America; and who was never
+seen in the East Indies, but when transported
+thither. Upon this subject, some uncertainty
+still remains in regard to the <i>taiibi</i>, which
+Marcgrave does not mention as an animal different
+from the <i>carigueya</i>, but which Johnston,
+Seba, Klein, Linnæus, and Brisson, have presented
+as distinct from the preceding. In
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>
+Marcgrave the two names of <i>carigueya</i> and
+<i>taiibi</i> are found in the same article, where it is
+said, that this animal is called <i>carigueya</i> in Brasil,
+and <i>taiibi</i> in Paraguay. There is afterwards
+a description of the <i>carigueya</i> taken from
+Ximenes; and then another is given of the animal
+called <i>taiibi</i>, by the Brasilians; <i>cachorro
+domato</i>, by the Portuguese, and <i>hooschratte</i>, or
+the rat of the wood, by the Dutch. Marcgrave
+does not say this is an animal different
+from the <i>carigueya</i>, but on the contrary, considers
+it as the male of that species; and it appears
+clearly, that the male and female opossum
+were called <i>taiibi</i> in Paraguay, and that
+in Brasil they gave the name of <i>taiibi</i> to the
+male, and that of <i>carigueya</i> to the female. Besides,
+the difference between those two animals,
+such as it is indicated by their descriptions, is
+too inconsiderable to conclude they are not the
+same species. The most essential is, the colour
+of the hair, which in the <i>carigueya</i> is yellow
+and brown, and grey in the <i>taiibi</i>, the hairs of
+which are white at their bottom, and brown
+or black at the extremities. It is therefore more
+than probable, that the <i>taiibi</i> is the male opossum.
+Mr. Ray seems to be of that opinion,
+when speaking of the <i>carigueya</i>, and the <i>taiibi</i>.
+Yet, notwithstanding Marcgrave&rsquo;s authority,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>
+and the rational doubt of Ray, Seba gives the
+figure of an animal, under the name of the
+<i>taiibi</i>; and says, at the same time, that this
+<i>taiibi</i> is the same animal as the <i>tlaquatzin</i> of
+Hernandes; this is adding error upon error;
+for even according to Seba, his <i>taiibi</i>, which is
+a female, has no bag under the belly; and Hernandes
+gives to his <i>tlaquatzin</i> this bag as a particular
+characteristic; consequently the <i>taiibi</i> of
+Seba cannot be the <i>tlaquatzin</i> of Hernandes,
+as it has no pouch, nor the <i>taiibi</i> of Marcgrave,
+since it is a female; it is certainly, therefore,
+another animal badly designed, and badly described,
+to whom Seba thought proper to give
+the name of <i>taiibi</i>, and which he confounds
+with the <i>tlaquatzin</i> of Hernandes, which as we
+have said before, is our opossum. Brisson and
+Linnæus have, in regard to the <i>taiibi</i>, literally
+followed Seba; they have copied even his error in
+regard to the <i>tlaquatzin</i> of Hernandes, and both,
+have made an equivocal species of this animal,
+the first under the name of <i>philandre</i> of Brasil,
+and the second under that of <i>philander</i>. The
+true <i>taiibi</i> of Marcgrave and Ray, is not therefore
+the <i>taiibi</i> of Seba, the <i>philander</i> of Linnæus,
+nor the Brasilian <i>philander</i> of Brisson;
+nor are the two latter the <i>tlaquatzin</i> of Hernandes.
+The <i>taiibi</i> of Seba (supposing his existence)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>
+is a different animal from all those treated
+of by the above authors, and ought to have had
+a particular denomination, and not been confounded
+with the <i>taiibi</i> of Marcgrave, which
+has nothing in common with him; besides, as
+the male opossum has no pouch, it is not surprising
+that they have been taken for different
+animals, as that the female is called carigueya,
+and the male taiibi.</p>
+
+<p>Edward Tyson dissected and described the
+female opossum with care; in the individual
+which served him for subject, the head was
+six inches, the body thirteen, and the tail twelve
+in length: the fore legs were six inches, and
+the hind legs four inches and a half in height:
+the body was fifteen or sixteen inches in circumference;
+the tail three inches round in the
+beginning, and only one inch towards the extremities;
+the head three inches betwixt the
+two ears, decreasing gradually to the nose; and
+was more like that of a pig than a fox; the
+sockets of the eyes are much inclined in the
+direction from the ears to the nose; the ears are
+rounded, and about an inch and a half long; the
+mouth was two inches and a half wide from
+one of the corners of the lip to the extremity
+of the snout; the tongue narrow, three inches
+long, and rough; his fore feet had five toes
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>
+armed with crooked claws, but in the hind
+feet he had only four toes with claws, and the
+fifth toe, or thumb, was separated from the
+others, was placed lower, and had no claws.
+All his claws were without hair, and covered
+with a skin of a reddish colour, and very near
+an inch in length; his hind and fore paws were
+large, and he had fleshy callosities under all the
+toes. The tail was covered with hair for two
+or three inches from the beginning, and the
+rest of it with a smooth scaly skin to the end.
+These scales were whitish, almost hexagonal,
+and placed regularly, so that they did not encroach
+upon each other, but were divided by
+a skin browner than the scales. The ears were
+without hair, thin and membranous like the
+wings of a bat, and very open. The upper
+jaw longer than the under; the nostrils large,
+the eyes small, black, and lively; the neck
+short, the breast wide, and the whiskers like
+those of a cat: the hairs of the forehead whiter
+and shorter than those of the body; his colour
+a yellowish grey, intermixed with black on the
+back and sides, more brown on the belly, and
+still deeper on the legs. Under the belly of the
+female (<a href="#FIG_131"><i>fig. 131</i></a>) is a skin two or three inches
+long, which forms a kind of pouch by a double
+fold thinly covered with hair on the inside, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>
+which pouch contains the teats. The young
+enter into this pouch to suck, and soon acquire
+the habit of hiding themselves in it, so that they
+retire thither whenever they are frightened.
+This pouch opens and shuts according to the
+will of the animal; which it effects by several
+muscles and two bones, which are peculiar to
+the opossum; these two bones are about two
+inches in length, placed by the os pubis, they
+decrease gradually from the basis to the extremities,
+and support the muscles which open the
+pouch; the antagonists of these muscles serve
+to shut it so exactly, that in the living animal
+the opening cannot be seen, without forcibly
+dilating it with the fingers. The inside of this
+pouch is full of kernels, which contain a yellow
+substance, the smell of which is so offensive,
+that it infects the whole body of the animal; yet
+when this matter is dried, it not only loses its
+disagreeable smell, but acquires a perfume
+which may be compared to that of musk.
+This pouch is not, as Marcgrave and Piso
+have falsely asserted, the place in which the
+young are conceived; the female opossum has
+an internal womb, different indeed from that
+of other animals, but in which the young are
+conceived, and remain till they are brought
+forth. Tyson says, that in this animal there
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>
+are two wombs, two vaginas, and four ovariums.
+M. Daubenton does not agree with
+Tyson in these particulars; but by his description,
+it is at least certain, that in the organs
+of generation of the opossums, there are
+several parts double which are single in other
+animals. The glans penis of the male, and the
+glans clitoridis in the female, which are forked,
+and seem double. The vagina, which is
+single at the entrance, is afterwards divided
+into two channels; this conformation is very
+singular, and differs from that of all other quadrupeds.</p>
+
+<p>The opossum belongs to the south parts of
+the new world, but he does not, like the armadillo,
+seem confined to the hottest climates,
+for he is found not only in Brasil, Guiana, and
+Mexico, but also in Florida, Virginia, and
+other temperate regions of this continent.
+They are very common in these countries, as
+they bring forth often, and most authors say
+four or five, others six or seven, at a time.
+Marcgrave affirms, that he has seen six young
+ones alive in the pouch of the female; they
+were about two inches in length, were very
+nimble, and went in and out of the pouch many
+times in a day. They are very small when
+just brought forth: some travellers say they
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span>
+are not bigger than flies when they go out of
+the womb into the pouch, and attach themselves
+to the teats. This fact is not so much
+exaggerated as might be imagined, for we have
+seen in an animal, whose species is somewhat
+like that of the opossum, young ones sticking
+to the teats not bigger than beans; and it is
+not improbable, that, in these animals, the
+womb is only the place of conception and first
+formation of the f&oelig;tus, whose unfolding is
+completed in the pouch. No one has observed
+the time of their gestation, which we think is
+shorter than in any other quadruped; and as
+this early exclusion of the f&oelig;tus is a singularity
+in nature, we wish those who have an
+opportunity of observing the opossums in their
+native country would contrive to discover how
+long the females go with young, and how long
+the young remain attached to the teats. This
+observation is curious in itself, and may become
+useful, in pointing out some means of
+preserving the lives of children born before
+their natural period.</p>
+
+<p>That the young opossums stick to the teats
+of the mother till they have acquired strength,
+and a sufficient growth to move with ease, is
+a fact not to be doubted; nor is it peculiar
+to this species only, since we have seen it in
+that of the <i>marmose</i>. The female marmose
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span>
+has not, like the opossum, a bag under the
+belly; it is not, therefore, in consequence of
+the assistance which the young receive from
+the pouch that they stick so long to the teats,
+and increase in that immoveable situation. I
+make this observation to prevent the pouch
+being considered as a second womb, or at least
+an asylum necessary to the young before they
+are unfolded. Some authors pretend that they
+stick to the teats for several weeks, others
+say that they remain in the pouch only the
+first month after they came out of the womb.
+The pouch may be opened, the young counted,
+and even felt, without disturbing them, for
+they do not leave the teats, which they hold
+with their mouths, before they are strong
+enough to walk; then they fall into the bag,
+and afterwards go out to seek for their subsistence;
+they often go in again to sleep, to
+suck, and to hide themselves when terrified;
+in cases of danger the mother flies, and carries
+the whole of her young with her. Her belly
+does not seem to have any increased bigness
+when she is breeding, for in the time of the
+true gestation it is scarcely perceivable that
+she is with young.</p>
+
+<p>From inspecting the form of the feet it is
+easy to perceive that he walks and runs aukwardly;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span>
+it is said 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 by the tail, the
+extremity of which is so muscular and flexible
+that he can clasp with it any thing he seizes
+upon. He sometimes remains a long while in
+this situation, his body suspended, with his
+head hanging downward, waiting for his prey.
+At other times he jumps from one tree to
+another, as the monkeys, with like muscular
+flexible tails, which he resembles also in the
+conformation of his feet. Though carnivorous,
+and even greedy of blood, which he sucks
+with avidity, he feeds also upon reptiles,
+insects, sugar-canes, potatoes, roots, and even
+leaves and bark of trees. He may easily be
+rendered a domestic animal, for he is neither
+wild nor ferocious; but he creates disgust by
+his smell, which is more offensive than that of
+the fox; his figure is also forbidding, for his
+ears are like those of an ounce, his tail resembles
+that of a serpent, his mouth is cleft
+to the very eyes, his body appears always
+dirty, because his hair is neither smooth nor
+curled, and seems as if covered with dirt.
+His bad smell resides in the skin, for his flesh
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span>
+is eatable. The savages hunt this animal by
+preference, and feed on his flesh heartily.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>M. de la BORDE has sent me an account
+of three opossums, which he kept in a cask at
+Cayenne; in most particulars it agrees with
+the description already given; he says they are
+very easily tamed, and feed upon fish, flesh,
+bread, &amp;c. that those he had possessed no disagreeable
+smell, but that there are two species,
+the one which has so strong an odour as to be
+called stinking by the inhabitants, and that
+their flesh is not good to eat.</p>
+
+<p>M. de Vosmaër, to his description of the
+flying squirrel, has added a note, in which he
+says, &ldquo;the <i>coes-coes</i> is the <i>bosch</i> of the East
+Indies, the <i>philandre</i> of Seba, and the <i>didelphiè</i>
+of Linnæus. M. de Buffon has confined this
+animal to the new world, and positively denies
+its existence in the East Indies; but I can
+assure that learned naturalist that Valentin
+and Seba said no more than the truth, in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>
+affirming they were common to both Asia and
+America, for I have had a male and female sent
+me from the East Indies, and Dr. Schlosser, at
+Amsterdam received one of the same species
+from Amboyna. The principal difference
+between those of the East and West Indies is
+in the colour of the hair, the male of the
+former being of a yellowish white, and the female
+a little darker, with a brown line on the
+back, and their ears are less than those of the
+latter. The heads also of the West India
+species are much shorter than those of the
+East.&rdquo; I have not the smallest reason to doubt
+M. Vosmaër&rsquo;s receiving two animals from the
+East Indies, under the name of <i>coes-coes</i>,
+but am of opinion the differences which he
+points out are sufficient to induce us not to
+consider them the same species as the opossums.
+I, however, confess the justice of his observation
+upon my making the three philandres of
+Seba the same animal, when, in fact, the third
+is a different species, and found in the Philippine
+islands, and possibly in many parts of the
+East Indies, where it is called <i>coes-coes</i>, or
+<i>cous-cous</i>. Christopher Barchewitz gives a description
+of this animal found in the island
+of Lethy, and from the similarity it plainly appears,
+that the East India <i>cuscus</i> is of the same
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span>
+genus as the American opossum; but that is no
+proof of their being of the same species; and
+I am still of opinion, that the animals of one
+continent will not be found in the other, unless
+they have been transported thither. I do not
+mean to deny the possibility of the same climates
+in the two continents producing some
+animals of exactly the same species, provided
+other circumstances were the same; I am not,
+however, treating here of possibilities, but of
+general facts, of which we have given many
+instances in our enumeration of animals peculiar
+to the two continents; and, upon the
+whole, I am inclined to consider the coes-coes
+of the East Indies as an animal whose species
+approaches very near to that of the opossums
+of America, but that they have similar differences,
+to those which are observable between
+the jaguar and leopards, which of all animals
+peculiar to the southern climates of the two
+continents, without being the same species,
+come the nearest to each other.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_MARMOSE" id="THE_MARMOSE">THE MARMOSE.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE species of the Marmose, or Murine
+Opossum, (<a href="#FIG_132"><i>fig. 132</i></a>) resembles that of the
+preceding; they are natives of the same climate
+and the same continent; they are very
+much alike in the form of the body, the conformation
+of the feet, in the tail, which is
+mostly covered with scales, except the upper
+part, which is hairy, and by the teeth, which
+are more numerous than in other quadrupeds.
+But the marmose is smaller, and his snout
+sharper; the female has no pouch under the
+belly, she has only two loose skins near the
+thighs, between which the young fix themselves
+to the teats. The parts of generation of
+the male and female marmose resemble, by
+their form and their position, those of the
+opossum. When the young are brought forth,
+and fix themselves to the teats, they are not so
+big as small beans. The brood is also more
+numerous; I have seen ten young ones, each
+sticking to a different teat, and the mother
+had four more teats, which made fourteen in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span>
+all. It is particularly on the females of this
+species that the observations, recommended in
+the preceding article, should be made; as I am
+persuaded they bring forth a few days after conception,
+and that the young are only f&oelig;tuses
+which are not come to the fourth part of their
+growth. The mother always miscarries, and
+the f&oelig;tuses save their lives by sticking to the
+teats, and never leaving them till they have
+acquired the growth and strength which they
+would naturally have got in the womb, if they
+had remained until the proper period.</p>
+
+<p>The marmose has the same manners, and the
+same inclinations, as the opossum; both of
+them dig burrows to dwell under the ground,
+hang by the extremities of their tails to the
+branches of trees, and rush upon birds and
+small animals; they eat fruit, corn, and roots,
+but they are still more greedy of fish and
+craw-fish, which, it is affirmed, they catch
+with their tails. This fact, however, is doubtful,
+and does not agree with the natural stupidity
+attributed to those animals, who, according
+to the relation of most travellers, do not
+even know how to move, fly, or defend themselves,
+with any degree of art.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_CAYOPOLLIN" id="THE_CAYOPOLLIN">THE CAYOPOLLIN.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>FERNANDES is the first author who has
+mentioned this animal. The Cayopollin, says
+he, is a small animal, little bigger than a rat,
+very much resembling the opossum in the
+snout, ears, and tail, and which he makes use
+of as we do our hands; he has thin transparent
+ears; his belly, legs, and feet, are white. The
+young, when frightened, seize hold of the
+mother, who carries them up on the trees.
+This species is found on the mountains of
+New Spain. Nieremberg has copied Fernandes
+verbatim, without any addition of his
+own. Seba, who first caused this animal to be
+engraved, gives no description of it; he only
+says, that he has the head thicker, and the tail
+a little bigger than the marmose, and that
+though he is of the same kind he belongs to
+another climate, and even to another continent.
+He refers his readers to Nieremberg and Johnston
+for a further description of this animal;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>
+but it seems evident that neither of them had
+seen him, as they only follow Fernandes.
+Neither of these three authors say that he is a
+native of Africa, on the contrary, they assert,
+that he comes originally from the mountains
+of the warm climates of America, and yet Seba,
+without any authority, has pretended, that it
+is an African animal. That which we have
+seen certainly came from America; he was
+larger, the snout not so sharp, and the tail was
+longer than those of the marmose, and he
+resembled the opossum more even than the
+marmose does. These three animals are
+much alike in the conformation of their interior
+and exterior parts, in their additional bones,
+form of their feet, in being brought forth before
+their entire formation, their long and continued
+adherence to the teats, and in their habits
+and dispositions. They are all three
+natives of the new world, and of the same
+climate; they are never found in the cold regions
+of America, nor can hardly live in temperate
+climates. All of them are very ugly;
+their mouths extended like that of a pike, their
+ears like those of a bat, their tails like that of
+a snake, and their monkey&rsquo;s feet present a very
+odd form, which is rendered still more disagreeable
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span>
+by their bad smell, and by the slowness
+and stupidity which accompany their actions
+and manners.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_ELEPHANT" id="THE_ELEPHANT">THE ELEPHANT.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>THE Elephant, the human species excepted,
+is the most considerable animal of this
+world; he surpasses all terrestrial beings in size,
+and approaches near to man in understanding,
+as much, at least, as matter can approach to
+mind. The elephant, dog, beaver, and ape,
+of all the animated beings, have the most admirable
+instinct; but this instinct, which is
+only the product of all the interior and exterior
+faculties of the animal, manifests itself very
+differently in every one of these species. The
+dog is naturally as cruel and bloody as the
+wolf; but his ferocious nature is to be conquered
+by gentleness: he only differs from the
+other animals of prey, by possessing a degree
+of sensibility, which makes him susceptible of
+affection, and capable of attachment. He has
+from nature this disposition, which man has
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span>
+cultivated and improved by a constant and
+ancient society with this animal. The dog
+alone was worthy of this attention, as he is
+more capable than any other quadruped of
+foreign impressions, his social nature has improved
+all his relative faculties. His sensibility,
+tractable temper, courage, talents, and
+even his manners, are modified by the example
+and qualities of his matter. He has not then,
+from nature, all those qualifications he appears
+to possess, but has acquired them from his intercourse
+with men; he is only more susceptible
+of tuition than other animals; far from having,
+like most of them, a disgust for man, his inclination
+leads him to seek their society: actuated
+by a desire of pleasing, his tractability,
+fidelity, constant submission, and that attention
+necessary to act in consequence of man&rsquo;s
+orders, are the result of this natural sentiment.</p>
+
+<p>The ape, on the contrary, is untractable and
+eccentric; his nature is perverse; he has no
+relative sensibility, no gratitude for good treatment,
+and no remembrance of favours; he is
+naturally averse from the society of man,
+he hates constraint, is mischievous by nature,
+and inclined to do every thing hurtful
+and disagreeable. But these real faults are
+compensated by seeming perfections. His
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span>
+exterior conformation resembles that of man,
+he has arms, hands, and fingers. The use of
+these parts alone, makes him superior in dexterity
+to other animals; and the affinities to
+us which he then possesses by a similarity of
+motions, and the conformity of his actions,
+please and deceive us, and induce us to attribute
+to interior qualities, what depends merely
+on the formation of his members.</p>
+
+<p>The beaver, who seems inferior to the dog
+and ape, by his individual faculties, has nevertheless
+received from Nature a gift almost
+equivalent to that of speech; he makes himself
+so well understood by those of his own species,
+as to bring them together; to act in concert,
+and to undertake and execute extensive
+and continued labours in common; and this
+social love, as well as the product of their reciprocal
+understanding, have better claims
+to our admiration, than the dexterity of the ape,
+or the faithfulness of the dog.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the dog&rsquo;s genius is only borrowed; the
+ape has but the appearance of sagacity, and
+the beaver is only sensible in regard to himself,
+and those of his species. The elephant is superior
+to them all three, for in him are united all
+their most eminent qualities. The hand is the
+principal organ of the ape&rsquo;s dexterity; the elephant
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span>
+is equally so with his trunk, which serves
+him instead of arms and hands, by it he can
+lift up, and seize small as well as large objects,
+carry them to his mouth, place them on his
+back, hold them fast, or throw them to a distance;
+he has at the same time the docility of
+the dog; he is, like him, susceptible of gratitude,
+capable of a strong attachment, attends
+upon man without reluctance, and submits to
+him, not so much by force as good treatment;
+serves him with zeal, intelligence, and fidelity;
+in fine, the elephant, the same as the beaver,
+likes the society of his own species, and by
+whom he is understood. They are often seen
+to assemble together, disperse, and act in concert,
+and if they do not carry on any work in
+common, it is, perhaps, only for want of
+room and tranquillity; for men have been
+very anciently multiplied in all the regions inhabited
+by the elephant; he consequently
+lives in fear and anxiety, and is no where a
+peaceful possessor of a space large and free
+enough to establish a secure habitation. We
+have seen that all these advantages are requisite
+to manifest the talents of the beaver, and
+that wherever men are settled, he loses his
+industry, and ceases to build. Every being has
+its relative value in Nature. To judge of
+the elephant, we must allow him to possess the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>
+sagacity of the beaver, the dexterity of the ape,
+the sentiment of the dog with the peculiar advantages
+of strength, bigness, and longevity.
+We must not forget his arms, or tusks, with
+which he can pierce through and conquer the
+lion. We should also recollect that he shakes
+the ground at every step; that with his trunk
+he roots out trees; that with the strength of
+his body, he makes a breach in the wall; that
+though tremendous by his strength, he is more
+invincible by the resistance of his bulky massiveness,
+and the thickness of his skin; that he
+can carry on his back an armed tower filled
+with many men; and 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 passions; 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 some offence;
+and he remembers favours as long as injuries.
+Having no taste for flesh, and feeding chiefly
+upon vegetables, he is not naturally an enemy
+to any living creature; he is beloved by them
+all, since all of them respect, and no one has
+cause to fear him. For these reasons, men at
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span>
+all times have had a sort of veneration for this
+first of animals. The ancients considered the
+elephant as a prodigy, a miracle of Nature,
+and he is in reality her greatest effort; they
+have attributed to him without hesitation, intellectual
+qualities and moral virtues.</p>
+
+<p>Pliny, Ælian, Solinus, Plutarch, and other
+more modern authors, have even given to this
+animal rational faculties, a natural innate religion,
+the observation of a daily worship, such
+as that of the sun and moon, the use of ablution
+before adoration, a spirit of divination, piety
+towards heaven and their fellow creatures
+whom they assist at their deaths; and after
+their decease, express their regret by tears, and
+cover them with earth. The Indians, prepossessed
+with the opinion of the metempsychosis,
+are to this day persuaded, that a body so majestic
+as that of the elephant cannot be animated
+but by the soul of a great man, or a king. They
+respect at Siam,<a name="FNanchor_AE_31" id="FNanchor_AE_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_AE_31" class="fnanchor">[AE]</a> Laos, and Pegu, white elephants
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span>
+as the living manes of the emperors
+of India. They have each of them a palace,
+a number of servants, golden vessels, exquisite
+dainties, magnificent trappings, and are
+absolved from all labour and obedience; the
+living emperor is the only one before whom
+they kneel down, and the monarch returns the
+salute. These flattering attentions, this respect,
+these offerings flatter them but do not
+inspire them with vanity; they have not consequently
+a human soul, and this circumstance
+should be sufficient to prove it to the
+Indians.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_AE_31" id="Footnote_AE_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AE_31"><span class="label">[AE]</span></a> The white elephant, so much respected in India, and
+who has been the cause of so many wars, is very small and
+wrinkled with age. He is attended by several mandarins who
+are appointed to take care of him, and his victuals is presented
+to him in large golden vessels; his apartment is very magnificent,
+and gilt all round. At about a league from the
+country-house belonging to the king, is another white elephant,
+kept as a successor to the former, whom they say is
+300 years old. He is also attended by mandarins, and his
+mother and aunt are kept with him out of respect. <i>Premier
+Voyage du P. Tachard.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Without adopting the credulities of antiquity,
+and the puerile fictions of superstition,
+the elephant is an animal still worth the attention
+of a philosopher, who ought to consider
+him as a being of the first distinction. He
+deserves to be known, and to be observed; we
+shall therefore write his history with impartiality;
+we shall consider him at first in his
+state of nature when he is free and independent,
+and afterwards in his servile condition,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span>
+when the will of his master becomes the cause
+of his actions.</p>
+
+<p>In a wild state, the elephant is neither sanguinary
+nor ferocious; he is of a mild temper,
+and never makes a bad use of his arms, or his
+strength; for he never employs or exerts them
+but in his own defence, or in protecting others
+of his species. His manners are social, for he
+is seldom wandering alone: they commonly
+walk in troops, the oldest leading, and the
+next in age bringing up the rear; the young
+and the weak keeping in the middle. The
+females carry their young, and hold them
+close with their trunks. They only observe
+this order in perilous marches when they go to
+feed on cultivated lands; they travel with
+less precaution in forests and solitary places,
+but without separating to such a distance as
+not to be able to give to each other mutual
+assistance, and warnings of danger. Some,
+however, straggle, and remain behind, and it
+is none but these the hunters dare attack, 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, for they go
+straight to the offender, and notwithstanding
+the great heaviness of their bodies they walk
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span>
+so fast that they easily overtake the most agile
+man; they pierce him through with their
+tusks, or seize him with their trunks; throw
+him like a stone, and then kill him by treading
+him under their feet. But it is only when
+they have been provoked that they become so
+furious and so implacable; they do no harm
+to those who do not disturb them; yet, as they
+are very suspicious, and sensible of injuries,
+it is proper to avoid them; and the travellers
+who frequent the countries where they are numerous,
+light great fires in the night, and
+beat drums, to prevent their approach. It is
+said that when they have been once attacked
+by men, or have fallen into a snare, they never
+forget it, but seek for revenge on all occasions.
+As they have a most exquisite sense of smelling,
+perhaps more perfect than that of any
+other animal, they smell a man at a great distance,
+and can easily follow him by the scent.
+The ancients have asserted that the elephant
+tears up the grass where the hunters have passed,
+and with their trunks convey it to each
+other, in order to give information of the passage
+and march of the enemy. These animals
+are fond of the banks of rivers, deep valleys,
+shady places, and marshy grounds. They
+cannot go long without water, which they
+make thick and muddy before they drink it.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span>
+They often fill their trunks with water, either
+to convey it to their mouths, or only to cool
+their noses, and to amuse themselves in
+sprinkling it around them. They cannot
+support cold, and suffer equally from excessive
+heat; to avoid the burning rays of the
+sun, they penetrate into the thickest recesses
+of the forests. They bathe often in the water;
+the enormous size of their bodies is rather an
+advantage to them in swimming, and they do
+not sink so deep in the water as other animals;
+besides, the length of their trunks, which
+they erect in the air, and through which they
+breathe, takes from them all fear of being
+drowned.</p>
+
+<p>Their common food is roots, herbs, leaves,
+and young branches; they also eat fruit and
+corn, but they have a dislike to flesh and fish.
+When one of them finds a good pasture, he
+calls the others, and invites them to come and
+feed with him. As they consume 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
+enormous weight, they destroy ten times more
+with their feet, than they consume for their
+food, which may be reckoned at 150lbs. of
+grass daily; and as they always keep in great
+numbers together, they will lay waste a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span>
+large territory in an hour&rsquo;s time; for this reason
+the Indians and Negroes exert every means to
+prevent their visits, and to drive them away;
+they make great noises, and large fires round
+their cultivated lands; yet, notwithstanding
+these precautions, 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; the only things that can stop
+their progress are fire-works, and crackers
+thrown amongst them; the sudden and repeated
+noise of which sometimes occasions them to
+turn back. It is very difficult to part them,
+for they commonly act together whether they
+attack, proceed, or turn back.</p>
+
+<p>When the females come in season this social
+intercourse yields to a more lively sentiment;
+the herd separate in pairs, having each chosen
+their mates; they then seek for solitary places,
+and in their march love seems to precede and
+modesty to follow them; for they observe the
+greatest mystery in their amours, and they have
+never been seen to couple. They avoid the
+inspection of their own species, and, perhaps,
+know better than ourselves the pure delight of
+secret pleasure, being wholly taken with one
+beloved object. They retire into shady woods
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span>
+and most solitary places, to give themselves
+up, without disturbance or restraint, to the impulses
+of Nature, which are strong and lasting,
+as they have long intervals between their seasons
+of love. The female goes two years with
+young; when she is in that condition the male
+abstains from her, and thus are they subjected
+to the influence of love but once in three
+years. They bring forth only one young,
+which has teeth at its birth, and is then bigger
+than a wild boar; his tusks are not visible,
+but they appear soon after, and when six
+months old they are some inches long. At
+that age the elephant is bigger than the ox,
+and the tusks continue to increase till he is
+much advanced in years, provided the animal
+is in health, and at liberty, for it is scarcely
+to be imagined how much slavery and unnatural
+food change his natural habit and
+constitution.</p>
+
+<p>The elephant is easily tamed, brought into
+submission, and instructed, and as he is the
+strongest and most sensible of animals, he is
+more serviceable than any of them; but he
+seems always to feel his servile condition, for
+though subject to the powerful impressions of
+love they never couple, nor produce in a state
+of domesticity. His passion, irritated by constraint,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span>
+degenerates into fury; as he cannot indulge
+it without witnesses he becomes violent
+and intractable, and the strongest chains and
+fetters are often found necessary to stop his
+impetuosity, and subdue his anger. Thus the
+elephant differs from all domestic animals
+which man treats or manages as beings without
+will; he is not like these born slaves, which
+we mutilate or multiply for our use. Here
+the individual alone is a slave, the species remains
+independent, and constantly refuses to
+increase for the benefit of their tyrants. This
+alone shews in the elephant elevated sentiments
+superior to the nature of common brutes. To
+be agitated by the most ardent desires, and to
+deny themselves the satisfaction of enjoying
+them; to be subjected to all the fury of love,
+and yet not to violate the laws of modesty, are,
+perhaps, the highest efforts of human virtue,
+but which in these majestic animals are all
+suggested by instinct, and from which they
+never deviate. Enraged that they cannot be
+gratified without witnesses their fury becomes
+stronger than their passion of love, destroys
+the effects of it, and provokes, at the same
+time, that anger which, in those instants, renders
+the elephant more dangerous than any
+other wild animal.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We should be inclined to doubt this fact,
+were it possible, but naturalists, historians,
+and travellers, all agree, that the elephants never
+produce in a domestic state. The kings
+of India keep a great number of them, and
+after having endeavoured in vain to make
+them multiply, like other domestic animals,
+they found it necessary to part the males from
+the females, to prevent that fury which is
+occasioned by the irritation of desires they
+will not satisfy in a state of subjection. There
+are, therefore, no domestic elephants but what
+have been wild, 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 frequented
+by the elephants, a spot is chosen, and
+encircled with palisadoes; the strongest trees
+of the forest serve for stakes, to which are
+fastened cross pieces of timber, which support
+the other stakes. A man may easily pass
+through this palisado; a large opening is
+also left, through which the elephant may go
+in, and over it is a trap, or large stake, which
+is let down to shut the opening after the animal
+has entered. To bring him to this inclosure
+the hunters take a tame female with
+them into the forest, who is in season, and when
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span>
+when they think she is near enough to be
+heard they oblige her to make the cry of love,
+the wild male answers immediately, and begins
+his march to meet her. She is then led towards
+the inclosure, repeating her call now
+and then; she arrives first, and the male
+following her track enters through the same
+gate. As soon as he perceives himself enclosed
+his ardour vanishes, and when he discovers the
+hunters he becomes furious; they throw ropes
+at him with a running knot, by which they
+fetter his legs and trunk; they then bring two
+or three tame elephants, led by dextrous men,
+and endeavour to tie him to one of them; in
+short, by dint of dexterity, strength, terror,
+and caresses, they succeed in taming him in a
+few days.</p>
+
+<p>I shall not enter into more particulars on
+this subject, but refer to those travellers who
+have been ocular witnesses of the manner of
+hunting the elephants;<a name="FNanchor_AF_32" id="FNanchor_AF_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_AF_32" class="fnanchor">[AF]</a> it varies according
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span>
+to different countries, and according to the
+power and the abilities of those who make war
+against them, for instead of erecting, like the
+kings of Siam, walls, terraces, or making palisades
+around large inclosures, the poor negroes
+use the most simple snares; they dig
+pits in the passages, where the elephants are
+known to pass, so deep as to prevent their
+getting out again when fallen in.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_AF_32" id="Footnote_AF_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AF_32"><span class="label">[AF]</span></a> For the purpose of hunting the elephant, they have at a
+little distance from Luovo, a kind of amphitheatre, surrounded
+with high walls, where those are placed who wish
+to see the sport. In the middle of these walls a palisade is
+formed, with strong stakes fixed in the ground; a pretty
+large opening is left on the side next the forest, and a smaller
+one towards the city, into which the elephant cannot enter
+without difficulty. Upon the day fixed upon for the chace,
+the hunters go into the forests upon some female elephants
+covering themselves with leaves to prevent being seen;
+having reason to suppose there are wild ones near, they
+make the females utter certain cries, and which the wild
+males instantly answer; the hunter then drives the female
+back to the above amphitheatre, whither the male constantly
+follows her, and being entered the large opening is
+immediately shut. At the one we were present, the females
+went out on the other side, but from the smallness of the
+size the wild one refused to enter; the females repeated
+their cries, and some of the Siamese began to irritate him,
+by clapping their hands, and crying <i>pat, pat</i>, while others
+struck him with long poles that had sharp points, all of
+whom he pursued, but they escaped by slipping between
+the palisades, sufficient spaces being left for that purpose;
+at length he fixed upon one whom he pursued with great
+fury, and the man running into this narrow passage
+the elephant followed him, but the moment he entered,
+the bars, before and behind, were let fall, and he no
+sooner found himself in the snare than he made the
+most violent efforts, and raised the most hideous cries.
+The hunters then endeavoured to sooth him by flinging
+quantities of water upon his body and trunk, rubbing
+him with leaves, putting oil on his ears, and bringing
+tame elephants, who seemed to caress him with their trunks,
+one of which, properly trained, was mounted by a man who
+made him go backwards and forwards to shew as it were the
+stranger that he had nothing to fear. Ropes were thrown
+round his hind legs and body, and then the bar was taken
+away from the further end, where being come he was tied to
+two tame elephants one of each side of him these led him
+the way while another pushed him behind with his head until
+they came to a kind of shade where he was fastened to a
+large post, like the capstan of a ship, and there left till the
+next day. While here, one of the Bramins, or priests, dressed
+in white, and mounted on another elephant, goes to him
+and sprinkles him with consecrated water, which they imagine
+has the power of divesting him of his ferocity. Next
+day he is marched off with the other elephants, and by the
+end of the fifteenth, they are in general perfectly tame.
+<i>Premier Voyage du P. Tachard.</i>
+</p>
+<p>
+In Ethiopia they take great numbers of these animals by
+forming an inclosure in the thickest parts of the forests,
+leaving a sufficient opening, with a door lying flat on the
+ground; the hunters sit to watch for the elephant on a tree
+and as soon as he enters they draw up the door with a rope,
+then descend and attack him with arrows, but if by any
+chance he gets out of his confinement, he kills every man
+that he can come near. <i>L&rsquo;Afrique de Marmol.</i>
+</p>
+<p>
+At Ceylon they take the elephant by digging deep ditches
+lightly covering them over, in places frequented by these
+animals, who coming on this covering in the night, unavoidably
+fall in and are unable to get out again; here the
+slaves supply them with food, to whom they, in a short
+time, are so accustomed, and familiar, as to be led up to Goa
+perfectly tame. They have also a mode of hunting them
+with two tame females, whom they take into the forests, and
+coming near a wild elephant, they let them loose; these go
+up to the strange one on each side, press so closely against
+him as to force him their way, and render it impossible for
+him to escape. <i>Memoir es touchant les Indes Orientales. Voyages
+de P. Philippe, Thevenot, &amp;c.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The elephant, when once tamed, becomes
+the most tractable and submissive of all animals;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span>
+he conceives an affection for his leader,
+caresses him, and seems to foresee whatever
+can please him; in a little time he understands
+signs, and even the expression of sounds; he
+distinguishes the tones of command, anger, or
+approbation, and acts accordingly. He never
+mistakes the voice of his master; he receives
+his orders with attention, executes them with
+prudence and eagerness, but without precipitation,
+for his motions are always measured, and
+his character seems to participate of the gravity
+of his body. He is easily taught to bend his
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span>
+knees to assist those who ride on his back; he
+caresses his friends, salutes the persons he is
+directed to take notice of, lifts up burdens, and
+helps to load himself with his trunk; he has
+no aversion to being clothed, and seems to
+delight in a golden harness or magnificent
+trappings; he is easily put into traces, and
+often employed in drawing; he draws evenly,
+without slopping or any marks of dislike,
+provided he is not insulted by unseasonable correction,
+and that his driver seems to approve
+the spontaneous exertion of his strength. His
+conductor is mounted on his neck, and makes
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span>
+use of an iron rod, hooked at the end, with
+which he strikes him on the head, or sides, to
+make him turn, or increase his pace; but a
+word is commonly sufficient, especially, if the
+animal has bad time to make himself well acquainted
+with his conductor, and has a confidence
+in him. His attachment is sometimes
+so strong, and so lasting, and his affection so
+great, that he will refuse to serve a second
+person, and has been known to die of grief
+when in a fit of rage he has happened to destroy
+his keeper.</p>
+
+<p>The species of the elephant is numerous,
+though they bring forth but one in two or
+three years. In proportion to the shortness
+of the life of an animal is its multiplicity of
+production; and in the elephant the duration
+of its existence compensates for the smallness
+of its number; and if it be true that they live
+200 years, and propagate until they are 120,
+each couple may bring forth forty in that time.
+Besides, having nothing to fear from other
+animals, and being taken by men with great
+difficulty and danger, the species has not decreased,
+and is generally dispersed in all the
+southern parts of Africa and Asia. They are
+numerous at Ceylon, in the Mogul dominions,
+in Bengal, Siam, Pegu, and the other territories
+of India. They are perhaps, in a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span>
+greater number in the South of Africa, except
+some parts which they have abandoned,
+since they have been so fully inhabited by men.
+They are faithful to their country, and constant
+to their climate, for though they can live in
+temperate regions it does not seem that they
+ever attempted to settle, or even to travel
+into them. They were formerly unknown in
+Europe. It does not seem that Homer, who
+speaks of the ivory, knew the animal from
+whom it is obtained. Alexander was the first
+who rode upon an elephant in Europe. He
+sent into Greece those which he took at Porus,
+and were, perhaps, the same which Pyrrhus
+employed several years after against the Romans,
+in the Tarentine war, and with which
+Curius adorned his triumph into Rome. Hannibal
+afterwards brought them from Africa,
+made them pass the Alps, and led them almost
+to the gates of Rome.</p>
+
+<p>From time immemorial the Indians have
+made use of elephants in war. Among those
+nations, unacquainted with military discipline,
+they formed their best troop, and as long as
+battles were decided by iron weapons they
+commonly vanquished. Yet we learn by history
+that the Greeks and Romans soon used themselves
+to those monsters of war; they opened
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span>
+their ranks to let them go through; they did
+not attempt to wound them, but threw all
+their darts against their leaders, who were
+obliged to turn all their attention to the
+elephant, when separated from their troops.
+Now that fire is become the element of war, and
+the principal instrument of death, elephants,
+who are afraid of noise and flame, would be
+rather an incumbrance in battle, and more
+dangerous than useful. The kings of India
+still arm their elephants in war, but it is more
+for shew than for real service; yet they derive
+from these animals the same utility that arises
+from an army which is to enslave their equals;
+they make use of them to subdue the wild
+elephants. The most powerful monarchs of
+the Indies have now above 200 elephants for
+war. They keep many others for different
+services, and to carry the large cages in which
+their women travel; it is a perfectly safe way
+of travelling, for the elephant never stumbles;
+but time is required to be used to the motions
+of his pace. The best place is upon the neck,
+as you there ride more easy than on the shoulders
+or the back; but in war, or hunting, several
+men ride the same elephant: the conductor
+rides on his neck, and the hunters, or
+warriors, are placed on other parts of his body.</p>
+
+<p>In those happy regions, where our cannon
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span>
+and our murdering arts are yet scarcely known,
+they fight still upon elephants. At Cochin,
+and in the other parts of Malabar, they make
+no 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, ride on nothing but elephants; on
+festival days they are preceded and followed
+by a great number of these animals, superbly
+caparisoned, and covered with the richest
+stuffs. They surround their tusks with gold
+and silver rings; they paint their ears and
+cheeks; they crown them with garlands, and
+their harness is ornamented with little bells;
+they seem to delight in magnificent attire, and
+the more their trappings are rich and splendid
+the more they are cheerful and caressing. It
+is only in the East Indies that the elephants
+are so far improved, for in Africa they can
+scarcely tame them. The Asiatics, anciently
+civilized, have reduced the education of
+the elephant into a system, and they have instructed
+and modified him according to their
+manners. But of all the Africans the Carthaginians
+were the only people who trained up
+the elephants to war, because at the time of
+the splendor of their commonwealth they were,
+perhaps, more civilized than any other of the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span>
+eastern nations. At present no wild elephants
+are found in all that part of Africa on this
+side Mount Atlas; there are even few beyond
+those mountains, as far as the river Senegal.
+But they are numerous in Senegal, in Guinea,
+in Congo, and on the Teeth Coast, in the
+countries of Anto, Acra, Benin, and all the
+other southern parts of Africa, as far as the
+Cape of Good Hope, except some provinces
+very populous, such as Fida, Ardra, &amp;c.
+They are also found in Abyssinia, in Ethiopia,
+in Nigritia, on the eastern coast, and in the
+inland parts of Africa. They are also in the
+great islands of India and Africa, such as
+Madagascar, Java, and the Philippines.</p>
+
+<p>After comparing the relations of travellers
+and historians it seems that elephants are actually
+more numerous in Africa than in Asia;
+they are there also less mistrustful, and not so
+shy, as if they knew the unskilfulness and the
+little power of the men who inhabit this part
+of the world; they come daily without fear to
+their habitations, and treat the negroes with
+that natural and scornful indifference they
+have for other animals; they do not consider
+those men as powerful and formidable beings,
+but as a species whose skill consists in laying
+snares, without having the courage to encounter
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span>
+them, and absolutely ignorant of the art of reducing
+them into subjection. It is by this art
+known, from the earliest times, to the eastern
+nations, that their species is diminished. The
+wild elephants, which they tame, become by
+their captivity, like so many voluntary eunuchs,
+which daily drain the source of generation;
+but, on the contrary, in Africa, where
+they are all free, the whole species propagate,
+and all the individuals constantly concur to
+its increase. I do not know any other cause
+for this difference in their numbers, for, in
+considering the other effects, it seems the south
+of India, and the east of Africa, are the natural
+countries, and the most suitable to the elephant.
+He is there much larger and stronger
+than in Guinea, or in the other western parts
+of Africa. He fears excessive heat, and never
+inhabits the burning sands; he is most frequently
+found on the flat countries near the
+rivers, and never on the hilly parts of Africa;
+but in India the most powerful and the most
+courageous of the species, and who have the
+strongest and longest tusks, are the elephants
+of the mountains; they inhabit the high
+grounds, where the air being more temperate,
+the water more pure, and the food more
+wholesome, they gradually arrive to the full
+perfection of their nature.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In general the elephants of Asia are larger
+and superior in strength, to those of Africa;
+particularly those of Ceylon, which exceed in
+courage and sagacity even those of Asia. Probably
+they owe these qualifications to their
+more improved education; it is, however, certain,
+that all travellers have celebrated the elephants
+of this island, where the ground is interspersed
+with mountains, which rise gradually
+towards the centre, and where the heat is
+not so excessive as in Senegal, Guinea, and
+other western parts of Africa. The ancients,
+who knew no more of this part of the world,
+but the countries seated between Mount Atlas
+and the Mediterranean, had observed, that the
+elephants of Lybia were much smaller than
+those of India. There are not any elephants
+at this time, in that part of Africa, which
+proves, as mentioned in the article of the Lion,
+that men are more numerous there now than
+they were in the ages of Carthage. The elephants
+have retired in proportion as men have
+molested them; but in travelling through the
+climates of Africa, they have not changed their
+nature; for those of Senegal, Guinea, &amp;c. are
+at this time smaller than those of India.</p>
+
+<p>The strength of these animals is proportionate
+to their bigness. The elephants of India
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span>
+carry with ease burdens of three or four thousand
+pounds weight; the smallest, that is, those
+of Africa, lift up freely with their trunks, burdens
+of two hundredweight, and place them
+on their shoulders; they take into their trunks
+a great quantity of water, which they throw
+out around them, at seven or eight feet distance;
+they can carry a weight of a thousand pounds
+upon their tusks; with their trunks they break
+off branches, and with their tusks they root
+out trees. Their strength may be judged of
+by their agility, comparatively to the bulk of
+their bodies; they walk as fast as a horse goes
+on an easy trot; and they run as fast as a horse
+can gallop; which seldom happens in their
+wild state, except when they are provoked or
+frightened. The tame elephants are commonly
+walked; they travel easily, and without fatigue,
+fifteen or twenty leagues a day; and,
+when hurried, they can travel thirty-five or
+forty. Their steps are heard at a great distance,
+and they may be followed by their tracks,
+for the marks they leave on the ground are
+fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter.</p>
+
+<p>A domestic elephant does, perhaps, to his
+master more real service than five or six horses;
+but he requires much care and abundance of
+good food; it is computed that he consumes to
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span>
+the amount of an hundred pence per day. He is
+commonly fed with raw or boiled rice mixed
+with water; and it is reckoned he wants one
+hundred pounds of rice daily to be kept in his
+full vigour; they give him also grass to cool
+him, for he is often over-heated, and must be
+led to the water that he may bathe two or three
+times a day; he easily learns to wash himself;
+he takes the water up in his trunk, carries it to
+his mouth, drinks part, and then by elevating
+his trunk, lets the remainder flow over every
+part of his body. To give an idea of the services
+he is able to perform, it is sufficient to
+observe, that all the bags, bales, and parcels,
+which are transported from one place to another
+in the Indies, are carried by elephants;
+that they carry burdens on their bodies, their
+necks, their tusks, and even with their mouths,
+by giving them the end of a rope which they
+hold with their teeth.</p>
+
+<p>When the elephant is taken care of he lives
+a long time even in captivity; and it is to be
+presumed, that in a state of liberty his life is
+still longer. Some authors say he lives four
+or five hundred years; others, two or three
+hundred; and others, one hundred and twenty,
+thirty, and even one hundred and fifty years.
+I take this last opinion to be the nearest to the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span>
+truth; and if it is certain, that captive elephants
+live one hundred and twenty or thirty years;
+those who are free, and enjoy all the conveniences
+and rights of Nature, must live at least
+two hundred; besides, if their gestation lasts
+two years, and thirty years are required to
+bring them to their full growth, we may be
+assured that their life extends to the term we
+have mentioned. It is not so much the captivity,
+as the change of climate which shortens
+their existence: whatever care is taken of the
+elephant, he does not live long in temperate,
+and still shorter in cold climates. The elephant
+which the King of Portugal sent to Louis
+XIV. in 1668, and who was then but four
+years old, died in his seventeenth, 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 score pounds of
+bread, twelve pints of wine, two buckets of
+porridge, with four or five pounds of bread in
+it, the last was changed every other day for
+two buckets of rice boiled in water, without
+reckoning what was given him by visitors.
+He had, besides, every day a sheaf of corn to
+amuse himself; for, after eating the ears, he
+made large whisps of the straw, and used them
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span>
+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 pulled and eat the grass.
+The elephant who was lately at Naples, though
+the heat is greater than at Paris, lived there
+but a few years. Those which have been
+transported to Petersburg perished successively,
+notwithstanding they were well sheltered,
+covered, and warmed with stoves; consequently,
+we may conclude, that this animal
+cannot live in a state of nature, nor multiply
+in Europe. But I am surprised that the Portuguese,
+who first knew the use and value of
+these animals in the East Indies, did not transport
+them into the warm climate of Brasil,
+where they might have propagated, if left at
+liberty.</p>
+
+<p>The common colour of the elephant is of
+ash grey, or blackish. White ones, as we have
+observed, are extremely scarce: and some have
+been seen in the Indies of a reddish colour;
+these and the white are much esteemed; but
+these varieties are so scarce, that they cannot
+be considered as a race distinct from the species,
+but rather as accidental qualities peculiar
+to individuals; for otherwise, the countries of
+the white, red, and black elephants would be
+known, as well as the climates of white, red,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span>
+and black men, and those of a copper colour.
+&ldquo;Elephants of three different sorts are found
+in the Indies; (says Father Vincent Marie) the
+white, which are the largest, most gentle, and
+of the best temper, are worshipped as gods by
+several nations; the red, such as those of Ceylon,
+though the smallest, are the most valiant,
+the strongest, and best for war, and the other
+elephants, either from natural inclination, or
+perceiving in them something superior, shew
+them a great respect; the third species, is that
+of the black, which are the most common, and
+the least esteemed.&rdquo; This author is the only
+one who has intimated that Ceylon was the peculiar
+climate of red elephants; other travellers
+make no mention of such a fact. He also
+affirms, that the elephants of Ceylon are smaller
+than the others. Thevenot says the same
+thing in his voyage, but others assert the contrary.
+Father Vincent Marie also, is the only
+author who has said the white elephants are
+the largest. Father Tachard assures us on the
+contrary, that the white elephant of the king
+of Siam was rather small, though very old.
+After comparing the relations of travellers, in
+regard to the size of elephants in different
+countries, it seems, that the smallest are those
+of North and West Africa, and that the ancients,
+who only knew the northern part of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span>
+Africa, had some reason to say that, in general,
+the elephants of the Indies were much larger
+than those of Africa. But in the eastern parts
+of this quarter of the world, unknown to them,
+the elephants are at least as large as those of
+India; for those of Siam and Pegu excel in
+bulk the elephants of Ceylon; which, however,
+are the most courageous and intelligent, according
+to the unanimous opinion of travellers.</p>
+
+<p>Having thus collected the different facts relative
+to the species, let us now examine minutely
+the faculties of the individual; his
+senses, motion, size, strength, address, sagacity,
+and intelligence. The elephant has very small
+eyes, compared to the enormous size of his
+body, but they are bright and lively; and
+what distinguishes them from the eyes of all
+other animals, is their pathetic expression of
+sentiment, and an almost rational direction of
+all their motions. He turns them slowly and
+gently towards his master, and when he speaks,
+the animal has the appearance of listening to
+him with an eye of friendship and attention,
+and by an expressive glance seems to penetrate
+into his wishes, and anticipate his desires. He
+seems to reflect, to think, and to deliberate,
+and never acts till he has examined and observed
+several times, without passion or precipitation,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span>
+the signs of which he is to obey.
+Dogs, the eyes of which have much expression,
+are animals too lively to allow us to distinguish
+their successive sensations; but as the
+elephant is naturally grave and sedate, we
+may read in his eyes, whose motions are slow,
+the order and succession of his interior affections.</p>
+
+<p>He has a quick hearing, and this organ,
+like that of smelling, is outwardly 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 and moves them with such
+facility that he makes use of them to defend
+his eyes against the inconveniency of dust and
+flies. He delights in the sound of musical instruments,
+and moves in exact time to the
+sound of the trumpet and tabor. He has an
+exquisite sense of smelling, and he is passionately
+fond of perfumes of all sorts, and especially
+of fragrant flowers; he gathers them one
+by one, makes nosegays of them, which he
+smells with eagerness, and then carries to his
+mouth, as if he intended to taste them.
+Orange flowers are one of his most exquisite
+dainties; he strips with his trunk an orange
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span>
+tree of all its verdure, eating the fruit, the
+flowers, the leaves, and even the young
+branches. He chuses in meadows odoriferous
+plants, and in the woods he gives the preference
+to cocoa, palm, and sago trees, and as
+these trees are pithy and tender he not only
+cats the leaves and fruits but even the branches,
+the trunk, and the roots, for when he cannot
+break the branches with his trunk, he roots up
+the trees with his tusks.</p>
+
+<p>In regard to the sense of feeling, it centres in
+his trunk; but it is as delicate and as distinct
+in that as in the human hand. This trunk,
+composed of membranes, nerves, and muscles,
+is, at the same time, a member capable of motion,
+and an organ of sentiment. The animal
+can not only move and bend it, but he can
+shorten, lengthen, and turn it all ways. The
+extremity of the trunk is terminated by a protuberance,
+which projects on the upper part
+like a finger, by which the elephant does the
+same as we do with our fingers; he picks up
+from the ground the smallest pieces of money;
+he gathers herbs and flowers, chusing them
+one after another; he unties knots, opens and
+shuts doors, by turning the keys or slipping
+the bolts: he learns to draw regular characters
+with an instrument as small as a pen. We
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span>
+cannot even deny that this hand of the elephant
+has several advantages over ours: it is equally
+flexible and as dexterous in feeling or laying
+hold of objects. These operations are made
+by means of that sort of finger, seated at the
+superior part of the border, which surrounds
+the extremity of the trunk, in the middle of
+which there is a concavity, in the form of a
+cup, and at the bottom of it are the two apertures,
+which convey the sense of smelling and
+respiration. The elephant, consequently,
+unites in his trunk both the senses of feeling
+and smelling; and he may join the power of
+his lungs to the action of his hand, either
+drawing liquids by suction, or lifting up very
+heavy burdens, by applying the extremity of
+his trunk, and making within an empty place
+by respiration.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the delicacy of feeling, exquisiteness
+of smelling, facility of motion, and the power
+of suction, are united in the trunk of the elephant.
+Of all the instruments which Nature
+has so liberally bestowed on her favourite productions,
+the trunk of the elephant is, perhaps,
+the most complete and the most admirable; it
+is not only an organic instrument, but a triple
+sense, whose united functions are, at the same
+time, the cause, and produce the effect of that
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span>
+intelligence, and of those peculiar faculties
+which distinguish the elephant, and raise him
+above all other quadrupeds. He is less subject
+than other animals to errors of sight, because
+he rectifies them quickly by the sense of feeling;
+and making use of his trunk as a long
+arm to feel distant bodies, he acquires, like
+men, distinct ideas of distance. But other
+animals (except the monkey, and some others,
+who have the fore feet similar to arms and
+hands) cannot acquire the same ideas without
+running over that space with their bodies.
+Feeling is, of all the senses, that which has the
+most relation to knowledge. The delicacy of
+feeling gives the idea of the substance of the
+bodies; the flexibility of the trunk gives the
+idea of their exterior form; the power of suction,
+that of their weight; smelling, that of
+their qualities; and its length, that of their
+distance. They, therefore, with the same
+member, and by one simultaneous act, feel,
+perceive, and judge of divers things at once.
+His multiplied sensations are equivalent to reflection;
+and though this animal is, like others,
+incapable of thinking, as his sensations are
+combined in the same organ, are coeval and
+undivided, it is not surprising that he has
+ideas of his own, and that he acquires in a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span>
+little time those we inculcate to him. His remembrance
+should be more perfect than that
+of any other animal, for memory only depends
+chiefly on the circumstances of action; and
+no sensation, however lively, can leave a lasting
+impression, when single and abstractedly
+taken; but several combined sensations leave
+deep impressions, so that if the elephant cannot
+recall an idea by feeling alone, the sensations
+of smelling and suction, which act at the
+same time, help him in recalling them to remembrance.
+With us the best method to improve
+the memory is to make use successively
+of all our senses to consider an object; and it
+is for want of that combined use of the senses
+that man forgets more things than he can recollect.</p>
+
+<p>Although the elephant has a more retentive
+memory, and more intelligence than any other
+animal, his brain is proportionally smaller
+than most of them, which I only mention as a
+proof that the brain is not the seat of sentiment,
+the <i>sensorium commune</i>, which resides,
+on the contrary, in the nerves of the senses,
+and in the membranes of the head, which are
+so numerously distributed on the trunk of the
+elephant, as to be equal to all those on the rest
+of the body. It is, therefore, by virtue of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span>
+this singular combination of faculties in the
+trunk, that this animal is superior to all others
+in intelligence, notwithstanding his enormous
+size, and the disproportion of his form; for
+the elephant is, at the same time, a miracle
+of intelligence, and a monster of matter. His
+body is very thick, without any suppleness;
+his neck short and stiff, his head small and
+deformed, his ears and nose exceedingly large;
+his eyes, mouth, genital members, and tail,
+very small in proportion; his legs are like
+massive pillars, straight and stiff; his feet so
+short and small, that they are hardly perceptible,
+and his skin hard, thick, and callous;
+all these deformities are more remarkable,
+from being exhibited on a large scale, and
+most of them being peculiar to himself alone,
+no other animal having either the head, feet,
+nose, ears, or tusks, placed like those of the
+elephant.</p>
+
+<p>From this singular conformation he suffers
+several inconveniences; he can scarcely move
+his head, or turn back without making a circuit.
+The hunters who attack him behind,
+or on the flanks, avoid the effects of his vengeance
+by circular motions, and they have
+sufficient time to strike him again whilst he
+is turning against them. His legs, which are
+not so stiff as his neck and body, yet bend
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span>
+very slowly, and with difficulty; their articulation
+with the thighs is very strong. His
+knee is situated like that of a man, and his
+feet as low; but his foot has no strength nor
+elastic power, and the knee is hard, without
+suppleness; yet whilst the elephant is in his
+youth and vigour, he bends it to lay down, to
+let himself be loaded, or to help his leaders to
+mount him; but when he is old or infirm,
+this motion becomes so difficult that he sleeps
+standing; and, if he is compelled to lay down,
+the use of engines are necessary to raise him.
+His tusks, which become of an enormous
+weight when he grows old, not being seated
+in a vertical position, as the horns of other
+animals, form two long levers, and being in
+an almost horizontal direction, fatigue his head
+prodigiously, and draw it downwards, so that
+the animal is sometimes obliged to make holes
+in the wall of his lodge to support them, and
+ease himself of their weight. He has the disadvantage
+of having the organ of smelling far
+distant from that of tasting; and likewise the
+inconvenience of not being able to seize any
+thing on the ground with his mouth, because
+his neck is too short to let his head reach
+the earth; he is forced, therefore, to take
+his food, and even his drink with his nose;
+and to carry it not only to the entrance of his
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span>
+mouth, but to his very throat; and when his
+trunk is full of water, he thrusts the extremity
+of it to the very root of the tongue, probably
+to push back the epiglottis, and to prevent
+the liquor which passes through with impetuosity,
+from entering into the larynx; for
+he thrusts out the water by the strength of the
+same air which he had employed to suck it up,
+and it goes out of the trunk with noise, and
+enters into the throat with precipitation. Neither
+the tongue, the mouth, nor the lips, are of
+any service to him, as to other animals, in sucking
+or lapping their drink. From this description
+seems to result the singular consequence,
+that the young elephant must suck with his
+nose, and afterwards carry the milk to his throat.
+Yet the ancients have written that he sucks with
+the mouth, and not with the trunk; but they were
+not, probably, witnesses of the fact, and have
+founded their opinion on the analogy with all
+other animals. If the young elephant had once
+been used to suck with his mouth, how could
+he lose that habit the remainder of his life?
+Why does he never use the mouth to take water
+within his reach? Why does he constantly
+employ two actions, where one would be sufficient?
+Why does he never take any thing with
+his mouth, but what is thrown in when it is
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span>
+open? It appears probable, therefore, that the
+young elephant sucks with his trunk only.
+This presumption is not only proved by the
+subsequent facts, but is also founded on a better
+analogy than that which decided the opinion
+of the ancients. We have said, that animals in
+general, at the instant they are brought forth,
+can have no indication of the food they want,
+from any other sense but that of smelling: the
+ear is certainly of no use in that respect; neither
+is the eye, since the eyes of most animals
+are not open when they begin to suck: feeling
+can give but a vague idea of all the parts of the
+mother&rsquo;s body, or rather indicates nothing relative
+to the appetite. Smelling alone directs
+him: it is not only a sort of taste, but a species
+of fore-taste, which precedes, accompanies,
+and determines the other. The elephant, like
+other animals, perceives by this fore-taste the
+presence of his food; and as the seat of smelling
+is united with the power of suction at the
+extremity of his trunk, he applies it to the
+teats, sucks the milk, and conveys it afterwards
+to his mouth to satisfy his appetite. Besides,
+the two paps being seated on the breast, like
+those of women, and the teats being very small
+in proportion to the size of the mouth of the
+young elephant, who cannot bend his neck,
+he could not reach the teat of his mother with
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span>
+his mouth, unless she laid upon her back, or on
+her side, and even in that situation he would
+find it very difficult to suck her, on account
+of the largeness of the mouth, and the smallness
+of the nipples. The margin of the trunk,
+which the elephant contracts as much as he
+pleases, is easily proportioned to the nipple, and
+the young elephant may suck his mother with
+it, either when she stands, or lies on her side.
+Thus, every thing agrees to confute the opinion
+of the ancients on this subject, for none
+of them, nor even any of the moderns, pretend
+to have seen the elephant sucking, and I think,
+I may affirm, that whenever that observation
+is made, it will appear, that he does not suck
+with his mouth, but with his trunk. I likewise
+believe, that the ancients have been mistaken
+in telling us, that elephants couple like
+other quadrupeds, the position of the parts
+seeming to make it almost impossible. The
+female has not, like other quadrupeds, the orifice
+of the vagina near the anus, being near
+three feet distance from it, and seated almost
+in the middle of the belly. Besides, naturalists
+and travellers agree that the male elephant
+has not the genital member longer than a horse,
+and therefore it is impossible for them to copulate
+like other quadrupeds, and that the female
+must necessarily lie on her back, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span>
+which De Feynes and Tavernier positively
+affirm must be the fact, though I should not
+pay much attention to their testimony were it
+not in conformity with the physical conformation;
+they require, therefore, for this operation,
+more time and conveniences, than
+other animals; and it is, perhaps, for this reason
+they never couple, but when at full liberty.
+The female must not only consent, but even
+place herself in an indecent situation, to provoke
+the male, which probably, she never assumes
+but when she thinks herself without
+witnesses. Is not modesty then a physical
+virtue of which animals are susceptible? It is
+at least like softness, moderation, temperance,
+a general attribute of the female sex.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the elephant neither sucks, eats, or
+drinks, like other quadrupeds. The sound of
+his voice is also very singular. If we believe
+the ancients, he has, as it were, two voices: the
+one issuing from the trunk, which is rough, and
+from the length of the passage is somewhat
+like that of a trumpet; and the other coming
+from his mouth, which is interrupted by short
+pauses and hard sighs. This fact, advanced by
+Aristotle and afterwards repeated by naturalists
+and some travellers, is at least doubtful.
+M. de Bussy affirms positively, that the elephant
+does not utter any sounds through the trunk; yet
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span>
+as in shutting the mouth close, man can make
+a sound through the nose, it is possible that the
+elephant, with so long a nose may issue sounds
+in the same manner. From wherever it proceeds,
+the cry of the elephant is heard at more
+than a league&rsquo;s distance; and yet, it is not so
+terrifying as the roaring of the lion or the
+tiger.</p>
+
+<p>The elephant is yet more singular in the
+conformation of his feet, and the texture of
+his skin. He is not clothed with hair like
+other quadrupeds, but his skin is perfectly bare;
+some bristles issue out in different parts, they
+are thinly scattered on the body, but more thick
+on the eye-lids, on the back part of the head,
+within the ears, the thighs, and the legs. The
+epidermis has two sorts of wrinkles, which are
+hard and callous, some sinking, others prominent,
+which gives a divided appearance,
+like the bark of an old oak. In man, and in
+other animals, the epidermis sticks every where
+close to the skin, but 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 divers crusts, which are
+regenerated one above the other, drying up.
+It is this thickness of the epidermis which
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span>
+produces the <i>elephantiasis</i>, or dry leprosy,
+to which man, whose skin is bare like that of
+the elephant, is sometimes subject. This distemper
+is very common to elephants, and to
+prevent it the Indians rub them often with oil,
+to preserve the skin clean and supple. It is
+very tender wherever it is not callous; in the
+fissures, and other places, where it is neither
+dry nor hard, the elephant is so sensible 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, ears, and trunk, to strike them; he
+contracts his skin and squeezes them to death
+betwixt his wrinkles; he takes branches of
+trees, boughs, and handfuls of straw, to drive
+them away, and when all this does not answer
+the purpose, he gathers dust with his trunk,
+and covers with it all the tender parts of his
+body. He often covers himself with dust several
+times in a day, particularly after bathing.
+The use of water is almost as necessary to
+these animals as air. When at liberty they
+seldom leave the banks of rivers, but often go
+into them, and remain for hours together up to
+the belly. In India, where they are treated
+most suitable to their nature and constitution,
+they wash them with care, and give them all
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span>
+the necessary time and opportunity to wash
+themselves. They clean their skins by rubbing
+it with pumice-stones, and afterwards they
+pour on them perfumed oil, and paint them
+with various colours.</p>
+
+<p>The conformation of the elephant&rsquo;s feet and
+legs is also different from that of other animals;
+the fore legs seem to be higher than
+those behind, yet the hind legs are the longest;
+they are not bent in two places, like the hind
+legs of a horse, or an ox, the thigh-bones of
+which seem to be of the same piece with the
+buttock, the knee very near the belly, and
+the bones of the foot so high and so long that
+they seem to make a great part of the leg; in
+the elephant, on the contrary, the foot is very
+short, and rests on the ground; he has the
+knee like man, in the middle of the leg; his
+short foot is divided into five toes, which are
+all covered with a skin, so as not to appear
+outwardly; we are only able to perceive a
+kind of nails, the number of which varies,
+though that of the toes is constant, for he has
+always five toes to each foot, and commonly
+five nails, but sometimes he has no more than
+four, or even three, and in this case they do
+not correspond exactly with the extremities of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span>
+the toes. However, this variety, which has
+only been observed in young elephants transported
+to Europe, seems to be merely accidental,
+and depends, probably on the treatment
+the elephant has received in his youth.
+The sole of the feet is covered with a skin, as
+hard as the hoof, which projects all round;
+the nails are formed of the same substance.</p>
+
+<p>The ears of the elephant are very long; he
+makes use of them as a fan, and moves them
+as he pleases: his tail is not longer than his
+ears, being 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; these bristles are as big and
+as strong as wire, and a man cannot break them
+by pulling with his hands, though they are
+elastic and pliant. This tuft of hair is an
+ornament which the negro women are particularly
+partial to, from superstitious notions.
+An elephant&rsquo;s tail is sometimes sold for two or
+three slaves, and the negroes often hazard their
+lives to cut and snatch it from the living animal.
+Besides this tuft at the extremity, the tail
+is covered throughout with hard bristles, bigger
+than those of a wild boar; some are also
+found on the convex part of the trunk, and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span>
+on the eye-brows, where they sometimes are a
+foot in length. The hairs on the eye-lids are
+peculiar to men, monkeys, and elephants.</p>
+
+<p>The climate, food, and condition, have great
+influence on the growth and size of the elephant.
+In general those who are taken
+young, and early lose their liberty, never come
+to their full growth. The biggest elephants
+of India, and the eastern coasts 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 are brought young into
+Europe acquire not that height. That which
+was in the menagerie of 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, and as the growth gradually
+diminishes as animals advance in years, if he
+had lived thirty years, which is the ordinary
+term of their full growth, he would not have
+been more than eight feet high. Thus a
+domestic state reduces the growth of the animal
+at least one third, not only in height but
+in all other dimensions. The length of the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span>
+body, measured from the eye to the tail, is very
+near equal to his height; an elephant of the
+Indies, therefore, of fourteen feet high, is seven
+times bigger and heavier than was the elephant
+of Versailles. In comparing the growth of
+this animal with that of man we shall find,
+that an infant, being commonly thirty-one
+inches, that is half his height when he is two
+years old, and coming to his full growth at
+twenty, the elephant, who increases in height
+and bulk to his thirtieth year, should come
+to half his height in three years. In the same
+manner, if we judge of the enormity of the
+bulk of the elephant, it will be found, that
+the volume of a man&rsquo;s body being supposed to
+be two cubic feet and a half, the body of an
+elephant of fourteen feet in length, allowing
+him only three feet in thickness, and of a
+middling breadth, would be fifty times as big,
+and, consequently, an elephant ought to weigh
+as much as fifty men.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I have seen (says father Vincent Marie)
+some elephants who were fourteen or fifteen
+feet high, long and thick in proportion. The
+male is always larger than the female. The
+price of these animals increases in proportion
+to their size, which is measured from the eye
+to the extremity of the back, and after exceeding
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span>
+certain dimensions, the price increases like
+that of precious stones.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The elephants of Guinea (says Bosman)
+are ten, twelve, or thirteen feet in height, and
+yet they are incomparably smaller than those of
+the East Indies, since those who have written
+the history of that country, give to those more
+cubits in height, than the others have feet.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I have seen elephants thirteen feet high,
+(says Edward Terry) and I have met with
+many, who affirmed they have seen elephants
+fifteen feet high<a name="FNanchor_AG_33" id="FNanchor_AG_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_AG_33" class="fnanchor">[AG]</a>."</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_AG_33" id="Footnote_AG_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AG_33"><span class="label">[AG]</span></a> These authors probably referred to different measures,
+the first meaning Roman, the second Rhenish, and the last
+English feet.</p></div>
+
+<p>From these, and many other attestations, we
+may conclude, that the most common size of
+the elephant is from ten to eleven feet; that
+those of thirteen or fourteen feet are very scarce,
+and that the smallest are at least nine feet high
+when they come to their full growth in a state
+of liberty. These enormous lumps of matter,
+as we have observed, move with much celerity;
+they are supported by four members, which are
+more like pillars, or massive columns, than legs,
+and are from fifteen to eighteen inches in diameter,
+and five or six feet in height; their legs
+are therefore twice as long as those of a man;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span>
+thus, though the elephant took but one step to
+a man&rsquo;s two, he would overtake him in running.
+The common pace of the elephant is not
+swifter than that of the horse; but when he is
+pressed, he goes a sort of amble, equivalent for
+quickness to a gallop. He executes with speed,
+and even with ease, all direct motion; but he
+has no facility for oblique or retrograde motions.
+It is commonly in narrow and deep
+roads, where he can hardly turn, that the negroes
+attack him, and cut off his tail, which
+they value as much as the whole animal. He
+cannot go down a steep declivity without much
+difficulty, he is then obliged to bend the hind
+legs, in order to keep the fore part of his body
+on a level with the hind, and that his own
+weight may not throw him down. He swims
+well, though the form of his legs and feet seem
+to indicate the contrary; but as the capacity of
+his breast and belly is very large, as the volume
+of the lungs and intestines is enormous, and as
+those parts are full of air, or matter lighter than
+water, he sinks less deep than any other animal;
+he finds less resistance to overcome, and,
+consequently, can swim faster in making less
+efforts with his limbs. Thus, he is very
+useful for crossing rivers; besides two field-pieces,
+each of them four-pounders, with
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span>
+which he is loaded on these occasions, he carries
+heavy baggage, and several persons holding
+him by the ears and tail. When thus
+loaded, he swims deep in the water, and nothing
+is seen but his trunk, which he keeps
+erect to enable him to breathe.</p>
+
+<p>Though the elephant commonly feeds on
+herbs and young branches, and requires prodigious
+quantities of these aliments, to extract
+from them the nutrition necessary to such a
+body, yet he has not many stomachs, like most
+animals who feed on the same substances. He
+has but one stomach, does not ruminate, and
+is formed more like the horse than the ox, or
+other ruminating animals. The want of a
+paunch is supplied by the bigness and length
+of his intestines, and especially of the colon,
+which is two or three feet in diameter, and fifteen
+or twenty in length. The stomach is
+much smaller than the colon, being but four
+feet, at the most, in length, and a foot and a
+half in diameter. To fill such a capaciousness,
+the animal must eat almost continually,
+especially when he has no food more substantial
+than herbage; therefore the wild elephants
+are almost always employed in grubbing up
+trees, gathering herbs, or breaking young
+boughs; and those that are tame, though fed
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span>
+with great quantities of rice, pluck up herbs
+whenever they find an opportunity. However
+great the appetite of the elephant, he eats
+with moderation, and his taste for cleanliness
+gets the better of his wants. His dexterity in
+parting, with his trunk, the good leaves from
+the bad, and the care he takes to shake off the
+sand or insects, are convincing marks of his
+delicacy. He is very fond of wine, spirituous
+liquors, brandy, and arrack. He is prevailed
+upon to exert his greatest efforts, and to undertake
+the most arduous task, by shewing
+him a vessel full of these liquors, and promising
+it to him as the reward of his labours.
+He seems also to like the smoke of tobacco,
+but it stupifies and intoxicates him: he has a
+natural aversion to bad smells, and such an
+antipathy for hogs, that the cry of that animal
+disorders and puts him to flight.</p>
+
+<p>To give a complete idea of the nature and
+intelligence of this singular animal, I shall insert
+here some particulars communicated to
+me by the Marquis de Montmirail, President
+of the Royal Academy of Sciences, who has
+taken the trouble to translate from some Italian
+and German books, which were not known to
+me, whatever relates to the history of the animal
+creation. His taste for arts and sciences,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span>
+his zeal for the advancement of them, his exquisite
+judgment, and a very extensive knowledge
+of all the parts of Natural History, entitle
+him to the greatest respect, and it is with
+pleasure and gratitude I refer to the information
+he has given me, and which I shall have
+frequent occasion to refer to in the subsequent
+part of this work:&mdash;"They make use of the
+elephant to carry artillery over mountains;
+and it is then that he gives the greatest proofs
+of his intelligence: when the oxen, yoked together,
+endeavour to draw a piece of artillery up
+a mountain, the elephant pushes the breech of
+the cannon with his forehead, and at every
+effort he supports the carriage with his knee,
+which he places against the wheel. He seems
+as if he understood what is 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 shews any repugnance to comply,
+the <i>cornack</i>, so his leader is called, promises
+to give him arrack, or some other thing
+that he likes; then the animal agrees to every
+thing proposed; but it is dangerous to break a
+promise with him, as many cornacks have
+fallen victims by such conduct. An instance of
+this happened at Dekan, which deserves to be
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span>
+recorded; and which, however incredible it
+may appear, is perfectly true. An elephant,
+in revenge, killed his cornack; the man&rsquo;s wife
+being witness of this dreadful catastrophe,
+took her two children and threw them to the
+feet of the still enraged animal, saying, <i>Since
+thou hast killed my husband, take also my life
+and that of my children</i>. The elephant stopped
+short, grew calm, and, as if moved with regret
+and compassion, took with his trunk the biggest
+of the two children, placed him on his neck,
+adopted him for his cornack, and would never
+suffer any other to mount him afterwards.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;If the elephant be vindictive he is no less
+grateful. A soldier at Pondicherry, who commonly
+gave one of these animals a certain
+measure of arrack every time he received his
+pay, having one day drank more than common,
+and seeing himself pursued by the guard, who
+wanted to conduct him to prison, took refuge
+under the elephant, and there fell asleep. In
+vain did the guard attempt to draw him out
+from this asylum, the elephant firmly defending
+him with his trunk. The next day,
+when the soldier became sober, he was struck
+with terror to find himself under an animal of
+such enormous bulk. The elephant, who no
+doubt perceived his consternation, caressed
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span>
+him with his trunk, and made him understand
+that he might depart freely.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The elephant sometimes falls into a sort of
+phrenzy, which deprives him of his tractability,
+and makes him so formidable that it is frequently
+thought necessary to kill him, though
+they generally tie him with heavy chains, in
+hopes that he will come to himself; but when
+in his natural state the most acute pains cannot
+provoke him to do any harm to those who have
+not offended him. An elephant, made furious
+by the wounds he had received in the battle of
+Hambour, ran about the field crying out in the
+most hideous manner. A soldier, notwithstanding
+the warning of his companions, was unable
+to fly, perhaps from being wounded; the elephant
+coming up to him appeared afraid of
+trampling him under his feet, took him up with
+his trunk, placed him gently on one side, and
+continued his march.&rdquo; These particulars were
+given to the Marquis Montmirail by M. de
+Bussy, who lived ten years in India, and served
+the state with reputation. He had several elephants
+in his service; he mounted them often,
+saw them every day, and had frequent opportunities
+of observing many others.</p>
+
+<p>The gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences
+have also communicated to us the following
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span>
+facts, which they learned from those who governed
+the elephant at Versailles, and which
+deserve to be mentioned here. &ldquo;The elephant
+seemed to discern when any body made a fool
+of him, and he remembered the affront to be
+revenged the first opportunity. A man deceived
+him by feigning to throw something
+into his mouth, upon which the animal gave
+him such a blow with his trunk as broke two
+of his ribs; having knocked him down, he
+trampled him under his feet, and broke one of
+his legs, and then kneeling down, he tried to
+thrust his tusks into the man&rsquo;s belly, which,
+however, went into the ground on both sides of
+his thigh, without hurting him. He bruised
+another man, by squeezing him against the
+wall, for a little mockery. A painter was
+desirous to draw him in an unusual attitude,
+with his trunk erect and his mouth open; the
+servant of the painter, to make him remain in
+that attitude, threw fruits into his mouth, but
+often deceived him, which provoked his indignation,
+and, as if he knew the painter was
+the cause of his being thus insulted, without
+taking any notice of the servant, he threw such
+a quantity of water with his trunk upon the
+paper, the master was drawing on, as totally
+to spoil the design. The elephant made less
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span>
+use of his strength than of his address, which
+was such that he untied with great facility a
+double leather string which fastened his leg,
+and as this buckle had a small string twisted
+around it with several knots, he untied them
+all without breaking either the strings or the
+strap. One night, having thus disentangled
+himself from his leather strings, he dexterously
+broke open the door of his lodge, so that his
+keeper was not awakened by the noise; he
+went from thence into several courts of the
+menagerie, breaking open the doors that were
+shut, and pulling down the stone work when
+the passage was too narrow for him to pass;
+by this means he got into the lodges of other
+animals, terrifying them to that degree, that
+they hid themselves in the remotest parts of
+the inclosures.&rdquo; In fine, to omit nothing that
+may contribute to make all the natural and
+acquired faculties of this animal so superior to
+all others, perfectly known, we shall add some
+facts, extracted from the most credible authors.
+&ldquo;The elephant, even when wild (says
+Father Vincent Marie), has his virtues. He
+is generous and temperate; and when tamed
+he is esteemed for gentleness and fidelity to his
+master, and friendship for his governors. If
+destined to the immediate services of princes
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span>
+he knows his fortune, and preserves a gravity
+agreeable to the dignity of his employ. If, on
+the contrary, he is employed in mean labours,
+he evidently grieves and laments his being
+thus debased. In war he is impetuous and
+proud at the first onset; he is equally so when
+surrounded by hunters, but he loses courage
+when he is conquered. He fights with his
+tusks, and fears nothing so much as losing his
+trunk, which, by its consistence, is easily cut
+off. He is naturally mild, never attacks any
+person, unless he has been offended; he seems
+to delight in company, is particularly fond of
+children, caresses them, and seems to be sensible
+that they are harmless and innocent.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The elephant, (says F. Pyrard) is an animal
+of so much judgment and knowledge, that
+one should think him endowed with rational
+faculties; besides being of infinite service to
+man. If wanted to be ridden, he is so supple,
+and obedient, that he conforms to the conveniency
+and quality of the person he serves:
+he bends his knees, and helps his leader to
+mount him with his trunk. He is so tractable,
+that he does whatever he is required, provided
+he is treated with gentleness. He performs all
+that he is commanded, and caresses those whom
+he is directed to use with civility.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;By giving the elephants, (says the Dutch
+travellers) whatever can please them, they are
+as easily tamed and rendered as submissive as
+men. It may be said they want no other faculty,
+but that of speech. They are proud
+and ambitious, but they remember good offices,
+and are so grateful for them, that they never
+fail to incline their head as a mark of respect,
+when they pass before a house where they have
+been well used. They may be conducted at
+the command of a child, but they love to be
+praised and cherished. No person can affront,
+or injure them without their notice; and those
+who have treated them with disrespect, may
+think themselves happy if they escape without
+being sprinkled with the water from their
+trunks, or thrown into the dirt.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;The elephants, (says Father Philip) come
+very near the human species in judgment and
+reasoning. Monkeys are stupid brute animals
+compared to them. The elephants are so
+modest, that they cannot bear being seen when
+they couple; and if by chance, any person
+were to see this operation they would infallibly
+be revenged of them. They salute by bending
+the knees, and inclining their head; and when
+their master shews his intention to mount them,
+they so dexterously present to him their foot,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span>
+that he may use it as a step. When a wild
+elephant is taken, and his feet are tied, one of
+the hunters comes near, salutes, makes an
+apology for having tied him, and protests that
+his intention is not to do him any harm; tells
+him that in his savage state he often wanted
+food, but now he will be treated with tenderness,
+and which he promises to do constantly.
+The hunter has no sooner finished this soothing
+discourse, than the elephant follows him as
+gently as a lamb. We must not, however,
+conclude from this, that the elephant understands
+languages, but only having a particular
+discerning faculty, he knows the motions of
+esteem from contempt, friendship from hatred,
+and all other sentiments of man towards him,
+for which cause he is more easily tamed by
+reasoning than by blows. He throws stones to
+a great distance, and very straight with his
+trunk; which he also makes use of to pour water
+over his body when bathing.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Of five elephants, (says Tavernier) which
+the hunters had taken, three escaped, although
+their bodies and legs were fastened with chains
+and ropes. These men told us the following
+surprising circumstance, if it can be believed,
+that when an elephant has been caught, and
+escaped the snare, he becomes very mistrustful
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span>
+and breaks off a large branch with his trunk,
+with which he sounds the ground before he puts
+his foot upon it, to discover if there are any holes,
+by which he may be caught a second time; for
+this reason the hunters, who related this singularity,
+despaired of catching again the three
+elephants who had escaped. The other two
+which they had caught, was each of them
+placed betwixt two tame elephants, and around
+them were six men, holding torches, who
+spoke to the animals, and presented them something
+to eat, saying, in their language, &lsquo;take
+this and eat it.&rsquo; What they gave them consisted
+of small bundles of hay, bits of black
+sugar, and rice boiled in water, with pepper.
+When the wild elephant refused to do what he
+was ordered, the men commanded the tame
+elephants to beat him, which they did immediately;
+one striking his forehead, and when
+he seemed to aim at a revenge, the other struck
+him on the side, so that the poor creature
+soon perceived he had nothing to do, but to
+obey.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;I have several times observed, (says Edward
+Terry) that the elephant does many
+things which seemed to be more the result of
+a rational than an instinctive faculty. He
+does whatever his master commands him.
+If he wishes him to frighten any body, he
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span>
+advances towards him with the same fury
+as if he would tear him to pieces, and when
+near he stops short, without doing him any
+harm. If the master is inclined to affront
+another, he speaks to the elephant, who takes
+up dirty water with his trunk, and throws
+it over the person pointed out to him. His
+trunk is made of a cartilage, hangs betwixt
+his tusks, and by some called his hand, because
+on many occasions it is as serviceable
+to him as the hand is to men. The Mogul
+keeps elephants for the execution of criminals
+condemned to death. If their leader bids
+them dispatch the wretched creatures quickly,
+they tear them to pieces in a moment
+with their feet; but if commanded to make
+the criminals languish, they break their bones
+one after another, and make them suffer torments
+as cruel as those of the wheel.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>We might quote several other facts equally
+curious and interesting, but we should exceed
+the limits of this work; we should not have
+even entered into so many particulars, if the
+elephant (<a href="#FIG_133"><i>fig. 133</i></a>) were not, of all animals, the
+first in every respect, and that which consequently
+deserves most attention.</p>
+
+<p>We have said nothing respecting the production
+of his ivory because M. Daubenton has
+made several useful observations upon the nature
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span>
+and quality of it, but he has at the same
+time assigned to the elephant the tusks, and
+prodigious bones attributed to the mammoth.
+I confess I was long doubtful on this subject;
+I had several times considered those enormous
+bones, and compared them with the skeleton
+of an almost adult elephant preserved in the
+king&rsquo;s cabinet, and before writing the history
+of those animals, I could not persuade
+myself that elephants six or seven times bigger
+than the one whose skeleton I had seen,
+could exist; more especially, as the large bones
+had not the same proportions with the corresponding
+ones of the elephant, I thought with
+the generality of naturalists that these enormous
+bones had belonged to an animal much
+larger, whose species was lost or annihilated.
+But it is certain, as we have mentioned before,
+that some elephants exist who are fourteen feet
+high, that is, six or seven times bigger (for
+the bulk is in proportion to the cube in
+height) than the elephant, of whose skeleton
+we have spoken, and which was not
+more than seven feet and a half in height.
+It is also certain, for the observations of
+M. Daubenton, that age changes the proportion
+of the bones and when the animal
+is adult, they grow considerably thicker,
+though they are come to their full height: in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span>
+fine, it is certain, from the relations of travellers,
+that of some elephants, the tusks
+weigh more than 120lbs.<a name="FNanchor_AH_34" id="FNanchor_AH_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_AH_34" class="fnanchor">[AH]</a> From these observations,
+we cannot doubt that those tusks
+and bones we have already noticed for their
+prodigious size, actually belonged to the
+elephant. Sir Hans Sloane was of that opinion,
+but he did not prove it. M. Gmelin
+said it still more affirmatively, and gave on this
+subject several curious facts<a name="FNanchor_AI_35" id="FNanchor_AI_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_AI_35" class="fnanchor">[AI]</a>; but M. Daubenton
+is the first who has proved them unquestionably
+by exact measures and comparisons,
+and reasons founded on the great knowledge
+that he has acquired in the Science of
+Anatomy.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_AH_34" id="Footnote_AH_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AH_34"><span class="label">[AH]</span></a> Mr. Eden says, that several elephant&rsquo;s tusks which he
+measured, were no less than nine feet long, and as big as a
+man&rsquo;s thigh in circumference, some of them weighing more
+than nine pounds; and that he saw a head in the possession
+of a Mr. Jude, which had been brought from Guinea by
+some English ships, of which the mere bones, without the
+tusks, weighed upwards of 200lbs. and it was supposed that
+when the head was entire it could not weigh less than 500lbs.
+Lopes affirms he met with several tusks that weighed 200lbs.
+<i>Hist. Gen. des Voyages.</i> This magnitude of the tusks is also
+confirmed by Drake, Holbe, and the Dutch travellers.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_AI_35" id="Footnote_AI_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AI_35"><span class="label">[AI]</span></a> The Czar, Peter, being curious in Natural History, issued
+orders in the year 1722, that wherever any bones of the
+mammoth should be found, search should be made after the
+remainder, and the whole of them sent to Petersburg,
+and which orders were made public in all the towns of Siberia.
+In consequence of this several persons applied to the Woywode
+of Jakutzk to be sent off to two different places, where
+they affirmed they had seen these bones; their demands
+were complied with, and many of them returned with heads
+and various bones, which were transmitted to Petersburg,
+and placed in the imperial cabinet; but it will be found
+upon examination that all the bones placed there, under the
+denomination of the Mammoth bones, are perfectly similar
+with the elephant&rsquo;s. And as to their being found under
+the earth and in Siberia, it may fairly be presumed that
+in the great revolutions which have happened to the earth,
+a great number of elephants might be driven from their native
+climates; many have been destroyed by the inundations,
+and those who wandered so far into the North must necessarily
+have perished from the rigours of the climate. <i>Voyage
+a Kamtschatka par M. Gmelin.</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span></p></div>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>THE female elephant, as in all other animals,
+is more gentle than the male, at least
+we found it so, for the male which we saw in
+1771, was more fierce and untractable than a
+female we witnessed in 1773; he would frequently
+lay hold of, and tear the clothes of
+those who approached too near him, and even
+his keepers were always obliged to be on their
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span>
+guard, while she was perfectly quiet, and
+always ready to obey, nor ever shewed a disposition
+to be perverse but when they wanted
+to put her into a covered waggon for the purpose
+of conveying her from one town to another;
+upon which occasion she would refuse to go
+forward, and they had no means of making her
+advance but by pricking her behind; this
+would make her very angry, and being unable
+to turn, the only way she had of revenge was
+to take up water in her trunk and throw it
+over them, and which she would do in pretty
+large quantities.</p>
+
+<p>I formerly remarked, there was a probability,
+from the situation of the sexual organs, that
+these animals did not copulate in the same manner
+as other quadrupeds, but this conjecture I
+understand is not warranted in fact, for M.
+Marcel Bles thus expresses himself upon the
+subject: &ldquo;The comte de Buffon, in his excellent
+work, is deceived in respect to the
+copulation of the elephants. In many parts of
+Asia and Africa they certainly, during their
+season of love, retire into the most secret
+recesses of the forests; but in the island of
+Ceylon which is almost in every part inhabited,
+and where I have lived twelve years, they have
+not that opportunity of concealing themselves.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span>
+I have frequently examined them, and from the
+female organ being nearly in the middle of the
+belly there is some reason to conclude as M. de
+Buffon has done; however, when inclined to
+admit the male, I have seen the female bend her
+two fore legs upon the root of a tree, lowering,
+at the same time, her head and neck, and keeping
+her hind legs erect, which gave the male an
+opportunity of acting in the same manner as
+other quadrupeds. They never copulate but
+in a state of freedom. The males are very furious
+in the rutting season, and it is very dangerous
+to go near them; during which the
+females will sometimes make their escape, and
+seek the wild males in the woods. A few days
+after her cornack goes into the woods in search
+of her, and she will come to him upon hearing
+him call her by name, and quietly suffer herself
+to be led home again. It was from these excursions
+discovered that the females bring forth
+at the end of nine months.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>I certainly am ready to give full credit to
+the first remark of M. Marcel Bless, because he
+assures us that he has seen the elephant perform
+the operation; but I cannot think we ought so
+perfectly to acquiesce as to the time of their
+going with young, since it is the opinion of all
+travellers that they do not bring forth in a less
+period than two years.</p>
+
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="caption2"><a name="THE_RHINOCEROS" id="THE_RHINOCEROS">THE RHINOCEROS.</a></p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<p>AFTER the elephant the Rhinoceros
+(<a href="#FIG_124"><i>fig. 124</i></a>) is the most powerful of 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 nearly equal to his length. In bulk,
+therefore, he nearly resembles the elephant, and
+if he appears smaller, it is because his legs are
+shorter in proportion than those of the elephant.
+But he differs widely from that sagacious animal
+by his natural faculties and intelligence,
+having received from Nature merely what she
+grants in common to all animals. He is deprived
+of all feeling in his skin; he has no organ
+to answer the purpose of hands, to give
+him a distinct sense of touching; instead of a
+trunk he has only a moveable lip, in which
+centres all his dexterity. He is superior to other
+animals only in strength, magnitude, and the
+offensive weapon, which he carries upon his
+nose, and which is peculiar to him. This
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span>
+weapon is a very hard horn, solid throughout,
+and placed more advantageously than the horn
+of ruminating animals; those only protect the
+superior parts of the head and neck, whilst the
+horn of the rhinoceros defends all the exterior
+parts of the muzzle, the mouth, and the face,
+from insult. For this reason the tiger attacks
+more readily the elephant, whose trunk he can
+seize, than the rhinoceros, which he cannot
+attack in front without running the danger of
+having his inside torn out; for the body and
+limbs are covered with so impenetrable a skin
+that he fears neither the claws of the tiger nor
+lion, nor the fire and weapons of the huntsman.
+His skin is blackish, of the same colour,
+but thicker and harder than that of the
+elephant; nor does he feel the sting of flies.
+He cannot contract nor extend his skin; it is
+folded by large wrinkles on the neck, shoulders,
+and rump to facilitate the motion of his head
+and legs, which last are massive, and terminated
+by large feet, armed with three great
+toes. His head is larger in proportion than
+that of the elephant, but his eyes are still
+smaller, which he seldom opens entirely. The
+upper jaw projects above the lower, and the
+upper lip is moveable, and may be lengthened
+six or seven inches; it is terminated by a sharp
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span>
+edge, which gives the animal the power to gather
+grass and divide it into handfuls, as the
+elephant does with his trunk. This muscular
+and flexible lip is a sort of imperfect trunk
+which is equally capable of seizing with force,
+and feeling with delicacy. Instead of those
+long ivory tusks, which form the weapons of
+the elephant, the rhinoceros has a powerful
+horn, and two strong incisive teeth in each
+jaw: these teeth, which the elephant has not,
+are placed at a great distance, one in each
+corner or angle of the jaws; the under jaw is
+square before, and there are no other incisive
+teeth in all the interior part, which is covered
+by the lips; but, independently of these four
+incisive teeth, placed in the four corners of
+the mouth, he has twenty-four smaller teeth,
+six on each side of each jaw. His ears are always
+erect; they are in form like those of the
+hog, only they are smaller in proportion to
+his body, and they are the only hairy parts
+about him. The end of the tail, like that of
+the elephant, is furnished with a tuft of large
+bristles, very hard and very solid.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Parsons, a celebrated physician in London,
+to whom the republic of letters is indebted
+for several discoveries in Natural History, and
+to whom I am under obligations for the marks
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span>
+of esteem and friendship he has honoured me
+with, published in 1744, a Natural History of
+the Rhinoceros, of which I shall give an extract
+with more willingness, because whatever Mr.
+Parsons has written deserves credit and attention.</p>
+
+<p>&ldquo;Though the rhinoceros was often seen at
+the spectacles at Rome, from the time of Pompey
+to that of Heliogabalus, though many have
+been transported into Europe in these last ages,
+and though Bontius, Chardin, and Kolbe, have
+drawn this figure, both in the Indies and Africa,
+yet he was so badly represented, and his description
+was so incorrect, that he was known
+very imperfectly, until those which arrived in
+London in 1739 and 1741, were inspected,
+when the errors or caprices of those who had
+published figures of him became very visible.
+That of Albert Durer, which was the first, is
+the least conformable to Nature; it has, nevertheless,
+been copied by most naturalists;
+and some of them have loaded it with false
+drapery, and foreign ornaments. That of
+Bontius is more simple and more true; but
+the inferior part of the legs is badly delineated.
+On the contrary, that of Chardin represents
+naturally the foldings of the skin and feet,
+but in other respects does not resemble the animal.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span>
+That of Camerarius is not better; nor
+is that drawn from the rhinoceros which was
+in London in 1685, and which was published
+by Carwitham in 1739. Those which were
+engraved on the ancient pavement of Præneste,
+or on the medals of Domitian, are very imperfect;
+but they have not the imaginary ornaments
+given to that of Albert Durer.&rdquo; Dr.
+Parsons has taken the trouble to draw this
+animal himself in three different views, before,
+behind, and in profile; and particular parts
+from other rhinoceroses which are preserved
+in the cabinets of Natural History.</p>
+
+<p>The rhinoceros which arrived in London in
+1739, was sent from Bengal: though not more
+than two years old, the expences of his food,
+and of 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 portions:
+he had also hay and green herbage, to the last
+of which he gave the preference. His drink
+was water, of which he drank great quantities
+at a time. He was of a quiet disposition, and
+suffered all parts of his body to be felt. He
+grew unruly upon being struck, or when he was
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span>
+hungry; and in both cases he could only be
+appeased by giving him something to eat.
+When he was angry he leaped forwards with
+impetuosity, and raised himself to a great
+height, and rushed furiously against the walls
+with his head, and which he did with a prodigious
+quickness, notwithstanding his heavy
+appearance and massive corpulence. &ldquo;I have
+often been witness (says Dr. Parsons) of those
+motions produced by impatience or anger, especially
+in the morning before his rice and
+sugar were brought him. The quickness and
+celerity of the motions of this animal made me
+of opinion that he is absolutely unconquerable,
+and that he would easily overtake any man
+who should have given him offence.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<p>This rhinoceros, when two years old, was
+not higher than a young cow who had never
+had any young; but his body was very long and
+very thick. His head was large in proportion
+to his body; taking it from the ears to the
+horn of the nose, it formed a concavity, the
+extremities of which, that is, the upper end of
+the snout, and the part near the ears are very
+high. The horn, not then an inch long, was
+black, smooth at the end, but wrinkled and directed
+backwards at the base. His nostrils
+were not above an inch from the mouth; the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span>
+under lip was like that of a ox, but the upper
+resembled that of an horse, with this difference
+and advantage, that the rhinoceros can lengthen,
+direct, turn it round a stick, and seize with it
+those objects which he wants to carry to his
+mouth. The tongue of this young rhinoceros
+was soft like that of a calf; his eyes had no vivacity,
+they were formed like those of a hog,
+and were placed very low, that is, near the
+opening of the nostrils. His ears were large,
+thin towards the end, and bound up with a sort
+of wrinkle at the origin. His neck was very
+short, the skin forming on this part two large
+foldings which surround him. His shoulders
+were very thick, and at their juncture there was
+another fold of skin which comes under the
+fore legs. The body of this young rhinoceros
+was very thick, and resembled that of a cow
+ready to bring forth. There was another fold
+betwixt the body and the rump, which descends
+under the hind legs; and lastly, there was another
+fold which transversally surrounds the lower
+part of the crupper, at some distance from the
+tail. The belly was very big, and hung down
+to the ground, especially the middle part; the
+legs were round, thick, strong, and bent backward
+at the joint, which was covered by a remarkable
+fold of the skin when the animal laid
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span>
+down, but it disappeared when he was standing.
+The tail was thin and short, compared to the
+volume of the body; that of this rhinoceros
+was not above seventeen inches in length; it
+is a little thicker at the extremity, which is covered
+with hard, short and thick hair. The
+sexual organ of the rhinoceros is of an extraordinary
+form; it is contained in a sort of
+case, like that of a horse, and the first thing
+which appears when irritated is a second prepuce
+of flesh colour, from which issues a
+hollow pipe, in form of a funnel, like a fleur
+de luce. It not being in a straight direction,
+but rather inclining backward, he emits his
+urine behind, and from which it appears their
+copulation must be different from other animals.
+The female has the exterior parts
+of generation situated like those of the cow,
+and she resembles perfectly the male in the
+size and form of the body. The skin is
+thick and impenetrable; in taking the folds
+with the hand, it feels like a wooden plank
+half an inch thick. &ldquo;When it is tanned
+(says Dr. Grew) it is excessively hard,
+and thicker than the skin of any other terrestrial
+animal.&rdquo; It is every where more or
+less covered with incrustations, in the shape
+of galls, which are small on the summit of the
+neck and back, but becomes bigger down the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span>
+sides; the largest are on the shoulders and
+crupper, the thighs, and around the legs, down
+to the feet; but betwixt the folds the skin is
+penetrable, and even tender, and as soft as
+silk, while the outward part of the folds is as
+rough as the rest. This tender skin between
+the folds is of flesh colour, and the skin of the
+belly is nearly of the same colour and consistence;
+but those galls, or tuberosities, should
+not, as some authors have done, be compared
+to scales, as they are mere callosities of the
+skin, irregular in their figure and symmetry in
+their respective positions. The suppleness of
+the skin in the folds gives the rhinoceros the
+power of moving his head, neck, and limbs,
+with facility. The whole body, except at the
+joints, is inflexible, like a cuirass. Dr. Parsons
+says, that this animal hearkened with a
+sort of continual attention to any kind of noise;
+so that if he was even sleeping, eating, or satisfying
+other urgent wants, he instantly raised
+up his head, and listened till the noise had
+ceased.</p>
+
+<p>In fine, after giving this exact description of
+the rhinoceros, Dr. Parsons examines whether
+the rhinoceros with a double horn exists, and
+having compared the relations of ancients and
+moderns, and the remains of this variety,
+found in the collections of natural objects, he
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span>
+concludes, with some probability, that the
+rhinoceroses of Asia have commonly but one
+horn, and those of Africa, generally two.</p>
+
+<p>It is certain that some rhinoceroses have
+but one horn, and others have two; but it is
+not equally certain that this variety is constant,
+and depends on the climate of Africa or India,
+or that two distinct species may be established
+from these differences. It seems that the rhinoceroses
+with one horn have it bigger and
+longer than those who have two. 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 base. Some
+double horns are but two feet in length.</p>
+
+<p>Commonly these horns are brown, or olive
+colour, though some are grey, and even white.
+They have only a small concavity, in form of
+a cup, under their base, by which they are
+fastened to the skin of the nose; the remaining
+part of the horn is solid, and very hard. It is
+with this weapon that the rhinoceros is said to
+attack, and sometimes mortally wound, the
+biggest elephants, whose long legs give the
+rhinoceros an opportunity of striking them
+with his snout and horn under their bellies,
+where the skin is tender, and penetrable; but
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span>
+if he misses the first blow the elephant throws
+him on the ground and kills him.</p>
+
+<p>The horn of the rhinoceros is more valued
+by the Indians than the ivory of the elephant,
+not so much on account of its real use, though
+they make several things of it with the chisel,
+but for divers specific virtues, and medicinal
+properties, which they ascribe to it. The
+white, from being the most rare, are also those
+which they value most. Among the presents
+which the king of Siam sent to Louis XIV.
+in 1686, were six horns of the rhinoceros.
+We have seen in the king&rsquo;s cabinet twelve of
+different sizes, and one of them, though
+mutilated, is three feet eight inches and a half
+in length.</p>
+
+<p>The rhinoceros, without being ferocious,
+carnivorous, or even very wild, is, nevertheless,
+untractable. He is of the nature of a hog,
+blunt and brutal, without intellects, sentiment,
+or docility. He is subject to fits of fury, that
+nothing can calm; for the rhinoceros, which
+Emanuel, king of Portugal, sent to the Pope
+in 1513, was the cause of the ship being destroyed
+in which he was transporting; and that
+which we saw at Paris was drowned in the
+same manner, in going over to Italy. These
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span>
+animals, also like the hog, are 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, Mogul, Sumatra, Java,
+in Abyssinia, in Ethiopia, in the country of the
+Anzicos, and as far as the Cape of Good
+Hope. But in general the species is not so
+numerous, or so universally spread, as that of
+the elephant. The female brings forth but
+one young, and that at a great distance of
+time. In the first month the rhinoceros is
+not much bigger than a large dog; he has no
+horn when first brought forth, although the
+rudiment of it is seen in the f&oelig;tus. When
+he is two years old his horn is not above an
+inch long; and in his sixth year it is about
+ten inches; and as some of these horns are
+very near four feet long, it appears that they
+grow till the half, or, perhaps, during the
+whole life of the animal, which must be long,
+since the rhinoceros, described by Dr. Parsons,
+was not come to half his growth at two years
+old, which makes it probable that this animal,
+like man, lives to seventy or eighty years.</p>
+
+<p>Without the capacity of being useful like
+the elephant, the rhinoceros is equally hurtful
+from the prodigious devastation which he
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span>
+makes in the fields. He has no one advantageous
+quality while alive. His flesh is excellent,
+according to the taste of the Indians
+and Negroes: Kolbe says, he has often eaten
+it with 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, urine, and excrements,
+are esteemed as antidotes against poison,
+or remedies against several diseases.
+These antidotes, or remedies, extracted from
+different parts of the rhinoceros, are of the
+same use in the dispensatory of the Indians,
+as the theriaca is in that of Europe. Probably,
+all those virtues are imaginary:&mdash;But how
+many things are held in great estimation,
+which have no value but in opinion!</p>
+
+<p>The rhinoceros feeds upon coarse herbs, such
+as thistles and prickly shrubs, and he prefers
+this wild food to the sweet pasture of the
+verdant meadows. He is fond of sugar canes,
+and eats also all sorts of corn. Having no
+taste for flesh, he neither molests small animals,
+nor fears the large ones, but lives in peace with
+them all, not excepting the tiger, who often accompanies,
+without daring to attack him; therefore,
+I doubt, whether the battles betwixt the
+elephant and rhinoceros, have any foundation;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span>
+they must at least be seldom, since there is no
+motive for war on either side; and, besides, no
+sort of antipathy has been observed between
+these animals. Some even in captivity have
+lived quietly together, without giving offence
+or provocation. Pliny is, I believe, the first
+who has mentioned these battles betwixt the
+rhinoceros and elephant. It seems they were
+compelled to fight in the spectacles at Rome,
+and, probably from thence the idea has been
+taken, that when in their natural state they
+fought as desperately; but every action without
+a motive is unnatural; it is an effect without
+a cause, which cannot happen but by chance.</p>
+
+<p>The rhinoceroses do not herd together, nor
+march in troops like the elephants; they are
+more wild and solitary, and perhaps more
+difficult to hunt and subdue. They never
+attack men unless provoked; but then they
+become furious, and are very formidable.
+Neither scymetars, darts, nor lances, can make
+an incision upon his skin, which even resists
+musket balls; the only places penetrable in
+his body are the belly, the eyes, and round
+the ears; so that the hunters, instead of facing
+and attacking this animal, follow him at a
+distance by his track, and wait till he lies
+down to rest or sleep. We have in the king&rsquo;s
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span>
+cabinet a f&oelig;tus of a rhinoceros, which was
+extracted from the body of the mother, and
+sent from the island of Java: it was said, in a
+memorial which accompanied this present, that
+twenty-eight huntsmen having assembled to
+attack this rhinoceros, they followed her at a
+distance for some days, one or two walking
+now and then before to reconnoitre her situation;
+by these means they surprised her when
+she was asleep, and silently came so near that
+they discharged at once their twenty-eight
+guns into the lower parts of her belly.</p>
+
+<p>From the description given by Dr. Parsons,
+it appears that this animal has a good ear,
+and even very attentive: it is also affirmed, that
+his sense of smelling is excellent; but it is said
+that he has not a good eye, and sees only those
+things which are before him: his eyes are so
+small, and placed so low, and obliquely, they
+have so little vivacity and motion, that this fact
+seems to be confirmed. His voice, when he is
+calm, resembling the grunting of a hog; but
+when he is angry, it is sharp, and heard at a
+great distance. Though he lives upon vegetables,
+he does not ruminate: thus, it is probable,
+that, like the elephant, he has but one
+stomach, and very large bowels, which supply
+the office of many stomachs. His consumption
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span>
+of food, though very great, is not comparable
+to that of the elephant, and it appears,
+by the thickness of his skin, that he loses much
+less than the latter by perspiration.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="caption3">SUPPLEMENT.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 40%;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="40%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>IN the month of September, 1770, another
+rhinoceros was brought to the royal menagerie,
+which was said to be only three months
+old; but I am persuaded it was as many years,
+for it was eight feet two inches in length, including
+the head, five feet six inches high, and
+eight feet two inches in circumference: by
+the 28th of August, 1781, it had increased
+seven inches in length, three inches in the
+height, and seven inches in circumference; and
+on the 12th of August, 1772, it measured
+nine feet four inches in length, including the
+head, six feet four inches high at the crupper,
+and only five feet eleven at the withers. In
+some places its skin was spotted with black
+and grey, and in others it was in deep furrows,
+having the appearance of a kind of scales.
+This animal had but one horn, which was
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span>
+brown, and of a very hard substance; and in
+all other respects he nearly resembled the description
+we have already given.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Bruce has remarked, that my conjecture,
+that in the interior parts of Africa there
+were rhinoceroses with two horns, was exactly
+the case, for he saw none in Abyssinia but
+what had one situated near the nose, which
+was of the common form, and the other rather
+higher on the head, sharp at the point, and always
+shorter than the first. M. Daubenton
+received a letter from M. Allamand at Leyden,
+in 1776, in which that gentleman says, &ldquo;In a
+passage which M. de Buffon has quoted from
+Mr. Parsons, it is supposed, that the rhinoceroses
+of Asia have but one horn, and those of
+the Cape of Good Hope have two, but I am
+inclined to believe the opposite is the fact, for
+the heads of those I have received from Bengal,
+and other parts of India, had always two
+horns, and those which came from the Cape
+had but one.&rdquo; This remark of M. Allamand
+we may consider as a confirmation of our former
+observation, that the rhinoceroses with
+two horns form a variety in the species, and
+may be equally found in Asia and Africa.</p>
+
+
+<p class="caption3"><i>END OF THE SEVENTH VOLUME.</i></p>
+
+
+<p class="center">T. Gillet, Printer, Wild-court.</p>
+
+<div class="fig_center" style="width: 100%; padding-top: 2em;">
+<img src="images/bar_dbl_1.png" width="100%" height="15" alt="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="trans_notes">
+<p class="caption2">Transcriber Note</p>
+
+
+<p>All obvious typographical errors were corrected. Where several variant
+spellings were used, the most prevalent version was use to standardize
+them. All illustration headers were standardized to display &ldquo;<i>Engraved
+for Barr&rsquo;s Buffon.</i>&rdquo; above each group and the captions were also
+standardized. The illustration captions were arranged in ascending
+numbers. Where paragraphs were split by illustrations, they were
+rejoined. To match the other volumes in this series, the list for the
+placement of images was positioned after the Table of Contents.</p>
+
+<table summary="corrections">
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_29">p. 29</a>,</td>
+  <td class="tdl">cougouacu-apara changed to cougouacou-ara</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_171">p. 171</a>,</td>
+  <td class="tdl">missing endquote, placed at end of line</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_225">p. 225</a>,</td>
+  <td class="tdl">missing endquote, placed at end of paragraph</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 45820 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10), by 
-Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
-
-
-Title: Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10)
-       Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of
-       Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals,
-       &c. &c
-
-Author: Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
-
-Editor: James Smith Barr
-
-Release Date: May 29, 2014 [EBook #45820]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUFFON'S NATURAL HISTORY, VOL VII ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Chris Curnow, Tom Cosmas and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
-file was produced from images generously made available
-by The Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber Note
-
-Text emphasis is denoted as _Italic Text._
-
-
-
-
-                           _Barr's Buffon._
-
-                       Buffon's Natural History.
-
-                              CONTAINING
-
-                        A THEORY OF THE EARTH,
-                               A GENERAL
-                           _HISTORY OF MAN_,
-                     OF THE BRUTE CREATION, AND OF
-                         VEGETABLES, MINERALS,
-                               _&c. &c._
-
-                           FROM THE FRENCH.
-
-                     WITH NOTES BY THE TRANSLATOR.
-
-                            IN TEN VOLUMES.
-
-                               VOL. VII.
-
-                                London:
-                      PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR,
-              AND SOLD BY H. D. SYMONDS, PATERNOSTER-ROW,
-
-                                 1807.
-
-                    T. Gillet, Printer, Wild court.
-
-
-
-
-                               CONTENTS
-                                  OF
-                          THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
-
-
-
-
-                        Of Carnivorous Animals.
-
-                                                            _Page_
-
-  _Of Tigers_                                                   1
-  _Animals of the Old Continent_                                4
-  _Animals of the New World_                                   24
-  _Animals common to both Continents_                          33
-  _The Tiger_                                                  57
-  _The Panther, Ounce, and Leopard_                            68
-  _The Jaguar_                                                 81
-  _The Cougar_                                                 87
-  _The Lynx_                                                   92
-  _The Hy�na_                                                 107
-  _The Civet and the Zibet_                                   117
-  _The Genet_                                                 129
-  _The Black Wolf_                                            132
-  _The Canadian Musk-rat, and the Muscovy Musk-rat_           133
-  _The Peccari, or Mexican Hog_                               141
-  _The Rousette, or Ternat Bat, the Rougette, or Little
-      Ternat, and the Vampyre_                                149
-  _The Senegal Bat_                                           162
-  _The Bull-dog Bat_                                          163
-  _The Bearded Bat_                                           164
-  _The striped Bat_                                           165
-  _The Polatouch_                                             165
-  _The Grey Squirrel_                                         173
-  _The Palmist, the Squirrel of Barbary and Switzerland_      177
-  _The Ant Eaters_                                            181
-  _The Long and Short-tailed Manis_                           193
-  _The Armadillo_                                             197
-  _The Three-banded_                                          202
-      _Six-banded_                                            205
-      _Eight-banded_                                          207
-      _Nine-banded_                                           208
-      _Twelve-banded_                                         210
-      _Eighteen-banded_                                       212
-  _The Paca_                                                  222
-  _The Opossum_                                               229
-  _The Marmose_                                               251
-  _The Cayopollin_                                            253
-  _The Elephant_                                              255
-  _The Rhinoceros_                                            322
-
-_Directions for placing the Plates in the Seventh Volume._
-
-  Page 57 Fig. 101, 102.
-       68 Fig. 107, 108.
-       77 Fig. 103, 104.
-       85 Fig. 105, 106.
-      117 Fig. 109, 110.
-      118 Fig. 111, 112, 113.
-      133 Fig. 114, 115, 116.
-      150 Fig. 117, 118, 119.
-      165 Fig. 120, 121, 122, 123.
-      181 Fig. 124, 125, 126.
-      205 Fig. 127, 128.
-      222 Fig. 129, 130, 131, 132.
-      236 Fig. 133, 134.
-
-
-
-
-BUFFON'S
-
-NATURAL HISTORY.
-
-
-
-
-_OF CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS._
-
-
-
-
-OF TIGERS.
-
-
-As the word Tiger is a generic name, given several animals of different
-species, it is proper to begin with distinguishing them from each
-other. Leopards and Panthers have often been confounded together, and
-are called Tigers by most travellers. The Ounce, a small species of
-Panther, which is easily tamed, and used by the Orientals in the chace,
-has been taken for the Panther itself, and described as such by the
-name of Tiger. The Lynx, and that called the Lion's provider, have
-also sometimes received the name of Panther, and sometimes Ounce. In
-Africa, and in the southern parts of Asia, these animals are common;
-but the real tiger, and the only one which ought to be so called, is
-scarce, was little known by the ancients, and is badly described by the
-moderns. Aristotle does not mention him; and Pliny merely speaks of him
-as an animal of prodigious velocity; _tremend� velocitatis animal_;[A]
-adding, that he was a much more scarce animal than the Panther, since
-Augustus presented the first to the Romans at the dedication of the
-theatre of Marcellus, while so early as the time of Scaurus, this �dile
-sent 150 panthers, and afterwards 400 were given by Pompey, and 420
-by Augustus, to the public shews at Rome. Pliny, however, gives no
-description of the tiger, or any of its characteristics. Oppian and
-Solinus appear to be the first who observed that the tiger is marked
-with long streaks, and the panther with round spots. This, indeed, is
-one of the characteristics which distinguishes the true tiger from a
-number of animals that have been so called. Strabo, in speaking of
-the real tiger, gives Megasthenes as his authority, for saying that
-in India there are tigers twice as large as the lion. The tiger then
-stands described by the ancients as an animal that is fierce and
-swift, marked with long stripes, and exceeding the lion in size; nor
-has Gesner, nor the other modern naturalists, who have treated of the
-tiger, added any thing to these observations of the ancients.
-
-[Footnote A: Pliny Nat. Hist. lib. viii. cap. xviii.]
-
-In the French language all those skins of which the hair is short, and
-are marked with round and distinct spots, are called tiger-skins, and
-travellers sharing in this error, have called all animals so marked
-by the general name of tigers; even the academy of sciences have been
-borne away by this torrent, and have adopted the appellation to all,
-although by dissection they found them materially different.
-
-The most general cause, as we intimated in the article of the lion,
-of these ambiguous terms in Natural History, arose from the necessity
-of giving names to the unknown productions of the New World, and thus
-the animals were called after such of the old continent to whom they
-had the smallest resemblance. From the general denomination of tiger
-to every animal whose skin was spotted, instead of one species of that
-name, we now have nine or ten, and consequently the history of these
-animals is exceedingly embarrassed, writers have applied to one species
-what ought to have been ascribed to another.
-
-To dispel the confusion which necessarily results from these erroneous
-denominations, particularly among those which have been commonly
-called tigers, I have resolved to give a comparative enumeration of
-quadrupeds, in which I shall distinguish, 1. Those which are peculiar
-to the old continent, and were not found in America when first
-discovered. 2. Those which are natives of the new continent, and were
-unknown in the old. 3. Those which existing alike in both continents,
-without having been carried from one to the other by man, may be
-considered as common to both. For which purpose it has been necessary
-to collect and arrange the scattered accounts given by the historians
-of America, and those who first visited this continent as travellers.
-
-
-
-
-ANIMALS OF THE OLD CONTINENT.
-
-
-As the largest animals are the best known, and about which there is
-the least uncertainty, in this enumeration they shall follow nearly
-according to their size.
-
-Elephants belong to the Old World; the largest are found in Asia, and
-the smallest in Africa. They are natives of the hottest climates, and,
-though they will live, they cannot multiply in temperate ones; they
-do not propagate even in their own countries after they are deprived
-of their liberty. Though confined to the southern parts of the old
-continent their species is numerous. It is unknown in America, nor is
-there any animal there that can be compared to it in size and figure.
-The same remark applies to the Rhinoceros, which is less numerous than
-the elephant; he is confined to the desarts of Africa, and the forests
-of southern Asia; nor has America any animal that resembles him.
-
-The Hippopotamus inhabits the banks of the large rivers of India and
-Africa, and is less numerous than the Rhinoceros. It is not found in
-America, nor even in the temperate climates of the Old Continent.
-
-The Camel and Dromedary, so apparently similar, yet in reality so
-dissimilar, are very common in Asia and Arabia, and in all the eastern
-parts of the ancient continent. The name of camel has been given to
-the Lama and Pacos of Peru, which are so different from the camel as
-by some to have been called _sheep_, and by others _camels_ of Peru;
-though the pacos has nothing in common with the European sheep but the
-wool, and the lama resembles the camel only by the length of its neck.
-The Spaniards formerly carried camels to Peru; they left them first
-at the Canaries, whence they afterwards transported them to America;
-but the climate of the new world does not seem favourable to them, for
-though they produced, their numbers have always remained very small.
-
-The _Giraffe_ or _Camelopard_, an animal remarkable for its height,
-and the length of its neck and fore legs, is a native of Africa,
-particularly Ethiopia, and has never spread beyond the tropics in the
-temperate climates of the old continent.
-
-In the preceding article we have seen that the lion exists not in
-America, and that the puma of Peru is an animal of a different species;
-and we shall now find that the tiger and panther belong also to the old
-continent, and that the animals of South America, to whom those names
-have been applied, are also different. The real tiger is a terrible
-animal, and more, perhaps, to be dreaded than the lion himself. His
-ferocity is beyond comparison; but an idea of his strength may be drawn
-from his size; he is generally from four to five feet high, and from
-nine to fourteen in length, without including his tail; his skin is not
-covered with round spots, but with black stripes upon a yellow ground,
-which extend across the body, and form rings from one end of the tail
-to the other. These characteristics alone are sufficient to distinguish
-him from all the animals of prey belonging to the new continent, as
-the largest of them scarcely ever exceed the size of our mastiffs. The
-leopard and panther of Africa and Asia, though much smaller than the
-tiger, are larger than the rapacious animals of South America. Pliny,
-whose testimony cannot be doubted (since panthers were daily exposed,
-in his time, at the theatres in Rome), indicates their essential
-characteristics, by saying, their hair is whitish, diversified
-throughout with black spots, like eyes, and that the only difference
-between the male and female were the superior whiteness of her hair.
-
-The American animals, which have been called tigers, have a greater
-resemblance to the panther, and yet their difference from that species
-is very evident. The first is the _Jaguara_, or _Janowra_, a native
-of Guiana, Brasil, and other parts of South America. Ray, with some
-propriety, calls the animal the Pard, or Brasilian lynx. The Portuguese
-call him Ounce, because they had first, by corruption, given that name
-to the lynx, and afterwards to the small panther of India; and the
-French, without his having the smallest affinity, have called him
-tiger. He differs from the panther in size, in the position and figure
-of the spots, in the colour and length of the hair, which is frizzled
-when young, and never so straight as that of the panther, differing
-also in disposition, being more savage, and cannot be tamed; still,
-however, the jaguar of Brasil resembles the panther more than any other
-animal of the new world. The second we call Cougar, by contracting the
-Brasilian name _cougouacou-ara_, and which the French, with still less
-propriety, have called the Red Tiger. From the real tiger it differs
-in all, and from the panther in most respects, its hair being red, and
-without spots; and in the form of its head, and length of his muzzle,
-it differs also from them both. A third species, which has also been
-called tiger, though equally remote, is the _Jaguarette_, which is
-nearly of the size of the jaguar, and resembles him in natural habits,
-but differs in some exterior characters. He has been called black
-tiger, because his hair is black, interspersed with spots of a still
-blacker hue. Besides these three species, and perhaps a fourth, which
-is smaller, that have been named after the tiger, there is another
-American animal, which appears to have a greater right to it, namely,
-the _Cat-pard_, or mountain cat, which resembles both the cat and the
-panther. Though smaller than either of the above three animals, it is
-larger than the wild cat, which it resembles in figure, but its tail is
-much shorter, and it differs also by having its hair diversified with
-black spots, long upon the back and round upon the belly. These four
-American animals have, therefore, very improperly been named tigers.
-The cougar and cat-pard I have seen alive, and am convinced they are
-of different species, and still more so from the tiger or panther; and
-as for the puma and jaguar, it is evident, from the testimony of those
-who have seen them, that the former is not a lion, nor the latter a
-tiger, and therefore, without scruple, we may pronounce, that neither
-the lion, tiger, nor even the panther, exist in America, any more than
-the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, camel, or the camelopard. All
-these species require a hot climate for propagation, and as none of
-them exist in the northern regions, it is impossible they should have
-had any communication with America. This general fact is too important
-not to be supported by every proof; we shall, therefore, continue our
-comparative enumeration of the animals of the old continent with those
-of the new.
-
-It is generally known, that upon horses being first transported into
-America they struck the natives with surprise and terror; and that
-this animal has thriven and multiplied so fast, as to have become
-almost as numerous there now as it is in Europe. It is the same also
-with the ass, which has thriven equally in these warm climates, and
-from which mules have been produced, that are more serviceable than
-the lamas for carrying heavy loads over the mountainous parts of Chili
-and Peru. The Zebra is also an animal of the old continent, and which,
-perhaps, has never been even seen in the new; it seems to require a
-particular climate, and is found only in that part of Africa which lies
-between the Equator and the Cape of Good Hope.
-
-Oxen were unknown in the islands and on the continent of South America.
-Soon after the discovery of these countries, the Spaniards transported
-bulls and cows to them from Europe. In 1550 oxen were employed, for
-the first time, in tilling the ground in the valley of Cusco. On the
-continent these animals multiplied prodigiously, as well as in the
-islands of St. Domingo, Cuba, Barlovento, &c. and in many places
-they even became wild. The species of horned cattle found at Mexico,
-Louisiana, &c. which is called the _wild ox_ or Bison, is not produced
-from the European oxen. The bison existed in America before our race
-was carried thither; and from the latter he is so different as to
-authorize the opinion of his being a different species. He has a rise
-between his shoulders, his hair is softer than wool, is longer before
-than behind, is curled upon the neck and along the spine of the back;
-he is of a brown colour, and faintly marked with some whitish spots; he
-has also short legs, which, like the head and neck, are covered with
-long hair; and the male has a long tail with a tuft of hair at the end,
-like that of the lion. These differences seem to be sufficient grounds
-for considering the ox and bison of different species, yet I will not
-pretend to determine they are so, because the only characteristic which
-identifies animals to be of the same species, is their propagating
-and producing similar individuals, and which fact has never been
-determined between the bison and the oxen of Europe. M. de la Nux, a
-member of the royal council of the isle of Bourbon, has favoured me
-with a letter, in which he says, the hunched-back ox of that island
-propagates with the common horned cattle; and of great advantage would
-it be, if persons who live in remote countries would follow the example
-of this gentleman, in making experimental observations upon animals.
-Nothing could be more easy than for the inhabitants of Louisiana, to
-try if the American bison would copulate with the European cow. It
-is probable they would produce together, and in that case it would
-be ascertained that the European ox, the hunched-backed species of
-the isle of Bourbon, the East India bull and American bison, form
-only one species. M. de la Nux proved by experiments, that the hunch
-is not an essential characteristic, since it disappeared after a few
-generations; and I have myself discovered that the protuberance upon a
-camel's back, which, though as in the bison, is very common, is not a
-constant characteristic, and is probably owing to the healthful state
-of the body, as I once saw a sickly camel which had not the smallest
-appearance of a lump. As to the other difference, namely, the hair
-being more long and soft, that may be entirely owing to the influence
-of the climate, as is the case with goats, hares, and rabbits. With
-some appearance of probability, it may be supposed, (especially if the
-American bison produces with the European cow) that our oxen may have
-found a passage over the northern districts to those of North America,
-and having afterwards advanced into the temperate regions of this New
-World, they received the impressions of the climate, and in time became
-bisons. But till the essential fact of their producing together be
-fully confirmed, I think it right to conclude that our oxen belong to
-the old continent, and existed not in America before they were carried
-thither.
-
-To sheep America has no pretensions; they were transported from Europe,
-and have thriven both in the warm and temperate climates; but, however
-prolific, they are commonly more meagre, and their flesh less juicy and
-tender than those in Europe. Brasil seems to be the most favourable to
-them, as it is there alone that they are found loaded with fat. Guinea
-sheep, as well as European, have been transported to Jamaica, and they
-have prospered equally well. These two species belong solely to the old
-continent. It is also the same with goats, and those we now meet with
-in America in such great numbers, all originated from goats introduced
-from Europe. The latter has not, however, multiplied so fast at Brasil
-as the sheep. When the Spaniards first carried goats to Peru they were
-so rare as to be sold for 110 ducats a piece; but afterwards they
-multiplied so prodigiously as to be held of little value but for their
-skins; they produce there from three to five kids at a time, while in
-Europe they seldom have more than one or two. In all the islands they
-are equally numerous as on the continent. The Spaniards transported
-them even into the islands of the South Sea; and in the island of Juan
-Fernandez their increase became prodigious. But proving a supply of
-provisions to the free-booters who afterwards infested those parts, the
-Spaniards resolved to extirpate them, and for that purpose put dogs
-upon the island, who, multiplying in their turn, not only destroyed all
-the goats in the accessible parts, but became so fierce as to attack
-even men.
-
-The hogs which were transported from Europe to America succeeded
-better, and multiplied faster, than the sheep or goat. The first
-swine, according to Garcilasso, sold still dearer than the first
-goats. Piso says the flesh of the ox and sheep is not so good at
-Brasil as in Europe, but that of the hog, which multiplies very fast,
-is better; and Laet, in his History of the New World, affirms that
-it is preferable at St. Domingo, to what it is in Europe. In general
-it may be remarked, that of all domestic animals which have been
-carried from Europe to America, the hog has thriven the best and most
-universally. In Canada and in Brasil, which includes the warmest and
-coldest climates of the new world, hogs multiply, and their flesh is
-equally good; while the goat, on the contrary, multiplies in warm and
-temperate climates only, and cannot maintain its species in Canada
-without continual supplies. The ass multiplies in Brasil, Peru, &c. but
-not in Canada, where neither mules nor asses are to be seen, although
-numbers of the latter have been transported thither in couples. Horses
-have multiplied nearly as much in the hot as in the cold countries
-throughout America; but have diminished in size, a circumstance which
-is common to all animals transported from Europe to America; and what
-is still more singular, all the native animals of America are much
-smaller in general than those of the old continent. Nature in their
-formation seems to have adopted a smaller scale, and to have formed man
-alone in the same mould. But to proceed in our enumeration:--The hog,
-then, is not a native of America, but was carried thither; and he has
-not only increased in a domestic state but has even become wild, and
-multiplied in the woods without the assistance of man. A species of hog
-has also been transported from Guinea to Brasil, which has likewise
-multiplied; it is much smaller, and seems to form a distinct species
-from the European hog; for although the climate of Brasil is favourable
-to every kind of propagation, these animals have never been known to
-intermingle.
-
-Dogs, whose races are so varied, and so numerously diffused, were
-not found in America, unless in a few rude resemblances, which it is
-difficult to compare with the species at large. At St. Domingo, says
-Garcilasso, there were little animals called _gosques_, not unlike
-little dogs; but there were no dogs like those of Europe. He adds, that
-the latter, on being transported to Cuba and St. Domingo, had become
-wild, and diminished the number of cattle which had become wild also;
-that they committed their devastations in troops of ten or twelve, and
-were more destructive than wolves. According to Joseph Acosta, there
-were no real dogs in the West Indies, but only an animal resembling
-small dogs, called by the Peruvians _alcos_, which attach themselves
-to their masters, and seem to have nearly the same dispositions as the
-dog. If we may believe Father Charlevoix, who quotes no authority,
-"The _goschis_ of St. Domingo were little mute dogs, which served
-as an amusement to the ladies, and were also employed in the chace
-of other animals. Their flesh was good for eating, and they were of
-great benefit to the Spaniards during the first famines, which these
-people experienced, so that they would have been exhausted, had there
-not been numbers of them afterwards brought from the continent. Of
-this animal there were several sorts; of some the hair was straight,
-others had their bodies covered with a wool exceedingly soft; but the
-greatest number had only a thin covering of tender down. In colours
-they exceeded the varieties in the European dogs, forming an assemblage
-of all colours, the most lively not excepted."
-
-If this species of the goschis ever existed, especially as described
-by Father Charlevoix, why have other authors never mentioned it? why
-does it no longer exist? or if in existence, by what means has it lost
-all its beautiful peculiarities? It is most likely that the goschis of
-Charlevoix, and of which he never found the name but in Father Pers, is
-the gosques of Garcilasso; and it is also probable that these gosques
-of St. Domingo, and the alcos of Peru, are the same animal; for certain
-it is, that of all American animals this has the most affinity to the
-European dog. Several authors have considered it as a real dog; and
-Laet expressly says, that when the West Indies were discovered they in
-St. Domingo employed a small dog in hunting, but which was absolutely
-dumb. We observed, in the history of the dog, that he loses the faculty
-of barking in hot countries, but instead thereof they had a kind
-of howl, and are not like these American animals, perfectly mute.
-European dogs have thriven equally well in the hot and cold climates
-of America, and of all animals they are held in the highest estimation
-by the savages; but they have undergone essential changes, for in hot
-countries they have lost their voice, in cold ones they have decreased
-in size, and in general their ears have become straight. Thus they
-have degenerated, or rather returned to their primitive species, the
-shepherd's dog, whose ears are erect, and who barks the least. From
-whence we may conclude, that the dog belongs to the old continent where
-their nature has been developed in the temperate regions only, and
-where they appear to have been varied and brought to perfection by the
-care of man, for in all uncivilized countries, and in very hot or cold
-climates they are ugly, small, and almost mute.
-
-The Hy�na, which is nearly the size of the wolf, was known to the
-ancients, and I have myself seen a living one. It is remarkable for
-having an opening between the anus and tail, like the badger, and from
-which issues a humour that has a strong smell; also for a long bristly
-mane which runs along its neck; and for a voracity which prompts it to
-scrape up graves and devour the most putrid bodies.
-
-This horrid animal is only to be found in Arabia, and other southern
-provinces of Asia; it does not exist in Europe and has never been found
-in the New World.
-
-The jackall, which of all animals not excepting the wolf makes the
-nearest approach to the dog though differing in every essential
-characteristic, is very common in Armenia and Turkey, and is very
-numerous in several other provinces of Asia and Africa; but it is
-absolutely unknown in the new world. It is about the size of the fox,
-and of a very brilliant yellow; this animal has not extended to Europe,
-nor even the northern parts of Asia.
-
-The Genet, being a native of Spain, would doubtless have been noticed
-had he been found in America, but that not being the case, we may
-consider him as peculiar to the old continent; he inhabits the southern
-parts of Europe, and those of Asia under the same latitude.
-
-Though it has been said the Civet was found in New Spain, I am of
-opinion it was not the African, or Indian Civet, which yields the musk
-that is mixed and prepared with that of the animal called the Hiam of
-China; this civet I conceive to belong to the southern part of the old
-continent, has never extended to the north, and consequently would not
-have found a passage to the New World.
-
-Cats as well as dogs were entire strangers to the New Continent, and
-though I formerly mentioned that a huntsman had taken to Columbus a
-cat which he had killed in the woods of America, I am now convinced
-that the species did not then exist there. I was then less aware of
-the abuses which had been made in names, and I acknowledge I am not
-yet sufficiently acquainted with animals to distinguish them with
-precision in the fictitious and misapplied denominations given them
-by travellers. Nor is this to be wondered at, since the nomenclators,
-whose researches were directed to this object, have rendered it more
-dark and intricate by their arbitrary names and arrangements. To the
-natural propensity of comparing things which we see for the first
-time, with those already known, and the almost insuperable difficulty
-of pronouncing the American names being added, we are to impute this
-misapplication of names which have since been productive of so many
-errors. It is much more easy, for example, to call a new animal, a
-_wild boar_, than to pronounce its name at Mexico, _quab-coya-melt_; to
-call another _American fox_, than to retain its Brasilian appellation,
-_tamandua-guacu_; to give the name of _Peruvian sheep_, or _camel_, to
-those animals which in the language of Peru are called _pelon ichiath
-oquitli_. It is the same with almost all the other animals of the New
-World, whose names were so strange and barbarous to the Europeans, that
-they endeavoured to apply others to them, from the resemblance they had
-to those of the old continent, but they were often from affinities too
-remote to justify the application. Five or six species of small animals
-were named hares, or rabbits, merely because their flesh was palatable
-food. They called _cow_ and _elk_ an animal without horns, although
-it had no affinity to either, except a small resemblance in the form
-of the body. But it is unnecessary at present to dwell upon the false
-denominations which have been applied to the animals of America,
-because I shall endeavour to point out and correct them when we come to
-treat of each of those animals in particular.
-
-We find, then, that all our domestic animals, and the largest animals
-of Asia and Africa were unknown in the New World; and the same remark
-extends to several of the less considerable species, of which we shall
-now proceed to make a cursory mention.
-
-The gazelles, of which there are various kinds, and of which some
-belong to Arabia, others to the East Indies, and some to Africa,
-all require a hot climate to subsist and multiply, they therefore
-never extended to the northern climates, so as to obtain a passage
-to America; it appears, indeed, that the African gazelle, and which
-Hernandes, in his History of Mexico calls _algazel ex Aphrica_ must
-have been transported thither. The animal of New Spain, which the same
-author calls _temama�ame_, Seba _cervus_, Klein _tragulus_, and Brisson
-the gazelle of New Spain, appears to be a different species to any on
-the old continent.
-
-It is natural to conclude, that the Chamois Goat, which delights in
-the snow of the Alps, would not be afraid of the icy regions of the
-north, and thence might have passed to America, but no such animal
-is found there. This animal requires not only a particular climate,
-but a particular situation. He is attached to the tops of the Alpine,
-Pyrenean, and other lofty mountains, and far from being scattered over
-distant countries, he never descends even to the plains at the bottom
-of his hills; but in this he is not singular, as the marmot, wild goat,
-bear, and lynx, are also mountain animals, and very rarely found in the
-plains.
-
-The buffalo is a native of hot countries, and has been rendered
-domestic in Italy; he resembles less than the ox, the American bison,
-and is unknown in the new continent. The wild goat is found on the
-tops of the highest mountains of Europe and Asia, but was never seen
-on the Cordeliers. The Musk-animal, which is nearly the size of a
-fallow-deer, inhabits only a few particular countries of China and
-Eastern Tartary. The little Guinea Deer, as it is called, seems also
-confined to the provinces of Africa and the East Indies. The Rabbit,
-which comes originally from Spain, and has been diffused over all the
-temperate climates of Europe, did not exist in America; for the animals
-of that continent which are so called, are of a different species, and
-all the real ones were transported thither from Europe. The Ferret,
-brought from Africa to Europe, was unknown in America; as were also our
-rats and mice, which having been carried there in European ships, have
-since multiplied prodigiously.
-
-The following then are nearly all the animals of the old continent,
-namely, the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, camel, dromedary,
-giraffe, lion, tiger, panther, horse, ass, zebra, ox, buffalo, sheep,
-goat, hog, dog, hy�na, jackall, genet, civet, cat, gazelle, chamois
-goat, wild goat, Guinea deer, rabbit, ferret, rat, mouse, loir, lerot,
-marmot, ichneumon, badger, sable, ermine, jerboa, the maki, and several
-species of monkeys, none of which were found in America on the first
-arrival of the Europeans, and which consequently are peculiar to the
-Old World, as we shall endeavour to prove in the particular history of
-each animal.
-
-
-
-
-ANIMALS OF THE NEW WORLD.
-
-
-The animals of the New World were not more known to the Europeans, than
-were our animals to the Americans. The Peruvians and Mexicans were the
-only people on the new continent, which were half civilized. The latter
-had no domestic animals; and those of the former consisted of the lama,
-the pacos, and the alco, a small animal which was domestic in the
-house like our little dogs. The pacos and the lama, like the chamois
-goat, live only on the highest mountains, and are found on those of
-Peru, Chili, and New Spain. Though they had become domestic among the
-Peruvians, and consequently spread over the neighbouring countries,
-their multiplication was not abundant, and has even decreased in their
-native places, since the introduction of European cattle, which have
-succeeded astonishingly in all the southern countries of the American
-continent.
-
-It appears singular that in a world, occupied almost entirely by
-savages, whose manners somewhat resembled those of the brutes, there
-should be no connection, no society existing between them and the
-animals by which they were surrounded; and this was absolutely the
-case, for there were no domestic animals, excepting where the people
-were in some degree civilized. Does not this prove that man, in a
-savage state, is nothing more than a species of animal, incapable of
-ruling others; and possessing only individual faculties, employs them
-for procuring his subsistence, and providing for his security, by
-attacking the weak, and avoiding the strong, but without entertaining
-any idea of real power, or endeavouring to reduce them to subjection?
-Every nation, even those which are but just emerging from barbarism,
-has its domestic animals. With us the horse, the ass, the ox, the
-sheep, the goat, the hog, the dog, and the cat; in Italy the buffalo;
-in Lapland the rein-deer; in Peru the lama, the pacos, and the alco; in
-the eastern countries, the dromedary, the camel, and various species of
-oxen, sheep, and goats; in the southern ones the elephant; all these
-animals have been reduced to servitude, or admitted into society;
-while the savage, hardly desirous of the society of his female, either
-fears or disdains that of other animals. Of these species, rendered
-domestic, it is true, not one existed in America; but if the savages,
-with whom it was peopled, had anciently united, and had communicated
-to each other the mutual aids of society, they would have rendered
-subservient the greatest part of the animals of that country, most of
-them being mild, docile, and timid, few mischievous, and scarcely any
-formidable. Their liberty, therefore, has been preserved solely from
-the weakness of man, who has little or no power without the aid of
-society, upon which even the multiplication of his species depends.
-The immense territories of the new world were but thinly inhabited;
-and, I believe it may be asserted, that on its first discovery, it
-contained not more than half the number of people that may now be
-reckoned in Europe. This scarcity of men allowed every other animal to
-multiply in abundance; every thing was favourable to their increase,
-and the number of individuals of each species was immense; but the
-number of species were comparatively few, and did not amount to more
-than a fourth, or a third of those of the old continent. If we reckon
-200 species of animals in the known world we shall find that more
-than 130 of them belonged to the old continent, and less than 70 to
-the new; and if we except the species common to both continents, that
-is, such as by their natures are capable of enduring the rigours of
-the north, and might have passed from one to the other, there will
-not remain above forty species peculiar to, and natives of, America.
-Animated nature, therefore, is in this portion of the globe less
-active, less varied, and even less vigorous; for by the enumeration of
-the American animals we shall perceive, that not only the number of
-species is smaller, but that in general they are inferior in size to
-those of the old continent; not one animal throughout America can be
-compared to the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, dromedary, buffalo,
-tiger, lion, &c. The Tapir of Brasil is the largest of all the South
-American animals, and this elephant of the new world exceeds not the
-size of a very small mule, or a calf at six months old; with both which
-animals he has been compared, although he does not resemble either.
-The Lama is not so big as the tapir, and appears large only from the
-length of his neck and legs; and the Pacos is much smaller still. The
-Cabiai, which, next to the tapir, is the largest of the South American
-animals, is not bigger than a common-sized hog; he differs as much as
-any of the preceding from all the animals of the old continent; for
-although he has been called the water-hog, he has essentially different
-characteristics from that animal. The Tajacou is smaller than the
-cabiai, and has a strong external resemblance to the hog, but differs
-greatly in his internal conformation. Neither the tajacou, cabiai,
-nor the tapir, are to be found in any part of the old continent; and
-the same may be said of the _Tamanduacuacu_, or _Ouariri_, and of the
-_Ouatiriou_, which we have called Ant-eaters. These last animals, the
-largest of which is below mediocrity, seem confined to the regions of
-South America. They are remarkable in having no teeth, their tongue
-is long and cylindrical, and their mouth is so small that they can
-neither bite nor hardly take hold of any thing; they can only procure
-subsistence by putting out their long tongue in the way of the ants,
-and drawing it in when loaded with them. The sloth, which is called
-_ai_, or _hai_, by the natives of Brasil, on account of the plaintive
-cry of _ai_, which it continually sends forth, seems likewise to
-be confined to the new continent. It is smaller than either of the
-preceding ones, being not more than two feet long, and is scarcely so
-quick in his motion as the turtle; it has but three claws on each foot,
-its fore legs are longer than its hind ones, it has a very short tail,
-and no ears. Besides, the sloth and armadillo are the only quadrupeds,
-which have neither incisive nor canine teeth, but whose grinders are
-cylindrical, and round at the extremities, nearly like those of some
-cetaceous animals.
-
-The Curiacou of Guiana is an animal of the nature and size of our
-largest roe-bucks; the male has horns, which he sheds every year, but
-the female has none. At Cayenne it is called the Hind of the Woods.
-There is another species, called the little cariacou, or hind of the
-fens, which is considerably smaller than the former, and the male
-has no horns. From the resemblance of the names I suspected that
-the cariacou of Cayenne might be the caguacu, or cougouacou-ara, of
-Brasil, and comparing the accounts given by Piso and Marcgrave of the
-latter with the cariacou I had alive, I was persuaded they were the
-same animal, yet so different from our roe-buck as to justify our
-considering them distinct species.
-
-The tapir, cabiai, tajacou, ant-eater, sloth, cariacou, lama, pacos,
-bison, puma, juguar, coujuar, juguarat, and the mountain-cat, &c. are
-therefore the largest animals of the new continent. The middle-sized
-and small ones are the cuandus, or gouandous, agouti, coati, paca,
-opossum, cavies, and armadillos; all which I believe are peculiar to
-the new world, although our latest nomenclators speak of two other
-species of armadillos, one in the East Indies, and the other in Africa;
-but we have only the testimony of the author of the description of
-Seba's cabinet for their existence, and that authority is insufficient
-to confirm the fact, for misnomers frequently happen in the collections
-of natural objects. An animal, for example, is purchased under the name
-of a Ternat, or American bat, and another under that of the East India
-Armadillo; they are then announced by those names in a descriptive
-catalogue, and are adopted by our nomenclators; but when examined more
-closely the American bat proves to be one of our own country, and so
-may the Indian or African armadillo be merely an armadillo of America.
-
-Hitherto we have not spoken of Apes, their history requiring a
-particular discussion. As the word _Ape_ is a generic term applied to
-a number of species, it is not surprising that it should be said they
-abound in the southern parts of both continents; but it is for us here
-to enquire whether the apes of Asia and Africa be the same animals as
-those so called in America, and whether from among more than thirty
-species of apes, which I have examined alive, one of them is alike
-common to both continents.
-
-The Satyr, Ourang-outang, or Man of the Woods, as it is
-indiscriminately termed, seems to differ less from man than from the
-ape, and is only to be found in Africa or the south of Asia. The
-Gibbon, whose fore legs, or arms, are as long as the whole body,
-even the hind legs included, is a native of the East Indies alone.
-Neither of these have tails. The ape, properly so termed, whose hair
-is greenish, with a small intermixture of yellow, has no tail, belongs
-to Africa, and a few other parts of the old continent, but is not to
-be found in the new. It is the same also with the Cynocephali-apes, of
-which there are two or three species; neither of them having any tails,
-at least they are so short as scarcely to be perceivable. All apes
-which are without tails, and whose muzzles, from being short, bear a
-strong resemblance to the face of man, are real apes; and the species
-above-mentioned are all natives of the old continent, and unknown in
-the new; from whence we may pronounce that there are no real apes in
-America.
-
-The Baboon, an animal larger than the dog, and whose body is pursed up
-like that of the hy�na, is exceedingly different from those we have
-noticed, and has a short tail: it is equally endowed with inclination
-and powers for mischief, and is only to be met with in the desarts of
-the southern parts of the old continent.
-
-Besides these without tails, or with very short ones, (which all belong
-to the old continent) almost all the large ones with long tails, are
-peculiar to Africa. There are few even of the middling size in America,
-but those called little long-tailed monkeys are very numerous, of which
-there are several species; and when we give the particular history of
-these animals, it will appear the American monkeys differ very much
-from the apes of Asia and Africa. The Maki, of which there are three or
-four species, has a near resemblance to the monkeys with long tails,
-but is another animal, and peculiar also to the old continent. All the
-animals, therefore, of Asia and Africa, which are known by the name of
-apes, are equally as strange in America as the rhinoceros or tiger; and
-the more we investigate this subject, the more we shall be convinced
-that the animals of the southern parts of one continent did not exist
-in the others and the few found in them must have been carried thither
-by men. Between the coasts of Brasil and Guinea, there are 500 leagues
-of sea; and between those of the East Indies and Peru, the distance
-exceeds 2000 leagues: It appears, therefore, that all those animals
-which from their nature are incapable of supporting cold climates, or,
-if supporting, cannot propagate therein, are confined on two or three
-sides by seas they cannot cross, and on the other by lands so cold they
-cannot live in them. At this one general fact, then, however singular
-it may at first appear, our wonder ought to cease, namely, that not one
-of the animals of the torrid zone of one continent, are natives of the
-torrid zone of the other.
-
-
-
-
-ANIMALS COMMON TO BOTH CONTINENTS.
-
-
-By the preceding enumeration it appears, that not only the quadrupeds
-of the hot climates of Asia and Africa, but many of those in the
-temperate climates of Europe, are strangers in America; but we find
-many there of such as can support cold and propagate their species in
-the regions of the north; and though there is an evident difference
-in them they cannot but be considered as the same animals; and this
-induces us to believe, they formerly passed from one continent to the
-other by lands still unknown, or possibly long since buried by the
-waves. Of the contiguity of the two northern provinces, the proof thus
-drawn from Natural History is a stronger confirmation than all the
-conjectures of speculative Geography.
-
-The Bears of the Illinois, of Louisiana, &c. seem to be the same with
-ours; the former being only smaller and blacker. The stag of Canada,
-though smaller than ours, differs only in the superior loftiness of
-his horns, number of antlers, and length of his tail. The roe-buck,
-found in the south of Canada, and in Louisiana, is also smaller and has
-a longer tail than that of Europe. The Orignal is the same animal as
-the Elk, but not so large. The rein-deer of Lapland, the fallow-deer
-of Greenland, and the Caribou of Canada, appear to be one and the
-same animal. Brisson has indeed classed the latter with the _cervus
-Burgundicus_ of Johnston, but which animal remains unknown, and
-possibly received that name from accident or caprice.
-
-The hares, squirrels, hedge-hogs, otters, marmots, rats, shrew-mice,
-and the moles, are species which may be considered as common to both
-continents; though there is not one perfectly similar in America, to
-what it is in Europe; and it is very difficult, if not impossible,
-to pronounce whether they are in reality different species, or mere
-varieties rendered permanent by the influence of the climate.
-
-The Beavers of Europe seem to be the same as those of Canada. These
-animals prefer cold countries, but can subsist and propagate in
-temperate ones. In the islands of the Rhone in France, there still
-remain a few of the number which formerly subsisted there; and
-they seem more desirous of avoiding a too populous than a too warm
-country. They never form their societies but in desarts remote from
-the dwellings of men; and even in Canada, which can be considered as
-little more than a vast desart, they have retired far from any human
-habitation. The Wolf and Fox are common to both continents. They are
-met with in all parts of North America, and of both species; there are
-some entirely black. Though the Weasel and Ermine frequent the cold
-countries of Europe, they are very rare in America, which is not the
-case with the pine-weasel, marten, and pole-cat. The Pine-weasel of
-North America seems to be the same with that of the northern parts of
-Europe. The Vison of Canada has a strong resemblance to our Marten; and
-the streaked Pole-cat of North America, is perhaps a mere variety of
-the European kind. The Lynx of America is, to all appearance, the same
-with that in Europe. Though it prefers cold countries, it lives and
-multiplies in temperate ones, and is seldom seen but in forests and on
-mountains. The Seal, or sea-calf, seems to be confined to the northern
-regions, and is alike to be found on the coasts of Europe and North
-America.
-
-Such, with a few exceptions, are all the animals common to the old
-and new world; and from this number, inconsiderable as it is, we
-ought, perhaps, to deduct one third, whose species, though similar in
-appearance, may be different in reality. But admitting the identity
-of species, those common to both continents are very small in number,
-compared with those peculiar to each; and it is also evident, that such
-only as can bear cold, and can multiply in these climates, as well as
-in warm ones, are to be found in both. From which there cannot remain a
-doubt but that the two continents are, or have been contiguous towards
-the north, and that the animals common to both, found a passage over
-lands which at present are to us unknown. There is reason to believe,
-from the discoveries made by the Russians to the north of Kamtschatka,
-that the lands of Asia and America are contiguous, while the north of
-Europe appears always to have been separated from the latter by seas
-too considerable for any quadruped to have crossed; nevertheless, the
-animals of North America have a stronger resemblance to those of the
-northern parts of Europe than to those of the north of Asia. Neither
-the Argali, Sable, Mole of Siberia, nor Chinese Musk, are to be found
-at Hudson's Bay, or any other north-west part of the new continent;
-while in the north-east parts we not only find the animals common to
-the north of Europe and Asia, but even such as appear to be peculiar to
-Europe. But it must be acknowledged, that the north-east parts of Asia
-are so little known that we cannot attempt to affirm, with certainty,
-whether the animals of the north of Europe are to be found there or not.
-
-We have already remarked, as a striking singularity, that the animals
-in the southern provinces of the new continent are small, in comparison
-with those of the warm regions of the old; the elephant, &c. of the
-latter being some of them eight and ten times larger than the tapir,
-&c. of the former. And this general fact, as to size, is further
-corroborated, by all the animals which have been transported from
-Europe having become less, and also those common to both continents
-being much smaller in America than those of Europe. In this new world,
-then, there must be something in the combination of the elements, and
-other physical causes, which opposes the aggrandisement of animated
-nature; there must be obstacles to the development, and perhaps to
-the formation of the principles of life. Under this sky, and on this
-vacant land, even those which, from the benign influence of other
-climates, had received their full form and complete extension, lose
-both, and become shrivelled and diminished. These extensive regions
-were thinly inhabited by a few wandering savages, who, instead of
-acting as masters, had no authority in it: for they had no controul
-over either animals or elements; they had neither subjected the
-waves nor directed the motions of rivers, nor even cultivated the
-earth around them; they were themselves nothing more than animals
-of the first rank, mere automatons, incapable of correcting Nature,
-or seconding her intentions. Nature, indeed, had treated them more
-as a stepmother than as an indulgent parent, by denying to them the
-sentiment of love, and the eager desire to propagate their species.
-The American savage, it is true, is little less in stature than other
-men, yet that is not sufficient to form an exception to the general
-remark--that all animated nature is comparatively diminutive in the
-new continent. In the savage the organs of generation are small and
-feeble; he has no hair, no beard, no ardour for the female; though
-more nimble than the European, from being habituated to running, he is
-not so strong; possessed of less sensibility, yet he is more timid and
-dastardly; he has no vivacity, no activity of soul, and that of the
-body is less a voluntary exercise than a necessary action occasioned
-by want. Satisfy his hunger and thirst and you annihilate the active
-principle of all his motions; and he will remain for days together in
-a state of stupid inactivity[B]. Needless is it to search further into
-the cause for the dispersed life of savages, and their aversion to
-society. Nature has withheld from them the most precious spark of her
-torch; they have no ardour for the female, and consequently no love for
-their fellow-creatures. Strangers to an attachment the most lively and
-tender, their other kindred sensations are cold and languid: to their
-parents and children they are little more than indifferent; with them
-the bands of the most intimate of all society, are feeble, nor is there
-the smallest connection between one family and another; of course they
-have no social state among them; cold in temperament, their manners are
-cruel, their women they treat as drudges born to labour, or rather as
-beasts of burthen, whom they load with all the produce of the chace,
-and whom they oblige, without pity or gratitude, to perform offices
-repugnant to their natures, and frequently beyond their strength.
-They have few children, and to those they pay little attention. The
-whole arises from one cause; they are indifferent because they are
-weak, and this indifference to the female is the original stain which
-defaces nature, prevents her from expanding, and, while it destroys
-the seeds of life, strikes at the root of society. Man, therefore,
-forms no exception; for Nature, by retrenching the faculty of love,
-has diminished him more than any other animal. Before we examine the
-causes of this general effect, it must be acknowledged, that although
-Nature has reduced all the quadrupeds of the new world, yet she has
-preserved the size of reptiles, and enlarged that of insects; for
-although there are larger lizards and larger serpents at Senegal than
-in South America, yet in these animals the difference is not near so
-great as in the quadrupeds; the largest serpent at Senegal is not
-twice as large as the great adder of Cayenne, whereas the elephant is
-ten times as big as the tapir, which is the largest animal of South
-America. In no part are the insect tribes so large as in South America.
-At Cayenne, the spiders, caterpillars, and butterflies, surpass all
-the insects of the old continent, not only as to size, but in richness
-of colours, delicacy of shades, variety of forms, number of species,
-and the prodigious multiplication of individuals. The toads, frogs,
-and other creatures of this kind, are also very large in America. Of
-the birds and fish we shall say nothing; for since they possess the
-power of migrating from one continent to the other, it would be almost
-impossible to distinguish which properly belongs to either, but insects
-and reptiles, like quadrupeds, are confined nearly to the spot in
-which they came into existence.
-
-[Footnote B: Mr. Vaillant says, that the Hottentots will sleep for
-two or three days together, either from hunger or excess in eating;
-for, when hungry, indolence has suggested to them the expedient of
-sleeping instead of the labour of seeking for food, and that by tying a
-bandage round their bellies they can do so for the above space, without
-experiencing any consequent inconvenience.]
-
-Let us now then enquire why, in this new world, the reptiles and
-insects are so large, the quadrupeds so small, and the men so cold.
-These effects must depend on the quality of the earth and atmosphere,
-on the degrees of heat and moisture, on the situation and height of
-mountains, on the quality of running and stagnate waters, on the
-extent of forests, and, in a word, on the state in which inanimate
-nature presents itself in that country. In the new world there is
-much less heat and more moisture than in the old. If we compare the
-heat and cold, in each degree of latitude, we shall find a very great
-difference; that at Quebec, which is under the same degree of latitude
-as Paris, the rivers are covered with ice for months in the year, and
-the grounds with snow several feet thick; the air, indeed, is so cold,
-that the birds fly off at the approach of winter, and return not till
-invited by the warmth of spring. This difference of heat under the same
-latitude in the Temperate Zone, though considerable, is perhaps less
-so than the difference of that under the Torrid Zone. At Senegal, we
-are scorched, while at Peru, situate under the same line, we enjoy the
-benign influence of a temperate climate. In such a situation is the
-continent of America placed, and so formed, that every thing concurs
-to diminish the action of heat. There we find the highest mountains
-and greatest rivers in the known world; these mountains form a chain
-which seems to terminate the length of the continent towards the west,
-while the plains and low grounds are all situated on this side of the
-mountains, from whose base they extend to the sea, which separates
-the American from the European continents. Thus the east wind, which
-constantly blows between the tropics, does not reach America until it
-has traversed a vast extent of ocean, and has consequently been greatly
-cooled; and for this reason it is much less warm at Brasil and Cayenne,
-for example, than at Senegal and Guinea, where this east wind arrives,
-charged with the heat of all the burning sands and desarts which it
-necessarily passes in traversing both Asia and Africa.
-
-In treating of the different colours of men, particularly negroes, it
-appeared to be demonstrated that the strong tincture of brown or black
-depends entirely on the situation of the country; that the negroes
-of Nigritia, and those of the west coast of Africa are the blackest,
-because those countries are so situated as to contain more heat than
-any other part of the globe, from the east wind not reaching them until
-it had passed immense tracks of land; that the American Indians, under
-the line, are only tawny, and the Brasilians brown, though under the
-same latitude as the negroes, because the heat of the climate is not
-so great, and the east wind has been cooled with the water, and loaded
-with humid vapours. The clouds which intercept the sun, and the rains
-which refresh the earth, are periodical, and continue several months at
-Cayenne, and other countries of South America. The first cause renders
-all the east coasts of America more temperate than either Asia or
-Africa; this wind arriving in a cool state begins to assume a degree
-of heat in traversing the plains of America, but which is checked by
-the enormous chain of mountains of which the western part of the new
-continent is composed, so that it is less hot under the line at Peru
-and Cayenne, and the natives are of a less dark complexion. If the
-Cordeliers were reduced to a level with the adjacent plains, the heat
-would be excessive in the western territories, and there would soon be
-men as black at Chili and Peru, as on the western coasts of Africa. It
-is evident then that diminution of heat in the new continent is owing
-entirely to situation; and we shall now make it appear, that there is
-a much greater degree of moisture in America. The mountains being the
-most lofty of any upon the globe, and directly facing the east wind,
-they stop and condense the vapours of the air, and thus give rise to a
-number of springs, which, by their junction, form the greatest rivers
-in the world. In proportion, therefore, to its extent there are more
-running waters in the new continent than in the old, and which are
-augmented by their confined situations; for the natives having never
-checked the torrents, directed the rivers, nor drained the marshes,
-immense tracts of land are covered by the stagnant waters, by which the
-moisture of the air is increased and the heat diminished. Besides, the
-earth being every where covered with trees and coarse weeds, it never
-dries, but constantly produces humid and unwholesome exhalations. In
-these gloomy regions, Nature remains concealed under her old garments,
-never having received a new attire from the cultivation of man, but
-totally neglected, her productions languish, become corrupted, and are
-prematurely destroyed. It is principally then from the scarcity of
-men in America, and from most of them living like the brutes, that
-the earth has been neglected, remains cold, and is unable to produce
-the active principles of Nature. To develope the seeds of the largest
-animals and enable them to grow and multiply, requires all the heat
-which the sun can communicate to a fertile soil; and for a reason
-directly opposite it is, that insects, reptiles, and all the little
-animals which wallow in the mud, whose blood is watery, and whose
-increase depends on putrefaction, are more numerous and large in the
-low, humid, and marshy lands of the new continent.
-
-When we reflect on these very striking differences between the old and
-new continents, we can hardly help supposing that the latter is, in
-fact, more recent, and has remained buried under the ocean longer than
-the rest of the globe; for, the enormous western mountains excepted,
-which seem to be monuments of the most remote antiquity, it has all the
-appearance of being a land newly sprung up. We find sea-shells in many
-places under the very first stratum of the vegetable earth, formed into
-masses of lime-stone, though usually less hard and compact than our
-free-stone. If this continent is in reality as ancient as the other,
-why did so few men exist on it? why were the most of that few wandering
-savages? why did the Mexicans and Peruvians, who alone had entered
-into society, reckon only 200 or 300 years from the first man who
-taught them to assemble? why had they not reduced the lama, pacos, and
-other animals, by which they were surrounded, into a domestic state?
-As their society was in its infancy, so were their arts; their talents
-were imperfect, their ideas unexpanded, their organs rude, and their
-language barbarous. The names of their animals[C], of which we have
-subjoined a few as a specimen, were so difficult to pronounce, that our
-only astonishment is, how the Europeans should have taken the trouble
-to write them.
-
-[Footnote C: _Pelon ichiati oquitli_--the lama.
-
-_Tapiierete_, in Brasil; _maniporous_, in Guinea--the tapir.
-
-_Macatlchichiltic temamacama_--the antelope of New Spain.
-
-_Quauhtla coymatl_--the Mexican hog.
-
-_Tlacoozclotl_--the mountain cat.
-
-_Tlaclaughqui ocelotl_, in Mexico--the jaguar.
-
-_Hoitzlaquatzin_--the porcupine of New Spain.
-
-_Xoloitzchuintli_--the Mexican wolf.]
-
-Thus every circumstance seems to indicate, that the Americans were
-new men, or rather men who had been so long estranged from the rest
-of their species that they had lost all idea of the world from which
-they had issued; that the greatest part of the American continent was
-new land, unassisted by man, and in which Nature had not had time to
-establish all her plans, or to display their full extent; that the men
-are cold and the animals diminutive, because the ardour of the former,
-and the largeness of the latter, depend on the heat and salubrity of
-the air; and that, in the course of a few centuries when the lands are
-cultivated, the forests cut down, the rivers confined within proper
-channels, and the marshes drained, this very country will become the
-most fruitful, healthy, and opulent in the world; as it appears already
-in every part which has been cultivated by man. We mean not to infer
-that large animals would then be produced, for the tapir and cabiai
-will never attain the size of the elephant or hippopotamus, but those
-which may be transported there will no longer diminish. By degrees man
-will fill up the vacuums in these immense territories, which, when
-discovered, were perfect desarts.
-
-The first writers who recorded the conquests of the Spaniards, to
-heighten the glory of their arms exaggerated the number of their
-enemies; but is it possible for any reasonable man to credit that
-there were millions of inhabitants at Cuba and St. Domingo, when those
-writers admit there was neither a monarchy, a republic, nor scarcely
-any society among them; and that in these two neighbouring islands,
-situated at but a little distance from the continent, there were only
-five species of animals, the largest of which was not bigger than a
-rabbit? Than this fact, as affirmed by Laet, Acosta, and Father du
-Tertre, in their different histories, no stronger proof can be adduced
-of the empty and desart state of this new-discovered world.
-
-M. Fabry, who travelled for fifteen months over the western parts of
-America, beyond the Mississippi, assured me that he sometimes did
-not meet a single man for the space of 300 or 400 leagues; and all
-our officers who went from Quebec to the Ohio, and from that river
-to Louisiana, agree that it is not uncommon to travel upwards of
-100 leagues without seeing a single family of savages. From these
-testimonies it is plain, that the most agreeable countries of this new
-continent were little better than desarts; but what is more immediately
-necessary to our purpose, they prove that we should distrust the
-evidence of our nomenclators, who set down in their catalogues animals
-as belonging to the new world which solely belong to the old, and
-others as native of particular districts where in fact they never
-existed; and in the same manner they have classed some animals as
-natives of the old world, which belong exclusively to America.
-
-I do not pretend to affirm positively that none of the animals which
-inhabit the warm climates are not common to both. To be physically
-certain of this it is necessary they should have been seen; but it is
-evident, with respect to the large animals of America, that none of
-them are to be found in the old continent, and very few of the small
-ones. Besides, allowing there to be some exceptions, they must relate
-to a trifling number of species, and in no degree affect the general
-rule which I intend to establish, and which seems to me to be our only
-certain guide to the knowledge of animals. This rule, which leads us
-to judge of them as much by climate and disposition as from figure and
-conformation, will seldom be found wrong, and it will enable us to
-avoid and discover a multitude of errors. If, for example, we mean to
-describe the hy�na of Arabia, we may safely affirm that it does not
-exist in Lapland; but we will not say with Brisson, and some others,
-that the hy�na and the glutton are the same animal; nor with Kolbe,
-that the crossed-fox, which inhabits the northern parts of the new
-continent, is found at the Cape of Good Hope, as the animal he mentions
-is not a fox, but a jackall. But it is not my object at present to
-point out all the errors of nomenclators; my intention is solely to
-prove that their blunders would have been less had they paid some
-attention to the differences of climates; if the history of animals
-had been so far studied as to discover, which I have done, that those
-of the southern parts of each continent are never found in both; and
-lastly, if they had abstained from generic names, which have confounded
-together a number of species, not only different, but even remote from
-each other.
-
-The true business of a nomenclator is not to enlarge his list, but to
-form rational comparisons in order to contract it. Nothing can be more
-easy than, by perusing all the authors on animals, and by selecting
-their names and phrases, to form a table which however will always
-be long, in proportion as the enquiry is superficial; while nothing
-can be more difficult than to compare them with that judgment and
-discernment which is necessary to reduce that table to its proper
-dimensions. I said before, and now repeat, that in the whole known
-part of the globe there are not above 200 species of quadrupeds,
-including among them 40 species of apes. To each of these, therefore,
-we had only to appropriate a name; and to retain 200 names, only a
-very moderate exertion of memory is required; for what purpose then
-are quadrupeds formed into classes and genera, which are nothing more
-than props to serve the memory in the recollection of plants, which are
-so very numerous, and often so very similar. But instead of a list of
-200 quadrupeds we have volumes heaped upon volumes full of intricate
-names and phrases. Why introduce an unintelligible jargon, when we may
-be understood by pronouncing a simple name? Why change terms merely
-to form classes? When a dozen animals are included under the name,
-for example, of _the Rabbit_, why is the Rabbit itself omitted, and
-must be sought for under the genus of _the Hare_? Is it not absurd
-and ridiculous to form classes in which the most remote genera are
-assembled together; to put in the first, for example, man and the
-bat; the elephant and scaly lizard in the second; the lion and ferret
-in the third; the hog and the mole in the fourth; and the rhinoceros
-and the rat in the fifth? Ideas so vague and ill-conceived can never
-maintain their ground. These works are destroyed by their own authors,
-one edition contradicting another, and neither of them approved but
-by children, or by such as are always the dupes of mystery, mistaking
-the appearance of method for the reality of science. By comparing the
-fourth edition of Linn�us's Systema Natur� with the tenth, we find man
-is no longer classed with the bat, but with the scaly lizard; that
-the elephant, hog, and rhinoceros, instead of being classed as before
-with the scaly lizard, mole, and rat, are all three huddled together
-with the shrew-mouse. In the former he had reduced all quadrupeds to
-five classes, but in the latter he divides them into seven. From these
-alterations we may form some idea of those introduced among the genera,
-and how the species have been jumbled and confounded. According to the
-same author there are two species[D] of men, the man of day and the man
-of night, and that these are so very distinct that they ought not to
-be regarded as varieties of the same species. Is not this adding fable
-to absurdity? and were it not better to remain silent with respect to
-matters of which we are ignorant, than to found essential characters,
-and general distinctions upon the grossest error? But to whatever
-length criticisms of this kind might be extended, I shall proceed no
-farther, especially as it does not form my principal object, having
-already said enough to put every reader on his guard, against the
-general as well as particular errors which abound so much in the works
-of nomenclators.
-
-[Footnote D: _Homo diurnus sapiens; homo nocturnus trogloditus._]
-
-In drawing general conclusions, from what has been advanced, we shall
-find that man is the only animated being in whose nature there is
-sufficient strength, genius, and flexibility, to subsist and multiply
-in all the different climates of the earth. It is evident that no
-other animal possesses this grand privilege, for, far from being able
-to multiply in every part of the globe, most of them are confined to
-certain climates, and even particular districts. In every respect man
-is the work of heaven, while many animals are the mere creatures of
-the earth. These of one continent exist not on another, and if there
-are a few exceptions, they are so changed and diminished as hardly to
-be known. Can a stronger proof be given that the impression of their
-form is not unalterable? that their nature, less permanent than that
-of man, may in time be varied, and even absolutely changed? that from
-the same cause those species which are least perfect, least active,
-and furnished with the fewest engines of defence, as well as the most
-delicate and the most cumbrous, have already, or will disappear, for
-their very existence depends on the form which man gives to the surface
-of the earth, or permits it to retain.
-
-The prodigious Mammoth, whose enormous bones I have often viewed with
-astonishment, and which were at least six times bigger than those of
-the largest elephant, exists no longer; although its remains have been
-found in Ireland, Siberia, Louisiana, and other places remote from each
-other. Of all species of quadrupeds this was certainly the largest and
-strongest, and since it has disappeared, how many smaller, weaker, and
-less remarkable, must have perished, without having left any evidence
-of their past existence? How many others have been improved or degraded
-by the great vicissitude of the earth and waters, by the culture or
-neglect of nature, by their long continuance in favourable or repugnant
-climates, that they are no longer the same! and yet, next to man,
-quadrupeds are beings whose nature is most fixed, and whose form most
-permanent. Birds and fishes vary more: those of insects are subject
-to greater variations still; and if we descend to plants, which ought
-not to be excluded from animated nature, we shall be astonished at the
-celerity and facility with which they vary and assume new forms.
-
-It may not be impossible, then, without inverting the order of nature,
-that all the animals of the new world originated from the same stock
-as those of the old; that having been afterwards separated by immense
-seas or impassable lands, they, in course of time, underwent all
-the effects of a climate which was new to them, and which must also
-have had its qualities changed by the very causes which produced its
-separation; and that they, in consequence, became not only inferior in
-size, but different in nature. But these circumstances, if true, ought
-not to prevent us from considering them now as animals of different
-species. From whatever causes these changes may have proceeded, whether
-produced by time, climate, or soil, or whether originating with the
-creation, they are not the less real. Nature is, indeed, in a perpetual
-fluctuation. It is sufficient for man to watch her in his own time, to
-look a little backward and forward, by way of forming a conjecture of
-what she might have been formerly and what she may hereafter be.
-
-As to the utility to be derived from this comparison of animals, it is
-evident, that independent of correcting the errors of our nomenclators,
-our knowledge of the animal creation will be enlarged, rendered
-less imperfect and more certain; that we shall be in less hazard of
-attributing to American animals, properties which belong to those of
-the East Indies, because they may have the same name; that in treating
-of foreign animals, from accounts given by travellers, we shall be more
-able to distinguish names and facts, and to refer them to their true
-species; and, in fine, that the history in which we are now engaged
-will be less erroneous, and perhaps more luminous and complete.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 102. _Black Cougar_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 101. _Tiger_]
-
-
-
-
-THE TIGER.
-
-
-In the class of carnivorous animals, the lion stands foremost, and
-he is immediately followed by the tiger, who, possessing all the bad
-qualities of the former, is a stranger to his good ones. To pride,
-courage, and strength, the lion adds dignity, clemency, and generosity,
-while the tiger is ferocious without provocation and cruel without
-necessity. Thus it is throughout all nature where rank proceeds from
-the superiority of strength. The first class, sole master of all, are
-less tyrannical than their immediate inferiors, who, denied unlimited
-authority, abuse those powers which they possess; thus the tiger is
-more to be dreaded than the lion. The latter often forgets that he is
-the sovereign, or strongest of animals; with an even pace he traverses
-the plains and forests; man he attacks not unless provoked, nor animals
-but when goaded by hunger. The tiger, on the contrary, though glutted
-with carnage, has still an insatiate thirst for blood; his rancour has
-no intervals. With indiscriminate fury he tears in pieces every animal
-he comes near, and destroys with the same ferocity a fresh animal as
-he had done the first. Thus he is the scourge of every country he
-inhabits; and of the appearance of man or his weapons, he is fearless.
-He will destroy whole flocks of domestic animals if he meets with them,
-and all the wild animals that come in his way. He attacks the young
-elephant and rhinoceros, and will sometimes brave the lion himself.
-
-The form of the body usually corresponds with the nature and
-disposition. The noble air of the lion, the height of his limbs in
-exact proportion to the length of his body, his large thick mane, which
-covers his shoulders and shades his face, his determined aspect, and
-solemn pace, seem to announce the dignity and majestic intrepidity of
-his nature. The tiger has a body too long, limbs disproportionally
-short, naked head, and haggard eyes; strong characteristics of
-desperate malice and insatiable cruelty. He has no instinct but an
-uniform rage, a blind fury, so undistinguishing that he not unoften
-devours his own progeny, and even tears the dam in pieces if she offers
-to defend them. Would he were to gratify his thirst for blood to its
-utmost, and by destroying them at their birth extinguish the whole race
-of monsters which he produces!
-
-Happy is it for other animals that the species of tiger is not
-numerous, and that it is chiefly confined to the warmest provinces
-of the East. They are found in Malabar, Siam, Bengal, and in all the
-countries inhabited by the elephant and rhinoceros. It is, indeed,
-said, that they accompany the latter for the purpose of eating their
-dung, which serves to purge them. Be this as it may, they are often
-seen together at the sides of lakes and rivers, where they are probably
-compelled to go by thirst, having often occasion for water to cool that
-fervor they so constantly endure. It is also a convenient situation to
-surprise his victims, since the heat of the climate compels all animals
-to seek for water several times a day; here he chooses his prey, or
-rather multiplies his massacres, for having killed one animal, he
-often proceeds to the destruction of others, tearing open their bodies,
-and swallowing their blood by long draughts; for which their thirst
-seems never to be appeased.
-
-When, however, he has killed a large animal, as a horse, or buffalo,
-he does not devour it on the spot, for fear of being disturbed, but
-drags it off to the forest, which he does with such ease, that the
-swiftness of his course seems scarcely retarded by the enormous load
-which he trails after him. From this circumstance we might judge of his
-strength, but we shall have a more just idea of it by considering his
-bodily dimensions. Some travellers have compared him for size to the
-horse, others to the buffalo, and others merely say he is larger than
-the lion; but we have accounts more recent, which deserve the utmost
-confidence. I have been assured by M. de la Lande-Magon that he saw a
-tiger in the East-Indies fifteen feet long; allowing that he includes
-the tail, and granting four feet for that, the body would still be
-more than ten. It is true that the skin preserved in the Royal Cabinet
-of France is not more than seven feet from the tip of the nose to the
-insertion of the tail; but this tiger had been taken very young, and
-was afterwards always confined in a very narrow apartment, where the
-want of exercise, and space to range in, restraint and, perhaps, not
-having proper nourishment, not only its life might have been shortened,
-but the growth of its body prevented. From the dissection of animals of
-every species that have been reared in houses or court-yards, we find
-that their bodies and members for want of exercise, never attain their
-natural dimensions, and that the organs which are not used as those of
-generation, are so little expanded as to be scarcely perceivable.
-
-The difference of climate alone is capable of producing the same
-effects as confinement and want of exercise. None of the animals of
-hot countries produce in cold ones, even though well fed, and at
-full liberty; and as reproduction is a natural consequence of full
-nutrition, it is evident that when the former does not operate the
-latter must be incomplete; and that, in such animals, cold of itself
-is sufficient to restrain the powers of the internal mould, and
-to diminish the growth, since it destroys the active faculties of
-reproduction. It is not, therefore, surprising that the tiger above
-alluded to should not have acquired its natural growth; yet from a bare
-view of its stuffed skin, and an examination of its skeleton, we may
-form an idea of its formidable strength as an animal. Upon the bones
-of the legs there are inequalities which denote muscular ligatures
-stronger than those of the lion. These bones are also to the full as
-strong, though shorter; and, as already intimated, the height of the
-tiger's legs bear no proportion to the length of his body. Thus that
-velocity which Pliny ascribes to him and which the word _tiger_ seems
-to imply, ought not to be understood of his ordinary movements, or the
-celerity of his continued course; for it is evident, that as his legs
-are short and he can neither walk nor run so fast as those animals
-which have them proportionally longer; but this prodigious swiftness,
-may with great propriety, be applied to the extraordinary bounds he
-is capable of making without any particular effort, for if we suppose
-him to have the same strength and agility in proportion with the cat,
-which he greatly resembles in conformation, and which in an instant
-will leap several feet, we must allow that the bounds of a tiger, whose
-body is ten times as large, must be immense. It is not, therefore,
-the quickness of his running, but of his leaping that Pliny meant to
-denote, and which from the impossibility of evading, when he has made a
-spring, still renders him more formidable.
-
-The tiger is, perhaps, the only animal whose spirit cannot be subdued.
-Neither force nor restraint, violence nor flattery, can prevail, in the
-least, on his stubborn Nature. He is equally indignant at the gentle
-and harsh usage of his keeper; and time instead of mollifying his
-disposition, only serves to increase his fierceness and malignity. With
-equal wrath he snaps at the hand that feeds as that which chastises
-him. He roars at the sight of every object which lives, and seems to
-consider all as his proper prey; he seems to devour beforehand with a
-look, menacing it with the grinding of his teeth, and, regardless of
-his chains, makes efforts to dart upon it, as if to shew his malignity
-when incapable of exerting his force.
-
-To complete the idea of the strength of this terrible animal we shall
-quote Father Tachard's account of a combat between a tiger and three
-elephants, at Siam, of which he was an eye-witness; he says, "a lofty
-palisade of bamboo cane was built, about a hundred feet square, into
-which inclosure three elephants were introduced, for the purpose of
-fighting a tiger. Their heads, and part of their trunks, were covered
-with a kind of armour like a mask. As soon as we arrived at the place
-a tiger was brought forth, of a size much larger than any we had seen
-before; he was not at first let loose, but held by two cords, so that
-he could not make a spring; one of the elephants approached and gave
-him three or four blows on the back with his trunk, with such force as
-to beat him to the ground, where he lay for some time without motion,
-as if he had been dead, although this first attack had greatly abated
-his fury, he was no sooner untied, and at liberty, than he gave a loud
-roar, and made a spring at the elephant's trunk, which was stretched
-out to strike him; but the elephant drew up his trunk with great
-dexterity, received the tiger upon his tusks, and tossed him up into
-the air. This so discouraged him that he no more ventured to approach
-the elephant, but made several turns round the palisade, making several
-efforts to spring at the spectators. Shortly after a second, and then
-a third elephant was set against him, each of which gave him such
-blows that he once more lay for dead, and they certainly would have
-killed him had not an end been put to the combat." From this account
-we may form some idea of the strength and ferocity of the tiger; for
-this animal, though young, and not arrived at his full growth, though
-reduced to captivity, and held by cords, yet he was so formidable to
-three such enormous foes, that it was thought necessary to protect
-those parts of their bodies which were not defended by impenetrable
-skin.
-
-The tiger, of which an anatomical description was made by the
-Jesuits at China, and communicated by Father Gouie to the Academy of
-Sciences, seemed to be the true species,[E] as does also that which
-the Portuguese have distinguished by the name of Royal Tiger. Dellon
-expressly says, in his Travels, that tigers abound more in Malabar than
-in any other part of the East Indies; that their species are numerous,
-but that the largest, which is as big as a horse, and called by the
-Portuguese the Royal Tiger, is very rare. To all appearance, then, the
-Royal Tiger is not a different species; he is found in the East Indies
-only; and, notwithstanding what has been said by Brisson, and others,
-is an utter stranger at Brasil. I am even inclined to think that the
-real tiger is peculiar to Asia, and the inland parts of the south of
-Africa; for though the generality of travellers, who have frequented
-the African coasts, speak of tigers as very common, yet it is very
-plain, from their own accounts of them, that they are either leopards,
-panthers, or ounces. Dr. Shaw says, that the lion and panther hold the
-first rank at Tunis and Algiers, and that in those parts of Barbary the
-tiger is an animal unknown. This observation seems founded in truth,
-for they were Indian, and not African, ambassadors, who presented
-Augustus, while at Samos, the first tiger the Romans had ever seen; and
-it was also from the Indies that Heliogabalus procured those tigers,
-with which, in order to represent the god Bacchus, he proposed that his
-car should be drawn.
-
-[Footnote E: This tiger was streaked, and had been slain, with four
-others, in the field, by the Emperor, it weighed 265lbs; but one of
-them weighed 400; when dissected, one-third of its stomach was full of
-worms, and yet it could not be said the animal had begun to putrify.
-_Hist. Acad._ 1669.]
-
-Thus the species of the tiger has always been more rare and less
-diffused than that of the lion. The female, like the lioness, however,
-produces four or five cubs at a time. She is fierce at all times, but,
-upon her young being in danger, her fury becomes excessive. She then
-braves every danger to secure them, and will pursue the plunderers of
-them with such ferocity, that they are often obliged to drop one to
-secure the rest; this she takes up and conveys to the nearest cover,
-and then renews the pursuit, and will follow them to the very gates of
-towns, or to the ships in which they may have taken refuge; and when
-she has no longer hopes recovering her young, she expresses her agony
-by the most dismal howls of despair.
-
-The tiger testifies his anger in the same manner as the lion; he moves
-the skin of his face, shews his teeth, and roars in a frightful manner;
-but the tone of his voice is very different; and some travellers
-have compared it to the hoarse croak of certain large birds; and the
-ancients expressed it by saying, _Tigrides indomit� raucant, rugiuntque
-Leones_.
-
-The skins of these animals are much esteemed, particularly in China;
-the Mandarins cover their seats and sedans with them, and also their
-cushions and pillows in winter. In Europe, though scarce, they are of
-no great value; those of the panther and leopard being held in much
-greater estimation. The skin is the only advantage, trifling as it
-is, which man can derive from this dreadful animal. It has been said
-that his sweat is poisonous, and that the hair of his whiskers is more
-dangerous than an envenomed arrow; but the real mischiefs he does when
-alive are sufficient, without giving imaginary ones to parts of his
-body when dead; for certain it is, the Indians eat the flesh of the
-tiger, and that they neither find it disagreeable nor unwholesome, and
-if the hair of his whiskers, taken in the form of a pill, do destroy,
-it is that being hard and sharp it produces the same effect in the
-stomach as a number of small needles would.
-
-
-
-
-THE PANTHER, OUNCE, AND LEOPARD.
-
-
-In order to avoid an erroneous use of names, to prevent doubt, and
-to banish ambiguity, it may be necessary to remark that, in Asia and
-Africa, there are, beside the tiger, whose history we have just given,
-three other animals of the same genus, but which not only differ
-from him, but also from each other. These are the Panther, Ounce and
-Leopard, which have been confounded together by naturalists, and also
-with a species of the same kind peculiar to America; but to prevent
-confusion, we shall, in the present instance, confine ourselves solely
-to those of the old continent.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 107. _Panther_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 108. _Caracal_]
-
-The first of these species is the Panther, (_fig. 107._) which the
-Greeks distinguished by the name of Pardalis, the Latins by that of
-Panthera, and Pardus, and the more modern Latins by Leopardus. The body
-of this animal, when it has attained its full growth, is five or six
-feet long, from the tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail, which
-is above two feet long. Its colour is of a yellow hue, more or less
-dark on the back and sides, and whitish under the belly; it is marked
-with black spots which are circular, or in the form of a ring, and in
-which rings there are generally lesser spots in the centre of the same
-colour; some of these are oval, others, circular, and are frequently
-above three inches in diameter; on the face and legs the black spots
-are single, and on the tail and belly they are irregular.
-
-The second is the Little Panther of Oppian, which the ancients have
-distinguished by no particular name, but which modern travellers have
-called Ounce, corrupted from the name of lynx or lunx. To this animal
-we shall preserve the name of Ounce, because, in fact, it seems to have
-some affinity to the lynx. It is much less than the panther, its body
-being only about three feet and a half long, which is nearly the size
-of the lynx; its hair is longer than that of the panther, as is also
-its tail, which sometimes measures three feet, although its body is
-one-third less than that of the panther, whose tail never exceeds two
-feet and an half. The colour of the ounce is whitish grey upon the back
-and sides, and still more white under the belly; the back and sides
-of the panther are always yellow, but the spots are nearly of the same
-size and form in them both.
-
-The third species was unknown to the ancients, being peculiar to
-Senegal, Guinea, and other southern countries which they had not
-discovered; and which we, following the example of travellers, shall
-call Leopard a name which has been improperly applied to the panther.
-The Leopard is larger than the ounce, though considerably smaller than
-the panther, being only four feet in length, the tail measures from two
-to two feet and a half. On the back and sides the hair is of a yellow
-colour, under the belly it is whitish; it has black annular spots like
-those of the panther and ounce, but smaller and less regularly disposed.
-
-Each of these animals, therefore, forms a different species. Our
-furriers call the skins of the first species panther skins; those of
-the second, which we call ounce, African tiger skins; and those of the
-third, or leopard, very improperly tiger skins.
-
-Oppian knew the panther and ounce, and was the first who observed there
-were two species of the former, the one large and the other small.
-Though alike in the form of their bodies and the disposition of the
-spots, yet they differed in the length of their tails, which in the
-small species was longer than in the large ones. The Arabians have
-named the large panther Nemer, and the small one Phet or Phed; which
-last seems to be a corruption of Faadh, the present name of this animal
-in Barbary. "The Faadh," says Dr. Shaw, in his Travels, "resembles the
-leopard, (he should have expressed it panther) in having similar spots,
-in other respects they however differ, for the skin of the faadh is
-more dark and coarse, and its disposition is also less fierce." Besides
-we learn from a passage of Albert, commented on by Gesner, that the
-phet, or phed of the Arabs, is called in the Italian, and some other
-European languages Leuaza, or Lonza. It is beyond a doubt then, that
-the little panther of Oppian, the phet or phed of the Arabians, the
-faadh of Barbary, and the onza, or ounce of the Europeans, is the same
-animal; and probably also is the Pard or Pardus of the ancients, and
-the Panthera of Pliny; since he mentions its hair is white, whereas, as
-we have observed, that of the great Panther is yellow. It is, besides,
-highly probable that the little panther was simply called pard or
-pardus, and that, in process of time, the large panther obtained the
-name of leopard, or leopardus, from a notion that it was a mongrel
-species, which had aggrandized itself by an intermixture with that
-of the lion. As this could only be an unfounded prejudice, I have
-preferred the primitive name of panther to the modern compound one of
-leopard, which last I have applied to another animal that has hitherto
-been mentioned by equivocal names only. The ounce therefore differs
-from the panther, in being smaller, having a longer tail, also longer
-hair, of a whitish grey colour; while the leopard differs from them
-both, by having a coat of a brilliant yellow, more or less deep, and by
-the smallness of his spots, which are generally disposed in groups, as
-if each were formed by three or four united.
-
-Pliny, and several after him, have said, that the coat of the female
-panther was whiter than that of the male. This may be true of the
-ounce, but no such difference have we ever observed in the panthers
-belonging to the menagerie of Versailles, which were designed from
-life; and if there be any difference between the colour of the male and
-female it can be neither very permanent nor sensible; in some of the
-skins we have, indeed, perceived different shades, but which we rather
-ascribed to the difference of age or climate than of sex.
-
-The animals described and dissected by the Academy of Sciences, under
-the name of Tigers, and that described by Caius, in Gesner, under
-the name of Uncia, are of the same species as our leopard; and of
-this there cannot remain a doubt, after comparing the figure, and the
-description which we have given, with those of Caius and M. Perrault.
-The latter, indeed, says, that the animals so dissected and described
-by the gentlemen of the Academy, under the name of tigers, were not the
-ounce of Caius; but the only reasons he assigns are, that the ounce is
-smaller, and has not white on the under part of its body. It may also
-be observed, that Caius, who does not give the exact dimensions, says,
-generally it was bigger than the shepherd's dog, and as thick as the
-bull-dog, though shorter in its legs; how, therefore, Perrault should
-assert the ounce of Caius to be smaller than the tigers dissected by
-the gentlemen of the Academy I am at a loss to conceive, for those
-animals measured only four feet from the nose to the tail, which is
-the exact length of the leopard we are now describing. On the whole,
-then, it appears, that the tigers of the Academy, the ounce of Caius,
-and our leopard, are the same animal; and not less true do I conceive
-it that our panther is the same with the panther of the ancients,
-notwithstanding the distinctions which have been attempted to be made
-by Linn�us, Brisson, and other nomenclators, as they perfectly resemble
-each other in every respect but size, and that may safely be ascribed
-to confinement and want of exercise. This difference of size at first
-perplexed me, but after a scrupulous examination of the large skins
-sold by the furriers with that of our own, I had not the smallest doubt
-of their being the same animals. The panther I have described, and two
-other animals of the same species kept at Versailles, were brought from
-Barbary. The two first were presented to the French King by the Regency
-of Algiers, and the third was purchased for his Majesty of an Algerine
-Jew.
-
-It is particularly necessary to observe, that neither of the animals
-we are now describing can be classed with the pardus of Linn�us, or
-the leopardus of Brisson, as they are described with having long spots
-on the belly, which is a characteristic that belongs neither to the
-panther, ounce, or leopard, and yet the panther of the ancients has it,
-as well as the pardus of Gesner, and the panthera of Alpinus; but from
-the researches I have made I am convinced that these three animals,
-and perhaps a fourth, which we shall treat of hereafter, and which have
-not these long spots on the belly, are the only species of this kind to
-be found in Asia and Africa, and therefore we must hold this character
-of our nomenclators as fictitious, especially when we recollect,
-that if any animals have these long spots, either in the old or new
-continent, they are always upon the neck or back, and never on the
-belly. We shall merely observe further, that in reading the ancients we
-must not confound the _panther_ with the _panthera_, the latter is the
-animal we have described, but the panther of the scholiasts of Homer
-and other authors, is a kind of timid wolf, perhaps the jackall, as I
-shall explain when I come to the history of that animal.
-
-After having dissipated the cloud under which our nomenclators seem to
-have obscured Nature, and removed every ambiguity, by giving the exact
-description of the three animals under consideration, we shall now
-proceed to the peculiarities which relate to them respectively.
-
-Of the panther, which I had an opportunity of examining alive, his
-appearance was fierce, he had a restless eye, a cruel countenance,
-precipitate motions, and a cry similar to that of an enraged dog,
-but more strong and harsh; his tongue was red and exceedingly rough,
-his teeth were strong and pointed; his claws sharp and hard; his skin
-was beautiful, of a yellow hue, interspersed with black spots of an
-annular form, and his hair short; the upper part of his tail was marked
-with large black spots, and with black and white ringlets towards the
-extremity; his size and make was similar to that of a vigorous mastiff,
-but his legs were not so large.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 103. _Leopard_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 104. _Ounce_]
-
-All our travellers confirm the testimonies of the ancients as to the
-large and small panther, that is, our panther and ounce. It appears
-that there now exist, as in the days of Oppian, in that part of Africa
-which extends along the Mediterranean, and in the parts of Asia which
-were known to the ancients, two species of panthers, the largest of
-which has been called panther or leopard, and the smaller ounce, by the
-generality of travellers. By them it is universally allowed that the
-ounce is easily tamed, that he is trained to the chace and employed for
-this purpose in Persia, and in several other provinces of Asia; that
-some ounces are so small as to be carried by a horseman on the crupper,
-and so mild as to allow themselves to be handled and caressed.[F] The
-Panther appears to be of a more fierce and stubborn nature; when in
-the power of man, and in his gentlest moments, he seems rather to be
-subdued than tamed. Never does he entirely lose the ferocity of his
-disposition; and in order to train him to the chace, much care and
-precaution are necessary. When thus employed, he is shut up in a cage
-and carried in one of the little vehicles of the country; as soon
-as the game appears, the door is opened, and he springs towards his
-prey, generally overtaking it in three or four bounds, drags it to the
-ground and strangles it; but if disappointed of his aim he becomes
-furious, and will even attack his master, who to prevent this dangerous
-consequence usually carries with him some pieces of flesh or live
-animals, as lambs or kids, one of which he puts in his way to appease
-the fury arising from his disappointment.
-
-[Footnote F: A particular account of this practice is related in
-Tavernier's Travels; Chardin's Travels in Persia; Gesner's Hist. Quad.
-Pros. Alp. Hist. Egypt. Bernier dans le Mosul, &c.]
-
-The species of the ounce (_fig. 104._) seems to be more numerous, and
-more diffused than that of the panther; it is very common in Arabia,
-Barbary, and the southern parts of Asia, Egypt, perhaps, excepted.[G]
-They are even known in China, where they are distinguished by the
-name of _hinen-pao_.[H] The ounce is employed for the chace, in the
-hot climates of Asia, because dogs are very rarely to be found unless
-transported thither, and then they very soon lose not only their voice
-but their instinct.[I] Besides the panther, ounce, and leopard, have
-such an antipathy to dogs, that they attack them in preference to all
-other animals.[J] In Europe our sporting dogs have no enemy but the
-wolf; but in countries full of tigers, lions, panthers, leopards, and
-ounces, which are all more strong and cruel than the wolf, to attempt
-to keep dogs would be in vain. As the scent of the ounce is inferior to
-that of the dog, he hunts solely by the eye; with such vigour does he
-bound, that a ditch, or a wall of several feet high, is no impediment
-to his career; he often climbs trees to watch for his prey, and when
-near, will suddenly dart upon them; and this method is also adopted by
-the panther and leopard.
-
-[Footnote G: Maserier affirms that there are neither lions, tigers, nor
-leopards in Egypt. _Descrip. Egypt, Tom. II._]
-
-[Footnote H: A kind of leopard or panther found in the province of
-Pekin; it is not so ferocious as the ordinary tigers. _Thevenot._]
-
-[Footnote I: Vide Voyage de Jean Ovington, _Tom. I. p. 278_.]
-
-[Footnote J: The leopards, says le Maire, are deadly enemies to dogs,
-and devour all of them they meet.]
-
-The Leopard, (_fig. 103._) has the same manners and disposition as
-the panther; but in no part does he appear to have been tamed like
-the ounce; nor do the Negroes of Senegal and Guinea, where he greatly
-abounds, ever make use of him in the chace. He is generally larger than
-the ounce, but smaller than the panther; and his tail, though shorter
-than that of the ounce, is from two to two feet and a half in length.
-This leopard of Senegal and Guinea, to which we have particularly
-appropriated the name of _leopard_, is probably the animal which at
-Congo is called the _Engoi_; and perhaps also the _Antamba_[K] of
-Madagascar. I quote these names, from a persuasion that an acquaintance
-with the denominations applied to them in the countries which they
-inhabit would increase our knowledge of animals.
-
-[Footnote K: The antamba is a beast as large as a dog; it has a round
-head, and, in the opinion of the Negroes, resembles the leopard; it
-devours both men and cattle, and is only to be found in the most
-unfrequented parts of the island. _Flacourt's Voyage._]
-
-The species of the leopard seems to be subject to more varieties than
-that of the panther and the ounce. I have examined many leopards' skins
-which differed from each other, not only in the ground colour, but in
-the shade of the spots which last are always smaller than those of the
-panther or the ounce. In all leopards' skins, the spots are nearly of
-the same size and the same figure, and their chief difference consists
-in their colour being deeper in some than in others; in being also more
-or less yellow, consists also the difference in the hair itself; but as
-all these skins are nearly of the same size, both in the body and tail,
-it is highly probable they belong to the same species of animals.
-
-The panther, ounce, and leopard, are only found in Africa, and the
-hottest climates of Asia; they have never been diffused over the
-northern, nor even the temperate regions. Aristotle speaks of the
-panther as an animal of Asia and Africa, and expressly says, it does
-not exist in Europe. It is impossible, therefore, that these animals,
-which are confined to the torrid zone of the old continent, could
-ever have passed to the new world by any northern lands; and it will
-be found, by the description we shall give of the American animals
-of this kind, that they are a different species, and ought not to be
-confounded with those of Africa and Asia, as they have been by most of
-our nomenclators.
-
-These animals, in general, delight in the thickest forests, and
-often frequent the borders of rivers, and the environs of solitary
-habitations, where they surprise their prey, and seize equally the tame
-and wild animals that come there to drink. Men they seldom attack, even
-though provoked. They easily climb trees in pursuit of wild cats and
-other animals, which cannot escape them. Though they live solely by
-prey, and are usually meagre, travellers pretend that their flesh is
-not unpalatable; the Indians and negroes eat it, but they prefer that
-of the dog. With respect to their skins, they are all valuable, and
-make excellent furs. The most beautiful and most costly is that of the
-leopard, which, when the colours are bright, not unfrequently sells for
-eight or nine guineas.
-
-
-
-
-THE JAGUAR.
-
-
-The jaguar (_fig. 105._) resembles the ounce in size, and nearly so in
-the form of the spots upon his skin, and in disposition. He is less
-ferocious than the panther or the leopard. The ground of his colour,
-like that of the leopard, is a bright yellow, and not grey like that
-of the ounce. His tail is shorter than that of either; his hair is
-longer than the panther's, but shorter than that of the ounce; it is
-frizzled when he is young, but smooth when at full growth. I never saw
-this animal alive, but had one sent me entire and well preserved in
-spirits, and it is from this subject the figure and description have
-been drawn; it was taken when very young, and brought up in the house
-till it was two years old, and then killed for the purpose of being
-sent to me; it had not therefore acquired its full growth, but it was
-evident, from a slight inspection, that its full size would hardly
-have equalled that of an ordinary dog. It is, nevertheless, an animal
-the most formidable, the most cruel, it is, in a word, the tiger of
-the new world, where Nature seems to have diminished all the genera of
-quadrupeds. The Jaguar, like the tiger, lives on prey; but a lighted
-brand will put him to flight, and if his appetite is satisfied, he so
-entirely loses all courage and vivacity, that he will fly from a single
-dog. He discovers no signs of activity or alertness but when pressed
-with hunger. The savages, by nature cowardly, dread his approach. They
-pretend he has a particular propensity to destroy them, and that if
-he meets with Indians and Europeans asleep together, he will pass
-the latter and kill the former. The same thing has been said of the
-leopard, that he prefers black men to white, that he scents them out,
-and can distinguish them as well by night as by day.
-
-Almost all the authors who have written the History of the New World,
-mention this animal, some by the name of tiger or leopard, and others
-under the names given them at Brasil, Mexico, &c. The first who gave
-a particular description of him were Piso and Marcgrave, who called
-him jaguara, instead of janouara, his Brasilian name. They also speak
-of another animal of the same genus, and perhaps of the same species,
-under the name of jaguarette; but, like those two authors, we have
-distinguished them from each other, because there is a probability
-of their being different species; but whether they are really so, or
-only varieties of the same species, we cannot determine, having never
-seen but one of the kinds. Piso and Marcgrave say, that the jaguarette
-differs from the jaguar, by its hair being shorter, more glossy, and
-of a different colour, being black, interspersed with spots of a still
-deeper black. But from the similitude in the form of his body, in his
-manners, and disposition, he may, nevertheless, be only a variety of
-the same species, especially as, according to the testimony of Piso,
-the ground colour of the jaguar, as well as that of the spots, vary in
-different individuals; he says that some are marked with black, and
-others with red or yellowish spots; and with regard to the difference
-of colour, that is, of grey, yellow, or black, the same is to be met
-with in other species of animals, as there are black wolves, black
-foxes, black squirrels, &c. If such variations are not so common among
-wild as tame animals, it is because the former are less liable to those
-accidents which tend to produce them. Their lives being more uniform,
-their food less various, and their freedom less restrained, their
-nature must be more permanent, that is, less subject to accidental
-alterations and changes in colour.
-
-The jaguar is found in Brasil, Paraguay, Tucuman, Guiana, in the
-country of the Amazons, in Mexico, and in all parts of South America.
-At Cayenne, however, this animal is more scarce than the cougar, which
-they denominate red tiger, nor is the jaguar so common now in Brasil,
-which appears his native country, as it was formerly. A price has been
-set upon his head, so that many of them have been destroyed, and the
-others have withdrawn themselves from the coasts to the inland parts of
-the country. The jaguarette appears to have been always more scarce,
-or at least to have inhabited those places which were distant from the
-haunts of men, and the few travellers who mention him appear to have
-drawn their accounts entirely from Marcgrave and Piso.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 105. _Jaguar of New Spain_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 106. _Cougar_]
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-M. le Brun had a female Jaguar of New Spain (_fig. 105._) sent him
-in the year 1775; it appeared very young, and was much less than the
-one described in the original work, this measuring one foot eleven
-inches long, and the former two feet five inches; there was a great
-resemblance between them, and the differences only such as are common
-to the varieties of the same species. The ground colour of the one we
-are now speaking of was a dirty grey intermixed with red: the spots
-were yellow, bordered with black; its head yellow, and ears black, with
-a white spot on the external part.
-
-Among a number of excellent remarks made by M. Sonnini de Manoncour,
-respecting the jaguars of Guiana, he says, "the hair of the young
-jaguar is not frizzled, as stated by M. de Buffon, but perfectly
-smooth, and with regard to their only equalling the size of an ordinary
-dog, I have had the skin of one that measured near five feet from
-the nose to the tail, which was two feet long; and from the tracks I
-have seen of these animals I have little doubt of the American tigers
-being as large as those of Africa, except the royal tiger, the largest
-animal to which that name is given; for the panther, which M. de
-Buffon considers the largest, does not exceed five or six feet when
-full grown, and it is certain that some of these animals exceed those
-dimensions. When young their colour is a deep yellow, which becomes
-lighter as they advance in years. He is not by any means an indolent
-animal; he constantly attacks dogs, commits great devastation among
-flocks, and in the desarts is even formidable to men. In a journey
-I made through these forests, we were tormented with one for three
-successive nights, and yet he avoided all our attempts to destroy him;
-but finding we kept up large fires, of which they are much afraid, he
-at last left us with a dismal howling. At Cayenne the natives have an
-idea that the jaguar would rather destroy them than the whites, but
-it is not so with the savages, with whom I have travelled through the
-desarts, and never found them to have any particular terror; they slept
-as we did, with their hammocks suspended, making a little fire under
-them, which often went out before the morning; and, in short, took no
-particular precautions, where they knew themselves surrounded with
-those animals. (This, observes M. Buffon, is a strong proof that they
-are not very dangerous animals to men.) The flesh of the jaguar is not
-good. All the animals of the new continent fly from him, not being able
-to withstand his power: the only one capable of making any tolerable
-resistance is the ant-eater, who, on being attacked, turns on his back,
-and often preserves himself by the strength of his long claws."
-
-
-
-
-THE COUGAR.
-
-
-The Cougar, (_fig. 106._) is longer but less thick than the jaguar; he
-is more agile, more slender, and stands higher on his legs; he has a
-small head, long tail, and short hair, which is nearly of one entire
-colour, namely, a lively red, intermixed with a few blackish tints,
-particularly on his back. He is neither marked with stripes like the
-tiger, nor with spots like the panther, ounce, or leopard. His chin,
-neck, and all the inferior parts of his body are whitish. Though not
-so strong as the jaguar he is as fierce, and perhaps more cruel. He
-appears more ravenous, for having once seized his prey, he kills it,
-and without waiting to tear it to pieces, he continues to eat and
-suck alternately, until he has gorged his appetite and glutted his
-blood-thirsty fury.
-
-These animals are common in Guiana. They have been known formerly
-to swim over from the continent to Cayenne, in order to devour the
-flocks; insomuch that they were at first considered as the scourge of
-the colony; but by degrees the settlers lessened their numbers, and by
-continually hunting them have compelled the remainder to retire far
-from the cultivated parts of the country. They are found in Brasil,
-Paraguay, and in the country of the Amazons; and there is reason to
-believe that the animal, described by some travellers, under the name
-of the Ocorome, in Peru, is the same as the cougar, as well as that in
-the country of the Iroquois, which has been considered as a tiger,
-though it is neither striped like that animal, nor spotted like the
-panther.
-
-The cougar, by the lightness of his body, and length of his legs,
-seems to be more calculated for speed, and climbing of trees, than the
-jaguar. They are equally indolent and cowardly, when glutted with prey;
-and they seldom attack men unless they find them asleep. When there is
-a necessity for passing the night in the woods, the kindling a fire
-is the only precaution necessary to prevent their approach.[L] They
-delight in the shades of forests, where they hide themselves in some
-bushy tree, in order to dart upon such animals as pass by. Though they
-live only on prey, and drink blood more often than water, yet it is
-said their flesh is very palatable. Piso says, it is as good as veal;
-and Charlevoix, and others, have compared it to mutton. I think it is
-hardly credible that the flesh can be well tasted; and therefore prefer
-the testimony of Desmarchais, who says, the best thing about this
-animal is his skin, of which they make horse-cloths, his flesh being
-generally lean and of a disagreeable flavour.
-
-[Footnote L: The Indians on the banks of the Oronoka, in Guiana, light
-a fire during the night in order to frighten away the tigers who dare
-not approach the place at long as the fire remains burning.]
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-Mr. Colinson mentions another species of cougar, which is found on
-the mountains of Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and the adjacent
-provinces, and which, from his account, seems to differ very much from
-that just described; his legs being shorter, and his body and tail
-much longer, but in colour, and in the shape of the head, they have a
-perfect resemblance.
-
-M. de la Borde describes three species of rapacious animals at Cayenne;
-first, the jaguar, which they call tiger; the second, the cougar, or
-red tiger; (the former is about the size of a large bull-dog, and the
-latter much smaller) and the third they call black tiger, which we
-have termed black cougar. (_fig. 102._) "Its head, continues M. de la
-Borde, is somewhat like that of a common cougar; it has long black
-hair, a long tail, and large whiskers, but is much less than the other.
-The skin of both the jaguar and cougar are easily penetrated even
-with the arrows of the Indians. When very hard set for food, they will
-attack cows and oxen; in this case they spring upon their backs, and
-having brought them to the ground, they tear them to pieces, first
-opening their breasts and bellies, to glut themselves with their blood;
-they then drag pieces of flesh into the wood, covering the remainder
-with branches of trees, and keeping near to feed upon it, until it
-begins to putrify, when they touch it no more. They will keep near a
-flock of wild hogs, for the purpose of seizing the stragglers, but
-cautiously avoid being surrounded by them. They often seek for prey
-on the sea-shore, and devour the eggs left there by the turtles: they
-also make prey of the ca�mans, or alligators, lizards, and fishes; to
-take the former, they use the craft of lying down by the edge of the
-water, which they strike so as to make sufficient noise to attract his
-attention, who will come towards the place, and no sooner puts his head
-above water, than his seducer makes a certain spring at him, kills and
-drags him to some convenient place where he may devour him at leisure.
-It is said by the Indians that the jaguar decoys the agouti in the
-same manner, by counterfeiting his cry. They sometimes eat the leaves
-and buds of the Indian figs; they are excellent swimmers, and cross
-the largest rivers. They seldom have more than one young at a time,
-which they hide in the trunks of hollow trees. They eat their flesh at
-Cayenne, and, when young, it is as white as that of a rabbit."
-
-The cougar is easily tamed, and rendered nearly as familiar as domestic
-animals.
-
-
-
-
-THE LYNX.
-
-
-The gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences have given a very accurate
-description of the Lynx, and have discussed with equal ingenuity and
-erudition the circumstances and names relative to this animal, which
-occur in the writings of the ancients. They have shewn that the lynx
-of �lian is the same animal which they have dissected and described
-under the name of Lupus-cervarius, and justly censure those who have
-taken it for the Thos of Aristotle. This discussion is enriched with
-observations and reflections equally interesting and pertinent; it is
-a pity, therefore, they had not adopted its real name of lynx, instead
-of that which is the same that Gaza gave to the _thos_ of Aristotle.
-Having, like Oppian, intimated that there are two species or races of
-the lynx, the one large, which chaces the stag and fallow-deer, and
-the other smaller, which scarcely hunts any thing but the hare, they
-appear to have confounded the two species together, namely, the spotted
-lynx, which is commonly found in the northern countries; and the lynx
-of the Levant or Barbary, whose skin is of an uniform colour. I have
-seen both these animals alive, and they closely resemble each other
-in many particulars. They have both long stripes of black hair at the
-extremities of their ears. This very circumstance, by which �lian first
-distinguished the lynx, belongs, in fact, to these animals only, and
-perhaps it was this which induced the Academy to consider them as the
-same species. But, independently of the difference of colour and spots
-upon the hair, it will appear extremely probable that they belong to
-two distinct species.
-
-Klein says, that the most beautiful lynx belongs to Africa and Asia in
-general, and to Persia in particular; that he had seen one at Dresden,
-which came from Africa, which was finely spotted, and of a considerable
-height; that those of Europe, especially from Prussia, and other
-northern countries are less pleasing to the eye, that their colour is
-little, if at all, inclined to white, but rather of a reddish hue,
-with spots confused and huddled together. Without absolutely denying
-what M. Klein has here advanced, I must declare I could never learn
-from any other authority that the lynx is an inhabitant of the warm
-climates of Asia and Africa. Kolbe is the only writer who mentions the
-lynx as common at the Cape of Good Hope, and as perfectly resembling
-that of Brandenburg in Germany; but I have discovered so many mistakes
-in the writings of this author, that I never gave much credit to his
-testimony, unless when supported by that of others. Now all travellers
-mention having seen the spotted lynx in the North of Germany, in
-Lithuania, Muscovy, Siberia, Canada, and other northern regions of both
-continents; but not one, whose accounts I have read, asserts he met
-with this animal in the warm climates of Africa or Asia. The lynxes
-of the Levant, Barbary, Arabia, and other hot climates, are, as I
-before observed, of one uniform colour, and without spots; they cannot,
-therefore, be the same as that mentioned by Klein, which he says was
-finely spotted, nor that of Kolbe, which, according to his statement,
-perfectly resembled those of Brandenburgh. It would be difficult to
-reconcile these testimonies with the information we have from other
-hands. The lynx is certainly more common in cold than in temperate
-climates, and is at least very rare in hot ones. He was, indeed, known
-to the Greeks and Romans; a circumstance which does not, however, infer
-that he came from Africa, or the southern provinces of Asia. Pliny, on
-the contrary, says, that the first of them which were seen at Rome,
-came from Gaul in the time of Pompey. At present there are none in
-France, except possibly a few in the Alpine and Pyrenean mountains.
-But the Romans, under the name of Gaul, comprehended several of the
-northern countries; and, besides, France is not at this time so cold as
-it was in those times.
-
-The most beautiful skins of the lynx come from Siberia, as belonging to
-the _Loup-cervier_, and from Canada, under the name of _chat-cervier_,
-because, like all other animals, they are smaller in the new than in
-the old world; and are therefore compared to the wolf in Europe, and
-to the cat in Canada. What seems to have deceived M. Klein, and might
-have deceived even more able writers is, first, that the ancients have
-said that India furnished lynxes to the god Bacchus; secondly, Pliny
-has placed the lynx in Ethiopia, and has said their hides and claws
-were prepared at Carpathos, now Scarpantho or Zerpantho, an island
-in the Mediterranean, between Rhodes and Candia; thirdly, Gesner has
-allotted a particular article to the lynx of Asia or Africa, in which
-there is the following extract of a letter from Baron Balicze. "You
-have not," says he to Gesner, "mentioned in your history of animals,
-the Indian or African lynx. As Pliny has mentioned it, the authority
-of that great man has induced me to send you a drawing of this animal,
-that you may include it in your list. This drawing was made at
-Constantinople. This animal is very different from the lynx of Germany,
-being much larger, has shorter and rougher hair, &c." Gesner, without
-making any reflections on this letter, contents himself with giving the
-substance of it, and intimating within a parenthesis, that the drawing
-never came to hand.
-
-To prevent a continuance of these errors, let it be observed, first,
-that poets and painters have affixed tigers, panthers, and lynxes,
-to the car of Bacchus, as best pleased their fancies; or rather
-because all fierce and spotted animals were consecrated to that god;
-secondly, that it is the word _lynx_ which constitutes the whole of
-the ambiguity, since by comparing what Pliny says in one[M] passage
-with two others[N] it is plain that the Ethiopian animal which he calls
-lynx, is by no means the same as the chaus, or lupus-cervarius, which
-comes from the northern countries; and that it was from this name
-being improperly applied that the Baron Balicze was deceived though he
-considers the Indian lynx as a different animal from the German luchs,
-or our lynx. This Indian or African lynx, which he has described as
-larger and more full of spots than our lynx, was in all probability,
-a kind of panther. However true or erroneous this last conjecture
-may be, it appears that the lynx, of which we are now treating, is a
-stranger in the southern countries, and is found only in the northern
-parts of the new and old continents. Olaus says this animal is common
-in the forests of the North of Europe; Olearius, in speaking of
-Muscovy, asserts the same thing; Rosinus Lentilius observes that the
-lynx is common in Courland and Lithuania, and that those of Cassubia,
-a province of Pomerania, are very small, and not so much spotted as
-those of Poland and Lithuania; and lastly, Paul Jovius confirms these
-testimonies by adding, that the finest skins of the lynx come from
-Siberia, and that there is a great traffic carried on with them at
-Ustivaga, a town about 600 miles from Moscow.
-
-[Footnote M: Vide Pliny, lib. VIII. cap. 19.]
-
-[Footnote N: Ibid. VIII. c. 22, 23.]
-
-This animal, which as we have shewn, prefers the cold to the temperate
-climates, is one of those which might have passed from one continent to
-the other through the northern regions, and this is probably the reason
-why we find him a tenant of the northern parts of America. Travellers
-have described him in such a manner as to preclude all mistake; and
-besides its skin forms an article of commerce between Europe and
-America. The lynx of Canada, as we have already remarked, is only
-smaller and whiter than those of Europe, and it is from this difference
-in size that they have been distinguished with the appellation of
-_chat-cervier_, and been considered by our nomenclators as animals of a
-different species. Without pronouncing decisively upon this question we
-shall only observe, that to all appearance the lynxes of Canada and of
-Muscovy are of the same species, first because the difference in size
-is not very considerable, since it is almost relatively the same as
-that which takes place between all animals common to both continents;
-the wolf, fox, &c. being smaller in America than they are in Europe, it
-cannot be expected to be otherwise with the lynx. Secondly, because,
-even in the north of Europe, these animals are found to vary in size;
-and authors mention two kinds, the one large and the other small.
-Thirdly, because they equally require the same climate, are of the
-same dispositions, the same figure, differing only in size, and a
-few trifling particulars of colour, circumstances not sufficient to
-authorize our pronouncing them to be two distinct species.
-
-The lynx, of which the ancients have said his sight could penetrate
-opaque bodies, and whose urine possessed the properly of hardening
-into a precious stone, called Lapis Lyncurius, is an animal that never
-existed, any more than the properties attributed to him, except in
-fable. To the true lynx this imaginary one has no affinity but in name.
-We must not, therefore, following the example of most naturalists,
-attribute to the former, which is a real being, the properties of this
-imaginary one, the existence of which even Pliny himself does not seem
-disposed to believe, since he speaks of it as an extraordinary animal,
-and classes it with the sphynx, the pegasus, and other prodigies, or
-monsters, the produce of Ethiopia, a country with which the ancients
-were very little acquainted.
-
-Our lynx, though he cannot see through stone walls, has bright eyes, a
-mild aspect, and an agreeable lively appearance. His urine produces not
-precious stones, but he covers it with earth, like the cats, to whom he
-has a near resemblance, and whose manners, and love of cleanliness are
-the same. In nothing is he like the wolf but in a kind of howl, which
-being heard at a considerable distance often deceives the hunters, by
-making them suppose they hear a real wolf. This alone, perhaps, is
-the cause of his having received the appellation of _loup_, and to
-distinguish him from the real wolf, and because he attacks the stags,
-the epithet of _cervarius_ might have afterwards been added. The lynx
-is not so big as the wolf, has shorter legs, and generally about the
-size of a fox. He differs from the panther and ounce in the following
-particulars; he has longer hair, his spots are less lively, and are
-badly disposed; his ears are much longer, and they have tufts of black
-hairs at the points; his tail is shorter, and is also black at the end;
-his eyes have a whitish cast, and his countenance is more agreeable,
-and less ferocious. The skin of the male is more spotted than that of
-the female. He does not run like the wolf, but walks and bounds like
-the cat. He lives upon other animals, and those he pursues to the
-tops of the highest trees, so that neither the wild-cat, pine-weasel,
-ermine, nor squirrel, can escape him. He also seizes birds, lies in
-wait for the stag, roe-buck, and hare, whom he seizes by the throat,
-sucks their blood, and then opens their heads to devour the brains;
-this done he frequently abandons them to go in search of fresh prey,
-and is seldom known to return to the former one; which has given rise
-to the remark, that of all animals the lynx has the shortest memory.
-His colour changes with the climate and the season. In winter his fur
-is much better than in summer, and his flesh, like that of all beasts
-of prey, is not good to eat.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-There is a Canadian Lynx in the Royal Cabinet in France, in fine
-preservation; it is only two feet three inches long, and rather more
-than thirteen inches high; its body is covered with long grey hair,
-striped with yellow, and spotted with black; its head also is grey,
-interspersed with white and yellow hairs, and shaded with a kind of
-black stripes; it has long white whiskers; its ears are more than two
-inches high, white on the inside, with yellow edges, the outside of a
-mouse colour, edged with black, and at the tip of each ear is a tuft
-of black hair seven lines high; it has a short tail, which is black
-from the end to about the middle, and the other part is of a reddish
-white; its belly, hind-legs, inside of the fore-legs and feet are of a
-dirty white, and it has long white claws. This lynx strongly resembles
-the one we have just described, except in the length of the tail and
-tuft on the ears, from which we may infer that the Canadian Lynx is a
-variety from that of the old continent.
-
-Pontoppidan describes the lynx of Norway to be white with deep spots,
-and claws like those of a cat; he says there are four species there,
-some being like the wolf, others the fox, others the cat, and others
-with a head like that of a colt; the last of which is not only doubtful
-in itself, but throws a degree of suspicion on the veracity of the
-remainder.
-
-The species of the lynx is very common throughout Europe, and also in
-the northern provinces of Asia. Their skins are very valuable, and much
-esteemed for muffs, &c. in Norway, Russia, and even as far as China,
-and notwithstanding they are very common, they sell at a high price.
-
-
-
-
-THE CARACAL.
-
-
-Though the Caracal[O] resembles the lynx in size, formation of the
-body, aspect, and the tufts of black hair at the extremities of the
-ears, I do not scruple from their disagreement in other respects, to
-treat of them as animals of a different species. The Caracal is not
-spotted like the lynx; his hair is rougher and shorter; his tail is
-longer, and of a uniform colour; his snout is longer, in aspect he
-is less mild, and in disposition more fierce. The lynx inhabits cold
-and at most temperate climates, while the caracal is to be found only
-in the warmest countries. It is as much from these differences of
-disposition and climate, that I judge them to be of different species,
-as from the inspection and comparison of the two animals, both of which
-I have examined and had designed from life.
-
-[Footnote O: In Turkey it is called Kaarah-kula; Arabia Gat el Challah;
-in Persia Siyah-Gush, denoting in all three languages, _the cat with
-long ears_.]
-
-The Caracal is common in Barbary, in Arabia, and in all those countries
-inhabited by the lion, panther, and ounce. Like them he depends on prey
-for subsistence, but from the inferiority of his size and strength,
-he has much difficulty to procure a sufficiency; frequently being
-obliged to be content with the leavings of the more powerful. He keeps
-at a distance from the panther, because that animal exercises its
-cruelty after being gorged with food; but he follows the lion, who,
-when the cravings of his appetite are satisfied, never injures any
-creature. From the remains left by this noble animal, the caracal not
-unoften enjoys a comfortable repast. Sometimes he follows, or even
-goes before, at no great distance, taking a refuge in the trees, when
-self-preservation renders it necessary, and where the lion cannot, like
-the panther, follow him. For all these reasons it is that the caracal
-has been called the Lion's Guide, or Provider; and it is said that the
-lion, whose smell is far from being acute, employs him to scent out his
-prey, and is permitted to enjoy the remains as a reward for his trouble.
-
-The caracal[P] (_fig. 108._) is about the size of a fox, but more
-fierce, and much stronger. He has been known to attack, and in a few
-minutes, to tear in pieces a large dog, which defended himself to the
-utmost. He is very difficult to tame, yet if taken very young, and
-reared with care, he may be trained to the chace, to which he is by
-nature inclined, and in which he is very successful, especially if he
-be only let loose upon such animals as are inferior in strength, for
-he declines a service of danger with every expression of reluctance.
-In India they made use of him to catch hares, rabbits, and even large
-birds, whom he seizes with singular address and facility.
-
-[Footnote P: The principal part of his body is of a reddish brown
-colour, the inferior parts of the neck and belly whitish; round his
-muzzle black, his ears of a dark shade, with a tuft of black hair from
-his extremities.]
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-Mr. Bruce has informed me that he saw a caracal in Nubia, which
-differed from the one of barbary, just described; his face was more
-round, his ears black on the outside, intermixed with white hairs, and
-on the breast, belly, and inside of the thighs he had yellow spots. But
-this is a mere variety, of which there are several: for instance, in
-Lybia there is a caracal with white ears, and a white tail with four
-black rings at the end, and which is not bigger than a domestic cat;
-and if this were to establish a difference we might say there are two
-species of caracals in Barbary, the one large, with black ears and long
-tufts, and the other smaller, with white ears and short tufts.
-
-
-
-
-THE HY�NA.
-
-
-Aristotle has left us two accounts by which alone the hy�na (_fig.
-110._) might easily be distinguished from all other animals.
-Nevertheless, travellers and naturalists have confounded him with no
-less than four other species, namely, the jackall, glutton, civet, and
-the baboon; all of which are carnivorous and ferocious like the hy�na,
-and all have some few particular resemblances to him, whence these
-errors may have originated. The jackall inhabits the same countries,
-and like the hy�na resembles the wolf in form; like him also he feeds
-upon dead carcasses, and digs up graves to devour their contents. The
-glutton has the same voracity, the same appetite for corrupted flesh,
-the same propensity for digging the dead out of their graves; and
-though he belongs to a different climate, and his figure is widely
-different from that of the hy�na, yet from this affinity of disposition
-authors have thought themselves warranted in considering them as of
-the same species. The civet is a native of the same countries as the
-hy�na, and like him has a streak of long hair along the back, and also
-a particular opening, or glandular pouch; characteristics which belong
-only to a few animals, and which induced Bellon to suppose the civet
-was the hy�na of the ancients. As to the baboon, which has hands and
-feet like those of a man or a monkey, he resembles the hy�na still less
-than the other three, and it must be solely from their name that they
-have been confounded together.
-
-The hy�na, according to Dr. Shaw, is called _dubbah_ in Barbary; and
-Marmol, and Leo Africanus, say, the baboon is distinguished by the name
-of _dabuh_; and as the baboon belongs to the same climates, scratches
-up the earth and is nearly of the same form with the hy�na; these
-circumstances first deceived travellers, and naturalists adopted their
-blunders without investigation; and even those who distinguished the
-two animals, retained the name of _dabuh_ to the hy�na, which in fact
-belongs to the baboon. It appears, then, that the hy�na is neither the
-_dabuh_ of the Arabians, the _jesef_ or _sesef_ of the Africans, nor
-the _deeb_ of Barbary. But to put a final stop to this confusion of
-names, I shall give, in a few words, the substance of the inquiries I
-have made with respect to those animals.
-
-Aristotle calls it by two names, _hy�na_ and _glanus_; names which
-we may be assured are applied to the same animals by comparing the
-passages wherein they are mentioned.[Q] The ancient Latins retained the
-name hy�na, and never adopted that of glanus. In the writings of the
-modern Latins, however, we find the _ganus_, or _gannus_, and _belbus_
-employed as names for the hy�na. According to Rasis, the Arabians call
-it _kabo_, or _zabo_, names that appear to be derived from the word
-_zeeb_, which, in their language denominates a wolf. In Barbary the
-hy�na bears the name of _dubbah_, as appears from the description given
-of this animal by Dr. Shaw.[R] In Turkey it is called _zirtlaat_,
-according to Nieremberg; in Persia _kaftaar_, as stated by K�mpfer; and
-_castar_, according to Pietro della Valle. These are the only names
-which seem actually to refer to the hy�na; though it is nevertheless
-probable that the _lycaon_ and the _crocuta_ of India and Ethiopia,
-of which the ancients speak, are no other than the hy�na. Porphyry
-expressly says that the _crocuta_ of the Indies is the hy�na of the
-Greeks; and, indeed, all they have written, whether true or fabulous,
-respecting the lycaon and crocuta, bears some analogy to the nature of
-the hy�na. But we shall make no further conjectures on this subject
-until we treat of fabulous animals, and the affinities they have with
-real ones.
-
-[Footnote Q: Aristotle Hist. Animal. lib. vi. c. 32. lib. viii. c. 5.]
-
-[Footnote R: The Dubbah is nearly the size of the wolf. Its neck is so
-exceedingly stiff, that when it offers to look behind, or even on one
-side, it is obliged to turn the whole body, like the hog, the badger,
-and the crocodile. Its colour is somewhat inclined to a reddish brown,
-with a few brown streaks of a darker hue, it has very long hairs on
-the neck which it can occasionally erect. Its paws are large and well
-armed, with which it digs up plants, and sometimes dead bodies from
-their graves. Next to the lion and panther, the dubbah is the most
-fierce of all the animals of Barbary. As it is furnished with a mane,
-has a difficulty in turning the head, and scrapes up dead bodies
-from their graves, it has every appearance of being the hy�na of the
-ancients. _See Shaw's Travels._]
-
-The panther of the Greeks, the _lupus canarius_ of Gaza, and the
-_lupus armenius_ of the modern Latins and Arabians, seem to be the
-same animal, that is, the jackall, which the Turks call _cical_,
-according to Pollux, and _thacal_ according to Spon and Wheeler; which
-the modern Greeks distinguish by the name of _zachalia_, the Persians
-_siechal_, or _schachal_, and the Moors of Barbary _deeb_; that of
-jackall, however, having been adopted by a number of travellers, to
-that we shall give the preference, and only remark at present, that he
-differs from the hy�na not only in size, figure, and colour, but in
-natural habits, for the hy�na is a solitary animal, while the jackall
-is seldom seen but in troops. After the example of K�mpfer, some of our
-nomenclators have called the jackall _lupus aureus_, because his hair
-is of a lively yellow hue.
-
-It is therefore evident, that the jackall is a very different animal
-from the hy�na; and no less so than the glutton, which is an animal
-confined to the northern regions of Lapland, Russia, and Siberia; it is
-a stranger even in the temperate climates, and therefore could never
-have inhabited Arabia, or any of the other warm countries in which
-the hy�na resides. It differs also in form, for the glutton bears a
-strong resemblance to a very large badger; his legs are so short that
-his belly almost reaches the ground; he has five toes on each of his
-feet, has no mane, and his body is covered with black hair, excepting
-sometimes a few reddish yellow hairs upon his sides; in short, he
-resembles him in nothing but in being exceedingly voracious. He was
-unknown to the ancients, who had made no great progress into the north
-of Europe. Olaus is the first author who mentions this animal and
-from his prodigious gluttony he called him _gulo_. In Sclavonia he
-afterwards obtained the name of _rosomak_, and in Germany _jerff_,
-or _wildfras_, and the French travellers have called him _glouton_.
-There are varieties in this species, as well as in that of the jackall,
-which we shall speak of when we come to the particular history of those
-animals, and shall only here observe, that those varieties, instead
-of assimilating them with the hy�na, render them additionally a more
-distinct species.
-
-The civet has nothing in common with the hy�na but the glandular pouch,
-under the tail, and the mane along the neck and back-bone. It differs
-from the hy�na in figure and size, not being more than half as large;
-his ears are short and covered with hair, whereas those of the hy�na
-are long and naked; he has also short legs, and five toes upon each
-foot, while the legs of the hy�na are long, and he has only four toes
-upon each foot; nor does the civet dig up the earth in search for
-dead bodies. From these differences these animals are easily to be
-distinguished from each other.
-
-With respect to the baboon, which is the _papio_ of the Latins, and
-as we have before observed, has been mistaken for the hy�na, merely
-from the ambiguity of names, which seems to have arisen from a passage
-of Leo Africanus, and since copied by Marmol. "The _dabuh_ say
-these authors, is of the size and form of the wolf; and scratches up
-dead bodies from their graves." From which it was supposed to mean
-the _dubbah_, or hy�na, although it is expressly stated in the same
-passages that the _dubbah_ has hands and feet resembling those of
-a man; a remark which, however applicable to the baboon, cannot be
-applied to the hy�na.
-
-From taking a view of the _lupus-marinus_ of Bellon, which Gesner has
-copied, we might mistake it for the figure of the hy�na, to which it
-bears a great resemblance; but his description corresponds not with our
-hy�na, for he says, the _lupus-marinus_ is an amphibious animal which
-feeds on fish, and has sometimes been seen on the coasts of the British
-ocean; besides this author says nothing of the peculiar characteristics
-which distinguish the hy�na from all other animals. It is possible
-that Bellon, prepossessed with the notion that the civet was the hy�na
-of the ancients, has given the figure of the real one under the name
-of _lupus-marinus_, for so striking and singular are the characters
-of that animal, that it is hardly possible to be deceived in them; he
-is, perhaps, the only quadruped that has four toes upon each foot.
-Like the badger he has an aperture under the tail, which does not
-penetrate into the body; his ears are long, straight, and naked; his
-head is shorter and more square than that of the wolf; his legs are
-longer, especially the hind ones; his eyes are placed like those of
-the dog; the hair of his body and mane is of a dark grey, with a small
-intermixture of yellow and black, and disposed all along in waves,
-and though in size he equals the wolf, yet he has, nevertheless, a
-contracted appearance.
-
-This wild and solitary animal resides in the caverns of mountains,
-the clefts of rocks, or in dens, which he forms for himself under
-the earth. Though taken ever so young he is not to be tamed; he is
-naturally ferocious. He lives like the wolf, by depredation, but he
-is more strong and daring. He sometimes attacks men, and darts with a
-ferocious resolution on all kinds of cattle; he follows the flocks,
-and even breaks down the sheep-folds in the night to get at his prey.
-His eyes shine in the dark, and it is asserted that he sees better
-by night than day. All naturalists who have treated of this animal,
-except K�mpfer, say, that his cry resembles the noise of a man who is
-vomiting, while the latter asserts it to be like the lowing of a calf.
-He defends himself against the lion, stands in no awe of the panther,
-and attacks the ounce, which is incapable of resisting him. When at a
-loss for prey he scrapes up the earth with his feet, and tears out the
-carcasses of animals and men, which in the countries he inhabits are
-promiscuously buried in the fields. He is found in almost all the hot
-climates of Africa and Asia, and it is probable that the animal called
-_farasse_, at Madagascar, which resembles the wolf in figure, but is
-larger and stronger, is the same animal.
-
-Of this animal more absurd stories have been told than of any other.
-The ancients have gravely written that the hy�na is alternately male
-and female; that when it brings forth, suckles and rears its progeny,
-it remains as a female the whole year, but the year following it
-resumes the functions of the male, and obliges its companion to submit
-to those of the female. The circumstance which gave rise to this fable
-is plainly the orifice under the tail, in both males and females,
-independently of the organs of generation peculiar to both sexes,
-and which are the same in the hy�na as in all other animals. It has
-also been affirmed that this animal could imitate the human voice,
-remember the names of shepherds, call upon, fascinate, and render
-them motionless; that he can terrify shepherdesses, cause them to
-forget and neglect their flocks, to be distracted in love, &c. All this
-might surely happen without the intervention of the hy�na! But I shall
-conclude here, to avoid the reproach which has been cast upon Pliny,
-that of taking pleasure in compiling and relating absurd fables.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-At the fair of St. Germain, in the year 1773, I saw a male hy�na; the
-one just described was very ferocious, and as I mentioned untameable,
-but this was perfectly gentle, for though his keeper made him angry for
-the purpose of erecting his mane, yet he seemed to forget it in a few
-moments, and suffer himself to be played with without any appearance of
-dislike. He exactly accorded with the description I have given, except
-his tail being entirely white.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 109. _Lynx._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 110. _Hy�na._]
-
-In the island of Mero� there is a large kind of hy�nas, so strong that
-they can run off with a man to the distance of more than a league
-without stopping. These are also of a darker colour, and erect their
-long hairs on the hind parts and not the front. Mr. Bruce informs
-me that he has observed, that when the hy�nas are forced to take to
-flight, they are at first exceedingly lame of the left hind leg, and
-which continues for more than an hundred paces, so much so indeed as to
-give them the appearance of falling, and that it is the same also with
-those of Syria and Barbary.
-
-
-
-
-THE CIVET AND THE ZIBET.
-
-
-The generality of naturalists are of opinion that the perfume called
-civet, or musk, is furnished only by one species of animals. I
-have, however, seen two animals that furnish it, which, though they
-have many essential affinities, both in their external and internal
-conformations, yet differ in so many characteristics, that there is
-sufficient reason to consider them as two distinct species. To the
-first I have continued the original name of Civet, (_fig. 111._) and
-the second, for the sake of distinction, I have called Zibet (_fig.
-113._) The civet seems to be the same as that described by the Academy
-of Sciences; by Caius, in Gesner, page 837, and by Fabius Columna,
-who has given both the male and female figures in the publication of
-Faber, which follows that of Hernandes. The _zibet_ appears to be the
-same animal as M. de la Peyronnie has described under the name of Musk
-Animal, in the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences for the year 1731.
-Both differ from the civet in the very same characters; both want the
-mane, or the long hair, on the back-bone, and both have the tail marked
-with strong annular streaks. The civet, on the contrary, has a mane,
-but no rings on the tail. It must, however be acknowledged that our
-zibet, and the musk animal of M. de la Peyronnie, are not so perfectly
-similar as to leave no doubt of the identity of their species. The
-rings on the tail of the zibet are larger than those of the musk
-animal, and the length of his tail is shorter in proportion to that
-of his body; but these differences are slight, and appear to be mere
-accidental varieties, to which the civet must be more subject than any
-other wild animal, as they are reared and fed like domestic ones in
-many parts of the Levant and East Indies. Certain it is, that our zibet
-bears a stronger resemblance to the musk animal than to the civet, and
-consequently they may be considered as the same species. Nor, indeed,
-do we mean positively to affirm that civet and zibet are not varieties
-of the same species, but from their different characteristics there is
-a strong presumption they really are so.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 111. _Civet_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 112. _Genet_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 113. _Zibet_]
-
-The animal which we here name the Civet, is called the _falanoue_, at
-Madagascar, _nzime_, or _nzfusi_ at Congo, _kankan_ in Ethiopia, and
-_kastor_ in Guinea. That it is the civet of Guinea I am certain, for
-the one I had was sent from Guinea, to one of my correspondents at St.
-Domingo, where, after being fed for some time, it was killed for the
-more easy conveyance to Europe.
-
-The zibet is probably the civet of Asia, of the East Indies, and of
-Arabia, where he is called zebet, or zibet, an Arabic word, which
-likewise signifies the perfume of that animal, and which we have
-adopted to signify the animal itself. He differs from the civet in
-having a longer and less thick body; a snout more thin and slender,
-and somewhat concave on the upper part; whereas that of the civet is
-more short, thick, and rather convex. The ears of the zibet are also
-larger and more elevated; his tail is longer, and more strongly marked;
-his hair is shorter and much more soft; he has no mane, or long hair
-on the neck or back-bone; no black spots under the eyes, or on the
-cheeks; all of which are remarkable characteristics in the civet. Some
-travellers have suspected there were two species of civets; but no
-person has examined them with sufficient accuracy as to give a distinct
-description. I have seen both; and after a careful comparison, am of
-opinion, that they not only differ in species, but perhaps belong to
-different climates.
-
-These animals have been called musk-cats, though they have nothing in
-common with the cat, except bodily agility. They rather resemble the
-fox, especially in the head. Their skins are diversified with stripes
-and spots, which has occasioned them to be mistaken for small panthers,
-when seen at a distance; but in every other respect they differ from
-the panther. There is an animal called the Genet, which is spotted in
-the like manner, whose head is nearly of the same shape, and which,
-like the civet, has a pouch where an odoriferous humor is formed; but
-this animal is smaller than our civet; its legs are shorter, and its
-body thinner; its perfume is very faint, and of short duration; while
-the perfume of the civet is very strong, and that of the zibet is so to
-an excess.
-
-This humor is found in the orifice which these animals have near the
-organs of generation; it is nearly as thick as pomatum, and though the
-odour is very strong, it is yet agreeable, even when it issues from the
-body of the animal. This perfume of the civet must not be confounded
-with musk, which is a sanguineous humor, obtained from an animal very
-different from either the civet or zibet, being a species of roe-buck,
-or goat, without horns, and which has no one property in common with
-the civet, but that of furnishing a strong perfume.
-
-These two species of civets have not been distinguished with precision.
-They have both been sometimes confounded with the weasel of Virginia,
-the genet, the musk-deer, and even with the hy�na. Bellon, who has
-given a figure and description of the civet, insists that it was the
-hy�na of the ancients, and his mistake is the more excusable not being
-destitute of some foundation. Certain it is, that most of the fables
-which have been related of the hy�na, took their rise from the civet.
-The philters said to have been obtained from certain parts of the
-hy�na, and their power to excite love, sufficiently indicate that the
-stimulating virtues of the preparations of civet, were not unknown to
-the ancients, and which are still used for this very purpose in the
-East. What they have said of the uncertainty of the sex of the hy�na,
-is still more applicable to the civet, for the male has no external
-appearance, but three apertures so perfectly similar to those of
-the female, that it is hardly possible to determine the sex but by
-dissection. The opening which contains the perfume, is situated between
-the other two, and in the same direct line which extends from the os
-sacrum to the pubis.
-
-Another error, which has made more progress, is that of Gregoire de
-Bolivar, with respect to the climates in which the civet is found.
-After stating them to be common in Africa and the East Indies, he
-positively affirms they are also very numerous in all parts of South
-America. This assertion, transmitted by Faber, has been copied by
-Aldrovandus, and adopted by all the authors who have since treated
-of the civet. But the truth is, that they are animals peculiar to
-the hottest climates of the old continent, and which could not have
-found a northern passage into the New World; where, in fact, no civets
-ever existed until they were transported thither from the Philippine
-Islands and the coasts of Africa. As the assertion of Bolivar is
-positive, and mine only negative, it is necessary I should give my
-particular reasons, to prove the falsity of the fact. Besides my own
-remarks, I refer to the very words of Faber himself.[S] On this head
-it is to be observed, that the figure given by Faber, was left to him
-by Recchi, without any description[T]; and of which the inscription
-is, _animal zibethicum Americanum_; but this figure has no resemblance
-to the civet or zibet, and rather represents the badger; secondly,
-Faber gives a description and the figures of a male and female civet,
-which resemble our zibet; but these civets are not the same animal as
-that represented in the first figure; nor do they represent animals of
-America, but civets belonging to the old continent, of which Fabius
-Columna had procured drawings at Naples, and furnished Faber with
-their figures and descriptions; thirdly, after having quoted Bolivar
-respecting the climates in which the civet is found, Faber concludes
-with admiring Bolivar's prodigious memory, and that he was indebted
-for this recital to the oral information of that gentleman. These
-three remarks are alone sufficient to create a suspicion respecting the
-pretended _animal zibethicum Americanum_, but what completely proves
-the error, Fernandes, in his description of the animals of America,
-flatly contradicts Bolivar, and affirms that the civet was not a native
-of America, but that, in his time, they had began to transport some
-of them from the Philippine Islands to New Spain. In fine, if we add
-this positive testimony of Fernandes, to that of all the travellers,
-who mention that civets are very common in the Philippine Islands, in
-the East Indies, and in Africa, not one of whom intimates having seen
-this animal in America, every doubt will vanish of what we advanced
-in our enumeration of the animals of the two continents, and it will
-be admitted that the civet is not a native of America, but an animal
-peculiar to the warm climates of the old continent, and that he was
-never found in the new, until after he had been transported thither.
-Had I not guarded against such mistakes, which are too frequent, I
-should have described my civet as an American animal, from its having
-been sent to me from St. Domingo, and not directly from Guinea, the
-place of its nativity, of which I was, however, assured by the letter
-from M. Pages which accompanied the animal. These particular facts
-I consider as confirmations to the general position, that there is a
-real difference between all the animals of the southern parts of each
-continent.
-
-[Footnote S: Nov� Hisp. Anim. Nardi Antonii Recchi Imagines & Nomina,
-Joannis Fabri Lyncei Expositione, p. 539.]
-
-[Footnote T: _Ibid._ p. 465.]
-
-Both the civet and zibet are then animals of the old continent, nor
-have they any other external differences, besides those already
-pointed out; and as to their internal differences, and the structure
-of their reservoirs which contain the perfume, they have been so
-accurately described by Messrs. Morand and Peyronnie, in the Memoirs
-of the Academy for 1728 and 1731, that I could do little more than
-give a repetition of their accounts. With regard to what remains to be
-further observed of those two animals, as the few facts are hardly more
-applicable to the one than the other, and as it would be difficult to
-point out the distinction, I shall collect the whole under one head.
-
-The civets, (by the plural number I mean the civet and zibet) though
-natives of the hottest climates of Asia and Africa, can yet live in
-temperate and even cold countries, provided they are carefully defended
-from the injuries of the weather, and supplied with succulent food. In
-Holland they are frequently reared for the advantage obtained by their
-perfume. The civet brought from Amsterdam is preferred to that which
-comes from the Levant or the Indies, as being the most genuine. That
-imported from Guinea would be the best, were it not that the Negroes,
-as well as the Indians, and the people of the Levant, adulterate it
-with the mixture of storax, and other balsamic and odoriferous drugs
-and plants.
-
-Those who keep these animals collect the perfume in the following
-manner; they put them into a narrow cage, in which they cannot turn
-themselves; this cage opens behind, and two or three times in a
-week the animal is drawn a little out by the tail, and kept in that
-position by putting a bar across the fore-part of the cage; this done,
-the person takes out the perfume from the pouch with a small spoon,
-scraping all the internal parts, and then, putting the matter into a
-vessel, the greatest care is taken to keep it closely covered. The
-quantity so procured depends greatly upon the appetite of the animal,
-and the quality of his nourishment, as he always produces more in
-proportion to the goodness of his food. Hashed flesh, eggs, rice, small
-animals, birds, young poultry, and particularly fish, are the best, and
-which he most prefers; and these ought to be so varied as to excite his
-appetite and preserve his health. He requires but little water, and
-though he drinks seldom, yet he discharges urine very frequently; and
-even on such occasions, the male is not to be distinguished from the
-female.
-
-The perfume of the civets is so strong that it communicates itself to
-all parts of the body; the hair and skin is impregnated with it to
-such a degree, that it preserves the odour for a long time after it is
-stripped off. If a person be shut up in a close room with one of them
-alive, he cannot support the perfume, it is so copiously diffused. When
-the animal is enraged, its scent is more violent than ordinary, and if
-tormented so as to make him sweat, that is also collected and serves
-to adulterate, or at least increase the perfume which is otherwise
-obtained.
-
-The civets are naturally wild, and even ferocious; and though tameable
-to a certain degree, they are never perfectly familiar. Their teeth are
-strong and sharp, but their claws are blunt and feeble. They are light
-and active, and live by prey, pursuing small animals, and surprising
-birds. They can bound like cats, and run like dogs; and sometimes steal
-into yards and out-houses to carry off the poultry. Their eyes shine
-in the dark, and they probably see better in the night than in the
-day. When they fail in procuring animal food, they subsist on roots
-and fruits. As they seldom drink they never inhabit moist places, but
-cheerfully reside among arid sands and burning mountains. They breed
-very fast in their native climates; but though they can live, and even
-produce perfume in temperate climates, yet they cannot multiply. They
-have a voice more powerful, and a tongue less rough than the cat, and
-their cry is not unlike that of an enraged dog.
-
-The odorous humor which exudes from these animals is called civet in
-England and France, and _zibet_, or _algalia_, in Arabia, the Indies,
-and the Levant, where it is more used than in Europe. It is now very
-little employed as a medicine, but it is still used as an ingredient
-in the compositions of perfumers and confectioners. The smell of the
-civet, though stronger, is more agreeable than that of the musk. Both,
-however, lost their repute when the method of preparing ambergris was
-discovered; and even that seems now to be proscribed from the toilets
-of the polite and delicate.
-
-
-
-
-THE GENET.
-
-
-The Genet (_fig. 112._) is a smaller animal than the civet. He has a
-long body, short legs, a sharp snout, slender head, and smooth soft
-hair, of a glossy ash colour, marked with black spots, which are round,
-and separated on the sides, but so nearly united on the back as to have
-the appearance of stripes along the body. Upon the neck and back it has
-a kind of mane, which forms a black streak from the head to the tail,
-the latter of which is as long as the body, and is marked with seven
-or eight rings, alternately black and white; the black spots on the
-neck also appear to form streaks, and it has a white spot under each
-eye. Under the tail, and in the very same place with the civets, it has
-a pouch, in which is secreted a kind of perfume, but is much weaker,
-and its scent soon evaporates. It is somewhat longer than the marten,
-which it greatly resembles in form, habit, and disposition; and from
-which it seems chiefly to differ in being more easily tamed. Bellon
-assures us, that he has seen them in the houses at Constantinople as
-tame as cats, that they were permitted to run about without doing
-the least mischief, and that they were called _Constantinople cats_;
-_Spanish cats_; _genet cats_, _&c._ though, indeed, they have nothing
-in common with that animal, except the skill of watching and catching
-mice.[U] Naturalists pretend that genets inhabit only moist grounds,
-and reside along the banks of rivers, and that they are never found on
-mountains or dry grounds. The species is not numerous, or, at least,
-not much diffused; for there are none of them in any part of Europe,
-except Spain and Turkey. They seem to require a warm climate to subsist
-and multiply in, and yet they are not found in India or Africa. The
-_fossane_ has been called the genet of Madagascar, but that animal is
-of a different species, as will hereafter be shewn.
-
-[Footnote U: It is, perhaps, because they are only found in the Levant
-and in Spain, that they are designated by their country; for the name
-of _genet_ is not derived from any of the ancient languages, and is
-probably only a new appellation taken from some place abounding with
-them, a custom which is very common in Spain, where a certain race of
-horses are called _genets_.]
-
-The skin of the genet makes a light and handsome fur, it was
-formerly fashionable for muffs, and consequently very dear; but the
-manufacturers having got the art of counterfeiting them, by painting
-the skins of grey rabbits with black spots, their value is abated,
-from being no longer esteemed.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-I formerly stated that genets were not to be found in any parts of
-Europe, except Spain and Turkey, but since then I have learned that
-they are common in the southern provinces of France, and that at
-Poitou they are known by that name even to the peasantry. In April,
-1775, the Abb� Roubard sent me a genet that was killed at Livray, in
-Poitou, which, except some trifling variations in the colour of the
-hair, was similar to that I have described; and he assured me that the
-species was also to be found in the neighbouring provinces; and M.
-Delpeche informed me, in a letter, that it was a constant practice with
-the peasants of the province of Rouergue to bring dead genets to the
-merchants in the winter; he added, that they were not very numerous,
-that they were principally found near Villefranche, and that they
-burrow in holes like the rabbits, especially in winter.
-
-
-
-
-THE BLACK WOLF.
-
-
-We mention ibis animal merely as a supplement to the description we
-have given of the wolf, for there can be little doubt of his belonging
-to the same species. We have already said, that in the northern parts
-of Europe there were some wolves black, and others white, and that the
-black wolves were generally the largest; but the one we are now about
-to describe came from Canada, and was smaller than the common wolf;
-but we have had repeated occasions to remark, that the animals of the
-northern parts of America are less in size than those belonging to the
-north of Europe, and this difference in size was the chief, if not the
-only variation in him; besides, he had been taken very young, and ever
-after kept in a state of captivity, which also might have prevented the
-completion of his growth. Our common wolf is less in Canada than in
-Europe; and in that country black wolves and foxes are not uncommon. We
-saw this animal alive, and to us it appeared perfectly to resemble the
-common wolf both in figure and disposition.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 115. _Muscovy Rat._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 114. _Canadian Musk Rat._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 116. _Mexican Hog._]
-
-
-
-
-THE CANADIAN MUSK-RAT, AND THE MUSCOVY MUSK-RAT.
-
-
-Though these two animals have been denominated musk-rats, and have
-a few common characteristics, yet they ought not to be confounded;
-they must also be distinguished from the Pilori, or Musk-rat, of
-the Antilles; all three forming different species, and belonging to
-different climates; the first, also called Ondatra, is found in Canada;
-the second, or Desman, in Lapland and Muscovy; and the Pilori, in
-Martinico and other of the Antille islands.
-
-The Musk-rat of Canada (_fig. 115._) differs from that of Muscovy
-in having all its toes separate, eyes very conspicuous, and a short
-nose; whereas the latter (_fig. 114._) has the toes of the hind feet
-united by a membrane, exceedingly small eyes, and a long nose like the
-shrew-mouse. The tail of both is flat, in which, as well as in many
-other characteristics, they differ from the pilori of the Antilles. The
-tail of the pilori is short, and, like that of other rats, cylindrical;
-the other two have long tails, and the head of the first is like that
-of a water-rat, and the head of the second resembles a shrew-mouse.
-
-In the memoirs of the Academy of Sciences, for 1725, we meet with a
-very accurate description of the Canadian musk-rat. M. Sarrasin, a
-correspondent of the Academy, dissected a number of them at Quebec, and
-made some striking and singular remarks; by comparing his description
-with our own, we have not the least doubt but the animal which he calls
-the musk-rat of Canada, is the same with that now before us.
-
-This animal is of the size of a small rabbit, and of the figure of
-a rat. Its head is short, and similar to that of the water-rat; its
-hair is soft and glossy, with a thick down underneath, like that of
-the beaver; its tail is long and covered with little scales, like that
-of the other rats, though of a different form, for instead of being
-cylindrical it is flat from the middle to the tip, and rather round at
-the insertion. The toes are not united by membranes, but furnished
-with a long thick hair, which enables the animal to swim with ease. Its
-ears are very short, but not naked, as in the common rat, but covered
-with hair, both outwardly and inwardly; its eyes are large; it has two
-incisive teeth, about an inch long, in the under jaw, and two shorter
-ones in the upper; these four teeth are very strong, and by them the
-animal is enabled to gnaw through wood.
-
-The striking singularities remarked by M. Sarrasin, in this animal
-are, first, the muscular force and great expansibility in the skin,
-which enables the animal to contract and compress its body into a
-smaller size. Secondly, the suppleness of the false ribs, which admits
-a contraction of body so considerable that the musk-rat can obtain an
-easy passage through holes where smaller animals cannot find admission.
-Thirdly, the manner in which the female voids her urine, the urethra
-not terminating, as in other animals, under the clitoris, but at a
-hairy eminence above the os pubis, and in which there is an orifice,
-that serves the urine to escape. This strange organization is found in
-only a few species of animals, as rats and apes have three apertures;
-and these two are perhaps the only animals who have a passage for the
-urine distinct from the organs of generation: to the females alone,
-however, does this singularity belong, for the conformation of the
-males is the same with that of other quadrupeds. M. Sarrasin observes,
-fourthly, that the testicles which, as in other rats, are situated
-on each side of the anus, become exceedingly large, considering the
-size of the animal, during the rutting season; but that over, they not
-only change in size, consistency, and colour, but even in situation,
-and with the seminal vessels, and all the organs of generation become
-almost invisible. And, lastly, that the vessels which contain the
-musk, or perfume, of this animal, under the form of a milky humor, and
-which adjoin the parts of generation, undergo the same changes; that
-during the rutting season they enlarge in a great degree, and then the
-perfume is exceedingly strong, and may be sensibly distinguished at
-a considerable distance, but at its expiration they become wrinkled,
-decay, and at length entirely disappear. The change in the vessels,
-which contain the perfume, is effected more quickly, and more
-completely, than that of the parts of generation. These vessels are
-common to both sexes, and at the above periods contain a considerable
-quantity of milky humor; and the secretion is formed, and the humor
-voided, nearly in the same place as the urine of other quadrupeds.
-These singularities were worthy the attention of so able an anatomist
-as M. Sarrasin. We have already mentioned similar alterations in the
-parts of generation in the water-rat, the campagnol, and the mole; but
-this is not the place for us to enlarge on the general consequences
-which might be drawn from these singular facts, nor even on the
-immediate references they may have to our theory of generation. These
-we shall soon have occasion to present with more advantage, by uniting
-them with other facts to which they relate.
-
-As the Canadian musk-rat belongs to the same country as the beaver, is
-fond of water, and has nearly the same figure, colour, and hair, they
-have been often compared to each other; it is even affirmed, that, at
-the first glance, a full grown musk-rat may be mistaken for a beaver
-of a month old. But in the form of their tails there is a considerable
-difference; that of the beaver being oval and flat horizontally;
-whereas that of the musk-rat is of a considerable length, and flat,
-or compressed vertically. In disposition and instinct, however,
-these animals have a strong resemblance. The musk-rats, as well as
-the beavers, live in societies during the winter. They form little
-dwellings about two feet and a half in diameter and sometimes larger,
-in which is often an association of several families. These habitations
-are not for the purpose of resorting to, in order to sleep like the
-marmots, for five or six months, but to obtain a shelter from the
-inclemency of the weather; they are of a round form, and covered with a
-dome about a foot thick; the materials for making which are herbs and
-rushes interwoven together, and cemented with clay, which they prepare
-with their feet; these huts are impenetrable by the rain, and secured
-from the effects of inundations by being elevated on the inside, and
-tho' covered with snow several feet thick in the winter these animals
-do not seem to be incommoded by this circumstance. They do not provide
-a stock of provisions for that season, but dig a sort of passages
-round their dwellings, for the purpose of procuring roots and water.
-As winter is not their season of love, they reap but little advantage
-from associating. All this period they remain totally deprived of
-light, and therefore no sooner has the mild breath of spring begun to
-dissolve the snow, and uncover the tops of their little mansions, than
-the huntsmen open their dome suddenly, dazzle them with the light,
-and kill or seize all those who have not obtained shelter in their
-subterraneous passages; but as their skins are valuable, and their
-flesh not unpalatable, thither they are also pursued for slaughter.
-Such as escape quit their habitations about the same time. They wander
-about during the summer but always in pairs, for then is the time of
-their amours; then it is that all their vessels expand, and feeding
-largely upon the fresh roots and vegetables which the season affords,
-they acquire a strong smell of musk; a scent which, though agreeable
-to Europeans, is so disgustful to the savages, that they distinguish
-one of their rivers, from being frequented by a number of them, the
-Stinking River, and the animal itself the Stinkard.
-
-They produce once a year, and generally have five or six young. Their
-time of gestation cannot be long, as they are not in season till the
-summer, and their young are full grown by October, when they seek for
-shelter; they construct new huts every year, and are never known to
-revisit their former habitations. Their cry is a kind of groan, which
-the huntsmen imitate in order to allure them. So strong are their
-fore-teeth, and so calculated for gnawing, that if shut up in a box,
-they soon make a hole large enough to escape through, a faculty which
-they possess in common with the beaver. They do not swim so fast, or
-so long as the beaver, and are often seen upon the ground; they run
-very indifferently, and in their walk they waddle like a goose. Their
-skin retains the smell of musk, which renders it of little value to the
-furriers, but their under hair, or down, is used in the manufacture
-of hats. These animals are not very wild, and when taken young are
-easily tamed; and are then tolerably handsome, for their tail, which
-is afterwards long and disagreeable, is very short. They play with all
-the innocence and sprightliness of young cats, and they might be reared
-with ease but for their disagreeable smell.
-
-The Canadian and Muscovy musk-rats, are the only animals belonging to
-the northern regions which yield any perfume, for the odour of the
-_castoreum_ (obtained from the badger) is highly disagreeable; and it
-is only in warm climates that we meet with the animals which furnish
-the real musk, the civet, and other delicate perfumes.
-
-The musk-rat of Muscovy might, perhaps, present singularities analogous
-to those of the Canadian, and not less remarkable, but it does not
-appear that any naturalist has yet had an opportunity to dissect, or
-examine it alive. Of its exterior form alone we can speak, as that
-sent from Lapland, for the king's cabinet, was in a dry state, and
-therefore I can only add my regret that so little is known about it.
-
-
-
-
-THE PECCARI, OR MEXICAN HOG.
-
-
-Among the animals of the New World, few species are more numerous, or
-more remarkable, than that of the Mexican Hog.[V] (_fig. 116._) At the
-first glance he resembles our wild boar, or rather the hog of Siam,
-which, as we have already observed, is nothing more than a variety of
-the wild boar; and for which reason this has been called the American
-wild boar, or American hog. He is, however, of a distinct species,
-and refuses to engender either with our wild or domestic kinds; a
-circumstance of which I was convinced, by having reared one of these
-animals in company with several sows.
-
-[Footnote V: This animal has a variety of names; besides the above,
-some call him _Tajassou_, _Tajacou_, _Paquira_, _Saino_, &c.]
-
-He differs also from the hog in a number of characteristics, both
-external and internal. He is less corpulent, and his legs are shorter;
-in the stomach and intestines, there is a difference of conformation.
-He has no tail, and his bristles are much stronger than those of the
-wild boar; and, lastly, he has on his back, near the crupper, an
-opening from which there is discharged an ichorous humor of a very
-disagreeable smell. This is the only animal which has an opening in
-this part of the body. In the civets, the badger, and the genet,
-the reservoir for their perfume is situated beneath the parts of
-generation; and in the musk-animal, and the musk-rat of Canada, we
-find it under the belly. The moisture which exudes from this aperture
-in the back of the Mexican hog, is secreted by large glands, which
-M. Daubenton has described with much attention, as well as the other
-singularities of this animal; Dr. Tyson also in the Philosophical
-Transactions, No. 153, has given a good description of it. Without
-minutely detailing the observations of these two able anatomists, I
-shall barely remark, that the latter was mistaken in asserting that
-this animal has three stomachs, or, as Mr. Ray says, a gizzard and
-two stomachs. M. Daubenton plainly shews, that it is only one stomach
-divided by two similar pouches, which give it the appearance of three;
-that only one of these pouches has a pyrolus, or orifice below, for
-the discharge of its contents; that, consequently, we ought to consider
-the two others merely as appendages to, or rather portions of, the same
-stomach.
-
-The Mexican hog might be rendered a domestic animal like the common
-kind; he has nearly the same habits and natural inclinations; feeds
-upon the same aliments, and his flesh, though more dry and lean, is not
-unpalatable, and may be improved by castration. When killed, not only
-the parts of generation, if the flesh is intended to be eaten, (as is
-also done with the wild boar) must be taken instantly away, but also
-the glands at the opening in the back, and which are common to both
-male and female, must likewise be removed, for if this operation be
-deferred for only half an hour, the flesh becomes utterly unfit to be
-eaten.
-
-These animals are extremely numerous in all the warm climates of South
-America. They go in herds of two or three hundred together, and unite,
-like hogs, in the defence of each other. They are particularly fierce
-when their young are attempted to be taken from them. They surround
-their plunderers, attack them without fear, and frequently make their
-lives pay the forfeit of their rashness. In their native country they
-prefer the mountainous parts to the low and level grounds; neither do
-they seek marshes nor mud, like our hogs, but remain in the forests,
-where they subsist upon wild fruits, roots, and vegetables; they are an
-unceasing enemy to all the serpent kinds, with which the uncultivated
-forests of the New Continent abound: as soon as they perceive a serpent
-or viper, they seize it with their fore hoofs, skin it in an instant,
-and devour the flesh.
-
-These animals are very prolific; the young ones follow the dam, and do
-not separate from her till they are full grown. If taken young they
-are very easily tamed, and soon lose all their natural ferocity, but
-they never shew any signs of docility, but continue stupid, without
-attachment, or even seeming to know the hand that feeds them. They do
-no mischief, and may be permitted to run tame, without apprehending
-any dangerous consequence. They seldom stray far from home, but return
-of themselves to the sty: they never quarrel among each other, except
-when they are fed in the same trough. At such times they have an angry
-grunt, much stronger and harsher than that of a common hog; but they
-seldom scream, only when suddenly surprised, or frightened, when they
-have a shrill manner of blowing like the wild boar. When enraged they
-draw their breath with great force, and point their bristles upward
-which more resemble the sharp armour of the hedge-hog than the bristles
-of the wild boar.
-
-The species of the Mexican hog is preserved without alteration, and
-altogether unmixed with that of the European hog, which has been
-transported to, and become wild in, the forests of America. These
-animals meet in the woods, and even herd together, and yet never
-produce an intermediate breed. It is the same with the Guinea hog,
-which has greatly multiplied in America, after being brought thither
-from Africa.
-
-However approximate the species of the European hog, the Guinea-hog,
-and the peccari, may appear, it is, nevertheless, evident, that they
-are each distinct, and separate from the others since they inhabit the
-same climate without intermixture. Of the three, the strongest, most
-robust, and most formidable, is our wild boar. The peccari, though
-equally fierce, is yet less active, and inferior as to the engines of
-defence, his tusks being much shorter. This animal dreads the cold, and
-cannot subsist, without shelter, even in our temperate regions; nor can
-our wild boar exist in countries which are very cold; therefore it is
-impossible that either of them could have found a passage from the one
-continent to the other, over any northern country; and therefore the
-Mexican hog cannot be considered as an European hog degenerated, or
-changed, by the climate of America, but as an animal peculiar to the
-southern regions of that continent.
-
-Ray and other naturalists, have maintained, that the humor discharged
-from the back of the Mexican hog is a kind of musk, an agreeable
-perfume, even as it exudes from the body of the animal; that it is
-perceived at a considerable distance, and perfumes every place he
-inhabits, and through which he passes. I have, I must own, a thousand
-times experienced very contrary effects; for so disagreeable is the
-smell of this moisture, on being separated from the body of the animal,
-that I could not collect it without being exceedingly incommoded. It
-becomes less foetid by being dried in the air, but never acquires
-the agreeable smell of musk, or of civet; and naturalists would have
-expressed themselves with more propriety, if they had compared it to
-that of _castoreum_.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-M. de la Borde says, there are two kinds of the Peccari, or Mexican
-hog, in Cayenne, which never intermix; the largest of which is black,
-excepting two white spots upon its jaws, and that the hair of the small
-one is rather red; but I apprehend the differences are occasioned by
-age, or some accidental circumstance. He adds, that those of the large
-size do not associate with men; but that they live in the woods, upon
-seeds, roots, and fruits; that they dig in the damp soils for worms,
-and that they go in flocks of two or three hundred. It is no difficult
-matter to shoot them, as, instead of flying, they collect together,
-and will stand several discharges; nay, they will even attack the
-dogs, and sometimes men. He mentions an instance where he was out with
-a party that were surrounded by a flock of these hogs, who were not
-to be intimidated by a continual firing, and could not be dispersed
-until several of them were killed. When taken young, they are soon
-rendered familiar, but they will not intermix with the domestic hogs.
-When living in their natural state of freedom, they often reside in the
-marshes, and will swim across rivers. Their flesh, though palatable, is
-not so good as the common hog; it has a strong resemblance to that of
-the hare, and is without lard or grease.
-
-M. de la Borde speaks of another species of hog found in Guiana, which
-he calls _patira_, in these terms: "The patira is about the size of the
-small Mexican hog, and the only difference is the former having a white
-stripe along the back; they live in large forests, and, in general,
-herd in families. They will defend themselves against dogs, when hunted
-by them: when likely to be overpowered, they seek shelter in hollow
-trees, or in holes of the earth, that have been made by armadilloes,
-which they entered backwards. To get them out, the hunters employ every
-means to irritate them, (having first inclosed a space round the hole)
-for when angry they will quit their retreat, and the men, standing
-prepared, destroy them with pitchforks and sabres. If a hunter observes
-a single one in a hole, and does not then wish to take it, he closes
-up the entrance, and is sure to have him the next day. Their flesh
-is superior to that of other hogs. When caught young they are easily
-rendered domestic, but even then they preserve their natural inveteracy
-against dogs, whom they attack on all occasions. They constantly live
-in the marshes, unless when entirely covered with water. The females
-produce two at a time, and they breed at all seasons of the year. Their
-hair is soft, like that of the Mexican hog. When tamed they follow
-their masters, and allow themselves to be handled by those they know,
-but strangers they always threaten by shewing their teeth."
-
-
-
-
-THE ROUSETTE, OR TERNAT BAT, THE ROUGETTE, OR LITTLE TERNAT, AND THE
-VAMPYRE.
-
-
-The Roussette[W] and the Rougette[X] seem to form two distinct species,
-but they so nearly resemble each other that they ought not to be
-presented apart, as they differ only in the size of the body and colour
-of the hair. The Great Ternat, (_fig. 117._) whose hair is of a reddish
-brown, is nine inches in length, from the tip of the nose to the
-insertion of the tail, and in breadth three 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, when the wings are extended; and
-its neck is half encircled with a stripe of lively red, intermixed with
-orange, of which we perceive no vestige on the neck of the roussette.
-They both belong to nearly the same hot climates of the old continent,
-are met with in Madagascar, in the island of Bourbon, in Ternat, the
-Philippines, and other islands of the Indian Archipelago, where they
-seem to be more common than on the neighbouring continents.
-
-[Footnote W: Also called the Flying Dog, and the Great Bat of
-Madagascar.]
-
-[Footnote X: Or the Red-necked Flying Dog.]
-
-In the hot countries of the New World, there is another flying
-quadruped, of which we know not the American name, but shall call it
-Vampyre, because it sucks the blood of men, and other animals while
-asleep, without causing sufficient pain to awaken them. This American
-animal is of a different species from the bats just mentioned, both of
-which are to be found solely in Africa, and in the southern parts of
-Asia.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 117. _Ternat Bat._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 118. _Bull Dog Bat_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG: 119. _Senegal Bat_]
-
-The vampyre[Y] is smaller than the rougette, which is itself smaller
-than the roussette. The first, when it flies, seems to be of the
-size of a pigeon, the second of a raven, and the third of a large
-hen. Both the roussette and rougette have well shaped heads, short
-ears, and round noses, nearly like that of a dog. Of the vampyre, on
-the contrary, the nose is long, the aspect as hideous as that of the
-ugliest bats; its head is unshapely, and its ears are large, open, and
-very erect; its noise is deformed, its nostrils resembling a funnel,
-with 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, that this species is different from the Ternat
-bats. It is an animal not less mischievous than it is deformed; it is
-the pest of man, and the torment of other animals. In confirmation of
-this, the authentic testimony of M. de la Condamine may be produced.
-"The bats," says he, "which suck the blood of horses, mules, and even
-men, when they do 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 some are 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."
-These facts are confirmed by many other historians and travellers.
-Petrus Martyr, who wrote not long after the conquest of South America,
-says, that there are bats in the isthmus of Darien which suck the blood
-of men and animals while they are asleep, so as to much weaken, and
-frequently kill them. Jumilla, Don George Juan, and Don Ant. de Ulloa,
-assert the same. Though from the above testimonies it appears that
-these blood-sucking bats are numerous, particularly in South America,
-yet we have not been able to obtain a single individual. Seba has
-presented us with a figure and description of this animal, of which the
-nose is so extraordinary, that I am astonished travellers should not
-have remarked a deformity so palpable as to strike the most superficial
-beholder; possibly the animal of which Seba gives the figure, is not
-the same with that which we distinguish by the name of the vampyre, or
-blood-sucker; It is also possible, that this figure of Seba's is false
-or exaggerated, or at least that this deformed nose is only a monstrous
-accidental variety; though of these deformities there may be found
-permanent examples in some other species of bats. By time alone will
-these obscurities be removed.
-
-[Footnote Y: An American animal called the Great American Bat, or
-Flying Dog of New Spain.]
-
-Both the roussette and rougette are in the cabinet of the King of
-France; and it is to the island of Bourbon that we are indebted
-for them. They belong exclusively to the Old Continent; and in no
-part either of Africa or Asia are they so numerous as the vampyre
-is in America. These animals are larger, stronger, and perhaps more
-mischievous than the vampyre. But it is by open force, and in the day
-as well as night, that they commit hostilities. Fowls and small birds
-are the objects of their destructive fury; they even attack men, and
-wound their faces; but no traveller has accused them of sucking the
-blood of men and animals while asleep.
-
-The ancients had but an imperfect knowledge of these winged quadrupeds,
-which may, indeed, be termed monsters; and it is probable, that from
-those whimsical models of Nature, they received the idea of harpies.
-The wings, the teeth, the claws, the cruelty, the voracity; the
-nastiness, and all the destructive qualities, and noxious faculties of
-the harpies, bear no small resemblance to those of the Ternat bat.
-Herodotus seems to have denoted them, when he mentions that there were
-large bats which greatly incommoded the men employed in collecting
-cassia round the marshes of Asia, and that, to shield themselves from
-the dangerous bites of these animals, they were obliged to cover
-the body and face with leather. Strabo speaks of very large bats in
-Mesopotamia, whose flesh was palatable. Among the moderns, these
-large bats have been mentioned, though in vague terms, by Albertus,
-Isidorus, and Scaliger. With more precision have they been treated of
-by Linscot, Nicholas Matthias, and Francis Pyrard; Oliger Jacobeus has
-given a short description of them with a figure; and lastly, in Seba,
-and in Edwards, we find well-executed description and figures, which
-correspond with our own.
-
-The Ternat bats are carnivorous animals, voracious, and possessed of
-an appetite for every thing that offers. In a dearth of flesh or fish,
-they feed on vegetables and fruits of every kind. They are fond of
-the juice of the palm-tree, and it is easy to take them by placing
-near their retreats vessels filled with palm-tree water, or any other
-fermented liquor, with which they are sure to intoxicate themselves.
-They fasten themselves to trees, and hang from them by their claws.
-They usually fly in flocks, and more by night than by day. Places
-which are much frequented they shun, and their favourite residence is
-uninhabited islands. To copulation they are strongly inclined. In the
-male the sex is very apparent, and not concealed in a scabbard, like
-that of quadrupeds, but extends forwards from the body, nearly as it
-does in the ape. In the female the sex is equally conspicuous; she
-has but two nipples, and those situated upon the breast; she produces
-more than once a year, but the number at each time is but small. Their
-flesh, when young, is not unpalatable; the Indians[Z] are fond of it,
-and compare its flavour to that of the partridge or the rabbit.
-
-[Footnote Z: The Moors and Malayans are most certainly meant, as the
-Indians neither eat nor kill any animal. Lett. M. La Nux.]
-
-The American travellers unanimously agree, that the great bats of the
-new continent suck the blood both of men and animals while they are
-asleep, and without awakening them. Of this singular fact, no mention
-is made by any of the Asiatic or African travellers, who speak of the
-Ternat bats. Their silence, nevertheless, is no adequate proof of their
-being guiltless, especially as they have so many other resemblances
-to those great bats, which we denominated vampyres. I have, therefore,
-thought it worth while to examine how it is possible that these animals
-should suck the blood of a person asleep, without causing a pain
-so sensible as to awake him. Were they to cut the flesh with their
-teeth, which are as large as those of other quadrupeds of the same
-size, the pain of the bite would effectually rouse any of the human
-species, however soundly asleep; and the repose of animals is more
-easily disturbed than that of man. Thus it would also be, were they to
-inflict the wound with their claws. With their tongue only, then, is
-it 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 vampyre I have not had an opportunity of observing,
-but those of several Ternat bats which M. Daubenton attentively
-examined, seemed to indicate the possibility of the fact; their tongues
-were sharp, and full of prickles directed backward; and it appears
-that these prickles, or points, from their exceeding minuteness, may
-be insinuated into the pores of the skin, and may penetrate them so
-deep as to command a flow of the blood, by the continued function
-of the tongue. But it is needless to reason upon a fact of which all
-the circumstances are imperfectly known to us, and of which some are
-perhaps exaggerated, or erroneously related.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-Among other remarks which I received from the ingenious M. de la
-Nux upon this work, after its first publication, were the following
-respecting these animals. He says, in general terms, that the size and
-number of the Great Ternat Bats are both exaggerated; that instead of
-attacking men they invariably endeavour to get from them, consequently
-never bite but when taken, or defending themselves, which they do then
-most dreadfully; and that instead of being ferocious animals, they
-are perfectly gentle in their dispositions. Speaking from his own
-experience, he says, both the great and small Ternat bats are natives
-of Bourbon, the isles of France, and Madagascar, in the former of
-which he had resided upwards of fifty years; when he first arrived
-there they were very numerous in many places where at present they are
-not to be found, and for these reasons, that the forests were then
-adjacent to them, which had been cleared away by the settlements, and
-that it is only in forests they can subsist; besides, they bring forth
-but once a year, and are hunted, both by whites and negroes, for the
-sake of their flesh and grease. The females are in season about the
-month of May, and produce towards the end of September. They appear
-to come to maturity in about eight months, since there are no small
-ones to be seen after April or May, and the young are to be known
-from the old by their colours being more vivid: they become grey with
-age, but it is uncertain at what period; at this time their flesh is
-very disagreeable, and their fat alone, of which they have plenty
-during the summer, is eaten by the negroes. They never feed upon any
-kind of flesh, but entirely on bananas, peaches, and other fruits and
-flowers with which these forests abound: they are exceedingly fond
-of the juices of certain umbellated flowers; and it is possibly for
-the purpose of sucking the different species of them that they have
-such a number of sharp papill� on their tongues. They never touch the
-skins of the mango, perhaps because it is resinous. Some of them
-which have been caught, and kept alive, have been known to eat bread
-and sugar-canes, but I believe, even in that state, no kind of meat,
-either raw or prepared. There cannot be any thing to apprehend from
-these animals, either personally, or even for poultry, because they are
-incapable of seizing upon the smallest bird, for if they come too near
-the ground they fall, and are then under the necessity of climbing up
-some elevated object before they can resume their flight, and in this
-case they climb up the first thing they meet with, even if it be a man.
-They trail their bodies along, consequently move very slow, and which
-is of itself sufficient to prove their incapacity for seizing birds.
-These animals, when going to take wing, cannot, like birds, dart at
-once into the air, but are obliged to beat their wings several times
-to fill them, and to release their claws from what they have hold of,
-and even then the weight of their bodies frequently bears them to the
-ground; from this necessity of filling their wings they cannot take
-flight from any part of the tree, but are obliged to crawl to a part
-of the branch where they can act with perfect freedom. They are much
-alarmed at the firing of a gun, or at a peal of thunder; and if a
-large flock of them, resting upon a tree, are surprised by either of
-these reports, in their haste to fly, numbers of them fall to the
-ground, not having sufficient air in their wings; in this case they
-hasten to climb up the first object they met with; let us therefore
-only suppose that object to be a traveller unacquainted with these
-animals; he would naturally be struck with terror at being suddenly
-surrounded with a number of creatures of such an ugly form and aspect,
-and especially when they began to climb up his body; he would of course
-endeavour to extricate himself from them, and they, in turn, finding
-themselves roughly treated, might begin to scratch and bite. Would
-not a circumstance of this nature be sufficient to give rise to the
-idea that these bats were ferocious animals, rushing upon men for the
-purpose of wounding and destroying them? when the whole would arise
-from the rencounter of different animals mutually afraid of each other.
-They are led to reside in forests by instinct, it being there only
-they can procure subsistence, and not from any savage disposition;
-besides this, neither of these bats ever light upon carrion, nor do
-they eat upon the ground, but generally in a hanging posture, and which
-appears to be necessary when they feed all of which is surely enough
-to prove they are neither carnivorous, voracious, nor cruel animals;
-and as their flight is both heavy and noisy, there cannot remain a
-doubt of their being a species very distant from the vampyre. The great
-Ternat bats have also been charged with feeding on fish, because they
-sometimes fly very near the water; but this is equally untrue, for it
-is certain that they live entirely on vegetables, and it is solely for
-the purpose of washing themselves that they go so near the water, being
-an exceedingly clean animal, for of the numbers I have killed I never
-found dirt upon any of them.
-
-When near, the great Ternat bat is certainly rather disgustful, and all
-his motions are disagreeable, and it is only when perched on a tree
-that his natural deformity is concealed; he then hangs with his head
-downward, his wings are folded close to his sides, his vibrating wings,
-which are his greatest defects, as well as hind paws, by which he is
-suspended, are concealed, and there then appears only a round plump
-body, covered with a clean, smooth brown hair, terminated with a head
-rather agreeable than otherwise. This is the only attitude in which
-they take repose, they frequently remain in it the greatest part of
-the day, and in it they are seen to the greatest advantage, especially
-if they are at the height of 40 or 50 feet, and about 100 feet
-distant. The great Ternat bat is always placed for shew with his wings
-extended, by which means he is seen to the greatest disadvantage. The
-representation given of him in your work is not exact, as they never
-rest with their four feet on the ground. Both species are excellent
-food, and have never been known to produce any bad effects, although
-frequently eaten to excess; nor is that in the least surprising when we
-consider they feed entirely on ripe fruits, the juices, flowers, and
-according to Herodotus, "the exudations of trees."
-
-
-
-
-THE SENEGAL BAT.
-
-
-The Senegal Bat[AA] (_fig. 119._) or as it is called by some, the
-Marmotte Volante, is of a dark brown colour upon its head and back,
-with a light mixture, which increasing under the belly, renders that
-considerably paler; the tail, as well as the membrane of the wings,
-are quite black. That which I saw and had been brought from Senegal,
-by M. Adanson, was not more than four inches in length, and his wings
-extended to about 21 inches; his head was long, ears short, and his
-nose rather pointed; he had 20 teeth in the whole, two incisive, two
-canine, and eight grinders in the upper jaw and six incisive and two
-canine in the under.
-
-[Footnote AA: Of this and the two following Mr. Pennant's Synopsis
-contains very accurate descriptions.]
-
-
-
-
-THE BULL-DOG BAT.
-
-
-The Bull-Dog Bat, (_fig. 118._) has a short thick nose, and large broad
-ears, which bend forward. The greatest part of its body is a dark
-ash-colour; the middle of its belly is brown, and its chest and throat
-a clear ash, without any mixture; the tail and membrane of the wings
-are nearly black, from the latter of which there comes a part of the
-tail, composed of five false vertebr�. It has 26 teeth, two incisive,
-and two canine, in each jaw; eight grinders in the upper, and ten in
-the lower; it is not more than two inches in length, measuring from the
-top of the nose, nor does its wings extend to quite ten.
-
-
-
-
-THE BEARDED BAT.
-
-
-The head of this bat (_fig. 120._) is very peculiarly constructed; the
-nose is sunk in the front, and, contrary to all other animals, it has
-not its nostrils divided by a partition, but are placed on the sides of
-a kind of gutter entirely open from one end to the other; the exterior
-edges of them join above the upper lip, forming a cavity from thence to
-the front, where it terminates with a deep hole covered all round with
-long hairs. It has long narrow ears; the hair on the top and hind part
-of the head, along the neck, back, tail, and shoulders, is of a reddish
-brown, and all the remainder is of a yellowish white; the membrane of
-the wings and tail have a kind of mixture of black and reddish brown
-and its claws are yellow. Its body is about an inch and a half long,
-and its wings extend to about seven.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 121. _Polatouch_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 120. _Bearded Bat_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 122. _Swiss Squirrel_]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 123. _Palmist_]
-
-
-
-
-THE STRIPED BAT.
-
-
-This bat is very small, has a short nose and broad ears, bending
-forward; it is of a whitish yellow colour, excepting under its throat,
-breast, and belly, which is a light blue, with a yellow shade; the
-tail, and membrane of the wings are a mixture of yellow and brown.
-
-
-
-
-THE POLATOUCH.
-
-
-I have chosen to continue the name this animal bears in Russia, its
-native country, rather than to adopt those vague and uncertain ones
-since appropriated to it, such as, the Flying-rat, Flying-squirrel, &c.
-
-The Polatouch (_fig. 121._) resembles but in a few particulars either
-the squirrel, loir, or rat. To the squirrel it has no affinity but in
-the largeness of the eyes, and form of the tail, the latter of which,
-however, is neither so long, nor bushy as in the former. He is more
-like the loir by the shape of his body, his short and naked ears, and
-the hairs of his tail, which are of the same form and length; but he
-is not like him, subject to numbness in cold weather. The polatouch
-is a different species from the squirrel rat, or dormouse, though
-he participates of the nature of all three. M. Klein gave the first
-exact description of this animal, in the Philosophical Transactions,
-1733; he was, however, known long before that time. He is found in the
-northern parts both of the ancient and New Continent,[AB] but he is
-more common in America than in Europe, where he is seldom seen, except
-in Lithuania and Russia. This little animal dwells upon trees, like the
-squirrel; he goes from branch to branch, and when he leaps from one
-tree to another, his loose skin stretches forward by his fore-legs, and
-backward by his hind ones; his skin thus stretched and drawn outwardly
-more than an inch, increases the surface of his body, without adding to
-its weight, and consequently retards the acceleration of his fall, so
-that he is enabled to reach in one leap a great distance. This motion
-is not like the flight of a bird, nor the fluttering of a bat, both
-of which are made by striking the air with repeated vibrations. It is
-one single leap, caused by the first impulsion, the motion of which is
-prolonged, because the body of the animal presents to the air a larger
-surface, and thence finds a greater resistance, and falls more slowly.
-This singular extension of the skin is peculiar to the polatouch, and
-this characteristic is sufficient to distinguish him from all other
-squirrels, rats, or dormice. But the most singular things in Nature
-are not unparalleled; there is another animal of the same kind, with a
-similar skin, which is not only stretched from one leg to another, but
-from the head to the tail. This animal, whose figure and description
-has been given by Seba, under the denomination of the flying-squirrel
-of Virginia, seems so different from the polatouch, as to constitute
-another species; though probably it may be only a simple variety, or
-an accidental and monstrous production, for no traveller or naturalist
-makes mention of it. Seba is the only one who has seen it in the
-cabinet of Vincent; and I always distrust descriptions of animals made
-in cabinets of curiosities, which are often disfigured to make them
-appear more extraordinary.
-
-[Footnote AB: The Hurons of Canada have three different species of
-squirrels. The Flying-squirrels are frequent in North America, but they
-have been lately found in Poland.]
-
-I have seen and kept a long while the living polatouch. He has been
-well described by travellers, particularly Sagard, Theodat, John of
-Laet, Fernandes, Le Hontan, Denys, Catesby, Dumont, Le Pague du Pratz,
-&c. and Messrs. Klein, Seba, and Edwards, have given exact descriptions
-of him, with his figure. What I have seen of this animal agrees with
-their relations. He is commonly smaller than a squirrel. That which we
-had weighed little more than two ounces, about the weight of a middling
-sized bat, and the squirrel weighs eight or nine ounces. However, there
-are some of a greater size, since we have a skin of a polatouch much
-larger than usual.
-
-The polatouch has some analogy with the bat by this extension of the
-skin, which unites the fore and hind legs, and supports him in the
-air; he seems also to participate of his nature, for he is quiet and
-sleepy in the day time, having no activity but towards the evening.
-He is easily tamed, but soon offended, and must be kept in a cage, or
-fastened with a small chain; he feeds upon bread, fruits, seeds, and
-is remarkably fond of the buds and shoots of the birch and pine trees.
-He does not seek after nuts and almonds like a squirrel. He makes
-a bed of leaves, in which he buries himself, and sleeps through the
-day, leaving it only in the night, or when pressed by hunger. As he
-has little agility, he becomes easily the prey of martens, and other
-animals who climb up the trees, so that the species is not numerous,
-although they have commonly three or four young at a time.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-In the original work I remarked having seen the skin of a polatouch
-larger than the common size, but the difference was very trifling,
-to one the Prince de Cond� has since permitted me to examine, whose
-bulk was perfectly gigantic, compared with those of Russia or America,
-the latter never exceeding five inches in length, and this measured
-twenty-three. It was taken upon the Malabar coast, where they are
-very common, as well as in the Philippine Islands, and other parts
-of India, where they are called taguans, or great flying squirrels;
-but notwithstanding they resemble the polatouch in figure, and the
-extension of their skin, yet I think they ought to be considered as
-different species; for among other varieties, the tail of the taguan
-is round, and that of the common kind flat; the hair of the former's
-tail is also of a blackish brown, the face is quite black, the sides of
-the head have a mixture of white hairs, and on the nose and round the
-eyes, there are also some red ones; it has long brown hairs that cover
-the neck, the whole back is a mixture of black and white, the belly of
-a dirty white; the upper part of the extended skin is brown, and the
-under a greyish yellow, the legs black with a reddish shade, the tail
-brown, deepening by degrees until it becomes quite black at the end,
-the toes are black, and the claws hooked like those of the cat, from
-which, and the resemblance of the tail, it has been called by some the
-flying cat. M. de Vosma�r, in his Description of an _Ecureuil Volant_,
-gives a very particular account of both species, as does M. l'Abb�
-Prevost, and both of which perfectly coincide with the above.
-
-At this time, March 17, 1775, I have one of the small species alive;
-I kept it in a cage, with a box at the bottom filled with cotton, in
-which it covers itself all day, and only comes out at night to seek
-for food. Whenever it is forced to come out, it cries somewhat like a
-mouse; its teeth are small, but sharp, and it bites violently; it can
-only be made to extend its wings by letting it fall from some height;
-and it is so very chilly, that I am astonished how it preserves itself
-in the northern climates, since it would very soon perish, even in
-France, if it were not supplied with plenty of cotton to cover itself
-all over.
-
-Of the Great Flying Squirrel M. de Vosma�r remarks, "that it has a
-great affinity to the smaller species described by M. de Buffon;
-they both have the same kind of membranes, with which they support
-themselves in the air when they leap from tree to tree." These animals
-were first mentioned by Valentine, who states them to be found in the
-island of Gilolo, where they are called _flying civets_; he describes
-them to have long tails, and says, when at rest their wings are not
-to be seen; that they are very wild and fearful; that their heads are
-reddish, intermixed with grey, that their membranes are covered with
-hair, their teeth so strong and sharp that they would soon escape from
-a wooden cage; that they are sometimes called _flying monkeys_; and
-that they are also to be met with in the island of Ternat, where they
-were at first mistaken for squirrels.
-
-M. l'Abb� Prevost says, it is also found in the Philippine Islands,
-where it is called _taguan_; that he saw two females, the one at the
-Hague, whose body was a light chesnut, rather darker on the back, and
-black towards the extremity of the tail; and that he had also seen
-two males in the Prince of Orange's cabinet, which were one foot five
-inches long in the body, and their tails one foot eight. The hind part
-of their heads, back, and the commencement of the tail are covered with
-long hairs, black at the bottom, and of a greyish white at the ends;
-the other part of the tail is black, and the hair is so disposed as to
-make the tail have a round appearance, the cheeks are brown, and their
-throats, breasts, and bellies are of a whitish grey. The membranes are
-the thinnest in the middle where they are covered with chesnut hairs,
-increasing in thickness towards the paws, and the colour growing darker
-until it is nearly black at the extremities.
-
-
-
-
-THE GREY SQUIRREL.
-
-
-This animal is found in the northern parts of both continents. He is in
-shape like a common squirrel, and his external difference consists in
-his being larger, and the colour of his hair not being red, but of a
-grey more or less deep; his ears are not so hairy towards the extremity
-as those of our squirrels. These differences, which are constant, seem
-sufficient to constitute a particular species. Many authors think this
-species is different in Europe and America, and that the grey squirrels
-of the former are of the common kind, and that they change their colour
-with the season in the northern climates. Without denying absolutely
-this assertion, which does not seem sufficiently proved, we look upon
-the grey squirrel of Europe and America as the same animal, and as a
-distinct species from common squirrels, who are found in the northern
-parts of both continents, being of the same size, and of a red, more or
-less bright according to the temperature of the country.
-
-At the same time, other squirrels of a larger size, whose hair is grey,
-or somewhat black, in all seasons, breed in the same latitude. Besides,
-the fur of the grey squirrel is more fine and soft than that of our
-squirrels; we are, therefore, authorised to believe that though very
-nearly alike, they ought to be distinguished as different species.
-
-M. Regnard says affirmatively, that the grey squirrels of Lapland are
-the same animals as the French squirrels. This assertion is so positive
-that it would be satisfactory were it not contradicted by others; M.
-Regnard has written excellent dramatic pieces, but he did not give a
-sufficient application to Natural History, nor did he continue long
-enough in Lapland to see the squirrels change their colour. It is true
-that some naturalists, and among them Linn�us, have said, that in the
-north of Europe the hair of the squirrel changes colour in the winter.
-This may be true, for the hares, wolves, and weasels, also change their
-colour in those climates; but from red they grow white, not grey; and
-to give no other instance but that of the squirrel, Linn�us in the
-_Fauna Suecica_, says, _�state ruber hieme incanus_, consequently
-from red he becomes white; and we do not see why this author should
-substitute for the word _incanus_ that of _cinereus_, which is found
-in the last edition of the _Systema Natur�_. M. Klein asserts, on the
-contrary, that the squirrels in the vicinity of Dantzic, are red in the
-winter as well as in the summer, and that there are others frequently
-found in Poland grey and blackish, who do not change their colour any
-more than the red; these last also breed in Canada, and in all parts
-of North America, consequently we may consider the grey squirrel as an
-animal common to both continents, and of a different species from that
-of the common squirrel.
-
-Besides, we do not perceive that the squirrels which are very frequent
-in our forests unite in troops; we do not see them travel in companies,
-approach the waters, nor cross rivers upon the bark of trees. Thus
-they differ from the grey squirrels, not only in size and colour but
-in natural habits; for although the navigations of the grey squirrels
-seem almost incredible, they are attested by so many witnesses that we
-cannot deny the fact.[AC]
-
-[Footnote AC: The grey squirrels frequently remove their place of
-residence, and it not unoften happens that not one can be seen one
-winter where they were in multitudes the year before; they go in
-large bodies, and when they want to cross a lake or river, they seize
-a piece of the bark of a birch or lime, and drawing it to the edge
-of the water, get upon it, and trust themselves to the hazard of the
-wind and waves, erecting their tails to serve the purpose of sails;
-they sometimes form a fleet of three or four thousand, and if the
-wind proves too strong, a general shipwreck ensues, to the no small
-emolument of the Laplander who may fortunately find their bodies on the
-shore, as, if they have not lain too long, their furs will prepare in
-the usual manner; but if the winds are favourable they are certain to
-make their desired port. _Oeuvres de M. Regnard, tom. i. p. 163._]
-
-Of all quadrupeds that are not domestic, the squirrel is, perhaps, the
-most subject to vary in shape and colour, and whose species has the
-greatest numbers of others that approach it. The white squirrel of
-Siberia seems to differ only in colour from our common squirrel. The
-black and the grey of America are, perhaps, only varieties of the grey
-squirrel. The squirrels of Barbary, Switzerland, and the palmist, are
-three species very much like each other.
-
-We have very little information with regard to the grey squirrel.
-Fernandes says, that the grey or blackish squirrels of America dwell
-upon trees, particularly upon pines; that they feed upon fruits and
-seeds; that they provide provisions for the winter, and heap it up in
-some hollow tree, where they retire during that season, and where the
-female brings forth her young. The grey squirrel differs, then, from
-the others who make their nests at the tops of trees like birds, yet
-we do not pretend to affirm that the blackish squirrel, mentioned by
-Fernandes, is the same as the grey squirrel of Virginia, or that both
-of them are the same as the grey squirrel of Europe; we only think it
-is probable, as these three animals are nearly of the same size and
-colour, inhabit the same climates, are precisely of a similar form, and
-their skins being equally used in the furs, called the fur of the grey
-squirrel.
-
-
-
-
-THE PALMIST, THE SQUIRRELS OF BARBARY AND SWITZERLAND.
-
-
-The palmist is about the size of a rat, or a small squirrel; he lives
-upon the palm-trees, from which he takes his name. Some call him the
-palm-rat, and others the palm-tree squirrel; but as he is neither a rat
-nor a squirrel, we call him palmist. (_fig. 123._) His head is nearly
-the same form as that of the campagnol, and covered with rough hair.
-His long tail does not lie on the ground, like that of the rat, but
-he carries it erect vertically, without, however, throwing it down on
-his back like the squirrel; it is covered with hair longer than that
-of his body, but shorter than the hair of the tail of a squirrel. His
-back is variegated with white and brown stripes, which distinguish
-the palmist from all other animals, except the squirrels of Barbary
-and Switzerland. These three animals are so much alike, that Mr. Ray
-thought they made but one species; but if we consider that the palmist
-and the squirrel of Barbary, are only found in the warm climates of the
-ancient continent, and that the squirrel of Switzerland, described by
-Lister, Catesby, and Edwards, is only to be met with in the cold and
-temperate regions of the New World, we must judge them to be different
-species. By minute observation it is easy to perceive that the white
-and brown stripes of the Swiss are disposed differently from those of
-the palmist, whose white stripe extends all along the back, while it
-is black or brown in the Swiss; and this brown stripe in the latter
-is followed by a white stripe, in the same manner as the white stripe
-in the former is by a brown; besides, the palmist has but three white
-stripes, while the Swiss has four; he also brings down his tail on
-his back, which the palmist does not: the latter dwells upon trees,
-and the Swiss is an inhabitant of the earth; from which difference he
-is called the land squirrel. In fine, he is smaller than the palmist,
-consequently there can be no doubt of their being two different species.
-
-As for the squirrel of Barbary, as he is of the same continent and
-climate, of the same size, and nearly the same form as the palmist,
-they might be considered as varieties of the same species; yet in
-comparing the description and figure of the squirrel of Barbary, given
-by Caius, and copied by Aldrovandus and Johnson, with the description
-given here of the palmist, and comparing afterwards the description
-and figure of the squirrel of Barbary, given by Edwards, it is easy to
-discern that they are different animals. We have seen them all in the
-king's cabinet. The squirrel of Barbary has the head and forehead more
-round, the ears longer, and the tail more bushy than the palmist; he is
-more like a squirrel than a rat, by the form of his head and body; and
-a palmist resembles more 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 back bone, but that on the squirrel
-of Barbary is brown and red. These animals have very near the same
-habits and dispositions as the common squirrel. Like him they feed upon
-fruit, and use their fore paws in carrying it to the mouth; they have
-the same voice and cry, the same instinct, and agility; they are lively
-and tractable, easily tamed, and so fond of their habitations, that
-they never go out but on diversion, and return spontaneously to their
-residence. They are both of a pretty figure; their coats, which has
-white stripes, is more valuable than that of the squirrel; their size
-is shorter, their body lighter, and their motions equally quick. The
-palmist, and the squirrel of Barbary, dwell on trees like the common
-squirrel, but the Swiss lives upon the 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 completely tamed, from which it appears he is more like a rat,
-or a field mouse, than a squirrel, by instinct and nature.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 124. _Great Ant Eater._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 125. _Short tail'd Manis._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 126. _Long tail'd Ditto._]
-
-
-
-
-THE ANT EATERS.
-
-
-South America produces three animals with a long snout, a small mouth,
-without teeth, and a large round tongue; with which they penetrate
-into the ants' nests, and draw them out again when covered with those
-insects, which are their principal food. The first of these ant-eaters
-is that which the Brasilians call Tamandua-Gaucu, or Great Tamandua,
-and to which the French settled in America have given the name of
-Tamanoir. This animal (_fig. 124._) is about four feet in length from
-the extremity of the muzzle to the origin of its tail; his head is
-fourteen or fifteen inches long, his muzzle stretches out to a great
-length; his tail is two feet and a half long, is covered with rough
-hair, more than a foot in length; his neck is short, his head narrow,
-his eyes black and small, his ears round, his tongue thin, more than
-two feet long, and which he folds up in his mouth. 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 hair of his tail and body are black and white. Upon the tail
-they are disposed in a bunch, which he turns up on his back, and covers
-with it his whole body, when he is inclined to sleep, or wants to
-shelter himself from the rain or heat of the sun. The long hair of his
-tail and of his body is not round in all its extent; it is flat towards
-the ends, 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 sweeps along the ground. The hair of the fore-part of his body is
-longer than that on the hind part. On the neck and back it is somewhat
-erect, and towards the tail, and on the flanks, close to the skin; his
-fore-parts are variegated with white, and his hind-parts wholly black;
-he has also a white stripe on the breast, which extends on the sides
-of the body and terminates on the back near the thighs; his hind-legs
-are almost black, and the fore-legs almost white, with a large black
-spot towards the middle. The Great Ant-eater moves so slow that a man
-can easily overtake him in running; his feet seem less calculated to
-walk than to climb, and to fasten round bodies; for he holds so fast a
-branch, or a stick, that it is not possible to force it from him.
-
-The second of these animals is called by the Americans only Tamandua;
-he is much smaller than the former, being not above eighteen inches
-from the extremities of the muzzle to the tail; his head is five inches
-long, his muzzle crooked, and long; his tail ten inches long, without
-hair at the end; his ears are erect, and about an inch long; his tongue
-is round, eight inches long, and placed in a sort of hollow canal
-within the lower 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
-Great Ant-Eater. He climbs and holds fast a branch, or a stick, like
-the former, and his motions are equally slow. He cannot cover himself
-with his tail, the hair being short, and the end almost bare. When he
-sleeps he hides his head under his neck and fore-legs.
-
-The third of these animals, the natives of Guiana call _ouatiriouaou_.
-He is still smaller than the second, being not above six or seven
-inches in length from the extremities of the snout to the tail; his
-head is two inches long; and his muzzle proportionally short; his tail
-is seven inches in length, the hair curls downwards, and it is bare
-at the end; his tongue is narrow, long, and flat; his neck is very
-short, his head big in proportion to the body; his eyes are placed low,
-and at a little distance from the corners of the mouth, his ears are
-small, and hidden by the hair; his legs are but three inches long, the
-fore-feet have only two claws, the outward of which is much thicker
-and longer than the inward; the hind feet have four claws, the hair of
-the body is about nine inches long; smooth, and of a shining colour,
-diversified with red and yellow, his feet are not made to walk, but to
-climb and to take hold of branches of trees, on which he hangs himself
-by the extremity of his tail.
-
-We know of these kind of animals only the three species we have
-mentioned. M. Brisson, after Seba, speaks of a fourth species, under
-the denomination of the _long-eared ant-eater_, but we doubt its
-existence; because Seba has been guilty of more than one error in
-enumerating animals of this kind; he says expressly, "we preserve in
-our cabinet six species called ant-eaters," and yet he gave only a
-description of five; and amongst them he reckoned the _ysquiepatl_, or
-_mouffette_, an animal, not only of a species, but even of a genus,
-widely different from the ant-eaters, as he has teeth, and a flat
-short tongue, like other quadrupeds, and comes very near a kind of
-weasels or martens. Out of these six species, pretended to be preserved
-in the cabinet of Seba, four only remain, as the ysquiepatl, which
-he reckoned the fifth, is no ant-eater, and the sixth is not even
-mentioned, unless the author meant to comprehend among these animals
-the _Pangolin_ or scaly lizard, which he does not intimate in his
-description of that animal. The scaly lizard feeds upon ants; he has
-a long muzzle, a narrow mouth, without visible teeth, and the tongue
-round; characteristics which he has in common with ant-eaters; but
-he differs from it as well as from all other quadrupeds, by having
-the body covered with thick scales instead of hair. Besides, this
-animal belongs to the hottest climates of the old continent, and the
-ant-eaters, whose bodies are covered with hair, are found only in the
-southern parts of the new world. There are therefore no more than
-four species instead of six, mentioned by Seba, and out of these four
-there is but one species discernible by its description; which is
-our third or smallest ant-eater, to whom Seba allows but one claw to
-each foot, though he has two. The three others are so imperfectly
-described, that they cannot be traced to their true species. One may
-judge by this of the credit which Seba's voluminous book deserves.
-This animal which he calls _tamandua murmecophage_ of America, and
-the figure of which he has given[AD], cannot be compared with either
-of the three we are now treating of, it is sufficient to be convinced
-of his error by reading his description. The second which he terms
-_tamandua-guacu_ of Brasil, or the _bear ant-eater_, is described in
-a vague, equivocal manner; yet I am inclined to think with Klein and
-Linn�us, that he meant the true tamandua-guacu, or great ant-eater, but
-it is so badly described, and so imperfectly represented, that Linn�us
-has comprehended, under one species, the first and second of Seba's
-animals. M. Brisson considered the last as a particular species, but I
-do not believe his establishment of this species better founded than
-his criticism on M. Klein, for having confounded it with that of the
-great ant-eater. The only just reproach M. Klein has incurred, is to
-have added to the good description he has given of this animal, the
-erroneous indications of Seba. In fine, the third of these animals,
-whose figure is given in that work, is so badly described, that I
-cannot persuade myself, notwithstanding the respect I have for Linn�us
-and Brisson's authority, this animal from Seba's description and figure
-can be the middle ant-eater; I only wish that his description may
-be attended to in order to judge of its fallacy. These discussions,
-although tedious and disagreeable, cannot be avoided in the details of
-a Natural History. Before we write upon a subject very little known, we
-must, as much as possible, remove all obscurities, and point out the
-numberless errors before we can come to the truth. The result of this
-criticism is a proof that three species of ant-eaters really exist,
-namely the _tamanoir_, the _tamandua_, and the _ouatiriouaou_, and that
-the fourth called the _long-eared ant-eaters_, mentioned by M. Brisson,
-is doubtful, as well as the other species indicated by Seba. I have
-seen the first and last with their skins, in the king's cabinet; and
-they are certainly very different from each other. We have not seen the
-tamandua, but have described it, after Piso and Marcgrave, the only
-authors that ought to be consulted upon this animal, as all others
-have only copied them. The tamandua, and the small ant-eater have the
-extremities of their tails bare, with which they hang on the branches
-of trees, and when they perceive hollows, they put their tongues
-within, and draw them instantly back in their mouths, to swallow the
-insects which they have gathered.
-
-[Footnote AD: Seba, tom. I, p. 60, tab. 37. fig. 2.]
-
-These three animals, so different in size and proportions of the body,
-have many things in common, both as to conformation and instinct. All
-feed upon ants, and put their tongues into honey, and other liquid
-and viscous substances; they gather quickly crumbs of bread and small
-pieces of meat; they are easily tamed; they can subsist a long while
-without food; they do not swallow all the liquor which they take into
-their mouths, a part returning through their nostrils; they commonly
-sleep in the day-time, and change their station in the night; they go
-so slow that a man may overtake them easily whilst running in open
-ground. The savages eat their flesh, but which has an unsavoury taste.
-
-The great ant-eater looks, at a distance, like a fox, and for that
-reason some travellers call him the American fox; he is strong enough
-to defend himself against a large dog, and even the jaguar. When
-attacked he at first fights standing on his hind legs, like the bear,
-and makes use of his fore claws, which are powerful weapons; afterwards
-he lies down on his back, and uses all four feet, and in that situation
-he is almost invincible, and fights with obstinacy till the last
-extremity; even after he has put to death his adversary he keeps hold
-of him a long while. He maintains the fight longer than most animals,
-from being 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 three ant-eaters are natives of the hottest climates of America,
-are found in Brasil, Guiana, the country of the Amazons, &c. but they
-are not met with in Canada, or in the northern regions of the new
-world, they consequently do not belong to the ancient continent; yet
-Kolbe and Desmarchais have stated these animals to live in Africa, but
-they seem to have confounded the scaly lizard with the ant-eaters.
-Perhaps this mistake is in consequence of a passage of Marcgrave, who
-says: "_Tamandua-guacu Brasiliensibus, congensibus (ubi et frequens
-est) umbula dictus_;" but Marcgrave certainly never saw this animal in
-Africa, since he confesses that he had seen only his skin in America.
-Desmarchais only says that the great ant-eater is found in Africa as
-well as America, but he adds no circumstance to prove this fact. In
-regard to Kolbe's attestation, we reckon it nothing, for a man who
-has seen at the Cape of Good Hope, elks and lynxes, like those of
-Prussia, might also see the ant-eaters in the same climate. But they
-are not mentioned by any authors among the animals of Asia or Africa,
-while all the travellers, and most of the historians, of America, make
-a particular mention of them. De Lery, de La�t, Father d'Abbeville,
-Maff�e, Faber, Nieremberg, and M. de la Condamine, agree with Piso and
-Barrere, in declaring that the ant-eaters are peculiar to the warm
-countries of America; thus we cannot doubt that Desmarchais and Kolbe
-were mistaken, and that these three species of animals do not exist in
-the ancient continents.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-I have received from M. Maudhuit, residing at Guiana, an ant-eater in
-excellent condition, which appears to be of the same species as those
-just described, differing somewhat in the length of the muzzle and the
-toes.
-
-M. de la Borde has also transmitted several particulars; he says,
-"There are two species of ant-eaters which inhabit the woods of Guiana,
-the one larger than the other; they run very slow, and when they swim
-across large rivers which is a common practice, it is easy to knock
-them on the head with a stick; but in the woods it is necessary to use
-muskets, for the dogs refuse to hunt them. The great ant-eater tears up
-the nests of wood-lice, which he easily discovers; he is a dangerous
-animal to encounter, as he gives most severe wounds with his claws,
-with which he successfully defends himself against the most fierce
-animal of this continent, such as the jaguars, cougars, &c. and with
-which he also kills many dogs, who are therefore afraid of him. He is
-said to feed on ants, for which his tongue appeared well calculated,
-but I found in the stomach of one a great number of wood-lice, which
-had just been swallowed. The females bring forth in the holes of trees,
-and have one at a time, and at those periods they will even attack
-men. The savages at Cayenne eat the flesh, although it is black and
-unsavory; their skins are thick and hard; they do not attain their
-full size before they are four years old; and the whole of their
-respiration is performed through their nostrils. The smaller one has
-whitish hair, about two inches long; it has no teeth, but its claws
-are very long; this, as well as the former feeds during the night; the
-female also has but one at a time, and they perfectly resemble each
-other, but the latter is more scarce to be met with than the former."
-
-This gentleman sent me also the following remarks upon our third
-species. "It has bright hair, rather of a golden colour; it feeds upon
-ants, which adhere to its tongue; it is not bigger than a squirrel,
-runs very slow, and is easily taken; it fixes itself so fast to a stick
-or branch that it may be carried in that manner to any distance, and
-they are frequently found thus fixed; these, like the former bring
-forth but one at a time, in the holes of trees, and feed also in the
-night; they are not by any means scarce, though it is difficult to
-distinguish them on the trees."
-
-
-
-
-THE LONG AND THE SHORT-TAILED MANIS.
-
-
-These animals are commonly known under the name of scaly lizards; we
-reject this denomination; 1st, because it is a compound; 2dly, because
-it is ambiguous, and applied to both species; 3dly, because it is
-wrongly imagined; these animals being not only of another species,
-but even of a different class, than the lizards, which are oviparous
-reptiles, while the pangolin, and the phatagen, as they are called in
-their native countries of the east, are viviparous quadrupeds.
-
-All lizards are covered with a sleek speckled skin, in representation
-of scales, but these animals have no scales on their throat, breast,
-or belly, the phatagen, or long-tailed manis, (_fig. 126._) like
-other quadrupeds, has hair on all these under parts of the body; the
-pangolin, or short-tailed manis (_fig. 125._) has nothing but a smooth
-skin without hair. The scales with which all the other parts of the
-bodies of these two animals are covered do not stick to the skin,
-they are only strongly fixed at the lower parts, being moveable, like
-the quills of a porcupine, at the will of the animal; they raise these
-scales when exasperated, and when particularly so, they roll themselves
-up like a ball, resembling the hedge-hog: these scales are so big,
-so hard, and so sharp, that they repel all animals of prey; it is an
-offensive armour which wounds while it resists. The most cruel and
-voracious animals, such as the tiger and the panther, make but useless
-efforts to devour these animals, they tread upon, and roll them about,
-but when they attempt to seize them, they receive severe wounds; they
-can neither destroy them by violence, nor bruize, or smother them with
-their weight. The fox is averse to attacking the hedge-hog when rolled
-up, but he forces him to stretch himself by treading on, and squeezing
-him with all his weight, and as soon as his head appears, he seizes the
-snout, and thus secures him as a prey. But of all quadrupeds, without
-even excepting the porcupine, the armour of the manis is the strongest
-and most offensive, and which animals, by contracting their bodies and
-presenting their weapons, brave the fury of all their enemies. When
-they contract themselves, they do not take, like the hedge-hog, a
-globose figure, but form an oblong, their thick and long tail remaining
-outwardly and encircling their bodies; this exterior part, by which it
-would seem these animals could be seized, carries its own defence; it
-is covered with scales equally hard and sharp as those with which the
-body is cloathed, and as it is convex upwards and flat below, nearly in
-the form of half a pyramid, the sides are covered with square scales
-folding in a right angle, as thick and as cutting as the others, so
-that the tail seems to be still more strongly armed than the body, the
-under parts of which are unprovided with scales.
-
-The short-tailed manis is larger than the long-tailed kind; his fore
-feet are covered with scales, but the feet of the latter, and part of
-his fore legs are clothed with hair only. The former has also larger
-scales, thicker, more convex, uniformly cutting, and not so close as
-those of the latter, which are armed with three sharp points; he is
-also hairy upon the belly; the other has no hair on that part of his
-body, but between the scales which cover his back, some thick and long
-hair issues like the bristles of a hog, which are not on the back
-of the long-tailed species. These are all the essential differences
-which we have observed in the skins of both these animals, and which
-distinguish them from all other quadrupeds so much, that they have been
-looked upon as a species of monsters. From these general and constant
-differences, we dare affirm them to be two animals of distinct species.
-We have discovered their analogies and differences, not only by the
-inspection of three of them, which we have seen, but also by comparing
-all which has been observed by travellers and naturalists.
-
-The short-tailed manis is from six to eight feet in length, his tail
-included, when he comes to his full growth; the tail is nearly as
-long as the body, though it appears shorter when the animal is young;
-the scales are not then so large nor so thick, and of a pale colour;
-the colour becomes deeper in the adult, and the scales acquire such
-a hardness, as to resist a musket ball. Both these animals have some
-affinity with the great and middle ant-eater, for like them they feed
-on ants, have very long tongues, narrow mouths, without apparent teeth;
-their bodies and tails are also very long, and the claws of their
-feet very near of the same length and the same form, but they have
-five toes on each foot, while the great and middle ant-eaters have
-but four to their fore feet; these are covered with hair, the others
-are armed with scales; and besides they are not natives of the same
-continent. The ant-eaters are found in America, and both the species
-of the manis belong to the East Indies and Africa, where the negroes
-call them _quogelo_; they eat their flesh, which they reckon a delicate
-wholesome food, and use their scales for different purposes. They have
-nothing forbidding but their figure; they are gentle and innocent,
-feeding upon insects only; they never run fast, and cannot escape the
-pursuit of men, except by hiding themselves in hollow rocks, or in
-holes, which they dig themselves, and in which they breed. They are two
-extraordinary species, not numerous, and seemingly useless: their odd
-form seems to exist as an intermediate class betwixt the quadrupeds and
-reptiles.
-
-
-
-
-THE ARMADILLO.
-
-
-When we speak of a quadruped, the very name seems to carry the idea
-of an animal covered with hair; as when we mention a bird, or fish,
-feathers and scales present themselves to our imagination, and seem
-to be inseparable attributes of those beings: yet Nature, as if
-willing to deviate from this characteristic uniformity, and to elude
-our views, offers herself, contrary to our general ideas, and in
-contradiction to our denominations and characters, and amazes more by
-her exceptions than by her laws. Quadrupeds, 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 neither superior in every thing,
-nor separated by constant attributes from all other animals. The first
-of those characters which constitutes their name, and which consists
-in having four feet, is common to lizards, frogs, &c. which differ,
-however, from quadrupeds in so many other respects, as to make them
-be considered as a separate class. The second general property, to
-produce young alive, is not peculiar to quadrupeds, since it is also
-common with cetaceous animals. And the third attribute, which seems the
-less equivocal, as it is the most apparent, that of being covered with
-hair, exists not in several species which cannot be excluded from the
-class of quadrupeds, since this single characteristic excepted, they
-are like them in all other respects: and, as these exceptions of nature
-are but gradations calculated to join in a general chain, the links
-of the most distant beings, we should seize these singular relations
-as they offer themselves to our view. The armadillos, instead of hair,
-are covered, like turtles, craw-fish, &c. with a solid crust. The
-manis is armed with scales like fish; the porcupine carries a sort of
-prickly feathers, the quill of which is like that of the birds. Thus
-in the class of quadrupeds, and in the most constant characteristic
-of these animals, that of being covered with hairs, Nature varies in
-bringing them near the three different classes of birds, fishes, and
-the crustaceous kinds. We must be cautious then in judging of the
-nature of beings by one single character, as that would always lead us
-into error; even two or three characters, though general, are often
-insufficient, and it is only, as we have often repeated, by the union
-of all the attributes, and by enumerating all the characters, that we
-can judge of the essential qualities of the productions of nature. A
-good description without definitions, an exposition more exact on the
-differences than the analogies, a particular attention to exceptions
-and almost imperceptible gradations, are the true rules, and I dare
-assert, the only means of estimating nature. If the time lost in
-forming definitions had been employed in making good descriptions, we
-should not at this day have found Natural History in its infancy; we
-should have had less trouble in taking off her bawbles, disentangling
-her from her swaddling clothes, and, perhaps, have anticipated her slow
-discoveries, for we should have written more for science; and less
-against error.
-
-But to return to our subject; it appears then that there exists
-several species of animals which are not covered with hair among the
-viviparous quadrupeds. Armadillos form alone a whole genus, in which
-may be reckoned many distinct species, all of whom are, however,
-covered with a crust, resembling bone; it covers the head, neck,
-back, flanks, rump, and the tail, to the very extremity. The crust
-is covered with a thin skin, sleek and transparent: the only parts
-that are not sheltered by this buckler are the throat, breast, and
-belly, which have a white grainy skin, like that of a plucked fowl, by
-inspecting these parts with attention, we perceive the rudiments of
-scales of the same substance as the crust; the skin of these animals,
-even in the places where it is most soft, is therefore inclined to
-become bony, but the ossification is only realized on the superior and
-external parts of the body. This crust is not in one piece, like that
-of the turtle, but consists of several bands, joined to each other
-by membranes, which allow this armour a degree of motion. The number
-of these bands does not depend, as might be imagined, on the age of
-the animal. The young armadillos, and the adults, have the same number
-of stripes, of which we have been convinced by comparing them; and
-though we cannot be certain that all these animals do not intermix
-and produce promiscuously, yet it is very probable, that since the
-difference in the number of these moveable bands is constant, they are
-really distinct species, or at least lasting varieties, produced by the
-influence of various climates. In this uncertainty, which time alone
-can remove, we have thought proper to mention all the armadillos under
-one head, enumerating each of them as if they were, in fact, so many
-different species.
-
-Father d'Abbeville seems to be the first who has distinguished them by
-different names or epithets, and which have been, for the most part,
-adopted by the authors who have written after him. He has clearly
-indicated six species of them: first, _tatououasso_, or, as we call
-it, twelve-banded armadillo; 2. the _tatouette_, or eight-banded; 3.
-the _encuberto_ of Marcgrave, or six-banded; 4. the _tatua-apara_,
-or three-banded; 5. the _cinquin�on_, or eighteen-banded; 6.
-_cachichame_, or nineteen-banded. Other travellers have confounded the
-species; but we have borrowed only the description of the _apar_ and
-the _cinquin�on_, having seen the other four.
-
-All, except the _cinquin�on_ have two long bucklers, one at the
-shoulders, and another on the rump; they each consist of one solid
-piece; but the cuirass, which is also bony, and covers the body, is
-transversely divided, and parted into more or less moveable bands,
-separated from each other by a flexible skin. But the _cinquin�on_ has
-but one buckler, and that on his shoulder, the rump being covered with
-moveable bands, like those of the cuirass of the body. But we shall now
-proceed to a description of them particularly.
-
-
-
-
-THE THREE-BANDED ARMADILLO.
-
-
-The first author who described this animal was Clusius, and though his
-description was from a drawing only, it is evidently the same species
-which Marcgrave calls the _tatua-apara_; from its three moveable
-stripes, and its short tail; he has an oblong head, almost pyramidal;
-the snout sharp, small eyes, short round ears, and the upper part of
-the head covered with a helmet of one piece; he has five claws to each
-foot; the two middle claws of the fore feet are very long, and the
-two lateral shorter; the fifth, which projects, is the least. In the
-hind feet they are shorter and more even. The tail is but two inches
-in length, and is entirely covered with a crust; the body is a foot
-long, and above eight inches in its largest breadth. The cuirass, which
-covers it, is divided into four parts, and composed of three moveable
-transverse bands, which give the animal liberty to bend and contract
-his body in a round form; the skin between the stripes is very supple.
-The bucklers which cover the shoulders and rump are composed of five
-pieces, equally disposed in five angles; the three moveable bands
-betwixt these two bucklers consist of square pieces, ornamented with
-little scales of a straw colour. Marcgrave adds, that when he lies down
-to sleep, or any person touches him, he brings his fore feet together,
-lays his head under his belly, and bends himself so perfectly round
-that he looks more like a sea-shell than a terrestrial animal. This
-contraction is made with the assistance of two great muscles on the
-sides of his body, and the strongest man finds it difficult to force
-him with his hands to stretch out. Piso, and Ray, have added nothing
-to the description of Marcgrave, but it is singular that Seba, who
-has given us a description and figure of this animal evidently copied
-after Marcgrave, not only not mentions that author, but tells us, "that
-no naturalist has known this animal, that it is extremely scarce, and
-found in the most remote countries of the East Indies," when in fact
-this animal is well described by Marcgrave, and the species is well
-known, not indeed in the East Indies, but in America, where it is very
-common. The only real difference between the description of Seba, and
-that of Marcgrave is, that the latter gives the animal five claws to
-each foot, and Seba allows him but four, and yet they evidently speak
-of the same animal.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 127. _Six Banded Armadillo._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 128. _Long-tailed Armadillo._]
-
-Fabius Calumna has given the description and figure of an armadillo
-contracted into a ball, which seems to have had four moveable bands,
-but as this author was absolutely unacquainted with the animal, whose
-skin or shell he has described, as he did not even know the name of
-the armadillo, though mentioned by Bellon fifty years before, but gave
-him a Greek name, (_cheloniscus_); besides, as he confesses, that the
-skin had been pasted together, and wanted several pieces, we do not
-see ourselves authorised to pronounce, as our modern nomenclators have
-done, that a species of armadillo, with four moveable bands, exists in
-Nature; and more especially since these imperfect indications given in
-1606, by Fabius Calumna, no mention is made of it in the works of any
-naturalists; and, if he really did exist, he certainly would have been
-introduced into some cabinets, or have been observed by some travellers.
-
-
-
-
-THE SIX BANDED.
-
-
-This species (_fig._ 127) is larger than the former; he has the upper
-part of the head, neck, body, legs, and tail, covered with a very hard
-crust, composed of several large pieces, elegantly disposed. He has
-a buckler on each shoulder, and another on the rump, each of which
-are in one piece; only there is beyond the buckler on the shoulders,
-and near the head a moveable band, which enables the animal to bend
-its neck. The buckler on the shoulders is formed by five parallel
-rows, composed of pieces which represent five angles, with an oval
-in each; the cuirass on the back, that is the part betwixt the two
-bucklers, is divided into six bands, which are united together and to
-the bucklers, by seven joints of a supple and thick skin. These bands
-are composed of large square pieces; from the skin of these joints
-some white hairs issue out, like those on the breast and belly; all
-these inferior parts are covered only by a grainy skin, and not by a
-crustaceous substance like the upper. The buckler on the rump has a
-border, the mosaic work of which is similar to that of the moveable
-bands, and the rest consists of pieces like those of the bucklers of
-the shoulders. The crust of the head is long, broad, and consists of
-one piece, extending to the moveable band on the neck. He has a sharp
-muzzle, small and hollow eyes, a narrow and sharp tongue; the ears are
-without hair, naked, short, and brown, like the skin of the joints;
-he has eighteen teeth in each jaw, five claws to each foot, long, in
-a round form, and rather narrow; the head and the snout are like
-those of a pig, the tail is thick at its origin, diminishing gradually
-towards the extremity, where it is very slender and round. The colour
-of the body is a reddish yellow; the animal is commonly thick and fat,
-and the male has the sexual organ very visible; he digs into the ground
-with great facility with his snout and claws; he dwells in the day-time
-underground, and only goes out towards the evening to seek for food; he
-drinks often, lives upon fruit, roots, insects, and birds, when he can
-catch them.
-
-
-
-
-THE EIGHT BANDED.
-
-
-This is not so large as the last, he has a small head, a sharp snout,
-the ears erect, and rather long, the tail still longer, and the legs
-rather short. He has small black eyes, four toes on the fore-feet, and
-five on those behind; the head is covered with a helmet, the shoulders
-and rump with shields, and the body with a cuirass composed of eight
-moveable bands connected together, and with the bucklers, by nine
-joints of a flexible skin; the tail has also a similar number of bands.
-The colour of the cuirass on the back is iron grey, and on the flanks
-and tail of a light grey with spots of iron grey. The belly is covered
-with a whitish skin, grainy and hairy. The individual of this species,
-described by Marcgrave, had a head three inches long, the ears near
-two, the legs about three, the two middle toes of the fore-feet an
-inch; the body from the neck to the origin of the tail seven inches,
-and the tail nine inches in length; the bucklers had small white spots;
-the moveable bands were marked by triangular figures; this crust was
-not hard, being penetrable to the smallest shot which would kill the
-animal, whose flesh is very white, and good to eat.
-
-
-
-
-THE NINE BANDED.
-
-
-Nieremberg has described this animal very imperfectly: Wormius and Grew
-have described him much better. The individual which Wormius mentioned
-was adult, and one of the largest of the species; that of Grew was
-younger and smaller. We shall only give their descriptions as far as
-they agree with our own specimens. Besides, it may be presumed, that
-this nine-striped armadillo is not really a distinct species from
-the eight, which he resembles in every other respect. We have two
-eight-banded armadillos which are dried, and seem to be both males; we
-have seven or eight with nine bands, one well preserved, which is a
-female, and the others are so dried up that we could not discern the
-sex. It is probable, therefore, that the eight-banded is the male and
-the nine-banded the female. But this is merely a conjecture for we
-shall give in the following article the description of two armadillos,
-one of which has more rows than the other upon the buckler on the rump,
-and yet they are so alike in every other respect, that one should be
-inclined to think this difference arises only from that of the sex, for
-it is not improbable, that greater numbers of these moveable bands may
-be necessary to facilitate the gestation and delivery of the female.
-The head of the armadillo, the skin of which Wormius has described,
-was five inches from the end of the snout to the ears, and eighteen
-inches from the ears to the tail, which last was a foot in length, and
-composed of twelve rings. The head of that described by Grew was three
-inches, the body seven and a half, and the tail eleven; the proportions
-of the head and body agree, but the difference of the tail is too
-great; and it is probable that the tail of that described by Wormius
-had been broken, for it should have exceeded a foot in length. As in
-this species the tail diminishes to the size of an awl, and is, at the
-same time, very brittle; few of the skins therefore have the whole tail
-preserved as that described by Grew.
-
-
-
-
-THE TWELVE BANDED.
-
-
-This seems to be the largest of the species. He has a larger and
-broader head, and a snout not so sharp as the others; his legs and feet
-are thicker, and his tail has not any crust; a particularity which is
-alone sufficient to distinguish this species from all others. He has
-five toes on each foot, and twelve moveable bands. The buckler on
-the shoulders is formed of five or six rows, each composed of large
-quadrangular pieces. The moveable bands are also formed of large
-pieces, almost square; those which compose the buckler on the rump are
-like those on the shoulder. The helmet of the head consists of large
-irregular pieces. Between the joints of the moveable bands and in the
-other parts of the armour, there appear some hairs like the bristles
-of a hog; there are also upon his breast, belly, legs, and tail, round
-scales, almost imperceptible, hard and polished like the crust, and
-between which are small tufts of hair. The pieces which compose the
-helmet, the two bucklers, and the cuirass, being proportionally larger
-and less in number in this than in other armadillos, evidently prove he
-is the largest of the kind. The head of that from which we took this
-description was seven inches long, and the body twenty-one.
-
-
-
-
-THE EIGHTEEN BANDED.
-
-
-Mr. Grew first described this animal from a skin preserved in the
-cabinet of the Royal Society in London. All the other armadillos have
-two bucklers, one on the shoulders, and the other on the rump, but
-this has but one, which is upon his shoulders. He is called the weasel
-armadillo, because his head is nearly of the same form as a weasel.
-From the description of this animal given by Grew, it appears, that
-his body is about ten inches in length, his head three, and his tail
-five; the legs two or three inches in height; the forehead large and
-flat, small eyes, and the ears an inch long, he has five toes on each
-foot, the three in the middle being the largest. The armour of the
-head and legs is composed of round scales, about a quarter of an inch
-diameter, that on the neck consisted of one piece, as did the buckler
-on the shoulders composed of several rows of scales like those of the
-armour; these rows on the buckler, in this species, as in all others
-are continuous, and join by a symphysis. The rest of the body, from
-the buckler on the shoulders to the tail, is covered with moveable
-bands, parted from each other by a supple membrane: these bands are
-eighteen in number; those nearest the shoulders are the largest, and
-are composed of small squares. The posterior are intermixed with round
-and square pieces, and the extremity of the armour near the tail is of
-a parabolic figure. The first half of the tail is encircled with six
-rings, composed of small square pieces, and the lower part is covered
-with irregular scales. The breast, belly, and ears, are naked, as in
-the other species. It should seem that, of all armadillos, this has
-the most facility to contract and roll himself up in a ball, by his
-moveable bands which extend to the tail.
-
-Linn�us who must have seen the descriptions of Grew and Ray, who both
-agree with that we have given, has indicated this animal with one
-band only, instead of eighteen: founded on an evident mistake, by
-having taken the _tatu seu armadillo Africanus_ of Seba for the _tatu
-mustelinas_ of Grew, which even according to the descriptions of these
-two authors, are very different from each other. It is doubtful whether
-the tatou of Seba exists, at least as he has described him, but the
-animal given in Grew's description is a real existing species.
-
-All the armadillos come originally from America; they were unknown
-before the discovery of the New World. The ancients never mentioned
-them, and modern travellers all agree, that these animals are natives
-of Mexico, Brasil, Guiana, &c. and no one pretends to have seen this
-species in Asia or Africa. Some have, indeed, confounded the scaly
-lizards of the East Indies with the armadillos of America. Others
-thought they existed on the western coasts of Africa, because they have
-sometimes been transported from Brasil into Guinea. Bellon, who wrote
-above two centuries ago, and is one of the first who has given a short
-description, with the figure of a tatou, from a skin which he had seen
-in Turkey, says, that it came from the new continent. Oviedo, De Lery,
-Gomara, Thevet, Ant, Herrera, Father d'Abbeville, Fran�ois, Ximenes,
-Staddenius, Monard, Joseph Acosta, De La�t, and all the more recent
-authors mention these animals as natives of the southern countries of
-America. Piso is the only one who has pretended, without any authority,
-that the armadillos were found in the East Indies, as well as in
-America; and it is probable, that he has confounded the scaly lizards
-with the armadillos, especially as they have been so called by the
-Spaniards; this error has been adopted by nomenclators, and those who
-have given descriptions of cabinets; who have not only admitted the
-existence of armadillos in the East Indies, but even in Africa, though
-none were ever in those two parts of the world, except such as have
-been transported from America.
-
-The climate of these animals is not therefore, equivocal; but it is
-more difficult to determine the relative bulk of each species. For
-this purpose we have compared great numbers which are preserved in
-the king's cabinet and those of others. We have also compared the
-descriptions of all authors with those of our own, without being able
-to ascertain the fact. It appears that the twelve and six banded are
-the largest, and that the three, eight, nine, and eighteen banded
-are the smallest. In the larger species the crustaceous substance is
-harder and more solid; the pieces which compose it are larger, and in a
-smaller number; the moveable bands encroach, less one upon the other;
-the flesh, as well as the skin, is harder, and not so savory. Piso
-says, that the flesh of the six banded is not eatable; and Nieremberg
-affirms, that it is unwholesome and pernicious. Barrere says, that the
-twelve banded has a strong smell of musk; and all authors agree in
-praising the flesh of the three banded, and particularly that of the
-eight, which is as white, and equally good as the flesh of a pig. They
-say also, that the small species dwell in marshy and low grounds, and
-that those of the large species are found on dry and high lands only.
-
-These animals can all contract their bodies into a round form, with
-more or less facility. When they are contracted the defects of their
-armour is most visible in those who have it composed of the smallest
-number of pieces; the three banded then shews two large voids betwixt
-the bucklers and the armour on the back. None of them can roll
-themselves up in a ball so exact as that formed by the hedge-hog; when
-so contracted they represent the figure of a globe flattened at the two
-ends.
-
-This singular crust, which covers them, is a bone composed of small
-contiguous pieces, and being neither moveable nor jointed, except at
-the partitions of the bands, are united by a symphysis, and may all
-be separated from each other if put on the fire. When the animal is
-alive these small pieces, both of the bucklers and the moveable bands
-yield to his motions, especially when he contracts himself, otherwise
-he could not possibly roll himself up. These pieces in different
-species are of different figures always as regularly disposed as an
-elegantly contrived mosaic work. The pellicle which covers the crust is
-a transparent skin, and has the effect of a varnish on the whole body;
-this skin, when taken off, changes the relievo of this natural mosaic,
-and gives it a different appearance. This crustaceous covering is only
-a surface independent of the interior parts of the animal's body, his
-bones, and other organs, being composed like those of other quadrupeds.
-
-The armadillos, in general, are innocent, harmless animals, unless they
-can penetrate into gardens, where they will eat the melons, potatoes,
-pulse, and roots. Though they originally belong to the hot climates of
-America, they live in temperate regions. I once saw one in Languedoc,
-which was fed in the house, and went about every where without doing
-any mischief. They walk quickly, but they can neither leap, run, nor
-climb up trees, so that they cannot escape those who pursue them; they
-have no resource but to hide themselves in their holes, or if at too
-great a distance from their habitations, to endeavour to dig one before
-they are overtaken, for which they want but a few instants, the mole
-itself not being more expert in digging the ground. Sometimes before
-they can get quite concealed they are caught by the tail, and when they
-make such a strong resistance that the tail is often broke without
-bringing out the body; in order to take them without mutilation the
-burrow must be opened, when they are taken without any resistance; when
-caught they roll themselves up into a ball, and will not extend again
-unless they are placed near the fire. Hard as their coat of mail is,
-the animal, on being lightly touched with the finger, receives so quick
-an impression that he contracts instantaneously. When in deep burrows
-they are forced out by smoking them, or letting water run down the
-holes. It is said that they remain under ground above three months in
-the year; be that as it may, it is certain that they never come out of
-their holes but in the night, when they seek for food. The armadillo is
-hunted with small dogs, by whom he is soon overtaken; but before they
-have reached him he contracts himself, in which condition he is seized,
-and carried off. If near the brink of a precipice, he escapes both
-dogs and hunters, for contracting he rolls himself down like a ball,
-without hurt or prejudice to his coat of mail.
-
-These animals are fat, and very prolific: the male has exterior signs
-of great generative faculties; the female brings forth, as it is said,
-every four months, of course their species are very numerous. As they
-are good to eat they are hunted in different manners; they are easily
-taken with snares laid for them on the banks of rivers, and in marshy
-grounds, which they inhabit by preference. They never go to any great
-distance from their burrows, which are very deep, and which they
-endeavour to reach whenever they are alarmed. It is pretended they are
-not afraid of the bite of the rattle snake, though it is as dangerous
-as that of the viper; nay, it is asserted, that they live in peace with
-these reptiles, which are often found in their holes. The savages make
-different uses of their crusts; they paint them with divers colours,
-and make baskets, boxes, and other small vessels, of them. Monard,
-Ximenes, and many other writers, have attributed great medicinal
-properties to different parts of these animals; they assure us that the
-crustaceous covering, reduced into powder, and taken inwardly, even in
-a small quantity, is a powerful sudorific; and that the bone of the
-hip, pulverised, cures the venereal disease; that the first bone of
-the tail, applied to the ear, cures deafness, &c. We give no credit to
-these extraordinary properties; the crust and bones of the armadillos
-being of the same nature as the bones of other animals. Such marvellous
-effects are never produced but by imaginary virtues.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-I received the drawing of a six-banded armadillo, taken from life, from
-M. de S�ve, and with it a description; in which, after stating that it
-corresponds pretty much with that we have given, observes, that the
-rows on the bucklers, and their pieces, vary in form and number: this
-animal was fourteen inches long, independent of the tail, which he
-supposed to be about six inches, as part of it was broken off; his head
-was rather more than three inches long, and his ears a little above
-one; on the broadest part of the body the crust measured six inches
-seven lines; the fore legs were two inches long, and his hind ones
-three.
-
-M. de la Borde says, there are two species of Armadillos at Guiana,
-the largest black and the other a greyish brown; the former are so
-prolific as sometimes to bring forth eight or ten at a litter: they
-reside in very deep holes, and when any attempts are made to take
-them by digging, they penetrate further in the earth, and almost
-perpendicularly; they only quit their holes in the night, and then for
-the purpose of seeking for food, which commonly consists of worms,
-ants, and wood-lice; their flesh is of an excellent flavour, and
-resembles that of a pig. The small one has not more than four or five
-young at a time, and they are more hard to be taken; these sometimes
-come out of their holes in the day, but never when it rains. The
-hunters know when they are in their holes by the number of flies which
-hover round: and when they begin to dig the animal digs also, and by
-throwing the earth behind, so effectually closes up the holes that
-smoke cannot penetrate to them. I conceive the first of these animals
-to be that we have mentioned, as the twelve-banded, and the other the
-eight-banded armadillos.
-
-Dr. W. Watson has given a description of an armadillo with nine bands,
-and a long tail, (_fig. 128._) in the Philosophical Transactions,
-where he says, This animal was brought from America, and kept alive
-in the house of Lord Southwell; but the drawing was not taken till
-after its death; he weighed seven pounds, and was not bigger than
-a common-sized cat; while in possession of Lord Southwell it grew
-considerably; it was fed with flesh and milk, but would not eat grain
-or fruits. Those by whom it was brought from America asserted, that it
-dug a hole for itself in the earth in which it lived.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 129. _Paca._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 132. _Marine Opossum._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 130-131. _Virginian Opossum Male and Female._]
-
-
-
-
-THE PACA.
-
-The paca (_fig. 129._) is an animal of the new world, which digs itself
-a borough like a rabbit, to whom he has often been compared, though
-there is scarce any likeness between them; he is much larger than the
-rabbit, or even the hare; his body is bigger and more compact; he has
-a round head and short snout; he is fat and bulky, and is more like
-a pig in form, grunting, waddling, and manner of eating, for he does
-not use, like the rabbit, his fore feet to carry food to his mouth,
-but grubs up the earth like the hog to find subsistence. They inhabit
-the banks of rivers, and are found only in the damp and warm places of
-South America: their flesh is very good to eat, and excessively fat;
-their skin is eaten like that of a pig. For these reasons a perpetual
-war is 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. Their skins, though covered with short and rough hair, make
-a fine fur because it is regularly spotted on the sides. These animals
-bring forth very often, and in abundance: men, and animals of prey,
-destroy great numbers of them, and yet the species remains undiminished
-in numbers; he is peculiar to South America, and is found no where in
-the old continent.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-Our former description of the Paca was taken from a young one which had
-not nearly come to its full growth. Since then I have had one sent me,
-which was much bigger even when he arrived, and continued to grow while
-I kept him, namely from August 1774, to May 28, 1775. From the Sieur
-Tr�court I received an account of his natural habits, in which that
-gentleman says: "This animal remains perfectly quiet in the day, if he
-is provided with a wooden cage, or box, and has plenty of provisions,
-to which he readily retires of himself while the day continues, but
-as soon as night comes on he becomes in a perpetual agitation to get
-out, and will even use violent efforts to effect that purpose if he
-is fastened in; this he never attempts during the day, unless pressed
-to make some natural evacuation, in which case he always gets to the
-furthest corner, having an aversion to any kind of dirt in the place
-he lives in; even his straw he pushes out with his nose when it begins
-to smell, and will seek about for rags, or paper, to supply its place.
-He had no particular attachment to his box, for he would often forsake
-it for some obscure corner, and when once his bed was made, he could
-only be made to leave his new habitation by force. This animal, which
-was a female, gave a strong proof of her propensity to cleanliness,
-for a large male rabbit being put with her when she was in season, she
-received him with a degree of fondness, and something was expected
-from them; she would lick his nose, ears, and body, and even suffer
-him to take away the greatest part of her food; but upon voiding his
-excrement, in their common apartment, she immediately took an aversion
-to him, and retired to the bottom of an old press, making herself a bed
-with paper and rags, nor would she return to her house again, until she
-perceived it was cleared of the dirt and her filthy companion."
-
-The Paca very easily becomes domesticated, and is very gentle and
-tractable, unless when much irritated. He is very fond of being
-noticed, and will lick the hands of those who caress him; he very
-readily distinguishes the voices of those who take care of him, and
-when stroked on the back, he will lie down on his belly, stretch
-himself out, and, with a gentle cry, express his gratitude for the
-favour, and seem to ask a continuance; but if laid hold of in a rough
-manner, he will struggle violently to escape. His muscles are very
-strong, yet his feeling is so delicate that the slightest touch on
-the skin will excite in him the most sensible emotions; and which
-sensibility, though commonly producing good humour, will sometimes,
-by irritation, or presenting an offensive object, put him in the most
-violent passion. A strange dog invariably produces the latter effect;
-and he has been observed, when shut in his cage, to make violent
-efforts to get out upon the appearance of one. It was at first thought
-he had no desire to come out but upon natural occasions; but one day,
-when he was at liberty, he flew out upon a poor dog, and bit him very
-severely; but in a few days after he became perfectly familiar with
-the same dog. He will also fly at strangers, if they plague him, but
-he never offers to bite those by whom he is taken care of. He has a
-dislike to children, and will run after them; and when in a passion he
-makes a kind of grunting, and at the same time a chattering with his
-teeth. He very frequently sits for a considerable time together on his
-posteriors, and has a common practice of appearing to comb his head
-and whiskers with his paws, which he repeatedly licks with his tongue.
-When thus employed, he scratches all parts of his body which he can
-reach with his fore paws, and afterwards the remainder with his hind
-ones. He is, however, a gross animal; he does not appear delicate;
-his coat is not smooth; he is far from active, but moves heavily and
-somewhat like a hog; whom he also resembles by the whiteness and
-thickness of his skin; he seldom attempts to run, and when he does, it
-is very aukwardly.
-
-This animal, though not full grown, measured more than eighteen
-inches from the point of his nose to the extremity of his body, and
-he could stretch himself out to near two feet, while the one which I
-formerly described was not more than seven inches five lines, and this
-difference was evidently to be attributed to their ages, as in all
-other respects they were perfectly similar.
-
-This animal measured about seven inches high before, and nine and a
-half behind, by which his head always appeared lower than his hind
-parts: his head is five inches long, and rather convex; he has large
-brown eyes, two inches asunder, short round ears, covered with a fine
-down, a broad black nose, divided like that of a hare, very large
-nostrils, and in which he has great strength; the upper jaw comes out
-above an inch beyond the lower; he has a fold along them that may at
-first sight be taken for the mouth, but which is scarcely perceptible
-unless it is open; he has two large yellow teeth in each jaw, with
-which he can cut through wood, and I have known him make a hole in
-a plank in a single night through which he could put his head; but,
-although several times attempted, he would never permit us to count his
-grinders; he has a thick rough tongue, and whiskers on each side his
-nose, consisting of black and white hairs; he has five toes on each
-foot, and long claws on them, of a flesh colour; and his tail is merely
-a kind of button, does not exceed five lines in length, and requires a
-close inspection to discover it.
-
-The paca, when domesticated, will eat any thing that is given him, and
-if fed with bread he seems to have an equal relish for it, whether
-soaked in water, wine, or vinegar; he is extremely fond of sugar and
-fruits, and will leap about for joy when they are given him; he seems
-to have the same relish for grapes, celery, onions, or garlic; he will
-also eat grass, moss, the bark of trees, or even wood; he drinks like
-a dog; his urine has a disagreeable smell, and his excrements are like
-those of the rabbit.
-
-As there can be little doubt but these animals would produce in the
-climates of France; as they are easily tamed, and their flesh is
-excellent food, they might be rendered an advantageous acquisition,
-especially as one individual would be equal to seven or eight rabbits,
-and their flesh not inferior.
-
-M. de la Borde agrees with most of the foregoing particulars, and says
-also that the paca generally has his hole on the banks of rivers, and
-that he so forms it as to have three ways to enter or retreat; that
-when disturbed he takes to the water, and endeavours to effectuate his
-escape by diving frequently, and that he makes a stout defence when
-attacked by dogs.
-
-
-
-
-THE OPOSSUM.
-
-
-The opossum is an animal of America, which is easily distinguished
-from all others by two singular characters; first, the female has
-under the belly a large cavity where she receives and suckles her
-young; secondly, both male and female have no claws on the great
-toes of the hind feet, which is separated from the others, as the
-thumb on the human hand, whilst all the other toes are armed with
-crooked claws, like the feet of other quadrupeds. The first of these
-characters has been observed by most travellers and naturalists, but
-the second had escaped their observation. Edward Tyson, an English
-physician, seems to be the first who made this remark; and he only
-has given a good description of the female in a treatise printed in
-London in 1698, under the title of The Anatomy of an Opossum. Some
-years after, W. Cooper, a celebrated English anatomist, communicated to
-Tyson the observations which he had made Upon the male. Other authors,
-and especially the nomenclators, who have multiplied beings without
-necessity, have here fallen into numerous errors respecting this animal.
-
-Our opossum, described by Tyson, is the same animal as the oriental
-philandre of Seba, since of all the animals which Seba has described,
-and to which he gave the name of philandre, opossum, or carigueya,
-this is the only one who has a bag under the belly, and thumbs without
-claws behind. This animal is a native of the warm climates of the new
-world; for the two we have in the king's cabinet came from America.
-That which Tyson had, was sent him from Virginia. M. de Chanvallon,
-correspondent of the Academy of Sciences in Martinico, who has given
-us a young opossum, acknowledged the two others to be true opossums
-of America. All the travellers agree, that this animal is found in
-Brasil, New Spain, Virginia, and the Antilles; and none mention having
-seen it in the East Indies; thus Seba was mistaken in calling it the
-oriental philandre. He says, his philandre was sent him from Amboyna,
-under the name of coes-coes, with other curiosities, but he confesses,
-at the same time, that it had been transported from some other remote
-countries to Amboyna. This should be sufficient to shew, that the
-denomination of oriental philandre was improper; for it is possible
-that travellers have transported this animal from America to the East
-Indies, but nothing proves that he is a native of Amboyna; and even
-the passage of Seba, which we have quoted, seems to indicate the
-contrary. The cause of this error and even of the name _coes-coes_,
-is found in Piso, who says, that in the East Indies, and only in the
-island of Amboyna, is found an animal very much like the opossum of
-Brasil to whom the natives give the name of _cous-cous_. Piso quotes
-no authority for this assertion. It would be strange, if it was true,
-as Piso affirms, that this animal is only found in Amboyna, while
-Seba, on the contrary, says, that the opossum sent him from Amboyna,
-was not a native of that island, but had been brought there from more
-distant countries; though he was ignorant of the native country of his
-philandre, he nevertheless gave him the epithet of oriental, though
-he is certainly the same animal as that of the West Indies; the proof
-of it will clearly appear by comparing the figure he has given with
-Nature. But another error of this author is, that while he gives to the
-opossum of America the name of great oriental philandre he presents
-us another animal, which he thinks a different one, under the name of
-the philandre of America; and which according to his own description,
-differs only from the former by being smaller, and having the spots
-above the eyes of a deeper brown colour; which differences are merely
-accidental, and too inconsiderable to constitute two different species,
-for he does not mention another difference more essential, if it
-existed, that Seba's philandre of America has sharp claws on the hind
-toes of the hind feet, while his oriental philandre has no claws upon
-his two thumbs. It is certain, that our opossum, which is the true one
-of America, has no claws to his toes behind; if an animal with sharp
-claws did exist, such as is represented by Seba, it could not be, as he
-asserts, the opossum of America. But this is not all, Seba mentions a
-third animal, under the name of oriental philandre, of whom, however,
-he speaks only after Valentin, an author who, as we have observed
-already, deserves little credit: and this third animal is yet the same
-as the two first. We are, therefore, persuaded that the three animals
-of Seba are individuals of the same species, and which species is the
-same as our opossum; and that the difference between them might be
-occasioned by their age, as it entirely consists in their size and
-slight variations in their colour, particularly in the spots above
-their eyes.
-
-Seba says, "that according to Valentin, this last philandre is the
-largest species seen in the East Indies, and particularly among the
-Malays, where he is called _pelandor aro�_, which signifies a rabbit
-of _Aro�_, though Aro� is not the only place where these animals are
-found; that they are common in the island of Solor; that they are
-kept promiscuously with rabbits, to whom they do no harm; and that
-the inhabitants eat their flesh, which they reckon excellent." These
-facts are very doubtful, not to say absolutely false, for according to
-Seba, this is not the largest species of the oriental philandre, that
-it bears no resemblance to the rabbit, therefore is very improperly
-termed the rabbit of Aro�; and that no person who has travelled in the
-East Indies has mentioned this remarkable animal; neither is he found
-in the island of Solor, nor in any other part of the ancient continent.
-Seba himself seems to have perceived not only the incapacity, but also
-the inaccuracy of the author whom he quotes: F. Valentin has written a
-Natural History of the East Indies in five volumes folio, and for the
-credit due to his testimony, both Artedi and Seba refer to a passage
-wherein he affirms, "that the pouch of the philandre is the womb in
-which the young are conceived; that having himself dissected a female,
-he found no other; and if that pouch is not the real womb, the teats
-are to the young, what the pedicles are to fruits, that they stick to
-them till they are sufficiently grown, and then they are separated
-like the fruit, when it is come to ripeness." What seems to be the
-truth is, that Valentin, who affirms that those animals are common in
-the East Indies, especially at Solor, had never seen any there; that
-all he says, even his most manifest errors, are copied from Piso and
-Marcgrave, who are themselves copyists of Ximenes, and are mistaken in
-everything they have advanced of their own authority; for Marcgrave and
-Piso say expressly and observatively, as well as Valentin, that the
-pouch is the true womb where the young of the opossums are conceived.
-Marcgrave says, he dissected one, and found no other womb: Piso, who
-says he dissected many, affirms he never could discover any womb in the
-internal parts, and also maintains the opinion, equally ill-grounded,
-that this animal is found at Amboyna. One may judge of what credit
-ought to be given to Marcgrave, Piso, and Valentin's assertions, the
-first of whom had not examined with accuracy; the second had added to
-the errors of the first, and the last copied from both.
-
-I should willingly ask pardon of my reader for the length of this
-critical disquisition, but when obliged to correct errors, we cannot be
-too exact or too attentive, even to the smallest circumstances.
-
-M. Brisson, in his work upon the quadrupeds, has adopted whatever
-he found in that of Seba, and adopts both his denominations and
-descriptions; he goes even farther than his author, in making three
-distinct species of the philandres, described by Seba; for, if he had
-adhered to Seba, he would have observed that the latter did not give
-them as really different from each other. Seba had no doubt that an
-animal of the warm climates of America, could be found also in the
-torrid regions of Asia; but he distinguished them according as they
-came to him from one or the other continent. It seems clear that he
-does not use the word species in its most strict sense, nor did Seba
-ever pretend to make a methodical division of animals into classes,
-genera, and species; he has only given the figures of the different
-animals in his cabinet, distinguishing by names, according as he saw
-some difference in their size, colour, or the countries from which
-he received them. It appears, therefore, that M. Brisson was not
-authorised by Seba, in making three different species of philandres,
-especially as he has not employed the distinctive characters, and makes
-no mention of the want of the claws, in the hind toes of the hind feet;
-he only says, in general, that the toes of the philandres have claws,
-without making any exception; yet the one which he saw in the King's
-cabinet, and which is our opossum, had no claws to the hind toes of the
-hind legs, and which seems to be the only one he has seen. The work of
-M. Brisson is very useful, but in his catalogue the species are more
-numerous than in that of Nature.
-
-_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 133. _Elephant._]
-
-[Illustration: FIG. 134. _Rhinoceros._]
-
-We have now only to examine the nomenclature of Linn�us, which in this
-article is much less erroneous than in many others, for he suppresses
-one of the three species of Seba; but he should have reduced them to
-one. Besides, he employs the distinctive character of the toes behind
-without claws, which none but Tyson had observed. The description which
-Linn�us gives of the opossum as the _marsupialis_, seems to be a good
-one, and agreeable to Nature, but he is in an error when under the name
-of opossum he designs an animal different from his _marsupialis_, upon
-the authority of Seba, acknowledging, however, that this opossum had no
-claws to the toes behind, whilst they are very visible in the figures
-of Seba. Another error is, considering the _maritacaca_ of Piso, as
-the same animal as the _carigueya_, whilst these two animals, though
-mentioned in the same chapter, are mentioned by Piso as two different
-animals, and he describes them one after the other. But his greatest
-error is in making two different species of the _marsupialis_ and the
-opossum; they have both, according to Linn�us, the pouch, the hind toes
-of their hind feet have no claws, are both natives of America, and only
-differ in this respect, by the first having eight paps, and the second
-only two, and the spot above the eyes more pale. These characteristics
-cannot be sufficient to distinguish them as distinct species; for
-the first can scarcely be called a difference; nor can any thing be
-established as fixed or certain, in regard to the order and the number
-of the paps, since they vary in the same species of most animals.
-
-From this examination, which we have made with strict impartiality, it
-appears, that the _philandre_, _opossum_, _seu carigueya Brasiliensis_,
-and the _philander orientalis maximus_ of Seba; those of M. Brisson,
-and the _marsupialis_ and _opossum_ of Linn�us are all of them the same
-animal, which is our opossum whose natural climate is South America;
-and who was never seen in the East Indies, but when transported
-thither. Upon this subject, some uncertainty still remains in regard to
-the _taiibi_, which Marcgrave does not mention as an animal different
-from the _carigueya_, but which Johnston, Seba, Klein, Linn�us, and
-Brisson, have presented as distinct from the preceding. In Marcgrave
-the two names of _carigueya_ and _taiibi_ are found in the same
-article, where it is said, that this animal is called _carigueya_ in
-Brasil, and _taiibi_ in Paraguay. There is afterwards a description
-of the _carigueya_ taken from Ximenes; and then another is given of
-the animal called _taiibi_, by the Brasilians; _cachorro domato_, by
-the Portuguese, and _hooschratte_, or the rat of the wood, by the
-Dutch. Marcgrave does not say this is an animal different from the
-_carigueya_, but on the contrary, considers it as the male of that
-species; and it appears clearly, that the male and female opossum were
-called _taiibi_ in Paraguay, and that in Brasil they gave the name of
-_taiibi_ to the male, and that of _carigueya_ to the female. Besides,
-the difference between those two animals, such as it is indicated by
-their descriptions, is too inconsiderable to conclude they are not the
-same species. The most essential is, the colour of the hair, which in
-the _carigueya_ is yellow and brown, and grey in the _taiibi_, the
-hairs of which are white at their bottom, and brown or black at the
-extremities. It is therefore more than probable, that the _taiibi_ is
-the male opossum. Mr. Ray seems to be of that opinion, when speaking
-of the _carigueya_, and the _taiibi_. Yet, notwithstanding Marcgrave's
-authority, and the rational doubt of Ray, Seba gives the figure of an
-animal, under the name of the _taiibi_; and says, at the same time,
-that this _taiibi_ is the same animal as the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes;
-this is adding error upon error; for even according to Seba, his
-_taiibi_, which is a female, has no bag under the belly; and Hernandes
-gives to his _tlaquatzin_ this bag as a particular characteristic;
-consequently the _taiibi_ of Seba cannot be the _tlaquatzin_ of
-Hernandes, as it has no pouch, nor the _taiibi_ of Marcgrave, since it
-is a female; it is certainly, therefore, another animal badly designed,
-and badly described, to whom Seba thought proper to give the name of
-_taiibi_, and which he confounds with the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes,
-which as we have said before, is our opossum. Brisson and Linn�us have,
-in regard to the _taiibi_, literally followed Seba; they have copied
-even his error in regard to the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes, and both,
-have made an equivocal species of this animal, the first under the name
-of _philandre_ of Brasil, and the second under that of _philander_.
-The true _taiibi_ of Marcgrave and Ray, is not therefore the _taiibi_
-of Seba, the _philander_ of Linn�us, nor the Brasilian _philander_ of
-Brisson; nor are the two latter the _tlaquatzin_ of Hernandes. The
-_taiibi_ of Seba (supposing his existence) is a different animal from
-all those treated of by the above authors, and ought to have had a
-particular denomination, and not been confounded with the _taiibi_ of
-Marcgrave, which has nothing in common with him; besides, as the male
-opossum has no pouch, it is not surprising that they have been taken
-for different animals, as that the female is called carigueya, and the
-male taiibi.
-
-Edward Tyson dissected and described the female opossum with care; in
-the individual which served him for subject, the head was six inches,
-the body thirteen, and the tail twelve in length: the fore legs were
-six inches, and the hind legs four inches and a half in height:
-the body was fifteen or sixteen inches in circumference; the tail
-three inches round in the beginning, and only one inch towards the
-extremities; the head three inches betwixt the two ears, decreasing
-gradually to the nose; and was more like that of a pig than a fox; the
-sockets of the eyes are much inclined in the direction from the ears
-to the nose; the ears are rounded, and about an inch and a half long;
-the mouth was two inches and a half wide from one of the corners of
-the lip to the extremity of the snout; the tongue narrow, three inches
-long, and rough; his fore feet had five toes armed with crooked claws,
-but in the hind feet he had only four toes with claws, and the fifth
-toe, or thumb, was separated from the others, was placed lower, and had
-no claws. All his claws were without hair, and covered with a skin of
-a reddish colour, and very near an inch in length; his hind and fore
-paws were large, and he had fleshy callosities under all the toes. The
-tail was covered with hair for two or three inches from the beginning,
-and the rest of it with a smooth scaly skin to the end. These scales
-were whitish, almost hexagonal, and placed regularly, so that they did
-not encroach upon each other, but were divided by a skin browner than
-the scales. The ears were without hair, thin and membranous like the
-wings of a bat, and very open. The upper jaw longer than the under;
-the nostrils large, the eyes small, black, and lively; the neck short,
-the breast wide, and the whiskers like those of a cat: the hairs of
-the forehead whiter and shorter than those of the body; his colour a
-yellowish grey, intermixed with black on the back and sides, more brown
-on the belly, and still deeper on the legs. Under the belly of the
-female (_fig. 131._) is a skin two or three inches long, which forms a
-kind of pouch by a double fold thinly covered with hair on the inside,
-and which pouch contains the teats. The young enter into this pouch to
-suck, and soon acquire the habit of hiding themselves in it, so that
-they retire thither whenever they are frightened. This pouch opens and
-shuts according to the will of the animal; which it effects by several
-muscles and two bones, which are peculiar to the opossum; these two
-bones are about two inches in length, placed by the os pubis, they
-decrease gradually from the basis to the extremities, and support the
-muscles which open the pouch; the antagonists of these muscles serve
-to shut it so exactly, that in the living animal the opening cannot
-be seen, without forcibly dilating it with the fingers. The inside
-of this pouch is full of kernels, which contain a yellow substance,
-the smell of which is so offensive, that it infects the whole body
-of the animal; yet when this matter is dried, it not only loses its
-disagreeable smell, but acquires a perfume which may be compared to
-that of musk. This pouch is not, as Marcgrave and Piso have falsely
-asserted, the place in which the young are conceived; the female
-opossum has an internal womb, different indeed from that of other
-animals, but in which the young are conceived, and remain till they are
-brought forth. Tyson says, that in this animal there are two wombs,
-two vaginas, and four ovariums. M. Daubenton does not agree with Tyson
-in these particulars; but by his description, it is at least certain,
-that in the organs of generation of the opossums, there are several
-parts double which are single in other animals. The glans penis of the
-male, and the glans clitoridis in the female, which are forked, and
-seem double. The vagina, which is single at the entrance, is afterwards
-divided into two channels; this conformation is very singular, and
-differs from that of all other quadrupeds.
-
-The opossum belongs to the south parts of the new world, but he does
-not, like the armadillo, seem confined to the hottest climates, for he
-is found not only in Brasil, Guiana, and Mexico, but also in Florida,
-Virginia, and other temperate regions of this continent. They are very
-common in these countries, as they bring forth often, and most authors
-say four or five, others six or seven, at a time. Marcgrave affirms,
-that he has seen six young ones alive in the pouch of the female; they
-were about two inches in length, were very nimble, and went in and
-out of the pouch many times in a day. They are very small when just
-brought forth: some travellers say they are not bigger than flies
-when they go out of the womb into the pouch, and attach themselves to
-the teats. This fact is not so much exaggerated as might be imagined,
-for we have seen in an animal, whose species is somewhat like that of
-the opossum, young ones sticking to the teats not bigger than beans;
-and it is not improbable, that, in these animals, the womb is only the
-place of conception and first formation of the foetus, whose unfolding
-is completed in the pouch. No one has observed the time of their
-gestation, which we think is shorter than in any other quadruped; and
-as this early exclusion of the foetus is a singularity in nature, we
-wish those who have an opportunity of observing the opossums in their
-native country would contrive to discover how long the females go
-with young, and how long the young remain attached to the teats. This
-observation is curious in itself, and may become useful, in pointing
-out some means of preserving the lives of children born before their
-natural period.
-
-That the young opossums stick to the teats of the mother till they
-have acquired strength, and a sufficient growth to move with ease, is
-a fact not to be doubted; nor is it peculiar to this species only,
-since we have seen it in that of the _marmose_. The female marmose has
-not, like the opossum, a bag under the belly; it is not, therefore, in
-consequence of the assistance which the young receive from the pouch
-that they stick so long to the teats, and increase in that immoveable
-situation. I make this observation to prevent the pouch being
-considered as a second womb, or at least an asylum necessary to the
-young before they are unfolded. Some authors pretend that they stick to
-the teats for several weeks, others say that they remain in the pouch
-only the first month after they came out of the womb. The pouch may
-be opened, the young counted, and even felt, without disturbing them,
-for they do not leave the teats, which they hold with their mouths,
-before they are strong enough to walk; then they fall into the bag,
-and afterwards go out to seek for their subsistence; they often go in
-again to sleep, to suck, and to hide themselves when terrified; in
-cases of danger the mother flies, and carries the whole of her young
-with her. Her belly does not seem to have any increased bigness when
-she is breeding, for in the time of the true gestation it is scarcely
-perceivable that she is with young.
-
-From inspecting the form of the feet it is easy to perceive that he
-walks and runs aukwardly; it is said 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 by the tail, the
-extremity of which is so muscular and flexible that he can clasp with
-it any thing he seizes upon. He sometimes remains a long while in this
-situation, his body suspended, with his head hanging downward, waiting
-for his prey. At other times he jumps from one tree to another, as the
-monkeys, with like muscular flexible tails, which he resembles also
-in the conformation of his feet. Though carnivorous, and even greedy
-of blood, which he sucks with avidity, he feeds also upon reptiles,
-insects, sugar-canes, potatoes, roots, and even leaves and bark of
-trees. He may easily be rendered a domestic animal, for he is neither
-wild nor ferocious; but he creates disgust by his smell, which is
-more offensive than that of the fox; his figure is also forbidding,
-for his ears are like those of an ounce, his tail resembles that of a
-serpent, his mouth is cleft to the very eyes, his body appears always
-dirty, because his hair is neither smooth nor curled, and seems as if
-covered with dirt. His bad smell resides in the skin, for his flesh is
-eatable. The savages hunt this animal by preference, and feed on his
-flesh heartily.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-M. de la Borde has sent me an account of three opossums, which he
-kept in a cask at Cayenne; in most particulars it agrees with the
-description already given; he says they are very easily tamed, and
-feed upon fish, flesh, bread, &c. that those he had possessed no
-disagreeable smell, but that there are two species, the one which has
-so strong an odour as to be called stinking by the inhabitants, and
-that their flesh is not good to eat.
-
-M. de Vosma�r, to his description of the flying squirrel, has added a
-note, in which he says, "the _coes-coes_ is the _bosch_ of the East
-Indies, the _philandre_ of Seba, and the _didelphi�_ of Linn�us. M.
-de Buffon has confined this animal to the new world, and positively
-denies its existence in the East Indies; but I can assure that learned
-naturalist that Valentin and Seba said no more than the truth, in
-affirming they were common to both Asia and America, for I have had a
-male and female sent me from the East Indies, and Dr. Schlosser, at
-Amsterdam received one of the same species from Amboyna. The principal
-difference between those of the East and West Indies is in the colour
-of the hair, the male of the former being of a yellowish white, and
-the female a little darker, with a brown line on the back, and their
-ears are less than those of the latter. The heads also of the West
-India species are much shorter than those of the East." I have not
-the smallest reason to doubt M. Vosma�r's receiving two animals from
-the East Indies, under the name of _coes-coes_, but am of opinion the
-differences which he points out are sufficient to induce us not to
-consider them the same species as the opossums. I, however, confess the
-justice of his observation upon my making the three philandres of Seba
-the same animal, when, in fact, the third is a different species, and
-found in the Philippine islands, and possibly in many parts of the East
-Indies, where it is called _coes-coes_, or _cous-cous_. Christopher
-Barchewitz gives a description of this animal found in the island of
-Lethy, and from the similarity it plainly appears, that the East India
-_cuscus_ is of the same genus as the American opossum; but that is no
-proof of their being of the same species; and I am still of opinion,
-that the animals of one continent will not be found in the other,
-unless they have been transported thither. I do not mean to deny the
-possibility of the same climates in the two continents producing some
-animals of exactly the same species, provided other circumstances were
-the same; I am not, however, treating here of possibilities, but of
-general facts, of which we have given many instances in our enumeration
-of animals peculiar to the two continents; and, upon the whole, I am
-inclined to consider the coes-coes of the East Indies as an animal
-whose species approaches very near to that of the opossums of America,
-but that they have similar differences, to those which are observable
-between the jaguar and leopards, which of all animals peculiar to
-the southern climates of the two continents, without being the same
-species, come the nearest to each other.
-
-
-
-
-THE MARMOSE.
-
-
-The species of the Marmose, or Murine Opossum, (_fig. 132._) resembles
-that of the preceding; they are natives of the same climate and the
-same continent; they are very much alike in the form of the body, the
-conformation of the feet, in the tail, which is mostly covered with
-scales, except the upper part, which is hairy, and by the teeth, which
-are more numerous than in other quadrupeds. But the marmose is smaller,
-and his snout sharper; the female has no pouch under the belly, she
-has only two loose skins near the thighs, between which the young
-fix themselves to the teats. The parts of generation of the male and
-female marmose resemble, by their form and their position, those of
-the opossum. When the young are brought forth, and fix themselves to
-the teats, they are not so big as small beans. The brood is also more
-numerous; I have seen ten young ones, each sticking to a different
-teat, and the mother had four more teats, which made fourteen in
-all. It is particularly on the females of this species that the
-observations, recommended in the preceding article, should be made; as
-I am persuaded they bring forth a few days after conception, and that
-the young are only foetuses which are not come to the fourth part of
-their growth. The mother always miscarries, and the foetuses save their
-lives by sticking to the teats, and never leaving them till they have
-acquired the growth and strength which they would naturally have got in
-the womb, if they had remained until the proper period.
-
-The marmose has the same manners, and the same inclinations, as the
-opossum; both of them dig burrows to dwell under the ground, hang by
-the extremities of their tails to the branches of trees, and rush upon
-birds and small animals; they eat fruit, corn, and roots, but they are
-still more greedy of fish and craw-fish, which, it is affirmed, they
-catch with their tails. This fact, however, is doubtful, and does not
-agree with the natural stupidity attributed to those animals, who,
-according to the relation of most travellers, do not even know how to
-move, fly, or defend themselves, with any degree of art.
-
-
-
-
-THE CAYOPOLLIN.
-
-
-Fernandes is the first author who has mentioned this animal. The
-Cayopollin, says he, is a small animal, little bigger than a rat, very
-much resembling the opossum in the snout, ears, and tail, and which
-he makes use of as we do our hands; he has thin transparent ears; his
-belly, legs, and feet, are white. The young, when frightened, seize
-hold of the mother, who carries them up on the trees. This species is
-found on the mountains of New Spain. Nieremberg has copied Fernandes
-verbatim, without any addition of his own. Seba, who first caused
-this animal to be engraved, gives no description of it; he only says,
-that he has the head thicker, and the tail a little bigger than the
-marmose, and that though he is of the same kind he belongs to another
-climate, and even to another continent. He refers his readers to
-Nieremberg and Johnston for a further description of this animal; but
-it seems evident that neither of them had seen him, as they only follow
-Fernandes. Neither of these three authors say that he is a native of
-Africa, on the contrary, they assert, that he comes originally from
-the mountains of the warm climates of America, and yet Seba, without
-any authority, has pretended, that it is an African animal. That which
-we have seen certainly came from America; he was larger, the snout
-not so sharp, and the tail was longer than those of the marmose, and
-he resembled the opossum more even than the marmose does. These three
-animals are much alike in the conformation of their interior and
-exterior parts, in their additional bones, form of their feet, in being
-brought forth before their entire formation, their long and continued
-adherence to the teats, and in their habits and dispositions. They are
-all three natives of the new world, and of the same climate; they are
-never found in the cold regions of America, nor can hardly live in
-temperate climates. All of them are very ugly; their mouths extended
-like that of a pike, their ears like those of a bat, their tails like
-that of a snake, and their monkey's feet present a very odd form, which
-is rendered still more disagreeable by their bad smell, and by the
-slowness and stupidity which accompany their actions and manners.
-
-
-
-
-THE ELEPHANT.
-
-
-The Elephant, the human species excepted, is the most considerable
-animal of this world; he surpasses all terrestrial beings in size, and
-approaches near to man in understanding, as much, at least, as matter
-can approach to mind. The elephant, dog, beaver, and ape, of all the
-animated beings, have the most admirable instinct; but this instinct,
-which is only the product of all the interior and exterior faculties
-of the animal, manifests itself very differently in every one of these
-species. The dog is naturally as cruel and bloody as the wolf; but his
-ferocious nature is to be conquered by gentleness: he only differs
-from the other animals of prey, by possessing a degree of sensibility,
-which makes him susceptible of affection, and capable of attachment.
-He has from nature this disposition, which man has cultivated and
-improved by a constant and ancient society with this animal. The
-dog alone was worthy of this attention, as he is more capable than
-any other quadruped of foreign impressions, his social nature has
-improved all his relative faculties. His sensibility, tractable temper,
-courage, talents, and even his manners, are modified by the example
-and qualities of his matter. He has not then, from nature, all those
-qualifications he appears to possess, but has acquired them from his
-intercourse with men; he is only more susceptible of tuition than other
-animals; far from having, like most of them, a disgust for man, his
-inclination leads him to seek their society: actuated by a desire of
-pleasing, his tractability, fidelity, constant submission, and that
-attention necessary to act in consequence of man's orders, are the
-result of this natural sentiment.
-
-The ape, on the contrary, is untractable and eccentric; his nature
-is perverse; he has no relative sensibility, no gratitude for good
-treatment, and no remembrance of favours; he is naturally averse from
-the society of man, he hates constraint, is mischievous by nature,
-and inclined to do every thing hurtful and disagreeable. But these
-real faults are compensated by seeming perfections. His exterior
-conformation resembles that of man, he has arms, hands, and fingers.
-The use of these parts alone, makes him superior in dexterity to
-other animals; and the affinities to us which he then possesses by a
-similarity of motions, and the conformity of his actions, please and
-deceive us, and induce us to attribute to interior qualities, what
-depends merely on the formation of his members.
-
-The beaver, who seems inferior to the dog and ape, by his individual
-faculties, has nevertheless received from Nature a gift almost
-equivalent to that of speech; he makes himself so well understood by
-those of his own species, as to bring them together; to act in concert,
-and to undertake and execute extensive and continued labours in common;
-and this social love, as well as the product of their reciprocal
-understanding, have better claims to our admiration, than the dexterity
-of the ape, or the faithfulness of the dog.
-
-Thus the dog's genius is only borrowed; the ape has but the appearance
-of sagacity, and the beaver is only sensible in regard to himself, and
-those of his species. The elephant is superior to them all three, for
-in him are united all their most eminent qualities. The hand is the
-principal organ of the ape's dexterity; the elephant is equally so
-with his trunk, which serves him instead of arms and hands, by it he
-can lift up, and seize small as well as large objects, carry them to
-his mouth, place them on his back, hold them fast, or throw them to a
-distance; he has at the same time the docility of the dog; he is, like
-him, susceptible of gratitude, capable of a strong attachment, attends
-upon man without reluctance, and submits to him, not so much by force
-as good treatment; serves him with zeal, intelligence, and fidelity;
-in fine, the elephant, the same as the beaver, likes the society of
-his own species, and by whom he is understood. They are often seen to
-assemble together, disperse, and act in concert, and if they do not
-carry on any work in common, it is, perhaps, only for want of room and
-tranquillity; for men have been very anciently multiplied in all the
-regions inhabited by the elephant; he consequently lives in fear and
-anxiety, and is no where a peaceful possessor of a space large and free
-enough to establish a secure habitation. We have seen that all these
-advantages are requisite to manifest the talents of the beaver, and
-that wherever men are settled, he loses his industry, and ceases to
-build. Every being has its relative value in Nature. To judge of the
-elephant, we must allow him to possess the sagacity of the beaver,
-the dexterity of the ape, the sentiment of the dog with the peculiar
-advantages of strength, bigness, and longevity. We must not forget his
-arms, or tusks, with which he can pierce through and conquer the lion.
-We should also recollect that he shakes the ground at every step; that
-with his trunk he roots out trees; that with the strength of his body,
-he makes a breach in the wall; that though tremendous by his strength,
-he is more invincible by the resistance of his bulky massiveness, and
-the thickness of his skin; that he can carry on his back an armed tower
-filled with many men; and 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 passions; 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 some offence; and he remembers
-favours as long as injuries. Having no taste for flesh, and feeding
-chiefly upon vegetables, he is not naturally an enemy to any living
-creature; he is beloved by them all, since all of them respect, and
-no one has cause to fear him. For these reasons, men at all times
-have had a sort of veneration for this first of animals. The ancients
-considered the elephant as a prodigy, a miracle of Nature, and he is
-in reality her greatest effort; they have attributed to him without
-hesitation, intellectual qualities and moral virtues.
-
-Pliny, �lian, Solinus, Plutarch, and other more modern authors,
-have even given to this animal rational faculties, a natural innate
-religion, the observation of a daily worship, such as that of the sun
-and moon, the use of ablution before adoration, a spirit of divination,
-piety towards heaven and their fellow creatures whom they assist at
-their deaths; and after their decease, express their regret by tears,
-and cover them with earth. The Indians, prepossessed with the opinion
-of the metempsychosis, are to this day persuaded, that a body so
-majestic as that of the elephant cannot be animated but by the soul of
-a great man, or a king. They respect at Siam,[AE] Laos, and Pegu, white
-elephants as the living manes of the emperors of India. They have
-each of them a palace, a number of servants, golden vessels, exquisite
-dainties, magnificent trappings, and are absolved from all labour and
-obedience; the living emperor is the only one before whom they kneel
-down, and the monarch returns the salute. These flattering attentions,
-this respect, these offerings flatter them but do not inspire them with
-vanity; they have not consequently a human soul, and this circumstance
-should be sufficient to prove it to the Indians.
-
-[Footnote AE: The white elephant, so much respected in India, and who
-has been the cause of so many wars, is very small and wrinkled with
-age. He is attended by several mandarins who are appointed to take care
-of him, and his victuals is presented to him in large golden vessels;
-his apartment is very magnificent, and gilt all round. At about a
-league from the country-house belonging to the king, is another white
-elephant, kept as a successor to the former, whom they say is 300 years
-old. He is also attended by mandarins, and his mother and aunt are kept
-with him out of respect. _Premier Voyage du P. Tachard._]
-
-Without adopting the credulities of antiquity, and the puerile fictions
-of superstition, the elephant is an animal still worth the attention
-of a philosopher, who ought to consider him as a being of the first
-distinction. He deserves to be known, and to be observed; we shall
-therefore write his history with impartiality; we shall consider him
-at first in his state of nature when he is free and independent, and
-afterwards in his servile condition, when the will of his master
-becomes the cause of his actions.
-
-In a wild state, the elephant is neither sanguinary nor ferocious; he
-is of a mild temper, and never makes a bad use of his arms, or his
-strength; for he never employs or exerts them but in his own defence,
-or in protecting others of his species. His manners are social, for he
-is seldom wandering alone: they commonly walk in troops, the oldest
-leading, and the next in age bringing up the rear; the young and the
-weak keeping in the middle. The females carry their young, and hold
-them close with their trunks. They only observe this order in perilous
-marches when they go to feed on cultivated lands; they travel with
-less precaution in forests and solitary places, but without separating
-to such a distance as not to be able to give to each other mutual
-assistance, and warnings of danger. Some, however, straggle, and
-remain behind, and it is none but these the hunters dare attack, 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, for they go straight to the offender, and
-notwithstanding the great heaviness of their bodies they walk so fast
-that they easily overtake the most agile man; they pierce him through
-with their tusks, or seize him with their trunks; throw him like a
-stone, and then kill him by treading him under their feet. But it is
-only when they have been provoked that they become so furious and so
-implacable; they do no harm to those who do not disturb them; yet,
-as they are very suspicious, and sensible of injuries, it is proper
-to avoid them; and the travellers who frequent the countries where
-they are numerous, light great fires in the night, and beat drums,
-to prevent their approach. It is said that when they have been once
-attacked by men, or have fallen into a snare, they never forget it,
-but seek for revenge on all occasions. As they have a most exquisite
-sense of smelling, perhaps more perfect than that of any other animal,
-they smell a man at a great distance, and can easily follow him by the
-scent. The ancients have asserted that the elephant tears up the grass
-where the hunters have passed, and with their trunks convey it to each
-other, in order to give information of the passage and march of the
-enemy. These animals are fond of the banks of rivers, deep valleys,
-shady places, and marshy grounds. They cannot go long without water,
-which they make thick and muddy before they drink it. They often fill
-their trunks with water, either to convey it to their mouths, or only
-to cool their noses, and to amuse themselves in sprinkling it around
-them. They cannot support cold, and suffer equally from excessive heat;
-to avoid the burning rays of the sun, they penetrate into the thickest
-recesses of the forests. They bathe often in the water; the enormous
-size of their bodies is rather an advantage to them in swimming, and
-they do not sink so deep in the water as other animals; besides, the
-length of their trunks, which they erect in the air, 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, but they have a dislike to flesh and fish.
-When one of them finds a good pasture, he calls the others, and invites
-them to come and feed with him. As they consume 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 enormous
-weight, they destroy ten times more with their feet, than they consume
-for their food, which may be reckoned at 150lbs. of grass daily; and
-as they always keep in great numbers together, they will lay waste a
-large territory in an hour's time; for this reason the Indians and
-Negroes exert every means to prevent their visits, and to drive them
-away; they make great noises, and large fires round their cultivated
-lands; yet, notwithstanding these precautions, 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; the only things that can stop their
-progress are fire-works, and crackers thrown amongst them; the sudden
-and repeated noise of which sometimes occasions them to turn back. It
-is very difficult to part them, for they commonly act together whether
-they attack, proceed, or turn back.
-
-When the females come in season this social intercourse yields to a
-more lively sentiment; the herd separate in pairs, having each chosen
-their mates; they then seek for solitary places, and in their march
-love seems to precede and modesty to follow them; for they observe the
-greatest mystery in their amours, and they have never been seen to
-couple. They avoid the inspection of their own species, and, perhaps,
-know better than ourselves the pure delight of secret pleasure, being
-wholly taken with one beloved object. They retire into shady woods
-and most solitary places, to give themselves up, without disturbance
-or restraint, to the impulses of Nature, which are strong and lasting,
-as they have long intervals between their seasons of love. The female
-goes two years with young; when she is in that condition the male
-abstains from her, and thus are they subjected to the influence of love
-but once in three years. They bring forth only one young, which has
-teeth at its birth, and is then bigger than a wild boar; his tusks are
-not visible, but they appear soon after, and when six months old they
-are some inches long. At that age the elephant is bigger than the ox,
-and the tusks continue to increase till he is much advanced in years,
-provided the animal is in health, and at liberty, for it is scarcely
-to be imagined how much slavery and unnatural food change his natural
-habit and constitution.
-
-The elephant is easily tamed, brought into submission, and instructed,
-and as he is the strongest and most sensible of animals, he is more
-serviceable than any of them; but he seems always to feel his servile
-condition, for though subject to the powerful impressions of love they
-never couple, nor produce in a state of domesticity. His passion,
-irritated by constraint, degenerates into fury; as he cannot indulge
-it without witnesses he becomes violent and intractable, and the
-strongest chains and fetters are often found necessary to stop his
-impetuosity, and subdue his anger. Thus the elephant differs from all
-domestic animals which man treats or manages as beings without will;
-he is not like these born slaves, which we mutilate or multiply for
-our use. Here the individual alone is a slave, the species remains
-independent, and constantly refuses to increase for the benefit of
-their tyrants. This alone shews in the elephant elevated sentiments
-superior to the nature of common brutes. To be agitated by the most
-ardent desires, and to deny themselves the satisfaction of enjoying
-them; to be subjected to all the fury of love, and yet not to violate
-the laws of modesty, are, perhaps, the highest efforts of human virtue,
-but which in these majestic animals are all suggested by instinct, and
-from which they never deviate. Enraged that they cannot be gratified
-without witnesses their fury becomes stronger than their passion of
-love, destroys the effects of it, and provokes, at the same time, that
-anger which, in those instants, renders the elephant more dangerous
-than any other wild animal.
-
-We should be inclined to doubt this fact, were it possible, but
-naturalists, historians, and travellers, all agree, that the elephants
-never produce in a domestic state. The kings of India keep a great
-number of them, and after having endeavoured in vain to make them
-multiply, like other domestic animals, they found it necessary to part
-the males from the females, to prevent that fury which is occasioned
-by the irritation of desires they will not satisfy in a state of
-subjection. There are, therefore, no domestic elephants but what have
-been wild, 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 frequented by the elephants, a spot
-is chosen, and encircled with palisadoes; the strongest trees of the
-forest serve for stakes, to which are fastened cross pieces of timber,
-which support the other stakes. A man may easily pass through this
-palisado; a large opening is also left, through which the elephant may
-go in, and over it is a trap, or large stake, which is let down to
-shut the opening after the animal has entered. To bring him to this
-inclosure the hunters take a tame female with them into the forest,
-who is in season, and when when they think she is near enough to be
-heard they oblige her to make the cry of love, the wild male answers
-immediately, and begins his march to meet her. She is then led towards
-the inclosure, repeating her call now and then; she arrives first,
-and the male following her track enters through the same gate. As
-soon as he perceives himself enclosed his ardour vanishes, and when
-he discovers the hunters he becomes furious; they throw ropes at him
-with a running knot, by which they fetter his legs and trunk; they then
-bring two or three tame elephants, led by dextrous men, and endeavour
-to tie him to one of them; in short, by dint of dexterity, strength,
-terror, and caresses, they succeed in taming him in a few days.
-
-I shall not enter into more particulars on this subject, but refer
-to those travellers who have been ocular witnesses of the manner of
-hunting the elephants;[AF] it varies according to different countries,
-and according to the power and the abilities of those who make war
-against them, for instead of erecting, like the kings of Siam, walls,
-terraces, or making palisades around large inclosures, the poor negroes
-use the most simple snares; they dig pits in the passages, where the
-elephants are known to pass, so deep as to prevent their getting out
-again when fallen in.
-
-[Footnote AF: For the purpose of hunting the elephant, they have at a
-little distance from Luovo, a kind of amphitheatre, surrounded with
-high walls, where those are placed who wish to see the sport. In the
-middle of these walls a palisade is formed, with strong stakes fixed
-in the ground; a pretty large opening is left on the side next the
-forest, and a smaller one towards the city, into which the elephant
-cannot enter without difficulty. Upon the day fixed upon for the chace,
-the hunters go into the forests upon some female elephants covering
-themselves with leaves to prevent being seen; having reason to suppose
-there are wild ones near, they make the females utter certain cries,
-and which the wild males instantly answer; the hunter then drives the
-female back to the above amphitheatre, whither the male constantly
-follows her, and being entered the large opening is immediately shut.
-At the one we were present, the females went out on the other side,
-but from the smallness of the size the wild one refused to enter;
-the females repeated their cries, and some of the Siamese began to
-irritate him, by clapping their hands, and crying _pat, pat_, while
-others struck him with long poles that had sharp points, all of whom he
-pursued, but they escaped by slipping between the palisades, sufficient
-spaces being left for that purpose; at length he fixed upon one whom he
-pursued with great fury, and the man running into this narrow passage
-the elephant followed him, but the moment he entered, the bars, before
-and behind, were let fall, and he no sooner found himself in the snare
-than he made the most violent efforts, and raised the most hideous
-cries. The hunters then endeavoured to sooth him by flinging quantities
-of water upon his body and trunk, rubbing him with leaves, putting oil
-on his ears, and bringing tame elephants, who seemed to caress him with
-their trunks, one of which, properly trained, was mounted by a man who
-made him go backwards and forwards to shew as it were the stranger that
-he had nothing to fear. Ropes were thrown round his hind legs and body,
-and then the bar was taken away from the further end, where being come
-he was tied to two tame elephants one of each side of him these led
-him the way while another pushed him behind with his head until they
-came to a kind of shade where he was fastened to a large post, like the
-capstan of a ship, and there left till the next day. While here, one
-of the Bramins, or priests, dressed in white, and mounted on another
-elephant, goes to him and sprinkles him with consecrated water, which
-they imagine has the power of divesting him of his ferocity. Next day
-he is marched off with the other elephants, and by the end of the
-fifteenth, they are in general perfectly tame. _Premier Voyage du P.
-Tachard._
-
-In Ethiopia they take great numbers of these animals by forming an
-inclosure in the thickest parts of the forests, leaving a sufficient
-opening, with a door lying flat on the ground; the hunters sit to watch
-for the elephant on a tree and as soon as he enters they draw up the
-door with a rope, then descend and attack him with arrows, but if by
-any chance he gets out of his confinement, he kills every man that he
-can come near. _L'Afrique de Marmol._
-
-At Ceylon they take the elephant by digging deep ditches lightly
-covering them over, in places frequented by these animals, who coming
-on this covering in the night, unavoidably fall in and are unable to
-get out again; here the slaves supply them with food, to whom they,
-in a short time, are so accustomed, and familiar, as to be led up to
-Goa perfectly tame. They have also a mode of hunting them with two
-tame females, whom they take into the forests, and coming near a wild
-elephant, they let them loose; these go up to the strange one on each
-side, press so closely against him as to force him their way, and
-render it impossible for him to escape. _Memoir es touchant les Indes
-Orientales. Voyages de P. Philippe, Thevenot, &c._]
-
-The elephant, when once tamed, becomes the most tractable and
-submissive of all animals; he conceives an affection for his leader,
-caresses him, and seems to foresee whatever can please him; in a
-little time he understands signs, and even the expression of sounds;
-he distinguishes the tones of command, anger, or approbation, and acts
-accordingly. He never mistakes the voice of his master; he receives his
-orders with attention, executes them with prudence and eagerness, but
-without precipitation, for his motions are always measured, and his
-character seems to participate of the gravity of his body. He is easily
-taught to bend his knees to assist those who ride on his back; he
-caresses his friends, salutes the persons he is directed to take notice
-of, lifts up burdens, and helps to load himself with his trunk; he has
-no aversion to being clothed, and seems to delight in a golden harness
-or magnificent trappings; he is easily put into traces, and often
-employed in drawing; he draws evenly, without slopping or any marks
-of dislike, provided he is not insulted by unseasonable correction,
-and that his driver seems to approve the spontaneous exertion of his
-strength. His conductor is mounted on his neck, and makes use of an
-iron rod, hooked at the end, with which he strikes him on the head, or
-sides, to make him turn, or increase his pace; but a word is commonly
-sufficient, especially, if the animal has bad time to make himself
-well acquainted with his conductor, and has a confidence in him. His
-attachment is sometimes so strong, and so lasting, and his affection so
-great, that he will refuse to serve a second person, and has been known
-to die of grief when in a fit of rage he has happened to destroy his
-keeper.
-
-The species of the elephant is numerous, though they bring forth but
-one in two or three years. In proportion to the shortness of the life
-of an animal is its multiplicity of production; and in the elephant
-the duration of its existence compensates for the smallness of its
-number; and if it be true that they live 200 years, and propagate
-until they are 120, each couple may bring forth forty in that time.
-Besides, having nothing to fear from other animals, and being taken by
-men with great difficulty and danger, the species has not decreased,
-and is generally dispersed in all the southern parts of Africa and
-Asia. They are numerous at Ceylon, in the Mogul dominions, in Bengal,
-Siam, Pegu, and the other territories of India. They are perhaps, in
-a greater number in the South of Africa, except some parts which
-they have abandoned, since they have been so fully inhabited by men.
-They are faithful to their country, and constant to their climate,
-for though they can live in temperate regions it does not seem that
-they ever attempted to settle, or even to travel into them. They were
-formerly unknown in Europe. It does not seem that Homer, who speaks
-of the ivory, knew the animal from whom it is obtained. Alexander was
-the first who rode upon an elephant in Europe. He sent into Greece
-those which he took at Porus, and were, perhaps, the same which Pyrrhus
-employed several years after against the Romans, in the Tarentine
-war, and with which Curius adorned his triumph into Rome. Hannibal
-afterwards brought them from Africa, made them pass the Alps, and led
-them almost to the gates of Rome.
-
-From time immemorial the Indians have made use of elephants in war.
-Among those nations, unacquainted with military discipline, they
-formed their best troop, and as long as battles were decided by iron
-weapons they commonly vanquished. Yet we learn by history that the
-Greeks and Romans soon used themselves 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
-obliged to turn all their attention to the elephant, when separated
-from their troops. Now that fire is become the element of war, and the
-principal instrument of death, elephants, who are afraid of noise and
-flame, would be rather an incumbrance in battle, and more dangerous
-than useful. The kings of India still arm their elephants in war, but
-it is more for shew than for real service; yet they derive from these
-animals the same utility that arises from an army which is to enslave
-their equals; they make use of them to subdue the wild elephants. The
-most powerful monarchs of the Indies have now above 200 elephants for
-war. They keep many others for different services, and to carry the
-large cages in which their women travel; it is a perfectly safe way of
-travelling, for the elephant never stumbles; but time is required to be
-used to the motions of his pace. The best place is upon the neck, as
-you there ride more easy than on the shoulders or the back; but in war,
-or hunting, several men ride the same elephant: the conductor rides on
-his neck, and the hunters, or warriors, are placed on other parts of
-his body.
-
-In those happy regions, where our cannon and our murdering arts are
-yet scarcely known, they fight still upon elephants. At Cochin, and
-in the other parts of Malabar, they make no 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, ride on nothing but
-elephants; on festival days they are preceded and followed by a great
-number of these animals, superbly caparisoned, and covered with the
-richest stuffs. They surround their tusks with gold and silver rings;
-they paint their ears and cheeks; they crown them with garlands, and
-their harness is ornamented with little bells; they seem to delight in
-magnificent attire, and the more their trappings are rich and splendid
-the more they are cheerful and caressing. It is only in the East
-Indies that the elephants are so far improved, for in Africa they can
-scarcely tame them. The Asiatics, anciently civilized, have reduced
-the education of the elephant into a system, and they have instructed
-and modified him according to their manners. But of all the Africans
-the Carthaginians were the only people who trained up the elephants to
-war, because at the time of the splendor of their commonwealth they
-were, perhaps, more civilized than any other of the eastern nations.
-At present no wild elephants are found in all that part of Africa on
-this side Mount Atlas; there are even few beyond those mountains, as
-far as the river Senegal. But they are numerous in Senegal, in Guinea,
-in Congo, and on the Teeth Coast, in the countries of Anto, Acra,
-Benin, and all the other southern parts of Africa, as far as the Cape
-of Good Hope, except some provinces very populous, such as Fida, Ardra,
-&c. They are also found in Abyssinia, in Ethiopia, in Nigritia, on the
-eastern coast, and in the inland parts of Africa. They are also in the
-great islands of India and Africa, such as Madagascar, Java, and the
-Philippines.
-
-After comparing the relations of travellers and historians it seems
-that elephants are actually more numerous in Africa than in Asia; they
-are there also less mistrustful, and not so shy, as if they knew the
-unskilfulness and the little power of the men who inhabit this part
-of the world; they come daily without fear to their habitations, and
-treat the negroes with that natural and scornful indifference they
-have for other animals; they do not consider those men as powerful and
-formidable beings, but as a species whose skill consists in laying
-snares, without having the courage to encounter them, and absolutely
-ignorant of the art of reducing them into subjection. It is by this
-art known, from the earliest times, to the eastern nations, that their
-species is diminished. The wild elephants, which they tame, become by
-their captivity, like so many voluntary eunuchs, which daily drain
-the source of generation; but, on the contrary, in Africa, where they
-are all free, the whole species propagate, and all the individuals
-constantly concur to its increase. I do not know any other cause
-for this difference in their numbers, for, in considering the other
-effects, it seems the south of India, and the east of Africa, are the
-natural countries, and the most suitable to the elephant. He is there
-much larger and stronger than in Guinea, or in the other western parts
-of Africa. He fears excessive heat, and never inhabits the burning
-sands; he is most frequently found on the flat countries near the
-rivers, and never on the hilly parts of Africa; but in India the most
-powerful and the most courageous of the species, and who have the
-strongest and longest tusks, are the elephants of the mountains; they
-inhabit the high grounds, where the air being more temperate, the water
-more pure, and the food more wholesome, they gradually arrive to the
-full perfection of their nature.
-
-In general the elephants of Asia are larger and superior in strength,
-to those of Africa; particularly those of Ceylon, which exceed in
-courage and sagacity even those of Asia. Probably they owe these
-qualifications to their more improved education; it is, however,
-certain, that all travellers have celebrated the elephants of this
-island, where the ground is interspersed with mountains, which rise
-gradually towards the centre, and where the heat is not so excessive as
-in Senegal, Guinea, and other western parts of Africa. The ancients,
-who knew no more of this part of the world, but the countries seated
-between Mount Atlas and the Mediterranean, had observed, that the
-elephants of Lybia were much smaller than those of India. There are not
-any elephants at this time, in that part of Africa, which proves, as
-mentioned in the article of the Lion, that men are more numerous there
-now than they were in the ages of Carthage. The elephants have retired
-in proportion as men have molested them; but in travelling through the
-climates of Africa, they have not changed their nature; for those of
-Senegal, Guinea, &c. are at this time smaller than those of India.
-
-The strength of these animals is proportionate to their bigness. The
-elephants of India carry with ease burdens of three or four thousand
-pounds weight; the smallest, that is, those of Africa, lift up freely
-with their trunks, burdens of two hundredweight, and place them on
-their shoulders; they take into their trunks a great quantity of water,
-which they throw out around them, at seven or eight feet distance; they
-can carry a weight of a thousand pounds upon their tusks; with their
-trunks they break off branches, and with their tusks they root out
-trees. Their strength may be judged of by their agility, comparatively
-to the bulk of their bodies; they walk as fast as a horse goes on
-an easy trot; and they run as fast as a horse can gallop; which
-seldom happens in their wild state, except when they are provoked
-or frightened. The tame elephants are commonly walked; they travel
-easily, and without fatigue, fifteen or twenty leagues a day; and, when
-hurried, they can travel thirty-five or forty. Their steps are heard
-at a great distance, and they may be followed by their tracks, for
-the marks they leave on the ground are fifteen or eighteen inches in
-diameter.
-
-A domestic elephant does, perhaps, to his master more real service than
-five or six horses; but he requires much care and abundance of good
-food; it is computed that he consumes to the amount of an hundred
-pence per day. He is commonly fed with raw or boiled rice mixed with
-water; and it is reckoned he wants one hundred pounds of rice daily to
-be kept in his full vigour; they give him also grass to cool him, for
-he is often over-heated, and must be led to the water that he may bathe
-two or three times a day; he easily learns to wash himself; he takes
-the water up in his trunk, carries it to his mouth, drinks part, and
-then by elevating his trunk, lets the remainder flow over every part
-of his body. To give an idea of the services he is able to perform, it
-is sufficient to observe, that all the bags, bales, and parcels, which
-are transported from one place to another in the Indies, are carried by
-elephants; that they carry burdens on their bodies, their necks, their
-tusks, and even with their mouths, by giving them the end of a rope
-which they hold with their teeth.
-
-When the elephant is taken care of he lives a long time even in
-captivity; and it is to be presumed, that in a state of liberty his
-life is still longer. Some authors say he lives four or five hundred
-years; others, two or three hundred; and others, one hundred and
-twenty, thirty, and even one hundred and fifty years. I take this last
-opinion to be the nearest to the truth; and if it is certain, that
-captive elephants live one hundred and twenty or thirty years; those
-who are free, and enjoy all the conveniences and rights of Nature,
-must live at least two hundred; besides, if their gestation lasts
-two years, and thirty years are required to bring them to their full
-growth, we may be assured that their life extends to the term we have
-mentioned. It is not so much the captivity, as the change of climate
-which shortens their existence: whatever care is taken of the elephant,
-he does not live long in temperate, and still shorter in cold climates.
-The elephant which the King of Portugal sent to Louis XIV. in 1668, and
-who was then but four years old, died in his seventeenth, 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 score pounds of bread, twelve pints of wine, two
-buckets of porridge, with four or five pounds of bread in it, the last
-was changed every other day for two buckets of rice boiled in water,
-without reckoning what was given him by visitors. He had, besides,
-every day a sheaf of corn to amuse himself; for, after eating the ears,
-he made large whisps of the straw, and used them 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 pulled and eat the grass. The elephant who was lately at Naples,
-though the heat is greater than at Paris, lived there but a few years.
-Those which have been transported to Petersburg perished successively,
-notwithstanding they were well sheltered, covered, and warmed with
-stoves; consequently, we may conclude, that this animal cannot live in
-a state of nature, nor multiply in Europe. But I am surprised that the
-Portuguese, who first knew the use and value of these animals in the
-East Indies, did not transport them into the warm climate of Brasil,
-where they might have propagated, if left at liberty.
-
-The common colour of the elephant is of ash grey, or blackish. White
-ones, as we have observed, are extremely scarce: and some have been
-seen in the Indies of a reddish colour; these and the white are
-much esteemed; but these varieties are so scarce, that they cannot
-be considered as a race distinct from the species, but rather as
-accidental qualities peculiar to individuals; for otherwise, the
-countries of the white, red, and black elephants would be known, as
-well as the climates of white, red, and black men, and those of a
-copper colour. "Elephants of three different sorts are found in the
-Indies; (says Father Vincent Marie) the white, which are the largest,
-most gentle, and of the best temper, are worshipped as gods by several
-nations; the red, such as those of Ceylon, though the smallest, are the
-most valiant, the strongest, and best for war, and the other elephants,
-either from natural inclination, or perceiving in them something
-superior, shew them a great respect; the third species, is that of the
-black, which are the most common, and the least esteemed." This author
-is the only one who has intimated that Ceylon was the peculiar climate
-of red elephants; other travellers make no mention of such a fact. He
-also affirms, that the elephants of Ceylon are smaller than the others.
-Thevenot says the same thing in his voyage, but others assert the
-contrary. Father Vincent Marie also, is the only author who has said
-the white elephants are the largest. Father Tachard assures us on the
-contrary, that the white elephant of the king of Siam was rather small,
-though very old. After comparing the relations of travellers, in regard
-to the size of elephants in different countries, it seems, that the
-smallest are those of North and West Africa, and that the ancients, who
-only knew the northern part of Africa, had some reason to say that,
-in general, the elephants of the Indies were much larger than those of
-Africa. But in the eastern parts of this quarter of the world, unknown
-to them, the elephants are at least as large as those of India; for
-those of Siam and Pegu excel in bulk the elephants of Ceylon; which,
-however, are the most courageous and intelligent, according to the
-unanimous opinion of travellers.
-
-Having thus collected the different facts relative to the species,
-let us now examine minutely the faculties of the individual; his
-senses, motion, size, strength, address, sagacity, and intelligence.
-The elephant has very small eyes, compared to the enormous size of
-his body, but they are bright and lively; and what distinguishes them
-from the eyes of all other animals, is their pathetic expression of
-sentiment, and an almost rational direction of all their motions.
-He turns them slowly and gently towards his master, and when he
-speaks, the animal has the appearance of listening to him with an
-eye of friendship and attention, and by an expressive glance seems
-to penetrate into his wishes, and anticipate his desires. 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 of which he is to obey. Dogs, the eyes of which have much
-expression, are animals too lively to allow us to distinguish their
-successive sensations; but as the elephant is naturally grave and
-sedate, we may read in his eyes, whose motions are slow, the order and
-succession of his interior affections.
-
-He has a quick hearing, and this organ, like that of smelling, is
-outwardly 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 and moves them with such facility that he makes use of
-them to defend his eyes against the inconveniency of dust and flies.
-He delights in the sound of musical instruments, and moves in exact
-time to the sound of the trumpet and tabor. He has an exquisite sense
-of smelling, and he is passionately fond of perfumes of all sorts,
-and especially of fragrant flowers; he gathers them one by one, makes
-nosegays of them, which he smells with eagerness, and then carries to
-his mouth, as if he intended to taste them. Orange flowers are one of
-his most exquisite dainties; he strips with his trunk an orange tree
-of all its verdure, eating the fruit, the flowers, the leaves, and even
-the young branches. He chuses in meadows odoriferous plants, and in the
-woods he gives the preference to cocoa, palm, and sago trees, and as
-these trees are pithy and tender he not only cats the leaves and fruits
-but even the branches, the trunk, and the roots, for when he cannot
-break the branches with his trunk, he roots up the trees with his tusks.
-
-In regard to the sense of feeling, it centres in his trunk; but it is
-as delicate and as distinct in that as in the human hand. This trunk,
-composed of membranes, nerves, and muscles, is, at the same time, a
-member capable of motion, and an organ of sentiment. The animal can
-not only move and bend it, but he can shorten, lengthen, and turn it
-all ways. The extremity of the trunk is terminated by a protuberance,
-which projects on the upper part like a finger, by which the elephant
-does the same as we do with our fingers; he picks up from the ground
-the smallest pieces of money; he gathers herbs and flowers, chusing
-them one after another; he unties knots, opens and shuts doors, by
-turning the keys or slipping the bolts: he learns to draw regular
-characters with an instrument as small as a pen. We cannot even deny
-that this hand of the elephant has several advantages over ours: it is
-equally flexible and as dexterous in feeling or laying hold of objects.
-These operations are made by means of that sort of finger, seated at
-the superior part of the border, which surrounds the extremity of the
-trunk, in the middle of which there is a concavity, in the form of a
-cup, and at the bottom of it are the two apertures, which convey the
-sense of smelling and respiration. The elephant, consequently, unites
-in his trunk both the senses of feeling and smelling; and he may join
-the power of his lungs to the action of his hand, either drawing
-liquids by suction, or lifting up very heavy burdens, by applying the
-extremity of his trunk, and making within an empty place by respiration.
-
-Thus the delicacy of feeling, exquisiteness of smelling, facility
-of motion, and the power of suction, are united in the trunk of the
-elephant. Of all the instruments which Nature has so liberally bestowed
-on her favourite productions, the trunk of the elephant is, perhaps,
-the most complete and the most admirable; it is not only an organic
-instrument, but a triple sense, whose united functions are, at the
-same time, the cause, and produce the effect of that intelligence,
-and of those peculiar faculties which distinguish the elephant, and
-raise him above all other quadrupeds. He is less subject than other
-animals to errors of sight, because he rectifies them quickly by the
-sense of feeling; and making use of his trunk as a long arm to feel
-distant bodies, he acquires, like men, distinct ideas of distance. But
-other animals (except the monkey, and some others, who have the fore
-feet similar to arms and hands) cannot acquire the same ideas without
-running over that space with their bodies. Feeling is, of all the
-senses, that which has the most relation to knowledge. The delicacy of
-feeling gives the idea of the substance of the bodies; the flexibility
-of the trunk gives the idea of their exterior form; the power of
-suction, that of their weight; smelling, that of their qualities;
-and its length, that of their distance. They, therefore, with the
-same member, and by one simultaneous act, feel, perceive, and judge
-of divers things at once. His multiplied sensations are equivalent
-to reflection; and though this animal is, like others, incapable of
-thinking, as his sensations are combined in the same organ, are coeval
-and undivided, it is not surprising that he has ideas of his own, and
-that he acquires in a little time those we inculcate to him. His
-remembrance should be more perfect than that of any other animal, for
-memory only depends chiefly on the circumstances of action; and no
-sensation, however lively, can leave a lasting impression, when single
-and abstractedly taken; but several combined sensations leave deep
-impressions, so that if the elephant cannot recall an idea by feeling
-alone, the sensations of smelling and suction, which act at the same
-time, help him in recalling them to remembrance. With us the best
-method to improve the memory is to make use successively of all our
-senses to consider an object; and it is for want of that combined use
-of the senses that man forgets more things than he can recollect.
-
-Although the elephant has a more retentive memory, and more
-intelligence than any other animal, his brain is proportionally smaller
-than most of them, which I only mention as a proof that the brain is
-not the seat of sentiment, the _sensorium commune_, which resides, on
-the contrary, in the nerves of the senses, and in the membranes of the
-head, which are so numerously distributed on the trunk of the elephant,
-as to be equal to all those on the rest of the body. It is, therefore,
-by virtue of this singular combination of faculties in the trunk, that
-this animal is superior to all others in intelligence, notwithstanding
-his enormous size, and the disproportion of his form; for the elephant
-is, at the same time, a miracle of intelligence, and a monster of
-matter. His body is very thick, without any suppleness; his neck short
-and stiff, his head small and deformed, his ears and nose exceedingly
-large; his eyes, mouth, genital members, and tail, very small in
-proportion; his legs are like massive pillars, straight and stiff; his
-feet so short and small, that they are hardly perceptible, and his skin
-hard, thick, and callous; all these deformities are more remarkable,
-from being exhibited on a large scale, and most of them being peculiar
-to himself alone, no other animal having either the head, feet, nose,
-ears, or tusks, placed like those of the elephant.
-
-From this singular conformation he suffers several inconveniences; he
-can scarcely move his head, or turn back without making a circuit. The
-hunters who attack him behind, or on the flanks, avoid the effects of
-his vengeance by circular motions, and they have sufficient time to
-strike him again whilst he is turning against them. His legs, which
-are not so stiff as his neck and body, yet bend very slowly, and
-with difficulty; their articulation with the thighs is very strong.
-His knee is situated like that of a man, and his feet as low; but his
-foot has no strength nor elastic power, and the knee is hard, without
-suppleness; yet whilst the elephant is in his youth and vigour, he
-bends it to lay down, to let himself be loaded, or to help his leaders
-to mount him; but when he is old or infirm, this motion becomes so
-difficult that he sleeps standing; and, if he is compelled to lay
-down, the use of engines are necessary to raise him. His tusks, which
-become of an enormous weight when he grows old, not being seated in
-a vertical position, as the horns of other animals, form two long
-levers, and being in an almost horizontal direction, fatigue his head
-prodigiously, and draw it downwards, so that the animal is sometimes
-obliged to make holes in the wall of his lodge to support them, and
-ease himself of their weight. He has the disadvantage of having the
-organ of smelling far distant from that of tasting; and likewise the
-inconvenience of not being able to seize any thing on the ground with
-his mouth, because his neck is too short to let his head reach the
-earth; he is forced, therefore, to take his food, and even his drink
-with his nose; and to carry it not only to the entrance of his mouth,
-but to his very throat; and when his trunk is full of water, he thrusts
-the extremity of it to the very root of the tongue, probably to push
-back the epiglottis, and to prevent the liquor which passes through
-with impetuosity, from entering into the larynx; for he thrusts out the
-water by the strength of the same air which he had employed to suck it
-up, and it goes out of the trunk with noise, and enters into the throat
-with precipitation. Neither the tongue, the mouth, nor the lips, are of
-any service to him, as to other animals, in sucking or lapping their
-drink. From this description seems to result the singular consequence,
-that the young elephant must suck with his nose, and afterwards carry
-the milk to his throat. Yet the ancients have written that he sucks
-with the mouth, and not with the trunk; but they were not, probably,
-witnesses of the fact, and have founded their opinion on the analogy
-with all other animals. If the young elephant had once been used to
-suck with his mouth, how could he lose that habit the remainder of
-his life? Why does he never use the mouth to take water within his
-reach? Why does he constantly employ two actions, where one would be
-sufficient? Why does he never take any thing with his mouth, but what
-is thrown in when it is open? It appears probable, therefore, that the
-young elephant sucks with his trunk only. This presumption is not only
-proved by the subsequent facts, but is also founded on a better analogy
-than that which decided the opinion of the ancients. We have said, that
-animals in general, at the instant they are brought forth, can have
-no indication of the food they want, from any other sense but that of
-smelling: the ear is certainly of no use in that respect; neither is
-the eye, since the eyes of most animals are not open when they begin
-to suck: feeling can give but a vague idea of all the parts of the
-mother's body, or rather indicates nothing relative to the appetite.
-Smelling alone directs him: it is not only a sort of taste, but a
-species of fore-taste, which precedes, accompanies, and determines the
-other. The elephant, like other animals, perceives by this fore-taste
-the presence of his food; and as the seat of smelling is united with
-the power of suction at the extremity of his trunk, he applies it to
-the teats, sucks the milk, and conveys it afterwards to his mouth to
-satisfy his appetite. Besides, the two paps being seated on the breast,
-like those of women, and the teats being very small in proportion to
-the size of the mouth of the young elephant, who cannot bend his neck,
-he could not reach the teat of his mother with his mouth, unless she
-laid upon her back, or on her side, and even in that situation he would
-find it very difficult to suck her, on account of the largeness of the
-mouth, and the smallness of the nipples. The margin of the trunk, which
-the elephant contracts as much as he pleases, is easily proportioned
-to the nipple, and the young elephant may suck his mother with it,
-either when she stands, or lies on her side. Thus, every thing agrees
-to confute the opinion of the ancients on this subject, for none of
-them, nor even any of the moderns, pretend to have seen the elephant
-sucking, and I think, I may affirm, that whenever that observation is
-made, it will appear, that he does not suck with his mouth, but with
-his trunk. I likewise believe, that the ancients have been mistaken in
-telling us, that elephants couple like other quadrupeds, the position
-of the parts seeming to make it almost impossible. The female has not,
-like other quadrupeds, the orifice of the vagina near the anus, being
-near three feet distance from it, and seated almost in the middle of
-the belly. Besides, naturalists and travellers agree that the male
-elephant has not the genital member longer than a horse, and therefore
-it is impossible for them to copulate like other quadrupeds, and that
-the female must necessarily lie on her back, and which De Feynes and
-Tavernier positively affirm must be the fact, though I should not pay
-much attention to their testimony were it not in conformity with the
-physical conformation; they require, therefore, for this operation,
-more time and conveniences, than other animals; and it is, perhaps, for
-this reason they never couple, but when at full liberty. The female
-must not only consent, but even place herself in an indecent situation,
-to provoke the male, which probably, she never assumes but when she
-thinks herself without witnesses. Is not modesty then a physical
-virtue of which animals are susceptible? It is at least like softness,
-moderation, temperance, a general attribute of the female sex.
-
-Thus the elephant neither sucks, eats, or drinks, like other
-quadrupeds. The sound of his voice is also very singular. If we believe
-the ancients, he has, as it were, two voices: the one issuing from the
-trunk, which is rough, and from the length of the passage is somewhat
-like that of a trumpet; and the other coming from his mouth, which is
-interrupted by short pauses and hard sighs. This fact, advanced by
-Aristotle and afterwards repeated by naturalists and some travellers,
-is at least doubtful. M. de Bussy affirms positively, that the elephant
-does not utter any sounds through the trunk; yet as in shutting the
-mouth close, man can make a sound through the nose, it is possible
-that the elephant, with so long a nose may issue sounds in the same
-manner. From wherever it proceeds, the cry of the elephant is heard at
-more than a league's distance; and yet, it is not so terrifying as the
-roaring of the lion or the tiger.
-
-The elephant is yet more singular in the conformation of his feet,
-and the texture of his skin. He is not clothed with hair like other
-quadrupeds, but his skin is perfectly bare; some bristles issue out in
-different parts, they are thinly scattered on the body, but more thick
-on the eye-lids, on the back part of the head, within the ears, the
-thighs, and the legs. The epidermis has two sorts of wrinkles, which
-are hard and callous, some sinking, others prominent, which gives a
-divided appearance, like the bark of an old oak. In man, and in other
-animals, the epidermis sticks every where close to the skin, but 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 divers crusts, which
-are regenerated one above the other, drying up. It is this thickness of
-the epidermis which produces the _elephantiasis_, or dry leprosy, to
-which man, whose skin is bare like that of the elephant, is sometimes
-subject. This distemper is very common to elephants, and to prevent it
-the Indians rub them often with oil, to preserve the skin clean and
-supple. It is very tender wherever it is not callous; in the fissures,
-and other places, where it is neither dry nor hard, the elephant is
-so sensible 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, ears, and trunk, to strike
-them; he contracts his skin and squeezes them to death betwixt his
-wrinkles; he takes branches of trees, boughs, and handfuls of straw,
-to drive them away, and when all this does not answer the purpose, he
-gathers dust with his trunk, and covers with it all the tender parts
-of his body. He often covers himself with dust several times in a day,
-particularly after bathing. The use of water is almost as necessary
-to these animals as air. When at liberty they seldom leave the banks
-of rivers, but often go into them, and remain for hours together up
-to the belly. In India, where they are treated most suitable to their
-nature and constitution, they wash them with care, and give them all
-the necessary time and opportunity to wash themselves. They clean their
-skins by rubbing it with pumice-stones, and afterwards they pour on
-them perfumed oil, and paint them with various colours.
-
-The conformation of the elephant's feet and legs is also different
-from that of other animals; the fore legs seem to be higher than those
-behind, yet the hind legs are the longest; they are not bent in two
-places, like the hind legs of a horse, or an ox, the thigh-bones of
-which seem to be of the same piece with the buttock, the knee very near
-the belly, and the bones of the foot so high and so long that they seem
-to make a great part of the leg; in the elephant, on the contrary, the
-foot is very short, and rests on the ground; he has the knee like man,
-in the middle of the leg; his short foot is divided into five toes,
-which are all covered with a skin, so as not to appear outwardly; we
-are only able to perceive a kind of nails, the number of which varies,
-though that of the toes is constant, for he has always five toes to
-each foot, and commonly five nails, but sometimes he has no more than
-four, or even three, and in this case they do not correspond exactly
-with the extremities of the toes. However, this variety, which has
-only been observed in young elephants transported to Europe, seems
-to be merely accidental, and depends, probably on the treatment the
-elephant has received in his youth. The sole of the feet is covered
-with a skin, as hard as the hoof, which projects all round; the nails
-are formed of the same substance.
-
-The ears of the elephant are very long; he makes use of them as a fan,
-and moves them as he pleases: his tail is not longer than his ears,
-being 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; these bristles are as big and as strong as wire,
-and a man cannot break them by pulling with his hands, though they
-are elastic and pliant. This tuft of hair is an ornament which the
-negro women are particularly partial to, from superstitious notions.
-An elephant's tail is sometimes sold for two or three slaves, and
-the negroes often hazard their lives to cut and snatch it from the
-living animal. Besides this tuft at the extremity, the tail is covered
-throughout with hard bristles, bigger than those of a wild boar; some
-are also found on the convex part of the trunk, and on the eye-brows,
-where they sometimes are a foot in length. The hairs on the eye-lids
-are peculiar to men, monkeys, and elephants.
-
-The climate, food, and condition, have great influence on the growth
-and size of the elephant. In general those who are taken young, and
-early lose their liberty, never come to their full growth. The biggest
-elephants of India, and the eastern coasts 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 are brought young into Europe acquire not that height. That which
-was in the menagerie of 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, and as the growth gradually diminishes as animals advance in
-years, if he had lived thirty years, which is the ordinary term of
-their full growth, he would not have been more than eight feet high.
-Thus a domestic state reduces the growth of the animal at least one
-third, not only in height but in all other dimensions. The length of
-the body, measured from the eye to the tail, is very near equal to
-his height; an elephant of the Indies, therefore, of fourteen feet
-high, is seven times bigger and heavier than was the elephant of
-Versailles. In comparing the growth of this animal with that of man
-we shall find, that an infant, being commonly thirty-one inches, that
-is half his height when he is two years old, and coming to his full
-growth at twenty, the elephant, who increases in height and bulk to his
-thirtieth year, should come to half his height in three years. In the
-same manner, if we judge of the enormity of the bulk of the elephant,
-it will be found, that the volume of a man's body being supposed to be
-two cubic feet and a half, the body of an elephant of fourteen feet in
-length, allowing him only three feet in thickness, and of a middling
-breadth, would be fifty times as big, and, consequently, an elephant
-ought to weigh as much as fifty men.
-
-"I have seen (says father Vincent Marie) some elephants who were
-fourteen or fifteen feet high, long and thick in proportion. The male
-is always larger than the female. The price of these animals increases
-in proportion to their size, which is measured from the eye to the
-extremity of the back, and after exceeding certain dimensions, the
-price increases like that of precious stones."
-
-"The elephants of Guinea (says Bosman) are ten, twelve, or thirteen
-feet in height, and yet they are incomparably smaller than those of the
-East Indies, since those who have written the history of that country,
-give to those more cubits in height, than the others have feet."
-
-"I have seen elephants thirteen feet high, (says Edward Terry) and I
-have met with many, who affirmed they have seen elephants fifteen feet
-high[AG]."
-
-[Footnote AG: These authors probably referred to different measures,
-the first meaning Roman, the second Rhenish, and the last English feet.]
-
-From these, and many other attestations, we may conclude, that the most
-common size of the elephant is from ten to eleven feet; that those of
-thirteen or fourteen feet are very scarce, and that the smallest are
-at least nine feet high when they come to their full growth in a state
-of liberty. These enormous lumps of matter, as we have observed, move
-with much celerity; they are supported by four members, which are more
-like pillars, or massive columns, than legs, and are from fifteen to
-eighteen inches in diameter, and five or six feet in height; their
-legs are therefore twice as long as those of a man; thus, though the
-elephant took but one step to a man's two, he would overtake him in
-running. The common pace of the elephant is not swifter than that of
-the horse; but when he is pressed, he goes a sort of amble, equivalent
-for quickness to a gallop. He executes with speed, and even with ease,
-all direct motion; but he has no facility for oblique or retrograde
-motions. It is commonly in narrow and deep roads, where he can hardly
-turn, that the negroes attack him, and cut off his tail, which they
-value as much as the whole animal. He cannot go down a steep declivity
-without much difficulty, he is then obliged to bend the hind legs,
-in order to keep the fore part of his body on a level with the hind,
-and that his own weight may not throw him down. He swims well, though
-the form of his legs and feet seem to indicate the contrary; but as
-the capacity of his breast and belly is very large, as the volume of
-the lungs and intestines is enormous, and as those parts are full of
-air, or matter lighter than water, he sinks less deep than any other
-animal; he finds less resistance to overcome, and, consequently, can
-swim faster in making less efforts with his limbs. Thus, he is very
-useful for crossing rivers; besides two field-pieces, each of them
-four-pounders, with which he is loaded on these occasions, he carries
-heavy baggage, and several persons holding him by the ears and tail.
-When thus loaded, he swims deep in the water, and nothing is seen but
-his trunk, which he keeps erect to enable him to breathe.
-
-Though the elephant commonly feeds on herbs and young branches, and
-requires prodigious quantities of these aliments, to extract from them
-the nutrition necessary to such a body, yet he has not many stomachs,
-like most animals who feed on the same substances. He has but one
-stomach, does not ruminate, and is formed more like the horse than
-the ox, or other ruminating animals. The want of a paunch is supplied
-by the bigness and length of his intestines, and especially of the
-colon, which is two or three feet in diameter, and fifteen or twenty
-in length. The stomach is much smaller than the colon, being but four
-feet, at the most, in length, and a foot and a half in diameter. To
-fill such a capaciousness, the animal must eat almost continually,
-especially when he has no food more substantial than herbage; therefore
-the wild elephants are almost always employed in grubbing up trees,
-gathering herbs, or breaking young boughs; and those that are tame,
-though fed with great quantities of rice, pluck up herbs whenever
-they find an opportunity. However great the appetite of the elephant,
-he eats with moderation, and his taste for cleanliness gets the better
-of his wants. His dexterity in parting, with his trunk, the good
-leaves from the bad, and the care he takes to shake off the sand or
-insects, are convincing marks of his delicacy. He is very fond of
-wine, spirituous liquors, brandy, and arrack. He is prevailed upon to
-exert his greatest efforts, and to undertake the most arduous task, by
-shewing him a vessel full of these liquors, and promising it to him as
-the reward of his labours. He seems also to like the smoke of tobacco,
-but it stupifies and intoxicates him: he has a natural aversion to bad
-smells, and such an antipathy for hogs, that the cry of that animal
-disorders and puts him to flight.
-
-To give a complete idea of the nature and intelligence of this singular
-animal, I shall insert here some particulars communicated to me by the
-Marquis de Montmirail, President of the Royal Academy of Sciences,
-who has taken the trouble to translate from some Italian and German
-books, which were not known to me, whatever relates to the history of
-the animal creation. His taste for arts and sciences, his zeal for
-the advancement of them, his exquisite judgment, and a very extensive
-knowledge of all the parts of Natural History, entitle him to the
-greatest respect, and it is with pleasure and gratitude I refer to the
-information he has given me, and which I shall have frequent occasion
-to refer to in the subsequent part of this work:--"They make use of
-the elephant to carry artillery over mountains; and it is then that he
-gives the greatest proofs of his intelligence: when the oxen, yoked
-together, endeavour to draw a piece of artillery up a mountain, the
-elephant pushes the breech of the cannon with his forehead, and at
-every effort he supports the carriage with his knee, which he places
-against the wheel. He seems as if he understood what is 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 shews any repugnance to comply, the _cornack_, so his leader
-is called, promises to give him arrack, or some other thing that he
-likes; then the animal agrees to every thing proposed; but it is
-dangerous to break a promise with him, as many cornacks have fallen
-victims by such conduct. An instance of this happened at Dekan, which
-deserves to be recorded; and which, however incredible it may appear,
-is perfectly true. An elephant, in revenge, killed his cornack; the
-man's wife being witness of this dreadful catastrophe, took her two
-children and threw them to the feet of the still enraged animal,
-saying, _Since thou hast killed my husband, take also my life and that
-of my children_. The elephant stopped short, grew calm, and, as if
-moved with regret and compassion, took with his trunk the biggest of
-the two children, placed him on his neck, adopted him for his cornack,
-and would never suffer any other to mount him afterwards.
-
-"If the elephant be vindictive he is no less grateful. A soldier at
-Pondicherry, who commonly gave one of these animals a certain measure
-of arrack every time he received his pay, having one day drank more
-than common, and seeing himself pursued by the guard, who wanted to
-conduct him to prison, took refuge under the elephant, and there fell
-asleep. In vain did the guard attempt to draw him out from this asylum,
-the elephant firmly defending him with his trunk. The next day, when
-the soldier became sober, he was struck with terror to find himself
-under an animal of such enormous bulk. The elephant, who no doubt
-perceived his consternation, caressed him with his trunk, and made him
-understand that he might depart freely.
-
-"The elephant sometimes falls into a sort of phrenzy, which deprives
-him of his tractability, and makes him so formidable that it is
-frequently thought necessary to kill him, though they generally tie
-him with heavy chains, in hopes that he will come to himself; but when
-in his natural state the most acute pains cannot provoke him to do any
-harm to those who have not offended him. An elephant, made furious by
-the wounds he had received in the battle of Hambour, ran about the
-field crying out in the most hideous manner. A soldier, notwithstanding
-the warning of his companions, was unable to fly, perhaps from being
-wounded; the elephant coming up to him appeared afraid of trampling
-him under his feet, took him up with his trunk, placed him gently on
-one side, and continued his march." These particulars were given to
-the Marquis Montmirail by M. de Bussy, who lived ten years in India,
-and served the state with reputation. He had several elephants in his
-service; he mounted them often, saw them every day, and had frequent
-opportunities of observing many others.
-
-The gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences have also communicated to us
-the following facts, which they learned from those who governed the
-elephant at Versailles, and which deserve to be mentioned here. "The
-elephant seemed to discern when any body made a fool of him, and he
-remembered the affront to be revenged the first opportunity. A man
-deceived him by feigning to throw something into his mouth, upon which
-the animal gave him such a blow with his trunk as broke two of his
-ribs; having knocked him down, he trampled him under his feet, and
-broke one of his legs, and then kneeling down, he tried to thrust his
-tusks into the man's belly, which, however, went into the ground on
-both sides of his thigh, without hurting him. He bruised another man,
-by squeezing him against the wall, for a little mockery. A painter was
-desirous to draw him in an unusual attitude, with his trunk erect and
-his mouth open; the servant of the painter, to make him remain in that
-attitude, threw fruits into his mouth, but often deceived him, which
-provoked his indignation, and, as if he knew the painter was the cause
-of his being thus insulted, without taking any notice of the servant,
-he threw such a quantity of water with his trunk upon the paper, the
-master was drawing on, as totally to spoil the design. The elephant
-made less use of his strength than of his address, which was such that
-he untied with great facility a double leather string which fastened
-his leg, and as this buckle had a small string twisted around it with
-several knots, he untied them all without breaking either the strings
-or the strap. One night, having thus disentangled himself from his
-leather strings, he dexterously broke open the door of his lodge, so
-that his keeper was not awakened by the noise; he went from thence
-into several courts of the menagerie, breaking open the doors that
-were shut, and pulling down the stone work when the passage was too
-narrow for him to pass; by this means he got into the lodges of other
-animals, terrifying them to that degree, that they hid themselves
-in the remotest parts of the inclosures." In fine, to omit nothing
-that may contribute to make all the natural and acquired faculties of
-this animal so superior to all others, perfectly known, we shall add
-some facts, extracted from the most credible authors. "The elephant,
-even when wild (says Father Vincent Marie), has his virtues. He is
-generous and temperate; and when tamed he is esteemed for gentleness
-and fidelity to his master, and friendship for his governors. If
-destined to the immediate services of princes he knows his fortune,
-and preserves a gravity agreeable to the dignity of his employ. If, on
-the contrary, he is employed in mean labours, he evidently grieves and
-laments his being thus debased. In war he is impetuous and proud at
-the first onset; he is equally so when surrounded by hunters, but he
-loses courage when he is conquered. He fights with his tusks, and fears
-nothing so much as losing his trunk, which, by its consistence, is
-easily cut off. He is naturally mild, never attacks any person, unless
-he has been offended; he seems to delight in company, is particularly
-fond of children, caresses them, and seems to be sensible that they are
-harmless and innocent."
-
-"The elephant, (says F. Pyrard) is an animal of so much judgment and
-knowledge, that one should think him endowed with rational faculties;
-besides being of infinite service to man. If wanted to be ridden,
-he is so supple, and obedient, that he conforms to the conveniency
-and quality of the person he serves: he bends his knees, and helps
-his leader to mount him with his trunk. He is so tractable, that he
-does whatever he is required, provided he is treated with gentleness.
-He performs all that he is commanded, and caresses those whom he is
-directed to use with civility."
-
-"By giving the elephants, (says the Dutch travellers) whatever can
-please them, they are as easily tamed and rendered as submissive as
-men. It may be said they want no other faculty, but that of speech.
-They are proud and ambitious, but they remember good offices, and are
-so grateful for them, that they never fail to incline their head as a
-mark of respect, when they pass before a house where they have been
-well used. They may be conducted at the command of a child, but they
-love to be praised and cherished. No person can affront, or injure them
-without their notice; and those who have treated them with disrespect,
-may think themselves happy if they escape without being sprinkled with
-the water from their trunks, or thrown into the dirt."
-
-"The elephants, (says Father Philip) come very near the human species
-in judgment and reasoning. Monkeys are stupid brute animals compared
-to them. The elephants are so modest, that they cannot bear being
-seen when they couple; and if by chance, any person were to see this
-operation they would infallibly be revenged of them. They salute by
-bending the knees, and inclining their head; and when their master
-shews his intention to mount them, they so dexterously present to him
-their foot, that he may use it as a step. When a wild elephant is
-taken, and his feet are tied, one of the hunters comes near, salutes,
-makes an apology for having tied him, and protests that his intention
-is not to do him any harm; tells him that in his savage state he often
-wanted food, but now he will be treated with tenderness, and which
-he promises to do constantly. The hunter has no sooner finished this
-soothing discourse, than the elephant follows him as gently as a lamb.
-We must not, however, conclude from this, that the elephant understands
-languages, but only having a particular discerning faculty, he knows
-the motions of esteem from contempt, friendship from hatred, and all
-other sentiments of man towards him, for which cause he is more easily
-tamed by reasoning than by blows. He throws stones to a great distance,
-and very straight with his trunk; which he also makes use of to pour
-water over his body when bathing."
-
-"Of five elephants, (says Tavernier) which the hunters had taken, three
-escaped, although their bodies and legs were fastened with chains and
-ropes. These men told us the following surprising circumstance, if it
-can be believed, that when an elephant has been caught, and escaped the
-snare, he becomes very mistrustful and breaks off a large branch with
-his trunk, with which he sounds the ground before he puts his foot upon
-it, to discover if there are any holes, by which he may be caught a
-second time; for this reason the hunters, who related this singularity,
-despaired of catching again the three elephants who had escaped. The
-other two which they had caught, was each of them placed betwixt two
-tame elephants, and around them were six men, holding torches, who
-spoke to the animals, and presented them something to eat, saying, in
-their language, 'take this and eat it.' What they gave them consisted
-of small bundles of hay, bits of black sugar, and rice boiled in water,
-with pepper. When the wild elephant refused to do what he was ordered,
-the men commanded the tame elephants to beat him, which they did
-immediately; one striking his forehead, and when he seemed to aim at a
-revenge, the other struck him on the side, so that the poor creature
-soon perceived he had nothing to do, but to obey."
-
-"I have several times observed, (says Edward Terry) that the elephant
-does many things which seemed to be more the result of a rational than
-an instinctive faculty. He does whatever his master commands him. If
-he wishes him to frighten any body, he advances towards him with the
-same fury as if he would tear him to pieces, and when near he stops
-short, without doing him any harm. If the master is inclined to affront
-another, he speaks to the elephant, who takes up dirty water with his
-trunk, and throws it over the person pointed out to him. His trunk is
-made of a cartilage, hangs betwixt his tusks, and by some called his
-hand, because on many occasions it is as serviceable to him as the hand
-is to men. The Mogul keeps elephants for the execution of criminals
-condemned to death. If their leader bids them dispatch the wretched
-creatures quickly, they tear them to pieces in a moment with their
-feet; but if commanded to make the criminals languish, they break their
-bones one after another, and make them suffer torments as cruel as
-those of the wheel."
-
-We might quote several other facts equally curious and interesting,
-but we should exceed the limits of this work; we should not have
-even entered into so many particulars, if the elephant (_fig. 133._)
-were not, of all animals, the first in every respect, and that which
-consequently deserves most attention.
-
-We have said nothing respecting the production of his ivory because M.
-Daubenton has made several useful observations upon the nature and
-quality of it, but he has at the same time assigned to the elephant
-the tusks, and prodigious bones attributed to the mammoth. I confess
-I was long doubtful on this subject; I had several times considered
-those enormous bones, and compared them with the skeleton of an almost
-adult elephant preserved in the king's cabinet, and before writing the
-history of those animals, I could not persuade myself that elephants
-six or seven times bigger than the one whose skeleton I had seen,
-could exist; more especially, as the large bones had not the same
-proportions with the corresponding ones of the elephant, I thought with
-the generality of naturalists that these enormous bones had belonged
-to an animal much larger, whose species was lost or annihilated. But
-it is certain, as we have mentioned before, that some elephants exist
-who are fourteen feet high, that is, six or seven times bigger (for
-the bulk is in proportion to the cube in height) than the elephant,
-of whose skeleton we have spoken, and which was not more than seven
-feet and a half in height. It is also certain, for the observations of
-M. Daubenton, that age changes the proportion of the bones and when
-the animal is adult, they grow considerably thicker, though they are
-come to their full height: in fine, it is certain, from the relations
-of travellers, that of some elephants, the tusks weigh more than
-120lbs.[AH] From these observations, we cannot doubt that those tusks
-and bones we have already noticed for their prodigious size, actually
-belonged to the elephant. Sir Hans Sloane was of that opinion, but
-he did not prove it. M. Gmelin said it still more affirmatively, and
-gave on this subject several curious facts[AI]; but M. Daubenton is
-the first who has proved them unquestionably by exact measures and
-comparisons, and reasons founded on the great knowledge that he has
-acquired in the Science of Anatomy.
-
-[Footnote AH: Mr. Eden says, that several elephant's tusks which he
-measured, were no less than nine feet long, and as big as a man's thigh
-in circumference, some of them weighing more than nine pounds; and that
-he saw a head in the possession of a Mr. Jude, which had been brought
-from Guinea by some English ships, of which the mere bones, without the
-tusks, weighed upwards of 200lbs. and it was supposed that when the
-head was entire it could not weigh less than 500lbs. Lopes affirms he
-met with several tusks that weighed 200lbs. _Hist. Gen. des Voyages._
-This magnitude of the tusks is also confirmed by Drake, Holbe, and the
-Dutch travellers.]
-
-[Footnote AI: The Czar, Peter, being curious in Natural History, issued
-orders in the year 1722, that wherever any bones of the mammoth should
-be found, search should be made after the remainder, and the whole of
-them sent to Petersburg, and which orders were made public in all the
-towns of Siberia. In consequence of this several persons applied to the
-Woywode of Jakutzk to be sent off to two different places, where they
-affirmed they had seen these bones; their demands were complied with,
-and many of them returned with heads and various bones, which were
-transmitted to Petersburg, and placed in the imperial cabinet; but it
-will be found upon examination that all the bones placed there, under
-the denomination of the Mammoth bones, are perfectly similar with the
-elephant's. And as to their being found under the earth and in Siberia,
-it may fairly be presumed that in the great revolutions which have
-happened to the earth, a great number of elephants might be driven from
-their native climates; many have been destroyed by the inundations, and
-those who wandered so far into the North must necessarily have perished
-from the rigours of the climate. _Voyage a Kamtschatka par M. Gmelin._]
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-The female elephant, as in all other animals, is more gentle than the
-male, at least we found it so, for the male which we saw in 1771,
-was more fierce and untractable than a female we witnessed in 1773;
-he would frequently lay hold of, and tear the clothes of those who
-approached too near him, and even his keepers were always obliged to
-be on their guard, while she was perfectly quiet, and always ready
-to obey, nor ever shewed a disposition to be perverse but when they
-wanted to put her into a covered waggon for the purpose of conveying
-her from one town to another; upon which occasion she would refuse to
-go forward, and they had no means of making her advance but by pricking
-her behind; this would make her very angry, and being unable to turn,
-the only way she had of revenge was to take up water in her trunk and
-throw it over them, and which she would do in pretty large quantities.
-
-I formerly remarked, there was a probability, from the situation of the
-sexual organs, that these animals did not copulate in the same manner
-as other quadrupeds, but this conjecture I understand is not warranted
-in fact, for M. Marcel Bles thus expresses himself upon the subject:
-"The comte de Buffon, in his excellent work, is deceived in respect to
-the copulation of the elephants. In many parts of Asia and Africa they
-certainly, during their season of love, retire into the most secret
-recesses of the forests; but in the island of Ceylon which is almost
-in every part inhabited, and where I have lived twelve years, they
-have not that opportunity of concealing themselves. I have frequently
-examined them, and from the female organ being nearly in the middle of
-the belly there is some reason to conclude as M. de Buffon has done;
-however, when inclined to admit the male, I have seen the female bend
-her two fore legs upon the root of a tree, lowering, at the same time,
-her head and neck, and keeping her hind legs erect, which gave the male
-an opportunity of acting in the same manner as other quadrupeds. They
-never copulate but in a state of freedom. The males are very furious in
-the rutting season, and it is very dangerous to go near them; during
-which the females will sometimes make their escape, and seek the wild
-males in the woods. A few days after her cornack goes into the woods
-in search of her, and she will come to him upon hearing him call her
-by name, and quietly suffer herself to be led home again. It was from
-these excursions discovered that the females bring forth at the end of
-nine months."
-
-I certainly am ready to give full credit to the first remark of M.
-Marcel Bless, because he assures us that he has seen the elephant
-perform the operation; but I cannot think we ought so perfectly to
-acquiesce as to the time of their going with young, since it is the
-opinion of all travellers that they do not bring forth in a less period
-than two years.
-
-
-
-
-THE RHINOCEROS.
-
-
-After the elephant the Rhinoceros (_fig. 124._) is the most powerful
-of 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 nearly equal to his length. In
-bulk, therefore, he nearly resembles the elephant, and if he appears
-smaller, it is because his legs are shorter in proportion than those
-of the elephant. But he differs widely from that sagacious animal by
-his natural faculties and intelligence, having received from Nature
-merely what she grants in common to all animals. He is deprived of
-all feeling in his skin; he has no organ to answer the purpose of
-hands, to give him a distinct sense of touching; instead of a trunk
-he has only a moveable lip, in which centres all his dexterity. He
-is superior to other animals only in strength, magnitude, 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 advantageously than the horn of ruminating animals; those only
-protect the superior parts of the head and neck, whilst the horn of the
-rhinoceros defends all the exterior parts of the muzzle, the mouth, and
-the face, from insult. For this reason the tiger attacks more readily
-the elephant, whose trunk he can seize, than the rhinoceros, which he
-cannot attack in front without running the danger of having his inside
-torn out; for the body and limbs are covered with so impenetrable a
-skin that he fears neither the claws of the tiger nor lion, nor the
-fire and weapons of the huntsman. His skin is blackish, of the same
-colour, but thicker and harder than that of the elephant; nor does
-he feel the sting of flies. He cannot contract nor extend his skin;
-it is folded by large wrinkles on the neck, shoulders, and rump to
-facilitate the motion of his head and legs, which last are massive,
-and terminated by large feet, armed with three great toes. His head is
-larger in proportion than that of the elephant, but his eyes are still
-smaller, which he seldom opens entirely. The upper jaw projects above
-the lower, and the upper lip is moveable, and may be lengthened six
-or seven inches; it is terminated by a sharp edge, which gives the
-animal the power to gather grass and divide it into handfuls, as the
-elephant does with his trunk. This muscular and flexible lip is a sort
-of imperfect trunk which is equally capable of seizing with force, and
-feeling with delicacy. Instead of those long ivory tusks, which form
-the weapons of the elephant, the rhinoceros has a powerful horn, and
-two strong incisive teeth in each jaw: these teeth, which the elephant
-has not, are placed at a great distance, one in each corner or angle
-of the jaws; the under jaw is square before, and there are no other
-incisive teeth in all the interior part, which is covered by the lips;
-but, independently of these four incisive teeth, placed in the four
-corners of the mouth, he has twenty-four smaller teeth, six on each
-side of each jaw. His ears are always erect; they are in form like
-those of the hog, only they are smaller in proportion to his body, and
-they are the only hairy parts about him. The end of the tail, like that
-of the elephant, is furnished with a tuft of large bristles, very hard
-and very solid.
-
-Mr. Parsons, a celebrated physician in London, to whom the republic of
-letters is indebted for several discoveries in Natural History, and to
-whom I am under obligations for the marks of esteem and friendship
-he has honoured me with, published in 1744, a Natural History of the
-Rhinoceros, of which I shall give an extract with more willingness,
-because whatever Mr. Parsons has written deserves credit and attention.
-
-"Though the rhinoceros was often seen at the spectacles at Rome,
-from the time of Pompey to that of Heliogabalus, though many have
-been transported into Europe in these last ages, and though Bontius,
-Chardin, and Kolbe, have drawn this figure, both in the Indies and
-Africa, yet he was so badly represented, and his description was so
-incorrect, that he was known very imperfectly, until those which
-arrived in London in 1739 and 1741, were inspected, when the errors or
-caprices of those who had published figures of him became very visible.
-That of Albert Durer, which was the first, is the least conformable to
-Nature; it has, nevertheless, been copied by most naturalists; and some
-of them have loaded it with false drapery, and foreign ornaments. That
-of Bontius is more simple and more true; but the inferior part of the
-legs is badly delineated. On the contrary, that of Chardin represents
-naturally the foldings of the skin and feet, but in other respects does
-not resemble the animal. That of Camerarius is not better; nor is
-that drawn from the rhinoceros which was in London in 1685, and which
-was published by Carwitham in 1739. Those which were engraved on the
-ancient pavement of Pr�neste, or on the medals of Domitian, are very
-imperfect; but they have not the imaginary ornaments given to that of
-Albert Durer." Dr. Parsons has taken the trouble to draw this animal
-himself in three different views, before, behind, and in profile; and
-particular parts from other rhinoceroses which are preserved in the
-cabinets of Natural History.
-
-The rhinoceros which arrived in London in 1739, was sent from Bengal:
-though not more than two years old, the expences of his food, and of
-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
-portions: he had also hay and green herbage, to the last of which he
-gave the preference. His drink was water, of which he drank great
-quantities at a time. He was of a quiet disposition, and suffered all
-parts of his body to be felt. He grew unruly upon being struck, or
-when he was hungry; and in both cases he could only be appeased by
-giving him something to eat. When he was angry he leaped forwards with
-impetuosity, and raised himself to a great height, and rushed furiously
-against the walls with his head, and which he did with a prodigious
-quickness, notwithstanding his heavy appearance and massive corpulence.
-"I have often been witness (says Dr. Parsons) of those motions produced
-by impatience or anger, especially in the morning before his rice and
-sugar were brought him. The quickness and celerity of the motions of
-this animal made me of opinion that he is absolutely unconquerable,
-and that he would easily overtake any man who should have given him
-offence."
-
-This rhinoceros, when two years old, was not higher than a young cow
-who had never had any young; but his body was very long and very thick.
-His head was large in proportion to his body; taking it from the ears
-to the horn of the nose, it formed a concavity, the extremities of
-which, that is, the upper end of the snout, and the part near the ears
-are very high. The horn, not then an inch long, was black, smooth
-at the end, but wrinkled and directed backwards at the base. His
-nostrils were not above an inch from the mouth; the under lip was
-like that of a ox, but the upper resembled that of an horse, with this
-difference and advantage, that the rhinoceros can lengthen, direct,
-turn it round a stick, and seize with it those objects which he wants
-to carry to his mouth. The tongue of this young rhinoceros was soft
-like that of a calf; his eyes had no vivacity, they were formed like
-those of a hog, and were placed very low, that is, near the opening
-of the nostrils. His ears were large, thin towards the end, and bound
-up with a sort of wrinkle at the origin. His neck was very short, the
-skin forming on this part two large foldings which surround him. His
-shoulders were very thick, and at their juncture there was another
-fold of skin which comes under the fore legs. The body of this young
-rhinoceros was very thick, and resembled that of a cow ready to bring
-forth. There was another fold betwixt the body and the rump, which
-descends under the hind legs; and lastly, there was another fold which
-transversally surrounds the lower part of the crupper, at some distance
-from the tail. The belly was very big, and hung down to the ground,
-especially the middle part; the legs were round, thick, strong, and
-bent backward at the joint, which was covered by a remarkable fold
-of the skin when the animal laid down, but it disappeared when he
-was standing. The tail was thin and short, compared to the volume of
-the body; that of this rhinoceros was not above seventeen inches in
-length; it is a little thicker at the extremity, which is covered with
-hard, short and thick hair. The sexual organ of the rhinoceros is of
-an extraordinary form; it is contained in a sort of case, like that of
-a horse, and the first thing which appears when irritated is a second
-prepuce of flesh colour, from which issues a hollow pipe, in form of
-a funnel, like a fleur de luce. It not being in a straight direction,
-but rather inclining backward, he emits his urine behind, and from
-which it appears their copulation must be different from other animals.
-The female has the exterior parts of generation situated like those
-of the cow, and she resembles perfectly the male in the size and form
-of the body. The skin is thick and impenetrable; in taking the folds
-with the hand, it feels like a wooden plank half an inch thick. "When
-it is tanned (says Dr. Grew) it is excessively hard, and thicker than
-the skin of any other terrestrial animal." It is every where more or
-less covered with incrustations, in the shape of galls, which are
-small on the summit of the neck and back, but becomes bigger down the
-sides; the largest are on the shoulders and crupper, the thighs, and
-around the legs, down to the feet; but betwixt the folds the skin is
-penetrable, and even tender, and as soft as silk, while the outward
-part of the folds is as rough as the rest. This tender skin between the
-folds is of flesh colour, and the skin of the belly is nearly of the
-same colour and consistence; but those galls, or tuberosities, should
-not, as some authors have done, be compared to scales, as they are
-mere callosities of the skin, irregular in their figure and symmetry
-in their respective positions. The suppleness of the skin in the folds
-gives the rhinoceros the power of moving his head, neck, and limbs,
-with facility. The whole body, except at the joints, is inflexible,
-like a cuirass. Dr. Parsons says, that this animal hearkened with a
-sort of continual attention to any kind of noise; so that if he was
-even sleeping, eating, or satisfying other urgent wants, he instantly
-raised up his head, and listened till the noise had ceased.
-
-In fine, after giving this exact description of the rhinoceros, Dr.
-Parsons examines whether the rhinoceros with a double horn exists, and
-having compared the relations of ancients and moderns, and the remains
-of this variety, found in the collections of natural objects, he
-concludes, with some probability, that the rhinoceroses of Asia have
-commonly but one horn, and those of Africa, generally two.
-
-It is certain that some rhinoceroses have but one horn, and others
-have two; but it is not equally certain that this variety is constant,
-and depends on the climate of Africa or India, or that two distinct
-species may be established from these differences. It seems that
-the rhinoceroses with one horn have it bigger and longer than those
-who have two. 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 base. Some double horns are but two feet in length.
-
-Commonly these horns are brown, or olive colour, though some are grey,
-and even white. They have only a small concavity, in form of a cup,
-under their base, by which they are fastened to the skin of the nose;
-the remaining part of the horn is solid, and very hard. It is with this
-weapon that the rhinoceros is said to attack, and sometimes mortally
-wound, the biggest elephants, whose long legs give the rhinoceros
-an opportunity of striking them with his snout and horn under their
-bellies, where the skin is tender, and penetrable; but if he misses
-the first blow the elephant throws him on the ground and kills him.
-
-The horn of the rhinoceros is more valued by the Indians than the ivory
-of the elephant, not so much on account of its real use, though they
-make several things of it with the chisel, but for divers specific
-virtues, and medicinal properties, which they ascribe to it. The white,
-from being the most rare, are also those which they value most. Among
-the presents which the king of Siam sent to Louis XIV. in 1686, were
-six horns of the rhinoceros. We have seen in the king's cabinet twelve
-of different sizes, and one of them, though mutilated, is three feet
-eight inches and a half in length.
-
-The rhinoceros, without being ferocious, carnivorous, or even very
-wild, is, nevertheless, untractable. He is of the nature of a hog,
-blunt and brutal, without intellects, sentiment, or docility. He is
-subject to fits of fury, that nothing can calm; for the rhinoceros,
-which Emanuel, king of Portugal, sent to the Pope in 1513, was the
-cause of the ship being destroyed in which he was transporting; and
-that which we saw at Paris was drowned in the same manner, in going
-over to Italy. These animals, also like the hog, are 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, Mogul, Sumatra, Java, in Abyssinia, in Ethiopia, in the
-country of the Anzicos, and as far as the Cape of Good Hope. But in
-general the species is not so numerous, or so universally spread, as
-that of the elephant. The female brings forth but one young, and that
-at a great distance of time. In the first month the rhinoceros is not
-much bigger than a large dog; he has no horn when first brought forth,
-although the rudiment of it is seen in the foetus. When he is two years
-old his horn is not above an inch long; and in his sixth year it is
-about ten inches; and as some of these horns are very near four feet
-long, it appears that they grow till the half, or, perhaps, during the
-whole life of the animal, which must be long, since the rhinoceros,
-described by Dr. Parsons, was not come to half his growth at two years
-old, which makes it probable that this animal, like man, lives to
-seventy or eighty years.
-
-Without the capacity of being useful like the elephant, the rhinoceros
-is equally hurtful from the prodigious devastation which he makes in
-the fields. He has no one advantageous quality while alive. His flesh
-is excellent, according to the taste of the Indians and Negroes: Kolbe
-says, he has often eaten it with 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, urine, and excrements,
-are esteemed as antidotes against poison, or remedies against several
-diseases. These antidotes, or remedies, extracted from different
-parts of the rhinoceros, are of the same use in the dispensatory of
-the Indians, as the theriaca is in that of Europe. Probably, all
-those virtues are imaginary:--But how many things are held in great
-estimation, which have no value but in opinion!
-
-The rhinoceros feeds upon coarse herbs, such as thistles and prickly
-shrubs, and he prefers this wild food to the sweet pasture of the
-verdant meadows. He is fond of sugar canes, and eats also all sorts
-of corn. Having no taste for flesh, he neither molests small animals,
-nor fears the large ones, but lives in peace with them all, not
-excepting the tiger, who often accompanies, without daring to attack
-him; therefore, I doubt, whether the battles betwixt the elephant
-and rhinoceros, have any foundation; they must at least be seldom,
-since there is no motive for war on either side; and, besides, no
-sort of antipathy has been observed between these animals. Some even
-in captivity have lived quietly together, without giving offence or
-provocation. Pliny is, I believe, the first who has mentioned these
-battles betwixt the rhinoceros and elephant. It seems they were
-compelled to fight in the spectacles at Rome, and, probably from thence
-the idea has been taken, that when in their natural state they fought
-as desperately; but every action without a motive is unnatural; it is
-an effect without a cause, which cannot happen but by chance.
-
-The rhinoceroses do not herd together, nor march in troops like the
-elephants; they are more wild and solitary, and perhaps more difficult
-to hunt and subdue. They never attack men unless provoked; but then
-they become furious, and are very formidable. Neither scymetars, darts,
-nor lances, can make an incision upon his skin, which even resists
-musket balls; the only places penetrable in his body are the belly,
-the eyes, and round the ears; so that the hunters, instead of facing
-and attacking this animal, follow him at a distance by his track,
-and wait till he lies down to rest or sleep. We have in the king's
-cabinet a foetus of a rhinoceros, which was extracted from the body
-of the mother, and sent from the island of Java: it was said, in a
-memorial which accompanied this present, that twenty-eight huntsmen
-having assembled to attack this rhinoceros, they followed her at a
-distance for some days, one or two walking now and then before to
-reconnoitre her situation; by these means they surprised her when she
-was asleep, and silently came so near that they discharged at once
-their twenty-eight guns into the lower parts of her belly.
-
-From the description given by Dr. Parsons, it appears that this animal
-has a good ear, and even very attentive: it is also affirmed, that his
-sense of smelling is excellent; but it is said that he has not a good
-eye, and sees only those things which are before him: his eyes are so
-small, and placed so low, and obliquely, they have so little vivacity
-and motion, that this fact seems to be confirmed. His voice, when he
-is calm, resembling the grunting of a hog; but when he is angry, it is
-sharp, and heard at a great distance. Though he lives upon vegetables,
-he does not ruminate: thus, it is probable, that, like the elephant,
-he has but one stomach, and very large bowels, which supply the office
-of many stomachs. His consumption of food, though very great, is not
-comparable to that of the elephant, and it appears, by the thickness of
-his skin, that he loses much less than the latter by perspiration.
-
-
-SUPPLEMENT.
-
-In the month of September, 1770, another rhinoceros was brought to
-the royal menagerie, which was said to be only three months old; but
-I am persuaded it was as many years, for it was eight feet two inches
-in length, including the head, five feet six inches high, and eight
-feet two inches in circumference: by the 28th of August, 1781, it
-had increased seven inches in length, three inches in the height,
-and seven inches in circumference; and on the 12th of August, 1772,
-it measured nine feet four inches in length, including the head, six
-feet four inches high at the crupper, and only five feet eleven at
-the withers. In some places its skin was spotted with black and grey,
-and in others it was in deep furrows, having the appearance of a kind
-of scales. This animal had but one horn, which was brown, and of a
-very hard substance; and in all other respects he nearly resembled the
-description we have already given.
-
-Mr. Bruce has remarked, that my conjecture, that in the interior parts
-of Africa there were rhinoceroses with two horns, was exactly the case,
-for he saw none in Abyssinia but what had one situated near the nose,
-which was of the common form, and the other rather higher on the head,
-sharp at the point, and always shorter than the first. M. Daubenton
-received a letter from M. Allamand at Leyden, in 1776, in which that
-gentleman says, "In a passage which M. de Buffon has quoted from Mr.
-Parsons, it is supposed, that the rhinoceroses of Asia have but one
-horn, and those of the Cape of Good Hope have two, but I am inclined
-to believe the opposite is the fact, for the heads of those I have
-received from Bengal, and other parts of India, had always two horns,
-and those which came from the Cape had but one." This remark of M.
-Allamand we may consider as a confirmation of our former observation,
-that the rhinoceroses with two horns form a variety in the species, and
-may be equally found in Asia and Africa.
-
-
-_END OF THE SEVENTH VOLUME._
-
-
-T. Gillet, Printer, Wild-court.
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber Note
-
-
-All obvious typographical errors were corrected. Where several variant
-spellings were used, the most prevalent version was use to standardize
-them. All illustration headers were standardized to display "_Engraved
-for Barr's Buffon._" above each group and the captions were also
-standardized. The illustration captions were arranged in ascending
-numbers. Where paragraphs were split by illustrations, they were
-rejoined. To match the other volumes in this series, the list for the
-placement of images was positioned after the Table of Contents. Although
-the original printed version capitalized the first word (or words) of the
-opening paragraph, here the first letter only was capitalized (unless it
-was a person's name).
-
-  Page  Change
-  ====  ====================
-    29  cougouacu-apara changed to cougouacou-ara
-   171  missing endquote, placed at end of line
-   225  missing endquote, placed at end of paragraph
-
-
-
-
-
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author	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-03-01 09:16:47 -0800
committer	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-03-01 09:16:47 -0800
commit	95eb2da1fbf3be1e8bb2cabb8e1793c2fa8c6a53 (patch)
tree	64366fa743b1b22729cfae3d6536398f4817ece6
parent	fc280c848cea69046ff46dfa52703cdfc68a9c94 (diff)